Chapitre 40: ##Chapter 40: Misfortune is Not a One-Way Street
Kane, Thunderstorm, Komatsu, and Melissa had all carefully selected their TM, each one thinking hard about what their Pokémon needed to gain an advantage in the upcoming battles except melissa who just chose randomly.
After they had made their choices, Chiyama, the wise and experienced elder, stepped forward, his calm eyes surveying the young trainers before him. His expression was thoughtful, almost meditative, as he began to speak, his voice carrying the weight of many years of experience. "I listened to your explanation of how you managed to pass the second level of the Bell Tower challenge," he said slowly, each word carefully measured. "It seems that there was indeed an element of luck involved in your victory. Luck always plays a role in battles, but…" He paused, giving his words time to sink in. "You must also give yourselves credit where it is due. You grasped the finer details of the battle situation more accurately than many others would have. You were able to seize upon those moments of opportunity when they presented themselves. That being said, the third floor will not be so forgiving." His eyes grew more serious, and his tone deepened. "The difficulty will be much greater, and you may not find fortune smiling upon you this time."
He let his warning linger in the air for a moment before continuing. "In the afternoon, I suggest that you go to test the waters—see what you're truly up against. If you fail, then you should retreat and take a break. There will be no shame in it. Spend time mastering the new skills you've acquired from the TMs. Only after you've strengthened yourselves and your Pokémon, should you consider returning to challenge it again." His voice carried the authority of someone who had seen many young trainers rise and fall in their journey. He understood the fine line between ambition and recklessness and wanted to guide them wisely.
The four trainers nodded in unison, acknowledging Chiyama's words. Each of them respected his wisdom and understood the gravity of the situation.
Kane, ever the pragmatic and level-headed one, silently reflected on the situation. He thought to himself that this kind of progression was natural. "If you don't lay a solid foundation," he mused inwardly, "and if you just rush forward blindly without understanding the consequences, sooner or later, you're going to be hit hard by reality." He had learned this lesson the hard way through his experiences in both his current life and the one before. Rushing ahead without proper preparation was a surefire way to face a disastrous defeat. He realized that the reason Chiyama had laid out the plan this way was not just for practical purposes—it was also to protect them. Chiyama was worried that these young, passionate trainers, full of ambition, might overestimate their abilities and get in over their heads. He wanted to make sure they didn't fall victim to their own confidence.
By the time the afternoon rolled around, the four trainers' Pokémon had fully recovered from their earlier battles. After receiving treatment at the Pokémon Center, they were back to full health, their energy restored, and their spirits high. The Pokémon were practically glowing with vitality. There was a certain electricity in the air, a feeling of anticipation mixed with the unknown. The third floor of Bell Tower was a mystery, its difficulty uncharted. None of the trainers knew exactly what to expect, but one thing was clear: despite the warnings they had received, none of them were willing to back down without giving it their best shot. The future always holds its mysteries, and it is precisely that unpredictability that makes it so exciting.
No matter how daunting Chiyama had made it sound, there was no way they were going to give up without at least attempting the challenge. And so, as planned, the four trainers made their way to the third floor of Bell Tower, their hearts steady but their minds fully focused on the task ahead.
When they arrived, the scene that greeted them was both ominous and imposing. At the center of the room stood a single **Dusclops**, its shadowy form eerily still. Surrounding it were twenty **Duskull**, each one standing rigid and unmoving. They formed a menacing phalanx, a wall of ghostly power that loomed before the trainers like an impenetrable fortress. However, unlike the previous levels, these Duskull did not immediately rush forward to surround the trainers' Pokémon. Instead, they remained in formation, five deep, creating a barrier that seemed almost ethereal, yet impossibly strong, floating in the air like a spectral wall.
"What kind of strategy is this?" Melissa asked, her voice filled with a mixture of surprise and confusion as she tried to make sense of the Duskull's unusual formation. Her eyes were wide, taking in the sight of the eerily organized Pokémon.
