Chapter 35: 139-140

Chapter 35: 139-140

The New Normal – 7-12 – Scientific Summit

Even though some time had gone passed, the hype around the Fairy type had yet to die down. In fact, it was still going strong as many trainers continue trying to experiment and train with the new Fairy types to test out their strengths.

According to Karen, there were apparently many new trainers that had originally failed to beat her, who were now trying to challenge her again for the 1st Gym Badge with a newly captured Fairy type in hand. Most of the time, it went the same for them.

Fairy types did not give you any advantage over Rock types, after all. If anything, more often than not their lack of familiarity with the strengths of the Fairy type actually made their performance worse.

Initially, I had mostly thought to ignore the craze, just sitting low and allowing it to die down. I didn't see a need to take a proactive approach, so long as no chaos broke out. But Oak had different ideas.

"We should capitalize on this opportunity." He told the Fairy group one day in a conference call that he hosted, "Currently, the public's interest in science is all the way up with the back-to-back new discoveries of the PIT Technique and the Fairy type. We need to make use of this and fully cement their interest."

"How are we going to do that?" Shelly had asked.

"I plan to host a scientific panel that would be open for the public to ask us whatever questions they like, but hopefully with a focus on science." He explained, "We need to show the public that we're there and engaged with them, and we aren't just sitting in our labs working independently on scientific research without their input. If we can get them involved and thinking, then we can get them invested."

"And getting the public invested means we get more research grants." Blaine smiled, "John, you think you can flip that with Lance to push for more public funding for us poorly scientists?" That got a round of snorts and chuckles from the rest of the call. If anything, the scientists gathered here today were the LEAST poorly.

"I can definitely give it a try, but I think Lance has his own problems to deal with for the moment." I shrugged. It was an open secret that Lance was on the outs with the Blackthorns at the moment, and was busy wrangling them back under his authority. Even after a week since their humiliation against Oak, they still hadn't gotten over it yet.

"Bah, who cares about his problems?" Blaine grumbled, "I know you're friends with him and all, but that's his own fucking problem to deal with."

"Let's table that for now." Oak said, ever diplomatic, "Are you all on board for hosting a scientific panel? We can host it at the Indigo Plateau, I'm sure I can get that arranged." We all gave our agreement to that.

And so, barely a few days later, Oak already had everything set up. He clearly still had a lot of influence with the Indigo League to be able to hold a public panel on the League's doorstep with such notice. The event was also heavily publicized, and fully open to the public. I had heard from Shelly that a few scientists from Hoenn had also decided to make their way over here to join in as audience members.

I even heard that the Elite Four would be attending, though not Lance. Apparently he had something to do on that day.

Regardless of what it was, the panel was still underway. Once again, the 6 of us, Professor Oak, myself, Gym Leader Blaine, Director Shelly, Professor Carolina, and Professor Elm had all taken our places on a long table that had been specifically set up for this panel. In front of us were rows after rows of seats for the public, and we sat there patiently as we waited for them to fill up.

In the VIP seats that were set up, I saw Lorelei and Will sit down. Agatha was notably missing, but I didn't think she would be interested in something like this anyways.

We made small talk while the public were still arriving in, but we had to watch what we said. The multitude of cameras facing us were doing their best to capture our every word, whispered or not.

Eventually, everyone had gathered inside, and Oak started us off. "Thank you for joining us once again today. We know you might be tired of seeing our mugs when it's not been long since our press conference revealing the Fairy type, but I hope you don't mind seeing us again." He joked, getting a few polite laughs from the audience.

"Anyways, we've decided to host this panel today because we wanted to be able to discuss freely with you and answer any questions that you, the public, might have." He explained, "We hope to help address any concerns and let you know about the future direction of our plans. Alternatively, feel free to give us your suggestions about what we could work and look into, and we might consider it."

That drew a substantial applause from the crowd. As Oak mentioned to us, scientists were very often left outside of the public eye, their work mostly unknown besides the very big discoveries that we rarely make. So to have a prestigious lineup of scientists actually willing to engage in open communication with the public was a wondrous opportunity for them.

I suspected that Oak was doing this to also boost the reputation of scientists in the public eye. While scientists were always respected, I was confident that he wanted to promote scientists to be more in the spotlight. To be more recognized for their efforts. And this was just one of the many steps he was going to take to achieve this.

