Three hours of competition passed in the blink of an eye. Looking at the abundant haul piled up beside him, Silas felt completely satisfied.
The live-well compartment of the boat was practically a miniature aquarium.
Inside were five Luvdisc, three Clauncher, one Staryu, and three Shellder.
In terms of sheer numbers, he had even caught more Luvdisc than the Fishing Master beside him. But compared to Minccino's achievement, his catch was hardly worth mentioning.
A single red Clauncher surpassed hundreds of ordinary fish Pokémon.
Silas even suspected that if Minccino had continued fishing, its total harvest might not have been any less than his own.
"It's time to head back and regroup."
Putting away his fishing rod, Silas called out to Minccino and began rowing the small boat back.
Along the way, Minccino's laughter never stopped. It had become friends with the shiny Clauncher and had even invited it to visit the ranch, promising to introduce it to everyone there.
Clauncher was more than happy to play with Minccino. Because of its unusual body color, it had been ostracized by other Clauncher and had always been a lonely shrimp with no friends.
Minccino was the very first Pokémon to take the initiative and want to be its friend. Clauncher liked it very much.
When they arrived at the gathering point, the shoreline was already bustling with excitement. Silas even spotted Gario and his companion among the crowd.
They were animatedly bragging to others about their catches, practically spraying saliva as they talked. Catching sight of Silas's boat approaching from the corner of their eyes, the two of them walked over with wide smiles.
"Silas, you're here!"
"Did you know I caught an Alomomola?"
The pink, sunfish-like Pokémon nearly a meter tall was hoisted high into the air by Gario. He didn't even give Silas a chance to speak, boasting to himself proudly.
"That's really impressive, Gario!"
Silas replied with a cheerful smile, casually lifting the lid of his own live-well at the same time.
"Ah! Even all of my catches combined aren't as big as that one of yours. Looks like you're going to win!"
Hearing that, Gario had originally intended to offer a few words of comfort.
But when he lowered his head and looked into Silas's live-well, he rolled his eyes dramatically and said in a sour tone,
"How about we trade? I don't want big, I want more."
"Hehe!" Silas laughed smugly, noticing the growing crowd of fishing enthusiasts gathering around him. "Everyone, don't crowd around! Give a little space."
Even as he said that, he transferred the fish into a transparent work fishing box, thoroughly enjoying the jealous tones and envious stares from the surrounding anglers—looks that practically screamed they wished they could take his place.
It felt absolutely amazing. Hahaha!
Just as the staff finished tallying the catches and calculating the scores, Minccino carried the shiny Clauncher in its arms and ran over to Silas's feet.
"Min~"
(Silas, Silas! Clauncher wants to visit our ranch, can it come?)
Gario was the first to notice Minccino and the Clauncher. His eyes widened, and he stammered incoherently.
"A red Clauncher!!!"
One sentence set off a tidal wave of commotion. The entire crowd of anglers instantly erupted.
"That's… a shiny Clauncher?" someone rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
"Did I see that right? Since when is Clauncher red?"
"That's an extremely rare differently colored Pokémon!"
Excited and curious gazes converged on the two Pokémon.
Startled by the sudden attention, Minccino panicked and burrowed into Silas's arms for comfort.
Clauncher looked around, then copied Minccino and climbed onto Silas's shoulder.
That only made them even more eye-catching. Gasps of amazement rose one after another, and the sound of cameras snapping filled the air.
While soothing the frightened Minccino in his arms, Silas didn't forget to explain to everyone—he couldn't steal Minccino's glory.
"I didn't catch this one. The shiny Clauncher was my Minccino's very first catch ever."
As he spoke, Silas winked at Minccino and lifted it high into the air for everyone to see.
Now that it realized there was nothing to fear, Minccino happily waved its tiny paw at the crowd, basking in the friendly praise and admiration.
The champion of today's Fishing Festival competition was beyond dispute.
When they returned, Minccino carried a gleaming golden trophy in its arms.
The base of the trophy had even been temporarily engraved with cartoon portraits of Minccino and Clauncher.
As for Silas, the trainer also received a reward, a high-quality fishing rod, along with the shiny Clauncher itself.
Of course, not everyone had such good fortune. For example, John.
From start to finish, he hadn't caught a single thing. He didn't even dare breathe too loudly the entire time, afraid of drawing attention.
"John, did you catch any Pokémon?"
It wasn't until they got off the car at the entrance of the Miltank Ranch that Silas curiously asked.
John shook his head and walked straight toward the ranch without turning back.
"Hahaha!" Gario laughed and filled Silas in on John's complete "zero haul" performance.
After saying goodbye, he started his small truck and drove off to pick up Diggersby.
"Let's head back too. The little ones at the ranch must be getting anxious waiting for us."
Calling the two Pokémon, Silas quickened his pace toward the ranch.
As soon as they saw the ranch gates, Minccino excitedly jumped down, holding its Fishing Competition Champion trophy high and running ahead. It couldn't wait to show the others.
Following behind, Silas didn't forget to scoop up the shiny Clauncher, which was slowly crawling along the ground.
"Hey, hey."
"I'll introduce you around the ranch first. How about living here from now on? No Pokémon will bully you here."
Clauncher didn't reply, but it became noticeably more docile, allowing Silas to handle it without resistance.
As soon as they entered the ranch, they saw Kangaskhan and the others gathered on the neatly trimmed lawn near the entrance, surrounding Minccino and listening to it chatter excitedly about everything that had happened on this trip.
Each of them was visibly envious that Minccino had gotten to spend half a day alone with Silas.
"Clap, clap!"
Silas clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention. Holding Clauncher in his palms, he announced, "This is Clauncher, our ranch's new partner! Let's all welcome it."
"Cla~"
It was the first time Clauncher had been treated with such importance, receiving so much attention. Nervously, it lifted its large claw slightly to greet everyone.
"Kang!"
Kangaskhan was the first to step forward and express its welcome.
The other Pokémon quickly followed, crowding around Clauncher in an instant.
They even presented it with welcoming gifts.
Cyclizar lingered at the back. Seeing that everyone else had given something, it felt awkward not to offer anything itself.
The only thing it could spare was a little red flower. It had already given one to Dolliv last time.
It couldn't show favoritism toward Clauncher.
With visible heartache, Cyclizar stuck a small red flower onto Clauncher's claw and solemnly instructed it on how to use it and to take good care of it.
"Cla?"
Clauncher blinked, then crawled over to Minccino and gave the little red flower to its first and best—friend.
"Min?"
(Really?)
"Cla~"
After receiving Clauncher's affirmative response, Minccino happily hugged it, gently tapping its small paw against Clauncher's claw.
Cyclizar: "Cyc… (ToT)" (My little red flower…!)
Patting Cyclizar comfortingly, Silas then carried Clauncher to Lotus Lake.
He called over the Popplio playing in the water, Veluza, and Relicanth to introduce them to Clauncher and asked them to help look after it.
As for himself, he returned to the cottage, planning to prepare a celebratory feast to welcome Clauncher into the ranch family.
(End of Chapter)