Chapter 61: Fierce Battle! Gengar vs. Zapdos!!

"What should I do?!"

Ash widened his eyes, staring at the Zapdos flapping its wings and dancing before him. Crackling electricity surged from the legendary bird, spreading so widely that it enveloped the entire abandoned power plant, faintly forming a barrier of pure electrical energy.

The surrounding air hummed with a constant buzzing sound, and the very world in front of him seemed cast under a dim, yellowish filter.

Electric Terrain!

There was no way out of this without a fight today.

The Trio of Long Life had slipped away, calling upon the food-chain squad would probably yield nothing, and even Pikachu, his most trusted general, had started slacking off.

Ash was beginning to panic.

"Well, Ash, do you need my Pokémon?"

Red's voice drifted gently from the recesses of his mind.

Having just sobered up, Red realized he might have truly chosen the wrong opponent; given Ash's current roster of Pokémon, facing such an adversary was practically serving them up on a silver platter.

"No, today is the first day without Gary. Even though I don't miss him, this battle must be fought by me!"

Ash rejected the offer instantly.

Besides, with Red's absurdly overpowered Pokémon, even his grandmother could command them to victory, rendering the whole exercise completely meaningless.

After all, he still had a trump card up his sleeve!

With that, Ash hesitated no longer and threw a Poké Ball, shouting in a low voice:

"I choose you, Gengar!"

A red flash crossed the air, followed by a loud thump as a vacuum cleaner crashed down from midair. This maneuver left Zapdos somewhat bewildered.

Were household appliances considered Pokémon now?

However, the vacuum cleaner simply lay motionless on the ground. Its lid was open, yet the pool of purple liquid inside refused to flow out.

Actually, Ash had already popped open the back cover of the vacuum cleaner aboard the S.S. Anne, but Gengar had stubbornly refused to come out.

On one hand, it genuinely wanted to strangle this trainer who had toyed with it.

On the other hand, it felt a strange, inexplicable emotion toward the trainer who had rescued it from that painful place.

It had been abandoned by humans, trapped in that desolate space for a full three years, breeding a deep and intense hatred.

Yet, it was another human who had brought it out, creating a conflicting turmoil within Gengar.

The only certain thing was that this amateur human's skill level was nowhere near enough to command it.

"Humph!"

The liquid-form Gengar closed its eyes, deciding simply not to emerge, and drifted off to a sound sleep right inside the vacuum cleaner.

"Ash, think of something quickly! High-level Pokémon sometimes refuse to listen to their trainers!"

Misty and Brock—acting as backstage advisors—hastily offered a reminder.

Without the vacuum cleaner serving as a Ghost-type counter, this powerful veteran Gengar from Kanto could easily have swept Ash's entire team, plunging his vision into total darkness.

Perhaps this high-level Gengar actually stood a fighting chance against Zapdos, who knows?

At any rate, he had never expected Ash to win; he just hoped they could exchange a couple of blows so things wouldn't be too embarrassing, right?

Seeing this, Ash hurried to call out, his expression earnest.

"Gengar! We promised back then to reach the peak together. There's a Zapdos right in front of us—let's take it down, and by tomorrow we'll be at the summit!"

"Gengar! (We never said that!)"

"Gengar, you're my best friend, I need your strength!"

"Gengar! (We're not that close!)"

"Gengar, flipping that bird over will prove your greatness!"

"Gengar! (I'm already great!)"

"Tomorrow we'll head to Lavender Town and find you a female Gengar at the Pokémon Tower!"

"Gen—?!"

Suddenly, a streak of lightning cracked through the air, interrupting the dialogue between human and ghost, and struck the vacuum cleaner directly.

"Gen!"

Sensing the formidable force of the lightning, Gengar dared not be careless. It instantly shifted its body into an intangible state, slipping out of the vacuum cleaner and dodging the sneak attack by a hair's breadth.

As for the vacuum cleaner itself, the lightning blast instantly reduced it to a blackened, crispy shell.

Furious, Gengar glared with its two blood-red eyes, puffing its body up like a pufferfish. It pointed a chubby hand toward the air and chattered angrily in accusation.

"Gengar, gengar, gengar!!"

It had been sleeping very comfortably in that vacuum cleaner!

Whether provoked by Zapdos's sneak attack or tempted by the prospect of a female Gengar in Lavender Town, this time Gengar's fighting spirit was truly ignited, and it resolved to knock that ruffled, overgrown bird right out of the sky.

"That's the spirit! I knew we could fight back-to-back!"

Ash was deeply moved. With the power of this Gengar, they might actually manage to flip the legendary divine bird over!

"Gengar, use—"

Before he could finish, Gengar struck first, its chubby hand whipping backward to fling a purple-black sphere of energy.

Shadow Ball!

Being willing to fight didn't mean being willing to follow Ash's orders.

"Gengar..."

This sight darkened Ash's gaze. As expected, a shortcut capture would always lead to consequences like this.

No matter. Even so, as a trainer, he still had to seize every opportunity for Gengar.

He took a deep breath, fixing his unwavering gaze upon the battlefield.

"ChirP!"

Zapdos shrieked loudly. Lightning burst between its spiked feathers, transforming into countless powerful currents that radiated outward. The surrounding yellowish field seemed to amplify its power even further, and the might of the lightning directly detonated the Shadow Ball.

"Zap! Zap!"

The discharge didn't stop, continuing its rush toward Gengar.

"Gen!"

Triggering its Levitate ability, Gengar hastily floated upward, weaving past the dense web of electricity. In the next second, its eerie figure materialized less than three meters in front of Zapdos, a terrifying chill condensing rapidly around its right fist.

Ice Punch!

