Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

"However, I've also found the Ice Vulpix," Pine Leaf said with a smile. "Gastly, at ten o'clock, use Will-O-Wisp!"

Ghostly blue flames formed in front of Gastly and then shot out in the direction of Pine Needle's finger.

"Dig a hole to hide, then jump out and use a freeze spell!"

Tetsuya remained calm and composed.

A small, round hole appeared in the ground in the direction the pine needles were pointing.

"bang bang bang"

One after another, the will-o'-the-wisps struck the ground, leaving charred marks.

Immediately afterwards, the Ice Six-Tails, having left its Snow Hidden state, leaped out of the cave, its eyes emitting an eerie light.

Although it sounds like a Psychic-type move, the Immobilize move is actually a Normal-type status move.

Psychic-type Pokémon use this ability to immobilize other Pokémon, but it actually relies on their powerful psychic abilities and mental strength.

The effect of the Immobilization Spell is to prevent the user from using the skill again for a period of time.

Simply put, it sealed away the Will-o'-the-Wisp that Gastly had just used for a period of time.

Based on Gastly's move list, this is the only move that can deal significant damage to Vulpix, so Tetsuya made a quick decision.

Since altered moves cannot directly cause damage, they are not subject to type advantages or disadvantages. Undoubtedly, Gastly, having just unleashed Will-O-Wisp, temporarily lost this move.

Gastly, use Hypnosis!

The pine needles had been waiting for this very moment.

Seizing the moment when Vulpix was stunned by the Immobilize spell, he immediately commanded Gastly to use a move.

Its large white eyes suddenly emitted a red light.

Since the use of the immobilization spell also requires direct eye contact with the opponent, the Ice Six-Tails' body suddenly stiffened.

"Kai~"

It let out a somewhat dazed cry.

"Very good." Songye smiled. "Increase the intensity."

"Guo Xi"

Gastly also showed a happy smile, and the red light in its eyes shone even brighter.

"Boom"

The next moment, the Ice Vulpix fell straight to the ground and fell asleep.

"Ice Vulpix, wake up!"

Tetsuya called out loudly.

This demonstrates the lack of combat experience among young children.

If it were some experienced players, they would close their eyes the moment they used the immobilization spell to prevent the opponent from causing trouble.

Even though Tetsuya had already told Hyūki about this, it didn't prevent the outcome from happening.

However, I'm sure the Ice Vulpix will remember this well after this incident.

Gastly, use Lick!

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Pine Leaf commanded Gastly to launch an immediate attack.

In other words, Gastly is still far from learning Dream Eater; otherwise, falling asleep when facing its kind would undoubtedly mean certain defeat.

"Hehehe~"

Gastly approached the sleeping Vulpix from the air with an evil smile.

A long, red tongue appeared.

Even without saliva, the sight of someone licking the fur is still very uncomfortable.

Tetsuya sighed, cupping his hands to his mouth: "Ice Vulpix~ If you don't get up soon, your fur will get all messed up~"

"Kaio?"

The Ice Vulpix, who was fast asleep, reacted clearly to this statement.

Its body twitched.

Her large eyes were slightly open.

"Kayo!"

A terrifyingly large face paired with a long tongue, and the entire fur on the Ice Six-Tails' body stood on end.

Chapter 411 The Exaggerated Covered Beetle

Ice Six-Tail unconsciously swung its cloud-like tail, and chunks of ice emanating a chill instantly formed.

"Guo Xi"

Gastly, which was sticking out its tongue in preparation for a second attack, was startled.

Before it could retract its licking attack, the ice shards, arriving first, struck its body one after another.

Gastly let out a painful cry, and the entire ball uncontrollably retreated backward.

"Now! Give it the final, freezing wind!"

Seeing Gastly frantically trying to remove the ice from its tongue, Tetsuya gave the final command.

"Kayo~"

The Ice Six-Tails nodded its little head and angrily opened its mouth, exhaling a fierce gust of cold wind.

Blue, icy winds, carrying snowflakes of hail, clung to Gastly's body.

Gradually, from bottom to top, Gastly was frozen into a ball of ice.

As the cold wind subsided, the ice puck containing Gastly lost its support and plummeted straight down from mid-air.

"Snapped"

Shards of ice scattered on the ground, revealing Gastly with its eyes darting around inside.

The Ice Vulpix walked gracefully to Gastly's side, turned around, raised its leg, and smeared a bit of sand onto Gastly's body.

"Cough, Gastly is unable to battle, Vulpix wins."

The referee, with a deadpan expression, coughed and announced the result of the match.

"So cute!" exclaimed the students on the sidelines.

