"Are you sure you want to use that Pokémon against my Riolu?" Korrina asked again.
"Certain." Naoki smiled. "Underestimating your opponent is how you lose."
That was enough for Korrina.
"Then let's go! Riolu, Swords Dance!"
Standard approach, buff first then strike. Naoki watched Riolu leap into a vigorous Swords Dance and gave his command without any hesitation.
"Double Team. Surround it."
The golden Magikarp's form flickered on the field, and copy after copy rose up on either side, encircling Riolu completely.
Double Team? How could a Magikarp learn Double Team? Korrina's expression shifted with confusion, but she shook it off quickly.
"Riolu, Rock Smash!"
Naoki was already smiling as he gave the simultaneous order. "Extrasensory."
The five or six golden Magikarp surrounding Riolu began moving at once.
Invisible waves of psychic force poured from each of them, converging on Riolu from every direction like a tide.
Riolu sensed something was wrong and instinctively lunged at one of the Magikarp, driving a fighting-energy-wrapped fist into it.
The Magikarp dissolved like seafoam.
A copy.
Before Korrina could react, an invisible force swallowed Riolu whole.
Its small body was sent flying backward.
"Press the advantage. Extrasensory." Naoki continued.
As long as Zorua had not taken a direct hit, she could maintain the illusion indefinitely without revealing her true form.
In the eyes of every person watching, she was still nothing more than a Magikarp.
"Riolu, hold on!" Korrina called out urgently.
Too late.
The Extrasensory broke through Riolu's defense cleanly.
Riolu let out a pained cry and collapsed, unable to continue.
Korrina's mouth fell open slightly.
The Trainers around them went completely silent.
What had they just seen?
A golden Magikarp that had learned Double Team and Extrasensory?
How was that possible? That made no sense by any standard understanding of how Pokémon worked.
Even Professor Oak himself would have done a double take if he had been standing there.
"You lose." Naoki recalled Zorua and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Korrina thrust out her hand.
Naoki looked back.
"How did you do that?" Korrina demanded. "How can a Magikarp learn moves like those?"
"Trade secret." Naoki smiled, turned, and walked away.
"..."
Korrina was deeply unsatisfied with that answer.
She recalled Riolu into her Poké Ball and broke into a run after him.
"Please wait!"
Naoki had been heading toward an inn to find a room for the night. He turned to find Korrina sprinting up behind him, slightly out of breath.
He raised an eyebrow.
"That Magikarp..." Korrina caught her breath. "How did it learn Double Team and Extrasensory? Those moves are impossible for a Magikarp. Even a Gyarados can't learn either of those."
Breeding? No chance. Even Gyarados had no access to either move through any known method.
"Please, tell me!" Korrina pressed, practically pleading.
Naoki said nothing.
At that moment, Zorua jumped up onto his shoulder.
Korrina stared at Zorua in complete bewilderment.
Naoki smiled and said, "Sometimes what you see isn't necessarily what's real."
With that he turned and walked away, leaving Korrina standing alone in the middle of the street, frozen in place.
Zorua. The Magikarp. Double Team. Extrasensory.
Korrina's pupils shrank slightly as everything clicked into place.
Naoki found a random inn and checked in. It was still early in the day, and he realized Magikarp had been sitting in a Poké Ball for days now. That had to be wearing on it.
He took all three Pokémon down to Shalour City's beach and released Magikarp from the Poké Ball.
The moment it hit the open ocean it dove headfirst into the water like a water dragon returning to the sea.
Naoki blinked.
Was this Magikarp making a run for it?
"Magikarp! Magikarp!"
He called out urgently.
After a long pause, ripples disturbed the surface and Magikarp floated slowly back up.
Its eyes were as blank and glassy as ever, but Naoki could just make out a thin thread of impatience running beneath them.
The whole posture seemed to say: What? I finally get somewhere big enough to actually swim and you're already yelling?
Naoki said nothing.
Seeing Magikarp's attitude, Pawmi immediately spoke up.
"Pawmi!" (Naoki was trying to do something nice for you!)
Magikarp turned its dead fish eyes toward Pawmi.
Sensing the atmosphere heading somewhere unpleasant, Naoki stepped between them quickly. "Alright, alright. No arguing."
"Pawmi!" Pawmi turned its head away.
Magikarp turned its head away too.
"Wuu..." Zorua let out a helpless sound.
She looked at Magikarp, then at Pawmi, then walked over to Pawmi's side and gently smoothed down its fur with her small paws.
"Go on, enjoy yourself," Naoki said to Magikarp, slightly exasperated. "We'll wait right here. Come back if anything feels dangerous."
The blue waves of Shalour's bay rolled in steadily, salt-tinged wind carrying fine droplets against the shallow rocks near shore.
Given permission, Magikarp flicked its tail and dove back into the deep blue.
Its golden scales scattered light through the water as it wove its way between drifting jellyfish and schools of Goldeen, moving freely through the open sea.
"Pawmi..."
Pawmi was crouched next to Naoki's foot, its round face still slightly puffed up, occasionally glancing out at the water and muttering under its breath. Clearly still holding onto that last interaction.
"It's fine, that's just how Magikarp is," Naoki said, resting a hand on Pawmi's head. "Remember how it charged straight at me the first time we met, trying to ram into me even when it was the one getting hurt? It's our partner now, so we have to learn to accept it for what it is."
"Pawmi..." Pawmi still felt the behavior was completely unreasonable.
They all lived together. Naoki was so good to all of them. And yet Magikarp just kept being rude about it.
Pawmi was indignant on Naoki's behalf.
Under the surface of the water, Magikarp drifted along with its usual blank expression.
Blank-looking as it was, it was not actually stupid.
As it moved slowly through the water it turned over everything that had happened recently.
Today had probably been a bit much, honestly. Naoki had gone out of his way to bring it somewhere this big just so it could swim around, and it had responded by making a face at everyone.
Was that a bit ungrateful?
Magikarp drifted in silence for a while, no longer feeling like swimming.
It descended to the seafloor, snapped off a piece of pink coral, swam back up to the surface, and spat the coral out in front of Naoki.
Naoki blinked and looked down at it.
"For me?" Was this real?
Magikarp did not answer. It flicked its eyes toward Pawmi and made a small internal sound.
It might have a bad temper. But it was not the kind of Pokémon that forgot what someone had done for it.
"Pawmi..." Pawmi had also worked out what Magikarp meant.
An awkward silence settled between the two Pokémon.