It was said that Chandelure was the guide to the Ghost World, capable of opening a gateway leading into it.
When the gateway to the Ghost World opened, all living beings nearby would experience a massive pulling force. If they couldn't resist it, they would be sucked into the Ghost World.
As for whether one could come back out… that was a place where only the dead were supposed to go…
"TOGETIC!" Mark shouted. Togetic was too light, and with no point of support in the air, it was the first to be pulled into the Ghost World portal.
Mark chased after it recklessly and managed to grab Togetic in his arms, but that brought them dangerously close to the gateway itself.
And the closer one got to the entrance, the stronger the pull became. Inevitably, they began to be drawn in once more.
"Cha!"
At the critical moment, Arbok stopped being deadweight. Its upper half coiled tightly around a column, while its lower body stretched out violently, wrapping around Mark and Togetic.
"Zoroark, use Grass Knot!"
Reinforcements arrived. Lush and resilient green grass burst out from beneath Arbok, wrapping tightly around both Arbok and the column, making it impossible to move.
But because of that, Arbok freed up the strength in its upper body and could fully focus on pulling Mark back.
Ghost-type Pokémon weren't affected by the pull of the Ghost World entrance. A Lampent, seeing that Mark was about to be dragged back, simply launched an Inferno at Arbok.
"Char"
Arbok cried out in pain. Inferno's guaranteed Burn effect was no joke, and the fire from the Lampent line had exceptionally strong adhesion, it even began spreading across Arbok's entire body.
But Arbok didn't let go.
Its tail still clung tightly, firmly gripping Mark and Togetic, even as the flames scorched its body and began to smell of cooked flesh.
"Arbok…" Mark muttered under his breath. He wasn't foolish enough to say something like "let me go," but he couldn't help the guilt that welled up inside him.
Watching the purple flames blaze from the middle of Arbok's body, Mark felt like it was burning straight into his heart.
It hurt.
"Pras!"
Finally, Lapras arrived to help. First, it used Water Pulse to drive the Lampent away, then used a small-power Water Gun to help Arbok alleviate the burn, but it just couldn't extinguish the flames.
"Florges, Aromatherapy!"
Petal after pink petal floated gently toward Arbok's wounds, completely unaffected by the pulling force. Only then were the flames extinguished, and the burn rapidly healed.
Now that its strength had returned, Arbok gave one big pull and dragged Mark and Togetic back, temporarily escaping danger.
Mark gave his first partner a huge Ursaring hug, then turned around with an intensity in his eyes he had never shown before, staring straight at the nearby Litwick and Lampent.
"Lapras, Surf. Arbok, Toxic. Togetic, Metronome!"
"Praaas!"
Lapras surged forward, unleashing a towering tidal wave. Perhaps the crisis Mark had just faced left it both shocked and enraged; usually almost invisible, it now burst forth with terrifying power.
The massive wave rolled forward. Arbok, eyes gleaming coldly, sprayed an endless stream of venomous Toxic, blending it directly into the crashing wave and turning it purple.
The Lampent frantically floated upward, trying to escape the incoming Toxic Surf, but the Litwick had no such luck. Too slow, they could only flee desperately toward the Ghost World.
"Toge~"
Finally, Togetic's Metronome had completed. A faint white light appeared on its tiny hand, and an immense energy burst forth from the light in an utterly illogical form.
Countless air cyclones grew from small to massive, endlessly shooting out from Togetic's tiny finger, then indiscriminately striking all the Lampent in the air.
And in a place unseen by anyone, a mysterious, invisible force appeared within Mark's body and slowly flowed into Togetic, as if replenishing something.
The flying cyclones exploded on even the slightest contact with Lampent, creating fiercely cutting shockwaves.
Aeroblast. Also known as Sky Breaker!
It was the signature move of the Legendary Pokémon Lugia, known for having the highest critical hit rate among all moves.
The moment Aeroblast appeared, its momentum drew the attention of everyone present, even Chandelure couldn't help but glance over.
Of the five people, only Sato -born in the Kanto Region- recognized the move, while the others, including Mark himself, had no idea what kind of miracle Togetic had just pulled off.
Even if Togetic was still weak right now… what if Aeroblast really had a 100% critical hit rate?
With Mark's luck-based power behind it, that wasn't impossible…
Aeroblast above, Toxic Surf below… Mark's only three Pokémon exploded with power, leaving the others utterly stunned.
In fact, when the five first started traveling together, Ryoko and Phoebe had mostly chosen to ignore Mark's battle capabilities.
They simply couldn't imagine that someone who didn't even have a full Pokémon team could possibly be strong.
Adding to that, Mark himself was carefree and had never noticed any of this, and neither Sato nor Joseph were particularly talkative.
At the same time, to protect Mark from being exploited by others, the two of them never deliberately hid the fact that he had a special ability, but they never mentioned it either.
Now, with Mark going all-out and knocking out nearly a third of the Litwick, he had finally earned a moment of "glory".
The battle was still raging.
On Sato's side, Zoroark was already gone. Its thick fur was being heavily pulled by the Ghost World's suction, severely hampering it. With its speed restricted, Sato simply recalled it.
Gengar -long absent- reappeared. Its aura had grown more serene, but its strength had become downright terrifying.
With casual movements, it easily wiped out the surging Litwick and Lampent, leaving Zweilous only able to clean up the leftovers.
Its strange experience on the Ghost Ship had given Gengar rare insight into spatial control. In a place like the Ghost World, Gengar was fully confident in entering and exiting freely.
It had already decided: once the Trainers were safe, it would take a short leave and explore the place. Who knew what it might discover?
Ryoko's side wasn't weak either. Lunatone, despite weighing 168 kilograms, floated casually in midair. As long as it didn't get too close, there was no danger of it being sucked in.
Ryoko and Swampert clung to Lunatone -three beings in one- together blocking part of the enemy's attacks.
Joseph, as the team's support, naturally went wherever he was needed. His healing moves were always ready, and the moment something seemed wrong, he'd use them without hesitation.
And as for the final battle, it was on Phoebe's side. At that moment, Sableye was standing on Phoebe's shadow, allowing her to be unaffected by the Ghost World's pull.
The eerie maneuver left everyone with chills, but Phoebe, fully focused on commanding her team, had Gengar effortlessly chasing down and pounding Chandelure.
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150 Powah Stones = Extra chapo