Internet Magic in Fairy Tail

The first wave of free pull resources was nearly exhausted, with only Mirajane managing to pull a Bulbasaur. Once Bulbasaur was activated, everyone in the guild gathered around to watch.

"Bulba!" the newborn Bulbasaur chirped, endearing itself to the onlookers.

"So cute!"

"I want one too!"

"Mirajane, can I pet it?"

"Curse you, Nate! Take my magic power—just give me a pull voucher!"

Mirajane chuckled at everyone's reactions, wondering why she was the only one to draw a full Pokémon. Did Nate secretly increase her odds?

At that moment, Natsu came running over, proudly displaying his Celestial Card. "Haha, Mira! I've waited for this day! Let's have a battle with our Pokémon!"

"Come out, Charmander!"

After holding back for days, Natsu finally had a chance for a real match and eagerly released his Charmander from its card. A flash of white light revealed a bright orange Charmander with a yellow belly and a flame burning at the tip of its tail.

As they say, Pokémon take on their trainers' personalities. After a few days of intense training, Charmander had already started mirroring Natsu's personality.

"Roar!" Charmander's eyes locked on Bulbasaur with a fierce look.

"Charmander?!" Levy gasped. "Natsu, you managed to pull one too?"

"Nope! This was a gift from Nate," Natsu said, crossing his arms triumphantly. "Come on, Mira, let's battle!"

[Trainer Natsu has challenged you to a battle. Do you accept?]

Behind the counter, Mirajane saw the prompt pop up in her game. "I don't know, Natsu… they're so cute! What if one of them gets hurt?"

Happy flew between Charmander and Bulbasaur, banging a small gong. "Celestial Pokémon Battle! Trainer Natsu versus Trainer Mirajane!"

"This match is one-on-one. I, Happy, will be the referee! Let the battle begin!"

The gong sounded, and with a sigh, Mirajane accepted the challenge.

The crowd around them roared with excitement.

"Go, go, Bulbasaur!"

"I wonder what kind of magic these Celestial Pokémon use?"

"Bulbasaur, don't let Charmander win! And you too, Edolas Elfman—cheer for him!"

"Sorry, Earth Land Elfman, I'll cheer along with you!"

"Whatever it is, we're all cheering for Mira's Bulbasaur!"

A little distance away, Wendy lay exhausted on a table, having spent all her magic power. There was nothing left, not even a single drop.

"It's no use! I can't get anything, Nate-san!"

Carla crossed her arms and sighed. "Are you really going to keep trying, Wendy? You might as well just ask Nate for one directly."

"No, that wouldn't be right," Wendy said, summoning her determination. "For Pikachu, I'll use tomorrow's magic if I have to!"

With that, she drank a magic recovery potion she had tucked at her waist.

Carla: "…"

Does Wendy really want that Pikachu that much?

It seems her status just dropped by one...

At that moment, the battle was already underway.

Trainer Natsu shouted, "Alright, Igneera! Use Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"

Charmander's claw lit up with flames, and with one punch, it sent Bulbasaur flying.

"Haha, I won!" Natsu laughed proudly, looking as thrilled as if he had beaten a formidable foe himself.

Charmander lifted its paw with a "Raaaw!" to celebrate its victory—without any sense of shame for having beaten a smaller opponent.

The beaten Bulbasaur returned to its card automatically. Mirajane checked on it, sighing in relief once she saw it wasn't hurt.

She gave Natsu a sweet smile, then said, "Satan Soul: Full Takeover!"

Boom!

A powerful aura filled the entire guild hall.

"W-what are you doing, Mira?!"

"Natsu, the Pokémon battle is over, but the trainer battle has just begun~" Mirajane smiled, her palm gathering a dark energy.

Not long after, an explosion rocked the guild, blowing the front doors open.

Out flew both Natsu and Charmander. (Team Rocket style, hahaha. This fanfic is so fun to translate.)

Meanwhile, in the outdoor café, Meredy was nervously drawing her cards. Glancing at the busted doorway, she murmured, "Ultear, looks like it's your turn again."

Ultear sighed, clearly resigned. Ever since joining Fairy Tail, she'd spent more time repairing the guild than anything else. Today was no exception.

…

At his apartment, Nate decided to skip the guild today. After a few exhausting days, he was ready to finally catch up on sleep.

Of course, that wasn't the only reason. Mainly, he wanted to avoid any potential backlash from the guild members.

With the current draw rates he'd set up, the average player needed about 50 pulls to get a Pokémon…

For example, in the magic power draw pool: a single star worth of magic power gets you ten draw tickets. To actually pull a Pokémon, the expected average was around 50 pulls, or five stars worth of magic power.

In Fairy Tail, only a few people could even reach that level of magic power—Laxus, Mirajane, Ultear, and Meredy. Maybe Erza, too. Since Nate had given her Senbonzakura, Erza had been training tirelessly, reaching nearly a five-star power level herself.

But apart from them, anyone else could likely drain all their magic and still get nothing.

It's not a 2% chance per pull, exactly. The first draw might have less than a 0.5% chance, but with each successive draw, the odds increase until they're almost 95% around the 60th pull. Averaging it out, it's about 50 pulls per Pokémon.

Nate hadn't wanted to make the pulls so costly, but he really had no choice—development costs were high.

"…Anyway, magic power is unlimited…"

"A mage's magic replenishes naturally over time."

"By tomorrow or the day after, everyone should have their first Pokémon."

With that reassuring thought, Nate climbed into bed to rest. Just then, he received a private message from Mirajane.

The Departing Traveler: "Nate, did you give me that Pokémon on purpose?"

The Departing Traveler: "😁 Looks like no one else managed to pull one, but I got one right away!"

The Departing Traveler: "Same thing happened during the last arena matches. I kept getting free wins. I feel so bad about it, 😜."

She said she felt "bad," but clearly she was thrilled.

Nate thought to himself—when did I give Mirajane a Pokémon?

He opened the draw logs and was genuinely surprised.

Mirajane only had one pull on record—a single gold card, and she'd drawn a Bulbasaur!?

Seriously? That's a fraction-of-a-percent chance!

Mirajane, you must truly be blessed by the luck gods!

He quickly replied.

Sigma Male: "Do you like it? I sent you that Bulbasaur. 😎"

The Departing Traveler: "Thank you, I love it~"

Sigma Male: "A verbal 'thanks' is hardly sincere… Let me kiss you. 😙"

The Departing Traveler: "I'm at the guild! Come and get me if you dare. 🤸"