Flames and Dragon Pulse clashed, the explosive impact causing both offenses to cancel each other out. Immediately afterward, Magmar used Flamethrower again, intercepting Drakloak as it unleashed Night Shade.
When the dark shadows were incinerated by the flames, Drakloak vanished within the phantom imagery. Realizing something was wrong, Magmar immediately used Fire Spin for defense, but it was a step too late.
Emerging from the rift of space with Phantom Force, Drakloak first slashed Magmar with its claws and then followed up with Astonish. Unfortunately, it failed to make Magmar flinch.
"Drakloak, use Agility to dodge and strike back with Dragon Rush!"
Enduring the sharp pain, Magmar was just about to counterattack when Gu Yuan's command rang out in Drakloak's mind. The speed boost from Agility allowed Drakloak to move away quickly, causing Magmar's flames to miss.
Before Magmar's Fire Blast could arrive, Drakloak dove back into the rift of space once more. Having learned its lesson, Magmar immediately used Fire Spin for protection.
However, Drakloak did not attack as expected. Instead, it appeared a distance away and unleashed a Dragon Pulse. Under the impact of the dragon-shaped wave, the flames shattered, exposing the Magmar within.
"Drakloak, Quick Attack!"
Almost the instant the flames were blown open, Drakloak turned into a streak of white light and vanished. With the boost from Agility, Drakloak rushed in front of Magmar like a true flash of light and delivered another Astonish.
"Drakloak, use Agility to pull away!"
Seeing that Astonish had failed to trigger its secondary effect again, Gu Yuan repeated his previous tactic, letting Drakloak leave immediately. With the previous speed stacks from Agility, the difficulty for Magmar to counterattack increased once more.
After pulling away, Gu Yuan had Drakloak bombard the opponent with successive Dragon Pulse attacks. Under the disadvantage of speed, Magmar suddenly felt overwhelmed and frantic.
"Now, use Phantom Force and Astonish again!"
Seeing Drakloak release another Dragon Pulse, Gu Yuan shifted the offensive pattern. Quickly diving into and out of the rift, Drakloak left another wound on Magmar's back, followed immediately by Astonish.
After three attempts, Astonish finally triggered its additional effect, sending Magmar into a flinching state. While flinching, a Pokémon is unable to use moves to counterattack for a short duration.
"Now, Draco Meteor!"
As the current Gu Yuan was quite wealthy, he naturally wouldn't be stingy with his Pokémon regarding moves. Meteors rained down, quickly suppressing the panicked Magmar.
Suddenly, flames rose as Magmar used fire to force a path out, but what greeted it was a nearly point-blank Dragon Pulse from Drakloak. Drakloak then followed up with a frenzy of Dragon Claw attacks.
Already riddled with wounds, Magmar could not hold out for long under Drakloak's relentless assault. It could only let out an unwilling roar before collapsing.
Opening the system panel, Gu Yuan helped Drakloak take the final step. Suddenly, the sensation of previous evolutions surfaced in Drakloak's heart. Without hesitation, it seized that feeling to complete its final evolution.
As the light of evolution enveloped Drakloak, Alakazam thoughtfully teleported the fainted Magmar out of its territory. Within the white light, Drakloak's form began to change, most noticeably in its size.
Soon, a Dragapult, more than double the size of its previous form, emerged from the light. After evolving, Dragapult's hind limbs became sturdier and more powerful, and its front claws grew longer.
Dragapult's head became triangular, with four launch-pad-like holes in the horns extending to both sides. The most obvious change was its longer tail, which gradually became transparent toward the tip, looking like a phantom and fitting its attributes perfectly.
The only pity was that Gu Yuan did not possess four Dreepy to crawl into the holes in Dragapult's horns. Even so, Dragapult's signature move, Dragon Dart, could still be used normally, though it manifested as dragon-shaped arrow energy.
"Congratulations, Dragapult!"
Stroking Dragapult's cool body, Gu Yuan could hardly restrain the joy in his voice. Dragapult's excitement was even greater than Gu Yuan's. After such a long time, it had finally taken the final step.
At the same time, Charizard and the others came over to offer their congratulations. Gu Yuan took the opportunity to check Dragapult's post-evolution data.
Pokémon: Dragapult
Gender: Male
Ability: Clear Body
Strength: Leader Rank
Type: Dragon, Ghost
Level-up Moves: Bite, Quick Attack, Astonish, Infestation, Dragon Dart, Dragon Breath, Lock-On, Assurance, Hex, Agility, Double Hit, U-turn, Dragon Dance, Phantom Force, Take Down, Dragon Rush
TM Moves: Protect, Confuse Ray, Swift, Dragon Tail, Thunder Wave, Helping Hand, Baton Pass, Night Shade, Shadow Ball, Draco Meteor, Dragon Claw, Fly, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Dragon Pulse, Outrage, Thunder, Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, Will-O-Wisp, Light Screen, Reflect
Inherited Moves: Disable, Curse
Looking at Dragapult's data, Gu Yuan's eyes were full of satisfaction. Only now could Dragapult truly exert its power as a pseudo-legendary. With its Dragon typing, it could learn moves of various types, greatly increasing its coverage.
Its excellent dual offensive stats allowed it to adapt as either a physical or special attacker. Most importantly, Gu Yuan had trained Dragapult and Haxorus to fight in tandem from the start.
Now, it was time for this duo to showcase their strength. Haxorus only needed to focus on charging and dealing with enemies in front, as Dragapult would naturally handle attacks coming from other directions.
"Let's go, Dragapult! I'm sure that having just evolved and broken through, you can't wait for a grand battle!"
After the other Pokémon finished their congratulations, Gu Yuan spoke to Dragapult with a smile. Dragapult let out an excited roar and came to Gu Yuan's side with great motivation.
The average length of a Dragapult is 3 meters, but under Gu Yuan's meticulous care, its length reached nearly 4 meters. Without hesitation, Gu Yuan flipped onto its back to experience the feeling of riding a 'Ghost Dragon.'
At the same time, the Elite Four had gathered enough intelligence and began preparing to launch their counterattack. This time, the Elite Four would make the Hunter's Guild and those families pay back their previous losses with interest!