The lake really did hold plenty of Water-type Pokémon. Caster had only been fishing for a short while, but he had already reeled in several.
Some were freshwater Pokémon, like Psyduck, Krabby, and Goldeen. There was no telling whether they belonged to Trainers. Others, like Tentacool, Staryu, and Seel, lived in the ocean. They shouldn't have been at Indigo Plateau at all, so they must have belonged to someone.
But as far as Caster was concerned, any Pokémon he could reel in was a good Pokémon, whether it had a Trainer or not.
Except Magikarp, of course!
He had already caught as many Magikarp as his cheat ability would reward him for. With no more rewards to collect, catching them was a waste of effort.
"Caster!"
While Caster was happily fishing away, a surprised voice came from behind him.
He turned to find Gary.
Caster smiled and invited him to sit on a large rock nearby. "Gary, what brings you here?"
"I spent half the day gathering information on my opponent, then went through all of it carefully. Now my head's a mess. I still haven't figured out how to approach tomorrow's battle."
Gary sighed, looking exhausted.
Clearly, he hadn't slept well last night.
With only eight competitors left, there were hardly any weak opponents. Even Gary, confident as he usually was, couldn't be sure of a win.
The real problem was that these were full-team battles. His opponent had plenty of Pokémon to choose from, with countless possible combinations of types. Coming up with a solid plan to handle them all was no easy task.
Watching Caster fish without a care in the world, Gary couldn't help feeling envious. Damn it, how could he be so relaxed?
But Gary knew that Caster's ease came from confidence in his own strength.
The reason Gary was agonizing over which Pokémon to use was simple. He wasn't strong enough to overwhelm his opponent outright.
Caster smiled.
That was what happened when you relied on tactics. Whether it made you devious was debatable, but it definitely wore out your brain.
"Gary, you don't need to overthink it," he said reassuringly. "Just take things as they come!"
After all, without Caster's earlier warning, Gary might have been knocked out by Melissa in the fourth round.
"Take things as they come?"
Gary shook his head.
As the grandson of the renowned scholar Professor Oak, he had grown up in a household that valued scientific rigor. That approach shaped every part of his Pokémon training. Everything could be reduced to data.
Caster's advice to stop worrying and let things happen went against Gary's whole approach. He believed in careful preparation, not leaving things to chance.
"Forget it. Keep fishing. I'll walk around a bit, then head back."
Gary sat for a little while before getting up. Clearly, he was planning to go back and keep working on his tactics.
On his way back, he ran into Ash, who was actually playing with his Pokémon on the lawn.
Ash didn't look the least bit tense or worried either. Gary couldn't resist asking, "Ash, have you got your plan ready for tomorrow's match against Caster?"
"Plan? What plan?"
Ash gave him a blank, innocent look.
"Your battle strategy!" Gary explained. "Like which Pokémon you'll send out first, or how you'll handle Caster's Pokémon."
"How am I supposed to plan all that now? I'll adapt as I go!"
Ash looked perfectly serious. "Isn't that a basic skill for any Trainer?"
"Uh..."
For a moment, Gary had no answer. Then he gave a helpless laugh. "Almost forgot. You're an idiot!"
He waved a hand, turned, and headed back to his room in the competitors' village.
At the lake, Caster kept fishing.
It was nearly noon. The sun blazed overhead, and the Pokémon in the lake were starting to bite less often.
"Five more minutes. If nothing bites, we'll head back."
Caster fed Pikachu a bite of pokéblock, then gently squeezed its cheeks, taking care to avoid the electric sacs.
The sacs were sensitive. Touching them carelessly could earn him an electric shock.
Whoosh!
Just then, the float plunged beneath the surface.
Caster hastily put Pikachu aside and began hauling on the rod.
"With a pull like that, it must be pretty big."
He gauged his catch's size and weight by the force coming through the rod.
"Huh? Why's it so hard to pull in? It feels like it's stuck."
