In the evening, while Gu Yuan began studying his battle against Taishi Utsunomiya for the next day, the maintenance team was silently clearing away the sand. The crew, who didn't finish work and return home until midnight, looked at the satisfied smiles on their wives' faces and suddenly felt that they should probably change professions.
Lying in bed, Gu Yuan began analyzing Taishi Utsunomiya's battle from earlier that day. Seemingly influenced by Gu Yuan, Taishi had also wanted to defeat Aiko swiftly and cleanly, but he hadn't expected the young girl and her Pokémon to be exceptionally resilient. Not only did she withstand his onslaught, but she also forced Taishi to release his third Pokémon to end the match, which allowed Gu Yuan to witness the true power of that Dragonite.
"Good luck tomorrow, Sylveon. You are a crucial link in helping us achieve success smoothly."
Gu Yuan smiled and cheered as he stroked Sylveon's head. Seeing this, Axew and the others followed suit, giving Sylveon encouragement. Knowing it couldn't escape its duty, Sylveon nodded firmly. It planned to show its great power tomorrow, proving to Gu Yuan that its strength was enough to be his trump card so that he wouldn't need to step in easily.
The next day, the battle for the captaincy began. Only a few contestants were present in the stands. Just yesterday, the final two substitute members had been decided: one was Akatsuka, and the other was Basque, a subordinate of Bruno. Effectively, Akatsuka was a scion of a prominent family, so the distribution of personnel in this squad was very balanced, with a fifty-fifty split between factions.
Standing at his position, Gu Yuan felt Taishi Utsunomiya's malicious gaze. Although he didn't know how he had offended the man, Gu Yuan felt at ease when considering the natural enmity between their respective sides.
"Battle begin!"
As the referee's voice rang out, Gu Yuan and Taishi Utsunomiya released their Pokémon simultaneously. Gu Yuan chose to have Sylveon take the stage first.
"Return, Altaria! Go, Gyarados!"
As a trainer specializing in Dragon-type Pokémon, Taishi was naturally wary of the Fairy-type Sylveon. He immediately swapped his Pokémon, sending out Gyarados, who only had "dragon" in its name. This way, after defeating Sylveon, Gyarados could use its elemental advantage to pressure Gu Yuan's Charizard.
However, Gu Yuan would not stand idly by and watch Taishi act. While Taishi was recalling Altaria, Gu Yuan had Sylveon use Misty Terrain to cover the field. Then, Sylveon used Baton Pass to switch in Annihilape.
"Phantom Force, rush up and use Rage Fist!"
The moment Annihilape appeared, it dove into a pocket dimension according to Gu Yuan's command. After successfully evading a Hydro Pump, Annihilape rushed to Gyarados's side.
"Trap it with Twister, then close in with Ice Fang!"
A whirlwind rose up, trapping Annihilape just as it emerged from the pocket dimension. Immediately after, freezing cold energy enveloped Gyarados's teeth. As Gyarados leaped up, its massive jaws clamped down on Annihilape.
Just as Taishi was preparing to have Gyarados press the advantage, an intense pain flared up, forcing Gyarados to release its grip. Looking at the bleeding wounds on its body and feeling the stimulation of the pain, Annihilape became even more excited.
Gu Yuan shook his head helplessly at the sight. Ever since he had started training Annihilape to take hits constantly so that the power of its Rage Fist would increase rapidly, it seemed he had awakened some unexpected attribute in the Pokémon.
"Go, Annihilape! Rage Fist combo!"
After taking two consecutive hits, the power of Annihilape's Rage Fist had already increased to 150. Seeing Annihilape charging out of the pocket dimension, Gyarados actually began to fear the terrifying aura emanating from its opponent.
"Gyarados, use Hydro Pump! I want to see how long it can hold out!"
At Taishi's voice, Gyarados quickly calmed down and launched an attack. Rage Fist energy condensed, and with a simple swing, the Hydro Pump shattered into countless streams of water that fell onto the battlefield.
"Now! Use Blizzard!"
Seeing that Annihilape was soaked, Taishi immediately seized the opportunity to attack, intending to freeze it into a block of ice. Even if Misty Terrain prevented Annihilape from falling into status conditions, being directly frozen in ice would still render it useless.
"Annihilape, Focus Blast, then charge with Phantom Force!"
Fighting-type energy condensed before being hurled with force by Annihilape. The moment the Focus Blast exploded, it shattered the Blizzard. When Annihilape emerged from the pocket dimension again, it was already right in front of Gyarados.
"Ice Fang!"
At such a close distance, Taishi could only have Gyarados attack in a hurry. Without resisting, Annihilape let Gyarados bite down on it, then slammed a Rage Fist—now with a power of 200—into Gyarados's head.
Under the terrifying force, Gyarados's mind instantly went blank. A series of heavy punches followed, directly crushing Gyarados. As Gyarados's massive body collapsed, Annihilape stood on its head with a smile on its face, seemingly oblivious to the pain of its own injuries.
This act by Annihilape enraged Taishi.
"Finish it, Altaria!"
As Taishi's second Pokémon took the field, the most excited ones were the maintenance crew in the stands. This was the first time they had seen a battle where the arena remained intact after Gu Yuan defeated an opponent!
"Annihilape, Phantom Force!"
The moment Altaria appeared, Annihilape vanished from the field. When Annihilape reappeared, Altaria launched Moonblast according to Taishi's command. Pure moonlight fell, enveloping Annihilape with killing intent.
Just as Taishi was about to have Altaria continue the attack, he saw the Annihilape hit by Moonblast shatter like a doll. Substitute. By sacrificing a quarter of its stamina to create a decoy, it could be used to block the opponent's assault.
"Altaria, look out!"
Taishi's voice had just left his throat when Annihilape appeared behind Altaria. Rage Fist slammed directly into Altaria's wing. The sound of a bone snapping echoed as Altaria let out a scream, losing its balance and beginning to fall.
"Altaria, Draco Meteor!"
At Taishi's command, Altaria endured the agony to launch an attack as Annihilape's pursuit arrived. Rage Fist struck again; even though Altaria used Cotton Guard, it could not offset the power of the move. In the next second, meteors fell, enveloping both Altaria and Annihilape.
In the stands, the maintenance crew felt their hearts bleeding.