Relicanth was known as a living fossil of the ocean, even classified as the Longevity Pokémon.
Wailord, on the other hand, was the largest Pokémon currently known. With a single gulp, it could swallow entire schools of Wishiwashi. A typical Wailord measured around 14.5 meters in length.
There had even been discoveries by the League of gigantic Wailord deep in the ocean at depths of around three thousand meters, some reaching an astonishing fifty meters.
"Wailord is easy enough to find. There are plenty in the seas around Hoenn," Steven sighed. Compared to that, Relicanth, which lived only in the deep sea, was much harder to locate.
Even for someone like Steven, it would require a great deal of manpower, resources, and a bit of luck.
Silas could clearly see his dilemma and smiled. "I actually have a Relicanth in my ranch."
"Really?"
Silas briefly explained the reason, and Steven could not help but marvel at his good fortune.
"Then I'll handle finding Wailord. Once everything is ready, we'll try awakening Registeel."
"No problem."
After being urged once again by Steven about when Diancie and the others would make their debut, Silas brushed it off with a vague "next time" before the call ended.
Putting away the communicator, he turned and fixed his gaze on the six little troublemakers.
"Cin Cin!"
(We know we were wrong. We shouldn't have bullied the Psyduck with Cyclizar.)
"Morpe~"
"Lioo!"
"Crem~"
"Lioo!"
"Jiggly!"
The six little ones all admitted their mistakes on their own, and Silas's expression softened.
"It's good that you can admit your mistakes. Later, go apologize to Psyduck, Fletchinder, and Heliolisk, understood?"
Led by Cinccino, the six Pokémon nodded obediently. Punishment was still necessary, otherwise they would not learn their lesson, so their daily snacks were confiscated.
As for Cyclizar, that troublemaker only got more reckless as it grew, dragging the others into all sorts of mischief.
Later, Silas was definitely going to give it a proper scolding.
Glancing to the side, he saw that the Florges were getting along very well with Shaymin.
With a long string of "little tails" following behind him, Silas returned to the house and saw that the Chikorita had woken up and were happily eating the fruit platter he had prepared.
Several of them competed for the food, letting out sounds of pure enjoyment as they ate.
After taking a sip of water, Silas played with the Chikorita for a while.
When he prepared to inspect the ranch, the "little tails" behind him grew even longer, so he simply took them along for a leisurely walk.
They first arrived at the farmland, where the replanted autumn crops were growing well. They would be able to harvest the final batch before winter arrived.
During the three months of winter, no crops could be grown, so Silas planned to let the land rest and at the same time find something for the Mudsdale to do, so they would not spend all day soaking in mud.
Dodging one of the Mudsdale's enthusiastic bops, Silas pressed a hand against its large head.
"You're too dirty. Don't get too close to me."
"Mud Mud~"
Mudsdale protested, shaking its body and immediately kicking up a cloud of dust.
In an instant, Silas's clothes were covered in dirt.
He was already used to it.
Every time he came to see the three Mudsdale brothers, his clothes would inevitably end up dusty and dirty.
Fortunately, he had his personal Cinccino-branded dust cleaner.
Cinccino stood with its hands on its hips, angrily scolding them.
It wanted to smack the Mudsdale with its big fluffy tail, but just before doing so, it noticed how filthy they were and abruptly stopped, wearing a look of disgust. It did not want to dirty itself.
Still, it could not resist lightly sweeping the dust off Silas's shoulder with the tip of its tail, helping clean him up.
"Thanks, Cinccino."
Silas raised his dusty hand and tried to grab Cinccino. The little Pokémon seemed torn between two instincts, dodging left and right.
In the end, it still let Silas grab its fluffy tail, and even helped clean him properly.
After confirming that the Mudsdale were in good condition, the group behind him grew even larger.
By the time Silas reached the lakeside, even the five sheep Pokémon had joined them.
He crouched down and spoke with Veluzza, confirming the conditions of Clawitzer and Relicanth.
Just as he stepped toward the small wooden bridge, Cinccino tugged at his hair.
After brushing away the little hand, Silas looked toward the upstream of the stream.
The cats had returned with a full haul.
From a distance, he could see Perrserker holding up a massive anglerfish, half a head taller than itself. It was truly the king of fish.
"Meow~"
As Perrserker approached, it was immediately surrounded by a group of Pokémon. Praises poured in endlessly, making even Perrserker feel a little embarrassed.
"Meow meow..." (It wasn't just me. Everyone helped.)
While the others examined the large anglerfish, Alolan Meowth walked up to Silas carrying a bucket and pointed at it.
"Meow~ meow!"
"There's a smaller one too?"
Silas leaned over to take a look. Sure enough, there was a smaller anglerfish inside, not yet fully grown.
What should be done when there was both a big fish and a small fish? Naturally, the small one should be released and raised.
"Later, come with me to the winter fishing lake. We'll keep it there."
"Meow~"
Alolan Meowth nodded and stood obediently beside him, leaning against the bucket with a cool expression.
"Oh right, wasn't Cyclizar with you?"
"Meow~" (It said it went back to the house first.)
"That guy, even knows how to hide from me now."
Silas shook his head helplessly, already planning to settle the score once he got back.
He crouched down and patted Alolan Meowth's head. "How about we make grilled fish and fish ball soup for dinner tonight?"
"Meowr~" "Meow!" "Meow~"
At the mention of fish, the other three cats immediately responded excitedly.
The rest of the little ones also cried out eagerly. They had all been craving this.
The last time Silas cooked a fish king, it had been unbelievably delicious. Morpeko had even wanted to eat it raw.
He asked Perrserker to take the large fish back and hand it over to the Indeedee siblings for preparation.
Then Silas called over Alolan Meowth, picked up Litten in his arms, and headed toward the winter fishing lake behind the mountain.
Nature showed its incredible power. In less than a month, the area had regained its vitality.
Several Slowpoke, who had wandered in from who knows where, stood still by the water, their tails dipped into the lake.
Even when they saw Silas and the two cats, they did not run. Instead, they tilted their heads in confusion and let out their slow "dopey" cries.
If nothing unexpected happened, these Slowpoke would probably never evolve in their lifetime.
Silas was certain of that, because there were no Shellder in the lake.
Arriving at the lakeside, a few Remoraid floating on the surface quickly dived into the water in panic.
Across the lake, a large group of Exeggcute peeked curiously from the bushes.
"Let's raise it here."
A lake without a fish king simply would not do.
Catching a seasonal fish king with one's own hands was the dream of every fishing enthusiast.
As soon as the small fish king entered the water, it disappeared in the blink of an eye.
After scattering some fish feed into the lake, Silas returned with the two cats.
Back at the ranch, he noticed Gario speaking with the male Indeedee.
"Silas, you're back from your trip!"
"Yeah."
"Did you catch all these fish? As expected of this year's fishing champion." Gario praised him, especially when he saw the massive fish king, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"Well… I didn't catch that one. The cats did. These too. Take a couple back with you, Gario."
(End of Chapter)