The room became a flurry of activity when Morty stepped out to prepare for the fight. The various Ghost Types worked together to move everything out of the way, pushing the table to the side, adjusting the balloons so they wouldn’t drift onto the field, and even switching which wall the banner was on. Sam didn’t understand why they had done that, but they seemed to find it funny.

  The battlefield itself was swept clean of the torn-paper confetti, and Redi took up her spot within her trainer box on the challenger’s side of the field. She stared at the door from which Morty had left with a look of pure determination on her face.

  Soon, the Ghost Pokémon retreated into shadows or lingered at the side to watch. Sam stood next to Typhlosion and rubbed her back as she watched at the door just as intently as Redi.

  “She’s trained hard for this,” Sam said quietly.

  Typhlosion softly chuffed in reply.

  Moments later, a click marked the door opening up, and Redi mumbled, “Here we go,” to the sight of the Gym Leader himself striding into the room.

  “So,” Morty said in greeting, adjusting the purple headband holding back his blonde hair. “I’ve managed to gather up the Pokémon I need for a challenge of this level. You said you have a team of three?”

  Redi firmly nodded.

  “I do. I also have a fourth, but they aren’t with me right now.”

  She’d be gathering her fourth and likely final Pokémon closer to the end of the season. Redi had told Sam that she planned to go back for Stantler as soon as Porygon became strong enough to teleport greater distances.

  “Great!” Morty stepped into his trainer box and swiped a thumb under his nose. He looked around, taking in the adjustments made to the room while he was gone. “I’ll be using a team of five, the standard for a seventh badge challenge. I’ll also be using a few more ‘unique’ strategies you may or may not be familiar with. I can’t exactly test them out against anyone else.”

  He sent a look to Sam, making his unspoken plans pretty obvious. Morty wanted to use Hex, a move he’d been keeping secret much in the same way Sam had been keeping the New Pokédex secret. However, Redi already knew about Hex, so she was the perfect opponent to test it out against, albeit at a slightly lower level.

  It’d be difficult for him, though. Hex was a Ghost Type move, and two-thirds of Redi’s team was the Normal Type.

  Next to Sam, Typhlosion shook out of excitement for the battle. The noise she made seemed to remind both Morty and Redi that they had an audience.

  “Oh, shoot. Hold on. We need a referee,” Morty suddenly said.

  When he locked eyes with Sam, Sam froze in place.

  “Me?” Sam gaped at Morty. “But I don’t have any kind of training or certification or—”

  “You’ll be fine!” Morty interrupted. “You’re familiar enough with our Pokémon to know when to call if they’ve fainted. Redi and I won’t break any rules, so you don’t need to worry about that. Just make sure the match keeps flowing properly, yeah?”

  Sam glanced over to Redi, who gestured with her head to encourage him onto the field. Morty’s core Pokémon, the ones too strong to use in this match, piled on more supporting shouts—although it was mostly just his Mismagius.

  What really did him in were the snickers from Typhlosion. She was enjoying that she was no longer the only one receiving that kind of attention. With a paw on his back, she pushed him forward, sending Sam stumbling closer to the field.

  “F-fine then. Just gimme a moment to get into the right mindset.” He cleared his throat while walking up to the battlefield’s side. Adjusting his posture, he looked between Redi and Morty before finally raising his voice. “Trainers! ... And Ghost Types! We’re about to witness Redi take on Morty’s Gym! For this fight, it’ll be a three-on-five challenge, where Trainers will be permitted up to five Pokémon, and they’ll have...”

  “Four,” Morty said, recognizing where Sam got stuck.

  “Four switches each!” Sam finished. “We’ll be battling under the League’s standard rules, which everyone already knows. And, since I don’t have anything else to say... Send out your Pokémon?”

  Morty chuckled and flicked his wrist to toss a basic Pokéball into the air. Appearing above the field was a Misdreavus, one trained by Morty instead of Sam.

  Its appearance stirred a reaction off to the side. Morty’s Mismagius shook Sam’s Misdreavus excitedly and pointed to try to get her to pay attention regardless of how she would have done so anyway.

  Redi took only a single moment to look over the Pokémon floating above the field. This Misdreavus was clearly one fit for a seven-star challenge, and the even ripples through its hair and cloth-like body hinted at its exceptional control of Ghost Type energy.

