If one were to ask what the most fun and suitable nighttime activity on the farm currently is, it would undoubtedly be going fishing at night.
Since it is night fishing, naturally, they couldn't spread large-scale fishing nets like before; they had to switch to using bait and fishing rods to enjoy the fun.
Passing through the farmland, Hakuya led the girls to the side of the clear stream connected to the lake.
At this moment, the stream was crystal clear, with fish of all sizes shuttling through it, and occasionally a few red fish shadows could be glimpsed leaping.
If it were in his previous life, crystal clear water didn't necessarily mean the water quality was clean. On the contrary, water that looked clear to the naked eye might contain many bacteria and insect eggs, while water that looked somewhat green was actually cleaner because there were many algae floating on the surface, which could effectively purify the water quality.
However, in the Pokémon world, there were also more unique identification methods.
As long as Pokémon such as Budew, Wooper, and Quagsire lived by the water, it definitely symbolized good water quality.
Since these girls were all novices, Hakuya, who had rich fishing experience, began to give them theoretical and practical guidance on how to fish correctly after distributing fishing rods to them one by one.
"First, the first step is to chum the water. Choose a place where the stream is relatively gentle and throw in an appropriate amount of the groundbait I made. Remember, it must be an appropriate amount; too little won't attract the fish school, but too much will lead to the phenomenon of only eating the bait without biting the hook..."
"Secondly, pay attention to the movement of the float at all times. Once you spot a tremor, you must lift it in time, but be careful not to yank too hard, otherwise it is very likely to cause the line to break or the hook to come off..."
"Besides that, the most important point is to pay attention to safety."
Pausing for a moment, Hakuya looked at the girls who were listening patiently and said seriously.
"Although it is true that there are street lamps along the road for illumination, after all, it is already night. Pay attention to changes in the surrounding environment while fishing at all times. If you encounter a fish that is too heavy to pull up alone, don't force it; you can call me for help."
"Okay, understood!"
Hearing Hakuya's special instructions, even Sapphire, who always had her own opinions, nodded obediently at this moment.
After teaching all his lifelong learning about fishing to this group of girls and watching their excited backs as they went fishing, Hakuya finally carried his fishing rod and a small stool to a specifically selected section of the stream, skillfully chummed the water, cast the rod, and began his night fishing.
At this time, autumn was in full swing, and the stream flowed slowly, carrying a few fallen maple leaves.
It happened to be nine o'clock in the evening. The water surface rippled with a slight chill, which was the peak period for many fish to come out and forage.
"Magikarp?"
A moment later, Hakuya lifted the fishing rod, looking at the familiar crimson figure on the tip of the rod, and was stunned.
"Although the appearance is quite good, at least it has to be a normal edible fish..."
Shaking his head, Hakuya finally chose to put this dull and silly Magikarp back into the water.
It was normal for a fisherman to have a bad start; there would definitely be big fish taking the bait later.
However, what Hakuya didn't expect next was that after the first rod ended, it seemed like he had opened Pandora's box. For more than a dozen rods in a row, what he caught were all Magikarp staring with dead fish eyes and flopping their tails.
"Why is it Magikarp again... What number is this?"
Hakuya's joyful expression because another fish took the bait froze instantly, and the corners of his mouth twitched subconsciously.
Leaving aside the fact that eating Pokémon was not allowed, the taste of Magikarp was not very good either. It was almost all scales and bones. Even if it were stewed in boiling water for soup, let alone whether it could be eaten in the end, one's teeth would probably break first.
"Then I won't let you go back for now. Stay honestly in the basket for me."
Hakuya threw several Magikarp staring with dead fish eyes into the basket one after another and shook his head helplessly.
The main reason for not letting these little guys go back was fear that as soon as he released them, they would be attracted by the bait and caught by him again... Excluding these interference factors, it was impossible for him to catch hundreds of Magikarp in a row later, right?
Confident in his fishing skills and luck, Hakuya cast the fishing rod again and started a new round of fishing.
When the moon truly poked its head out from the hazy clouds, the float floating on the water suddenly began to tremble violently.
"Such a big commotion, could it be..."
Feeling the heavy pulling sensation coming from the fishing rod, Hakuya's eyes lit up.
Based on his years of fishing experience, conservatively estimating from this commotion, this fish must be over thirty pounds. Could it be that he directly caught the King Fish in this lake?!
