After a brief silence, the Streamer's chat was flooded with bullet comments.
"Was the move Magikarp just used 'Tackle'? With that power, I'd believe it was 'Take Down'!"
"Also, Magikarp's reaction was so fast. After the first attack failed, it immediately launched a second one, giving the opponent no time to breathe. In contrast, Goldeen's eyes revealed a clear stupidity."
"Didn't everyone say Magikarp was the weakest, most useless pokémon? Why does the Streamer's Magikarp look so ferocious in battle? Is it really not a Gyarados wearing a Magikarp skin?"
"The Magikarp species is weak, but the Streamer's Magikarp is exceptionally well-trained; its ability values far exceed the species average. The Streamer might actually win the Blue Badge."
... Watching the bullet comments drift by, Adrian smiled without speaking.
Tackle is a basic skill, and Take Down is an advanced skill; the difference in power is huge.
However, Magikarp's Tackle was at the Perfect level, compensating to some extent for the lack of skill rank, making its execution incredibly powerful.
Furthermore, Magikarp had consumed an 'Attack Enhancer,' boosting its attack power, so it naturally wasn't afraid of Goldeen.
Moreover, Lily's Goldeen was clearly trained for vibrant appearance rather than battle, making it showy but impractical.
Therefore, Adrian was not surprised by this result.
By the pool.
The defeated Lily recalled her Goldeen and retreated dejectedly: "Big Sis, Second Sis, I lost!"
"It's alright! Leave the rest to me!"
After patting Lily's shoulder to comfort her, the eldest sister, Daisy, walked to the commanding position: "Go, Seel."
The pokémon ball opened, and Seel, which had a protrusion on its head, upward-curving teeth on both sides of its mouth, a sticking-out tongue, and a tail split in two at the end, leaped into the water, looking adorably clumsy.
"Seel, use Aurora Beam!"
This time, Daisy launched the first attack.
"Hawoo~"
Seel nodded, releasing a multicolored beam from the horn on its head.
Wherever the multicolored beam passed, the clear pool water instantly froze, turning into ice.
"Magikarp, swim and dodge!"
Adrian responded calmly.
Like Goldeen, this Seel was clearly lacking in training; the Aurora Beam's power was mediocre, and its speed was slow.
Given Magikarp's speed and reaction time, it was practically impossible to hit.
"Karoo~"
Magikarp swam rapidly in the pool, creating a water vacuum in its wake.
"Why is this Magikarp so fast? It's practically leaving afterimages as it swims through the water."
The Cerulean Sisters were greatly astonished.
Not only was its attack power strong, but it was also this fast?
Seel wanted to chase, but it couldn't keep up at all!
Hearing this, Adrian chuckled internally: "My Magikarp is on the same speed level as a pseudo-legendary Dragonite. What caliber are you, Seel, to compare speed with me?"
Not to mention, Magikarp's 'Splash' skill was also at the Perfect level, providing an extremely powerful boost to its swimming; it would be strange if it weren't fast.
But soon, Adrian stopped smiling.
Because as Seel continuously used Aurora Beam, although Magikarp wasn't hit, the water in the pool kept freezing, shrinking Magikarp's range of movement.
As the field became restricted, Magikarp's speed advantage was rapidly being lost.
"Little brother, you can't escape my grasp."
Daisy licked her lips and said triumphantly: "Magikarp's time is running out!"
Adrian glanced at Seel; although it, like its Trainer, believed victory was assured, it was inevitably beginning to pant.
"But Seel's stamina is also running low."
The corner of Adrian's mouth curved slightly upward.
In the real world, pokémon not only consume stamina when injured, but also when executing moves.
This can be referenced by Ash's Snorlax battling Clair's Kingdra at the Blackthorn Gym; even though Kingdra was the attacker and was never injured, she still became winded after a prolonged fight.
Seel had already used Aurora Beam no less than seven or eight times, not only exhausting most of its stamina but also significantly weakening the move's power.
For Magikarp and Adrian, this was both a crisis and an opportunity!
"Magikarp!"
Seeing that the time was right, Adrian shouted: "Charge into the Aurora Beam and use your maximum power Tackle!"
"Karoo~"
Magikarp's gaze sharpened, its tail thrashed wildly, and its red body shot like an arrow directly toward the nearby Seel.
"Hawoo~"
Seel grew excited at the sight and quickly aimed its Aurora Beam at the Magikarp charging straight toward it.
Buzz!
As the Aurora Beam enveloped it, Magikarp immediately felt a bone-chilling coldness that seemed intent on freezing it, and the surrounding water showed faint signs of solidifying.
However, compared to the beginning, Seel's current beam was noticeably thinner, the light was much fainter, and the power had dropped significantly.
"Karoo~"
Magikarp's gaze was resolute; it pushed forward against the beam, refusing to retreat even as ice crystals formed on its body.
Before long, Magikarp was frozen into a large ball of ice.
"It worked!"
