Though very reluctant, the boat's controls were in Caster's hands, so Pichu had no choice but to watch helplessly as it got closer and closer to Lanturn.
On a nearby boat, the female fisher and her Lanturn were concentrating on fishing, not yet noticing Caster's approach.
Splash!
Just then, a fairly large Seaking was pulled from the water by the female fisher.
"This one's a pretty good size; might place in the rankings."
The female fisher's eyes lit up as she quickly shouted, "Lanturn, use Thunderbolt!"
Bzzt!
Lanturn's electrical current gathered at the spherical light organ atop its head, forming a thick beam of electricity that shot out, aimed directly at the Seaking that had just broken the water's surface with the hook still in its mouth.
However, just as it was about to strike Seaking, the thick electrical current seemed mysteriously summoned, forcibly making a ninety-degree turn in midair before flying toward Caster's boat not far away.
More precisely, toward Pichu at the bow of Caster's boat.
"Pi~"
Watching the thick auto-targeting electrical current rapidly approaching, Pichu's face filled with terror.
Don't come over here!!!!
"Pretty good luck; there's no other Seaking with Lightning Rod ability in the nearby waters."
Caster watched this scene unfold with a smile.
Before getting struck, Pichu saw Caster, who had long since ducked to the other end of the boat, and ground its teeth in frustration.
The farthest distance in the world isn't life and death, but that I'm getting struck by lightning at this end of the boat while my trainer is hiding at the other end watching the show.
When it came to being inhumane, even Houndoom probably had to learn from its own trainer, right?
Boom!
Thunderbolt struck Pichu, immediately covering its body with golden electrical current.
But contrary to Pichu's expectations, the anticipated burning heat and stinging pain didn't appear.
The moment the current hit, the electric pouches on Pichu's cheeks became like a bottomless pit, swallowing the current completely.
Not only was there no charred pain now, but it actually felt... amazing!!!
Immediately after, a faint glow appeared over Pichu's body and vanished in a flash.
At the same time, Pichu's aura began steadily climbing.
Its Special Attack had increased!
"Pi?"
Pichu looked completely bewildered.
On the other side of the boat, Caster climbed up, laughing heartily.
"Pichu, I told you, you're different now from before. Now, ordinary Pokémon's Electric-type moves not only can't hurt you but will actually become nourishment to make you stronger."
"Pi~"
Hearing this, Pichu grew excited too.
So all of this was within the trainer's calculations?
Truly worthy of being my trainer!
On the other side, with Electric-type moves ineffective, the female fisher could only command Lanturn to use Icy Wind, briefly freezing the airborne Seaking.
"Pichu, use Thunder Shock on Seaking!"
Having completed his verification, Caster decided to make amends for his mistake.
If this fairly large Seaking got away, the female fisher would probably be angry.
"Pi~"
Pichu suddenly leaped into midair.
Now it didn't even need to charge up; a thick electrical current shot out from between its ears, transforming into a serpentine bolt that struck the Seaking floating on the water's surface.
"Awooh~"
Pichu's electrical current was quite thick.
Besides the frozen Seaking showing a pained expression, muffled cries of distress echoed from underwater in the surrounding area, accompanied by surging undercurrents.
"Now's your chance, quickly use the Lure Ball to catch Seaking."
Caster reminded the female fisher, who hastily threw out a Lure Ball that struck Seaking.
Before long, the Lure Ball stopped shaking.
Seaking, successfully caught!
"Thanks!"
"No problem!"
Caster laughed heartily.
"It's also my fault for not noticing you were there, causing Pichu to redirect Lanturn's electric current again.
Otherwise, you probably would've caught Seaking already."
The female fisher nodded at his words without saying much.
Just then, exclamations came from not far away.
Caster turned to look and saw that a fisher had actually hooked a giant Seaking nearly two meters tall and over three meters long.
Its terrifying size was more than double that of an ordinary Seaking.
"That's Andreas!"
"Truly worthy of being a championship contender; his fishing skills are indeed exceptional."
"Indeed! With a Seaking this big, my rod might not be able to handle it. Even if the rod could take it, I probably couldn't reel it in."
...
Everyone discussed animatedly, deeply impressed.
Under Poliwhirl's attack, the giant Seaking was quickly subdued, and Andreas was extremely proud.
In fishing, this was undoubtedly Andreas's domain!
When he spotted Caster, Andreas gave a cold snort and piloted his boat away.
"This Andreas really is impressive. My Seaking compared to his is practically malnourished."
Watching the departing Andreas, the female fisher's confidence shattered. She directly released the Seaking she'd just caught, put away her fishing gear, and left dejectedly.
"Let's keep fishing!"
Caster was indifferent, maintaining a calm mindset.
Winning the championship would be great, but if he couldn't win, he wouldn't force it.
However, more than half the fishing time had passed by now; Caster had to hurry up.
After finding a new water area and casting his line again, a big fish soon bit.
[Caught 'Magikarp,' reward: 1 portion of 'Seaking Exclusive Bait.']
"Hm? Seaking Exclusive Bait?"
Caster's eyes suddenly brightened as he quickly retrieved the bait from his fishing space.
[Seaking Exclusive Bait: Special bait with super strong attraction to Seaking, but other Pokémon aren't interested.]
"Just as I thought!"
Caster laughed triumphantly.
He'd previously obtained 'Crab-Specific Bait,' whose effectiveness was similar to that of this 'Seaking Exclusive Bait.'
However, looking at the description, exclusive bait clearly had stronger effects because it targeted one specific Pokémon species.
Specific bait, on the other hand, targeted a certain category of Pokémon with a broader range.
"Let's fish!"
Opening the bait box, Caster pinched some bait with his fingers, hooked it on, and cast his line.
Plop!
The bait entered the water and began dissolving into powder, slowly dispersing as the current carried it in all directions.
Before long, Caster saw whirlpools forming all around, clearly indicating large numbers of fish were converging on this area.
Caster beamed with joy, waiting for a big fish to bite.
But unexpectedly, while there was a lot of commotion underwater, the bobber remained motionless. Instead, the whirlpools grew larger and larger.
"The Seaking underwater seem to be fighting over the food."
Caster was momentarily stunned, then realized the reason, sighing, "Truly worthy of being exclusive bait; its attraction to the target Pokémon is absolutely terrifying."
After quite a while, the underwater scramble seemed to reach its conclusion, and the bobber suddenly sank.
"Big fish on the hook!"
Caster was overjoyed and quickly pulled on the rod, but felt enormous resistance.
"It's a monster!"
Shocked yet extremely delighted, Caster used every ounce of strength to play the fish.
Beside him, Pichu's electric arcs surged continuously, ready to strike.
After another good while, the underwater giant was finally dragged to the surface, its enormous size almost matching the one Andreas had caught.
And the reward for catching it was exceptionally generous.
[Caught 'Seaking,' reward: 1 bottle of 'X Sp. Atk.']
"Got a rare reward!"
Caster was overjoyed beyond measure.
Although Genius Feathers could also improve a Pokémon's base Special Attack, in terms of effectiveness, X Sp. Atk was clearly much better.
۞۞۞۞
~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones