Xia You looked closely and found the man in the suit very familiar. After thinking carefully, wasn't he the man he last battled on the ship when he came to the Kanto region?
This was truly a coincidence.
However, the purple Rattata that had battled Kirlia before had already evolved into a brown Raticate.
"Raticate, use Jump Kick!"
"Starmie, use Tackle!"
The two Pokémon collided, seemingly evenly matched, but in reality, Raticate had the upper hand. After they separated, the man in the suit commanded again.
"Raticate, use Hyper Fang!"
With a burst of speed, Raticate rushed in front of Starmie and bit hard into Starmie's body with its sharp fangs. As it continued to exert force, the gem in the center of Starmie suddenly shattered, and its entire body was sent flying backward, crashing onto the ground.
A round of applause erupted from the crowd, cheering loudly for the victor.
Seeing the young Trainer holding his Pokémon, the man in the suit—although victorious—still showed his gentlemanly demeanor.
"This was just a small battle," he said calmly. "It can only be said that the goddess of victory favored me this time. In short, you should train your Starmie to be stronger in the future."
A woman in a red strapless dress walked over and linked arms with the man in the suit.
Successful in battle, and successful in love. It was obvious this man greatly enjoyed such a life.
"Alright," the man said confidently, "is there any other Trainer who wants to challenge my Raticate?"
Before Xia You could even react, he felt a blur beside him. Ash had already rushed forward.
"I'm fired up! Let my Butterfree be your opponent!"
Xia You shook his head slightly. He greeted Misty and Brock, then chose not to watch the battle. Instead, he walked away with Kirlia toward another part of the hall.
Before boarding the ship, he had already returned his other Pokémon, worried about the noise and crowd. Only Kirlia remained by his side.
Passing by various stalls, Xia You suddenly noticed a young man dressed as a waiter speaking with an old man selling Magikarp.
The young man was handsome, with blue-gray semi-long hair parted down the middle, covering his ears. His overall demeanor looked gentle—almost overly kind.
"I'll tell you a secret," the old Magikarp merchant whispered mysteriously, a white band tied around his head and a shrewd look in his eyes. "This Magikarp can lay golden eggs!"
The young man froze.
"Golden eggs?"
"That's right, that's right." The merchant covered his mouth and whispered, "A Magikarp lays a thousand eggs at a time. A thousand Magikarp lay a thousand eggs again. A thousand times a thousand is a million! If those million lay eggs again, that would be an astronomical number!"
The blue-haired man seemed completely confused by the logic.
"That… that's amazing!"
Seeing he was tempted, the Magikarp merchant pressed on.
"This Magikarp only costs ten thousand. If it lays eggs three times, you'll earn hundreds of millions!"
"Only three times!?" The young man exclaimed in shock. "Wouldn't I become a billionaire very quickly!?"
"That's why I said it lays golden eggs!" The merchant grinned. "How about it? Normally it's ten thousand, but today it comes with an egg-laying set, breeding set, and nurturing set. All together—only thirty thousand!"
This scene.
This situation.
Isn't this James of Team Rocket, and that infamous Magikarp merchant!?
Xia You stared in disbelief. He had actually encountered this legendary scene—the origin of countless disasters.
What he didn't understand was why James, who clearly came from a wealthy family, could still be tempted by money like this.
Seeing James take out his wallet, clearly about to buy the Magikarp, Xia You coughed lightly and walked over.
"Boss, how about selling this Magikarp to me for 500?"
"What did you say!?" The Magikarp merchant waved his hand impatiently. "Get lost! This Magikarp lays golden eggs! How could I sell it for 500?"
"Golden eggs?" Xia You stroked his chin, carefully examining the lively Magikarp splashing in the water. "But it looks no different from the Magikarp in the river. Boss, are you mistaken? This Pokémon can be found almost anywhere—lakes, rivers, even the sea. Anyone can catch one with a fishing rod. Besides me, who would even buy it?"
James' body trembled slightly, as if waking up from a dream.
"Common… Magikarp? No one would buy it?"
Seeing James hesitate, the merchant hurriedly explained.
"Hey, hey! Don't listen to his nonsense! This Magikarp is special—gold, gold!"
"Oh? Really?" Xia You curled his lips. "Then why haven't you become a millionaire yet, old man, and are still selling Magikarp here?"
James finally understood.
"You scoundrel! You dare trick me!"
He kicked the fish tank angrily, then nodded gratefully to Xia You before storming off.
Xia You placed his hands behind his back and turned to leave, but was suddenly stopped by the merchant's outstretched hand.
"Hey! We have no grudge—why did you ruin my business!?"
Xia You tilted his head. "Ah, sorry about that. I just had a good impression of that guy and couldn't bear to see him being deceived. If you want to sell it, try your luck with the next destined customer."
He stepped around the merchant, but was blocked again.
"Don't think you can just walk away! You ruined my deal—so you buy it!"
Afraid Xia You might leave, the merchant reached out to grab his sleeve—
—but Kirlia stepped forward.
Its eyes slowly glowed with psychic light, staring coldly at him.
If the merchant dared move even closer, a Confusion attack would immediately follow.
Startled, the merchant withdrew his hand at once.
Xia You turned back and looked at the Magikarp.
Even without James kicking the tank, based on experience, this Magikarp was already close to evolving. If he bought it, it wouldn't be long before he gained a Gyarados.
It was indeed a good deal.
"That's fine," Xia You said calmly. "Sell it to me for 500."
This price wasn't random. In many places, Magikarp really did sell for this amount—it fully matched the market price.
"500?" The merchant frowned deeply. "I could've sold it for 30,000 just now!"
Seeing Xia You's unmoved expression, after a long silence, the merchant's eyes darted around. Finally, he sighed.
"Fine… 500 it is. I'll take the loss and sell it to you."