"Karp~"
Seeing the Razor Leaf coming at it with full force, Caster's Magikarp didn't need a command.
It slapped its tail against the ground, and its entire body launched into the air. The Razor Leaf missed!
"It dodged!"
Erika's mouth opened slightly in surprise.
She'd never seen Caster's Magikarp jump that high before, so at first glance it seemed incredible.
Caster's Magikarp had nearly broken through the gym's ceiling.
But what Erika didn't know was that if it weren't for the ceiling limiting it, the Magikarp could actually jump even higher.
However, after her initial shock, Erika couldn't help shaking her head with a laugh.
"Although you dodged Weepinbell's first wave of Razor Leaf, with Magikarp suspended in midair with no way to maneuver, it's basically become a sitting duck. Weepinbell, use Razor Leaf again."
"This really is the end now!"
Everyone in the livestream closed their eyes.
"Not necessarily!"
Just then, Caster, who'd been silent for a while, suddenly spoke up, smiling at the camera. "Does everyone know about a certain move that descends from above?"
"???"
A flood of question marks flooded through the livestream.
Fortunately, they didn't need to ask. When the leaf blades appeared again, spinning rapidly toward the airborne Magikarp, Caster directly revealed the answer.
"Magikarp, Bounce!"
Caster shouted forcefully.
The trump card he'd been holding for so long was finally, quietly revealed at this moment.
As soon as he spoke, a dazzling glow suddenly appeared around the airborne Magikarp.
Though it was an enclosed venue, a current of air appeared around Magikarp, lifting it and allowing it to forcefully turn in midair, nimbly dodging the second assault of Razor Leaf.
"Karp~"
Magikarp glared with fierce determination, its eyes locked on the Weepinbell not far away.
Its body, wrapped in Flying-type energy, began to plummet rapidly like a torpedo shell, shooting straight down.
Whoosh!
Accompanied by a sharp, piercing shriek, Magikarp's fin, glowing with white light, lightly sliced through.
Weepinbell looked like it had been struck by an electric current, frozen in place.
After a few breaths, Weepinbell finally swayed and collapsed.
Silence!
Dead silence!
Whether in the livestream or among those present, everyone was stunned by this scene.
They'd thought it would be a one-sided match. While it certainly was one-sided, they'd all miscalculated which side had the advantage.
The one who lost wasn't Caster's Magikarp (it was actually Erika's Weepinbell).
"Am I seeing this right? Magikarp won?"
"One-shot KO'd Weepinbell? Is this reasonable?"
"The move that descends from above (you're referring to the Bounce move, right?) Then that's reasonable! After all, Bounce is a mid-to-high level Flying-type move.
Not only is it quite powerful, but it's super effective against Grass-types.
But the question is, how could a Magikarp possibly learn Bounce?"
"Why are you yelling so loud? You're confused? I'm confused too!"
"Holy crap! I was wondering before why the streamer's Magikarp could jump so high, way ahead of other Magikarps.
Turns out the Magikarp mastered the Bounce move! (Mudkip saw through everything.JPG)"
"So this was the source of the streamer's confidence! Streamer, you've been hiding so deep, playing such games (I love it)!"
...
Comments flew frantically past, nearly covering the entire screen.
At the same time, the livestream's viewership spiked again.
A Magikarp that mastered Bounce (this was as rare as a Hoho feather in the Pokémon world).
Many people had never even heard of such a thing, and Erika was no exception.
With two Pokémon defeated in a row, Erika was now completely bewildered.
That Magikarp across from her was too freakish!
"Seems like everyone's pretty shocked that Magikarp mastered the Bounce move, huh?"
Taking advantage of Erika's confused state, Caster glanced at the livestream and smiled.
"Actually, there's nothing strange about it. Magikarp's evolved form, Gyarados, has the Flying-type attribute and can master Flying-type moves like Hurricane and Bounce.
My Magikarp has exceptional talent, plus I have a little bit of understanding about move training, so it makes perfect sense that it could master it early."
