Chapter 550: Fishing Duel and the Runaway Young Master

A blue-haired bob-cut girl in cool attire, holding a plump sea fish, stood nearby, and at her feet, a Pokémon resembling a sea lion—with a white muzzle, whiskers, a pink bulbous nose, and a pale blue collar encircling its neck—also looked over.

Its forelimbs even slapped its belly cheerfully.

That sound, however, felt particularly grating at this moment.

To put it plainly, Luo Mu was deeply wounded right now.

He felt his dignity had been challenged and his professionalism as an angler questioned.

Perhaps the overly comfortable environment made people more emotional.

Unconvinced, Luo Mu glared at the girl and her partner, the belly-slapping Pokémon called Popplio, and stubbornly retorted, "It's just a bad fishing spot; wait until I rent a boat and we fish out at sea—don't be surprised when we catch a big one then."

This only made Luo Mu's temper flare hotter as he stared at his motionless fishing line.

After securing the sea rod, Luo Mu surveyed the shimmering expanse of the ocean nearby.

Yet Shui Lian grew increasingly familiar with each exchange; though not interrogating him like checking household registration, she still asked whether the Luxray and the Eevee sisters were Luo Mu's Pokémon, where he came from, and what he did for a living.

Late into the night, apart from the sound of rain, Spectrier keenly noticed other noises.

Popplio also plunged into the water with a splash, carefully circling the sea-fishing line, which was slightly thicker than ordinary lines, seemingly intending to alert Shui Lian the moment a fish bit.

Luo Mu felt slightly suspicious, yet his movements remained extremely agile.

Moreover, being a Ghost-type Pokémon, it was highly sensitive to the life aura of living beings.

But Spectrier had no intention of revealing itself; it disliked interacting with most humans.

In the end, he merely gripped the commemorative Poké Ball tightly in his hand and murmured in a tiny voice, "Type: Null."

There stood before the villa a boy with golden hair soaked by rain, looking quite disheveled, inexplicably radiating a sense of loneliness that struck the horse.

Yet he resembled a defeated rooster, hanging his head in dejection as he returned the rented Lapras mount.

Among them were even items like the Shell Bell and the Deep Sea Scale.

In any case, today was still not a day of returning empty-handed.

At this very moment, it began to rain.

Spectrier truly did not understand this; otherwise, perhaps it would have called out Oranguru.

Light rain began falling from the sky at some unknown time, pattering urgently against the windows and roof, creating a rapid cacophony.

Luo Mu suddenly recalled that Shui Lian, as a main character in the Sun and Moon anime and the Water-type Captain of the Alola region in the games, seemed quite fond of ocean and water-related Pokémon.

Yet the owner of those hurried footsteps, upon discovering this villa, gradually slowed to a halt.

Shui Lian graciously clapped her hands, then confidently cast out her bait.

Gazing at the commemorative Poké Ball in his hand, he didn't know whether he should feel regret for his somewhat impulsive actions or anger upon learning the truth.

Speaking purely of value, Luo Mu's haul was actually greater than Shui Lian's.

It seemed he realized that continuing to stand in the rain might lead to a cold, worsening his condition.

When Luo Mu asked Shui Lian about this, she said she was currently attending the Pokémon School on Melemele Island, still somewhat clumsy in caring for Popplio, and thus had no plans to catch new Pokémon for the time being.

The somewhat optimistic Popplio, unlike other Pokémon who might feel jealous when their trainers showed interest in other Pokémon, displayed no such envy.

Renting the Ride Pokémon Lapras was quite simple.

Luo Mu was not awakened by the noise; instead, he slept even more soundly.

After reuniting with Luxray, Ogerpon, and the Eevee sisters, Luo Mu, carrying a tank of sea fish that Shui Lian had shared with him, walked wearily toward the villa.

Still, fishing competitions were quite interesting; as a fisherman's child, one naturally couldn't back down at such a moment.

It seemed Shui Lian had no intention of catching them, releasing them back into the sea shortly after.

The seas of the Alola region were remarkably clean and pure, perhaps a benefit brought by the harmony between humans and nature here.

Perhaps because the other party resembled a soaked puppy, Spectrier, who had become less aloof after interacting with many Pokémon on the farm, hesitated for a moment; seeing the other make no move to break indoors, it pretended not to notice and allowed the other to take shelter from the rain there.

"Oh oh oh, quite impressive!"

Meanwhile, Milotic followed him into the ocean.

