"Pika-pi..." Pikachu covered its face with its small paws, its ears drooping down.
It had seen stupid, but it had never seen anything this stupid.
The corner of Misty's mouth twitched frantically, a vein popping on her forehead: "What time do you think it is?! What is inside your heads?! Goldeen, use Water Pulse again! Blast them far away!"
"Roaar!!!"
Gyarados: So annoying! So loud!
Answering Misty was a deafening roar from the nearby river, filled with the fury of a meal being interrupted.
The Golden Gyarados's massive head shot up from the river water, its scarlet dragon eyes burning with the rage of interrupted feeding.
It had just been happily chasing a few unlucky Shellder and was about to catch them.
Unfortunately, after realizing Ash was in danger, Gyarados hesitated for a moment before decisively abandoning its food.
Its golden tail was like a giant golden whip, carrying earth-shattering force and monstrous waves as it swept viciously toward the Team Rocket trio, who were still striking poses on the bank.
That motion was less of an attack and more like shooing away flies.
However, due to its massive size, the tail swing was relatively slow, so what mostly hit them was the wave of water.
"Wait! This is Aqua Tail..." Jessie's exclaim was drowned out.
"Waaahhhh!" James screamed.
"This feels terrible—Meowth!!!" Meowth's voice trailed off into a long whine.
Three soaking wet, smoking figures were washed away by the water under Gyarados's purely vent-fueled tail strike, carrying the classic lingering cry of "This feels terrible."
However, they didn't turn into stars in the sky... it wasn't quite that comically anime-esque.
They were just washed into the river.
The world seemed quiet.
[Achievement: 1st Encounter with Team Rocket]
[Reward: TM - Swift]
Good stuff!
This can round out Pidgeotto's attack repertoire.
At any rate, something that explodes upon direct impact is stronger than the destructive power of blowing a gust of wind.
Move power and actual destructive effect are two different things.
The energy conversion efficiency of so-called wind is actually quite low.
For example—
A typhoon contains immense energy; the equivalent number of nuclear bombs varies depending on the typhoon's intensity and calculation method.
The heat released by a mature typhoon is equivalent to detonating a ten-megaton nuclear bomb every 20 minutes.
But would you choose to face a mature typhoon, or withstand a ten-megaton nuclear bomb every 20 minutes?
Ash: "..."
He silently took out his Pokédex and pulled up the League bounty interface.
He clicked on the Team Rocket member wanted list.
He found the Team Rocket trio: Jessie (20,000), James (20,000)
Uh... as a Pokémon, Meowth had no bounty and wasn't registered on the wanted list.
"40,000." Ash clicked his tongue and shoved the Pokédex back into his pocket.
20,000 per person, 40,000 for two.
...Compared to Jessie and James's backgrounds, that's too humiliating.
It seems that although the idiot trio belongs to Team Rocket, they haven't done much evil, so the League's bounty isn't high.
"It looks like you're quite short on money." Misty looked at Ash, as if she could see dollar signs in his eyes.
She looked at Gyarados in the river, who flicked its tail and satisfiedly dove back down to chase Shellder, and finally her gaze landed on Goldeen, who was still flapping its tail at her feet.
"If you need money, I can lend it to you." Misty held her forehead and sighed long and deep, feeling more exhausted than after commanding a Gym battle.
After all, as a Gym Leader, she wasn't short on money.
Even if the Cerulean Gym had declined, there was no way they lacked funds for daily expenses.
"Don't worry, no interest." Misty turned her head to the side in a tsundere manner.
Is tsundere out of style?
It seems not yet.
"...That won't be necessary, Misty~" Ash tugged at his hat. "A real man makes his own money~"
"I want to test my limits."
"But if the day comes when I'm really broke."
"Please lend me some."
Although Ash wasn't short on money now, he didn't deny he might be in the future.
"Pika..." Pikachu hopped back onto Ash's shoulder and patted his hat with a small paw—forget it, just get used to it.
Brock watched this entire farce in silence, the expression on his dark face extremely complex.
It was as if he was truly realizing for the first time the... colorful and neurotic meaning behind the word "travel."
Brock silently recalled Onix, who had blocked the front of the group but hadn't even gotten a chance to make a move.
Sunlight fell once again on the messy campsite, leaving only the sound of flowing water and Gyarados splashing in the river.
"Brock, is the food still hot?" This was Misty's main focus.
Brock: "...It should still be hot."
He looked down at the lunch pot in his hands, which he had subconsciously protected in his arms during the battle.
"We can eat later... forty thousand..." Ash rubbed his chin.
He looked with burning eyes toward the lower reaches of the river where the Team Rocket trio had disappeared.
"That's enough to pay for Gyarados's extra meals for a good while."
"Partner!" Ash slapped his thigh, his voice filled with the excitement of discovering treasure. "Let's go! Fish them out and exchange them for money!"
After all, he couldn't let Gyarados go, right?
What if it accidentally killed those three?
"Pika?!" Pikachu stumbled and almost slid off his shoulder, tapping Ash's cheek with its paw in disbelief.
Partner?
Are you serious?
They're almost washed away!
Pikachu indicated it didn't want to get in the water... Why don't we let Gyarados fish them out?
"Hey!" Misty held her forehead, unable to bear it anymore, her orange ponytail almost bristling. "There has to be a limit to your greed!..."
Her words came to an abrupt halt.
She saw Ash already efficiently rolling up his pant legs, poised to jump into the river, muttering: "If I'm late, they'll be washed away... my 40,000..."
"Enough!" Misty grabbed Ash by the back of his collar and yanked him back.
Her other hand was already on the Poké Ball at her waist, her face written with the helplessness of "I really can't deal with you."
"I'll do it! Is money the only thing in your eyes?!"
Misty flicked her wrist, opening the Poké Ball.
"Starmie! Use Confusion to 'invite' them back here!"
"Hiyah!"
The ruby in the center of Starmie suddenly lit up with a brilliant pink glow, and powerful psychic waves, like an invisible giant net, instantly enveloped the river downstream.
Compared to the Staryu stage, which is a Water-type Pokémon with just some talent for psychic powers,
after evolving into Starmie, it becomes a Water + Psychic-type Pokémon.
It becomes much stronger in terms of psychic abilities.
And in this world, the Psychic type is a superior class of attribute.
The nature of psychic power makes it simply too convenient.
Where there is fire, it can control fire.
Where there is water, it can control water.
It can grab soil and rocks from the ground and throw them.
Moving the air can also create wind currents.
Controlling water vapor can even guide sunlight to create a focusing effect.
Then there are the nasty, underhanded uses of psychic power—using it with Poison-type Poison Sting to play flying needles, or directly using psychic power to manipulate toxins for poisoning.
These are all things that can be done with just the single move [Confusion].
Is it strong?
It's unreasonably strong!
It's too versatile.
_____
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