"The winner is Togepi!"
With the referee's announcement, the audience members who supported Togepi cheered.
But they found it a bit strange.
Why was Togepi's attitude towards Vulpix completely different from its attitude towards Poliwhirl earlier?
That intense posture.
Moreover, strictly speaking, this Vulpix was stronger than Togepi, yet it was forcefully shaken to defeat by the Waving Finger technique.
Such good luck.
A Surfing and a Power of Earth, they ended up shaking out two techniques that had attribute suppression on the Fire-type Vulpix and were immensely powerful.
Natsuhiko picked up Togepi, who was puffing its chest, and after receiving the lottery qualification certificate from the referee, quickly left.
To be honest, he knew that Vulpix was a bit stronger than Togepi and that the momentum between Vulpix and its Trainer was obviously higher than his momentum with Togepi.
It was precisely because of this that he chose to have Togepi use the Waving Finger technique to take a gamble.
What if he really had such good luck?
The facts proved that you should never underestimate a Togepi with an intense desire to win or lose; they can really shake their fingers and shake their opponent to defeat.
Entering the players' passage.
Togepi twisted in Natsuhiko's arms and looked at him.
"Chako-ee?"
Is it cute?
Natsuhiko's eye twitched, understanding Togepi's meaning.
So your desire to win or lose comes from this angle?
Just to see who's cuter?
The image of Togepi shaking its finger with a cute yet fierce demeanor flashed through his mind, making him chuckle uncontrollably.
"Ahem, you're cute, you're the cutest."
"Chako-ee--"
That's more like it.
Togepi revealed a satisfied smile and snuggled into Natsuhiko's arms.
Natsuhiko shook his head helplessly.
Pokémon don't rely on cuteness to get by, it's not necessary.
He strode to the end of the players' passage, where some staff members were busy distributing rewards to each player who had successfully secured two victories.
Currently, there weren't many people who had won two matches, so most of the prizes were displayed on the shelves behind them.
The bulk of them were ordinary Pokeballs, a few high-quality Pokeballs, and a few rare balls with special effects.
The most precious prizes were placed in the most visible spot.
A white tooth shimmering with a faint glow, an exquisite bell exuding a strange halo, and a pearl round as jade wrapped in a mist of reddish hue.
"Sharp Fang, Soothing Bell, and Flame Treasure Pearl?"
Seeing these three items, the names and effects of these items flashed through Natsuhiko's mind.
The Flame Treasure Pearl causes the Pokémon carrying it to enter a burned state, can be thrown as an item, or through a move like Gift Transfer, can be inflicted on the opponent, causing a burn state.
Or give it to a Pokémon with the Perseverance trait to carry, boosting its attack power at the cost of the burn state.
They're all good choices.
Though perhaps not as famous as the Highly Poisonous Treasure Pearl or the Life Treasure Pearl on the same tier, they're still valuable Pokémon items, worth a lot.
The Soothing Bell can calm the mood of the Pokémon carrying it, while also increasing affinity with the Trainer, and is also a good item.
Affinity is vital for the evolution of some Pokémon.
The Sharp Fang can allow the Pokémon carrying the item to have a certain probability of inducing an abnormal state in the opponent when it attacks.
This is also a very good enhancement item for Togepi with the Celestial Grace trait.
At the same time, the Sharp Fang is a necessity for Gligar to evolve into Gliscor.
Besides these three most valuable ones, there were some relatively lower-tier Pokémon items or some relatively ordinary Pokemon Technique Secret Manuals.
If these prizes really came from Uncle Liu, then he truly put in a lot of effort.
"Not asking for much, as long as it's not a Pokeball."
After all, it's a free reward.
As for those three most precious Pokémon items, just looking at them is fine.
Generally speaking, in a lottery like this, the organizers would surely set the probability of winning very low, almost impossible to win.
Natsuhiko handed over the proof to the staff, arriving at the lottery machine.
Togepi stood on the machine, looking at Natsuhiko.
Tasks that test luck like this are, of course, given to Togepi.
With the persona it's shown so far, as a favorite child of heaven, there's no way it would pull out an ordinary Pokeball, right?
Natsuhiko figured that if he tried, the likelihood of getting a Pokeball was high.
"Chako-ee?"
What to get?
Togepi placed its hand on the lottery button.
Natsuhiko smiled.
Do you really think you can get whatever you want?
But seeing Togepi's earnest look, Natsuhiko thought for a moment and said, "Any of those three would be good, the Sharp Fang is probably the most valuable, but the other two aren't bad either."
Togepi nodded its little head emphatically.
It's decided then, the Sharp Fang!
Rubbing its hands, it breathed into them, then wiped them on Natsuhiko.
Pressed the button.
Pa——
The staff who heard Natsuhiko's words all laughed.
They knew better than Natsuhiko how low the chances were of winning the top prize, let alone specifying the Sharp Fang.
But soon.
Their smiles slowly froze.
As the number "7" kept appearing on the screen, they were dumbfounded.
Rumble——
With a rolling sound, a small plastic ball slid out of the prize opening.
Thud!
Natsuhiko's expression also turned peculiar, his eye twitching subtly.
This color, is it the top prize?
Taking the small ball that Togepi handed over with anticipation, he twisted the plastic cap open to reveal the note inside.
"Soothing Bell." Natsuhiko's eyes lit up.
"Chako-ee?"
What did you say?
Wasn't it supposed to be the Sharp Fang?
Togepi turned, cheeks flushed red, angrily kicking the machine.
Bang!
Rumble——
Only to see.
Another ball rolled out of the machine, and just looking at its color, it was also the top prize.
Natsuhiko: "..."
Workers: "..."
"Chako-ee!"
Togepi looked delighted, picked up the small ball itself, twisted it open, and presented the note to Natsuhiko.
"...Sharp...Fang."
Natsuhiko muttered the words written on it.
Upon hearing this, Togepi clenched its small fists.
Success!
Natsuhiko took a deep breath, looking at the note in his hand and then at the note in Togepi's hand.
So... even after the rewards have come out, it's still important who actually unscrews the small ball, huh?
He felt a deep sense of hostility from this world towards an Unlucky Trainer.
"Um..." a staff member stepped forward, looking slightly embarrassed.
...
...
Five minutes later.
Natsuhiko, carrying a frantically struggling Togepi, left the prize collection area with an intricately carved bell in hand.
The Soothing Bell was theirs.
As for the Sharp Fang, it was withheld by the staff under the excuse of a machine malfunction.
There was nothing they could do; they indeed hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
Not only did someone win the incredibly low-probability top prize, but they also managed to kick out another one.
Such responsibility was beyond what they could bear.
And this was why Togepi seemed so angry.
In its words, "A machine malfunction is your problem, what's it got to do with this Luck Emperor?"
Fortunately, the staff begrudgingly handed over an Advanced Ball as compensation.
Natsuhiko didn't want to make a big fuss either, risking not getting any prize at all wasn't worth it, so he didn't press the issue.
He stuffed the Soothing Bell into Togepi's arms as it struggled.
"This bell suits you best, wearing it will make you even cuter."
Togepi stopped struggling.
"Chako-ee?"
Really?