"Hello, my name is Adrian."
After introducing himself, Adrian looked at Ash and Pikachu and said, "I only have one Magikarp, and it can only battle in water. If you have a Water-type pokémon, I can accept your challenge."
The implication was: don't even think about using Pikachu to electrify the pond!
"A Water-type pokémon? I don't have one yet!"
Ash was greatly disappointed by this.
He currently only had three pokémon: Pikachu, Butterfree, and Pidgeotto.
As for Squirtle, it would be some time before it joined his team.
"Your Pikachu is so cute, can I pet him?"
Adrian pointed at the Pikachu on Ash's shoulder.
This was Pika-God!
Ash glanced at Pikachu, his face showing a difficult expression, and said, "My Pikachu probably doesn't like being petted by strangers."
"Pika~"
Seeing Adrian reach out, Pika-God's red electric pouches on his cheeks immediately flickered with electric arcs, showing strong resistance.
Upon seeing this, Adrian immediately activated an energy cube and infused it into Pikachu's body.
"Pika?"
Pikachu was startled at first.
"Pika-chu~~"
The next second, Pikachu's eyes narrowed, completely captivated, clearly enjoying himself immensely.
Which pokémon could resist this test?
Adrian took the opportunity to pet, rub, massage, and pinch, giving him a full pampering, and Pikachu showed no resistance whatsoever.
Brothers, I'm petting Pika-God!!!
"Huh? Pikachu has never acted like this in front of me."
Ash was dumbfounded.
His pokémon was being petted by another trainer right in front of him.
The key was that Pikachu seemed to be enjoying it immensely, completely engrossed, which was something he had never seen before.
How could Ash bear this?
"He feels so good! How can there be a pokémon as cute as Pikachu? I definitely want to catch one someday."
After petting for a moment, Adrian decisively withdrew his hands.
Because as the energy in the energy cube was depleted, Pikachu's eyes regained clarity.
Who am I?
Where am I?
I want more!!!
"Pika-chu~"
However, out of reserve and consideration for Ash's feelings, Pika-God reluctantly suppressed the urge to jump onto Adrian, merely scrutinizing the young man in front of him with his eyes.
"Pikachu seems to really like Mr. Adrian."
Ash was still sulking, but Brock immediately twisted the knife further.
This made Ash even more withdrawn.
"Hello, I'm Brock from Pewter City, and my goal is to become a pokémon breeding master."
After Brock introduced himself, Adrian chatted with them for a while, and they became completely acquainted.
Seeing that his objective was achieved, Adrian then turned his attention to Misty, asking opportunely, "Misty, I've been fishing all morning and haven't gotten any big bites. Can you help me see if it's a problem with the bait?"
Misty naturally wouldn't refuse this.
She picked up Adrian's bait can, opened it, and sniffed, then immediately said with a disgusted look, "Your bait is terrible! Unless a pokémon is starving, or it's a Magikarp, who would want to eat bait like this?"
"It really is a problem with the bait. No wonder no other pokémon have been biting."
Hearing this, Adrian quickly nodded in agreement.
The reason for not catching fish was found; it really wasn't a problem with his fishing skills!
"This is pokémon bait I made with a secret recipe; it has a special attraction for Water-type pokémon."
Misty opened her own bait box, which contained several human-shaped baits. She handed them to Adrian and said, "Try it!"
"How can I accept this?"
Adrian said 'how can I accept this' with his mouth, but his hands 'honestly' took the bait and hooked it onto his fishing hook.
"Thank you!"
After casting his hook into the water, Adrian didn't forget to thank and flatter her: "With your special bait, Misty, I'm sure I can catch some amazing pokémon."
Misty's special bait had even caught a fierce Gyarados, so its quality was self-evident.
"Of course!"
Misty smiled, not being modest at all.
Remembering that he still didn't have a Water-type pokémon, Ash couldn't help but step forward to ask for some: "Misty, can you give me some of your bait too? I also want to catch a Water-type pokémon."
"No problem!"
Misty generously gave Ash and Brock each a portion of bait, and then the four of them fished together by the river.
Before long, Adrian's bobber was the first to move, sinking completely.
"There's a fish! And it's a big one!"
Feeling the astonishing force from the fishing rod, Adrian shouted excitedly.
Because the feel was different, this catch should not be a Magikarp.
Splash!
Accompanied by a splash of water, a pokémon with a sharp horn on its head, pink lips, and a wavy tail was reeled out of the water.
"It's a Goldeen!"
Adrian was ecstatic.
Finally, it wasn't a Magikarp!
"Caught 'Goldeen,' rewarded with 1 Luxury Ball."
"First time catching 'Goldeen,' extra reward of 1 Bounce tm."
"Bounce?"
As the cheat ability prompt appeared, Adrian couldn't help but rub his eyes, making sure he hadn't misread it.
Just a few days ago, he had planned to catch more Goldeen to see if he could obtain the Bounce skill to teach to his Magikarp.
He didn't expect to achieve his goal on his very first Goldeen catch?
"It truly lives up to being a first-catch reward; it's genuinely generous!"
Adrian was filled with emotion.
At the same time, Goldeen's stats appeared before Adrian's eyes, though Ash and his companions couldn't perceive them at all.
"pokémon: Goldeen"
"Type: Water"
"Ability: Water Veil (Wraps itself in a veil of water, preventing it from being burned.)"
"Skills: Tail Whip (Mastered), Peck (Mastered), Supersonic (Mastered), Water Pulse (Mastered)"
"Water Veil Ability? That's too bad!"
Adrian immediately shook his head after seeing it, his interest instantly waning.
As far as he knew, Goldeen had three abilities: Swift Swim, Water Veil, and Lightning Rod.
Swift Swim allows the pokémon to move faster in the rain, making it the best ability for a rain team.
Lightning Rod is also not bad; it attracts Electric-type moves to itself, to some extent mitigating the weaknesses of Water- and Flying-type pokémon, also suitable for a rain team.
Only Water Veil had the most common effect.
"Adrian, aren't you going to battle to catch him?"
Seeing Adrian let the caught Goldeen go, Ash couldn't help but ask curiously.
"No! This Goldeen doesn't really suit my taste."
Adrian smiled and shook his head, explaining, "Besides, I also want to catch some pokémon that can battle on land."
"Indeed! Goldeen is a goldfish pokémon, it can only battle in water, so its limitations are relatively high."
Misty quickly nodded in agreement.
She also had a Goldeen and knew its strengths and weaknesses inside out.
Stealthily taking out the last special bait from Misty's bait box and hooking it, Adrian cast his rod again.
It seemed the Goddess of Luck favored him, as while Ash and the other two were still waiting patiently, Adrian's bobber moved again.
"This time the force is even greater, it's a giant!"
Adrian's face showed excitement as he gripped the fishing rod tightly and continuously reeled it in.
"Do you need help?"
Ash wanted to come over and help.
But Adrian quickly refused, saying, "No! I can do it myself."
Battling a big fish, this was an extremely important part of fishing; how could Adrian let Ash interfere?