Next to the fishing platform, there was a sign that read "High-strength specially designed fishing rods, suitable for fishing for all kinds of sea creatures."
Clearly, this was a leisure activity prepared for passengers who enjoyed sea fishing.
Just as he approached the fishing platform, Lionel heard an excited shout:
"It's hooked! It's hooked! Come help!!"
A crowd had gathered around the fishing platform. A middle-aged man was gripping the fishing rod tightly, his face flushed.
Two companions were helping him steady the rod, and their Pokémon were also assisting.
The middle-aged man roared, veins bulging on his forehead:
"Good heavens, look at that force! It's definitely a big one!
Maybe it's a Gyarados or a Megalodon! Slow down, steady it!"
Lionel curiously approached and saw the fishing rod bent into an astonishing C-shape. The fishing line was buzzing, being pulled out rapidly, sometimes violently, sometimes slowly reeled in.
The three men moved back and forth following the direction of the fishing rod, sweat beading on their foreheads, but their faces were full of excitement.
The surrounding passengers were also drawn over, holding their breath and watching the sea intently.
"That fishing rod is amazing!" Lionel clicked his tongue inwardly. If it were an ordinary fishing rod, it would probably have snapped long ago.
As time passed, the pulling force of the fishing line gradually weakened; clearly, the underwater Pokemon was running out of energy.
The middle-aged man and his companion exchanged a glance, then suddenly exerted force, reeling in the line:
"Pull!"
"Splash—"
A spray of water erupted, and a massive shark-like Pokemon was pulled out of the water, tracing an arc in the air before revealing its form.
"It's a Megalodon!"
Someone exclaimed.
Lionel stared intently. This Megalodon was nearly two meters long, its greyish-blue skin gleaming coldly, its sharp... Its teeth gleamed coldly, its appearance extremely ferocious.
Unlike the sharks of his previous life, this Megalodon didn't have a hindquarters. Lionel looked at this Pokémon and felt something was off.
[Pokémon: Megalodon]
[Type: Water/Dark]
[Category: Ferocious Pokémon]
[Ability: Rough Skin (Skin covered with sharp barbs; enemies will reflect damage when they attack at close range.)]
[Moves: Water Jet, Bite, Crunch, Ice Fang, Poison Fang, Water Break...]
The system panel popped up at the opportune moment, revealing the information about this Megalodon.
Lionel kept staring at... The Megalodon was pulled from the water.
Just as I was wondering how it swam without a tail fin, the answer came immediately.
The Megalodon suddenly spewed a powerful jet of water from its lower rear, using the recoil to surge across the surface, pulling the fishing line out a considerable length—its agility was unbelievable.
"Awesome! We actually caught a Megalodon!"
A cheer erupted around them. The middle-aged man proudly said to his two companions,
"I told you! That power, besides Gyarados, it's the only one!"
The caught Megalodon was clearly furious, constantly speeding its swim on the surface, trying to break free from the fishing rod.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man excitedly pulled out a Poké Ball from his waist. A red light flashed, and a Gyarados of similarly enormous size appeared on the surface of the sea.
The middle-aged man's other hand pressed a button on the fishing rod, and the fishing line quickly detached, freeing the Megalodon:
"Megalodon, do you dare to fight my Gyarados? Win and you can go, lose and you'll become my Pokémon!"
Megalodon seemed to understand, suddenly spewing out a stream of water and charging straight at Gyarados, thus accepting the challenge.
At this moment, Gyarados on the surface of the sea let out a deafening roar. It confronted Megalodon.
The surrounding passengers immediately erupted in excitement:
"It's going to fight! It's going to fight!"
"Gyarados versus Megalodon, this is a rare sight!"
Lionel watched with great interest, his hands never stopping, moving his phone to record the scene.
As a streamer, how could he not capture such good footage? Lionel had already started recording on his phone the moment Megalodon surfaced, recording this exciting scene.
The battle on the sea was about to begin.
Gyarados launched the first attack, swinging its massive tail...
Gyarados unleashed its "Aqua Tail " attack.
Megalodon reacted incredibly quickly, using the recoil from its rear-body water jet to dodge to the side, simultaneously unleashing "Crush," biting hard into Gyarados's side.
"Cough—!"
Gyarados roared in pain, but quickly retaliated, its body radiating a brilliant blue light—its Waterfall move.
However, while damaging Megalodon, Gyarados itself also grimaced in pain; Megalodon's "Rough Skin" ability had triggered, causing Gyarados to suffer some recoil damage as well.
Gyarados and Gyarados fought fiercely... It was a back-and-forth battle.
Especially its ability to briefly float using water jets from its hindquarters allowed it to evade Gyarados's direct attacks several times, making the fight extremely close.
The spectators on deck watched intently, cheers rising and falling.
In the end, Gyarados prevailed.
In a close-quarters struggle, it seized an opening in Megalodon's attack, suddenly unleashing a golden bolt of electricity—a "Thunderbolt"!
Megalodon, clearly unprepared for this move, was struck by the electric current, instantly stiffening and convulsing as it collapsed onto the surface, incapacitated.
"It won!" The middle-aged man cheered excitedly, quickly pulling out a Poké Ball and throwing it at Megalodon. On the surface of the sea, the Poké Ball beeped three times, then its red glow stopped, and it floated on the surface.
Megalodon was now captured. Gyarados used its tail to curl up the Poké Ball and hand it to its trainer.
A round of applause erupted from the surrounding crowd, and Lionel joined in, clapping along, his hands itching to go fishing.
It had been a long time since he'd fished. He did have a record of catching a Feebas, so he might as well try out this high-level fishing rod. He didn't expect too much; catching a Gyarados would be enough.
"Larvesta, pat it for me." Lionel handed his phone to Larvesta, then picked up an unused high-end fishing rod, baited it with special lure, and cast it into the sea, mimicking the middle-aged man's actions.
Larvesta patted its chest and chirped, clearly satisfied with the task, pointing its phone at Lionel and occasionally glancing at the two Vulpixes playing nearby.
However, reality quickly delivered a resounding slap to Lionel's face.
He sat by the rod for an hour, but the line didn't budge.
Two hours passed, and not a single Gyarados, not even a Magikarp, had taken the bait.
People came and went, some catching Tentacruel, others catching Luvdisc, but Lionel's fishing rod remained motionless.
Meanwhile, Larvesta, who was helping to film, had long lost patience. After filming for twenty minutes and seeing that Lionel still hadn't made any progress, it simply ran back to its room, found a phone stand, set up the phone, and let it film itself, while it went off to frolic on the deck with its two Vulpix.