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Basculin did not have the protection of a Water Stone, nor did it possess a will as firm as Kael's. Under the effects of that human-made technology, it did not have even the slightest ability to resist.
Its eyes went hazy, and it swam straight toward the bait near the shore.
Kael himself had only just broken free from the strange scent's lure. For a moment, he failed to react in time to stop it, allowing Basculin to slip away from his side.
"Damn it."
Clenching his teeth, Kael looked at the deep-green figure gradually vanishing into the dim water ahead, his face filled with frustration.
What should he do?
Based on what Kael had observed from the surface earlier, those humans along the shore who looked like anglers were all Trainers.
If Basculin went over there like this, then with its exceptional talent as the lord of the lake, there was only one outcome waiting for it.
It would be captured and subdued.
Was that a good thing for it?
Kael did not think so.
Human Trainers varied wildly in skill.
In the hands of an outstanding Trainer, even the most ordinary Caterpie could grow into a powerful existence far beyond normal Pokémon, its potential brought out to the fullest.
But if it ended up with an average, mediocre, or even terrible human Trainer, then no matter how high Basculin's natural talent was, it would have no future to speak of. It might not even be able to guarantee its own safety.
There was far too much uncertainty.
For Basculin, who had diligently served as his sparring partner for the past two days, Kael still wanted to use the experience from his human soul to help it as much as possible.
Besides, judging from the terrifying attraction of that strange scent just now, Basculin's mind had probably already become muddled.
It was only following its body's instincts, while its own awareness had been weakened to the extreme.
As Kael saw it, although he strongly wanted to help Basculin, if Basculin truly chose to become a certain Trainer's partner of its own will, then no matter how poor that Trainer's skill was, Kael would not interfere.
But there had to be one condition.
Basculin had to make that decision while fully conscious.
Right now, under the influence of the strange scent released by the special bait, Basculin was completely dazed. It had essentially been half-forced into making a decision.
Kael felt a large number of powerful ripples surging through the water around him. Countless black shadows swept past overhead, swimming rapidly toward the bait.
He knew those were the figures of other Water-type Pokémon in the lake.
Under the effect of human technology, very few Pokémon could recover their senses completely the way he had.
Kael stared in the direction from which the bait's scent was coming from. In his clear blue eyes, an illusory, brilliant flame suddenly ignited.
He could not save the other Pokémon in the lake. He could not save them.
But at the very least, he had to bring Basculin back.
Splash.
His slender limbs cut sharply through the water. His small, agile body shot forward like a bullet, wrapped in the current as he raced ahead.
At that moment, Kael had already thrown his previous plan of staying away from humans and avoiding trouble to the back of his mind.
To help, or rather, to save this little buddy of his, he was willing to make a few sacrifices.
...
On the shore.
Mason sat steadily on his small stool, his full attention fixed on the float bobbing up and down on the surface of the water in front of him, quietly waiting for his prey to bite.
Fishing was an activity that required considerable patience.
To him, the long wait was like a small dessert before the main course. The longer the wait, the more intoxicating the joy and sense of achievement became when the harvest finally arrived.
That was one of the reasons he had fallen in love with fishing.
Plop.
Suddenly, ripples spread across the lake surface in front of him, which had been calm and still a moment earlier. It was as if some creature had swum past beneath the water.
Mason immediately jolted, his spirit rising at once.
He knew the prey was about to bite.
Pop.
In the blink of an eye, another faint sound rang out from the water.
The red float suddenly sank, then shot up again, as if a fish had already taken the bait.
"Don't rush."
Although Mason was extremely excited, his many years of fishing experience told him that the more critical the moment, the less anxious he could afford to be.
Right now, the fish was probably only testing the bait. It had not truly bitten yet.
He only needed to wait a little longer. As long as.
Just as Mason was working hard to calm the excitement in his heart, a tremendous force suddenly surged through the fishing rod in his hands.
Creak.
A spine-chilling sound burst from the rod. The long, highly flexible fishing pole was instantly pulled into an extremely distorted bow shape by the immense force, as though it might snap in half at any moment.
Mason leaned backward, gripping the rod tightly with both hands and shifting his center of gravity behind him.
The powerful force coming through his hands drove his boots deep into the muddy soil at the edge of the lake.
If not for the special fishing rod in his hands, made by the Wishiwashi Angling Group, then with his human physique, he would probably have been dragged straight into the lake the instant the Pokémon in the water bit the hook, leaving him to face the attack of a vicious Pokémon below.
"Whoa."
"Now that's some serious power."
Even with this piece of advanced human technology from the Pokémon world gripped in his hands, Mason still looked somewhat overwhelmed.
But that was fine.
During his real-world offshore fishing days, this was not the first time he had faced a difficult situation like this.
"Stay calm."
"Stay calm."
He shouted those words in his heart.
At the same time, Mason's rich fishing experience gradually began to show.
The fishing line alternated between slack and taut as he controlled the rod, shifting it left and right according to the movements of the Pokémon in the water, slowly wearing down the strength of the creature on the hook.
About twenty minutes passed.
Feeling the force coming from the rod gradually weaken, Mason finally exerted strength with both hands and suddenly pulled up the Pokémon he had already dragged into the shallows.
Splash.
Crystal-clear droplets scattered everywhere as the Pokémon on the hook struggled fiercely.
A deep-green figure streaked with red entered his sight.
Subconsciously, Mason used the system's built-in inspection function on it.
...
[Species: Basculin]
[Level: 12]
[Quality: Pale Green]
[Type: Water]
[Category: Hostile Pokémon]
[Ability: ???]
[Moves: Tail Whip, Water Gun, ???, ???...]
[Individual Potential: Pale Blue]
...
"Basculin?"
"Blue potential?"
A sharp gleam flashed through Mason's eyes. His left hand reached back toward his waist, and he pulled a red-and-white Poké Ball from his system backpack.
Aiming it straight at Basculin, he hurled it with force.
Hiss~
The Poké Ball spun rapidly through the air as a blinding red light burst from within.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)
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