Night fell quickly. Out in the wilderness, the stars were unexpectedly bright and clear.
Max sat by the lakeshore, staring at the fishing float bobbing gently on the water, silently calculating when something might bite.
After the earlier battle, Rockruff and the Buizel had clearly grown much closer and were now playing together nearby. The drone continued livestreaming, but with no major highlights happening, the viewer count gradually declined and stabilized.
The people still watching now should count as my regular audience, right?
Max thought to himself.
The chat had mostly stopped interacting with him directly and was instead filled with viewers chatting among themselves.
Suddenly, the float trembled slightly—as if something below was testing it. After twitching a few more times, it was suddenly dragged under the surface with a plop, and Max felt a powerful tug on the fishing rod.
"I've got a bite!" Max said excitedly, gripping the rod and pulling hard.
But almost immediately, he sensed something was wrong.
This doesn't feel right…
A Magikarp shouldn't have this much strength. Could it be that his very first catch was a different Pokémon?
He hadn't ruled out catching ordinary fish, but this was a Pokémon fishing rod—no bait, no ground chum. Normal fish shouldn't be biting at all.
Seeing the rod bend, the chat instantly got excited. Veteran anglers even began offering remote guidance.
"Loosen it first! You don't just haul it in like that—you have to play the fish!"
"If you pull that hard, what if the rod snaps?!"
Max had no time to read the chat. Every ounce of his strength was focused on the rod, his entire body tensed down to his toes.
The struggling "fish" was dragged closer and closer to shore—and then Max saw it.
A tuft of orange fur emerged from the water.
"…Huh?"
Max froze.
Why did this look so familiar?
He slowly turned his head to look at the Buizel nearby… then back at what he had hooked.
Refusing to believe it, he gave the rod one last strong pull.
Splash!
A Buizel leapt out of the water gracefully, the hook hanging from its mouth. It landed on the shore and stared at Max with complete confusion.
"…Zelu?"
It scratched its head, clearly having no idea how it had suddenly ended up here.
"..."
Max stared at it in silence, then let out a long sigh. He handed over an Oran Berry.
"Here, eat this. Just… don't bite my hook again, okay?"
"Zelu!"
The Buizel happily accepted the Oran Berry and scampered off.
The chat erupted with laughter.
Classic angler—can catch anything except fish!
"Actually, Buizel is pretty cute," someone commented.
"As a Pokémon, its intelligence is way higher than a normal pet, and its size is just right…"
"Streamer, streamer! Why don't you catch a few Buizel and sell them? You'd definitely make money!"
Max noticed the comments and shook his head.
"Pokémon aren't pets," he said seriously. "They choose humans just as humans choose them. It's meaningless if you like them one-sidedly—they have to like you too."
"So don't treat Pokémon as commodities. Treat them as family and friends, and it'll be much easier to earn their trust."
"Friends aren't something you buy and sell, so let's not bring that up again. If you encounter Pokémon in the future, try communicating with sincerity. You'll eventually get a satisfying result."
Some viewers felt he was making a big deal out of it—
Until a sudden pat-pat sound came from off-camera.
A soaking-wet Buizel ran into frame, holding a large fish in its paws and proudly presenting it to Max, smiling wide enough to show its fangs.
"This… is for me?" Max asked, recognizing it as the same Buizel from before.
"Zelu!"
The Buizel nodded happily and pushed the fish closer.
The Floatzel boss said—courtesy demands reciprocity!
The moment melted the hearts of countless viewers, especially the girls in chat, who instantly erupted into squeals.
Only now did many viewers truly understand what Max meant by treating Pokémon as friends and family. Treating such intelligent, adorable creatures as mere pets would indeed be disrespectful.
"Thank you," Max said with a smile, taking the fish and turning toward his tent. He planned to grill it on the spot and share the experience with everyone.
But just then—
The fishing rod set up by the lake moved again!
Max startled. Before he could react, the Buizel dashed forward and dove straight into the water with a loud splash.
…Looks like the rod won't be needed anymore.
Sure enough, not long after, the Buizel swam back ashore with another fish clutched tightly in its paws.
But this one was different.
Unlike the streamlined shape of ordinary fish, this one had a round body covered in bright red scales. Its golden fins swayed gently, shaped almost like a crown.
It was enormous—nearly bigger than the Buizel itself.
A classic—
Magikarp.
Max locked eyes with that dull, vacant stare and recognized it instantly.
Unlike Max's calm reaction, the chat completely exploded.
"HOLY—WHAT IS THAT FISH?! STREAMER, DON'T MOVE! I'M SENDING GIFTS RIGHT NOW!!!"
"That thing is nearly a meter long! The fish of my dreams!"
"Brothers, I've already found the streamer's location! This is Meiyu Lake in Yannan! Anyone far away can give up now, hahaha!"
Max was dumbfounded.
He'd spent three days failing to figure out where he was—
and the anglers in the chat pinpointed it instantly?!
Seeing their excitement, he quickly spoke up.
"Everyone, calm down! This is a Pokémon called Magikarp. This size is normal. And—"
"Normal?! Then I definitely have to go!"
A sinister laugh practically echoed through the comment.
"Let me finish!" Max said helplessly.
"Magikarp is extremely common. I can guarantee they exist all over the country. Their vitality is absurdly strong—they can even survive in polluted water. They aren't rare at all, so there's no need to rush here!"
"The reason you haven't seen many yet is just because Pokémon only recently appeared. As time goes on, Magikarp will probably become the Pokémon nobody wants to catch—because they're everywhere. You'll be able to catch them anywhere."
The anglers were disappointed, though many still planned to catch a big one while they could.
"Magikarp is known as the weakest Pokémon," Max continued.
"Its strength and speed are almost nonexistent. In fast currents, it can't do anything except get swept away."
He originally wanted to demonstrate Splash, but after remembering that Magikarp could now learn Tackle before evolving, he decided not to mention it.
"However," Max paused, smiling slightly,
"Pokémon are creatures full of miracles. Even a Pokémon as weak as Magikarp is not without a chance to change its destiny."
The chat immediately grew curious.
They couldn't see any redeeming qualities—weak, slow, dull-looking. Could such a Pokémon really turn its fate around?
"You've all probably heard a story called…"
"The carp leaping over the Dragon Gate, right?"