Kane, on the other hand, had already assessed the situation with his sharp, tactical mind. He knew better than to underestimate an enemy simply because they weren't attacking right away. "This time," he said in a low, serious voice, "it's going to come down to real skill." His gaze was fixed on the Duskull's, and his tone was deadly serious. He knew that brute force alone wouldn't get them through this one.
The formation of the Duskull's was completely different from the encirclement tactics they had faced on the first two floors. The twenty Duskull's had united their defenses, creating an unbreakable barrier. Their combined strength made it clear that any small-scale attacks would be utterly useless. It was evident that the Duskull's were working together as one cohesive unit, each contributing to an impenetrable defense. And, if their defense was this strong, then their offense would likely be just as terrifying.
"They must be concentrated all their energy into a single, massive attack," Komatsu said after carefully observing the formation. His voice was calm, but there was an underlying tension that betrayed his concern. "What we're facing here… is essentially a cannon. If we're not careful, we're going to be blown away."
"So, what's the plan now?" Thunderstorm asked, his voice tinged with uncertainty. His eyes darted between the Duskull's, trying to figure out where they could even begin to mount an effective attack. The sheer strength of the formation made it hard to see a clear path forward.
"We don't have a choice but to test their tactics and see how they react," Komatsu suggested, his tone thoughtful. "We'll need to take it one step at a time and figure out their moves as we go."
Kane, always one to take the initiative, didn't waste any time. Without hesitation, he launched the first attack. "**Gastly**, use **Shadow Ball**!" he commanded, his voice ringing out clearly in the silent room.
Following his lead, Komatsu quickly added, "Melissa, have your Pokémon use **Ominous Wind**. We need to hit them hard from the start and see how they handle it."
The combined forces of **Ominous Wind**, **Shadow Ball**, and the **Will-O-Wisp** unleashed by Thunderstorm's Pokémon surged forward, heading straight for the Dusclops' wall of defense. The attacks hit the barrier with full force, aimed at breaking through the seemingly impenetrable formation.
However, in response, the **Duskull's**' eyes began to glow with an eerie blue light, and in perfect unison, dark blue fireballs materialized before each one of them. The energy crackled in the air, building in intensity. Then, all twenty **Duskull's** mirrored the same action, raising their arms in unison as they launched their **Will-O-Wisps** toward a single point. The separate fireballs fused together into one gigantic, blazing meteor of ghostly flames. The sheer size of the fireball was staggering—it was as if a falling star had appeared in the room, its flames burning with otherworldly power.
"It's **Will-O-Wisp**!" Komatsu exclaimed, his voice tinged with anxiety as he realized the full extent of the attack they were facing.
In a coordinated attack, the twenty-one Pokémon sent the massive flaming meteor hurtling toward the trainers' Pokémon. The attack was unstoppable, a force of nature that couldn't be countered. The sheer power of the combined energy was overwhelming, and the trainers' earlier attacks were utterly obliterated.
Kane's **Gastly**, Komatsu's **Spiritbomb**, Thunderstorm's **Duskull**, and Melissa's **Drifloon** were all hit head-on. Despite their best efforts to resist, they were helpless in the face of such a powerful attack. The colossal fireball crashed into them, engulfing them in blue flames. Their cries echoed through the room as the flames seared their bodies, leaving them badly burned and in critical condition.
The power unleashed by the twenty-one Pokémon was unlike anything the trainers had ever encountered. It was a display of what true coordination and unity could achieve in battle. Kane, who had spent much of his previous life in the wild, reflected on how most of the battles he had faced there involved disorganized Pokémon, each one acting for itself. But this… this was different. These Pokémon were not just powerful—they were a perfectly coordinated team.
When the meteor finally vanished, the four Pokémon were left barely standing, their bodies burned, and their energy drained. They were on the verge of collapse,and yet, the Duskulls didn't advance to finish them off. Instead, they maintained their formation, standing eerily still, as if waiting for the next move.
