Memories of Dewford Town

Memories of Dewford Town

The morning sunlight flowed slowly along the wooden pier of Dewford Town's harbor, like melted gold.

The salty, humid sea breeze carried a faint breath of seaweed as it brushed past the slightly slender figure by the seaside, causing the light green bangs on his forehead to sway slightly.

Lin Mo lowered his head to check the live-streaming equipment suspended in midair; this was an exclusive shooting tool generated by the "Live Streaming System" that had accompanied his transmigration, allowing it to record video by orbiting him three hundred and sixty degrees without dead angles.

Accompanied by a crisp prompt in his ear, the online viewer count in the upper right corner of the phone screen in his hand began to jump at a rate visible to the naked eye—10, 37, 129, 586... The numbers continued to climb, and the chat comments instantly flooded the area below the screen like a tide.

Good morning, friends and viewers.

Lin Mo's voice carried the distinct clarity unique to a youth, clearly transmitting outward through the microphone pinned to his collar.

The weather is really nice today, and the long-awaited annual water-type Pokémon Swimming Race in our Dewford Town is about to begin.

Lin Mo turned slightly sideways to let the camera clearly capture the amber-tinted sea surface behind him, dyed by the sunlight.

Let's show everyone today's race venue first!

The camera slowly swept across the shallow waters ahead, a rectangular body of water enclosed by buoys, with red flags planted at the starting line and an eye-catching yellow flag at the finish line.

The chat exploded instantly.

I've finally waited for the race! The streamer is dressed so spiritedly today!

The sea at Dewford Town looks so clean. I envy people who live by the seaside!

Come, come, place your bets, let's wager on what ranking Feebas will get!

I bet fifty bucks, Feebas takes first place. This is my cloud-raised Pokémon, how could it lose to others!

...

Lin Mo looked at the chat on his phone, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curve up slightly.

He lowered his head to look into the water, where a Pokémon with a strange appearance was anxiously wagging its tail.

This little fellow looked very peculiar, its body presenting a rare shade of purple, with the upper and lower dorsal fins and tail fin presenting a pale silver.

Its eyes were particularly large, and its mouth was slightly pouty, looking somewhat clumsy.

The scales on its body were not neatly arranged, and some parts even looked like a piece was missing, making it appear somewhat "ugly"—yet its face looked as though it carried a trace of innocence and innocence, coupled with that special purple-and-silver color scheme, making it a rising little internet celebrity in the Pokémon live-streaming world.

Alright, everyone, same old rules, let's introduce our little protagonist first.

Lin Mo aimed the camera at Feebas, his voice carrying a hint of gentleness. Everyone should be quite familiar with it—come on, say hello, Xiao Mei.

The Feebas called "Xiao Mei" seemed to understand Lin Mo's words, fiercely shaking its tail and splashing a few drops of water that landed right on the camera, instantly blurring the screen for a moment.

The chat was instantly flooded with "Hahaha."

Feebas is still so lively!

That splash was so accurate, was it intentional?

The name Xiao Mei is truly amazing, the streamer's naming sense... um, has a lot of character (survival instinct maximized).

To the floor above, the word "character" is used wonderfully!

Seriously, why do I find it prettier the more I look at it?

Lin Mo smiled as he wiped the lens with his sleeve, his gaze falling upon Feebas, a trace of complex emotion flashing through his eyes as his thoughts involuntarily drifted back to eight months ago.

At that time, he was not Lin Mo, but an ordinary college student in another world.

A sudden car accident caused him to find himself lying in a dilapidated little cabin when he opened his eyes again, his body having also transformed into that of a fourteen-year-old youth.

After carefully recalling the memories in his mind, he realized that he had transmigrated to this world where Pokémon existed, becoming an orphan in Dewford Town who had just lost his only relative.

At that time, his pockets contained only a tiny bit of relief funds issued by the Pokémon League, and he couldn't even afford a decent Poké Ball, let alone go out traveling and challenging Gyms like Ash, the protagonist in the anime.

Fortunately, heaven never cuts off all avenues; behind the small cabin where he lived, several sets of old fishing gear were left behind.

Meanwhile, while organizing the memories in his mind, a cold mechanical voice also rang in his ear—[Live Streaming System successfully bound]

This was Lin Mo's cheat, and its function was very simple: when he started a broadcast on the entertainment platform of this world, he could draw prizes based on "Popularity Points" converted from the number of viewers.

The rewards varied widely, including Energy Orbs, Technical Machines, and various props.

Perhaps I can go to the seaside to live-stream fishing for Pokémon, attract viewers to gain Popularity Points, and simultaneously start my own Pokémon journey?

Holding such a thought, and also to earn living expenses, Lin Mo registered a streaming account and started broadcasting.

The live stream's title was simple and crude: [New Streamer, challenging catching a Pokémon as a partner using a fishing rod]

He still remembered the embarrassment during his first broadcast to this day.

