Chapter 157: Three People From One Town, Two Unlucky Souls
2024-05-15 Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)
"A gambling fiend?"
Lambda was stunned by Ash's aura. He snapped his fingers, had Brother Hu bring over a chair, and sat down beside him, curious to watch the show.
Many of the surrounding gamblers also crowded around, wanting to see if this youth could really turn twenty bucks into twenty-five million.
Ash glanced around. Seeing that half the hall's attention was focused on him, he thought to himself that the plan had worked. Brother Red had probably already raided their base during this distraction, right?
So he began to slowly link the four slot machines together, then fed tokens into them one by one, reducing his speed to a minimum.
"Damn, can't this kid hurry it up?"
"You've got to be kidding me. I was hyped for this?"
"He's even more of a Slowpoke than a Slowpoke!"
The surrounding crowd immediately began to complain.
*Beep-beep.*
The four slot machines made a sound. After some fuss, the screens entered the ready state.
"Here we go!"
Ash yanked the lever, and all four slot machines instantly began to spin, their symbols changing constantly.
*Clank.*
The first symbol was a number 7.
The second symbol was also a number 7.
The third symbol was a 7 as well.
Five 7s appeared in a row!
When you link four slot machines, three 7s are useless. You need twelve 7s to appear simultaneously.
"Don't tell me this kid's actually gonna get it?"
"No way, don't disgust me."
The gamblers' eyes immediately turned red with envy.
Even Ash raised an eyebrow. His only goal was to cause a scene and draw the Game Corner's attention to himself—the bigger the commotion, the better. As for whether he could actually win...
He was notoriously unlucky, the type who could pull ten thousand gacha hats in a row only for the pity prize to be a sentimental gift from someone else.
"Did I really get it?"
He startled himself, his eyes uncontrollably drawn to the still-spinning slot machine screens, his breathing growing ragged.
He could say he didn't care, but he was actually full of anticipation.
This was human nature. Even someone who despises gambling will still hope to win when they're actually standing in a casino.
*Clank!*
At that moment, the slot machines stopped on several more symbols. Without exception, they were all the number 7.
Across the four slot machines, eleven of the twelve total columns now displayed the number 7. Only the very last column was still spinning.
"My god, what's the multiplier on this?"
"Four machines all with 7s, that's a one-in-a-million payout! You could buy a palace with that."
"I hope he doesn't win, I hope he doesn't win..."
The gamblers chattered amongst themselves. Ash also clasped his hands together, striking a pose like Planetary Devastation as sweat streamed down his forehead.
"A 7, give me a 7..." he muttered.
If he really won twenty million, only a fool would keep gambling. He'd just take the money and run, buy half of Pallet Town, and retire.
*Clank.*
The final symbol came to a stop, but it was stuck between the number 7 and a Pikachu icon, as if the system was still deciding which one to choose.
"7-7-7..." Ash continued to mutter.
*Click.*
The slot machine finally settled on the Pikachu icon.
"Damn it! I didn't even bring you today! Do you have to steal the show even when you're resting at the Pokémon Center!?"
Ash finally couldn't help but curse out loud.
"Pika~"
Back in the Pokémon Center, the resting Pikachu did a little flip and rubbed its belly, feeling as if it had unintentionally done something good.
"Damn! I thought he was a top player, but he's just a greenhorn."
"It's that Pikachu again, I swear..."
"From now on, if I see a Pikachu in Celadon City, I'm gonna beat it up."
"I feel like going to Viridian Forest and beating up a few Pikachu right now."
The crowd of gamblers scattered in an instant.
Even Lambda let out a cold laugh and turned to walk toward the inner door of the Game Corner.
This was the unwritten rule of the slot machines. It was normal for them to give you countless 7s. It was all to build your anticipation and get you hooked so you couldn't pull yourself away.
Those who couldn't even get the first 7 were the real jinxes. Even the casino wouldn't dare touch people like that; they'd be thrown out on sight for fear that their bad luck would be contagious and cause the casino to go bankrupt.
