"He's already fishing again?"
Watching Caster eagerly get back to fishing, Wyatt felt conflicted.
They were both Pokémon trainers, so why was the difference between them so huge?
"Could fishing be Caster's special training method?"
Wyatt stroked his chin, his eyes lighting up. "Maybe I should grab a fishing rod and try it too? There might be unexpected benefits!"
Unfortunately, before Wyatt could take his first step, Clair grabbed him by the ear and dragged him off for special training.
After all, aside from Kingdra and Flygon, Wyatt's other four Pokémon hadn't finished mastering Dragon Dance yet.
He still had work to do!
Before long, the bait was ready.
Caster pulled out his fishing gear from his backpack, assembled it, attached the bait, and cast his line.
Splash!
The bait hit the water, sending ripples across the calm lake surface.
Caster's entire body tensed as his eyes locked onto the bobber, waiting for something big to bite.
After all, this was exclusive bait that President Kunio had pulled strings to get. Caster was certain it wouldn't let him down.
And sure enough, it didn't. After just a short while, dark currents and whirlpools began forming beneath the surface.
Something was down there!
Whoosh!
Suddenly, the bobber plunged violently into the water, yanked down with brutal force.
"It's here! I've got a big one!"
Caster was overjoyed and immediately pulled hard on the rod.
But soon, he realized something was off.
The feeling wasn't quite what he'd expected from a massive catch.
Splash!
With a spray of water, a large fish covered in red scales was hauled out of the lake.
Caster's face darkened as he cursed under his breath. "You've got to be kidding me! A Magikarp?"
"Karp! Karp!"
The Magikarp that had been caught clamped down on the bait and wouldn't let go, flopping wildly in midair.
Taking a closer look, wasn't this Clair's Magikarp?
"Why aren't you training properly at the waterfall? What are you doing here causing trouble?"
After setting the Magikarp down, Caster gave it several firm taps on the head.
"Ow..."
As it turned out, the Magikarp was fine, but Caster's hand throbbed painfully.
"Karp! Karp!"
The Magikarp made a shameless face and nudged its mouth toward Caster's bait.
Clearly, it wanted a few more bites!
"I've only got one bag of this bait. If you eat it all, what am I supposed to fish with?"
Caster shook his head like a rattle drum and kicked the Magikarp back into the lake, threatening, "If you dare bite my hook again, I'll tell Clair you've been slacking off on training."
"Karp..."
Hearing that, the Magikarp froze.
While Clair treated it well and provided abundant training resources, her daily training regimen was genuinely strict.
If it failed to complete its tasks, there'd be consequences.
Thinking of that, the Magikarp's eyes grew resentful. With a dejected expression, it sank beneath the surface and disappeared.
"Looks like this bait isn't just powerfully attractive to Gyarados, but also has some pull on Magikarp, their pre-evolution."
Caster reattached fresh bait and was about to cast again, but remembering that President Kunio had only sent him one bag of bait, every bite was precious.
To prevent any more "non-target fish" from taking the hook, Caster released his Gyarados and instructed, "Gyarados, go keep watch underwater. If any small fry try to bite the hook, chase them off. But if it's one of your own kind, let them through."
After speaking, Caster activated another Energy Orb for Gyarados.
"Roar!"
Energized by the orb, Gyarados dove enthusiastically into the water, only to spot several Magikarp gathered at the bottom.
One of them lurking sneakily was none other than Clair's Magikarp.
That crafty thing hadn't actually left. It was waiting for another chance to sneak a bite.
"Karp! Karp!"
The Magikarp underwater cried out repeatedly, clearly drooling over Caster's bait.
"Roar!"
Although they were the same species, Gyarados showed no mercy to the Magikarp.
It charged straight at them with thrashing tail and snapping jaws, scattering the group in all directions.
"Karp!"
Clair's Magikarp tried to buddy up to Gyarados. After all, they'd trained together under the waterfall, and their trainers were close friends, so there should've been some camaraderie between them.
Gyarados's response was a Dragon Tail!
After taking that hit, the Magikarp cursed under its breath as it swam away!
It vowed that once it evolved into a Gyarados, it would definitely settle this score.
Gyarados's fierce presence not only drove the Magikarp away, but also made all the other Pokémon in the surrounding waters too frightened to approach.
However, this didn't affect the target fish.
"Roar!"
A dragon's roar echoed from the depths. A fierce wild Gyarados that had been lurking somewhere unknown had clearly followed the scent of the bait.
When it spotted Caster's Gyarados, it froze momentarily, then immediately coiled its body and retreated, showing clear wariness.
After all, during Caster and Wyatt's practice battle earlier, many Pokémon had been watching.
A Gyarados that could fly and use Thunderbolt and Thunder Wave was naturally intimidating to others of its kind.
After all, Electric-type moves were a Gyarados's greatest weakness!
But to the wild Gyarados's surprise, Caster's Gyarados didn't seem to be competing for food.
It merely glanced at the wild one before swimming aside to clear the path.
"Roar..."
The wild Gyarados nodded in acknowledgment, and the two fierce creatures passed each other peacefully.
Then, the wild Gyarados approached the bait. It examined it carefully with its eyes, then sniffed with its nose.
Ah... it smells amazing!
"Roar!"
At the same time, several more dragon roars echoed from the depths of the lake.
The wild Gyarados's heart stirred. It knew other members of its species had also been drawn by the scent of the bait.
Realizing it had arrived first, the wild Gyarados felt smug and didn't hesitate any longer. It opened its mouth and bit down hard.
"Here we go, here we go! This feels right. This time it's really a big one!"
On shore, feeling the tug on the line, Caster was thrilled and immediately pulled on the rod.
Buzz!
The line went taut, humming through the air.
But to Caster's alarm and delight, the creature underwater was incredibly strong.
Even though he pulled with all his might, the thing beneath the surface didn't budge an inch.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Instead, his fishing rod began making ominous sounds under the strain.
"This... this isn't good!"
Caster's expression changed.
If the rod snapped, he wouldn't get his cheat ability's reward.
"Roar!"
Underwater, his Gyarados also noticed the situation. Watching its fellow Gyarados thrash and drag the line, its eyes gleamed.
My trainer doesn't have enough strength, so I'll give him a push!
And so, water surged around Caster's Gyarados as it suddenly lunged forward.
Boom!
The wild Gyarados battling Caster hadn't expected its fellow species to backstab it.
Combined with being slightly smaller in size, it was caught completely off guard and launched out of the water.
Splash!
Water sprayed everywhere, forming a rainbow in the sunlight that perfectly matched Caster's mood at that moment.
"Gyarados, nice work!"
Seeing this, Caster couldn't help but praise it.
Immediately after, his cheat ability's reward appeared.
[Caught Gyarados. Reward: 1× TM for Scale Shot.]
[First time catching Gyarados. Bonus reward: 1× Speed Enhancement.]