A golden, flame-cloaked figure suddenly appeared in mid-air.
Volcarona hovered, slowly flapping its wings as golden specks of light gently scattered to the ground.
Each beat of its wings stirred the air, faint gusts flowing with every motion.
Thanks to the power it had awakened earlier, Volcarona's control over wind had become increasingly refined. Its mastery of Flying-type moves had deepened, and the power of its techniques had grown terrifying.
Combined with the sheer strength of its flames—
And the training and nurturing Nathan had provided over time—
It was no surprise Nathan had considered facing off against Gengar.
Seeing Volcarona appear, Gengar's eyes flashed with surprise.
It had long sensed that the Pokémon inside the Pokéball hanging from Nathan's neck was no weakling, but feeling that presence was one thing—witnessing it firsthand was another. Especially that golden flame surrounding Volcarona… it gave Gengar a strange, unsettling feeling.
This flame… seemed dangerous.
Naturally, Nathan had no way of knowing Gengar's thoughts. After a brief moment of contemplation, he gave a direct command.
"Volcarona, Flamethrower!"
"Voool!"
Volcarona let out a cry in response. Flames suddenly erupted forward. The Flamethrower released from Volcarona's body was far more intense than that of an ordinary Fire-type Pokémon. When it struck the ground, it created a wave of fire that surged outward, threatening to engulf everything in its path.
But with Gengar's strength, it effortlessly dodged the attack. Its body shifted like a phantom, appearing on the opposite side of Volcarona.
As Volcarona turned to face it—
"Jejejeje…"
The black mist surrounding Gengar began to swirl, making its body appear larger and more menacing. A horrifying and grotesque face emerged from the shadows, sending chills down anyone's spine.
At the same time, Gengar let out a bloodcurdling, ghostly wail—
So terrifying that even Nathan, standing outside the battlefield, couldn't help but pale slightly and fall into a momentary daze.
On the battlefield, Volcarona was visibly stunned, clearly shaken by the attack.
Gengar grinned wickedly and seized the opportunity, darting toward Volcarona and throwing a heavy punch—
Shadow Punch, charged with ghostly energy, came crashing in.
"Volcarona, snap out of it—Light Screen!"
Seeing this, Nathan shouted without hesitation.
At the sound of his Trainer's voice, Volcarona immediately snapped back to its senses. Its trust in Nathan allowed it to respond without a moment's delay, and it swiftly conjured a shimmering barrier of light—Light Screen.
Even Gengar hadn't expected such a quick reaction.
Boom!
Gengar's punch landed—
But the Light Screen shattered in the next instant.
By then, Volcarona had already regained enough composure to react.
Its figure flashed, dodging Gengar's follow-up strike and putting some distance between them.
Nathan raised his right hand and smirked.
"Volcarona, show this guy your true power—turn this place into a flaming hell!!"
"Voool!!"
As the words fell, Volcarona suddenly beat its wings with full force—
A dense wave of golden powder erupted, spilling in a brilliant cascade from its wings…
Looking at the golden powder, Gengar immediately had a bad premonition.
"I really should've refused this battle…"
Just as those words left its mouth—
Volcarona's wings flapped again, and a fierce gust of wind swept through the battlefield. The golden powder scattered in all directions, falling across the entire field.
Almost instantly, golden flames ignited, spreading across the ground like wildfire.
The entire battlefield transformed into a sea of fire.
The searing heat caused beads of sweat to appear on Nathan's forehead in no time.
The flames were quickly closing in on Gengar.
Seeing this, Gengar urgently floated into the air, waving its hands. Two Shadow Balls formed in its palms and were hurled toward Volcarona.
And the moment the Shadow Balls were launched, Gengar's body suddenly surged forward, charging straight at Volcarona.
"Volcarona, use Afterimage to dodge, then hit it with your strongest Heat Wave and interrupt the assault!"
Nathan frowned. A double Shadow Ball? That was a first. This level of control required a very refined grasp of one's power.
"Vol!"
Volcarona's figure flickered, moving like an illusion. After dodging the Shadow Balls, it flapped its wings, unleashing a scorching wave of heat that surged outward from its position.
Gengar's twisted grin remained, but it decisively abandoned its attack. A translucent shield appeared in front of it—Protect.
The shield blocked the Heat Wave, keeping Gengar safe.
