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A little past 9 p.m., in one of the cruise ship's battle arenas—Sato, in his role as Tyler, was locked in a two-on-two match against a blond youth.
On the water-type battlefield, light rain was falling. Sato's Level 29 Tentacool was locked in a fierce battle with the blond youth's Level 32 Goldeen.
The blond's Goldeen clearly had the Swift Swim ability, making it incredibly fast in the rain and allowing it to maintain the initiative throughout the fight.
Moreover, Goldeen's fighting style was distinctly assassin-like—striking its target and immediately retreating, leaving no opening for counterattacks.
Tentacool was clearly at a disadvantage. It was repeatedly hit by lightning-fast sneak attacks from the Goldeen, which had already used Agility twice. Unable to match Goldeen's speed and reactions, Tentacool was forced on the defensive.
For a while, Tentacool was tossed around like a ball in the water, relentlessly struck by Goldeen's sharp horn.
Meanwhile, the water around Tentacool had turned an ever-darker shade of violet, spreading out like spilled ink.
"That's it, Goldeen! Another Horn Attack! Don't give it room to breathe!"
The blond youth grinned with satisfaction as Goldeen once again struck Tentacool from behind with a lightning-fast Horn Attack, sending it flying out of the water before immediately retreating. He excitedly shouted his command.
Upon hearing its trainer, Goldeen's horn glowed white once more. It executed a sharp Z-shaped turn and charged straight toward the back of Tentacool's head—which had just landed back in the water.
Most of the trainers watching from outside the arena shook their heads quietly, certain that Sato's Tentacool was about to lose.
After all, by this point, Tentacool was already covered in wounds from Goldeen's relentless assaults.
Fortunately, thanks to Aqua Ring healing its injuries and Barrier significantly boosting its defense, it hadn't been completely overwhelmed by Goldeen's fierce combo attacks.
However, during this period of passive defense, Tentacool hadn't been idle. Under Sato's telepathic guidance, it had secretly been using Toxic Spikes on the surrounding water.
Now, a quarter of the battlefield's water had been contaminated by Tentacool's Toxic Spikes, and the poisoned area was still expanding.
Goldeen had been moving back and forth between the poisoned and clean water. Combined with its relatively high poison resistance, it hadn't shown any signs of poisoning—until now.
As its attacks intensified and its activity skyrocketed, its blood circulation accelerated. Toxins from the water entered its body through its gills and rapidly accumulated.
Just as it turned to attack Tentacool again, the built-up toxins finally erupted. An unnatural purple glow suddenly emanated from Goldeen—it had been poisoned.
Poisoning in the real world was far more complex than in games. It didn't just severely drain a Pokémon's stamina—it also affected nearly every aspect of its body.
Tentacool's venom contained a mix of hemolytic, cardiovascular, neurotoxic, myotoxic, hepatotoxic, nephrotoxic, and dermonecrotic toxins (referencing real-world jellyfish venom).
After being poisoned, Goldeen's physical capabilities began to decline across the board. The weakening of its muscles and nerves, in particular, caused its speed and reactions to drop significantly.
Moreover, these were slow-acting toxins—Goldeen hadn't even realized its speed and reactions had slowed.
Just as Goldeen tried to repeat its tactic of striking with Horn Attack and retreating, one of Tentacool's tentacles suddenly appeared right in its path.
If Goldeen's speed and reactions hadn't been impaired by the poison, it could have easily dodged Tentacool's tentacle.
"Not good! Goldeen, use Thrash, break free!"
But this time, it realized too late—before it could evade, it was already tightly bound by Tentacool's tentacle. Wrap had successfully trapped Goldeen.
The blond youth's face went pale as his Pokémon thrashed against the binding tentacles.
"Finish it—Giga Drain! "
Naturally, Sato wasn't about to let this opportunity slip. He immediately ordered Tentacool to use Giga Drain, a super effective move against Goldeen.
In the next moment, the tentacle gripping Goldeen glowed bright green, and Goldeen let out a cry of pain.
Simultaneously, a healing green light enveloped Tentacool, and its injuries began to visibly recover.
Under the combined effects of Wrap, Giga Drain, and poison, Goldeen's resistance weakened rapidly.
Even as its Thrash attacks grew more frantic with desperation, Tentacool had already stacked three Barriers, and with Giga Drain and Aqua Ring restoring its health, the outcome was inevitable.
Ten seconds later, Goldeen ceased struggling, limp in Tentacool's coils. Tentacool released its bind on the now-fainted Goldeen.
"Goldeen is unable to battle. Tentacool wins!"
The female trainer acting as referee watched for a few seconds but saw no movement from Goldeen. She immediately raised her right hand toward Sato's side and loudly announced the result.
Clap clap clap!
Once the outcome was decided, the crowd of trainers and spectators burst into cheers and applause.
"Finally—level 30. Time for evolution."
Sato used his system's detection ability to check Tentacool and confirmed it had reached Level 30. He felt a surge of anticipation.
Sure enough, shortly after the battle ended, Tentacool—after catching its breath—suddenly began to glow with a brilliant white light. Its entire body started to change.
"Whoa—it's evolving!"
"No way, first battle I watch and I get to see an evolution!"
"This is going to be good. Once Tentacool evolves into Tentacruel, its power will jump significantly."
The crowd buzzed with excitement as they saw Tentacool enveloped in light, eagerly discussing with those around them.
A moment later, Tentacool—bathed in the light of evolution—completed its transformation. A Tentacruel, now nearly seven to eight times larger than before, emerged on the surface of the water-type battlefield.