Pokémon: Above the Top-Chapter 224: Groudon Might Come for Revenge

"Gengar, consecutive Shadow Ball!"

Upon hearing Sato's command, Gengar quickly conjured eight Shadow Balls and launched them uniformly at the opposing Banette.

Banette couldn't dodge in time and was struck down by the Shadow Balls, immediately losing its ability to fight.

Before Gengar could even catch its breath, three Dusclops suddenly appeared, each one aggressively swinging its fists and charging at him.

Relying on its superior speed, Gengar narrowly dodged the triple Shadow Punch assault, then countered with six Shadow Balls, firing them in pairs.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Dusclops were forced back. Before they could launch another attack, six more Shadow Balls flew erratically through the air.

They wanted to dodge, but in the end, each one was accurately hit, meeting the same fate as Banette: completely overwhelmed by the Shadow Balls with no chance to fight back!

Two hours had passed since the battle with Shiftry, and during that time, Gengar had been in nonstop combat.

The number of Pokémon on Mt. Pyre's outer mountain was staggering, every few steps brought new ambushes.

Fortunately, the average strength of these Ghost-type Pokémon wasn't very high. Often, they relied on numbers rather than power, which gave Gengar enough room to maneuver.

Another factor was the naturally low stamina of Ghost-types and their mutual type weaknesses, making battles end quickly.

This visit to Mt. Pyre was specifically for training Gengar, so it had been the primary battler throughout. Only when Gengar couldn't handle the situation did Sato turn to other Pokémon.

"Let's fall back for now." Seeing Gengar panting and noticeably slowing down, Sato chose not to push further.

They quickly retreated some distance to an area they had already cleared. It was still relatively safe. Sato sent out Houndoom to keep watch while he began treating Gengar's wounds.

"How are you feeling?" As he applied the healing medicine, Sato asked.

"Gar gar!"

Gengar nodded, golden eyes still burning with excitement and eagerness.

Battling was the fastest way to grow stronger. Most forests didn't have this high a density of wild Pokémon, and when they did, it was usually entire colonies.

Attack one, and the whole nest came after you.

But Mt. Pyre was different. Here, aside from a few species like the Nuzleaf group, most of the Ghost-type Pokémon roamed alone or in small groups... and were fiercely territorial.

Territorial Pokémon rarely left their "domains", but they also attacked intruders with full force.

Ghost-types wouldn't band together or attack in unison. They only fought when their own interests were threatened.

That gave Gengar time to recover between battles. If things got tough, they could retreat and be safe. When ready to fight again, they could move forward.

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The whole experience felt like grinding in a game, farming mobs: safe as long as you didn't run into a boss.

Half an hour later, once Gengar was rested, he nodded to Sato. Sato recalled Houndoom, and the two resumed their training session.

By 5 p.m., a light mist had begun to rise around Mt. Pyre. With Madam Kaori's warning in mind, Sato led Gengar -who had been battling the entire day- back down the mountain quickly.

Within just a few minutes, as they reached the base of the mountain, the thick fog had already reclaimed Mt. Pyre.

Before the mist could cover the sea, Sato quickly released Sharpedo and told it to swim back at full speed.

They returned to the "inn" without incident, and to Sato's surprise, Joseph and Mark were already waiting at the entrance.

"Come back earlier next time so we won't worry."

"Hm, Gengar fought for a long time today." Sato nodded toward Joseph, and the Gengar behind him jumped to the other side on its own.

"No problem..."

"Huh? Your Gengar is close to a breakthrough, isn't it?" Joseph's words were interrupted when Madam Kaori silently appeared beside them again.

"Yes. I came to Mt. Pyre precisely for that." Sato replied simply, but he was a bit surprised. She clearly couldn't see, yet her perception was that sharp.

"Mt. Pyre is not a good place for breakthroughs," Madam Kaori said in her raspy voice.

Sato paused. Before he could ask why, Madam Kaori began to ramble on her own.

"Mt. Pyre was originally an active volcano, one of the resting places of the super-ancient Pokémon Groudon. People once claimed to have seen Groudon here, and that's how it got the name Mt. Pyre, the mountain that sees off the spirits.

But a long time ago, a brutal war broke out near Mt. Pyre. Countless people and Pokémon died. The victors naturally had the obligation to clean up the aftermath, but they found it troublesome. Hearing that there was a volcano nearby, they dumped all the dead people and Pokémon into it."

The three of them listened quietly, an inexplicable chill creeping over them.

"And... then what?" Mark couldn't help asking when Madam Kaori paused.

"Then, Groudon woke up! So many corpses dumped onto its territory, how could it not be enraged? The victors didn't even get to enjoy their triumph before Groudon unleashed a natural disaster that wiped them out.

In fact, the super-ancient Pokémon Groudon was never a cruel, bloodthirsty being. On the contrary, its role was to maintain the stability of Hoenn's crust and prevent volcanic eruptions.

Once it regained its senses, Groudon cried with resentment. The disaster it caused didn't just annihilate the victors... many other innocent lives were also caught in it. In the end, Groudon threw all the dead people and Pokémon into Mt. Pyre and buried the volcano completely.

So, rather than calling Mt. Pyre an extinct volcano, it would be more accurate to call it a massive grave."

After hearing what was likely a true historical tale, all three of them felt a deep sense of unease.

"But... what does this have to do with my Gengar's breakthrough?"

"..."

Joseph and Mark gave him a sidelong look.

'When it comes to killing the mood, forget walls... we respect only you!'

"Ahem, of course it's related! Mt. Pyre is filled with too much resentment. When a Pokémon breaks through, it absorbs a great amount of ambient energy. Can you be sure of what it might absorb?"

Madam Kaori clearly didn't appreciate Sato cutting off her story. For the first time, her face showed genuine emotion.

"But..."

"But what?" Sato habitually followed up.

"Hmph, I forgot!" Madam Kaori stomped her cane on the floor, then turned and went back to her room.

Sato was speechless. 'Someone like you, dumping people halfway... don't you know Groudon might come for revenge?'

"Joseph, I'll leave this to you."

Sato turned and passed the matter to Joseph, then casually headed upstairs. "Oh right, call me when it's time to eat."

Joseph: "..."

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Okay, just asking here... If EVs can be 'trained' even in "reality", what about IVs? Would those be like... based on 'species'? Like, let's say Cobalion and Wailord (super random pick, I know) both have a base Sp. Atk of 90. If they each had 31 IVs and 252 EVs in the same stat, how would that even compare in 'reality'? Just asking...