In the first round of attacks, nearly a thousand Pokémon were eliminated.
At the starting points of the four zones — east, south, west, and north — Terrance was positioned at one of the many starting points within the Southern Zone.
In the region where he was located, among nearly a hundred Pokémon that set off simultaneously, more than twenty Pokémon were immediately eliminated.
It wasn't that these Pokémon were too weak; they just weren't strong enough. At the moment of departure, the sheer number of Pokémon was too great: densely packed and not yet fully prepared. This made it the perfect opportunity for the "flying devices" to launch their attacks and take down the Flying-type Pokémon.
The Pokémon that stood out among the rest, regardless of the method they used, successfully evaded the first wave of attacks from the flying devices.
Beautifly fluttered among dozens of Flying-type Pokémon. In terms of its size and species, it wasn't particularly eye-catching.
At this moment, because the distance from the target was still too far away, the Flying-type Pokémon weren't yet engaging each other in battle. All the Trainers understood — and had instructed their Pokémon — that before reaching the victory item at the center, the greatest enemy was the flying devices scattered throughout the sky, not their competitors.
In fact, a sufficient number of Flying-type Pokémon flying toward the center together could disperse the focus of the flying devices' attacks, allowing the Pokémon to conserve more stamina as they made their way toward the center.
Beautifly wasn't fast, but it stayed closely with the main group. Taking advantage of its small size and relying on its own experience, it hid within the middle of the dozens of Flying-type Pokémon — right in the blind spot of the flying devices' attacks.
Beautifly wasn't the only one doing this. Whether large or small, many Pokémon had the same idea: using other Pokémon as shields. Throughout the flight, these Flying-type Pokémon kept shifting positions, trying to find a safe spot to fly.
Unfortunately, when every Pokémon had the same idea, only a very small number could truly succeed.
These Pokémon either had a unique natural talent or had undergone rigorous training!
Aside from that, there were also Pokémon who believed that their speed was outstanding and dashed out ahead from the very beginning.
Terrance watched the big screen as a Pidgeot flapped its broad wings and used "Agility" to accelerate, instantly surpassing all the Pokémon at that starting point.
Even the flying devices' first wave of attacks aimed at that group of Pokémon failed to successfully lock onto it.
The Pidgeot's expression was proud, its beautiful wings flapping, but before it could celebrate for long, countless flying devices — as if they possessed a will of their own — collectively chose to launch an all-out assault on the Pokémon that had flown far ahead of the main group.
In the sky, countless flying devices simultaneously locked onto a single Pokémon. The high-speed beams of light wove together into a chaotic web. Even though the Pidgeot was extremely fast, it still failed to escape the punishment of the flying devices.
"Idiot." Seeing the Pidgeot's performance, countless people gave this same evaluation of its Trainer.
"Shoot the bird that pokes its head out, huh," Terrance chuckled to himself.
The event's introduction hadn't mentioned the attack patterns of the flying devices. Acting so boldly without first figuring it out — just how much confidence did they have in their own abilities?
Among the nearly one hundred contestants who had set off from Terrance's starting point, after three waves of attacks, fewer than half remained.
The one navigating the situation most smoothly was Terrance's Beautifly. Using its Air Currents Control technique, Beautifly didn't even need to fly particularly fast. As long as it was familiar with the movement of the surrounding air currents, it could leisurely weave through its competitors, openly using them as shields — and doing so in such a way that the others couldn't even react.
Following the changes in the air currents, Beautifly seemed almost able to predict the future. Like a dragonfly skimming the water's surface, it hopped from one point in the sky to another, constantly changing position. So far, not a single beam had managed to enter the area around it.
Because whenever a beam came shooting toward Beautifly, there was always some Pokémon that ended up blocking it for it.
The principle behind the beams was unclear. But it was known that not only would they leave a mark on a Pokémon, being hit would also cause a temporary physical weakness, making the Pokémon unable to continue flying and unable to keep up with the main group — which was practically the same as being eliminated.
Besides Beautifly, a Crobat — its eyes fierce and menacing — was also managing to accomplish the same thing. As if using Future Sight, it dodged the beams in advance, preventing any from getting close.
This Crobat had its ears pricked up, constantly receiving the returning Supersonic waves as it flew without restraint.
"Haha, what's up with that Farfetch'd? It's hilarious."
In the Southern Zone, a Farfetch'd was captured on video. Compared to the other Flying-type Pokémon, its flying posture was bizarre. The flying devices seemed to deliberately target it, launching attack after attack. Yet this Farfetch'd was a genius: every time at the most dangerous moment, it would get frightened and make a comically exaggerated move to dodge.
"Good reflexes," Terrance commented.
Not long after Beautifly and the others began flying, the Flying-type Pokémon from the various starting points of the Southern Zone started to converge.
As the groups from each starting point met, the mass of Flying-type Pokémon became densely packed once again, and the difficulty of evading the beams increased even further.
Moreover, at this point, small-scale skirmishes began to break out.
What surprised the contestants the most was that, as the flying devices from the various starting areas moved along with the Flying-type Pokémon and began to converge, the change in their numbers seemed to shift the difficulty of evasion from "easy mode" to "hard mode."
At this point, the spectators and visitors still didn't know which Pokémon belonged to which Trainer, but after a few camera shots, the Pokémon that performed outstandingly had already been noticed by most people.
A Charizard, with a strong and powerful physique and extremely fast flight speed, relied purely on physical collisions — Pidgeot, Fearow, Swellow and the like couldn't even compete against it, let alone smaller Pokémon like Beautifly, Butterfree, or Beedrill.
A Scyther skillfully used Double Team, Agility, and Quick Attack, to the point where even the flying devices became nothing more than its playthings.
There was also a Pokémon with a completely orange body and a pair of small wings, yet it flew at an astonishing speed and possessed extremely sharp reflexes, moving through the Southern Zone's main group in a dominant manner—like a monarch.
Dragonite!
In addition, there was a strange Xatu, whose eerie psychic power made its flight and evasion methods imperceptible to countless eyes, keeping it consistently at the forefront of the Southern Zone's main group.
Countless Flying-type Pokémon showcased their unique skills as they crossed the sea. Under the increasing barrage of attacks from the flying devices, the Pokémon with greater skills naturally began to draw people's attention.
At this point, only a few minutes had passed since the event had begun, but the battle situation in the Southern Zone was already extremely brutal, with Pokémon being eliminated every single second.
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