Splash the Magikarp had been waiting for this moment his entire existence.
Well, "waiting" was generous. Magikarp didn't really have complex thoughts. But somewhere in that tiny fish brain, in the space between flops, there was a YEARNING. A desire to be MORE.
Marcus had spent three hundred hours breeding Splash's lineage. Thousands of eggs. Countless disappointments. All in pursuit of the perfect Magikarp—perfect IVs, perfect nature, and that elusive golden shimmer of a shiny.
He'd never gotten the shiny.
But Splash? Splash was perfect in every other way. Maximum IVs across the board. Adamant nature. The genetic lottery winner of Magikarp everywhere.
And now, after days of training, after learning Bounce from watching Floaty demonstrate approximately four hundred times, after eating more Rare Candies than any fish should reasonably consume—
Splash was ready.
ROUTE SIX - TRAINING MONTAGE
"Okay, Splash. One more time. You can do this!"
The Magikarp flopped on the ground, determination burning in its perpetually vacant eyes.
"Marcus," Steve interjected, "I must once again express my concerns about this plan."
"Noted and ignored!"
"Lt. Surge is an Electric-type specialist. Splash is a Water-type. This is perhaps the WORST possible matchup."
"That's what makes it EXCITING!"
"That is not what 'exciting' means. That is what 'suicidal' means."
Marcus knelt down next to Splash, looking the Magikarp directly in its vacant eyes.
"Buddy, I believe in you. You've got perfect stats. You've learned Bounce. And most importantly—" Marcus's voice dropped to a whisper, "—you're SO close to evolving."
Splash flopped with what might have been excitement.
"One good battle. That's all we need. One battle to push you over the edge. And then?"
Marcus grinned.
"Then we show Lt. Surge what three hundred hours of dedication looks like."
VERMILLION CITY GYM - ENTRANCE
Lt. Surge stood at the far end of his Gym, arms crossed, electric current literally crackling around him because he'd installed special effects specifically for intimidation purposes.
"So YOU'RE the kid everyone's talking about!" he boomed. "The one with the army! The one who made Brock cry and turned Misty's pool into a sauna!"
"That's me!" Marcus waved cheerfully.
"I've heard you use unconventional strategies. Shuckle against Rock-types. Charizard against Water-types." Surge laughed—a big, booming military laugh. "But there's NO unconventional strategy against Electric-types, kid! We're super effective against Water AND Flying! What're you gonna do, bring a Ground-type?"
"Nope!"
"...A specially defensive wall?"
"Nope!"
"Then WHAT?"
Marcus held up Splash's Pokeball.
"I'm using my Magikarp."
Silence.
Complete, absolute silence.
Even the electric special effects seemed to flicker in confusion.
"Your... Magikarp," Surge repeated slowly.
"His name is Splash!"
"You're using a MAGIKARP against my ELECTRIC-type Gym."
"Correct!"
Surge stared at him.
Then Surge stared at the Mewtwo hovering ominously in the corner.
Then Surge stared back at Marcus.
"Is this a joke?"
"Nope! Splash has been training really hard, and he deserves his chance to shine!"
"Kid, Magikarp can't LEARN offensive moves. They can only Splash, Tackle, and Flail. Maybe Bounce if you're really dedicated."
"Splash knows Bounce!"
"One super-effective move isn't going to save you against my team." Surge shook his head. "Look, I respect the audacity, but this is just going to be embarrassing for you."
"We'll see about that!"
"Marcus," Steve telepathed privately, "I am genuinely uncertain about this plan. Splash is powerful for a Magikarp, but he is still a MAGIKARP. Against Electric-types. This is objectively the worst possible scenario."
"Trust me, Steve. Trust Splash. Trust the three hundred hours."
"I am placing my trust in extremely suspect hands, but very well."
BATTLE START
"VOLTORB, GO!"
The ball-shaped Pokemon materialized on the field, already crackling with electric energy.
Marcus smiled and released Splash.
The Magikarp flopped onto the battlefield.
Flop.
Flop.
Flop.
The Voltorb stared at it.
The audience (because there was always an audience now—Marcus had become something of a celebrity) collectively held their breath.
"Voltorb! Thunderbolt!"
Lightning crackled through the air—
"SPLASH, BOUNCE!"
And somehow, impossibly, the Magikarp JUMPED.
Not the eight-inch hop from training. Not even the improved twelve inches from yesterday.
Splash LAUNCHED himself into the air with the desperation of a fish who had something to prove.
