"All right, Minccino, that's enough—let Lapras go."
Reaching out to catch the Minccino that leapt back toward him, Silas didn't hold back his praise. "You did really well!"
His large hand gently massage its ears, and Minccino squinted its eyes, purring contentedly as it basked in the attention.
After praising Minccino, Silas's gaze fell on the young Lapras nearby.
If he remembered correctly, Lapras were Pokémon that lived in pods.
If he were to simply let this little Lapras leave on its own, there was a high chance it would end up wandering alone.
Since he had fished it up himself, then responsibility naturally fell to him.
Once the Lapras pod noticed that one of their own was missing, they would surely turn back to search for it.
Rather than having them scour the vast ocean, waiting right here in this sea area was clearly the better option.
"Alright now, put your limbs down."
A Lapras that raised both hands in surrender—there probably wasn't another one like it in the entire world.
"Little Lapras, you can play around nearby for now, but you're not allowed to leave my line of sight, got it?"
"Lap~"
So strict… just like the tribe leader.
After instructing Kangaskhan and the others to help keep an eye on it, Silas reattached the fermented corn to his hook.
This time, he was definitely going to reel in a big one.
Now that Little Lapras had companions to play with, the earlier unpleasantness vanished in an instant, and it quickly became good friends with Kangaskhan and Minccino.
Friendship between Pokémon really was that simple.
The occasional bursts of laughter drifting into his ears eased Silas's foul mood from not catching anything for quite a while.
Shoo—
All of a sudden, the fishing rod bent into a perfect ninety-degree arc.
Before Silas could even grab it, the rod was yanked straight out of his hands, flying forward and drifting on the sea surface as it began to sink.
"Lap!"
Immediately after, Lapras's fluid, watery silhouette darted forward. The little one chased after it, clamping its mouth onto the rod and struggling to drag it back.
Whatever was underwater was no small thing.
Another gigantic catch had taken the bait.
"That's it, Lapras—hang in there! I'll make something delicious for you later."
Silas watched eagerly as Lapras tugged the rod back toward shore.
If not for Lapras today, not only would the brand-new fishing rod he'd just bought have flown away, he'd also have wasted the entire afternoon for nothing.
Making Lapras a good meal as a reward was only fair.
After a fierce tug-of-war with the colossus beneath the sea, Lapras finally made it back to the shallows.
Rolling up his pant legs, Silas stepped into the water and took hold of the rod.
A tremendous force surged through it the instant he grasped it, nearly yanking him off his feet.
Instead of panic, delight flashed through Silas.
It hadn't escaped—the giant was still there.
He had personally experienced Lapras's strength before; whatever was underwater had wrestled with it and seemed to have done so without even exerting much effort.
Through the taut fishing line, Silas could clearly feel the creature's struggles. The rod bent into a ninety-degree angle once more, as if the opponent possessed inexhaustible power.
But Silas had come prepared—there was no way he would back down now.
His expression tightened, his focus sharper than ever before.
Lowering his center of gravity, he forcibly stabilized the rod and straightened it.
By continuously reeling in and letting out line, he steadily ground down the stamina of the massive creature below.
Fishing wasn't just a tug-of-war—it was also a battle of attrition.
Silas followed a simple creed: when the fish retreats, I advance; when it holds still, I harass; when it tires, I press the attack; when it flees, I pursue.
He gave the underwater behemoth not even half a moment's rest.
"It's coming up!"
Wiping the sweat from his face with his shoulder, Silas felt a surge of excitement. After more than an hour of deadlock, he could finally see its silhouette.
Beneath the deep blue sea, a pitch-black shadow like a stain of ink slowly rose upward.
Splash—
A pink fish tail slapped the surface and vanished in a flash.
At the same time, a tremendous force surged again through the rod.
Silas knew this was its final gambit. Victory was right in front of him.
At a moment like this, distraction was the last thing he could afford.
While taking short breaths to recover, Silas carefully teased it, slowly reeling in the line bit by bit.