This catch felt unlike anything else. Curiosity showed on Caster's face. "What is it?"
With his expert fishing skills, he kept playing the Pokémon on the line, wearing it down beneath the water.
After a good ten minutes, he judged it was ready and gave the rod a sharp pull.
Splash!
Caught off guard, the Pokémon came flying out of the water.
It was a very strange-looking Pokémon. Its feelers resembled a pair of horns, and an eye-like marking on its forehead made it look as though it had three eyes. Its head and back were reddish brown, while its underside was pink.
"Is that... Gastrodon?"
Caster's eyes widened. He certainly hadn't expected to reel in one of those.
Gastrodon came in two forms in Sinnoh, West Sea and East Sea, found on opposite sides of Mt. Coronet.
This was the pink West Sea form, just like Cynthia's Gastrodon.
"Gastro!"
Even after being reeled onto shore, Gastrodon showed little fear. It was still munching on Caster's bait.
[Caught "Gastrodon." Reward: 1 Hidden Power TM.]
[First catch of "Gastrodon." Bonus reward: 1 Ability Candy.]
The rewards from his cheat ability appeared, followed by Gastrodon's stat panel.
[Pokémon: Gastrodon]
[Type: Water/Ground]
[Ability: Storm Drain (Draws Water-type moves to itself. Instead of taking damage, its Special Attack rises.)]
[Moves: Hydro Pump, Recover, Muddy Water, Memento, Earth Power, Earthquake...]
"This Gastrodon looks pretty strong!"
Its move list was long. Even a quick glance told Caster it knew at least twenty moves, including quite a few powerful ones.
Most importantly, its Ability was Storm Drain, one of the Abilities Caster hated most.
It was a natural counter to rain teams.
"Gastrodon, where's your Trainer?"
Caster put on a friendly smile and offered it another piece of bait, hoping to win it over.
A Pokémon like Gastrodon couldn't be native to Indigo Plateau. It must have a Trainer.
He was starting to suspect that its Trainer might well be one of the eight remaining competitors.
Unfortunately, Gastrodon wasn't interested in making friends. Once it had eaten his bait, it ignored him, dove straight into the lake, and disappeared.
"Gone already!"
Not knowing where Gastrodon had come from bothered Caster, but there was nothing he could do.
He couldn't exactly force it to stay!
He turned his attention to the rewards from catching it.
Ability Candy needed no introduction. It was a reward he received often.
His Pikachu owed much of its progress with Lightning Rod to those candies.
Hidden Power, though, was a reward he'd never received before.
[Hidden Power: This move's type changes depending on the Pokémon using it.]
Hidden Power was a very unusual move. In the games, a complicated formula determined its type from the Pokémon's individual values, or IVs.
In this world, though, no one could read a Pokémon's IVs. He'd have to try the move to find out its type.
"Dragonair!"
Just then, Dragonair finished playing and poked its head above the water.
"Perfect timing! Since you're here, I'll teach you Hidden Power!"
Caster crouched at the water's edge and stroked Dragonair's head, then activated the Hidden Power TM and transferred it into Dragonair.
"Dragonair!"
Dragonair looked blissful as its head began to itch.
"Pika???"
Pikachu was the only one looking utterly bewildered.
Excuse me? Aren't I your Pokémon too?
Everyone else went off to play. I stayed here keeping you company while you fished, and then you give the move to Dragonair?
"Pikachu, let me explain..."
Seeing how angry Pikachu was, Caster realized his mistake.
Only after he offered the Ability Candy and promised to let Pikachu lead in the next battle did it forgive him.
By then, Dragonair had fully absorbed the Hidden Power TM and couldn't help trying the move.
Boom!
A bright green ball of energy formed in Dragonair's mouth, then struck the lake and sent up a sizable splash.
Since the move was only at the Learned level, it wasn't especially powerful.
But the color delighted Caster so much that he couldn't help swearing.
"Holy Crap! It's Grass-type!"