Chapter 37: Phantom Spirit Ambush
At the entrance of the top floor of the Pokémon Tower, Ash finally caught sight of Gary.
But… judging from his appearance, the kid had clearly been played with to the point of breaking.
Seeing Gary's villain-like expression and those blood-red eyes, Ash felt a subtle wave of sadness wash over him…
"Seriously?" Ash scratched his head. "I skipped dinner and ran all the way here to save you, and you just let yourself get controlled like this?"
It was obvious Gary couldn't shake off the manipulation.
His "response" came in the form of Scizor's slicing attack!
Boom!
A clean and brutal chop struck the ground where Ash had stood, and he rolled aside just in time as the floor cracked open.
"Mother—! You bastard!" Ash gritted his teeth. "Dumped so many resources into raising your Pokémon for what? Just to have them used against me at full power—"
"Char!" Charmander leapt forward, unleashing a blazing Flamethrower.
Swish!
A flash of red—Scizor's speed was absolutely nothing to scoff at.
"Gengar, Psychic!" Ash shouted without hesitation, immediately going for a two-on-one.
"Gen-gaaa!"
Gengar raised both hands, psychic power flaring into a surging blue aura. Scizor was instantly immobilized by the invisible force.
Boom!
Super-effective Flamethrower swept across Scizor's body. Blackened from head to toe, the bug-steel Pokémon collapsed on the spot.
Ash let out a breath and looked toward Gary—or rather, the Gengar manipulating him.
"Hey. Cut it out, Gengar. This isn't funny."
"Ke-ke-ke…"
The Gengar behind Gary projected another ghostly image, and once again forced Gary's hand toward another Poké Ball.
"Again?" Ash was immediately annoyed.
What, was he being treated like a fool?
"Gengar—force him out of the shadow!" Ash roared.
"Gen-ga!"
Ash's chubby purple ghost puffed up his chest, took a deep breath, and vaulted straight into Gary's shadow.
Bam!
A second later, Gary's shadow began shaking violently.
"Gengaaar!"
After a brief struggle, a muffled crack echoed—
Boom!
Ash's Gengar was punched straight out of the shadow realm, clutching his face in agony.
"Gen-ga… (that old guy hits hard…)" Gengar muttered bitterly.
"Ke-ke-ke…"
Watching Gary cackle under the ghost's control, Ash was on the verge of going red with anger.
"That's my friend—not your toy, you bastard!"
In a dark corner at the tower's peak, a tiny monitor sat against the wall.
Agatha—silver-haired and sharp-eyed—watched the surveillance feed with amusement.
"Hehe… boy, let me see what you can do. Gengar's Shadow Manipulation isn't so easily broken."
The old ghost stuck her tongue out playfully at the camera, mirroring Ash's challenge.
Gary's Gengar tried once again to force
Gary's hand toward his Poké Balls.
This time, Ash wasn't having it.
Fine. If Gengar can't do it, he'll do it himself.
"I swear to—!" Ash charged forward, tackled Gary with a bear hug, and fell flat on the floor—locking him in a shameless, full-body hold.
"(?ヘ??)～"
Old Gengar froze.
What kind of embarrassing position was that supposed to be?
Ash tightened his grip around Gary's limbs and smirked.
"What now, huh? Gary's stamina isn't enough to break MY hold!"
Reality proved… Ash gave himself too much credit.
Having failed twice to reach the Poké Ball, the enemy Gengar suddenly turned into a streak of shadow and shot straight toward Ash.
"Pika!!"
Electric sparks burst from Pikachu's cheeks as it panicked, running circles in distress.
Ash, Gary, and the opposing Gengar were tangled together in a heap—Pikachu couldn't find a safe angle to strike.
Bam!
At that critical instant, Ash's own Gengar flashed forward and took the attack head-on, getting knocked flying in the process.
After knocking Ash's Gengar aside, the elder Gengar dove into a shadow again.
"Tch… so fast."
Ash felt his scalp tingle.
His own Gengar was already ridiculously elusive—phasing in and out to move at high speed.
But that was just phasing and movement.
The opponent slipped into darkness itself, reappearing unpredictably from anywhere.
A far more eerie, unpredictable form of traversal.
"Gengar, can you do that kind of attack?"
Ash shouted while still locking Gary in place.
"Gen-gaaa…"
Gengar bit its fingers anxiously, then nodded with determination.
