Goldfish Scooping Contest

Chapter 52 Goldfish Scooping Contest

At that moment, almost all the onlookers' attention was drawn to the girl who had caught the carp, and they all showed expressions of disbelief.

"It's not too difficult..."

The girl said this while looking at the Magikarp jumping and struggling in the bowl.

"Woo~"

Zorua didn't care about that; it only cared whether the fish it caught were edible. However, the girl gently patted its head and said, "You can't eat any of these. We'll go buy some dessert later."

"Woo~"

"That's amazing..."

Mingyou stared at the other person. Although they were wearing a mask, their identity was impossible to hide. She just didn't expect the other person to be so good at catching goldfish.

He looked away, not going to greet Xiao Zhao right away, but instead holding Pengpeng's hand and saying softly, "Don't worry about them, let's do our own thing."

"Mmm~"

Ponpo nodded gently, and then, under Mingyou's guidance, slowly lowered the paper net into the water. Just as the goldfish swam over, she quickly swung the net and successfully scooped out a black goldfish.

"Mmm~"

"That was amazing! Let's do it again!"

Mingyou looked at the happy Ponpo and then continued to repeat the actions she had just taken. These were just basic tips and tricks; catching some slow-swimming goldfish was very easy.

Ten seconds later, Ponpo swung the paper net again and successfully scooped up another goldfish. This performance amazed the giblets nearby, while Latias could hardly sit still.

When they were catching the fifth goldfish, Ponpo's hand wobbled slightly, causing the goldfish to swim through the edge, and unfortunately the net broke.

"Hmm..."

"It's okay, you've already done a great job."

Mingyou comforted it, but just then, exclamations came from the surroundings again. Xiaozhao and Zoroya had successfully caught a second Magikarp, and the paper net hadn't even broken once!

This maneuver successfully attracted Ponpon's attention. Looking at the Zoroa, who was so small and even needed a rope to put a paper net around its front legs to catch goldfish, Ponpon was surprised to find that it was so powerful.

"..."

Noticing Ponpo's admiration for Zoroa, Mingyou raised an eyebrow slightly. It's impossible to say there's no competitive spirit involved; no parent would say their child is definitely inferior to someone else's, so…

"Want to catch a Magikarp?"

"Hmm?"

Ponpo paused slightly, her expression beneath the ghost mask filled with doubt. Could she really do it? So many people couldn't pull it out; she lacked confidence…

"Believe in yourself, and then believe in me!"

Mingyou smiled calmly, then bought another paper net. While everyone's attention was drawn to Xiaozhao, he and Pengpeng stared at the water and watched a Magikarp swim past them, and quickly made their move!

The Magikarp was still swimming slowly in the pond when, a second later, it was slapped away by an unknown force and landed in the bowl...

"Mmm!"

Looking at the Magikarp in the bowl, Ponpo was so excited she almost jumped up. The commotion finally attracted the attention of the others, who were all surprised to see that someone had successfully caught another Magikarp.

Soroya was startled by the sound and accidentally tore the paper net. Then, she looked up curiously, and Xiao Zhao also looked across at the same time, slightly surprised.

"He is...

"..."

The two of them successfully caught the Magikarp, and the commotion attracted some tourists and students. The stall owner naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass, so he raised his right hand and suddenly said.

"Could you two please stop for a moment? I have a goldfish scooping challenge here, it's free, would you like to participate?"

"challenge?"

Mingyou and Xiaozhao were slightly taken aback, and they exchanged a glance with each other, already knowing the answer in their hearts.

"Let's go then!"

"Mmm~"

"Woo~"

Both Ponpo and Zoroya were excited, staring at each other with a burning desire to win.

Then, amidst the anticipation of the onlookers, the stall owner announced the challenge rules...

The competition rules are as follows: unlimited paper nets will be provided. Within a three-minute time limit, whoever scores the most points will win a special prize, and these points will also be counted towards the prize.

It's a timed challenge where you compete for points. To get more points, you have to catch Magikarp.

The size of these magikarp in the pond has been selected, and they are mostly around 0.4m, which is quite small, but the polychrome magikarp are all around 0.8m!

It's practically impossible to scoop up something this size with a paper net, but this is the world of Pokémon, so don't underestimate humans!

"It's better if it's challenging!"

"yes."

Mingyou and Xiaozhao looked at each other. After all, they had come with Pokémon, so they just wanted to have fun.

And so, amidst everyone's anticipation, the goldfish scooping contest finally began...

Although Ponpo was a novice, it learned quickly. With the help of Naruyu, it soon successfully caught another Magikarp, but the other side did too.

Xiao Zhao and Ming You are about the same level when it comes to catching goldfish... perhaps the former is even slightly better, since the latter is indeed a bit rusty.

When the timer reached one minute, after catching three Magikarp, Ponpon's paper net broke first, and then watched as the other person caught the fourth Magikarp.

"vegetable……"

Mingyou cursed herself inwardly, then immediately changed the paper net. She had to be quick, because the Magikarp in the pond wasn't endless. If the other side caught them all, Ponpon would only be able to catch shiny Magikarp.

