69novels Chapter 852 Wasn't it agreed that Magikarp wouldn't have any meat?
Chapter 852 Wasn't it agreed that Magikarp wouldn't have any meat?
Cynthia glanced at it, her tone carrying a hint of objective approval:
"These Pokémon do look very powerful. If you insist on calling yourself a dragon trainer, I don't think most trainers would have the right to object."
Arnold's expression improved slightly, but he still looked somewhat doubtful about life.
Li Shuwen spoke:
"Put your Pokémon away, it's affecting everyone's viewing of the match."
Arno patted his head and quickly recalled the nine Pokémon into their Poké Balls.
He stood there, looking down at the ball in his hand, and murmured:
"Am I really wrong...? They're not dragons..."
Li Shuwen looked at him, his tone gentle:
"Be brave and pursue your dreams. As long as you believe, they are dragons."
Arno suddenly raised his head, his eyes changing from confusion to determination.
He turned and left.
"I'm not watching the match! I'm going to train right now! I'll raise another Gyarados using your method!"
Cynthia watched his retreating figure: "What about the old Gyarados?"
Arno waved his hand without turning his head: "Let them compete! Whoever is the best gets the job!"
His figure disappeared at the far end of the stands. Cynthia withdrew her gaze, a slight smile playing on her lips.
The high jump competition has reached a fever pitch.
The numbers on the ruler by the pool kept climbing.
Ninety-one meters, ninety-four meters, ninety-eight meters.
A golden carp leaped 99 meters, just one meter away from the 100-meter mark.
A huge cheer erupted from the audience.
Then a smaller Magikarp was carried to the edge of the pond.
It was shorter than a regular carp, and its scales were not bright enough, making it look malnourished.
A low murmur arose from the audience.
"This one is way too small!"
"Being able to jump 30 meters would be quite good."
"Isn't bringing this Magikarp to the competition a waste of time?"
Cynthia glanced at Li Shuwen.
Li Shuwen's gaze fell on the little Magikarp, and he narrowed his eyes slightly.
"This Magikarp will be the champion of the high jump competition."
His voice wasn't loud, but the people around him heard it and all looked at him with surprise.
The referee whistle blows.
The little Magikarp sank to the bottom of the water, paused for two seconds, and then suddenly sprang upwards.
His body straightened into a straight line the moment he leaped out of the water, his scales briefly shimmering in the sunlight, and then he took flight.
The numbers on the scale jumped rapidly. Thirty meters, fifty meters, eighty meters, one hundred meters.
He is still rising.
One hundred and ten meters.
One hundred and twenty meters?
Magikarp crossed the 120-meter mark and then began to fall.
The splash when it fell back into the water wasn't big, but the entire audience remained silent for a full two seconds.
Then erupted a cheer that was louder than ever before.
"One hundred and twenty meters!"
"That little Magikarp jumped 120 meters!"
"How did he do that?! He's so small!"
Cynthia turned to look at Li Shuwen, a hint of surprise in her eyes:
"How did you figure that out?"
Li Shuwen put down his lemonade: "Because of his eyes."
Cynthia looked closely and saw that, compared to most dead fish eyes, Magikarp's eyes were indeed exceptionally lively.
The next day, the competition went against the tide.
The race track is located in a natural stream on the west side of a small island in the lake.
The stream cascades down from the high rocks, forming a waterfall-like torrent, splashing water and roaring.
The trainers released the Magikarp downstream, and at the referee's signal, the Magikarp began to dash upstream against the current.
The first to set off was the 120-meter-long little carp king.
He nimbly navigated the rapids, avoiding one protruding rock after another, and swam to the finish line in forty-three seconds.
The following fish also performed well, with one golden magpie swimming a time of 48 seconds.
Cynthia looked at the golden Magikarp: "I think he'll win."
Li Shuwen's gaze swept across the stream, finally landing on a Magikarp with dull, lifeless scales in the corner.
He huddled in the shallow water at the edge of the stream, slowly swishing his tail, as if observing.
"That one will win."
Cynthia glanced at him:
"The scales on that fish have darkened; it's clearly not in good condition."
Li Shuwen didn't speak, he just stared at the carp king.
Halfway through the match, the dull Magikarp finally moved.
Instead of surging to the surface like other Magikarp, he sank completely to the bottom and swam forward along the riverbed.
His body became almost one with the stone, minimizing the resistance of the water flow.
The last 41 and a half seconds.
It was one and a half seconds faster than Magikarp.
Cynthia's eyes widened slightly.
She glanced at the carp king, then at Li Shuwen:
"Wasn't the golden Magikarp supposed to be special? Why did it lose?"
Li Shuwen stood up and watched as his trainer cheered and picked up the dull Magikarp.
"Because it doesn't know how to train, the golden Magikarp does have potential, but it wasn't explored in depth during the Magikarp stage before it rushed to pursue superficial specialness."
"The reason why that dull-looking Magikarp has dull scales is actually because training has sculpted its body into its current smooth shape."
"Strong people are not necessarily visible from their appearance."
On the third day, the third eating contest began.
The venue was moved to the beach in front of the resort.
A row of food bowls were laid out, filled with oranges.
Trainers put their Magikarp into the shallow trough in front of the basin, and after the referee blew the whistle, the Magikarp began to eat voraciously.
Most Magikarp eat by swallowing whole, biting into an orange berry and then moving on to the next one.
But one Magikarp is completely different.
That Magikarp was three times the length of a normal Magikarp, and its body was round and plump, looking like an inflated balloon.
His way of eating is very particular. He first puts the orange into his mouth, chews it slowly, and swallows it before taking another one.
It looks slow, but its mouth is much bigger than other Magikarp, and it can hold two Orange Berries in one bite.
When the timer ended, the food bowls on the ground were completely swept away.
The Magikarp, which was three times larger, won without any surprise.
The audience crowded around, exclamations of amazement rising and falling.
"How can this Magikarp be so big?!"
"Are there any special methods for raising them?"
"Even if you eat a lot, it shouldn't be three times bigger..."
Cynthia stood at the back of the crowd, looking at the chubby Magikarp, and couldn't help but shake her head:
"Isn't this Magikarp a bit too fat? Aren't Magikarp supposed to have no meat?"
Li Shuwen stood beside her, smiling slightly.
"It's just that there's not much meat, not none at all. That Magikarp's size isn't from training, it's from the fat it eats, not muscle."
Cynthia turned her head to look at him, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"You can even tell that?"
Li Shuwen lowered his head, a slight smile playing on his lips, and reached out to tuck a strand of her wind-blown hair behind her ear:
"You'll understand once you see enough."
Cynthia reached out and took his arm, resting her chin on his shoulder as she watched the fat Magikarp being carried away on his trainer's shoulder in the distance.
A lake breeze blows by, carrying moisture and the sweet scent of oranges.
Wind chimes tinkled under the eaves of the resort.
In the distance, people were cheering, laughing, and celebrating their Magikarp.
Cynthia looked away and nuzzled her face against Li Shuwen's arm: "Watching the games these past few days has been really fun and relaxing."
Li Shuwen tightened the arm she was holding, and gently squeezed the back of her hand that was resting on his arm.
The sunlight slanted in from the west, casting long, overlapping shadows of the two people onto the beach.
A breeze blew by, and the wind chimes rang again.