This is mainly due to the Pokémon's appearance. The petite Vulpix's movements don't come across as provocative at all; instead, they appear endearingly clumsy.

If it were a Pokémon like Muk, it probably wouldn't receive this treatment.

Tetsuya was somewhat amused and exasperated by the Ice Vulpix's behavior, but considering how much the Ice Vulpix usually cared for its fur, it seemed quite reasonable.

With tears in its eyes, Ice Six-Tails ran up to the command platform and jumped into Tetsuya's arms.

"Kaiokaio"

It waved its four short legs to accuse Gastly of its "bad behavior".

Tetsuya stroked the fur of the Ice Vulpix while coaxing it gently, "Okay, okay, I know. I'll give you a bath when we get back, okay?"

Ice Vulpix sniffed and nodded vigorously.

"Would the challenger like to change their Pokémon?" the referee asked, a question that was both redundant and necessary.

Tetsuya hugged Vulpix with one hand and took out a green Poké Ball from his waist with the other: "Needed—go, I choose you, Gadgetzin!"

“gaygay”

A vibrant group of daphnia appeared on the field.

It raised its head and stared at Gastly, which had been released into the air by Pine Needle.

"Hiss~"

Gastly, which has two more hands than Gastly, opened its big mouth and greeted people in a "friendly" manner.

Pine Leaf tightened his scarf: "Reverse attribute, huh? It seems that your lord's Gecko has inherited quite a few Dark attribute skills. Is its father from the Dragon King Scorpion clan?"

Judging from the Bug-type Kadabra's move list, it poses a negligible threat to Ghost/Poison-type Gastly.

Normal-type attacks are largely ineffective against Gastly, and even Bug-type and Poison-type attacks deal negligible damage to Gastly with its fourfold resistance.

Aside from the fact that it inherited Dark-type moves, it's hard to imagine any other reason why Tetsuya would choose to use this Pokémon when challenging the Ghost-type Gym.

Tetsuya smiled and said, "This little guy is quite strong."

Upon hearing this, the cricket obediently raised its little hands, opened its mouth, and struck a fierce pose.

But that body, which was less than half the size of Gastly, was hardly convincing.

However, Matsuba showed no sign of relaxing, after all, the person in front of her was no novice trainer.

After calculating the time, and waiting until the hailstorm was almost over, Tetsuya issued the attack command: "Gaige Bug, use acid bombs."

That's why the two trainers were just chatting for no reason.

The damage and impact of hail cannot be ignored for either Pokémon.

Rather than fighting under the snowflakes, it's better to stall for time and wait for the hail to pass.

As for the idea that hail can be used to prevent Gastly from disappearing, Tetsuya would love for it to use such a tactic when facing Gekko.

"Avoid it, then use Nightshade."

Seeing the dark green acid liquid emitting smoke as it approached, Pine Leaf immediately commanded Gastly to dodge.

While the damage from the Poison-type Acid Bomb is indeed minimal, the resulting significant reduction in Energy Defense is something that Nerubian and Haunter cannot withstand.

Once hit by an acid bomb, the advantage of elemental resistance becomes negligible.

Gastly levitated upwards to dodge the acid bombs sprayed by the Gekko, and then a black ribbon snaked down its body.

"Sword Dance Defense".

As Tetsuya spoke, the GaiGai Bug swung the fork on its head toward the black ribbon, and the whole bug suddenly began to spin.

The ribbons formed by the Shadow of Night shattered into fragments the moment they touched the forked insect.

"Shadow Fist!"

Pine and Haunter launched wave after wave of attacks.

The Dark Shadow had just been destroyed when Gastly's two hands, glowing with a purplish-black light, flew rapidly towards them.

But for the sapiodine, the time interval is enough for it to react.

"Stop it!" Tetsuya shouted.

“gaygay”

The cricket slammed the fork on its head into the ground with all its might.

"boom"

The ground was shaking.

To everyone's astonishment, the worm raised a boulder several times its own size to block its path.

The two shadowy fists struck the boulder, leaving deep marks, but did not cause the slightest damage to the Gege bug.

Pine Leaf was secretly surprised: "Even with the enhancement effect from Sword Dance, this power is still too unrefined."

He had only ever seen this kind of scene with some Fighting-type Pokémon.

"Is that a Gekko or Heracross?" The students watching the battle swallowed hard. "Are all powerful trainers' partners like this?"

The teacher gave a helpless, bitter smile.

This scene was truly visually striking.

Only Tetsuya, being a trainer, was already used to this scene: "Good, just get close to it and use acid spray!"

“gaygay”