Roar!
Flames swept across the battlefield, causing even the Ice Field to begin melting. Tsubaki was forced to have her Dewgong retaliate with Aqua Tail. Unfortunately, the water evaporated the instant it touched the flames. Although water usually counters fire, a meager stream of water does little when the fire's power is overwhelming.
Crucially, Dewgong possesses the Hydration ability, meaning Fire-type moves still deal significant damage. Furthermore, the strongest Water-type move in Dewgong's arsenal was merely Aqua Tail. Against Ditto's third Torch Song, the power of Aqua Tail could not hold its ground, leaving Dewgong trapped within a sea of fire.
A melodious song echoed across the Ice Field, but neither Tsubaki nor Dewgong were in the mood to appreciate it. Facing Ditto's Torch Song, Tsubaki found herself breaking into a cold sweat, much like the melting battlefield.
A long defense eventually falters. Under the continuous assault of flames, Dewgong finally exposed a weakness. It was swallowed by the Torch Song and lost its ability to battle.
As she recalled her fallen Dewgong, Tsubaki felt conflicted. Just like Kato before her, she could think of no way to counter a Ditto that could transform into a Pokémon of any type. Most importantly, Ditto had already boosted its Special Attack to the limit using Torch Song. Combined with the Unaware ability, even if a Pokémon boosted its Special Defense to the maximum, it would be futile.
Ultimately, Tsubaki braced herself and released her second Pokémon. In a flash of white light, Jynx appeared on the battlefield, but Ditto immediately launched another Torch Song. With six stacks of Special Attack boosts, the moment Torch Song was unleashed, it looked as if a sea of fire was falling from the sky, completely filling Jynx's field of vision.
Faced with such an onslaught, Tsubaki knew Jynx wouldn't even have the chance to use the Teleport it had painstakingly learned. She had no choice but to have Jynx use Blizzard while using psychic energy to enhance its power. Even so, the moment the flames descended, the Blizzard rapidly melted away, and the remaining fire enveloped Jynx.
"Ditto, end this battle with consecutive uses of Torch Song!"
Although the Tsubaki across from him was fair-skinned and cute, Gu Yuan had no intention of being "tender toward the fair sex." He ordered Ditto to resume the offensive. As the flames encroached, Jynx couldn't even manage a decent counterattack before being submerged in the fire, its figure disappearing from sight.
After the third Torch Song was unleashed, Gu Yuan had Ditto pause the attack. As the flames gradually dissipated, the charred Jynx was seen lying helplessly on the ground, having lost its ability to battle. A red light shot out, recalling the defeated Jynx.
Against a Ditto with its Special Attack boosted to the limit, average Pokémon simply had no way to resist. Unfortunately, Tsubaki had no Pokémon stronger than Jynx or Dewgong. She ultimately made the same decision as Kato, reluctantly sending out her third Pokémon, Cloyster!
"Ditto, Torch Song."
The flames surged again. Cloyster's most outstanding trait was its physical defense, but it fell short when it came to Special Defense. Under the relentless fire, Cloyster melted away along with the Ice Field.
"Let's congratulate contestant Gu Yuan for winning another battle with a clean sweep!"
"I believe the audience members are just as shocked as I am by that mysterious and powerful Pokémon. I wonder if contestant Gu Yuan will clear up the mystery for us in the post-match interview. Let's wait and see."
As the battle ended, the announcer's voice rang out, filled with excitement and curiosity regarding Skeledirge. Gu Yuan naturally intended to explain Skeledirge's existence to make others think he had a powerful Skeledirge hidden away in reserve.
During the reporter's interview, Gu Yuan deliberately provided a detailed introduction to Skeledirge, claiming he had learned about and captured it while executing League tasks. This served to ignite a desire in many others to take on League tasks as well.
Since Gu Yuan's match was one of the earlier ones in the second round, he had plenty of time to observe his future opponents and cross-reference them with the data Shadow had provided. Although Team Rocket's capabilities were beyond doubt, Gu Yuan's long-standing caution made him feel that "seeing is believing."
Consequently, Gu Yuan went to the training room and used a live-stream app on his communicator to watch the Indigo League broadcasts. Charizard and the others continued to train hard, silently condemning Gu Yuan in their hearts as an "unscrupulous trainer."
While the current contestants all possessed decent strength after the preliminaries, they clearly couldn't force the top-tier trainers to reveal their full power. Specifically, the three trainers who had shown Ace Rank Pokémon chose to use them to sweep through their matches, avoiding the exposure of too many secrets.
Once the secondary rounds concluded, Gu Yuan circled the three trainers with Ace Rank Pokémon and a few others he deemed threatening. He prepared to watch their future matches closely to find their weaknesses.
It seemed his brilliant performances in the first two matches had made him famous, as his third-round match was also scheduled quite early. Not only that, but the number of people cheering for him grew larger, unlike before when it was just the two youngsters, Ash and Gary.
"Go, Ditto! Continue to write your glory."
As the referee's voice sounded, Gu Yuan released Ditto once more. Meanwhile, his opponent, Takaoka, released a Venusaur, preparing for a battle of attrition.
"Ditto, Skeledirge, Torch Song!"
At the start of the battle, Gu Yuan again had Ditto transform into Skeledirge. Flames surged out, heading straight for Venusaur.
"Venusaur, Seed Bomb, then counter with Magical Leaf!"
Despite Venusaur looking like a "meat shield" tank, its respectable Special Attack allowed it to be a suitable turret. Combined with Synthesis, it could potentially stall Ditto for a long time and wear down its energy.
However, Takaoka didn't know that Torch Song increases the user's Special Attack upon release; this was information Gu Yuan had intentionally withheld. It would be foolish to reveal all of Skeledirge's secrets.
The raging flames were scattered by the exploding Seed Bomb. Glowing green leaves flew out, only to be burned to ashes by the even more intense fire. Looking at the Venusaur still trying to trade moves with Ditto, Gu Yuan truly felt the trainer and his Pokémon were "adorably foolish."
Barring any accidents, this battle was going to end in another clean sweep. As if to prove Gu Yuan right, a more violent wave of fire erupted, causing Venusaur to begin falling into a disadvantage.