"Go, Magnezone!"
Recalling Luxray, Kawahara released his second Pokémon.
"Alakazam, Teleport. Charizard, Fire Blast!"
Telepathy activated, and a series of commands echoed in Ditto's mind. The moment Magnezone appeared, Ditto, transformed into Alakazam, vanished from its spot. By the time it reappeared, it was behind Magnezone, unleashing a Fire Blast that surged toward its opponent.
"Thunder!"
At Kawahara's command, Magnezone reacted with incredible speed. Orange-yellow electricity shot out, quickly unraveling the flames. As the lightning and fire neutralized each other, Ditto—now in the form of Charizard—vanished again.
Before Magnezone could react, Ditto transformed into Ceruledge and appeared behind it. A Will-O-Wisp strike left a visible scar on Magnezone's back. Under the effect of the spectral flames, Magnezone was immediately inflicted with a burn. Having landed the hit, Ditto followed Gu Yuan's command and dove back into the dimensional space, giving Magnezone no chance to counterattack.
Now, the pressure to go on the offensive fell entirely on Kawahara.
"Magnezone, use Discharge to lock onto Ditto's position! Get Thunder ready!"
Orange-yellow current poured out like a torrential rain. The moment Ditto emerged from the dimensional space, a massive surge of electricity swept toward it.
"Onix, Rock Tomb!"
Transforming into Onix once more, Ditto conjured walls of rock to block the path, successfully shielding itself from Magnezone's assault. Ditto's current tactic could be summed up in one word: stall. It would wait until the burn damage took a greater toll.
"Lower your altitude, Flash Cannon!"
In addition to its Electric typing, Magnezone also possessed the Steel type. However, its Steel-type moves were undoubtedly weaker than its Electric-type ones.
"Stone Edge, then charge straight in! Charizard, Fire Blast!"
Sharp stones shot forward. The moment they blocked the Flash Cannon, Ditto lunged upward. In its massive Onix form, a single leap closed the distance between them to a startling degree. Quickly shifting into Charizard, it unleashed Fire Blast. Magnezone only had time to shroud itself in Discharge, but it couldn't keep out all the flames.
"Blast Burn!"
Gu Yuan showed no mercy. Seizing the opening, he gave Magnezone no room to breathe. The continuous, explosive flames instantly swallowed Magnezone.
"Keep it up with Fire Blast!"
Before the fires could even dissipate, Gu Yuan ordered Ditto to maintain the offensive.
"I forfeit!"
Knowing Magnezone could no longer fight back, Kawahara refused to let his Pokémon endure further unnecessary damage. As the flames died down, he recalled his scorched Magnezone to its Poké Ball.
As Kawahara's final Pokémon took the field, the aura of a Leader Rank began to spread. His strongest ace was an Electivire! Electivire, the evolved form of Electabuzz, required a trade while holding an Electirizer to evolve.
"Hariyama, Belly Drum. Sylveon, Misty Terrain. Baton Pass!"
A string of commands flashed through Ditto's mind. While Electivire was still making its entrance, Ditto immediately sprang into action. First, it transformed into Hariyama and slammed its palms against its stomach; immediately after, it shifted into the form of Sylveon.
"Stop it, Electivire! Thunder!"
Seeing through Gu Yuan's intent, Kawahara immediately ordered an attack. Thick mist began to spread just as Electivire's Thunder came crashing down. Faced with a move at Expert Mastery from a superior opponent, Ditto had no chance to dodge—but it didn't need to. A translucent green barrier rose as Protect was activated. Even though the gap in strength allowed Electivire to shatter the barrier with its lightning, it wasn't enough to defeat Ditto.
Baton Pass was successfully executed, and Charizard took Ditto's place on the battlefield. Along with the switch, Charizard inherited the Attack stat boosts that Ditto had gained from Belly Drum.
"Roar!"
Feeling the power surging through its body, Charizard couldn't help but let out a thunderous roar.
"Go, Charizard! Flame Charge!"
"Electivire, use Thunder with everything you've got!"
Orange electricity surged again as dark clouds gathered around Electivire. A thick pillar of lightning fell like the spear of a thunder god. Charizard condensed a Dragon Claw and charged forward without a hint of fear. As the lightning pillar reached it, Charizard swung its claws with a violent force, shattering the bolt.
"Dragon Rush!"
At Gu Yuan's command, Dragon-type energy condensed, transforming Charizard into a phantom dragon so massive that even the dark clouds couldn't contain it. As it flapped its wings and charged, Electivire felt waves of pressure slamming into its body before the attack even arrived.
"Hyper Beam!"
Kawahara's roar brought Electivire back to its senses. Mobilizing its full power, Electivire unleashed its strongest Hyper Beam. Unfortunately, the orange beam of light was powerless against the charging dragon. The phantom dragon opened its maw and swallowed the Hyper Beam with ease. In the next second, it slammed into Electivire, consuming it.
The moment they hit the ground, light expanded like an explosion, enveloping the entire battlefield. When the light faded, a massive crater was visible with Electivire at its center. Nearby, the workers responsible for repairing the battlefield silently cursed Gu Yuan in their hearts. They didn't dare speak up, fearing he would remember them; after all, even Dar was backing him, and he was not someone they could afford to offend.
In the center of the crater, Electivire had not yet fallen, still standing stubbornly.
"Go, Charizard! End this!"
"Go, Electivire! Fight to your heart's content!"
As the trainers' voices rang out, Charizard and Electivire clashed once more, but the result was a one-sided massacre. The Belly Drum—which sacrificed half of the user's health—was simply too broken. Even if the boost was slightly diminished for a Leader Rank Charizard, it still provided a staggering increase in power.
Facing Charizard's fiery assault once more, Electivire lasted less than two minutes before being crushed and rendered unable to stand. This was why, as trainers reached higher levels, they focused more on stat-boosting moves; as a Pokémon's strength grew, the multipliers provided by these moves became increasingly devastating.
As the battle concluded, waves of cheers erupted. With a growing fan base, Gu Yuan could now enjoy the roar of victory even in matches hosted in other regions, a far cry from his silent beginnings. In the contestant area, Taishi Utsunomiya watched the spotlight-stealing Gu Yuan, his gaze becoming more determined than ever.