Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 585: The "Plastic Sisterhood"

Garchomp called for battle.

It waved its claw towards Johan's side.

"Yoji?! Yoji!"

Before Gengar could react, the Larvitar at Johan's feet couldn't contain its excitement. It thought Garchomp was inviting it to battle, so it started bouncing up and down, ready to rush into the arena.

Luckily, Johan quickly realized what was happening and grabbed Larvitar by its tiny horn, stopping it from dashing onto the field.

"Phew..." Johan let out a long sigh of relief.

That was really close.

Gengar hadn't even entered the field yet. If Larvitar had rushed out...

His sixth Pokémon would have been declared as Larvitar, and the pressure on Ninetales would have been immense.

"Not yet, little one. You need to grow a bit more," Johan said, placing the small creature back at his feet.

"Yoji!"

Larvitar puffed its cheeks and crossed its tiny arms.

So frustrating!

After this match, it swore to eat a lot, train hard, and grow strong!

One day, when it evolved, it would shock everyone!

The little guy was already dreaming of its future evolution, completely forgetting that it still had an "Everstone" tied to it.

"Ka-kah?"

Gengar licked its lips, staring at Garchomp with a gleeful expression.

To be blunt, even though the tournament was nearing its end, Gengar's most anticipated opponent was Cynthia's Garchomp!

A few days ago, Garchomp had snatched control of the TV remote and refused to let Gengar watch its favorite shows!

It had wanted to beat Garchomp up for a long time!

This was the very definition of a "plastic sisterhood."

Unlike the previous battle between Ninetales and Glaceon, where there was mutual respect and concern—Ninetales even lovingly licked Glaceon after winning—the relationship between Garchomp and Gengar was pure chaos.

"Ka-kah!"

Gengar cracked its knuckles, twisting its neck, and then...

It tugged on Johan's sleeve with pitiful eyes.

"Ka-kah..."

It put on its most pitiful expression.

Johan couldn't help but laugh.

This chubby purple prankster... couldn't it see Garchomp was intentionally baiting it out?

But...

Johan glanced at the field where Ninetales was catching its breath.

Letting Ninetales rest a bit wasn't a bad idea. Although its energy wouldn't recover, taking a break after using "Freeze the World" would allow it to regain its rhythm. When it faced Garchomp again, it would be a massive advantage.

Moreover, Ninetales served as a weather controller—as long as it stayed in the battle, the snow would keep falling.

"Go ahead."

Johan gave it some thought, then recalled Ninetales back to its Poké Ball.

Ninetales let out a small breath of relief.

Facing Garchomp was seriously stressful. What if it couldn't take it down in one hit?

"Ka-kah!!"

Getting Johan's approval, Gengar pulled out its signature sunglasses and bounced into the arena.

"Johan's final Pokémon is—Gengar!!!"

The announcer's voice rang out as Gengar stepped into the spotlight.

"Gengar!!!"

"Ka-kah!!!"

"The purple chunky ghost!!!"

The audience, long waiting for Gengar's appearance, erupted into wild cheers, rivaling the excitement Garchomp had stirred when it appeared.

No one really knew when it happened, but Gengar had become Johan's most iconic ace, much like Cynthia's Garchomp, Steven's shiny Metagross, and Leon's Charizard.

Who wouldn't love a chubby, playful, purple prankster?

"Ka-kah~~"

Gengar grinned, raising an eyebrow at Garchomp. Its sunglasses wobbled up and down as it did.

"Garrr—"

Seeing Gengar arrive, Garchomp grinned back, baring its teeth. The scythes on its arms scraped against each other, causing sparks to fly.

Perfect!

Garchomp didn't hold grudges, not at all.

Those nineteen different clips of Dragon Dance that Gengar sent to Cynthia's phone? Garchomp had totally forgotten about them!

Heh!

The battle resumed!

Since Johan switched his Pokémon, Cynthia naturally took the initiative.

To be honest, Johan had initially planned to have Ninetales set up a "Misty Terrain" before swapping out.

Misty Terrain would have halved the damage of Garchomp's Dragon-type moves, and combined with the icy weather, it would have been a double layer of suppression.

But that would also have hindered Gengar's ability to inflict status conditions—something crucial to its strategy.

After some thought, Johan decided not to have Ninetales set up the Misty Terrain.

"Garchomp, Scale Shot!"

"Garrr!!"

Garchomp swung its scythes, sending out a flurry of metallic scales, sharp and dense, hurtling towards Gengar from every direction.

[Scale Shot: Fires scales 2–5 times, increasing the user's speed but lowering its defense.]

