Finally, they appeared.
Three or four Shellder leapt out of the water, gliding along the surface and eating all the Pokéfood floating on top, not touching the fishing hook even once.
"Tch." 'Had the Shellder in this lake become "enlightened¹[1]" or something? They were actually this clever…' Even such a method could not successfully fish up a single one!
Tetsuya could only watch helplessly as all the Pokéfood on the lake surface was eaten.
After finishing the food on the surface, the four Shellder sank back to the bottom of the lake.
"Sigh…" He might as well try another can.
Tetsuya scattered another can of Swinub's Pokéfood, but after a long time, no Pokémon came to eat. 'Could it be that there were only those four Shellder in this lake?'
Thinking about it, that made sense. How could there be many Shellder with such "spirituality"? Raising so many Water-type Pokémon would also require cost.
Holding the Fishing Rod, Tetsuya did not dare to act rashly, afraid of alarming the Shellder in the lake. After waiting about five or six minutes, the same four Shellder appeared again. Once more, they only ate the Pokéfood and did not touch the fishing line at all!
With no other choice, he could only withdraw the Fishing Rod. Two cans of Pokéfood had gone in, yet he had not successfully fished up a single Shellder…
The Shellder here were not merely spiritual. Their perception was also extremely strong!
They could even easily avoid the hook mixed within the Pokéfood. How was he supposed to fish like this!?
Could it be that he would only waste two cans of Pokéfood in vain…?
If you cannot bear to give up the child, you cannot trap the Lycanroc. At this moment, Tetsuya took out the last remaining bit of Everfrozen Ice that Piloswine had been licking. Only about the size of a thumb remained. Originally, it could have been finished today, but Tetsuya decided to gamble with it.
Tetsuya tied the final small piece of Everfrozen Ice to the fishing line above the hook, directly letting the Everfrozen Ice float on the lake surface.
…In truth, he was still worried. This way, he could observe the Everfrozen Ice. If anything seemed wrong, he could retract it and would not lose this bit of ice in vain.
As soon as the Everfrozen Ice was cast out, as if drawn by attraction, the previous four Shellder approached once again.
However, this time there was only one piece of Everfrozen Ice. The four Shellder hesitated for a moment. One of the Shellder suddenly rushed forward, intending to monopolize it!
The other three Shellder immediately used Water Gun, blasting that Shellder away. The three Shellder naturally understood that without deciding a victor, there was no way to enjoy that piece of Everfrozen Ice. They formed a triangular stance, preparing to battle.
At this moment, none of the three Shellder dared to strike first. Whoever attacked first would mean being ambushed by one of the others.
As they remained in a stalemate, the Shellder that had just been blasted away regrouped and fired a Water Gun straight at the nearest one.
The battle was on the verge of erupting. The four Shellder directly fell into a chaotic battle!
Seeing this, Tetsuya felt delighted. He was waiting precisely for the four Shellder to fall into chaotic battle. The final "victor" would come to devour this small piece of Everfrozen Ice. By that time, it would also be exhausted, which added several more points of confidence for him.
Now, even though Tetsuya held the Fishing Rod, he did not dare to move recklessly. If he withdrew the rod at this moment, the four Shellder would naturally join forces to deal with him. All he could do was observe the changes.
The strength of the four Shellder was not particularly outstanding, so the fight was intense. However, the Pokémon in the lake almost had no battle experience. After all, the Pokémon in the lake were few in number and were supplied with food by dedicated people. There was truly no need for battle, so their levels were also very low.
Up to now, the only moves the Shellder had used were Water Gun and Tackle. They fought head-on for an entire hour without deciding a victor. Only the Shellder that had been hit by three Water Gun at the beginning withdrew from the battlefield first, losing the ability to compete.
Tetsuya's arm could no longer endure… ahem. With no other choice, he let Golett come out to hold the Fishing Rod, while he only needed to maintain balance.
Piloswine had already stood beside Tetsuya, ready to act. Now everything was prepared, just waiting for the remaining three Shellder to determine the final victor!
Finally, one of the Shellder unleashed its power, Learning a new move amidst the fierce battle.
Icicle Spear.
Five Icicle Spear struck the other two Shellder in succession, achieving the final victory!
Being able to use five Icicle Spear at once… 'It must have the Ability Skill Link'. It seemed that next would be the battle between himself and this Shellder.
After successfully repelling the other two Shellder, this Shellder had little stamina remaining. It bit down on the Everfrozen Ice.
Tetsuya immediately pulled the fishing line, and the Shellder was dragged into midair!
At this point, the Shellder's stamina had already reached its limit. Even after being pulled into the air, it refused to loosen its grip on the Everfrozen Ice.
"Piloswine, Icicle Spear."
Piloswine, who had been waiting for a long, long time, also gathered its strength.
Whoosh...
Icicle Spear were launched one after another. The Shellder in midair had no ability to dodge and was struck directly.
In Tetsuya's judgment, the Shellder had already lost its ability to battle, yet it still refused to release the Everfrozen Ice in its mouth. This showed just how great the temptation of Everfrozen Ice was to -current and future- Ice-type Pokémon.
Since the Shellder had already lost consciousness, Tetsuya directly swung it onto the shore, putting an end to it. This way, there was no need to worry about it escaping.
Tetsuya threw a Poké Ball and successfully caught the Shellder.
At this moment, Tetsuya's greatest thought was to take Shellder and run. After all, it was a Pokémon he had fished up himself. Why should it be left here for three years and allow himself to be exploited for another sum?
However, the entire fishing process had been accompanied by supervision. As soon as he caught Shellder, a young deacon ran into the temple to call the priest.
"Tch."
He could only compromise for now. After all, he still had that Slowpoke on his mind, so he could not fall out completely with the priest at present. Perhaps when he came again three years later, there might be a turning point…
Tetsuya sent out Shellder and sprayed it with a Potion. Shellder finally opened its shell. At this time, the Everfrozen Ice had already been completely swallowed by it.
"So, how was that piece of 'Everfrozen Ice'?" Tetsuya asked.
Shellder opened and closed its shell, indicating satisfaction.
"Remember, this stingy priest intends to keep you in this lake for three years! Behave yourself for me. When I come to pick you up, there will be even better 'Everfrozen Ice' for you to enjoy~"
Tetsuya said to Shellder in order to make it remember this feeling and wait here at ease. At the same time, it was also to make it acknowledge him as its Trainer.
Telling it to behave was mainly to guard against this priest. It was already the strongest among the four Shellder, and now that it had absorbed a small piece of Everfrozen Ice, its strength would certainly be even greater. If its strength were displayed too prominently, there was no guarantee that the stingy priest would not go back on his word or deliberately raise the price.
•.•
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¹. Lake Slowpoke also known as Lake Enlightenment.
[1] Lake Slowpoke also known as Lake Enlightenment.