New grudges and old reses surged together as Spiritomb lu Julian and Celebi, its trailing bck mist twisting into a sinister shadow.

  The shadow zipped across the ground like a bolt of lightning, c a hundred meters in the blink of a was almost upon Julian when Dragoepped forward just in time to intercept.

  "Boom!"

  The ghostly shadow struck Dragonite, f it back dozens of meters despite its Elite-level strength.

  Fortunately, the time it bought allowed Julian to move to safety.

  “Metagross! Akazam!”

  Without hesitation, Julian released Metagross and Akazam, the tter being a Pokémon at the peak of the Elite tier.

  Now, with Metagross, Akazam, and Dragohe three Pokémon formed a circle around Spiritomb.

  Spiritomb’s sheer power left Julian with no choice but to resort to a three-orategy. If his other Pokémon had been stronger, he wouldn’t have hesitated to send them out as well.

  “Hey, aren’t you going to help?”

  He gred at Celebi, who sat in his arms with a carefree expression, clearly unwilling to tribute despite its mid-Elite-level strength.

  Celebi: “Aren’t I just here to look cute?”

  Seeing Celebi’s big, dark-circled eyes staring ily at him, Julian sighed. “Fine, you don’t have to fight, but you’re responsible for keeping me safe.”

  Giveential devastation of the battle, Julian figured that having ae-level Celebi as his personal protector was a det fallba.

  Celebi: “Your life is in my capable hands.”

  Looking at Celebi’s fident demeanor, Julian suddenly felt like he might have made a questionable decision.

  Spiritomb, meanwhile, stared at the three Pokémon surrounding it. None of them exceeded the Elite tier, with the stro merely at its peak. Its face twisted into a sneer.

  Spiritomb: “I’ll devour your souls first, then kill that human and Celebi.”

  The malevolent Pokémon’s gaze lingered ohree Pokémon with greed, especially Metagross. ing their high-quality souls would signifitly restore its power.

  Julian, unfazed by its taunts, responded decisively.

  “Metagross, Mega Evolve!”

  A burst of dazzling rainbow light surrounded Metagross, transf it into Mega Metagross. Its strength surged from level 70, on the cusp of Elite, to level 72, firmly within the Elite range.

  After Mega Evolving, Metagross and Akazam seemed to share an unspoken uanding. Both unleashed Psychic, their high intelligence synizing their efforts perfectly.

  As Spiritomb was momentarily restrained by their bined Psychibsp;attack, Dragonite charged forward, unleashing a devastating Dragon Pulse brimming with violent Dragon-type energy.

  However, the moment of triumph was short-lived. Bck mist erupted from Spiritomb’s body, shattering the Psychic restraints in an instant.

  Ten ghostly blue Will-O-Wisps appeared around Spiritomb, swirling ominously.

  Three Will-O-Wisps intercepted Dragon Pulse, obliterating the atta mid-air. Three more surged toward Mega Metagross, while the remaining four targeted Akazam.

  Akazam and Mega Metagross reacted swiftly, telep away before the Will-O-Wisps could strike. Yet, the ghostly fmes didn’t dissipate. Instead, they veered toward Julian.

  Akazam reappeared instantly, ereg a series of Light Ss to block the approag Will-O-Wisps. One by ohe barriers shattered uhe relentless assault.

  Meanwhile, Mega Metagross teleported behind Spiritomb, f a crest-shaped Psycho bsp;with its cws. The attaded squarely on Spiritomb, but the damage appeared minimal.

  The pain from the Psycho bsp;caused Spiritomb to lose trol of its Will-O-Wisps, triggering an abrupt explosion.

  Akazam quickly used Light S again, shielding Julian from the bst’s aftermath.

  “Roar!”

  Dragonite reehe fray, its fist charged with crag electricity. It aimed a devastating Thunder Punbsp;straight at Spiritomb, intending to smash it ft.

  Spiritomb’s dark mist fred once more, densing into a massive bck arm that caught Dragonite’s fist mid-swing. No matter how much force Dragonite exerted, it couldn’t break free.

  In the moment, Dragonite's body was lifted up by the Bck arm, and then smashed down.

  Boom!!

  The ground trembled violently as Dragonite was driven into the earth. Spiritomb didn’t stop there. A Shadow Ball, inky bd swirling with the anguished screams of tless souls, began to form at its mouth.

  In just a few short exges, the power dispyed by this early-stage pseudo-champion Spiritomb rivaled that of a mid-stage pseudo-champion.

  The Shadow Ball, imbued with eerie malevolence, carried the potential to inflict damage beyond the physical—perhaps even harming Dragonite’s very soul.

  “Akazam, Metagross!"

  Almost before he finished speaking, Akazam and Mega Metagross closed in on Spiritomb from either side.

  Akazam unleashed a Psyshock, while Mega Metagross fired a powerful Fsh on.

  To avoid being hit, Spiritomb would have to release Dragonite.

  But this Spiritomb no longer followed ventional logic. Its bck mist surged once more, swallowing both attacks.

  At the same moment, the fully charged Shadow Ball struck Dragonite, sending its massive frame flying. Tendrils of bck mist began seeping intohrough its nose and mouth.

  Julian didn’t kly what the mist was, but it was definitely not a good thing.

  Celebi in Julian's arms, gave him the answer.

  Celebi: "It’s trying to take trol onite."

  Dragonite, dazed and groggy, felt as though it were trapped in a dream. A sinister voice echoed in its mind:

  'Kill the human. Kill the human'

  Dragoaggered to its feet, its eyes now clouded by a gray energy.

  Celebi: "Not goonite’s already us trol!"

  Julian could feel the fluctuations in Dragonite's body. Something unseen was trying to suppress it, though Dragonite's Aura was fighting it fiercely.

  So nonite was just standing there, not doing anything.

  'Kill him! Kill him!'

  The voice echoed relentlessly in Dragonite’s mind and the image of Julian grew rger and rger in its vision as the voice repeated:

  'Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!'

  "ROAR!!"

  Dragonite: "Annoying!"

  With a defiant roar, the massive reserves on energy it had absorbed from the Dragon Pool began to boil. The energy, long dormant and hidden within its body, now surged forth explosively.

  The Dragon energy erupted in a wild torrent, shattering the bck mist ging to its body.

  Spiritomb’s attempt to tronite was forcibly severed, the ghostly influence dissipatiirely.

  Harnessing this unleashed power, Dragonite’s body became enveloped in an emerald glow. It transformed into a colossal dragon, diving from the skies with feroomentum.

  A huge sense of oppression desded from the air, the whole space became extremely heavy, and at the same time, the violent dragon energy filled the space.

  The ground below Spiritomb tio shatter uhe pressure.

  Shrill screeches erupted from the bck mist surrounding Spiritomb, f into a trated Dark Pulse.

  The bck wave cshed violently with Dragonite’s Dragon Rush, but the dragon’s attack tore through the dark wave, scattering it like dust.

  In Spiritomb's eyes, Dragonite's body tie, it surged more bck mist in desperation, but Mega Metagross and Akazam also attacked it at the same time.

  *****

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