Pokémon: Did you play Pokémon today?

Chapter 288 Bai Zhou: Oh... so you ran into a speed bump...

"Tsk! This unfilial son!"

With Gardevoir's protection, Bai Zhou steadied himself and couldn't help but curse angrily at the "disloyal and unfilial" shadows at his feet.

Before he finished speaking, the shadow suddenly rippled irregularly.

Gengar poked its big head out as if to show off, and patted the baby Gigantomachia that it was protecting.

He put on a serious expression of "loyalty and righteousness" and gave Bai Zhou a non-standard salute.

"Eyes! Crack! (Reporting to Father! Your Majesty, your subjects have successfully protected our younger brother! He was unharmed!)"

Bai Zhou was so angry at its "loyal and virtuous general" behavior that the veins on its forehead throbbed.

You know you need to protect Young Gilas, so why don't you know how to protect your father, me?!

What? Is this how they win people over, cultivate their own faction, and prepare for a future coup?!

Do you even respect me as your father? Do you even respect the proper order between ruler and subject?

Bai Zhou immediately formed a pincer movement in the air with both hands, expanding his domain, and said viciously, "One day, I will strip you of your court robes, depose you from your position as crown prince, and establish Gardevoir as the heir apparent—"

He hadn't even finished uttering his harsh words about "abolishing" the emperor.

The small boat experienced another near-vertical jolt!

The entire small boat was suddenly thrown upwards, and the white boat briefly experienced the feeling of weightlessness and suspension!

Ugly Fish was facing the "threshold" formed by special buoys and waves at the entrance to the second stage.

There was no slowdown whatsoever!

A clean, powerful leap over the dragon gate!

With the wooden boat propelled against them, they boldly charged into the obstacle course of the second stage!

And without hesitation, it began to surge upwards against the surging ocean current!

The second leg of the course, designed as a special "obstacle course," features waves that are several times more ferocious than those in the previously calmer deep-sea fishing areas.

On one hand, the race staff riding Gyarados on both sides of the course are working hard to direct their Gyarados to use moves such as "Tide Whirl" and "Water Tail".

Artificially created waves of chaos form natural obstacles.

On the other hand, the entire second race track is designed to sail in the opposite direction of the main ocean currents in this area!

Under normal circumstances, the participants' boats travel entirely against the current.

Passing through quickly is fraught with difficulties and is a huge test of the navigator's skills and the Pokémon's power.

but----

All of this is no big deal for the ugly fish!

This is the home where it grew up!

It knows every undercurrent and every whirlpool in this sea area like the back of its hand!

Those man-made wave obstacles are like tickling to it; it can easily find gaps and squeeze through.

Or simply use brute force and exquisite control of the water flow to smash it open!

Against the current? That's no problem at all! Its power is enough to ignore this resistance!

As a result, its speed did not slow down due to obstacles and countercurrents, but instead became faster and faster!

As it approached the small boat on its back, it began to sway and rock from side to side and up and down with an almost frantic frequency and amplitude!

"Ugh—wait—Ugly Fish—slow down—I feel a little—vomiting—"

Even Bai Zhou, whose physical fitness far exceeded that of ordinary people, was rocked so much that his face turned pale and he felt nauseous and seasick!

Continue at this pace.

The entire obstacle course of the second stage, which stretches for several kilometers, will probably take less than ten minutes.

No, he can get through at the speed of light in five minutes!

The third stage is purely a speed race, and with the Ugly Fish's terrifying explosive power and speed, the championship is practically in the bag!

Bai Zhou was going all out for the championship and for the "learning device" promised to Xiao A.

He suppressed the intense dizziness and nausea, steadied himself with Gardevoir, and shouted at Feebas in the sea, his voice trembling.

"Ugly Fish — Come on, come on — I can still hold on — Speed ​​— I can go even faster — Ugh!"

"youngest-!!!"

Upon hearing this, the ugly fish underwater instantly ignited its fighting spirit to MAX!

It let out a deafening roar, the water around it swirled wildly, and its speed increased dramatically once again!

Because of its explosive force, a small vacuum vortex was briefly created at the spot where it had just been!

The small boat shot forward as if it had been launched!

And the white boat on the ship—

Although his body had already traveled a long way with the small boat, his soul was still stuck in the eddy and hadn't followed at all.

"Fuck! Going against the ocean current is one thing, but they didn't even provide the most basic engine, forcing me to row by hand!"

Ma Zhishi cursed and slammed the small wooden oar he was holding onto the boat.

He wiped the sweat mixed with seawater from his forehead and plopped down next to his partner Raichu, who was still paddling hard.

"I've been at sea for so many years! I've never been this humiliated before! This is an insult to the dignity of a man of the sea!"

"snort----"

A cool, soft laugh came from the side.

