The next day.
Caster met up with President Kunio, and together they rode back to Blackthorn City on Pidgeot.
He didn't reveal that Gyarados could fly.
Besides that, Caster also kept quiet about the illegal Chinchou poaching boat and Manaphy.
President Kunio had no idea about Caster's bizarre adventure, assuming he'd just been fishing the whole time.
Yesterday, President Kunio had even reached out to invite Caster fishing, but since he'd been playing with Manaphy, Caster made up an excuse to decline.
"Keep an eye on the Fish Association's notifications," President Kunio reminded Caster, the fishing world's rising star, before parting ways.
"When you've got time, make sure to actively participate in the association's fishing competitions and events, got it?"
Caster patted his chest confidently. "Don't worry, President. I take fishing seriously. If there are exchange salons or anything like that, I'll definitely show up."
According to President Kunio, these exchange events were relatively rare compared to fishing competitions, usually only happening once or twice a year.
They'd need to wait patiently.
Thinking about the exchange meetings reminded Caster about bait, so he rubbed his hands together and asked, "By the way, President, do you have any exclusive Pokémon bait formulas?"
Misty's special bait was extremely effective, but categorically speaking, it was universal bait, meaning it had some level of attraction for most Water-type Pokémon.
The downside was that its attraction to any specific Pokémon wasn't particularly strong.
Especially for those powerful final-evolution Pokémon. They were often the rulers of rivers and seas, never lacking for food, so their standards for food naturally rose with the tide.
Misty's current bait formula fell just a bit short for them.
This was evident from how, during all his time fishing in the Dragon's Sanctuary lake, most of what Caster caught were Pokémon in their initial or middle evolutionary stages, with final evolutions being extremely rare.
That's when bait specifically designed for certain Pokémon types could really come in handy.
Like the Seaking-exclusive bait Caster had obtained before, that stuff could attract every Seaking within a certain radius. The attraction was on a completely different level.
President Kunio glanced at Caster and shook his head.
"Exclusive bait? That's basically every fisher prized secret, not something they'd share easily. Unless you have a similar bait formula to trade with them."
"That makes sense!"
Caster's face fell with disappointment.
He knew President Kunio was telling the truth.
Most professional Fishermen made their living by earning prize money from fishing competitions, relying on their own bait formulas. How could they easily reveal them to others?
Like how Caster won the Seaking Fishing Tournament championship, wasn't it because he'd obtained the Seaking-exclusive bait at the crucial moment?
Otherwise, relying solely on fishing technique was way too luck-dependent!
"However..."
Seeing Caster's disappointed expression, President Kunio suddenly changed course with a chuckle.
"I have an old friend who has a special exclusive Pokémon bait. The formula obviously can't be given to you, but if I put my old face on the line to ask for some of the actual bait, that shouldn't be a problem."
"President! Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?"
Caster's face showed an embarrassed expression, but he immediately added, "If you really can get that exclusive bait, you can send it to the Blackthorn Gym. I'll be training near the Blackthorn Gym in the near future."
After his excitement, Caster quickly asked with curiosity, "By the way, President, what Pokémon is your friend's bait designed for?"
"No rush on that!"
President Kunio acted like a mischievous old man, deliberately keeping the suspense with a chuckle. "Once I get the bait and bring it to you, I'll tell you then."
With that, President Kunio rode off into the horizon on Pidgeot.
"Forget it! I won't think about fishing for now.
My focus should be on having Gyarados learn the Dragon Dance as soon as possible, then return to the Kanto region to speed up my gym challenge progress..."
Shaking his head, Caster cleared his mind and headed to the Dragon's Den entrance.
Clair had been waiting for a while. Seeing Caster approach, she couldn't help asking, "How was your fishing haul this trip?"
Caster first broke into a grin and sighed, "Beyond words!"
This time he'd even caught the Mythical Pokémon Manaphy and obtained a golden legendary-tier reward. How could it not be amazing?
Not to mention the hundreds of Chinchou. Pichu's strength had skyrocketed too.
Seeing how animated and enthusiastic Caster became whenever he talked about fishing, Clair couldn't help pouting.
Was fishing really that interesting?
Still, Clair held back her complaints and reminded him, "You should settle down now and focus on training that secret technique."
Caster naturally agreed wholeheartedly.
Following Clair into the Dragon's Den, the moment Gyarados touched the water inside, it immediately roared skyward.
"Authority of the Sea activated already?"
Caster's heart stirred, and he quickly opened Gyarados's status panel to see that Authority of the Sea had indeed activated.
However, the light flickering on the Authority of the Sea indicator was somewhat dim, completely incomparable to last time.
Caster thought to himself, "This must be the second scenario: not in the ocean, but in a water environment where Water-type moves still get a 50% power boost."
Clair observed Gyarados's changes, her beautiful eyes sparkling with admiration as she thought, "Caster's Gyarados seems to have gotten even stronger. What a freak!"
Most of his energy was obviously devoted to fishing, yet his Pokémon's strength kept growing faster than the others, almost matching Lance back in the day.
If that wasn't freakish, what was?
But how could Clair know that for Caster, training was fishing, and fishing was training.
These two were just different sides of the same coin!
On the way to the Dragon's Sanctuary, Clair also told Caster that her Magikarp had consumed quite a few resources recently, and its Bounce technique had shown clear improvement.
But to maximize Magikarp's flying potential, she had it hold an Everstone to prevent sudden evolution that would ruin everything.
Caster smiled and pointed out a clear path for Clair. "After Magikarp evolves into Gyarados, teach it Hurricane. That should enable flight..."
"Bounce plus Hurricane?"
Clair nodded in agreement. "That's definitely more reliable!"
Before long, they arrived at the Dragon's Sanctuary.
Compared to his radiant appearance at the manor, Wyatt had clearly grown more haggard during these days of training in the Dragon's Sanctuary.
"Caster, you're finally back."
Wyatt gave Caster a big hug, catching him somewhat off guard.
Had their brotherly bond already reached this level?
Caster felt slightly moved and was about to speak when Wyatt said pitifully, "When I was alone, Clair practically trained me to death. She's absolutely brutal.
I slacked off just a little, and she not only whipped my Pokémon but actually whipped me too!"
"Wait, she whipped you?"
Caster gasped.
Besides McDonald's, who could handle that?
The Dragon Tamer clan really lived up to being an ancient family with thousands of years of heritage. They sure knew how to play!
Just then, Clair turned her cold gaze toward Wyatt and sneered, "Clan tradition!"
Wyatt put on a miserable face and cried out, "Blood is thicker than water, Clair!"