"Hmph! You sure talk big."
Kasukarp folded his arms and sneered, "Fine, then today I'll show you all what true king-level power is!"
"Actually, in the previous matches, to make it more exciting, I didn't let Shinegoldie show his true strength. But now, it's time for me to get serious."
Kasukarp patted the golden Magikarp's crown fin and said, "So don't hold back. Prepare to go all out, Shinegoldie!"
"Karoo~"
Shinegoldie's gaze sharpened, his muscles began to swell, and his aura surged.
"Hiss~"
Hearing this, everyone present couldn't help but gasp.
He hadn't even shown his full strength yet, and he had already crushed his way into the finals.
How strong would he be if he went all out?
"So, Contestant Kasukarp hadn't revealed his true strength before?"
Seeing this, the Host quickly hyped up the atmosphere, exclaiming, "Then, in the grand finale, what kind of spectacular performance will he deliver? Let's wait and see!"
"What? Are you scared?"
Kasukarp looked at Adrian again, full of self-satisfaction.
But Adrian just smiled without speaking.
"Contestants, please take your positions."
On the stage, the referee raised a small flag and shouted, "Ready, jump!"
"Jump, Shinegoldie!"
Kasukarp was the first to give the command.
"Karoo~"
After charging up, the golden Magikarp slammed the ground and leaped first, like it had springs, instantly surpassing fifty meters in height.
"How can it jump so high?"
"So, this is Shinegoldie's true strength. Kasukarp hid it so well!"
"Streamer is in danger! This shiny Magikarp is truly sinister."
"Nonsense! A shiny pokémon is so conspicuous; if it didn't have some tricks up its sleeve, how could it survive?"
"Streamer, just give up!"
...The crowd at the scene looked at the Magikarp soaring into the air, turning into a small dot, all marveling.
Meanwhile, the live stream chat was filled with gloom.
Before long, Shinegoldie's hang time results came out, astonishingly lasting 30 seconds, which was terrifying.
A round of enthusiastic applause erupted, and Kasukarp bowed to the surroundings in thanks, as if he had already won the championship.
But Adrian still maintained his calm demeanor, confident of victory in his heart.
Shinegoldie's perfect-level Splash skill, combined with his bulging, explosive muscles, indeed produced terrifying results.
If they were to compete using the Splash skill, Adrian's Magikarp would undoubtedly lose.
But the problem was, Adrian's Magikarp also possessed the Bounce skill as a trump card.
A Flying-type move against a Normal-type move—that's a clear dimensionality reduction attack!
"Everyone, don't be too pessimistic. Actually, the Streamer and his Magikarp are also very strong. And Kasukarp isn't the only one who hasn't shown all his strength."
Adrian flashed a bright smile at the camera, then his gaze sharpened, and he shouted, "Jump, Magikarp!"
Boom!
The Magikarp slammed the ground and leaped, soaring into the air like a rocket, even causing the ground to tremble slightly.
Fish God, activate!
"Karoo~"
The Magikarp in mid-air controlled the Flying-type energy, feeling that the planet's gravity had much less hold on it.
Soon, the Magikarp broke through a hundred meters in height, making the stronger and weaker immediately clear.
"Oh my god! Is this really a Magikarp? Is this really a height that can be reached by jumping?"
"I somehow feel like the Magikarp is flying!"
"Fish God activated!"
"Who else can't fly?"
"Damn it, Little Adrian is too sneaky! He didn't even give his brothers a heads-up, making everyone so worried."
"Adrian is awesome! Magikarp is the best!"
...As the Magikarp unleashed its full power, the live stream and the venue instantly became lively, with everyone discussing animatedly and marveling.
After a long while, the Magikarp finally landed.
However, unlike other Magikarp that would crash heavily to the ground, Adrian's Magikarp landed gently, like a Frillish. This was a testament to its proficient control over Flying-type energy, allowing it to retract and release it at will.
"42 seconds!"
