Reward—The Rainbow Wing! - Pokemon:Exposing Pikachu

Three god-battles.

Three victories for Ash.

And every single one—

a massive upset.

Gamblers around the world were utterly destroyed.

The first two matches were bad enough.

But this one?

The Heavenly Tally spent forever setting it up:

It told everyone Charizard was weak.

Personally confirmed his inherent flaws.

Explicitly stated he would struggle to reach the Elite or Champion level.

Meanwhile, Articuno was clearly Elite+ at least.

And Charizard STILL won?!

The Heavenly Tally was so ruthless

It even slapped its own face.

"I thought this was going to be a match with zero suspense…

Turns out I was the clown."

"I'm so stupid… really…

Why didn't I trust Ash…?!"

"Damn it! A once-in-a-lifetime jackpot was right in front of me, and I didn't grab it!

Give me one more chance and I'd all-in on Ash!!"

"Hahaha! Told you to believe in Ash!

Now I'm sitting here with 45,000 points—I can't even spend it all, there's too much!"

…

After three rounds, everyone had more or less figured out the Heavenly Tally's "routine":

First, it creates a situation where Ash absolutely should lose.

Then it shows him winning anyway.

It wasn't that people didn't know this—

It's that they STILL couldn't avoid falling for it.

Pikachu?

A dime-a-dozen electric rodent.

Who would've thought he could beat Regice?

And just when people wanted to trust him—

The Tally drops a special feature telling everyone Pikachu is an actor.

So for the second god-battle, they lost their nerve again.

Then, after TWO slain gods, people finally prepared to trust Pikachu—

And suddenly, the main fighter changed.

This time, it was a weak, flawed Charizard.

The Tally showed him getting stomped at Charicific Valley.

Showed his small frame.

Showed his structural weaknesses.

So everyone piled their bets on Articuno—

And lost. Again.

"Is this rigged or not?!"

But technically… it wasn't.

The Tally showed facts:

Charizard vs. Articuno was a 9–1 matchup on paper.

Who could have accounted for Charizard's growth?

for the depth of his bond with Ash,

for the kind of miracle he pulled out?

It was pure, textbook open conspiracy—

And people still walked straight into it.

[Professor Oak: Didn't some of you say Charizard had no real chance against Articuno?]

[Lance: My apologies. I underestimated Charizard.]

[Flint: My apologies. I underestimated Charizard.]

[Lorelei: My apologies… I underestimated Articuno's opponent.]

"It's not that my side was weak;

It's that the other side was terrifying."

They had all thought Charicific Valley would swallow Charizard—

reduced to a nameless, mediocre dragon.

Yet with that frail body,

he clawed his way up and became a true powerhouse.

Maybe he wasn't the number one Charizard in the world (yet)—

But surpassing 95% of all Charizards?

That much was undeniable.

…

Gary calmly regained his usual composure and took a slow sip of tea.

Ash was an idiot, sure—

But he was not someone Gary would ever bet against.

"Well, what a boring day. Another easy 75,000 points."

…

"Yay! The twerp's Charizard won again, nya!"

"Getting points is great and all,

but do they have to show us getting blasted off every single time?!"

James grumbled.

Getting sent flying on a global broadcast every episode was… not the best feeling.

"Who cares about that! A win is a win!

Now we use the points the brat won us…

to build a brand-new robot to catch Pikachu!"

"You said it, nya!

We'll use the rewards the twerp earned…

to take the twerp's Pikachu for ourselves!"

"Should we catch Charizard too?"

"Of course not, nya! He's still weak right now.

We'll catch him after he finishes training in Charicific Valley!"

"…You have a point."

And thus, Team Rocket's daily delusions continued.

…

In Rocket HQ, Giovanni absentmindedly stroked Persian's fur, deep in thought.

Everyone else was focused on the fact that Ash kept defeating legendaries.

But Giovanni's perspective was different.

Most people would go their entire lives without seeing a single legendary Pokémon—

Yet this boy ran into them again and again.

Even if they were all "owned" legendaries,

that still didn't change one thing:

This boy was special.

"Interesting…"

A sinister smile began to form on Giovanni's lips—

But at that moment, new text appeared on the screen, and the ethereal voice rang out:

[Charizard vs Articuno — Winner: Charizard]

[All those who bet on Articuno lose their points]

Giovanni: …

He'd lost everything.

Again.

…

"So jealous…

Ash has, what, 450,000 points now?"

Bruno smacked his lips, full of envy.

He himself was broke—

staring wistfully at gym equipment in the Heavenly Store, he could no longer afford.

"Haha, it's all thanks to everyone!"

By "everyone," Ash naturally meant Pikachu and Charizard.

"Pika pi!"

"Rooaaar!"

The betting rewards came through quickly—

Shirona (Cynthia): 4,500 points

Leon & Alder: 75,000 each

Ash: 450,000

Misty & Brock: 300,000 each

The trio's combined points had now exceeded one million.

Sadly, points couldn't be traded…

"Just wait, Charizard! I'll find something in the shop that can fix your defects!"

Ash immediately opened the Heavenly Store, eyes sharp.

450,000 points weren't a small amount.

If he searched carefully enough,

he might really find something that could repair Charizard's foundation.

But just then, the Heavenly Tally spoke again.

[Victorious Pokémon: Charizard — eligible for an additional reward]

[Reward: Charizard-exclusive Item — Rainbow Wing (Non-Drop Version), plus Charicific Valley Secret Training Art]

[Rainbow Wing (Non-Drop Version): A sacred feather of Ho-Oh.

When held by Charizard, it cannot be removed.

Increases fire-type damage by 30%.

Gradually repairs Charizard's damaged core.

During battle, Charizard recovers 1/8 of his HP at fixed intervals.

Additionally, grants Charizard a chance to learn the exclusive move: Sacred Fire.]

[Note: As Charizard's foundation repairs, the Rainbow Wing will slowly fuse with him.

Once the repair is complete, the Rainbow Wing will vanish entirely.

If Charizard fails to learn Sacred Fire by then, he will never be able to learn it again.

Chapter 41 - Reward—The Rainbow Wing!