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At 3:10 in the afternoon, dressed in shabby clothes, Sato carried a small suitcase and boarded the cruise ship with the crowd. A rough sailor led him to a simple cabin inside.
Since Sato had to faithfully play the role of Tyler, he was indeed penniless now. The ticket he bought was the cheapest class, so the sailor assigned him to a cramped room shared with five other people.
Fortunately, the room was cleaned regularly, so its condition was acceptable. But since the space was so enclosed, with so many past occupants and the ship being long at sea, the smell inside was strong. The moment Sato stepped in, he was hit by a strange odor mixed with sea stench and sweat.
"Good thing I didn't bring Pichu. That spoiled little guy would definitely be making a fuss right now."
Sato wrinkled his brow at the unpleasant smell, but quickly smoothed it out, amused at his own thought.
Tyler was supposed to be penniless, and indeed everything he had now came from the charity foundation supporting him. Even the ticket had been bought with their money. Naturally, that meant Sato carried no Pokémon at the moment.
Yes—Sato was truly all alone, with barely any resources at hand.
The only things he had were a single PokeBall, kept as a memento by the original Tyler, and 1,000 PokeDollars. That was all.
Still, Sato wasn't worried. With Teleport at his disposal, he had at least one way to protect himself. And if he encountered a decent Water-type Pokémon during the trip, he could always use his psychic powers to capture one.
After setting down his suitcase, Sato greeted his roommates one by one before leaving the room.
Following the signs in the corridors, he quickly found his way to the deck. By now, the deck had gathered a considerable crowd, especially near the bow of the ship where people were clustered.
Many leaned against the rails chatting while watching the sea. Some passengers and Pokémon, out at sea for the first time and free of seasickness, shouted excitedly and played around on deck.
Sato smiled faintly at the sight, then walked toward the quieter stern. There, a number of fishermen had gathered, with dozens of rods propped against the railing.
When any of the rods, secured by tools, showed signs of a bite, the fishermen—each watching over more than a dozen rods—would rush over and wrestle with whatever had taken the bait.
Most catches were just ordinary fish, with only a few being Water-type Pokémon.
Whenever one of those came up, the fisherman would eagerly throw a special PokéBall called a Lure Ball. Unless luck was terrible, this type of ball, designed for Water-types, almost always succeeded in capturing the Pokémon.
These fishermen often partnered with savvy sailors aboard, selling both their regular catches and Water-type Pokémon for profit.
Seeing this, Sato decided to blend in with them for the rest of the voyage. But first, he needed a fishing rod.
After observing for a while, Sato spotted his chance. A young fisherman stood there with more than ten rods under his control. Unfortunately, whether from poor skill, bad bait, or sheer bad luck, he hadn't caught anything for over half an hour. His face was dark with frustration, clearly in a foul mood.
When Sato approached, the young fisherman turned and glared at him, looking for someone to vent his frustration on. It was obvious—if Sato so much as spoke, the man would likely scold him for "ruining his concentration."
But Sato only smiled faintly without saying a word. Instead, his eyes glimmered with a faint blue light as a subtle wave of psychic energy radiated from him.
In moments, the young fisherman's gaze dulled, as though he had lost his soul.
Under the effects of Hypnosis and Psychic/Mental Suggestion, he suddenly felt a warmth toward Sato, as though greeting an old friend he hadn't seen in years.
Before long, Sato had struck a deal with him and happily received a rod and some bait.
Indeed, when it came to dealing with ordinary people, a psychic had plenty of tricks. With just Hypnosis and Psychic/Mental Suggestion, even relatively basic abilities, a psychic could quickly close the distance with strangers and draw out useful information.
During his time at Slowpoke Temple, Sato had often gone to Lake Enlightenment (Lake Slowpoke). The Water-type Pokémon there were peculiar—they could sense the mood of the fisher. If they detected even the slightest desire to catch them, they would refuse to bite. Not even the faintest stray thought was tolerated.
Thus, the lake was the perfect place to test one's spiritual discipline. Only those who truly reached a state of desirelessness could catch anything there.
Sato had once managed to reel in a Krabby at that lake, proving he had touched that state, though not long enough to maintain it consistently.
But ocean Pokémon were different from those of Lake Enlightenment. Sato believed that even his half-baked state of desirelessness would be enough to attract them.
Sure enough, with that mindset, his rod soon bent under the pull of a Water-type Pokémon.
After a short struggle, he pulled up a large Magikarp.
The young fisherman's mood flipped instantly when he saw Sato's catch. Laughing with delight, he immediately threw a Lure Ball and successfully captured the Magikarp.
As agreed, the next ten Water-type Pokémon Sato caught would belong to the young fisherman. Once the deal was complete, the rod, bait, and even a Lure Ball would belong to Sato.
An hour later, under the astonished gazes of the young fisherman and several others nearby, Sato reeled in his sixteenth Water-type Pokémon of the day.