Re-entering the Brass Tower

Cain brought a Haunter, transformed from a Ditto, to the first floor of the Brass Tower.

At this time, his own Gastly had disappeared without a trace. Perhaps it had its own training partner.

In a corner of the first floor, three Gastlys and two Haunters were playing.

"Ditto, use Shadow Ball on those five."

Without any unnecessary words, Cain came to challenge them.

Shadow Balls were thrown out one by one, but only three out of five hit their targets.

Cain shook his head. Indeed, there was a gap that Ditto could not overcome. No matter how perfect Ditto's transformation, a fake was always a fake.

After all, it was a Normal-type. If Ditto transformed into another Normal-type Pokémon and used Normal-type moves, it would be more efficient.

However, it wasn't as smooth when it transformed into other types. Perhaps with long-term practice, Ditto would gradually master the skills of a few types of Pokémon, but to be proficient in all types was simply a pipe dream.

For example, now that Ditto had transformed into a Haunter, it could not control Ghost-type energy as well as a real Haunter. Therefore, its Shadow Balls were slow and inaccurate.

The three Shadow Balls hit the Gastlys, angering the small team of five.

Two Haunters and three Gastlys attacked Ditto.

"Ditto is not allowed to fight back, only dodge."

Five against one and not allowed to fight back, Cain was putting immense pressure on Ditto's abilities.

In Cain's view, such special training was the most effective. Without the determination to fight against all odds, there would be no courage to fight with one's back against the wall. Only by pushing oneself to the limit could hidden strength be unleashed.

As expected, Ditto was dodging in a panic under the siege of the five Pokémon, encountering numerous close calls. It managed to hold on for about half an hour before being hit by a Haunter's Shadow Punch.

However, Cain didn't call for a halt. Ditto could continue, and as its stamina drained, it would naturally become slower, and the number of times it was hit would increase.

After another half hour, Ditto finally collapsed and, with Cain's permission, returned to its original form.

Cain used a healing potion on Ditto, allowing it to recover some energy before continuing the special training.

Cain naturally had to abide by the five-point rule set by Yan. Deep down, he believed there was no way he could be weaker than Yan. Although he was currently a Gym trainee and not as strong as Yan, his determination would not be any less.

After the five-point special training ended, Leo sent the injured Pokemon to the Pokémon Center for recovery and treatment.

During this time, Cain had plenty of time to take a bath and eat dinner.

From 6 to 8 o'clock was a self-study period, mostly focused on Pokémon types, habits, and learning advanced moves from books. But Cain already knew all of this by heart and didn't need to study.

During this time, Cain mainly watched TV, focusing on Elite Four challenges and Champion challenges, hoping to gain inspiration from high-level battles.

From 8 to 10 o'clock, he practiced "Flying Dagger," focusing on accumulating experience.

Gastly hadn't returned by bedtime, and Cain couldn't help but worry. He wondered if it had gone out on its own to absorb life energy from people on the streets again.

He decided not to worry about Gastly. If it couldn't learn "Night Shade," there was no point in continuing to train it.

He set the alarm for 6 o'clock.

Cain, still asleep at 5:30, was awakened by a startling noise.

His natural instincts kicked in, and he immediately sat up in bed.

Gastly?

"Did you learn Night Shade?"

Cain looked at Gastly, who had a cheeky expression and appeared to be in high spirits.

Gastly nodded.

"Why just now? Did you go out to the streets to steal life energy again?"

Gastly shook its head.

"You better not have. Return to your Poké Ball."

Gastly had reached the level to learn Night Shade, and it seemed like it had just learned the move after spending the entire night on it.

Was it due to its own potential, or had Cain not pushed it enough?

Today, he had to test it.

Their second attempt at the first floor of the Brass Tower.

Cain and Raikou had a basic plan, but they were lacking in power.

They still had four Pokémon.

Ditto transformed into Haunter without any warning and immediately attacked the two Haunter leaders.

This successfully diverted the attention of the two Haunters.

Raikou prepared to use its strength, while Duskull readied the move "Foresight."

However, the twenty Gastly were not without a plan.

Lick attack!

Twenty long, crimson tongues, carrying a disgusting smell, swung towards the remaining Gastly, Machop, and Duskull.

Since this was only a trial, the Gastly swarm wouldn't attack Cain and Raikou, but if this were in the wild, the situation would be even more dangerous, as they would constantly need to be vigilant about their own safety.

Machop and Duskull were unable to concentrate and use Foresight, and their previous hopes had to be abandoned due to their lack of strength.

The twenty Gastly controlled their tongues to deal with the three Pokémon; Gastly and Duskull could move freely by floating, allowing them to evade more effectively.

Machop could only move on the ground and was quickly targeted by the Gastly swarm, becoming the center of attention.

Machop could only rely on its own defense to resist.

"Get close, use Night Shade."

They were already at a disadvantage, and continuing like this would only be a waste of time, so they might as well give it a shot.

If they were going to lose, they would do so spectacularly.

Hearing Cain's command, Gastly moved up along a tongue.

It quickly approached one of the enemy Gastly.

A shadow appeared, covering one Gastly in darkness, and the ambush was successful. Cain's Gastly rushed into the shadow.

Soon, the enemy Gastly fell from the shadow, looking extremely weak.

Cain's Gastly became incredibly excited as it left the shadow.

This Gastly's life energy had also been drained, and it was very weak as it fell.

Seeing one Gastly defeated, Cain's Gastly immediately became the target, attracting concentrated fire.

Seven or eight tongues from different directions intercepted Cain's Gastly.

There was no way to avoid it.

At the critical moment, Gastly used Night Shade again.

"Dive in."

At this point, Ditto's pursuit game had come to an early end, with two Haunters and four Shadow Punches.

Having endured for such a long time, Ditto had performed quite well.

The damage from the physical attacks had accumulated to its breaking point, and it collapsed.

Duskull also launched a counterattack.

Cain's Gastly unleashed a Night Shade, resembling a dark cloud. Gastly dove into it, driving the dark cloud towards the nearest three Gastlys.

One against three.

Cain gradually became interested in his own Gastly.

The damage from Night Shade, coupled with Gastly's preference for draining life energy.

The three Gastlys were dealt with just like that.

The battle had reached this point, and one could say there had been significant gains.

The value of such a Gastly was immeasurable. Food could also be a means of attack, and with proper training methods, it was possible to reach the heights of Koga's Mega Gengar.

The Gastly, having absorbed the life energy of four enemy Gastlys, had reached its limit. In plain terms, it was full and couldn't eat anymore, so it couldn't continue to absorb life energy.

Facing two Haunters and sixteen Gastlys.

The two Haunters unleashed two Shadow Balls, putting an end to today's challenge.

Once again, it ended in failure.