Just as Sato found himself at a crossroads, unsure of what to do, a subtle change suddenly occurred in the small pile of stones, immediately drawing Gengar's attention.
"Gen!"
Gengar jumped directly onto the stone pile, but no matter what it did, it couldn't phase through or sink into the pile.
"Gengar, what is it?" Sato asked, stepping closer.
But before Gengar could answer, the entire stone pile suddenly collapsed, and a gust of ghostly wind infused with Ghost-type energy blasted outward in all directions.
The wild Ghost Pokémon around them went wild, frantically rushing toward the center, each hoping to absorb a bit more of that energy.
At this point, not even Gengar's Ace aura could suppress them. After all, this was a collective frenzy; when you have your teammates behind you, you gain the courage to resist.
However, once these wild Ghost got within half a meter of the collapsed stone pile, they couldn't advance any further.
It was as if an invisible wall had formed, repelling all Pokémon…
Including Gengar!
The burst of ghostly wind, while releasing immense amounts of energy, simultaneously pushed back all nearby Pokémon with overwhelming force.
"Gengengen!"
There was a note of urgency and panic in Gengar's cry now. It had already formed several Shadow Balls in its hands, clearly preparing to hurl them at the stone pile.
What was going on? For a brief moment, even Sato was stunned.
Just moments ago, Gengar had wanted to protect this place for the sake of its kind, and now it looked like it wanted to destroy it?
When Sato looked closely at the stone pile again, he instantly understood Gengar's sudden shift.
Amid the rubble, a stone engraved with a character resembling "火" was pulsing with a blood-red glow at a strange rhythm.
The Odd Keystone!
The legendary stone said to seal away evil spirits. Once the seal was broken, the evil spirit inside would awaken and take form as a terrifying Pokémon known as Spiritomb, bringing disaster wherever it went.
This tale was widely known throughout the Sinnoh region, and Spiritomb itself was an extremely rare species. Most Trainers who ended up with one often met unfortunate ends.
Because of that, Spiritomb was often considered a symbol of misfortune.
And now, judging by the current situation, there was a high chance that a sealed Spiritomb was about to awaken.
The eerie winds were likely residual energy leaking from the sigil sealing Spiritomb within the Odd Keystone.
The more energy that leaked out, the weaker the seal became. Giving Spiritomb the chance to break free.
And based on Gengar's attitude, even though Spiritomb was also a Ghost-type, it clearly wasn't well-liked.
At that moment, Gengar had already launched its Shadow Balls, but the roaring wind rendered them useless; they couldn't even reach the stone pile.
"Gengar!"
Gengar wasn't about to give up. Its body began to crackle with deep blue spark as it switched to using Thunderbolt!
Thunderbolt was almost unaffected by the ghostly wind and struck the stone pile directly, causing a slight pause in the gusts.
But the next second… an even stronger and more violent gust kicked up, almost as if Thunderbolt had accelerated Spiritomb's release.
"Gengar, hold on!" Sato stopped Gengar, who looked ready to strike again. He already had a different idea forming in his mind.
"Let's stop these wild Pokémon from rampaging first. Spiritomb's release is probably irreversible. Worst case, we just have to fight it head-on."
"Gen!" Gengar nodded, agreeing with Sato's plan, then turned to look at the dense crowd of Ghost-type Pokémon around them.
'That's… a lot.'
"Boss, what the heck is Spiritomb? What do you mean by release…? What's going on right now?"
Mark was completely dumbfounded: triple confusion combo. He truly had no idea what was happening.
"What's happening doesn't matter. Just help Gengar clear out the area. The final boss is about to show up."
Sato didn't have time to explain. He casually assigned a task, then sent out his Houndoom, whose leadership was maxed out.
"Houndoom, Roar. Gengar, Astonish."
"Fine then… Arbok, Glare!"
All three Pokémon used intimidation moves at the same time. Even though they were surrounded by ghosts, the wild Pokémon couldn't help but flinch.
"Gengen~ Gengengengen..."
Taking advantage of the moment, Gengar loudly explained the situation about Spiritomb to the nearby Ghost-types.
Those who had lived long enough quickly recognized the Odd Keystone amid the rubble and scattered in panic.
A few cause chaos, and soon others followed. Even wild Pokémon who were still confused instinctively ran with the crowd.
…But the pure Ghost-type energy carried by the strange wind was very real. Just staying here made them feel stronger every second.
So how could they give up such a rare sanctuary just because of a few words from Gengar?
"Gengar, the choice is yours."
Looking at the Ghost-types that remained in place, Sato honestly didn't care whether they stayed or left.
If Spiritomb really was as "evil" as the legends claimed, it was highly likely it would absorb them to quickly boost or recover its strength.
One of the reasons Ghost-type Pokémon were so disliked by the public was their ability to grow stronger by devouring souls.
Even Sato's Gengar had used such methods in its early days[1] to gain power quickly…
But Sato cared about Gengar's opinion. If Gengar wanted to put in the effort to protect its kind, Sato wouldn't stop it.
"Gen!"
Gengar nodded solemnly to Sato, then turned to face the stubborn Ghost-types still hanging around and hurled over a dozen Shadow Balls.
"Houndoom, keep the pressure up. Help Gengar push them back!"
"Howoooo~"
Incredibly clever, Houndoom understood exactly what was needed. It didn't run around or lash out wildly, it just stood by Sato's side and unleashed Snarl in every direction.
The move wasn't particularly strong, but for driving away these Ghost-types, it was perfect.
Efficient and clean.
Behind Sato, the usually unruly sibling pair stood as quiet as two Skitty, eyes wide as they watched Gengar and Houndoom unleash their full might.
Just two Pokémon were enough to suppress hundreds -maybe thousands- of wild Pokémon, completely dominating the area.
'So… this is what a powerful Pokémon Trainer looks like!' thought Yamato, now fully convinced. The previous disdain he held for Sato had vanished, replaced with pure admiration.
'Sato the cool guy… SO STRONG!'
As for Mark, his Arbok had recently made it to Ace and gained a significant power boost. But in the end, its strength lay in single combat. It wasn't suited to large-scale crowd control.
In simple terms: it lacked AoE moves.
While it could easily take down these weak Ghost-types one by one, it couldn't create the "overwhelming" presence Houndoom did.
Its best option? Keep using Glare…
Glare, glare, glare!
[1] Mmmm chapters 13-16?