It could try.
"Good—then I'm counting on you!" Ash barked, then turned to his other partners.
"Pikachu, Charmander: once Gengar forces him out of the shadow, hit him with your strongest Thunderbolt and Flamethrower!"
"Pika!!"
"Char!!"
Both Pokémon nodded fiercely, taking positions on either side.
Feeling Gary struggle harder and harder in his arms, Ash's temper flared.
"Gary! Pull yourself together! Wake up already!"
"Ke-ke!"
Failing yet another attempt, the elder Gengar grew irritated and slipped into the shadows once more.
"Now, Gengar!!" Ash shouted, yanking off Gary's belt.
Cough cough—don't misunderstand, he was collecting the Poké Balls. Nothing weird.
"Gen-gaaa!"
Ash's Gengar widened its glowing red eyes, tracking the opponent's flickers of movement.
Then it leapt—diving straight into the shadows.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Two black shapes collided across the floor, the wall, the ceiling—crashing again and again.
"Gengaaa!"
But unfortunately, Ash's Gengar was eventually overpowered and punched out of the shadow world.
"Pika!!"
Pikachu hopped anxiously.
The old Gengar slipped back into Gary's shadow…
only to suddenly feel lighter.
Ash had already separated himself from Gary.
And in his hand—hung Gary's belt with all the Poké Balls attached.
Ash grinned provocatively.
"Go on, try touching them now. Go ahead—touch them. They're with me."
"GENGA!!"
Enraged, the elder Gengar forced Gary into a punch aimed at Ash.
"Oh? You wanna go hand-to-hand?
Now THAT wakes me up!"
Ash cracked a wicked smile and swung his right fist.
"Gary, buddy, don't blame me for this one!"
WHAM!
Ash didn't budge an inch, while Gary slid backward on his knees clutching his stomach.
In the control room, Agatha froze for a moment.
"Ahem… this child's physical strength… quite comparable to the youth of our era…"
"Gen-ga!"
The elder Gengar prepared to move again—
BOOM!
A bolt of lightning exploded at its feet, making it recoil instantly.
"Pika…!"
Pikachu's cheeks blazed with electricity—it was clearly at its limit already.
Ash spread his arms and faced the enemy Gengar.
"Keep this up and you still won't beat me."
"So… how about we make a deal?"
"Gen-ga?"
The elder Gengar blinked.
Agatha tilted her head, equally puzzled.
"I'll stop resisting.
You enter my shadow.
And you let my friend go."
Ash's tone was calm. "If you refuse, I'll just have Pikachu Thunderbolt Gary."
"Won't kill him.
Worst case? He wets himself and stays paralyzed for a week or two."
"And once that happens—you'll be the one suffering most."
"So why not control me instead? What do you think?"
"Gen…ga?"
The old Gengar was stunned.
Such a bargain existed?
Agatha snorted.
"Softhearted boy…"
Ash discreetly winked at his own Gengar.
The worried pokemon suddenly remembered a certain candle-headed Pokémon.
It immediately covered its mouth, suppressing laughter, and shuffled back two steps—dragging Pikachu and Charmander back with it.
Seeing Ash fully drop his guard, the elder Gengar hesitated—then sprang from behind Gary and plunged toward Ash's shadow.
And then—
BOOOOM!!
A ghostly flame erupted from the void—Get out.
A violent burst of shadow energy blasted upward like a dark pillar, ejecting the elder Gengar like a cannonball.
Ash's Gengar howled with glee, rolling around.
Serves you right! Even I can't live in my trainer's shadow, idiot!
Stunned, clutching its face, the elder Gengar stared at the ground.
Two glowing eyes—cold and eerie—glared back through the shadow…
And vanished.
The old ghost trembled violently, then jerked its head up—
to find Ash cracking his knuckles, with all six Pokémon ready at his side.
"You had your fun," Ash said through gritted teeth.
"Now it's OUR turn."
"Gen…"
The elder Gengar swallowed hard—
then bolted as a streak of shadow, fleeing along the wall.
At the tower's peak, Agatha rose slowly, smiling as she left through another door.
"That was Marshadow, wasn't it…?
This boy… quite interesting."
To be continued…
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〔TL〕
Every 100 powerstones = 2 bonus ch.
Every 2 review after 100 ps = 1 bonus ch.