Pokémon: Above the Top-Chapter 276: Hypnosis Pendulum’s Might

Mismagius had completely lost the ability to fight, but Sato didn't force a capture. He simply turned away with Gengar and left.

The more mature a Pokémon's mind, the harder it is for a Trainer to capture. Even if captured, it takes a lot of time to build mutual trust; and even then, success isn't guaranteed.

Mismagius's natural potential was only at the elite level, and it had no evolutionary prospects. If it weren't for its unique illusionary abilities catching Sato's attention, it wouldn't have met his standards for capture at all.

Only because of the Potential Enhancement Serum did Sato slightly lower those standards.

It was great if he could catch it, but if not, Sato only felt a bit of regret, and then let it go.

There were still plenty of Pokémon on the second floor, but compared to Mismagius, they were rather ordinary.

Along the way, Sato avoided fights when possible. He only struck back when wild Pokémon attacked first, so their progress wasn't slow.

Before long, Gengar led Sato to the passage leading further down: a relatively intact staircase.

"We probably don't have to fight our way down floor by floor. This staircase should lead straight to the bottom..." Sato muttered to himself. He signaled Gengar and continued downward.

The staircase spiraled in an arc. Most of the intricate carvings on the handrails had eroded away, but the remaining textures still hinted at the ghost ship's former grandeur.

Now, however, it had become a stronghold for Ghost-type Pokémon at sea. Those who died here could only live on in another form.

Yet on the staircase, only one or two timid Gastly or Shuppet could be seen lingering.

They looked curiously at the intruding Sato and Gengar, but had no intention of ambushing them.

After descending about four consecutive floors, they reached the sixth level, where Gengar suddenly veered off toward a passage beside the staircase.

"Gengar!"

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

"Gen?" Hearing Sato's voice, Gengar instinctively stopped and even stepped back a bit.

At the exact moment Gengar retreated, two Shadow Balls exploded directly in front of it from the left and right. The shockwave from the blasts left Gengar slightly injured.

"Gengengengen!"

"Gengengengengar!"

Then, two pairs of red eyes lit up in the darkness. From those familiar cries, both Gengar and Sato instantly knew what the attackers were.

Two Gengars!

Another wave of eerie laughter echoed out. Immediately after, over a dozen fast but moderately powerful Shadow Balls shot toward Gengar.

"Gengar, Dark Pulse: whip!"

As the Shadow Balls came in, Gengar quickly followed Sato's command, swinging its arm to unleash a long, slender Dark Pulse.

Although classified as a pulse move, Dark Pulse resembled a tangled black ball of thread: resilient and extendable.

Using it like a whip was actually a signature trick of Zoroark's, one that Gengar had picked up recently by secretly observing.

Against this type of mass projectile assault, swinging the "whip" wasn't just accurate... it looked impressive too.

Watching the Shadow Balls get smashed one after another brought a strange sense of satisfaction.

Crack! Crack-crack! Crack-crack-crack...

After bursting all the Shadow Balls, Gengar kept swinging the Dark Pulse whip, lashing it ferociously at the two opposing Gengars.

Invisibility among Ghost-type Pokémon wasn't completely useless when facing others of the same type, but their weaknesses were easier to spot.

So the two Gengars had to coordinate and fight a guerrilla battle against Sato's Gengar, barely managing not to be taken out in one strike.

But Sato didn't want to wait any longer. He and Gengar had been inside the ghost ship for over half an hour and still hadn't reached their destination. If this went on, Pichu and the others would surely start worrying.

"Gengar, Hypnosis!"

Gengar, still whipping away happily, froze the moment it heard Sato's command, knowing it was time to stop messing around.

It withdrew the Dark Pulse, and under the confused gaze of its two counterparts, Gengar turned back and pulled out the Hypnosis Pendulum, grinning at them.

Buzz!

Crimson ripple-like waves radiated from the Hypnosis Pendulum. Though they appeared slow, they instantly shot into the eyes of the two wild Gengars.

Thud Thud!

Three seconds later, the two Gengars closed their eyes and fell to the floor, triggering light puffs of dust.

"Gengar, let's speed things up."

"Gar!" Gengar nodded, not even bothering to put the Hypnosis Pendulum away.

From then on, whenever they encountered a wild Pokémon, Gengar wasted no time. Hypnosis went straight out the moment they showed up.

The accuracy of Hypnosis was near 100%. The amplifying effect of the Hypnosis Pendulum shocked both Sato and Gengar.

About ten minutes later, Sato and Gengar finally stopped in front of the door to a seemingly ordinary ship cabin.

Before even opening it, Sato could already hear intense fighting inside... and the number of Pokémon battling wasn't small.

"Let's try sneaking in, see what's going on inside," Sato whispered to Gengar.

Gengar nodded and slowly faded from view. But shortly after, it reappeared, looking anxious as it shook its head.

Sato understood. Gengar could usually ignore terrain, but now it was blocked, something was definitely hidden inside.

"There's no time. We're going in... be ready to Mega Evolve at any moment," Sato said without hesitation.

"Gen~"

The door wasn't locked. Sato turned the knob and pushed it open.

The moment the door opened, all the Pokémon inside instinctively stopped fighting and turned toward Sato.

Dusknoir, Gengar, Banette, Mismagius... a total of seven Peak Elite-level Ghost-type Pokémon. They stared menacingly at him.

The intense gaze made Sato's scalp tingle; for a brief second, he genuinely wanted to turn and run. But the Pokémon themselves were also stunned for a moment.

From time to time, something extremely beneficial to Ghost-types would appear in this place.

Only Peak Elite-level Pokémon had the right to enter and fight for it.

It was a long-standing rule, one all Pokémon aboard the ghost ship obeyed.

And now, this battle had been interrupted by a Gengar they'd never seen before... and a creature they assumed was human.

"Duusk... NOOOIR!"

The first to react was Dusknoir. With a furious roar, it swung both fists forward, launching two Shadow Punches directly at Sato and Gengar.

"Gengar... MEGA EVOLUTION!"

The moment Dusknoir attacked, Sato activated Mega Evolution.

Facing seven Peak Elite Ghost-type Pokémon, a single misstep could cost them everything.

The Mega Evolution completed in a flash. In its brand new form, Gengar rapidly formed an enormous Shadow Ball and launched it back at Dusknoir!