"Go, Annihilape! I am sure this Weavile can satisfy your desire for battle."
Looking at the Weavile ahead, which possessed strength at the Peak Elite Rank, Gu Yuan smiled and spoke to Annihilape.
In the next second, Annihilape stepped forward from Gu Yuan's side, its body burning with a fierce fighting spirit as it stared at Weavile with a fiery gaze.
Sensing Annihilape's strength and its intense battle intent, Weavile became excited as well.
Seeing this, Gu Yuan allowed Annihilape to follow its own instincts, letting it fully enjoy this battle.
Staring intently at each other, neither side attacked immediately. Instead, they silently looked for a vulnerability in their opponent's stance.
Suddenly, as if a gentle breeze had blown past, Annihilape and Weavile charged forward at the exact same time.
The moment they rapidly closed the distance, both launched an attack simultaneously.
Having reached the Peak Elite Rank, Weavile had naturally encountered many Ghost-type Pokémon before.
Consequently, shortly after the initial exchange, the experienced Weavile immediately changed the moves it was using.
While unleashing Metal Claw, the power of Icy Wind and Ice Shard also wrapped around its sharp claws.
Conversely, Annihilape did not choose to use its signature move, Rage Fist, right away.
It did not even execute its highly mastered Phantom Force. Instead, it continuously retaliated with Focus Punch.
Even though Annihilape was famous for its Rage Fist, it had never neglected its Fighting-type moves.
As heavy punches were swung one after another, the Fighting-type energy enveloped its fists, preventing the power of Weavile's Icy Wind and Ice Shard from affecting Annihilape.
Gradually, the two Pokémon gave up on using standard moves, relying purely on their physical combat skills to exchange blows.
To ensure its offensive would be effective, Weavile wrapped Dark-type energy around its claws.
This ensured that Annihilape could not use the typical characteristics of a Ghost-type Pokémon to immune the attacks, while also inflicting greater pain upon Annihilape.
Of course, Weavile had also considered using Ice-type energy, but Annihilape keenly noticed this and flexibly dodged those attempts.
After several probing exchanges, Weavile still chose to rely on Dark-type energy, treating it as a small preference against Annihilape.
Although Weavile had relied on the combat techniques honed from countless fierce battles to grow to where it was today, it was still slightly inferior when facing Annihilape, who possessed the Fighting type.
Furthermore, this kind of close-quarters combat caused many injuries to appear on both of their bodies, which allowed Annihilape to accumulate power bit by bit.
After a long stalemate, Annihilape suddenly flashed a smile.
Not understanding the meaning behind it, Weavile had already pressed its attack, only for Annihilape to easily dodge using Phantom Force.
Seeing Annihilape disappear into the alternate space, Weavile immediately realized something was wrong.
Forcibly halting its offensive, Weavile spun around violently.
As its claws stabbed out, what welcomed it was a Rage Fist that had been powered up to its absolute absolute maximum potential.
The instant their attacks clashed, the overwhelming power directly blasted Weavile away.
Before Weavile could even crash onto the ground, Annihilape charged out with Phantom Force once more, targeting Weavile's vital spots directly.
Forcibly twisting its body, Weavile retaliated with Blizzard, which was easily shattered by Annihilape's Rage Fist. Following that, the remaining power of Rage Fist hammered into Weavile, slamming it straight down from the air.
As it crashed heavily into the ground, a deep crater instantly formed.
Giving Weavile absolutely no chance to catch its breath, Annihilape appeared right beside it using Phantom Force and delivered yet another Rage Fist.
When this punch landed, a massive number of cracks spread out across the crater with Weavile at the center, and Weavile directly lost consciousness, losing its ability to battle.
By now, Annihilape no longer used Rage Fist casually. Instead, it treated Rage Fist as a definitive trump card.
Only when the perfect opportunity presented itself would Annihilape use Rage Fist to instantly decide the match.
Hatterene deployed Life Dew and Heal Pulse. Despite that, healing a Pokémon at the Peak Elite Rank still took a significant amount of time.
By the time Weavile managed to stand back up, Ditto stepped onto the battlefield, swaying its body.
Regaining its clarity and looking at Gu Yuan standing nearby, a trace of defiance could not help but flash in Weavile's eyes.
If Annihilape hadn't hidden its true power, how could I have been defeated so quickly!
Yet, when Weavile asked itself honestly, it still lacked the confidence to win even if it were to fight Annihilape again, given that soul-crushing power that could shatter anything.
Before Weavile could think of a way to break the deadlock, Ditto launched a charge toward it.
Noticing this, a look of disdain flashed through Weavile's eyes.
Against such a weak Pokémon, even if its strength is in the same tier as mine, what can it possibly do?
Seeing the contempt in Weavile's eyes, Ditto instantly transformed into Alakazam, disappearing right from the front of Weavile.
Realizing something was amiss, Weavile had clearly lost the initiative.
When Ditto reappeared, it immediately used Confusion to lock down Weavile's movements, followed by the Psychic Trio bombarding Weavile's body.
The continuous waves of impact directly sent Weavile flying.
Before it could fall, Ditto had already Teleported right behind it, instantly transforming into Charizard to unleash Blast Burn to engulf it.
Faced with Ditto's rapid-fire offensive, Weavile was clearly unable to hold its ground.
At this point, Weavile no longer dared to look down on Ditto in the slightest, but since it had already fallen into Ditto's offensive rhythm, there was no longer any opportunity for Weavile to counterattack.
Before the Blast Burn could even die down, Ditto continuously unleashed Fire Spin and Heat Wave, creating a fiery storm that trapped Weavile inside.
The type disadvantage against Fire-type moves caused Weavile to fall into intense agony.
Seizing the right moment, Ditto executed Blast Burn, blasting Weavile out from within the fiery storm.
In the next second, Ditto rushed to Weavile's side as Alakazam, then instantly transformed into Machamp to deliver a Focus Punch.
Compared to the double type disadvantage against Fire-type moves, the fourfold disadvantage against Fighting-type moves was undoubtedly far more lethal.
When this punch connected, although it did not cause Weavile to instantly lose consciousness, it left it on the very brink of doing so.
As Weavile fell from midair, Ditto, still transformed as Machamp, delivered another Focus Punch, defeating Weavile in the exact same manner Annihilape had used.
Compared to the opponents encountered previously, Weavile's fighting spirit was undoubtedly much more resilient, carrying an unyielding determination.
Even after being consecutively defeated by Annihilape, Ditto, and Alakazam, Weavile did not shrink back, continuing to accept the challenge from Sylveon.
In the end, Gu Yuan felt that Weavile was a rare and valuable opponent, choosing to let Ceruledge and the others exchange blows with Weavile as well.
After their training during this period, Ceruledge and the rest of the team were already getting closer and closer to the Peak Elite Rank.
Now that such an excellent opponent was available, using it to help Ceruledge and the others successfully break through to the Peak Elite Rank was simply perfect.
In this manner, the Weavile that desired nothing but battle unknowingly became a stepping stone for Gu Yuan to grow even stronger.