The next day, around noon, sunlight streamed lazily through the gaps in the mottled curtains, falling like threads onto Chen Kai’s face.
He slowly opened his eyes, which were dry, bloodshot, and full of exhaustion.
Last night, he and Huang Mao had stayed by the river for most of the night, but in the end, they didn't even see a shadow of a fish. Now, he felt physically tired and deeply frustrated.
He sighed helplessly, thinking, “It seems this red Gyarados and I are ultimately fated not to meet.”
“Forget it, I’ll just go to Area Zero to battle in Tera Crystal Pits and pick some berries. Compared to that, Area Zero seems to have more fate with me.”
Chen Kai quickly ate breakfast, called Miraidon, and prepared to set off. As soon as he stepped out, he saw Huang Mao already helping out in his family’s Wooloo pen.
Moreover, Larvitar and Geodude were also “huffing and puffing” as they strenuously moved haystacks, earning their own food.
Dwebble was diligently chopping firewood, and Aerodactyl was carrying goods, flying off into the distance.
Huang Mao must not have slept early last night either. Chen Kai couldn’t help but exclaim, “It seems Huang Mao has already talked to his parents. He’s truly diligent! It looks like I need to work harder too.”
Thinking this, Chen Kai looked around and noticed that he hadn't seen Yelena much recently.
However, just in case, he still put on his invisibility cloak and headed towards Area Zero.
In the afternoon, the sunlight lazily poured over the land of Area Zero. Chen Kai arrived at the riverside with a relaxed mood.
A gentle breeze wafted, bringing faint scents of grass mixed with earth.
He skillfully took out his fishing rod from the tackle box, meticulously threaded the fishing line through each guide, attached the bait, and with a gentle flick of the rod, the line arced gracefully through the air, and the bait landed precisely in the river, splashing up a small circle of water.
By noon, he had diligently collected a sack full of berries.
Moreover, he had communicated quite harmoniously with Iron Crown last weekend, and today he planned to bring a gift to see if he could also establish a good relationship with Iron Boulder.
However, when he arrived at the riverbank in Yibin, his backpack happened to still contain the fishing gear from last night. Chen Kai felt an irresistible urge. Seeing that it was still early, he decided to try fishing for a while.
“Last night was definitely Huang Mao’s fault; he made me not catch a single fish,” Chen Kai muttered to himself in a low voice.
After speaking, he found a comfortable spot to sit down, stably placed the fishing rod on its stand, and kept his eyes fixed on the float.
Xiao Mei and the others found it boring and returned to their Poké Balls, leaving only Grovyle quietly accompanying Chen Kai.
The surroundings were extremely quiet, with only the occasional bird chirps and the rustling of leaves as the breeze blew through them.
The autumn sunlight filtered through the gaps in the branches, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow onto Chen Kai, making him feel incredibly comfortable.
Time flowed slowly in this tranquil atmosphere. Chen Kai’s thoughts gradually relaxed, and his eyelids grew heavier.
Initially, he tried to stay awake, blinking occasionally to ward off drowsiness.
However, the laziness of the afternoon was like an invisible net, slowly enveloping him.
His head began to nod uncontrollably, and his consciousness gradually blurred.
Finally, Chen Kai could no longer resist the drowsiness and fell into a deep sleep. His breathing became even and gentle, and a relaxed expression graced his face, as if he had entered a peaceful dream.
At this moment, the entire world seemed to have stilled, with only ripples forming on the river surface in the gentle breeze.
The float bobbed gently on the water, as if a “fish” had taken the bait.
But Grovyle, who was accompanying Chen Kai, was also asleep at this moment.
The small blue “fish” in the river was initially panicked, but as a Pokémon, its intelligence was higher than that of ordinary fish, and it quickly broke free from the hook.
Just as this small “fish” was about to quickly escape, it noticed the person on the shore. Its gaze swept over, and it actually showed an angry emotion, and the small “fish” discovered that this human was still asleep.
So it abandoned the idea of escaping and quietly swam to the shore. Seizing the opportunity, it leaped with force, jumping onto the land.
