Anglers Never Go Home Empty-Handed

Anglers never went home empty-handed. If they couldn't catch a big fish, they caught a small one. If they couldn't catch a small fish, they caught shrimp. If they couldn't catch shrimp, they picked wild vegetables. If there weren't even wild vegetables, they took two sips of water before leaving. In short, they had to gain something. —A classic angler's saying

His name was Yu Hai, a wild angler. He was in the Pokémon World, and his transmigration had been an accident.

Today was his second day sea fishing since arriving in the Pokémon World. Go ahead and laugh if you wanted!

Honestly, he had no intention of hiding it. He was coming clean—he wasn't pretending anymore. He had gone home empty-handed again. Sigh...

That sigh carried far too much of an angler's burden...

Still, he was fairly lucky. He hadn't died the moment he arrived, but had landed on an uninhabited Deserted Island. He was alive, at least, though he hadn't eaten for two days and was starving. There was no food and no water.

Then why was he still fishing?

Because on an uninhabited Deserted Island in the Pokémon World, where else could he go besides fishing?

What kind of place was the Pokémon World? What kind of place was an uninhabited Deserted Island?

Even caterpillars could poison people to death here. Running around blindly would only get him killed faster.

Ever since he had transmigrated here, he had been fishing with the Fishing Rod in his hand—a telescopic rod. He had already raised his fishing proficiency to 9.99%.

His Proficiency Panel came from an improper Pokémon game he had played in his previous life. He could be considered an experienced Pokémon player. Aside from the especially obscure Pokémon, he was familiar with most of them.

That Pokémon game had transmigrated with him as well. At present, all that remained was a crude data panel that could display his fishing proficiency.

Just how crude was it?

The translucent screen before his eyes was the answer.

[Yu Hai]

[Pokémon: 0]

[Proficiency: (Fishing/9.99%)]

It was so crude that it ended after three short lines. It wouldn't even give him a Poké Ball. How was he supposed to play?

This was downright outrageous. Absurdity had opened the door for absurdity—absurdity had come home.

Even the top-up and pay-to-win channel was gone. How was he supposed to play?

At present, the Proficiency Panel's only use was displaying skill proficiency, such as fishing.

He could only grind and couldn't spend money. That did fit the panel's purpose, though he hadn't been willing to spend money in his previous life anyway.

No matter how he questioned it, the Proficiency Panel showed no reaction whatsoever. It was like a dead object and couldn't speak.

Luckily, he was an experienced wild angler. He had quickly raised his fishing proficiency to 9.99%, and it was about to break ten. He just didn't know whether something strange would happen after it did.

It happened to be nighttime fishing now. The last time he went nighttime fishing, he had transmigrated.

Such an incredibly low-probability event had happened to him.

Would this nighttime fishing trip reel in a Kyogre?

Damn it, this was the Pokémon World. Why did it feel like he was in a horror movie? There was no justice in this.

Suddenly, the Fishing Rod in his grip shook violently. The glowing float that had been bobbing on the sea's surface instantly sank.

"It's on!" Yu Hai's excitement surged at once. He had long since tossed Kyogre to the back of his mind. All an angler wanted now was to land a fish. Even Kyogre couldn't stop him.

He used every bit of strength he had left, pouring it into both hands as he rapidly jerked the rod in the direction opposite the fish's swim.

Whether he lived or died depended on this cast. He had already run out of bait. If he didn't catch something now, he would truly starve to death.

After half a minute of deadlock between man and fish, the fish in the sea was nearly exhausted. It was time for the angler to land it. He fiercely jerked the rod and dragged the fish straight out of the sea.

Since it was nighttime and there was only moonlight, he couldn't see what kind of fish it was. As long as it moved, was alive, and could be eaten, that was enough.

He hurriedly flung the fish on the fishhook onto the beach. Only after making sure it had landed on the sand did he let out a breath and say excitedly, "I finally have food."

But the moment he relaxed, his legs gave out and he collapsed, landing hard on a reef. He had exerted himself too much just now, leaving his entire body drained.

Large beads of sweat kept seeping from his forehead as he panted heavily. He had done his best.

These past two days didn't really count as two full days. The first day had only been half a night. It was pitch-black at night, and without a flashlight, he didn't dare run around. He could only curl up in a crack between the reefs and wait there until dawn.

Only after the sun rose and warmed his body a little did he explore along the island's edge, drinking some dew along the way.

It wasn't until tonight—until now—that he finally caught a fish. His mouth was parched, his lips cracked, and his stomach empty. He was almost unable to hold on.

Otherwise, there was no way he would be unable to pull in a little fish weighing barely a pound.

He wasn't weak. He was hungry.

A tiger stranded on the plains was bullied by fish. Luckily, what he caught wasn't a ten-kilogram Magikarp, or he really wouldn't have been able to pull it in.

By the moonlight, he finally saw what kind of little fish was constantly flopping on the beach, trying to jump back into the sea.

Wishiwashi, a Pokémon at the very bottom of the Pokémon food chain. Most of the time, it could only become food.

