Finishing Blow Beneath the Shade

"Haunter, Shadow Ball!"

"Jiejiejiejie~"

Haunter looked at its opponent, afflicted by both paralysis and Toxic, then grinned as it fired off a fairly powerful Shadow Ball, clean and crisp as it sent its opponent off the battlefield.

"Graveler, you worked hard!" The Backpacker, who had begun so high-spirited, now pulled out a Poké Ball with a mournful face and recalled his Graveler.

Sato raised his hand to check the time. There were still twenty minutes until lunch. Seeing that Haunter in the field was still eager for more, he decisively chose to have another match.

"Anyone else?"

"Damn it, I'll deal with you! I don't believe no one in all of New Bark Town is your match!" the Backpacker's best friend immediately stepped forward and said indignantly.

Ten minutes later, a rather sturdy Gligar lay on its back on the ground with its tongue hanging out. Its Trainer recalled it in shame, then left dejectedly with the Backpacker.

"Jiejiejiejie!" Haunter happily showed off before Sato, making all sorts of ghostly gestures. For a ghost with ambitions, a winning streak was indeed worth celebrating.

"Nicely done!" Sato tried praising his Pokemon like an ordinary Trainer would.

Hmm, it felt pretty good! After lunch, Sato brought the three little ones to the Back Mountain behind the Pokemon Center. Finding an unoccupied patch of shade, he simply sat down on the ground.

Zorua's eyes lit up, and it immediately tried to burrow into Sato's arms, but Haunter suddenly appeared beside them.

"Jiejie~ Jiejiejiejie!" It seemed to have said something unpleasant, making Zorua so angry that it chased after it and tried to bite it. Its blue eyes were full of indignation.

Haunter did not turn invisible either. It simply circled the big tree and Sato again and again, with Zorua's furious roars trailing behind it.

From time to time, Haunter would deliberately play dirty, leading Zorua straight toward Larvitar, who looked mature and steady.

Once or twice was fine...

"Laar!" Larvitar, which only wanted to take a nap, finally let out a childish roar when Zorua leaped over it for the third time! I'm a mighty pseudo-legendary Pokémon! Don't I have any pride?!

"Kuso!"

Zorua transformed into Larvitar and eagerly invited the real Larvitar to deal with Haunter together! "Laar..." Larvitar seemed to seriously consider whether it was feasible, its eyes Rolling Around as it glanced at Haunter.

"Jiejie! Jiejie!"

Haunter began begging for mercy in an exaggerated manner. It flashed pitifully before Larvitar, lowered its head obediently, and said something before...

"Slurp~"

"Laar!!"

Larvitar shuddered all over. Half its body had been licked all over by Haunter, and then it exploded with rage as though its soul had left its body and ascended to heaven! So you think honest Pokémon are easy to bully?! Larvitar kicked off with its little legs and sank its dark-glowing teeth into the grinning Haunter! "Jiejiejie! Jiejie!"

Seeing Larvitar's discomfort, Haunter nearly laughed itself mad, only to underestimate the terror of an honest Pokémon's outburst.

A Ghost-type body had no resistance at all against Dark-type Energy and was Directly By forced into a tangible form. Larvitar ate rocks like candy and had an incredibly strong bite, making Haunter howl in pain! Leaning against the tree, Sato watched the three little ones Playing Around. He could tell Larvitar had not used its full strength; otherwise, it could have easily bitten off a chunk of ghost flesh.

Ghost-type bodies were inherently insubstantial. Even if a piece was bitten off, it would not be fatal, but recovery would take a long time.

Moreover, a damaged body would destabilize the energy within. In battle, it could directly leave one Incapacitated. This was one reason why most Ghost-types were so fragile.

"Ah..." Sato suddenly Sighed helplessly. Even when the Pokemon were playing, he thought of severed limbs and mangled bodies. Clearly, his Inertia of Thought had not yet adjusted.

In public Official Matches, the League had a strict rule: opponents could not be injured or crippled.

When an opponent had been inflicted with negative statuses such as paralysis, burns, or poisoning, and ordinary medicine could not treat them After It Ended due to the Pokemon's particular nature, the original Trainer had to provide an effective treatment plan.

For example, Trainers specializing in Poison-types often had Pokemon teams with all sorts of toxins—Grass Poison, Snake Poison, Bug Poison, and so on.

During battle, their opponents could easily suffer damage from mixed toxins and multiple negative statuses depending on which Pokemon they faced, and treating those was obviously much more troublesome.

Most Trainers of this type would register the poisons they openly used with the Pokemon Center for record-keeping. Nurse Joy would also formulate specialized Antidote Potions for them.

Of course, if you used them in secret, or poisoned your opponent in an underground battle arena, no one would come to uphold justice.

Conversely, if Sato wanted to continue traveling the main roads through the cities, he had to learn the Pokemon Battle methods used in Official Matches.

That was why Sato was willing to stay in New Bark Town and challenge those Youngsters and Backpackers. He wanted to gradually get himself and his Pokemon accustomed to this style of battle.

If he was always fighting Wild Pokemon to the death in dangerous wildernesses, Sato would never be able to resist Entering the Field himself. With Dark Power, he was not dead weight who could only hide in the back and give orders.

"Larvitar, let go. If you keep biting, Haunter really is going to cry."

"Laar~" Larvitar obediently let go. It was still very obedient toward Sato, who could help it rapidly grow stronger.

Suddenly Realizing what it had done, Larvitar felt that the composed image it had worked so hard to maintain These Past Few Days had completely Collapsed.

"Laar..." It could not help but sigh. A mighty pseudo-legendary Pokémon, and I have no pride left! "Jiejie~"

Haunter ran pitifully up to Sato. One Ghost Hand floated high and accurately Pointed At the bite marks Larvitar had left On Its Own Top of Head, accusing the victim first.

"Hmm... your eyes are underneath. How did you see the bite marks on top of your head?"

Sato seriously voiced his confusion, and then watched Haunter freeze in stunned disbelief.

Beside them, Zorua suddenly felt that its great revenge had been avenged. It lay on its back, clutching its stomach as it laughed so hard its Apple Cheeks popped out.

Larvitar narrowed its eyes. Its body shook with laughter, yet it tried hard to hold it in, making its little rocky face flush red from the effort.

Sato grinned. In his previous life, there had never been time like this. The pressure of living with his blade's edge had left neither him nor his Pokemon in the mood to stop and catch their breath.

"Let's Go. We'll fight a few more matches this afternoon. Haunter especially has leveled up too quickly and has fallen behind on a lot of Basic Training, so it can barely bring out much of its strength."

The farce ended with Sato's Finishing Blow. Haunter followed behind with its head hanging low, while Zorua grinned and stuck out its tongue at Haunter. Then it grabbed Sato's clothes, Slipped Away up to lie On His Shoulder, and affectionately Rubbed Against him.

Larvitar was deeply disappointed in Its Own performance today. It felt it had disgraced the title of pseudo-legendary Pokémon and was far, far behind Dad's ability to act so domineering and impressive.

"Laar!" Larvitar swung its arms and decided to encourage itself first! Yesterday, the company came for an inspection, and I had to eat and drink with them. I was so dizzy afterward that I could barely function. This chapter is a make-up update. There'll be another one later! Thanks for the support!