  “Last time we were here, we lost. I had to put off our challenge for later,” Redi said, looking down at a Pokéball she held in her hands. “It’s been a while, but we didn’t let that time go to waste. We spent all of it practicing and training and preparing ourselves...”

  She chuckled to herself.

  “Well, I’ve realized that pure power isn’t that great. At least, it’s not that great without a strategy to support it!”

  With a shout, Redi thrust her Pokéball into the air, a beam of light striking the earth and coalescing into the shape of her latest team member. A few of the weaker Ghost Types off to the side oohed and awed at the mid-stage Dragon Type that took form above the field.

  “Dragonair!” Redi yelled, her voice a roar to start the match. “Get ready for your Twister-slam strategy!”

  “Misdreavus,” Morty said in reply. “You know the plan. I don’t need to tell you what to do.”

  With both Pokémon an instant away from throwing themselves into battle, Sam sliced through the air with an arm, waving an imaginary flag to start everything off.

  “Begin!”

  Dragonair lunged, her form blurring with an Agility that accelerated her to incredible speeds. Morty’s Misdreavus had no choice but to brace itself as Dragonair almost immediately reached it and pulled up to loom before it.

  “Trap-n’-spin!” Redi yelled.

  As Dragonair reared back her head, Sam flicked his eyes over to Morty, memories of their previous conversation still fresh in his mind. He watched closely as Dragonair used her move, no longer needing to coil up, only needing to call out her name to conjure whipping winds that caught Misdreavus inside.

  Twister was technically a trapping move, but it did not trap foes in the same manner as Fire Spin or Whirlpool. It captured its target within a harsh, windy spiral, and Morty’s Misdreavus was forced to hunker down to stop the buffeting gale from making it flinch.

  Imprisoned in Twister’s center, the Misdreavus would be in no place to avoid the incoming blue glow of Dragonair’s Aqua Tail. Yet, Sam and Morty both knew that Ghost Type Pokémon weren’t Pokémon to be trapped. Despite the powerful combo, Morty looked unconcerned and uttered only a single, casual word.

  “Now.”

  Dark shadows overtook a full half of the field.

  Ominous Wind might not have been a Flying Type move, but the strength of its gusts was still able to disrupt Dragonair’s attack. She still managed to snap out her tail to complete her Aqua Tail, but Misdreavus faded away into a hazy pair of red eyes that dissipated when the move swiped through them.

  Bewildered, Dragonair hurriedly searched around her to find where her opponent had gone. She turned a second too late, coming face to face with Morty’s Misdreavus, who had ridden its own breeze to reposition itself behind Dragonair’s head.

  The successive Shadow Ball slammed into Dragonair’s chin, sending her careening back. However, Redi hadn’t been slacking on her team’s training, and Dragonair was able to catch herself before she fell out of the sky. Since she lacked any proper limbs, she didn’t exactly need to orient herself “normally,” either.

  “Thunder Wave!” Redi shouted.

  The impact of the Shadow Ball might have sent Dragonair recoiling back until she was upside-down, but she was still able to unleash her attack without any issues. Electricity crackled off her scales to jump onto Morty’s Misdreavus. It simply wasn’t ready for such an incredibly fast retaliation.

  Sam hummed to himself as Dragonair used the delay caused by her inflicted paralysis to recover.

  So Morty used Ominous Wind as a way to both hide and move around. It’s no Shadow Sneak, but it’s definitely less obvious. It’s also not as blatant as a sphere of darkness from Night Shade.

  Morty called for a Psychic, his Pokémon’s eyes glowing a blue similar to Dragonair’s scales. However, as already demonstrated, Dragonair was no longer a Pokémon that needed to physically wind up her attacks. Another shout, and another Twister tore into the Misdreavus. The shock disrupted the Psychic before it could fully take hold, and Dragonair proceeded to use Agility to dive right at the Ghost Type.

  It couldn’t dodge due to its paralysis, but without the use of a directly offensive move, Dragonair phased right through the Misdreavus’s ethereal body. However, when the tip of her tail was due to enter, a deep blue glow from Aqua Tail slammed right into and through the Misdreavus’s face.

