Misty, the little mermaid

Misty couldn't believe that she would witness a fire-type starter Pokémon, not even evolved yet, defeat a water-type Pokémon (lucky you haven't met Ash yet).

Moreover, for a Pokémon Red had just recently captured, he commanded it with such skill, and Charmander followed his orders flawlessly without making any mistakes.

It was almost like... a bond!

'I still haven't fully appreciated Red's skills... he's more than I thought.' Misty calmed herself, looking at her two Pokéballs.

Inside those two Pokéballs were two Pokémon considered strong and a significant challenge for any trainer.

What? Lapras? Oh, that's not my Pokémon, so it doesn't count! (Really huh?)

However, among those two Pokémon, she could only use one. As for the other... she didn't dare to use it.

Trauma aren't that easy to recover from.

"Go, Starmie!"

Having made her decision, she returned Staryu and summoned Starmie.

As the evolved form of Staryu, it was bigger, more purple, and... had a more beautiful ruby?

Overall, it was stronger, though I'm not a fan of its appearance. But Glalie it's *chef kiss*, peak design, if i had a D i will- oh wait this is so wrong.

Anyway, back to the battle.

Red used a potion on Charmander, restoring it, but its strength wasn't the same as it had been in the first battle.

It's highly likely that it would be defeated in this round, so it would do everything possible to inflict as much damage on the opponent as it could.

"Power Gem!"

Starmie quickly gathered several gems around it and shot them at Charmander.

Seeing this, Charmander dodged, but then noticed that Starmie had disappeared.

Char?!

Suddenly, it felt something behind it. Turning around, it saw Starmie preparing to strike again, right up close to Charmander.

"Water Gun!"

Starmie fired a jet of water, and Charmander, unable to dodge in time, was hit, taking significant damage.

After all, Charmander hadn't evolved yet, while Starmie was a fully evolved Pokémon with a base stat total over 500, particularly in special attack and speed, making it very well-suited for fast-paced, high-damage battles.

"Well, it's clear how this is going to end..." the players predicted the outcome. After all, how could a fire-type beat a water-type? The first match must have just been luck.

But Blue was different. He was watching the battle seriously.

"Blue, are you sensing something?" Leaf asked.

"Of course, you know it too, don't you?"

"Who do you think I am?"

"What's going on with you two? Is there something about this battle?" Brock asked, confused.

"It's simple, Red is up to something."

"Really?" Brock looked closely at Red but couldn't see anything different.

"Stop trying to see, Brock. You won't notice it. Only childhood friends like us can tell," Leaf said cheerfully.

"Oh? Your friendship sounds wonderful."

"It would be better if she wasn't aroun—sorry, that slipped out."

"Do you think I'll forgive you that easily?"

While Leaf was getting ready to swipe something from Blue, Misty was sweating.

So much that Bob was counting every drop of sweat on Misty's thigh (dude, she 10).

"He's definitely planning something!" Misty was being extra cautious, watching both the battle and Red's expression.

Red's face was still emotionless, but she'd spent enough time with Red to know when he was calculating something (you've known him for less than a week).

So she had only one option left.

Finish the fight as quickly as possible, before Red could do anything!

"Starmie, use Brine!"

Starmie gathered a large ball of water and shot it at Charmander, who was struggling to stand.

Brine's damage is doubled if the opponent is below 50% health, and this was the perfect condition for it!

Just as the water ball reached Charmander, Red gave an order right at that moment.

"!?"

Charmander was surrounded by a green shield, rendering the attack ineffective.

"Protect! But why?!" Misty confused

Yes, Protect could block any attack, but it had its downsides.

The more you use it, the higher the chance of failure, and using Protect also consumes a turn.

Aside from stalling for time, what else could it do when Charmander was already so weak?!

Just as Misty was confused, she started to feel hotter than usual.

Not only hotter... but also brighter...

Wait a minute?!

She quickly looked up and realized there was a glowing orb in the sky.

Sunny Day!

No way... did Red really give that command while she was distracted?!

Damn it! I hate people who give silent commands!!!

There was no time to regret it now; the water in the pool began to evaporate, and Starmie felt weaker than usual.

All the male players were so hot they started panting and taking off their shirts.

"Croconaw, shoot Water Gun at my face!!!" Lukas, drenched in sweat, ordered Croconaw.

Croconaw was sweating too, trying its best to spray as much water as possible.

Unfortunately, half of it evaporated mid-air, and the water didn't feel cool at all.

