Chandelure was a Ghost-type, which meant it was naturally at a type disadvantage against Swoobat.
Skyla looked confident as she gave her order. "Swoobat, use Air Slash!"
"SWOO~!"
Swoobat beat its wings and launched several blades of compressed air at Chandelure.
"Flame Burst!" Gary countered.
"CHAN!"
Chandelure spat out a sphere of its signature purple flame. The fireball collided with the Air Slash and burst on impact, sending embers sputtering in every direction — many of them splashing onto Swoobat.
"SWOO—!"
Swoobat pulled back immediately, shaking off the clinging flames. It looked toward Chandelure, only to find the Ghost-type had already closed the distance.
"Trap Swoobat. Don't let it escape," Gary said.
"CHAN!"
Chandelure's eyes glowed purple. The flames around its body surged, and rings of purple fire materialized in the surrounding air. The floating flames seemed to draw power from some unseen source.
In an instant they stretched into spiraling ribbons of fire that coiled around Swoobat, sealing it inside.
"…!"
Skyla was stunned. She'd seen Fire Spin before, but this one was far too large — it covered an enormous area.
The vortex of flames was still tightening, closing in on Swoobat like a cage.
Realizing Swoobat couldn't escape, Skyla ordered immediately, "Use Amnesia!"
Swoobat's expression went blank as a wave of psychic energy washed over its body, raising its special defense — though the boost was invisible to the naked eye.
"It's over. Shadow Ball into the Fire Spin," Gary ordered.
Chandelure condensed a Shadow Ball between its curled hands and hurled it into the vortex.
Boom!!
The Shadow Ball struck the Fire Spin and detonated. A towering column of dark flame rose into the air.
As the smoke cleared, a charred Swoobat could be seen hovering unsteadily. It hadn't fainted, but it was in no shape to keep fighting.
Bang!!
Just as Gary was about to press the attack, a pulse of psychic energy suddenly rained down from above and struck Chandelure.
"CHAN!"
Chandelure hadn't expected the surprise attack and was knocked to the ground.
"Now — use Endeavor!" Skyla ordered.
Swoobat dove straight down, aiming for Chandelure.
Swoobat wasn't slow to begin with, but its heavy injuries naturally dragged its speed down. Gary gave his command without hurrying. "End this. Night Shade."
"CHAN!"
A spectral figure burst from Chandelure's body, shooting forward faster than Swoobat could react and passing straight through it.
Bang!
After the ghost tore through its body, Swoobat plummeted to the ground and couldn't get back up.
"Swoobat is unable to battle! Chandelure wins!" the referee announced.
"Is this the result your Fantasy Battle predicted?" Gary asked.
She'd actually tried using Endeavor on a Ghost-type. Normal-type moves didn't work on Ghost Pokémon — even a beginner knew that much.
"Don't worry. I imagined two possible outcomes for our battle — one where I win completely, and one where you manage to defeat some of my Pokémon. What's happening now is just the second scenario," Skyla said, still confident.
Gary had no idea where that confidence was coming from.
The Fire Spin cage alone should have made it obvious that Chandelure's level was far above average. The higher a Pokémon's level, the more precisely it could manipulate its elemental energy, shaping it however it wished.
"Skyla still needs more real battle experience," her grandfather muttered, looking embarrassed. As the previous Mistralton Gym Leader, watching his granddaughter's overconfidence get taken apart made him wince.
"Then by all means, go ahead and show me that win," Gary said.
"Fine — I'll show you! Soar, Swanna!" Skyla threw out her Poké Ball.
Go!
[LV42 Swanna♀ / Quasi-Elite]
Skyla sent out her strongest Pokémon.
Because Swanna's Water typing gave it an advantage over both Chandelure and Excadrill, Skyla was convinced she could turn things around. That was naive.
"Swanna, use Bubble Beam!" Skyla ordered.
Swanna opened its beak and spat a stream of water-energy bubbles. They looked harmless enough, but each one hit with the force of a bullet.
"Minimize to dodge, then use Will-O-Wisp," Gary ordered.
"CHAN!"
Chandelure's body shrank rapidly, shrinking to less than half the size of a Pikachu. The drastic reduction gave it incredible agility, and it darted straight through the incoming Bubble Beam, weaving past every single bubble.
"What?!"
Skyla hadn't expected Chandelure to know Minimize, but there was no time to dwell on her surprise.
A cluster of purple ghost flames shot out of Chandelure and streaked toward Swanna.
Swanna tried to dodge, but the Will-O-Wisp caught up, striking it repeatedly and leaving it with a burn.
"Swanna, use Hurricane!" Skyla ordered.
"SWAN!"
Swanna beat its wings furiously, whipping up a massive Hurricane. Chandelure's shrunken body had almost no weight to anchor it, and the gale blasted it into the wall. The impact wasn't severe enough to knock it out, though.
"Heal with Aqua Ring!" Skyla ordered.
Swanna conjured a veil of water around its body, quickly restoring its strength and offsetting the burn damage.
"Pointless. Chandelure, use Hex," Gary ordered.
Chandelure's eyes flared with an eerie red glow. Swanna suddenly seized up in agony — Aqua Ring couldn't suppress the intensified pain from the curse of the burn, and its body plummeted toward the ground.
Bang!!
Swanna crashed onto the field. It struggled for a moment, then collapsed.
"Swanna is unable to battle! Chandelure wins!"
The confident expression on Skyla's face vanished the moment Swanna went down. Her Fantasy Battle predictions had been completely overturned.
"My Swanna lost that easily…" Skyla said in disbelief.
"Type advantage matters, but it isn't everything. The moves a Pokémon knows, the tactics it uses, even unexpected developments mid-battle — all of these can change the outcome. Your Fantasy Battle system is fundamentally flawed," Gary said bluntly.
"Then by your logic, I still have one Pokémon left, so it's not over yet."
The match had lit a fire in Skyla's competitive spirit. She threw out her final Poké Ball.
"Soar — Unfezant!"
Go!
[LV40 Unfezant♂ / Gym]
Her last Pokémon — Unfezant.
With its Normal typing, Unfezant was completely immune to Chandelure's Ghost-type moves.