Chapter 17: Fishermen and Loot Drops
After battling the scienctist in Mt. Moon and clearing out the Zubat inside the caves,
Ash and Pikachu reached the entrance of Cerulean City without much trouble.
But what Ash didn't expect was that while he was resting by the roadside, drinking water…
he actually got robbed!
Whoosh!
Three shadows leapt into the air and landed directly in front of him.
Ash saw the trio holding his backpack and frowned.
"Where did these thieves crawl out from?"
Pop!
A single rose landed at his feet—
the familiar opening line blindsided Ash entirely.
"Since you're sincerely asking—!"
Ash reflexively followed up,
"Then we'll mercifully tell you?"
[TL: YAP SESSION! (1)
The english startup to their slogan is, "Prepare for trouble/And make it double."
In Japanese, their startup line is, "If you ask us anything/Our answer is the world's mercy."
This is a variation of that– slightly modified since it fits?]
"...(?o?o) Don't interrupt us, you brat!!"
Jessie and James roared in unison.
"Oh… okay, go ahead."
Ash nodded and calmly sat back down on the bench, Pikachu in his arms.
They were less than 500 meters from the Cerulean City gate—
and these three idiots were trying to mug someone on the main road.
And saying their motto out loud on top of that.
Did they think Officer Jenny didn't exist?
"Prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation—"
"Jessie…"
"James!"
"Meowth! That's right!"
Snap! Snap! Snap!
They struck their dramatic poses.
Ash clapped enthusiastically.
"Wow, amazing! It's been so long since I heard that!"
Team Rocket was moved to tears.
This kid…
He's actually touched by our motto…
Maybe he's a good person!
In truth, Ash had missed that slogan.
It felt nostalgic.
"Kid," James sniffed, "Since you're so well-behaved, we won't silence you today."
Jessie nodded.
"That's right. We villains don't often spare people."
"Show some gratitude and kneel, nya~" Meowth smirked.
Sniff…
Ash inhaled sharply and wiped his eyes.
"It's nostalgic, sure…
But we can't skip the usual process.
Ivysaur—take my bag back first."
"Ivysaur!!"
With a tap of Ash's waist, Ivysaur burst out of its Poké Ball.
Two vines whipped out in a blur, curved mid-air, and snatched the backpack straight from Meowth.
"You little brat, so that's how you wanna play!?" James snapped.
Jessie immediately tossed out a Poké Ball.
"You're courting death!
[TL: Ok, I won't deny it.. it's a self-insert from me. Couldn't help myself.]
Meowth added,
"Enough talk—let's scratch 'im up, nya!"
"Go, Ekans! Bite attack!"
"Koffing, use Smog!"
Ash flipped his hat backward, eyes bright.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!
Ivysaur, Petal Dance!"
"Pika—CHU!!"
Pikachu leapt high, lightning exploding around it—
a massive pillar of electricity blasted straight into Ekans.
"Daaah!"
Ivysaur's bud spun open, petals swirling into a roaring storm that shredded the toxic gas instantly.
Ekans screamed as the lightning drove it crashing into Koffing—
and the sparks ignited the gas.
BOOOOM!!
Team Rocket didn't even have time to blink before they were blasted skyward with their Pokémon.
"No way~!"
"We lost that easily!?"
"That Pikachu's really strong, nya…"
"What a terrible feeling…"
[TL: Same thing! The last line is what it actually is in Japanese. The english ver. is "blasting off".]
Ding!
Ash watched them twinkle into the sky like shooting stars.
He nodded, satisfied.
"A journey really does need a few bumps to stay fun.
I hope they don't land too hard…"
After dealing with Team Rocket, Ash happily followed the small river outside Cerulean City—
looking for his next vict—
cough, opponent.
Soon enough, several fishermen—currently catching "lots of air"—came into view.
Ash himself loved fishing.
Otherwise he wouldn't have gone at noon last time…
only to have a Magikarp slap his face repeatedly…
Quietly, he approached one fisherman from behind.
"Hey, mister~ no bites today?"
Crack!
The chubby bearded fisherman clutched his chest.
Where did this kid come from? Coming in hot with insults!?
"You brat! Don't you know fishing requires silence?
For disturbing me, I challenge you to a battle!"
He grabbed a Poké Ball.
"I'll show you my catch! I'm NOT empty-handed!"
The other two fishermen nearby rolled their eyes.
Ash was thrilled.
Bring it on!
They took their positions.
The fisherman threw his Poké Ball—
Pop!
Magikarp!
Ash's eyes sparkled.
Perfect—Magikarp vs. Magikarp!
"Watch this! Magikarp, Splash!"
Ash didn't back down.
"We'll Splash too!"
"Splash!"
"Splash!"
"Splash!"
…
Afewmomentslater…
"Huff… huff…"
The fisherman was exhausted, hands on his knees.
"Splash…"
Ash was still lively.
"Okay, enough—Tackle!"
WHAM!
Ash's Magikarp, full of murderous enthusiasm, slapped the ground, launched itself like a rocket, and rammed the opposing Magikarp head-on.
"T…T… Krooo…"
The fisherman's Magikarp, already tired from all the splashing, flipped belly-up instantly.
"(σ≧∀≦)σ Yes!!"
Ash cheered with a peace sign,
while his Magikarp hopped proudly three feet into the air.
"Don't get cocky, kid! I've got more!"
The fisherman sent out another Poké Ball.
"Go, Magikarp!"
"Come on! Bring them all!"
Ash welcomed every challenger—
grinding EXP off fishermen like a machine.
"Well now, this kid's interesting.
Old Insignificant-Z, let me help!"
"I'm joining too!"
The other fishermen came over, hands itching for battle.
Ash accepted them all—
even pulling out Oran Berries and Pecha Berries to restore his Magikarp's stamina.
Ash's Magikarp only grew stronger—
its whiskers nearly standing up from pride as more Magikarp fell before it.
Not bragging or anything,
but all of you are trash compared to me.
Finally, after defeating the last fisherman's Goldeen with a sudden tackle,
Ash's Magikarp reached its limit—
and its peak.
This was the moment.
Magikarp leapt into the river, using the water to push itself upward.
Then—
Shiiiing…
White evolution light enveloped it mid-air.
"Urrrraaaa!!"
Its body stretched and expanded,
blue scales forming,
a massive jaw opening wide.
Magikarp had evolved—
into Gyarados.
With a roar, Gyarados lunged toward the shore.
"WAAAH!!"
The fishermen fell backward in terror.
Only Ash stood calmly with open arms.
In the next moment—
a huge, adorable, squinting Gyarados nuzzled its head into Ash's chest hard enough to shake the ground.
"Urghhh~"
Mumbling happily, eyes squeezed shut,
the giant serpent kept rubbing against its trainer.
"Hahaha! Okay, okay, Gyarados!
I know you're happy—I'm happy too!
But stop rubbing already!"
Ash laughed as he petted its massive jaws.
"Incredible…
He tamed a Gyarados that strong…
This boy must be a chosen fisherman!"
One fisherman, moved beyond words, gifted Ash his prized Good Rod.
Ash hadn't expected to get loot drops today.
After bowing deeply in gratitude to the fishermen,
he recalled Gyarados and continued on with Pikachu.
Cerulean City was already in sight.
To be continued…
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〔TL〕
Honestly, I'm speechless...
Every 100 powerstones = 1 bonus ch.
Every 2 review after 100 ps = 1 bonus ch.
Let's hope we complete this week.