"Come on, I'll take you to choose a Pokémon right now."
Thanks to his Mudkip's outstanding talent, Derek Ashford's impression of Ethan had greatly improved, and he now acted eagerly as his guide.
After chatting for a while, the two headed to Derek's family's Water-type Pokémon breeding grounds to pick out a suitable specimen.
"So your family bought an entire island in the Eastern Sea just to use as a breeding site?" Ethan asked, standing by the shore as he looked at the island Derek was pointing to. "You really are loaded."
"Ethan, how about a little competition?" Derek asked with a smug grin.
"A competition? In what?" Ethan asked curiously.
"Simple. Let's see who gets to the other shore first — what do you say?" Derek's grin widened; he finally had a chance to beat Ethan. He could already picture Ethan eating his wake.
"Are we betting on something?" Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"Betting? Hmm... how about a meal?"
They both smiled and pulled out their Poké Balls at the same time.
"Deal!"
"Go, Feraligatr!"
Derek threw his Poké Ball, and the imposing form of Feraligatr appeared before them.
"Feraligatr, let's go! There's fried chicken and cold beer waiting for us!" Derek laughed as he jumped onto its back and sped off toward the island.
"Heh, I've got this one in the bag," he chuckled with satisfaction. Aquatic Pokémon riding races were a popular sport, and Derek was one of the best at it.
But suddenly, a shadow passed over him. He looked up... and saw a huge bird soaring above his head, swiftly crossing the sky toward the island.
"Hey, that's cheating!" he shouted in frustration. "We said it was a swimming race! ...Well... I guess we didn't exactly say that."
"Come on, Feraligatr, faster!" he urged his partner helplessly.
Whoooosh!
As Ethan smiled, watching Feraligatr chasing from behind, several sharp sounds sliced through the air. A group of figures riding Pidgeot suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his path.
"Who are you?" asked the leader with a stern expression. "Don't you know flying over the breeding zone is forbidden?"
"Julian, this is a misunderstanding!" Derek called out as he arrived in a hurry, trying to explain.
"You'd better not use flying Pokémon over private territory again," warned the man named Julian, giving Ethan a serious look before flying off with his patrol.
"Ethan, I'm sorry," Derek said apologetically. "It's my fault for not explaining the rules beforehand."
"It's fine," Ethan replied, waving it off as he climbed onto Feraligatr's back. "It was my mistake for not knowing."
As the large Pokémon swam swiftly through the water, Ethan thought to himself, Seems like I should catch a Water Pokémon to ride, too. Flying types are convenient, sure, but you can't always use them freely. There are areas where flying is forbidden, or where sky-dominant Pokémon rule — if I fly carelessly, I could get into trouble.
He sighed. If I could get a Lapras, that'd be perfect... just like Ash, traveling across the ocean. Though, of course, that only happens in dreams.
Thanks to Feraligatr's powerful swimming, they soon reached the breeding island. The moment they stepped onto the beach, Ethan saw several Pokémon resting under the sun — Kingler, Shellder, and many others, all relaxing peacefully without showing fear toward strangers.
"Shellder..." Ethan murmured, watching them closely.
Noticing his gaze, Derek smiled. "Thanks to you, Shellder sales have skyrocketed lately."
"Sales?" Ethan asked, intrigued.
"Yeah. Ever since your Slowking appeared, tons of researchers have been coming to buy them. They all want to try their luck and see if they can evolve one into another Slowking." Derek shrugged. "Some are even looking for ones with damaged shells, as if they think your Shellder evolved that way because its shell was cracked."
His eyes gleamed with curiosity — it was clear he was also fascinated by the mystery behind Slowking's evolution.
"Shellder's a good Pokémon," Ethan replied, "but I'm not planning to raise another one. I'd rather see what else you've got here."
He turned his gaze toward the sea, searching for any sign of a Seadra.
"By the way, Ethan," Derek asked, "what kind of Pokémon are you looking for exactly? Besides the rare ones, we've got a wide range of Water-types. Our breeding grounds are designed to simulate a wild environment, and we bring in powerful Pokémon for breeding, so their talent's guaranteed."
Ethan thought for a moment, then replied calmly, "I haven't decided yet. I'd rather see them with my own eyes."
He couldn't reveal that he was specifically searching for a Seadra to obtain a Kingdra; that would be difficult to explain.
"Perfect," Derek nodded. "Wait here — I'll get you a special diving suit. I'll take you to see them underwater; you'll definitely find one you like."
Shortly after, he returned with two diving suits made from the shed skin of a marine Pokémon — a highly durable material that could withstand even direct attacks.
Once equipped, Derek released his six Water-type Pokémon, while Ethan summoned his Slowking. Together, under the protection of several Pokémon, they slowly descended into the sea.
(End of chapter)