In a Black World —
"If I said... this isn't even his full strength?"
The words, as plain as still water, spread through the arena, causing Morty's previously smug expression to freeze in place.
So... just where did this Trainer named Ash come from? Oh, from Pallet Town—he'd introduced himself earlier. That's not right! That's not the point! The point is, what in the world is up with that Infernape?!
This was Morty's first time seeing such an outrageous Infernape. Its speed, its power, were all flawless! His Gastly was already quite fast, and its reflexes were definitely not bad. But even so, it still couldn't react to that Cross Chop! And Ash said this wasn't even Infernape's full strength! This made Morty doubt himself.
Don't tell me... he really had seen Ho-Oh? Even been chosen by Ho-Oh?! Morty knew the legend of the warrior called the Rainbow Hero, so... he didn't want to admit it. He was even less willing to admit it now!
"Forget it, why am I thinking about this during a battle..." Morty shook his head as if to shake off the thoughts, then took out a new Poké Ball.
"Go, Haunter!"
"Return, Infernape... Actually, I'll just stick with you, Noctowl!"
When his opponent sent out his second Pokémon, Ash also recalled Infernape and sent out Noctowl. Without Noctowl's Foresight, most of Infernape's attacks couldn't hit Ghost-types. Of course, it didn't really matter. Unless the opponent had an Elite Four–level Pokémon, Infernape would just steamroll them...
Seeing Ash switch back to Noctowl, Morty instantly understood his plan. Trying the same trick again? In that case, I won't give you the chance to switch!
"Haunter, Mean Look!"
"Noctowl, Foresight!"
Morty thought quickly and gave his command. He didn't know when, but the blue luster in Ash's eyes had disappeared. The plain, emotionless tone rippled through the arena again, as if a person devoid of feeling had regained their emotions! At the same time, Morty felt the immense pressure Ash had been exuding vanish without a trace. Moreover, the cold aura around Ash had also disappeared. This... this guy wasn't schizophrenic, was he? Like, with two personalities?!
The Mean Look and Foresight struck simultaneously, but this time Morty felt no joy. Strictly speaking, he'd been forced into this by his opponent. Otherwise, in terms of type matchups, Fighting-types were much easier to deal with than the Flying-type Noctowl! However, now he could only choose to fight Noctowl. Because that Infernape... was too strong! At least by defeating Noctowl so the opponent couldn't use Foresight again, it might be possible to beat Infernape. However, Morty felt that even if he used Gengar, he might not be able to defeat Infernape. After all, the strength of his Gengar was worlds apart from his Gastly and Haunter.
"Haunter, Confuse Ray!" Despite his racing thoughts, Morty didn't forget to give orders. Confuse Ray had been ineffective against Infernape, but that didn't make him think it was completely useless. The reason it didn't work on Infernape must be due to something special about that Infernape! That cold, calm demeanor didn't look like an Infernape at all, since they were usually angry and irritable! So, it must be that Infernape had some special skill for controlling its emotions, which rendered the emotion-stirring Confuse Ray ineffective. Therefore... against Noctowl, Confuse Ray should work!
"Dodge it, then use Psychic!" Facing the oncoming wave of confusing light, Noctowl simply flapped its wings and dodged, while the V-shaped crest on its forehead emitted a dazzling blue glow! An invisible force acted directly on Haunter! Noctowl unleashed its move too fast! It didn't seem like it was using a non-STAB move at all! Haunter, struck by Psychic, let out a pained cry. The Ghost/Poison-type Haunter was weak to Psychic!
Yes, without Aura Fusion, Confuse Ray would definitely have worked. The reason the previous Confuse Ray didn't work was, one, because Ash and Infernape were in an Aura Fusion state, and two, because Infernape had almost completely entered a state of perfect calm. In that state, unless emotions were actively disturbed, any emotional interference would have no effect. After all, that was a skill called "Mind Like Still Water"! But that's beside the point. Now—Confuse Ray would affect Noctowl, but it had to hit first! With the speed Noctowl had trained, even a one-second delay in its attack would be enough for it to dodge!
"Oh no, it's a Psychic move... Haunter, Hypnosis!" "Wha—!" Haunter endured the pain, and its eyes glowed with a dark light! Two beams of black light shot straight toward Noctowl!
