Blastoise, Cloyster, and Swampert, determined to resist until the end, simultaneously closed in on Sharpedo and Lapras.
"Mark, have Lapras recover some stamina as quickly as possible."
"Got it, I know what to do."
While Sato and Mark were talking, the three Pokémon had already launched their moves and charged forward.
None of the three Pokémon were particularly fast, and comparatively, Blastoise's Hydro Pump was actually the first to strike.
Moreover, this Blastoise was always clever, its Hydro Pump came at a very tricky angle. It looked like it was targeting Sharpedo, but if Sharpedo dodged, Lapras behind it would certainly take the hit.
On the other side, Cloyster had already fired Spike Cannon, and its target was also Lapras.
Compared to the terrifying Sharpedo, they naturally chose the easier target.
Swampert, meanwhile, opted for a close-range attack, following behind Hydro Pump and closing in quickly.
Sato exchanged a glance with Mark, and at the instant Hydro Pump was about to hit, he gave a direct command to Sharpedo: "Slash, block the Spike Cannon!"
Sharpedo instantly dashed from its position, charging toward the incoming Spike Cannon. But in doing so, it exposed Lapras.
The spectators who saw this scene couldn't help but wonder in disbelief: was Sharpedo's Trainer turning on his teammate at the last second?
Splash!
The massive Hydro Pump slammed fiercely into Lapras, pushing it back a significant distance.
At the same time, Sharpedo used Slash to shatter all five Spike Cannon projectiles.
Seeing Lapras get hit, the three opposing Trainers were thrilled.
In their view, Sharpedo's Trainer ultimately wanted to win the match. So letting Lapras take a Hydro Pump wasn't unjustifiable.
But their smiles didn't even last a second.
Because right after destroying Spike Cannon, Sharpedo had reached the perfect position: directly above Swampert.
Swampert, who had intended to land a close-range attack, was left dumbfounded as it looked at Lapras, now pushed away by the Hydro Pump.
'Where's the enemy?'
Above!
"Sharpedo, Dark Pulse!"
Sato's voice rang out, and Swampert dumbly looked up… only to be met with a powerful Dark Pulse.
Boom!
Because Swampert had looked up, the attack that would've struck its back now hit it square in the face.
The sheer pain from the Dark-type move made Swampert scream in agony.
Clutching its heavily damaged face, Swampert hadn't lost the ability to fight, but it was in no shape to recover quickly.
Such an opportunity wouldn't be missed by Sato… or by someone else.
Vaporeon, which had been hidden in the water all this time, suddenly reappeared next to Swampert. Without hesitation, it blasted a Hydro Pump!
Swampert, eliminated.
"Lapras, Thunderbolt!"
Before the crowd could even gasp at Swampert's defeat, Mark's command came out loud and clear.
Lapras?
It could still fight.
The golden sparks gleamed brilliantly under the setting sun, forcing many in the audience to squint instinctively.
As the electric light faded, a lively and refreshed Lapras rejoined Sharpedo.
On the other side, Cloyster's body was flickering with faint electric arcs. Its exposed black core had cartoonish swirls in its eyes, clearly indicating it had lost the ability to fight.
Cloyster's physical defense was terrifying; its armor could block most same-level physical moves. But its special defense… was another story.
Lapras's Thunderbolt had taken it out in a single clean hit.
Seeing Cloyster go down too, the audience was once again left full of question marks.
'Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?'
Among the crowd of spectators, only a few understood what was actually happening.
At present, Pokémon Abilities still hadn't been systematically studied, and Lapras's Water Absorb hadn't been officially named.
However, some "special talents" displayed by Pokémon had already been widely circulated among veteran Trainers.
Among them, the fact that some Water-type Pokémon were not only immune to Water-type moves but could even recover stamina from them had long been known in Sootopolis City.
And Lapras happened to be one of the Pokémon believed to have that kind of "special talent".
It was just that, before this, because Lapras was inexperienced in battle, it had instinctively tried to dodge whenever it saw an incoming attack.
Doing this once or twice made it hard for anyone to believe that Lapras might possess Water Absorb.
But under Sato's direct guidance, Mark had long since learned about Lapras's Ability.
So the Hydro Pump attack was part of a plan Sato and Mark had come up with in advance. Lapras would take the hit intentionally, setting up the next sequence of counterattacks.
The final result was quite satisfying. Lapras regained a good amount of stamina, Swampert and Cloyster were both knocked out, and only Blastoise remained to continue pressing Sato.
Seeing his temporary partners fall one by one, Blastoise felt like its shell had never been so fragile before. It had no desire whatsoever to avenge them.
It turned around and ran!
Right at that moment, the water level in the pool began to drop rapidly, and the Pokémon who had been watching so intently snapped back to their senses.
They… would also have to face Sharpedo soon.
"Sharpedo, head to the center of the pool," Sato said, arms crossed, casually.
"Lapras, hurry up, catch up!" Mark waved at Lapras excitedly.
Sharpedo swaggered into the center of the pool, with Lapras following obediently behind.
Even though Lapras was much larger than Sharpedo, the way it followed so politely was befitting its Trainer.
Throughout the entire process, the Pokémon hiding around the edges didn't make a single move. Their Trainers might've felt indignant inside, but not one dared to speak up.
Didn't they see that Blastoise, even with half its body still in the water, refused to get close to the center zone?
The water level continued to fall rapidly. The hiding Pokémon inevitably began running into each other, and small skirmishes broke out one after another, but none dared to affect Sharpedo and Lapras.
Feeling a bit bored and noticing that Lapras hadn't fully recovered yet, Sharpedo opened its mouth and spat out a Water Pulse.
Sploosh~
Water Pulse burst open, and the splash hit Lapras, who let out a couple of comfortable coos.
From the spectators' perspective, it looked like Sharpedo and Lapras were completely ignoring the hostile opponents around them, just playing around in the very center of the pool…
Playing!
The other contestants who hadn't yet been eliminated were fuming.
'Wasn't this outright disrespect?!'
But still, not a single Trainer gave the order for their Pokémon to interrupt the interaction between Sharpedo and Lapras.
In the audience, even some female fans who had previously been put off by Sharpedo's fierce appearance now had hearts in their eyes.
Such a domineering yet gentle Sharpedo, showing off affection with his girlfriend while surrounded by enemies.
Showing off affection?
If Sato knew the audience thought that, he would definitely shake his head in firm denial.
Both Sharpedo and Lapras were girls. At most, it was the senior looking after the junior.
'Wait, actually, Sharpedo wasn't even older than Lapras… so what should it be called?'
A fierce little sister protecting her delicate big sister?