The Thunderbolt passed harmlessly beneath him.
"WHAT?!" Surge screamed.
Splash reached the apex of his jump—a solid fifteen feet, respectable for a Magikarp—and began his descent.
Directly onto the Voltorb.
The impact was... surprisingly effective. Perfect IVs, Adamant nature, and a super-effective Flying-type move meant that even a Magikarp could pack a punch.
The Voltorb was knocked back, visibly damaged.
But not knocked out.
"THUNDERBOLT AGAIN!"
This time, Splash couldn't dodge. He was still recovering from the Bounce.
The lightning connected.
Splash took the hit.
And here's the thing about Splash: he was a Magikarp with PERFECT defensive IVs too. He was, objectively, the tankiest Magikarp in existence.
He survived.
Barely.
He was flopping weakly on the ground, scales slightly singed, clearly on his last legs (fins?), but he was ALIVE.
"One more, Splash!" Marcus shouted. "One more Bounce! You can DO THIS!"
Splash looked at Marcus.
For a moment—just a moment—there was something in those vacant fish eyes. Something that went beyond mere instinct. Something that looked almost like determination.
And then Splash began to GLOW.
EVOLUTION SEQUENCE
"What—what's happening?!" Surge stumbled backward.
The glow intensified. Splash's small form began to stretch, to grow, to TRANSFORM.
"Finally," Steve murmured, something like satisfaction in his telepathic voice.
The glow exploded outward, temporarily blinding everyone in the Gym.
When it cleared, Splash was gone.
In his place was a GYARADOS.
But not just any Gyarados.
This was a Gyarados born from three hundred hours of dedicated breeding. A Gyarados with perfect IVs in every stat. A Gyarados with an Adamant nature, boosting its already terrifying Attack to astronomical levels.
This was, quite possibly, the most powerful Gyarados that had ever existed.
And it was ANGRY.
"Oh no," Surge whispered.
The newly evolved Splash—now a towering serpent of destruction—looked down at the Voltorb that had dared to shock him.
The Voltorb looked up at the monster it had helped create.
The Voltorb wished it had chosen a different career.
"SPLASH!" Marcus called out, tears of pride streaming down his face. "USE THRASH!"
Now, Thrash is a move that locks the user into attacking for two to three turns, hitting with massive power but causing confusion afterward.
On a normal Gyarados, it's devastating.
On a PERFECT Gyarados with maximum Attack IVs and an Adamant nature boost?
It was apocalyptic.
Splash—newly evolved, freshly furious, and operating on pure instinct—LUNGED.
The Voltorb didn't stand a chance.
It was launched across the Gym so hard it embedded itself in the wall.
KO.
But Splash wasn't done.
He was still Thrashing.
"PIKACHU, GO!" Surge released his next Pokemon in a panic.
The Pikachu took one look at the rampaging Gyarados and immediately regretted every life choice that had led to this moment.
Splash struck.
The Pikachu joined the Voltorb in the wall.
"RAICHU!"
Surge's ace Pokemon materialized, cheeks sparking with maximum electrical power.
"THUNDER! FULL POWER!"
The lightning bolt that descended was genuinely impressive—a massive surge of electrical energy that would have fried any normal Water-type into oblivion.
It hit Splash dead-on.
Splash ROARED.
But he didn't fall.
Because here's the thing about Splash's perfect IVs: they included perfect Special Defense. And Gyarados, while quadruple-weak to Electric, was also absolutely MASSIVE with incredible base HP.
Splash tanked the Thunder.
And then he Thrashed again.
Raichu, Lt. Surge's beloved ace Pokemon and partner for over a decade of military service, was sent through not one, not two, but THREE walls before finally coming to rest in what had previously been the Gym's storage room.
The building groaned ominously.
Splash roared in triumph.
Then the Thrash ended, and Splash became confused.
He started biting his own tail.
"SPLASH! SPLASH, CALM DOWN!"
Marcus ran onto the battlefield, completely ignoring the danger of approaching a confused Gyarados.
Splash thrashed about (lowercase—just regular thrashing), his massive body destroying what was left of the Gym's interior.
"Buddy! It's me! It's Marcus!"
The Gyarados paused.
Those massive eyes—no longer vacant, now filled with genuine intelligence—focused on his trainer.
"You did it, Splash. You WON. You evolved, and you WON."
Slowly, the confusion faded.
Splash lowered his massive head until it was level with Marcus.
Marcus reached out and placed a hand on the Gyarados's snout.