"Don't panic, use Uproar!" Hearing this, Noctowl stopped using Psychic, and sharp, piercing sounds erupted from its beak! The Hypnosis hit Noctowl but had no effect, while Haunter writhed in pain from the constantly reverberating sonic attacks! In the end, the frail Haunter still couldn't withstand the second Uproar and lost the ability to battle.
"...Tch, and it even knows Uproar." Morty recalled Haunter weakly. Uproar was a move that kept everyone awake, friend or foe. So Hypnosis wouldn't have the slightest effect. And now... he seemed to be cornered!
"I have to admit, you're quite strong, Ash. I'm starting to believe a little that you might be a Trainer chosen by Ho-Oh."
"Huh? You believe me just because I beat two of your Pokémon, Leader Morty? But then again, I wasn't chosen by Ho-Oh; I just happened to see Ho-Oh."
Ash didn't let up. He was sure he had only seen Ho-Oh, not been recognized by Ho-Oh. Everyone knew he didn't want the Rainbow Wing.
"Heh, don't you know this legend? In these hundreds of years, Ho-Oh hasn't appeared before humans, so a legend emerged: anyone who sees Ho-Oh is said to have been chosen by Him! That is, the Rainbow Hero!" Saying this, Morty wanted to see if Ash's face would show excitement. Result... none at all.
"I've heard that legend. But if seeing Ho-Oh makes you the Rainbow Hero... then Misty saw it too, so is she also a hero? So that legend doesn't make much sense. Compared to that, Leader Morty, you'd better hurry up and send out your next Pokémon. This is the final battle. Don't let me down..." The last sentence Ash muttered quietly, so Morty didn't hear it.
"Whew—I really don't like you! Constantly denying Ho-Oh... Even if you are Ho-Oh's chosen, I'll teach you a lesson! Go, Gengar!" "Gengaaar!" Morty's last and strongest trump card, Gengar!
"Having said that, you seem to have lost two Pokémon already." Morty: ... That cut deep.
"Return, Noctowl! And I choose you, Infernape!" Ash directly recalled Noctowl and sent out Infernape. Seeing this, Morty instantly perked up and immediately had Gengar use Mean Look! This guy... was really dirty! All three of his Pokémon knew Mean Look! Truly worthy of being a Ghost-type Gym Leader.
"Hmph! Ash, I didn't expect you to make such a mistake! You didn't have Noctowl use Foresight just now! Therefore, your Fighting-type moves won't be able to hit Gengar! Now, under the effect of Mean Look, you can't switch Pokémon either! Victory is mine!" Ash faintly opened his eyes, which had turned blue again. A cold tone spread through the Gym. "You think you've won?"
Morty: ... Here it was again, that inexplicable pressure from before... But this time he wouldn't lose! Fighting- and Normal-types couldn't hit Ghost-types, and Gengar was countless times stronger than Gastly! With such an overwhelming advantage, how could he lose?!
"Gengar, Shadow Ball!" Its signature Shadow Ball! The best Ghost-type move, and its power was quite impressive. In front of Gengar, a pitch-black energy ball condensed. This time, the Shadow Ball was clearly much more powerful than the previous Gastly's! Looking at the Shadow Ball, a trace of anticipation flashed in Ash's calm eyes. Could it evolve... It all depended on this moment! If it still didn't evolve now, he'd have to ask Mewtwo for help!
Whoosh— The Shadow Ball cut a dark trail through the air and charged straight at Infernape! This time, Infernape still didn't dodge! In Morty's shocked gaze, Infernape spread its arms and let the Shadow Ball hit it head-on!
Vrrrm— The Shadow Ball, infused with ghostly energy, constantly grated against Infernape. Its white fur began to scorch black from the Shadow Ball's immense energy. Ash, standing behind Infernape, also furrowed his brows, an uncomfortable expression on his face. At the same time, through Aura Fusion, Ash clearly felt that part of the ghostly power within the Shadow Ball, along with the hostility and resentment unique to Ghost-type Pokémon, was merging with the anger compressed by Infernape's Ultimate Freedom Style!
Why was mastering the Ultimate Freedom Style one of the conditions for achieving evolution? Because Ash perceived that for Infernape to evolve, it needed to raise its anger to a critical point! What kind of anger would it take to make Infernape that furious? So Ash did the opposite: he had Infernape use the Ultimate Freedom Style to compress its anger! All its anger was compressed deep within its heart, which was why the normally irritable and hot-tempered Infernape appeared so calm! Not only that, in this calm state, Infernape's ghost-like mindset seemed just right to guide the possibility of evolution! At that moment, Ash sensed the power of the Ghost-type! Then, after many experiments, Ash finally sorted out the conditions for Infernape's evolution:
First, compress anger.
