Takashi smiled, "There are plenty of fish around here—Blue Dye Medaka, Bitter Pufferfish, Crimson Devil, and Crystal Feast. The hardest to catch is the Crystal Feast. Back then, I didn't know when it appeared and ended up fishing all night. Later, someone told me that the Crystal Feast only appears during the daytime."
Xerneas squinted its eyes. "Which is more fun, fishing for Pokémon or fishing for regular fish?"
Takashi paused for a moment. "I think they're about the same. In Pokémon, there are many different types of fishing rods, and rare Pokémon are hard to catch. One time, I went to the Wild Area to try and catch a Dratini, and I ended up using up two batteries without even encountering one."
"Lots of Magikarp, huh?"
Takashi covered his forehead. "Yeah."
Xerneas' antlers twinkled like stars in the sky. "I have a feeling you'll catch something big tonight."
Takashi rubbed his hands together, looking at the calm lake. The fishing rod was motionless, but with the cool breeze and bright moonlight, it was quite peaceful.
After a while, there was a slight tremor from the fishing rod next to Takashi. He grabbed it in surprise. "Not bad, you were right—there really is a big one on the line."
"Be careful with the strength—this one seems quite strong," Xerneas gently reminded him.
Takashi hurriedly started reeling in the line, but the pull from the other end was immense, almost dragging Takashi two steps forward. "It's putting up quite a fight, huh?"
Takashi kept silent, and Xerneas, without using any abilities, held onto Takashi's clothes with its mouth, straining to pull him back to prevent him from getting dragged into the lake.
They wrestled back and forth for a while, with Takashi still reeling in the line. The fish was powerful, swimming back and forth across the lake, yet never revealing itself. Could it be that Cider Lake was hiding a Loch Ness Monster?
That would be quite the discovery.
"Keep going, Xerneas. We can't lose," Takashi gripped the rod tighter, struggling with Xerneas against the powerful force. "Let's reel it in—yeah, hey!"
Xerneas sensed the fishing line was about to break from the intense tug-of-war. To prevent Takashi from getting hurt, it had no choice but to use its psychic power.
A few colorful lights flickered on Xerneas' back, like fireflies.
With a loud splash, a huge fish shot out of the water, soaring over Takashi and Xerneas' heads.
Takashi couldn't help but stare in astonishment. Such a big fish?
Its size was almost comparable to a Wailord!
With a loud thud, water splashed all over Takashi's face as the giant fish landed on the other side of the small island.
Takashi spat out the lake water in his mouth and wiped his face. "I've never seen a fish this fierce before."
Xerneas' body emitted a rainbow glow, illuminating the other side of the island. Takashi focused his gaze and realized the fish wasn't a Wailord—it was a Feebas.
With blue fins, yellow scales, and a pockmarked body that looked like it had been rained on, plus its dull, vacant eyes, it truly embodied the word "dumb."
"Team Rocket's trio, have they come to Genshin too?" Takashi instinctively thought this was a Feebas-shaped submarine.
"Feebas..."
Feebas stirred the lake's surface, splashing waves upon waves of water, clearly displeased with Takashi's fishing attempt.
Takashi shrugged. Originally, he just wanted to catch a fish for a late-night snack, but he ended up catching this big guy.
Feebas was just like Magikarp—before evolution, it had nothing to do with combat. It was a classic weakling.
Magikarp only knew five moves, while Feebas was slightly better.
Before evolution, the two were like underwhelming prodigies, the bottom tier of weaklings.
Even James from Team Rocket would disdainfully kick it back into the water.
However, these two were full of potential. After evolution, they transformed beautifully, with base stats reaching as high as 540—true examples of hidden potential.
One turned into a fierce blue beast,
The other into a Snow White beauty. One walked the wild side, the other the pure side, and either was enough to make one drool.
Takashi pulled out the Poké Ball he had hidden in his pocket and wiped his nose. "Feebas, let's duel."
"Feebas..."
The waves around Feebas grew larger and larger.
Takashi pointed at Feebas and said aloud, "Xerneas, this is our first battle. Don't lose to it."
"Alright." Xerneas replied with determination, its antlers turning colorful.
"Feebas..."
Feebas emitted a purple glow, and the air around it seemed to burn.
Takashi's pupils contracted slightly. Could it be that this Feebas had inherited the Egg Move—Dragon Breath?
In an instant, a purple beam shot out, scorching a black path across the grass beneath their feet.
"Dodge it!" Takashi shouted instinctively, waving his hand.
In the blink of an eye, Xerneas used Teleport to leap into the air.
"Now, use Psychic!"
Xerneas' antlers sparkled in rainbow colors. Feebas' vacant eyes rolled, and before it knew what was happening, it found its body under complete control.
"Slam it into the ground."
"Alright." Xerneas continued to exert force, lifting Feebas out of the water.
The moonlight and the glow from Xerneas illuminated Feebas, and only then did Takashi see just how massive the fish truly was.
It was the size of an Onix from the TV series.
With a loud "thud," Feebas was slammed into the grass by Xerneas' Psychic attack, its eyes turning into crosses as it lost the ability to fight.
"Now's the time. Go, Poké Ball!" Takashi gripped the Poké Ball tightly, stepped forward, and made a pitching motion.
The Poké Ball struck Feebas, and a red light shot out from it, enveloping Feebas and drawing it inside.
The Poké Ball fell to the grass, shaking slightly.
Takashi and Xerneas held their breath. This Poké Ball carried their hopes.
The ball shook a second time, and Feebas didn't come out.
Takashi gulped, his heart pounding, almost jumping out of his throat.
The third shake.
"Ding!" A sound rang out, and Takashi breathed a sigh of relief, his eyebrows relaxing as he walked over and picked up the Poké Ball.
Then, with his left foot forward, he held the Poké Ball in his right hand and extended it, smiling seriously at Xerneas. "I've captured Feebas."
Xerneas squinted its eyes in response to Takashi. Though it looked a bit over-the-top, it suited him well.
Takashi and Xerneas returned to the Pokémon store in Mondstadt, and it was already past nine in the evening.
The city was quiet, with only the Knights on their usual patrols. Few people wandered the streets at night, giving it a distinctly rural atmosphere.
Having captured Feebas, Takashi sat on the sofa with Xerneas, idly watching anime.
"By the way, where should we keep Feebas? It's so big, we'll at least need to build it a swimming pool, right?"