  That was more than enough to take out Morty’s first team member.

  “Yes!” Redi pumped a fist. “Whoo! There we go! That’s the kind of power we need!”

  Dragonair looked a bit worse for wear, but her species carried the potential to become a pseudo-legendary for a reason. She brought up her head to cry out her name, pushing past all the damage she’d taken so far. Practically radiating pride at her victory, she cast her gaze down at Morty as if challenging him for more.

  “I see. A quick knock-out on your part, and you have an Agility set up to increase your Pokémon’s speed.” Morty looked over Dragonair. “Well, that’s on me for sending out a species you were so familiar with. Have you sparred with Misdreavus before? Or have you just watched Sam train?”

  “Ursaring and Porygon have sparred with Misdreavus a few times, but Dragonair only got a handful of fights. Sam spent, like, two weeks camping outside a city pretty soon after she joined me.” Redi shrugged. “But honestly, after traveling with Misdreavus for so long, it’s pretty easy to figure out what her species can do. Any Ghost Type on Sam’s team, we have a strategy! And the last time I checked, there aren’t too many more Ghost Types from Johto you can choose from, right?”

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Her smile exposed her teeth, and Morty chuckled at her cheeky expression. He plucked a Pokéball from his waist, still maintaining a confident smile.

  “I better get this one out of the way, then,” he said as he tossed the Pokéball forward.

  His second Pokémon was another species from Sam’s team—a Haunter. Off to the side, Sam’s Haunter cheered.

  Redi might have looked amused at the familiarity, but Sam couldn’t help but frown.

  I’ve trained Haunter to focus on speed and Hypnosis more than anything else. His species is fast, but Haunter can be better special attackers than even Misdreavus. Does Redi have a counter-strategy for a more offensive Haunter? Or is she going to expect this one to fight like my Pokémon?

  He watched the field closely, only briefly flushing red when he realized everyone was waiting for him to call for the match to continue.

  “...Keep going,” Sam mumbled as he tried to hide his embarrassment.

  This time around, Morty’s Pokémon was the one to attack first.

  “Shadow Punch!”

  With a look much unlike one from Sam’s Haunter, Morty’s Pokémon carried an extremely serious expression as it punched with its two floating hands. Both fists left the sides of its body to rocket toward Dragonair, chasing it like missiles she’d be forced to dodge.

  Dragonair tried to escape through the speed granted by Agility, but the persistence of the dual Shadow Punch meant that the fists chased her across the field no matter what. They might not have increased in size like what Sam had seen for Dusclops’s attacks. No, instead of being an unavoidable wall, they were unavoidable in that they never let up.

  “Lick,” Morty ordered.

  “We can’t keep doing this. Take everything, Dragonair!” Redi shouted.

  Dragonair twisted in the air to rush Morty’s Haunter. The Pokémon took advantage of that, charging right back at her before peeling to the side to swipe its tongue across her side.

  The attack left a silver sheen on her scales, and she shivered, undoubtedly affected by Lick’s paralysis. Immediately after, both Shadow Punches then smashed into her from behind, bouncing off her body with a pair of solid impacts before rejoining the Haunter at its side.

  “Perfect,” Morty said. Briefly, his gaze sharpened. Surprising Sam, Morty’s grin became one that could have fit Redi’s face.

  Well, I guess anyone who becomes a Gym Leader has to be someone who loves Pokémon battles.

  “Here we go!” Morty shouted. “Haunter! USE HEX!”

  Clapping its hands and then pulling them apart, Morty’s Haunter formed a chain of flames that solidified and reshaped themselves into burning needles.

  The difference in form of Hex shocked Sam, but Redi looked unbothered. When the needles stabbed forward through the few feet needed to reach Dragonair’s body, that same, silvery sheen glinted off of her from the ceiling’s lights.

  It was then that Sam realized that while Lick had paralyzed Dragonair, it had only done so for a single instant. The silvery sheen was not from Lick’s residue but from the very surface layer of Dragonair’s scales peeling away thanks to Shed Skin.

  As she was no longer paralyzed, Hex didn’t carry its additional effect. It landed weaker than a Shadow Ball, and Dragonair was in the perfect position to retaliate with a move of her own.