Helplessly, Spectrier could only look outward.

Spectrier landed on the ground once again.

Thinking of this, she called out to Luo Mu, who was truly about to turn and rent a fishing boat, offering a reminder.

On Lapras's back, Luo Mu stood up carefully.

As for whether the boy would catch a cold or fall ill from not changing his soaked clothes—

As long as the procedures were complete, soon both Luo Mu and Shui Lian were each assigned a Lapras.

Luo Mu, advancing with imposing momentum, suddenly paused; upon hearing Shui Lian introduce herself, a trace of surprise flashed in Emperor Yan Di's eyes.

Even the Lapras looking up from beneath issued a cheerful, melodious cry.

Since daytime, it had vaguely sensed it.

It only needed to guard this villa well during the night.

Compared to its own protection, Luo Mu needed a Pokémon capable of night watch more.

At this moment.

Seeing that Luo Mu had answered her question, Shui Lian's eyes lit up, and she curiously asked many things about Milotic.

Thinking of how his partners on the farm usually acted.

"I have a classmate whose family also runs a ranch on Akala Island; the ice cream made from Tapu Tapu Moumou's fresh milk is super delicious; you should try it if you get the chance!" Apart from fish, Shui Lian occasionally caught sea Pokémon as well: Magikarp, Tentacool, and even a Tsareena.

Come to think of it, no wonder she had been stealing glances at Milotic with a subtle gaze just now.

But if it was only to this extent, it meant nothing to Luo Mu and Luxray.

By the time he came to his senses, he had already run to the front of this villa.

Not wanting his handsome mane to get wet, Spectrier simply hid back in the shadows again, quietly observing everything around from the darkness.

Believing that tomorrow would surely be better.

The Eevee sisters and Pecharunt, who had played wildly on the beach all day, were also sleeping soundly.

"And my name is Lana; this is my partner, Popplio. Big brother, who are you?"

That was a rather hurried sound of footsteps stepping into puddles formed by the rain, impossible to ignore. While skillfully preparing the bait, Lana explained, "My father often fishes around here; schools of fish frequently gather in this spot, and occasionally when fishing, one can even catch quite a few items!"

But compared to how to become stronger, current matters troubled him somewhat more.

Once preparations were complete, the two agreed to board Lapras and head to a fishing area recommended by Lana.

What followed would test not only luck but also patience.

Originally, as long as the other party did not approach the villa, Spectrier had no intention of interfering.

"Yes, the fin resembling hair on a non-shiny Milotic is red."

Popplio, on the contrary, listened with great seriousness, occasionally looking at Milotic with sparkling eyes; if it did not have to guard the sea fishing line, it would have run over to play with Milotic.

Even if Spectrier knew little about humans, it clearly noticed something was amiss.

Luo Mu shook his head to dispel the strange thoughts in his mind and began chatting casually with Lana.

While Luo Mu was zoning out, Lana on her end had already secured her fishing rod.

Her personality belonged to the quieter type, but Luo Mu had something around him that greatly interested her, along with shared hobbies.

Before long, Lana would lift a sizable sea fish and place it into the water tank fixed on the back of the Lapras she was sitting on.

Thus, Lana summoned her courage and took the initiative to ask, "Big brother, is your Milotic a shiny Pokémon?"

"Fishing boats are suitable for large-scale catches; the sound of the engine makes the fish restless and choose not to approach nearby waters, so let's go rent some aquatic mount Pokémon instead."

Wandering blankly through the streets at night, his stomach was also terribly hungry.

As for the expression of astonishment Oranguru displayed upon seeing Luo Mu return carrying a water tank full of sea fish and hearing him say he would process them for barbecue, there is no need to elaborate further.

Luo Mu recalled that Lana's Popplio seemed to be female and would eventually evolve into the very good-looking Primarina.

The young boy hesitated for a few seconds before choosing to carefully step onto the stairs, wishing to take shelter from the rain on the terrace where many flowers, plants, and obstacles had been planted outside the villa.

"The shell of an adult Lapras equipped with protective gear is spacious enough; it is sufficient for single-person fishing."

However, his desire to win quickly overcame his surprise, and he nodded stiffly in reply, "Alright, I am Luo Mu, essentially a tourist who has come to the Alola region for vacation."

But considering that his presence might make ordinary sea fish afraid to approach, Milotic soon surfaced and, just like Popplio, quietly stayed near Luo Mu's sea fishing line.

It was just that compared to Lana's completely full water tank, in the end, the sea fish could only fill Luo Mu's tank.

At this moment, the life aura of the blond-haired boy was like a candle flame wavering in the wind and rain, flickering bright and dim, as if it might extinguish at any moment.

Come to think of it, he had lived in this villa before; it was just that back then he came here for vacation with his family—the more he recalled, the blurrier the blond-haired boy's thoughts became.

In sea fishing, the float's role in transmitting information is not significant, so Luo Mu simply omitted the float altogether.

The only unsightly part was that the fishing line at Lana's end would occasionally sink, prompting Popplio to blow a large bubble to alert Lana.

Curious, Milotic dove underwater and swam a circle around the sea bait.

One could tell with the naked eye that the ocean's purity showed almost no signs of pollution.

He had taken this commemorative Poké Ball without a plan and left the Aether Paradise unprepared; walking on the streets, he suddenly realized he was penniless, his usual habit of having the butler swipe the card leaving him with no cash at all, unable to even afford a hotel, not to mention that staying in a hotel might expose his location.

For such a beautiful goddess of the water as Milotic, it would be false for Lana to claim she had no interest.

Before long.

Luo Mu performed this set of diagonal casting techniques with pleasing grace.

Damn it, as expected of that ultimate talent freak who can even fish up Kyogre in the future—

Somewhere on this island, there was an aura comparable to his own.

The blue-haired girl with a bob cut glanced at Luo Mu with considerable suspicion; she had been fishing alongside Popplio nearby the whole time, and based on her observations, this big brother bringing many Pokémon seemed less like he was fishing and more like he was feeding the fish.

Seeing that the timing was about right, Luo Mu directly pressed his left index finger against the fishing line, shifted his center of gravity onto his right foot, and swung the rod tip forward from the direction of his right hand.

After stabilizing his lower stance, he stepped back half a pace with his left foot, slightly tilted his left shoulder backward, gripped the sea fishing rod with both hands simultaneously, positioning the rod at approximately a 45-degree angle to the water surface.

These questions were not exactly private matters, so Luo Mu answered them directly.

It was because of his own weakness that he was powerless to stop it when his younger sister was attacked.

Yet Lana did not stop her movements; she lifted another sizable grouper and placed it into the water tank, while still speaking.

Just as Spectrier was secretly observing the young boy, the boy finally let out a sigh of relief.

Although Wang had instructed him before departure to protect Luo Mu, in Spectrier's view, whether it was that Luxray, Swampert, or Dragonite, they would, for the most part, stay close by his side without moving an inch.

The night grew deeper.

They fished until the sun was about to set before ending this fishing competition.

The weather by the seaside is always changeable; this held true even though the wooden villa was still some distance away from the shore.

Luo Mu was like someone completely incompatible with fishing; from start to finish, he did not catch a single fish, instead reeling in various valuable items that had somehow been swept over by the sea currents.

Probably tired, even though he had changed to a new environment, Luo Mu soon fell into dreamland on the soft large bed.

Saying that Lapras's load capacity was still somewhat limited, and worrying that they would get bored accompanying him on the open sea for too long, Luo Mu simply had Luxray, who did not really want to touch water, stay behind to watch over Pecharunt and the Eevee sisters, acting as their temporary guardian cat.

When the sinker swept past overhead, Luo Mu instantly released the fishing line, allowing the hook and sinker to fall naturally with a splash into the water.

Fortunately, it wasn't a so-called trap cross-dressing Popplio.

He thought that anger directed at himself probably accounted for the majority.

Accompanied by a chill aura, Spectrier emerged from the shadows; its hooves, wreathed in purple drifting mist, stepped into the air, gazing into the distance from mid-air.

One can even catch items?

After a set of fluid and uninterrupted operations, Luo Mu gripped the sea fishing rod in his hand, and instantly, man, rod, and intent became one.

Spectrier hesitated for a few seconds, then its figure appeared in Oranguru's room, waking it up.

"Really?"

Asked thus, Luo Mu paused for a moment, then nodded.

"The Paldea region, huh? There seems to be a quite famous ancient academy there!"

A night passed in the blink of an eye.

Waking up naturally, a deeply satisfied Luo Mu stretched lazily in bed, then drowsily put on his pajamas and went downstairs to wash up.

Just as he finished washing up and was about to sit on the sofa for a while,

seeing the golden-haired youth lying there, Luo Mu was instantly startled fully awake.

Wait, who the hell are you!? (End of Chapter)