## Chapter 44 :The confused duskull

"The Duskull aren't as clever as you think they are," Kane stated, his voice cutting through the air like a sharp blade, cold and indifferent. His tone carried a sense of finality, as if he had made this realization long ago.

If Pokémon were truly capable of organizing such complex and tactical assaults on their own, Kane thought, then the world as everyone knew it would have been turned upside down long ago. The balance of power would have shifted dramatically, with humans losing their dominance and Pokémon rising to the top, ruling the earth through sheer force and superior strategic ability. It was a frightening thought, but one that had never come to pass, because Pokémon simply lacked the higher cognitive ability to lead the kind of complex coordination needed to overpower humans. Kane's statement was a stark reminder of this reality.

Melissa, clearly taken aback by Kane's calm yet unsettling assertion, furrowed her brow in confusion. "What do you mean by that?" she asked, her voice tinged with a mixture of surprise and curiosity. The confusion in her tone was palpable, and she couldn't quite wrap her head around what Kane was implying. In her mind, the Legion of Duskull had seemed far more formidable than he was making them out to be.

Instead of offering a lengthy explanation, Kane chose to cut straight to the heart of the matter. His focus was on the battle, and he had no intention of pausing to give a lecture on strategy. "Disturb them. We'll stagger our attacks and throw them off balance," he said, his voice firm and resolute. "Gastly, start by launching Sludge Bombs at the upper left. Do it now." His commands were sharp and to the point, and he wasted no time in giving them. Kane wasn't there to explain tactics or play the role of a teacher—he was there to win. And winning meant taking immediate action.

In response to Kane's command, his gastlyPokémon swiftly unleashed a barrage of attacks. One after another, dark purple spheres of toxic sludge were hurled into the air. The noxious poison bombs were aimed with precision, targeting the upper left side of the battlefield, where the Duskull Legion stood, their eerie figures illuminated by the dim light.

The Duskull, a spectral group of ghost type Pokémon, had been concentrating their collective Will-O-Wisps, preparing to counter any attack that came their way. But Kane had caught them off guard. His Gastlys Sludge Bombs came in quick succession, one after the other, forcing the Duskull to divert their attention and defend themselves. The once-coordinated formation of Will-O-Wisps scattered, and the Legion's focus began to waver.

Just as the Duskull were struggling to maintain their defenses, a sudden realization hit Komatsu like a bolt of lightning. His eyes widened, and his voice rang out with excitement as the strategy Kane was using became clear to him. "I get it!" Komatsu exclaimed, his tone full of understanding. "Spiritbomb, use Snarl and aim for the lower right!" he ordered, his mind now fully grasping the tactic Kane had initiated.

The moment Komatsu gave his command, Spiritbomb responded with a deafening roar. Sound waves exploded from its body, reverberating through the battlefield and sweeping toward the Duskull Legion's lower right flank. The powerful sound waves created a shockwave, further disturbing the Legion's already shaky formation.

Melissa, still confused and anxious, quickly turned toward Komatsu, her voice trembling with unease. "Brother Komatsu, what do you mean? What exactly did you figure out?" she asked, her eyes searching for some kind of clarity in the midst of the chaos unfolding before them. She couldn't quite grasp what was happening, and the uncertainty in the air only added to her growing anxiety.

Komatsu, however, was laser-focused on the battle at hand. He waved off Melissa's concerns with a simple gesture, not wanting to waste time on explanations. "Just stay quiet and prepare to attack the upper right. Trust me, you'll understand soon enough," he said confidently, his eyes never leaving the battlefield. There was no time for hesitation now. Everything was falling into place just as he and Kane had planned.

And sure enough, just as Komatsu had anticipated, the Duskull began to falter. Their once-solid formation was starting to crumble. The moment they shifted their Will-O-Wisps toward Kane's gastly to counter the Sludge Bomb attacks, Spiritbomb's Snarl struck from the opposite side, catching them completely off guard. The Duskull Legion, which had once moved with eerie precision, was now disoriented. The ethereal flames of their Will-O-Wisps scattered aimlessly, no longer a cohesive force.

