"Dad, are you ready yet? Let's go already!"
It was a little past nine in the morning. Julian was fully dressed and ready, carrying a fishing box in his left hand and several fishing rods in his right, with a fishing umbrella strapped to his back.
Love had even thoughtfully put a sun hat on him.
Today, Julian was going fishing with his dad, the die-hard angler Jake. This surprised Jake quite a bit—he knew his son had never shown any interest in fishing.
So why did he suddenly want to come along this time?
According to Julian, he had just been cooped up at home for too long and wanted to move around a bit. Since his dad was going fishing anyway, he decided to tag along and "just play around a little."
He was fully equipped too. Julian had grabbed everything ready-made from his dad's fishing gear room, picking out a few sets at random.
He had even specially bought two appropriately sized fishing rods from the system store for Celebi and Jirachi.
The two little ones were already buzzing with excitement.
"Alright, alright, stop rushing me," Jake said as he came out of the house carrying his gear. "Fishing requires patience. If you're already this impatient before we even start, how are you going to catch anything?"
Good grief—he came out with five or six bags, big and small. No wonder it took him so long.
"Dad, do you really need to bring that much stuff just to go fishing?"
Julian pointed at all the equipment, even spotting a tent among the pile.
"These, my boy, are the result of years of experience. You never know what might come in handy," Jake said proudly, grinning at his son's stunned expression.
They loaded everything onto a pickup truck—a vehicle Jake had specifically bought for fishing, capable of handling off-road conditions.
This truck was tough enough to cross a desert and still bring you back in one piece. Using it just for fishing was honestly an overkill.
"Let's go. Today, I'll take you to my secret fishing spot. Hardly anyone knows about it," Jake said once they got in the truck.
Julian fastened his seatbelt, and with a roar from the pickup's engine, the two sped off down the road.
They drove north for over an hour. Julian watched as the roads grew narrower—smooth asphalt giving way to gravel paths—and mountains began to rise around them.
They were still within the boundaries of Lake City, but now in one of its rural towns.
After another half hour of driving, they finally stopped at the foot of a mountain blanketed with bamboo forests.
"You know, there's a river right in front of our house. I think we could've just fished there," Julian muttered.
It took them nearly two hours just to get here—and when they arrived, all Julian saw was a dense bamboo forest. Clearly, they still had to walk some distance while carrying their gear. He really didn't understand what was so great about this whole fishing thing.
"The fish in that river are all small—even the Magikarp are rarely over ten centimeters," Jake said with a shake of his head, full of disdain.
Normally, a Magikarp was around nine centimeters long. Anything above that was already considered well-developed.
The world record, however, noted the largest Magikarp ever caught—a massive 5.4 meters long and weighing over 500 pounds. It had been caught decades ago by a fishing enthusiast in a deep mountain pool.
"Lucario!"
Jake sent out his Lucario to help carry the gear. Otherwise, with so much stuff, he'd have to make two trips just to manage it all.
Julian didn't bother calling out his Pokémon; he just carried his share himself.
They walked into the bamboo forest and trekked for another half an hour before the sound of rushing water reached them. Finally, a river appeared, flowing between two mountain ridges.
The scenery was exceptionally beautiful—tranquil and lush.
"Dad, didn't you say this was your secret spot? Why is someone else here?"
Noticing someone already fishing by the river, Julian couldn't help but ask.
"Where there's a river, there'll always be fishing enthusiasts. No matter how well-hidden your spot is, it'll eventually be discovered," Jake replied.
Still, there was a hint of frustration in his tone. After all, his secret spot had been found, and he could only hope this person wouldn't bring others. Otherwise, the place would soon be crawling with anglers.
Once a river attracted too many anglers, the Pokémon population would inevitably decrease—not because they were overfished (Magikarp reproduced so fast they were practically endless), but because when there were too many people, Water-type Pokémon in the river would instinctively avoid the area.
Jake stepped forward and greeted the stranger. "Hey, buddy, any luck?"
The fisherman, a middle-aged man who looked a bit older than Jake, didn't even turn his head. "Just got here, no luck yet," he replied.
That was classic. When anglers were asked if they'd caught anything and hadn't, almost all of them would say they "just got here." No one ever admitted they'd been there for four or five hours without catching a thing.
Jake and Julian set down their gear and began assembling fishing rods, attaching lines, mixing bait, preparing the fishing spot, and adjusting floats. The whole process took another ten minutes or so.
By the time everything was ready, it was already past eleven.
Fortunately, Love and Slowking had prepared lunch for them before they left, so they could eat right there by the riverside.
While Julian ate, Jake busied himself setting up the fishing gear, explaining various fishing techniques and tips as he worked.
By the time Julian finished his meal, all the equipment was neatly set up and ready to go.
"All right, let's get started!"
Jake plopped down on his fishing box, picked up his rod, hooked the bait, cast the line, tightened it, and set the rod—all in one smooth motion.
"Dad, aren't you going to eat?"
"I'll eat after I have my first catch," Jake said firmly.
'What, is this some kind of ritual or something?'
Julian didn't press further. He quickly baited his hook and cast his line—but it went slightly off target—missing the spot where they had laid the bait.
But just as the hook hit the water, Julian saw the float jerk sharply downward. He immediately lifted the rod, and the line went taut, the rod bending into a crescent shape.
"Dad! Dad! I've got one!" Julian exclaimed excitedly.
Jake turned to look—and sure enough, the rod in Julian's hands was bent almost into a half-moon. The line sliced through the water with sharp whistling sounds as whatever was hooked darted back and forth.
'Beginner's luck!' Those two words instantly popped into Jake's head.
"Don't rush it! Let it tire itself out first. Don't yank too hard—just play it for a while," Jake instructed.
After about three or four minutes of back-and-forth, Julian could feel the creature's strength fading. With a sharp tug, he lifted the rod—and a Squirtle came flying out of the water!
Midair, the Squirtle immediately fired a Water Gun at him.
"Gen~"
Gengar appeared, blocking the jet of water and putting the Squirtle to sleep with Hypnosis.
"A Squirtle?!"
Jake watched as Julian reeled in not a Magikarp, but a Squirtle. He was so envious that he was practically turning purple. Wild Squirtle were extremely rare, and catching one while fishing was practically unheard of.
Yet Julian had hooked one on his very first try.
'Beginner's luck!' The words echoed again in Jake's head.
From then on, Julian kept catching Pokémon one after another—Magikarp, Tentacool, Feebas, Staryu, and finally, he even reeled in a Vaporeon.
Even Celebi and Jirachi were happily fishing away, pulling up catch after catch.
Meanwhile, Jake and the other fisherman… caught absolutely nothing the entire time.
By the end of the trip, Jake still hadn't gotten to eat his lunch.
*****
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