A water-type trainer who specializes in dragon-type water.

Chapter 432 Successive Battles ③

Long Tao's knuckles tapped rapidly on the Poké Ball at his waist, his gaze fixed on the fleeting figure of Gastly.

The noise from the stands suddenly faded, and all he could hear was Kangaskhan's heavy breathing.

"calm..."

He forced himself to go back to his tactical library, where there was a skill that could not only break through defenses directly, but was also enough to defeat Gastly outright.

"Ghost, Toxic Spikes!"

As soon as Zhang Heng finished speaking, the purple mist around Gastly suddenly boiled. It shrieked and drew three strange arcs in the air, its ten fingers clawing at the ground.

In an instant, countless rhomboid poison nails glowing with a ghostly green light burst forth from the ground, densely covering the entire battlefield.

Toxic Spikes is a Poison-type status move that sets a trap on the field, poisoning any Pokémon that the opponent switches to.

If two layers of poison darts are scattered, one will be poisoned.

Poisonous energy condenses into a dense network beneath the ground; anyone who steps into this area will be corroded by the poisonous energy.

"Mega Kangaskhan, bite!"

Long Tao's eyes were sharp. Under the deep soothing voice of the adult Kangaskhan, the little Kangaskhan's bristling silver-gray fur gradually calmed down. Its amber vertical pupils blazed with ferocity, and its figure shot out like an arrow.

Dark-type energy condensed into a twisted black vortex in its mouth, its fangs gleaming with a cold, metallic light, as it aimed directly at Gastly's translucent body.

At this moment, Gastly has just finished setting up Toxic Spikes and is in the aftercast delay of its move.

"Hey? Hey!"

Then, the little Kangaskhan bit its right arm. Its long, dark blue tongue writhed wildly, Gastly let out a piercing scream, and ghostly flames flickered violently in its empty eye sockets.

"Bang bang~"

It hurled the baby Kangaskhan to the ground in a frenzy, the resulting gust of wind slamming it wildly into the ground.

But the small salamander's sharp teeth, like steel pincers, were firmly embedded in its skin, and with each swing it tore off large swaths of purple mist emitting black smoke.

The adult Kangaskhan took the opportunity to step forward, its muscles oozing fine blood droplets from the excessive force, but under the combined effect of the Parental Love ability, it also used the Bite move.

It roared as it gathered Dark-type energy, the black aura wrapped around its claws almost solidifying as it lunged at Gastly.

However, the Swampert's previous arm-hammer attack had affected its speed, and its clumsy steps allowed Zhang Heng to find an opening.

Gastly, Dark Mist!

Zhang Heng's command was like a thunderclap. Gastly suddenly stopped struggling, and a bone-chilling cold aura erupted from its body. The dark purple mist instantly transformed into a sky full of black fog, engulfing the entire arena like a tidal wave.

Wherever the black mist passed, the air condensed into frost. The light from Mega Kangaskhan's Attack Boost Punch was completely swallowed up, and even the silver-gray scales on Baby Kangaskhan's body dimmed a bit.

Black Mist, an Ice-type status move, sprays a thick black mist onto the field, resetting the stats of all Pokémon on the field to their initial values.

However, in actual combat, the black mist also has a very good concealment effect.

The adult Kangaskhan abruptly stopped, scanning its surroundings warily—the black mist obscured its vision, and even the fleeting sound of Gastly cutting through the air had disappeared.

Just as it hesitated, a cold touch suddenly wrapped around the little Kangaskhan's neck.

Gastly somehow appeared behind her, its other slender fingers gripping Kangaskhan's throat tightly, its body rippled with spatial distortion as it tried to drag Kangaskhan into another dimension.

The baby Kangaskhan whimpered in terror, its sharp claws flailing wildly, tearing wisps of purple smoke from Gastly's body. But as excruciating pain struck, it finally loosened its clenched teeth, leaped out of the black mist, and returned to the side of the adult Kangaskhan.

The adult and baby Kangaskhan stood back to back, their four amber vertical pupils fixed on the churning black mist.

The chill in the air seeped into the gaps between the scales, and every slight sound made their muscles tense.

"Hey hey hey~"

Gastly's elusive laughter mingled with the poisonous fog, sometimes near, sometimes far, and the invisible pressure almost materialized.

Long Tao's fingertips repeatedly caressed the Evolution Keystone, his tactical simulations running wildly in his mind.

He knew that Kangaskhan's "Sandstorm" could instantly disperse the black mist, but the three-second gap during the sandstorm was enough for Gastly to launch a fatal attack.

Replacing a Pokémon at this moment is not a wise choice. The Toxic Spikes off the field are no joke; any Pokémon that enters the field will immediately be poisoned, putting it in a very passive position.

Cold sweat trickled down his temples, the clamor of the audience turned into a muffled buzz, and the whole world was left with only the frozen confrontation on the ring.

In contrast, Zhang Heng had his hands in his pockets, a faint smile playing on his lips.

