Hutber Port sits on an island near the coast of the Kanto region, not far from Vermilion City.
The waters surrounding Hutber Port are filled with coral reefs where Tentacool make their home, with massive populations of the jellyfish Pokémon living among them.
In the original anime, Nastina wanted to bulldoze the coral reefs near Hutber Port to build a luxury resort hotel. The construction would have destroyed the jellyfish's habitat, so swarms of Tentacool fought back against the humans.
One Tentacool even evolved into a massive Tentacruel that nearly leveled the entire city.
Luckily, Misty managed to convince Tentacruel to back off at the last second, saving Hutber Port from total destruction.
Caster had Misty's contact info, so he knew the Tentacruel incident was long over. Otherwise, there's no way he'd risk coming to Hutber Port to fish.
After all, that giant Tentacruel attacking the city had been like something out of a monster movie. Humans were helpless against it.
"According to Misty's last update, their group is heading toward Saffron City. Ash is probably getting ready to challenge Sabrina, right?"
Caster frowned slightly and sighed. "Though Misty hasn't answered my last few messages. Don't tell me Sabrina already turned her into a doll..."
Still, knowing that Misty would eventually leave Saffron City safe and sound, Caster let it go.
After dropping ₽20,000 on a Good Rod in Vermilion City, Caster spent another two hours on a ferry to reach Hutber Port.
Once there, he rented a small boat and headed out alone to the coral reefs to fish for jellyfish.
"Woohoo! Here we go!"
After steering the boat out more than ten miles, Caster spotted a massive coral reef through the crystal-clear water. It rose from the seafloor like a mountain.
Under the sunlight, the coral's colors were vivid and brilliant.
"Time to start fishing!"
Caster pulled out his tackle, assembled it, attached the bait, and cast his line eagerly.
Splash!
The bait hit the water, sending out ripples.
The sun felt perfect right now. Pikachu stretched out lazily on the deck and yawned.
Seeing no one else nearby, Caster also released Dratini so it could lounge on the deck and soak up some sun.
As for Gyarados, it could stay nice and cozy in its Poké Ball.
After all, if it were swimming around out here, what Pokémon would be brave enough to bite the hook?
"Yoru~"
The moment Dratini appeared, it blinked its big, watery eyes and begged Caster for pokéblocks.
"Huh? Didn't you just eat a huge bowl this morning? How are you hungry again already?"
Caster looked surprised.
Sure, Dratini's pokéblocks weren't the high-concentration kind where one piece could replace a whole meal, but they still packed plenty of energy and nutrition. Yet Dratini had just eaten a full bowl and was already hungry again?
Still, figuring you should never skimp on yourself or let your Pokémon go hungry, Caster pulled out more pokéblocks to give Dratini a snack. He also activated several energy orbs to give it a boost.
"Yoru~"
Full and satisfied, and freshly energized by the orbs, Dratini copied Pikachu's example and sprawled out on the deck to sunbathe lazily.
Swoosh!
Right then, the float suddenly dipped under the surface.
"Got one!"
Caster's face lit up as he quickly reeled in the line.
Splash!
Along with a spray of water, a strange-looking Pokémon appeared. It was entirely blue with a diamond-shaped nose, two large transparent orbs like red gemstones on either side of its head, and two gray tentacles hanging from its lower body.
A Water and Poison-type Pokémon: Tentacool!
[Caught "Tentacool," reward: 1 "Dazzling Gleam" TM.]
[First time catching "Tentacool," additional reward: 1 "Ability Candy."]
The system notification appeared, followed immediately by this Tentacool's stats.
[Pokémon: Tentacool]
[Type: Water + Poison]
[Ability: Liquid Ooze (Opponents that absorb liquid ooze are damaged by the foul stench)]
[Moves: Poison Sting, Water Gun, Supersonic, Acid, Constrict]
But Caster's excited expression quickly vanished, replaced by a look of pain as his face turned red.
A horrible stench was coming off this Tentacool's body, strong enough to make him feel like he was suffocating.
"Get away, get away!"
Fighting the urge to gag, Caster swung the fishing rod hard and flung the Tentacool off. It splashed back into the water.
The awful smell finally faded, and Caster could breathe normally again.
"That Liquid Ooze ability is almost as bad as the Stench ability."
Caster gulped down fresh air like he'd just been brought back to life.
"Nyuu~"
Apparently sensing Caster's disgust, the rejected Tentacool got furious. It swam aggressively back to the side of the boat and waved its tentacles at Caster threateningly.
"Whoa, careful there!"
Caster's expression shifted as he quickly backed up.
Even though Tentacool's body is 99% water, the remaining 1% contains organs that produce toxins. You always hear stories about anglers getting stung after accidentally catching one.
If you get jabbed by Tentacool's poisonous tentacles or bitten, you need to get to a hospital immediately.
"Pika! Pika!"
Electric sparks crackling from its cheek pouches, Pikachu dropped into an attack stance.
As a Water-type Pokémon, Tentacool was naturally terrified of electricity.
It looked at Pikachu, then at Dratini, and ultimately didn't dare start trouble. It swam off while muttering angrily.
Caster learned his lesson and reflected.
"I should've been more considerate. Pokémon have feelings too, and I probably hurt that Tentacool's pride when I reacted like that to its Liquid Ooze ability."
Having made up his mind, Caster turned his attention to the rewards he'd just received.
[Dazzling Gleam: Fairy-type move that releases a powerful light at the opponent to deal damage.]
As for the Ability Candy, that was old news. No need to explain.
"Dazzling Gleam... I'm pretty sure Pikachu can learn that. This way, Pikachu will have another area-of-effect move. Nice!"
Caster nodded with satisfaction, then activated the TM and transferred it to Pikachu.
Dazzling Gleam is a move that can hit multiple enemies at once. As long as they're caught in the light, they take damage.
But the best part is that it only harms opponents without hurting allies. Pretty smart.
Unlike moves like Earthquake that hit everyone indiscriminately, friend or foe, which creates serious problems in group battles or double battles.
"Pikachu~"
After absorbing the Dazzling Gleam TM, Pikachu tried acting cute to get away with something, hoping to gobble down the Ability Candy too.
Thinking about how important the Lightning Rod ability was, though, Caster didn't stop it.
"Yoru~"
Watching this, Dratini looked like it was about to cry from jealousy.
Sure, it was cute too, but when it came to acting adorable, it was obviously no match for the veteran Pikachu.
It couldn't compete for attention at all!
Still, thinking about the effects of its scales, it couldn't help feeling secretly smug.
I'll be cuter than you someday, and stronger too!
After handing out the rewards, Caster baited his hook and went back to fishing.
Then the bites just kept coming.
Since this coral reef was Tentacool territory, with huge colonies of the jellyfish living there, Caster caught one every few minutes.
At the same time, the system notifications kept rolling in.
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~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones