The fight lasted maybe three minutes—though it felt longer—before I finally hauled my catch onto the sand.
A Magikarp.
The fish Pokémon flopped pathetically on the beach, its orange scales gleaming wetly in the moonlight.
It was maybe half a meter long, unremarkable in every way except for its sheer determination to escape.
"Karp! Karp! Magikarp!"
I'd caught hundreds of these in the games. Weak, useless, the butt of every Pokémon joke. But seeing one in person was different. It was a living creature, struggling and frightened, pulled from its environment by a predator it couldn't fight.
'Catch and release,' I decided. 'I don't need to keep every Magikarp. Just catch enough to—'
Gible moved with shocking speed.
One moment, the Magikarp was flopping on the sand. Next, Gible's jaws had closed around its entire body.
CRUNCH
The sound of breaking bones and tearing flesh echoed across the beach.
Magikarp's struggles ceased immediately, and Gible tilted his head back, swallowing the fish Pokémon whole like a snake consuming its prey.
I stood frozen, rod still in hand, my brain trying to process what I'd just witnessed.
"Gible... did you just eat that Magikarp?"
'It was food,' Gible responded, licking his chops with satisfaction. 'Weak prey. Easy meal.'
"But it was a Pokémon. A living—"
My Pokédex buzzed urgently in my pocket.
I pulled it out and saw a new notification:
[GIBLE - DIETARY ANALYSIS]
Species: Gible (Land Shark Pokémon)
Diet Classification: Carnivore
Primary Food Source: Other Pokémon
Preferred Prey: Small fish, birds, and mammal Pokémon
Hunting Behavior: Ambush predator, uses powerful jaws to crush prey
Note: In wild habitats, Gible commonly consume Magikarp, Goldeen, Pidgey, Rattata, and similar small species. This is natural behavior and should not be discouraged.
I stared at the entry, then at Gible, then back at the Pokédex.
'Right. Of course. Gible is a predator—a dragon. In the wild, it would hunt and kill other Pokémon for food. That's just... nature.'
The games never showed this side of Pokémon ecology.
Everything was sanitized, friendly, and reduced to numbers and types. But this world operated on different rules. Predator and prey. Survival of the fittest.
And apparently, Magikarp were at the bottom of that food chain.
A second notification appeared:
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[Source: Magikarp Consumption]
[Current Free EVs: 4]
My thoughts stuttered to a halt.
'EVs from eating Pokémon? Not just from battle?'
I pulled up Gible's status screen:
POKÉMON: Gible
Level: 7
Type: Dragon/Steel
HP: 24
ATK: 16
DEF: 18
SP. ATK: 11
SP. DEF: 11
SPEED: 13
Moves: Tackle, Sand Attack, Scale Shot, Dragon Rage
Ability: Rough Skin
IVs:
HP: 0
ATK: 31
DEF: 31
SP. ATK: 0
SP. DEF: 0
SPEED: 31
Free EVs: 4
Current EXP: 110/180
The information was clear. Defeating a Pokémon in battle granted EVs. But apparently, consuming one did too.
'This opens up entirely new training possibilities,' I realized. 'If Gible can gain EVs by eating prey Pokémon...'
I looked at the Old Rod, then at Gible, then at the dark ocean stretching before us.
'I can EV train without risking injury in battle. Just catch Magikarp, let Gible eat them, accumulate EVs for allocation.'
It felt cold and calculating and using living creatures as nothing more than stat-boost fodder.
But this was Extreme Mode. The world where Brock was Team Rocket, where they'd tried to murder me and Ash, where Gym Leaders couldn't be trusted, and danger lurked everywhere.
Sentiment was a luxury I couldn't afford.
"Alright," I said, casting my line again. "Let's see how many Magikarp we can catch."
Gible's eyes gleamed with predatory satisfaction.
'More food?'
"More food. And more power."
The second Magikarp took only minutes to hook.
I hauled it onto the beach, and Gible dispatched it with the same brutal efficiency.
Bones crunched.
Flesh tore.
Another life ended to fuel our growth.
[+1 EV GAINED]
[Free EVs: 5]
Third Magikarp.
Fourth.
Fifth.
I fell into a rhythm—cast, wait, hook, reel, let Gible eat.
The Old Rod proved its worth, consistently attracting the abundant fish Pokémon that swarmed Kanto's coastal waters.
Between catches, I also hooked actual fish.
Non-Pokémon varieties that Fisher had mentioned. These I kept, cleaning them with a knife from my supplies and setting them aside.
If I were going to build a fire anyway, I might as well cook proper food.
By the time I'd caught my seventh Magikarp, I'd accumulated ten Free EVs total—three from previous battles, seven from consumption.
Gible sat on his rock, belly slightly distended from eating seven half-meter fish in under an hour.
He looked satisfied in a way I'd never seen before, some primal contentment that came from a successful hunt.
'Time to allocate,' I decided, pulling up the system interface.
[ALLOCATE FREE EVs?]
[Current Free EVs: 10]
[Available Stats: HP, ATK, DEF, SP.ATK, SP.DEF, SPEED]
Speed was Gible's strength. With a perfect IV of 31, investing in Speed would maximize his combat effectiveness.
Fast Pokémon struck first, controlled the pace of battle, and could retreat when necessary.
'All ten into Speed,' I confirmed.
[ALLOCATION CONFIRMED]
[SPEED EVs: 0 → 10]
[SPEED STAT: 13 → 14]
[Free EVs: 0]
The change was subtle but noticeable. Gible shifted on his rock, testing his movements. He seemed marginally quicker, reactions slightly sharper.
'One point doesn't sound like much,' I thought. 'But every advantage matters. Especially when facing Pokémon fifteen levels higher than us.'
I checked the time: 7:43 PM.
Still over an hour until low tide. Plenty of time to continue preparation.