"Are you here to battle me?"
Lilligant tilted its head and looked at Julian.
"Yes," Julian nodded.
"Why do you want to battle me?" Lilligant asked in return.
Although it was one of the Five Kings, it was the least fond of fighting among them. So, it didn't quite understand why Julian wanted to battle it.
Julian: 'To complete the system quest, and obtain the King Form.'
Of course, saying that would make no sense to Lilligant. So, after a moment's thought, Julian said, "To make myself stronger, I need to challenge strong opponents."
It was a versatile and rather inspiring answer.
Lilligant nodded in understanding. As a Pokémon, it understood all too well what strength represented—especially in secret realms, where the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, prevailed.
In human society, perhaps a weak Pokémon might be adopted by a kind-hearted human.
But in the wild or in a secret realms, if a weak Pokémon wasn't part of a pack and was alone, it could only endure hunger and hardship, exposed to the elements. It might die in its sleep or become food for other powerful Pokémon.
Over the millennia, Lilligant had seen too many Pokémon perish due to lack of strength.
Even Lilligant itself, before receiving Arceus's blessing, had teetered on the brink of death several times. So, it understood the importance of strength all too well.
It was only later, after receiving Arceus's blessing, that it became a Champion and even one of the Five Kings of this secret realm.
"Then come."
Lilligant said calmly, looking quietly at Julian.
"Gengar."
Julian called out.
To deal with Lilligant, Metagross definitely didn't need to take the field. And his remaining Champion-level Pokémon were, Aggron, Gengar, Dragonite, and Moltres.
Aggron's defense was unmatched, and Julian had originally planned to send it out. However, with Lilligant's special dance-step ability, its speed was too fast.
While Julian was confident that Lilligant wouldn't be able to break through Aggron's defense.
But due to Aggron's Heavy Metal ability, as well as the large amount of metal-type ores Julian had fed it, its weight was astonishing.
So speed was Aggron's greatest weakness.
And against a speed-oriented Pokémon like Lilligant, it would be very difficult for Aggron to land a hit.
If Julian were to really send out Aggron, the likely scenario would be: Lilligant unable to break through Aggron's defense, while Aggron would struggle to land a single hit on it.
Of course, as long as the battle dragged on, Lilligant would definitely not be able to outlast Aggron. With its fragile defenses, just one solid hit from Aggron could basically end the fight.
Aggron: 'I can afford to make many mistakes, but you can only make one. One mistake is enough to seal your fate.'
Since Julian didn't want the battle to drag on for too long, he ruled out Aggron.
As for why he chose Gengar instead of Dragonite or Moltres, it was simply because Julian felt like sending out Gengar—no other reason.
"Gen~"
A white Gengar emerged from Julian's shadow and suddenly opened its menacing blood-red maw, wide toward Lilligant, startling it and causing it to take a few steps back.
Julian: 'Such a small scare made it retreat?'
Gengar: 'I can't believe this old trick still works.' (Feeling pretty proud right now.)
"Hahaha, it was scared just like that."
While both Julian and Gengar looked a bit dumbfounded, Celebi, perched on Julian's head, openly mocked Lilligant.
Was its courage even smaller than a chicken nugget?
Lilligant: (╬▔皿▔)╯
Seeing Celebi mock it, Lilligant puffed up its cheeks in anger, glaring at Gengar.
Julian felt like this Lilligant seemed a bit… naive.
"Shall we start the battle?" he asked.
If he didn't ask and just let Gengar attack directly, it might just stand there and get hit.
"Mm."
Lilligant nodded, then gracefully leaped back several steps, putting nearly a hundred meters of distance between them.
---
Pokémon: Gengar (Ghost/Poison)
Level: 94
Potential: Purple
Ability: Cursed Body
Held Item: Toxic Orb
Gender: Male
Moves: Confuse Ray, Lick, Hypnosis, Mean Look, Imprison, Payback, Curse, Hex, Night Shade, Shadow Punch, Reflect Type, Sucker Punch, Destiny Bond, Dream Eater
TMs: Screech, Spite, Venoshock, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Talk, Protect, Fire Punch, Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt, Scary Face, Acid Spray, Icy Wind, Shadow Claw, Dazzling Gleam, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Toxic Spikes, Toxic, Substitute, Phantom Force, Nightmare, Sludge Wave
Egg Moves: Skill Swap, Dark Pulse, Disable, Perish Song, Poltergeist, Will-O-Wisp
Note: Enhanced by the Soul Crystal—Ghost-type moves increased by 30%, potential boosted.
Note: Consumed the Poison Pearl—immune to all Poison-type moves, and its own Poison-type moves guarantee a 100% poison chance (Poison-type move power increased by 50%).
Note: Absorbed a fragment of Yveltal's Death Essence, now commands a portion of the authority over Death Energy.
---
As the "chosen one" of fate among Pokémon, Gengar's luck was nothing short of incredible.
If Julian hadn't specifically favored Metagross with special care, the number of treasures Metagross had used might have been fewer than Gengar's.
Do not be fooled by the notes saying that Gengar had only used three Ultimate treasures—the display wasn't showing the full picture.
Just the Soul Crystal alone had been used twice, and both the Soul Crystal and the Poison Pearl belonged to the ranks of top-tier Ultimate treasures.
As for the Death Essence, that was a World-class treasure, and Gengar had even gained partial control over the authority of Death Energy itself.
While the quantity of treasures it used might seem modest, the quality was ridiculously high.
"Gen~"
Gengar grinned at Lilligant, then slowly faded from sight.
Shiny Pokémon possessed extraordinary traits, and Julian's Gengar had the ability of Absolute Invisibility.
Moreover, this Absolute Invisibility improved as Gengar grew stronger.
In the past, its invisibility could be detected by Champion-level Pokémon. But after reaching the Champion tier itself, even peak Champion tier Pokémon found it extremely difficult to sense it.
Of course, exceptionally skilled Champion tier Pokémon could still vaguely sense Gengar's location through powerful instincts—especially when Gengar launched an attack while invisible, that perception would become even sharper.
"Lilligant, my Gengar's invisibility is really—"
Julian wanted to warn it, and at the same time show off a bit. But before he could finish, he saw Lilligant toss an Energy Ball toward the northwest.
The next second, the Energy Ball hit Gengar directly, forcing it out of its invisible state.
'How is that possible? No way… It must be a fluke.'
Julian's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
And the Pokémon involved, Gengar itself, was even more dumbfounded. What was going on? Its Absolute Invisibility, which had worked every single time, had somehow failed?
'It has to be a lucky shot.'
Gengar's thoughts aligned perfectly with Julian's.
*****
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