"Battle start!"
As soon as the referee spoke, Lori had no choice but to release her Ivysaur.
"Charmeleon, Ember!"
"Ivysaur, use Razor Leaf, then follow up with Vine Whip."
The battle began. Lori set aside unnecessary thoughts and focused on how to defeat Gu Yuan and his Charmeleon.
From yesterday's matches, everyone had remembered Charmeleon's high proficiency with Ember, and Lori was no exception.
So Lori didn't expect Razor Leaf to fully block Ember, but she planned to weaken the attack enough to then use Vine Whip to restrain Charmeleon and bring it closer to Ivysaur.
This way, Ivysaur could use moves like Sleep Powder or Poison Powder to gain an advantage.
If released directly, Lori thought Charmeleon would likely burn the powders before they reached it.
Lori's plan was clever, but she still underestimated the power of Charmeleon's Ember.
"Charmeleon, continue pressuring with Ember!"
The flames made it impossible for Vine Whip to reach Charmeleon.
"Ivysaur, Seed Bomb!"
"Ember is enough, detonate the bomb early!"
Seeds glowing green shot out but were detonated by the flames before reaching Charmeleon.
Through the explosions, the distance between Charmeleon and Ivysaur began to close.
Seeing this, Lori slowed Ivysaur's attacks, waiting for the right moment to bind Charmeleon and force it to inhale Ivysaur's Poison Powder.
"Now, Ivysaur, use Vine Whip with Poison Powder!"
"Now, Charmeleon, leap and use Flamethrower!"
When Charmeleon got close enough, both Lori and Gu Yuan gave their commands.
Charmeleon leapt, unleashing Flamethrower. The intense heat raised the surrounding temperature.
Vine Whip couldn't withstand such heat to attack.
"Ivysaur, Seed Bomb!"
In this situation, Lori had no better option and ordered Ivysaur to counterattack.
"Boom!"
The seed exploded at close range, impacting Ivysaur. This was exactly the opening Gu Yuan needed.
"Charmeleon, continue using Flamethrower!"
The fiery stream shot out again. Even though Lori immediately gave commands to Ivysaur, the explosion had stunned it, leaving it unable to react.
With nothing to stop it, the Flamethrower hit Ivysaur directly in the face.
Ivysaur cried out in pain and retreated from the heat.
"Finish the fight, Charmeleon, keep using Flamethrower!"
Before Ivysaur could recover from the pain, another stream of flames grew larger and hit it.
The impact and intense pain caused Ivysaur to faint, losing its ability to battle.
With the match over, Gu Yuan only needed to survive one more round to enter the top thirty-two.
After resting properly at the Pokémon Center, Gu Yuan returned to the battlefield in the afternoon.
The last round was much faster than before, and Gu Yuan soon faced his final opponent from the initial selection.
Listening to the referee announce the familiar rules, Gu Yuan recalled information about Okawa.
His Pokémon was an Intermediate Rank Ursaring with the ability Quick Feet.
In terms of strength, this Ursaring was clearly better than Charmeleon. Victory would depend on Gu Yuan's command skills.
"Battle start!"
"Charmeleon, use Ember!"
As soon as the referee spoke, Gu Yuan seized the opportunity to attack.
"Ursaring, use Slash and charge!"
Okawa reacted quickly, ordering Ursaring to counterattack.
White light glowed from its claws, gradually covering its entire paw.
Swinging its massive paw, Ursaring charged.
Charmeleon's flames were shattered before they reached it.
"Charmeleon, Flamethrower!"
Seeing the glow on Ursaring's paw dim, Gu Yuan launched a second attack.
The Flamethrower overpowered Slash, and some flames hit Ursaring.
Okawa didn't mind. As long as Ursaring reached Charmeleon, it didn't matter if it got burned, since Quick Feet would activate, increasing speed.
With this speed boost, Ursaring could attack or use moves faster, and combined with its strength, it could potentially knock out Charmeleon quickly.
"Charmeleon, maintain Flamethrower while slowly retreating."
"Ursaring, speed up and use Cross Chop!"
The fiery stream surged again. Ursaring seemed unaffected and charged with Cross Chop.
The flames were deflected, and the distance between Charmeleon and Ursaring closed. Ursaring's eyes shone with excitement, eager to defeat Charmeleon.
"Charmeleon, use Growl, then Flamethrower again!"
A piercing cry rang out, but did nothing to stop Ursaring's charge.
The flames were blocked by Cross Chop.
Under the repeated fire attacks, Ursaring was now burned.
Quick Feet activated, and Ursaring surged forward, Cross Chop coming down on Charmeleon.
"Charmeleon, counter with Slash!"
The glowing claws easily blocked Ursaring's attack.
"Ursaring, unleash a full assault!"
Okawa didn't care. Even burned, Ursaring's attacks were weakened, but its speed compensated.
"Charmeleon, clash with Slash, then use Flamethrower at the right moment!"
The glowing claws collided like a real fight, each waiting for the other to make a mistake.
With Gu Yuan's command, Ursaring prepared to defend against Charmeleon's Flamethrower, avoiding a close-range hit.
As the clash continued, the other battles ended, and all eyes were on this match.
Everyone wanted to know who would last until the end.
"Ursaring, Cross Chop!"
Seeing Charmeleon expose an opening, Okawa tried to finish the fight.
"You fell for it."
Gu Yuan remained calm, even smiling, as his plan succeeded.