Seafoam Island · Tsuchihara Family Estate
"Clan Head (Tsuchihara Hiken), you've got to see this—now!!"
"How many times have I told you—when something happens, don't panic. Stay calm. Running around in a fluster like this—what kind of conduct is that?"
"…Oh."
"Alright, speak. What exactly happened to make you lose your composure like this?"
The head of the Tsuchihara Family lifted his teacup and took a slow sip.
If Inagaki—or even the anime's original Kojirō—were present, they would be utterly shocked.
The clan head of the Tsuchihara Family, the legendary family that specialized in breeding Magikarp, was none other than the same "Magikarp-brained" uncle who often set up stalls at festivals, tricking people into buying Magikarp.
"Clan Head, it's like this. That kid you once rated very highly—Ash—has just launched a brand-new service in his shop.
He's offering a service that lets Magikarp learn the move Tackle.
"Our Tsuchihara family has always been collecting Magikarp that know the move Tackle, hoping to breed them and select offspring that are born with Tackle, right?"
"If we can place a batch of orders at Ash's shop, then our Magikarp breeding plan would become far easier."
After being scolded, the agitated young man forced himself to calm down and explained carefully.
"Mm—good. Very good.
We are now an upper-class family in Kanto. We're no longer that old swindler family cheating people at festivals. Our words and actions must have class."
"…Wait, what did you just say?"
The clan head froze mid-sip.
"Ash's Move Mastery Room can help Magikarp learn Tackle?"
"Holy—!!!"
"This is huge news! How are you still standing there so calmly?! Hurry up and place an order at Ash's shop—right now!!"
After blurting out several curses in a row, the clan head slammed the table and roared.
"C-Clan Head, you were the one who said to stay calm and composed…"
"You little brat, you're talking back now?!
Get your ass over there and place the order immediately! If you fail, I'll beat your backside until it blossoms!"
"…But Ash is only taking three orders, and they've already been snapped up."
"…What's the price?"
"For the service of teaching Magikarp Tackle, the listed price is—"
"50,000 Poké Dollars."
"…Though the notice says it's only a temporary price and will be increased significantly later."
"Fifty thousand?! That's absurdly cheap!"
"Do this—go contact Ash immediately. No—forget that. 500,000 Poké Dollars. Half a million per Magikarp.
Use the Tsuchihara Family's name and sign a long-term cooperation agreement with him."
"At the very least, even if things go badly, you must secure one hundred Magikarp orders for me."
"Otherwise, I'll personally beat your backside into minced meat."
-----
Magikarp held an extremely awkward and special position in the Pokémon world.
First of all—Magikarp was the most numerous Pokémon in existence. No contest.
Second—while unevolved Magikarp was pitifully weak, once it evolved into Gyarados, it was truly a dragon-gate leap: an all-around explosion in power.
By all logic, a Pokémon that was plentiful and evolved into something terrifyingly strong should have been the ultimate "commoner's god-tier Pokémon."
Yet reality was cruel.
99.99% of Magikarp could only learn Splash.
No attack moves. No leveling path.
Rare items like Exp. Share were out of reach for most trainers, and feeding Rare Candies was prohibitively expensive.
Raising a Magikarp to evolution required so much time, money, and effort that most people gave up before even trying.
That was why—
Despite Gyarados being absurdly powerful, almost no one bothered to train Magikarp.
Fishermen casting by the river would curse loudly if the first thing they reeled in was a Magikarp.
Such was the embarrassment, the rejection, the sheer hatred directed at what should have been a Pokémon full of promise.
But—
The greater the disappointment, the greater the hope when a miracle appears.
When trainers learned that Ash's Move Mastery Room could help Magikarp learn Tackle—
When they learned that so-called "trash Magikarp" could truly leap the Dragon Gate—
The entire Kanto region flipped its attitude 180 degrees overnight.
Trainers rushed to rivers, lakes, and ponds to catch Magikarp, all so they could queue for Ash's shop and book a Tackle order.
Within just one or two hours, the news spread across Kanto—and then across the entire internet.
A breeze that began in Pallet Town was rapidly evolving into a catastrophic hurricane, sweeping toward the entire Pokémon world.
And as more and more trainers and ordinary people learned the name Ash,
the follower count of Ash's Move Mastery Room skyrocketed at a terrifying pace.
120,000…
180,000…
350,000…
How many people were there in Kanto? In the entire Pokémon world?
Even though only three slots were available—and already gone—
that didn't stop countless people from following this newly opened shop that hadn't even existed for a full month.
Ash had anticipated a massive reaction when he released the news that he could help Magikarp learn Tackle.
But when it actually happened—
He realized he had still underestimated its impact.
Magikarp was the most common Pokémon in the world.
Everyone knew it was underestimated, that it possessed enormous latent potential.
But that potential had always seemed sealed by the heavens.
And now—Ash was declaring that he could break that seal.
This was no longer just a business about teaching Pokémon moves.
If Ash's power could help Magikarp learn Tackle,
it meant reshaping the foundational strength of the Pokémon world itself.
It meant raising the overall combat ceiling of trainers everywhere.
In short—
Ash was changing the world.
-----
Indigo Plateau · Kanto League Headquarters
"…Everyone, what are your thoughts on this?"
The moment news broke that Ash's Move Mastery Room could help Magikarp learn Tackle,
and shockwaves tore through the Kanto trainer community—
the Kanto League Headquarters received the report immediately.
Because of Ash's extraordinary performance at the Pokémon Summer Camp,
and Professor Oak's 100% Champion Potential evaluation afterward,
the League had already been treating Ash as a top-tier seed talent.
A week earlier, when Ash had been ambushed and hunted by Team Rocket near Viridian City,
the League's concern escalated even further.
Additional League investigators were deployed to protect Pallet Town,
and multiple Ghost- and Psychic-type Pokémon skilled in stealth were assigned to guard Ash in secret.
The reason Ash had been living so peacefully lately wasn't just because he stayed in Pallet Town—
It was also because the League's protection around him had become airtight.
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