Zatch and Pudding were at a concession stand in front of a shop, and they were at a raffle drawing to win a yellowtail fish. Zatch handed three dollars to the owner of the concession stand, and he turned the handle on the raffle machine. Pudding exclaimed as a white ball came out of the machine, "I think you just won the prize!" The owner of the concession stand replied in regretful tone, "You lose, but your consolation prize is this blue gumball." Pudding also had three dollars, and she decided to see what she would win. She turned the metal handle, and a gold ball came out! The owner yelled with a happy look on his face, "Congratulations, you won this 20-pound yellowtail fish!"
He put the giant fish in a metal tank filled with water. After he closed it, Pudding seemed really happy. Zatch cried with a sad facial expression, "Why can't I have good luck like Pudding? There's probably an evil mamodo who's rigging the raffle drawings!"
Zatch heard someone's footsteps behind him, and he quickly turned around. A man who held an envelope in his left hand said, "I can tell that you had bad luck in the raffle drawings, little boy. You look really sad, so I'll give you my prize. It's not a yellowtail fish, but it's a luxury hot springs vacation." Zatch asked with curiosity in his voice, "Mister, that's the grand prize. Do you really want me to have the invitation in that envelope?" The man responded calmly, "I'm going back to my country tomorrow, and I don't want the hot springs invitation to expire." Zatch said in a cheerful tone, "In that case, I'll take it! Thanks, stranger!"
A few hours later, Zatch was in a magnet train with Kiyo and Pudding. The invitation was for three people, and the trio seemed satisfied. Pudding explained to Zatch in a nice voice, "The water in a hot spring is really warm." Zatch replied with a amazed look on his face, "I really hope there are tons of yellowtail fish in the hot spring!"
Meanwhile, Kish and Tart were already at the hot spring resort. Tart exclaimed with a silly facial expression, "I never thought that one gold bar from Hong Kong would pay for a 2,000 dollar trip to a hot spring!" Kish said in a smart tone, "All this money just gave me a clever idea. If we see a mamodo team in the distance, we'll leave a trail of money for them to follow! While they're distracted, we'll burn their spell book!" The two antagonists grinned, and they sat in some massage chairs.
When Zatch's group reached the hot spring resort, the clerk gave them a map of the resort, and he directed them to their room. Pudding opened the sliding door, and she noticed a piece of paper on the table. It said: Hello, vacationers. If you want to come to the secret hot spring, follow the map on the back of this note. Also, there's an all you can eat buffet of yellowtail fish. The mentioning of yellowtail caused Zatch to have a dreamy look on his face, and he ran out of the resort. Kiyo yelled loudly to Zatch, "They're not run of yellowtail, but I can tell that you'll be responsible if that happens."
The note led the trio into the woods, and they walked on a straight dirt road that was surrounded by autumn-colored trees. Pudding said to Kiyo, "The map says that there's a bridge up ahead, so we're going on the right path." Zatch exclaimed excitedly, "Let's cross this rickety bridge, guys!" When Zatch tested the first wooden plank by slightly stepping on it, the wooden plank collapsed down into the river below.
Pudding flew up into the air, and she carried her friends above the bridge to the other side of the woods.
Elsewhere, a hunter and his mamodo were standing on treetops in the woods. The tiger mamodo said calmly, "They've made it across the bridge." The hunter replied with a smirk on his face, "It's time to start the hunt."
Zatch wondered in a concerned tone, "Are we there yet?" Kiyo looked puzzled, because the map said that they were at the hot spring location. However, they were surrounded by trees and bushes in the woods. Pudding told her friends with seriousness in her voice, "We should go back to the resort, because I have a bad feeling about this place."
Garza shouted furiously, "Wokeru!" Baransha fired a pink laser beam from her mouth, and it could be shot from long distances. Also, it was very accurate. Kiyo screamed as the attack struck him in the back, and it went through him! However, he didn't suffer any external damage. Kiyo asked while fell to the ground, "Zatch, was I just attacked by a mamodo?" Zatch replied with a scared look on his face, "We're the only ones here. There's no one else around. Besides, I didn't hear anyone cast a spell." Kiyo managed to stand up. He explained cautiously, "We've got to get out of here." They ran towards the direction of the bridge, and Baransha unleashed another pink laser beam attack.
This time, her attack destroyed the wooden bridge! Pudding shouted in amazement, "We're stuck here! I'm guessing that the trip to the resort and this map were all part of someone's elaborate trap!"
