"Blast!"
Caster winced as he watched Blastoise chew through the specialized bait.
His cheat ability had granted only a small portion of it. Used sparingly, it could have caught him more than a dozen Pokémon. Now, in Blastoise's hands, half of it was gone in a few bites.
Blastoise licked its lips, still hungry for more. "This bait tastes great. Got any more?"
"All gone!"
Caster shook his head hard. "I got that bait by accident. That little bit was all I had, and now it is all yours."
"Really?"
Blastoise eyed him with suspicion. It did not believe him.
Then Aura surged inside it. It felt out Caster's emotions and knew he told the truth.
It also felt how much hope Caster had placed on that bait, how he had wanted to catch more Pokémon with it, and how it had all ended up in its own stomach instead.
"Blast..."
Blastoise's big face flushed. It felt embarrassed.
But it could not help it. The bait smelled too good to refuse.
"This kid's bait was meant for fishing. I hogged it all, so if I let him catch plenty of fish, he won't lose out!"
It thought. Its eyes sharpened, and Aura poured out of it again, sinking into the mind of every Pokémon in the pond.
"Line up and bite his hook!"
Every Pokémon in the pond heard Blastoise's deep, steady voice in its head.
A cry went up from the water.
Another answered.
A third joined in.
At Blastoise's command, every Pokémon in the pond started moving and surfaced together.
Who ruled Professor Oak's yard might still be up for debate.
In the pond, there was no debate. Blastoise was the undisputed king.
Who would dare disobey?
"Huh? What is..."
Caster stared at the crowd of Pokémon suddenly covering the surface, stunned.
"Go ahead and fish, brother!"
Blastoise grinned and slapped Caster on the shoulder. "You like fishing, right? These Pokémon are all yours. I will have them line up and bite!"
Caster was thrilled.
His regular bait worked fine for unevolved Pokémon.
But the pond also held powerhouses like Gyarados and Slowbro. His bait barely tempted them, and catching them was pure luck.
Under Blastoise's pressure, they all lined up and waited for the hook like soldiers.
"Boss!"
Caster grabbed Blastoise's big hand. "You're the best!"
"No problem!"
Blastoise waved a clawed hand like a person and smiled. "On my turf, my word carries weight. One order from me, and no Pokémon dares disobey."
It looked confident.
Just then Gary walked back from resting in the living room.
When he saw Caster standing shoulder to shoulder with Blastoise, he rubbed his eyes. "Th-this... How did you do that?"
This Blastoise belonged to his brother Blue, and it was famously proud.
Gary was Blue's own brother, and no amount of sucking up had ever worked.
If it looked down on you, it looked down on you. If it ignored you, it ignored you.
Meanwhile, Caster started fishing.
[Caught "Poliwag." Reward: 1 Rain Dance TM.]
[First catch of "Poliwag." Bonus reward: 1 Carbos.]
[Caught "Horsea." Reward: 1 Water Gun TM.]
[Caught "Slowpoke." Reward: 1 Psybeam TM.]
One Pokémon after another took the hook. Notifications from his cheat ability kept appearing, and Caster grinned.
What a haul!
Professor Oak's yard held a lot of Pokémon, but only a small share were Water types, so Caster finished quickly.
With that done, Blastoise returned to the pond.
Caster started packing up his gear. Gary came over with a shameless grin. "How did you get so tight with my brother's Blastoise? Teach me. I want to learn that!"
Gary's starter had been a Squirtle, now a Blastoise, but in strength it was nowhere near Blue's Blastoise.
Gary had begged Blue's Blastoise for guidance before, and it had not bothered to answer.
Yet Caster had won it over in half a day.
Caster glanced sideways at him and answered with a question. "First tell me this. How do you juggle so many girlfriends at once and keep them from fighting?"
"Huh? Isn't that easy?"
Gary looked confused, but he answered. "If I like a girl, I walk up and tell her. Then she agrees to go out with me."
He shrugged. "That has never failed."
Caster ground his teeth at Gary's clueless face. "Mine is simple too. If I want to befriend a Pokémon, I catch it. That has never failed either."
"Huh?"
Gary's eyes went wide. He could not follow it.
While Gary stood there stunned, Caster finally remembered to check the rewards from catching Blastoise.
[Aura Sphere: A Fighting-type move. The user forms Aura inside its body, then fires it at the opponent.]
[Ability Orb (Torrent): An orb filled with mysterious power. When absorbed by a Pokémon with the matching Ability, it greatly boosts the development and mastery of that Ability.]
Aura Sphere was a special move only Pokémon that commanded Aura could use.
That also meant any Pokémon that could use Aura Sphere must command Aura.
"Besides Riolu, Squirtle, and Clauncher, I remember Archaludon and Palafin can learn Aura Sphere too."
He pictured a reliable teammate.
Archaludon would fit a rain team well. It could hit hard and hold the tactics together.
It was not a pseudo-legendary, but its base stats matched one. With Dragon and Steel typing, nine resistances plus a Poison immunity, and only two weaknesses, it was close to perfect.
The only problem was that Archaludon was a Paldea Pokémon, and Paldea was a long way from Kanto.
"No rush. I will travel the whole Pokémon world sooner or later."
Caster took a deep breath, cleared his head, and turned to the other item.
"An Ability Orb? Sounds like a powered up Ability Candy."
His consciousness sank into the fishing space. A blue orb floated there, marked with a faint water pattern, old and simple.
Unfortunately Caster had no Pokémon with Torrent on hand, so he could not test what it did.
"It can wait. That little fish isn't getting away anyway."
He glanced toward the pond with a slight smile.