Then, it quickly bounced to where Chen Kai had placed the bait, eating mouthful after mouthful. Having been hungry for a long time, it devoured all the delicious bait.
After eating its fill, it prepared to escape, but it seemed to still feel unsatisfied. Mustering its strength, it abruptly sprayed a “Water Gun” at Chen Kai’s face.
Just as the cold water was about to splash onto Chen Kai’s face, a phantom image and a swift, eerie burst of cold air suddenly appeared behind Chen Kai, instantly freezing both the “Water Gun” and the smug little “fish” in mid-air.
Chen Kai was woken by the cold air, opening his eyes in a daze, staring wide-eyed at Grovyle, who was equally bewildered.
“What the heck happened?”
Grovyle also looked utterly confused.
“Chaa…” (I just fell asleep too…)
“Someone attacked you just now,” Iron Bundle said blandly, then returned to its Poké Ball, leaving behind only a block of ice by the river, and a tearful Horsea trapped within the ice.
That’s right, this was the Horsea that Chen Kai had gained experience from twice.
Each time it was inexplicably beaten up, it tried to run further away. Now it had run all the way to Yibin, and being in this “unfamiliar waters” place, it hadn’t had a good, full meal for over ten days.
It had finally found something to eat, but it turned out to be this human again.
“Damn it, this guy is still chasing me!”
Chen Kai was also surprised by the scene before him. Of course, what surprised him wasn’t Horsea, but the fact that he could catch a “fish” even while sleeping, and this wasn’t just an ordinary “fish” – this was a genuine “dragon”!
After Horsea evolves into Kingdra, it’s a true “Water Dragon.” Compared to Gyarados, which evolves from Magikarp, Horsea is much more pure, no matter how you look at it.
Chen Kai nodded contentedly, secretly deciding that he would never go fishing with Huang Mao again.
He took out a bottle of Potion for frostbite and sprayed it on Horsea.
Though called medicine, it was more like an ice-melting agent, capable of quickly melting ice. Before long, Horsea emerged from the ice.
But as soon as it came out, it wailed loudly, as if it had suffered an immense grievance.
Chen Kai had never encountered such a situation and quickly took out some berries from his sack to offer to Horsea.
Horsea chewed on the berries while still pointing at Chen Kai with its mouth and crying. Although it was inconvenient to move on the ground, it still threw a tantrum, rolling around.
Chen Kai, however, couldn’t understand what it was saying. Only after Grovyle translated did he learn that Horsea seemed to be accusing Chen Kai of doing something extremely bad to it.
But Chen Kai had no real impression of Horsea, as he had battled too many wild Pokémon in Area Zero.
However, the young Exeggcute, hearing Horsea’s cries from inside its Poké Ball, thought Chen Kai had indeed done something bad to Horsea and said with a slight disdain:
“Egg, egg…” (Master, you…)
Chen Kai didn’t want Exeggcute, who was still a child, to have a bad impression of him as a trainer. Although completely bewildered, he quickly apologized and begged Horsea for forgiveness: “I am truly very sorry, Horsea. What do you need me to do for you to forgive me?”
Horsea then stopped rolling around slightly. It laboriously wiped its tears with its tail and mumbled its demands.
After Grovyle translated, Chen Kai learned that Horsea demanded Chen Kai provide it with a comfortable and stable home, and good food every day, ensuring it would never go hungry. Only then would it forgive Chen Kai’s “atrocities.”
Horsea’s demands made Chen Kai not know whether to laugh or cry. Aside from battling, this was almost equivalent to asking Chen Kai to be its trainer.
Chen Kai squatted down and patiently persuaded, “Alright, I promise you. But if you want a comfortable home, you have to enter my Poké Ball first. I’ll go get one for you right now, okay?”
Horsea had never seen a Poké Ball before. It only knew that the human in front of it had admitted fault and promised to feed it, so it nodded and readily agreed.
Chen Kai took out a standard Poké Ball and gently touched Horsea’s forehead. Horsea did not resist and entered the ball.
As the Poké Ball shook slightly, there was a “Ding!” sound, indicating a successful capture.
And so, Horsea temporarily moved into Chen Kai’s Poké Ball.