Rex found a large, flat-topped reef near the sea, which he thought was ideal for fishing.
After setting up a folding chair and securing a sunshade umbrella, Rex began his first fishing expedition in this world.
For his first attempt at fishing, Rex was filled with anticipation about what kind of Pokémon he might catch. However, after half an hour of waiting, his patience was beginning to wane.
Just as Rex was considering whether there were no Water-type Pokémon in this area and thinking about relocating, the fishing float suddenly plunged downward.
The fishing rod in his hand suddenly felt a great force, catching Rex off guard and almost pulling him into the water. Fortunately, he managed to adjust his balance in time and began struggling with the Pokémon in the water.
After a few minutes of struggle, Rex noticed that the opposing Pokémon's resistance was weakening. Seizing the opportunity, he exerted all his strength to swing the fishing rod toward the nearby shore. Suddenly, a red figure leaped out of the water and onto the beach.
Although he had anticipated this outcome, Rex was still somewhat disappointed to see a Magikarp flopping on the sand, much like expecting an SSR card but getting an R card in a card game.
"Go, Poké Ball!"
A red and white ball flew out and struck the Magikarp on its splashing head. Instantly, a red light emanated from the ball, enveloping the Magikarp, which was then captured inside.
One shake, two shakes, three shakes, and a click—the Poké Ball locked. Rex had thought the capture failed when the Poké Ball wobbled for the third time, but it turned out that this Magikarp was quite cooperative!
The reason Rex was able to capture this Magikarp was that before fishing, he had secretly resolved to capture whatever Pokémon he caught on his first attempt. After all, this was his first time fishing!
Although Magikarp was what he caught, Rex had already prepared himself mentally. Among the Pokémon most abundant in this sea area, Magikarp was undoubtedly one of them.
Just like buying a lottery ticket, even if the probability of winning a big prize was minuscule, there was always an inexplicable hope before the draw, feeling like one might be the lucky winner.
Of course, for Rex, capturing a Magikarp was not a difficult thing to accept.
After all, although the chances of a Magikarp evolving into Gyarados were low, Rex had confidence in his own abilities. He believed that with his training, this Magikarp would eventually evolve successfully.
After a moment of reflection, Rex released the Magikarp. The bewildered Magikarp, which had been mysteriously dragged onto the beach and captured, floated quietly on the water's surface, staring at the trainer with its lifeless fish eyes.
Fortunately, Rex knew how to win someone over. He took out a Basic Energy Cube from his backpack and began feeding it to the Magikarp.
For a Magikarp that had never tasted anything good since birth, the Energy Cube was a rare delicacy.
Although it didn't know what the Energy Cube was, the Magikarp instinctively understood that consuming it would bring great benefits.
Gradually, the Magikarp's lifeless fish eyes showed a slight change. In Rex's eyes, they were less dull and seemed to express some desire and eagerness to please.
Although it was just a weak and mentally slow Pokémon, the Magikarp, when given the chance to change its fate, instinctively wanted to become stronger, even evolving into the powerful and fierce Gyarados.
For a weak and mentally slow Pokémon like Magikarp, being able to eat its fill was already enough to win its favor. So after the feeding, the Magikarp acknowledged Rex as its trainer.
Of course, Rex would provide ample nutrition to the Magikarp afterward to ensure it stored enough energy.
Evolving from Magikarp to Gyarados was a typical poor-to-riches story.
The transformation in strength before and after evolution was like breaking out of a cocoon into a butterfly. Rex believed that without sufficient energy reserves, even if it barely evolved, it would definitely be exhausting its future potential.
After feeding the Magikarp, Rex let it rest in a slightly distant place while he continued fishing.
Time passed, and it was now evening. Rex had lost the initial excitement and was now doing one-handed push-ups on a nearby large rock, with an uninterested Poliwhirl as the weight, while Swellow napped nearby.
There was only one reason for this: from morning until now, Rex had caught over a dozen Magikarp, making him suspect that this sea area was inhabited solely by Magikarp.
The reason he could keep fishing for so long was that Rex was unwilling to give up, always hoping to catch a different type of Pokémon before calling it quits.
However, even now, no other type of Pokémon had taken the bait, leading Rex to suspect whether the lure he was using could only attract Magikarp's attention.
"One last time. Whatever I catch this time, I'll call it a day!"
Rex muttered under his breath.
He had made up his mind that regardless of what he caught this time, he would call it a day. It was getting dark, and he needed to prepare dinner.
After about ten minutes, there was finally some movement on the sea surface. Unlike before, the fishing float was gently swaying this time.
Unlike previous hook bites that had left Rex feeling disheartened, this new discovery spurred him to regain some spirit, thinking that this time might not be a Magikarp.
With this new discovery, Rex began a battle of wits with the Pokémon in the water. Finally, when the fishing float was dragged down once again, Rex exerted force, swinging the fishing rod toward the shore.
With the movement of the fishing rod, a sandy-yellow figure was dragged out of the water and flew onto the beach.
"Feebas!"
After the sandy-yellow figure landed on the sand, Rex finally saw what Pokémon he had caught.
Rex watched the struggling Feebas on the shore with a speechless expression. Although Milotic, Feebas's evolved form, was beautiful and powerful, and he should have been happy to catch a Feebas, for some reason, looking at Feebas with its dead fish eyes, he couldn't feel happy.
"Can I only catch this type of Pokémon?"
Rex couldn't help but question his soul.
After hesitating for a while, Rex still took out a Poké Ball and captured the Feebas on the beach.
At this point, few people knew that Feebas could evolve into Milotic when its beauty exceeded 170 or when traded holding a Prism Scale. Therefore, many trainers, even if they caught Feebas, would release it due to its ugly appearance, and few trainers would train a Feebas.
However, as a traverser, Rex knew that Feebas could evolve into Milotic when traded holding a Prism Scale.
With a similar IQ to Magikarp, Feebas easily accepted Rex after being fed with the same Energy Cube meal as the Magikarp.
(End of Chapter)