Fortunately.
In the nick of time, someone's Pokémon used Protect, blocking the blue flames spewed by the Gyarados.
The Pidgeot in the sky finally snapped back to its senses and swiftly launched a counterattack against the enemy.
The semi-transparent Wind Blades continuously bombarded the Gyarados, causing it to cry out in pain.
Unfortunately, just as the person was about to throw a Pokeball, the fiercely attacked Gyarados directly retreated back into the sea, fleeing without the slightest hesitation.
The spectators on the Milotic couldn't help but sigh with regret.
"Just missed it!"
"Should've thrown the ball earlier!"
"Look at that, provoking a Gyarados for no good reason; see how fast it ran!"
Baimu listened to the conversations around him, his heart still not at ease as he quickly moved to the side of the ship and gazed out at the surging sea.
"Xiaosheng! What's the likelihood of a Gyarados group following the Magikarp Group?"
"Eh?"
Xiaosheng was engrossed in the spectacle and responded immediately, "That depends on the number of Magikarp. If they reach a certain number, the likelihood of a Gyarados group appearing is quite high."
"Is this considered a lot?"
Baimu turned his head, pointing downward.
Xiaosheng seemed to have realized something and quickly rushed to the side of the ship to look down, suddenly seeing that the originally deep blue sea was now occupied by a large number of red, countless Magikarp swimming beneath the ship, enough to give people with trypophobia goosebumps.
"So many!"
He exclaimed in shock, then remembered his fishing rod, "Even with so many, I still can't catch one, it's too much!"
Baimu was speechless, "Is this really the time to be worrying about that?"
"Haha..." Xiaosheng laughed awkwardly, then said, "It's okay, the outer walls of the Milotic have the same protective devices as the battle arena, so there's no fear of Pokémon attacks sinking the ship, unless you leave the ship's protection voluntarily."
"...That's good to know."
He pondered for a moment, recalling that the Sainte Anne Ash Ketchum had been on was overturned by stormy waves, not directly related to the Gyarados.
In recent years, large-scale Pokémon attacks on humans causing widespread destruction have become a rarity.
In the distance.
The lifeboats and fish-luring boats, fearing that the Gyarados might attract more, quickly moved towards the Milotic.
As expected, the Gyarados, angered by its previous defeat, wasn't about to give up easily, summoning a group of seventeen or eighteen other Gyarados to chase after the lifeboats.
"So many Gyarados!"
"Is the fishing competition going to be canceled?"
"Is the ship alright? Will it be sunk?"
"Don't worry, even if the number doubles, it's useless! Last year, even hundreds of Sharpedos couldn't do anything to the Milotic, so zip up your crow's mouth!"
The surrounding chatter further relieved Baimu, watching with curiosity as the lifeboats dodged and defended against the Gyarados group's attacks, trying to escape to the Milotic's simple port.
Seeing the lifeboats fleeing, the Gyarados group immediately surrounded the Milotic.
Soon after.
They started to rotate around the Milotic, and the sky quickly grew dark with oppressive clouds, while the relatively calm sea swiftly turned rough and choppy.
"The Gyarados are using Rain Dance together!"
Xiaosheng looked at the Gyarados, filled with infinite admiration, "Scenes like these are not often seen."
Baimu, sensing something, turned his head, and saw several loudspeakers emerge from a deck on the Milotic, releasing low-frequency sound waves.
Under this soundwave, the Gyarados group showed signs of discomfort, unable to focus on using their moves, and before long, they sank into the sea and disappeared.
A few minutes later.
The dark clouds in the sky also dissipated, revealing a clear sky.
"The security measures are really something."
Baimu couldn't help but marvel at the advances in technology, as such a tricky group of ferocious Pokémon like the Gyarados were driven away in less than a minute.
Peering down once more, he noticed the once dense Magikarp Group had also disappeared.
"Brother Baimu! Keep fishing! After the Gyarados group has left, the Water-type Pokémon that feared them will come back up; it's a great opportunity!"
Xiaosheng said excitedly.
Soon after he spoke, his fishing rod began to tremble violently.
"Here it comes!"
Xiaosheng's eyes lit up as he lifted the fishing rod to reel it in. But it seemed like a big one down below, as reeling it in wasn't successful and it pulled him forward a short distance.
Seeing him nearly fall into the water, Baimu hurried to lend a hand, but Xiaosheng shouted:
"It's okay! I can do it! The rules don't allow for any help!"
The basic rule of the fishing competition was that the entire process had to be completed by oneself; only after reeling in the Pokémon could one's own Pokémon help.
Seeing Xiaosheng settle himself and reel while stepping back, seemingly quite skilled, Baimu relaxed and shouted:
"Don't rush to pull it up; wear it out a bit first, let it tire itself out."
"Got it!"
Xiaosheng responded excitedly, straining his forehead with effort, his feet firmly against the edge of the railing, while Kirlia couldn't help but cheer him on, Mawile joined in the encouragement too.
Sadly.
Being a fishing novice, Xiaosheng was still a bit inexperienced in this aspect of wearing out the fish, and the cunning back-and-forth with the shadow below didn't go in his favor. Thinking the opponent was out of energy and could be pulled up, he was abruptly jerked back while reeling.
This jolt caused Xiaosheng's upper body to lean over the railing, the center of gravity pulling him forwards quickly.
"Let go!"
As Baimu, who had just hooked a fish, saw this, his expression changed dramatically, throwing aside his rod and reaching for Xiaosheng's clothing while shouting loudly.
Xiaosheng didn't react in time, being yanked underwater by the fish, missing Baimu's grasp.
"Kirluu!"
Kirlia hurriedly tried to use its psychic power to catch the Trainer, but Xiaosheng fell too fast, disappearing from its line of sight.
People nearby saw Xiaosheng fall and exclaimed in alarm.
"Mawile!"
"Chidoh!"
Under Baimu's direction, Mawile quickly climbed over the railing, particles of Electromagnetic Levitation swirling around, grabbing Xiaosheng by the clothes just before he hit the water.
Luckily, the fishing spot was quite a distance from the water surface, preventing Xiaosheng from falling completely.
"That scared the life out of me."
Xiaosheng turned to look at the deep blue sea, filled with lingering fear.
"Let go when you need to; why are you wrestling with a Pokémon? You almost became fish bait, you know?" Baimu leaned against the ship's edge, speaking helplessly.
Xiaosheng was extremely embarrassed, "Hehehe... I was just worried about my fishing rod."
As he finished speaking.
A dark shadow in the water suddenly expanded rapidly, transforming into a wide-open mouth in an instant!
"Watch out!"
"Roar!"
Mawile, realizing the danger, quickly ascended, but it wasn't as fast as the carefully planned attack by Gyarados, which bit into Xiaosheng's shoe and used the free fall to drag them both into the sea.
Meanwhile.
On the ship, Baimu had already jumped off, his expression turning icy as he opened a Pokeball mid-air, "Aggron!"
"Roar——!!"
Surrounded by a terrifying aura, Aggron crashed into the sea!
Bang!
"Someone jumped in!"
"Rescue team! Quick, someone got pulled underwater by a Gyarados!"
Amidst the chaotic voices, many others jumped into the water, and the lifeboat that had just left the port quickly headed back.