"Welcome aboard!"
Red and his friends presented their tickets and stepped onto the S.S. Anne. The main hall was a dazzling scene of luxury, already buzzing with a large Pokémon Trainer exchange party. Trainers from all over were sharing stories, showing off their partners, and, of course, battling. Ash was immediately drawn to a duel taking place in the center of a large crowd and eagerly pushed his way to the front.
A young trainer's Starmie was struggling against a pompous-looking Gentleman's Raticate.
"Raticate, use Hyper Fang!" the Gentleman commanded.
Raticate lunged, its massive incisors bared. Before the young trainer could react, a sickening CRACK echoed through the hall. Raticate had bitten down on Starmie's core gem, shattering it. The Water-type instantly went limp, defeated.
The Gentleman, accustomed to such victories, recalled his Pokémon and began his performance. "A simple mock battle, of course. One could say the Goddess of Victory is simply biased toward me," he said with false modesty, basking in the attention of the crowd. An exquisitely dressed woman immediately draped herself over his arm.
"You're so strong~" she cooed.
"Thank you, mademoiselle," the Gentleman preened. "Are there any other brave warriors willing to challenge my Raticate?"
"I'm all fired up!" Ash's eyes burned with fighting spirit. He ran forward, Poké Ball in hand. "My Butterfree will be your opponent!"
"Very well," the Gentleman agreed, sizing Ash up as an easy meal.
"Honestly, he gets excited so quickly," Misty grumbled.
"That man can't beat Ash," Red said calmly to Leaf. "But to save face, he'll probably declare a draw the moment his Raticate is about to lose."
"No way! He's that shameless?" Leaf said in surprise, but she trusted Red's judgment.
The battle unfolded just as Red predicted. Butterfree easily dodged Raticate's attacks and, when its opponent was exhausted, Ash commanded it to use Sleep Powder. Just as the spores were about to connect, the Gentleman yelled, "That's enough! It's a draw!" He scooped up his Raticate and hurried away, completely ignoring Ash's frustrated protests.
"How shameless!" Leaf huffed, as the crowd began to murmur their disapproval.
"Hey, little brother, come over here for a moment!"
The party was so lavish it had attracted merchants who had set up stalls along the corridors. James, who had been wandering aimlessly, was stopped by a shady-looking salesman standing behind a tank of Magikarp.
"Look at this Pokémon!" the man said conspiratorially, pointing to one of his fish. He had seen a wealthy, gullible-looking boy and knew the fish was on the hook. He began to boast about the Magikarp's wonders.
"What's so special about it? It's just a Magikarp," James said, unimpressed.
"Ah, but you don't understand! This is the king of Magikarp!" the salesman declared. "Look how healthy it is!" He scooped the fish out and thrust it into James's arms. The Magikarp used Splash, and James, mistaking the frantic flailing for vitality, was intrigued.
"And let me tell you a secret," the man whispered, leaning in close. "This Magikarp... it lays golden eggs!"
"Gold?!" James's body trembled as he stared at the fish in his arms.
"Yes! It lays a thousand eggs at a time. A thousand eggs become a million! Imagine what happens then! That's hundreds of millions! You'll be a very rich man!"
In his mind, James was already free, a man of immense wealth, far from the stifling grip of his parents.
"This Magikarp usually sells for ten thousand, but with the egg-laying kit and the breeding kit... a total of thirty thousand! What do you say?"
"I'll buy it! I'll buy it!" James shouted excitedly, clutching the Magikarp to his chest. Because he was short on funds, he simply advanced Jessie and Meowth's salaries, successfully plunging the trio into another mountain of debt.
"What a naive fool..." Red thought, watching the entire exchange from a distance.
The salesman, delighted with his profit, was about to pack up when he spotted Red approaching. "Young man! Do you want to get rich? The one I just sold was second-grade. You, my friend, are destined to have this first-grade Magikarp!" He launched into the same routine.
"Oh?" Red said, a glint in his eye. "If it's so precious, why don't you raise it yourself?"
The salesman froze. Realizing this one wasn't a fool, he quickly tried to leave.
"Uncle, don't be in such a hurry," Red said, casually holding up his Pokédex. The screen was playing a crystal-clear video of the entire scam he'd just pulled on James. "I'm sure you'd really like to delete this. I wonder what Officer Jenny would think of it?"
Cold sweat dripped from the salesman's brow. After a string of pathetic excuses about his six hungry children, he realized Red couldn't be swayed. Seeing that Red had no interest in the money, he desperately tried to offer him some of his "goods" to make him go away.
"Are you sure this is a Magikarp?" Red asked, pointing to a strange, ugly fish hiding in the corner of the tank. Its red scales were clearly painted on and were already starting to fade, revealing a mottled, brownish skin underneath.
Red pulled out his Pokédex again. "Feebas, the Fish Pokémon. Because its fins are naturally tattered and unsightly, it is a Pokémon that most trainers ignore. It can live in both oceans and rivers."
He looked up at the terrified salesman. "I'll take this one," he said.
The salesman, ecstatic to be getting rid of the worthless, ugly fish, quickly handed it over. He had no idea he had just given away a Pokémon with the potential to become one of the most beautiful and powerful in the world.
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