"It's still no good. It seems I still need a period of accumulation."
Opening his eyes, Gu Yuan was already accustomed to failing his breakthrough these last few days. This made him realize how difficult it was to become a powerful psychic. It also proved how outstanding Sabrina's talent truly was.
"Alright, that's enough training for today. We'll go eat in a bit. You all need to perform well in tomorrow's Gym Battle, okay?"
Stretching, Gu Yuan had Charizard and the others stop.
The following afternoon, Gu Yuan headed straight for the Celadon Gym. Having just walked out of the Pokémon Center, Gu Yuan had already located the few people tracking him, and the corner of his mouth revealed a slight, mocking smile. Gu Yuan truly didn't understand whether the person behind them was too arrogant or simply an idiot. For several days, the same group of people had been monitoring him, revealing a deep level of contempt.
However, Gu Yuan would not warn the opposition. Instead, he quietly prepared himself. When they finally meet, he would naturally "teach" the opponent a good lesson. The tuition fee, of course, would be paid with their lives. As a bonus, Gu Yuan would also teach them how to avoid provoking those they should not provoke!
Adjusting his state, Gu Yuan acted as if he knew nothing and, just like the previous few days, walked directly to the Celadon Gym.
Entering the Waiting Room, Gu Yuan immediately started cultivating his psychic power again. Following the previous failures, he was preparing to accumulate for a longer period this time, then make a final push to cross this barrier in one go.
Closing his eyes in concentration, the psychic power that was undetectable by others began to flow. In cultivation, time seemed to flow exceptionally fast.
After some time, Gu Yuan sensed a staff member approaching and slowly opened his eyes.
"Hello, it's your turn for the Gym Battle. Please follow me."
"Okay."
Rising, Gu Yuan was quickly led by the staff member to the side of the battle arena. On the other side, Erika, dressed in a kimono, was already prepared. Erika, as described in the games, was a young lady with the grace of a Yamato Nadeshiko(the ideal Japanese woman, not a real person), and she is also an Ikebana teacher(Japanese flower arrangement). Meeting her in reality, one could indeed feel a unique and comforting aura about her. Combined with Erika's beauty, she was undoubtedly the perfect wife of many men's dreams, the type who is equally adept in the living room and the kitchen.
Seeing that both sides were ready, the referee began to announce the battle rules.
As soon as the referee finished speaking, Erika immediately brought out her Poké Ball first.
"You are Gu Yuan, correct? Forgive me for having learned about your experience beforehand, but I must say you are very outstanding."
"Therefore, in the upcoming battle, I will be using my full strength. You must be prepared."
As Erika's gentle voice rang out, Gu Yuan could do nothing but silently heighten his vigilance.
"My first Pokémon will be this one."
A flash of white light, and Tangela appeared first on the battle arena.
"Go, Sylveon, use Hyper Voice!"
"Tangela, use Energy Ball!"
At the same time, Gu Yuan commanded Sylveon to attack, Erika also gave her instructions. Waves of sound rushed out.
Although Tangela immediately used Energy Ball to counterattack, it still underestimated the Hyper Voice amplified by Pixilate. Under the impact of the sound waves, the power of the Energy Ball was immediately shattered, and the remaining force of the Hyper Voice slammed into Tangela.
"Sylveon, use Calm Mind."
"Hold strong, Tangela! Use Sludge Bomb to interrupt it, then rush forward quickly!"
Purple-black sludge shot out, and Tangela quickly moved closer to Sylveon. To prevent Tangela from using moves like Poison Powder or Stun Spore, Gu Yuan had deliberately kept Sylveon far away from Tangela when it first appeared, and this was now paying off. Sylveon's Calm Mind would be of great use later, so after Sylveon learned it, Gu Yuan had helped increase the move's mastery to Advanced. This allowed Sylveon to successfully use Calm Mind just before the Sludge Bomb landed.
"Sylveon, use Hyper Voice!"
The special attack, which had been obviously boosted, took effect. Waves of sound rushed out, first dissolving the power of the Sludge Bomb, and then halting Tangela's charge.
"Endure it, Tangela! Use Slam!"
"Sylveon, wrap your feelers around Tangela's vines, and use Covet!"
Vines shot out. Before Tangela could grab Sylveon, Sylveon's feelers had already found the vines and tightly wrapped around them. Covet was activated. Perhaps because the vines were wrapped by the feelers, the effect of Covet was exceptionally good. Sylveon pulled with great force, and in the end, it was Sylveon who slammed Tangela away. It then rolled several times on the ground before stopping.
Quickly standing up, Tangela saw Sylveon using Calm Mind again.
"Tangela, use Solar Beam!"
Erika did not try to charge forward again, opting instead to use a powerful offensive to turn the tide. Receiving the command, Tangela began to charge. Almost instantly after Sylveon successfully used Calm Mind, Tangela's Solar Beam was also fully charged, which showed how skilled Tangela was with the move.
The next moment, a pure white beam of light shot out, heading directly for Sylveon.
"Sylveon, use Hyper Voice!"
Gu Yuan's counterattack was still simple, but it was exceptionally effective after being boosted by two uses of Calm Mind. The sound waves, now almost solid, withstood Tangela's Solar Beam.
"Sylveon, use Shadow Ball, then use Calm Mind again!"
A purple-black energy sphere shot out. Boosted by two Calm Mind uses, Erika did not dare underestimate the power of Shadow Ball. Tangela used Sludge Bomb to detonate the Shadow Ball prematurely, but the resulting explosion still affected it.
As Sylveon successfully used Calm Mind for the third time, the advantage had completely fallen into Gu Yuan's hands. Despite this, Erika still commanded Tangela to attack. Her goal was not to win, but merely to consume more of Sylveon's stamina.
"Sylveon, use Hyper Voice!"
The sound waves, now seemingly solid, rushed out with a power stronger than Tangela's Solar Beam, giving Tangela no chance to break through. It was forced to retreat again, and then watched helplessly as Sylveon used Calm Mind once more.
Erika naturally saw through Gu Yuan's plan, which was undoubtedly to have Sylveon use Calm Mind to maximize its Special Attack boost, and then transfer the boost to the next Pokémon using Baton Pass. The best option would be to defeat Sylveon as quickly as possible, but unfortunately, Sylveon had already gained momentum, and Tangela was only Senior Rank strength. Even switching to another Pokémon would merely waste Tangela's battle power in vain, so Erika could only watch helplessly as everything went according to Gu Yuan's plan.
"It's time."
"Sylveon, use Misty Terrain and then Baton Pass!"
Mist rose up. Gu Yuan didn't even give Tangela a chance to inflict negative status conditions using Poison Powder or Stun Spore before having Sylveon use Baton Pass to switch out to Charizard.
The real battle had just begun.