  “DRAGON RUSH!” Redi all but screamed, her volume matching Morty’s own.

  In an attack straight out of the New Pokédex, Dragonair reared back to completely surprise Haunter. It had not expected this move nor had it expected its Hex to fail to pierce Dragonair’s scaly hide.

  Blue, Dragon Type flames wreathed Dragonair’s head, and she wasted no time to dive down and smash through the Haunter before her.

  To that, Morty breathed out, his energy from before disappearing as he calmed down.

  “Alright,” he said. “You can go now, Haunter.”

  The Dragon Type crash sent Haunter slamming into the floor. In the same instant, Dragonair’s eyes rolled up into her head as she fell from the sky.

  “When I mentioned Destiny Bond earlier, Sam, I didn’t think I’d get to show it off so soon. In a proper battle, I mean, not a demonstration. Like I said, it’s not worth relying on too frequently, but in a situation like this where both Pokémon gave it their all, it’s a good way to force a tie.”

  Redi’s mouth hung open from where she had stopped herself mid-shout. Whatever follow-up plan she had for Dragonair was now pointless given that the Haunter’s Destiny Bond meant both Pokémon had been taken out.

  “...Dragonair and Haunter are unable to battle.” It took Sam a full second to announce the tie. “Sorry, Redi. If Haunter was a bit further away, you might have been able to see their shadows connect. That close, all it had to do was send its move out about a foot ahead to make Dragonair faint, too.”

  Redi huffed as she returned her Pokémon.

  “It’s fine,” she lied. “Dragonair got two knock-outs. I mean, I wanted three, but there’s no fighting against... that.”

  Morty frowned.

  “Wait, wait. Hold on. No, there’s absolutely a counter,” he immediately interjected. “Destiny Bond only triggers on direct damage, so a status condition or lingering effect warrants a safe knock-out. Also, Destiny Bond only lasts so long. You can ignore most uses of it by just waiting it out.”

  Redi hummed. Sam did his best not to glare.

  Why teach her the counter to the move you just taught me!?

  But when he recognized he was getting angry over something pointless, Sam breathed in.

  It was today that Morty told him to listen to Agatha’s advice. And she hadn’t been the only one to warn him of the effects of Ghost Type energy in the past. As a Gym Leader, it was Morty’s job to both protect and teach newer trainers. There was nothing wrong with telling Redi how to handle Destiny Bond. It just meant Sam would need to be more clever when his team eventually picked up the move.

  So, he breathed out.

  “Next Pokémon,” he said. “Both of you.”

  Morty plucked a Pokéball from his waist and smiled at Redi. She tried to wait for him to release his team member first, but when it became clear he intended to have them both release their next Pokémon at the same time, she growled and snapped up a Pokéball of her own.

  “Porygon!” Redi called out.

  Morty let his Pokémon remain nameless, unwilling to ruin its entrance. Appearing from the ball’s light, his next team member collapsed into a heap of unmoving cloth and did nothing more.

  While waiting for it to do something, Sam looked over to Redi.

  “Do you always save Ursaring for last?” he asked.

  “...Shut up. Ursaring’s just not the best against Ghost Types. I thought Morty was going to send out a Gengar or something like that. Psybeam is pretty good against Poison Types, y’know?”

  Sam shrugged. He didn’t call for the battle to resume since Morty’s Pokémon was yet to stand up.

  Five, then ten seconds passed without it moving. The Pokémon possessed such a lack of life that it seemed to resemble nothing more than a lump of fabric or an old, dusty doll. Yet, the features of its species were still recognizable enough, and right before Sam’s patience reached its limits, the Pokémon’s eyes sparked to life as it unzipped its mouth to let out a cackle.

  “Banette,” Morty named as his third team member finally pushed to its feet.

  Sam hadn’t expected to see a Pokémon from Hoenn in the match, yet it had been Morty himself who had warned Sam that Johto’s Gym Leaders began to use out-of-region Pokémon in high-level matches. The Banette looked like a grey doll of aged cloth, but it was hard to tell if that age came from being well-loved or being left to rot.

  “Continue,” Sam called out.

  This was his first time seeing a Banette fight in person, so he kept a close eye on Morty’s Pokémon.

  But, just like it had done when first released, Banette did nothing but stand there, motionless.

