After landing the hit, Dragonite didn't stop. It turned and charged at Pelipper again. But this time, Anthony didn't dare fight head-on. He avoided direct combat, choosing instead to attack from a distance.
His retreat, however, exposed his weakness to Natsui, and Dragonite immediately pressed the advantage.
Pelipper opened its beak slightly, sending out a small electric spark at Dragonite. Dragonite simply tilted its body, effortlessly dodging with its high speed. It then flew straight at Pelipper and rammed its head into its soft belly.
Pelipper's stomach compressed instantly. The impact forced it to open its mouth wide, almost revealing its secret, but it reacted just in time—snapping its beak shut and fleeing farther away.
Natsui made a small circling motion with his finger. Dragonite, high above, saw the signal and immediately understood, giving chase once more.
Pelipper flew across the sky to the other side. Looking back, it saw Dragonite gaining on it. It opened its beak slightly again—and this time, a bright burst of fire shot out. Pelipper had used the Fire-type move Flamethrower.
Counting the Grass-type Vine Whip and Electric-type Thundershock it had used earlier, plus Pelipper's own Water- and Flying-type nature, it had now displayed moves from five different types. Its arsenal seemed incredibly diverse.
Anyone unaware of the trick would definitely be fooled.
Faced with the flames, Dragonite remained calm. It flapped its wings, unleashing Hurricane to blow the Flamethrower right back at Pelipper.
Pelipper panicked. It didn't actually know Flamethrower—if those flames hit it, it would get burned too!
Luckily, the wind created by Hurricane was unbelievably strong. Even though it pushed the flames back, Pelipper rode the headwind and narrowly escaped the fiery blast.
But just as it stabilized itself, Dragonite silently closed the distance. Its long tail, wrapped in water, swung upward—Aqua Tail—whipping Pelipper directly across the face.
WHACK!
The blow landed cleanly. This time, being hit in the face, Pelipper couldn't hold back. Its mouth flew open, and three obvious Poké Balls shot out, mixed with a spray of saliva.
Pelipper crashed heavily to the ground, and the three Poké Balls bounced nearby.
One of them rolled all the way to Misty's feet. She stared at it for a moment before she realized what it was—and what Natsui had meant earlier.
"You're a cheater!" she shouted at Anthony, furious. "I actually thought your Pelipper was special, but you're just a fraud using stupid tricks! And you dare call your Pokémon the strongest in the world? You're shameless!"
Anthony's face turned pale. With his lie exposed, he had nothing to say.
He pulled out Pelipper's Poké Ball, recalled it, then hurried onto the field to collect the dropped Poké Balls. Without looking at anyone, he scrambled away from the battlefield.
He looked like a completely different man from the arrogant braggart he had been moments earlier.
The secret was simple: Anthony had hidden several Poké Balls inside Pelipper's mouth. When needed, Pelipper would wiggle its tongue to release the corresponding Pokémon.
After the Pokémon inside used a move, Pelipper would wiggle its tongue again to recall it—without anyone noticing.
This required a great deal of skill. To do it so smoothly, without being caught, and without being hit by the moves fired inside its own mouth… Anthony and Pelipper must have practiced endlessly.
If Anthony had put half that effort into real training, Pelipper would have improved tremendously, probably enough to defeat average trainers.
In the end, his clever tricks were his downfall.
While Misty continued screaming at Anthony's retreating figure, Natsui shook his head and patted her on the shoulder.
"Alright, let's go."
"Huh?" Misty asked, surprised. "We're just letting him walk away? He's tricked so many people! If we leave now, he gets off way too easy!"
"What else can we do?" Natsui replied calmly. "In the end, it's a problem with his character. The trainers he beat didn't lose anything important. Even if we call the police, what can they really do? And you saw him leave—he was embarrassed, not ashamed. He'll just do this again after we're gone."
"Then what?" Misty protested, even angrier. "Are we supposed to just let him keep scamming people?"
"You…" Natsui gently rubbed her head. "The world isn't just about right and wrong. There's also the darker side of human nature. If we meet truly evil people, we can't ignore it. But someone like him? There's not much we can do. We can only hope he runs into someone stronger one day, takes a real beating, and finally learns his lesson."
"Then let's expose him!" Misty insisted. "Let's tell everyone how disgusting he is so no one else gets tricked!"
Natsui shook his head. "That's not the best plan. It would waste our time, and Anthony could just move locations. Everything we did would be pointless. Come on—don't let someone like him weigh on you."
He finally managed to coax Misty away.
This really showed the difference in the personalities of the women around him. If Erika had been here, she would have just smiled and let it go.
Only Misty, with her strong sense of justice and youthful fire, would get so worked up.
If it had been Sabrina, things would have been even simpler—she would've waved her hand, turned Anthony into a doll, and stuck him in a corner for a few years.
Fortunately, Misty was still a young girl. Though she was fuming moments ago, a short walk later, she had already forgotten about the whole incident and returned to her cheerful, lively self.
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