Chapter 6: Who Ripped the B Key off My Keyboard!!

Early the next morning, Ash and his Pokémon stood in neat rows to perform their morning radio calisthenics. It was said that this helped prevent broken bones in one's later years.

"Alright, onwards to becoming a Pokémon Master!"

"Pika!" Pikachu was the first to respond, raising its tiny paw.

The harder you work, the luckier you get! Ash and his team shouted their pledge with such passionate, fiery intensity that it left Misty, who had just woken up, with a face full of black lines. She couldn't help but wonder what "Pokémon Master" even meant.

"Heh heh, a Pokémon Master is, of course, the greatest existence..."

BOOM!

Before Ash could finish, a loud explosion suddenly echoed from the horizon. Three dark silhouettes descended from the sky. Though there were no speakers nearby, a booming, high-energy background track seemed to play out of thin air.

"Who's there!?" Ash instinctively shouted.

"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Meowth, that's right!"
"We are Team Rocket, traversing the galaxy!"

The trio struck a bizarre new pose on a high rock platform, looking surprisingly cool.

"Ugh! You Team Rocket members are like a bad penny!" Misty frowned, not holding back her sarcasm.

"Hmph, we came specifically for that discerning little brat."
"That's right, that Pikachu must be a rare deviant type; it belongs to Team Rocket!"
"You idiots, don't tell them the plan, meow!"

Ash had initially thought they were here to encourage him. He never expected them to be after Pikachu, so he quickly scooped the Pokémon into his arms.

"Oh ho, so you want to resist?"
"Last time we lost to you, it was only because we were careless. This time, you're sure to lose!"

With that, the two released their Arbok and Weezing. There was no helping it; with limited funding, low-level members like the Team Rocket trio could only requisition such Pokémon. However, it was rumored that Team Rocket was undergoing institutional reforms to improve their supply chain, so perhaps in a few days, they would have the chance to use powerful Pokémon reserved for high-ranking members.

Ash, however, was completely bewildered. Wasn't this their first time meeting? Where did this talk of "defeating them" come from? Were they trying to scam him? But looking at the clearly hostile Weezing and Arbok, Ash didn't dare be careless and prepared to send out Pikachu to fight. Come to think of it, this was his first battle, and just the thought of it made his blood boil.

"Wait a minute, Pikachu is the prize, so you can't use it to fight!" Jessie suddenly spoke, looking righteous.

Ash was stunned for a moment. That actually seemed to make sense. "Alright, come back, Pikachu."

Misty: "???" What was with this bizarre sense of mutual understanding?

"In that case, I choose you, Pidgeotto!"

Ash sent out his second-in-command. Amidst a flash of red light, Pidgeotto took flight, its brown feathers vibrant and its demeanor majestic. Seeing Ash intending to take on two opponents alone, Misty hurriedly reminded him from behind: "There are two of them, you should send out a second Pokémon too!"

"But that violates the battle rules...?" Ash countered weakly. In the Kanto region, single battles were the norm, and double battles were rare.

"Since when does your League law state that if you defeat your opponent, you get their Pokémon?!" Misty was nearly fuming. How did Ash behave like a battle-hardened veteran last time, yet act like a naive rookie now? Was he just trying to mess with her? Did he have to commit to the act this much?

Team Rocket wouldn't wait for them to finish bickering. Seizing the opportunity, they launched their attack first.

"Arbok, use Bite!"
"Weezing, use Smog!"

Facing Arbok’s snapping jaws, Pidgeotto was quick enough to flap its wings and dodge. Seeing the purple smoke approaching, it flapped its wings again, whipping up a dull yellow whirlwind to scatter it. Gust! Since Pidgeotto was already at its second stage of evolution, its strength was decent enough to hold its own.

Ash quickly used his Pokédex to scan his Pidgeotto.

"Beep. Pidgeotto, the ubiquitous bird Pokémon, likes to eat Caterpie. Skills: Tackle, Quick Attack, Gust, Sand-Attack."

Feeling confident, Ash commanded, "Now it's our turn! Use Quick Attack!"

"Pidge-otto!" The bird nodded, let out a sharp cry, and turned into a streak of white light as it rushed toward Arbok. However, having already witnessed the god-like speed of the round-faced Pikachu, the latter didn't panic and simply dove into the dirt to dodge the blow.

"Weezing, use Mud-Slap!" James commanded.

*Splat!*

The black mud pellets spat out by Weezing grazed Pidgeotto’s body narrowly.

"Now's our chance, Arbok, use Wrap!"