  On Redi’s side of the field, Porygon's body twitched with a constant, clockwork-like motion, and Banette stood and tilted its head to the side while silently observing its opponent.

  “Aren’t you going to attack?” Morty asked.

  “You first,” Redi said.

  The Gym Leader just chuckled, and when nothing else happened, Sam let out a groan.

  “I’m the ref, right? I can set the rules. Let’s say that one of you has to do something in the next... ten seconds. I’ll count down.”

  He held up his hands, pulling down his fingers to emphasize each second of the time limit. Morty smiled at Redi as the numbers grew smaller, and her frown grew deeper and deeper with each one that passed. With only three seconds left, someone finally did something, and Redi clenched her fists out of annoyance.

  “Fine!” she shouted, stomping a foot. “Magnet Rise! Go up twenty-four feet!”

  Electricity crackled around Porygon as it rocketed off the ground.

  It was true that Redi had made a lot of developments on her own, and Sam had helped by providing information. He didn’t know every new move her team had learned, but he knew many of them were straight out of the new Pokédex.

  Normally, Porygon couldn’t levitate. It could hover above the ground, but its “flight” was limited to a few feet at best. With Magnet Rise, however, it could break through that limit. Far above the battlefield, the occasional zap toward the earth from Porygon’s body told Sam that a strange form of magnetism was actively being maintained.

  Importantly, there was now a vast divide between where Porygon floated and where Banette stood beneath it. Redi’s Pokémon was two dozen feet off the ground, far above anywhere Banette could reach.

  “Take this! Redi’s Orbital Porygon Space Cannon!” Redi shouted.

  Sam snorted.

  Redi’s face turned bright red.

  Still, calling out the name of her strategy had Porygon shift in place. Its entire body rotated and aimed itself like a hovering cannon pointed Banette’s way.

  “Interesting.” Morty watched as Porygon analytically adjusted its aim. “That high up, most Pokémon wouldn’t be able to reach your Porygon.”

  At the very end of his statement, Porygon finished building itself up to release a Charge Beam, and Sam saw something unexpected—the very bottom of Banette’s feet sunk into the floor, allowing it to lurch backward in a dodge that mimicked the smooth motion of a pair of roller skates.

  “However...” Morty continued. “You should know better than to create distances like this when fighting Ghost Types. Magnet Rise is meaningless to us.”

  Banette seemed to get the hint as it suddenly took off toward Porygon’s projected position over the field. Redi seemed to choke on her next breath at the sudden, unnatural way Banette slid across the floor.

  “Feint Attack,” Morty then ordered. “Shame Porygon is a Normal Type, but Type advantage isn’t everything.”

  The very instant Banette reached a point directly beneath Porygon, it sank into the floor, disappearing into the small, faint shadow from Redi’s Pokémon. Porygon repeatedly used Charge Beam all along the way, each attack missing but still allowing it to gather up a charge with every use.

  Yet... This isn’t a good match-up for Redi. Even though Conversion can make Porygon an Electric Type, Redi can’t call for it. Being a Normal Type is too great of a defense for this battle. Right now, Porygon is immune to all of Banette’s Ghost Type attacks, but that means they can’t change Porygon to the Electric Type to get that same-Type damage boost.

  Sam and Redi both waited to see where Banette would emerge, and Sam had to control his reaction when he saw eyes open up on the bottom of Porygon’s body.

  Morty had been telling the truth when he said that distance was meaningless, and Sam felt like a fool for never making this connection. All things cast shadows. Specifically, if a shadow was on the floor, it had to have been sourced from somewhere.

  Having used the strange dimensions of that shadow to reach Porygon, Banette peeled out of Porygon’s shrouded underside. With an arm cloaked in darkness, Feint Attack disguised the origin of its move to allow it to hit without fail.

  “Back up and wait it out! Stall with Recover!” Redi shouted as the smash left a nasty, scuffed dent on Porygon’s side.

  “Oh, so Porygon is that kind of Pokémon?” Morty clicked his tongue. “You’re unlucky. Banette is exactly the wrong opponent for you in this fight.”

  Banette cackled and threw out its arms, lingering in the air where it appeared. Porgyon, under the effects of Magnet Rise, slid away from it while completely ignoring the effects of friction.