The situation reached a stalemate. Gastly was in the shadows, and Long Tao had no way to deal with him, so the current tactic was to psychologically pressure the enemy.

Gastly's translucent figure appeared and disappeared in the black mist, its ghostly eyes greedily watching every trace of its prey's panic.

This "psychological warfare" tactic is more deadly than any skill—when the opponent is consumed by fear, the scales of victory will quietly tip.

As time passed, the black fog gradually thinned out, like the receding tide.

Zhang Heng, a cunning glint in his eyes, shouted.

"Ghostly, Focus Blast!"

"The opportunity has arrived! Mega Kangaskhan! Surprise attack!"

Long Tao suddenly ripped open his collar and shouted at the top of his lungs.

A dark aura of Dark-type energy suddenly rose around the mother and baby Kangaskhan, but just as they were about to launch their attack, the adult Kangaskhan suddenly froze into a statue, its claws trembling in mid-air.

There's only one reason for this: Gastly didn't use any offensive moves, so it couldn't use Sucker Punch.

"咻咻咻～"

A series of fine, whistling sounds came from all directions.

Within the black mist, poisonous energy grew wildly like thorns, and hundreds of rhomboid poisonous nails, glowing with an eerie light, shot out from the sky, once again weaving a death trap on the surface of the arena.

Zhang Heng looked at Long Tao's suddenly pale face and let out a hearty laugh—the so-called "true energy bomb" was just a feint; the two layers of poison darts were the real killing move.

"What a pity, I lost the rock-paper-scissors game."

Zhang Heng deliberately raised his voice and lightly tapped the Haunter's Poké Ball with his fingertip.

"So what? Mega Kangaskhan, unleash a barrage of attacks!"

Long Tao had lost his former composure, and the order he gave was somewhat incomprehensible.

Allowing Gastly to continuously use status moves is extremely dangerous.

However, if the opponent cannot take the initiative to attack, Kangaskhan can stay on the field and find an opportunity to take it down.

While Kangaskhan can't immediately use the Sucker Punch move, Gastly can't attack rashly either. It's a very foolish way to block the enemy's attack, but it's also relatively effective.

"Sigh, senior brother, that's too superficial."

"Ghost Stone! Seal!"

Seal, a Psychic-type status move. If the opponent has the same move as you, then only the opponent is unable to use that move.

Gastly's move pool includes Sucker Punch, which effectively blocks Mega Kangaskhan.

Gastly's translucent body suddenly trembled violently, and two balls of ghostly fire in its empty eye sockets exploded, turning into countless tiny fluorescent fragments that floated in the air.

Purple mist surged from its body, condensing into dense runes in the air, which coiled around the Mega Kangaskhan mother and cub like chains.

Mega Kangaskhan, which was charging up for a surprise attack, suddenly froze, and the Dark-type energy surging around its body began to twist and dissipate.

It watched in horror as the dark glint on its claws went out like a candle flickering in the wind.

"Ow!"

The adult Kangaskhan tried to recharge its energy, but only suffered excruciating pain in return.

"Hehe~"

Upon seeing this, Gastly let out a piercing laugh and extended its long tongue, drawing a mocking arc in the air.

"Haunter! Dark Pulse!"

Gastly's massive, dark maw in its chest opened again, and dense Dark-type energy gathered wildly, forming a constantly rotating dark purple vortex.

The wave of evil energy, carrying a strong sense of oppression, surged towards the baby Kangaskhan.

Kangaskhan is still young and not mature enough, which is a drawback of Mega Evolution—there is a clear gap in cooperation between it and its trainer, since Kangaskhan is technically a different Pokémon.

After its skills were sealed, it fell into a state of chaos and was completely unable to make any effective response to the overwhelming evil energy.

It frantically spun around in place, its amber eyes filled with fear and helplessness.

At this critical moment, the adult Kangaskhan stood in front of the baby Kangaskhan without hesitation.

However, its physical strength had already reached its limit, and it had been holding on by sheer willpower.

Faced with the fierce onslaught of evil energy, it had no time to dodge.

With a loud "boom," the adult Kangaskhan's massive body crashed to the ground, and the light of its Mega Evolution instantly dissipated.

Its limbs lay limply on the ground, its eyes slowly closed, and it lost its ability to fight.

"Mega Kangaskhan is unable to battle! Trainer, please send out your next Pokémon!"

The drone Rotom's voice rang out. The sound was like a thunderclap, jolting the somewhat dazed Long Tao awake.

He took a deep look at the fallen Kangaskhan, put it into a Poké Ball, and then took out another Poké Ball and threw it upwards with force.

"Bang~"

A flash of white light, and a new Pokémon appears, signaling the start of a new battle.

"roar~"

A roar from a ferocious beast resounded throughout the arena, and a Pokémon that looked like a large brown bear with a yellow circle on its belly appeared.

"Whoo~"

Suddenly, bright sparks streaked across the Pokémon's thick, reddish-brown fur like shooting stars.

These sparks looked as if they had been scorched by a raging fire, radiating intense heat and dazzling light that was impossible to look directly at.