Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

"Hold on."

A green light screen quietly appeared around Gengar, accompanied by Yuji's command.

However, very quickly, the moment the Shadow Orb collided with it, both vanished without a trace.

"Perfect timing."

Kajiyama couldn't help but exclaim in praise.

It's important to know that the hail weather brought about by the snowfall ability means that Gengar is suffering damage almost every moment.

To achieve that, the timing of the trainer's commands is extremely important.

Furthermore, it requires a perfect level of synergy between the Pokémon and its trainer.

Not even half a second off.

Yuji breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, it was a success.

"No matter what, let's try to mitigate the effects of the hail first."

Thinking this, he issued the command: "Gengar, use Mirror type."

"Gen"

A nearly transparent light flashed and disappeared on Gengar.

The chilling aura brought by the ghostly attribute disappeared, replaced by pure cold.

Its attributes have changed from ghost + poison to grass + ice, just like the Blizzard King.

"It's no use, Blizzard King, unleash Blizzard!"

Tomoaki Koike dismissed the order.

Blizzard King, who had been silent since the attack, chuckled sheepishly.

Intense energy fluctuations surged from the four green, pinecone-like points on his back.

In the blink of an eye.

A fierce blizzard howled across the field.

Yuji didn't try to dodge, and he couldn't dodge anyway.

In hailstorms, blizzards are almost guaranteed to hit.

The only possibility that it won't happen is that the difference in strength between the two sides is too great.

The attacked party either retreated from the hail's range beforehand or defeated the sprite that used Blizzard beforehand.

"Gengar, use Destiny Bond."

"Gen"

An ominous aura lingered around Gengar's body.

Looking at the swirling snow, it grinned.

"damn it!"

It was only then that Tomoaki Koike realized Yuji's intention in commanding Gengar to use the Mirror Attribute move.

If Gengar didn't have the Ice type, the success rate of Destiny Bond wouldn't be very high.

Because no one can be certain whether the attack that ultimately rendered Gengar unable to battle came from a blizzard or hail.

For the latter, the same fate will not work.

But things are different now.

Hail has no effect on Gengar at this time.

The only source of damage that could potentially render someone unable to fight is the Blizzard attack.

Under the unwilling gaze of Tomoaki Koike, the pure white blizzard quickly engulfed Gengar's purplish-black body.

Yuji unconsciously clenched his fist.

Don't let me down, Gengar!

For a moment, the only sound in the entire area was the howling of the blizzard.

"boom"

A hailstone landed on the ground and shattered beyond recognition.

Tomoaki Koike's expression was very unpleasant.

Gengar, which reappeared before everyone, managed a weak grin before swaying and lying down on the ground.

Its eyes started to dart around.

"Boom~"

Immediately afterwards, Blizzard King on the opposite side of the field seemed to have suffered a severe blow.

Its massive body involuntarily fell backward.

What is similar to other animals is that its eyes are also swirl-shaped.

"Gengar and Abomasnow are both unable to battle! Both players, please prepare to send out your next Pokémon simultaneously!"

The referee waved the two flags vigorously.

"Wow!!~~"

"What a powerful Gengar!"

The audience gasped in amazement.

Tetsuya and Kajiyama exchanged a glance, both blushing slightly.

"Ahem, Yuji's got some skills."

The former coughed and seemed quite emotional.

No wonder he's destined to be the future top trainer of the Orange League in the Orange Islands.

Although he is still very inexperienced, he is far superior to the average trainer in terms of battle command.

"That's right, that's right. The main reason is that neither of us has a Ghost-type Pokémon. Everyone has their own specialty."

Kajiyama quickly added.

The outcome of this match was clearly very different from what they had anticipated.

It's not just the two of them.

Most people didn't expect that Gengar, with only a small amount of stamina left, could force a one-for-one trade.

This is a huge profit.

Tomoaki Koike's vision went black the moment the Blizzard King fell to the ground.

He shook his head vigorously, his lips curving into a bitter smile: "In that case, there's no chance."

His original plan was perfect.

Infernape swapped out most of Gengar's status, and Abomasnow finished off Gengar.

Due to the team composition, Yuuji could only send Ditto into battle.

Otherwise, Onix, Venusaur, and Electabuzz would be at a disadvantage against Abomasnow.

Koike Tomoaki is quite confident of winning against the clone.

The little bit of stamina Abomasnow used to deal with Gengar was insignificant compared to Ditto's weakness in its transformation – the only thing Ditto couldn't change after transforming was its stamina.

To put it another way...

If Yuuji's Dragonite appears in the second pick, it won't fare well against two Ice-type Pokémon.

His chances of winning are still about 30/70.

Although it's not high, at least it's there.

pity.

The plan was aborted due to unforeseen circumstances.

Who could have predicted that Gengar could trade two for one?

Tomoaki Koike looked up and exchanged a glance with Yuji.

Since things have come to this, let's go all out without any regrets. We have to show everyone our abilities.

With a resolute expression, he pulled out his last Poké Ball: "It's yours now, Mamoswine!"

at the same time.

Yuji pulled at his collar, revealing the Poké Ball around his neck.

With a yank and a throw of his left hand: "Go, Dragonite! Victory is ours!"

"Mengmai"

"Roar--"

On land, a very tall elf covered in brown fur is roaring with its head raised, its long, white, curved fangs made of ice seeming to pierce through everything.

Its hooves are white, and it has a pink, pig-like nose covered with light brown fur.

The eyes are surrounded by blue and white saddle-shaped patterns.

This is the evolved form of the long-haired pig, the ivory pig, a relatively rare type of elf.

Its active period was the Ice Age, when temperatures were generally low.

This is because its icy fangs are its source of power.

The strength of ivory pigs is greatly affected by rising and falling temperatures.

For a time, people even thought it was extinct.

It wasn't until a long-haired pig evolved into an ivory pig by mastering primal power that people realized this kind of creature could still survive today.

In the sky.

A large, yellowish pig was staring intently at the ivory pig below.

No one expected this.

Despite having the advantage, Yuji still chose to send out his strongest ace, the Kanto pseudo-god, Dragonite.

"I couldn't ask for more."

There was no trace of displeasure at the impending defeat in Tomoaki Koike's eyes; instead, they were brimming with passion.

The players all understood his thoughts.

Yuji's all-out effort in the battle was the greatest respect he could show to Tomoaki Koike.

The silhouette of the ivory pig was faintly visible.

This is its snow camouflage ability in effect.

The hail weather caused by Blizzard King's snowfall feature has not disappeared.

"Dragonite, charge in and use Aqua Tail!"

"Ivory Boar, prepare the freezing winds!"

The two trainers issued their respective commands.

"boom--"

"boom--"

"Boom"

The sounds of collisions, sometimes intense and sometimes muffled, were incessant.

Judging from the appearance of the Ivory Boar alone, it is easy to tell that it is an elf with outstanding physical strength.

Simply put, it's tough.

Although Dragonite's defense is significantly higher than Mamoswine's, the extra defense is practically useless against Ice-type attacks, which are 4x weak to it.