"Magikarp, come out."
Ash headed downstairs to the washroom, filled an empty basin with water, and released the Magikarp from its Poké Ball.
"Splash—"
Back when the Skill Wonder House had just opened, Ash had accepted three trial orders. Over this period, he had steadily helped Magikarp after Magikarp learn Tackle, then sent them back to their respective Trainers.
Day Four — First Magikarp
Day Six — Second Magikarp
Every time a Magikarp successfully learned Tackle and was returned, the Trainer circles erupted in another wave of shock. Each success triggered fresh headlines, pulling even more Trainers toward Ash's online shop.
Meanwhile, many factions that had been sitting on the fence began reaching out nonstop, hoping to sign long-term contracts with him. Ash, however, deliberately kept them hanging—dragging things out and refusing to give a clear answer.
Today was Day Eight.
It was time to complete the final trial order.
Ash prepared to help the last Magikarp learn Tackle before sending it home.
[Ding! Skill execution successful. Magikarp has learned Tackle!]
"Magikarp, sorry for keeping you here for so long," Ash said gently as he scooped a bit of the high-quality Pokémon food Frogadier was eating and fed it to the Magikarp.
"Today, I'll finally send you back to your Trainer."
As Magikarp happily munched away, Ash finished the process.
"Splash—!"
Magikarp slapped the water excitedly, nodding with pure joy. Being able to learn Tackle already made it immensely happy—it held no resentment toward Ash at all.
"Rotom," Ash said calmly, "mark the final order as complete in the backend. Then raise the price of the 'Magikarp + Tackle' specialized service to 250,000 Poké Dollars."
"Also, post an announcement. Enable order cancellation for reservations already in the system. Anyone who can't accept the new price can cancel now."
"Roger—Rotom!!"
After sending Magikarp's Poké Ball back through the transporter, Rotom hesitated before adding,
"Ash, a lot of major factions contacted us again today. Until now, we've been using 'the final trial order isn't finished yet' as an excuse. But now that it's complete… should we give them a direct response?"
"Of course," Ash nodded.
"Rotom, you already compiled a list of Kanto's major families and power blocs, right? Respond to them one by one using that list."
"If they qualify as a true major family or large-scale power, agree to cooperate. Use the League's offer as the baseline, then negotiate pricing accordingly."
After a brief pause, Ash added flatly,
"Exclude the Tsuchihara Family."
The Tsuchihara Family was wealthy, but their rise had been too recent. They were a mid-tier force—neither a true top-tier family nor a small clan. More importantly, they specialized exclusively in breeding Magikarp.
Ever since Ash announced the Magikarp learns Tackle service, he himself hadn't even officially started mass operations yet—
and the Tsuchihara Family had already made a fortune.
That left a sour taste in Ash's mouth.
Now that he was about to fully open the Magikarp Tackle service, he could already imagine another explosive profit surge for them.
And Ash didn't feel like rewarding that.
His real goal in cooperating with Kanto's upper families was never profit—it was to build a protective web of shared interests, something that would serve as a buffer when he eventually dealt with Team Rocket.
He didn't need to work with every family.
And a clan like the Tsuchihara Family—lacking deep roots and without strong ties to Team Rocket—was simply unnecessary.
That was why Ash could afford to be willful.
They didn't matter to his plan.
"Understood—Rotom!!"
Rotom paused, then reported another matter.
"Ash, the Trainer of Drowzee contacted us again this morning. They've already canceled the order and asked us to return Drowzee."
"Should we send it back now?"
"Yes," Ash replied without hesitation.
"Send it back."
"It's perfect timing. Let Team Rocket get an early sense of where things stand."
"Once I finish signing contracts with Kanto's major families, I'll initiate contact with Team Rocket myself."
That was precisely why Ash had kept Drowzee around for so long—to grind experience and rapidly strengthen his Pokémon.
Over just one week:
Pichu: LV.19 → LV.26
Pidgeotto: LV.21 → LV.32
Frogadier: LV.27 → LV.31
Drowzee had already contributed more than enough.
Sure, Ash could keep farming it.
Sure, his ideal target—having all three Pokémon capable of solo-crushing Drowzee—wasn't fully met yet.
But in reality:
Frogadier and Pidgeotto could already defeat Drowzee one-on-one
Pichu could force a stalemate
That was close enough.
If he was about to move against Team Rocket, returning Drowzee now was the right step.
"Roger—Rotom!!"
Ash released Charizard and Drowzee together.
The moment Charizard unleashed its Champion-level aura, Drowzee nearly collapsed in terror.
"Charizard, you're amazing," Ash said casually.
"Professor Oak's ace Pokémon—Champion-class strength. Just your presence is enough to scare Drowzee senseless."
"Roaar—naturally," Charizard replied smugly.
Ash turned his gaze back to Drowzee.
"You've performed decently these past days. I'll send you back now."
"Just remember—don't provoke me again."
"Drow… drow…"
Ash deliberately, almost casually, made sure Drowzee understood one very important fact:
Charizard was Professor Oak's Champion-level ace.
A message meant for Team Rocket.
Once that warning was delivered, Ash didn't waste any more time.
He recalled Drowzee, locked the Poké Ball, and sent it back to its original address.
The net was set.
The stage was prepared.
And the next move—
would be his.
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T/N:
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