Naz stood gracefully on her small boat, without even touching the oars.

The Alakazam beside her had gleaming eyes and two spoons bent slightly.

An invisible force propelled the small boat, which easily passed over Ma Tse's small boat that was spinning in place at a steady speed.

"In that case, those with weak wills can just stay here and enjoy the scenery."

Nazie spoke indifferently, with a hint of superiority in her voice.

"I'll go first—"

However, before she could finish speaking, the confident smile on her face suddenly froze, and she instantly became extremely serious!

He immediately changed his tune and began giving instructions at an extremely fast pace.

"Alakazam! Teleport! Get out of here!"

"Hu"

Alakazam reacted extremely quickly, and the spoon in its hand shone brightly!

A powerful mental force instantly spread out, forming a sphere that completely enveloped Naza and her small boat!

brush!

With a flash of light, a person, a boat, and a Pokémon mysteriously vanished from their spot, leaving only a ripple on the water that gradually subsided.

"Huh? What the hell?"

Mascher was completely baffled by Naz's abrupt action. He was about to stand up and shade his eyes with his hand to check the situation in the distance.

Whoosh—

A deep, rumbling sound, like muffled thunder, came from afar and instantly filled his ears!

Ma Xueshi suddenly turned his head and looked in the direction from which the sound came!

Where the sea meets the sky, a tiny black dot rapidly magnifies in his field of vision!

In the blink of an eye!

A giant ugly fish, as big as a small boat, is almost within reach!

The dead fish eyes on the fish's head seemed to glance at him!

Lao Tzu—

—

A dull, loud bang!

The wood chips exploded and scattered like the most dazzling fireworks of the festival!

A creature resembling a human figure flew backward at a speed far exceeding that of free fall, tracing a poignant parabola in the air.

Then, with a "plop," it crashed heavily into the sea dozens of meters away, creating a spectacular white wave!

On the sea, only Raichu, clinging to the wooden oar, remained, thrashing about in the water, staring blankly in the direction where his master had disappeared.

"Qiu——Qiu?"

"W-What's wrong?"

Almost at the same time, the white boat, which was enjoying the "Fast and Furious" experience, felt an unusual jolt coming from the small boat beneath its feet.

Somewhat confused, I leaned out from the bow of the boat and looked down at the ugly fish that was struggling to move its body and break through the waves.

-

"Yao~"

Ugly Fish calmly responded with a swirl of its tail.

It showed no sign of stopping; it simply adjusted its direction and continued its astonishing sprint forward.

"Oh—so you ran into a speed bump—"

Bai Zhou nodded as if suddenly realizing something, his mind still reeling from the jolts.

"Wait a minute! Where did this speed bump come from at sea?!"

at the same time.

Little Walnut's energetic broadcast voice was once again broadcast throughout the entire competition area by photographers scattered throughout the venue.

"Urgent! Urgent! We've just received a report from the rescue boat! The first contestant to be eliminated in this competition has been eliminated!"

"The Lt. Surge Gym Leader from Vermilion City in the Kanto region has been disqualified from continuing the competition due to unforeseen circumstances causing the destruction of his boat!"

"To reiterate, damage to your boat means disqualification from the competition! All competitors must take good care of their boats and pay attention to navigation safety!"

"Mr. Mascherano has been safely rescued and is in good health, so please rest assured! Let us express our regret for his—well, his—active spirit in the competition!"

This broadcast was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly creating ripples among all the contestants!

The reason is simple: while previous competitions were fierce, they focused more on speed and endurance, and there was never a competition like this.

There is a precedent of "competitors being directly eliminated"!

The broadcast now clearly states that "damaged boat = disqualification"!

Doesn't that mean—

Destroying another competitor's boat is equivalent to eliminating them outright?!

In an instant, an invisible yet sharp fighting spirit, accompanied by the salty smell of the sea breeze, quietly permeated the entire sea surface of the arena.

Of course, some of the weaker competitors began to feel uneasy and became more vigilant in observing the surrounding sea.

"You...you saw it too, didn't you, Xiaogang?"

Not far from the crime scene, Xia withdrew her gaze from the direction where Ma Zhishi had "ascended to heaven" and swallowed hard.

She looked at Xiao Gang, who was also staring blankly at her, and her voice trembled slightly.

"That thing just now—that huge guy, with a 'whoosh'—turned Lt. Surge and his boat into a shower of petals, sending them flying dozens of meters away! That's terrifying!"

"Um----

Xiao Gang crossed his arms, his brows furrowed, causing his already small eyes to almost close to slits, his expression more serious than ever before.

"I did see it."

"What's even more admirable is that, facing such a formidable enemy, Master Lt. Surge didn't utter a single sound even when he suffered such a devastating blow—"

"This steely will and manly spirit are truly awe-inspiring!"