The applause died down shortly later, but Blaine spoke up before the questions began, "Before you guys start unleashing your flood of questions at us, I would like to make my own personal announcement." That caught everyone's attention, and the room quickly fell silent once again.

"Before I worked on the Fairy project with Professor Oak, I had spent a lot of time trying to develop my own evolution item. It took me a few tries to get it right, but I finally have the working version ready for mass production." He explained to the gasps of the crowd.

"I won't reveal what it is yet – but I'm already in talks with some large businesses so that it can hit the shelves shortly." He announced, "Please look forward to it. I'm sure it'll be quite the hot topic." Shelly visibly facepalmed at the joke, but he got a healthy applause despite the terrible pun.

With that, the questions began. A few were initially directed at Blaine in hopes of figuring out what he had been working on, but they quickly shifted away when the realized that Blaine was not going to be forthcoming with his answers.

Unsurprisingly, Oak was saddled with the brunt of the questions. The Fairy type was still THE thing on everyone's mind, and everyone wanted to see if the famed Professor Oak had any additional insights that they missed. THAT, and they really wanted to ask about Oak and his beatdown of the Blackthorn's representative. But he diplomatically avoided that question before things could get heated. He had no intention of fuelling those flames.

To my surprise, he directed a question at me, "I think that question about the Fairy type's battling ability should be directed to the one who's been battling with it for the longest." He turned to me, "John, what do you think about the potential of Fairy types in battle? How do they battle like?"

I felt everyone's attention snap to me, but I took my time to think through my answer before responding, "I understand that everyone's perception of the Fairy type is that they are the 'type that destroys Dragons'. So it makes sense for people to think that the Fairy type are just a stronger version of Dragon types. But that perception of the Fairy type is completely wrong."

"In terms of pure and raw strength, the Dragon type is always going to be one of the strongest types available. There is a reason why Dragon types are still so coveted. But the reason that Fairy types are able to beat them in a straight up fight is purely because the type advantage that Fairies possess over Dragons. Without it, the Fairy type could not match up in a raw beatdown against another Dragon type, because that's not where their strength lies."

"Think about the Fairy types that you know. The Ralts line, the Clefairy line, the Togepi line. Before the discovery of their true typing, none of you would have thought of those types as your traditional powerhouse types. Even at the high level, they were mostly supportive Pokémon with a wide range of utility moves that were invaluable in any team, but they are not frontline fighters."

"The strength of the Fairy type are the same. Clefable is a valuable member of my team BECAUSE of her range of supportive moves, AND because of her resistance and strength against Fighting types. I intend to train up my new Sylveon to be the same. If anything, I find the Fairy type to be remarkably similar to the Dark type. But with a bigger emphasis on status and defensive moves over more aggressive disruption."

As I finished with my explanation, I found the audience all listening to me with rapt attention. I didn't realize how everyone fell silent as people simply listened to my breakdown with the Fairy type. Even my panel members were staring at me with various degrees of proud smiles.

Surprisingly, it was Will that broke the silence as he raised a question, "So, John, from what you're saying, the Fairy type can be similar to the Psychic type?"

"That isn't an inaccurate comparison." I nodded, "Fairy type Pokémon often share a lot of similar moves with traditional Psychic types. Though the Psychic types still have access to more of the Psychic supportive move pool. But Fairy types compensate for this for generally having access to other supportive moves too."

Will nodded, satisfied with my answer. This only prompted another question to be thrown at me, "Elite John! Would you now consider to switch to being a Fairy specialist instead of a Normal one?"

I frowned, "Absolutely not. I could never throw away my Normal type Pokémon for something as useless as a title. I have a few Fairy type Pokémon on my team sure, but I'd still classify myself as a Normal specialist."

"What would you say differentiates a Normal specialist with a Fairy one?" Someone else asked.

"Normal types are typically stronger in a frontal fight. Think of Snorlax and Slaking as great examples of this. As I've said, Fairy types often take a supportive role, with a bigger emphasis on ranged attacks compared to your typical Normal types. But the flexibility and versatility of both types are a common feature, which is why I think I've settled so well in adapting Fairy types into my team."

"Then will you be adding more Fairy types to your team in the future?" The same guy asked again.

