No Way, No Way

Ahem, that's right. Besides lacking bait and equipment, he was also suffering from acclimatization issues, and the sea wind and waves were too strong.

This wasn't an excuse, it was the truth. He was just stating facts.

As someone used to freshwater fishing in rivers and lakes, a "landlubber" who had gotten accustomed to it, it was inevitable that he'd have some trouble adapting to sea fishing. Being skunked was a perfectly reasonable and normal occurrence, wasn't it?

He, Yu Hai, a seasoned inland angler, would not accept any rebuttal.

Actually, anglers don't really like the "diǎn piǎo" (bobber twitch) bite, because it leaves them in a dilemma: should they reel in or not?

But his bait was snail meat, so he didn't have to worry about small fish nibbling at the hook at all.

A "diǎn piǎo" generally occurs in two situations.

One is when small fish are nibbling at the bait. They can't quite swallow it yet but are very interested, constantly using their mouths to suck at the bait.

If the bait has very low viscosity, it can easily be scattered by the small fish.

The second is when a large fish is testing the bait. If it deems the bait edible, it will likely swallow it whole next.

He didn't need to worry about the first situation; he just needed to stay steady. Small fish couldn't eat the snail meat on the hook anyway.

But if it was the second situation, he'd hit the jackpot. Once it bit, it would definitely be a big one, resulting in a downward tug similar to when fishing for Sharp-toothed Fish.

The so-called "downward tug" is when the bobber sinks into the water, not slowly, but with a strong, sudden downward pull, indicating a large fish is biting.

If the bobber moves along with the current, that's a "hēi piǎo" (black bobber), the bite most anglers dream of. Once it appears, it guarantees a catch.

Buzz--

Suddenly, the bobber, which had been bobbing and nodding on the sea's surface, instantly sank. The fishing line went taut with such force that he stumbled.

But his reaction was swift. He instantly lifted the rod and braced it against the reef, stabilizing his stance. He let the big one in the sea thrash about while he remained unmoving.

Initially, seeing the continuous "diǎn piǎo," he thought it was just small fish. He had prepared himself for a big fish, but he hadn't expected this big one's strength to be so surprising.

Judging by the force transmitted through the rod, it was no less than the Sharp-toothed Fish from before.

He had managed to reel in that Sharp-toothed Fish even when hungry, so he certainly wouldn't let this big one get away.

Sensing the commotion, the Poliwag stopped playing in the water and immediately rushed ashore, coming to Yu Hai's feet, constantly chirping, "Yō yō, yō yō..."

The Poliwag was probably cheering him on, saying things like "Go, go!"

Ever since he was stopped from going into the sea last time, the Poliwag wouldn't enter the water without Yu Hai's command. Instead, it stayed on the shore, licking its lips with its little pink tongue, overjoyed.

Because they would finally have fish meat again! Although seaweed was delicious, eating grass couldn't compare to high-protein fish meat.

Eating grass was just a last resort. If given a choice, the Poliwag would much rather eat meat.

Seeing Yu Hai strain so hard that his face turned red, the Poliwag knew it must be a big one.

Thinking this, the Poliwag became even more excited.

At this moment, Yu Hai was not feeling good. The fish's strength was immense, far exceeding his expectations.

He felt the pull was even stronger than the previous Sharp-toothed Fish's. The fish struggled relentlessly, and he genuinely feared it might snap his rod.

This rod was his old companion, having accompanied him through countless days and nights, and countless night fishing trips. He absolutely would not allow it to break.

The rod couldn't break, and the fish couldn't escape. Only children make choices; he wanted both.

With a surge of determination, he stalemated with the big fish in the sea all morning. Even the Poliwag got tired of cheering him on, but the fish in the sea was still struggling.

Just as the fish's struggles began to ease, Yu Hai breathed a sigh of relief. That high-intensity struggle was truly grueling and had exhausted him.

But while the fish rested, he couldn't. He needed to maintain pressure on the fish in the sea and continue "luring" it.

Facing this hard-won big catch, he had waited and waited, finally getting a bite after so long. He truly didn't want to let go.

So, even if he felt like he couldn't hold on, he had to endure. This was a matter of an angler's dignity.

With that thought, he immediately lifted the rod and quickly retreated, using the rod's flexibility to wear down the fish.

The second time, the third time, the fourth time...

The fish's struggles were no longer as violent as before. Each struggle was weaker and shorter than the last, and it soon became exhausted.

It was likely that its initial desperate struggle had consumed too much energy, leaving it utterly spent.

He immediately pressed his advantage. For the sake of this fish, he even neglected to supervise the Poliwag's training, spending the entire day battling the foolish creature in the sea.

It wasn't until the sun was about to set that he finally saw what this "foolish creature" that had worn him out all day actually was.

"Magikarp, Magikarp, Magikarp..."

Not a Koi, nor a carp, but a Magikarp.

"Holy crap, this is a rip-off!" As Yu Hai saw the golden crown-shaped dorsal fin emerge from the sea surface, he let out a curse.

He wasn't cursing the fish for being bad, nor for being inedible, but because it had no meat!

The creature was all bone, its muscles seemingly in its brain. It had a body weight of ten kilograms for nothing. No wonder it could hold out against him all day.

But ten kilograms with no meat?

He didn't believe it.

Just the fact that it could use Splash and leap around all day demonstrated how tenacious its life force was and how developed its muscles were.

It doesn't care about being in polluted water, living in oceans, rivers, ponds, and puddles all over the world...

Magikarp swim around in all sorts of places. These guys are the most common Pokémon in the Pokémon World, and also the weakest. They're often called the "Sleeping Dragon and Phoenix Chicks" along with Wishiwashi.

Well, that phrase got trashed again.

He couldn't blame himself. The first thing that came to his mind when he saw these two was "Sleeping Dragon and Phoenix Chicks."

But since he'd already caught it, he couldn't just throw it back. It was truly tasteless to eat, but a shame to discard – a real "chicken rib."

Anyway, it was in his hands now. No matter how much the Magikarp on the surface struggled, it was useless.

Unless this thing could evolve on the spot.

But he wasn't Kojiro, who could evolve a Magikarp with just a kick. He didn't know how much Kojiro had helped those weak, pitiful, and helpless Magikarp change their fate as trash.

This guy's evolution was a leap in life form, from trash to a "heaven-sent hunk." It required great perseverance and determination.

The reason the Magikarp Waterfall's evolution success rate could reach fifty percent might also have some shadow of the "Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate" legend.

Once it leaped over, it represented the determination to evolve.

While the evolution of Magikarp had always been a mystery, he knew one thing: the probability of Magikarp evolving was very low.

Even the Magikarp Waterfall only had a fifty percent chance of evolution.

He didn't even know what kind of place this was. This was just a wild Magikarp. His luck couldn't be that bad.

It probably wouldn't evolve, right? Right...?