As the area became increasingly lively, Lillie and the others, who had returned from their stroll, were also drawn over and quickly recognized Naruto.

"The boss is amazing!"

"Our opponent isn't bad either; she seems to be the lady who greeted us before."

"These two are outrageous..."

"I think they might not be human."

Besides them, students from Orange Academy and Blueberry Academy also came here, including Danyu and Wuli.

After the siblings discovered that it was Xiao Zhao and Ming You who were competing to catch goldfish, Dan Yu ran over to cheer for Xiao Zhao without hesitation. Only Wu Li stood there, staring at Peng Peng wearing a ghost mask with a puzzled look.

Just two minutes into the game, Zoroah finally made a mistake, causing the paper net to tear and giving Naruto an opportunity... But now there are no ordinary Magikarp left in the pool.

"Hmm..."

Still trailing by 100 points, Ponpo was very upset. With only one minute left, even if she kept catching the goldfish, it was almost impossible for her to catch up.

But Mingyou didn't intend to give up, nor did she want Ponpo to give up like that and feel bad. Wasn't there still hope of winning?

"Small fish aren't worth catching, catch the big ones!"

"Hmm?"

Ponpo was slightly taken aback, then instantly understood. Could it be that they wanted to catch the Golden Magikarp? Could they catch it? It was so big.

"How will you know if you don't try?"

Mingyou continued to assist it. Since the golden Magikarp was quite far away, they could only stand up and then quickly made their move... The net broke.

The first attempt to catch fish failed.

Although he failed, everyone could see what he wanted to do. Xiao Zhao, who had just changed to a new paper net, was also very surprised by this move.

After all, she wasn't even sure if she could retrieve that thing. No matter how strong you are, the paper net simply wouldn't be strong enough to support it.

"Want to take a gamble...?"

Xiao Zhao understood what the other party meant. Even though she and Soroya were already in a winning situation, she still wanted to try and see if she could catch the golden carp!

At this moment, they met again and set their sights on the same golden Magikarp. What was supposed to be an entertainment match inexplicably sparked a battle!

Both used new paper nets, and Ponpo and Zoroah swung them at the same time, but the golden Magikarp was too big, and both nets broke almost simultaneously, failing to catch it.

There's only half a minute left...

The people around them began to tense up, and those who knew the two of them started to cheer them on, completely igniting the atmosphere of the festival!

Latias, who was standing to the side, stopped throwing a tantrum and clenched her little fists nervously. She was on Mingyou's side and definitely didn't want her team to lose.

We have to win! Defeat that fox!

Snorlax and Smoke were both staring nervously at the pool. Although they felt it had nothing to do with them, they still didn't want Ponpo to lose.

Gible was at its most confused at that moment. Even though it didn't want to play this game and didn't even like Mingyou, it was still caught up in the atmosphere and hoped that Mingyou could win...

"This is really difficult... Is time running out?"

Mingyou felt a bit of pressure, especially since Xiaozhao was deliberately staring at her, and whenever she saw a golden carp, she would immediately come over to catch it together.

No, we can't do it that way. One paper net is definitely not enough to catch them, but what if we use two?

Perhaps it was because he permanently enhanced his mental strength after eating the Water Heart Peach that his mind is now very clear. Maybe... he can make use of it!

"The last time!"

"Mmm!"

Ponpo was completely focused; it didn't want to lose the game with Mingyou, and neither did the other side...

"Ten seconds left, let me see!"

Xiao Zhao murmured softly, and he and Soloa were already prepared. The moment Ponpo swung out the paper net, they immediately followed, perfectly in sync.

Watching this scene, the audience was incredibly tense. Although they knew it was impossible to succeed, what if it happened? Who wouldn't want to see a miracle happen?

The moment the two paper nets touched Magikarp simultaneously, Naruto instructed Ponpo to adjust her strength, trying to exert force together with the opponent...

A single paper net will break and tear when catching a Magikarp, but when two paper nets exert force at the same time, they can successfully push the Magikarp out of the water!

"Oh no..."

Xiao Zhao instantly realized that he had been used, and hurriedly told Zoroya to use all its strength, but Ponpo was stronger, which was its advantage!

"Now!"

"Mmm!"

Ponpo exerted all his strength, afraid of missing this only opportunity. The golden Magikarp, which had been lifted out of the water by the two paper nets, flew directly towards Mingyou's iron bowl the instant the paper nets broke. He and Ponpo fell to the ground due to inertia.

However, because the golden Magikarp was heavier, and Ponpo was incredibly strong, the iron bowl, along with the Magikarp, was sent flying. Even the Snorlax that rushed to catch it couldn't stop it and was also knocked away.

"Gambit..."

"Waaah!"

Latias quickly caught up and pounced on it with its arms outstretched. Even Smoke and Gible couldn't help but follow, together tackling the Snorlax that was about to crash into the crowd, successfully pinning down the Magikarp and preventing an accident.

And the countdown ends at this moment...

Seeing the golden carp that they had caught, Mingyou stood up with Ponpo in her arms, both of them breathed a sigh of relief and jumped up happily.

"Yay! Got it!"

This is the result of everyone's joint efforts!

……

(End of this chapter)