"Beedrill, use Poison Sting!"
Feeling Charmeleon's strength, Iliam still didn't give up. Instead, he had Beedrill strike first.
But with such a gap in strength, no matter what Iliam tried, he couldn't gain the advantage.
"Charmeleon, Flamethrower!"
A hot column of fire shot out, burning Beedrill's Poison Sting completely.
The wave of heat pushed Beedrill back, breaking its plan to continue using its move.
"Charmeleon, use Ember continuously to knock Beedrill down!"
The roles reversed. Beedrill, just avoiding Flamethrower, had to flee under the constant assault of Ember.
Iliam couldn't find any opportunity to counterattack against the near-endless fire.
Just staying on defense leads to mistakes.
Soon, Beedrill's wings were struck by Ember as it failed to dodge in time.
"Finish it, Charmeleon, Flamethrower!"
Taking advantage of Beedrill's imbalance, Gu Yuan had Charmeleon strike again.
The impact of the flames sent Beedrill tumbling to the ground, losing the ability to battle.
After the fight, Gu Yuan led Charmeleon away from the battlefield and observed the other battles, especially watching for Intermediate Rank or stronger Pokémon.
Amid the dazzling fights, Gu Yuan could quickly use the system to identify Intermediate Rank or higher Pokémon.
Gu Yuan had originally hoped to win first place, but after seeing two Senior Rank Pokémon in a row, he abandoned that idea.
No matter how powerful the system was, it couldn't let Charmeleon instantly master the strength needed to break from Intermediate Rank to Senior Rank.
Realizing this, Gu Yuan relaxed and prepared to enjoy the competition, aiming to defeat as many opponents as possible before being eliminated and earn more points.
The battles moved fast. In the afternoon, the second round of preliminaries began. Gu Yuan entered halfway through.
He had already observed all the threatening opponents in the morning, so he had nothing to worry about.
"Battle start!"
"Charmeleon, use Ember repeatedly!"
As the referee announced, Gu Yuan struck first.
Unlike Iliam in the morning, Krew's Persian had Intermediate Rank strength. Gu Yuan naturally seized every opportunity to expand his advantage.
"Persian dodge Charmeleon's attacks first, then get close and use Bite!"
Krew reacted quickly, ordering Persian to counterattack.
But Krew underestimated Charmeleon's Ember. Flames shot out in waves, filling a large area, leaving Persian no room to escape.
Krew had no choice but to have Persian defend with Scratch while dodging.
With its Technician ability, Persian's Scratch still hit hard.
Gu Yuan carefully watched Persian's movements while keeping Charmeleon attacking.
"Charmeleon, use Ember again!"
Another wave of Ember surged out, but Persian attacked with Scratch, waiting for Charmeleon to make a mistake.
"Charmeleon, Dragon Breath!"
A green Dragon Breath shot straight at Persian.
"Persian, dodge to the left!"
"Now, Charmeleon, Flamethrower!"
As Persian dodged, Charmeleon struck again.
The flames hit Persian just after it landed, leaving no chance of dodging.
Gu Yuan continued the assault, ordering Charmeleon to use Flamethrower again.
The intense fire singed Persian's fur, and the pain made it cry out.
"Charmeleon, overwhelm him with Ember and close the distance!"
Charmeleon advanced steadily, Ember firing continuously.
"Stay calm, Persian. Use your agility and Scratch to block. If your opponent keeps using so many moves, he'll tire first."
Following Krew's command, Persian endured the pain and struck back, but the scorching flames still splashed across it.
Persian's only hope was to strike when Charmeleon revealed a flaw.
With an expectant gaze, Persian saw Charmeleon's Ember attack gradually weaken.
Without needing further commands, Persian rushed forward and readied Bite.
Dark energy coiled around it in preparation for the impact, but before Bite could land, Charmeleon's Slash struck.
After the previous continuous attacks, Persian was already burned. Even with Technician, Bite couldn't compare to Slash.
Persian yelled in pain as the attack connected.
Blood dripped from a wound across Persian.
With a close-range Flamethrower, Charmeleon sent Persian flying.
Landing, Persian struggled but couldn't stand.
No matter how Krew encouraged it, Persian failed to rise before the referee's count ended, losing the battle.
Thus ended the first day of preliminaries. Gu Yuan didn't watch the remaining matches and returned to the Pokémon Center.
Without resting, Gu Yuan continued training.
Charmeleon's workload could be slightly reduced because of the battle, but Eevee still trained as before.
At that moment, Eevee regretted not having Intermediate Rank strength.
It focused on Swift, hoping to break into the Intermediate Rank quickly, so it could participate in later battles with Charmeleon and reduce its training.
Meanwhile, a soundly sleeping Abra wondered: What is training?
***
"How's it going?"
"Scouting is mostly done. Just some final preparations before we can start moving."
At the base of Mt. Moon, two people leaned against a tree.
Even in a safe area, they remained alert. Their Pokémon watched the surroundings, wary of any approach.
"Okay, you stay here and watch. I'll handle the rest quickly so we can move without any delay."
"Got it."
Watching his partner, Adam turned his gaze back to Mt. Moon.
A fiery spark shone in Adam's eyes, like a treasure waiting to be mined.
***
Meanwhile, Gu Yuan returned to the battlefield.
It was the second day of preliminaries, also the last day. The thirty-two who would advance to the next round would be decided today.
Seeing Gu Yuan, Lori's face darkened.
No way around it. Lori's Pokémon, an Ivysaur with Grass and Poison types, wasn't well-suited to fight against Charmeleon. Not everyone can battle against type disadvantages like Ash.