Episode 5: Making it Big with Metronome!
The next destination for the team was the bright lights and high stakes of Las Vegas. They had booked a two-day stay at the Card Shark Casino, a resort hotel/casino in the heart of the Vegas strip created and owned by the famed Pokémon Trainer and Unova League Elite Four member, Grimsley.
"Check this place out!" Ashton shouted as they entered. "I'm going to make so much bank here!"
"We're here so that Dylan can have a Gym Battle against Grimsley, remember?" Kris said.
Ashton waved her off. "Yeah, but I wanna at least try my luck out here. If you guys want to challenge the gym, then I'll catch up with you later."
Dylan and Kris shared a look. "I'll go sign up so that I can guarantee getting a battle," Dylan said. "You just make sure that Ashton doesn't gamble away all of her money."
"Will do," Kris said. She said goodbye to Dylan before turning to follow Ashton into the casino floor.
The floor had a classic casino vibe, fitting for Grimley's personality. The floor was covered in velvet carpet, and a huge chandelier hung over the main floor. There were lines of slot machines, tables for card games like Voltorb Flip, and minigame rooms for Pokémon to compete in.
"Now then, where did Ashton go," Kris asked herself. She got her answer when Ashton came walking up to her, holding a bucket full of casino chips. "You already got chips? How much of your money did you spend on those?"
"All of it," Ashton said proudly.
"All of it!?" Kris shouted, mouth falling open in shock. "That's a huge waste of money!"
"Not when I got this out of it," Ashton said. She reached into her bucket and pulled out a Poké Ball, opening it up to reveal a pink star-shaped Pokémon inside.
"Cleffa!" the Pokémon cried.
"Can you believe they were just giving away free Pokémon?" Ashton said. "I named her Halley."
"I can't believe that you spent all of your money on casino chips and a Pokémon," Kris sighed, shaking her head. "Well, if you're that dumb to waste your money, I guess you'll have to live with the consequences."
"You're right," Ashton nodded. "Halley and I are gonna crush it on the casino floor!"
She ran off with her Cleffa, leaving Kris to sigh and follow along with Ashton's antics. The first game they went up to were the slot machines, which Ashton inserted a few chips into to start the game.
"Alright Halley, let's play," Ashton said.
"You know this thing is probably rigged, right?" Kris said.
"Yeah, if this were a normal casino," Ashton nodded. "But Grimsley made this place with Pokémon Trainers in mind, so each game can be played with a partner Pokémon. So Halley, use Metronome!"
The Cleffa raised a nub, waving it around as sparkles came off of it. The sparks created a lightning bolt that struck the machine, stopping the slots on three 7s and making chips spill out of it.
"Great job! Triple sevens!" Ashton cheered, patting Halley on the head.
"I think she fried the machine," Kris said, glancing at the slot machine as it started to smoke.
"Here, help me with these chips," Ashton said, ignoring that damage and scooping up her 'winnings' before moving on to the next game.
The next game was Voltorb Flip, a high-stakes card game that played like Minesweeper. The player had to pick cards from a five-by-five grid, gaining points as they went. However, if you flipped over a Voltorb card, then it used Self Destruct, ending the game in a loss for the player.
"Heh, good luck kid," the dealer said. He was wearing a black and red suit, modeled after what Grimsley wore. "What level are we playing at today?"
Ashton slammed chips down on the table. "I'm going all in. Level 8!"
The dealer smirked, shuffling his cards and laying them out on the table. "It's your funeral. Don't come crying to me if you lose."
"She's really reckless at this, isn't she," Kris sighed.
Ashton looked over the cards, her hand hovering over them but not making a decision. "Halley, give me a hand here," Ashton said.
The Cleffa wagged her nub, sparkles dancing around Ashton as the Metronome became Foresight. For Ashton it was like seeing into the future, making it so that she could see what each card was before flipping it over. Soon she had gotten all of the numbered cards, not even touching a single Voltorb.
"No way," Kris said. "You just got lucky with that Metronome."
"Bet I can do it again," Ashton said. "Deal me another hand, dealer!"
Ashton went another round, this time with Halley using the move Miracle Eye that practically gave Ashton X-ray vision. She kept going more rounds, with Halley using a rotation of Foresight, Miracle Eye, and even Odor Sleuth to stack the odds in Ashton's favor. The whole time Kris just watched in disbelief at the whole scene.
"Alright kid, you just earned 50,000 from your total playtime, which means that I've gotta kick you off this table," the dealer said, looking as dumbfounded as Kris was at Ashton's luck.