As a high-speed, high-attack veteran brawler from the Kanto generation, a heavy blow from this fist—

Coupled with the Ice-type's type advantage against Zapdos—would definitely give the legendary bird a run for its money.

"ChirP!"

As a divine bird, however, it showed no panic at all. While beating its wings to retreat backward, it whipped them forward fiercely, sending a wave of crimson, high-temperature airflow surging from between its feathers.

"Whoosh—boom!"

The scorching heat wave was like tangible flames, choking Gengar's speed and drastically dulling the chill gathered in its fist.

Heat Wave!

By the time Gengar reached Zapdos, the effect of Ice Punch had just worn off, causing it to punch through empty air.

Noticing the physical opening left by Gengar's empty swing, Zapdos's eyes lit up. One of its wings began to shine with a brilliant metallic luster, and it swept outward without a shred of mercy.

Iron Wing!

"Whoosh!"

The Iron Wing landed with a heavy, powerful force, tearing through the air and producing a piercing sonic boom.

"Gen!"

There was nowhere to dodge!

Gengar's eyes widened instantly, glowing with a demonic, hair-raising intensity.

Then it wouldn't dodge!

Gengar's mouth suddenly curved upward, and a fierce blue light flared within its blood-red eyes. A terrifying psychic telekinesis activated instantly, transforming into an all-blocking giant hand that clamped firmly onto the shining steel wing.

"Clang..."

Zapdos's wing stopped less than half an inch from Gengar's face, the violent shockwaves whipping its gaseous body into a continuous flutter.

Psychic!!

Gengar stretched out its two chubby hands, invisible blue ripples expanding in layers. The psychic power erupted anew, preparing to flip Zapdos right over.

"ChirP!!"

Trapped within the telekinetic grip, Zapdos let out another high-pitched screech. A terrifying burst of electricity erupted from the center of its body, transforming into a deep yellow barrier of lightning that completely blocked the overwhelming psychic pressure.

As Zapdos spread its wings wide, the electrical surge exploded, drawing upon the surrounding Electric Terrain to fill the entire area with crackling lightning!

"Gen..."

The sheer terror of the electricity forced Gengar to retreat repeatedly. After all, it was notoriously fragile—the kind of Pokémon that would faint on the spot if it took even a single stray jolt.

Unable to engage in close combat, Gengar tried tossing a couple of Shadow Balls from afar, but the terrifying electrical barrier intercepted and destroyed them both, preventing them from coming within five meters of Zapdos.

By now, an increasing amount of electricity was coursing through the abandoned power plant, gradually forming a tight encirclement that boxed Gengar in from all sides.

Before Gengar could react, it was trapped by the web of electricity, with no escape route in any direction.

Gengar found itself in a desperate plight, its large eyes darting anxiously around the surroundings.

"Gengar, use Thunder Punch!"

A crisp, ringing shout drew Gengar's attention. Catching a glimpse out of the corner of its eye, it saw Ash waving to it from below.

The clear, bright gaze in Ash's eyes caused Gengar to pause involuntarily. This was the first time it had ever experienced such a strange sensation.

Still, what good would Thunder Punch do?

Seeing that Gengar remained frozen, Ash didn't hesitate for a second, shouting once more:

"Trust me, Gengar, use Thunder Punch!"

The resolute voice seemed to infect it; Gengar's troubled eyes instantly brightened. It raised its left hand, and lightning began to spark across its palm.

The moment it activated the move, it understood Ash's intention, and that sly, mischievous smile returned to its face.

Gengar spun its Thunder Punch like a windmill, and the surrounding electrical field and web seemed drawn to it, shifting slightly in response.

"Gen!!"

Seizing the opening, Gengar charged forward fiercely. The lightning crackling around its left fist acted like a powerful magnet, pulling countless bolts of thunder from the air directly into its grasp, gathering them into a massive, terrifying ball of electrical energy wrapped tightly around its arm.

Misty and Brock stared in utter shock, blurting out simultaneously:

"That move is Lieutenant Surge's..."

Back then, Lt. Surge's Raichu had also channeled countless bolts of lightning into the center of its fist using Thunder Punch. Was Ash attempting to repeat that trick today?

The two of them looked at Ash, thinking to themselves that this kid's battle intellect was truly extraordinary.

"Gengar, gengar!!"

Moving with blistering speed, Gengar closed the distance to Zapdos in the blink of an eye. With the might of ten thousand thunderstorms clutched in its left fist, it struck out with a ferocious punch!

"ChirP!!"

Instead of anger, Zapdos laughed. Use Thunder Punch against it, the very God of Thunder?!

Ridiculous!

In the next instant, the electricity enveloping Zapdos erupted in tandem, and two immensely powerful electrical currents violently crashed against one another.

"Boom, boom, boom!!"

The electricity shattered and dispersed outward, causing the entire power plant to tremble. Countless dilapidated machines whirred crazily, emitting all sorts of engine-screeching noises!

Even the ceiling tiles above were blown open into a massive crater by the electrical shockwave.

Half a minute later.

The thunder faded. The two combatants were evenly matched, though Zapdos's electrical output still held a faint, suppressing edge over its opponent.

It smiled smugly, clearly quite satisfied with having weathered that fierce counterassault.

"Gen..."

"Stupid bird..."

Yet, in the next second, Gengar and Ash below simultaneously wore matching, triumphant smirks.

Thunder Punch had never been Gengar's true goal; a strike without a type advantage wouldn't have dealt much damage anyway.

The two Pokémon were practically touching, and Gengar had slowly extended its other fist, which it had kept hidden behind its back all along.

Radiating an intense, bone-chilling frost...

This was their real objective.

"Gengar, use Ice Punch!"

Ash roared at the top of his lungs!