"Sylveon, use Baton Pass!"
The moment the flame struck, Sylveon successfully used Baton Pass as commanded by Gu Yuan. In the next second, Annihilape appeared in Sylveon's place, tanking the Flamethrower attack. Due to the Misty Terrain, Annihilape did not have to worry at all about getting a burn.
"Annihilape, that is a rare Pokémon indeed!"
Blaine was momentarily stunned to see Gu Yuan owning an Annihilape. Seizing this opportunity, Gu Yuan immediately had Annihilape use Phantom Force!
"Rapidash, use Fire Spin around yourself!"
Blaine's reaction was swift. He immediately thought of Annihilape's famous Rage Fist. Unfortunately, by the time the flames rose, Annihilape had already appeared beside Rapidash. The Fire Spin once again helped increase the power of Annihilape's Rage Fist.
Because Misty Terrain was active, Annihilape did not have to worry at all about being burned. Without needing Gu Yuan's command, Annihilape, which already knew what to do, immediately threw a punch. After taking two continuous attacks, Rage Fist's power had already increased to 150. A single punch sent Rapidash crashing through the Fire Spin and flying backward.
"Annihilape, continue the pursuit with Phantom Force!"
The moment Rapidash was sent flying, Gu Yuan issued the command again. Phantom Force activated, and Annihilape disappeared from its spot.
"Rapidash, use Fire Blast!"
Blaine was well aware of Rage Fist's effect, so he stopped having Rapidash try to dodge. Instead, he prepared to use a powerful Move to take Annihilape out as quickly as possible. The burning Kanji rose up, and Annihilape appeared without fear. After tanking the Fire Blast, Annihilape punched again. This time, the Rage Fist, now with a whopping 200 power, finally exceeded Rapidash's tolerance limit, knocking it unconscious and defeating it.
The battle was over. Even though Annihilape had sustained quite a few injuries from the flames' bombardment, its surging fighting spirit could not be masked.
"Come on out, Ninetales!"
After glancing at Annihilape, Blaine immediately released his second Pokémon. Before Blaine could give an attack command, Annihilape, following the tactics Gu Yuan had discussed last night, immediately used Phantom Force, hiding itself once again in the alternate dimension.
This time, Blaine was not in a hurry to have Ninetales attack. Since Annihilape's Rage Fist power was already boosted to 200, he figured Gu Yuan probably wouldn't have Annihilape tank damage again to boost Rage Fist's power further. A rash attack would only expose an opening.
However, Annihilape's attack didn't make Ninetales wait long. Abruptly, Annihilape's figure appeared behind Ninetales, and it swung its Rage Fist.
"Now, Ninetales, use Disable!"
"Annihilape, use Phantom Force!"
Almost the instant Blaine issued his command, Gu Yuan immediately had Annihilape act again. As soon as Ninetales appeared, Gu Yuan used the system's detection to clearly check Ninetales's Moves. Disable among them would undoubtedly be a fatal blow to Annihilape. Therefore, even before ordering Annihilape to attack, Gu Yuan had already used Telepathy to warn Annihilape of the countermeasure. This ensured that before Ninetales could execute Disable, Annihilape had already used Phantom Force to return to the alternate dimension.
Immediately after, Annihilape quickly appeared behind Ninetales, swung its Rage Fist, and sent Ninetales flying. It seemed like a long time had passed, but it was merely one or two breaths.
Annihilape's ability to pull this off was inextricably linked to its Expert Mastery of Phantom Force. Disable missed, and Blaine's voice rang out, yet it still couldn't help Ninetales quickly recover from the intense pain. Annihilape activated Phantom Force again. Before Ninetales could concentrate, Annihilape appeared in front of it and slammed a Rage Fist into Ninetales's chest.
Under the powerful assault, Ninetales was sent flying backward, and intense pain spread throughout its body. It lay on the ground and failed to stand up after several desperate struggles. No matter how unwilling Ninetales was, its body had reached its limit.
"You did very well, Ninetales. Come back."
Blaine did not force Ninetales to continue, recalling it to its Poké Ball. Staring intently at Annihilape, Blaine realized he hadn't met such a tough opponent in a long time.
"You're up. At the very least, you have to defeat this Annihilape!"
Taking out his last Poké Ball, Blaine knew well that he couldn't win, so he settled for a secondary goal: to defeat this Annihilape. A flash of white light shone, and Magmar appeared on the battlefield.
"Annihilape, use Phantom Force!"
The instant Magmar appeared, Annihilape immediately hid itself again in the alternate dimension.
"Magmar, use Clear Smog, followed immediately by Smokescreen!"
Foul, thick fog spread out. Blaine's goal was simple: to use the pervasive Clear Smog to force Annihilape into a poison state. At this moment, the Misty Terrain was about to dissipate and could not protect Annihilape for much longer.
"Annihilape, use Rage Fist!"
"Magmar, use Eruption!"
Almost the instant Annihilape reappeared, Magmar spewed forth hot flames, enveloping its surroundings. A punch landed, and intense pain instantly spread throughout Magmar's body.
"Magmar, continue to use Eruption!"
Blaine's command rang out. Magmar, relying on its quasi-Ace Rank strength, endured the intense pain and used Eruption again.
"Annihilape, continuous Rage Fist attacks!"
The bombardment from the two Eruptions boosted Annihilape's Rage Fist power to its absolute maximum. With a single punch, Magmar was sent flying backward, knocked directly off the battlefield.
In the flames, burn and poison statuses appeared on Annihilape's body. Furthermore, due to the continuous attacks, Annihilape was also in an exhausted state. But regardless, Annihilape was the one who stood until the very end.
"I can't deny it, your Annihilape is truly strong."
"I hope we'll have a chance to battle again when you two become even stronger."
Staring intently at Gu Yuan and Annihilape, Blaine's eyes were full of fighting spirit. He also glanced at the scorching lava. Gu Yuan knew clearly through the system that Blaine's strongest Magmar was hidden beneath this lava!
"Well, this Volcano Badge is yours. I look forward to your performance at the Indigo League."
Blaine spoke enthusiastically, handing the badge, which looked like a ball of flame, to Gu Yuan. Perhaps this was a common trait among Fire-type Pokémon Specialists.
After saying goodbye to Blaine, Gu Yuan returned to his inn. After booking a return ship ticket, Gu Yuan prepared to fully enjoy the hot spring one last time before leaving. Meanwhile, more and more Gyarados in the ocean seemed to be drawn by an unseen summons, beginning to gather in a certain area of the deep sea. Unfortunately, due to a lack of detection methods, no one was able to discover this.