Chapter 375: Whiscash and the Master Ball Acquired
"Are you really sure, young man?"
Reim Village looked at Ash in disbelief.
"Mr. Reim Village, you've been chasing it for fifty years. I imagine you're well-prepared, so there's no harm in trying first."
Ash said generously.
Anyway, that Whiscash was extremely clever; there was no way this old man could capture it.
"Young man, thank you!"
Reim Village said gratefully, then pulled out a Poké Ball. "Go, Abin!"
The Poké Ball popped open, and a pink Pokémon that looked somewhat like a sheep appeared before them.
"That's... Mareep!" Ash said.
"Mareep?"
May pulled out her Pokédex to check.
[Pokémon: Mareep]
[Type: Electric]
[Gender: Male]
[Level: Gym Advanced]
[Ability: Static (Carries static electricity on its body, sometimes paralyzing opponents that make contact)]
[Potential: Elite]
[Moves: Blast Punch...]
"Lord, let's settle this!"
Reim Village burst with a strong desire to win. "Abin, use Blast Punch!"
Mareep balled up its right hand and struck the Whiscash with all its might, sending it flying several meters with just one punch.
After being attacked, the Whiscash sprayed Water Gun in retaliation, full of anger.
"Dodge it, and use Iron Tail!"
Mareep jumped up, its tail glowing with white light as it lashed down hard against the Whiscash's face.
This tail swipe sent the Whiscash tumbling several times before it could steady itself.
"Very good, Abin, give it the finishing Thunder Shock!"
Reim Village shouted triumphantly for the finishing move.
"???"
Hearing Reim Village's command, Ash and the others were speechless.
Mareep didn't pay it much mind and followed the order, using all its strength to unleash a Thunder Shock move at the Whiscash.
However, the seemingly powerful Thunder Shock didn't inflict any damage on the Whiscash; the Whiscash even wore a mocking expression on its face.
"What?!"
Reim Village couldn't believe his eyes.
"Um... Mr. Reim Village, Whiscash is a Water/Ground type, so it has extremely high resistance to Electric-type moves," May reminded him.
"Ah? Is that so!"
Upon learning the truth, Reim Village was instantly emo, and even his background color turned gray.
The Whiscash seized this opportunity and released a Water Pulse, knocking Mareep out directly.
"Um... Mr. Reim Village, do you have any other means to deal with Lord?" Brock reminded him.
Hearing this, Reim Village seemed to remember something. "That's right! I forgot, I have this Master Ball!"
He pulled a Master Ball from his pocket, and his entire demeanor became cocky again.
"This is a superior Pokémon ball I spent 50 years getting, which can capture any Pokémon in one go!"
Listening to Reim Village's boasting, Ash was speechless.
This guy wasn't some annoying charcoal brat; he thought he could be a one-ball hero with just that Master Ball.
Being so arrogant, it was no wonder this guy would contribute to the iconic scene of a Whiscash capturing a Master Ball.
May couldn't help but remind him: "Um... Mr. Reim Village, if you don't act now, that Whiscash will run away."
"I have chased you for a full 50 years. Today, this long battle will come to an end! Carry my dreams, go, Master Ball!"
Reim Village threw the Master Ball with all his might.
However, the Whiscash seized the timing, and just as the Master Ball was about to land on it, it opened its mouth and swallowed it in one gulp.
"What... how could this happen?!"
This was a scene Reim Village never expected.
With the goal achieved, Ash knew it was his turn to act. "Then, Mr. Reim Village, it's my turn now!"
Reim Village had no objections to this; after all, Ash was the one who fished the Whiscash up, and he had failed both his chances, so he had no regrets.
"Corphish, use Crabhammer!"
Corphish blocked the Whiscash's path back to the Lake, swung its right claw around, and slapped it hard on the Whiscash's face. With just one punch, the Whiscash was sent flying several meters away.
Getting slapped again, the Whiscash was completely enraged. It raised those two long whiskers, and a blue ball of light lit up between them.
Water Pulse!
"Corphish, use Shell Blade!"
Corphish's eyes sharpened, activating dual-blade mode. First, it knocked the Water Pulse away with one blade, then slashed at the Whiscash with the other.
"Very good, next use Night Slash!"
Before the Whiscash landed, Ash gave another command.
Corphish shot out, its giant claws banging away repeatedly at the belly of the Whiscash in mid-air.
With its belly severely damaged, the Whiscash first spat out the Master Ball it had swallowed, then landed and rolled twice before losing the ability to battle.
Ash was quick-handed and threw a Lure Ball to capture it.
"Mr. Reim Village, sorry about that!" Ash said.
"It's okay, young man. I should actually thank you. You captured Lord, and this can be considered drawing a close to the matter between it and me!"
Having lived to see the Whiscash captured, Reim Village was already very satisfied.
Indeed, he had wasted 50 years of his life on this fish; how many 50 years can a person have in their life?
Reim Village picked up the Master Ball from the ground and said solemnly to Ash: "Little brother Ash, you gave me two chances, and I didn't seize them. Now that you have already captured Lord, you might as well keep this Master Ball!"
"Eh? Is this really okay?"
Ash thought he wouldn't be able to get a freebie, but he didn't expect this leek to grow legs and deliver itself to his door.
"Of course it's true!"
Reim Village put on an expression as if he would get angry if Ash didn't accept it.
To this, Ash could only accept the Master Ball with tears in his eyes.
Things obtained for free are just the best!
After giving away the Master Ball, Reim Village left in a hurry, still shouting about going to fish for other big game.
Watching Reim Village's retreating figure, Brock couldn't believe his eyes: "The Master Ball was just given away like that? That Mr. Reim Village is truly generous!"
"By the way, is this Master Ball really as magical as Mr. Reim Village said?"
May's concept of Poké Balls was still stuck on the ordinary red and white ones. She often saw Ash carrying different Poké Balls, but she always thought those were labels Ash had stuck on himself.
"It's not that magical, but May, you need to understand that all of Ash's legendary Pokémon are contained in Master Balls," Brock said.
"It seems that's true! Could it be..."
May looked curiously at the string of Master Balls in Ash's hand.
"Don't overthink it. Legendary Pokémon can also be contained in ordinary Poké Balls; it's just that they aren't comfortable staying inside the ordinary red and white ones. Put simply, the Master Ball is a Poké Ball that increases the capture success rate. It can accommodate legendary Pokémon and also make them feel more comfortable than in a red and white ball," Ash explained.
May nodded, "That's true. If it were really as Mr. Reim Village said, that Whiscash should have been captured directly."
Hearing this, Ash chuckled and explained: "Actually, it wasn't that the Master Ball failed; it's just that when the Whiscash opened its mouth to swallow it, it was lucky enough not to trigger the Poké Ball's switch."
"Uh... Ash, don't tell me you calculated this part early on?"
Brock looked suspiciously at Ash.
Ash said with a guilty conscience: "I'm not a god; how could I calculate something like this?"
"Exactly, Brock, you're probably overthinking it," May said.
"Right, May, this is for you."
Ash stuffed the Master Ball he had just obtained into May's hand.
"Ah?!"
May looked at Ash, confused.
"To tell you the truth, I still have many Master Balls. Brock, I'll give you one too."
Ash took out another Master Ball from his system backpack.
After all, Brock still had to travel through another region with him, and there was more than one Regirock in Sinnoh.
Letting Brock get a Regirock or a Registeel to bring back and let the newcomers in the Kanto region see the world wouldn't be too much, right?
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