Every so often, the creature would struggle violently, and Silas would immediately stop.
Reel in, let out—over and over again—until the full form of the massive creature beneath the water gradually became visible.
By eye, it was at least two meters long—a gigantic, pink-colored behemoth.
Fortunately, the fishing line Silas was using was a special one designed to hook Pokémon; it was said that even a Wailord could be hauled up with it.
Victory was within reach.
"Min! Min!"
Minccino's startled cry rang out nearby. The little one pointed at the enormous pink fish, eyes wide with shock.
Oh no—did the hook come loose?
Silas hurriedly focused his gaze.
What he saw made his heart jump.
The massive creature, now half-surfaced above the sea, was shedding one entire slab of its flesh piece by piece, revealing a pink fish skeleton at its core.
At the same time, the immense force transmitted through the rod rapidly weakened, and the speed at which he reeled in the line increased dramatically.
Hanging from the hook was a slab of gleaming silver fish meat.
Huh?
He'd fished up… half a fish?
What kind of nonsense was that?
The system quickly provided an answer—what he had hooked was a Pokémon, one rarely seen in the world.
[Veluza Flesh: Top-tier, high-grade ingredient. Can only be obtained with a chance after battling a Veluza. A rare delicacy in the Pokémon world. The texture is light and mild, yet extraordinarily delicious. Recommended to consume after flash-freezing.]
Veluza, a Water/Psychic-type "Shedding Pokémon."
It sheds excess flesh from its body to temper its mind and enhance its psychic power.
Just now, Silas had inadvertently helped this Veluza shed a layer of excess flesh.
There was no need to worry about it being injured; with its powerful regenerative ability combined with its transformative psychic power, it would recover without issue.
Even reduced to nothing but bones, the Veluza remained alive—and would actually move faster after discarding unnecessary mass.
"Vee, Vee…"
A stream of bubbles rose as a pink silhouette shot past like an arrow. The Veluza glanced at Silas.
It was as if it were saying: Human, I acknowledge you. I'll come find you again next time.
Watching the Veluza disappear into the deep sea, Silas turned his attention to the slab of fish meat in his hands.
"Oh, right, right—gotta freeze it, gotta freeze it."
His gaze swept over Kangaskhan and Minccino before finally settling on Little Lapras.
"Little Lapras, could you use Ice Shard and fill the bucket for me?"
"Lap~"
"You want coconut milk soup? No problem at all."
Lapras slid forward, drawing on the Ice-type energy within its body as chunk after chunk of ice clattered down.
Seeing this, Silas quickly placed the fish meat into the bucket, covering it thoroughly with ice to preserve it.
"Thank you, Lapras."
"Lap (＞﹏＜)"
Suddenly being praised, Lapras shyly lifted its head, a faint blush spreading across its little face.
Getting shy from praise—so adorable!
"Kangaskhan, Minccino, you two stay here and keep our little hero Lapras company. I'm heading back to make dinner."
Though it wasn't even five yet, Silas planned to head to Shalour City later to sell the fish meat, so he couldn't afford to waste time—dinner would have to be early.
…
On the shimmering surface of the sea, a group of Pokémon appeared, letting out long, urgent cries.
Little Lapras, its belly milky-white from eating its fill, jolted awake at the sound, wobbling as it rolled over and replied with a joyful call toward the distance.
In the blink of an eye, a Lapras pod over thirty strong, big and small, emerged in the shallow waters.
"Go on. And don't get carried away playing next time—your family will worry."
Silas gestured for Lapras to hurry over. Even though it looked big, it was only a few months old—a baby through and through.
"Lap~"
From an unexpected encounter, Lapras had already formed a bond with Silas.
Its soft pink tongue, mixed with drool, smeared all over Silas's face as it pounced and knocked him down.
"You little rascal…" Silas pushed it away with mock annoyance. "When you pass through this sea again in the future, just follow the river over there and you'll reach my ranch."
"When that time comes, I'll make you something delicious again."
(End of Chapter)