Landing a big customer

"No way, no... huh?!"

Watching Magikarp actually evolve into Gyarados, Misty sat on the ground, trying to comfort herself by denying it over and over. This had to be an illusion.

But no matter how she reassured herself, the reality before her would not change...

Only when Gyarados let out a roar did she finally snap out of it and remember something important she had to do right away!

Gyarados generally had extremely fierce temperaments. According to researchers, the structure of a Magikarp's brain cells reorganized when it evolved into Gyarados, causing its personality to become violent.

Misty had experienced this when her own Magikarp evolved, so she needed to soothe Gyarados as soon as possible, calm it down, and let it gradually get used to the tremendous power it had gained.

But just as she stood up and was about to approach, the Gyarados in the pool suddenly calmed down on its own. It kept looking around, seemingly surprised and curious, without the slightest sign of aggression.

"This..."

Misty froze in place. Everything happening before her today was already going beyond what she knew.

When she saw Gyarados finally grasp what had happened and break into a happy smile, she quickly asked, "How do you feel now? Any bad reactions?"

"Roar~"

Gyarados felt fantastic, ten times better than when it was a Magikarp... or even nine times!

"Its personality hasn't changed at all..."

Misty breathed a sigh of relief. Her frustration completely evaporated, leaving her feeling astonished as well.

After all, it had failed to evolve for so many days, yet eating a single piece of fruit had produced immediate results. Could this Tangerine really be responsible?

While she was pondering that, the commotion by the swimming pool made Xiaoxin, who had just arrived from the hospital, quicken her pace and run over.

"Misty, what happened... huh?"

She was about to ask when she saw Gyarados in the pool and instinctively stopped. Her expression went blank for a moment, then quickly turned into a smile.

Even though its entire demeanor had changed, she recognized it immediately. This was her Magikarp!

"Roar~"

Seeing Xiaoxin approach, Gyarados immediately cried out happily, then swam over and lowered its head so she could touch it.

"You really are a Gyarados! You look so cool!"

Xiaoxin reached out her little hand and stroked Gyarados. She could no longer hold back her excitement, or the pain she had been trying so hard to hide. Tears spilled uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes, wetting her adorable smiling face.

"This is wonderful... thank you!"

She turned to look at Misty as she walked over.

But Misty waved her hand and struck her usual pose, one hand on her hip. Smiling, she said, "No need to thank me. For the world's most beautiful girl, this was a piece of cake. Now go fulfill the promise you made to your father!"

"I will!"

Xiaoxin wiped away her tears, determination instantly filling her eyes. But when she turned back toward Gyarados, she froze again. Gyarados was huge. It was no longer a Magikarp she could tuck into her schoolbag and carry around...

"How could you be so careless? Well... you are still a kid. But you do remind me of someone I used to travel with."

The corners of Misty's lips lifted slightly, a flicker of nostalgia passing through her eyes. Then she took out a Poké Ball and handed it over. "You can have this Poké Ball. But be careful. Don't take Gyarados to school and attack your classmates. I know how mischievous you are."

"...Okay! Thank you~"

Xiaoxin took the Poké Ball. Although this was her first time using one, she attended the Pokémon School in Cerulean City, and her teachers had taught her about them!

Gyarados had been looking forward to the Poké Ball for a long time. The instant it touched its head, its body turned into red light and was drawn inside.

Xiaoxin looked at the Poké Ball in her hand and hugged it to her chest. She had caught... her very first Pokémon!

Misty watched with a smile from the side and nodded, deeply pleased. Then she said, "Once you've learned more about Trainers and Pokémon at school, take it on a journey!"

"I will!"

After saying goodbye, Xiaoxin left eagerly with Gyarados. Time waited for no one, after all.

Misty saw her out of the Gym and waved as she watched her go. "Do your best~"

A little while later, once Xiaoxin had boarded a bus and left, Misty smiled softly, looking forward to seeing how she would grow. But those Tangerines... she really needed to investigate them!

She returned to the pool, only to discover that her Psyduck was rummaging through the delivery box. The shock nearly made her side ponytail stand on end.

