"Waaah—this is way too cool! A shiny Mega Gengar!"
Selene bit her handkerchief in pure envy. Gengar was one of her absolute favorite Pokémon as well, but hers was just an ordinary one.
A snow-white Mega Gengar—
it was genuinely stunning.
"The visual impact is definitely intense. The contrast is just too strong,"
Giovanni nodded in agreement.
That was exactly how shiny Pokémon were.
A normal Gengar was dark purple, a shiny Gengar was gray-black, but shiny Mega Gengar was pure white—the contrast was overwhelming.
"But according to what Dylan said, this was originally meant to be the ace of his Poison-type team. So then… what's his final Pokémon?"
Leaf asked with interest.
As she spoke, Leaf glanced toward Lillie and Leaf beside her.
If anyone was closest to Dylan, it would be those two.
"I don't know for sure,"
Lillie blinked her big eyes softly.
"But it should be a Pokémon that means a lot to my brother."
She already had a guess—but it was only a guess.
On the battlefield—
"Expanding Force!"
Red gave the order without hesitation. The glow of Psychic Terrain had already dimmed—it was about to end.
This was his chance to test the strength of Mega Gengar.
After all, Dylan himself had said it was the ace of this Poison-type team.
Colorful light swirled in front of Espeon, condensing into solidified psychic energy.
"Shadow Ball,"
Dylan said with a smile.
Mega Gengar let out a wicked "kehehe," forming a pitch-black Shadow Ball that shot forward at high speed.
Expanding Force surged out at the same time.
BOOM!
Shadow Ball and Expanding Force collided violently in midair, black and rainbow energy crashing into each other before detonating.
A terrifying shockwave swept outward, ripples spreading like waves as the wind howled.
"So strong?!"
Red's eyes narrowed sharply.
This was Expanding Force boosted by Psychic Terrain—
both the move's inherent terrain bonus and the terrain's power increase stacked together.
And yet it only tied with a single Shadow Ball?!
That was absurd.
"As expected of Dylan's Poison-type ace,"
Red's expression turned serious.
This terrifying Mega Gengar reminded him of Dylan's Fire-type ace—the shiny Mega Charizard Y.
The same overwhelming presence.
"Espeon, Light Screen!"
Red ordered decisively.
Ghost beat Psychic.
Even though Espeon had excellent special defense, Mega Gengar's special attack was simply too high.
Light Screen was necessary. After that, he could set Psychic Terrain again and look for openings.
A translucent wall of light rose before Espeon.
"Curse,"
Dylan's lips curved slightly.
Mega Gengar continued grinning as an ancient, decayed nail appeared before it.
Clink… clink… clink…
The eerie sound echoed as the nail pierced into Mega Gengar's body.
Red frowned deeply.
Magic Bounce could block and reflect many status moves—even Dark Void, Mean Look, and Parting Shot.
But it couldn't reflect Curse.
Because Magic Bounce was essentially constant magical reflection, while Curse wasn't affected by reflection at all.
Only abilities like Magic Guard or Safeguard could stop it.
Espeon's Light Screen was complete—but Mega Gengar's Curse was complete as well.
And a Ghost-type Curse was deadly.
More importantly, Mega Gengar's Shadow Tag wasn't a move—it was an ability.
Magic Bounce couldn't stop that either.
Gray cursed energy shot forward, striking Espeon directly.
A dim light spread across Espeon's body as intense pain forced it to hunch forward with a strained cry.
The first Curse tick.
"Red—will you use Psychic Terrain? Or Baton Pass?"
Dylan asked gently, even making a polite "please" gesture.
What was he waiting for?
Of course—Baton Pass.
Under Shadow Tag, Espeon couldn't be switched out normally.
If it wanted to escape Curse, Baton Pass was the only option.
But Baton Pass transferred status effects.
If Espeon passed out now, Curse would go to Blastoise—or Charizard.
"…."
Red pressed his lips together, his brows tightly knit.
"Espeon is done,"
Leon shook his head.
Some battles could be decided the moment they began.
Curse damage was enormous, and Red would never Baton Pass Curse onto Charizard.
Charizard was his ace—it had to stay clean.