I shrugged, "Depends if I find a Pokémon that wants to join me - I won't turn them down. But I don't have any Fairy types on my mind at the moment that I specifically want to add to my team. I'm content with what I have so far."

Before I knew it, the revelation of my knowledge of the more practical uses for the Fairy type made me the main star of the conversation. There were still many questions directed at the rest of the panel, but now a lot of them were directed my way. They must have been realizing that my role here was more than just as a placid observer or as a mere hanger-on. I was knowledgeable in my own right.

It was strange to see – but I could physically FEEL my approval in the eyes of the scientific community rising the more I spoke. Despite my connections to quite a few higher-ups within the scientific community, I had always known that I was still considered to be an outsider to a majority of the more lower rung members.

After all, I wasn't a scientist by trade. Nor did I have the education to back it up. The scientific community had always been plagued by elitism. And I found it ironic that even as a member of the Elite Four, I was still not 'elite' enough for those elitists.

But I was confident that, by the end of this conference, that opinion of me would change.

I didn't know how long we spoke for about the Fairy types, but my bottle of water was almost fully depleted before we moved onto talking about the PIT technique. What I hadn't realized until just now was that apparently there were a lot of money and resources being thrown at the PIT technique in hopes of finding a new type.

The discovery of the Fairy type may have temporarily overshadowed it, but the PIT technique was still making its rounds in the scientific circles.

Once again, questions were directed my way as the person who discovered this technique to see if I had any insights. But this time, I allowed the other scientists, ones that were far more familiar with the fundamentals behind evolutions, to field the questions.

Professor Elm and Blaine were the most knowledgeable with this, "It may seem crude and overly simplistic, but John's words when he first discovered the PIT technique; about how Pokémon that possessed a lot of moves in another type were more likely to possess an alternate form, it rings true. The idea of alternate types had always been in the mind of many scientists, but we just didn't fully realize what it took to unlock this extra potential of our Pokémon." Professor Elm explained.

"Then do you have any ideas in mind for what alternate forms could exist and be discovered?" He was asked.

"I'm working on a few ideas of my own, yes." He revealed, "But I won't know until the eggs hatch to see if they've worked or not. And that won't be for quite some time. Of course, the public will be the first to know of any successes I find."

"Once again though, DO NOT try this at home." Oak warned prudently, "We do not need a repeat of what happened when the reckless and uninformed try their hands at something this delicate. Please spare yourself and your Pokémon the pain, and DO NOT attempt this outside of League authorised conditions. Thank you."

"Elite John, are you going to be working on another Pokémon with the PIT technique?" Someone asked me.

"Unfortunately, I don't have any plans to for the moment." I replied, "My success with the D-Zigzagoon and the subsequent formulation of the PIT Technique was a massive coincidence. But I simply don't have the time to focus on something that takes as long as and as much effort as the PIT technique. So I'll be leaving most of the work to the full time scientists."

"I intend to refocus my efforts into the PIT technique too." Oak spoke up, "Now that I'm done with the Fairy type, there are a few ideas I wanted to try to see if anything comes out of it."

After several more rounds of questions, we got to the political aspect of the conversation. Blaine, as Gym Leader, took the lead this time. "Part of the reason why we wanted to host this discussion is because we wanted to show off just how much we can achieve if we all worked together and dedicated our resources into the scientific field. We had hoped to show, not only you members of the public, but also those decision makers in the Committee to demonstrate the benefits of having good programmes to fund the field of science."

"While training and battling should always be at the forefront of our minds, science must come at a close second and should never be neglected." He continued, "So for those of you who want to see more of these discoveries, go pester your local councillor today and ask them to provide more funding to the sciences."

I took this opportunity to speak up too, "I'll be introducing a new proposal in the Committee soon to request for the addition of new grants for our hard-working scientists. If it wasn't for them, then our society would stagnate and so many secrets of both society and Pokémon would remain undiscovered. So I hope I can have your support in pushing for this extra funding!"

That brought the panel to an end, and I shared a smile with the rest of my fellow panellists and colleagues over the background of a thunderous applause from the audience. We had worked really well together, and we all shared a mutual wish to continue our cooperation in the future, one way or another.

We all turned and bowed to the cheering crowd, and I even saw Will and Lorelei both standing on their feet as they both cheered at us. I knew instinctively that I had their support when it came to my new proposal.

