This is it, I'm dead!
Just as the skinny poacher's bat was about to crash down on Caleb's head—
Haunter vanished in a blink.
At the same moment, Caleb also disappeared from where he stood.
The next second—
The bat slammed down hard—right through Haunter, slicing it clean in half.
But Haunter quickly reformed itself.
"Gua~sī."
Before evolving into Gengar, the Gastly line were gaseous beings with no solid body.
The poacher blinked in confusion at the sudden appearance of the purple ghost and turned to look behind him.
In the spot Haunter had just been, stood a very confused Caleb.
What the—Position Swap?!
Where had Haunter learned that?
"Position Swap," a Psychic-type move that lets a Pokémon switch places with its ally.
A staple in doubles battles, and one of Caleb's favorite techniques.
"Damn it," the skinny poacher growled, clenching his fist. He tossed a Poké Ball. "Since you found us out, you're not walking away."
"Go, Mightyena!"
"You too, Golbat!" the chubby poacher added, throwing his own Poké Ball.
Mightyena and Golbat? Classic bad guy lineup.
"Battle ready—Haunter, Litten!"
"Gua~sī."
"Meow~"
Litten leapt from Caleb's arms, growling low. Its Intimidate ability activated immediately, lowering both enemy Pokémon's physical attack.
Without waiting for instructions, Litten knew exactly what to do.
In a flash, it zipped toward Mightyena and delivered a full-on face slap.
With the silk scarf Caleb had gifted it enhancing Normal-type moves, that slap packed some serious punch.
Mightyena was sent flying.
Haunter seized the moment and hurled a blob of toxic sludge at the airborne Mightyena.
"Heiloo!"
Second hit! Mightyena was smacked again mid-air, flipping through the air in a perfect M-shape.
A purplish glow bloomed across its fur.
Badly poisoned!
???
I didn't even give a command yet…
Oh well, guess it worked out.
"Haunter, finish it—Hex!" Caleb ordered.
"Gua~sī."
A wave of ghostly energy erupted from Haunter's mouth, homing in on the poisoned Mightyena.
Fresh off two aerial knockbacks, Mightyena opened its eyes—only to be met with a faceful of malevolent ghost energy.
Not again!
It shut its eyes in despair.
BOOM!
Mightyena went flying once more—and this time, it didn't get up.
The skinny poacher was still reeling from the shock of the surprise slap when he saw his Pokémon KO'd on the ground.
Wait, a slap can do that much damage?
He glared at his frozen teammate and couldn't hold back his fury. He socked him in the back of the head. "Idiot! Are you just gonna stand there? Help me already!"
That punch seemed to reboot the fat poacher's brain.
He nodded rapidly. "Oh—right! Golbat, help out! Wing Attack!"
Before Golbat could act, Haunter's Shadow Punch landed square on its face.
Boosted by Litten's earlier support—let's see you tank this.
Ora!
Golbat went flying.
???
Both poachers stood stunned.
No turns? Wait—weren't we supposed to go now?!
"Kehehehe…"
Haunter was grinning wide, fists still up.
Punching Pokémon feels great.
Its mouth split into a big grin, showing off two pointed fangs.
Oddly, the fangs weren't the same color—one white, one yellow.
The yellow one? A Held Item—Quick Claw.
Grants a 20% chance each turn to move first when move priority is equal.
The night Haunter evolved, it had gotten so excited it started stuffing its mouth with everything in sight—and accidentally bit down on a rock-hard baguette, shattering one of its new fangs.
A full fang regrows in about a month, so they'd had to slap on the Quick Claw as a temporary replacement.
Caleb had assumed with his luck, it would never activate. But hey, guess today was his lucky day.
At this moment—
The two poachers were red-faced, listening to Haunter's smug, mocking chuckles.
It felt like they were being taunted.
Finally, the skinny one snapped. He whipped out the rest of his Poké Balls—five of them—and hurled them into the air.
"Fine! No more rules—this is a wild battle now!"
Wild battles—exactly what poachers excelled at. Unlike official Trainer matches, wild battles had no rules.
Just win. By any means.
That meant you could attack the opposing Trainer directly.
In fact, in wild battles, taking out the Trainer first was often the go-to tactic—without commands, Pokémon became disorganized and easy to take down one by one.
Poachers were often hunted by Officer Jenny. Many spent months hiding out in the woods, so they'd become masters of wild combat.
The five Poké Balls burst open in midair, white light erupting from each.
Out popped a terrifying line-up:
Zangoose, Raticate, Muk, Ariados, and Skuntank.
The fat poacher tossed his remaining three Poké Balls.
Arbok, Beedrill, and Koffing.
"Let's see what you do now!" the skinny poacher cackled.
Eight Pokémon—let's see you one-shot that!
"Haze!" Caleb shouted.
Haunter instantly understood. It opened its mouth and unleashed a thick cloud of black fog.
"Cough—useless—cough—it's just a desperate move… when this haze clears… cough—damn, why's it so strong?!"
As the black fog faded, the skinny poacher prepared to order his eight Pokémon to dogpile Caleb.
But when he opened his eyes—Caleb was gone.
"Damn it! He ran?! No honor at all!" The skinny poacher stomped his feet in rage.
His partner hesitantly asked, "So… what do we do now?"
WHACK! A knife-hand chop landed square on his forehead.
"What do we do? Are you dumb? Chase him! What if he calls the cops?!"
Call the cops?
Caleb had considered it—but the police station was way too far. By the time Officer Jenny got there, he'd probably already be toast.
So does that mean he could only run?
Of course not. The station was far—but his gym was close.
Caleb sprinted while pulling out his phone.
Fiona had taken the day off, so that left him one option—Pachirisu.
...
At the Solaceon Gym, in the living room.
The TV was showing a Machamp boxing match.
Chansey stood in front of it, mimicking the moves. One Thunder Punch, one Fire Punch—it was going all out with its shadowboxing.
Meanwhile, Pachirisu was still lounging on the couch, not moving a muscle.
It held the phone in its paws, completely absorbed in the show: Lapras' Adventures.
"I am Black Tiger Afu! Prepare to die, Lapras!"
Hehe… "Black Tiger Afu." Honestly, that'd be a great nickname for Litten...
As Pachirisu giggled to itself, a call notification suddenly popped up on the screen.
Who the heck is calling now?
Oh—it was Caleb.
Seeing the caller ID, Pachirisu obediently answered.
From the other end, Caleb's voice shouted:
"Pachirisu—grab your gear!"