"I'll be taking him with me. Elite Four Agatha asked me to tell you that from now on, you only need to focus on preparing for the tournament. You don't need to worry about anything else."
"If you want to interfere, then wait until the Indigo League is over and you've secured first place before speaking again."
Inside the Viridian Forest, Chika, the same messenger from before, arrived to take the captured Isei away. He took the opportunity to deliver Agatha's warning to Gu Yuan. It was worth mentioning that Isei's Pokémon were destined never to be returned to the Fukuda family.
"I understand," Gu Yuan replied with a nod, signaling his compliance.
Seeing this, Chika said no more and immediately departed with Isei. Gu Yuan watched as the man became a small black dot before finally vanishing from sight. Then, he resumed his original plan.
As the battles continued, Gu Yuan began sweeping through the forest once more. As a famous forest in the Kanto region, the Viridian Forest held many powerful Pokémon within its depths.
After passing through the areas inhabited by Intermediate Rank Pokémon, he reached the territory where a large number of wild Senior Rank Pokémon resided. Compared to other forests, the number of Senior Rank Pokémon here was significantly higher.
It wasn't just Senior Ranks either. Even Ace Rank, Leader Rank, and Elite Rank Pokémon could be found within the Viridian Forest. Consequently, ordinary Senior Rank Trainers didn't dare seek out opponents in the Senior Rank territory.
If they caused too much of a commotion, they could easily be swarmed by numerous Senior Rank Pokémon, landing themselves in a dangerous situation. However, for Gu Yuan, the more Senior Rank Pokémon that came, the better.
With Alakazam present, the vast number of opponents simply gave it more room to maneuver. Annihilape, meanwhile, served as the guarantee to finish them off.
No matter what kind of opponent they faced, a single use of Rage Fist, boosted to its maximum power, was enough to make them kneel and submit. In this manner, relying on his overwhelming strength, Gu Yuan harvested a massive amount of points.
This helped Charizard and the others master more and more moves to Expert Mastery. Even Ceruledge and the rest of the team were able to gradually participate in the battles thanks to their growing strength, further accelerating their improvement.
Notably, during the previous session, Sylveon had used Baton Pass to transfer a maximum boost from Calm Mind to Charizard. Combined with its own use of Dragon Dance and the presence of Misty Terrain, it had easily dominated its foes.
During these frequent battles, Crocalor successfully completed its final evolution, becoming a Skeledirge.
Skeledirge possessed a red body covered in rectangular scales. Its abdomen featured angular white scales with black stripes on either side, and various white patterns decorated its body. It also had three black claws on its feet.
Furthermore, a cute fire bird sat upon its snout. It was said to be formed from a soul residing in the fireball on its head. It was precisely because of the influence of this soul that Skeledirge gained the power of the Ghost type. Interestingly, the fire bird could even change its shape based on Skeledirge's singing.
After evolving, Skeledirge's information also changed:
Pokémon: Skeledirge
Gender: Male
Ability: Unaware
Rank: Intermediate Rank
Type: Fire, Ghost
Level-up Moves: Tackle, Leer, Ember, Round, Scary Face, Bite, Incinerate, Snarl, Roar, Flamethrower, Sing, Torch Song
TM Moves: Fire Spin, Heat Wave, Flame Charge, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Sunny Day
Egg Moves: Curse, Slack Off
Once it learned its signature move, Torch Song, Skeledirge began to show its own brilliance. During this process, Axew also successfully passed its infancy and broke through to the Rookie Rank, making it ready for training and battle.
Unfortunately, the opponents they were currently encountering were too powerful, leaving Axew with no room to participate. Gradually, Gu Yuan found that he was no longer satisfied with the points provided by Senior Rank Pokémon.
He began to explore the border areas between the Senior and Ace Ranks, seeking out suitable opponents for Charizard. While Gu Yuan was feverishly boosting his strength, the promotional campaign for the Indigo League began.
The hosting of the Indigo League not only allowed the League to select outstanding Trainers but also brought them immense profits. Aside from the revenue from ticket sales, the surrounding hotels and businesses saw staggering turnovers during the tournament.
With broadcasting rights, naming rights, advertisements, and related merchandise, the League stood to make a fortune. This was one of the reasons why every region held such conferences.
"Get ready, Charizard. The big boss is coming," Gu Yuan said.
He didn't even look at the few crumbling Senior Rank Pokémon remaining, instead casting his gaze into the distance. Charizard didn't doubt his words and immediately prepared itself, the flame on its tail burning more intensely.
Soon, an Ace Rank Scyther charged out. After these days of fighting, this Scyther had become an old rival of Charizard's.
Due to its strength, its territory was located right at the junction of the Senior and Ace Rank areas, and its underlings were only these Senior Rank Pokémon. Once Gu Yuan discovered this, he would attack the underlings to lure the Scyther out.
The Scyther knew it was no match for Charizard, but facing such a powerful enemy, it couldn't restrain itself and chose to strike back time and again. Before it could arrive, Alakazam and the others suddenly intensified their offensive.
With Alakazam and the team handling the restrictions and Annihilape delivering the fatal blows, all the Senior Rank underlings had lost their ability to battle by the time the Scyther arrived. Gu Yuan took out his Poké Balls and captured them all.
His intention was simple. After today, he would be heading to the Indigo League, so he naturally wanted to make one last profit. Seeing its underlings being captured, the Scyther was enraged.
At the same time, it sensed a crisis and felt an instinctive urge to retreat, but it was already too late. Charizard, having boosted its speed to the maximum with Dragon Dance, suddenly lunged forward. In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of the Scyther.
Flames scattered as Charizard and the Scyther clashed. Whether in terms of strength or type advantage, Charizard held the upper hand. In the past, the Scyther could persevere for a while through its sheer fighting spirit.
Today, however, feeling its own life was in danger and harboring thoughts of retreat, the Scyther unconsciously revealed more openings. Charizard seized the opportunity. As the flames raged, Gu Yuan knew he didn't even need to issue commands anymore.
A use of Blast Burn was released, instantly engulfing the Scyther. Amidst the explosions, the Scyther lost its ability to battle and was captured by Gu Yuan without any surprises.
After sending all these Pokémon to Shadow, Gu Yuan prepared to set off for the Indigo Plateau!