And with this new proposal, I was confident that I had earned some crucial goodwill and reputation from the scientific community.

==========

?(Lance POV)

He knew today was the day that John and Oak were hosting a huge panel where they would be discussing and answering questions about their scientific discoveries. And while he was far from a scientist, he would have still much preferred to be there. He had always wanted to ask his own questions and see what insights he could draw from them for his own Dragons.

But instead, he was forced to deal with this nonsense.

"...So explain to me why you chose to sit out of it instead of proving the clan with your support?!" One of the Blackthorn elders scowled furiously at him, "Did you forget who helped you become what you are today?! Or have you forgotten that you have only managed to become Champion with OUR blessing?!"

He could feel Clair tensing up from where she was seating next to him, but he stayed silent. The younger him would have been shaking in fear at being stared down by one of the Blackthorn elders, but he had grown up since then.

"ANSWER US! Or do you think your silence can somehow absolve you of your GUILT?!" Another elder demanded.

"But, honoured elders, do you not see that cousin Lance made the right decision in the end?" Clair spoke up in his defence as he remained silent, "The Fairy type has proven, beyond all doubt, that it is the counter to Dragons. But so what? We can adapt. And we can still prove that Dragons are indeed the strongest type. It's not like we're suddenly seen as weak because of the presence of a new type. But now, because of your prideful insistence, we were seen as laughing stocks because we tried to make an display of force when one wasn't necessary."

"Foolish girl. Do you not understand how that can be seen as weakness?" One of the elders spat viciously, "Dragons ARE the backbone of our clan. We owe our position in Johto solely because it is ONLY US that have mastered the strength of the Dragons. We tamed them, brought them under our will, because that is what makes the Blackthorn name MEAN something. THAT is why our name is spoke with reverence and fear. To allow a type to be known to 'counter' us rubs at our very pride. At the very essence of what makes us a Blackthorn."

"Which is why Lance's failure to support us in such a crucial time is the ultimate betrayal of our values." The elder's glare turned his way. "The Champion that we propped up should have helped us. NEEDED to have helped us. But instead he cowered away, valuing his own position more than he valued the clan that raised and birthed him. A coward, and a false Dragon."

The elder's words sent a ripple of shock through the spectators that were watching. But he remained calm as he stood up from where he was sitting. Before the elders could question what he was doing, he simply released Emperor into the middle of the small clearing that they had gathered in.

"DRAGONITEEE!!!" His Emperor emerged with a mighty roar that caused the trees that surrounded them to shake violently, and the ground below to wobble and crack. The other Dragons that the elders had previously released all immediately pushed their heads against the ground at the appearance and overwhelming presence of a true alpha.

Yet Lance seemingly ignored all of this as he just stepped forwards, walking slowly towards the still seated elders, his eyes never leaving theirs.

"You have fear in your eyes."

"Bah. I leave optimism for the kids." Agatha snorted, "I'm too old for optimism."

"Optimism is also the basis for confidence." Steven smiled, "You won't get far being grouchy all the time."

I held in my laugh at the backhanded insult, not wanting to be the target of the glare that Agatha was giving Steven. I continued to be impressed by Steven's ability to not be riled up by any of Agatha's taunts. He was more patient and level-headed than I gave him credit for.

Before I could think on that any longer, Karen withdrew her Umbreon before quickly swapping out the Pokéball for another one.

"Spiritomb! Your foe is weak!"

A small stone was released onto the field, falling harmlessly onto the ground. Before anyone could wonder what a small rock was doing here, a vortex of ghosts exploded out of the stone, their haunting cackles filling the air as their ghostly form revealed themselves.

Not even waiting a moment, Karen went straight on the offense.

"Shadow Ball, Spiritomb! Bombard it!"

"Dark Pulse, Mightyena! Disperse them!"

With another frightening cackle, Spiritomb widened its ghostly maw even further as large orbs of pure shadow blasted forwards towards the paralyzed Mightyena. However, mustering its full concentration, Mightyena managed to break through the paralysis and released its stored Dark energy, forming a circular sphere around it that nullified any of the Shadow Orbs that came into contact with it.

But that was exactly what Karen had been waiting for.

"Shadow Claw! Slash it apart!"

Long shadows suddenly extended exploded outwards from Spiritomb's main form, stretching so far that they surrounded the lone Mightyena. Having just used Dark Pulse, it was unable to fire off another one in time to disperse the shadows as they creeped up on the lone Pokémon.

