On the deck of a large ferry.
Many passengers had stopped to watch the two people battling, some delighted, others curious.
One was a young man in a baseball cap, tall and handsome. He moved with easy confidence and gave off a calm air.
The other was still a boy, his face youthful and his eyes full of urgency.
Between them,
a gray Gengar flew about with a wicked cackle. It deftly dodged the glowing green leaves Shiftry slashed through the air, its round body displaying astonishing agility.
"Shiftry! Use Leaf Tornado!"
The boy shouted with all his might, hoping his voice would give his Pokémon strength.
But just as Shiftry whipped its energy-laden leaves into a small storm, Gengar swooped down, skimmed past it, and sank into the shadow cast by an ornament on the bow.
Like a drop of ink falling into an inkstone.
"It disappeared—"
He hurriedly scanned the deck. His agitation spread to Shiftry, which began looking around frantically.
Baimu shook his head to himself. "Sludge Bomb!"
"Gen-gar!"
Grinning slyly, Gengar emerged from Shiftry's shadow, murky light gathering around its chubby claws. Shiftry happened to be looking right; under the sunlight, its shadow lay to the left.
In an instant,
fist-sized globs of sludge shot out like artillery shells!
Boom, boom, boom!
Black smoke billowed upward.
The blasts knocked Shiftry off balance, sending it stumbling backward with a muffled groan. The last sludge bomb struck its forehead, and it tumbled away, crashing into the railing the spectators had cleared away from.
If a narrow board had not run between the rails, it might have fallen into the sea.
The boy rushed forward anxiously. "Shiftry!"
"Gen~"
Gengar landed, bared its gleaming white teeth, and gave a playful bow like a human gentleman.
Scattered applause came from the