As soon as he finished speaking, fans in the livestream started discussing again, with comments constantly appearing.
"So the streamer is a move tutor? No wonder he can train Magikarp's moves so well. It's clearly just Tackle, but when executed it's more like Take Down."
"Magikarp's Splash is also really impressive; otherwise it couldn't jump that high."
"Streamer, I also have a Magikarp. Can you teach it Bounce? I'll pay extra!"
...
Seeing the floating comments, Caster quickly denied it. "I'm not a move tutor, I'm just pretty interested in moves, that's all. Don't make wild guesses, everyone."
"Want to learn Bounce? Pay extra? Even with extra money, it won't work!"
Caster quickly shook his head in refusal and deflected: "Magikarp actually learned Bounce by chance.
Everyone should stop making wild guesses."
He didn't understand anything about move instruction (it was all thanks to the TMs rewarded by his cheat ability). But Caster didn't want that known for now.
At this moment, Caster kind of regretted showing off just now.
"Come out, Gloom!"
On the opposite side of the field, Erika finally snapped out of her daze and sent out the Gloom she'd raised since childhood.
Gloom had a blue body resembling a plant bulb, a pair of arms and feet, and atop its head was a reddish-brown flower with white spots.
The flower had four spherical petals and four light brown sepals.
"Gloo~"
Gloom's eyes seemed to be perpetually closed. It had purple lips and was constantly drooling, looking quite slovenly.
"Streamer, be careful!
This Gloom's stench is absolutely terrifying.
In a previous gym challenge, my Charmander had already gained the upper hand, but after getting hit by its stench, it immediately lost its ability to battle."
"Why would such a cute, beautiful Miss Erika raise such a slovenly, foul-smelling Pokémon? I don't understand!"
"This is Miss Erika's third Pokémon, right? Could the streamer actually win?"
"I think it's unlikely! The streamer only had the advantage earlier because he caught them off guard.
But now that Miss Erika is on guard, the streamer probably can't gain any advantage. After all, she's a Gym Trainer!"
...
Erika's Gloom clearly had quite a reputation; just in the livestream alone, many people had suffered at its hands.
Although Magikarp had gained an advantage, still no one believed he could win.
"Gloom, use Stench!"
(/n: Stench - Hidden Ability)
Erika issued her attack command first.
"Gloo~"
The flower on Gloom's head opened slightly, and a horrific stench rolled out. It was so pungent that Caster could barely keep his eyes open; he felt like he could hardly breathe.
But at the same time, Caster was also pleasantly surprised and shouted: "Bounce!"
As soon as he spoke, Magikarp's entire body flashed with white light. Wrapped in Flying-type energy, it launched out again like a cannonball, charging into the cloud of stench.
"Gloo~"
Gloom cried out in pain. Its stamina dropped dramatically, and it started gasping heavily.
"Couldn't one-shot it? This Gloom's HP really is thick!"
Caster thought it was a bit of a shame.
On the opposite side of the field, Erika was extremely puzzled: "Why doesn't Gloom's Stench have any effect on Magikarp at all?"
Not only Erika, even the netizens in the livestream didn't understand.
"I know this one! It's because Magikarp is a fish that normally lives in water.
Its olfactory sacs are different from our regular noses; they can only smell things when water flows through them. With just airborne odors, Magikarp can't smell anything."
In the livestream, there was actually a knowledgeable Pokémon researcher who immediately provided an explanation. The netizens finally understood.
"Magikarp, press the advantage, use Bounce again!"
Caster was excited; he could already see the light of victory.
With just one more hit, Gloom would definitely be defeated.
Right now Gloom's condition was very poor; clearly it hadn't recovered from the heavy blow just now.
It was simply a heaven-sent opportunity!
"Holy crap! Magikarp's about to win!"
In the livestream, netizens held their breath, feeling like they were about to witness history again.
"Karp~"
Magikarp glared fiercely, full of fighting spirit.
But the next second, a look of pain suddenly appeared on Magikarp's face, and its body couldn't move even half an inch.