"Alright, Minccino, let Lapras go."
Natsuki reached out to catch the hopping Minccino, showering it with praise. "You did a great job!"
He gave its ears a squeeze, and Minccino squinted its eyes, purring in delight.
After praising Minccino, his gaze landed on the little Lapras.
If he remembered correctly, Lapras were social Pokémon that lived in pods. If he just let this little one go, it would likely end up a stray.
Since he was the one who fished it up, he had to take responsibility. Once the Lapras pod realized a member was missing, they would surely circle back to look for it.
Rather than searching the vast ocean, waiting in this specific sea area was the best choice.
"Okay, okay! Put your flippers down."
A Lapras raising its "hands" in surrender... there probably wasn't another like it in the whole world.
"Little Lapras, you play around here for now. Don't leave my sight, you hear?"
"Lapu~"
'So strict, just like the pod leader.'
After asking Kangaskhan and the others to keep an eye on it, Natsuki re-baited his hook with fermented corn.
This time, he was sure to get a giant.
Now that the little Lapras had playmates, its earlier unpleasantness vanished instantly, and it quickly became friends with the others.
Friendship between Pokémon is just that pure. The occasional sound of laughter from nearby improved Natsuki's mood significantly, even though he hadn't had a bite for a while.
Whoosh!
Abruptly, the fishing rod bent a full ninety degrees.
Before Natsuki could even grab it, the rod flew straight out of his hands, landing in the ocean and sinking fast.
"Lapu-pu!"
Lapras's silhouette streaked through the water like lightning. The little one chased it down, bit the rod, and struggled to pull it back.
Whatever was under the water wasn't small.
Another behemoth had taken the bait.
"That's it! Lapras, I'll make you something delicious later!"
Natsuki watched eagerly as Lapras put in the work, dragging the rod back.
If it weren't for Lapras today, not only would his brand-new rod be gone, but he would have wasted the whole afternoon for nothing.
Rewarding Lapras with a good meal was only fair.
Finally, after a bout of wrestling with the sea giant, Lapras successfully returned to the shallows.
Natsuki rolled up his pant legs, stepped into the water, and took over the rod.
A massive force surged through the handle, nearly dragging him into the sea.
Natsuki wasn't startled. Instead, he was ecstatic.
'It hadn't gotten away, the giant was still on the line!'
Natsuki had felt Lapras's strength firsthand, and the creature below had held its own against the Lapras with seemingly little effort.
Through the line, Natsuki could clearly feel the struggle. The rod bent ninety degrees again, making it seem like the opponent possessed infinite power.
Prepared this time, Natsuki wouldn't back down.
His expression tightened, looking more serious than ever before.
He lowered his center of gravity, forced the rod steady, and began a rhythm of giving and taking line to wear out the creature's stamina.
Fishing isn't just a tug-of-war, it's a war of attrition.
Natsuki followed a simple philosophy: When the fish retreats, I advance, when the fish rests, I disturb, when the fish tires, I strike, when the fish flees, I chase.
He gave the sea giant not a single moment of rest.
"Here it comes!"
Natsuki wiped the sweat from his face with his shoulder. After over an hour of battle, he finally saw a shadow.
Beneath the deep blue sea, an inky black silhouette rose toward the surface.
Splash...
A pink tail fin slapped the water and vanished in a flash. Simultaneously, a final surge of power came through the line.
Natsuki knew this was the opponent's last stand, victory was within reach.
The closer you get to the end, the less you can afford to lose focus. While taking a breath, Natsuki slowly reeled in between "teasing" the fish.
Every time the opponent resisted violently, Natsuki stopped immediately. Through this repeated process, the full form of the creature became visible.
It looked to be about two meters long, undoubtedly a pink giant.
Luckily, Natsuki was using a special line designed for catching Pokémon, which was said to be capable of reeling in a Wailord.
Victory was in sight.
"Ci-no!" Minccino's surprised voice came from by his feet. The little guy pointed at the pink fish, looking stunned.
'Oh no, did the hook tear out?!'
Natsuki focused his gaze.
What he saw nearly made his heart stop. The giant, now mostly out of the water, was watching half of its flesh literally peel away, piece by piece, revealing a pink skeleton in the center.
The massive force on the rod began to fade instantly, and the reeling speed accelerated.
A slab of bright silver fish meat hung from the hook.
'Huh? Reeling in half a fish? What kind of ghost story is this?!'
The system quickly provided the answer. As it turned out, he had caught a rare type of Pokémon.
[Veluza Fillet: A top-tier, high-grade ingredient. There is only a chance to obtain this by battling a Veluza. A rare delicacy in the Pokémon world. The texture is light but exceptionally flavorful. Recommended to be eaten chilled.]
[Veluza, the Jettison Pokémon, Water/Psychic type. It sheds its own spare flesh to hone its mind and boost its psychic power.]
Just now, Natsuki had accidentally helped this Veluza shed its excess weight.
There was no need to worry about the Veluza getting hurt, it had incredible regenerative abilities coupled with its evolved psychic powers.
Even as a skeleton, the Veluza remained alive and would actually become faster because it had discarded the extra weight.
Glub-glub-glub...
A string of bubbles followed as the pink, arrow-like figure reappeared. The Veluza looked at Natsuki once, as if saying "Human, I acknowledge you. I'll find you again next time."
As he watched the Veluza disappear into the deep sea, Natsuki focused all his attention on the piece of fish in his hands.
"Oh, that's right! I need to freeze it, I need to freeze it."
His gaze swept over Kangaskhan and Minccino before finally settling on the little Lapras.
"Little Lapras, could you please use Ice Shard to fill this bucket?"
"Lapu-lapu~"
"You want to try some Coconut Soup? No problem at all!"
Lapras glided forward and channeled the Ice-type energy within its body. One after another, chunks of ice clattered down.
Seeing this, Natsuki quickly placed the fish meat into the bucket, covering it with ice from top to bottom to keep it fresh.
"Thank you, Lapras."
"Lapu! (＞﹏＜)"
Suddenly showered with praise, Lapras tilted its head bashfully, a layer of crimson flushing its small face.
'Getting shy just from a compliment, how adorable!'
"Kangaskhan, Minccino, you stay here and keep our little hero Lapras company. I'm going back to make dinner."
Though it was barely five o'clock, Natsuki had decided to head to Shalour City later to sell the fish.
He couldn't afford to waste time. Dinner had to be served early.
Across the shimmering surface of the sea, a group of Pokémon appeared, letting out melodious yet urgent cries.
The little Lapras, who had been lying on its back exposing its milky-white belly after eating and drinking its fill, gave a sudden start at the sound.
It wobbled as it flipped over and called back happily toward the distance.
In an instant, a pod of Lapras— ranging in size and numbering about thirty— appeared in the shallow waters.
"Go on then. Don't wander off playing next time and make your family worry."
Natsuki gestured for Lapras to head over. Despite its large size, it was actually only a few months old—still a baby.
"Lapu~"
Having met by chance, Lapras had already formed a bond of friendship with Natsuki.
It lunged forward and pinned him down, its pink tongue coating his face in a mess of saliva.
"You rascal..." Natsuki pushed the Lapras away with a playful scolding. "In the future, if you pass through this sea again, just follow that river over there to reach my ranch."
"When that happens, I'll make you something delicious again."