Pokemon : The Master of Dragon-Types

Chapter 466 466: 466. Advanced version of will-o'-wisp

Ghost Gym.

Despite the late hour, the crowd filing into the battle arena kept growing. People are always drawn to a spectacle — and in the eyes of many watching tonight, Jacob's challenge to Dawson was exactly that. A spectacle. A joke, even.

On the field, Houndstone stood at the far end, the stone slab rising from its back casting a long shadow under the arena lights. Layers of long, grayish-white fur draped over its face, hiding its eyes completely and giving it an unsettling, hollow look. Its presence alone carried weight — the kind of deep, cold Ghost-type energy that made the air feel heavier, like something ancient and indifferent had entered the room.

Meeting something like Houndstone alone on a dark street would be enough to stop a person's heart.

"Houndstone, Shadow Sneak!"

Dawson called the first move. Despite his confidence in Houndstone's strength, Dragapult's Quasi-King-level power created just enough pressure that he wanted to end this quickly.

Dark purple energy erupted from Houndstone the instant the command left his mouth — a surging, tide-like release of Ghost-type power that made the air ripple. Houndstone's shadow stretched and twisted beneath it, shooting forward along the ground like a black lance, dense with Ghost-type energy, aimed straight at Dragapult.

Shadow Sneak moved fast. As a priority move, it didn't give the target much time to react.

"Fly, Dragapult!"

Jacob's voice was calm. Dragapult responded immediately, lifting its body off the ground and rising into the air.

The shadowy projectile passed beneath it, skimming the arena floor harmlessly.

Shadow Sneak's weakness was its nature — a move that traveled through shadows, bound to surfaces. Against an airborne target, its trajectory was limited and its accuracy dropped sharply. As long as Dragapult stayed in the air, Houndstone's Shadow Sneak would struggle to land.

Dragapult hovered above the field, its vertical pupils locking onto Houndstone below.

"Dragon Dance, Dragapult!"

Rather than pressing an immediate attack, Jacob had Dragapult use Dragon Dance. A shimmer of golden Dragon-type energy wrapped around Dragapult's body as its Speed and Attack climbed. Against a Pokémon operating at Houndstone's level, raw power alone wasn't going to be enough. Jacob needed to close that gap — and Dragon Dance was the most direct way to start.

Dawson read the plan in an instant. He wasn't about to let Dragapult set up freely.

"Houndstone, Will-O-Wisp!"

Dozens of purple flames blinked into existence across the air above the arena, each one flickering with eerie light. For a moment, the overhead lights were outshone entirely — the sky above the field became a dense, blooming field of violet fire, like something between a funeral rite and a fireworks display.

Then Houndstone let out a low, resonant growl.

The scattered flames responded to it. One by one, they drifted toward each other, merging — dozens becoming tens, tens becoming one enormous, roiling mass of Ghost-type fire. The mass twisted and reshaped itself: the outline of a face, burning horns, a wide and hollow grin. A flaming ghost, enormous and blazing, launched itself toward Dragapult.

Jacob's eyes narrowed.

This wasn't standard Will-O-Wisp. The move's normal function was simple — make contact, inflict a burn. It dealt no direct damage. But what Houndstone had just produced was something else entirely: an offensive variation, shaped by years of practice and a deep, instinctive understanding of the move's underlying energy. Much like certain Pokémon developing unique applications for moves they'd used for years — a Beedrill weaving through attacks on the momentum of Swords Dance, or a Noivern using Boomburst in ways that went beyond raw sound — Houndstone had pushed Will-O-Wisp past its ordinary limits.

Moves like this didn't come from instruction alone. They came from a combination of accumulated experience, exceptional aptitude, and something that couldn't quite be taught. It was rare — but among Trainers who had reached the King level, rare things were simply par for the course. Everyone standing at that tier was, in their own way, a genius.

Jacob weighed his options in the span of a breath. Letting Dragapult take it directly wasn't viable. Using Dragon Dance's rotational momentum to dodge wasn't safe either — the transformed Will-O-Wisp was large enough and fast enough that it might swallow Dragapult regardless. In a 1v1, a single mistake could end everything.

"Dragapult, Dragon Pulse!"

Dragapult's eyes sharpened. Indigo light built rapidly along its body as Dragon-type energy gathered and compressed, then released — a sweeping shockwave of Dragon Pulse fired directly into the oncoming mass of Ghost-fire.

The two attacks met with a heavy boom.

The flaming ghost shape burst apart, exploding into dozens of smaller Will-O-Wisp that scattered in every direction. Some flew toward the stands. For a brief moment, gasps broke out across the crowd — but the arena's barrier, built to King-level battle standards, held without issue. The flames dissipated harmlessly against it.

In a lower-grade arena, the outcome might have been different.

"Jacob's on the back foot."

"Houndstone is something else. It's completely overpowering Dragapult."

"I mean — for a freshman to push a King-level Trainer's ace this far? That's already more than most people expected."

The crowd was right, and Jacob knew it. The exchange had gone as predicted: Dragon Pulse had stopped the attack, but Dragapult had come off worse for it. The difference in raw power between a Quasi-King-level Pokémon and one operating at the peak of the King tier wasn't something clever positioning could erase entirely.

Jacob had never assumed otherwise. Dragapult's aptitude was exceptional — but Houndstone had years of battle experience behind it and had reached its current strength through that same process of relentless effort and natural talent. Exceptional aptitude wasn't Jacob's exclusive privilege. Every Pokémon that climbed to the King level had earned its place there.

The question wasn't whether Dragapult was talented. The question was whether that talent, combined with the right strategy, could bridge a gap that wide.

The scattered Will-O-Wisp fragments continued to drift across the field in the aftermath of the collision. Dragapult moved sharply, weaving between the floating flames on speed alone, unable to do much else but stay out of their way for the moment.

Dawson's brow furrowed as he watched. He had expected the advanced Will-O-Wisp to land — to deal significant damage and put the match effectively out of reach. It hadn't.

His eyes went to Houndstone.

"Phantom Force!"