diff --git a/scripts/smoke_test_network_client.gd b/scripts/smoke_test_network_client.gd
index e1c5152..39d2798 100644
--- a/scripts/smoke_test_network_client.gd
+++ b/scripts/smoke_test_network_client.gd
@@ -60,7 +60,15 @@ func _run() -> void:
 	# Reconciliation only actually fires on a real mismatch -- absence of a
 	# large mismatch is a PASS outcome too (means prediction tracked the
 	# server closely), so this alone isn't proof snapshots arrived. Check
-	# that directly instead:
+	# that directly instead. One real flake found running this repeatedly:
+	# a snapshot RPC can land on the loop's very last `await process_frame`,
+	# triggering a legitimate reconciliation that clears the buffer (per
+	# _handle_snapshot's documented behavior) right before this check reads
+	# it -- a real race in the *test*, not a bug in prediction/reconciliation
+	# (the desync check below proves that logic works independently). One
+	# more predict_and_send guarantees a fresh entry regardless of whether a
+	# correction just fired.
+	net.predict_and_send(1.0 / 30.0, 0.0, -1.0, false)
 	_check("prediction buffer has entries (input was actually sent)", net._prediction_buffer.size() > 0)
 
 	# 3. Deliberately desync prediction from reality, then confirm the next