Sevii Islands Sea.
On a small reef, Caster had already set up his fishing gear with Gyarados-specific bait attached, ready to go.
Everything was in place; all he had to do was wait for Gyarados to lure the wild ones over before casting his line.
To draw the wild Gyarados school away from the shipping lane, Caster had deliberately chosen this more remote reef as his spot.
What puzzled him, however, was that Gyarados hadn't followed the plan and immediately led the wild Gyarados school over to bite.
"Huh? Where's Gyarados?"
Fortunately, Caster had the binoculars he'd borrowed from Captain Sanji, so even at this distance he could vaguely make out the wild Gyarados school.
What surprised him, though, was that the wild Gyarados school was still in the same spot, while his own Gyarados had vanished, apparently having dived underwater. All he could dimly see in that stretch of sea were massive whirlpools and surging waves appearing one after another.
"Still over half an hour left!"
Caster checked his phone. There was still plenty of time before the agreed one-hour mark, so there was no rush.
Even so, he couldn't help wondering, "What on earth is Gyarados up to?"
"Pika~!"
"Drat~!"
After waiting nearly half an hour, Dratini and Pikachu were both on the verge of dozing off.
"GAOOOO!"
With a earth-shaking dragon's roar, Caster's Gyarados finally resurfaced.
It then led the wild Gyarados school swimming toward the reef.
"Here they come! Everyone, snap to it!"
Caster perked up at once and quickly cast his line.
Thunk!
The bait hit the water and dissolved, its scent spreading outward in all directions with the current.
Before long, the wild Gyarados caught wind of the bait's fragrance.
For Gyarados, it held an irresistible, almost lethal allure.
"Gaoooo!"
The wild Gyarados school immediately grew restless.
One by one they plunged beneath the surface and swam swiftly toward the reef.
In no time they had gathered right in front of the bait.
The wild Gyarados stared wide-eyed, their gazes locked onto the brightly colored bait as it bobbed with the waves.
But with their new leader watching, none of them dared act out of turn.
When something good was on offer, it was usually the leader who got first pick. Of course, when conflict arose, the leader was also the first one expected to charge headlong into the fray.
"Gaoooo!"
Caster's Gyarados glanced at the bait, let out a low, rumbling call, and made clear it had no interest in the thing.
If you want to eat it, go ahead and bite the hook yourselves!
The moment the message was understood, the wild Gyarados school erupted into a frenzy, all scrambling to bite the hook at once, some even breaking into outright brawls.
Left with no choice, Gyarados stepped in again to quell the chaos, signaling firmly that everyone was to line up and take turns; no pushing, no shoving.
"Gaoooo!"
At the sound of that commanding roar, the first wild Gyarados lunged forward and swallowed the bait whole.
Up on the reef, Caster held his breath, eyes fixed unblinkingly on the float.
Whoosh!
The moment the float plunged sharply downward, excitement surged through him and he yanked the rod back at once, grinning ear to ear. "Got one! Got one!"
Gyarados were enormous, though, and weighed no small amount. Even throwing every ounce of strength he had into it, Caster still couldn't haul the Gyarados clear of the water.
Seeing this, the Gyarados underwater gave the hooked wild one a firm shove.
CRASH!
With a tremendous explosion of water, the Gyarados that had taken the hook finally broke the surface, head breaching out of the sea. Right behind it came Caster's own Gyarados.
"Gyarados caught! Reward: 1x Scary Face TM."
The cheat notification appeared, followed immediately by the wild Gyarados's stat panel.
---
As a wild Gyarados, its move list was downright meager, not even close to Caster's own Gyarados, let alone the ones at the Dragon's Holy Land.
This was the curse of being a wild Pokémon.
Compared to growing strong through sheer survival alone, following a Trainer's guidance was clearly the far more efficient path to power.
That was precisely why a good number of Pokémon chose to seek out and follow humans on their own.
"Gaoooo!"
Finding itself reeled in by such a small human, the wild Gyarados immediately flew into a rage. It flung open its massive jaws and began charging up a white Energy Orb.
But at that very moment, Caster's Gyarados cut it off, roaring a sharp command for it to stand down and leave.
Bewildered though it was, the wild Gyarados couldn't afford to defy the pressure radiating from its new leader. It backed off without a word and slipped back beneath the surface, vanishing from sight.
"Gyarados, nice work!"
Caster gave Gyarados a thumbs-up, but quickly noticed something off about it. He tilted his head, puzzled. "Hey, where did you disappear to just now? And how come you're back looking all flushed and winded?"
Whether it was his imagination or not, Caster couldn't help feeling that Gyarados, usually the most spirited and hot-tempered of the bunch, looked somehow... haggard at the moment.
"Gaoooo..."
Gyarados's expression shifted ever so slightly at that.
The Trainer still didn't even have a proper partner yet, while it, on the other hand...
If the Trainer ever found out, he'd definitely hold a grudge, right?
With that thought, Gyarados averted its gaze and gave a slow, evasive shake of its head.
Caster didn't dwell on it too long. After all, there were still more than twenty Gyarados waiting in the water for him to reel in.
So, shaking off the thought, Caster rebaited and returned to fishing.
With Gyarados holding court nearby, the fishing went smoothly. Wild Gyarados rose to the hook one after another, and the cheat notifications kept rolling in alongside them.
"Gyarados caught! Reward: 1x Chilling Water TM."
"Gyarados caught! Reward: 1x Ice Fang TM."
"Gyarados caught! Reward: 1x Attack Enhancement Potion x1."
"Gyarados caught! Reward: 1x Dive TM."
"Gyarados caught! Reward: 1x Flail TM."
"Gyarados caught! Reward: 1x Dragon Scale x1."
Perhaps because Gyarados were comparatively rare and difficult to catch, most of the rewards this run came in the form of moves; Energy Orbs were few and far between, and the occasional rare drop showed up as well.
"Operation: Reel the Dragons, complete!"
Caster broke into a wide, satisfied grin, feeling genuinely thrilled.
Since every catch had been a Gyarados, all the TMs he'd collected were perfectly suited for one, and several of the moves filled gaps Gyarados had been sorely missing.
Scary Face, Chilling Water, Ice Fang...
Scary Face was a move that could sharply cut the opponent's Speed, and its value in battle was beyond question.
Chilling Water was a Special Attack-based Water-type move, not the most natural fit for Gyarados's physically oriented stat spread.
However, it carried a special effect: once the opponent's HP dropped below half, the move's power doubled.
Ice Fang, meanwhile, was a physically-based Ice-type move and an excellent choice for Gyarados's offensive game.
Splash!
As the last Gyarados was reeled in, Caster began packing up his rod.
But that final reward stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Gyarados caught! Reward: 1x Gyaradosite."