Perhaps it was Sharpedo's performance in the preliminaries that made it the primary target every opponent wanted to eliminate first.
Or maybe it was the easygoing banter between Mark and Sato that gave the others the impression the two would team up.
Either way, as soon as the battle began, five Pokémon immediately launched attacks toward Sharpedo and Lapras.
The remaining Pokémon, under their Trainers' instructions, quickly retreated underwater, even leaving space around the battlefield to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
"Sharpedo, Agility."
"Lapras, use Protect!"
Sato and Mark quickly responded, giving commands simultaneously.
In its Agility-boosted state, Sharpedo easily dodged Gyarados's devastating Aqua Tail, then dashed along the edge of the pool to evade Cloyster's Spike Cannon.
But the real threat came from Blastoise, who was charging forward with Rapid Spin.
Up until now, Blastoise had been watching Sharpedo's swimming pattern closely. The moment Cloyster's attack forced Sharpedo into a tight corner, Blastoise charged in for a crushing blow.
There was no way to dodge underwater, but Sharpedo's primary battleground had never been the water… it was the air.
Battle decisions happen in the blink of an eye, and Sato didn't even have time to shout a command. Thankfully, Sharpedo's reflexes didn't disappoint.
On its own, Sharpedo activated Aqua Jet, shooting upward to escape what Blastoise thought was an unavoidable trajectory, soaring straight into the air.
"Mantine, Air Slash!"
"Sharpedo, dodge and use Crunch."
Sato coldly ordered as he spotted the opportunistic Mantine.
Mantine had been soaring above all this time. Seeing Sharpedo out of the water, it wasn't about to let such a chance slip away.
It flapped its wings fiercely, unleashing dozens of blade-like wind edges toward Sharpedo like a deadly storm.
But the next moment stunned the audience; Sharpedo didn't panic in the face of the oncoming Air Slash. Instead, a tiny vortex appeared beneath it out of nowhere. It twisted its body midair and veered off to the side.
Air Slash missed completely!
It wasn't over… once the vortex below disappeared, Sharpedo transitioned seamlessly into Aqua Jet, rocketing straight toward Mantine.
While Mantine could fly, its speed was nothing compared to bird-type Pokémon.
Despite the frantic warnings from its Trainer, Mantine only realized Sharpedo had reached it when it was already beside it.
Too late.
Crunch!
Gnaaargh!
Sharpedo bit down hard on Mantine's right wing. While it wasn't knocked out, its flight ability was gone.
Now grounded in the water and sluggish, Mantine's fate was sealed.
Sharpedo had taken to the skies, and it was even faster up there. The earlier coordinated assault had not only failed but resulted in Mantine being taken out.
'Who could possibly stop this thing?'
Meanwhile, things weren't going as well for Lapras. Swampert's Hammer Arm and Octillery's Bullet Seed were no easy moves to block.
After using Protect to fend off the first wave of attacks, Lapras began a frantic escape.
Thankfully, Mark always seemed to have some invisible luck protecting him. As Lapras blindly fled, it would often stumble into neutral Pokémon watching from the sidelines.
The resulting chaos would buy Lapras just enough time to get away, managing to stay in the game… though looking pretty battered and having taken quite a few hits.
----
With Mantine out, Sharpedo now had full control of the skies in the match.
Thanks to its incredible speed, even the massive Gyarados quietly dove underwater, choosing to avoid confrontation for now.
Gyarados was powerful, every one of its attacks carried overwhelming force. If any opponent took a hit, even if they "survived", they'd be left in terrible shape.
But precisely because of its massive size, Gyarados's attack frequency was far too slow. Against Sharpedo, it was simply being toyed with.
At this point, Sharpedo noticed Lapras struggling in the distance. It turned toward Sato, silently asking whether it should lend a hand.
They were traveling companions after all; underneath Sharpedo's fierce exterior still beat a passionate heart.
Sato recalled the initial ambush and didn't hesitate to nod in agreement.
'If they were afraid of us teaming up… then that's exactly what we'll do.'
"Sharpedo, take out that Octillery first."
"Sha shaa~"
Sharpedo grinned wide, its brilliant teeth gleaming, sending a chill down Octillery's Trainer's spine.
"Boss, you're family to me!" Mark shouted emotionally at Sato, actually squeezing out two tears.
"Save it, let's take care of the ambushers first."
"Got it, boss! Lapras, Water Pulse to intercept Swampert."
Lapras, having heard Sharpedo was coming to assist, was instantly reinvigorated.
It spun in the water and launched a Water Pulse directly at the relentless Swampert.
The Water Pulse burst right before impact, sending waves outward. While it didn't really harm Swampert, it was more than enough to stop it in its tracks.
Meanwhile, Sharpedo dove back underwater, cutting a direct path toward Octillery. Its jaws were already glowing with concentrated Dark-type energy; one bite, no mercy.
Octillery let out a sharp cry, instinctively firing an Octazooka, but Sharpedo dodged it with ease.
Crunch.
No need for variety. If it works, it works.
With two perfectly executed Crunches, Octillery was knocked out and eliminated from the match.
As for the first eliminated Pokémon, that was Mantine, who got knocked into the water and then finished off by a series of weak Water Guns from the other Pokémon.
Now with two direct or indirect knockouts under its belt, Sharpedo once again became the biggest threat in the arena.
But this time, no one dared approach it.
The Pokémon who hadn't joined the initial ambush hid themselves even deeper… "You go first. No, really. We'll join after you're done."
And the ones who had ambushed them? They were now fleeing in panic, including the oversized Gyarados, who was currently being chased relentlessly by Sharpedo, while Lapras's Thunderbolt was already charging.
Sharpedo coordinated perfectly, herding Gyarados straight toward Lapras.
No more hesitation; Lapras's back-to-back Thunderbolts hit Gyarados dead-on. With a quadruple weakness, Gyarados collapsed in the pool with a resounding crash.
"Sharpedo, next one," Sato said casually, his tone cold.
In Mark's starry-eyed gaze… that was unbelievably stylish!
But the remaining three Trainers, realizing Sato was now targeting all who ambushed them, exchanged glances and once again chose to cooperate.
Blastoise, Cloyster, and Swampert were arguably even more troublesome than Gyarados's squad.
Sato had originally intended to take them down one by one based on strength.
But his opponents weren't fools; they wouldn't just wait around to be picked off.
This new alliance… was far sturdier than the last.