Slowpoke was born not long ago, but because it was naturally intelligent and could communicate via Telepathy, Adrian didn't hide many things from it.
The purpose of capturing and raising a Shellder was to fuse and evolve with Slowpoke.
Although it was a matter of parental command and matchmaker's word, Adrian was an enlightened Trainer and would certainly respect Slowpoke's opinion.
"Okay!"
Slowpoke's reply was concise and clear.
It knew its evolution required a Shellder's cooperation; this was an objective law, so it wasn't resistant.
Subsequently, a faint Psychic swept out from the poké ball, carefully sensing the condition of every Shellder.
Since all the Cloyster had left after eating their fill, what remained was a scramble among the Shellder.
But because there were more Shellder, the intensity of their competition was much higher than that of the Cloyster earlier.
"~~~," A large number of Shellder were fighting in a heap, all just to get the first bite of Adrian's bait.
"Alright, stop fighting!"
Looking at the messy Shellder, Adrian couldn't help but speak up to stop them.
Cloyster didn't have much value for capture, so fishing for them once was enough.
But this group of Shellder was different; after fishing them up, he had to select one, so how could he manage with such a mess?
Adrian couldn't distinguish which was which!
Unfortunately, this group of Shellder was already seeing red; they wouldn't stop just because of a word from an outsider like Adrian.
Out of necessity, Adrian could only borrow Jynx from Lorelei.
"What is Adrian going to do?"
Lorelei looked at Adrian with curiosity, wondering what kind of tricks he was up to.
"Jynx, please use your Psychic to deter these Shellder and prevent them from acting out."
Adrian first gave instructions to Jynx, then released Slowpoke again.
When they saw Slowpoke appear, the group of Shellder immediately became even more manic, frantically lunging toward Slowpoke's tail.
However, with Jynx's Psychic present, the Shellder couldn't get within three meters of Slowpoke; they were all blocked by an invisible Psychic shield.
Only then did Adrian step forward and say loudly: "Shellder, do you all like my Slowpoke? Do you want to taste the flavor on its tail?"
"~~~," Hearing this, the Shellder all nodded while sticking out their tongues.
The tail of the red Slowpoke was simply too fragrant; which Shellder could withstand such a temptation?
"Alright, don't say I didn't give you a chance."
A hint of a smile appeared at the corners of Adrian's mouth as he said leisurely: "Because I also happen to want to capture and raise a Shellder.
If you become my pokémon, you'll be Slowpoke's partner. You can be with Slowpoke every day, and as for having a taste of the sweetness on Slowpoke's tail, that's just a small matter."
Adrian's eyes were full of cunning: "So, who among you is willing to become my pokémon?"
"~~~"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Shellder who had just calmed down became restless again. They all stuck out their large pink tongues and hopped around, vying to show themselves off, trying to get Adrian to notice them.
Pick me! Pick me! Pick me!
"Stop!!!"
Seeing the restless Shellder, Adrian quickly reached out and made a pressing motion.
Seeing this, the Shellder really stopped jumping and rioting, appearing very obedient.
It was clear they really wanted to be chosen.
Because the sweetness of the red Slowpoke's tail was truly too fragrant, not even on the same level as an ordinary Slowpoke—it was like the difference between a fair, rich goddess and a short, fat, and round girl.
For a Shellder, being able to eat the tail of a "fair, rich, and beautiful" goddess was simply the happiest thing in the world.
At this moment, all the Shellder on the scene had become Slowpoke's simps!
"It seems everyone wants to be my pokémon."
Adrian smiled first, then said worriedly: "But there are so many of you, and I only need one Shellder. What should I do?"
" and ~," Hearing this, the Shellder also looked troubled, looking at each other, completely unaware they had been led into a trap, following Adrian's rhythm and line of thought.
After pretending to think for a moment, Adrian had a "sudden inspiration" and said: "Since everyone likes Slowpoke, why not let Slowpoke make the final choice? Everyone line up and meet Slowpoke one by one. Whomever Slowpoke picks, I'll capture. How about it?"
" and ~," The Shellder all nodded upon hearing this, having no objections.
This seemed to be the most fair and just method at the moment.
"Alright then, everyone line up. If anyone dares to cut in line or cause a fuss, they will be directly disqualified from meeting Slowpoke."
At Adrian's command, the Shellder immediately moved and formed a neat line.
Seeing this, Lorelei was stunned: "Is this capturing a pokémon or finding a partner for Slowpoke?"
Speaking of partners, Lorelei's mood instantly soured again.
Even Slowpoke had a partner, yet she still didn't have one!
"Very good! Full of spirit!"
Looking at the neatly arranged Shellder, Adrian was very satisfied, and then said loudly: "No matter the final result, all participating Shellder can have a bite of bait dipped in Slowpoke's sweetness."
Saying this, Adrian hooked the bait onto the fishing rod and placed it by the mouth of the Shellder at the front of the line, saying: "I declare the Slowpoke Meet-and-greet officially open!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Shellder at the front of the line swallowed the bait in one gulp.
[Caught a Shellder, rewarded with 1 Endure TM.]
The golden finger's reward notification appeared, followed immediately by this Shellder's Status Panel.
Adrian scanned it quickly and thought: "The Endure skill is not bad, but the remaining skills are a bit subpar."
Saying this, Adrian quickly re-baited the hook and began fishing the Shellder in an orderly fashion.
On the other side, the Shellder that had just been caught hopped over to Slowpoke to curry favor, but after Slowpoke sensed it with Confusion, it felt the Shellder was mediocre and couldn't be bothered to pay it any attention.
"Swoosh~"
Seeing this, that Shellder knew it had been rejected.
But it was clearly unwilling to give up; it actually became angry from embarrassment, and with a wicked thought, it opened its mouth wide and lunged at Slowpoke's tail, trying to force an evolution and force a done deal.
"Zhu-la~"
However, Jynx had long noticed this; with just a slight swirl of Psychic, that Shellder let out a cry of pain and was sent flying into the middle of the lake.
Now, the rest of the Shellder didn't dare to act out anymore and began to follow the process in an orderly line.
[Caught a Shellder, rewarded with 1 Payback TM.]
[Caught a Shellder, rewarded with 1 Spikes TM.]
[Caught a Shellder, rewarded with 1 Energy Orb.] * N
[Caught a Shellder, rewarded with 1 Liquidation TM.]
[Caught a Shellder, rewarded with 1 Explosion TM.]
As one Shellder after another was caught, the rewards Adrian harvested grew more and more.
Every time he caught one, Adrian would pull up the Shellder's Status Panel, check its Ability and move list, and then communicate with Slowpoke via Telepathy.
No "Skill Link" Ability? Not wanted!
Too few skills? Not wanted!
No eye-catching skills? Also not wanted!
In any case, he would rather go without than settle for less.
After all, Adrian's Slowpoke was simply too popular; even if he couldn't find a satisfactory Shellder in Icefall Cave, he could go to other seas and islands to search.
A three-legged Poliwrath might be hard to find, but Shellder with one tongue are everywhere.
In any case, the super fragrant sweetness on its tail was Slowpoke's greatest asset!
Just keep picking!
The Meet-and-greet proceeded rapidly. As Shellder after Shellder was eliminated, they could only return to the water in disappointment.
During this time, Adrian harvested rewards, and they also gained the opportunity to spend time alone with their "goddess" and even managed to get a taste of the bait with the "goddess's" flavor; neither side lost out.
The fishing continued.
[Caught a Shellder, rewarded with 1 Life Dew TM.]
"Hmm? Life Dew?"
Adrian's eyes lit up, and his movements immediately slowed down.