  The same moment Porygon glowed for a Recover, Banette reached into the air to pull out a jagged nail that it then stabbed into its chest.

  “Curse,” Sam whispered, and even through the pain, Banette smirked.

  “It’s injured! Perfect for you, Porygon! Get ready to finish it off with—”

  “Spite.”

  “Lock-On!”

  Banette was faster, and Porygon’s most recent move hadn’t been Redi’s called-for attack. With a flash in Banette’s eyes, all of the energy reserved for Recover was drained away.

  Still, Porygon’s endlessly clicking head stopped its jerking rotation to begin perfectly tracking Banette. However, Recover wasn’t exactly a move that could be used frequently, and Spite eliminated the few potential uses Porygon had available.

  Porygon no longer had a way to heal, which meant the ongoing effect of Curse now dealt unrecoverable damage.

  “If she has three Pokémon... Banette, I don’t want to deal with Electric Type moves,” Morty said.

  His Pokémon nodded and kept its arms held out to its sides. While drifting downwards, it floated side-to-side to dodge, but any such movement was pointless in the face of Porygon’s Lock-On.

  “Zap Cannon!” Redi roared.

  Sam wanted to laugh. It was so like Redi to have gone out of her way to teach Porygon the strongest Electric Type move before it ever learned Thunderbolt.

  From Porygon’s polygonal beak, electricity crackled and coiled, and all of the energy gathered from the previous Charge Beam gathered into this one attack. A sphere not unlike a Shadow Ball formed, but closer to a Hyper Beam, Sam had to squint to avoid being blinded by its light.

  Banette stopped moving. It could see that this attack was coming and that nothing it’d do would let it dodge.

  So it did just that—nothing. As the attack built, Banette scowled. Something about its expression changed to that of pure malice. The Pokémon built up a Grudge.

  When the Zap Cannon hit, it exploded. The orb slowly floated through the air to burst into a flash that briefly blinded Sam and made the world sound as though it had been consumed by thousands of chittering beetles.

  When Sam’s vision returned, it quickly became clear that the single Zap Cannon had taken out Banette. While it had remained standing, its unmoving body was covered in far too many latticed scorch marks for it to be faking its unconsciousness. With how even the earth around it was charred beneath its feet, it was pretty clear that no Pokémon save for a Ground Type could have withstood that attack.

  Yet, though Banette had fainted, it continued to stand up.

  Slowly, shakily, and with eyes unfocused, Banette lifted an arm to point at Porygon. The action was completely unconscious and came out as if the Pokémon was possessed. It was only after a strange silence filled the room that Banette finally collapsed.

  Sam raised a hand to announce the outcome of this part of the match.

  “Banette is unable to battle. Morty, please send out your next—”

  “Sam,” Redi interrupted. “What was that attack?”

  Sam looked over to Morty for permission to break his referee’s neutrality, and the Gym Leader sent him a quiet nod.

  It took him a few seconds to work out everything in his head, but the move became pretty obvious in retrospect once he identified what it was.

  “Grudge,” Sam answered. “The move was Grudge. Porygon won’t be able to use Zap Cannon anymore because of it.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s because, well, Grudge creates a Grudge. It’s like Spite, except instead of just removing some energy reserved for a move, it completely eliminates any leftover energy for the attack used to knock out that Pokémon.”

  Redi clenched her fists. Sam could tell her strategy for Porygon had hinged on this setup.

  Magnet Rise to leave the ground and gain a field-wide angle. Charge Beam to empower Porygon while maintaining an offense. Then, Recover would keep Porygon healthy, and Zap Cannon and Lock-On together would allow them to eliminate any foe with an impossible-to-dodge attack.

  Yet, with Banette’s actions, the two most important pieces of that strategy were gone.

  Subjected to Curse, Porygon only had a limited amount of time until it fainted, and it couldn’t exactly use Recover to extend that period. Also, thanks to Grudge, Zap Cannon was no longer possible, leaving Porygon with only Charge Beam and Discharge at best.

  When Morty sent out a Drifblim—not his personal Drifblim, thankfully enough—Sam knew Redi had an upward battle from here. Porygon could only do so much before Curse took it out, and then it would just be Ursaring left against that flying Pokémon as well as whatever final team member Morty still had in his pocket.

  In the games, Spite removes 4 PP from the most recently used move, and Recover was nerfed in the latest generation to only have 5 PP. Thus, when Spite was used in this match, Porygon lost all energy reserved for Recover. Grudge is similar in that all the energy for Zap Cannon was taken out with its use.

  Morty and Sam’s strategies are surprisingly similar in that both heavily utilize status moves to wear down their foes. However, where Sam focuses on weakening his opponents to create opportunities for his team, Morty actively punishes his opponents for trying anything. Every scratch warrants a pound of flesh. Every attack requires some sort of sacrifice. He takes the idea of making his foes worse off and pushes it to the utmost degree.

  There’s a reason he said Destiny Bond is one of his favorite moves.

  Sam’s Team:

  Badges Earned: 7 (Mineral, Fog, Plain, Hive, Zephyr, Rising, Glacier)

  Approximate Team Strength: 6 Stars

  (Fire / Ghost Type, Female, Timid Nature +Spe/-Atk)

  Abilities: Blaze

  Held Item: Charcoal

  Moves: Tackle, Leer, Smokescreen, Ember, Flame Wheel, Curse, Will-O-Wisp, Incinerate, Detect, Quick Attack, Swift, Flame Charge, Flamethrower, Double Team, Infernal Parade, Confuse Ray, Hex, Shadow Ball, Night Shade, Shadow Claw

  (Fighting Type, Male, Impish Nature +Def/-SpA)

  Abilities: Anger Point, Vital Spirit

  Moves: Scratch, Leer, Low Kick, Karate Chop, Fury Swipes, Assurance, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Cross Chop, Curse, Brick Break, Rock Smash, Rock Slide, Bulk Up, Rage, Rage Fist

  Haunter (Ghost / Poison Type, Male, Naive Nature +Spe/-SpD)

  Abilities: Levitate

  Moves: Hypnosis, Lick, Confuse Ray, Spite, Mean Look, Hex, Shadow Punch, Night Shade, Acid Spray, Ominous Wind, Shadow Ball, Dream Eater, Nightmare

  (Ghost Type, Female, Hasty Nature +Spe/-Def)

  Pokéball: Friend Ball

  Abilities: Levitate

  Moves: Growl, Psywave, Astonish, Confusion, Confuse Ray, Mean Look, Night Shade, Shadow Sneak, Shadow Ball, Nasty Plot, Psybeam, Will-O-Wisp, Psychic

  Trevenant (Ghost / Grass Type, Male, Quiet Nature +SpA/-Spe)

  Pokéball: Moon Ball

  Abilities: Harvest, Frisk (Developing)

  Moves: Horn Leech, Tackle, Confuse Ray, Astonish, Growth, Ingrain, Leech Seed, Forest’s Curse

  Redi’s Team:

  Badges Earned: 6 (Mineral, Plain, Hive, Zephyr, Rising, Glacier)

  Approximate Team Strength: 5 Stars

  (Normal Type, Male, Adamant Nature +Atk/-SpA)

  Abilities: Guts, Quick Feet

  Moves: Scratch, Fury Swipes, Fire Punch, Baby-Doll Eyes, Slash, Ice Punch, Focus Energy, Thunder Punch, Hyper Beam, Rock Slide, Swords Dance, Giga Impact

  Porygon (Normal Type, Genderless, Quirky Nature +-n/a)

  Abilities: n/a

  Moves: Tackle, Sharpen, Conversion, Psybeam, Thunder Shock, Charge Beam, Discharge, Tri-Attack, Charge, Teleport, Recover, Thunder Wave, Magnet Rise, Lock-On, Zap Cannon

  (Dragon Type, Female, Rash Nature +SpA/-SpD)

  Abilities: Shed Skin

  Moves: Wrap, Leer, Thunder Wave, Twister, Slam, Agility, Aqua Tail, Dragon Rush

  Auxiliary Pokémon: x2 (Tibia and Fibula), a decent number of wild (variable)

  At Home (non-battlers): ,

  Pokémon (and people) included in this chapter:

  Banette

  Morty

  huge thank you to everyone reading! Your support keeps this story going.