"Using a Gym-level Haunter?"
Cynthia rested her half-clenched fist against her chin and quickly understood Shiro's intention.
He probably felt that using his top-tier Pokémon would be unfair and wouldn't provide much battle experience, so he chose a second-tier Pokémon of similar level, or one that hadn't been fully developed yet.
She had thought she might get to see that Corviknight from the official Galar video, the one with overwhelming strength. That Corviknight was definitely at Champion-level.
She already knew her team's levels were lower than his. After all, Shiro was most likely a quasi-Champion level trainer. That was why she sent out Garchomp first, hoping to gain some early advantage.
But now, if he wasn't using his strongest Pokémon, she might actually have a chance to win.
A faint smile curved Cynthia's lips as she glanced toward her grandmother.
Carolina raised her right hand high and called out, "Both trainers are ready. Battle, start!"
"Garchomp, Sand Tomb!"
"Haunter, Shadow Collapse!"
The moment the battle began, both sides launched their attacks without any hesitation.
Cynthia's plan was simple. She used Sand Tomb, which had a type advantage, to probe first. This wide-area move could also set up for a sandstorm and help reveal the position of a Ghost-type like Haunter.
But what puzzled her was the move her opponent called out. Shadow Collapse? She had never heard of it before.
Shiro, on the other hand, had long wanted to test the power of this fused move.
Hex combined with Night Shade. Under Unown A's careful guidance, Haunter had already learned the two moves well, and with additional advice from Agatha's Gengar on energy control, it had recently mastered this technique to a fairly decent level.
On the field, Garchomp folded its wings and slammed one foot into the ground hard.
At once, strands of energy-formed sand rose from the edge of its claws. Within seconds, they expanded into a thick ribbon over a meter wide.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the ribbon split into more than ten streams, spinning like tornadoes as they surged toward Haunter.
Haunter remained calm. Both of its claws were already holding clusters of dark, flickering energy.
Just as the sandstorm vortex closed in, it brought its claws together, then pulled them apart sharply. A violently twisting mass of black shadow burst outward.
Boom!
The sand exploded apart. Amid the flying grains, a pitch-black phantom with bared fangs shot forward from the center and lunged at Garchomp.
"Use Dragon Claw. Tear it apart!"
Cynthia gave the command without hesitation.
To her, a shadow attack from a Gym-level Haunter was something an Elite-level Garchomp could easily split apart with one strike.
Garchomp thought the same.
It raised its scythe-like arm. Deep blue dragon energy gathered at the tip of its white claw, extending into a larger Dragon Claw that slashed downward.
The phantom was cut apart.
Garchomp let out a brief breath of relief. Then it saw it. Behind the shattered shadow, another grinning black face emerged. There was more.
The second phantom had already closed in, leaving no time to use Dragon Claw again. Garchomp was blasted backward into the air.
As pain surged through its body, it saw overlapping shadows in front of it. The moment they made contact, they split apart and struck simultaneously, as if it had been hit by five or six Night Shades at once.
"Garchomp!"
Cynthia's eyes widened, surprise flashing across her face.
How could Garchomp fail to cut through a single shadow?
No… it wasn't just one. It was several. Multiple overlapping shadows…
Her mind raced as she tried to comprehend it. Was it several Night Shades released at once, or had one been compressed into many?
She couldn't understand it, and neither could Garchomp.
Twisting its body midair with effort, Garchomp landed heavily on the ground and forced itself to stand, every nerve in its mind stretched taut with caution.
That shadow attack just now felt like taking a full-force hit from a Ghost-type Pokémon of the same level. Its entire body ached.
If it took another hit like that, it might be knocked out on the spot.
At the referee's side, Rowan, hiding behind Carolina, asked instinctively, "Was that Night Shade? No… then what move was it?"
"Night Shade…" Carolina murmured softly. "It was Night Shade."
She recalled the layered attack from earlier and quickly understood what had happened.
"It should be a fusion move," she said with certainty.
"A fusion move?" Rowan had never even heard of it.
Carolina explained calmly, "It's when two compatible moves of the same type are fused and used together. The effect is far greater than simply casting them one after another."
"Oh…" Rowan stroked his beard thoughtfully, then leaned forward and asked, "Then why doesn't Cynthia use it?"
"…"
Carolina fell silent for a few seconds before replying, "She doesn't know how. Neither do I. Only those long-standing families with deep traditions have people who specifically teach fusion moves. These are techniques developed over hundreds or even thousands of years, meant to enhance the combat strength of their Pokémon."
"Is Shiro from one of those families?" Rowan asked in surprise.
"This…" Carolina hesitated.
At the very least, she knew that although he was from Galar, his roots traced back to Kanto. A technique like this didn't seem like something one could figure out alone. It likely came from inheritance.
"It was probably taught to him by his mother," she said, though not entirely certain.
Back on the battlefield, Cynthia was starting to feel the pressure.
Haunter was known for being fragile. If it took a direct hit from a higher-level move with type advantage, it should be taken out immediately. But whether an attack could land, or even affect it, was another matter.
Most Ground-type moves, including Garchomp's, targeted the ground directly. They simply couldn't hit a floating Pokémon like Haunter.
If this followed game logic, Haunter's Levitate ability would make it completely immune to Ground-type attacks.
In reality, it was not much different.
As Haunter vanished from sight, Cynthia immediately shouted, "Garchomp, use Dragon Breath!"
Garchomp opened its jaws, releasing blazing blue dragon flames that swept across the area.
Cynthia's expression tightened. She still couldn't locate Haunter.
'Where is it?'
On the other side, Shiro watched as Haunter floated high into the sky and called out, "Shadow Ball!"
"It's above!"
Cynthia instantly sensed something was wrong. She snapped her head up and shouted, "Garchomp, Dragon Breath!"
The blue dragon flames clashed with numerous Shadow Balls falling from the sky, and a thunderous explosion echoed in all directions.
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