Natsui focused his gaze and thought the man in the suit looked very familiar. On second thought, he was the same man he had battled on the ship when he first arrived in the Kanto region!
What a coincidence.
However, the purple mouse, Rattata, that battled Kirlia back then, had already evolved into a large, brown rodent: Raticate.
"Raticate, use Jump Kick!"
"Starmie, use Tackle!"
The two Pokémon clashed, and although they seemed evenly matched, Raticate actually had the upper hand. As they broke apart, the man in the suit commanded again: "Raticate, use Hyper Fang!"
After a quick dash, Raticate pounced on Starmie and sank its hard fangs into it. As it bit down hard, the gem in the center of Starmie shattered, and its whole body fell backward onto the ground.
A burst of applause erupted from the crowd, cheering for the victor.
Seeing the young Trainer hug his Pokémon, the man in the suit, despite having won, showed his gentlemanly nature and said, "It was just a small battle. Let's just say the goddess of victory was on my side. In any case, you should keep training your Starmie to make it stronger."
A woman in a strapless red evening gown approached and took the man in the suit by the arm.
Lucky in battle and lucky in love; you could tell that man greatly enjoyed that kind of life.
"Alright, are there any other Trainers who want to challenge my Raticate?"
He had barely finished speaking, and before Natsui could react, a figure shot past him like a bolt of lightning, and Ash was already standing before the man in the suit.
"I'm all fired up! Let my Butterfree be your opponent!"
Natsui shook his head, said goodbye to Misty and Brock, and instead of staying to watch the battle, he went to explore other places with Kirlia.
Before boarding the ship, and worried about the noise and the crowd, he had returned his other Pokémon to their Poké Balls, leaving only Kirlia by his side.
As he walked among the stalls, Natsui suddenly saw a young man dressed as a waiter chatting with a Magikarp salesman.
The young man was handsome, with medium-length, blue-gray hair parted in the middle, covering his ears. His overall appearance was that of a kind and good-natured person.
"I'll tell you a secret," the Magikarp salesman, who wore a white headband and had a sly look on his face, was saying. "This Magikarp can lay golden eggs!"
The man was perplexed, "Golden eggs?"
"Yes, yes," whispered the Magikarp salesman, covering his mouth with his hand. "One Magikarp lays a thousand eggs, and if each of those thousand Magikarp lays another thousand eggs, a thousand times a thousand is a million, you know? Imagine if that million lays eggs again, it would be an astronomical figure!"
The blue-haired man seemed dizzy from his words and muttered, "Wow… that's incredible!"
Seeing he was interested, the Magikarp salesman continued, "This Magikarp only costs ten thousand! If it lays eggs three times, you could earn more than a hundred million!"
"Only three times?!" the blue-haired man exclaimed, clearly duped and his face full of amazement. "Doesn't that mean I'll become a multimillionaire in no time?!"
"That's why I say it lays golden eggs!" the Magikarp salesman told him in a 'you're-getting-a-steal' tone. "So, what do you say? Right now, it's at a promotional price. The Magikarp that normally costs ten thousand, I'll now give it to you with the breeding set, the raising set, and the development set, all for thirty thousand! How about it?"
This scene! This moment!
It was James from Team Rocket and the eloquent Magikarp salesman!
Natsui couldn't believe his eyes. He had stumbled upon the legendary scene that was the origin of all evils!
Although he didn't understand why James, coming from such a rich family, was so easily impressed by money.
Seeing James take out his wallet, about to buy the Magikarp, Natsui couldn't help but cough lightly and approach.
"Excuse me, sir, how about you sell me this Magikarp for 500?"
"What are you talking about?!" the salesman exclaimed, waving his hand impatiently. "Get lost, get lost! This is a Magikarp that lays golden eggs, how could you think I'd sell it to you for 500!"
"It lays golden eggs?" Natsui said, stroking his chin as he examined the Magikarp splashing in the water. "Well, from the looks of it, it doesn't seem any different from the Magikarp in the river. Hey, mister, aren't you mistaken? This is a very common Pokémon, you can find it everywhere, whether in lakes or in the sea. You can catch one with a simple fishing rod. Besides me, who else would want to buy one?"
James's body shuddered, as if he had come to his senses: "A Magikarp you can find everywhere? No one would buy it?"
Seeing James hesitate, the Magikarp salesman hurried to explain, "Hey, hey, kid, don't listen to him! My Magikarp is not like the others! Gold, it lays golden eggs!"
"Oh, really?" Natsui said skeptically. "If that's the case, why haven't you become a millionaire and are still here selling Magikarp?"
With that, James understood everything.
"You…! How dare you try to trick me!"
He gave the fish tank a swift kick, then gave Natsui a grateful nod and stormed off in a fury.
Seeing this, Natsui crossed his arms and was about to go on his way, but the Magikarp salesman got in his way, stopping him.
"Hey! We have no problem with each other! Why did you have to ruin my business?"
Natsui tilted his head to look at him and said, "Ah, I'm very sorry. It's just that I have a very good impression of that person and couldn't stand to see him get scammed. If you want to sell it, go and find yourself another lucky customer."
After saying this, he tried to go around the salesman, but as soon as he took a step, he was blocked again.
"Don't think you can just walk away! You ruined my sale, so now you're buying it!"
Perhaps fearing Natsui would run off, the salesman tried to grab him by the sleeve, but Kirlia stepped forward, its eyes beginning to glow as it stared him down.
Its expression made it clear that if the salesman's hand moved an inch closer to Natsui, it would unleash a psychic attack without hesitation.
The Magikarp salesman got scared and quickly pulled back his arm.
Ignoring him, Natsui turned to look at the Magikarp.
This Magikarp, even without the kick James didn't end up giving it, should already be on the verge of evolving, based on experience. If he bought it, he was sure that he would have a Gyarados in no time. It really was a good deal.
"You're right. In that case, sell it to me for 500."
Natsui hadn't just made up that price. He knew that in other places, Magikarp were sold for exactly that amount; it was the market price.
"500?" the salesman protested with a frown. "Just a moment ago, I almost sold it for 30,000!"
But seeing that Natsui didn't flinch, and after a long, tense moment, the salesman's eyes darted around a couple of times and he finally sighed, "Ugh, fine. 500 it is. I'll be taking a loss, but I'll sell it to you."