But the next second, the smiles of the Cerulean Sisters froze.
Although Magikarp was frozen, because its speed had been too fast previously, the massive ice ball continued to move forward due to inertia.
Seel, on the other hand, had truly reached its limit in stamina, and even dodging was difficult now.
Boom!
Seel couldn't dodge in time and was struck hard by the ice ball containing Magikarp.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
After the violent collision, the ice ball began to shatter, and Magikarp broke free.
Seel, conversely, had swirls in its eyes and was immediately unable to battle.
"Holy cow! Did I see that right? Magikarp got a double knockout!"
"Oh my god! How can there be such a powerful Magikarp? That was too cool!"
"It's not just Magikarp; the timing of the Streamer's attack was also exquisite. If it had been a moment earlier, Seel's Aurora Beam would still have full power, and Magikarp might have been frozen solid and unable to move. If it had been a moment later, most of the pool water would have been frozen, and Magikarp would have struggled to swim, trapping it like a turtle in a jar."
"Streamer is awesome! Magikarp is awesome!"
"Damn! Is the Streamer really going to get the Badge today? Is the guy who was talking smack about free food still around?"
... In the Streamer's chat, a massive flood of bullet comments began to screen-scroll.
The mindset of the netizens who had initially come to watch for fun had subtly changed.
At this point, they no longer dared to underestimate Adrian and Magikarp.
If Adrian truly won the Badge, he would be creating a legend.
And they were all witnesses!
However, after the shock wore off, the netizens started to worry about Magikarp's condition.
Having been hit head-on by the Aurora Beam and even frozen, Magikarp's stamina had dropped to freezing point.
Had its physical quality not far surpassed that of its peers, it would likely have been defeated long ago.
Even so, Magikarp was already heavily panting.
"Karoo~"
Nevertheless, Magikarp's spirit was high; flames seemed to be burning fiercely in its eyes.
I'm going to defeat all three!!!
"I lost too!"
By the pool, Daisy dejectedly left the commanding position, passing the baton to her second sister, Violet.
"Now watch me go!"
The blue-haired Violet stepped out confidently and said with a grin: "The little brother opposite is very strong, and we definitely won't be keeping the Blue Badge. But we won't lose too badly, after all, his Magikarp's stamina is like a candle in the wind..."
Violet confidently threw a pokémon ball: "Come out, Staryu!"
A red light flashed, and a golden-brown, star-shaped pokémon immediately appeared.
"A candle in the wind?"
Hearing this, Adrian couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, thinking to himself: "You dare to say such a thing? You truly don't know the immensity of heaven and earth!(PUn Intended)"
"Staryu, don't give Magikarp a chance to rest."
Violet waved her hand and shouted: "Use Rapid Spin to smash through the ice and charge!"
Staryu and Magikarp were both in the water, but due to Seel's previous Aurora Beam, the pool was filled with large floating ice chunks, separating the two pokémon.
Therefore, if Staryu wanted to attack now, it first had to overcome the ice barrier.
"Chya~"
Staryu's body began to spin rapidly; its hard body was like a sharp blade, turning the ice it passed through into fragments, unstoppable along the way.
Adrian narrowed his eyes, quietly watching Staryu approach, as if unconcerned.
And Magikarp, in front of him, closed its eyes as if accepting its fate.
"What's going on with Adrian? The enemy is almost right in front of him, why is he not reacting at all? Is he just passively battling?"
"Magikarp, whose stamina is at freezing point after defeating two opponents, is facing a full-health, full-status Staryu. What difference would an active response make? Do you have a solution to break the stalemate?"
"Exactly! Old Fish and Magikarp have already exceeded all our expectations by getting this far. We can't possibly demand Magikarp defeat three opponents, can we?"
"In this battle, Old Fish and Magikarp performed admirably; they will be glorious even in defeat!"
... Almost everyone believed Adrian and Magikarp were doomed to lose; the only difference was whether people thought they should try something or if they had done enough.
But just as Staryu crossed the numerous obstacles and arrived in front of Magikarp, Adrian suddenly moved, shouting: "Flail!"
"Karoo~"
The moment the words fell, Magikarp, which had been silently accumulating strength with its eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open.
It glared fiercely, rising up in furious rage, acting violently like a madman, swinging wildly.
The moment Staryu got close, it was struck by Magikarp's terrifyingly powerful Fury Attack and sent flying, not only being knocked out of the water but also crashing heavily into the Gym's ceiling, embedding itself deeply within it.
As for its eyes, they were already swirling with circles.
Staryu, instantly defeated!!!
The scene and the Streamer's chat fell into absolute silence.
Neither the Cerulean Sisters nor the netizens in the chat had expected Adrian and Magikarp to hide the move 'Flail' and use it at the crucial moment to turn the tide and win from behind.
Magikarp went legendary!
It completed the feat of defeating three opponents consecutively!
And this was during a Gym battle.
While one couldn't say there would be no successor, it was definitely unprecedented.