Flames were still crackling.
Charizard kept flapping its wings in the sky, with slowly dissipating Ember around its mouth, looking defiant and incredibly arrogant.
Below, Nidoking and Rhydon were already covered in wounds; although their defense was astonishing, they couldn't completely withstand the attack.
However, if one thought this would make the two of them give up, it was far from enough!
Giovanni clenched his fist; since they still wanted to fight, they would persist until the end!
"Knock Down! Mega Horn!"
The heavily wounded Rhydon, despite being covered in battle scars, still stood firm, an unyielding flame burning in its eyes.
It let out a deafening roar, using all its strength to unleash the Knock Down move.
Its massive tail swung violently, carrying an irresistible force, precisely hitting Charizard's body, knocking it out of the sky, and sending it crashing heavily to the ground.
Seeing this, Nidoking was not to be outdone; he quickly adjusted his position, his unique horn glowing brightly, condensing all his strength and fury, a Mega Horn move streaked across the sky like lightning, heading straight for the newly grounded Charizard.
The strength of that blow seemed capable of tearing the air apart, splitting Charizard in two.
Matt shouted, "Steady, then Dragon Claw!"
Charizard tumbled a few times in the air, barely stabilizing its body, and reacted quickly.
Facing Nidoking's Mega Horn, it spread its claws, sharp blades condensing in the air, like two sharp swords, meeting Nidoking's horn.
The collision of Dragon Claw and the horn produced a deafening roar, with sparks flying everywhere!
Bang!
The final struggle was won by Charizard!
Nidoking's body was sent flying by one move, finally slamming hard into the wall and slowly sliding down.
Whoosh!
Charizard didn't hesitate at all; with a flap of its wings, it instantly appeared in front of Rhydon.
Dragon Claw swung! Sending it flying as well! Following in Nidoking's footsteps!
The Sandstorm slowly dissipated, and the battle ended.
"You worked hard, you are already very strong."
Giovanni raised his hand and recalled both of them, comforting them.
If they had encountered a Pokémon of a normal Gym Leader Level Trainer, the two of them would definitely have won.
Matt also recalled Charizard, "You come back too, Charizard, you worked hard."
Giovanni smiled slightly at Matt, "It seems it's still a little bit off."
"Your 'little bit off' was almost enough to defeat me."
Matt shook his head, feeling helpless.
"Speaking of which, your ability to battle a Gym Leader Level is already astonishing, not to mention that abnormal Beedrill of yours."
Giovanni smiled slightly, "Shall we go again?"
He released another Pokémon; with its strong build and resolute aura, Machoke was no less impressive than Nidoking!
Machoke had also broken through to the Senior Level during this time, reaching Level 40, breaking through five levels in a row.
Matt pulled out a Poké Ball and released the Pokémon inside, "Since you put it that way, I can only oblige."
"Cha!" An Arbok hissed! Its Pressure spread!
Night.
The battle truly ended here.
Giovanni and Matt sat on the ground, their continuous commanding leaving them parched.
They had already drunk countless bottles of water.
"I'll go get some water."
Matt was about to get up.
Giovanni, however, raised his hand to stop him; he gently beckoned downwards, and a piece of his shadow suddenly separated, then a claw reached out from within, taking out two bottles of water.
Giovanni handed the water to Matt, who asked with some confusion, "This is? Haunter?"
Giovanni nodded, and the shadow behind him slowly floated up, gradually transforming into a grinning Ghost-type Pokémon; its two claws gently rested on Giovanni's shoulders, massaging them.
That's right, Gastly had evolved into Haunter.
Its talent was originally very high, coupled with the residual energy left by a Quasi-Elite Four Level Pokémon.
Its level increased like a rocket, and evolution was very easy.
Not only that, but it also directly rose to Level 30, and it's estimated that reaching Senior Level will be a quick matter.
This is talent, there's no denying that.
It was also something Giovanni obtained by sacrificing the life of that timid Haunter.
Giovanni now basically trusted Haunter, which is why he allowed it to stay in the shadow.
"Just a little bit, and not only that, it can also serve as my bodyguard normally."
Matt was very envious; he said to Giovanni, "You truly are a genius."
Then he made a request to Giovanni, "Next time, if a new Gastly is born in that treasure cave, please save it for me."
"Anyway, that Shadow Squad has pretty much each gathered a Pokémon."
It's just a Ghost-type Pokémon, how could Giovanni be stingy, "Okay, no problem."
The previously born Phantump made Giovanni guess that Ghost-type Pokémon would be born in that treasure cave.
Giovanni just didn't expect the speed to be quite fast; basically, as long as there were enough corpses and souls, some Ghost-type Pokémon could be born in three months.
However, the probability of this was not high; Giovanni had previously moved all the corpses of a tribe there.
Only a dozen or so Ghost-type Pokémon were born.
Another point is that the probability of Ghost-type Pokémon born from human corpses is even smaller.
It's unknown if it's due to insufficient energy or too many soul impurities.
As for the dozen or so Ghost-type Pokémon that were born, all were given by Giovanni to his subordinates.
These were all skilled individuals trained by Matt, selected one by one by Giovanni from their original teams, and after training and testing, they had now become Giovanni's personal subordinates.
Their future development potential will also be huge.
Giovanni waved at Haunter, and Haunter smiled, once again disappearing into Giovanni's shadow; its responsibility was actually heavier than Persian's.
After resting for a while, Giovanni and Matt got up together and walked outside, "Let's go, it's time to eat something."
Outside the training ground, a dozen or twenty people who had also finished their training and were waiting early, quickly bowed when they saw Giovanni and Matt.
"Boss, Lord Matt."
Giovanni glanced at the twenty young people with gloomy auras and expressionless faces, and nodded, "You all worked hard."
Matt had long known Giovanni's ambition, and he wouldn't mind his little bit of rebellion.
Anyway, he would also call Giovanni Boss in the future.
- - -
Haunter
Ghost-type and Poison-type
Female
Aptitude: Dark Blue
Ability: Levitate (Pokémon with this ability are immune to Ground-type moves)
Level: 30
Height: 1.50 m
Weight: 0.15 kg
Moves: Confuse Ray, Lick, Double Team, Payback, Hypnosis, Black Gaze, Shadow Ball, Grudge, Curse, Hex, Night Shade
Egg Moves: Smog