"Kokeke!"
Haunter cried out, flying out of the tunnel, looking imposing, with an aura of "invincibility."
It bypassed the area where Ekans and Mismagius were entangled and approached the direction where Tamechi was.
"Hmm?"
Seeing Haunter, Tamechi frowned and glanced at Agatha.
Another one of Agatha's Ghost-type Pokémon?
Does she still have the energy to command more Pokémon?
Yet he found that Agatha's attention hadn't shifted at all, focusing only on her six main battle Pokémon.
Then.
He saw a figure flicker in the tunnel behind Agatha, unclear in shape, but Haunter indeed came from there just now.
Agatha's assistant?
Tamechi's face darkened.
He had already paid so much, even at the cost of his life, and now that Shining Charizard was about to break free from Agatha's control and constraints, having someone powerful interfere now would truly be troublesome.
Seeing Tamechi's darkened face, Haunter was very pleased.
"Kokeke!"
Seemingly to demonstrate its power, Haunter's claw fiercely swung at a small protruding rock beside it.
Bang!
The rock shattered on impact.
But, it didn't shatter cleanly or completely.
Pa!
A faint sound of a hand supporting a head came from the nearby tunnel.
Haunter's expression froze.
"Ko...kokeke!"
Tamechi was stunned by Haunter's posture, hesitated slightly, and then said:
"Camerupt, Fiery Flame Splash."
Whoosh–
From the two volcano-like humps on Camerupt's back, white smoke spouted, and then it opened its mouth, releasing a scorching fireball towards Haunter.
"Kokeke!"
In a panic, Haunter dodged, but Fiery Flame Splash inflicted area damage, and it was still affected, taking quite a bit of damage.
However, Haunter was very resilient and stood up, angrily scolding Camerupt for the sneak attack.
"Hah–" Tamechi chuckled lightly, "So it's a 'newcomer' commanding."
Then Haunter provocatively beckoned to Camerupt with a finger, sticking out its tongue tauntingly.
Taunt worked on Camerupt, its eyes flashing with anger.
But in the next second, a hand rested on Camerupt's back.
"Calm down."
Following Tamechi's words, Camerupt snorted white gas from its nose, appearing very angry but held back its fury, not rushing forward impulsively.
In Tamechi's view, Haunter was trying to lure Camerupt away, leaving him vulnerable without Pokémon protection, relying only on a human body, which would be very fragile.
However, this also provided Haunter the opportunity to get closer to him.
Haunter, with a strange smile, merged into the shadows, quickly approaching Tamechi.
But its movements were all within Tamechi's sight.
Very quickly.
Haunter, fleetingly, got close to Tamechi's shadow.
But in that instant, Tamechi's eyes flashed, and he said coldly:
"Camerupt, Heavy Step!"
Angered by Haunter's taunts, Camerupt heard the command, flames erupted from its back as it raised its front foot and stomped fiercely toward Haunter's shadow.
Thinking about how this "weak" thing dared to provoke it, Camerupt's anger motivated it to increase the force of its footfall.
Unexpectedly, before it completely stomped down, Haunter suddenly emerged from the shadow, full of mischief.
Tamechi was startled, instantly sensing something was amiss.
An energy beam was released from Camerupt's body, absorbed, and evenly shared between the two Pokémon.
Haunter had endured Camerupt's Fiery Flame Splash attack earlier, not just to appear weak but for this moment.
'Life Sharing? Released too early. If it waited for Camerupt's attack to land, then shared, it would cause the greatest damage to Camerupt.' Seeing this, Tamechi felt slightly relieved.
He further underestimated the ability of the trainer commanding Haunter.
He had been cautious enough, not underestimating Haunter because it appeared weak.
The fact proved that Haunter wasn't weak; the one commanding it was.
However.
While Tamechi let down his guard, Haunter didn't stop its actions.
A dense mass of black gas emerged from its body, Dark Energy materializing in front of it.
Deceit!
Deceit: Using the opponent's power instead of its own to attack; the higher the opponent's attack, the more damage it causes!
Bam!!
The enormously powerful Heavy Step landed, but Camerupt first felt an intense backlash explode from its foot, blasting it away.
"Roar!!"
Simultaneously, Haunter's hands emerged from the shadows, two black orbs appearing, one hurled at the airborne Camerupt, the other at Tamechi.
Boom!!
The Shadow Ball added the final blow, and Camerupt lost its ability to fight before it hit the ground.
And before the other Shadow Ball reached Tamechi, a figure shot over, a green barrier blocking the attack—it was Tamechi's Seviper!
After defending against the Shadow Ball, Seviper swung its tail toward Haunter.
Yet Haunter quickly merged back into the shadows and retreated after a brief hesitation.
Because, in its consciousness, Natsuhiko's voice resonated.
"Retreat!"
The tactic succeeded!
After validating the tactics just now, Haunter acknowledged Natsuhiko's ability.
If he said to retreat, then retreat.
However.
Haunter left comfortably, but Tamechi's situation wasn't as optimistic.
To save him, Seviper sustained considerable damage retreating under Arbok's assault.
Meanwhile, Mightyena suffered worse, being directly taken down by Ekans under Agatha's command when she seized the opportunity.
In a moment, the originally balanced scale tilted.
As Agatha seized the opportunity, she, somewhat surprised, glanced toward Natsuhiko still hiding in the tunnel.
Did he really just put an end to Tamechi's Camerupt?
To achieve such a result, Haunter's strength was essential, or rather, its strength was the foundation.
Agatha knew her Haunter's power well; otherwise, she wouldn't have it protect Natsuhiko's safety.
Given she recruited Natsuhiko and stated she would ensure his safety, her reputation as an Elite Four was at stake.
She had no doubts about Haunter's strength and was confident she could also defeat Camerupt if she were commanding Haunter.
The issue was, she wasn't the one commanding now.
She couldn't spare the mental energy to command Haunter with the Ghost Legion strategy consuming much of her mental resources.
Yet Natsuhiko, this "newcomer trainer," managed to do it!
And not through a "Life Sharing" sacrificial method.
It was through real tactics that they won!
Or rather, they obliterated them...
Moreover, in Agatha's view, Haunter and Natsuhiko's compatibility was quite high. Even with their first cooperative command, they performed exceptionally.
When she said Haunter was well-behaved, it was merely a statement.
Agatha had a thorough understanding of her Pokémon, knowing they wouldn't heed anyone but her.
But just now, as Haunter clearly wanted to continue the attack, it retreated, evidently following Natsuhiko's command.
The main point is Haunter genuinely followed this command.
"Moreover, this little guy seems to have a good understanding of Haunter's mastery of techniques and understanding of them..." Agatha murmured softly.
She felt a bit odd now.
How should I put it?
It felt like her own child was obedient to someone else.
But she quickly put aside her miscellaneous thoughts, focusing on dealing with Tamechi.
It was time to show him the true power of the Ghost-type Elite!
Meanwhile, Natsuhiko in the tunnel lightly wiped his forehead.
"It's all thanks to Haunter; I didn't expect it to be this strong... Tactics are cheap; the executor is the key..." he muttered to himself as a form of self-comfort.
He really just gave a tactical concept, allowing Haunter to seize the moment and opportunity independently.
The tactic just happened to suit Haunter.
That's all.
Returning Haunter happened to hear Natsuhiko's words, its eyes shining.
"Kokeke."
This person, understands me!