The purple-black Shadow Claw reflected in Gengar's golden pupils appeared both dazzling and deadly. Its Venoshock had already been interrupted in advance, but it no longer had the strength to evade this lethal attack now closing in on its face.
Seeing that it couldn't dodge in time, Gengar unexpectedly felt a sense of relief in that instant.
In past battles, fighting opponents one or even two levels above was routine for it, and it often held a decent win rate.
The reasons boiled down to two: relentless training and a natural talent that placed it just short of Elite Four potential.
So, Gengar knew very well that there were opponents out there with greater potential than itself, who also trained harder.
Was it despairing? Not exactly. Just a bit discouraged.
Because it had a responsible Trainer, one who had helped it achieve "perfect" evolution, and who had even taken it to Mt. Pyre to seek an opportunity for a breakthrough.
Even in the battle just now, it was under Sato's command that it held on until the very end. In truth, if it had strictly followed Sato's commands all along, Gengar knew it would have won.
After all, it had been holding on to a move it hadn't used… if it could just block the Sableye follow-up attack, and let the poison take effect, the opponent would surely fall.
But Gengar was unwilling!
So, a flash of struggle crossed Gengar's eyes. While it admired and respected Sato, it couldn't help but feel that its own success still ultimately depended on its Trainer.
What if… it gave it one last shot?
"Gengar, use Venoshock!"
Gengar's heart skipped a beat. It hadn't even begun to hesitate, yet its Trainer had already noticed. At the same time it felt happy, it also thought…
'How dramatic I am…'
These thoughts flashed through Gengar's mind in the blink of an eye. Just as it decided to fall peacefully, to behave from now on and stop being reckless…
"Gengar, MEGA EVOLUTION!"
The moment Sato's voice rang out, the Mega Stone hidden within Gengar resonated. Gengar broke into a grin and fully embraced this brand-new energy.
A multicolored radiance burst forth once again. Following Houndoom and Sharpedo, Gengar's Mega Evolution had finally succeeded!
Yes, Sato had tried to Mega Evolve Gengar the moment he obtained its Mega Stone, but it hadn't worked.
Sato believed his bond with Gengar was solid. After all, this was a Pokémon that had chosen to follow him of its own will, and everyone had seen how much time and effort Sato had put into it.
But it hadn't succeeded.
With Mega Evolution having appeared prematurely, even though Sato's understanding of it was only surface-level, it still surpassed most people. Now that a problem had arisen, there was no one he could ask.
So he explored slowly, tried cautiously, and after several failed attempts, Sato had no choice but to patiently raise Gengar's level first.
And just now, as Shadow Claw was about to strike Gengar's face, even Sato was momentarily stunned. He could only rack his brain for some way -any way- to turn the battle around.
In the end, desperate times called for desperate measures. He triggered evolution directly!
Mega Evolution encased Gengar in a sphere of concentrated energy, and the incoming Shadow Claw couldn't even penetrate it a fraction.
This was the inherent defensive effect of Mega Evolution, meant to prevent the process from being interrupted.
As the blinding light faded, Gengar's form had undergone a drastic transformation.
Its arms and body now seemed perpetually connected to another dimension. If nothing else, its phasing speed had far surpassed what it had been before.
A third eye opened on its brow -also golden-. With three golden eyes aligned, Gengar now radiated a stronger sense of mysticism than ever.
And its aura? It had surged directly to Mid Pseudo-Elite Four level, standing at the absolute top of the team's power rankings.
Mega Evolved Gengar didn't shriek wildly, nor did it look at Sableye that had failed in its attack and was ultimately brought down by the poison.
Instead, it approached Sato and gave a slight nod, as if apologizing, or perhaps expressing gratitude.
Sato smiled with pressed lips. "Congratulations."
Gengar raised both of its hands, which were pressed against the ground, and put them together in an attempt to perform a "Sage" salute.
But Gengar quickly realized that this new body made it difficult to complete the gesture properly. The movement looked awkward and clumsy, so it had no choice but to give up helplessly.
"Gengar~"
Gengar turned its head to look at the collapsed Sableye. From its perspective, this Sableye had the potential to become one of their teammates, and would instantly be a powerful asset upon capture.
"Gengar, Sableye's dual-type potential is only at the Elite level." Sato understood what Gengar meant, and after a long silence, he spoke softly.
Gengar turned its head. Because it could hide in Sato's shadow, it spent far more time outside its Poké Ball than Zoroark did, and had naturally learned a lot of miscellaneous things.
Potential was one of them!
It knew that its own dual-type Pseudo-Elite Four talent was already rare, and it was precisely through developing this talent that it was able to challenge higher-level opponents frequently and win.
But now, a Sableye with merely Elite-level dual-type potential, had still suppressed it almost to the point of suffocation.
How was that possible?
"Yeah, how is that possible!" Sato couldn't believe it either. But after battling for so long, even though he was shocked, he had come to accept it… barely.
A Sableye with Elite-level potential, having reached near Peak Elite level purely through its own effort… this was likely its absolute limit in life.
In his previous life, Sato had reached the Pseudo-Elite Four Trainer stage. Even doing poorly in this one, he should at least be on par. That in itself was already embarrassing enough.
Gengar shook its head. It knew there was no future for Sableye, and it felt a bit disappointed. Was this what they called mutual respect between pairs?
While Gengar was still lamenting, it noticed that Sato had already walked over to Sableye and was using an Antidote to neutralize the poison.
"Gengar?"
Gengar hurried after him, standing guard at Sato's side. With Sableye's offensive power, a surprise attack upon waking would be problematic.
The Antidote worked quickly. The purple poison blotches on Sableye's body visibly faded.
Sato extended his right hand and channeled Dark Energy to help treat Sableye's injuries.
Soon, Sableye awoke. Sensing the unfamiliar aura nearby, it instantly retreated a short distance, staring expressionlessly at Sato and Mega Gengar.
Well… maybe it had an expression, but it was really hard to tell.
Even so, Sableye's tension and weakness were still visible to Sato, and the pressure from Mega Gengar's Pseudo-Elite Four strength was clearly weighing heavily on it.
"Want some more?" Sato extended his right hand, and a concentrated wave of Dark Energy surged outward. Sableye instinctively tilted its head slightly.
"Sable!"
Rather than stepping forward, Sableye retreated cautiously by two steps, even though it could feel the pull of the Dark Energy.
"Sableye, from now on… follow me!" Sato frowned. He had never been good at luring Pokémon.
Beside him, Gengar's three eyes widened in shock. It had just heard something unbelievable!