Elf: I have a secret realm of emerald green.

Author's Remarks

8,000 today, please praise me!

2022-06-28 18:00

## Chapter 153 Is there such a strange combination as "general" plus "ghost"? (4k)

The deep purple Shadow Ball, imbued with rich Ghost-type energy, struck Zoroark precisely, who seemed to have no time to dodge.

And then... Wang Ran's confident smile was frozen in that moment forever.

Like a stone thrown into the sea, or a bird returning to its nest, the Shadow Orb, which seemed extremely dangerous and was supposed to explode violently on Zoroark, vanished in an instant...

No, the word "disappeared" is not accurate. In fact, the Shadow Sphere containing explosive energy did come into close contact with Zoroark's body.

The ghost-type energy within the sphere was also released, corroding her body.

But... why did it just end there?

Am I fake, this huge Shadow Orb?

"Gen...gengar?" With the same expression as Kommo-o in the previous battle, Gengar turned to look at its trainer, its crimson eyes filled with confusion.

"What's going on?"

"I can't reach it!"

The human and the ghost communicated quickly and tacitly, but to no avail, and still couldn't understand the situation.

Wang Ran's heart skipped a beat, and a bold conjecture came to mind.

Surely this Zoroark isn't a Normal-type Pokémon...

……

The victim, Wang Ran, first ruled out the correct answer.

Meanwhile, the comments section was buzzing with discussion about the "paranormal events" that occurred between the two Ghost-type Pokémon.

"Immune to Fighting-type moves is one thing, but how come they're also immune to Ghost-type moves??"

"Xia Shen, turn off the cheat engine, it's pointless, really."

"Based on rational discussion, the attribute of this form of Zoroark should be Normal plus Ghost. At present, this is the only correct answer."

"Theoretically, that's true, but among the more than 800 kinds of spirits, is there ever a precedent for a combination of a regular spirit and a ghost?"

"I just checked the Pokémon encyclopedia, and it's not there. What the hell is this?! It feels like Xia Shen has ruined the entire Pokémon world!"

"After brainstorming, I realized that this type combination has three immunity and two resistances, but only one weakness to Dark! Although its resistances are not as overpowered as a combination like Steelix or Fairy, it is still quite excellent."

"Most importantly, the three attribute immunity can be combined with Zoroark's Phantom ability to create a lot of tricks. The real stage will be the future 6v6 all-out battles or six-choose-three battles."

In just a few minutes, the expert commenters had thoroughly analyzed Xia Shen's old form of Zoroark.

It lives up to the rumor that any five people randomly selected from the barrage comments on the Chinese internet could win the World Cup.

…………

On the field.

No matter how much Wang Ran couldn't believe it, he knew that the most likely possibility was that the Pokémon in front of him was a Normal Pokémon with the Ghost attribute.

The confident smile that was on his lips just seconds ago had long since faded, replaced by a bitter expression.

Normal type is immune to Ghost type, and Ghost type is resistant to Poison type, so being completely sealed is...

He suddenly recalled what his coach had said before the match: "A Gengar with the Levitate ability completely shuts down Ursaring."

Wang Ran couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.

Coach, is it possible that I'll never see Moon Bear again?

After lamenting helplessly, we still have to face reality.

No matter how your type is countered, never give up – that's the most valuable quality a trainer can have!

Besides, I am the school's last hope!

Wang Ran's spirits ignited, casting aside his inner turmoil. He calmly said, "Gengar, use Dark Pulse!"

Since I can't use Ghost and Poison type moves from this type, I'll use Dark type moves to deal with you!

Seemingly inspired by the trainer's do-or-die spirit, Gengar also rallied.

Because it doesn't need to condense energy into a sphere, Gengar can cast Dark Pulse even faster than its STAB move Shadow Ball.

Almost instantly, a torrent of dark energy surged wildly toward Zoroark, which was not far away.

……

However, even faster than the wave of evil is Zoroark's speed of action.

If the audience blinks, Gengar's Dark Pulse will be cast.

Soroark's speed is so fast that even if the audience is watching her intently, they cannot catch the trajectory of her movements.

The shadow beneath Zoroark stretched infinitely, reaching all the way to Gengar's feet.

The next instant, as if teleported, her ghostly figure appeared behind Gengar.