The battle wasn't over, but the trainers could already see the writing on the wall. Their Pokémon were too weak to continue, and the Duskull were still at full strength. One by one, the trainers recalled their fallen Pokémon, their minds already racing with thoughts of how to regroup and return stronger.
Kane, always the first to act, was already walking away from the battlefield, his face set in determination. "We need a new strategy," he muttered under his breath, already thinking of ways to counter the Duskulls' powerful formation.
"Wait, what do you mean by 'strategy'?" Melissa asked Komatsu, her voice still shaky from the intensity of the battle.
Komatsu, deep in thought, explained, "The Duskulls first hit us with that massive Will-O-Wisp to burn our Pokémon and sap their strength. Once we were weakened, they didn't send in the rest to contain us. Their plan was to wear us down from the very beginning and then crush us when we were too weak to fight back."
"How are these Pokémon so smart?" Melissa asked, her disbelief clear in her voice. She had never encountered wild Pokémon that fought with such precision and coordination.
Everyone was thinking the same thing, but Kane had already figured it out. As he continued walking, he considered the possibility that the Pokémon on each floor of Bell Tower had been trained in specific battle tactics for generations. These weren't just wild Pokémon acting on instinct; they were skilled warriors who had been molded by years of experience, taught to fight in perfect unison.
The four trainers now understood that the Bell Tower's third floor wasn't going to be defeated through sheer force alone. They would need to study the Duskull's tactics, master their own new skills, and find a way to disrupt the Duskull's coordinated strategy if they wanted to have any hope of succeeding.
This was not a battle they could win in a single day, but Kane, ever the strategist, already had ideas forming in his mind for how to turn the tide in his favor.
It's almost certain that the Duskull's will not be able to execute any other tactics besides the one they've been trained in. Their approach is rigid, perfected over years, but it also means that it leaves little room for flexibility. If they can be forced out of their carefully coordinated strategy, if their rhythm can be disrupted in any way, there would be a chance to break through. Disrupting their flow would lead to confusion, and with confusion comes vulnerability.
This same principle was what allowed them to succeed on the second floor. The reason they were able to achieve victory there was because they had managed to disrupt the **Mismagius**' encirclement tactics from the very start. By throwing off the cohesion of the Pokémon's strategy, they had effectively poked a hole in their spiritual web of coordination. Once that critical connection was broken, the **Mismagius** and the other Pokémon had been scattered, left unable to regroup or execute their original strategy. It wasn't just about strength—it was about breaking their unity.
Now, as they faced the aftermath of their defeat on the third floor, it became clear that the challenge had been far too great. The four of them had been utterly overwhelmed, and while it was a tough blow, it wasn't a permanent one. Kane, in particular, was already thinking ahead. The next task was clear: they would need to regroup, learn, and consolidate their skills.
For Kane, learning the move **Sludge Bomb** wasn't going to be as difficult as it might have been for others. This particular skill was something he was already deeply familiar with. He had studied it extensively, and in his previous life, he had seen it used in countless battles. The move itself was deadly when used correctly, its poisonous impact capable of turning the tide of a battle. Kane knew that mastering **Sludge Bomb** was going to give him a significant edge, but it wouldn't be just about learning it in the traditional sense. He had his own ideas, his own strategies for how to incorporate this skill into his broader battle plan.
His experience gave him a different perspective. While others might approach **Sludge Bomb** as just another powerful attack, Kane understood its deeper potential. He saw how it could be woven into a broader tactical framework—how it could be used not only for direct offense but also for creating opportunities, weakening enemies, and applying pressure. The move, in Kane's hands, would become more than just a tool; it would become a critical piece of his evolving strategy for taking down the next level of the Bell Tower challenge.
The road ahead was steep, but Kane had never been one to shy away from a challenge. He knew that with careful planning, a deep understanding of his Pokémon's abilities, and the strategic use of the skills he had learned, he would be able to return stronger than ever.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone