The next day, the second phase originally planned for the fishing contest was carried out as scheduled.
Due to the generous rewards officially announced by the fishing contest, the trainers who had originally participated also signed up again with great enthusiasm.
This resulted in the number of participants in the second phase of the fishing contest being far greater than in previous editions, with more than a hundred people taking part.
Previously, only trainers who passed the first round of the fishing contest could participate, and after all, only a few managed to fish up a Pokémon in that first phase.
"We welcome all trainers who love Water-type Pokémon to participate in this fishing contest."
"Due to yesterday's incident at the lake, the first phase of our fishing contest was unfortunately forced to end prematurely. However, I believe that the second phase of the fishing contest will undoubtedly be even more exciting."
"Moreover, this is also a very positive change. I hope that in the future Coral City will be able to organize more similar competitions, providing trainers who specialize in Water-type Pokémon with a place to exchange experiences."
Before the competition began, the organizers of the fishing contest delivered an impassioned speech. From the official wording, it was clear that they truly intended to organize a Water-type Pokémon competition called the "Coral Cup" in the future.
Since in this edition trainers were allowed to send their own Pokémon into battle, the overall quality of the second phase of the fishing contest improved enormously compared to previous editions.
In addition, because the rewards offered by the organizers were extremely generous, some trainers used numerous methods to obtain powerful Pokémon.
In this regard, trainers like Ethan, who were participating by relying on temporarily captured Pokémon, were clearly at a disadvantage.
Even so, thanks to Gyarados's own strength and Ethan's excellent command ability, they barely managed to enter the top eight, ultimately being eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Ethan was quite satisfied with this result. Next, he only needed to wait for the contest to end to go and collect the reward corresponding to the top ten.
"After three days of intense battles, the champion has finally emerged!"
"Now, we invite the top ten contestants to come up on stage to receive their prizes, which will be awarded on the spot."
Once the event ended, the host excitedly announced the results with the microphone, immediately pushing the atmosphere at the venue to its peak.
Then, several young women in light clothing could be seen stepping onto the stage, each holding a Pokémon egg in her arms.
Under the sunlight, the Pokémon eggs with all kinds of patterns dazzled the eyes, while at the same time making the contestants who failed to enter the top ten beat their chests in regret, lamenting their bad luck.
Once on stage, the girls lined up in three rows. In the first row were four girls, and the eggs they were holding were, naturally, eggs of Water-type starter Pokémon.
In the second row were sixteen girls, and the eggs they were holding were also of fairly rare Pokémon, causing the spectators below the stage to swallow unconsciously.
As for the third and final row, it was the most numerous. The Pokémon in this row were relatively more common, but for ordinary trainers they still had quite acceptable breeding value.
"It seems that the organizing committee of this fishing contest has invested a fortune to pave the way for the next Water-type Pokémon competition," Ethan thought, smacking his lips as he looked at the Water-type starter Pokémon eggs in the arms of the girls in the first row.
Starter Pokémon, once fully developed, can reach considerable combat strength, making them extremely attractive to trainers who specialize in Water-type Pokémon.
Very soon, with the host announcing the final rankings, the top ten contestants stepped onto the stage to receive their prizes.
Ethan also went up on stage. As the eighth-place finisher, the Pokémon he could choose from were located in the last row.
"Corphish, Carvanha..."
Ethan examined the Pokémon eggs in front of him and shook his head slightly.
He wasn't particularly interested in these Pokémon. At this point, he already possessed quite a few Pokémon, and it would be difficult for these to become part of his main team.
The main reason he had participated in this competition was to obtain a Pokémon he could use as a mount, and the one that attracted him the most was naturally Lapras.
However, Lapras's rarity was in no way inferior to that of starter Pokémon, and among these Pokémon eggs, there was not a single Lapras.
"If there really isn't one, then I'll just choose one at random."
Ethan pondered for a moment and continued moving forward.
"This is... Feebas?"
Suddenly, Ethan stopped in front of a Pokémon egg.
Feebas, regarded as the ugliest Pokémon in the Pokémon world, has an evolved form, Milotic, which is in turn considered the most beautiful Pokémon in the world.
For Feebas to evolve into Milotic, a special evolution method is required. One method is for its beauty stat to reach 170 points, and the other is to use the evolution item known as a Prism Scale.
"If I could make the evolution requirements of Milotic public... With Milotic's popularity, it would definitely be possible to obtain enormous benefits."
Ethan's eyes gleamed slightly. After this period of expenditures and the continuous strengthening of his Pokémon, the resources he had previously obtained were beginning to run low, so this was a good opportunity to replenish them.
Moreover, in academic circles, Ethan was recognized as a Pokémon Researcher specializing in evolution. The fact that Feebas could evolve into Milotic had enormous academic value and would further strengthen his path as an evolution researcher.
Thinking of this, Ethan decisively chose the Feebas Pokémon egg, laying the foundation for the future disclosure of Milotic's evolution method.
"This time you worked hard, Gyarados. After this, I'll ask someone to take you to a lake inside a Secret Kingdom. Then you'll be free."
Ethan spoke to the Poké Ball containing Gyarados that he held in his hand. Now that the competition was over, it was time to fulfill his promise.
However, he did not plan to release Gyarados in a lake in the real world, as that would entail certain risks, both for Gyarados and for humans.
In the Sky Secret Kingdom, there were numerous lakes, and there was even a lake specifically for Gyarados, making it the best possible place Ethan had thought of to release it.
After making a decision in his heart, Ethan took Gyarados and the Feebas Pokémon egg to the Pokémon Researchers Guild of Coral City, intending for the guild staff to send them to the headquarters.
As for Gyarados, he would ask Alex Baxter to help him find a suitable lake to release it, thus fulfilling the promise between him and Gyarados.
And the Feebas Pokémon egg would be handed over to the specialized staff of the Pokémon Researchers Guild responsible for egg incubation, to ensure it the best possible environment, thereby laying the groundwork for obtaining Milotic in the future.
(End of chapter)