Then, a claw imbued with the power of the underworld struck Gengar's massive body, causing some damage.

It was a Ghost-type move, a shadow attack powered by [Swift] energy!

This Shadow Strike not only allowed Zoroark to dodge the damage from the Dark Pulse, but also enabled him to dash behind his opponent.

If I don't go all out with this output, I'll be doing myself a disservice!

[Zoroark, a fierce and vengeful spirit!]

The initial ordinary revenge attack failed to freeze Gengar, but Xia Shen was not giving up and continued to try his luck.

Freezing Gengar is far more crucial than freezing Kommo-o, which is a dual-wielding Pokémon. Even if its Special Attack is ruined, it can simply use physical attack moves.

Gengar is indeed a distinctive Pokémon with an outstanding stat distribution—extremely high Special Attack and Speed.

However, this also means that if it gets frostbite, it will be almost powerless to fight back.

Moreover, Gengar was already at a disadvantage in this battle due to its type disadvantage.

……

"Gengar, don't turn around, use Dark Pulse directly behind you!" Wang Ran frowned as he watched Zoroark charge up its attack.

He knew that his opponent was about to unleash that move he had never seen before, which seemed to have a damage-increasing effect.

Although if you had commanded Gengar to dodge or used Protect immediately, you could have avoided the damage.

But he would also lose this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attack his opponent.

Wang Ran was gambling; he was betting that the coach's words were true: Xia Shen's Zoroark had only recently evolved, and its attack power was far inferior to Gengar, whose special attack had already reached professional level.

Let's have a real battle of wits between men!

"Gengar!" Gengar, who trusted its trainer implicitly, responded and without hesitation gathered its Dark-type energy once more.

The attack was still executed at an extremely fast speed; in an instant, the evil energy surged and rushed backward.

This time, Zoroark, who was charging up a move right behind Gengar, had no way to avoid it and was hit head-on by Dark Pulse.

"Yo..." Zoroark gritted his teeth, enduring the pain in his body, not wanting his enemy to see his vulnerable side, but he still couldn't help but let out a low growl.

At the same time, the attack formed by the power of resentment also hit Gengar, which was unable to dodge due to its charged attack.

Wang Ran's eyes lit up. The second act of revenge didn't seem to hurt as much as he had thought!

And the opponent...

As he watched Zoroark's trembling body, his hope was rekindled.

This Zoroark's true strength is indeed far inferior to Gengar's!

What Wang Ran didn't notice was that a light blue layer had quietly appeared on Gengar's deep purple body.

This color was so close to its natural color that almost no one noticed it.

Aside from those true masters who know elves extremely well, such as the two on the podium.

…………

"Tsk, that strange blue color again. It's definitely not a frozen state, nor is it poisoning. Could it be..."

The usually cheerful old man became serious. He knew that if his guess was correct, the impact of this Zoroark would be no less than that of the previous Moon Bear.

“This is a new abnormal state!” Li Xiang picked up where the old man left off, his tone certain.

"Do you remember the last time, when Kommo-o's scale noise barely did any damage to Zoroark? If it's really because this form of Zoroark has exceptionally high durability, why is it that now, even a Dark Pulse that's only twice super effective against it can cause her so much damage?"

The old man's clear eyes became even brighter. "You mean, Kommo-o was just in a state similar to being burned, where the power of its moves was weakened? However, it was only effective against Pokémon with special attack capabilities?"

Li Xiang didn't nod. "No one knows until they get a definite answer from Xia Shen himself, but if it's true..."

Li Xiang and the old man exchanged a glance, both understanding the meaning in each other's eyes.

If it truly is an abnormal status quo that is the opposite of burn, this would be a revolution in the entire world of Pokémon battles!

------

[Zoroark, can you hold on?]

Xia Shen also noticed her body trembling slightly after being hit by the evil wave, and asked with concern.

Don't worry, this minor injury is nothing compared to what I went through with my father for the past two weeks.

His response was Zoroark's strong and stubborn voice.

Zorua has really grown up... Xia Shen felt a little emotional.

In that case, let's use this victory as a coming-of-age ceremony for Zoroark!

"Zoroark, protect!"

[A vicious cycle of revenge!]

The despicable Xia Shen used the move [saying one thing and meaning another] for the first time in this battle.