"I was getting bored of this game anyway," Ashton shrugged, grabbing her earnings (which at this point needed a small wagon to be carried in) and walked off to the next game. "Come on, Halley. More games await us!"
The rest of the night went similarly, with Halley using Metronome and getting just the right move to earn Ashton the win. It used a move matching the type that let Ashton guess correctly on the roulette wheel, used Helping Hand on the Dodrio in Dodrio Berry Picking to maximize their speed and output, and used Bounce on the Jigglypuff in Pokémon Jump to essentially make it an unstoppable jump rope champion.
By the end of the night Ashton was carting around a whole pile of casino chips, with Halley happily playing in them as Kris just followed behind, having grown numb to the whole situation.
"I don't believe it, you managed to out-luck the casino," Kris said. "That Cleffa of yours must have some sort of special Metronome."
"Nah, Halley is just lucky," Ashton said. She hugged her Cleffa, which then started glowing. Once the glow faded, Halley was larger, with a curly hair, tail, and now possessing fingers. "Awesome, you evolved, Halley!"
"Clefairy!" Halley cheered, waggling its fingers, which created a Rain Dance, making customers complain about getting wet.
"All the fun you two were having must have made its bond between you strong enough to evolve," Kris said.
As Ashton complemented her new/y-evolved Pokémon, a pair of men in suits and sunglasses walked up to her. "Can I help you?" she asked.
"Mam, we're security here at Card Shark Casino," one of the men said. "It's been brought to our attention that you and your Clefairy have been winning every game here. As such, we must kindly ask you to leave the building immediately."
"Hey, I paid for an overnight stay here," Ashton shouted. "You can't just kick me out because my luck was better that your games could handle!"
The men looked at each other. "While you are a paying customer, we're still going to have you ban you from playing on the casino floor."
Ashton groaned, then gave a sigh. "Can I at least cash in my chips first?" she asked.
[***]
As for Dylan, he was standing outside the main arena of the Card Shark Casino, where Grimsley held his Gym Challenges. Aurora waited with him, with Vex perched on the Lucario's head as well.
"Hey Dylan!" Ashton called, walking up with Kris. "How's the whole match coming along?"
"I'm about to go in," he explained. Dylan then noticed the Clefairy his friend had with her. "Did you catch a new Pokémon?"
"Yep!" Ashton said. "Meet Halley. I got her in the casino."
"Which she is now permanently banned from," Kris said. "The Clefairy had stupid, stupid luck with its Metronome."
I sense that it has a very silly aura about it, Aurora commented, waving a paw over Halley. The Clefairy waggled her finger, which caused a Bubble to come out and pop in Aurora's face. It's also a bit of a prankster.
"They wouldn't cash out all of the chips, so I got a bunch of items and Technical Machines," Ashton said. "We're probably set for this whole trip now, though."
"That's great," Dylan said. He then looked at Kris. "I probably should have warned you that Ashton would go and blow all her money on gambling. Whenever she does something, she tends to go all in it."
"It's fine. It all worked out in the end, right?" Kris said. "Well then, we'll be waiting in the stands cheering for you."
"Yeah, show the Pokémon Gambler that you don't need just luck to win," Ashton cheered.
As the two walked off, Dylan stood in front of the doors, preparing himself for his first official Gym battle. The doors opened and he walked in, revealing the arena to be shaped like a giant roulette table. Dylan walked over the challenger's spot, standing there with his Pokémon as the Gym Leader walked in.
Grimsley came out with a confident smile on his face. He wore a white shirt with a red tie and blue popped-up collar that connected to a scarf hanging down his back, black pants held up by red suspenders, and black fingerless gloves.
"So, the wheel of fate has spun so that you will be my challenger," Grimsley said. He chuckled. "This is your first Gym Battle, correct? While that means I can't go all out here, I won't be stacking the deck in your favor either."
"I won't be holding back either," Dylan said. "We've got some tricks up our sleeves as well."
"Then let's deal out our first hand," Grimsley said. He held up a Dark Ball and spun it expertly on his finger. "Your challenge begins now!"
Author's Note
Remember when you could go to Game Corners/Casinos in Pokémon games? It was a fun side game that I miss. It also makes sense that a high-stakes person like Grimsley would own one as well.
Ashton having a Clefairy with a broken Metronome ability is one that Azakael and I agreed would be perfect to use for a one-off fun chapter. Halley will be a bit more balanced the next time we see her battle.
Grimsley is wearing his Sygna Suit from Pokémon Masters.