But at the same time, Gengar opened its mouth wide. A beam of white light rapidly gathered in its mouth—
It was Hyper Beam!
"What?"
Nathan sounded surprised. Using two moves at once was something Volcarona could do too—but only when the moves belonged to types it was attuned to, like Fire, Flying, or Bug.
Other moves, especially powerful or complex ones, couldn't be executed in parallel like that.
"Volcarona, use Protect!"
Nathan gave the command without hesitation.
A translucent barrier appeared in front of Volcarona.
Boom!
A terrifying beam of light burst out and collided with the shield, smashing it apart.
Gengar's body stiffened—the recoil of Hyper Beam had kicked in.
Naturally, Nathan wasn't going to let this chance slip away. Calmly, he said,
"Maximum power—Flare Blitz!"
"Voool!!"
Volcarona responded with a loud cry, its body engulfed in golden flames. Like a falling star, it shot toward Gengar with devastating force.
Boom!
The impact slammed into Gengar, sending it flying. The terrifying golden flames left visible burn marks on its body.
"T-That was overkill..."
Gengar grimaced in pain. Even with its impressive strength, taking Volcarona's full-power attack was no joke.
Thankfully, the recoil effect from Hyper Beam had passed. Gengar looked at Volcarona and grinned again.
"Jeje… Looks like I'll have to get serious. I can't let your Trainer underestimate me."
As soon as the words left its mouth—
Gengar moved again, hurling two more Shadow Balls at Volcarona.
At the same time, it spat out a blast of poisonous purple sludge.
"Volcarona, dodge!"
Nathan called out without hesitation.
Volcarona immediately responded.
However, Gengar's movements became even faster.
Shadow Ball.
Sludge Bomb.
Dark Pulse.
One after another.
Misfortune never comes alone.
Gengar unleashed a relentless barrage of moves. Even more absurd—it was using two attacks at a time, over and over again.
In just a short moment, it had launched over ten moves, all surging toward Volcarona like a storm.
Boom!
At last, a Shadow Ball struck Volcarona squarely, sending it flying backward.
Gengar let out a sinister chuckle and quickly closed in.
Its grotesque tongue lashed out and licked Volcarona.
Sparks crackled—
Paralysis. The result of Lick.
Volcarona was momentarily immobilized.
"It's over. Jejeje…"
Gengar grinned, and another Hyper Beam began charging in its mouth before erupting forth.
Boom!
The Hyper Beam struck Volcarona dead on, its overwhelming power knocking Volcarona to the ground.
Volcarona lost its ability to fight.
This marked Volcarona's first defeat.
Still, Nathan wasn't surprised. He hadn't expected to win against Gengar in the first place. He just wanted to see whether Volcarona could hold its own.
The level difference was simply too great.
"Jeje, human, now you've seen how awesome I am, right?"
Gengar floated in front of Nathan, laughing hoarsely.
"Whew…"
Nathan's mouth twitched. Thinking back to what had just happened—that relentless barrage like a walking artillery battery—he couldn't help but ask,
"Was that what you call multitasking?"
"That's right, jeje."
Gengar nodded proudly. "It's not just for scaring people. I can do a whole bunch of things. Like with Shadow Ball—I can fire one in each hand. Or I can cast a move with my hands while using my mouth. I can even charge an attack while launching another."
"…Tch."
Hearing that, Nathan clicked his tongue and muttered,
"What a freakishly versatile ability."
Shaking his head, Nathan quickly rushed over to Volcarona. He placed his palm on its body and activated the power of Viridian Power, beginning the healing process.
At the same time, he took out a healing spray from his backpack and treated Volcarona's wounds to speed things up.
After quite a while, Volcarona finally recovered and was returned to its Pokéball.
Nathan then turned to Gengar, his eyes gleaming with excitement and a big grin on his face.
"Gengar, I think I should give you another hundred horror novels."
"Eh?"
Gengar floated over curiously, circling around Nathan. "What's a novel?"
"It's a story."
"A story?"
"Yeah. A story written down in books. Lots of spooky stories."
Nathan nodded with a smile. "What do you think? Interested?"
Gengar was about to nod, but suddenly paused and shook its head.
Suspicious, it looked at Nathan. "You're definitely up to something. Spill it—what do you want me to do?"
"Heh…"
Nathan's smile widened.
"You see, besides Mimikyu… would you mind teaching one more?"