Pokémon: Above the Top-Chapter 219: Nightmare

Sato sent out Gengar, Mark still had his eternal Arbok, and Joseph sent out his strongest Pokémon, Madame Florges, who was also the only one not afraid of Ghost-types.

Gengar naturally felt at home in Mt. Pyre. Its Mid Elite strength largely suppressed some of the restless Ghost-type Pokémon.

Arbok's ability was Intimidate, which worked quite well against "strangers."

With both combined, the mischievous Ghost-type Pokémon instantly dropped by 90% percent. Among the remaining ten percent, a large portion were those newly born, fearless little Ghost-types.

The Gastly line, the Shuppet line, the Duskull line, the Misdreavus line, and occasionally a few rare Sableye. These were all the Ghost-type Pokémon discovered so far on Mt. Pyre.

As for Sableye, Sato did have some thoughts. The Ghost/Dark combination had no type weaknesses before the introduction of Fairy-types.

Moreover, it could also Mega Evolve, which greatly enhanced its future value.

But unlike the ever-present Gastly, Sableye was a rare Pokémon. Finding a strong individual among them was extremely difficult.

Besides Ghost-types, there were also a few Psychic-, Poison-, and Dark-type Pokémon living here, but they were comparatively few.

"Gengar, Shadow Ball!"

"Haunter!"

Gengar's golden eyes lit up, and with a wave of its right hand, eight spinning Shadow Balls launched toward the direction Sato pointed.

"Mismagius!"

A Mismagius suddenly revealed itself, dodging Gengar's Shadow Balls in fright and looking at Sato in confusion... how had this human discovered it?

"Gengar, Sludge Bomb!"

Seeing another attack coming, Mismagius knew from its power that it couldn't win or block it, so it had no choice but to flee.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

Mismagius vanished. Feeling the emotional feedback from his Dark Energy fade, Sato knew it had truly left.

An already-evolved Mismagius with just Elite potential wouldn't draw much of Sato's attention.

Elsewhere, Arbok had also encountered an opponent: an Elite level Dusclops. They were in the thick of battle.

Arbok's strength was solid. With access to Crunch, defeating Dusclops was only a matter of time.

Sure enough, after poisoning Dusclops, Arbok landed two consecutive Crunch attacks, knocking it out before it could even escape.

That battle was like a fuse; many impatient Ghost-types started jumping out to attack them.

Gengar fought alone against many, Shadow Balls flying up and down. But every single Shadow Ball precisely hit at least one target.

Arbok also showed its proper Mid Elite strength, alternating between different moves from multiple types, rarely using Poison-type attacks.

In less than three minutes, the group of dozens of Ghost-types had been wiped out. Gengar and Arbok were only just warming up, still full of fighting spirit.

The "first floor's" Pokémon were mostly weak and not very numerous. This was likely the strongest group here.

They pressed on. Soon, the three of them discovered the entrance to the second floor. Climbing the steps, they saw that Mt. Pyre's second floor was filled with gravestones.

"In memory of my lost beloved, Gardevoir..."

"My first partner, a lifelong friend. Rest well, my strongest Swampert-XX Elite Four..."

"Forgive my cowardice. May you find redemption here, my dear Sandshrew. I've avenged you..."

The gravestones were full of complicated emotions for lost Pokémon. The newer stones were still clear, while many old ones had weathered away, becoming bare rocks with stories gradually forgotten.

Resentment, pain, anger, fear... Sato felt as if he could sense the emotions of these deceased Pokémon. As their feelings shifted, so did his own...

-----

Gardevoir couldn't bear to leave her Trainer and rest in this lonely grave. Her deep longing gave her a new life, but she was reborn as a Sableye.

With a hideous face, a hunched back, thin limbs, and a frail body... how could she face her Trainer in such a form?

So the first thing she did upon awakening was flee. As her obsession faded, so did her memories. She became a brand new Sableye, living a peaceful yet lonely life atop Mt. Pyre.

---

Swampert had been powerful in life. Under the training and commands of his Trainer, he defeated one formidable opponent after another, constantly surpassing his own limits.

At some point, he had broken through to the Elite Four level, and his Trainer had become an Elite Four Trainer admired by all. Together, they continued to travel far and wide, defeating every opponent in their path.

Until one day, a younger and more talented Trainer, with an equally young and gifted Swampert, defeated them and took their place.

The Trainer suddenly told him that they had grown old, and it was time to retire. From then on, they enjoyed peaceful days reading newspapers and drinking coffe, watching the sun rise and set.

No more battles, no more injuries... Swampert rested by his Trainer's feet and felt that such days were good too.

Until one day, his Trainer lay motionless in bed, and the other Trainer's son said he had passed away.

Swampert had grown old too. Their fellow Pokémon partners had already passed on long ago. He understood what death was, and calmly accepted it.

That very night, Swampert chose death as well.

'In our next life, I still want to be your starter Pokémon.'

---

"Hahaha, is that your partner? What a weak Pokémon. Is it only good at running away? Look, it burrowed into the ground again. I've never seen a Pokémon so cowardly."

"No, please don't hurt it-"

A black-haired little boy knelt on the ground, watching helplessly as his Dunsparce was yanked by the tail, swung violently, and slammed into the ground.

"No... Don't... Dunsparce, run..." The boy tried to rush forward to protect his Dunsparce, but was quickly kicked down by a taller, stronger boy.

"Pinch!"

Wounded all over, Dunsparce saw the little boy getting hurt and hurled itself at the bully with all its might.

Unfortunately, Dunsparce had never been trained and was truly weak. Its Rage attack only managed to stagger the boy a little.

"You hit me?!" the boy flew into a rage. He and his companions began to mercilessly punch and kick Dunsparce. Several minutes later, breathless and exhausted, they finally stopped.

"I-It looks like it's dead..."

"Dead or not, who cares? A Pokémon that weak doesn't deserve to live!" Panic flashed in the little boy's eyes, but he quickly covered it up with a show of bravado before leaving with his group.

The little boy stared blankly at the now twisted body of his Dunsparce. He gently picked it up, only to find that it had stopped breathing.

The little boy seemed to have forgotten how to cry. He just stared at the backs of those leaving children, eyes filled with searing hatred.