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[attr="class","skullbody"]Kiryu indulged herself in a victorious flex as her Body Press emptied the battlefield. Outside of the occasional wrestling match, the Aggron tended to be on the more docile side. She was an old soldier, long past her prime. But with this Mega Ring around her, she could relive her glory days. In fact, she could surpass them! The strides she and Isaac had taken together were greater than anything she had accomplished under his father's command.[break][break]

The stone was little more than a symbol. Sure, it brought her body back to its prime and invigorated her with power beyond compare, but their journey had been so much more than that. Even if they'd never made this discovery, this journey would've been the time of her life. And that was a power in its own right.[break][break]

"You two've got an incredible bond," Isaac said as Johanna checked on Kevin. "And you've trained him real well, too. When the time comes, that's gonna give him some major Mega mojo." If their roles were reversed, that would've been the Snorlax's mega-powered Hammer Arm decimating Kiryu in a single blow.[break][break]

But Johanna had caught on to an important lesson. If you couldn't outmuscle a foe directly, outfoxing it went a long way. A Haunter came out to carry on where Shiinotic left off, tongue waggling like a pendulum to try and lapse Kiryu's focus. Her eyes swayed back and forth, following the pendulum as her body grew heavy . . . oh so heavy . . .[break][break]

Not today. Isaac put two fingers to his mouth, whistling as loudly as he could. The sound snapped Kiryu's eyes open, her sagging body righting itself before she could hit the ground. Isaac sighed in relief as his gambit bore fruit. "Any deeper of a sleep, and all that Mega Power would've gone to waste," he said. "But we're not letting you get off that easy! Get on in there, Kiryu!"[break][break]

The Aggron rushed towards Haunter, hunkering down on all fours to make up for her lowered speed. Once she had gotten close, she reared up on her hind legs, attempting to batter the ghost into the ground with a heavy Iron Head. It was exactly what Johanna may have expected; with her knowledge, the free-floating Haunter should have little to no problem evading this blow.

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[attr="class","skullbody"]Sure enough, the Haunter remained out of reach. It was a brilliant tactic. Power avoided was power unused. Power unused was power wasted. Sometimes, the easiest way to handle the wrath of a Mega was just to avoid their rampage. "Keep an eye out, Kiryu. You're not out of the game yet," Isaac said.[break][break]

Sure enough, the answer came in a swirling nexus of shadow. "Now's your chance, Kiryu! Drop your guard and take it full force!" he called. Kiryu nodded, uncrossing her arms, lowering her head, and practically leaning into the blow. The Shadow Ball battered her body and spirit alike, but she refused to bend to it. If anything, she was trying to get as much pain out of the move as she could.[break][break]

The plates of her armor grew white hot. It wasn't much, but her one ranged technique was ready to lock and load. She bashed her arms together, launching a Metal Burst right towards Johanna's Haunter. Little sparkles of rainbow energy crackled through the blast of light as it hurtled into the sky. Would it hit its mark? Or would it be found wanting?[break][break]

Aa the light dispersed, so too did Kiryu's transformation. She was now a normal Aggron once more, letting out a weary sigh as she braced herself against the ground. "See what I mean? The power of a Mega's intense, but it's also fleeting," Isaac said. "You'll squeeze off maybe three attacks with it before your Pokemon need to rest. Maybe more if you push yourselves. But that's a dangerous game to play; only do it if your life depends on it."[break][break]

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[attr="class","skullbody"]"It's not gonna win you a fight immediately. Even if Kiryu had all three turns left in the tank, your Haunter could've flown circles around her," Isaac admitted. "But that's okay. It doesn't have to. It's a tool like any other. Having it's only the first step. Knowing how to use it well makes all the difference."[break][break]

As Haunter flew down to Johanna's side, Kiryu flopped over at Isaac's. He scratched the tired Aggron behind the neck, earning a happy rumble in response. "Got any candidates in mind? Not every Pokemon's got a stone, but M.A.G.M.A. HQ should have a list of known ones," Isaac said. "Off the top of my head, I know Kevin's capable. Shit, if you evolve them, Haunter's got two options. So you've already got a few potentials on your team."[break][break]

Come to think of it, that also seemed pretty important. "Shit, if you're lucky, you might get your hands on multiples," Isaac added. "Even if you do, though, your bracelet's only got enough juice to pump one up. Still worth it, though. Every option counts, even if you can't break them all out at once."[break][break]

The battle might have been over. But Isaac would be lying if he said he wasn't curious about who Johanna had at her disposal. Maybe there was still more he could do to help her narrow her choices down . . .