Suddenly, Arbok burst out from the ground beneath Pidgeotto. It leaped upward, reaching the bird's height, and its purple body coiled around Pidgeotto, locking it firmly before it could react. Fighting two-on-one was still too much for Pidgeotto.

James pressed the attack: "Weezing, use Mud-Slap again!"

*Splut!*

This time, the pitch-black mud smacked squarely into Pidgeotto's face, dealing significant damage.

"Damn it, Pidgeotto!" Ash was in a panic, unsure of his next move. This was his first time battling someone else.

"Idiot, hurry up and use your second Pokémon!" Misty urged.

That snapped Ash back to reality. Ignoring the rules of fairness, he quickly threw his second Poké Ball.

"I choose you, Rayquaza!"

Immediately, a dull-looking Caterpie appeared in everyone's line of sight.

Team Rocket: "?" Had the Pokémon League officially renamed Caterpie recently? And why give it such an arrogant, domineering name? Rayquaza? Weren't they afraid of losing their luck? Still, Team Rocket couldn't fall behind the times. From this day on, every Caterpie they saw would be called Rayquaza. Otherwise, people would think Team Rocket were just uncultured country bumpkins!

"Hmph, but what can a Rayquaza even do?" Jessie said dismissively.
"That's right, Rayquaza is just as useless as a Magikarp!" James added with a sneer.

Misty: "..." Did I wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?

The battle reached a stalemate. With Caterpie's delicate body, it was indeed hard to break the deadlock, leaving Ash in a bind. When in doubt, look to quantum mechanics! Ash quickly used his Pokédex to scan the Caterpie.

"Beep. Caterpie, nickname: Rayquaza. Skills: Tackle, String Shot, Electroweb."

"Electroweb?" Ash frowned. What kind of skill was that? He’d never heard of it. But since it sounded like an Electric-type move, he couldn't use it yet—Pidgeotto was still surrounded by the other two Pokémon.

"Then use String Shot, Rayquaza!"

*Hiss, hiss...*

Caterpie opened its tiny mouth and spat out a massive amount of white silk. Unexpectedly, the volume of the white liquid was so high that it turned Arbok into a silkworm cocoon on the spot.

"Pidge-otto!" Pidgeotto took the chance to break free.

"Great opportunity! Rayquaza, use Electroweb!" Ash commanded.

Caterpie flicked its mouth, and the white silk changed color to a brilliant yellow, forming a massive web that covered both Weezing and Arbok.

*Zzzzt!*

The electric current paralyzed them, accompanied by crackling sounds that left both Pokémon stunned and groaning in pain. Ash’s eyes lit up. He whipped his hat backward and roared:

"Final blow! Rayquaza, Pidgeotto, use Tackle!"

As he spoke, the bug and the bird launched dual Tackles, slamming into Weezing and Arbok together. The impact sent the Team Rocket trio flying along with their Pokémon, turning them into a shooting star that disappeared into the horizon once more.

"Rayquaza... what a powerful Pokémon..." The trio in the sky finally understood why the Pokémon League had changed the official name of Caterpie.

The battle came to an end. Ash was thrilled by his first victory. He joyfully returned his bird-tool to its ball and hugged the Caterpie, spinning around several times while Misty and Pikachu clapped along. She had never imagined a Rayquaza could be so strong.

"Damn it, why did I get sucked into this too!" Misty shook her head, trying to snap back to reality.

Just as Ash was about to return the Caterpie to its ball, *hiss, hiss!* The Caterpie spat out white silk into the sky, which rained down like a stream of water, wrapping it into a cocoon. A strange white light began to glow from within.

"This is...?" Ash stared, wide-eyed and confused.

"This is the light of evolution," Misty quickly explained. Battles yield experience, and experience allows Pokémon to evolve—that was common sense.

"Evolution... oh wait, the Pokédex, the Pokédex!!" Ash realized instantly that this wasn't the time for evolution! He only needed to suppress the evolution until the Caterpie reached the perfect maximum level to evolve into the invincible Rayquaza.

"Right, the B button... the B button...!" He stared intently at the glowing light, pulled out his Pokédex, and pressed down where the B button should be.

"Huh?" Why didn't he feel a button?

Ash looked down closely and realized that the spot where the B button used to be was bald. It had been filled with some weird glue, preventing it from being pressed. He could only watch helplessly as the Caterpie within the white light continued to change its form...

"Damn it! Which bastard pried off my B button?!"

Ash’s dragon-like roar echoed throughout the entire Viridian Forest!