Second, need a hostile, resentful Ghost-type Pokémon to unleash ghostly energy, allowing Infernape to absorb that power and convert it into its own!
Third... unleash all the compressed anger in one burst!
"Ooooooh!!!" At this moment, Infernape could no longer suppress it. Terrifying anger erupted, yet the state of perfect calm remained unbroken! Calm and anger—two emotions that should have been diametrically opposed—coexisted within Infernape's heart. For the first time, Infernape felt what it meant to be calmly furious! Coupled with the reconciliation of the Ghost-type's power and resentment, an eerie, righteous force surged from its body!
Vrrrrm— The Infernape that had taken the Shadow Ball head-on began to emit an extremely brilliant white light!
This was...
"Evolution?!" Morty shouted in disbelief. How could Infernape still evolve?! This was clearly its final form!
"It's really evolving..."
"Ash is so amazing. He actually figured this out!"
"Because he's Ash."
The three spectators watched with amazement and admiration. As expected of Ash! He had actually unearthed the elusive potential within Infernape, allowing it to finally achieve evolution!
As the brilliant white light slowly dissipated, a Pokémon that looked completely different appeared on the field. Its body was still generally spherical, but its beige fur had turned light gray. On its bald head, thick gray-white hair grew, with a tuft hanging over its eyes. Its limbs turned dark gray. Of the iron rings it originally wore, only the ones on its feet remained; the one on its right hand was missing, and the one on its left hand was broken. The evolved Infernape's eyes turned red, and its nose was pink. Overall, it looked very sinister, giving off a chilling feeling! But if you looked twice, you'd find it very handsome! This was the new evolution of Infernape!
"This... what kind of Pokémon is this? What is Infernape's evolution? Is this really Infernape's evolution?!" Morty was even doubting what he'd just seen with his own eyes, questioning Ash repeatedly.
The blue light in Ash's eyes disappeared. His previously expressionless face regained rich emotion, and he replied with a smile and excitement. "That's right! This is a new evolution for Infernape! Although it took a lot of effort... we finally did it!" Even Ash wasn't sure if he could replicate this evolution with another Infernape, because the method was too troublesome! Just the requirement for both calm and anger to exist simultaneously was nearly impossible! Only with the Ultimate Freedom Style could these two emotions barely be mixed. How difficult the journey had been, only Infernape and Ash knew!
"The new evolution... its name isn't clear yet! Or... call it the 'Abandoned Monkey'?"
"Huh??"
"Huh? Doesn't sound good? Then what do you say? After all, this is your evolution!"
Boom!!
"Abandoned Monkey... what a cool name! Then let's call it Abandoned Monkey! Abandoned by the world... or a monkey that has abandoned the world! So, Morty... Round Two begins!"
After Ash's interaction with the Abandoned Monkey, he officially declared war on Morty. As for Morty himself... he was already numb. I know you're excited, but could you be a little more excited? This is a new evolution! You just gave it a name and started fighting?! There's no sense of ceremony at all!
"Let's go, Abandoned Monkey! Wrathful Fist!"
Boom!
The Abandoned Monkey erupted with a purple light. Immediately after, it suddenly threw out two fists, and two black-purple fist-like phantoms shot out like cannonballs! A dark purple light swept through the air. Gengar tried to dodge, but its speed was no match for those cannonball-like fist shadows!
Boom!
...
PS: The evolution condition for the Abandoned Monkey in the games is to use Rage Fist 20 times, but before the Scarlet/Violet era, Infernape couldn't learn Rage Fist. So the evolution method has been changed here, and it's not replicable. That is, aside from Black Ash, no one else can have an Abandoned Monkey. Oh, White Ash could probably do it too~
Although I bought Scarlet, I haven't had much time to play... so my understanding of the Scarlet/Violet setting is weak. Therefore, I don't plan to introduce a large number of Paldean Pokémon—just a small part is fine. For example, the Abandoned Monkey, or maybe a Ghost-type evolution for a certain other Pokémon.
PS 2 : I've been consistently releasing chapters for many days now, and If you want to support my work and read the 70 chapters ahead you can check out
my P@treon. -> patreon.com/Sagamaster789
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