Crippled by its paralysis, Mightyena was helpless as huge claws of sharpened spectral energy emerged from within the pool of darkness, the ghostly tendrils exploding out of the ground and slashing and raking at the powerless Mightyena from all sides. Even though Dark types resisted Ghost, Mightyena let out a painful cry as its once splendid fur was mercilessly ripped and shredded by the ghastly claws.

"Get out of there, Mightyena! Crunch!"

Hearing the orders from its trainer seemed to refocus Mightyena as its eyes narrowed sharply at Spiritomb. With a defiant howl, it pushed itself forwards and out of the coffin of shadowy hands, struggling hard against the paralysis that was trying to lock up its body.

But Spiritomb only met its charge with another chilling cackle, almost daring the Mightyena to get closer.

"Night Shade, Spiritomb! Get ready!"

"Dark Pulse and disrupt it, Mightyena! Keep going!"

Spiritomb quickly withdrew all of its shadows back within itself before its maw opened frighteningly wide once again, this time expelling a flood of ghostly energy that rushed towards the charging Mightyena.

Mightyena tried to disperse it with another Dark Pulse, but its injuries meant that it was unable that the Dark Pulse that it fired was weak and ineffective. So, after that weak burst of energy, Mightyena dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the incoming wave of deadly spectral energy.

But then, so focused as it was on the Night Shade, it was suddenly caught by surprise as an unexpected ghostly fist emerged from within the shadow and crashed straight into Mightyena's shocked face. Then, as if to compound the surprise, Spiritomb's entire form came leaping out of the shadows, the vortex of ghosts that formed its body now morphed into a frightening arsenal of phantom claws, fists, and orbs, all of which descended on the surprised and vulnerable Mightyena.

Mightyena immediately wrapped Dark energy around itself for another Dark Pulse, but Karen showed off that she knew how a fellow Dark type Pokémon reacted.

"DISABLE!"

Spiritomb released another haunting cackle as its eyes flashed maliciously, and suddenly the burgeoning Dark Pulse was completely cut off. Before Mightyena could realize what just happened, a ghostly tendril painfully sliced through Mightyena's fur once again, leaving a painful cut across its face, before another spectral fist critically smashed straight into it.

Mightyena tried to retaliate with a Crunch, but the only thing it bit into was a Shadow Ball that detonated right in front of its face. As Mightyena reeled back, another spectral claw slashed painfully across its side, violently eviscerating what remained of its fur before another shadowy fist pummelled straight into its chin. Not giving Mightyena any chance to recover, Spiritomb's many tendrils mercilessly hurled a small avalanche of rocks and boulders that fell onto the Mightyena and buried it beneath them.

Mightyena didn't get up from that.

"AND MIGHTYENA GOES DOWN TO A GHOSTLY ONSLAUGHT BY KAREN'S RARE SPIRITOMB! THAT'S CERTAINLY NOT A POKEMON WE GET TO SEE VERY OFTEN, AND WHAT AN INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCE THAT IT HAD!" The announcer cheered, "THIS PUTS THE SCORE AT 1:1. WILL ELITE SIDNEY BE ABLE TO TAKE BACK HIS LEAD!?"

"Hah! I taught her that!" Agatha boasted smugly, "See! She'd actually win if she listened to her elders." I rolled my eyes at her words.

Meanwhile, Steven was staring intently at Karen's Spiritomb. "I've not seen a Spiritomb in action before. It looks like quite the remarkable specimen, and I've seen plenty of rare Pokémon in my life." He remarked openly before turning to Agatha, "Any chance I can buy one off you? It's a hobby of mine to collect rare rocks, and I feel like this could barely qualify as one. Are you interested? I can guarantee that money won't be an issue."

"Bah! They're not for sale, rich boy. There are some things that money can't buy." Agatha mocked as her lips twisted into a snarl.

But Steven seemed to take that in stride as well, "Of course, of course." He said, waving her off, "I figured you would say no, but I might as well try. And you needn't worry about me, I know full well that money can't buy everything." He finished cryptically, just in time for Sidney to send out his next Pokémon.

"Come, Cacturne!"