"I see it now!" Thunderstorm shouted, his voice filled with the excitement of sudden understanding. His eyes lit up as the realization hit him, and it was as if a puzzle piece had just clicked into place. "The Duskull 's tactics are too rigid! They don't know how to handle unpredictable attacks from multiple angles!" he exclaimed, his words echoing the very strategy Kane and Komatsu had employed. The Duskull Legion had been relying on their fixed, straightforward tactics, but Kane's approach had thrown them completely off balance. They couldn't keep up with the unpredictable, staggered attacks coming from multiple directions, and their once-formidable strategy was falling apart at the seams.

Now that everyone understood what was happening, Kane and Komatsu continued their relentless assault. They attacked from different directions, maintaining constant pressure on the Duskull Legion. The Duskull, unable to adapt, struggled to regain control. Their Will-O-Wisps, which had once been their primary method of defense, were now scattered and ineffective.

During this chaos, Kane's gastly took full advantage of the situation. It unleashed five consecutive Sludge Bombs, each one landing with deadly accuracy on the upper left corner of the battlefield. Five Night Watchers were hit, and the toxic sludge quickly seeped into their ghostly forms, poisoning them and sapping their strength. The battle was rapidly turning in Kane's favor.

As the Duskull Legion's defenses crumbled, Spiritbomb struck again, delivering another powerful attack that sent ripples of dark energy through the ranks of the Duskull. Melissa, who had been preparing her own assault, finally made her move. Her Pokémon, Drifloon, whipped up a powerful Ominous Wind attack, directing it toward the upper right side of the battlefield. The wind howled as it tore through the air, adding yet another layer of chaos to the already disorganized Duskull.

By this point, the Duskull were completely overwhelmed. Their once carefully coordinated formation had fallen apart entirely. Although they still attempted to maintain their ranks, they no longer had the focus or direction to do so effectively. They were lost, both in mind and in action.

Kane, sensing that victory was within reach, pressed his advantage. His Pokémon focused its attacks on the upper left side, systematically cutting down the remaining Duskull. The Legion, now reduced to a mere seven members, had lost nearly all cohesion. Without their tactical coordination, they were easy prey for Kane's relentless assault.

The Dusclop, the leader of the Duskull Legion, had remained aloof throughout much of the battle. True to its name, it seemed to be wandering aimlessly, its mind unsure of what to do. It wasn't until the Legion was nearly defeated that the Dusclop finally realized something was wrong. But even then, its ghostly mind couldn't process a more effective strategy. Instead, it gave the order for the remaining Dudkull to abandon their Will-O-Wisp tactics and switch to a more direct form of attack.

However, by this point, it was already too late.

The seven remaining Duskull were no match for the combined strength of Kane and the others. Five of them were quickly surrounded by Thunderstorm and the others, while the last two were left wandering aimlessly, unsure of how to engage the enemy.

In a final, desperate attempt to salvage the situation, the Dusclop charged toward the remaining Duskull, hoping to provide them with some kind of support.

"Gastly, use Shadow Ball!" Kane ordered, his voice cutting through the air like a whip.

"Spiritbomb, hit them with feint attack!" Komatsu shouted, his voice full of determination.

Together, Kane and Komatsu focused their attacks on the two isolated Duskull. With their numbers dwindled and their strategy in shambles, the Duskull stood no chance. Thunderstorm, who had been struggling to keep up, found himself overwhelmed as his group became easy targets for the Dusclop diversionary tactics. Despite his best efforts, the pressure proved too much, and his team soon fell out of the fight, unable to continue.

"Everyone, group together!" Kane shouted, recognizing the opportunity to end the battle.