In his previous life, Pokémon players had jokingly called it the Little Z God, because a school of Wishiwashi could combine into a gigantic creature—the Wishiwashi School, a sea monster. This was also a survival rule for weak Pokémon.

Wishiwashi was entirely white, with blue fins. Its small mouth opened and closed constantly, and its eyes were round, primarily blue and light blue. It was twenty centimeters long and weighed between three hundred grams and half a kilogram.

Judging by sight, this fish definitely weighed more than three hundred grams. Did he, an angler, have any dignity left? He couldn't even pull in a one-pound fish. Who would believe that if he told them?

After resting for a moment, he prepared to get up and stop the Wishiwashi from hopping back into the sea. He couldn't let it escape, or he would starve to death.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Before he could do anything, he heard a series of smacks, and the Wishiwashi was slapped back onto the beach.

The reason he was certain he had transmigrated into the Pokémon World was the little creature that had smacked the Wishiwashi with its tail: a Poliwag.

As for where he had transmigrated to?

He didn't know. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but seawater. Earlier, he had walked around the edge of the small island, only to return to where he started.

He found no structures like docks on the island. That was when he realized he was on an uninhabited Deserted Island. At the island's center stood a lush Primeval Forest.

Whenever he looked toward the Primeval Forest, where beastly roars occasionally echoed from within, he wanted nothing to do with it.

The Pokémon in anime might look cute and lovable, but that was only because the creators wanted to convey the beauty of Pokémon.

He wasn't naïve enough to think Pokémon were all harmless little cuties. In reality, people could die from being stung by poisonous bees, much less enlarged Beedrill.

So he couldn't go into the island's interior, nor could he go into the sea. He couldn't even beat a fifty-centimeter Kingler that came ashore.

In the end, the angler could only fish. Magikarp was easier to bully, at least.

The time went back to this evening. While he was focused on grinding fishing proficiency, a Poliwag had somehow squatted beside his feet without him noticing this uninvited guest.

At the time, he was scared out of his wits, terrified that the Poliwag would leap at him and hit him with a Chain Slap, knocking him unconscious.

Honestly, he had been really scared then. He didn't dare move at all.

But after waiting for a long time, he wasn't attacked by the Poliwag, nor did it make any move. It simply stared at him quietly.

Only then did he relax and curiously examine the Poliwag that had suddenly appeared.

This was the first time he had seen a Poliwag, such a cute Pokémon, since arriving in this Pokémon World.

Most of Poliwag's body was covered in blue skin. Its slick skin was thin and wet, and its belly bore a black spiral pattern.

It had no hands, only a pair of seemingly delicate feet. Its tail was rounded and feather-like, while a pair of large eyes sat atop its head. It had black eyeballs, white pupils, and a small mouth with pink lips beneath its eyes.

After examining it closely, he realized that the Poliwag wasn't in good condition. It looked listless and weak, couldn't even walk steadily, and was very thin. It was most likely starving.

After realizing that, he noticed that Poliwag wasn't looking at him at all, but at the bait in his hand.

The Fishing Rod wasn't the only thing that had transmigrated with him. His bait had come too.

His bait was made by crushing and mixing cornmeal, dried earthworms, and spices used for seasoning and attracting fish schools.

The smell was hard to describe. If he hadn't clearly known that what he held was fish bait, his starving self might have swallowed it.

There was no helping it. It smelled far too good. That was why it had attracted the Poliwag, which had been starving for several days.

So, fish bait equaled a Poliwag trap?

Out of kindness, he fed some bait to the Poliwag.

The facts proved that foodies were everywhere, especially starving foodies.

With just one bite, Poliwag ate all his remaining supplies. The Poliwag had cleaned him out.

If he hadn't pulled his hand back quickly, this sixty-centimeter-tall tadpole might have bitten off his fingers.

Sixty centimeters was the official height. This Poliwag was thin and somewhat underdeveloped, so it was probably not quite sixty centimeters tall.

After eating a huge lump of fish bait, Poliwag licked the corners of its mouth and savored the delicious bait from earlier. Clearly, it still wasn't full.

"Yo, yo." Poliwag's little nose sniffed the air. With pitiful, watery black eyes, it continued staring at the last of the bait in Yu Hai's hand as it squatted by his feet, waiting for him to feed it.

No wonder zoos in his previous life always put up signs forbidding visitors from feeding the animals. Feeding really was risky.

It's been released. Updates will all be at 8 p.m., one chapter a day, four thousand words each. Passing readers, please give it a bookmark, keep reading, and vote...

I set it so only those with Fan Value can comment. There's nothing I can do about it—it's too frustrating. Just read if you like it! Finish the free period, and once you reach the paid chapters, you'll be able to comment...

Let me explain the world setting here, since people keep getting hung up on it.

This novel's world setting leans toward the anime. It was written for readers.

The protagonist's understanding of the setting comes from having watched the anime, read the special manga, and played the games. He is an experienced Pokémon fan.

The protagonist is an adult. After arriving in a real Pokémon world, he would naturally have many guesses, imaginings, and deductions... But regardless of which setting it is, the protagonist thinks like an adult, thinks like an adult, thinks like an adult... Important things need to be said three times...