The Host was incredibly excited and immediately announced, "Adrian's Magikarp's hang time reached an astonishing 42 seconds! The Champion of this year's Magikarp High Jump Contest has appeared, and it is Contestant Adrian and his Magikarp!"
"A king like me, to actually lose?"
When the results came out, Kasukarp collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face.
Afterward, the Host invited Adrian and his Magikarp to the stage, where a judge presented them with a trophy—a gilded Magikarp-shaped trophy, but only palm-sized.
After the trophy presentation, the Host handed the microphone to Adrian, saying, "Contestant Adrian, please give your championship speech."
"First, I'd like to thank the organizers of the competition for giving us the opportunity to participate in such an interesting event."
"Then, I want to thank my fans. Without their companionship and support, I might not have reached this point."
"Finally, I also want to thank Magikarp for his dedication and hard work…"
Adrian hadn't prepared a championship speech at all, but he was quick-witted. After a brief moment of confusion, he quickly expressed his thanks.
"Wuwu~ Little Adrian thinks of us! He even thanked us!"
Upon hearing the thank-you speech, the fans were touched.
At the venue, the Host quickly chimed in, emotionally saying, "It's clear that for Contestant Adrian's Magikarp to achieve such a feat, he must have trained incredibly hard every day, putting in unimaginable sweat and toil…"
"Karoo?"
The Magikarp on stage blinked his eyes.
Did I work hard?
I don't know!
...After the competition ended, everyone dispersed.
Adrian picked up his phone to check, and at this moment, the live stream's online viewership had reached thirty thousand.
"Indeed, a small, unranked competition like the Magikarp High Jump Contest still can't generate too much buzz."
Adrian sighed inwardly.
After this period of accumulation, his fan count had reached sixty thousand, but winning the Magikarp High Jump Contest only attracted thirty thousand online viewers, far less than the over one hundred thousand during the challenge at Cerulean Gym.
So, Adrian decided to strike while the iron was hot and boost the popularity. He announced to the live stream, "Brothers, Magikarp winning the High Jump Contest can be considered a warm-up. So, I've decided that while we're in good shape, I'll immediately go challenge the Celadon Gym."
As soon as Adrian finished speaking, the bullet comments immediately exploded.
"Adrian, are you really going to challenge the Celadon Gym? I admit your Magikarp is very strong, but challenging the Celadon Gym with a type disadvantage and on unfavorable terrain? Then I can only say you're truly overconfident!"
"The Streamer is overconfident! He's no longer the humble and polite Little Adrian he used to be."
"I, Maddy, have invested in many projects, but this 'Celadon Gym Challenge' project of yours, Streamer, I really don't dare to invest in!"
"Exactly! Magikarp is a Water-type pokémon; he has no limbs and can't walk. So, once he's on land, won't he be completely helpless? He'll just become fish meat waiting to be slaughtered!"
"If the Streamer can succeed in this challenge, I'll live-stream myself eating while standing on my head…"
"Hey, upstairs, weren't you the one who scammed free food last time?"
...Watching the popularity and live stream viewership begin to climb rapidly, Adrian smiled shyly, "Let me reiterate, the Streamer is an honest person. If I say I'll challenge the Celadon Gym, I will definitely go. Even if I might fail, the Streamer will still not back down."
Saying this, Adrian picked up his trophy, holding his phone and live-streaming as he walked, "Let's go, we're heading to the Celadon Gym right now."
However, to allow the online buzz to ferment and attract more people to the live stream, Adrian deliberately walked very slowly and specifically chose routes with high foot traffic.
When he reached an intersection, several people were waiting for the traffic light. One middle-aged man merely glanced at Adrian, but Adrian seemed to have a switch triggered.
"Oh? Brother, are you talking about this trophy?"
Adrian swung the trophy in his hand, nonchalantly saying, "Heh~ It's just the Champion's prize for the first Magikarp High Jump Contest, a small competition, a small competition…"
"?????"
The middle-aged man looked bewildered.
I was thinking, I didn't even ask!
If you hadn't shown the trophy, I wouldn't have even noticed it.
But, I must say, the little trophy is quite cute!