"I'm so proud of you," he whispered. "Three hundred hours, buddy. Three hundred hours, and it was all worth it."
Splash made a noise.
It was a deep, rumbling sound—completely different from the pathetic flops of his Magikarp days.
It sounded almost like a purr.
Lt. Surge emerged from behind his ruined podium, uniform singed, hair standing on end, expression shell-shocked.
"You..." he managed. "You evolved a Magikarp MID-BATTLE. Against my Electric-type Gym."
"Yeah!"
"And it TANKED a full-power Thunder."
"Splash is very sturdy!"
"IT WENT THROUGH THREE WALLS."
Marcus looked at the Raichu-shaped holes in the Gym's structure. "I'm really sorry about that. I can have my Machamps help with repairs?"
Surge stared at him.
Then Surge started laughing.
It wasn't a mocking laugh, or an angry laugh, or even a confused laugh. It was the laugh of a man who had just witnessed something incredible and couldn't process it any other way.
"Kid," he said, wiping tears from his eyes, "I've been a Gym Leader for fifteen years. I've fought champions. I've fought Elite Four members. I've fought trainers from every region in the world."
He walked forward, reaching into his pocket.
"And I have NEVER seen anything like that."
He held out the Thunder Badge.
"You earned this. Hell, you OVER-earned this. Take it."
Marcus accepted the badge, grinning so hard his face hurt.
"Thanks, Lt. Surge!"
"Don't thank me. Thank that monster you raised." Surge looked at Splash with something approaching respect. "Three hundred hours, you said?"
"Of breeding! To get his IVs perfect."
"And you used him against ELECTRIC-types. When you have—" Surge gestured at Steve, who was still hovering in the corner, "—THAT."
"Splash deserved his moment."
Surge shook his head. "Kid, you're either the craziest trainer I've ever met or the most dedicated. Maybe both."
"Probably both!"
"Yeah. Probably both." Surge clapped him on the shoulder. "Now get out of my Gym before that Gyarados decides it wants to destroy anything else."
OUTSIDE THE GYM
Marcus stood in the Vermillion City sunshine, his newly evolved Splash coiled beside him like a giant, serpentine puppy.
"How do you feel, buddy?"
Splash rumbled happily.
"Pretty different from flopping around, huh?"
Another rumble, this one almost smug.
"I must admit," Steve telepathed, floating down to join them, "I did not expect that to work."
"Ye of little faith!"
"I have appropriate amounts of faith. That amount was 'very little' when you announced you would fight Electric-types with a Magikarp."
"But it WORKED!"
"Through a combination of perfect genetics, exceptional training, and what I can only describe as 'protagonist energy.'" Steve paused. "...I am beginning to think you may actually be blessed by some cosmic force."
"I mean, Arceus DID personally send me here."
"As a PUNISHMENT."
"One man's punishment is another man's blessing!"
Steve had no response to that.
POKEMON PARADISE - VIEWING PARTY
Back at the home base, 4,835 Pokemon had gathered around the psychic viewing network to watch Marcus's Gym battle.
When Splash evolved, the crowd went WILD.
The twelve other Gyarados—Marcus's previously caught specimens from various games—roared in celebration of their new brother.
The 346 remaining Magikarp flopped with unprecedented enthusiasm, inspired by Splash's transformation.
Even the Legendaries were impressed.
"Did you see that?" one of the Rayquazas said to another. "That Gyarados TANKED a Thunder."
"Perfect IVs," the other Rayquaza replied sagely. "They make all the difference."
The Magikarp union immediately began drafting new recruitment materials. "YOU TOO CAN BECOME A GOD OF DESTRUCTION," the pamphlets would read. "ASK YOUR TRAINER ABOUT EVOLUTION TODAY."
And Kenneth the Shuckle, perched on a rock overlooking the celebration, vibrated slightly.
It might have been excitement.
It might have been gas.
It might have been Kenneth's way of acknowledging that Splash had joined him in the pantheon of "Marcus's Pokemon Who Have Exceeded All Reasonable Expectations."
Either way, the vibe was immaculate.
HALL OF ORIGIN
Original Arceus watched Splash's evolution and subsequent rampage with an expression that had gone beyond exhaustion into something like resigned appreciation.
"He bred a perfect Magikarp," he said flatly. "Of course he did."
"Three hundred hours," Event Arceus #3 confirmed. "The dedication is almost admirable."
"And then he used it against ELECTRIC-types."
