A shield of condensed psychic energy formed, easily blocking Mega Alakazam's assault, but waiting for it was the follow-up attack from Mega Charizard Y.
Annihilape and Ditto, transformed into Alakazam, cooperated with perfect chemistry. Relying on Rage Fist, whose power had been boosted to the limit, they struck. The Psychic-type Pokémon facing Annihilape was heavily injured, which forced the other Psychic-type fighting Sylveon to shift its focus and provide support.
Seizing this opportunity, Gu Yuan had Sylveon use Calm Mind again, before having it use Baton Pass to transfer the power of Calm Mind to Mega Charizard Y.
"Grasp the moment! Sylveon, use Hyper Beam for suppression. Ditto, use Future Sight followed immediately by Teleport to pressure the opponent. Annihilape, use Rage Fist for the kill!"
Temporarily handing over the tactical command of Mega Charizard Y to his own Mega Alakazam, Gu Yuan directed the offensive for Sylveon and the others.
An orange-yellow beam of light shot out, pinning down Sylveon's opponent. Ditto desperately channeled its psychic power, suppressing its own foe before instantly appearing beside Annihilape's target to restrict its movements with psychic force.
Bursting out from the pocket dimension, Annihilape swung its fist. The already heavily injured Jynx was unable to dodge and was struck squarely by the Rage Fist. The moment it was hit, Jynx fell unconscious, its life force rapidly fading.
Without stopping to check on Jynx, Annihilape charged straight toward Sylveon's opponent. Freed from its own confrontation, Sylveon quickly used Calm Mind, reaching the absolute limit of Special Attack and Special Defense through Baton Pass for Mega Charizard Y, and then began coordinating with Annihilape to finish off the remaining enemies.
While Gu Yuan held a significant advantage in the Beginner Elite rank battles and was holding his own against the Peak Elite Mega Alakazam, the situation for Moltres and Roaring Moon was less optimistic. Facing opponents a full rank higher than them, they were falling into a disadvantage despite the support of the Ace-rank Mega Gengar and Skeledirge.
Seeing this, Gu Yuan had to push Annihilape and Ditto to intensify their offensive. The advantage of having pinned down Mizuno now became apparent; without their Trainer's direct command, the opposing Pokémon, though intelligent, could not match Gu Yuan's cunning.
Taking the chance, Gu Yuan repeated his previous tactic. He had Sylveon use Hyper Beam to pin the enemy down, while Ditto suppressed its own opponent before helping Annihilape trap the target. Rage Fist struck home twice in quick succession, shattering the opponent's heart.
With that foe resolved, Sylveon immediately turned its focus toward the final remaining Beginner-tier Elite Pokémon. Ignoring the exhaustion from consecutive overexertion, Ditto joined the assault while Annihilape dived back into the pocket dimension.
Even if Mizuno noticed his Pokémon were being picked apart by Gu Yuan, he had no way to break the deadlock while being hounded by Ceruledge and Dragapult. Under the pincer attack of Annihilape and the others, the last Beginner-tier Elite Pokémon was defeated.
With the support of Annihilape and the team, the pressure on Moltres and Roaring Moon vanished, allowing them to hold out much longer. Gu Yuan's maneuvers might have seemed aggressive, but the actual pressure on him was not as massive as one might imagine.
"Agatha, do you think the League would feel the sting if I managed to make one of their Elites perish here?"
On the main battlefield, the fight between Toranosuke Kurata and Agatha had reached its climax. The power of Mega Evolution had long been deployed, and it was now a contest of reaching the absolute limit.
"Oh? Do you mean to say you still have a trump card?"
Faced with Agatha's curious inquiry, Toranosuke Kurata did not answer but silently pulled out several Poké Balls. Every family has its own foundation—long-lived Champion-rank Pokémon. After their Trainers pass away, these Pokémon continue to live on, honoring their partner's final wishes by protecting the family. If a suitable descendant appears, they don't mind following them into battle. Dragon, Psychic, and Ghost types are the most common among these guardians.
Toranosuke Kurata's hidden cards were Dragonite, Altaria, and Kingdra. Unfortunately, neither their mutual bond nor Kurata's current state was enough to support Mega Evolution for Altaria; otherwise, his hand would have been even stronger.
As if mirrored, the other two battlefields reached their final moments as well. Little did the families know that those who become Elites are never as simple as they imagine.
First, Bruno revealed his own final ace. A Champion-rank aura expanded. As an Elite, Bruno possessed more than just one team of Champion-rank Pokémon. More importantly, even if the raw power was similar, the bond between Bruno and his Pokémon was something Jin Kobe, who merely used these Pokémon as tools, could never match. Bruno began to dominate the fight.
The situation was the same with Lorelei. Gaius Cotton's final counterattack not only failed to hit its mark but was firmly suppressed by Lorelei, making the snowy field even more freezing.
"It seems you've forgotten that this old woman has another nickname."
"Perfect. I'll use this opportunity to help you remember."
As Agatha finished speaking, Toranosuke Kurata's face turned pale, as if he had remembered something terrifying. In the next second, countless dark shadows surged from Agatha's own shadow. Every shadow was a Ghost-type Pokémon, looking like a "Night Parade of a Hundred Demons."
Under the shadows that blotted out the sky, Agatha expanded the battlefield, even pulling in the opponents of other Trainers. The chilling sensation became almost physical, causing Toranosuke Kurata and his Pokémon to feel their bodies growing stiff.
At this moment, Kurata recalled Agatha's title from her youth: The Ghost King, the King of Ten Thousand Ghosts!
Most astonishingly, among these many Ghost-type Pokémon, even the weakest possessed Beginner Elite strength. Even a dragon can be overwhelmed by a swarm of ants, let alone a pack of hungry wolves. Even the mighty Dragon-types were helpless before such an absolute gap in strength.
As the ghostly realm expanded, more and more League Trainers were liberated. Even knowing that Agatha's targets were not them, the League Trainers could not stop themselves from feeling a sense of dread while surrounded by so many Ghost-types.
What inspired the most fear was the realization that no one knew if even more Ghost-type Pokémon were still hiding in Agatha's shadow.
Gu Yuan, whose opponents had been taken over by the tide of ghosts, was frozen in place by the display of Agatha's power. A single drop of cold sweat slowly rolled down his face.