A frightening amalgamation between a cactus and a scarecrow emerged on Sidney's side of the field. It stayed eerily silent, its creepy smile remaining eternally fixed on its face. It looked like something born out of a child's nightmare.

"Sandstorm, Cacturne."

"Will-O-Wisp, Spiritomb!"

Cacturne raised both its arms as sand began circling around, gradually picking up speed until a twister of sand formed in the arena that slowly engulfed the entire battlefield. Visibly instantly became difficult as the thick vortex of sand began to conceal the entire battlefield.

In fact, the gale winds of the sandstorm were so fierce that it completely dispersed the sinister blue flame of Spiritomb's Will-O-Wisp. Even the spectral flame could not keep itself lit in the face of such a powerful Sandstorm.

By now, visibility on the battlefield was rapidly starting to fall as the sandstorm grew harsher. It was then that I realized – it wasn't just a regular Sandstorm. Sidney had made it so that the Sandstorm was infused with Dark energy that reduced visibility even further.

The arena became shrouded by an unnatural cloak of howling sands, forming a curtain of darkness that was near impossible to see through with the human eye.

In an instant, both trainers were suddenly fighting blind. And I suspected that was what Sidney was going for. It was a strategy that was very fitting for a Dark type specialist that didn't like fighting fair.

After all, what better way to win a fight when your opponent wasn't able to properly direct their Pokémon? Furthermore, I guessed that the Dark-infused Sandstorm also served as a barrier, limiting the space of the arena even further, likely to Sidney's benefit.

Fortunately for us spectators, Steven seemed to not have cheapened out on the supply of equipment, and the cameras that were set up were actually specialized cameras that seemed to have come straight out of a laboratory, allowing us to still see what was going on.

"Thank Arceus that I chose to get cameras used to study Dark type attacks. Otherwise the audience would be staring at a blank screen for the next few minutes." Steven muttered, "It was a good strategy by Sidney, but he has to remember that this was a CHARITY MATCH! What's the point of a match that no one can see?!" He shouted a little frustratedly, losing a little bit of his signature composure.

Ignoring his complaining, I watched as Cacturne's figure disappeared from the arena, clearly having burrowed into it with Dig. On the opposite side, Spiritomb's figure remained still, with its shadowy claws randomly slashing around the arena with Shadow Claws as it hunted blindly for its target.

But then, Cacturne emerged from behind Spiritomb, slamming a fist into the vortex of ghosts with what looked like a Thunder Punch, causing Spiritomb's figure to flicker wildly from the sudden attack. A sudden extending shadow signalled an attempted counterattack by Spiritomb, as a claw shot out from the ground that slashed at Cacturne's figure, but that seemed to bounce off an invisible Protect shield that formed in front of Cacturne.

Cacturne followed up with another crackling Thunder Punch, this one sending Spiritomb's silhouette flying backwards. Then, Cacturne quickly dove back into the sand, burrowing itself once again as it concealed itself with Dig.

That seemed to be Catcurne's favourite tactic. Using the cover of the Sandstorm to manoeuvre around unseen and ambush its target from unexpected angles.

And this time, instead of appearing from behind, Cacturne leapt out of the ground from Spiritomb's left, its arm extended as it struck Spiritomb with another punch. But Spiritomb proved to not be so stupid as to fall for the same trick too many times, and it caught Cacturne off-guard with a small burst of flames that darted towards Cacturne, setting it on fire.

Now burning, Cacturne's attacks were now crippled as its attack was cut in half. With Cacturne momentarily distracted from the burn, it was Spiritomb's turn to go on the offensive.

A large shadow stretched outwards from Spiritomb, forcing Cacturne back as the destructive wave of spectral energy from the Night Shade narrowly missed it. But before its Night Shade even dissipated, Spiritomb's figure suddenly vanished from the cameras, only to reappear seconds later right next to Cacturne, slamming into it viciously with an explosion of Ghostly energy as Spiritomb smashed into it with an ambushing Phantom Force.

Stumbling backwards, Cacturne recovered quickly and began forming a ball of energy in front it. Once again, Spiritomb's figure vanished again as it readied another Phantom Force.

This time, both Pokémon remained patient. Cacturne kept the Energy Ball close to its chest, ready to fire it off at the first sign of its opponent. In the meanwhile, as if it was toying with its opponent, Spiritomb remained hidden, waiting for the perfect time to strike.

