“Magikarp, Magikarp… why is it always Magikarp again?”
Jessie kept casting her fishing rod, pulling up one lively Magikarp after another.
Before long, dozens of them were already flopping around at her feet.
Just as she was about to be buried under an ever-growing pile of Magikarp, her temper finally snapped.
She swung her fishing rod hard, violently churning the water and making it murky.
The nearby Water-type Pokémon scattered in panic and swam away to other areas.
Several academy students nearby had almost hooked something, but thanks to her interference, they lost their catches instantly.
They stood up and glared at her angrily.
“What are you looking at?
If you want to fish, go fish somewhere else!
Why are you staring at me?” Jessie shouted back.
Normally, anyone being glared at by so many people would have panicked and run away.
But Jessie was not “anyone.” Fear simply didn’t exist in her dictionary.
She directly shouted back at everyone at once.
“What did you say?
You can’t catch anything and now you’re stopping us from fishing?”
“What kind of person is she?
Which class is she from?
She has no manners at all.”
“I think she’s Jessie from Class B.
She’s always been like that.”
“The Jessie from Class B?
The bottom-ranked student every year?
Why does the school even keep someone like that?
She should’ve been expelled already.”
“I heard she’s already almost out of credits.
She’s basically about to be expelled anyway.
Why is she even here?”
“Because she’s about to be expelled, she’s probably trying to catch one last Pokémon.
Greedy.”
“Exactly.
Shameless.”
The students erupted into criticism, all of them targeting Jessie alone.
James, though not the target, instinctively shrank his neck and quietly distanced himself from her.
You can go ahead and scold her… just don’t notice me.
“What’s the big deal?
I’m a student too!
I fish if I want to fish—what can you do about it?” Jessie barked back.
“All of you act so high and mighty, so why are you even fishing here?
You’re all just poor nobodies with no decent Pokémon!”
The students, already furious, were pushed over the edge by her provocation.
One noble-looking student in expensive clothes suddenly stepped forward, took out a Poké Ball, and released a Dragonite.
“Dragonite, use Hurricane.”
With the command, Dragonite flapped its small wings.
A violent gust of wind erupted out of nowhere, instantly swallowing Jessie.
She screamed as she was lifted into the air. Read this novel at novelping.com for the best experience.
Even James was caught in the aftermath and blown upward as well.
Aaron watched the scene with slight amazement and asked Lorelei, “The students here even have Dragonite?
Isn’t that a bit too exaggerated?”
“Not really,” Lorelei replied calmly.
“Some of them are from League-affiliated noble families.
Dragonite may be rare, but there are still people who manage to obtain one.”
“I see.” Aaron nodded.
Pseudo-legendary Pokémon were supposed to be extremely rare, but in the anime world, that wasn’t always the case.
Plenty of random background characters had pseudo-legendaries.
For example, in Sinnoh, during one of Ash’s aerial ring competitions, a Dragonite appeared—only to be effortlessly defeated by a Murkrow.
Lorelei added, “If you’re worried about Dragonite, you should actually be more careful of Charizard.
Dragonite is 4× weak to Ice-types, so even if it’s strong, it’s not your biggest threat.
But Fire-types are more troublesome.”
“True.” Aaron nodded.
“By the way… there aren’t people here with Blaziken or Typhlosion, right?”
Charizard is Fire/Flying, so Ice is neutral overall.
But Blaziken adds Fighting, which resists Ice differently, and Typhlosion is pure Fire, which also makes things trickier.
Honestly, Aaron was starting to feel a bit uneasy about Fire-types in general.
Ice and Fairy both dealt reduced damage to Fire-types, while Fire Pokémon were extremely common and often very powerful.
In competitions, encountering Fire-types was basically inevitable.
He was planning to secure a strong Water-type Pokémon.
And if he got lucky and caught a Shiny one, he could even use Professor Oak’s connections to contact Pokémon collectors.
He didn’t even need a pseudo-legendary—just a starter Pokémon would be enough.
At that moment—
“I caught one!” Meowth suddenly shouted as the fishing rod jerked violently.
“It’s a Shiny Pokémon!”
With a strong pull, the hook broke the surface of the water, splashing everywhere.
A blue-and-white Magikarp leapt out.
“Holy crap, it’s really a Shiny Pokémon!” Aaron’s eyes widened.
A blue-and-white Magikarp—definitely Shiny.
Lorelei was also stunned.
She had only mentioned it casually, yet now, after nearly forty years without anyone catching a Shiny here, one had actually been hooked by a Meowth.
“Blue and white… what a pity,” Aaron said after a moment.
“Magikarp doesn’t learn anything strong.
Even if it’s Shiny and rare, its value isn’t that high.
Unless it evolves into a Shiny Gyarados… but Gyarados is already red in its shiny form, so the difference isn’t that noticeable either.
Its value is limited.”
“Huh?
So it’s low value?” Meowth immediately deflated.
“It’s not completely worthless,” Lorelei smiled.
“Collectors don’t care about strength—they care about rarity.
If you don’t evolve it, it still holds value.”
“Oh, so I can still sell it?” Meowth perked up again. Get faster updates on novelping.com.
“Boss, this Shiny Magikarp is mine!
Don’t take it!”
“Yours?” Aaron raised an eyebrow, set down his fishing rod, and flexed his knuckles.
“You sure?”
Meowth looked at his fist, then at its imagined pile of gold coins.
“No way.
Even if you hit me, I’m not giving it up!”
“Fine.
Then no dinner tonight,” Aaron said casually.
“What?!
This is Pokémon abuse!
I’m reporting you to the League!” Meowth yelled.
“Oh?
So you remember you’re a Pokémon now?
And you still want to be a Trainer?
Hand it over.”
“No!”
“Really not giving it?”
“Not even a chance!
With this Shiny Magikarp, I’ll make tons of money, go back to Hollywood, and take Madonna away.
I won’t need you anymore!”
“You think you can find Pokémon collectors without me?” Aaron said flatly.
“I don’t care!
I’ll manage on my own!” Meowth insisted.
“…Alright, you win,” Aaron sighed.
“See?
I’m amazing, aren’t I?
Submit yourself, human!
And thank you for your hospitality.
Once Meowth gets rich, I’ll take care of you a bit,” Meowth said proudly, already imagining its glorious future.
Unfortunately, that dream ended almost immediately.
A fist the size of a clay pot slammed directly into its face.
“If I don’t teach you a lesson, you’ll never understand your place,” Aaron muttered, rolling his neck.
Jessie and James had already been beaten up—there was no reason the original third member of Team Rocket should be spared.
“Hey!
I’m a Pokémon!
I know moves—Scratch!” Meowth shouted, leaping up and striking back with its only move.
Aaron calmly answered with another punch, landing perfectly on its face again.
“I trained under Bruno for a month in close-combat,” he said coldly.
“You think you can get away with this?
I’ll teach you who’s the boss today.”
And so, man and cat engaged in an earth-shaking, sun-darkening, dust-flying battle.
The fight ended with Aaron’s complete victory.
He sustained a few scratches from claw marks—but in return, he obtained one Shiny Magikarp.
And Meowth’s loyalty increased by two points as a bonus.