Passing it to Blastoise would be meaningless.
"Looks like Selene really learned from Dylan,"
Gloria clicked her tongue.
"Using Curse without hesitation at all."
Curse was powerful, but Ghost-types paid a heavy price to use it.
And this was Dylan's Poison-type ace—every bit of HP should've been precious.
Yet he used Curse instantly.
"Espeon, Psychic!"
Red chose not to Baton Pass, ordering an attack after enduring the first Curse tick.
At that moment, a colorful sphere appeared in the sky—
Future Sight, cast earlier, finally triggered—though the timing wasn't ideal.
"Sucker Punch,"
Dylan said calmly.
Mega Gengar's eyes flashed black as it vanished instantly.
Dark-type priority move—Sucker Punch!
Future Sight and Psychic both missed as Mega Gengar reappeared behind Espeon, white claws wrapped in dark light slashing downward.
Reflect had already expired during the Curse turn.
Sucker Punch landed cleanly.
Espeon cried out—but endured it. Mega Gengar's physical attack was low.
"Skill Swap!"
Suddenly, Red shouted.
Espeon turned sharply, blue light flaring in its eyes.
Psychic-type Skill Swap—a move that exchanged abilities.
If it worked, Espeon would gain Shadow Tag, and Mega Gengar would gain Magic Bounce!
Without Shadow Tag, Red could recall Espeon and escape Curse.
"Incredible—he even thought of that!"
Wallace exclaimed.
"I didn't see that line at all."
"Red's composure is terrifying,"
Steven said in awe.
"Even in a desperate situation like this, he's still searching for solutions."
But Dylan simply smiled.
"It won't work. I already accounted for that."
"Gengar."
The moment Sucker Punch landed, a dark裂缝 opened behind Mega Gengar.
It slipped straight inside.
Skill Swap lost its target—
and failed.
"Phantom Force…"
Red clenched his fist.
Even with his calm demeanor, tension finally crept in.
At that moment, Espeon cried out again—
The second Curse tick hit.
The shadow rift opened behind Espeon, and Mega Gengar emerged with a wicked laugh, slamming into Espeon's back.
Already weakened by Curse, Espeon couldn't maintain its balance and collapsed to the ground.
"Shadow Ball!"
Dylan pressed the attack.
A Shadow Ball formed and fired straight at the fallen Espeon.
A faint Light Screen shimmered over Espeon's body, cutting the damage in half.
But even halved, it was still a neutral hit.
BOOM!
The Shadow Ball exploded. Espeon cried out once more as violent winds spread.
When the dust settled, Espeon was critically injured—unable to stand.
"This is just… despair."
"Now this is the real Wicked Poison Ghost."
"Gengar is the true crowd favorite!"
"Poor Espeon. It could Baton Pass, but can't run. It can fight, but can't win. And it has to endure Curse all by itself."
"Baton Pass wouldn't help. Blastoise would just be a walking HP pack for Mega Gengar—Hypnosis, Dream Eater, done.
And passing it to Charizard? Impossible.
Once Curse hit, Espeon was destined to be sacrificed."
There was nothing more to say.
Another Shadow Ball ended it.
"Espeon is unable to battle. Mega Gengar wins!"
Leaf announced.
Red recalled Espeon, staring silently at the Poké Ball.
"…You did well. I'm sorry."
He spoke softly.
The Poké Ball shook gently, as if telling him not to blame himself.
Red exhaled deeply, then raised his head again.
His crimson eyes burned with renewed fighting spirit.
"Charizard!"
Without hesitation, Red threw his ace's Poké Ball.
Charizard roared as it landed heavily before him, its fighting spirit blazing.
"Charizard—Mega Evolve!"
Red raised his arm as the Key Stone flashed brilliantly.
Blinding evolution light engulfed Charizard.
When it faded, Mega Charizard X stood revealed.
ROOOAR—!
It unleashed a torrent of blazing blue flames, its aura at full peak.
"Red's Charizard X…"
Dylan murmured with emotion.
What a shame.
If only his own Charizard Y could fight this one.
But there was only one chance—
and he'd chosen to give it to something even more important.