Inside the Vermilion Gym, Alakazam's offensive was instantly shattered under the surge of electricity.
Even with two boosts from Nasty Plot, it still couldn't cross the vast gap between Senior and Intermediate Rank.
Reusing an old tactic, Gu Yuan once again had Alakazam use Ally Switch.
The instant they swapped, Magnezone, following Lt. Surge's command, unleashed Discharge, dispersing the electricity charging toward it.
"Magnezone, use Charge Beam!"
Right after deflecting Thunderbolt, Lt. Surge immediately ordered another attack.
"Alakazam, use Teleport to dodge, then move in with Psychic!"
Seeing how well Magnezone controlled Discharge, Gu Yuan knew Ally Switch wouldn't work.
Keeping distance like this only gave Magnezone a chance to fire off Charge Beam again.
So Gu Yuan abandoned that plan and shifted to a full offensive, aiming to drain Magnezone's stamina as much as possible.
"Magnezone, use Thunderbolt!"
A surge of orange electricity burst forth, shattering Psychic.
Alakazam used Teleport, changed direction, and attacked again with Psychic.
Even Lt. Surge couldn't find a better counter. Magnezone had to defend passively.
If it chased recklessly, Alakazam would exploit the opening and waste even more of its energy.
The match entered a deadlock, with Alakazam's figure constantly flashing and its psychic blasts colliding with lightning.
On the surface, it seemed that Alakazam's fiercer attacks were overwhelming Magnezone, but in truth, Alakazam was losing stamina faster.
As Electric Terrain faded, Alakazam was nearly spent.
"Magnezone, use Thunderbolt!"
The orange lightning erupted again, but this time Alakazam didn't dodge. Instead, Gu Yuan recalled it into its Poké Ball.
"Sylveon, use Shadow Ball!"
Catching Magnezone just as it finished its move, Gu Yuan commanded Sylveon to attack.
Shadow Ball shot forward, and Magnezone immediately tried to evade.
"Sylveon, use Quick Attack, then Covet!"
It dashed forward in a white blur just as Magnezone dodged the Shadow Ball.
After receiving Lt. Surge's command, Magnezone tried to counterattack, but was momentarily entranced by Sylveon's beauty.
Its ribbon-like feelers extended, slamming Magnezone to the floor.
"Magnezone, use Discharge!"
"Sylveon, use Hyper Voice!"
The orders came almost simultaneously. Electricity had just gathered around Magnezone's body when Sylveon's Hyper Voice shattered it.
"Sylveon, use Swift!"
The unerring stars hit directly, blasting against Magnezone.
"Move in and use Bite, then follow with Disarming Voice!"
Rushing forward again, Sylveon's fangs glowed with dark energy and clamped down on Magnezone.
The pain made Magnezone struggle, but Sylveon immediately unleashed a close-range Disarming Voice.
The sound waves struck hard, leaving Magnezone dizzy.
"Focus, Magnezone! Use Discharge to push Sylveon back, then use Charge Beam!"
Lt. Surge's steady voice helped Magnezone recover.
Electricity surged and spread outward, forcing Sylveon to retreat.
Sylveon countered with Shadow Ball, carving a path through the electric field.
"Sylveon, use Take Down!"
Following right behind the Shadow Ball, Gu Yuan gave Magnezone no time to attack.
Take Down sent Magnezone flying.
Another Shadow Ball hit it midair, slamming it down to the floor.
A final Hyper Voice finished the job, knocking Magnezone out.
"Raichu, use Thunder!"
Seeing Gu Yuan and Sylveon locked onto him, Lt. Surge guessed Gu Yuan's plan.
He tossed out his last Poké Ball farther away and issued the attack command right away.
"Sylveon, use Fake Tears!"
Lt. Surge's reaction was fast, but not faster than Sylveon's speed.
Fake Tears landed, sharply lowering Raichu's Special Defense before it could escape.
Unaffected by the act, Raichu still cast Thunder at once.
A thick lightning bolt crashed down, heading straight for Sylveon.
Because it had just used Fake Tears, Sylveon couldn't dodge perfectly, and the edge of Thunder caught it.
"Raichu, charge forward and use Thunderbolt!"
Raichu sprinted ahead, electricity crackling like serpents snapping at Sylveon.
"Sylveon, step back and use Hyper Voice!"
Tangible sound waves burst out. With its Pixilate boost, the Hyper Voice shattered all the lightning.
"Raichu, use Wild Charge!"
"Sylveon, use Shadow Ball!"
The purple-black orb struck Raichu mid-charge, cloaking it in smoke.
"Raichu, use Double Team and Agility!"
At Lt. Surge's command, several Raichu images charged forward again.
"Sylveon, use Hyper Voice, find the real one, then use Fake Tears!"
The sound waves spread, and soon, the real Raichu was forced out of hiding.
Fake Tears hit again, lowering its Special Defense even further.
Raichu seized the chance to unleash another Thunderbolt, lightning surging wildly.
Even though Sylveon tried to defend with Hyper Voice, some of the arcs broke through.
Raichu's Thunderbolt was nearly perfected, just short of Expert mastery, but more than enough to handle Sylveon.
After two rounds of Fake Tears, Sylveon had already paved the way for Charizard's victory.
So Gu Yuan didn't make Sylveon dodge anymore; instead, it faced Raichu head-on to stop it from using Agility again.
That was exactly what Lt. Surge wanted.
He knew that if Sylveon fought carefully, it could win, but at the cost of heavy stamina loss.
If this were a one-on-one match, that would be fine, but Gu Yuan still had a Senior Rank Pokémon waiting. Raichu had to save enough energy for the next battle.
Now, with a single Agility boost, even after losing Special Defense from Fake Tears, Lt. Surge believed Raichu could still avoid real harm.
And he was right. Even when Sylveon attacked with Hyper Voice, Raichu dodged effortlessly with Quick Attack.
Using its speed, Raichu kept pressing the attack until Sylveon finally showed an opening.
Lt. Surge seized it, ordering a finishing Thunderbolt to end the match.
Now Gu Yuan was down to his final Pokémon.