Thinking of this, Hakuya stood up abruptly, clenched his fingers around the rod body, and pulled hard.
Then, he stared wide-eyed at more than a dozen Magikarp flapping their tails on the ground.
Under the moonlight, the splashing water plated a layer of dazzling bright light on their translucent fish scales.
At this moment, the farm owner completely understood the truth. The reason he felt so heavy just now was entirely because this group of guys, for the sake of that little bait on the hook, bit each other's tails one by one, forming an extremely long "Magikarp skewer".
Hakuya: "..."
"Meow~"
Not long after, the Skitty curled up in her Trainer's arms opened her eyes groggily and saw another Magikarp being swung onto the shore by her Trainer along the fishing rod, its tail flapping on the ground with a thump thump.
Attracted by this commotion, the little guy turned over, stretched out her fluffy cat paws, tilted her head, and counted the shore with curiosity... counting and counting, she suddenly paused, a trace of astonishment flashing in her round eyes.
In just half an hour, her Trainer had actually caught more than ninety Magikarp!!!
What an astonishing number... Skitty tilted her head to look at the Magikarp group still tirelessly using the [Splash] move, then looked up at her Trainer, emitting a soft "woo meow" sound from her throat.
The girls nearby also noticed the situation on Hakuya's side.
Dawn put down her fishing rod, looking at the Magikarp all over the ground and filling the basket, with a look of surprise on her face.
Although it was true that Magikarp were everywhere in the water because of their tenacious vitality, she had never seen so many at once. Brother Hakuya actually caught so many by himself?
"One, two, three... Wow, Brother Hakuya, did you poke a Magikarp nest?"
As soon as the voice fell, Lisia chimed in chirping like a lark. She pressed her index finger against her lips, the silver ornaments in her hair tinkling lightly with her movements.
"Hmm, I feel it's more like Brother Hakuya's bait was treated as a buffet by the Magikarp and was ruthlessly freeloaded~"
"Saa~"
Gardevoir, standing quietly aside with her slender hands crossed in front of her lower abdomen, also cast a sympathetic look at her Trainer.
She witnessed with her own eyes how Hakuya went from surprise at catching the first Magikarp to dullness at catching a full basket, and finally to now seemingly losing all strength and means—although generally speaking, Magikarp, with their weak bodies and dull minds, were famously unintelligent and emotionless Pokémon, just now they seemed to be bewitched, scrambling to bite the hook Hakuya cast into the water. Even after one was caught, it didn't stop, insisting on calling all its relatives over.
And the kind-hearted Miss Gardevoir had asked her Trainer more than once if he needed her help, but whenever she prepared to use psychic power to catch the fish in the water one by one, Hakuya always refused with the reason that "a fisherman must rely on his own strength to catch big fish."
Aside, another catfish weighing more than two pounds took the bait. While happy, Sapphire also turned her face to express her opinion.
"Hmm... I guess it's probably because Brother Hakuya, this incubus, attracted all the Magikarp in the water to his side."
"Hmm?" Hakuya was suddenly stunned and asked puzzledly, "Could it be that none of you caught a single Magikarp?"
"No~ They are all ordinary fish." May shook her head, picked out a black fish about five fingers wide from the basket with her slender fingers, and said with a disappointed look, "Brother Hakuya, do you think I have no talent for fishing? The ones I caught are all so small."
"...No, May, you are still too unconfident. You are much better than me."
For some reason, Hakuya subconsciously wanted to raise his hand to cover his chest now.
The most heartbreaking thing in the world is not having fishing skills but failing miserably, but that the novice anglers accompanying him inexplicably caught a full basket, while he himself was the only one left who, apart from getting Magikarp that couldn't be chewed even after stewing in boiling water for a day, didn't even see the shadow of a normal fish!
As for Sapphire's speculation just now, thinking about it carefully, it was also very reasonable.
Blessed by the Creator God, he possessed an incubus constitution that was super effective against all Pokémon. Attracting this group of Magikarp to take the bait was also a normal situation, but what he didn't expect was that the passive ability meant to help him build better relationships with Pokémon would one day become the biggest stumbling block on his fishing journey.
Finally, when Hakuya pulled up the heavily trembling fishing rod with force and saw that iconic figure with a red body, yellow fins, and dull, silly eyes again, his calm face completely broke.
Damn Arceus—!!!