But that final, crucial 7? You would never get it in this lifetime.
Of course, there was a chance, but the probability was extremely low—about the same as randomly dropping a stone from the sky over the Hoenn Region and having it land squarely on Groudon.
"Hey, I want to make a big bet too."
Just as Lambda turned and had only walked a few meters, a low shout suddenly came from the crowd again. Lambda turned his head to look and was surprised to find that the speaker was a man in their own bodyguard uniform. He couldn't help but frown.
But upon a second look, he noticed that this grunt's expression and aura seemed out of sync with his clothes and physique. A normal person might not notice, but Lambda, a veteran master of disguise, saw it in a single glance.
It was a mole!
He saw the grunt raise a hand and make a chopping motion in the air toward him, like a cleaver cutting vegetables. Lambda reacted instantly, realizing that this grunt was the same disguised girl who had defeated him at the Silph Co. Building.
To be honest, he had been completely baffled by the instantaneous switch between the auras of the two Blues. The idea of a guardian spirit was too bizarre, so he hadn't considered it. He could only guess that the quirky girl might have some terrifying split personality disorder.
Truth be told, he didn't want to get involved with Blue again, but since she had come to him, he couldn't avoid it.
"Heh... we meet again," Lambda could only sigh at his misfortune as he walked over.
"Lambda-kun, help me exchange all of these for game tokens. Today, I'm betting the whole casino!"
The disguised Blue spoke with an air of dominance, throwing down dozens of bills. Each one was a thousand-unit note, which she had casually swiped from the safe in Zeus's room.
Inside, there were also many Team Rocket stock certificates. A quick count revealed nearly ten thousand shares, meaning she had completed another of her small goals.
Of the stock from the four great corporations in the Kanto Region, she was only missing the Pokémon League's.
When the surrounding gamblers saw this man, who was wearing a band-aid and a casino uniform, casually toss out tens of thousands, their eyes lit up, and they gathered around again to watch the show.
Lambda didn't dare to be careless. He could only bite the bullet and have his subordinates exchange the nearly one hundred thousand in paper currency for game tokens.
What the hell? He thought he saw Team Rocket's small logo on the edge of some bills. Had this girl robbed a Team Rocket vault?
"Young man, your luck is no good. Watch me."
The disguised Blue walked up to Ash, lightly patting his back and speaking in an arrogant tone.
"Who are you?"
Ash asked, puzzled. He didn't think he knew this grunt.
But that aura felt a little familiar, and so did the scent.
It was the scent of an Unlucky Person.
"I'm someone who's about to get rich!"
The disguised Blue couldn't help but laugh out loud. She then had the staff insert the max-value, thousand-unit tokens into twenty separate slot machines.
What was the point of four machines?
Twenty machines! Today, she, Blue, would win Team Rocket's entire lair!
"Whoa, is she going for it all in one go?"
"The multiplier on that would be incredible."
"It still comes down to luck. Everyone here is just missing that last 7."
The gamblers chattered amongst themselves.
The sevens before didn't matter; the most important one was the last.
*Clank-clank...*
Twenty slot machines started spinning simultaneously, the sixty columns of reels whirred with a mighty roar.
*Clank.*
Soon, the first column of symbols stopped.
It was a Sitrus Berry symbol.
Then came a Pikachu, a Squirtle, the letter R, and a wide variety of others. In short, there were no repeats.
But there wasn't a single number 7.
The gamblers: "..."
The gamblers all backed away from the disguised Blue as if facing a great enemy, afraid that her bad luck would spread to them.
Ash couldn't help but pat the disguised Blue's shoulder and laugh.
"Okay, my mistake. Turns out you're even unluckier than me, haha."
Bodyguard Blue: "..."
Three people came from one Pallet Town.
One whale, two paupers, and three unlucky souls.
(end of chapter)