"Gengar, Mega Evolution!"
The light of Mega Evolution surged once more as Mega Gengar joined forces with Ceruledge and Skeledirge to strike, thereby pinning down Noivern and Corviknight.
"Altaria, Mega Evolution!"
Seeing this, Sean no longer hesitated and immediately had his Altaria undergo Mega Evolution as well. Although Altaria's strength meant it could not reach the Elite Rank even with Mega Evolution, the current Mega Altaria was now infinitely close to that level.
With wings fluttering, Mega Altaria charged toward Sylveon and Gu Yuan. Simultaneously, Sean ordered Mega Salamence to attack Gu Yuan directly, forcing Mega Alakazam into a frontal confrontation with the dragon.
Using Teleport, Gu Yuan acted like a mobile turret. While constantly blinking across the battlefield, he had Sylveon use Hyper Beam as much as possible to halt Mega Altaria's advance.
Meanwhile, Charizard's breakthrough was nearing its end. The energy within the Charcoal had been completely drained, and Charizard was now at the final critical juncture.
In that ethereal moment, Gu Yuan felt something and directly opened the system to help Charizard take that last step. Feeling the power within its body suddenly become torrential, Charizard launched its final charge toward the Elite Rank.
Without any obstacles, Charizard's entire breakthrough process could be described as smashing through bamboo. In the blink of an eye, Charizard possessed Elite Rank strength.
"Mega Alakazam, continuous Psychic attacks!"
Following Gu Yuan's voice, the spoons floating around Mega Alakazam emitted a dazzling light, and five consecutive waves of Psychic surged out. Faced with Mega Alakazam's sudden explosion of power, Mega Salamence was forced back.
Immediately after, Mega Alakazam used Teleport repeatedly to fetch Annihilape and the others to its side before successfully returning to Gu Yuan. Power condensed as Mega Alakazam stared at the charging Mega Salamence and Mega Altaria, unleashing its most powerful Hyper Beam.
The Hyper Beam at this moment was no longer just a beam; it was more like a pillar of light, managing to withstand the combined offensive of the two Mega Pokémon. This kind of outburst was also a massive drain on Mega Alakazam. After one round of such power, it needed a moment to recover before it could continue fighting.
Gu Yuan's importance was highlighted at this moment. He used Teleport, taking Alakazam and the others away from the spot instantly.
"Chase them!"
At Sean's command, Mega Salamence was the first to rush out. Simultaneously, Sean had Mega Altaria revert from its Mega Evolution to reduce his own mental drain.
After Gu Yuan teleported a few times, Alakazam—who had exited its Mega state—had recovered enough to take over and use Teleport in Gu Yuan's stead. Even though Charizard had successfully broken through, Gu Yuan did not intend to counterattack immediately.
After all, even with a breakthrough, Charizard's raw strength could not match Sean's Salamence, especially since the opponent could also Mega Evolve. Furthermore, Charizard was not yet familiar with its new power. If they truly fought now, it would be difficult for Gu Yuan to keep Sean in this spatial rift forever.
Rather than forcing it, it was better to wait. Once Roaring Moon and Moltres also broke through, he could guarantee that Sean would spend his time repenting in hell! Regardless, Gu Yuan had already marked Sean with psychic power, so he wasn't worried about missing the chance to settle the score.
"Congratulations, Charizard. But we are leaving for now. Once your strength stabilizes, we'll come back to reclaim our dignity."
Teleporting in front of Charizard and the others, Gu Yuan first congratulated the Pokémon before preparing to continue their journey. Nodding, Charizard—having learned what happened from Roaring Moon and Moltres—returned directly to its Poké Ball. After putting the ball away, Gu Yuan continued to have Alakazam use Teleport to travel.
Soon, Sean, having lost Gu Yuan's trail, had no direction left to track.
"Dammit! Let's just keep moving forward and get out of here!"
Finding himself unable to catch Gu Yuan, Sean couldn't help but roar in anger. Unfortunately, Psychics and Psychic-type Pokémon were just that shameless. Even with the move Taunt available, for opponents who had both raised their critical moves to Expert Mastery, such moves required an extremely perfect opportunity to take effect.
Now that Sean's ambush had failed, he needed to be careful of a sneak attack from Gu Yuan.
"Come out, everyone! To celebrate Charizard's successful breakthrough today, let's have a feast!"
Once Sean stopped moving, Gu Yuan stayed at the edge of Alakazam's psychic detection range. After ensuring he wouldn't lose Sean, Gu Yuan began to celebrate. At this moment, Gu Yuan truly possessed Elite Rank strength.
He took out prepared food, and with a little heating, it became a delicious meal. As the aroma of the food spread, the master of this territory came running toward the scent, only to be deterred by Charizard's Elite Rank aura before reaching them, eventually slinking away.
Over the next few days, Gu Yuan maintained a sufficient distance from Sean. Meanwhile, he constantly sought out suitable Pokémon for Charizard to fight, allowing it to familiarize itself with its power as quickly as possible.
Later, when Charizard Mega Evolved again, its power had certainly improved significantly, but there was still a considerable gap between it and a Middle-tier Elite. Gu Yuan was already satisfied with this. Next, he only needed to wait for Roaring Moon and Moltres to break through successfully, and he would have the confidence to finish Sean off entirely—and that time wouldn't be far off.
"Is he still not going to strike?"
Leaning against a tree trunk, Sean—who clearly held the advantage at this moment—actually seemed somewhat anxious. There was no helping it; anyone being stalked by a Psychic would likely find it hard to stay calm. Not to mention, this Psychic was a famous genius whose strength was not much inferior to his own.
By now, Sean somewhat regretted attacking Gu Yuan. To be precise, he regretted acting too early. He should have found a way to lower Gu Yuan's guard first before looking for an opportunity to eliminate him completely.
That's right! From start to finish, Sean's thought was never just to teach Gu Yuan a lesson, but to leave him in this spatial rift forever. Only Gu Yuan's blood could wash away the shame of the Unova League.
Unfortunately, it was too late for "what-ifs." All Sean could do was stay vigilant and watch out for a sneak attack. Most importantly, Sean didn't dare let his own Salamence attempt a breakthrough, fearing that Gu Yuan would find an opening to strike.
As for the possibility of Gu Yuan letting the matter go and choosing to forgive and forget, Sean hadn't considered it for a single moment. In fact, Sean was right.
During these days, Roaring Moon had used that dragon-fang-shaped Dragon-type special item to successfully break through to the Elite Rank. Currently, while tracking Sean, Gu Yuan was constantly searching for the special item that would allow Moltres to break through.
The day Moltres breaks through will be the day Gu Yuan begins his hunt.