Professor Matsumoto rubbed his hands together, a smile bordering on fawning plastered across his face, as he leaned in close to the massive observation tank.
He gingerly fished a small jar of specially made Pokéblocks out of his lab coat pocket. The small cubes emitted a tantalizing sheen; one look was enough to tell they were invaluable.
"Mai mai?" Misdreavus felt a little drool coming on just looking at them.
"Pika?" Pikachu had already immediately looked toward Brock.
The pair of them were a bit gluttonous.
"Mai mai!" So, Misdreavus hurriedly looked toward Brock as well.
"..." Brock felt immense pressure under their gazes, and finally couldn't help but say, "These are top-tier special products... I'll go try to make some later."
"Hohoho..." Erika covered her mouth and laughed softly. "These are made fresh daily by Suzie. You can also go find her at her beauty salon."
"Suzie?" Misty thought carefully... no impression.
"Good at making Pokéblocks... beauty salon..." Brock focused his mind and began to think. "Is it that champion of the Celadon City Pokémon Breeder competition for three consecutive years?"
"That's right, that is her... Suzie is very easy to get along with; you can go find her when the time comes," Erika said.
That would be truly wonderful~~ Brock said, getting somewhat excited. This was a professional Master Breeder. As Celadon City was a world-renowned city, the gold standard of winning the Breeder competition held here three times in a row was extremely high.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
"Come, come, come, little darling, the top-tier flavor, oh!" Professor Matsumoto cooed like he was coaxing a child, pinching a Pokéblock and gently dropping it into the water.
"Just give everyone a little performance, the one you're best at!"
"After the performance, there will be even more delicious treats!"
In the tank, the red figure that looked no different from an ordinary Magikarp lazily wagged its tail. It swam over sluggishly and swallowed the Pokéblock in one gulp. It did not act immediately; instead, it glanced at Professor Matsumoto with those dull, dead eyes.
Was it weighing whether the "performance fee" was sufficient? Of course, it was also possible that its brain wasn't sufficient, and it hadn't understood yet.
The brain in the Magikarp stage really isn't good. And the brain in the Gyarados stage is easily filled with rage and the desire for destruction. In short... Sigh—
"Sigh, there's no helping it," Professor Matsumoto turned his head. Seeing the puzzled gazes of Ash and his two companions, he could only give a helpless, bitter smile.
He lowered his voice and explained, "It's the only solitary seedling I have, precious as can be; I don't dare take a single risk with it. Let alone high-intensity testing, usually if it's in a bad mood, even cooperating with a performance depends on its whim. Although we say we are doing research, it's more like we're making offerings to an ancestor."
Slice-and-study research simply did not exist. You want to conduct destructive research on a unique specimen? Your peers would put a sack over your head and beat you to death directly! Even drawing a little blood had to be done with extreme caution.
"..." Ash.
"..." Misty.
"..." Brock.
"..." Pikachu began to imitate them.
"Mai mai..." Misdreavus still couldn't imitate it. The tragic big-headed doll had no hands.
Under the curious and expectant gazes of Ash, Misty, and Brock, Professor Matsumoto added another two Pokéblocks and said a basket full of sweet words before that Magikarp finally seemed to agree, albeit reluctantly.
Of course, it was also possible that this Magikarp had only just understood. Not all Pokémon could easily understand and comprehend human meaning. The vast majority of Pokémon were not that smart. Some with poor brains had reflex arcs that were particularly slow.
It swam leisurely to the center of the tank, facing the specially made target. It paused for a moment, seemingly brewing its emotions. Suddenly, its originally dull gaze sharpened, its body leaned back slightly, and it opened its mouth:
"Ong——"
First came a strange sound. Immediately following that, visible energy gathered in its mouth... finally forming an orange-red sphere the size of a grape.
Uh. This Dragon Rage seemed a bit small?
However, this Magikarp was indeed trying hard. As the orange-red sphere grew larger and larger, it finally reached the size of a ping-pong ball. And that was already the limit.
The color of the sphere gradually presented an unstable orange-red. A stream of scorching energy surged out from its mouth, the edges flickering slightly, and shot crookedly toward the target.
And this "Dragon Rage," which seemed to have quite some momentum, only made a light "Poof" sound the instant it hit the target. Like a popped balloon, it left a shallow scorched black mark on the special target. There wasn't even a decent explosion; the energy dissipated rapidly.
The numbers on the energy detection monitor screen next to the target jumped a few times, finally stopping at a level... that was pitifully low.
Good news: Magikarp can indeed use Dragon Rage.
Bad news: The level of this Dragon Rage is really somewhat sub-par.
The laboratory fell into a subtle silence. The anticipation on Professor Matsumoto's face solidified instantly, replaced by a trace of awkwardness.
He hurriedly coughed dryly twice, trying to salvage the situation: "Cough cough... this... regarding the power, there is indeed still much... um... room for improvement. But the point is the phenomenon! It is the phenomenon itself! Magikarp being able to use a Dragon-type move is, in itself, a biological miracle of Pokémon!"
And that was indeed the truth. As the saying goes, laymen watch the excitement, while experts watch the method. If those visiting were experts in the research field, Professor Matsumoto would act very proud. After all, peers would definitely be able to see the gold standard within.
But regrettably, visiting this time were not only laymen but also a few kids. This had to be explained clearly.
Misty couldn't help but let out a "Pfft" of laughter, then hurriedly covered her mouth.
Brock nodded considerately, expressing his understanding of the hardships of research.
Ash looked at the Magikarp in the tank, which had finished its performance and started leisurely pecking at debris at the bottom of the water, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise. This Magikarp was indeed very special—a Magikarp that could use Dragon Rage... was indeed a rarity in the world.
Ash thought of the Crystal Onix in the Orange Islands from the anime. If he could see it when traveling there... that would definitely be a huge discovery. Of course, the League here certainly wouldn't be like Team Rocket's side, always thinking of violent capture for research.
This kind of specific Pokémon might be created by the special local environment. If it left the environment that sustained its life, it might croak on the spot. This was just like certain deep-sea fish. Whether it was body structure or cellular structure, they were designed specifically for deep-sea high-pressure environments. Leaving that environment would mean death.
"Hohoho, let's leave it at that. We shouldn't disturb Professor Matsumoto's research any longer~~" Erika's speaking voice carried a smile.
This fish's value was indeed hard to measure, but its combat power was also indeed not up to par.
"Goodbye, Professor Matsumoto~" Brock said. "I wish for you to have great research and discoveries."
"Go for it, Professor!" Misty also raised her hand. "For us Water-type Pokémon Trainers, this will definitely be good news!"
"Goodbye, Professor!" Ash also waved goodbye.
"Pika!" Pikachu imitated Ash and made the same motion.
"Mai mai?!" However, Misdreavus had no hands and could only watch dryly.
"There, there~" Erika hugged Misdreavus into her arms and stroked her gently.
How should one put it? Misdreavus was one of the few cuties in the Ghost-type whose looks were online. The looks of most Ghost-types weren't quite up to snuff. For example, Kanto's most characteristic [Gastly · Haunter · Gengar]. Anyway, that didn't fit Erika's aesthetic.
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