Johto Region.
Whirl Islands.
On the coast of Blue Point Isle, Caster was continuously reeling in Lanturn after Lanturn.
[Caught 'Lanturn', rewarded with 1 'Thunder Wave' TM.]
[Caught 'Lanturn', rewarded with 1 'Energy Orb'.] ×10
[Caught 'Lanturn', rewarded with 1 'Electroweb' TM.]
[Caught 'Lanturn', rewarded with 1 'Ability Candy'.]
...
At the same time, the rewards from his cheat ability kept appearing, making Caster grin from ear to ear.
He absolutely loved this feeling of hooking fish one after another.
Especially when the target species was clear and singular, the rewards he harvested were relatively focused too.
"Woo-hoo! Little Pichu's about to take off!"
Caster's mouth was practically stretching to his ears.
What Pichu had been lacking most were electric-type moves from its own typing.
But now?
He'd hit the jackpot in one go.
Quality over quantity when it comes to moves?
Well, that's only if I haven't caught enough fish!
Because as long as I catch enough fish, I can max out the proficiency and make the moves both numerous and mastered.
"Hey, kid! I was here first. If you want to fish, go somewhere else."
But just then, an untimely voice rang out, interrupting Caster's streak.
Caster tilted his head to size up the middle-aged man and shot back, "Mister, the coastline isn't your property. You're saying only you can fish here and I can't?"
"The coastline may not be mine, but I was here first. Kid, shouldn't there be some courtesy about who came first?"
The middle-aged man's face darkened as he insisted unreasonably, "Bottom line, go fish somewhere else!"
"First come, first served my ass. You're just bullying honest folk, aren't you?"
A hint of amusement appeared on Caster's face. "So what if I say no?"
"Pi~"
Sensing the suddenly tense atmosphere, Pichu immediately jumped onto Caster's shoulder.
Electric arcs flickered in its cheek pouches as it tried its best to back up its trainer.
But rather than helping, Pichu's display only made the middle-aged man look down on Caster even more.
What could this little mouse Pokémon do besides look cute?
So he pointed at the Tangrowth behind him and sneered, "Kid, you're a trainer too, right? Let's settle this dispute the trainer way. You got the guts?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
Caster dropped the act and released his Gyarados directly.
"ROAAAR~"
The moment Gyarados appeared, it opened its massive maw toward the middle-aged man and roared. A foul, fishy breath washed over him.
The middle-aged man immediately got wet!
Not his pants, but his face and the front of his shirt, now covered in Gyarados's drool.
Looking at the enormous, intimidating Gyarados that was clearly not to be messed with, the middle-aged man's breath caught and his eyes instantly cleared up.
"Damn it, I misjudged again!"
A bead of cold sweat formed on the middle-aged man's forehead. "This kid actually managed to tame a Gyarados. He's a strong trainer."
Anywhere you went, Gyarados counted as a powerful Pokémon with a fearsome reputation.
And in the ocean, its fame was even greater than in inland lakes and ponds.
In contrast, he himself had only been a third-rate trainer in his youth.
Though his Tangrowth looked intimidating, it had only evolved through a stroke of luck and was actually quite ordinary in strength.
"Hey man, don't be so hot-headed. Don't always think about fighting. It wouldn't be good if the flowers and grass got hurt."
Wiping the Gyarados drool off his face, the middle-aged man forced an awkward smile and backed down. "I've thought it over.
This place is actually pretty big, enough room for both of us fishermen. Also, I just noticed it's about to rain.
I need to go home and bring in my laundry. Take your time fishing!"
With that, the middle-aged man hurriedly packed up his fishing gear and ran off with his Tangrowth in tow.
"Lucky for you that you ran!"
Watching the middle-aged man beat a hasty retreat, Caster snorted in disappointment.
If it had actually come to a battle, Caster wouldn't have minded teaching him a lesson.
Recalling Gyarados, Caster went back to setting up his fishing gear.
As he continued catching Lanturn, various rewards kept appearing.
Among the electric-type moves, Volt Switch, Eerie Impulse, Charge Beam, Thunder, and other TMs kept showing up.
Besides those, there were also moves of other types like Water Gun, Surf, Icy Wind, and Confuse Ray.
Before he knew it, noon had arrived.
The sun now hung high in the sky, scorching the earth. The water temperature at the surface kept rising, and the Lanturn's bite rate finally dropped off considerably.
"Time for a break!"
Hooking fish continuously was satisfying, but it was genuinely exhausting.
Caster wiped the sweat off his body and muttered, "I'll take a short nap this afternoon, then hit the evening bite when it cools down. If the bite's good, I'll go straight into night fishing mode."
Isn't it just grinding? Bring it on!
After packing up his gear, Caster found a shady spot under a large tree and began setting up his tent and starting a cooking fire.
These were all essential tools for his fishing trips!
After wolfing down his meal, Caster fed Energy Orbs to both Gyarados and Pichu, then settled in for a nap.
...
Around 4 PM, Caster woke up and resumed fishing. Sure enough, he started getting bites one after another.
"The temperature's dropped and the Lanturn bite rate's improved again."
Caster happily collected his rewards.
[Caught 'Lanturn', rewarded with 1 'Full Heal Orb'.]
"Hm? Full Heal Orb? What's that?"
Seeing the new reward from his cheat ability, Caster scratched his head.
[Full Heal Orb: An energy orb containing miraculous healing properties that can instantly cure a Pokémon's status conditions.]
"Same effect as a Full Heal. Wait a second! Instantly?"
Caster's eyes sharpened as he finally spotted the difference.
While Full Heal could also remove a Pokémon's status conditions, it usually took some time to take effect, so it couldn't be used in real-time during Pokémon battles like in the games.
But the Full Heal Orb worked instantly. More importantly, like the Energy Orbs, no one except Caster could see it.
So theoretically, Caster could secretly use it during Pokémon battles. Like 'Power Enhancement', it counted as an outside advantage.
"Good stuff! If I ever run into an illegal battle, this might come in really handy."
Caster cheerfully tucked it away.
Though he hoped to never encounter an illegal battle, as a Pokémon trainer who traveled everywhere, he had to prepare for that possibility. Better safe than sorry.
As evening fell, the setting sun began to descend.
Whoosh!
Just then, the float suddenly plunged into the water, and the fishing line started singing as it was pulled taut.
"This feel! This strength! Doesn't seem like a Lanturn..."
Caster's eyes lit up as excitement spread across his face. "It's a big one!"
After fishing for Lanturn all day, Caster was getting tired of them. A change of pace would be fantastic.
"So much power!"
Caster pulled with all his might, constantly playing the fish to wear down its stamina.
After nearly ten minutes, a Pokémon with a wide body, rough texture all over, and an appearance similar to a real-world manta ray was pulled up.
Most remarkably, a Remoraid was still attached to the Pokémon's body.
[Caught 'Mantine', rewarded with 1 'Hurricane' TM.]
[First time catching 'Mantine', additional reward of 1 'Clever Feather'.]
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