"Ah? A battle?"
Ash looked puzzled, asking, "But I don't have any Water-type pokémon!"
Adrian had just refused his challenge, so why the sudden change of heart?
"Because my Magikarp just learned a new move. It's the perfect chance to show you, and I guarantee it will open your eyes."
Adrian smiled, looking mysterious.
"Magikarp learned a new move? Then I'll have to see it!"
Ash's eyes lit up, then he looked at the Pikachu beside him and said, "Pikachu, I choose you!"
"Pika~ Pi~"
But to everyone's surprise, Pikachu shook its head.
"Are you saying you just became friends with Magikarp and don't want to battle?"
Ash understood Pikachu's meaning, a hint of helplessness flashing across his face. He then threw a pokémon ball: "In that case, I choose you!"
"Mimi~"
With a flash of red light, a butterfly with a deep blue-purple body, large white wings with black veins on its back, and four legs appeared in mid-air.
It was a Bug/Flying-type pokémon—Butterfree.
Above the lake, Butterfree flapped its wings, gracefully soaring up and down.
"In that case, I'll be the referee."
Brock stepped forward at the right moment.
Ash, with curiosity on his face, asked, "Adrian, my Butterfree can fly in the air. What will your Magikarp do?"
Besides Pikachu, Ash's remaining two pokémon were Butterfree and Pidgeotto, both capable of flying freely in the air.
Magikarp in the water, Butterfree in the air—how would these two pokémon battle?
Adrian smiled slightly and shouted, "Magikarp, Bounce!"
"Bounce? Can Magikarp learn the Bounce move?"
"That's right, I remember Bounce is a Flying-type move, isn't it?"
Misty and Brock looked surprised at the words.
Especially Brock, whose squinted eyes seemed to open slightly.
Magikarp could theoretically learn the 'Bounce' move, but in reality, very few Magikarp truly mastered this move, which is why Brock and Misty didn't know about it.
Only Ash remained calm, as he didn't even know what 'Bounce' was.
But it seemed to be a move?
Splash!
As soon as he finished speaking, the Magikarp, which had been swimming in the water, suddenly leaped up, rocketing into the sky like a launching missile.
"Karu~"
Magikarp looked excited.
Woohoo, taking off!
Originally, Magikarp's jump limit was tens of meters high, but now, controlling the Flying-type energy, it felt as light as a swallow, as if it had escaped the planet's gravitational pull, and its height continued to climb.
"Magikarp jumped so high! This is clearly not a height that Splash can achieve; it's truly the Bounce move."
Brock looked up at the Magikarp in the sky, about to open his eyes, but due to the blinding sunlight, he immediately squinted them shut again.
"Adrian's Magikarp has actually mastered the Bounce move."
Misty, who aspired to become a Water-type pokémon Master, realized her shortcomings; her knowledge of Water-type pokémon seemed far from sufficient.
At the same time, the Magikarp in the sky began to accelerate its descent, its whole body flashing with white light, coming down fiercely.
"Butterfree, dodge quickly!"
Ash realized something was wrong and quickly gave the command.
"Mimi~"
Butterfree flapped its wings, attempting to dodge, but its speed wasn't outstanding, and its wing area was too large, making it very conspicuous.
In contrast, the Magikarp in mid-air glared, its eyes fixed on Butterfree.
During its accelerated descent, Magikarp also controlled its Flying-type energy to adjust its direction, like a torpedo missile with an automatic Lock-On and correction function, making it impossible for Butterfree to avoid or escape.
Screech!
With a sharp screech, Magikarp quickly slashed past Butterfree and plunged heavily into the water, splashing a large amount of water.
"Butterfree!"
Ash's heart trembled slightly, and he quickly looked at Butterfree.
He saw Butterfree in mid-air swaying and falling, its eyes already swirling in circles.
"One-hit KO? This Magikarp's attack power is a bit too terrifying."
Misty looked at Magikarp with stars in her eyes.
Although Bounce is a Flying-type move, it's super effective against Bug-type Butterfree.
But a one-hit KO also indirectly proved that Adrian's Magikarp had extremely strong attack power, far beyond what an ordinary Magikarp could achieve.
"What a formidable opponent!"
Brock looked at Adrian with deep apprehension, but he didn't forget his role as referee and immediately ruled: "Butterfree is unable to battle, so the winner of this battle is Adrian."
"I lost!"
Ash clenched his fists.
He didn't know how amazing it was that Magikarp had mastered the Bounce move; he only knew that he had lost and felt a bit dejected.
"Adrian, you're amazing!"
As soon as the battle ended, Misty came closer, her face full of admiration.
"Oh, it's nothing! Compared to you, Misty, I still have a long way to go."
Adrian smiled, looking humble.
"Oh, oh, how could I be that good?"
Misty scratched the back of her head, but she felt delighted inside.
At this time, she was still a rookie female Trainer, how could she resist such praise from Adrian?
Seeing Ash still dejected, Adrian added, "Ash, actually, my victory over Butterfree in this battle was entirely due to taking you by surprise. Next time you're prepared, it will be difficult for Magikarp to win."
Hearing this, Ash felt much better.
"That's right! I still need to challenge the Cerulean Gym."
Remembering his goal for the trip, Ash suddenly became frantic.
Because it was already three in the afternoon, and in two more hours, the Gym would close.
"Ash!"
Seeing this, Brock and Misty waved goodbye to Adrian and quickly followed him.
However, before leaving, Misty still added Adrian's contact information and sent him her secret bait recipe.
Because she knew Adrian didn't have suitable fishing bait.
Watching the protagonist group quickly disappear, Adrian shook his head and thought to himself, "Who knows when we'll meet again."
"Fortunately, the goal has been achieved."
Looking at the bait recipe file Misty sent on his phone, Adrian smiled.
With this bait recipe, he would be able to catch various Water-type pokémon in the future and quickly grow stronger.
In addition, Magikarp had also learned the 'Bounce' move.
"With this, winning the 'Magikarp High Jump Contest' should be a sure thing."
Adrian couldn't help but grin.
While other Magikarp were still competing with the 'Splash' move, his Magikarp had already learned 'Bounce'.
This was a complete dimensionality reduction attack!
"Perhaps I can also challenge the Celadon Gym along the way."
Adrian raised an eyebrow, a thought forming in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more excited he became.
The Celadon City Gym is Grass-type, and Bounce is a Flying-type move, which is super effective against Grass-type pokémon, so there might be hope of winning.
And the Celadon Gym Leader is Erika, whose beauty is on par with the Cerulean Sisters, and her popularity is even greater. Featuring her in a livestream would definitely attract a massive audience.
"If I challenge the Celadon Gym with Magikarp and win against a type disadvantage, the topic and popularity would definitely be ten times more explosive than the Cerulean Gym…"
Adrian felt it was a great idea and immediately started editing today's video and uploading it to his channel.
"Brothers, I caught a big one!!!"