1. Ash's Story (Part 10: Galar)

Chapter 48

With Allister, Piers, and Raihan advancing to the top 4, my opponent is unexpectedly Allister. He says with a hint of shyness, "...'M Allister... You look well."

I reply, "You're not doing too bad yourself."

Allister reminisces, "I remember you... You were friends with the strongest Gym Challenger I had. Er... so I reckon... we sh-should battle!" His nervousness is apparent, but the anticipation for our battle is clear in his voice.

Allister starts with a Dusknoir, and I decide to send out Absol to battle. "Everyone's looking... I want to hide... but I'll fight!"

"Absol! Night Slash!" I command, and Absol swiftly executes the attack.

The Night Slash hits its mark, but Dusknoir retaliates by using Disable, rendering Absol unable to use Night Slash. Then, to everyone's surprise, Dusknoir goes for Thunder Punch. However, at that moment, it becomes clear that Absol has transformed into Zoroark using its Illusion ability. I had sent out Zoroark and had it disguise itself as Absol.

"Looks like the disguise is off, use Night Daze!" I instruct Zoroark. It unleashes the Night Daze attack on Dusknoir, while Dusknoir counters with Shadow Punch. Both moves land successfully, but in the end, Dusknoir is defeated by Zoroark's powerful Psychic attack. The unexpected turn of events works in our favor, securing the victory in this round.

Allister sends out his Chandelure, and he commands it to use Will-o-Wisp on my Zoroark, causing it to get burned. With Disable's effect gone, I have Zoroark use Night Slash once again. However, Chandelure retaliates with Mystical Fire, which proves to be too much for Zoroark to handle, knocking it out of the battle.

"Dracovish, I choose you!" I declare, sending out my second Pokemon. Dracovish is faster, and I have it use Fishious Rend, taking advantage of its speed.

Despite being burned by the Will-o-Wisp, Dracovish is determined to carry out the attack. It lunges forward with Fishious Rend, striking Chandelure with incredible force. Chandelure is blasted into the wall and knocked out, securing a victory for Dracovish despite the burn status.

Allister sends out Cursola as his third Pokemon, and it immediately sets up Amnesia to raise its Special Defense. I command Dracovish to use Crunch, but just as the attack hits, Cursola's Weak Armor ability activates, boosting its Attack, Special Attack, and Speed stats. Cursola follows up with Strength Sap, regaining health before finishing with Hex, dealing a significant blow to Dracovish.

Seeing the need for a change in strategy, I decide to switch to Absol. Absol enters the battle and wastes no time, using Sucker Punch to deal the first damage to Cursola. Cursola retaliates with Ancient Power, but Absol counters with Feint Attack, ultimately finishing off Cursola and securing another victory in the battle.

Allister's fourth Pokemon, Polteageist, enters the battle. It starts by using Protect to block Absol's Night Slash. Then, it follows up with Giga Drain, sapping Absol's health and recovering some of its own.

"Absol! Future Sight and Swords Dance!" I command Absol. Absol successfully sets up the Future Sight Psychic move, and with Swords Dance, it boosts its Attack. However, when Absol tries to use Night Slash, Polteageist heals once again with Giga Drain and manages to knock Absol out of the battle.

"Sorry, Absol. You did great," I express with a frown as I recall my fallen Pokemon. I then send out my fourth Pokemon, Polteageist, to continue the battle. As Polteageist takes its place in the battle, the Future Sight move I previously set up activates and deals damage to Allister's Polteageist.

I decide to have my Polteageist use Shadow Ball, while Allister's Polteageist does the same. However, with a powerful Hex attack, Allister's Polteageist is defeated and taken out of the battle. The tide of the battle begins to shift in our favor.