"Save one for me!"

Misty hurried over, but Psyduck had already dug out a Tangerine and eaten it without even peeling it. A second later, its eyes widened, and it held its cheeks with its little hands, looking utterly blissful.

"Psy~"

"Huh? Is it really that good?"

Having spent so much time together, she immediately understood what Psyduck meant. So these Tangerines not only had special effects, but tasted amazing too?

Seeing Psyduck suddenly reach for the last Tangerine, Misty snapped back to her senses. Gritting her teeth, she unleashed Headlong Rush and snatched it away.

"No! This one's mine!"

Holding the Tangerine, Misty decided to try it out of curiosity. She began peeling it, and the citrus fragrance released by just that tiny opening already had her mouth watering uncontrollably...

The peel was so thin that it could easily tear midway if she did not remove it slowly. The plump blue flesh inside, meanwhile, looked mouthwateringly delicious.

She had the strange impression that a gentle poke would unleash enough juice to leave the Cerulean Gym fighting floods for the next six months.

She set the peel aside, and Psyduck quietly took it and ate it. She did not notice, though. Unable to wait any longer, she broke off a segment of blue flesh and popped it into her mouth.

The instant she bit into it, her eyes widened in disbelief as she savored the flavor.

"So yummy..."

What was with this flavor?

She could not explain it. It was simply delicious.

By the time she came to her senses, she had finished the last Tangerine, and a wave of regret washed over her. She had never eaten fruit like this before. Simply tasting it and being done was nowhere near enough...

So what should she do next?

Buy more! Buy some more!

She remembered that the seller had listed Tangerines in other colors. She could buy them all to try, and ask whether he had any more left!

"That was 648 well spent!"

Back at the Manor, Mingyou was recording the condition of the apple trees in the orchard. Once he finished, he would prepare dinner. He was not sure whether Ogerpon would come over today.

Just then, his Rotom Phone received a message.

He tapped it open and found that Misty was contacting him through the platform. A smile appeared on his face. The Tangerines must have earned a good review.

He had actually received a few inquiries today, since his listing had spent some time on the homepage. But he had not made any sales and had been cursed out instead...

Seeing Misty's message saying she wanted to buy all three remaining varieties of Tangerines, Mingyou secretly rejoiced and replied, "Would you like to buy more?"

"Yes. By the way, do you have any more of those blue Tangerines?"

"A few."

"Then I'll take them all!"

"No problem!"

With a customer this easy to deal with, Mingyou naturally would not let the opportunity slip away. Because Sinistcha had sneaked some today, he only had four gray and four green Tangerines left, along with five each of the red and blue ones.

He could not sell all of them, though. He would only pack up three of each variety, leaving some for Ogerpon.

He quickly settled everything with Misty. He would ship them tomorrow morning, since it was already evening...

"Business is rolling in! Haha~"

Mingyou was in high spirits. Now he was making money! Finding a big customer really was great.

A little later, after making a round through the orchard, he had just returned to the Villa's entrance and was about to head to the kitchen when a familiar voice came from the distance.

"Pon~"

Ogerpon pattered through the orchard, bringing some Berries again today. Something had kept it away for the past two days, so it was really looking forward to seeing Mingyou now.

"You're here."

"Pon~"

Ogerpon skidded to a halt in front of Mingyou, but it had been running so fast that its momentum tipped it forward, nearly sending it sprawling. Fortunately, Mingyou bent down and caught it in his arms, though the impact still knocked him onto the ground.

"Why are you running so fast? Slow down."

"Pon~"

Because I wanted to see you~

"Haha."

Mingyou smiled and reached out to rub its head. Then he took its hand and stood up. "Perfect timing. The Ogerpon Citrus is fully ripe today. There are four flavors, and you can try them all."

"Pon?"

Curious, Ogerpon looked toward the fruit-laden Ogerpon Tangerine Tree nearby. Its expression slowly froze, and a flicker passed through its star-shaped pupils. Somehow... something felt strange.