"Gu Qiu, I didn't expect your fishing skills to be this good."
"Gym Leader Misty—"
"Call me Sister Misty."
Hands on her hips, Misty cut him off.
Gu Qiu coughed lightly and skipped over that.
"This was actually my first time fishing. Just good luck."
"First time… just good luck…"
A vein twitched on Misty's forehead.
She forcibly suppressed the urge to strangle him.
"Since you got first place, you can choose one Pokémon from what you caught to keep."
The top ten all had that privilege.
The top three, however, also received special prizes.
"You caught seventeen High-tier Pokémon. There's quite a variety."
"For your long-term development, I suggest choosing a High-tier Magikarp. It can evolve into Gyarados later."
"Or Shellder. Cloyster is Water/Ice—very strong."
Her irritation faded as she began seriously advising him.
"Why not Feebas?"
"…Feebas?"
Misty froze.
"Gu Qiu, even if that Feebas is Top-tier… Feebas barely counts as a Pokémon. If it didn't technically meet classification standards, people would've voted to remove it from the Pokédex."
"Yeah," someone nearby added. "Feebas is the weakest Pokémon alive. Even at Level 30, it loses to a normal Low-tier Level 20."
"High potential means nothing if it can't grow."
That was the world's view of Feebas.
Gu Qiu could even sense the emotions from the Feebas in the bucket.
Inferiority.
Collapse.
Self-doubt.
"There are no weak Pokémon," Gu Qiu said calmly.
"Only weak trainers."
"As trainers, we should treat every Pokémon that belongs to us with sincerity."
"I think this Feebas is great. We have fate. Otherwise, why would I catch eight Feebas in a row before landing this one?"
"I'm willing to grow from weak to strong together with it."
The Top-tier Feebas trembled slightly.
Its eyes changed.
Its favorability rose.
"But—"
"Sister Misty. This is my choice."
His tone was firm.
Serious.
Misty met his eyes.
For some reason, her heart skipped a beat.
"…I respect your decision."
She swallowed everything else she wanted to say.
"Feebas, are you willing to walk this path with me?"
Sometimes, a little dramatic sincerity worked wonders.
"Feebas…"
It hesitated.
Someone… actually wanted it?
"Trust me."
His fingers touched it gently.
Cold.
Feebas nodded.
Gu Qiu smiled and recalled it into a Poké Ball.
The crowd exploded.
Someone even posted an article online immediately.
Title: "The Arrogant Genius"
The article accused Gu Qiu of squandering his talent.
Of believing he was special.
Of disregarding Professor Oak's research.
Oak had publicly stated:
After countless experiments, no evolution method for Feebas had been discovered.
He even warned trainers not to treat Feebas as a main Pokémon.
If Professor Oak said so—
And Gu Qiu still chose Feebas—
Wasn't that arrogance?
The rhetoric was sharp.
Provocative.
Many agreed.
Some even claimed he was harming Kanto's future.
Gu Qiu only learned of it later.
"Top ten, please choose your Pokémon."
Only the top four had caught High-tier or above.
After selection—
The award ceremony began.
Misty looked at Gu Qiu standing in first place.
Her heart hurt.
The grand prize was originally prepared for herself.
Now—
It was gone.
Third place: Mid-tier Water Stone.
Second place: Ten boxes of High-tier Water Crystals (worth over a million).
First place:
A white egg-sized object glowing faintly.
Not a Pokémon egg.
A held item.
Lucky Egg.
The holder gains increased battle experience.
Permanent-use item.
Extremely rare.
A training artifact.
Gu Qiu's mysterious shop had never refreshed anything that boosted EXP gain.
He instantly understood why Misty looked pained.
She had prepared this for herself.
He raised an eyebrow.
Misty flushed and looked away.
First place also included 1,000,000 Poké-dollars.
Money she had intended for her vacation.
Now—
All his.
"Gu Qiu. Come with me."
Her face darkened.
"Alright."
Gu Qiu narrowed his eyes.
She wouldn't drag him somewhere private and beat him up… right?
If so—
He absolutely refused.
Also—
The mission to conquer Cerulean Gym was still incomplete.
Maybe…
This was the opportunity.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
Claim early access on Patreon: patreon.com/c/LuneWriter
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:
💬 10 reviews ignite 1 bonus chapter
🔷 200 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.