Chapter 26: My Second Pokémon! I Choose You... The King of Hardiness!
With ten million Pokédollars in his account and a temporary Trainer's License in his pocket, Kenji could finally start working on all the plans he'd been forced to put on hold.
The next morning, for the first time in weeks, he didn't go to the Edgecliff Gym. Instead, he took a taxi to the city's fishing port.
As he stepped out of the car, he breathed in the salty sea air. In the distance, dozens of fishing boats were moored at the docks. Not far from the port was a cluster of small, one-story shacks.
That was his destination.
Kenji walked up to one of the shacks and knocked gently on the door.
"Who is it?" a rough, gravelly voice called from inside.
A moment later, the door opened, revealing a burly, dark-skinned man with a cigarette dangling from his lips. He reeked of fish. The man looked at Kenji in surprise. "What do you want, kid?"
Kenji smiled politely. "Sir, are the Magikarp you catch for sale?"
...
In this world, illegally poaching Pokémon was a serious crime.
But one Pokémon was a special exception to that rule: Magikarp.
Magikarp had a base stat total of 200—five points higher than a Weedle—but its move pool consisted of the completely useless "Splash" and "Tackle." It was, without a doubt, the most useless Pokémon in existence, just as it was in the anime. Its combat ability was practically zero. Even a small human child could probably win a one-on-one fight against it.
But, as the saying goes, when Arceus closes a door, he opens a window.
While Magikarp was a pathetic fighter, its reproductive ability was terrifying, even more so than most Bug-types. Its adaptability was also off the charts. It could live in seawater, river water, or even polluted water. It could even, somehow, survive without water for a time. It was the legendary "King of Hardiness."
This combination of extreme fertility and adaptability meant that Magikarp were, quite literally, everywhere.
As a result, they were the only Pokémon not protected by the Pokémon League. In fact, to prevent them from overrunning the ecosystem, the League actually had to perform regular culls just to keep their numbers in check.
And unlike the Magikarp in the anime, which were famously described as being nothing but scales and bones, the Magikarp of this world were surprisingly meaty. This meant they were not only on the menu for wild Pokémon, but had also found their way onto human dinner tables.
"Most Miserable Pokémon" was a title it truly deserved.
...
"You're the first kid who's ever come here looking for a Magikarp as a partner," the fisherman said, taking a long drag from his cigarette as they stood on the beach.
Kenji shrugged. "Just trying my luck. Its evolution is Gyarados, right? That's got to be one of the coolest Pokémon ever."
The man let out a short, gruff laugh. "Don't say I didn't warn you, kid. I've been fishing these waters for at least ten years. I've caught thousands of 'em. I've never seen a single one evolve."
Kenji didn't respond. He knew it wasn't as simple as in the games, where a Magikarp evolved at level 20. In this world, the process was far more demanding.
First, it had to reach a high enough level, around 20.
Second, its innate potential had to be high enough. Official data suggested a Magikarp needed at least B-Rank potential to even have a chance.
Finally, it needed to accumulate a sufficient amount of "rage."
Only when all three conditions were met could the pathetic fish make the leap over the dragon's gate and transform from the weakest Pokémon into the terrifyingly powerful Gyarados.
Chatting as they went, the fisherman led Kenji to a large warehouse. The man unlocked the heavy door and slid it open. Before they even stepped inside, Kenji was hit by an overwhelming, eye-watering stench of fish.
As sunlight flooded the dark interior, Kenji, despite having prepared himself, couldn't help but gape. The warehouse was sectioned into massive, shallow tanks, and every single one was a churning, flopping sea of red. Thousands of Magikarp, with their big, gaping mouths and vacant eyes, were splashing wildly.
For the first time, Kenji truly, viscerally understood what "adaptability" meant.
The tanks were packed so densely that the Magikarp were piled on top of each other, forming a solid, squirming mass. There was some water in the tanks... but not much. It was, by a wide margin, more fish than water.
The fisherman yawned. "Here you go. Yesterday's catch. Take your pick."
Kenji looked at the writhing sea of red. Even with his data-scanning ability, this was going to be a massive pain. His goal was simple: find nine Magikarp with C+ potential or higher. That was the minimum rank required to ensure that his final, 3-Star fusion would reach the A-Rank potential needed for a 4-Star fusion.
He got to work, walking along the tanks, his eyes scanning one Magikarp after another.
Magikarp
Level: 5
Ability: Swift Swim
Potential: F-
Magikarp
Level: 3
Ability: Rattled
Potential: D+
Magikarp
...
Most of them were low-level, with F-Rank potential being the overwhelming norm. Even a D-Rank was a rare find. Trying to find a C-Rank in this mess was like trying to find a diamond in a landfill.
After an hour, the fisherman was growing visibly impatient with Kenji's meticulous searching and was about to kick him out.
Kenji, unwilling to leave empty-handed, simply pulled out his phone and transferred 20,000 Pokédollars to the man. The fisherman's grumpy expression vanished, replaced by a wide grin. He told Kenji to take all the time he needed and promptly left him alone.
With the man gone, Kenji continued his search, unhurried. It was a numbers game, and the numbers were on his side.
By noon, his hard work had paid off.
He had already found three C-Rank Magikarp and, to his surprise, one B-Rank. And he was only halfway through the warehouse.
Forgetting about lunch, Kenji secured his four chosen Pokémon in new Poké Balls and dove right back into the search.