Heath led Zorua, Farfetch'd, and Charmander to the side of the pool. Zorua looked around in confusion; there were no machines or equipment, not even a staff member in sight. She was skeptical about Heath's claim that this was a claw machine.
Heath took out ten game tokens, holding them in his hand. He then picked up a fishing rod from the side and gave it a shake. The water surface rippled, and an Octillery emerged from the water, its dead fish eyes staring at Heath.
"We'd like to play the claw machine," Heath said, handing the game tokens to Octillery. Octillery swiftly pocketed the tokens with incredible speed.
"How do you play this?" Zorua asked, bewildered by the sight of Octillery. She couldn't understand why Heath had summoned it, and there was no claw for the claw machine.
All of Zorua's questions were answered when Heath handed her the fishing rod.
"This claw machine works by having Octillery grab the balls in the water. The balls contain tickets with prize names," Heath explained with a smile as he saw Zorua's dumbfounded expression. Farfetch'd became interested, curious about how Octillery would grab the balls.
Before Zorua could respond, Octillery shot a Hydro Pump under itself, propelling it into the air. Its tentacles flailed like a claw machine's grabber.
"Hurry! Use the fishing rod to position Octillery where you want to grab!" Heath shouted. Zorua instinctively flicked her paw, causing Octillery to sway and descend, its tentacles wrapping around one of the plastic balls.
"Did I win?" Zorua asked excitedly.
"I don't know," Heath replied, shaking his head. Zorua was even more confused. Octillery had clearly grabbed the ball, so why the uncertainty?
As Octillery swam back with the ball, Zorua eagerly watched it get closer. Just as she reached out to touch it, Octillery lazily pushed the ball back into the water and swam over to Zorua.
"?" Zorua stared blankly at Octillery, her ball gone in an instant.
"I told you, this is a mysterious claw machine. Although grabbing a ball means winning, whether Octillery grabs it or not depends on its mood," Heath explained with a laugh, watching Zorua's stunned expression. She was still too naive.
"You! You! Cheater!" Zorua jumped up in anger. Heath, sensing trouble, reached out to pull her back, but before he could touch her, Octillery sprayed ink on Zorua's face.
In an instant, Zorua went from looking like a Caterpie to a black Caterpie, a comical sight. The fishing rod fell from her mouth.
As Octillery sank back into the water, Heath used a tissue to wipe Zorua clean. Then he looked at Charmander and Farfetch'd, raising his eyebrows. Both shook their heads instantly, not wanting to play.
Heath scratched his head at the fuming Zorua, then shook the fishing rod again. Octillery re-emerged, its dead fish eyes fixed on Heath.
"Octillery, here are some game tokens. Could you please grab that plastic ball for us?" Heath handed sixty game tokens to Octillery. Octillery nodded, pocketed the tokens, and pointed to a nearby sign.
Heath handed over ten more tokens. Octillery happily took them and gave Heath the fishing rod. Then, using Hydro Pump, it launched itself into the air again. Heath didn't move, just watching Octillery.
Octillery didn't disappoint, landing on the plastic ball and wrapping its tentacles around it, dragging it back to Heath with a smile.
Zorua stopped wiping her face, staring in shock as Octillery happily sank back into the water. Her internal rage was about to explode.
"Sixty game tokens guarantee you'll catch something, but what you'll catch is uncertain. Want to give it a try?" Heath asked Zorua with a grin. This Octillery was a notorious gambler.
Every month, the money Octillery earned here was spent on slot machines. And it wasn't enough; Octillery even took money from customers, charging sixty game tokens for a guaranteed catch, epitomizing the phrase "money-grubber."
Heath believed that if Octillery existed in his previous life, it would have a lot to discuss with a certain notorious forum user, perhaps even posting about "lying flat" eventually.
Zorua gritted her teeth, opened the plastic ball, and a piece of paper fell out. Zorua picked it up, read it, and threw it to the ground in frustration.
Heath picked it up, glanced at it, and couldn't help but laugh. Zorua had won a bottle of ink. Seeing the ink stains still on Zorua, Heath thought she was having the unluckiest day.
Watching the frustrated Zorua, Heath scratched his head and shook the fishing rod again. Octillery reappeared.
"Do you want to beat it up? It'll cost one hundred game tokens," Heath asked Zorua. Octillery's eyes lit up, and Zorua looked at it in disbelief. Was this even an option?
Seeing Zorua's bewildered expression, Heath felt a sense of satisfaction. He had the same reaction when he first saw Octillery. This guy knew its behavior was annoying, so it offered a venting service: for one hundred tokens, you could beat Octillery, and it wouldn't fight back.
Afterward, Octillery would quietly rest to recover its strength. It was certainly an oddity in Viridian City's game hall.
"No, I want to play something else," Zorua shook her head and jumped into Heath's arms, still fuming.
Heath led Zorua, Farfetch'd, and Charmander around the game hall. Farfetch'd found a game similar to Fruit Ninja and played happily, while Charmander tried a boxing game but was too short to reach, so Heath fetched a chair for it.
Zorua seemed to enjoy rhythm games, tapping away with enthusiasm. Heath stretched lazily; occasional fun like this was quite enjoyable.
(End of Chapter)