After relocating his fishing spot, Hakuya looked down at the little fairy still floating by his side.
"Milcery, I'm counting on you for the battles ahead."
"Nai~"
Milcery nodded obediently.
As for Floragato.
She was currently playing with her flower bud yo-yo, hiding off to the side and secretly wiping away small tears.
—Her Trainer was getting ready to throw a Poké Ball and sign a lifelong contract with another Pokémon.
Having endured the various grueling battles in the Randomized Emerald, the large green cat had matured significantly since she first started her journey.
Although she still didn't want any more Pokémon joining the team and stealing her Trainer's attention, she wouldn't actively try to sabotage his capture attempts like she might have done in the beginning—even if she refused to help.
"Meow... meowha..."
Floragato lowered her head, her yo-yo slowly dropping to the ground.
As expected, the main reason was that she was still too weak right now.
Once she evolved into Meowscarada, reached level 100, and had the power to elbow every single overpowered monster in this world, her Trainer wouldn't need to run off and sign contracts with other wild Pokémon. He would only use her, right?
At this moment, completely oblivious to what was going through the large cat's mind, Hakuya attached the special lure Misty had given him, forcefully cast his line into the sea, and began to wait quietly.
Hoenn really is great. Unlike Unova, you don't have to become the Champion just to get permission to fish.
"An Arbok? Seems pretty average."
"Nidoking, huh? Wonder if it still has Sheer Force."
"A Dugtrio? Wait, if you live in the water, why don't you just become a Wugtrio?"
Reeling in his line, Hakuya looked at the various wild Pokémon he had hooked one after another, shaking his head. In the end, he chose not to battle or capture any of them.
Whether it was their power level or their aesthetic appeal, none of them fell into his acceptable range.
After all, he wasn't just playing a video game anymore.
Once captured by his Poké Balls, whether due to Arceus pulling strings behind the scenes or some other reason, they would all gain independent consciousness and become living, breathing Pokémon, just like Floragato and Milcery.
This meant he couldn't act like a typical gamer, catching everything in sight, using the good ones, and dumping the useless ones into the PC box forever. He had to be responsible for the life of every Pokémon he caught.
"Never mind, let's just keep fishing and see what bites~"
Failing to encounter his ideal Pokémon, Hakuya patiently continued casting his line.
Just as the time was approaching 6:00 PM, the fishing rod suddenly began to shake violently.
He yanked the rod and reeled in the line. A red-and-white figure broke through the surface of the water, creating a massive splash.
"Latias."
Seeing another Legendary Pokémon appear, Hakuya's eyes instantly lit up.
Power was one thing, but more importantly, her aesthetics were absolutely top-tier!
"Milcery, use Tackle."
"Nai~"
After losing a chunk of her health bar to the Tackle, the little jet plane immediately launched a counterattack.
She raised her head and let out a melodious cry, and countless meteors poured down from the sky like a torrential rainstorm.
"She actually has the Contrary ability?!"
Under Hakuya's shocked gaze, as the [Draco Meteor] crashed down, a system notification appeared beside the red jet plane.
[Latias's Contrary sharply raised her Special Attack! (+2)]
Unlike her original setup, which relied on Calm Mind for a bulky, defensive sweep, rolling the Contrary ability meant this Latias would likely rely on spamming Draco Meteor to continuously boost her stats for explosive offensive output. With a base Special Attack of 110, excellent bulk in her HP and defensive stats, and access to [Recover] in her movepool, her power level seemed even higher than her original version.
Realizing this, Hakuya decided to bet his entire fortune on her.
—Intense Poké Ball Throwing Sequence in Progress—
"Nai~"
Milcery rubbed her eyes, feeling like she was going to be blinded by the continuous flashes of white light from the exploding Poké Balls.
Beside her, having thrown balls until his arm cramped again, Hakuya watched the final Great Ball shake three times and click shut. Tears of joy welled up in his eyes.
"F-Finally caught her."
After nearly exhausting his entire stash of Great Balls, he had finally managed to sign a contract with this tsundere little jet plane.
[Latias]
[Type: Dragon/Psychic]
[Gender: Female]
[Level: Lv 15]
[Ability: Contrary (Makes stat changes have an opposite effect.)]
[Moves: Charm, Stored Power, Helping Hand, Recover, Confusion, Draco Meteor, Surf]
"Come on out, Latias!"
Immediately after a successful capture, Hakuya couldn't wait to send the little jet plane out.
Emerging from the Poké Ball, Latias first flew several joyful laps over the surface of the sea. Then, her gaze shifted, and she spotted Hakuya below, tightly gripping her Poké Ball.
"La-woo—"
With a cheerful chirp, the little jet plane dove straight toward him.
She hugged Hakuya tightly, nuzzling her cheek against his for quite a while. Finally, as if suddenly remembering something, Latias turned her flushed face away and quickly retreated.
And this exact scene was witnessed entirely by Floragato, who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion.
From her perspective, she only saw her Trainer and this newly arrived Latias pressed tightly together. Consequently, her expression suddenly froze, and the flower bud yo-yo in her paws dropped onto the sandy beach with a soft thud.
"Meowha...?"
Hearing the sound nearby, Latias turned her head, making eye contact with the dumbstruck Floragato.
—With her incredibly sharp intuition, combined with her innate psychic perception, she quickly deduced the exact nature of the relationship between this green cat and the Trainer.
"La-woo~"
The little jet plane puffed up her cheeks and swiftly retreated back into her Poké Ball at blinding speed.
"???"
Watching Latias's attitude change faster than flipping a page in a book, Hakuya's face was full of question marks.
The first mood swing was because of her [Contrary] ability and her inherently tsundere nature. He understood that.
But what did the second mood swing mean?