Komatsu and Melissa immediately understood. They guided their Pokémon, Spiritbomb, and Drifloon—closer together, hovering just above the ground in a tight formation. The Duskull, now thoroughly disoriented, tried to mount a final offensive move to encircle Kane 's team, but their attempts to encircle Kane's team were futile. All three of the airborne Pokémon floated effortlessly above the ground, making any kind of ground-based encirclement useless.

The Dusclop, seeing its last strategy fall apart, lashed out in desperation. It swung its shadowy fists wildly, its dark energy lashing out toward Kane's ghost type Pokémon gastly.

"You two, get out of the encirclement and leave the rest to me," Kane said, his voice calm but commanding.

"Melissa let's use Ominous wind," Komatsu cautioned, nodding toward Melissa. They both used, their Pokémon's wind-based attacks creating a barrier that slowed the Dusclop

The Dusclop, now completely alone, flailed its shadowy arms, battling against both Spiritbomb and Drifloon's strong winds. Meanwhile, Kane's gastly was busy dealing with the remaining Duskull's. They had surrounded it, but instead of attacking, they hesitated fear written all over their face.

Kane smirked, recognizing the opportunity. "Gastly use Shadow Hypnosis," he commanded.

The gastly unleashed a dark, rippling shadow that enveloped the Duskull's. The eerie red glow from its hypnotic power pulsed through the shadows. One by one, the Duskull 's succumbed to the effects of shadow hypnosis, falling from the sky into a deep sleep.

Now, the Dusclop was left with no backup. It was locked in combat with the Ominous winds, unaware that Kane's Gastly had quietly moved behind it, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Without hesitation, Kane gave the order. "Gastly, hit it with Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb!"

The gastly obeyed, launching both attacks in quick succession. The Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb struck the Dusclop's back, the force of the blows sending it crashing to the ground. The poison from the Sludge Bomb seeped into its ghostly form, further weakening it. The Dusclop could no longer support itself.

Kane's Gastly, seizing the opportunity, finished the fight with one final Shadow Ball, hitting the Dusclop as it lay on the ground, ending the battle.

"Finally, we won!" Melissa sighed in relief, her shoulders relaxing for the first time in days. After nearly two weeks of battling, their victory was finally complete.

Komatsu and Thunderstorm, however, weren't as quick to celebrate. They both glanced at Kane with newfound respect. There was something mysterious about him—something beyond his quick thinking and sharp battle acumen. While they had once believed he simply excelled in strategy, they now realized Kane possessed a deeper, almost uncanny, understanding of their enemies and how to exploit their weaknesses.

As they reflected on the battle, it became clear that Kane's tactics had been evolving since their first failed attempt at challenging the Duskull Legion. Most people would have tried to band together and withstand the joint assault, but Kane had taken a different approach. He had disrupted their formation from the very beginning. Without his cohesive commands, the Duskull fell apart, their rigid tactics crumbling with every misstep. And once they lost control, the rest was simply a matter of picking them off, one by one.

After breaking through the third floor, the four trainers handed in their results to Chiyama, the Gym leader.

Chiyama had not expected them to progress so quickly, especially given the lack of proper resources at the Ecruteak Gym. Many valuable TMs from regions like the Unova region were hard to come by, making it difficult for trainers to access powerful techniques.

Unable to offer more TMs, Chiyama rewarded them each of them with a Spell tag—a rare and valuable item.

Spell Tags was designed for Ghost-type Pokémon, enhancing the power of their ghost type moves. Similar to items like charcoal, which boosted the strength of Fire-type moves, or Miracle Seed, which enhanced Grass-type abilities, the Spell Tags were a coveted item in the field of Ghost-type trainers.

Each Tag was imbued with energy, its effects crafted from special materials or naturally occurring elements. Like the mysterious Mystic water found in the Whirl Islands, which enhanced Water-type moves, or the charcoal made from the ancient trees of llex Forest, these items were highly prized. Their production processes were often ancient and secretive, making them all the more valuable.