"STOP IT! YOU'RE BOILING MY SKIN!!"

Gah!!! (Are you okay?!!)

Leaf was also feeling unbearably hot, but noticed Brock was completely unfazed, while Blue, wearing sunglasses and an Alola outfit, was enjoying the sun as if it were normal.

Wait, when did you change clothes?!

Red's eyes gleamed red, and he immediately ordered Charmander to attack.

Misty gritted her teeth; she couldn't believe Red had been hiding so many tricks.

"Power Gem!"

Starmie shot gems at Charmander, who tried to dodge but still got a few scratches.

But Charmander didn't falter and kept running forward, knowing that if it stopped, it would be defeated.

Sunny Day had drained most of its strength and would end soon. Right now, it could only use five Slash attacks.

After those five, Charmander would be completely useless!

Charrr!!

Charmander's claws glowed as it slashed at Starmie.

Slash!

"Rapid Spin!"

Starmie spun, forcing Charmander back, then charged at it.

Charmander used Slash to block, causing sparks to fly between its claws and Starmie's purple skin.

"Confusion!"

A psychic attack struck Charmander directly. It was clear that Charmander had been defeated.

As it was about to fall into the water, its eyes flashed red, just like its trainer's.

CHARR!!

Charmander's claws lit up once more, aiming directly at the ruby in Starmie's center.

Slash! Critical hit!

Crack!

Starmie's ruby cracked, dealing severe damage.

But... the battle was over.

Charmander fell into the water, floating face-up, fainted.

"Charmander is unable to battle. Starmie wins!"

Charmander had given it its all, but unfortunately, it still lost.

However, its effort was commendable, as Starmie was now barely holding on with just a sliver of health left.

But... Red's next Pokémon was Magikarp...

"So, it's clear Red's going to lose, right?" Leaf sighed, disappointed.

Blue was too stunned to speak. His best friend and rival was about to lose, leaving him at a loss for words.

However, the other players weren't as concerned. Whether Red won or lost didn't matter much to them—after all, NPCs weren't that important.

Except to Rey.

"Oh no, my sugar daddy lost!!" Rey cried.

To him, Red was the strongest NPC he could rely on, so if Red lost, that meant he wasn't the strongest anymore.

What now, switch to that orange-haired tomboy? But she's a girl—relying on a girl is just shameless!

Misty sighed in relief, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted.

But she also felt a little sorry for Red. Both of his friends had won, but Red alone had lost. It was really unfortunate.

But rules are rules—she's a Gym Leader, and she had to play fair.

Red retrieved Charmander, looking at it for a moment before putting the Pokéball away.

Pika...

Pikachu wanted to comfort Red, telling him that there would be another chance, and that she could destroy the whole Gym with ease.

But Red just smiled, showing no sadness at all.

He threw out a Pokéball, summoning Magikarp.

Magikarp looked clueless, dazed, and stupid...

Even I don't think I can save Red this time. No matter how thick plot armor might be, I have to write something reasonable.

Well, F for Red.

Misty looked at Magikarp and sighed.

Just as she was about to order Starmie to quickly finish Magikarp off, the fish suddenly swam towards Starmie and attacked.

Starmie fainted!

...

.....

....huh?

Huh?! What?! How?!

The players, Blue, Leaf, Brock, Misty, and even me were frozen in shock, staring at the Magikarp that had just attacked Starmie.

But... wasn't that Magikarp only level 7?!

Red smiled. It seemed they didn't know Magikarp had a very special feature.

The attack Magikarp just used was Struggle, a hidden move for Magikarp.

Why is it called a hidden move, you ask? Simple.

When Magikarp's Splash runs out of PP, since it has no other moves, if you keep commanding Magikarp to do something, it will instinctively try to do something.

And Struggle is a basic instinct that all living creatures have.

Luckily, Struggle can actually deal damage to an opponent.

Why did he know?

FLASH BACK...

To be more precise, before they entered the gym:

[Magikarp, Level 5

Moveset: Splash

(Hidden move: Struggle)

Can be used when Splash runs out of PP.]

"..."

So Red had already made Magikarp use up all its Splash PP, and although Leaf noticed, she didn't think much of it.

END OF FLASH BACK...

Misty couldn't believe her eyes, frozen in place as she stared at Magikarp, who seemed pretty happy to have defeated its first opponent.

Her mind was filled with only one thought...

"HOW THE HECK DID THAT HAPPEN?????"