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Needless to say, the Water-type Pokémon Kai had sent out was the one he had recently caught Feebas.
For Ash, who had only just arrived in Hoenn not long ago, many of the region's Pokémon were still unfamiliar to him. In fact, there were plenty he hadn't seen before.
What Pokémon is that?
Seeing the strange, earth-yellow fish Pokémon with thick lips and an appearance that could only be described as exceptionally ugly, Ash instinctively pulled out his Pokédex to scan it.
After the scan finished, the Pokédex provided Feebas's basic information.
"Feebas?" Ash put the Pokédex away and nodded in understanding. "It doesn't look powerful. Kai, I'm honestly surprised you'd catch a Pokémon like this. In that case, this should be perfect!"
With that, he took out a Poké Ball and threw it forward with force, A flash of blue light burst forth, and Corphish appeared in the pool.
Although Kai hadn't battled Corphish before, he was very familiar with its evolved form, Crawdaunt especially those used by Team Aqua. He had defeated more of them than he could count.
As Crawdaunt's pre-evolved form, Corphish resembled a small crayfish. It had an orange shell, a pale underside, three pointed protrusions on its head, and two oversized pincers.
Combined with its beady eyes, it looked more goofy than intimidating.
Corphish were known for their incredible adaptability. They could thrive almost anywhere, weren't picky eaters, and possessed remarkable vitality.
Even in polluted rivers or foul drainage channels, their numbers continued to grow.
Like Feebas, they could survive in murky, foul-smelling water, using their sharp pincers to seize prey and once those pincers clamped down, they would never let go.
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In the pool, the two Water-type Pokémon swam several laps.
However, unlike Feebas, which returned to its side of the field after warming up, Corphish unexpectedly swam straight toward Kai and sank to the bottom of the pool.
"Hey! Corphish, what are you doing?!" Ash shouted.
Flustered, Ash quickly called Corphish back to his side.
Scratching his cheek awkwardly, he forced a laugh. "Sorry… I only caught it recently, This is its first real battle, so it doesn't quite understand the rules yet."
"That's already pretty good," Kai said casually, waving it off. "You should've seen my Feebas the first time I released it. It didn't listen at all, just swam around aimlessly. It was about as clueless as a Magikarp. I put in a lot of effort to train it into its current state."
Sure enough, Ash's embarrassment immediately eased.
Letting out a breath, he asked curiously, "So, Kai—how many Pokémon have you caught since arriving in Hoenn?"
"Combusken, Feebas, and a Beldum, three Hoenn Pokémon in total."
"Only three?"
Ash quickly did the math. Aside from Pikachu, he had caught Taillow, Treecko, and Corphish since arriving in Hoenn, Despite having only two Gym Badges so far, his number matched Kai's.
So the gap isn't as big as I thought…
I'm only one badge behind him, after all.
Just as he was thinking that, Kai suddenly dragged out his words, speaking with a strange mix of relief and exasperation.
"Although… aside from those three, I also encountered someone who left a powerful impression and caused me no end of trouble, You could call it an unexpected gain."
"A Pokémon that's both memorable and troublesome?" Ash froze. "Did you catch another Legendary Pokémon?"
Honestly, how could Ash not be jealous? Kai already had several Legendary Pokémon under his command.
"Of course not," Kai shook his head. "Legendary Pokémon aren't something you just run into whenever you feel like it. Even though I've caught a few before, I haven't encountered any since coming to Hoenn. Think harder it's someone you've crossed paths with many times during your journey. Someone who left quite an impression on you."
Then he turned to Brock with a smile. "You know them too. Want to take a guess?"
"Huh? I do?" Brock blinked.
Ash and Brock both frowned in thought, but after traveling through two regions and encountering countless Pokémon and people, nothing came to mind.
After a long moment, Ash gave up and urged impatiently, "Come on, Kai, just tell us already! Don't keep us in suspense!"
Kai only chuckled. "If you can't guess, then I'll tell you after this battle. For now, let the mystery linger a little longer."
Although Ash was itching with curiosity, he had no choice but to refocus on the match.
With Brock acting as referee, the battle officially began.
Ash treated this casual battle with full seriousness, bringing out the same focus he used in League matches. But after a few exchanges, something felt… off.
It wasn't that Feebas was strong quite the opposite.
After several rounds, Ash realized that Feebas repeatedly used nothing but Splash-like leaps and Tackle. Its moveset was incredibly limited far worse than Corphish's.
"…Seriously?" Ash deflated instantly, his eyes losing all spark. "I got all excited for this… and that's it?"
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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