Chapter 6: Who Hit My B Key!!

The next day, early morning.

Ash and his Pokémon stood in neat rows, performing radio calisthenics.

It is said that doing this prevents one from suffering bone fractures in old age.

"Alright, let's continue moving forward toward becoming a Pokémon Master!"

"Pika!"

Pikachu also stretched out its little paws, the first to respond.

The harder you work, the luckier you get!

Ash and his Pokémon shouted their pledge aloud. The sudden surge of passion and the heated atmosphere were so noisy that Misty, who had just woken up, was left with black lines of irritation on her forehead.

And what on earth is a Pokémon Master supposed to mean, anyway?!

"Heh heh, a Pokémon Master is, of course, the greatest existence."

BOOM!!

Before Ash could finish his sentence, a loud explosion suddenly echoed from the horizon.

Then, three dark shadows descended from the sky. Even though there were no speakers around, it felt as if a bombastic, hype-inducing BGM had started playing.

"Who's there!?"

Ash instinctively shouted.

"****".

"****".

"****".

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"We are Team Rocket, traversing the galaxy!"

The three of them struck a bizarre new pose on a high rock platform, looking somewhat cool.

"Hey! You Team Rocket members really are like ghosts that won't go away!"

Misty frowned and complained bluntly.

"Hmph, we came specifically for the kid with good taste."

"That's right, that Pikachu must be a rare variant; it belongs to Team Rocket!"

"You idiots, meow! Don't tell them the whole plan!"

At first, Ash thought they had come to encourage him.

He never expected them to be after Pikachu, so he quickly scooped Pikachu up into his arms.

"Oh ho, you want to resist?"

"We only lost to you last time because we were careless. This time, you're sure to lose!"

As they spoke, the two released Ekans and Koffing.

There was no helping it; their budget was limited. Low-level members like the Team Rocket trio could only apply for Pokémon like these.

However, it was rumored that Team Rocket was undergoing institutional reform to actively improve supply-side demands. Perhaps in a few days, they would have the chance to requisition the powerful Pokémon used by high-level members.

Ash, however, was completely confused.

Wasn't this their first meeting? Where did this talk of having defeated them come from?

Are they trying to scam me?

But looking at the clearly malicious Koffing and Ekans, Ash didn't dare to be careless. He prepared to send out his Pikachu to fight.

Come to think of it, this was his first battle, and just thinking about it made his blood boil.

"Wait a minute, Pikachu is the prize, so you can't send it out to fight!"

Jessie suddenly spoke up, looking righteous.

Ash was stunned and froze for a moment.

That actually seemed to make sense.

"Alright then, come back, Pikachu."

Misty: "???"

What was this strange sense of rapport?

"In that case, I choose you, Pidgeotto!"

Ash sent out his second-in-command.

Amidst the red light, Pidgeotto flapped its wings and took flight, its brown feathers vibrant and majestic.

Seeing that Ash really intended to fight two-on-one, Misty quickly reminded him from behind

"There are two of them, you should send out a second Pokémon too!"

"But that violates the battle rules, doesn't it?"

Ash retorted weakly.

In the Kanto region, single battles were the norm; double battles were rare.

"Then does your League law state that if you defeat your opponent, you get their Pokémon?!"

Misty was about to be driven mad. How was it that the Ash from last time acted like a battle-hardened veteran, but now he was acting like a naive greenhorn?

Is he just trying to mess with me? Does he have to pretend to this extent?!

Team Rocket wouldn't just stand there waiting for the two to bicker. Taking advantage of the opportunity, they launched their attack first.

"Ekans, use Bite!"

"Koffing, use Smokescreen!"

Facing Ekans's wide-mouthed bite, Pidgeotto was fast enough to flap its wings and dodge into the air.

Seeing the purple gas approaching, it flapped its wings again, whipping up a dusty whirlwind that blew the gas away.

Gust!

After all, Pidgeotto was already in its second evolutionary stage; its strength wasn't too weak, and it could fight right away.

Ash quickly used his Pokédex to scan his Pidgeotto.

"Beep. Pidgeotto, a common bird Pokémon. Likes to eat Caterpie."

"Moves: Tackle, Quick Attack, Gust, Sand-Attack."

Hearing this, Ash felt confident and commanded

"Now it's our turn, use Quick Attack!"

"Pidge-otto!!"

Pidgeotto nodded, let out a high-pitched cry, and turned into a streak of white light as it charged at Ekans.

However, the latter had already seen the god-like speed of the round-faced Pikachu, so it wasn't overly panicked. It simply leaped and burrowed into the dirt, avoiding the attack.

"Koffing, use Mud-Slap!"

James launched a surprise attack.

*Splat!*

The black mud projectile spat out by Koffing narrowly grazed Pidgeotto's body.

"Now's the time, Ekans, use Wrap!!"

