Chapter 289: Sharpedo… Take It Easy!

As the first Pokémon to enter the finals, Lapras earned a round of applause from everyone present. Mark proudly held onto Lapras, waving back at the crowd as they cheered.

Even Juan couldn't watch any longer and quickly moved to start the second round. Unfortunately, Sato wasn't in it.

Third round, fourth round... all the way to the tenth, Sato's name never came up.

That said, every Pokémon that made it into the finals during these rounds was seriously impressive.

The Blastoise that spun at high speed and turned the pool into a massive whirlpool, leaving every opponent dizzy.

The Gyarados that flung opponents one by one with its tail.

The Swampert that stood firm from the start, taking the center of the pool.

The Mantine that soared above the water, picking off enemies from the air.

The Cloyster with sniper-like precision, each Spike Cannon hit square in the heart, devastatingly painful...

By comparison, even a Lapras that could use Thunderbolt seemed ordinary.

But that just proved how strong the Trainers in Sootopolis City really were.

Even a casually organized event like this produced so many skilled Trainers and powerful Pokémon.

As the eleventh match was about to start, Sato stood off to the side, casually enjoying the show.

If his name hadn't finally shown up on the big screen, he might've forgotten he signed up.

"Let's go," Sato said as he gave Joseph a small wave, then slowly made his way to the competitor's side with Pichu and Ralts in tow.

Right as the match officially began, Sato sent out Sharpedo. Just before that, he whispered softly to the Poké Ball.

"Take it easy…"

A flash of red light, a splash, and Sharpedo hit the water with a plop. It looked no different from usual.

But Sharpedo's first opponent soon appeared: a Lanturn, known for being a particularly tough matchup.

The big screen zoomed in just as the two clashed. Seeing this, the spectators murmured that Sharpedo was probably done for.

A Water/Electric-type like Lanturn had a huge advantage in this format.

But the next moment, all the crowd saw was a deep-blue shadow flash past Lanturn.

Lanturn twitched slightly... then turned belly-up, floating toward the surface.

Lanturn… eliminated…

"Hisss!"

In the stands, Joseph heard the chorus of gasps from those around him and thought silently: 'That's just standard Sharpedo behavior.'

Then the camera cut again, this time to a Croconaw.

Before the crowd even had time to recover from Lanturn's instant defeat, a familiar dark-blue figure passed by Croconaw just as quickly.

Next second, Croconaw gave a little twitch... and just like Lanturn, floated up to the surface.

Another one-shot!

What made it worse was that the underwater camera tracking wasn't all that great; the audience had only seen a blur each time, never a clear shot of the attacker.

Though most of them had a good hunch that it was Sharpedo, without visual confirmation, no one wanted to say it out loud. Some even held out hope it was something else.

Sato glanced at the battle. Not even a full minute had passed, and Sharpedo had already taken down two opponents.

'I told you to take it easy. Clearly that didn't work... oh well, as long as you're enjoying yourself', Sato thought as he shook his head slightly.

A few sharp-eyed spectators noticed Sato's subtle shake and froze. What does that mean? Could it really not be Sharpedo?

Some thought they understood something before, but now they truly didn't. And the worst part? They couldn't ask.

In that split second of confusion, a fresh wave of gasps rippled through the crowd.

On the big screen, a Poliwrath crossed its arms across its chest, successfully blocking the deep blue shadow's ambush.

The shadow was finally stopped, and with its speed slowed down, the crowd could finally see its identity… sure enough, it was the same Sharpedo from the beginning.

But some spectators were even more confused now. 'Okay, yeah, it's Sharpedo, but then what was with the Trainer shaking his head earlier?'

Before they could think any further, the battle between Poliwrath and Sharpedo was already in full swing.

Sharpedo circled Poliwrath and launched a relentless assault, alternating between melee and ranged attacks without pause.

At first, Poliwrath was able to hold its ground, relying on its Fighting-type strength and endurance.

But a prolonged defense always gives way to cracks. As Sharpedo's speed increased, Poliwrath eventually couldn't even keep track of its movements. It was finally knocked out by a direct hit from Skull Bash.

At that moment, Sato gave another subtle shake of his head. If Sharpedo hadn't sped up, it might've taken a bit more time to deal with these scattered Pokémon.

But now? It's already over. Nothing left to see.

Again, those ever-alert spectators noticed Sato's motion and froze. 'What does that mean this time?!'

Then, even as the cameras failed to keep up with Sharpedo's movements, one Pokémon after another floated up from the bottom of the pool.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…

Oh. The match was over.

Wait… this was only the first match. The water hadn't even started draining yet, and it was already finished.

Only when Sharpedo surfaced and gave Sato a casual nod before being recalled did the crowd finally snap back to reality.

There was no doubt. The eleventh round of the free-for-all water battle had made Sharpedo the brightest star of the entire event… though ironically, also the hardest one to actually see.

With the match over, Sato calmly walked over to the finalists' area, met by nine suspicious and scrutinizing stares… excluding Mark.

"Boss, let's make a deal," Mark said, shamelessly inching closer.

"What deal?"

"In the finals, we have to face off at the end. What do you say?"

"Sure," Sato nodded.

"Awesome!"

"Just hope you survive until then."

"..."

While the two bantered, Pichu and Togepi chatted happily, and Ralts stood quietly by Sato's feet.

This cheerful, easygoing scene… struck the other finalists as just a bit too arrogant.

The final two preliminaries wrapped up quickly, with Octillery and Vaporeon advancing to the finals. Both were strong contenders: one for sheer attack power, the other for its ability to literally blend into water.

After over a dozen intense rounds, the sun had begun to set. The plaza around the fountain was now packed with people, not even a drop of space left.

Sato even spotted that all the windows in the surrounding buildings were open and overflowing with onlookers.

Each of the thirteen preliminary matches had been thrilling. The finals promised even more excitement. Every finalist's performance had been unforgettable.

Thirty minutes flew by. The 13 Trainers who made it to the finals lined up beside the fountain, and with Juan's booming call, 13 eager and battle-ready Pokémon dove into the water all at once.

"Gyarados, use Aqua Tail on Sharpedo!"

"Cloyster, fire Spike Cannon at that Sharpedo!"

"Blastoise, use Rapid Spin to pin down Sharpedo's movement!"

"Octillery, use Bullet Seed. Take out that Lapras first!"

"Swampert, use Hammer Arm on Lapras!"

Five commands rang out in unison. Sato and Mark both tensed.

They were being targeted!