After recalling Onix and putting its Poké Ball away, Drake threw out his third Poké Ball.
A blue light flashed, and a deep purple Gengar appeared in midair.
Seeing a new Pokémon take the field, the announcer let out a long breath, steadied his disappointed mood a little, and called out, "As expected, just like in his previous matches, Drake has chosen Gengar as his third Pokémon again! This Pokémon is incredibly powerful and highly dependable. How will Xia You respond to an opponent like this? Will he keep using Venusaur, who is still in good shape, or switch to another Pokémon?"
Yet even as the words left his mouth, he failed to notice that his tone had unconsciously lost the confidence it had held earlier.
In the command area, Xia You saw Gengar take the field and took out a Poké Ball to recall Venusaur.
Though he had plenty of options for battling this Gengar, he followed the strategy he had drawn up last night. Without much hesitation, he turned his gaze to his side.
As it happened, Haunter looked over at the same time.
Their eyes met, and before Xia You could speak, Haunter laughed first. "Hehehehe! Let me handle this battle!"
"That's exactly what I had in mind." Xia You nodded and smiled. "Then it's all up to you!"
"Don't worry. There's no way I'll lose!"
Under everyone's gaze, Haunter slowly floated toward the battlefield. Seeing that Xia You had actually chosen to send Haunter out, the announcer exclaimed in disbelief, "Huh? What's going on? Xia You is actually using a Haunter against Gengar!?"
The spectators looked just as bewildered.
Haunter? Wasn't that Gengar's unevolved form!?
As far as they had always understood, an unevolved Pokémon was surely weaker than its evolved form, whether in its own