Chapter 288: No One Dares to Ask Either

With the temporary referee Juan's shout to begin, ten beams of red light flashed across the fountain pool, and ten completely different Water-type Pokémon appeared one after another.

In terms of size, Mark's Lapras clearly dominated. But for that same reason, Lapras immediately drew the attention of the other nine Water-type Pokémon.

Perhaps the Trainers had given instructions beforehand; Lapras became the first target of a full-on group attack.

Since all the Trainers stood to one side of the pool, and this was a 10 way free-for-all, the match really came down to each Pokémon's ability to react and adapt.

Facing nine hostile opponents, Lapras was startled at first, then dove into the water without a second thought.

The other nine Pokémon dove in simultaneously, ready to engage in a true underwater Water-type showdown.

Can't see underwater? Not a problem.

As a city deeply in love with Water-type Pokémon, Sootopolis naturally had full underwater broadcast equipment installed. The plaza's large screen began live-streaming the underwater battle.

The camera quickly cut to Lapras, currently under siege. Streams of Water Gun and Hydro Pump fired at it one after another, but Lapras evaded them all with ease.

The fountain's pool was quite deep, so even a large Pokémon like Lapras could swim freely and maneuver inside.

A Gyarados in the same pool could also easily turn and whip its tail around.

After dodging two more Water Guns, Lapras spun mid-swim and suddenly fired an Ice Beam.

The Luvdisc that had been trailing closest didn't expect Lapras to retaliate and was caught off guard, frozen instantly.

Ice Beam, before it hits a target, behaves like a beam of pure energy; it doesn't freeze the surrounding water.

But the moment it struck Luvdisc, the cold burst of Ice-type energy exploded outward, instantly freezing it solid. The frozen sculpture floated slowly to the surface.

Luvdisc eliminated!

Originally, this Lapras had been a sea travel companion borrowed by Sato from the Joy family; it hadn't even been raised for battle. Its potential was only at the Elite tier.

But the thing is… its Trainer -Mark- is someone who treats every Pokémon he captures like a treasure.

After hearing from Sato about the Potential Enhancement Serum, Mark spent all the intel-selling money he'd earned to get one Poison-type serum for his Arbok and one Ice-type for his Lapras.

And while Mark was lazy, Sato and Joseph's influence had motivated him to start training his Pokémon at least two hours a day. His strength had been steadily climbing ever since.

Just recently, Lapras had successfully advanced to Mid Elite level, and its excellent species stats were starting to shine.

So now, Lapras was anything but weak.

Lapras's impressive counterattack drew a wave of applause. That powerful and precise Ice Beam was enough to make all the surrounding Pokémon hesitate.

'Maybe… we should knock out the weaker ones first?' This thought popped up simultaneously in the minds of several competing Pokémon.

Especially when they noticed the straggler in last place: a Magikarp that had been coasting along doing nothing… they all felt even more justified in their idea.

Then, the real chaos began!

A Tentacool made the first move, launching a sneak attack on Magikarp. Two black tentacles wrapped around Magikarp tightly.

Poison Sting to the face!

Amid a fisherman's shriek from the audience, Magikarp flipped belly-up and floated to the surface.

Tentacool's "betrayal" signaled the complete collapse of the fragile alliance. The more alert Pokémon quickly distanced themselves from the group, silently swimming to the corners of the pool to observe the situation.

The rest either had been itching for a fight all along or were caught off guard and attacked by nearby Pokémon. A moment's distraction could mean instant elimination.

Lapras also took the opportunity to slip into a corner of the pool. Although it was fairly strong, it was still a bit inexperienced when it came to actual battles.

Seeing the Pokémon that had been chasing it suddenly turn on each other left Lapras visibly confused.

'No idea what just happened. And not gonna ask.'

Soon, the first round of chaos came to a temporary halt. The ones eliminated were mostly those with poor luck or subpar strength.

As for the remaining five Pokémon, including Lapras, each had found a corner to hide in. At this point, whoever made the first move would become everyone else's target.

Would the match be allowed to drag on? Absolutely not.

Juan gave a light smile and waved his hand. Instantly, the water level in the fountain began to drop rapidly, and the pool was shaped like a funnel.

This design would force all the Water-type Pokémon toward the center, making it impossible to avoid a fight!

Sato and Joseph exchanged surprised looks. They hadn't expected the pool to have something like that.

But as Sato glanced around, he noticed the crowd remained unfazed; clearly, they'd seen this happen many times before.

The underwater Pokémon quickly picked up on the change in water level. Lapras, especially given its large size, started to grow anxious.

Watching the pool steadily empty, Lapras couldn't hold back any longer. It flapped its flippers and headed straight for the center.

The moment Lapras moved, the other Pokémon sprang into action.

A Golduck, clearly a veteran of these matches, didn't attack right away. Instead, it circled around to the opposite side of the pool, quietly positioning itself closer to the center.

A Lombre did the same, approaching from the other side. From the audience's perspective, the two were on a collision course.

Back on Lapras's side, the battle reignited. Staryu and Tentacool coordinated seamlessly once again, targeting the strongest opponent: Lapras.

Lapras might have a gentle nature, but after being ganged up on twice in a row, even it began to feel frustrated.

"Praaas!"

Lapras had a lovely voice, but it was paired with… Thunderbolt!

Using an Electric-type move underwater was devastating. As the terrified gem-eyes of Staryu and Tentacool widened, the powerful jolt of Thunderbolt crashed into them both.

Instant K.O.!

The crackling electricity faded, and Lapras blinked its big, round eyes as it looked at the two floating, unconscious Pokémon confused.

'Am I really that strong?'

A Lapras with Thunderbolt sent the crowd into another frenzy. While its Trainer may have been disliked for his big mouth, there was no denying Lapras's strength and charm.

Meanwhile, Lombre and Golduck did indeed meet head-on. Thanks to its quadruple resistance to Water and access to Grass-type moves, Lombre managed to defeat Golduck.

Lapras, having just taken out both Staryu and Tentacool, now radiated confidence.

In the face of "overwhelming" power, Lombre resisted for several rounds but was ultimately taken down by a single Signal Beam from Lapras.

Like Arbok, Lapras knew many off-type moves, something of a trademark in how Mark raised his Pokémon.

And with that, Lapras advanced to the finals!