Pokémon: Wings Of Shadow

"I'm Shiro, and my Pokémon is Gastly!"

With a confident declaration, Shiro reached for his Poké Ball and tossed it onto the battlefield.

The red and white ball opened, and out came a dark, ghostly figure surrounded by swirling purple gas—Gastly.

After some training, Gastly had also reached the peak of Novice-level, placing it at a similar strength to Jangmo-o.

"Gastly!" The surrounding trainers began murmuring.

"Gastly in Galar is quite rare, and this one seems to have impressive potential."

"I originally thought he was just a dumb kid eyeing the dragon scales, but now it's hard to say who will win..."

"Hmph, this Jangmo-o isn't like the others. Have you seen its scales? Regular Jangmo-o don't have shiny golden ones like that. Clearly, it's been bred with lots of Dragon-type resources and has extraordinary talent."

Some trainers still didn't think much of Gastly, shaking their heads at the Ghost-type Pokémon.

The noise from the onlookers grew louder and louder, drawing the attention of other trainers already engaged in battles.

However, it didn't interfere with Shiro and his opponent inside the psychic barrier.

Rylan's presence was intimidating—years of grueling training had sculpted his body into pure muscle. His Jangmo-o, though young, was equally impressive—its golden scales and strong limbs clearly indicated its physical strength, with even some muscles visible under its scales.

Gastly, on the other hand, hovered in the air, unconcerned with its opponent who couldn't even fly.

"Jangmo-o! Jump up, Dragon Tail!" Rylan commanded, taking the initiative to start the battle, his arm swinging in sync with his order.

As Shiro had predicted, Jangmo-o's only viable attack was Dragon Tail—a physical move.

But Jangmo-o wasn't like the typical Novice-level Pokémon; it was surprisingly agile. The young dragon leaped effortlessly into the air, soaring up to six or seven meters to meet Gastly, its tail glowing with a purple light at the tip.

"Gastly, keep floating higher!" Shiro quickly responded.

Gastly sensed the immediate danger and subconsciously followed the command, soaring a few meters higher, rising all the way to the top of the psychic barrier.

Jangmo-o, unable to gain any more height, missed with its Dragon Tail, which only swept through the spot where Gastly had been moments earlier.

The young dragon landed heavily back on the battlefield.

Gastly, still shaken from the close call, stared wide-eyed at the scene. Seeing its bewilderment, Shiro shouted,

"Gastly! The opponent is strong! Use Shadow Ball!"

Gastly snapped out of its daze at Shiro's call, eyeing Jangmo-o with renewed wariness. Several small shadowy spheres of ghostly energy began to quickly form beside Gastly's body.

Meanwhile, Jangmo-o wasn't idle. Rylan knew his Pokémon couldn't reach Gastly's current altitude but had a plan to close the gap.

"Jangmo-o! Use Dragon Tail, go higher!"

Upon hearing the command, Jangmo-o swung its tail downward with immense force, causing the ground to shake with a resounding roar.

The dust from the impact obscured Jangmo-o's figure for a moment, and the audience couldn't track its movements.

The power of the Dragon Tail launched Jangmo-o upward, only slowing down noticeably after rising to a height of eight or nine meters. By then, it was already dangerously close to Gastly in mid-air.

"Gaassss!"

Gastly let out a sharp cry, its ghostly gas swirling violently around it as it saw its opponent closing in.

Fueled by instinct and adrenaline, Gastly's potential surged. The five small Shadow Balls it had prepared fired at Jangmo-o in quick succession, their dark energy spiraling toward the dragon.

"Counter with Dragon Tail!" Rylan yelled.

Jangmo-o launched another Dragon Tail while in mid-air. The powerful purple energy pierced through two dark Shadow Balls, causing two crisp explosions.

However, the remaining three Shadow Balls dodged the Dragon Tail and hit Jangmo-o's body directly.

Jangmo-o let out a pained cry, its body plummeting rapidly from the force of the Shadow Balls. The earlier Dragon Tail that had instinctively aimed to end the battle with Gastly also veered off course.

Another loud rumble shook the battlefield, but Jangmo-o merely shook its head and stood up, glaring at Gastly in mid-air.

"Jangmo-o's strength is insane! Its defense, speed, and overall physical qualities far exceed Gastly's!" The trainers watching voiced their shock.

Jangmo-o's strength as a Novice-level Pokémon had already surpassed everyone's expectations.

"No wonder Rylan chose dragon scales as the prize. He never considered the possibility of losing!" A trainer who had considered challenging Rylan sighed, "Gastly is good, but… it can't even afford to take one hit from Jangmo-o."

Inside the barrier, Shiro's body tensed as he clenched his fists.

He knew all too well that it was highly unfair for Gastly, or any Novice-level Pokémon, to battle Jangmo-o. The physical prowess of Jangmo-o was overwhelmingly superior.

If not for Gastly's Levitate ability and its Ghost typing, a regular Novice-level Pokémon would have been defeated in one move.

But Gastly still had a chance to win.

"Gastly! Hypnosis!" Shiro growled urgently after Jangmo-o hit the ground.

Hypnosis was a low-level Psychic-type move, and Gastly could easily learn it.

Hypnosis was an incredibly useful and crucial control move in any battle. If it hit, Gastly would at least have a few chances to freely attack.

Rylan understood this as well and immediately instructed Jangmo-o to avoid it.

"Jangmo-o! Use Tackle to move!"

Jangmo-o, already incredibly fast, accelerated further using Tackle, charging through the battlefield in random directions, leaving most of the spectators unable to track its exact position.

Gastly in the air was also struggling to keep up with Jangmo-o's erratic movements.

Although it was stronger in terms of dynamic ability, Hypnosis wasn't an easy move to land, especially since it wasn't part of Gastly's core typing, and it wasn't particularly skilled with it.

Gastly was bound to miss.

But what Shiro wanted was not Hypnosis!

He knew Gastly knew the move, but in their training, they had never actually practiced it.

Without special telepathic abilities for communication, Shiro had taught Gastly to read his arm movements for coordination during training, alongside his verbal commands.

In the short time of training, Shiro had taught only one thing.

That whenever he clenched his fist, Gastly should use Shadow Ball, regardless of what he said.

The same applied to the Rookidee, but with Air Cutter instead of Shadow Ball.

This allowed Shiro to exploit the information gap, making surprise attacks more effective!

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