"Gu Yuan, you're up."
Following Kurata's defeat, Dar immediately arranged for Gu Yuan to take the field.
At this point, both Aiko and Kurata had been defeated, and the opponent had already sent out their third contestant. The only reason they held any advantage at all was thanks to Aiko; Kurata's performance could only be described as mediocre.
After witnessing Gu Yuan's immense power and talent, Aiko had been frantically squeezing every bit of her potential, forcing herself to become stronger. She did this for no other reason than the hope she saw in Gu Yuan—the hope that a Champion could finally emerge to unify the Kanto League. To ensure she remained part of that inner circle, she refused to let herself fall behind.
Conversely, Kurata was not the eldest son of his family. Combined with the fact that his older brother was exceptionally talented, he had long since abandoned any thoughts of inheriting the family business. Although he didn't show it openly, Kurata had essentially stopped pretending to strive; since his future was already set, he was content to live as a young master and grow stronger at a leisurely pace. Once his brother took over, he would simply enjoy the life of a wealthy socialite. With resources piled high, his future achievements were predictable. If he were to push himself as hard as Aiko, it would only introduce uncertainty into his comfortable future.
As Gu Yuan stepped onto the stage, the cheers from the crowd instantly intensified. With his previous stellar performances and his fame as the Indigo League Champion, he had successfully harvested a massive following. Most were residents of the Kanto region, but there were also many from Johto, Sinnoh, and elsewhere. Surprisingly, there were even fans from the Hoenn region, which raised a few eyebrows.
"Go, Alakazam!"
Once ready, Gu Yuan led with Alakazam.
"Come back, Hariyama!"
Seeing Gu Yuan send out a Psychic-type, Otomo immediately tried to switch Pokémon.
"Ally Switch, then use Confusion to toss Hariyama into the air!"
Just as the red beam of the Poké Ball shot out, Hariyama vanished from its spot under the influence of Ally Switch. Immediately after, Confusion wrapped around Hariyama. Despite its massive frame and mountain-like weight, it was powerless; Alakazam flung it directly into the sky.
"Hariyama, stabilize yourself! Be ready to strike back at any moment!"
Seeing that he couldn't recall Hariyama, Otomo had no choice but to force a confrontation.
"Teleport, Thunder Wave, then blast Hariyama down with a Psychic trio! Calm Mind!"
A series of commands rang out, and Alakazam vanished from the ground. The moment it reappeared, a Thunder Wave slammed into Hariyama, instantly inflicting paralysis. Psychic energy then manifested like a giant foot, crushing down toward the Pokémon.
"Hariyama, Focus Punch!"
Otomo's command finally arrived. Fortunately, even while paralyzed, Hariyama successfully unleashed a Focus Punch. Even so, faced with the triple-layered offensive, Hariyama was still blasted toward the ground. Using its psychic powers to levitate in mid-air, Alakazam began using Calm Mind to empower itself.
"Hariyama, Belly Drum!"
Otomo's voice boomed. Looking at Alakazam floating in the air, he decided to take a gamble. Hariyama slammed its palms violently against its stomach. A sound like a beating drum echoed, and Hariyama's Attack stat maximized instantly. It glared at Alakazam, waiting for the final moment of impact. It was a good plan, but it had one fatal flaw: could Hariyama actually land a hit?
"Alakazam, Teleport, Stored Power!"
After successfully completing another Calm Mind, Gu Yuan ordered Alakazam to take the initiative. Stored Power has a low base power, but for every stat increase, its power rises significantly. With the two-stage boost from Calm Mind, the move was already formidable.
"Get ready, Hariyama! We only have one chance, we must succeed!"
Hearing Otomo, Hariyama focused all its mental energy on Alakazam's movements. The moment Alakazam appeared and unleashed Stored Power, Hariyama burst forward at its maximum speed with a Focus Punch! On its charging path, it shattered the incoming Stored Power, but as it closed in on Alakazam, a Future Sight that had been set up earlier suddenly activated. Simultaneously, a surge of psychic energy hindered its charge. In the next second, Future Sight slammed into Hariyama. The type advantage proved too much for the weakened Pokémon, and Hariyama collapsed, unable to battle.
"You did your best. Leave the rest to your partners."
Otomo recalled his Pokémon and released his second one. As a specialist in Fighting-types, he naturally trained Pokémon to counter Psychic-types. A white light flashed, and a Beautifly appeared on the field.
"Calm Mind."
Instead of attacking, Gu Yuan had Alakazam continue to buff its power.
"Beautifly, Quiver Dance!"
Otomo decided to match the pace. Beautifly flapped its wings in a beautiful dance. However, while Beautifly was dancing, Alakazam's Expert Mastery Calm Mind was completed in a flash. The next second, Alakazam vanished.
"Beautifly, use Bug Buzz!"
The moment Alakazam disappeared, Otomo had Beautifly abort its dance to counterattack. Sound waves rippled outward, only to be easily crushed by a Psychic force that looked like a giant python. With a three-stage boost, Alakazam's Psychic broke through the Bug Buzz and slammed into Beautifly with power to spare. Then, Disable was used; a pentagram appeared on Beautifly's forehead, sealing its Bug Buzz and causing it to freeze for a split second.
Stored Power surged forward, striking Beautifly squarely in the chest. After three Calm Mind boosts, the move's power had reached 140. Although Bug-types are strong against Psychic-types defensively, Psychic moves are not resisted by them. Given Beautifly's naturally fragile constitution, the consecutive heavy blows were more than it could handle.
"Fly up, Beautifly! Use Silver Wind!"
The Swarm ability activated. With its health low, the power of its Bug-type moves increased. A silver-white storm surged toward Alakazam.
"Ally Switch, Stored Power!"
Gu Yuan only issued the command the moment the storm was about to hit. Under the effect of Ally Switch, Beautifly was unable to resist and ended up bearing the brunt of its own Silver Wind. Immediately after, Stored Power struck again, finishing it off.