The standoff extended for some time, during which the Sandstorm began to slowly fade as Cacturne was unable to maintain it, bringing visibility slowly back into the fight.

However, before the sandstorm could fully dissipate, Spiritomb finally decided to make its move. An army of ghosts shot upwards from Cacturne's feet, all rushing towards their prey. But Cacturne did not flinch at their sudden appearance, instead calmly firing off its stored Energy Ball at the incoming wall of Ghosts.

Yet that was all just a distraction, as the real figure of Spiritomb abruptly popped up from behind Cacturne, a large ghostly claw emerging out of its vortex of ghosts that ferociously eviscerated and slashed at Cacturne's back, gouging deeply into it.

Cacturne stumbled forwards as it recoiled from the painful evisceration, but instead of going down, it threw an Energy Ball that it had been gathering up within its arms backwards towards the Spiritomb. A painful wail echoed across the arena as the stored-up Energy Balls detonated critically on the surprised Spiritomb, who had overextended by trying to finish the fight with another Shadow Claw, sending it careening across the arena.

By this point, the sandstorm had mostly gone away, and the sand dissipated to properly reveal the wounded figures of both Pokémon. Cacturne, on fire and full of injuries, was struggling to stand and was partially kneeling on one leg. Ghostly energies and wisps of flames still lingered across its body – the painful remnants of the many Ghost attacks that it suffered from Spiritomb.

Opposite it, Spiritomb was doing no better, with its vortex of ghosts no longer spinning as energetically as they used to. Nor was it cackling like it did before, instead its signature haunting cackles was replaced by a pathetic wheezing that was more pitiful than frightening.

And now, with both trainers now able to properly order their Pokémon once again, my gut told me that this was about to be the final exchange of the fight. The next blow was what mattered.

But Karen denied both of them the opportunity.

"Curse, Spiritomb. You did well."

With an acknowledging cry, Spiritomb let out one final weak cackle before it shrieked in agony as a ghostly aura settled painfully around it. The aura was erratic, becoming a twisted and growing thing that radiated with pure malice and cruelty.

Releasing this wicked spirit seemed to have consumed whatever remained of Spiritomb's health as it promptly fell unconscious.

However, that same painful spectral aura quickly descended on the surprised and injured Cacturne; the Curse had settled in. Already damaged and badly injured, Cacturne was only to put up a pitiful resistance as the terrible Curse ripped it from inside out. Cacturne, spasming in pain, collapsed to its knees as the Curse mercilessly tore and ravaged its body.

Cacturne let a howl of agony before it the Curse ripped itself free from its body, causing Cacturne to collapse like a puppet with its strings cut.

With a sigh, Sidney withdrew his Pokémon. And the booing began.

"...THAT....WAS NOT THE CLIMATIC FINISH I WAS EXPECTING, BUT THAT IS TO BE EXPECTED FROM A DARK TYPE SPECIALIST!" The announcer attempted to sound optimistic, but the booing of the crowd was doing him no favours. "REGARDLESS, THIS DOUBLE KNOCK-OUT PUTS THE SCORE AT 2:2. IT'S REALLY SHAPING UP TO BE A CLOSE MATCH!"

Despite the jeers being sent her way, Karen remained unaffected as she calmly returned Spiritomb into its Pokéball. But my attempts to psychoanalyze her expression was interrupted by the choking laughter of Agatha.

"THAT'S WHAT I LIKE TO SEE!" She said in between her laughter, before falling into a fit of hacking coughs. With a sigh, I moved to pat her on the back but was waved off by her, insisting that she was fine.

Steven gave Agatha a look of concern for the moment before turning his attention back to me, "I have to agree with the announcer – that was quite anti-climactic. I was hoping for something more dramatic. Yet, in hindsight, I probably should have expected something like this." He ran his fingers across the armrest of his seat, a thoughtful expression on his face.

I shrugged, "Dark type specialists are like that. Why take a risk when you can secure an outcome?"

Steven nodded slowly, "Very true...I'll be keeping that in the back of my mind for the future." Then he turned back to the fight below as both trainers were about to send out their next Pokémon.

Personally, I felt that Karen had a rough start, but she was pulling it back now. I hoped she would be able to convert her small comeback into a bigger lead.

But I knew Sidney had his own bag of tricks ready and waiting as well.