He suddenly opened his eyes, a flame of fighting spirit igniting within them.

"Let's go, Xia! We need to speed things up! We can't let the gym leaders from the Johto region get too far ahead!"

As the game progressed, the sun in the sky grew increasingly scorching and dazzling, relentlessly showering light and heat.

After being violently dragged by the ugly fish and experiencing several unexplained jolts, Bai Zhou suddenly sensed something was wrong.

Despite the blazing sun overhead and the temperature seemingly rising, his exposed skin felt an unusual, gradually increasing chill.

"What's going on—"

Bai Zhou frowned, forcing himself to look ahead.

In the distance, on the sea, a large number of broken glaciers were floating, and they had appeared out of nowhere!

The further you go, the denser the glaciers become. Ice floes of varying sizes rise and fall with the waves, and wisps of white, chilly air emanate from their surfaces.

This caused a thin layer of cold mist to shroud the sea surface in that area.

Before he could ponder the oddities, the dutiful "speedboat" Uglyfish had already plunged headlong into the increasingly dense area of ​​ice floes.

Crack—creak—

The broken glaciers vary in size and are scattered haphazardly.

Even the pufferfish, familiar with the water, inevitably slowed down when faced with these incredibly hard obstacles, and had to carefully navigate through them.

"Ugly Fish, slow down a bit, be careful not to crash—"

Bai Zhou looked around warily, his ominous premonition growing stronger.

This suddenly appearing glacial area is too strange. It doesn't resemble the natural landscape that should exist in the shipping lane at all. It's more like a deliberately created obstacle zone or a trap!

Just then, his gaze sharpened, locking onto a seemingly empty expanse of sea ahead. Without hesitation, he shouted sharply, "Gengar! Shadow Ball! Ten o'clock, above the sea!"

"Genga"

Gengar emerged from the shadows behind White Boat with a savage grin. It opened its ferocious maw, and thick, inky shadow energy gathered and swirled wildly between its claws.

In an instant, it condensed into a huge, pitch-black energy ball, and with a sharp whooshing sound, it was fiercely launched towards the direction designated by Bai Zhou!

Almost at the same instant!

The world suddenly changed color!

The scorching sun that had been hanging high overhead was wiped away, and cold, lead-gray clouds appeared out of nowhere, covering the entire sky at an alarming speed!

The biting, icy wind and snow appeared out of nowhere without warning!

It swept across the sky, roaring and dancing wildly!

In the blink of an eye, the sea area within hundreds of meters of the white boat was transformed into an extremely cold region with howling winds and snow!

At the very center of this icy and snowy region, countless snowflakes converged, compressed, and condensed.

A massive ice cone, its tip gleaming with a cold light, suddenly materialized in mid-air, its tip pointing directly at the white boat below!

However, before the ice pick could make any downward thrusting motion...

Gengar's Shadow Ball, launched with preemptive strike, is already hurtling towards us!

The dark energy sphere struck the middle of the ice spear.

The terrifying ghost-type energy exploded out, forming a small vortex that devoured light, crushing the entire ice spear to dust!

The shattered ice crystals transformed into countless hard hailstones the size of bowls, which pelted down on the sea like a torrential downpour.

It stirred up chaotic yet crisp waves.

The wind and snow continue.

The ugly fish stopped wriggling its body and floated quietly in the water.

Its domineering aura was released without reservation, intimidating all creatures in the surrounding sea, its cold fish eyes fixed on what lay ahead.

Gardevoir appeared silently beside White Boat, gracefully raising her slender hand.

An invisible superpower barrier completely enveloped the white boat, isolating it from the raging wind, snow, and cold air from the outside world.

Gengar floated half a body length behind White Boat, grinning widely and emitting a creepy "hehehe" laugh.

The overwhelming sense of oppression spread outwards like a tangible wave.

Even Young Gilas sensed the danger from the outside world and crawled out of the shadows on its own.

Although still somewhat timid, it stood firmly at Bai Zhou's feet and let out a childish but courageous low growl.

Bai Zhou's gaze remained calm as he looked straight ahead through the swirling snow.

Just now, not far behind the Shadow Sphere explosion point, a thick and solid glacial platform suddenly appeared out of nowhere on the previously empty sea!

On the platform, a figure stood quietly.

The man wore a heavy black robe that covered his entire body, and a strange white mask with twisted ice crystal patterns on his face. His long hair flew wildly in the biting cold wind.

And beside him.

A somewhat comical-looking Delibird, carrying a burlap sack in both hands, is curiously observing Shiraishu and his Pokémon.

The biting wind and snow swirled around them, creating a tranquil and eerie atmosphere that seemed to exist independently of the blizzard.

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