"It's your turn, Annihilape. Prepare for battle."
Hearing Gu Yuan's voice, the Ursaring, which had just woken up from unconsciousness, felt a sense of despair. It was a brute, yes, but that did not mean it was brainless. After the previous two battles, Ursaring knew very well it was no match for this human's Pokémon. Rather than pointlessly get abused in another fight, Ursaring preferred to lie down and give up.
Although Gu Yuan was not Ursaring's owner, he could not tolerate Ursaring's refusal to fight. If you won't challenge yourself, I'll force you to.
"Annihilape, use Shadow Ball to attack! Remember to control your power. Don't let Ursaring faint too early."
Upon receiving the instruction, Annihilape guessed Gu Yuan's intent and immediately condensed a weak Shadow Ball, tossing it at Ursaring's face. Ursaring could endure it once or twice, but as the number of hits increased, it successfully ignited Ursaring's short temper.
"Roar!"
With an angry roar, Ursaring charged toward Annihilape. Ursaring went all out from the start. It used Slash first, but was surprised to find that Annihilape was completely unaffected. Before it could think much, Ursaring launched its subsequent attack, Fury Swipes, but still failed to cause damage to Annihilape. Raising its arms, Ursaring skeptically used Cross Chop, one of its Egg Moves.
Unfortunately, the series of attacks not only failed to hurt Annihilape but instead helped boost the power of Annihilape's Rage Fist to its maximum. Ursaring realized something was wrong and tried to pull back, but Annihilape gave it no chance.
Dashing forward, Rage Fist condensed. This was the first time Annihilape had fought a battle with Rage Fist boosted to its maximum power. With a single punch, Ursaring was instantly sent flying. The only unfortunate thing was that, to protect its own arm, Annihilape still had to hold back a bit of its power, even with Rage Fist maximized.
Even so, this single Rage Fist was enough to make Ursaring unable to battle. Clenching its right fist, Annihilape felt a sense of dissatisfaction, but there was no suitable target left in front of it.
"Don't worry, this is only the beginning."
Gu Yuan glanced at the unconscious Ursaring and decided against transferring it to Shadow, considering it a courtesy for being the first Pokémon to taste a maximized Rage Fist.
Alakazam used Teleport, quickly taking Gu Yuan and the others to search for the next Senior Rank Pokémon.
***
Over the next few days, the Senior Rank Pokémon in this forest suffered greatly. While they had encountered trainers before and had managed to drive them off or defeat them, being forced into successive battles was a first. The feeling of being forced to fight right after waking up, being defeated, and then waking up to be beaten again was simply too tormenting. The Pokémon targeted by Gu Yuan often ended up with looks of despair afterward.
"Annihilape, use Phantom Force, then Rage Fist!"
Seeing Annihilape vanish from its sight again, the Scyther immediately became alert. The moment Annihilape reappeared, Scyther turned to strike with its fastest speed, but it was still too slow. Annihilape's Rage Fist landed first, directly sending Scyther flying. After crashing to the ground, Scyther fainted and was unable to battle.
At this point, Gu Yuan had fought and defeated all the Senior Rank Pokémon in the entire forest, except for the Ace Rank Pokémon deep inside the forest. Gu Yuan hesitated for a moment, then decided against seeking trouble. He had witnessed the power of that Houndoom back in Fuchsia City. An Ace Rank Pokémon was not something he could currently handle.
Thinking about this, Gu Yuan once again recalled the suspicious points about Hawkins, but he decided not to dwell on them anymore. Instead, he prepared to leave the forest and head toward Celadon City.
It had been more than half a year since he started his journey, and Gu Yuan had accumulated five Badges. With only the Rainbow Badge from Celadon City, the Volcano Badge from Cinnabar Island, and the Earth Badge from Viridian City left, Gu Yuan would gather all eight Badges and could participate in the upcoming Indigo League.
***
Meanwhile, a cruise ship slowly arrived at a port in the Hoenn region.
The girl smiled as she ran onto the shore. The long time spent at sea made her intensely enjoy the feeling of being back on land. The ground seemed to want a close encounter with her as well, causing the girl's foot to slip and her body to lose balance. Just as she was about to fall, a pair of strong arms caught her.
"Are you alright?"
The girl looked up and saw a refined face and a pair of deep blue eyes, like the ocean. At this moment, she felt as if she was seeing the ocean for the first time, conquered by its profound charm.
"Yes, I'm fine!" she replied shyly, snapping out of her trance and realizing she was staring blankly in a stranger's arms. A blush spread from her earlobes, staining her entire face.
"That's good. Be more careful next time."
Releasing the girl, the man prepared to leave. After leaving his warm embrace, the girl felt a strange reluctance.
"Hello, I'd like to buy you a drink as a thank you. Please don't refuse!" The girl finally summoned the courage to speak, looking at the man's retreating back.
"Sure."
Turning around, the man smiled and agreed. At that moment, the girl felt extraordinarily happy for some reason, as if she could spend a little more time with this man, enjoying that pair of deep blue, ocean-like eyes a little longer.
What the girl didn't know was that while the ocean is beautiful, many dangers lurk in its depths.
***
At the same time, Gu Yuan was not having such a romantic experience.
Several muscular men spread out in a circle, surrounding Gu Yuan. A sinister grin was plastered on each of their faces, and even their surrounding Pokémon were full of malice. Gu Yuan believed that these people would rather give him a painful slap and then stab him in a vital spot than offer a warm embrace. They would then find a place for his Pokémon and take his belongings as a reward.
To prevent this from happening, Gu Yuan had to deal with these aspiring robbers first.
Suddenly, the surrounding individuals felt a change in Gu Yuan's demeanor. Gu Yuan had previously seemed like an inexperienced young trainer, but now he emanated a bone-chilling killing intent.
"All at once! End the fight quickly!"
Gu Yuan immediately released Charizard and the others, giving these people no chance to react. Psychic energy was released, and telepathy was activated. Gu Yuan started the fight with full power. Alakazam immediately used Teleport, taking Gu Yuan and his group out of the encirclement. Charizard then roared as it charged out, and Sylveon promptly used Helping Hand to boost it. Ditto transformed into Primeape's appearance and kept gesturing to use Fury Swipes on Annihilape, helping Annihilape maximize the power of Rage Fist.
Staring intently at the several Senior Rank trainers before him, Gu Yuan wanted to see what he could achieve now.