As Kay and his Pokémons ventured deeper into the corridor, the brightness from Sunny Day began to fade, and darkness crept back in.
Shadows stretched along the walls, making it difficult to see what lay ahead. Kay didn't want to risk being ambushed by more Ghost Pokémons, so he made a quick decision.
"Growlithe! Light up the corridor using Ember continuously," he instructed.
Growlithe obeyed, releasing small bursts of fire at regular intervals, keeping the path illuminated. The flames flickered against the walls, casting eerie shadows, but at least Kay could see his surroundings.
After walking for some time, they encountered a group of Shuppet. These Pokémons floated silently in the corridor, their beady eyes glowing in the dim corridor. Kay immediately pulled out his Pokedex to assess their strength.
Shuppet
Potential: Yellow
Stage: Superior Steel
That was the Shuppet with the highest potential and stage, while the rest varied between the Intermediate and Inferior Steel stages. Their potential ranged between white and yellow.
Kay quickly formulated a strategy. "Eevee, you take the strongest Shuppet and some of the Intermediate ones. Growlithe, you handle one Intermediate and the two Inferior Steel ones."
He made this decision because he knew Eevee, being a normal type, had a huge advantage against ghost Pokémons.
Most of their attacks wouldn't affect Eevee, making it the perfect counter. On the other hand, Growlithe would have a harder time, but Kay didn't want to waste too much time since he was cursed now. He needed to be fast and decisive.
As soon as he finished his commands, the Shuppet attacked.
Eevee immediately dashed forward, ignoring a barrage of Night Shade attacks from all the Shuppets.
It countered with Bite, its sharp fangs glowing dark as they sank into the Superior Steel Shuppet's ghostly body. Shuppet shrieked and tried to retaliate with Will-O-Wisp, sending small blue flames toward Eevee.
"Eevee, dodge and use Quick Attack, then Bite!" Kay ordered.
Eevee moved with lightning speed, weaving through the floating flames and striking Shuppet with another Bite before it could react.
The repeated Bite attacks were too much, and soon, the strongest Shuppet collapsed. Eevee then turned its attention to the remaining ones, eliminating them one by one.
Meanwhile, Growlithe was struggling more. It had to face three opponents at once.
"Growlithe, use Double Team again!" Kay commanded.
Growlithe split into multiple copies, confusing the Shuppet. They attacked with Hex and Night Shade, but most of their attacks missed, hitting only illusions. Growlithe countered with Ember, striking the strongest Shuppet among them.
But the Shuppets were persistent. One of them used Curse, stabbing itself with a ghostly spike to place a deadly mark on Growlithe. The moment it did, Growlithe winced as an invisible force started draining its energy.
Kay knew he had to end this quickly. "Growlithe, use Ember on the Shuppet that had just used Curse on you!"
Growlithe obeyed Kay's command and used Ember on that Shuppet twice; after the second hit, the Shuppet fell to the ground, knocked out.
That was because the Shuppet had just cut half its own HP to use Curse on Growlithe.
Just as Growlithe knocked out two Shuppets, Eevee had just finished its battle, and with Eevee's help, the battle was over instantly.
Growlithe, however, was more injured than Eevee. The curse had taken a toll, and it had been hit by several hex attacks.
Kay quickly took out a potion and sprayed it over Growlithe's wounds. At the same time, he instructed, "Eevee, use Wish!"
A soft glow surrounded Growlithe, slowly restoring its strength. Kay sighed. He had to be careful with his resources, he had no idea what else lay ahead.
Just as he was about to continue deeper into the corridor, another group of Gastly appeared.
These ones were stronger than the last group, around the same level as the Shuppet. Kay didn't hesitate, he immediately engaged them in battle.
As the battle raged on, Kay caught something in the corner of his eye, a small movement in the darkness.
He quickly turned and pulled out his Pokedex, activating the flashlight mode. The bright beam cut through the shadows, but he didn't see anything.
Frowning, he turned back to the battle. Eevee and Growlithe were handling the Gastly well, but Kay remained uneasy.
Then, just as the last Gastly fell, he saw it again; something shifting in the darkness.
Kay immediately shone his light toward the spot, but once again, nothing was there.
His grip on the Pokedex tightened. Something or someone was watching him.
Kay pressed forward, his steps cautious as he thought about whatever was watching him from the darkness.
The feeling of being observed hadn't disappeared. If anything, it had only grown stronger. Yet, each time he tried to catch sight of the mysterious presence, it vanished without a trace.
For the next thirty minutes, he and his Pokémons encountered multiple groups of Ghost-types; more Gastly, Shuppet, and even a few Drifloon.
The battles were exhausting, but thanks to Eevee's immunity to Ghost-type moves and Growlithe's fire attacks that lit up the corridor, they managed to defeat each group without sustaining too much damage.
After another few minutes of walking, Kay came across a new group of Pokémons: Misdreavus. They hovered in the air, their red eyes gleaming faintly in the dim corridor.
Kay quickly pulled out his Pokedex to scan them:
Misdreavus
Potential: White.
Stage: Intermediate Steel.
Compared to the other groups he had fought, these Misdreavus were weak. A battle against them wouldn't be a challenge.
That's when an idea struck him. This was the perfect chance to catch his unknown observer.
Kay had suspected for some time that a Ghost Pokémon was following him, observing his movements.
But he instantly eliminated the possibility of that Ghost Pokémon being Gengar; if it was Gengar, Kay would have already suffocated from its overwhelming aura.
That meant it had to be something weaker. Something that could hide in the shadows but not completely erase its presence.
Even though Kay knew that Gengar was watching him, it would have been impossible for him to detect his presence if he had hidden it.
He needed a plan to expose it before it escaped again.
"Eevee, Growlithe, attack the Misdreavus but stay alert for my commands," Kay ordered.
His Pokémons leaped into action without hesitation. Eevee darted toward the Misdreavus, its sharp fangs full of Dark-type energy as it used Bite. Growlithe, meanwhile, let out a burst of flames, scorching the air with Ember.
Just as the battle began, Kay suddenly shouted and sprinted toward the dark corridor.
"Growlithe, use Ember toward the corridor! Eevee, finish off the Misdreavus!"
Growlithe, already prepared to follow Kay's sudden commands, quickly shot a ball of fire into the shadows. The flames burst against the walls, illuminating the corridor in an instant.
For the first time, the identity of the mysterious observer was revealed.
A small Phantump stood in the corridor, its hollow, glowing eyes staring back at Kay in shock.
It had been using the darkness to hide, hiding inside the shadows, but Growlithe's Ember had forced the shadows to retreat.
The Phantump tried to escape, moving toward the nearest dark corner to vanish again.
However, the unexpected burst of fire had thrown off its timing. Instead of slipping into the shadows, it crashed straight into the wall.
Kay didn't waste a second.
"Growlithe, use Sunny Day!" he ordered urgently.
Growlithe barked and quickly released a glowing orb into the air. The ball of light floated up to the ceiling before expanding, flooding the corridor with a warm, golden glow.
The shadows vanished.
With nowhere left to hide, the Phantump trembled, realizing it had been completely exposed. Its small body tensed as it shifted into a battle stance, its tiny arms raised.
It wasn't going to run anymore.
Kay then pulled out his Pokedex to check its stats.
See you in the next chapter...
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