For Gengar or Ninetales, physical defense wasn't their strong suit, but speed was always a crucial factor in battle.

And Scale Shot boosted speed while still attacking—an optimal choice.

Facing the wall of incoming scales, Gengar's tongue flicked out, pulling its sunglasses back.

A thought flashed through its mind... so many scales... What a waste! Aren't Garchomp's scales worth a lot of money?

"Gengar..."

Johan had just opened his mouth when Cynthia suddenly called out:

"Gengar, Shadow Ball!"

Johan: "???"

The audience: "???"

Live stream chat: "???"

Countless question marks filled the screen, and even the audience's faces looked as confused as Slowking.

"Ka-kah!"

Hearing Cynthia's command, Gengar instinctively rubbed its hands together, dark ghostly energy swirling around it.

"Ka-kah?"

But Gengar quickly realized something was off.

Wait a minute...

That wasn't Johan's command, was it?

Oh no!

Gengar shivered suddenly, snapping its head back to glance at Johan. It saw Johan's face shift from confusion to a sly smirk.

Oh no, oh no!

Gengar shivered again, its thoughts racing. It had gotten so used to fetching tea and snacks for "Big Boss Cynthia," it nearly followed her commands instinctively.

Luckily, it snapped out of it just in time.

Johan, I swear I can explain!

"Block it first!" Johan's voice called out.

"Ka-kah!"

Gengar didn't hesitate, solidifying the ghostly energy swirling around it. With a shout, it launched a decent-sized Shadow Ball at the incoming scales.

Boom!!

The Shadow Ball exploded, scattering the scales everywhere, preventing them from landing a hit.

The impact snapped the audience out of their stupor.

And then came the laughter.

"Hahahaha—those two are made for each other! Too funny!"

"OMG—Cynthia actually tried to command Gengar..."

"And it almost worked! Just like when Johan tried to command Garchomp!"

"I swear, they should switch Pokémon for one match. Johan commands Garchomp, Cynthia commands Gengar, and let them go at it!"

"..."

It was too entertaining.

People were convinced that if these two ever retired from being Trainers, they could start a livestream and get millions of fans.

Of course...

Some of Cynthia's more devoted fans, especially those who called themselves "Cabbage Squad," began to grow suspicious.

Something was off...

How could Cynthia just randomly command her opponent's Pokémon like that?

Something fishy was going on!

On the field.

Johan rubbed his forehead helplessly. The boomerang finally came back to hit me.

He opened his mouth, then paused.

"This is..."

For a moment, he didn't even know what to say.

This must have been what Cynthia felt before.

Cynthia stood there with her hand on her hip, raising a finger with a soft chuckle: "That was only one time. There's still one more~"

Johan: "..."

One more?

No way in hell was that happening again.

"Ka-kah! Ka-kah!"

Gengar patted its chubby cheeks, reminding itself to stay sharp. It couldn't afford to mess up again.

If it messed up one more time... it might end up sharing a room with Garchomp tonight.

After a brief moment of laughter, the atmosphere shifted back to tension.

"Gengar, Will-O-Wisp!"

Johan shook off the previous nonsense and refocused entirely on the battle.

"Ka-kah!"

With Johan's command, Gengar snapped back to attention. It clapped its hands together, and eerie blue flames flickered into existence, swirling around its body.

With a flourish of its hand, Gengar sent the Will-O-Wisp flying straight towards Garchomp.

Cynthia's brow furrowed slightly.

Gengar's endless array of debuffs and status conditions were, without a doubt, some of the most troublesome things to deal with.

"Garchomp, Dragon Claw! Slice through it!"

"Garrr!!"

Garchomp let out a roar, its sharp claws glowing with a teal light, transforming into massive, razor-sharp blades. With a quick motion, it slashed at the incoming blue flames.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

One after another, the Will-O-Wisps shattered mid-air, breaking into tiny embers before vanishing completely.

"Sandstorm!"

The snowy weather was not a massive issue for Garchomp, but it wasn't without its effects. It was better to change the weather entirely while Ninetales was out of the field.

Even more importantly, Garchomp's ability was Sand Veil, and only in a sandstorm could it fully activate its evasive potential.

"Garrr!!"

Garchomp spread its arms wide, and a massive surge of sand erupted from the ground beneath its feet, swirling around with furious intensity.

Within moments, a roaring sandstorm filled the battlefield, erasing the last traces of snow.

Sand lashed against Garchomp's body, but instead of flinching, it seemed to revel in the storm. Its silhouette became blurred and indistinct amidst the swirling sands, making it nearly impossible to lock onto.

But at that very moment...

