"Venusaur, use Leech Seed!"
Quickly adjusting his stance, Shiro took the first move. But deep down, he knew the chance of winning was almost zero.
"Charizard, counter with Flamethrower!"
Seeing Shiro trying his best made Gu Yuan smile a little.
To be fair, Shiro's Venusaur wasn't weak.
But Gu Yuan's Charizard had Senior Rank strength, and it had a clear type advantage. This match could be won with eyes closed.
Flames erupted. Venusaur's Leech Seed was burned away instantly.
"Venusaur, use Petal Blizzard!"
Petals flew like snow, forming a wall in front of Venusaur.
But the searing flames burned through the white petals in an instant, and the remaining fire struck Venusaur head-on.
Without giving Shiro a chance to recover, Gu Yuan ordered another attack. Charizard released Heat Wave, pressing the assault.
In a tournament like this, where Pokémon couldn't be swapped out mid-battle, Gu Yuan naturally chose to keep his trump cards hidden, such as Fire Blast or Dragon Rush, or his Expert mastery of Flamethrower.
So, he stuck to safer, more ordinary moves.
The hot air descended, wrapping Venusaur in blazing waves.
No matter how much Shiro cheered for it, Venusaur couldn't find an opening to counterattack.
"Charizard, use Air Slash, then Flamethrower to finish it!"
As soon as the Heat Wave ended, Charizard launched another assault on Gu Yuan's command.
"Venusaur, use Petal Dance!"
Petal Dance had a base power of 120, unleashing continuous attacks for several turns, but afterward, it caused confusion.
Facing Charizard's superior power and typing, Shiro tried to stabilize the battle.
Venusaur began the move on command, but its mastery wasn't high, and the recent Heat Wave had slowed it further.
Just as the petals began to rise, Air Slash came down.
The thin petals couldn't block the sharp blades of air. Two deep cuts appeared on Venusaur's body.
Then came the blazing fire. Venusaur was engulfed instantly.
Under the burning flames, Venusaur fainted before it could even complete Petal Dance.
"The match is decided."
With the referee's voice echoing, Gu Yuan recalled Charizard and walked toward the healing station.
Although Charizard hadn't been injured, restoring its stamina for the next round was still wise.
Back in the rest area, Gu Yuan watched the other matches closely, looking for potential opponents.
As he expected, no Ace-level Trainers appeared in any battle.
Of course, it was possible that some competitors could advance even with only Senior Rank Pokémon. Judging from the situation, Gu Yuan felt his chances of reaching the top three were quite high.
That afternoon, Gu Yuan's second battle began.
Since his previous match had been held early in the day, his next one was scheduled later in the rotation.
He stepped onto the field. Not long after, his opponent arrived, a fourteen-year-old girl.
As both competitors took their positions, the referee began reading the rules.
The girl's eyes dimmed when she looked at Gu Yuan, as if she already knew she had no chance.
When they sent out their Pokémon, Gu Yuan was slightly surprised. Her Pokémon only had Junior-level strength.
But seeing that it was a Meowth, he understood.
She was stronger than the average Bug Catcher, but she must have become a Trainer only recently.
As the battle started, Gu Yuan changed his approach. Instead of his usual aggressive style, he commanded Charizard to fight defensively. He wanted to give the girl a chance to show her skills.
The strength gap was too wide anyway. Charizard didn't need to go all out to win.
Gu Yuan didn't mind helping her a little. Maybe Silph Co. would notice her and offer recruitment. That would make her future smoother.
As for the company's shady reputation, Gu Yuan didn't think it would harm her.
Alone, she probably wouldn't achieve much. With Silph's backing, she might actually go further, and maybe learn to protect herself.
Of course, Gu Yuan's motive wasn't kindness. He simply thought it would make his public image look better.
Even though Charizard held back, the difference was too great.
The girl's Meowth soon collapsed in defeat.
"Thank you!"
After recalling Meowth, she bowed deeply.
"No need. I was already fighting seriously."
Gu Yuan waved casually, recalled Charizard, and left the field.
As he walked away, the girl stared at his back, as if engraving the image in her mind.
"Hello. Do you have time to talk?"
In the player's tunnel, a Silph Co. representative approached the girl.
"Yes," she replied, following behind him with determined eyes.
That battle marked the end of Gu Yuan's first day in the elimination round.
Interestingly, aside from two or three Senior Trainers who were eliminated, every other Senior Rank Trainer advanced.
Even though Silph Co. had claimed that matches were randomized, the stronger Trainers still seemed to receive special treatment.
It wasn't about favoritism; keeping the stronger Trainers for later matches simply made the tournament more exciting and boosted ratings.
Realizing this, Gu Yuan didn't let his guard down.
Silph might deliberately schedule early Senior matchups to look fair, so treating every battle cautiously was the safest choice.
The next day, as Gu Yuan had predicted, his match came up again in the first round.
After yesterday's performance, everyone already knew about his Senior-level strength. When his opponent saw him, their expression immediately dimmed.
As the referee gave the signal, Gu Yuan and his opponent, Maejima, released their Pokémon.
Seeing Maejima's Ursaring, which was of Intermediate level, Gu Yuan knew he couldn't afford to hold back this time. Otherwise, it could get messy.
"Charizard, take off, then use Heat Wave!"
The moment the battle began, Gu Yuan seized the initiative.
When Charizard spread its wings and took flight, most of Ursaring's attacks became useless, except for Swift and Stone Edge.
The scorching wind engulfed Ursaring, and Maejima gritted his teeth.
"Ursaring, use Stone Edge to counter!"