Lin Mo originally thought he could easily catch a Pokémon, but reality slapped him hard, and in the end, he had to rely on the guidance of a few veteran fishing enthusiasts in the chat who were attracted by his name to figure out the correct way to use a fishing rod.

Streamer, fishing rods aren't used that way, you're doing it wrong.

The water is too shallow in that spot, you won't catch anything good.

You need to hook the bait tighter, otherwise it'll fall off right after you cast it.

With the help of these veteran fishing enthusiasts, Lin Mo began to seriously learn fishing techniques, broadcasting on time every day, chatting with the viewers, and sharing his life.

Although there weren't many viewers and the tips were pitifully small, it at least allowed him to see a glimmer of hope.

His biggest goal back then was to catch a Magikarp.

Among all known Water type Pokémon, Magikarp was probably the easiest to catch, and Magikarp was extremely powerful after evolving into Gyarados.

Lin Mo had even thought it through: once he caught a Magikarp, he would save up to buy a Poké Ball first, then start training it, and slowly accumulate Popularity Points from there to kick off his journey as a Pokémon trainer.

Yet he never expected that catching Pokémon would be this difficult; catching small fish and shrimp was easy enough, but when encountering Pokémon, they would repeatedly escape the moment they bit the hook, leaving him completely helpless.

Fortunately, after nearly half a month or so, Lin Mo's fishing skills gradually grew proficient, people would occasionally visit his live stream room, and the Popularity Points accumulated by the system approached a thousand.

Until that afternoon, when the sky was somewhat gloomy and a moderate wind blew across the sea surface.

Lin Mo cast his hook with a swing of his arm just like usual, and as his gaze fell upon the water surface waiting quietly for a fish to bite, a mechanical voice suddenly rang out in his mind:

Congratulations to the host for Popularity Points breaking one thousand, the system officially activated, newcomer opportunity has been delivered.

Before Lin Mo could think carefully, suddenly, the fishing line plunged heavily, the force so great it almost dragged him into the sea.

Whoa, what is this thing? Such huge strength!

Lin Mo cried out in alarm instantly, gripping the fishing rod tightly with the veins on his arms bulging from exertion.

Meanwhile, some viewers in the live stream room also grew excited.

Such great strength, could it be a Shellder?

Doesn't look like it, Shellder doesn't have this much power, maybe it's a Kingler?

Go for it, Mo! Don't get pulled in!

Lin Mo clenched his teeth, holding the fishing rod tightly with both hands, and engaged in a tug-of-war with the creature beneath the water.

The fishing line buzzed, as if it would snap the next second.

Unlike before, the fellow that took the bait kept biting down and wouldn't let go, seemingly attracted by a special magic.

Following the techniques taught by fellow anglers, Lin Mo sometimes released line and sometimes reeled it in, deadlocked for a full ten minutes or so until his arms were so sore he could barely lift them, before slowly pulling the thing under the water closer to the shore.

After a dozen minutes of the tug-of-war, Lin Mo had exhausted almost all his strength before finally pulling that "big guy" out of the water.

When that figure broke the water's surface, Lin Mo and every viewer in the live stream room froze.

It was a fish with a bizarre appearance: its color was a strange purple, its body was plump, its scales crooked, its eyes protruding, and its mouth was disproportionately large, gaping open to reveal jagged teeth inside, looking strange no matter how one viewed it.

Lin Mo recognized this Pokémon, but he truly could not believe that he would actually fish up this Pokémon;

At the same time, the live stream room's chat messages instantly halted for a few seconds, followed by the eruption of an unprecedentedly heated discussion.

My god! What is this freakish thing?!

My eyes are poisoned, what the hell is this...

Looks like a fish Pokémon, but it's definitely not a Magikarp, nor any Water type Pokémon I know.

Could it be a newly discovered Pokémon?

Lin Mo's heart was filled with intense excitement; he recognized this Pokémon at a single glance, yet he didn't spell it out for the viewers in the live stream room, instead deliberately putting on a greenhorn's persona to ponder along with everyone else.

Having experienced the era of internet bombardment in his past life after all, he knew how to hype things up. The unknown was what drew the most attention, which could help him attract more people's notice.

As Lin Mo's gaze locked onto that Pokémon, blue light gradually flickered in his vision, and the system's devoid-of-emotion mechanical voice followed:

Newcomer adventure acquired, data panel unlocked.

Immediately following that, a data panel clearly appeared before his eyes.

[Pokémon: Feebas (Shiny)]
[Type: Water]
[Classification: Fish Pokémon]
[Ability: Swift Swim (In rainy weather, speed increases)]
[Moves: Splash (Proficient), Tackle (Novice)]
[Today's Broadcast Duration: 1 hour 12 minutes]
[Peak Online Viewers: 98]
[Total Popularity Points: 1046]