Near the ocean surface, a small, blue-bodied Pokémon was softly humming a song, its voice sweet and melodious.
Two antennae sprouted from its head, their tips ending in spherical bulbs. Its large eyes had lashes that extended into two lines connecting to yellow circles, and a ruby rested at its chest.
It was none other than Manaphy, the Water-type Mythical Pokémon!
Behind Manaphy, a massive school of ocean Pokémon had gathered. Powerful species like Kingdra, Wailord, Feraligatr, and Gyarados swam alongside swarms of Tentacruel, Goldeen, Staryu, and Corsola.
Manaphy commanded them like a monarch leading an underwater army.
As a Mythical Pokémon, Manaphy was born with the miraculous ability to sense the emotions of other Pokémon and communicate telepathically with any species.
While swimming freely through these waters, it had sensed the intense distress radiating from a group of Chinchou.
Drawing closer, it discovered the horrible truth: humans were illegally poaching them.
So Manaphy used its authority and power to summon the ocean's Pokémon, preparing to rescue the captive Chinchou.
What Manaphy hadn't expected was Caster's appearance.
Not only did he drive off the criminals, he even boarded the ship to rescue the Chinchou himself.
Manaphy had sensed all of this through the emotions of Gyarados and Pichu.
Then, when the awakened Chinchou fell into a confused and frenzied state from the stress, Manaphy had no choice but to use its song to purify their negative emotions and restore their calm.
This too was one of Manaphy's abilities.
But what surprised Manaphy even more was that despite only singing from a distance without ever revealing itself, that human boy had called out its name immediately.
"Mana~"
Manaphy's face filled with wonder.
How did that human kid know it was there?
Lurking beneath the surface, Manaphy blinked its large eyes and peered through the water at Caster standing on the deck, studying him curiously.
But out of caution, it wouldn't show itself easily.
After all, many evil humans had tried to find it, even capture it.
"Did it leave? Or is it hiding?"
His throat nearly hoarse from shouting, Caster felt helpless when Manaphy still didn't appear.
You've got the guts to sing, so show yourself!
Manaphy, I know you're down there!
But since Manaphy refused to meet him, Caster could only shake his head with a sigh and return to the cabin.
"Chin~Chin~Chin~"
By now the Chinchou had recovered their mental state and were no longer attacking each other in a frenzy.
Perhaps because Manaphy had communicated with them telepathically, they were no longer afraid of Caster. One by one, they blinked their eyes at him.
However, something was wrong with the water in the pool. Having soaked in it too long, their bodies remained weak.
The pool was also too deep for them to climb out on their own.
"Don't be afraid, Chinchou. I'll rescue you right away!"
Caster wanted to help but couldn't figure out how.
"Pi~Pichu~"
Pichu climbed onto Caster's shoulder, scratched his face, then pointed at his backpack.
"You mean... I should fish them out?"
After understanding Pichu's meaning, Caster froze for a moment, then rubbed the Pokémon's head in delight. "You're a goddamn genius!"
"Pi~"
Praised like that, Pichu couldn't help but lift its tiny head proudly.
Without wasting time, Caster quickly pulled out his fishing gear from his backpack, assembled and adjusted it, then baited the hook and cast it into the pool.
"Chin~Chin~"
The Chinchou in the pool cried out, scrambling over each other to bite the hook.
Hundreds of mouths opening at once nearly triggered Caster's trypophobia.
But at the same time, for a fishing enthusiast, this was pure bliss!
These were hundreds of Chinchou!
In terms of sheer numbers, there were far more than all the Water-type Pokémon in the Dragon's Den lake combined.
Even if Caster cast his rod with his eyes closed, the bait would land in a Chinchou's mouth. There was absolutely no chance of coming up empty.
Caster only worried about one thing: whether he had enough bait.
But thinking it over, he realized even without bait, these Chinchou would probably still bite the hook.
"Chin~"
As Chinchou after Chinchou was reeled up, notifications from his cheat ability appeared in rapid succession.
[Caught 'Chinchou', rewarded with 1 TM for 'Thunder Wave'.]
[Caught 'Chinchou', rewarded with 1 'Energy Orb'.] ×N
[Caught 'Chinchou', rewarded with 1 TM for 'Thunder'.]
[Caught 'Chinchou', rewarded with 1 TM for 'Electric Terrain'.]
...
"Finally got 'Electric Terrain'!"
Seeing the notification pop up, Caster broke into a delighted smile.
Field moves and weather moves could not only coexist but, when used properly, could produce synergistic effects where one plus one equaled more than two.
Then Caster thought about the 'Thunder' TM from earlier and mused, "This move would be worth having Gyarados learn."
After all, Gyarados already knew Rain Dance. Paired with Thunder and Hurricane, they'd complement each other perfectly.
The Chinchou kept taking the bait, and rewards kept flowing in.
But there were just too many Chinchou!
Before he knew it, half an hour had passed.
The number of Chinchou in the pool had been cut in half.
"I'm numb! Completely numb!"
The joy vanished from Caster's face, replaced by a bitter expression.
He felt like this wasn't fishing anymore!
Right now, he lacked the anticipation of not knowing what species or size would bite, and he'd lost that uncertainty of whether he'd even catch anything.
The fish were all Chinchou, and as long as he cast his rod, he'd reel one in.
There was absolutely no fun in it!
Now Caster was just mechanically baiting, casting, and releasing the fish, then having Pichu help guide the Chinchou so they could jump back into the ocean from the stern on their own.
"Pi~Pichu~"
If Pichu encountered an injured Chinchou, it would even spray wound medicine on the injury.
The Chinchou, grateful for the treatment from the yellow angel, would sometimes touch their feelers to Pichu's electric sacs, creating sparks as they played together.
Caster's only remaining anticipation came from his cheat ability's rewards.
Because those rewards varied wildly, and occasionally there were surprises.
...
Deep in the ocean, Manaphy had been monitoring Caster's situation the whole time.
Seeing Chinchou after Chinchou escape to freedom, Manaphy secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It was now certain that Caster was a good person!
"Mana~Mana~"
So Manaphy expressed its gratitude to the Pokémon who'd come to help, and immediately more than half of the ocean Pokémon dispersed.
However, a few Pokémon still circled around Manaphy, clearly wanting to protect it.
Especially Wailord, who looked particularly impatient and eager to act.
To rescue the Chinchou, wouldn't they just need to flip or sink the ship?
That would only take a few of them ramming it together!
"Mana~Mana~"
Manaphy was startled by this and quickly stopped them.
If they sank the ship, the good person aboard might lose his life.
Kind-hearted by nature, Manaphy disliked humans but didn't wish to harm them either.
Especially not good people like Caster!