SP02

The Beginning Of Good Luck?! Pokémon Fortune Telling (Japanese: 開運！？　ポケモン占い Good Luck!? Pokémon Fortune Telling) is the second chapter of the Ash & Pikachu manga. This chapter is loosely based on elements from the episodes The Fortune Hunters, A Goldenrod Opportunity and A Dairy Tale Ending.
==Plot==
, and arrive in Goldenrod City after a long period of traveling. Ash is eager to get some lunch, but Misty urgently wants Ash to challenge Goldenrod Gym. However, before they can decide what to do first, Misty gets distracted by a fortune-telling booth and runs over. The fortune-teller is an old woman who tells fortunes by relating which Pokémon each person is most like. She chooses for Misty, much to her dismay, as Gyarados is described as a troublemaker who fights back when angry. Brock asks for his fortune to be told as well, and the old woman chooses as it is earnest and punctual. Finally, Ash asks for a fortune for himself, describing his strong friendship with his . However, the old woman chooses as Ash's match, as he is easily influenced by others. The fortune telling woman also hints that Psyduck is Ash's key to victory in his upcoming Gym battle.
Taking the fortune teller's advice seriously, Ash heads for the Goldenrod Gym with Psyduck. As the Gym was closed when they arrived, he starts doing special training with Psyduck. Pikachu wants to join in, but Ash dismisses him. Pikachu runs away crying and sad. Brock asks if they should go after him, but Ash insists that Pikachu will be back soon. Ash returns to his special training with Psyduck, but as he commands it to use attacks like , Psyduck just loafs around and tries to fall asleep.
Three days later, the Gym Leader, Whitney, returns to the Gym with Ash's Pikachu in tow. She explains that she found Pikachu around the city, hungry and sad. She brings Pikachu into the Gym, challenging Ash to a battle. The Goldenrod Gym's battle area is situated above a , which is hot enough to cause death if someone were to fall into it.
Whitney leads the battle with her , and Ash sends out Psyduck. Psyduck lies down on the battle field, falling asleep. Despite Misty's observation that Psyduck is useless for this battle, Nidorina trips over Psyduck, which causes her to fall over and faint from the impact. Convinced that the fortune teller was accurate, Ash continues to use Psyduck against Whitney's next Pokémon, . Clefairy leads with attack, which the group expects to be powerful. However, Clefairy starts unexpectedly jumping around out of control. The referee deems Clefairy to have lost the will to battle, giving the victory to Psyduck again, despite that it didn't do anything to actually battle. Ash is overjoyed, declaring that Psyduck was the best choice for the battle and the only Pokémon he would need, as Pikachu watches sadly from a distance.
Finally, Whitney unleashes her third and final Pokémon, . Whitney commands Miltank to use the powerful attack, which Psyduck runs away from in terror. As Miltank chases Psyduck around the stadium, the fortune teller appears. It turns out that the fortune teller is actually Whitney's grandmother. Ash is dismayed, realising that the fortune teller must have recommended Psyduck because she wanted her granddaughter, Whitney, to win the battle. Miltank finally strikes Psyduck with Rollout, causing Psyduck to go flying over the edge of the stadium towards the smelter. Ash jumps after Psyduck to save it, causing him to lose his balance, hanging on the edge of the stadium by the edge. Pikachu chases after him to save him, but hesistates, remembering how poorly Ash had treated him recently. However, he is overcome by good memories of Ash raising and taking care of him, so he decides to save Ash in the end, grabbing hold of his foot. Ash's foot falls out of his shoe, leaving the shoe in Pikachu's hands and Ash and Psyduck plunging downward.
Whitney reveals that Ash is in no actual danger, as the smelter is only an illusion caused by a 3D hologram, and all there is below is regular water. Safe and sound, Ash, Pikachu and Psyduck return to the battlefield. Ash apologises to Pikachu and decides to use him to finish the battle with Miltank. Even though Miltank is physically larger, Pikachu is able to fight from below by hiding in craters caused by Miltank's Rollout. Pikachu attacks with attack, winning the match. Ash and Pikachu make up and become friends again, and to recognise his victory, Whitney awards Ash the .
==Major events==
* battles Whitney for the and wins.
===Debuts===
====Humans====
* Whitney
* Whitney's grandmother
====Pokémon debuts====
* 
* (Whitney's)
* (Whitney's)
* ()
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* 
* Whitney
* Whitney's grandmother
===Pokémon===
* ()
* ()
* (Whitney's)
* (Whitney's)
* ()
* 
Category:Ash & Pikachu chapters
it:SP02