The Pokémon that came to break things up was none other than the Sanctuary's guardian, Dragonite!
It was a kindhearted Pokémon with incredible strength that handled disputes fairly. All the Pokémon living here looked up to it.
"Awoo~"
Dragonite's expression darkened as it repeated itself, its gaze growing stern.
"Wu~"
With a whimper, Feraligatr quickly released its grip.
It could ignore anyone else, but Dragonite? Even Feraligatr had to show some respect.
Because if Feraligatr didn't want to be respectful, Dragonite would be happy to teach it some manners.
"Awoo~"
Seeing this, the serious look on Dragonite's face vanished, replaced by a cheerful smile that made it look completely harmless.
"Gyarados, are you okay?"
Caster rushed over to check on Gyarados's injuries.
"Roar~"
Gyarados had lost all its usual aggressive edge. Blood seeped from its neck, massive bite marks clearly visible. Scales had been torn away, and it was breathing hard.
Since its evolution, this was the first time Gyarados had taken such a beating.
Its eyes stayed locked on Feraligatr nearby. It had clearly memorized this opponent.
"Caster, are you alright!"
Only then did Clair and Wyatt, who had noticed something was wrong, arrive on their Pokémon.
Seeing Gyarados injured, Clair quickly pulled out a Potion and sprayed it over Gyarados's wounds.
"Lucky your Gyarados has such a massive body. These injuries shouldn't be too serious. With the medicine, it should recover about seventy to eighty percent by tomorrow."
The implication was clear: if a smaller Pokémon had taken that bite from Feraligatr, things would have gone much worse.
Only Wyatt's eyes flickered thoughtfully.
He'd picked up something from this fight: Caster's strength wasn't all that impressive.
Sure, this Feraligatr was extremely powerful, but if Caster's two Pokémon working together couldn't beat it, that said something.
If he were in Caster's position, Wyatt was confident his team could have driven off Feraligatr's attack.
"Awoo~"
Seeing Gyarados getting treatment, Dragonite finally stepped forward to figure out what had started the fight.
"Awaw~"
Feraligatr quickly launched into its complaint, pointing to the little Totodile hiding behind it.
Dragonite came over to investigate and spotted the electrical burn marks on Totodile's body. Its expression toward Caster turned somewhat unfriendly.
But it still gave Caster a chance to explain.
"Dragonite, here's what happened. I was just fishing earlier..."
Caster quickly recounted everything, emphasizing how Totodile had gone after his bait and attacked out of nowhere.
Pichu's electric shock on Totodile was purely self-defense.
"Awoo~"
Dragonite listened without comment, then turned to question the little Totodile.
"Todo~ Todo~"
Though Totodile was mischievous and a troublemaker, it wasn't sneaky and didn't know how to lie.
Faced with Dragonite's questioning, Totodile immediately admitted everything, looking embarrassed as it ducked its head behind Feraligatr, no longer daring to show its face.
"Fera?"
Feraligatr was stunned, a bead of cold sweat forming on its forehead.
It had been sleeping on the shore when its kid came back crying about getting picked on.
It had immediately flown into a rage, tracked down Caster, and started fighting without asking questions, nearly seriously injuring Gyarados.
Turns out it wasn't even in the right?
Bam!
The furious Feraligatr landed a smack on Totodile's head, grumbling the whole time.
You little brat, you set me up!
"Todo~ Todo~"
Totodile's eyes immediately filled with tears as it started crying pitifully.
"Awoo~"
Dragonite pointed at Feraligatr and Totodile, then at Caster and Gyarados.
"Awaw~"
Feraligatr's expression stiffened. It quickly pulled Totodile forward and made a series of awkward calls toward Caster and Gyarados.
Clearly an apology.
"What a troublemaker!"
Caster wasn't one to hold grudges and immediately accepted Feraligatr's apology.
However, when he saw Feraligatr nearby opening and closing its massive jaws, Caster suddenly got an idea.
"This is Pokémon food I made myself. Totodile seemed to really like it. Feraligatr, why don't you give it a try too?"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Caster picked up his fishing rod again, baited the hook, and dangled it near Feraligatr's mouth with a smile. "As for what just happened, let's call it water under the bridge."
"Aww?"
Sniffing the food in front of its mouth, Feraligatr couldn't help but start drooling.
At the same time, its opinion of Caster shot up.
After taking a beating from it, he still offered it delicious food?
This guy's pretty cool!
As for why he wasn't hand-feeding it but using a fishing rod instead, probably because he was worried about getting bitten, right?
Feraligatr didn't think too hard about it. It simply swallowed the bait and happily savored it.
[Caught 'Feraligatr', awarded 'Giga Impact' TM x1.]
[First time catching 'Feraligatr', bonus reward 'X Attack' x1.]
As the notification from his ability appeared, Caster's face lit up with satisfaction. What an unexpected bonus!
What followed was Feraligatr's stat panel.
"Hiss~"
Looking at Feraligatr's densely packed move list, Caster sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes widening.
He suddenly realized that the Feraligatr that had just pinned Gyarados to the ground might not have even used its full strength.
Because at just a glance, Caster spotted moves like Hydro Cannon, Focus Punch, Giga Impact, Outrage, and Stone Edge—all devastating powerful attacks.
"Awoo~"
Seeing the misunderstanding resolved and everyone getting along, Dragonite looked pleased.
It even pulled out several berries from its chest and distributed them for everyone to share.
After eating the berries, Feraligatr left with Totodile, though the troublemaker kept looking back every few steps at Caster's bait box.
Dragonite flew to a spot not far away to lie down and rest, seemingly worried that Caster, an outsider, didn't understand the rules and might cause more trouble.
"Caster, weren't you supposed to teach Magikarp the move Bounce?"
Wyatt's eyes flickered as he asked with a chuckle, "How did you suddenly start fishing instead?"
"I've loved fishing since I was a kid. Seeing this huge lake full of so many Pokémon, I couldn't resist. My hands were itching."
Caster made no excuses.
I just love fishing, got a problem with that?
Clair knew about Caster's love for fishing, so she didn't say much, only reminding him to stay focused on the main task.
"Don't worry, I won't forget the important stuff. I just had Magikarp swim back and forth across the lake a hundred times to establish a baseline."
Caster spun his story with a straight face. "Once I've got a sense of where it's at, I'll start the actual training program..."
Clair nodded and left with Wyatt, while also ramping up her own training routine.
"Pi~ Pichu~"
Seeing everyone leave, Pichu, standing on Caster's shoulder, quickly pointed at the dejected Gyarados by the lake.
This crushing defeat had clearly shaken Gyarados's confidence.
Because Gyarados's ability was Moxie—boosting attack after knocking out opponents. Victory would make it even stronger, but defeat left it demoralized.
"Gyarados, don't let one loss get you down. In Pokémon battles, wins and losses are just part of the deal. Even regional Champions don't win every single battle."
Caster walked up and patted Gyarados's head, trying to console it. "That Feraligatr's strength is the real deal, we have to give it that.
But you don't need to beat yourself up over it. After all, how long ago did you just evolve?"
"Besides, as long as you stick with me, I guarantee it won't take too long before you can beat that Feraligatr and wash away this loss."
Caster patted his chest confidently, then added, "Come on, I've got something good for you."
"Roar~"
Hearing there was something good, Gyarados immediately perked up.