Jacob watched in genuine surprise.
He knew Disable well enough — it had just never struck him as a move worth using. Its entire effect was locking down the last move the target had used. One move, already spent, in a battle where any Pokémon could know dozens. Unless it happened to seal something critical like Protect, it rarely changed the outcome of a match.
Most Trainers felt the same way. In official competitions, you might see Disable used once across an entire tournament bracket.
But here, it had been exactly right.
The reason was simple: Sceptile's ranged special attack options were thin to begin with, and moves that could actually threaten a Dragon/Ghost-type like Drakloak were even rarer. The heavy-hitting special moves Sceptile could learn were largely limited to Hyper Beam, Aura Sphere, and its Grass-type moves.
Drakloak's Ghost typing made it immune to Normal-type and Fighting-type moves entirely — Hyper Beam and Aura Sphere were both completely shut out.
That left Dragon Pulse as Sceptile's most reliable super-effective option. With that sealed, Sceptile was left choosing between Dragonbreath — significantly weaker — or its Grass-type moves, which Drakloak resisted twice over.
Neither was going to win this fight quickly.
The Disable had been a masterstroke. There truly were no bad moves — only Trainers who didn't know how to use them.
Well. Splash aside.
At this point in the match, Drakloak had a commanding advantage. All it needed to do was keep cycling — Phantom Force to dodge, Protect to stall, repeat — and Curse would do the rest. Sceptile was running out of time and options.
Jacob had already begun mentally settling on the outcome when a brilliant white light erupted from Drakloak's body.
He blinked.
Evolution?
Now? With the match already won?
The surprise lasted only a second. Jacob immediately called a halt to the battle and reached into his bag, pulling out the shattered Prison Bottle and an A-rank Dragon-type item. He set them both beside Drakloak, who was already fully enveloped in light.
The evolving Drakloak sensed the items immediately. It began absorbing — Ghost-type energy from the Prison Bottle, Dragon-type energy from the item — pulling both in at a rapid, almost frantic pace.
The A-rank Dragon-type item was far below the Prison Bottle in quality, but it was the best Jacob had available right now. He still had the S-rank Dragon-type item Nina had given him, but he was saving that for when Fraxure evolved. For a pure Dragon-type like Fraxure, an S-rank item would be more effective.
Jacob watched the Prison Bottle's Ghost-type energy reserves drop in real time.
10%... 9%... 8%...
It emptied completely.
He felt a small pang watching the last of it go — and then a flicker of quiet excitement at what it had gone toward.
The moment the Prison Bottle hit zero, the white light around Drakloak surged to its peak. The entire arena was lit like midday. Then Drakloak's frame began to shift — elongating, reshaping — and the silhouette of Dragapult began to take form.
When the light finally broke apart, Dragapult stood in its place.
It was sleek and long, its head angular like the nose of a fighter jet, its body cut from shadow and speed. Along the recessed launch ports in its wings, two tiny Dreepy had already settled in.
Dragapult's eyes were sharp and calm.
Gym leader level. Jacob could feel it.
After absorbing every last trace of Ghost-type energy from the Prison Bottle, Dragapult had become the first of Jacob's team to reach that tier from the very beginning. The timeline was staggering — less than a year from birth to fully evolved and Gym leader level. Under normal circumstances, a Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon's full growth cycle took five to ten years. Jacob had once heard that even with a Dread Plate in hand, raising a Tyranitar to King level had taken three years.
Dragapult's growth had been something else entirely. If it had belonged to anyone less known, it would have raised serious questions.
But the Prison Bottle wasn't the only reason. Dragapult's natural aptitude was exceptional, and Jacob had poured a significant amount of resources into it over the past year — money that would have been impossible to sustain without the income from his work with Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, and the returns from the Aura Secret Realm.
From here, though, with the Prison Bottle finally spent, Dragapult's growth rate would slow to something more ordinary.
Jacob looked at Dragapult for a long moment. Even among Quasi-King level Pokémon, something about it felt different. The Ghost-type energy wrapped around its body was extraordinarily dense — almost unsettling in its intensity. This wasn't a typical evolution.
"Alright, this match is over," Jacob said, calling it officially.
There was no point continuing — a Sceptile that had only recently reached Gym Leader level had no realistic path against a freshly evolved Gym Leader Dragapult.
But before the words had fully settled, the Mega Stone on Sceptile's collar flared with light.
Jacob looked over.
Sceptile wasn't ready to accept the outcome. It wanted to Mega Evolve and go again.
Jacob watched it for a moment, then gave a small shake of his head. "This match ends here. Sceptile, Mega Evolution isn't on the table in a Gym Leader level spar — that's not a fair comparison. If you want to battle Dragapult again, wait until everyone else has had their turn. Then we can set something up."
"For now, get some rest."