"Ka-kah?"

Gengar's cackling voice suddenly appeared right behind Garchomp.

Garchomp shivered, immediately spinning around, only to be met with a blob of ghostly blue flame smashing right into its face.

Boom!!

The Will-O-Wisp exploded on contact, spreading embers everywhere.

Compared to Ceruledge, Gengar's control over Will-O-Wisp was on another level. There was no way Garchomp was going to just slice through it so easily.

Sizzle—

A red burn mark appeared across Garchomp's cheek.

"Garchomp is burned! This is a huge disadvantage!" the announcer shouted with excitement.

For a physical attacker like Garchomp, the burn status was a devastating blow.

But that wasn't all.

"Gengar, Skill Swap!"

Woooosh—

At that close range, Gengar and Garchomp exchanged their abilities in the blink of an eye.

Gengar now possessed Sand Veil!

The roaring sandstorm, which should have been Garchomp's advantage, now became Gengar's playground. Its already elusive body grew even harder to track amidst the whirling sand, blending into the environment like a shadow.

"It's happening again! Johan's signature move—'Your Weather, My Advantage!'"

"I almost forgot Gengar could do that! Poor Garchomp..."

"I suddenly have a bad feeling about this... I'm starting to feel worried for Cynthia..."

"..."

"Garchomp, Earth Power!" Cynthia's voice cut through the chaos, her tone sharp and decisive.

While Garchomp was primarily a physical attacker, Cynthia's Garchomp had a special attack that was not to be underestimated.

"Garrr!!"

With a guttural growl, Garchomp's claws smashed into the earth, sending shockwaves through the battlefield. Massive chunks of ground, glowing with earthy energy, erupted toward Gengar at high speed.

"Use Toxic!"

Boom!!

The chunks of glowing earth crashed through Gengar, shattering its body into wisps of purple smoke.

Substitute!

Even at that close distance, Garchomp's claws couldn't detect the shadow clone, but Gengar's substitute had managed to absorb the blow.

Just as Garchomp finished its strike, Gengar reappeared with a wicked grin. It inhaled deeply, its body expanding unnaturally, and spat out a dark purple glob straight at Garchomp.

Splatter!

The venomous liquid splashed across Garchomp's scales, seeping into its tough exterior. A thin layer of purple energy spread across its body.

Garchomp was now Poisoned!

"No way! That's too much! Johan's too dirty with his tactics!"

"Heh? We are Team Dirty Heart, remember? That's just how we roll~~"

"What's next? Confusion? Sleep? Paralysis?"

"Come on, Johan, at least try to act like a decent person!"

Cynthia's fans were shouting playfully, though there was a nervousness hidden in their tone.

"Looks like Johan is bringing out his best strategy for the finals against Cynthia's Garchomp..." Flint grinned, baring his teeth.

To be honest...

The most feared scenario when battling Johan was always running into that Gengar.

Especially this version of Gengar, which seemed to have absolutely no limits.

Lucian wiped a bit of sweat from his brow.

"But..." Lucian began, his eyes sharpening. "It's not just Johan and his Gengar that are unreasonable..."

His gaze shifted to Cynthia, who stood calmly, her hands resting on her hips.

It seemed like Cynthia was about to show her true strength.

That thought had barely crossed his mind when...

On the field, Cynthia's lips curled into a confident, stunning smile.

Boom!!

From Garchomp, a surge of energy rippled outward, sending shockwaves through the sandstorm. Its aura intensified dramatically.

Behind it, Cynthia stood, her long blonde hair whipping in the wind, her black coat flaring out, and the luxurious fur at her collar billowing in the gale.

Wooooosh—

Cynthia raised her hand, brushing away the strands of golden hair from her eyes. Her gaze was sharp and fierce.

"Garchomp!"

"Garrr—!!!"

Garchomp roared in response, understanding exactly what needed to be done.

A dazzling rainbow light exploded from the Key Stone on Cynthia's bracelet, resonating with the Mega Stone embedded in Garchomp's body.

"Mega Evolution!"

Brilliant evolutionary light engulfed Garchomp, Cynthia's hair flaring out as her heart and spirit connected with her Pokémon's.

"Show them your true power, Garchomp!"

Wow!!!

The audience erupted into wild cheers.

"Cynthia's Garchomp has Mega Evolved!!"

"Ka-kah~~"

Gengar instinctively shrank back, nervously retreating a few steps.

This wild dragon... it was about to lose its mind.

Johan adjusted his monocle, murmuring softly:

"So, the biggest 'Cabbage Hater' of all... turns out to be herself."

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Powerstones?

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