Magikarp

Yu Hai knew Magikarp could not evolve, but as he watched the Magikarp draw closer and closer across the sea, why did he feel increasingly guilty?

He had not done anything wrong, had he? He should not have felt this way.

Then what was with the sweat constantly beading on his forehead?

Forget it. The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed. Better not think about it. He would pull Magikarp up first.

Once Magikarp had been dragged to shore, it was time for Poliwag to make its entrance.

The little guy had grown tired of watching and had even fallen asleep during it. It really had not been easy on him.

"Poliwag, use Chain Slap to knock Magikarp ashore!" After using the last of his strength to drag Magikarp to the bank, Yu Hai ordered Poliwag into action.

"Yoyo, yoyo!" The moment Poliwag received the order, he perked up. No more dozing off, no more yawning. He immediately got up and rushed to the shore, raised his feather-like tail, and slapped at the Magikarp flopping about with Water Splash near the bank.

Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap...

Poliwag used Chain Slap twice in a row before finally knocking Magikarp onto the shore.

Even after Magikarp came ashore, Yu Hai did not rashly approach. He was afraid of thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—never underestimate a poor salted fish.

He was afraid that if he provoked it too much by accident, Magikarp might evolve out of rage.

To prevent such an unlikely event, even though he was exhausted enough to collapse, he endured the aching pain throughout his body and immediately threw the empty Poké Ball in his hand.

Bang—

The Poké Ball struck Magikarp dead-on, instantly opened, and shot out a red beam that drew Magikarp inside.

He had practiced that accuracy. He often threw stones whenever he had nothing to do, and had even unlocked a throwing skill because of it.

[Yu Hai]

[Pokémon: 1]

[Proficiency: (Fishing/12.12%)(Throwing/11.11%)(Cooking/3.46%)]

Besides the throwing skill, he had also unlocked Cooking. He had merely grilled fish twice and made one dish and one soup, yet he had gained two skills.

Still, being able to see proficiency did not seem all that useful.

Without seasonings, the food he made was barely edible.

Only Throwing and Fishing had some use. Fishing had helped him immensely during the early stages of survival, but he already knew how to fish, all right?

Throwing only made him more accurate when tossing Poké Balls. Later, he could practice throwing knives for self-defense.

What mattered most was Pokémon. Only if Pokémon became strong could he become truly strong.

Aside from some people born with extraordinary abilities, humans were simply absurdly weak.

As for the absurd existences in anime—Ash with Huge Power, Ash who could withstand lightning strikes—those were merely bugs caused by the production team's oversight.

Even if humans in this world had slightly better physical fitness than in his previous life, slightly greater strength, there was a limit to how much stronger they could be.

Though these thoughts seemed to have taken a long time, only an instant had passed—the time it took for the Poké Ball to capture Magikarp.

Yu Hai was not worried that the capture would fail. This fish had been worn down by him for an entire day, then struck twice by Poliwag's Chain Slap, and had been knocked unconscious outright.

No matter how he looked at it, it did not seem capable of breaking free from the Poké Ball. There was no way the capture would fail.

As the red flash faded, a thud rang out, informing Yu Hai that Magikarp had been successfully captured.

"Poliwag, push the Poké Ball over here." Seeing that the Poké Ball had stopped moving, Yu Hai called to Poliwag and had him push it over. He truly did not want to move at all.

His entire body was sore. The pain pierced straight to his core...

This was freaking torturous. If he had known it was this stupid thing, he would never have wasted an entire day struggling with it.

But he had only learned it was this stupid thing in the evening. The sunk cost was too great, and he had no choice but to grit his teeth and accept it.

After battling wits and courage for an entire day, he had only caught a meatless rib. There really was no one else like him.

Once Poliwag pushed the Poké Ball over, Yu Hai took hold of the Poké Ball containing Magikarp and saw Magikarp's Proficiency Panel.

[Magikarp]

[Type: Water]

[Gender: Female]

[Potential: 19%]

[Level: 2.11%]

[Ability: Swift Swim/1.31%][Hidden Ability: Rattled/2.11%]

[Mastered Moves: (Water Splash/0.38%)(Body Slam/0.54%)]

Looking over Magikarp's panel from top to bottom, how should he put it?

It was utterly ordinary. Nothing stood out.

If there was anything noteworthy, it was that this utterly ordinary Magikarp had a Hidden Ability.

Even that could not hide this salted fish's mediocrity. It was so mediocre that it could only be a salted fish—though it seemed this thing had always been a salted fish.

If this were a game, Magikarp could evolve into Gyarados at level twenty. This Magikarp did not even qualify to evolve.

He had been worrying for nothing before. It seemed Magikarp's evolutionary Potential was far lower than he had estimated.

With Magikarp's Poké Ball in hand and Poliwag leaning against him, Yu Hai rested for half an hour. Seeing the sun sink farther west, he could not keep resting. He needed to take advantage of the low tide to forage along the shore.

He did not deal with Magikarp right away. Instead, he first thought of shellfish and kelp. He did not dare gamble on whether Magikarp had any meat.

It was safer to gather some kelp and shellfish first. Even if he could not eat them, he could dry and store them. He would not miss out on the daily opportunity to forage along the shore.

With that, Yu Hai dragged his exhausted body to his feet and called to Poliwag. "Poliwag, let's go forage along the shore and pick up some kelp..."

"Yoyo, yoyo!" Poliwag could not yet understand overly complicated words, but when he saw Yu Hai stand up, he rose as well and hopped along behind him.

The little foodie had not tired himself out much today. Whenever he got hungry, he found kelp to eat on his own. As the sun was about to set, he was the one with the most energy, brimming with vigor as though he had endless strength.

This time, Yu Hai did not bring a bucket, only a plastic bottle. He also handed Poliwag the task of carrying it.

The little foodie held the plastic bottle in his mouth and followed behind Yu Hai as they headed for the rocky shallows where they had foraged yesterday.

At first, Poliwag was not used to it and walked in a wobbly, crooked way. Perhaps he was still unaccustomed to land and to walking. But once they reached the rocky shallows, the little foodie immediately charged into the sea.

In the water, the little foodie was far more at ease, moving with much greater skill. He quickly overtook Yu Hai and reached the rocky shallows where they had gathered shellfish last time.

"Yoyo, yoyo!" Seeing Yu Hai still strolling along at an unhurried pace, Poliwag bounced across the rocks and began searching for kelp to eat, not waiting for Yu Hai at all.

When Yu Hai reached the rocky shallows, he did not dare waste any time and immediately began picking up shellfish.

He had come late today. The sun was already about to sink into the sea, with only a small part still floating above the horizon. He had to gather shellfish quickly.

Once darkness fell, his vision would be hindered. There was nothing he could do about that.

After all, he was human, not a Pokémon. He did not have night vision. Night belonged to insects and beasts.

Thank you all for your votes. Thank you, Gui Youbai, for the 100 Qidian coins. I am truly so touched—someone actually gave me a reward. I never dared imagine it, truly never dared. Thank you for the reward x3333. Important things should be said three, three, three, three times.