"Pika pi…" Pikachu covered its face with its little paws, ears drooping.
It had seen stupid before, but never this level of stupid.
Misty's mouth twitched violently, a cross-shaped vein pulsing at her temple.
"Do you guys ever think about anything useful?!" she snapped. "Goldeen, another Water Pulse! Knock them farther away!"
"ROOOOAR!!!"
Gyarados: So noisy! So annoying!
The reply didn't come from Goldeen—
It came from the river right beside them, in the form of a deafening roar, packed full of anger at having its meal interrupted.
The golden Gyarados wrenched its massive head out of the water, crimson eyes blazing with fury.
It had just been happily chasing down a few unlucky Shellder. It had them right where it wanted them.
Then it sensed Ash was in danger.
It hesitated for a heartbeat—
Then abandoned its prey without a second thought.
Its golden tail whipped around like a giant flail, dragging a mountain of water with it as it smashed toward Team Rocket on the shore, who were still trying to pose dramatically.
The move was less an "attack" and more an attempt to swat away annoying flies.
But with a body that big, even a lazy tail swipe was slow. What really hit them was the wave.
"Wait, that's Aqua Tail—" Jessie's shout vanished under the roar.
"Waaahhhh—!" James's scream.
"This feeling is just awful—nyaaa!!!" Meowth's voice stretched off into the distance.
Three soaked, faintly smoking silhouettes were swept away by the pure, irritated power of one casual tail swipe—
Their classic "What a horrible feeling!" echo trailing behind them as the wave carried them off.
They didn't fly into the sky and become twinkling stars, though.
The world here wasn't that cartoonish.
They just got washed straight into the river.
And suddenly…
The world was quiet again.
[Achievement: First Encounter with Team Rocket]
[Reward: TM – Swift]
Nice.
He could finally patch up Pidgeotto's offensive options.
No matter what, a move that launched homing energy stars and exploded on impact had better practical damage than "blow some wind at them."
Move power and real-world destructive output were two different things.
Wind, as a medium, was actually a terrible way to transfer energy efficiently.
Example—
The total energy contained in a mature typhoon was enormous. Depending on how you measured it, the heat it released could be compared to detonating a multi-megaton nuclear bomb every twenty minutes.
But if you had to choose, would you rather face a typhoon…
Or stand there and take a multi-megaton nuke to the face every twenty minutes?
Ash: "…"
He silently pulled out his Pokédex and brought up the League's bounty board.
Tap. Team Rocket wanted list.
He quickly found the trio:
Jessie – 20,000
James – 20,000
As for Meowth…
As a Pokémon, it didn't have a personal bounty, nor was it registered on the wanted list.
"Forty thousand…" Ash clicked his tongue and slid the Pokédex back into his pocket.
Twenty thousand per person. Two people, forty thousand total.
Compared to who Jessie and James were, that was… kind of pathetic.
Looked like, despite being in Team Rocket, the three idiots hadn't actually done that much serious damage yet. The League clearly didn't consider them major threats.
"It really looks like you're short on cash," Misty said, staring at him. She could practically see the ¥ symbols spinning in his eyes.
She glanced at Gyarados, who flicked its tail once and disappeared back underwater after scaring off the trio, then down at the Goldeen flipping its tail at her feet.
"If it's money, I can lend you some." Misty pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a long, weary sigh. She felt more drained than after a Gym battle.
Whatever else she was, a Gym Trainer did not lack money.
Even with Cerulean Gym in decline, they weren't hurting for basic expenses.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't even charge interest," Misty added, turning her head away with a tsundere little huff.
Had the age of tsunderes ended?
Apparently not yet.
"…No need for that, Misty~" Ash tugged at the brim of his cap. "A man's got to earn his own money~"
"I want to see how far I can go on my own."
"But if the day ever comes when I really am broke…"
"Please lend me some then."
He wasn't short on cash right now, but he wasn't ruling out going broke in the future.
"Pika…" Pikachu hopped back onto his shoulder and patted his cap with a tiny paw.
It's fine. I'll get used to it.
Brock had watched the entire fiasco in silence, his expression growing more and more complicated on his dark face.
For the first time, he felt like he understood what the word "journey" actually implied—
Colorful, chaotic, occasionally deranged.
He quietly recalled the Onix he'd thrown out to block for everyone… and which had not managed to do anything at all.
Sunlight spilled back over the battered campsite. Only the sound of the river and Gyarados splashing remained.
"Brock, is lunch still warm?" That was Misty's priority.
"...It should be," Brock said after a pause.
He looked down at the pot he'd been instinctively shielding the whole fight.
"We can eat later… Forty thousand, though…" Ash rubbed his chin.
His gaze burned as he stared downstream, where Team Rocket had vanished.
"That's enough to keep Gyarados in extra meals for a good while."
"Partner!" Ash slapped his thigh, voice bubbling with excitement. "Come on! Let's drag them back and cash them in!"
He wasn't seriously going to send Gyarados after them, was he?
What if it "accidentally" finished them off?
"Pika?!" Pikachu almost slipped off his shoulder, paws slapping Ash's face in disbelief.
Partner? Are you serious?
They're already half-drowned over there!
Pikachu had no desire to go into the water. Couldn't they just send Gyarados?
"Hey!" Misty grabbed her head, orange ponytail practically exploding. "There has to be a limit to how greedy you get!"
Her rant cut off.
Because Ash had already rolled up his pant legs and was about to jump into the river.
"Gotta hurry or they'll drift too far… my forty thousand…"
"That's enough!" Misty hauled him back by the collar with one hand.
Her other hand was already on her Poké Ball belt, her face saying I literally cannot with you.
"I'll do it! You really only see money right now, don't you?!"
With a sharp flick of her wrist, a Poké Ball snapped open.
"Starmie! Use Confusion and 'invite' them back for me!"
"Staaaar!"
The red gem at Starmie's core flared with brilliant pink light. A surge of psychic power spread like an invisible net, sweeping down the river.
Before evolution, Staryu was a Water-type that just happened to have a knack for psychic tricks.
Starmie, after evolving, was Water/Psychic—
Its psychokinesis, in particular, had gotten a huge boost.
In this world, Psychic was a "privileged" attribute.
The nature of psychic power made it absurdly convenient.
Where there was fire, it could control fire.
Where there was water, it could control water.
It could rip rocks and soil out of the ground and fling them.
It could push air to generate gusts.
It could even gather water vapor and bend sunlight into a burning focal point.
Then there were the nastier applications—
Pairing with Poison-types to fling toxic needles, or directly manipulating venom to poison someone.
All of that fell under a single move: Confusion.
Overpowered?
Absolutely.
Psychic was the ultimate all-purpose toolkit.
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