"Get up human, your match is now!"

With sunken eyes, and face pale, Jared slowly opens his blackened eyes, then looks around in confusion.

Gastly continues in concern, "Yes, you have to get up, don't forget."

With barely a whisper, Jared replies, " I want to... Gastly... but I don't think I can walk"

"That's fine human, I can carry you," Gastly condenses his form, now becoming completely corporeal.

He helped Jared on top of him using tendrils of shadow to prevent him from falling off.

.

Watching the horrifying Gastly float past carrying someone, who was held firmly in place like the grasping maw of a demon, a few nurses freak out, but Jared wearily tells them it's alright.

Once down on the first floor, Jared is quickly led to his next match, while people point and gawk at his pale form atop the floating Gastly.

A young woman speaks with concern, "What's wrong with him, he looks like more of a ghost than the Gastly carrying him."

Laughing, her escort replies, "I know what happened, he tortured himself in his last match and probably lost too much blood."

Giving a disgusted look, a man butts in, "Is he an idiot? why would he do that?"

"Heh, don't bother trying to figure out the mind of a lunatic"

"How lucky he is to have such a strong pokemon... I never knew how overpowering gastlys are!"

A man clicks his tongue, "Hard to say if they are all like that, there isn't many to compare his with"

"Bit dangerous to have a lunatic with such a strong pokemon though, what if he hurts someone?"

.

Round of 8

Kima & Sunflora

vs

Jared & Gastly

In the stands sat more than two thousand people, many of them tourists traveling in to watch the show, and just behind the arena's glass sat two familiar casters chatting,

"Hello viewers at home, welcome to the Tapu Village Research Center tournament, it is the first match of day three, and we are now in the round of eight, and it's coming down to the wire! With only two official trainer slots available in this competition, it means those remaining will still need to win two more matches, so it promises to be extra fierce!"

"Today two lucky trainers will be crowned official trainers, but with Akoni and his agile vaporeon and Kekoa tentacruel still in it, it's going to truly be an uphill battle for the other competitors unless they knock each other out, and we even have a dark horse in our competition, who against all odds made it past ken, one of the fan favorites!"

"That's right Micheal, I don't think anyone predicted that, it looks like he's living up to his reputation as the dark horse of this competition!"

Jim laughs jibs, "If Jared reigns in his screaming this match, then perhaps he might even get a few fans out of it from his great performance!"

Some people in the audience can be heard murmuring, "I really hope they force him to shut up, the last match he had, I couldn't enjoy it over that psycho's screams."

.

At the entrance of the arena, Gastly whispers in Jared's mind, "Human, I'm dropping you here, but you need to try your best to get closer, if I carry you closer and they attack, then you will be in danger... but I can't take your negative energy from so far away."

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With a hoarse voice, a pale Jared whispers, "I can't gastly, just get me as close as possible, they probably won't attack while you are carrying me."

"No human, I can't risk it."

Slightly short of breath from the short sentence, Jared whispers, "Then... use the boulders as cover, and leave me there, and... *huff* wait for them to approach."

.

Gastly drops him down halfway into the arena behind a boulder and disappears, while leaving cautionary words in Jared's mind, "Human, don't overdo it, but try to give me as much negative energy as possible."

Jared doesn't reply, and instead, just thinks to himself, (I know Gastly... that's why you brought me these sewing needles, isn't it...?)

.

The referee had *forgot* to give Jared his mic, so as Jared began to stick the first needle under his fingernail and shriek, the audience wasn't too affected by his painful screams.

Gastly grins inwardly, he was enjoying the large influx of negative energy.

From the shadows, he grins as he waits for his opponent's approach, (Jared, what a useful human you are, this will do just nicely!)

.

Watching Jared drop down and begin shrieking, Kima gives his pokemon a warning, "Sunflora, be careful, they eliminated Ken, and if things get bad you need to warn me okay, winning would be nice, but I don't want you to go the same way as that Weepinbell."