"The type disadvantage was severe, yes."
"AND IT WON."
"Through evolution, which technically changed the matchup mid-battle. Very dramatic."
Original Arceus was quiet for a long moment.
"You know what?" he finally said. "I'm not even upset anymore. I'm genuinely impressed."
"Character growth!"
"Don't push it." But there was no real anger in his voice. "The boy took a Magikarp—THE symbol of uselessness—and turned it into a force of nature. Right in front of an Electric-type specialist."
He watched as Marcus hugged his newly evolved Gyarados, the massive serpent curling around his tiny trainer protectively.
"That's not luck. That's not cosmic interference. That's just... a really good trainer."
"Are you... praising him?"
"I'm ACKNOWLEDGING him. There's a difference." Arceus huffed. "He still has too many Pokemon. And he's still annoying. But I can respect the craft."
"That's practically a glowing endorsement from you."
"Don't tell him I said any of this."
"We literally cannot communicate with mortals without you."
"Good. Keep it that way."
VERMILLION CITY POKEMON CENTER - THAT EVENING
Marcus sat in the Pokemon Center's lobby, Splash curled around the entire building because Gyarados were NOT designed for indoor spaces.
His team was gathered around him, celebrating their third badge victory.
"Okay," Marcus said, looking at his badges. "Boulder, Cascade, Thunder. That's three down, five to go."
"Your pace remains excellent," Steve noted. "At this rate, you'll qualify for the Pokemon League within two months."
"And then we show the world what 4,847 Pokemon can do!"
"You're still planning to use unconventional strategies, I assume."
"Obviously! What's the fun in just steamrolling everyone with Legendaries?"
"Efficiency. Victory. The satisfaction of absolute dominance."
"Steve, we've talked about this. The journey is more important than the destination."
"I fundamentally disagree, but I have learned that arguing with you is pointless."
Marcus grinned and leaned back against Floaty, who had positioned himself as the perfect dragon-shaped couch.
"Hey, Splash?"
The Gyarados's massive head appeared in the Pokemon Center's window, peering in at his trainer.
"I meant what I said. I'm really proud of you."
Splash made his rumbling purr sound.
"You went from a fish that could barely jump to a sea serpent that put a Raichu through three walls. That's character growth, buddy."
Splash rumbled again, somehow managing to sound embarrassed.
"Don't be modest! You're amazing!"
The Gyarados's expression—insofar as a Gyarados HAD expressions—seemed to soften.
Then he licked the window with a tongue the size of a surfboard, leaving a massive smear of Gyarados drool on the glass.
"...We'll work on the affection delivery," Marcus decided.
NEWS BROADCAST - VERMILLION CITY
"In what witnesses are calling 'the most destructive Gym battle in Vermillion history,' a young trainer from Pallet Town has earned his third badge."
"Marcus Chen, already known for his unconventional strategies and army of Legendary Pokemon, reportedly defeated Lt. Surge using a Magikarp that evolved into Gyarados mid-battle."
"Lt. Surge's Gym suffered significant structural damage, with sources citing 'three Raichu-shaped holes in the walls' and 'a complete emotional breakdown of the electrical system.'"
"When asked for comment, Lt. Surge stated: 'That kid is absolutely insane and I respect the hell out of him. Also, please send contractors.'"
"The Vermillion City Pokemon Center has issued a statement asking trainers with 'extremely large serpentine Pokemon' to please keep them outside the building, following an incident where a Gyarados attempted to enter the lobby."
"More on this story as it develops."
CURRENT STATUS:
Badges: 3 (Boulder, Cascade, Thunder)
Splash's Form: Gyarados (FINALLY)
Walls Destroyed: 3 (plus structural damage)
Lt. Surge's Pride: Surprisingly intact
Kenneth's Reaction: Approving vibe
Splash Stats (Post-Evolution):
Attack: MAXIMUM (Perfect IVs + Adamant)Special Defense: MAXIMUM (Why he survived Thunder)Intimidation Factor: LEGENDARYFlopping Ability: Retired
Next Gym: Celadon City (Erika)
Planned Strategy: TBD (but definitely ridiculous)
[A/N: SPLASH HAS EVOLVED! THE PROPHECY IS FULFILLED! Next chapter: Erika and the Rainbow Badge! What absurd strategy will Marcus employ against Grass-types? Will any of his other "weak" Pokemon get their moment? And what happens when Marcus's fame starts attracting... unwanted attention? Leave a comment celebrating Splash's glorious transformation!]