"He's already casting the line again?"
Watching Adrian's eager-to-fish look, Wille's heart was a mess of feelings.
They're both pokémon trainers—so why are people so different?
"Could fishing be Adrian's special training method?"
Wille rubbed his chin, eyes lighting up. "Maybe I should grab a rod too—who knows what I might reel in!"
Sadly, before Wille could take a single step, Clair dragged him off by the ear for extra training.
Besides Kingdra and Flygon, the other four pokémon on his team still hadn't mastered Dragon Dance.
He still had to train—hard!
Before long, the bait was ready.
Adrian took out his tackle, assembled the rod, baited the hook, and cast.
Plop!
The bait hit the water, sending gentle ripples across the calm lake.
Every muscle taut, Adrian stared at the float, waiting for a monster to bite.
This bait had cost President Guo Yong his pride to obtain—Adrian was sure it wouldn't disappoint.
And it didn't: within moments, dark whirlpools stirred beneath the surface.
Something was down there.
Whoosh!
Without warning, the float shot under, yanked violently beneath the water.
"Here it comes—big one's on the line!"
Overjoyed, Adrian hauled back hard.
But he quickly sensed something off.
The tug didn't feel like the colossus he expected.
Splash!
A huge fish covered in red scales burst from the water.
Adrian's face darkened. "Damn—Magikarp?"
"Karp-karp~"
The hooked Magikarp refused to let go of the bait, thrashing in mid-air.
A closer look confirmed it—Clair's Magikarp.
"You're supposed to train under the waterfall—why come mess with me?"
After releasing it, Adrian rapped the Magikarp hard on the head.
"Oww—"
The Magikarp was fine; Adrian's hand stung like crazy.
"Karp karp"
The fish gave a cheeky grin, eyeing the bait.
Clearly it wanted another bite.
"I've only got this one bag—if you eat it all, what do I fish with?"
Shaking his head like a rattle, Adrian booted the Magikarp back into the lake. "Bite my hook again and I'll tell Clair you're slacking off."
"Kar…p."
The Magikarp froze.
Clair spoiled it with endless resources, but her training was brutal.
Fail the drills and you got the whip.
Eyes full of resentment, the Magikarp pouted and sank from sight.
"Seems this bait attracts not just Gyarados but their pre-evolved Magikarp too."
Re-baiting, Adrian paused—President Guo had sent only one bag, every nugget priceless.
To keep "trash fish" away, he released his own Gyarados. "Guard the bait—chase off anything that isn't your species. If it's a fellow Gyarados, let it bite."
He fed the pokémon an energy cube for good measure.
"Roooar~"
Energized, Gyarados dove—and spotted several Magikarp skulking below.
One sneak circling was Clair's crafty Magikarp, waiting for another free meal.
It hadn't left at all.
"Karp-karp~"
The Magikarp croaked, drooling over the bait.
"Roooar!"
Showing no kinship, Gyarados lunged and sent the Magikarp fleeing in panic.
"Karp!"
Clair's Magikarp tried to cozy up—after all, they'd trained together under the waterfall and their trainers were friends.
Gyarados answered with a Dragon Tail.
After the slap, the Magikarp swam off cursing, vowing revenge once it evolved.
Gyarados's ferocity scared every pokémon in the vicinity.
Yet the target species wasn't deterred.
"Roooar—"
A wild Gyarados surfaced, drawn by the bait's scent.
Seeing Adrian's Gyarados, it hesitated, coiling defensively.
Many pokémon had watched the earlier spar; a Gyarados that could fly and wield Thunder Wave and Thunder was terrifying.
Electric moves are every Gyarados's bane.
To its surprise, the tamed Gyarados merely glanced at it and moved aside.
"Roooar."
The wild Gyarados nodded in thanks, the two titans passing amicably.
The wild one inspected the bait, sniffed—and drooled.
"Ah—smells amazing!"
"Roooar!"
More roars echoed from the depths; other Gyarados were on the way.
First come, first served. The wild Gyarados chomped down.
"Here we go—this is the real monster!"
Feeling the tug, Adrian yanked the rod with delight.
Zzzing!
The line sang taut in the air.
Yet the underwater beast was immensely strong; Adrian strained with all his might but the pokémon didn't budge.
Creak! Creak! Creak!
The rod itself groaned in protest.
"Not good—if it snaps, no cheat ability reward."
"Roooar~"
Spotting the problem, Adrian's Gyarados surged forward, water swirling around it.
Crash!
Caught off-guard, the wild Gyarados was rammed skyward.
Splash—
Spray caught the sunlight, forming a rainbow that mirrored Adrian's joy.
"Gyarados, well done!"
The cheat ability reward popped up at once.
["Gyarados caught"—reward: Scale Shot TM ×1.]
["First Gyarados ever caught"—bonus: X Speed ×1.]