"Next is your turn, Carkol. Use Iron Defense."
After commanding Hatenna to defeat the Raticate, Gu Yuan quickly found a suitable opponent for Carkol: a Scyther at the Intermediate Rank.
Seeing Carkol standing still to buff itself, the Scyther launched an attack without hesitation. Its sharp dual blades slashed down, but its Slash could not deal much damage to Carkol after it used Iron Defense. Conversely, when the blades struck Carkol's body, they made a sound like clashing metal.
"Incinerate!"
At Gu Yuan's command, Carkol quickly spat out scorching flames. At such close range, the Scyther could not dodge; it could only cross its blades in front of its body to mitigate the damage from the flames as much as possible.
"Carkol, use Iron Defense again!"
Steadying its body, the Scyther refused to accept defeat and charged once more. This time, it prepared to use Fury Cutter, aiming to shatter Carkol's defense with escalating power.
"Carkol, Body Press!"
Body Press is a Fighting-type move with a base power of 80; its effect makes the move more powerful the higher the user's defense is. Executed by a Carkol that had already used Iron Defense twice, the power was absolutely staggering.
At the moment of impact, the Scyther—which looked like a twig compared to Carkol—was sent flying backward. As it tumbled through the air, its eyes were full of confusion as if it were questioning reality.
In the next second, Carkol unleashed Ancient Power. Several rocks materialized and bombarded the Scyther in succession. Being four times weak to Rock-type moves, the Scyther suffered massive damage from this strike.
Finally, another Ancient Power was released. This time, the Scyther endured the intense pain and scrambled to its feet, yet it was still clipped by part of the barrage. A wave of heat followed as a large mass of flames filled its vision. The fire expanded, swallowing the Scyther whole.
When the flames dissipated, the Scyther had completely lost the strength to resist, falling to the ground unconscious.
"Well done, Carkol. You performed exceptionally well. Keep up the hard work from now on," Gu Yuan praised with a smile while patting Carkol's hard body. Faced with the praise, Carkol actually turned red, though with its dark skin tone, the blush was impossible to see.
"Alright, who will be next?"
As Gu Yuan's voice fell, both Axew and Dreepy looked up with anticipation.
"Axew, Dreepy, how about the two of you fight together? I believe with your chemistry, you can definitely overcome any opponent."
After hearing Gu Yuan's suggestion, Axew and Dreepy shared a glance before nodding eagerly.
"Excellent. Then I'll leave the rest to you, Alakazam."
"Understood!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Alakazam used Teleport to vanish with Gu Yuan and the rest of the team. After Alakazam performed some "friendly negotiations" using its Ace Rank strength, a Nidoking and Nidoqueen couple was happy to let their children battle Axew and Dreepy.
"Here we go."
"Axew, use Dragon Dance to buff yourself. Dreepy, prepare to intercept their attacks for Axew."
Following Gu Yuan's command, the Nidoran♂ and Nidoran♀ launched a joint assault. Poison Sting needles flew out, heading straight for Axew.
"Dreepy, use Swift to block them, then hide yourself with invisibility."
"Axew, rush in and use Scary Face!"
Shining stars surged out, shattering the poison needles and creating a safe zone for Dreepy and Axew. Once Axew's Dragon Dance was successful, Dreepy vanished from the sight of the two Nidoran.
Buffed by Dragon Dance, Axew's speed increased. It charged forward and unleashed a Scary Face, intimidating the siblings and significantly lowering their speed. Meanwhile, Dreepy silently approached the Nidoran♂. It released a Confuse Ray, instantly sending the Nidoran♀ into a state of confusion.
"Axew, use Slash on Nidoran♂! Watch out for the Poison Point on its body!"
Influenced by the Rivalry ability, the power of Axew's Slash increased further. Nidoran♂ refused to be outdone and countered with Fury Swipes. Unfortunately, at the moment of impact, the Nidoran♂ was overwhelmed by Axew.
Simultaneously, a barrage of poison needles scattered. In her confused state, the Nidoran♀ could not distinguish friend from foe, and her Poison Sting blanketed the Nidoran♂ as well. Sensing danger from behind, the Nidoran♂ had to turn and use its own needles to intercept.
Dreepy had long since vanished back into invisibility, and Axew was positioned behind Nidoran♂, making it easy to dodge any stray needles. Seeing Nidoran♂ block her attack, the Nidoran♀ launched a direct charge. Nidoran♂ couldn't bear to strike his own sister, so he could only keep dodging while trying to snap her out of it.
During this time, Axew stayed away from the fray and used Dragon Dance to buff itself once more. Dreepy lurked nearby while invisible, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Under Nidoran♂'s constant calling, Nidoran♀ soon regained her senses. Before Nidoran♂ could breathe a sigh of relief, Dreepy suddenly appeared beside him and used Astonish. Simultaneously, Gu Yuan used Telepathy to signal Axew's attack.
With its incredible speed, Axew reached Nidoran♂ in the blink of an eye and unleashed Assurance. The effect of Assurance kicked in—doubling the move's power because the target had already taken damage—which, combined with the attack buffs and Rivalry, sent Nidoran♂ flying with a single blow.
Before the Nidoran♂ could hit the ground, Dreepy followed Gu Yuan's command and released another Swift to ensure it was knocked out. Axew didn't stay idle either; after blowing Nidoran♂ away, it used Scary Face on Nidoran♀ to halt her counteroffensive.
Thanks to Telepathy, Gu Yuan was able to command two Pokémon at once with total ease.
"Axew, use Leer, then charge in with Assurance."
"Dreepy, use Quick Attack!"
Under the effect of Leer, Nidoran♀'s defense was lowered. Dreepy turned into a white blur and slammed into her. A second later, Axew's assault landed, blowing the Nidoran♀ away. Another Swift followed up, knocking her out as well.
Against the chemistry of Axew and Dreepy, supplemented by Gu Yuan's Telepathy, the Nidoran siblings stood no chance.
Of course, Gu Yuan didn't try to capture the whole family. Instead, he healed the Nidoran siblings and returned them to the Nidoking and Nidoqueen. Watching Gu Yuan leave, the Nidoking actually felt a bit of regret. He had seen Gu Yuan's strength clearly; if his children could truly follow Gu Yuan, their future achievements would likely be far higher than his own. It was a pity Gu Yuan hadn't taken an interest in them.
Leaving the Viridian Forest, Gu Yuan prepared to head straight for the selection tournament site.