"Come back, Weavile!"
Just like with Electabuzz before, Nakagawa prepared to recall Weavile for a quick rest. As the red light was about to hit Weavile, Alakazam suddenly used Ally Switch.
Alakazam then repeated his old trick, using psychic energy to repeatedly slam Weavile against the ground. Thanks to the combined efforts of Electabuzz and Weavile, the entire Grass Field now looked like a series of meteorite craters. Slumped in a pit, Weavile eventually lost consciousness.
"Go, Houndoom! Fire Blast!"
With a look of determination in his eyes, Nakagawa released his final Pokémon. The moment Houndoom appeared, scorching flames surged violently, forming a burning kanji character that rushed toward Alakazam.
To Nakagawa's surprise, Gu Yuan didn't have Alakazam attack during Houndoom's entry. Instead, he waited for the moment Houndoom attacked to have Alakazam use Ally Switch.
Just as Houndoom was focusing all its attention on Alakazam, its vision blurred, and it suddenly found itself directly in front of its own Fire Blast. The distance was so short that Houndoom had no time to react before being hit.
The flames burned fiercely; Houndoom did not possess the Flash Fire ability. Seizing this opening, Gu Yuan had Alakazam teleport next to Houndoom and immediately launch a Triple Psychic. Under the impact of three consecutive Psychic attacks, Houndoom lost its ability to battle and collapsed.
At this point, Gu Yuan had secured another clean sweep victory in the fourth round, once again demonstrating the eerie and formidable power of Psychic-type Pokémon to everyone present. After this battle, even the three trainers with Ace Rank Pokémon didn't dare to underestimate him.
As he left the venue, reporters swarmed Gu Yuan. Aside from the three Ace Rank trainers, he was currently the only contestant who had advanced with a perfect clean sweep record in every match.
These reporters were no longer just interested in his Alakazam; they wanted to know if Gu Yuan was a Psychic himself and if he was hiding Ace Rank strength. Gu Yuan neither denied nor confirmed these questions, letting them speculate freely. This ambiguity would naturally put pressure on his next opponent.
Back at his lodgings, Gu Yuan watched the broadcasts of other matches. Once the fourth round concluded, the top sixteen contestants had plenty of time to rest and prepare for the fifth round, which would decide the top eight. At that stage, all battlegrounds would switch to the standard field, though teams would still be limited to three Pokémon. After that, the matches would transition to full six-on-six battles on standard fields, significantly raising the level of excitement. Naturally, this would be a massive test for the contestants.
"Hello, everyone."
In the dining hall, Gu Yuan greeted Professor Oak and the others with a smile.
"Sit down, Gu Yuan. I'm relieved to see you training so hard," Professor Oak said. "While reaching the top eight in your first Indigo League would be remarkable, your strength is enough to contend for the championship. You must not be careless. Your previous clean sweeps were likely to hide your true strength, which is good, but don't let it make you arrogant."
Since Gu Yuan had studied under him, Professor Oak genuinely wanted to see him succeed.
"Yes, please rest assured. I will never become arrogant or careless; I will handle every battle with caution."
Gu Yuan nodded firmly, showing his resolve.
"Good, then I'm at ease," Professor Oak replied.
"Alright, let's eat first," Delia added with a smile. "Gu Yuan has training to do later; we can't let him go on an empty stomach."
"Okay, I'm digging in!"
Gu Yuan, who was already hungry, started eating without ceremony. Seeing this, Ash and Gary picked up their pace as well, treating the meal like a competition.
After eating his fill, Gu Yuan went back to training. The match schedule for the next round had been posted after the fourth round. His next opponent was Zeta. Based on previous matches, Zeta didn't seem to be hiding his strength; his strongest Pokémon was a quasi-Ace Kingdra. His other two revealed Pokémon were Blastoise and a dual Rock and Ground-type Golem.
After setting up training plans for Alakazam and the others, Gu Yuan began studying Zeta's battle videos to find weaknesses. Zeta was doing the same. Facing Gu Yuan, who had four consecutive clean sweeps, Zeta felt immense pressure and dared not be negligent.
Amidst this tense preparation, the fifth round began on schedule. Unlike Ash's experience in the original story, Gu Yuan was not bothered by Team Rocket and arrived at the battlefield safely. As he walked out of the tunnel, the crowd's cheers reached a fever pitch, a stark contrast to Zeta's entrance earlier.
"The battle begins! Please release your Pokémon!"
"Go, Golem! Stone Edge!"
"Alakazam, Psychic!"
The moment the battle started, Zeta had Golem take the initiative. His tactic was simple: whether Gu Yuan used Ditto or Alakazam, Golem had the means to fight back, and its final Explosion ensured it could take its opponent down with it.
A psychic python shot out, quickly shattering the Stone Edge. A cunning light glinted in Alakazam's eyes; Gu Yuan had already used Telepathy to tell Alakazam to use Nasty Plot to boost itself.
"Golem, charge! Earth Power!"
Zeta knew exactly how Nakagawa had lost and wouldn't give Alakazam a chance to set up. However, Alakazam's speed in using Nasty Plot was incredible. By the time the pillars of earth rose, Alakazam had already calmly used Teleport to leave the area.
"Alakazam, Teleport, then Triple Psychic!"
After one Nasty Plot boost, Gu Yuan went on the offensive.
"Golem, use Heavy Slam!"
Heavy Slam deals more damage the heavier the user is compared to the target. Given the weight difference between Golem and Alakazam, the move reached its maximum power of 120. Zeta's goal was simple: get Golem close to Alakazam and immediately use Explosion to force a double knockout.
The moment the first Psychic collided with Golem, the momentum of Heavy Slam was broken. Despite this, Golem endured and continued to lunge forward. A white light began to emanate from its body, but Alakazam's figure vanished from the spot.
Boom!