" If you lose…" Janine added with a smirk and wink, "…you have to go on a date with me!"
Pikachu, and Yellow let out surprised gasps once more at that statement. Austin, on the other hand, looked neutral while Haunter giggled in the shadows.
"She said what?! Is she serious?!" Yellow thought in panic as her face turned red.
"Um….I guess that would be okay if we hung out," Austin replied with a shrug as he carefully said those words in such a way that portrayed visible obliviousness while deep down he was freaking out.
What did she ask me out ? Was this ordered by Team Rocket ? Is she going to drug me while on the date as I battle team rocket members ganging up on me ?
Under Austin's calm demeanor, his paranoia was running rampant.
"Ready when you are, Ash!" Janine called.
"Alright! Haunter! I choose you!" Austin called as he his shadow outstretched into the shape of an Egyptian cross ( Ankh's cross ).
The Shadows portrayed hands covering the cross as Haunter rose from the ground like a zombie rising from the grave.
Haunter's entrance scared Yellow, Janine and Pikachu while Austin was amused.
"Kekekekeeke!" Haunter cried as it got into a battle position causing Janine to take a step back at the streer size of the Alpha white Haunter.
"Are Haunter's supposed to he that big? I shall choose my !" Janine declared as she threw forward her pokeball.
Seeing the Weezing floating infront of him, Austin rubbed his shoulder as he remembered his time in the SS. Anne.
"We shall begin our match, now!" Janine announced but gulped when she saw the intense look in Austin's eyes.
"Alright, use Sucker Claw" Austin calmly said as Haunter grinned like a maniac before phasing into the ground in the form of a shadow.
" Flamethrower, Weezing!" Janine countered.
Janine's Weezing floated upward as it released waves of flames from both of its heads covering the entire battlefield.
But suddenly Weezing was thrown to the wall as Haunter's combo of sucker punch and shadow claw directly hit.
" Kekeke !"
Haunter laughed as Weezing shot another flamethrower from his position.
Haunter dodged the flamethrower but Weezing turned around and launched a gyro ball at Haunter. Haunter got smacked with the gyro ball right in the middle of the chest which knocked it to the floor.
" Kekekeke !" Haunter kept laughing even while getting hit.
" Use Smog, Weezing!" Janine called.
" Hypnotic Curse."
Haunter didn't bother countering the poisonous gas as of course, she wasn't affected by the Smog attack.
" what ?!" Janine shouted as she was surprised that Haunter didn't get affected before remembering that Haunter was part poison type.
Haunter released psychic waves from it's eyes that caused Weezing to move back and forth in a daze before ultimately Weezing feel asleep.
Janine cringed at her decision as Haunter released a Sonic howl that caused ghostly runes to form all around them that latched onto Weezing.
Having successfully landed curse, Haunter giggled like a little girl.
"Use Thunderbolt," Janine yelled out hopping Weezing will wake up as Haunter launched a Dream Eater.
Luckily for Janine, Weezing woke up and launched a thunderbolt at Haunter who cancelled Dream Eater before releasing nightshade at the thunderbolt.
The two attacks exploded in the middle leaving behind white smoke.
"Use Smokescreen, Weezing!" Janine called.
" Sleep walker !" Austin countered as Haunter used rest to fall asleep.
"I thought you might do that," Janine smiled.
Austin raised an eyebrow at Janine's bravado but didn't bother replying as he remembered Cynthia's words.
Those that talk big on the battlefield are covering up their anxiety behind a false sense of valor. If you don't talk in battle, your opponent will always assume the worst.
A battle isn't just between the pokemon, it is also between the trainers.
"Being a ninja, I train in the many ways of stealth, and I teach my Pokemon this, also. I expected your Haunter to do something like rest after the smokescreen was set up, since Weezing isn't affected by its own attacks, I have concealed its location while Haunter is in the open ," Janine explained.
Austin didn't bother replying to Janine as he calmly looked at the battlefield as Haunter used sleeptalk which resulted in attract being launched.
The hearts entered into the giant smoke cloud. Then, out of nowhere, a Dark pulse burst from the smoke cloud from Haunter's right, striking her. Haunter endured the attack and managed to stay in the air.
"Finish with Giga Impact!" Janine yelled once more.
"Lantern Fish" Austin calmly called out.
The absolute silence was pretty unnerving. All there was on the battlefield was Haunter who seemed to be sleeping and a giant smoke cloud in front of it. After what felt like an eternity, Haunter felt a whoosh to its right as a split second later, Weezing emerged from the smoke cloud, charging straight for Haunter with a body surrounded by orange streaks. Purple energy then appeared from the top of the streaks and envelops Weezing's body.
A maniacal grin formed on Haunter's face as she opened her red eyes as she used the move, Psychic.
Waves of psychic moved forward and smacked Weezing right in the middle of its larger face. The poison Pokemon went sailing backwards like a baseball that had been hit by a homerun hitter. It slammed into the wall hard. Weezing then sank to the ground, defeated.
"Your Haunter beat Weezing!" Janine said in amazement.
"Yep! I knew Haunter wouldn't let me down" Austin smiled as he gave a thumbs up to his Ghost Pokemon. Haunter released a laugh happily in response.
" Kekeke!"
Janine recalled her Weezing and smiled sadly at it. "Thanks for a great job, Weezing. Take a good rest," she told it. She then looked at Austin. "Your Haunter did very well, but wait until you try my next Pokemon!"
Austin nodded with a smirk that was copied by Haunter.
Janine was just about to send out her next Pokemon when a new voice broke out into the room.
"End the battle at once!" the voice ordered.
Everyone in the room turned to where the voice had come from. The owner was revealed to be a middle aged man with tall black hair ending in spikes. He wore a dark robe and had a calm yet serious expression on his face. Upon seeing the man, Janine instantly looked guilty and looked down at the floor.
' I fucking called it.' Austin thought as he gazed upon the man who would become a member of the Elite 4.
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[ 𝐎𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡 ]
𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 100-𝗳𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁, 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲, 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵. 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱. 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗶𝘅𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗮 𝘀𝗸𝘆𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆. 𝗜𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿; 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹. 𝗜𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵-𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗰𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗔𝘀 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗿, 𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗘𝗰𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗸. 𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻. 𝗛𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝘆. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗵𝘆, 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝘄𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻. 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗱. 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲, 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿. 𝗧𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲, 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗻𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻. 𝗘𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁'𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀, 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻.