Next, the remaining Pokémon successively found their respective opponents to challenge, with mixed victories and defeats.
Among them, Cacturne, who occupied eighth place, challenged Slowking, who was in third place. Thanks to its Dark type and its Water Absorb ability, Cacturne was practically the nemesis of Psychic- and Water-type Pokémon. Even Slowking had no way to deal with it and, with no other choice, lost his third position.
However, after losing the battle, Slowking, who had temporarily fallen to eighth place, challenged Charizard, who occupied second place. Relying on the "two-in-one" tactic together with Shellder—one in charge of control and the other of attack—Charizard had no way to respond and was forced to give up second place.
After that round of battles, Charizard discovered that he had once again returned to eighth place, which made him cry in frustration.
"Rhhydodnn!"
At that moment, Rhydon also found a companion to share his misfortune with and went over to pat Charizard on the shoulder, with a clear sense of camaraderie.
Later, Absol challenged the Pokémon directly ahead of him in the rankings, Vibrava. Under the constant enhancement of Dark Force, Absol's strength was truly impressive, but Vibrava's improvement had been even greater. In the end, Absol lost narrowly to Vibrava.
After that, Vibrava challenged Meltan, but the challenge ended in defeat.
Finally, Meltan challenged Slowking, who occupied second place. After absorbing one of Meltan's nuts, his strength increased considerably.
In a head-on battle, Meltan was not inferior to Slowking at all, but Slowking's intelligence was slightly superior. When Meltan attempted to use the move Substitute, Slowking immediately sensed his intentions. As a result, Meltan's substitute with Electromagnetic Cannon could not be executed, wasting an enormous amount of energy, and he ultimately fell to the combined attack of Slowking and Shellder.
After this round of battles was completed, the rankings were finally set. Since Sandslash and Magmortar were not present, their positions remained unchanged.
The final rankings were as follows:
First place: Sandslash.
Second place: Slowking.
Third place: Cacturne.
Fourth place: Shuckle.
Fifth place: Meltan.
Sixth place: Vibrava.
Seventh place: Absol.
Eighth place: Charizard.
Ninth place: Litwick.
Tenth place: Riolu.
Eleventh place: Magmortar.
Twelfth place: Kingdra.
Thirteenth place: Rhydon.
Overall, the final rankings did not undergo major changes.
During the course of the tournament, Charizard, Cacturne, and Slowking formed a very interesting counterbalance relationship, and the final result was that Slowking, taking advantage of his position as a later challenger, managed to rise to the top.
"What a pity Sandslash and Magmortar aren't here. Otherwise, perhaps the result would have been different?"
Ethan smiled faintly, showing a hint of anticipation. Then he looked at the Pokémon on the field and, seeing the dejected expressions of Charizard and Rhydon, could not help but feel amused.
At the same time, he already had a fairly clear idea of the hierarchy of strength among his Pokémon.
"Alright, don't be so sad. This ranking isn't anything definitive; you just need to regain ground in the next tournament."
Ethan encouraged Charizard and Rhydon, making hope shine once again in their eyes.
"Very well, the tournament is over. Now it's time to distribute the spoils of war."
Ethan smiled faintly and, following the rankings, began distributing the resources among the Pokémon.
In fact, some key resources had already been prepared in advance, so at this moment he simply assigned them to their respective recipients.
This portion of the resources was not directly related to the rankings; what they were truly competing for were the common resources.
That said, as long as the resources in his possession were sufficient, there was no problem. But if at some point they became scarce and were only enough for a few Pokémon, then he would naturally prioritize the strongest ones.
Moreover, the creation of this ranking tournament was not solely for the purpose of distributing resources, but primarily to stimulate the Pokémon's motivation and foster healthy competition among them, in order to encourage them to improve.
Once the resources were distributed, the Pokémon immediately began training with full energy, following the training plans that Ethan had assigned to them.
After finishing the distribution, Ethan looked at the remaining resources and fell into slight contemplation. Many of those resources were geared toward Water-type Pokémon and had naturally been prepared for Kingdra.
However, Ethan was not satisfied with Kingdra's recent performance and hesitated over whether he should give those resources to him.
"Gyyaarrrd!"
Just as he was thinking, the Gyarados that had been watching the battles from the lake swam over.
A completely servile expression appeared on Gyarados's originally fierce face, which left Ethan somewhat surprised.
"Do you want these resources?" Ethan asked after thinking for a moment, probing.
Gyarados nodded repeatedly.
Then, suddenly, he opened his mouth and dropped a Poké Ball in front of Ethan.
"A Poké Ball?"
"Do you want me to capture you?"
Ethan's eyes narrowed slightly as he understood Gyarados's intention.
Immediately, Gyarados nodded vigorously and, without wasting time, touched the Poké Ball. His body turned into a ray of white light and was absorbed into it, proving his determination with actions.
"Then, from now on, pleased to work with you."
Seeing such an impatient Gyarados, Ethan shook his head and smiled.
Since Gyarados wanted to become his Pokémon, Ethan had no reason to refuse.
Moreover, Gyarados was a Pokémon highly valued among ordinary trainers. However, Magikarp was extremely difficult to train until it evolved, and directly capturing a Gyarados was difficult due to its fierce nature and difficulty to control. Therefore, Gyarados was not very common in trainers' hands.
But if it could be successfully mastered, the increase in power for the team would be enormous. Additionally, due to its large size, Gyarados was also an excellent choice as a water mount Pokémon.
"Come out, Gyarados!"
After capturing Gyarados, Ethan released him.
Upon seeing Gyarados come out, Feebas immediately swam over, showing clear sadness at the separation.
"Gyarados, these resources will be your welcome gift. Also, please continue helping to take care of Feebas."
Ethan smiled at Gyarados and pushed the resources toward the lakeshore.
The other Pokémon also realized that they had a new companion and came over to welcome him.
At the same time, Ethan also released Kingdra. Although he was not very pleased that his resources had been given to Gyarados, Kingdra still welcomed him.
However, seeing the intense fighting intent in the eyes of both Pokémon, it was evident that they had taken each other as rivals.
Seeing this, the corner of Ethan's lips lifted slightly. That both Pokémon took each other as targets, competed silently, and progressed together was precisely what he wanted to see.
(End of chapter)