Garza thought to himself, "They probably realize that they're trapped. With Baransha's animal instincts, our spell book, and my amazing skills as a hunter, victory will be ours!"
Meanwhile, Kish and Tart were finally finished relaxing. Kish said as a faint smile formed on his face, "I'm sensing three mamodos from the woods. Let's go there, and try out this plan to use a cash trail as bait."
Kiyo told his friends as they ran through the woods, "We need to put some distance between us and our enemies. They can from far away, and we can't stay out in the open! Otherwise, we'll be a perfect target!"
Garza asked Baransha while they searched from the treetops, "Baransha, what is the toughest obstacle to overcome?" Baransha responded in an annoyed tone, "Garza, you always ask me that question. The toughest obstacle is your opponent's brain. It controls how the prey cleverly tries to trick the hunter, and the prey tries to run away from the hunter." Garza said fiercely, "Let's see how they will run, hide, and fight."
Kiyo, Zatch, and Pudding noticed three rock walls around them. They knew that the enemy could only attack from the front, so they wondered if the odds were in their favor. However, their plan seemed too simple. Garza opened the orange book. He screamed with determination in his voice, "Go Riaruku!" This spell caused Baransha to turn invisible. When she quickly got close to Zatch's group, Garza used the Wokeru spell again. Baransha unleashed the pink laser beam again, but the trio dodged it.
Pudding thought to herself, "We can't see the enemy, so they must be able to make themselves invisible." She heard footsteps on the rock walls, and Pudding used the Zaker spell in her yellow spell book. Baransha teasingly told Pudding as she dodged the lightning attack, "If you attack with bad aim like that, you won't be able to hit me."
Kiyo knew that if he couldn't see the mamodo, then he should try to find its human partner. Suddenly, Zatch heard something rustling in the bushes! He found a long twig, and he poked the bushes. Kish and Tart screamed because they were poked with the sharp end of the stick!
Tart told Zatch in a mean tone, "You must really love to ruin our fun, Zatch. We got here ten minutes ago, and we saw this guy while we were hiding! He had a spell book, and we're making a money trail for him! When he's close enough, I'll rip that orange book into pieces!" Kiyo heard footsteps, and he used the Zaker spell. Zatch shot out lightning from his mouth, but Baransha dodged it. Pudding yelled in frustration, "Why won't you cowards come out and fight?" Zatch whined in a loud voice, "I'm so hungry."
Kiyo replied with anticipation in his voice, "Concentrate, Zatch. We can't let our guard down for a moment, or these guys will try to attack us again."
As the sunset's beauty faded into the darkness of the night, the tension increased to a point where Kiyo couldn't even breathe. His body and mind were exhausted from the anticipation. He wondered desperately, "How can we use lightning spells with tons of concentration, but we're not able to hit anything? At this rate, it's only a matter of time before our energy is gone." Baransha footsteps were heard again, and Kiyo used the Zaker spell. Baransha dodged it, and she disappeared into a different part of the woods.
Tart told the trio in an annoying tone, "Wow, you wasted another lightning attack.
Plus, you're not being observant like me. They're acting like predators that attack, and we're the prey. If Kish and I were here at the very beginning of this fight, I'd say that this was their plan the entire time. You're all looking exhausted, so I'd say that you walked right into their trap." Pudding exclaimed while looking like she had a scheme in mind, "Just because they set traps, that doesn't mean that we can't set some! Tart, I'll need your help with this!"
Garza said to Baransha as they ate some fish, "They fell into a simple trap that is used by many hunters. You must corner your prey, and then you weaken it. Without food or water to sustain their energy, those three will be brought to the peak of exhaustion!"
Tart shouted happily, "Wishirei!" Four chocolate cakes and one yellow cake appeared on five plates. Kiyo, Zatch, and Tart ate three of the chocolate cakes. Suddenly, Kish climbed out of a tree! He explained in a cunning tone, "Tart, we are really good at teamwork. While you were with our interesting toys, I've been searching for that invisible mamodo." Kish ate the last chocolate cake, and he walked over to Pudding.
Kish told her while he looked down at the banana-flavored cake, "That's not an ordinary cake, you know. If you eat it, something may happen." Pudding didn't completely trust Kish and Tart, but she was hungry. After everyone ate their cakes, they felt revitalized.
