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A Tale of Ninetales

VS キュウコン

VS Kyukon

Info

Shogakukan full volume	Chapter 18 in Vol. 2
VIZ Media monthly issue	Chapter 18 in The Hunt for Eevee
VIZ Media full volume	Adventure 18 in Vol. 2
Series	Pokémon Adventures

Other

Location

Rocket Game Corner Route 16

A Tale of Ninetales (Japanese: VS キュウコン VS Kyukon) is the 18th chapter of the Pokémon Adventures manga.

Plot

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Blue brings a large pile of Coins to the front desk at the Rocket Game Corner, with the aim of exchanging them for a prize. Bringing Blue a Pokémon, the attendant informs Blue that unlike Pokémon that are personally caught, Pokémon exchanged at the Game Corner tend to be harder to control.

Meanwhile, Red is trying to get out of Celadon City, but bumps into Blue chasing after the unruly Porygon he received at the Game Corner. All their Poké Balls scatter wildly, and they rush to pick them all back up. Blue severely underestimated the warning he received back at the Game Corner, complaining that the Porygon is so difficult to train that he can hardly even use it. Red wants to hear more about Blue's new Pokémon, but he has no interest in spending any more time with Red than he has to, and leaves.

Suddenly, he hears the voices of two girls screaming. Red looks over to see them being chased by a group of angry wild Pokémon. He's happy to take the chance to be a hero, and rushes to send out Pika. Much to his confusion, Charmeleon comes out instead. The girls take cover behind Red, and he decides to send out all his Pokémon, only to send out Golduck, Machoke, Pidgeot, and Scyther.

As Red realizes that the Pokémon all aren't his, the two women mistake Red for the famous Pokémon Trainer named Blue because he has a Pokédex, Charmeleon, and Golduck. They knew a famous Trainer was in the area, but never thought they'd get the chance to meet him. Red tries to explain the situation, but the girls push him closer to the Pokémon, encouraging him to show off his battle skills. Red commands Charmeleon to use Flamethrower, the Pokémon completely oblivious to his orders, as Red is trampled by the passing horde.

Later, Red is trudging along his way, thinking back on the events from earlier. After his loss, the girls recognized him as a fake, disappointed at his incompetence. He can't believe all his Pokémon got switched with Blue's, looking through them again and not seeing a single one he would have any experience with. Charmeleon bites at Red, unwilling to accept his offer to be friends. Instead, Blue's Pokémon run off to train by themselves, leaving Red surprised at their discipline. Knowing they won't listen to anyone else besides their own Trainer, he tries to make another effort to befriend them by inviting them to go swimming with him.

Meanwhile, Blue is training Red's Pokémon. As Poli, Saur, and Pika struggle to keep up Blue, he is at least happy that their Pokédexes were also switched, giving him all the information he needs on Red's Pokémon until they can switch back again. He looks through his options, and decides to train them his way.

After three days, Red sits at a campfire with Blue's Pokémon. While the Pokémon no longer show aggression towards Red, he notes that even after this time they still don't obey him, giving him only two Pokémon captures during the three days: Diglett and Krabby. Gazing into the distance, he spots a Ninetales and realizes it is fighting something, Red's Pikachu, being commanded by Blue.

Blue orders a Toxic from Pika, who delivers the attack with a gash from its tail, and remarks that while Pikachu is an Electric Pokémon, it didn't mean a good Trainer couldn't teach it non-Electric attacks. He tells Pikachu to finish it, but the Ninetales gallops away and charges towards Red, launching a burst of fire at him. In response, Red reflexively sends out Blue's Machoke, much to Blue's anger as he catches up. The two begin arguing about how they're treating each other's Pokémon when suddenly, Blue's Machoke evolves into Machamp as it is attacked by Ninetales. With its new strength, Machamp successfully manages to pin Ninetales, allowing both boys to throw their own Poké Balls at it. Red's Poké Ball captures the Ninetales, but Blue argues that it was his Machamp that weakened it for capture, and thus claims the Ninetales.

The next day, both Trainers have re-exchanged their Pokémon and gone their separate ways. Blue furiously notes that while he trained Red's Pokémon, Red didn't help his Pokémon grow, aside from Machamp, who for some reason couldn't evolve until Red held onto it temporarily; an observation Blue chalks up to coincidence, as he ponders the strangely affectionate demeanor of his Pokémon, even Porygon, who used to be disobedient is now snuggling him with affection. Meanwhile, Red finds himself chased by his own Pokémon, who adopted Blue's serious attitude through training.

Major events

• Blue wins a Porygon from the Rocket Game Corner.
• Blue is revealed to own a Scyther, Golduck, Machoke, and Pidgeot.
• Red and Blue accidentally trade some of their Pokémon.
• Red catches a Diglett and a Krabby with help from Blue's Pokémon.
• Blue's Machoke evolves into a Machamp while being under Red's possession.
• Red catches a Ninetales, but Blue claims it.
• Red and Blue return their own Pokémon to each other.

For a list of all major events in the Pokémon Adventures manga, please see the history page.

	Spoilers end here.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

• Porygon (Blue's)
• Marowak
• Golduck (Blue's)
• Pidgeot (Blue's)
• Krabby (Red's)
• Ninetales (Blue's)

Characters

Humans

• Red
• Blue
• People at the Rocket Game Corner
• Blue's fan girls

Pokémon

• Poliwrath (Poli; Red's)
• Ivysaur (Saur; Red's)
• Pikachu (Pika; Red's)
• Diglett (Red's; new)
• Krabby (Red's; new)
• Scyther (Blue's)
• Charmeleon (Blue's)
• Golduck (Blue's)
• Machoke (Blue's; evolves)
• Machamp (Blue's; newly evolved)
• Pidgeot (Blue's)
• Porygon (Blue's; new)
• Ninetales (Blue's; new)
• Rhydon
• Graveler
• Marowak

Trivia

• Red's Snorlax is the only one of his Pokémon that didn't appear in this chapter, nor was it mentioned that he was still with his original Trainer.

Errors

• The amount of Pokémon Red and Blue accidentally trade between each other before discovering this contradicts the amount of Pokémon they had with them at the time. While Red had four and Blue had six, Red received six of Blue's Pokémon, while Blue only received three of Red's Pokémon.
• In the Chuang Yi version, when commanding Blue's Charmeleon to use Flamethrower, Red calls him Charmander.
• In the VIZ Media and Chuang Yi versions, Blue claims that his and Red's Pokédexes were switched as well. In the Japanese version, he actually states the opposite.
• Blue's Pokédex lists Charmander and Charmeleon only as seen despite him having owned both.
  • If the Pokédex belonged to Red as the English translations suggest, a similar inconsistency would arise as it lists Bulbasaur as seen despite Red having owned one before.
• In the Chuang Yi version, Toxic is called Toxic Tail Strike, while in the VIZ Media second edition, it is called simply Tail Strike.

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		VS 九尾
Czech		Vs. Ninetales
Finnish		Red vastaan Ninetales
European French		Feunard* Échange de bons procédés*
German		Die Vulnona-Geschichte* VS. Vulnona*
Italian		VS Ninetales
Korean		나인테일
Brazilian Portuguese		VS Ninetales
Spanish	Latin America	VS Ninetales
	Spain	Contra Ninetales
Vietnamese		VS Kyukon

This article is part of Project Manga, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each series of Pokémon manga.