"Charizard, use Flame Charge, then Flamethrower!"
The blazing fire wrapped around Charizard, and a pillar of flame shot straight toward Ampharos.
"Ampharos, use Thunder!"
Seeing the fiery rush of Charizard, Quinn decided to counter with the stronger move, Thunder.
A surge of blue electricity shot out and shattered the pillar of fire.
Before the lightning could hit, Charizard had already dodged aside.
The next moment, dragon energy surrounded Charizard, turning it into a giant dragon as it dove down.
A dragon's roar echoed. Ampharos could even feel a powerful, commanding pressure sweeping over it.
"Ampharos, use Thunderbolt!"
It was too late for Ampharos to use Thunder again, so it could only fight back with Thunderbolt.
What puzzled Quinn most was why Gu Yuan dared to have Charizard charge straight in.
After all, Ampharos's common Ability was Static, and a direct attack like this could easily leave Charizard paralyzed.
In previous battles, Quinn had perfectly hidden Ampharos's Ability. Against Intermediate Rank opponents, no one had yet figured it out.
Unfortunately, no matter how he thought about it, Quinn could not know that this was the work of Gu Yuan's system ability.
The surging electricity could not stop Charizard from closing in.
Boom!
The explosion rang out, and smoke quickly covered both Charizard and Ampharos.
"Ampharos, use Discharge!"
Without thinking about why Gu Yuan had taken such a risk, Quinn only wanted to force Charizard back as soon as possible.
But instead of lightning, blazing flames burst out from within the smoke.
Under the impact of Flamethrower, Ampharos was blasted into the air.
Flapping its wings, Charizard charged again with Flame Charge, striking Ampharos even higher.
No matter how Quinn gave commands, Ampharos, wracked with pain, couldn't act faster than the Charizard whose Speed had risen several levels.
At last, Flamethrower burst out again, blasting Ampharos down from the sky.
The sound of impact echoed. Ampharos twitched a few times, then went still, losing the ability to fight.
"The match is over!"
As the referee's voice rang out, not only Quinn but many of the spectators were left in disbelief.
They had thought Quinn would win easily, but instead the result had been completely reversed.
After helping Charizard recover some stamina, Gu Yuan returned to the waiting room to watch the other matches.
During the Top 100 battles, many Senior Rank Trainers met early, making the matches more exciting and forcing many to reveal their trump cards ahead of time.
In the afternoon, the Top 100 to Top 50 elimination round began.
Because of Gu Yuan's performance that morning, many people had started paying attention to him, wanting to know if his win was due to luck or real strength.
Unfortunately, his afternoon opponent, though a Senior Rank Trainer, was much weaker than Quinn.
Unsurprisingly, Gu Yuan won again, but no one could truly gauge how strong he was.
"Good thing tomorrow's schedule won't interfere with my Gym battle."
Back at the hotel, Gu Yuan received a notice from the Silph Company.
The Top 50 to Top 25 battles would take place in the morning, and the Top 25 to Top 12 in the afternoon.
The day after that, the remaining eight would be selected to fill the Top 20, followed by ranking matches for the Top 50.
That meant Gu Yuan wouldn't need to compete on the same day as his Gym challenge.
"All right, rest early tonight. You might have two tough battles waiting for you tomorrow."
"Same goes for you, Sylveon, and everyone. The Gym battle is the day after tomorrow, so make sure you're ready."
Although Gu Yuan already had two Badges, the one he was about to face was Sabrina!
To be a Gym Leader of the Saffron Gym, Sabrina relied not only on her identity as a Psychic but on her overwhelming strength.
After all, Saffron City was one of the faces of the Kanto region. Trainers from all over came to challenge it, so the Gym Leader's power could never be weak.
Lying on the bed, while Charizard and the others played freely around the room, Gu Yuan began watching Sabrina's battle videos.
With her Pokémon like Kadabra and Alakazam, every challenger who faced her fell into a difficult fight.
More importantly, few ever earned a Badge by defeating her. Instead, Sabrina often decided whether they were worthy of the Marsh Badge even after their loss.
Though that was one valid way for a Gym Leader to award a Badge, Gu Yuan preferred to win his Badge through victory.
For that, he needed to carefully study Sabrina's battle style.
***
The next morning, after washing up, Gu Yuan returned to the arena.
As more competitors entered, many eyes turned toward him.
Compared to others, Gu Yuan was the most mysterious contestant left.
Soon, the elimination matches began. Gu Yuan was assigned to the very first one, which drew even more attention.
When he saw his opponent, Gu Yuan recalled the information he had read.
Neil, a Trainer from the Hoenn region, was considered one of the strongest participants in the elimination rounds. Many believed he had the ability to place in the Top 3. His main Pokémon was Blaziken.
"Looks like we won't be able to hide much strength this time. But Charizard, don't reveal the full mastery of your Flamethrower yet. Wait for my signal."
After Gu Yuan finished briefing Charizard, the referee finished announcing the rules.
"Come out, Blaziken!"
"It's time, Charizard!"
Both Trainers threw their Poké Balls at the same moment.
"Blaziken, use Flame Charge!"
At the start of the battle, Neil went on the offensive.
"Charizard, use Flamethrower, then fly up!"
Seeing Blaziken's stats, Gu Yuan quietly sighed in relief.
Thankfully, its Ability was Blaze, not Speed Boost; otherwise, even Charizard's Expert-level Flamethrower might not stay hidden.
"Blaziken, use Aerial Ace!"
Blaziken leapt high, trying to intercept Charizard before it could gain altitude.
"Charizard, use Heat Wave!"
The scorching air burst out, immediately suppressing Blaziken's attack.
"Blaziken, use Flamethrower!"
Blaziken's Flamethrower was strong, matching Charizard's in power and special attack.
But under the pressure of the Heat Wave, its flames had little effect.
As Charizard rose higher, flames wrapped around it again, readying another Flame Charge. The crowd could tell this was going to be an intense fight.