"Kaarp—!!!"
The golden Magikarp shot out of the puddle, riding the rebound from the water it had just churned up.
Splash at Lv.9… actually let you jump.
It leapt so high, so hard, its golden scales throwing off a blinding burst of light.
Under everyone's stunned gaze, it traced a short but brilliant golden arc through the air, then—
DOOOONG!!!
A crunch so heavy it made everyone's teeth hurt.
Magikarp's heavy body, clad in hard scales, slammed down perfectly on Nidoran's back.
"Nido——!!!"
Nidoran let out a scream that broke halfway, her small body smashed flat into the ground. Her limbs twitched, foam bubbling from her mouth, purple fur instantly caked in mud as she went limp.
Getting hit by that much mass from that height… she was lucky to still be breathing.
"Nidoran!" Akemi's face drained of color.
"Pikachu! Don't give it a chance—Electro Dash!" Ash's orders didn't pause for a second. They rolled out like a storm.
This time he wasn't playing around.
Electro Dash was Pikachu's strongest move right now.
Not because it hit hardest per se—but because it was fast.
Of course, with the Light Ball boosting it, the power was nothing to sneeze at either.
"Pikaaaa——!!"
Pikachu, who'd been circling at the flank, had been waiting for this.
Its tiny body detonated in blinding golden light—not just a streak of Quick Attack afterimage, but a full-on bolt of living lightning.
Zzzap—BOOM!!
The explosive crackle of air being forcibly ionized stabbed at their eardrums.
Pikachu's silhouette vanished completely.
The next moment—
It was already colliding with Raticate, who'd been stunned for just an instant by Nidoran's scream.
"Chii—GAAH!!!"
Raticate's solid body flew like it had been hit by a battering ram. It didn't even manage a full scream as it was engulfed in wild golden lightning and launched backward like a projectile, slamming into a distant tree and shaking down a rain of leaves.
When it slid down the trunk to the ground, its fur was scorched and frizzed, blood at its muzzle, completely unconscious.
Electro Dash was terrifying.
The battle was over.
Silence swallowed the clearing. The only sounds left were Magikarp's weak flopping at the edge of the puddle and Pikachu's faint panting, little arcs still popping out of its cheeks with soft zzz sounds.
"..!!" Akemi stared at her team, KO'd in an instant, then at the golden fish twitching in the mud, then at the yellow rat still sparking faintly.
Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.
What even was that move?
Electro Dash?
She'd never heard of it.
Some kind of upgraded Quick Attack?
Since when could rookie trainers pull stuff like this?
This year's Pallet Town trainers were terrifying.
"..!!" Misty clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes round, looking from Ash to Magikarp like she was seeing them for the first time.
[Achievement: First Battle Victory – Complete!]
[Reward: One-Time Color Coating]
[Effect: Permanently changes the color scheme of a chosen Pokémon (single-use item).]
A pale blue notification popped up in the corner of Ash's vision.
The seriousness dropped right off his face, replaced by barely contained glee.
Do rewards get generated based on what I've been thinking?
If so… that's amazing.
He had been obsessing about locking in Magikarp's gold forever.
The fact that shiny Magikarp evolved into red Gyarados was absolutely criminal.
He didn't even spare a glance for Akemi's expression, didn't go congratulate Magikarp for its clutch performance, didn't even look at Pikachu again.
All his focus was glued to the system reward.
Color Coating.
Permanent recolor.
Golden Gyarados.
My golden Gyarados.
Ash practically dove into the mud beside Magikarp, ignoring the filth.
"???" Magikarp stared at its trainer's sudden hysteria with blank fish eyes.
"Hahahahaha!
You did great! You did amazing!"
As he shouted, Ash navigated his system interface.
Items from the system couldn't be taken out.
The Light Ball, for instance, could only be equipped on Pikachu through the system.
[Confirm applying One-Time Color Coating to Pokémon: Magikarp]
[Use now?]
[Yes / No]
Was this even a question?
Of course it was "No."
You saved something like this for its evolution, obviously.
"Done! Hahaha, it's done!" Ash hugged the muddy Magikarp and burst out laughing.
Before, he'd resigned himself to accepting a red Gyarados if he had to.
Now, knowing he could make it gold?
Perfect.
"Pika?" Pikachu tilted its head, watching its trainer go off the rails as he cuddled a filthy fish that didn't look any different.
All this… for one win?
Misty finally snapped out of her stone state and took in the sight of Ash hugging a dirty fish and cackling like a maniac. Her mouth twitched violently.
"Hey! Ash!
Are… are you okay?"
"Winning is good, but… that fish… and your money! 200 Pokéyen! Don't forget it!"
She pointed at Akemi, who was still frozen.
"Uh… you alright there?" Akemi jolted like someone had thrown cold water on her.
She looked at Ash, clutching his "gold bar" of a Magikarp like treasure, then back at her two fainted Pokémon, and a tangled mess of frustration and absurdity welled up inside.
How did I lose to this guy?!
Silently, she pulled two 100-Pokéyen notes from her wallet and placed them on a clean rock nearby.
Then she hurried to spray medicine on her Pokémon, recalled them, and turned to leave without another word.
Her shoulders radiated pure "questioning my life choices."
I actually lost to someone like that…
Time to get to the Pokémon Center.
Being a Trainer was expensive.
Healing at Centers might be free for licensed Trainers, but you still had to stabilise your Pokémon yourself and rush them there.
"Bye, friend! That was a really fun battle!" Only now did Ash seem to notice the money. He gently set Magikarp down and dashed over to grab the bills, holding them up to the light before tucking them away with a satisfied grin.
"Hehe, 200 Pokéyen! Pikachu, Pidgeotto—extra snacks tonight!"
He turned back, eyes blazing, looking at the golden Magikarp still flopping at the edge of the puddle.
"Just you wait, partner! Very soon, you're going to show everyone your true form!"
"The golden… Dragon King!"
Just picturing a Gyarados that huge, but gold—
Ash felt like his brain was fizzing.
"Are we staying here to fish even more?" Misty asked, sounding bored.
"Nah, let's go… Time to head for Viridian City." Ash figured Magikarp was leveling quickly enough now.
He was hoping it would evolve at Lv.20.
Viridian, though, was Team Rocket's home turf. Thinking about it…
Maybe better not evolve it just yet.
A golden Magikarp and a red Gyarados might be rare, but thanks to Professor Oak, most of Team Rocket wouldn't touch them aside from that one idiot trio.
A golden Gyarados, though?
That was a different story.
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