"Raticate, use Bite!"
"Nidorino, Double Kick!"
[Pokémon: Raticate — LV.28]
[Pokémon: Nidorino — LV.29]
Raticate clearly had a speed advantage over Nidorino—by quite a margin. Speed alone might have been manageable, but Raticate's luck was simply outrageous.
Raticate used Bite, and Nidorino flinched, failing to execute its move. Bite had a chance to cause flinching.
Then Raticate used Bite again—and incredibly, the flinch triggered a second time.
Nidorino never even got the chance to attack. Its trainer wished it had the Inner Focus Ability, which prevents flinching (unless suppressed by Abilities like Mold Breaker, Teravolt, or Turboblaze).
Finally, Raticate finished the battle with Sucker Punch, winning without taking any damage.
Nidorino's Double Kick never even landed once.
To lose so completely to a Raticate!
The main hall was filled mostly with Pokémon Trainers. They brought out their Pokémon to spar, exchange experiences, and battle each other. The atmosphere was electric with competition.
Wherever a battle happened, a crowd of trainers quickly gathered to watch. It was almost like a king-of-the-hill arena. The cruise organizers fully supported it, even offering generous prizes.
Of course, offering prizes was one thing.
Actually winning them… was another matter entirely.
"Ash, aren't you going to battle?" Misty nudged Ash lightly in the side with her elbow.
Normally, whenever Ash saw wild trainers or Pokémon, he pounced on them like a cat spotting a mouse.
So why was he suddenly so calm?
"Of course I will," Ash replied, taking out a Poké Ball while waiting for the man in black to finish restoring Raticate's stamina.
He still planned to use Butterfree.
Partly because the opponent clearly had his eye on it.
And partly because Butterfree could easily kite the opponent.
"Kid, you're really going to challenge me with Butterfree?" the man in black asked.
His points had already placed him within the top twenty rankings, and he accepted every challenger who approached.
Ash nodded, already having a strategy in mind for dealing with Raticate.
"Raticate, Jump Kick!"
Raticate roared as it charged toward Butterfree, its eyes blazing with competitive spirit.
The man in black stood calmly to the side with a confident smile.
You think a Flying-type gives you an advantage?
Jump Kick is perfect for dealing with airborne Pokémon.
Ash spoke calmly:
"Butterfree, use Gust."
Butterfree's wings beat rapidly, generating a powerful windstorm that instantly blew the charging Raticate backward.
Several rounds passed.
The result never changed.
Each time Raticate lunged in with Jump Kick, Butterfree's Gust sent it flying again. Raticate simply couldn't get close.
Every time it got within striking distance—
Whoosh.
It was blown away again.
"Super Fang!"
Raticate opened its huge incisors and lunged at Butterfree.
But Butterfree had the advantage of flight. The chubby Raticate simply couldn't reach it.
Butterfree even deliberately lowered its altitude sometimes, giving Raticate just a sliver of hope.
Yet every time—
It was just barely out of reach.
"Th-this… is just Butterfree's natural advantage," Misty said awkwardly. She almost felt bad for the man in black.
Ash was basically teasing the Raticate, constantly luring it with false hope.
The watching trainers were nearly unable to bear it.
A truly high-quality trainer…
Though if it were them, they would do exactly the same thing.
Everyone hates when opponents use kiting tactics.
But everyone hates it even more when opponents refuse to let them kite.
"Enough," the man in black finally said with a dark expression.
He stepped forward and gently calmed his Raticate.
"Let's call it a draw."
"Raticate's getting frustrated," Brock noted. He could sense the Pokémon's mood—it was clearly obsessed with the fact that it couldn't land a single hit.
It might even lose sleep over it tonight.
In the middle of the night, Raticate might suddenly wake from a nightmare—
Just a little closer!!!
"No problem," Ash replied.
He didn't really care about the result. He mainly wanted Butterfree to have some fun.
It had been a long time since Butterfree had battled a trainer on its own.
Besides…
Soon Butterfree would probably find a girlfriend, and then it wouldn't have time to battle anymore.
Ash wouldn't even feel comfortable calling it out.
What if he interrupted the couple while they were studying the origin of life?
…
"Twerps are still as annoying as ever," Jessie muttered.
Jessie and James, disguised as waiters, watched Ash's battle from nearby. In their hearts, they were secretly cheering for Butterfree.
Especially when Ash told Butterfree to lower its altitude.
Their hearts practically jumped into their throats.
What if Raticate actually hit it?!
"Jessie, I'm going to check things out elsewhere," James said.
He removed his waiter uniform jacket and began wandering around the hall.
There were so many trainers…
James scanned the crowd. Almost every trainer had a Pokémon beside them. He struggled through the bustling hall.
"Hey there, handsome middle-part guy! Come over here."
A friendly Magikarp salesman waved him over, pointing at a water tank containing a Magikarp.
"Take a look at my Pokémon."
James leaned forward, examining the Magikarp through the glass.
"This is the king of all Magikarp, the greatest Magikarp among Magikarp!"
"…It doesn't look that special," James said honestly.
After all, it wasn't like the golden shiny Magikarp Ash had. This one wasn't glowing at all.
"You'll understand if you hold it," the salesman said, tossing the Magikarp into James's arms.
The Magikarp immediately began flopping around, using Splash repeatedly.
"This Pokémon isn't just energetic," the salesman whispered mysteriously.
"It hides a secret."
James blinked with wide, innocent eyes.
"This Magikarp produces gold."
The salesman made a shushing gesture.
"Magikarp can lay 1,000 eggs at once. Then those thousand Magikarp lay another thousand eggs each…"
"One thousand times one thousand…"
"That's one million!"
James stared at him in shock.
Then he looked down at the Magikarp, which was still flopping uselessly in his arms.
Those eyes…
So full of wisdom.
"If it lays eggs just three times, you'll make hundreds of millions!" the salesman added, pouring on the persuasion.
Ten billion?!
James's eyes lit up like 100-watt light bulbs.
He imagined himself becoming a billionaire—drinking red wine while casually stroking Meowth's head.
"I'll take a loss and sell it to you for 30,000 Poké Dollars," the salesman said with a pained expression, as if reluctant to part with the Magikarp.
"Deal!"
James was completely hooked.
Ten billion!
Ten billion!
Enough to spend for a lifetime!!!
As he hugged the Magikarp tightly, James felt as though he was already holding his future fortune.
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