Jujutsu Kaisen: I Have A Gardevoir

"How am I playing you? I haven't said anything at all."

Akira's expression was especially innocent, which made Suguru Geto feel both amused and annoyed.

"As expected, we're quite alike, aren't we?"

The technique was similar.

The fighting style was also similar.

When he was around Akira's age, he too enjoyed acting in battle, deliberately pretending to be weak in close combat to lure opponents in, and then countering them with an ambush.

The best part of this kind of acting was that it made the opponent mistakenly think that he hadn't said anything.

He didn't expect to be played in the same way today.

Suguru Geto, a master of group battles, quickly understood Akira's strategy.

It wasn't that Akira couldn't expand his attack range or increase his output, but he was intentionally keeping the battle within a limited range to minimize contact with the cursed spirits.

Attack was mutual— the longer the front line, the greater the contact area, and the opposite was also true.

No matter how many cursed spirits Suguru Geto sent out, only a limited number could actually engage the target, making it easier for Akira to handle.

However, this strategy had two flaws.

First, endurance. Shortening the front line inevitably prolonged the duration of the battle, which was a significant test of stamina. No matter how tightly guarded, once out of physical and cursed energy, there was nothing left to fight with.

Second, it was only effective against cursed spirits that lacked organization.

But Suguru Geto had the ability to organize and regiment cursed spirits. The "control" in "Cursed Spirit Manipulation" meant manipulation—he could command the cursed spirits according to his will.

It was only because he wanted to test Akira's strength before overpowering him that he allowed Akira to exploit an opportunity. If he decided to, he could immediately break the stalemate.

The man dressed like a rogue monk raised his hands and gently moved his fingers as if he were conducting an orchestra.

Immediately, the formation of the remaining cursed spirits changed. No longer a mass of chaos, they were divided into three groups.

Two groups were close combatants, continuing to form an encirclement. However, they no longer pressed on all at once but used a rotation system, attacking once before retreating, never staying too long.

The third group was long-ranged, launching distance attacks against Akira and his Pokémon.

Although cursed spirits were ugly, they were like Pokémon in that there were many types with various attributes. As Suguru Geto was a "Pokémon Master" and an expert at group battles, he could easily create one squad—ten squads if needed.

"What will you do now, Akira?" Suguru Geto gently moved his fingers.

With each flick of his fingers, dozens of cursed energy projectiles shot forth. Individually, they weren't powerful, but their numbers made them quite the nuisance. Not to mention, some of them had a hidden, special property that would trigger additional effects if they made contact.

Faced with this shift in tactics, Akira didn't insist on holding his ground. He abandoned the defensive stance and opted for a swift resolution.

"Darkrai, Hypnosis! Pangoro, Mountain Press!"

Hypnosis, a move to immobilize opponents.

Lower-grade cursed spirits had simple methods—something even Suguru Geto couldn't change. Once Hypnosis was cast, half of the surrounding cursed spirits were immediately incapacitated.

This was followed by Pangoro's time to shine—choosing the densest area and dropping down with a body slam, squashing many at once.

As for the rest, no special moves were needed—just punches and kicks would suffice.

Pangoro's strength could easily snap an electric pole, and a single punch could turn a dump truck into scrap metal.

Compared to using special moves, this was Pangoro's biggest advantage— or rather, the advantage of any Pokémon relying on physical attack power.

In games, every attack required a move, but in reality, there were no such restrictions.

When it came to endurance, neither Darkrai nor Gardevoir, who was far away in Tokyo, could match Pangoro. Pangoro was the undisputed main attacker.

After clearing out most of the cursed spirits alone, Pangoro didn't forget to turn around and shake its butt at Suguru Geto in a mock taunt—a signature taunt of the Pancham clan.

Low damage but extremely insulting.

It had a particularly good effect on Suguru Geto, who responded, albeit with a wry smile:

"Your Pokémon, it seems each of them has very high intelligence. I'm getting more and more interested."

Pangoro's delinquent-looking face scrunched up in embarrassment, turning into a cute expression.

Darkrai, on the other hand, blinked its eyes, seemingly helpless at its "second brother's" antics.

Only Akira remained calm. It made sense for Suguru Geto to become more interested since his goal was to get these Pokémon in the first place.

The biggest weakness of cursed spirits was their lack of intelligence. Without Suguru Geto's commands, they were limited in what they could do. But Suguru Geto's focus was also limited—he couldn't precisely control every individual unit.

In contrast, Pokémon were different. Aside from those with "Slow" in their name, most Pokémon were capable of independent thought, some even more cunning than their trainers. No wonder Suguru Geto was tempted.

This was his biggest weakness and Akira's advantage.

"If I don't have as many as you and I can't match you in quality, then there's no point in this fight."

"Quality… is that so?"

Suguru Geto raised a finger.

Another cursed spirit appeared.

It wasn't as unique as the mountain demon or abyss demon, nor did it have the sheer numbers of a cursed spirit army.

Their appearance was more humanoid, and their cursed energy wasn't immediately obvious. However, on closer inspection, their energy was far more concentrated than any of the previous cursed spirits—akin to a sorcerer holding back their power.

"A Grade 1 Cursed Spirit." Akira's expression turned serious, indicating that Suguru Geto was finally getting serious.

"Correct. Whether in basic stats or technique, they far surpass the others. The warm-up is over. Can you and your Pokémon handle the attack of Grade 1 Cursed Spirits?"

Without waiting for a response, the Grade 1 Cursed Spirits pressed forward.

Not just one—but six, attacking in pairs. Quantity and quality, both were covered.

After just a single exchange, Akira knew these weren't opponents that could be easily overwhelmed, and he shouted, "Retreat!"

He retreated alongside Pangoro.

Of course, Suguru Geto wouldn't let Akira regroup. He commanded four of the cursed spirits to chase while the remaining two began to use their cursed techniques.

With a serious demeanor, Suguru Geto had carefully selected his cursed spirits. Each had its specialty, each with a distinct role—he was determined to give Akira a hard blow in this round.

However, as soon as the four frontline cursed spirits moved, Darkrai's body swayed, and six identical copies emerged during its movement, each intercepting one of the Grade 1 cursed spirits.

Suguru Geto wasn't intimidated by the change. He commanded his cursed spirits to attack the enemies in front of them.

Among the cursed spirits Suguru Geto had collected, there were also those with similar abilities, and not just one kind. Some produced realistic afterimages; others could self-replicate and divide.

Regardless of which type, the strength of split forms would never exceed the full power of the original, making them easy to deal with. One attack was enough to determine which was real.

Divide, six-on-one, finish it quickly.

Afterimages could be distinguished by binding the real one while others pursued the rest.

Suguru Geto's response was fast, and his approach was correct. In the blink of an eye, five afterimages disappeared, leaving only the real body.

The cursed spirit that had failed to defeat its opponent increased its output to buy time for its companions. However, before its attack could land on Darkrai, the latter's eyes suddenly emitted a dazzling beam.

In the next moment, the same Grade 1 cursed spirit, which had withstood one of Akira's blows before and made his attack useless, started swaying like a drunk before collapsing with a thud.

By then, Darkrai had already moved away from it, arriving in front of another cursed spirit and repeating the same move.

In just one second, the second cursed spirit also collapsed.

Suguru Geto was stunned: "How is this possible?"

Through "Cursed Spirit Manipulation," Suguru Geto could roughly sense the condition of his cursed spirits.

Based on the feedback from his technique, his conclusion was this: all the cursed spirits had fallen asleep.

Asleep. Do you believe that? The aggregation of negative emotions actually fell asleep.

He had been a sorcerer for so many years and had never heard of a cursed spirit sleeping.