"You! How come your Pokémon is a Typhlosion?!"
Ash Ketchum's opponent, a teenage girl, stared in disbelief. At first, she thought the boy was using a Cilan—Typhlosion's base form—but to her shock, he had pulled out its final evolution from the start.
There was simply no comparison. A basic Pokémon like Kiawe might stand a chance against a regular evolved Pokémon with some clever tactics and type advantage, but this was an entirely different playing field. This Typhlosion had undergone two full evolutions and was radiating power. Even with the water-type advantage, there was no way her unevolved Kiawe could take this on.
Unless, of course, her Kiawe had evolved all the way to Feraligatr—which it hadn't.
"Why can't I use a Typhlosion?" the young man smirked, his voice laced with mockery. "What's wrong? Scared?"
Then his tone shifted to something more sinister. "Let me make things simple for you. You've got two options. First, admit defeat and transfer me two thousand yuan. Second, let your little Kiawe fight my Typhlosion, let it enjoy tearing him apart—and then transfer the money anyway."
"You're shameless!" the girl snapped, her face flushing red with fury. "You set this up from the beginning! If I had known you had a Typhlosion, I wouldn't have come near you even if someone paid me!"
"That's your problem," the boy scoffed. "You wanted to take advantage of someone you thought was weak and got burned for it."
He pulled out his phone and flicked his wrist dramatically, grinning. "No more talk. If you're not going to fight, then just transfer the money. I can't stand sore losers."
With a loud snap of his fingers, his Typhlosion took a step forward. The heat around its neck flared as tongues of flame rose ominously. The threat was clear.
Cornered and afraid for her Kiawe, the girl finally gave in. She reached into her pocket with trembling hands, pulled out her phone, and reluctantly transferred 2,000 yuan—two-thirds of her current savings.
The boy confirmed the payment with a quick glance, then looked up and called out loudly to the crowd that had gathered.
"Alright! Who else wants to challenge me? I'll be generous—twenty of you can take me on at once. Two thousand yuan per person, and if you win, I'll pay each of you twenty thousand!"
Excited murmurs rippled through the spectators. After a moment, several players began calling out to each other, asking if anyone wanted to team up. The crowd quickly grew into a battalion of eager trainers.
Two minutes later, twenty players stood across from the boy, each with a Kiawe at their side.
"Everyone, get ready!" shouted one of the leaders among them. "We'll all use Water Gun together. No matter how strong Typhlosion is, it can't withstand a coordinated assault!"
"Yeah! Let's teach this guy a lesson!" another trainer added, full of bravado.
The boy looked at the impromptu team of trainers and chuckled, amused by their confidence. "You really think you can win with just numbers?"
He reached behind his back and revealed two more Poké Balls.
With a dramatic flourish, he released them both.
Two flashes of light burst into the air, revealing a Brock—the evolved form of Chikorita—and a Croconaw, Kiawe's second-stage evolution.
The crowd gasped.
He didn't just have Typhlosion. He also had the evolved forms of the other two starter Pokémon.
"That's cheating!" someone shouted from the group.
"Unfair!" another echoed. "You never said anything about having more Pokémon!"
The boy's lips curled into a smug grin as he twirled one of his Poké Balls in his fingers. "I never said I didn't have more, either. Remember what I said: you've got two options. Admit defeat and transfer two thousand yuan each, or fight me and let my Typhlosion, Brock, and Croconaw enjoy themselves."
"You wish!" the group leader shouted. "Let's go, everyone! We've got numbers on our side!"
Twenty voices yelled out commands in unison, each trainer directing their Kiawe toward the trio of evolved Pokémon.
The boy didn't flinch.
"Croconaw, use Scary Face!"
Croconaw opened its mouth wide and let out a ferocious roar, its face contorting into something monstrous. The wave of fear swept through the Kiawe squad, making many of them freeze in place.
"Brock, Poison Powder!"
A cloud of green pollen burst from Brock's leaf collar and drifted through the air. The paralyzed Kiawe had no time to dodge. They choked on the toxins, staggering as the effects took hold. Their cries of "Kiaa—Kiawe!" were filled with pain.
"Typhlosion, Flamethrower!"
With a loud hiss, Typhlosion unleashed a stream of searing flames, engulfing the poisoned and frightened Kiawe in a fiery inferno.
It was a massacre.
One by one, the Kiawe collapsed, unable to withstand the triple onslaught. Within a minute, the battlefield was quiet. Twenty Kiawe lay sprawled out, unconscious and burned. Their trainers rushed forward to check on them, horror written all over their faces.
But the boy wasn't done.
"Hey, hey, where do you think you're going?" he said lazily as he signaled to Typhlosion.
The fire-type Pokémon took a few steps forward and released a burst of flame in front of the trainers, blocking their retreat.
"You—!"
Fury and fear warred on their faces, but the boy shrugged. "Don't be sore losers. Transfer the money and you can go. And let me remind you, this isn't some pixel-based game. If your Pokémon dies, it's dead. No revives. No potions. Not even the gods can save it."
Then he paused dramatically.
"Well, unless you somehow manage to run into the legendary Ho-Oh, of course. That one might help… if you're lucky."
The reluctant players gritted their teeth and opened their apps. One by one, the transfers came in.
After collecting all the payments, the boy turned back to the crowd of remaining spectators and shouted again.
"Alright! Let's make things interesting. I'll raise the stakes! Four thousand yuan per person! If I lose, I'll pay you four thousand each. If I win, you only pay two thousand."
No one moved this time.
The boy's grin widened as he realized his intimidation had worked. He was about to shout again when a voice cut through the silence.
"You're a beta tester, aren't you?"
Everyone turned.
A boy with glasses stepped out of the crowd, eyes narrowed and calm. He stared directly at the smug young man leaning against the tree.
The crowd buzzed. "Beta tester? What does that mean?"
The bespectacled boy answered, "This game started beta testing a year ago. Tianshen Technology selected 10,000 people from around the world to experience the game early and provide feedback. They got a massive head start."
He turned his attention back to the trainer with Typhlosion. "You're using your early-game advantage to bully new players in New Bark Town. Isn't that a violation of the rules? Aren't you worried Tianshen Tech will ban your account?"
The smug boy didn't answer at first. Then, he began to chuckle.
"Ban me? You really don't get it, do you?"
He stepped forward slowly, his eyes glowing with a twisted amusement. "The game has crashed. We can't log out anymore. That means no one—no developer, no moderator, no admin—can touch me now."
A chill went down the crowd's collective spine.
"But the game will get fixed eventually!" the bespectacled boy insisted.
The beta tester burst out laughing.
"Fixed? Let me tell you something funny: this game is beyond fixing. We're stuck here. Forever."
He clapped his hands slowly. "Come on out, steve. Mark."
Two people emerged from the crowd, a man and a woman. They each held a Poké Ball and, without a word, released them.
Out came a Charizard and a Venusaur—the final evolutions of Charmander and Bulbasaur.
Gasps filled the air. The trio had collected all three fully evolved Kanto starters.
Charizard flapped its wings and landed with a heavy thud. Venusaur gave a low growl and planted itself firmly on the other side of the crowd.
They were boxed in.
The boy with Typhlosion stepped forward again, addressing the frightened crowd with a grin.
"I'll keep it simple. I don't care about robbing everything you've got. Just two thousand yuan each will do."
He paused.
"But if you don't pay… well, then release your Pokémon. We'll enjoy crushing them one by one."
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