Chapter 63 Violet City, Battle Against Falkner

Chapter 63 Violet City, Battle Against Falkner

Pokémon: Gengar (Shiny)

Level: 39

Gender: Male

Height: 150 cm

Weight: 40.5 kg

Ability: Cursed Body

Moves: Ice Punch (Egg Move), Shadow Punch, Hypnosis...

"Hmm, it's a pity the ability became Cursed Body," Ron said as he looked at the data. "Wait, can it be changed?"

Ron noticed the option to modify the Ability column and quickly tapped it. Indeed, the ability changed from Cursed Body back to Levitate.

"System, can previously acquired abilities also be changed?" Ron asked curiously.

"Ding. Yes," the system replied.

Ron nodded. Gengar was still best matched with Levitate; the Cursed Body ability was too troublesome. Putting away Gengar, Ron continued his journey and finally exited Bewilder Forest before nightfall. After returning Hoothoot to Granny Agatha's twin sister, Granny Agatha II, he rested at her place for the night and continued towards Violet City the next morning.

A week later, Ron finally saw the landmark of Violet City—the Sprout Tower. Ron quickly visited the Pokémon Center to heal his Pokémon, grabbed a free meal there, and afterward searched for the Violet Gym.

Actually, Ron didn't really have to search for it, since there was a huge glider in the sky that anyone could see. Following the trajectory of the glider, Ron easily arrived at Violet Gym.

Gym Leader Falkner was delighted to see Ron, saying, "I know you. You're the Kanto Region Champion. I didn't expect you to challenge the Johto League this year. Let's have a good Gym battle!"

With that, he pulled Ron onto an elevator, arriving at the rooftop Sky Battlefield. Standing firmly on the field, Falkner explained, "We will each use three Pokémon. The match ends when all three Pokémon on one side lose their ability to fight. My first Pokémon is Skarmory!"

Seeing the Skarmory on the field, Ron felt a headache coming on. Skarmory itself had extremely high defense, and with its dual Steel and Flying typing, it was only doubly weak to Fire and Electric, resisting most other types. Coupled with its already solid defense, it was considered a real nuisance in battles.

"Gengar, your first battle, go!" Ron sent out Gengar.

"Hehehe." As soon as Gengar came out, it circled Skarmory, fading in and out playfully. It seemed its mischievous personality couldn't be changed.

"I won't hold back! Skarmory, use Spikes, then Drill Peck!" Falkner commanded.

"Gengar, Confuse Ray," Ron said calmly.

Skarmory swiftly spread sharp spikes on the field, which immediately turned invisible. Then, Skarmory spun rapidly, its sharp beak thrusting toward Gengar. Only then did Gengar's Confuse Ray launch, a bizarre light shooting straight toward Skarmory.

"Ascend and dodge it! Give it no chance to breathe!" Falkner shouted.

Skarmory instantly rose to evade the Confuse Ray and landed a solid Drill Peck on Gengar. Without giving Gengar a chance to recover, Skarmory followed up immediately with Steel Wing, causing super-effective damage.

"Don't let up, Skarmory! Quick Steel Wing, again!" Falkner commanded.

Skarmory relentlessly struck Gengar with continuous Steel Wings, clearly determined not to give it a chance to counterattack.

"Falkner, you're strong indeed. But you've forgotten one thing: never leave a Ghost-type Pokémon with low health—that's when they're most dangerous," Ron said with a smile. "Pain Split, then Hypnosis."

Gengar faced Skarmory's relentless attacks, suddenly dropping its exhausted look and laughing mischievously. A shadow instantly connected Gengar and Skarmory; Gengar appeared invigorated, while Skarmory visibly weakened.

In a flash, Gengar appeared right before Skarmory, unleashing Hypnosis directly at point-blank range. Skarmory immediately fell asleep, heavily crashing onto the ground. Ron laughed, saying, "Finish it with Dream Eater."

Gengar, laughing loudly, dove into Skarmory's body and emerged again, licking its lips as if it had enjoyed a delicious dream. Skarmory had lost its ability to battle.

"Return, Skarmory; I was careless," Falkner said. "I won't make the same mistake next time. Go, Noctowl!"

"Keep battling, Gengar," Ron said. "Use Curse."

Gengar laughed as it instantly sacrificed half its health; a shadow descended from above, entering Noctowl's body.

"We must finish this quickly. Noctowl, Foresight and Zen Headbutt," Falkner ordered.

Noctowl's eyes emitted red beams of Foresight, instantly disabling Gengar's intangibility, and then it rushed forward using Zen Headbutt.

"You thought that was Gengar's full speed? Gengar, stop fooling around. Ice Punch!" Ron commanded.

Gengar abandoned its playful demeanor, flashing a sinister smile as it swiftly appeared next to Noctowl. Cold air gathered on its fist, and an Ice Punch slammed directly into Noctowl. Noctowl screamed in pain and fell toward the ground.

"Show your spirit! Show your spirit!" Falkner's disciples encouraged Noctowl loudly from the sidelines.

"Show your spirit, Noctowl!" Falkner shouted.

Bolstered by everyone's support, Noctowl reopened its wings, regained altitude, and flew back into the sky.

"Hypnosis!" Ron and Falkner called simultaneously.

Both Pokémon instantly engaged in a Hypnosis battle, putting each other to sleep simultaneously and falling onto the field, snoring loudly.

Moments later, Noctowl grimaced painfully and fainted.

"Ah, time's up already?" Falkner sighed regretfully, recalling Noctowl.

"Return, Gengar; you did very well. Falkner, that was impressive. My Gengar was affected by your Foresight and wouldn't have survived another round. Let's start the next battle," Ron said.

"Since you say that, I won't hold back. Go, Pidgeot!" Falkner sent out his ace Pokémon.

"Then let's have a contest of speed. Go, Pheromosa," Ron said. "Use Rapid Spin to sweep away the Spikes."

As soon as Pheromosa appeared, it spun rapidly in the air, creating a powerful cyclone that blew away all the invisible spikes on the battlefield. Landing gracefully, it gazed arrogantly at Pidgeot.

"A Pokémon I've never seen before—looks like a Bug-type with great strength. But we won't lose! Pidgeot, Agility, then Wing Attack!"

Pidgeot instantly accelerated with Agility, quickly appearing behind Pheromosa, wings glowing white as it attacked. Pheromosa smirked disdainfully, not even needing Ron's instructions. It easily jumped to dodge Pidgeot's attack and struck downward with a heel kick, slamming Pidgeot to the ground and stepping firmly on it.

"Show them what real speed is. Triple Kick!" Ron commanded.

Pheromosa kicked Pidgeot into the air, dashed forward, and kicked again, knocking it even higher. It then leaped upwards, spun several times to gain momentum, and finally delivered an axe-like kick, slamming Pidgeot hard onto the ground.

"Pidgeot!" Falkner shouted in worry.

"Finish it with Giga Impact!" Ron commanded decisively.

Accelerating rapidly in mid-air, Pheromosa smashed onto Pidgeot, raising a cloud of dust. As the dust settled, Pidgeot had already lost its ability to fight. Pheromosa stood proudly, one hand on its hip, looking arrogantly at Falkner, as if saying: You tried to compete with me in speed? You haven't even seen true speed yet.