"Ditto, Inferno!"
"Vileplume, Seed Bomb!"
The commands rang out again, and the flames grew even more violent. In an instant, the blaze swallowed Vileplume's counterattack and the Pokémon itself. When the flames dissipated, Vileplume had collapsed, unable to battle.
"Come back, Vileplume. You did your best; leave the rest to your partners."
Mitsuki spoke quickly, her movements just as fast as she immediately released her fourth Pokémon, Victreebel.
"Ditto, Baton Pass!"
At this point, Ditto was nearing its limit. Gu Yuan chose not to push it further and used Baton Pass to bring Alakazam onto the field.
"Victreebel, Power Whip!"
Mitsuki seized the initiative the moment her Pokémon appeared. As Baton Pass concluded, Alakazam took Ditto's place on the battlefield. Facing the massive vine lashing toward it, Alakazam used Teleport to vanish before Gu Yuan even had to call it out.
Bang!
A dull thud echoed as the ground shattered where the vine struck. Predicting Alakazam's reappearance, Victreebel twisted its body, controlling its vines to continue the pursuit.
"Alakazam, use Teleport to close the distance!"
"Victreebel, cover the area with Poison Powder!"
Seeing Alakazam flickering closer, Mitsuki abandoned the Power Whip chase and switched to a defensive Poison Powder to prevent Alakazam from getting too close, while preparing to counter-attack at any moment.
"Now, Alakazam! Teleport behind Victreebel, Triple Psychic!"
Just as the Poison Powder began to spread, Gu Yuan suddenly had Alakazam increase its teleportation distance. Since the start of the Indigo League, Gu Yuan had purposely restricted Alakazam's teleportation range to create an illusion for his opponents that its reach was limited.
Even during Ditto's earlier fight against Onix, when Ditto could have easily teleported away, Gu Yuan chose to have it take the hit just to maintain this deception. Now, that secrecy paid off perfectly.
Before the Poison Powder could fully expand, Alakazam was already behind Victreebel. Even though Mitsuki reacted instantly with a command, she was a step too late. A Psychic wave enveloped Victreebel first, followed by two more blasts slamming into its body. The intense pain nearly caused Victreebel to black out, its body going numb.
"Get up, Victreebel! Power Whip!"
Mitsuki's cheers rang out, and the characteristic resilience of Grass-type Pokémon began to show. However, as Victreebel struggled to stand, Alakazam had already recovered from its move cooldown. A final Psychic blast struck Victreebel, and the sheer force of the pain knocked it unconscious immediately.
"Go, Exeggutor!"
Undeterred, Mitsuki quickly sent out her fifth Pokémon, refusing to give Alakazam a moment's rest.
"Exeggutor, use Seed Bomb to constrict Alakazam's movement!"
"Alakazam, use Confusion to seize control of the Seed Bomb, then Psychic!"
The seeds, packed with special energy, had barely been launched before Alakazam wrapped them in psychic power. They were turned back toward Exeggutor, forcing it to use Seed Bombardment to detonate the incoming projectiles. Seizing this opening, Alakazam appeared behind Exeggutor and released a Psychic wave.
"Exeggutor, Psychic!"
Being a Psychic-type itself, Exeggutor quickly locked onto Alakazam's position and countered with its own Psychic. However, against an Alakazam with its Special Defense boosted to the limit, Exeggutor's move was insufficient. Its attack was crushed, and the remaining power slammed into it.
Suddenly, a five-pointed star appeared on Exeggutor's forehead. It was Disable, sealing Exeggutor's Psychic and freezing it in place for a split second.
"Confusion bind!"
Psychic energy surged, turning into venomous snakes that tightly bound Exeggutor. A ball of energy shimmering with multicolored light then lunged forward—Alakazam's Future Sight, which had been set up earlier, triggered and swallowed the immobile Exeggutor.
When the light of Future Sight faded, a large crater remained where Exeggutor stood. In the center of the pit, Exeggutor was still standing, but Alakazam followed up with a Psychic that sent it flying. As it tumbled through the air, several Psyshock attacks pursued it, ensuring Exeggutor was completely defeated.
At this point, Mitsuki had abandoned thoughts of winning; she only wanted to take down this Alakazam. As Exeggutor was recalled, she sent out her strongest Pokémon, Venusaur. Like Alakazam, this Venusaur possessed quasi-Ace strength.
"Alakazam, continuous Psychic attacks!"
"Venusaur, counter with Petal Blizzard!"
The moment Venusaur appeared, Gu Yuan had Alakazam strike first. Since the previous battles ended so quickly, the Special Defense boosts were still active. Alakazam took the upper hand immediately, its Psychic waves forcing Venusaur to retreat. However, relying on its incredible resilience and superior stamina, Venusaur managed to stabilize itself under Mitsuki's direction.
"Alakazam, Recover."
"Venusaur, Synthesis."
Mitsuki was well-prepared for Alakazam's Recover and immediately had Venusaur use Synthesis. Unlike Recover, Synthesis's effectiveness can vary, but it was enough for Venusaur for now.
"Alakazam, Disable, then Triple Psychic!"
The moment Synthesis was cast, the five-pointed star of Disable appeared on Venusaur's forehead, causing it to stiffen. Faced with Alakazam's frantic outpouring of power, even the sturdy Venusaur was forced back repeatedly.
Sensing the momentum, Alakazam continued its assault as per Gu Yuan's orders, looking as though it were ready to trade blows to the end. This suited Mitsuki's intentions perfectly. She knew winning the match was impossible, but she wanted to take down at least one of Gu Yuan's Pokémon before losing.
In the final exchange, Alakazam and Venusaur clashed with their most powerful moves, providing the audience with a visual feast. In the final collision, both Alakazam and Venusaur lost their ability to battle simultaneously. The result was Mitsuki's defeat, as she had no Pokémon remaining.
"That was a brilliant battle. I hope to have the chance to face you again in the future," Gu Yuan said after the match. As always, he showed no arrogance, speaking to Mitsuki with a gentle expression.
"I learned a lot from this battle. Next time we meet, I hope I can force you to use your full strength."
Her beautiful eyes were fixed on Gu Yuan, her tone showing no sign of discouragement. Even though she realized how difficult it would be to surpass him, she would never stop trying. Gu Yuan admired this spirit and graciously stated that he would not hold back if they fought again.
With this victory, Gu Yuan successfully advanced to the final four. His spectacular performance brought a smile to Agatha's face in the stands.