Ten meters above the sunflora, motes of shadow begin to pack themselves together as Gastly finally takes shape.

Both trainer and pokemon had noticed, but Kima still shouts, "Sunflora above you! trade blows with Giga Drain!"

Bubbles of nature power blast forth like a bubblebeam!

The shining bubbles tear through Gastlys body like a knife shredding paper, but when there is no follow-up, Gastly frowns.

.

For a few moments, Sunflora just watches the Gastly above him intently, his ever-present smile slightly tense.

With confusion, Kima questions his pokemon, but Sunflora just shakes its head, not tearing his eyes away.

Gastly scowls in thought, (damnation! so he already figured out I'm hollow... is it because he gained no energy from hitting me? In that case... let's see how you deal with this!)

Fully reforming, Gastly fires off a spite, then he goes hollow again.

Sunflora retaliates with a giga drain, but feels almost no feedback as next to nothing was absorbed back.

Sunflora Shakes its head again,

"Sunflora what's wrong?"

Sunflora observed as Gastly begins to charge up another spite, so he charges up a giga drain, but Gastly faked him out!

The full power giga drain was a waste and struck with no feedback, while Gastlys spite was merely a harmless wisp of empty smoke.

(Foolish plant, did you think I wouldn't learn from my mistakes? As if I'd allow a fool like you to hit me. Did you really think your slow giga drains were on the level of the wartortles water gun?)

.

After a few setbacks and losses, Sunflora begins to feel hopeless, and the spites that struck had started to leave him drained.

Shaking its head, Sunflora waddles over to his trainer

Kima speaks up reluctantly, "Sunflora... you really want to go back in your ball?"

Sunflora nods, his smile gone.

Hoping for a miracle, Kima asks again, "Are you sure there isn't anything you can do?"

Sunflora shakes its head sadly.

"Alright... we can try again in three months..."

With that, the sunflora was back in its ball, and with that, the referee declared Jared & Gastly the victor.

The crowd's reaction was once again mixed, in their eyes the match was a farce. From their perspective the sunflora looked like it shot a few blows then gave up, for a round of eight, they expected far more.

The casters appear regretful as well, "Well folks, it seems Kima got cold feet, and we will be moving onto the next match, but don't worry folks, I have news that the next round will be between Akoni and Remilia, her powerful Bayleaf will no doubt give Akoni a run for his money!"

Shrieking from the five needles stuck under his nails, Gastlys voice whispers into the suffering human's mind, "Jared, that's enough, let me take you back"

Gastly begins carrying his trainer out while the vocal minority boo him,

Jared worriedly asks in a weak voice, "Say, Gastly, that's the first time you said my name."

"Human, don't worry about the next match, when I get you back in bed, I'll wait for your number on the first floor while you rest."

.

Using his shadowy tendrils, Gastly lays Jared on the bed, but Jared gasps in shock, "Wait... I didn't come home last night, Kai will be locked out..."

Struggling to get up, Gastly gently pushes him down, then looks into Jared's eyes using hypnosis, "You are no longer worried, Kai lives on the streets, and now you think he will be okay, you now think that spending one more day there will not harm him."

Jared's eyes begin to glaze over, "Huh... maybe I'm right... that's a relief..." smiling happily, Jared drifts off to sleep.

Watching him sleep, Gastly looks through him in contemplation,

(I can't risk you moving around with your injuries...)

Gastly sunk into thought, (I wish I found you years ago, then I wouldn't have lived as a mere mote of unconscious shadow for so long, while having all my mass and memories stripped from me by the greedy haunters over and over... and over.)

Painful memories flash through Gastlys mind, many, many, memories,

(I've lived hundreds of years as a cow ripe for slaughter, extracted over and over...)

After a moment, a dark glow burns brightly in Gastlys eyes, the glow of unrelenting spite,

(Yes.... and now I'll be the one to take everything, as long as I grow strong enough before they find me...)