"Rattled, huh? Not bad."Yozora smiled faintly when he saw the little one's ability.
Magikarp only had two possible abilities—one standard, one hidden. The so-called "Hidden Ability" meant it was extremely rare within the species.
The standard ability was Swift Swim, while the hidden one was Rattled.
Upon evolving into Gyarados, Swift Swim would become Intimidate, and Rattled would turn into Moxie.
[Intimidate]: Releases a powerful aura to intimidate opponents, lowering their damage. (The stronger you are compared to your opponent, the greater the effect. If you're weaker, it's hard to trigger.)[Moxie]: Each time you defeat an enemy in battle, your strength and energy increase.
In the games, Intimidate was already considered a god-tier ability, unmatched in its usefulness.
But in this world, it seemed even stronger!In the games, Intimidate only reduced the opponent's physical attack. Here, it directly weakened overall damage! What did that mean? It was as if both Attack and Special Attack were reduced simultaneously!
However, there was a fatal flaw…
In the games, even a Level 1 Growlithe could intimidate a Level 100 Zapdos. But in reality? Impossible.
Aura and presence only worked effectively when stronger than the opponent…
Against a foe of the same level, if your aura couldn't overwhelm theirs, Intimidate had little effect.
And if you were weaker, your aura would be too fragile to intimidate at all—unless the target was naturally timid.
Otherwise, at equal levels, Intimidate was nearly useless.
So what good was it?For Yozora, crossing levels to challenge stronger foes was the norm!
At equal levels, he would crush and dominate anyway—who needed Intimidate then?
"Unless… several Intimidates stacked together, pushing your aura beyond your level. In that case, maybe it could even suppress stronger opponents…" Yozora's eyes lit up at the thought.
It was worth testing someday.
But not with this Magikarp—its ability was Rattled, which would become Moxie upon evolution.
If the base ability wasn't Intimidate, then stacking Intimidates wouldn't be possible.
"Next time, I'll find one with Intimidate. A Growlithe or Arcanine would be perfect."
That thought passed through his mind, and Yozora shifted his attention to Magikarp's move pool.
What!?To his utter surprise, this Magikarp was born knowing four moves!
Most Magikarp, from birth to death, only ever flopped around uselessly with Splash.
If one was slightly more gifted, it might learn Tackle.
But this Magikarp? Besides Splash and Tackle, it also knew Bounce and Hydro Pump!
Hydro Pump—that was terrifying!
Even with Magikarp's pitiful stats, a move like Hydro Pump would surely pack some damage.
"Come here, little one." Yozora dipped his hand into the water, stroking the Magikarp's scales.
The little fellow showed no resistance at all. In fact, it enjoyed his touch, eyes curving into crescents as its tail swished happily.
When it first hatched, the very first person it saw was Yozora.
It was said that a newly born Pokémon often regarded the first person it saw as its closest kin.
Perhaps because of that, this Magikarp was exceptionally attached to him.
"Alright, little guy, let's try Hydro Pump. Aim at my palm, give me your best shot…" Yozora pulled his hand out of the water, smiling encouragingly.
The golden fish obliged. Its big round head broke the surface, and with all its might, it spat out a thin, feeble jet of water—barely ten centimeters long. Still, it managed to touch Yozora's palm.
"Humph-humph!"
Knowing it had completed its task, the little one beamed, eyes narrowing into crescent moons as it chuckled with joy.
"Psyduck!"
"Machop!"
"Geo!"
Psyduck, Machop, and Geodude—the senior members of the team—cheered from the side, giving the newborn a thumbs-up.
"Well done, little one." Yozora smiled with satisfaction.
For a Pokémon that had just been born, with no real combat power yet, this was already remarkable progress.
The entire day after Magikarp hatched, Yozora was in a cheerful mood.
Had it been an ordinary red Magikarp, he might not have felt this happy.
But a golden Magikarp… just looking at it lifted his spirits, filling him with endless patience for no reason at all.
"Seems I'm a sucker for looks too… When this golden Magikarp evolves into a red Gyarados—tsk tsk—just imagining it feels overwhelming!"
That night, lying in his sleeping bag, Yozora was too excited to fall asleep.
Another small detail—
Since Magikarp had just hatched, Yozora was worried it might not be safe left alone in the water. So, he prepared a large water tank in advance, filled it, and let Magikarp sleep on land in the tank.
A week passed in this manner.
Magikarp grew rapidly, completing its infancy stage within a week, reaching Rookie Level Pokémon.
Its body length shot up from palm-sized to thirty centimeters.
Though still smaller than most Magikarp, it already had the strength to fight.
And thanks to its skills and talent, it could often defeat weaker Magikarp in battle.
"Alright, that's enough. Time to head back!"
Since Magikarp was a pure water-dweller, Yozora had accompanied it throughout its infancy.
Had it been a land Pokémon, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths—traveling and caring for it along the way would have been enough.
But now that Magikarp had safely passed its fragile stage, Yozora could finally relax.
The next step was obvious: the Vermilion Gym.
After packing up, Yozora and Jun mounted Pidgeot and flew back to Vermilion City's Pokémon Center.
Fresh from their camping trip, Yozora's team was fully rested and in peak condition.
There was no need for Nurse Joy's checkup or maintenance—he was ready to challenge Vermilion Gym directly.
"Big brother Yozora… you're leaving already?"After two weeks together, Jun's voice carried deep reluctance, her eyes shimmering with tears.
"Yes, it's time. Here, this is your and Ponyta's payment." Yozora smiled, transferring 100,000 Pokécoins to her account.
Seventy thousand was Ponyta's standard egg-hatching fee.
The other thirty thousand was a bonus—Jun had often helped groom Pidgeot's feathers and assisted Yozora in caring for his Pokémon. He felt it was only right to reward her extra.
(End of Chapter)