Pudding decided to set a trap for the invisible hunters. She told Tart to wish up a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips. Then, she told Kiyo to remove his jacket. He hung it on a tree branch, and Pudding opened the bag of chips. She dumped them on the jacket, and she crushed them with the twig that Zatch found earlier. After that, she dug a hole for everyone to hide in and she covered it with dirt.
Garza exclaimed arrogantly, "It is time to finish them off! They don't have any energy left, so now we can strike!" They walked through the woods, and they noticed a lightning blast in the distance! Baransha was shocked that the protagonists could still use an electric attack! When they reached the site of the lightning blast, Baransha and Garza noticed that the ground was burnt up! They seemed confused by that, and Baransha saw Kiyo's jacket hanging from a tree branch. She grabbed it with her mouth, but a foul stench infiltrated her nostrils. Baransha shouted in a disgusted tone, "It smells awful!"
Pudding and Kiyo screamed from underground, "Zakerga!" Baransha was struck by two huge blasts of lightning! Garza said in awe, "I didn't know that you were capable of such a sneaky trick." Pudding replied defensively, "We had to think of something to make this fight fair." Garza shouted with tons of anger, "Go Riaruku!" Baransha turned invisible again! Kiyo knew that Zatch and Pudding had everything under control, so he let them handle things. Baransha exclaimed as Zatch and Pudding ran towards her, "Foolish children! It's impossible for you to defeat what you can't see!" Baransha dodged the attack, but the duo acted like they could somehow tell where she was! They changed direction, and they chased Baransha!" She wondered with a freaked out facial expression, "How can this be happening? Maybe they can see me! Something strange is going on here! Garza, am I still invisible?" He responded calmly, "Yes, I can't see you.
How are these kids able to follow Baransha?" At that moment, he remembered the foul stench on Kiyo's jacket. Pudding and Zatch couldn't see her, but they could smell her.
They grabbed Baransha by the neck, and she turned visible again! Baransha ran towards Garza, and the hunting duo decided to retreat. Pudding yelled heroically, "You're not getting away that easily!" She went with Zatch, and they chased their enemies to the place where the bridge used to be. Kiyo asked as he caught up with his friends, "Hey, hunters. How does it feel to be cornered?" Garza replied loudly, "It looks like you don't have any energy left to attack us! We'll beat you with Baransha's most powerful spell!
Gigano Gadoruku!" Baransha gained a strong armor with many huge spikes!
Kiyo screamed with strong amounts of emotion, "Bao Zakerga!"
Garza exclaimed in an amazed tone, "They shouldn't have any energy left! They've become the hunters, and we've become the prey!" Pudding shouted with confidence in her voice, "Golden Zakerga Chidori Lightning!" A huge amount of yellow Chidori lightning appeared in Pudding's right hand, and the golden lightning came down from the sky to strike the yellow Chidori! Its power increased 1,000-fold! Zatch's electrical dragon destroyed Baransha's armor, and Garza was startled! Pudding screamed with a serious look on her face as she ran towards her opponents, "This is for ruining my vacation to a hot spring resort!" When the powerful Chidori attack struck the hunters, a yellow and golden explosion immediately happened! The powerful combination of lightning attacks helped the trio achieve victory. Also, Pudding's Chidori attack burned the orange book.
Baransha said while disappearing, "Well, the hunters have been hunted."
The sun rose into the sky, and Kiyo enjoyed seeing the sunrise. He told his friends in a satisfied tone, "We have definitely become stronger." Kish and Tart appeared behind them, and they looked like they wanted to say something. Kish explained to the protagonists, "Just to set the record straight, this doesn't mean we're friends."
Pudding replied nicely, "We don't have to be enemies all the time, Kish."
Zatch told Tart while shaking his hand, "You can help us defeat bad mamodos who want to destroy the world." Tart responded in a bratty tone, "I just didn't want you to lose to those guys. The cake that we gave Pudding helped her access an extremely powerful attack. Don't think that I like you or anything. Anyway, let's get out of here." Tart used the Wishirei spell to teleport everyone to the hot spring resort. Then, he left the resort with Kish. Zatch, Kiyo, and Pudding decided to celebrate by relaxing in the hot spring for a while. After they finished relaxing, they ate some yellowtail fish.
A/N: How was Chapter 20? Will Zatch encounter a strong opponent? Will Zakuro capture the attention of Zatch's next opponent? Find out in Chapter 21!