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[attr="class","skullbody"]It seemed like the Haunter had cut the line into Johanna's heart! Isaac couldn't help but smile warmly at the sight. "Trust me, I've been there," Isaac said. "Never thought I'd have a Dhelmise of all Pokemon as one of my team's strongest members. But Pokemon have a way of surprising you. So take that excitement and run with it. You'll see just how full of surprises Haunter is."[break][break]

But maybe Haunters weren't the real subject here. Maybe it was Gengars. Isaac flicked through the training dossiers he had been given, trying to see what the difference between the two Gengar megas even was. The Mega Gengar most commonly sighted had the ability to snare its opponents' souls, preventing them from escaping the battlefield. The Mega Gengar discovered in Galar had . . . a powerful, unique move that snared its target's soul, preventing it from escaping the battlefield.[break][break]

But that's okay! There were differences in appearance, right? One Gengar emerged from the ground as a living shadow, its body taking an almost magenta hue. The other Gengar . . . emerged from the ground as a living shadow, its body taking on an almost magenta hue. What the fuck. These two were practically the same Pokemon. Isaac's brow wrinkled in frustration.[break][break]

"Well, whatever Mega Gengar you end up going with, they're both great at the same thing. Your opponent's gonna be stuck with them, whether they like it or not, because Mega Gengar don't let their enemies escape," Isaac said. "So if there's a weak spot in your opponent's team, Mega Gengar is perfect for forcing that weak spot out in the open. If Mega Aggron's a tank that's meant to hold the line, Mega Gengar's job is to turn the tide of a battle by leaving your opponent stuck right where you want them."[break][braek]

Now, how did you even prepare for that? Isaac had an idea. I'm gonna start switching now. Have Haunter strike as soon as you see the right target," Isaac said. He recalled Kiryu (and Charles, who had just woken up from an incredibly pleasant nap, thank you very much!), then began sending Pokemon out one at a time. Aggron. Galarian Rapidash. Jolteon. Chimecho. Duskull. Riolu. Whenever one was recalled, another followed. Johanna would have but precious seconds to choose a target. Would her intuition be on the money? Or did she have an itchy trigger finger?

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[attr="class","skullbody"]Ding! The Shadow Punch hit its mark just before Isaac could switch the Haunter's target out. Charles grit his teeth at the pain, but it wasn't a training exercise without a little bit of pain to push through. And what a successful training exercise it was! Of all of Isaac's Pokemon, she had picked the right choice.[break][break]

"A healer with a bad type matchup, and very likely the Pokemon I'd be counting on to bail me out if the situation went sour," Isaac said. "Good eye. A pick like that cuts off a lot of exit strategies. And until your Gengar Mega Evolves, they'll never realize they were at risk."[break][break]

"Of course, I was showing you my whole team. In a real fight, you'll have to gamble. You'll never be holding all the cards, so its important to play with the ones you have, you know?" A battle was a long, draining slog. A Mega Evolution was a brief yet awe-inspiring burst of Infinite Energy. You could win a fight with a Mega Evolution at just the right time. You could rarely win a battle off that single moment. You'd never win a war.[break][break]

"It's a bit easier with the regular Mega Gengar," Isaac admitted. "Just being near one's enough to prevent escape, so it can lock down a whole battlefield. But once it faints or reverts, the link breaks, and the other team can get away again. You need to make sure that time you spent Mega Evolved is spent wisely."[break][break]

"The Galarian Mega's trap won't kick in until it hits an opponent first. But once it hits, your opppnent's stuck for as long as your Gengar's in the battle. Play your cards right, and that could last way longer than the regular Mega's best efforts. The attack hurts like hell, too, so there's a bonus."[break][break]

"Which do you think your Haunter would do better? Shadow, or snipe?"

