Chapter 202: The Fishing Competition

The afternoon's battles came to an end.

Baimu's attitude toward Baimu had already shifted from admiration to reverence.

Though both were newly departed rookie trainers, the latter was simply far stronger than him — whether in real combat experience or in the consideration of stamina.

At dinnertime.

He called out "Big Brother Baimu" with every bite, shouting it with such warmth that he'd never treated Ash with such a good attitude back in the day.

One could only say that after personally starting to raise Pokémon, he understood this thing really wasn't as simple as just talking about it, and after traveling alone he also understood the importance of being kind to others.

However, Baimu's strength lay in his having insight far beyond his peers, and combined with the experience of having traveled once before, his Pokémon-related knowledge was extremely ample — some of the things he said Baimu wasn't even clear on.

In that regard, he was certainly worth praising.

"So your idol list includes Ash too?"

Baimu slowly sipped his grape juice.

"Yes, my wish is to become a trainer as tenacious and unyielding as Ash!" Baimu nodded repeatedly.

He might not be able to say these things to his face, but behind the scenes Baimu held Ash in extremely high regard, because everything the latter did, he had seen with his own eyes.

Even though his tournament results weren't ideal, Ash of the Advanced Generation was a powerhouse who had conquered the Battle Frontier!

Even two Mythical Pokémon had fallen at his hands, and that showdown with Articuno had once again boosted Charizard's popularity.

"Heh…"

Baimu offered no opinion.

Being only ten years old left Baimu ignorant of the world, and after establishing a trusting relationship with him, he was willing to share anything — including Ash, a presence that had left a bold, vivid stroke in his life.

"One day, I'll have a Pokémon battle with Ash!"

Baimu puffed up with spirit, then turned and laughed: "Of course, before that I have to get stronger — the way I am now there's no way I could be Ash's opponent."

"Indeed."

Baimu nodded.

Ash of the XY series admittedly lost the final match of the tournament, but the strength he possessed was absolutely no small matter, and his exclusive Ash-Greninja wasn't just talk either.

The Love Goddess Milotic had already set sail toward the next destination, and before long the Fishing Competition would officially be held.

And after learning that Baimu had entered the Fishing Competition, Baimu hurriedly went and signed up too.

"They say the Fishing Competition is a judging system, and you can only catch one Pokémon to enter the judging — Big Brother Baimu, want to go buy a better fishing rod?"

"Already bought one long ago."

Baimu flashed the fishing rod, bobber, and hook he'd bought while shopping with Mawile earlier — this stuff was just like in the game, the more expensive the better the quality.

The ordinary fishing rod provided by the organizers was only slightly better than the Old Rod from the game, but it gave off the impression that the target would snap if it weighed over twenty jin.

You can't catch the wolf without being willing to part with the child — Baimu had spent big for the sake of a new Pokémon.

Although Baimu's family circumstances were decent, Green didn't give him much pocket money, so he only bought one of slightly better quality.

"Great! I have to catch a super strong Water-type Pokémon!"

Although he'd shouted so loudly earlier about three-on-three and six-on-six, in reality he only had two Pokémon — Ralts and Misdreavus.

Both were Pokémon he'd met and bonded with while traveling with Ash before; aside from them there were actually a few others, but because he went looking and didn't find them, he gave up helplessly.

He believed that if fate allowed, he'd meet them again in the future.

——

Three days passed in a flash.

For Baimu, a man who had completely set down his burdens and was wholeheartedly looking toward the future, life aboard the Love Goddess Milotic fulfilled his earliest impressions of the Pokémon world.

Beautiful surroundings — botanical gardens, Pokémon visible everywhere, passionate yet never life-and-death Pokémon battles, and an environment where most of the people around were friendly and good.

If he didn't know that Hoenn was even more leisurely than the Love Goddess Milotic, Baimu would truly have gotten the notion of never wanting to disembark.

And because he frequently appeared in the battle area and held quite powerful Pokémon, basically winning more than losing, his name gradually spread throughout the ship, and he even made quite a few trainer friends.

Soon.

The Love Goddess Milotic anchored less than ten nautical miles from the Lental region.

Although the Lental region, as a holy land for many Pokémon ecology researchers, strictly forbade outside trainers from entering the island to catch Pokémon, the outer seas were still not within the prohibited scope.

The Great Luo of All Worlds

The Fishing Competition was held as scheduled, and whether participating or not, most of the passengers came to join the fun, while those acquainted with Baimu and Baimu cheered them on.

Baimu held his fishing rod, silently pondering which Ghost-type Pokémon might be hooked.

Drifloon? Jellicent?

Jellyfish probably aren't easy to catch — they might not bite the hook.

Dhelmise? If there were no shipwrecks nearby, the conditions for a Dhelmise to be born probably wouldn't exist, unless one had swum over from a different sea area.

…It couldn't possibly be a Lileep, could it?

This was a Pokémon from the Hisui era — it should have gone extinct in modern times… well, not necessarily; there are still living fossil Pokémon in the Tree of Beginning, so what's wrong with a couple of Lileep appearing?

In the world of the anime, anything is possible.

What about Dusclops? He seemed to recall it was a kind of Pokémon that dwelled in ancient seas, reborn as a Ghost-type Pokémon that would linger in places it once lived.

As he was daydreaming, the host's passionate voice came from not far away.

"Another Fishing Competition is about to begin! Our rules are the same as always — you may only catch one Pokémon that you hook, and once decided, unless you release the previous one, you are not allowed to catch the next Pokémon.

"After the competition ends, our professional judges will score the Pokémon, and the winner will receive a luxurious surprise gift package!"

"Well then, without further ado — the fish are here!"

With the host's great shout, a large school of dark figures suddenly surfaced beneath the cruise ship — they were unmistakably Water-type Pokémon.

The people around cast their bait down in unison, and Baimu also impatiently yet flusteredly cast his rod, while Baimu alone remained unhurried.

After all, he wasn't here to win the Fishing Competition — catching a Pokémon he liked was enough.

However.

Just as he cast his line, someone nearby had already gotten a catch.

"It's a Luvdisc!"

Someone called out.

Baimu turned his head to look, and immediately saw a beautiful fish Pokémon with a deep blue-green body, pale blue ring-shaped markings, and what looked like a pair of butterfly wings.

Unfortunately, it was currently daytime. If it were night, the Luvdisc's fins would glow with a starlit-sky beauty, and an entire school gathering together would look like a river of stars flowing.

In the blink of an eye, someone else got a catch — still a Luvdisc.

Plenty of Trainers with no interest in Luvdisc immediately chose to reel in, understanding that what was swimming below now was a school of Luvdisc, and there was no point wasting time.

Baimu didn't reel in. Because he had no fishing experience, he worried that later, when he met his destined Pokémon, it would get away. So he took the chance to practice his technique for landing fish.

Little Sheng beside him was also having a great time. Even when the leaping Luvdisc slapped him left and right, he didn't mind, laughing out loud together with the onlookers.