At that moment, Ekans suddenly burst out from the ground beneath Pidgeotto.

It leaped up, reaching the same height as the bird, and wrapped its purple body around Pidgeotto, who hadn't had time to react, locking it firmly in place!

Fighting two-on-one was still too much for Pidgeotto.

James pressed the attack, ordering again

"Koffing, use Mud-Slap one more time!"

"Puff!"

This time, the pitch-black mud successfully plastered Pidgeotto's face, dealing significant damage.

"Damn it, Pidgeotto!"

For a moment, Ash was in a panic, not knowing what to do next.

This was his first time battling someone, after all.

"Idiot, hurry up and use your second Pokémon!"

Misty quickly reminded him.

These words brought Ash back to his senses. Ignoring the rules of fairness, he quickly threw his second Poké Ball.

"I choose you, Rayquaza!"

Immediately after, a dull-looking Caterpie appeared in everyone's field of vision.

Team Rocket: "?"

Had the Pokémon League officially renamed Caterpie recently? And why did they give it such an imposing and arrogant name?

Rayquaza?

Aren't they afraid of bad luck?

Since that was the case, Team Rocket couldn't fall behind the times.

From today on, every Caterpie they saw would be called Rayquaza.

Otherwise, people would think they were some country bumpkins!

"Hmph, but what can a Rayquaza even do?"

Jessie said disdainfully.

"That's right, Rayquaza is the most useless Pokémon, on par with Magikarp!"

James chimed in with a taunt.

Misty: "..."

Did I wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?!

The battle fell into a stalemate.

With Caterpie's fragile body, it was indeed difficult to break the deadlock, which left Ash feeling conflicted.

When in doubt, quantum mechanics!

Ash quickly used his Pokédex to scan the Caterpie.

"Beep. Caterpie, nickname: Rayquaza. Moves: Tackle, String Shot, Electroweb."

"Electroweb?"

Ash frowned. What kind of move was Electroweb? He had never heard of it.

But it sounded like an Electric-type move, so it definitely couldn't be used; Pidgeotto was still surrounded by those two Pokémon.

"Then use String Shot! Rayquaza!"

Ash commanded.

*Hiss hiss hiss...!*

Caterpie opened its little mouth and spat out a large amount of white silk.

Unexpectedly, the volume of white liquid was so great that it shot the unprepared Ekans, turning it into an "Ekans-ball."

"Pidge-otto!"

Pidgeotto took the opportunity to break free.

"Good chance, Rayquaza, use Electroweb!"

Ash quickly commanded.

Caterpie flicked its mouth, and the white silk it spat out changed color, turning into a bright yellow. It transformed into a massive net that covered both Koffing and Ekans.

*Zzzzt!*

Suddenly, the electric current paralyzed them, crackling and popping, causing both Pokémon to stiffen and let out muffled groans.

Seeing this, Ash's eyes lit up. He flipped his hat backward and finally roared loudly

"Final blow, Rayquaza, Pidgeotto, use Tackle!"

As he spoke, the bug and the bird launched a double Tackle, fiercely slamming Koffing and Ekans away together.

They even sent the Team Rocket trio flying along with them, turning into shooting stars once again and disappearing into the horizon.

"Rayquaza is such an amazing Pokémon..."

The three in the sky finally understood why the Pokémon League had changed the official name of Caterpie...

The battle came to an end.

The success of his first battle made Ash very excited.

He joyfully recalled his "tool bird" and spun the Caterpie around several times, while Misty and Pikachu clapped their hands nearby.

She had never imagined that a Rayquaza could be so powerful.

"Damn it, how did I get swayed too!"

Misty quickly shook her head to regain her composure.

Just as Ash was about to return the Caterpie to its ball

*Hiss hiss hiss!*

The Caterpie spat white silk toward the sky, which fell like water, wrapping itself into a cocoon. A strange white light began to glow from its body.

"What is this...?"

Ash widened his eyes, looking completely bewildered.

"This is the light of evolution."

Misty quickly explained.

Battles grant experience, and experience allows Pokémon to evolve; this was common knowledge.

"Evolution... ah, no, the Pokédex, the Pokédex!!"

Ash realized instantly—now was not the time for evolution!

Only by suppressing evolution until the Caterpie reached the perfect, max-level form could it evolve directly into the invincible Rayquaza.

"Right, the B button... the B button...!"

He stared fixedly at the light of evolution, pulled out his Pokédex, and pressed down on the spot where the B button should be.

"Huh?"

Why didn't it feel like a button?

Ash lowered his head to look closely, only to see that the spot where the B button used to be on the Pokédex was somehow bald.

It had even been covered with some strange glue, shaped into a form that couldn't be pressed.

At this moment, he could only watch helplessly as the Caterpie in the white light continued to change its form...

"Damn it, which bastard pried off my B button!!"

Ash's dragon-like roar instantly echoed throughout the entire Viridian Forest!