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[attr="class","skullbody"]"Not sure yet, eh?" Isaac said. "That's okay. That's all the more we can test."[break][break]

Isaac recalled Charles, releasing Ivan back out in the Rapidash's place. The Jolteon stretched out a little, flashing a lazy grin Johanna's way. "Ivan here's my fastest Pokemon, not even a contest. If you can nail him with an attack, you can nail anything with a G-Max Terror," he said. "Granted, in a perfect world you're not gonna be launching these at a fresh, aware target. But if you can handle the worst case scenario, you'll have no problems with the best, right?"[break][break]

For Isaac's fastest Pokemon, Ivan sure didn't seem like he was in much of a hurry to get moving. In fact, he just stood there, occasionally yawning or scratching at his ears. Was he really all he was hyped up to be? Or was Isaac just lobbing an easy hit Johanna's way to boost her confidence?[break][break]

The answer would be clear as soon as the Haunter launched its first attack. Ivan would immediately snap into action, moving like a streak of yellow lightning and blurring away from whatever was launched its way. If given the opportunity, he'd then go right back to posturing and showing off. Only the focus sparking in his eyes would show that he had started to take this exercise seriously.[break][break]

With no focus put on fighting back and all of his focus going into dodging, the Jolteon would be a major pain in the ass to try and hit. Just going for attacks might prove to be more frustrating than fruitful. But there were many ways to solve a single problem, and this exercise was as much about Johanna's cleverness as it was her Pokemon's skill. After all, a trainer was as essential of a component of a team as her Pokemon.[break][break]

She'd get that confidence boost, alright. But first she needed to grab that brass ring with both hands.

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[attr="class","skullbody"]Big deal. This was too easy! As Ivan dodged around Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball, his bragging and boasting started to get increasingly elaborate. He wiggled his hindquarters, did little victory dances in the sand, and dismissively yapped in the Haunter's general direction.[break][break]

In fact, why was he even putting this much effort in? This Haunter couldn't hit the broad side of a barn! This was a waste of energy compared to dodging the Shadow Balls at the last possible moment. Ivan stopped moving entirely, using the smallest possible motions to dodge the Shadow Balls at the last possible seconds. Sure, there were some close calls, but close only counted in horseshoes and hand grenades. And they weren't playing either here.[break][break]

He could dodge these in his sleep. And sleep sounded really good right about now. As Ivan ducked under the last Shadow Ball, he curled himself into a little bundle and began to doze off. The sand was warm. The pounding of the waves was soothing. And in his dreams, he was running circles around this little upstart ghost.[break][break]

It turned out when a Pokemon had as much of an ego as Ivan, subliminal messages were a hilariously effective technique. The Hypnosis had wormed its way into Ivan's subconscious with ease. With its help, the next Shadow Ball hit Ivan dead on, turning the Jolteon into a mass of panicked yowls and flailing limbs.[break][break]

Upon realizing what had happened, the Jolteon huffed in frustration. That was totally not fair![break][break]

Yet in Isaac's eyes, it was perfect. Outside of a League sanctioned stadium, there was no such thing as a fair fight. "Excellent job," Isaac said, flashing Johanna and Haunter a grin. "Every trick in the book's got its purpose. A Mega's only got so much energy to go around, so ideally they're not gonna be the one using that Hypnosis. But that's what having a backup's for."[break][break]

"So that's sniping. Next up is the fun part." Kiryu and Charles came back out onto the battlefield. So too did Ringo, Mori, and Knuckles, the Chimecho, Duskull, and Riolu that Isaac had released earlier. "A Mega's going to be a target as soon as it shows up on the battlefield. Especially if you're using the regular Mega, it's going to be messing with a lot of the enemy's team at once, and their only way out is to KO it before it can KO them. So when that Shadow Tag kicks in, you're gonna have a lot of targets on your Gengar."[break][break]

"So without leaving the battlefield, stop them from making your Haunter faint." A little grin spread across Isaac's face as his teammates settled into a fighting stance. "I'll give you a head start."

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