"This mission was handled well. As for your reward, someone will deliver it after your Gym battle. I'm sure it won't disappoint you."
"Also, if Silph Co. tries to recruit you, don't join them. Keep your background clean."
At night, inside the hotel, Shadow's voice came through the communicator under Kadabra's watchful guard.
Hearing about his reward, Gu Yuan didn't react much. He already understood Shadow's way of doing things. He always rewarded good work.
But the warning about not joining Silph Co. made Gu Yuan think of something.
He remembered that in the games, Silph Co. was secretly under Team Rocket's control.
Even if the takeover wasn't complete, Team Rocket still had influence within the company.
Given Shadow's position, he probably knew more of the truth.
Not letting him join was likely to prevent him from accidentally being recruited by Team Rocket's own agents.
If the League ever discovered that, not only would those Trainers be in trouble, but even Silph Co. would suffer major consequences.
Gu Yuan figured that was the real reason behind Shadow's warning. He didn't want Gu Yuan's record to have any stains.
"I understand."
"Good. Contact me again if something comes up."
As soon as Gu Yuan replied, the line went dead.
As usual, he deleted the call history, stored the communicator, and went back to training.
Shadow had only told him not to accept recruitment from Silph Co., not to avoid the tournament. After all, the League had no say in that.
Those prizes were too good to pass up, so Gu Yuan had to give it his all.
"Let's begin, Charizard. Get used to your new strength as fast as possible."
After giving Charizard another boost through the system, Gu Yuan started its training.
Sylveon and the others weren't idle either.
Kadabra was close to breaking through to the Intermediate Rank, so it needed to push hard.
Once the Gym battle was done, Gu Yuan believed Kadabra would reach the next level.
Sylveon was the same as always. It needed Gu Yuan's direct commands to train properly.
Still, thanks to the points, Sylveon's strength was improving quickly. In a bit more time, it could start aiming for the Senior Rank.
Mankey, on the other hand, had almost finished growing. Within two days, it could break through to the Junior Rank.
After that, its progress would start slowing down, just like Kadabra's current state.
Of course, that was only relative.
Compared to other Trainers, Mankey's progress after reaching the Junior Rank would still be incredible.
Inside the spacious training room, Charizard could unleash its power freely.
The first move it used was Flamethrower.
Thanks to its Expert-level mastery of the move, Charizard could easily sense how much its power had increased and began adjusting to the change. It then moved on to practicing other moves.
Gu Yuan watched closely. Since Charizard had only advanced one level, it should adapt to its newfound power quickly.
After that, continued battles and training would be enough to stabilize its strength.
Then, Gu Yuan pulled out a TM and let Charizard learn Fire Blast.
With that and Dragon Rush, Charizard could handle a wide range of situations.
Knowing that such a powerful move would be difficult to master, and thinking of the upcoming tournament, Gu Yuan gritted his teeth and spent five thousand points to raise Fire Blast's mastery to Intermediate.
Soon, Charizard felt a deeper understanding of the move.
Flames gathered and burst forward, forming the shape of a blazing kanji.
The blast struck the target, destroying it completely. The move's power was undeniable.
"Keep going, Charizard. Your goal is to use Fire Blast with full Intermediate-level strength."
Even with the system's help, Charizard still needed practice to fully control the move.
While Charizard trained, Gu Yuan checked on Sylveon and the others, occasionally using points to raise their move mastery.
His plan was simple: if he was going to spend, he would spend big. Every Pokémon deserved an upgrade.
After all, the elimination tournament was coming up. Winning would earn plenty of points, enough to keep him supplied for a while.
Watching his team grow stronger through hard work, even Ditto started feeling an urge to train for battle, though it wasn't quite ready yet.
The next morning, the elimination tournament officially began. The event was held in Silph Co.'s battle arena.
It had plenty of fields and a large spectator area.
Judging by the crowd, even ticket sales alone would make Silph Co. a fortune, not to mention the live broadcast income.
Inside the waiting room, Gu Yuan saw countless competitors and staff moving about in an orderly manner.
Thankfully, Silph Co. was experienced in hosting tournaments, so there was no chaos.
Time passed, and the tournament finally started.
Gu Yuan was assigned to the second round, so he had time to watch the other matches.
On the large screen, fifty battles were displayed at once.
He couldn't analyze every detail from afar, but he could tell that several Trainers possessed Senior-level strength.
It made sense. The first round always needed some exciting matches to give the audience their money's worth.
There were plenty of skilled Trainers. After all, every competitor was under fifteen years old.
The Senior-level Trainers quickly defeated their opponents, while others of Junior or Intermediate Rank struggled hard.
Gu Yuan turned his attention away and began preparing.
The intense pace of the tournament made it easy to feel nervous. It was another kind of test for the participants, but it didn't bother Gu Yuan.
Following the staff's directions, he soon arrived at his assigned field.
His opponent, Shiro, was already waiting.
As usual, the referee recited the rules before the battle began, and Gu Yuan used the time to study his opponent.
From the confident look in Shiro's eyes, Gu Yuan guessed this would be a tough fight.
"Begin!"
At the referee's signal, both Trainers released their Pokémon.
No one planning to win would hold back, so Gu Yuan immediately sent out Charizard.
Across from him, Shiro released a Venusaur of Intermediate Rank.
Gu Yuan could clearly see the shift in Shiro's face, from confidence to despair.