"This affinity…"
Clair felt a pang of jealousy watching the Dragonite allow Adrian to caress it.
This Dragonite was very powerful. Her family had tasked her with managing the Dragon Sanctuary, partly with the intention of having her build a closer relationship with this Dragonite, hoping it would become one of Clair's pokémon.
However, the previous Blackthorn Gym Leader's influence on this Dragonite was simply too profound. Even after many years, the Dragonite was still unwilling to be overly affectionate with others.
But now… "In terms of affinity for pokémon, this Adrian is probably close to Lance, who has been blessed by Viridian Forest and can perceive the subtle emotions of pokémon."
Clair's eyes flickered, deep in thought.
This Adrian had truly brought her too many surprises.
"Owoo~"
After the energy cube was depleted and its eyes regained clarity, the Dragonite gave Adrian a deep look, then flapped its wings and flew away.
Because it felt this young man was a bit… unsettling!
After the Dragonite left, Wille's expression changed, and he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Brother, that poffin of yours just now…"
"Oh? You mean the poffin from just now?"
Adrian leaned back tactically, chuckling, "A friend gave it to me!"
Seeing that Adrian wasn't saying more, Wille didn't press the issue.
Because a poffin of that caliber likely involved a secret recipe, and it wasn't appropriate for an outsider like him to inquire carelessly.
"Magikarp!"
The little interlude with Dragonite ended, and Clair called out to the lake.
Splash!
From the distant lake, a large, well-built Magikarp suddenly leaped out.
"Karoo~"
Before long, the Magikarp swam to the shore, enjoying Clair's feeding and petting.
"Adrian, this Magikarp is the one I want you to teach 'Bounce' to. Its parent was a powerful Dragonite, so its flying bloodline foundation is among the best for a Magikarp."
Clair looked at Adrian, introducing the Magikarp's situation: "And its overall qualities are also very good, so I caught it to be a new training subject."
As a seasoned pokémon trainer and a Gym Leader, it was common to train multiple pokémon of the same species as a tiered team, so Adrian wasn't surprised.
For example, Lance owned more than one Dragonite, and at least two Dragonair.
In addition, Lance owned a blue Gyarados, but this didn't prevent him from later catching and training a red Gyarados.
He had the financial means!
Clair looked at Adrian, saying seriously, "As soon as the Magikarp learns 'Bounce', I will teach you the 'Dragon Dance' secret technique. I will not go back on my word."
"Bounce?"
Wille looked baffled: "Can a Magikarp learn the Bounce move?"
But at the same time, he also understood that there was a prerequisite for Adrian to learn the 'Dragon Dance' secret technique.
Making a Magikarp learn the Bounce move seemed like an impossible task.
"Leave it to me, no problem!"
Adrian patted his chest, readily agreeing.
Anyway, he had two 'Bounce' TM in his fishing space, so it was just a matter of pointing and clicking where it wasn't understood, with no difficulty at all.
Clair pondered for a moment and asked, "Roughly how long will it take?"
Hearing this, Adrian didn't look at the Magikarp, but instead at the vast lake in the Dragon Sanctuary, muttering to himself: "Such a large lake, to fish all the pokémon in it, it would take at least ten days to half a month, right?"
So he cleared his throat and said seriously, "About ten days to half a month! If it's slow, it could even take a month. It mainly depends on this Magikarp's comprehension."
But in reality, it mainly depended on Adrian's fishing progress.
If there were few fish in this lake, then the Magikarp would surely be exceptionally intelligent, and learning Bounce in three days wouldn't be impossible.
But if there were many fish, then the Magikarp's comprehension would surely be 'hopelessly dull'.
Clair nodded: "Alright, then this Magikarp is entrusted to you. I've already instructed it that it will follow your commands during this period."
A maximum of one month wasn't long, even much shorter than Clair had expected, and she could certainly wait.
Anyway, with the Dragon Dance secret technique dangling as bait, Clair wasn't worried that Adrian wouldn't try his best.
"Wille, let's find another place for special training. Don't worry, I'll put you through a rigorous workout."
After speaking, Clair pulled Wille to another spot for special training, clearly not wanting to disturb Adrian's move instruction.
At the same time, this was also to avoid suspicion, indicating that she had no designs on Adrian's move instruction techniques.
"Karoo~"
After Clair left, the Magikarp immediately looked at Adrian excitedly, its eyes gleaming.
Thanks to the rich Dragon-type bloodline within it, this Magikarp's intelligence was considerably higher than others of its species.
It was already eager to learn the 'Bounce' move!
Come on, move instructor!
Train me to your heart's content!
I want to become stronger!
I want to evolve into a Dragon!
I want to become the strongest flying Gyarados!
But to the Magikarp's surprise, Adrian seemed utterly uninterested in it, impatiently waving his hand and saying, "Magikarp, go play by yourself."
With that, Adrian put down his backpack, took out his foldable fishing rod, and began to fiddle with it, clearly gripped by a fishing urge and wanting to fish.
"There might even be a Dratini in this lake!"
Looking at the vast lake, Adrian rubbed his hands in anticipation: "Even if there's no Dratini, there's definitely Horsea. I just saw them, I can't be wrong."
"Karoo?"
The Magikarp blew bubbles, looking utterly bewildered.
This was completely different from what Clair had said!
Clair had specifically told it earlier that the special training might be very tiring, and the move instructor might be very strict, but it must persevere.
But now… the move instructor was telling it to play by itself?
Seeing the Magikarp still floating by the shore, Adrian thought it might affect the fish biting the hook in the water, so he found an excuse to send it away: "Magikarp, first go to the center of the lake and swim back and forth a hundred times at your fastest speed. I want to gauge your limits."
"Karoo~"
Hearing this, the Magikarp immediately left excitedly, obeying the command.
Finally, this felt right!
"It's finally gone! Now I can have a good fishing session."
Adrian put on the bait and happily cast his rod.
Thump!
The bait hit the water, creating a small ripple.
"Pika~"
Pichu jumped down from Adrian's neck, found a grassy spot, and lay down, comfortably squinting its eyes.
Adrian sat quietly, waiting for a big fish to bite.
Whoosh!
A gentle breeze brushed his face, and the scent of flowers filled the air.
Everything was so beautiful.
Adrian also immersed himself in it.
At this moment, he forgot his troubles and forgot time.
He didn't know how much time had passed when the float suddenly sank.
"The fish bit!"
Adrian suddenly woke up, instinctively pulling his rod.
Splash!
Amidst a splash of water, a pokémon appeared: its body was blue, it had a developed lower jaw, pale yellow V-shaped stripes on its belly extending to its arms, four red horns on its back, red pupils, and black patterns around its eyes.
"Totodile?"
Adrian was stunned, clearly not expecting to catch this pokémon.
This was one of the Johto region's starter pokémon!
[Caught 'Totodile', rewarded with 1 'Dragon Dance' TM.]
[First time catching 'Totodile', additionally rewarded with 1 'Damp Rock'.]
The cheat ability prompt appeared, followed closely by Totodile's attribute panel.