Pokemon: A Fisherman's Tale

Magikarp are everywhere—oceans, rivers, lakes, ponds. They're the most common Pokémon in the world, and also the weakest, sharing that reputation with Feebas.

Together, they're like the "Crouching Dragon and Hidden Phoenix" of the Pokémon world.

Well, that's a bit harsh, but it's hard not to think of them that way.

After all that effort, it would be a shame to throw it back. But keeping it? It's not worth much.

Anyway, it was already in his hands, flopping around uselessly.

Unless, of course, it evolved on the spot.

But this isn't Team Rocket's James, who can kick a Magikarp and make it evolve. Ryan wasn't about to change this Pokémon's fate with a single act of kindness.

Magikarp's evolution into Gyarados is a legendary transformation, a leap in its life form that requires immense willpower and perseverance.

Even in the famous Magikarp Jump competition, the chance of evolution is only about 50%.

Ryan doubted anything like that would happen here. This was a wild Magikarp, after all.

It couldn't evolve… right?

Even though Ryan knew it was unlikely, as Magikarp flopped closer, he couldn't shake a creeping sense of dread.

He hadn't done anything wrong. Right?

So why was he sweating so much all of a sudden?

Either way, he decided not to think about it anymore. He needed to just get this Magikarp out of the water.

Once it was on shore, it would be Poliwag time to shine.

Poliwag had grown tired of watching the struggle and had even dozed off. Poor little guy.

"Poliwag, give Magikarp a good slap," Ryan ordered as he used his last bit of strength to pull the Magikarp ashore.

"Poli! Poli!" Poliwag perked up, instantly alert after hearing the command. It rushed forward, using its feather-like tail to slap Magikarp out of the water and onto the shore.

Ryan used his last bit of strength to pull Magikarp to the shore and ordered the Poliwag to attack.

"Yo yo, yo yo," the Poliwag immediately perked up after receiving the command. It stopped dozing off and yawning, jumped up, and rushed toward the water. It splashed toward the shore, raising its feathery tail as Magikarp flailed in the water.

Bang bang bang, bang bang bang...

The Poliwag slapped Magikarp twice in quick succession, pushing it onto the shore.

Ryan watched as Magikarp landed but didn't rush forward recklessly. He was wary of what might happen if the fish were to evolve, thinking of the saying, "East of the river for thirty years, west of the river for thirty years. Don't underestimate the humble."

He feared accidentally angering Magikarp into evolving.

To avoid such a rare occurrence, even though he was exhausted and could barely move, he endured the pain throughout his body and immediately threw an empty Poké Ball.

Boom—

The Poké Ball hit Magikarp directly, opening instantly and shooting out a red light, drawing Magikarp inside.

Ryan had practiced this throw accuracy before. He would throw stones when he had nothing to do, even developing a decent throwing skill.

[Ryan]

[Pokémon: 2]

[Proficiency: (Fishing/12.12%) (Throwing/11.11%) (Cooking/3.46%)]

In addition to his throwing skill, Ryan had also learned some cooking skills. He had grilled fish twice and made one dish and a soup, which gave him two more skills.

But being able to see his proficiency levels didn't seem very useful. He lacked seasoning, and the food was barely edible.

Only the throwing and fishing skills were useful. Fishing had helped him survive early on, though he was already pretty good at it.

As for throwing, he could only accurately toss Poké Balls, but in the future, he could practice throwing knives for self-defense.

What mattered most were the Pokémon. Only with strong Pokémon could he truly become powerful.

Other than a few naturally extraordinary individuals, humans were quite weak.

Thinking about all this, it seemed like a lot of time had passed, but it had only been an instant—the time it took for the Poké Ball to capture Magikarp.

Ryan wasn't worried about the capture failing. Magikarp had been weakened after a whole day of battling, and Poliwag had slapped it unconscious.

There was no way the fish could escape from the Poké Ball.

As the red light disappeared, a "ding" echoed, indicating that Ryan had successfully caught Magikarp.

"Poliwag, push the Poké Ball over," Ryan called, seeing the Poké Ball motionless on the ground. He really didn't want to move at all.

His whole body ached—everything hurt.

It had been such a grueling day. If he had known Magikarp would be this much trouble, he wouldn't have spent the entire day fighting it.

But by evening, he had realized it was Magikarp. At that point, he had no choice but to continue.

After an entire day of mental and physical exhaustion, he finally caught a seemingly worthless fish, and he was too worn out to deal with it right away.

When Poliwag pushed the Poké Ball over, Ryan picked it up and checked Magikarp's stats.

[Magikarp]

[Type: Water]

[Gender: Female]

[Potential: 19%]

[Level: 2.11%]

[Ability: Swift Swim/1.31%]

[Hidden Ability: Rattled/2.11%]

[Known Moves: (Splash/0.38%) (Tackle/0.54%)]

Looking at Magikarp's stats, it was clear: utterly ordinary, nothing special.

The only notable feature was its hidden ability, but even that didn't make up for how weak this Magikarp was.

If this were a game, Magikarp would evolve into Gyarados at level 20, but this one wasn't even close to evolving.

Ryan had worried for nothing. It seemed like Magikarp was much further from evolving than he had anticipated.

Holding Magikarp's Poké Ball, with Poliwag by his side, Ryan rested for half an hour, watching as the sun lowered in the west. He couldn't keep resting; he had to make the most of the low tide.

Instead of dealing with Magikarp, he turned his attention to gathering kelp and shells. He didn't dare count on whether Magikarp was edible.

It was safer to pick up some kelp and shells first. Even if they couldn't be eaten right away, they could be dried and stored. Missing out on a daily harvest wasn't an option.

With that, Ryan dragged his tired body up and called to Poliwag, "Poliwag, let's go gather some kelp..."

"Yo yo, yo yo," Poliwag couldn't yet understand complex commands, but when it saw Ryan standing, it got up and hopped after him.

Unlike Ryan, the little Poliwag wasn't very tired. Whenever it got hungry, it would nibble on some kelp. As the sun began to set, Poliwag seemed more energetic than ever, bouncing around as if full of endless energy.

This time, Ryan didn't bring a bucket—just a plastic bottle. He handed the bottle to Poliwag, giving it the task of carrying it.

The little Pokémon held the plastic bottle in its mouth and followed Ryan to the rocky shore, the same place they had visited the previous day.

At first, Poliwag was wobbly on land, unused to walking. But once they reached the reef, Poliwag hurried ahead into the water.

In the sea, Poliwag was much more at ease, swiftly passing Ryan and reaching the reef where they had found shells last time.

"Yo yo, yo yo," Poliwag called out, jumping from rock to rock, searching for kelp while Ryan was still slowly making his way there.

Once Ryan arrived, he wasted no time and began collecting shells on the shoal.

He had arrived late today, and the sun was already beginning to sink into the ocean. Only a small part of it remained above the horizon, and he needed to gather as many shells as possible before it got dark.

Once night fell, his vision would be severely limited.

After all, he was only human—not a Pokémon with night vision. Night was the domain of flying insects and predators.

After gathering half a bottle of shells, Ryan knew he had to head back. The sun had already dipped below the horizon, and darkness was closing in fast. With Poliwag leading the way, the two made their way back to the shelter.