Descendants of the People of Water

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye, and the little baby had gradually grown up.

"Zeno, come out! We agreed to go fishing for Magikarp today."

Xiao Hai stood at the entrance of Zeno's house and shouted inside.

"Coming!"

Zeno ran out carrying a brand-new fishing rod and a bucket. His small face still retained a hint of baby fat, his blue eyes were as deep as the sea, and a tuft of blue hair grew from his widow's peak.

"You're so slow! You always make me wait! We agreed to meet at the village entrance." Xiao Hai complained impatiently.

"Sorry, it's all Octillery's fault. It said I hadn't finished my homework today, so it wouldn't let me leave."

Seeing that Xiao Hai was a little angry, Zeno quickly apologized.

"Homework is so boring. How could it possibly be more interesting than fishing for Magikarp?" Xiao Hai said dismissively. He hated homework the most.

"I think so too, but Octillery is too strict. No matter how much I begged it, it wouldn't agree."

"You've got it rough." Xiao Hai sympathized with him.

Zeno ran over to the pool by the door, where Octillery was swimming.

"Octillery, Xiao Hai and I are going fishing for Magikarp. Sorry to leave you home alone."

"Octi~ Octi~"

"Got it. I'll be careful, and I'll definitely be back before dinner."

Seeing him converse with Octillery, Xiao Hai's jaw practically dropped.

"You can understand what it says?!"

"Yeah. Not just Octillery—I can understand Mantine and Cloyster too!"

"You're amazing! Hurry and tell me what my Tentacool is saying."

Xiao Hai was incredibly curious and quickly let out his Tentacool. It was his starter Pokémon, a gift from his father on his tenth birthday.

"Tenta~" The moment Tentacool came out, it looked at Xiao Hai with utter disdain.

"It says you're a huge bad guy who secretly eats its snacks every day."

Xiao Hai's little face turned red at once, and he hurriedly recalled Tentacool.

"It's talking nonsense! I never did that!"

"But Pokémon don't lie."

"Then it must have been my dad stealing them. You know how it is—whenever the village has a gathering, my dad always eats the most."

After thinking it over, Zeno felt that made sense. He still trusted this companion he had grown up with.

"Zeno, you're really amazing. I'm so jealous! Why can you understand Pokémon? And all the Pokémon in the village like you so much. Unlike me, they're always so fierce whenever they see me."

"Uncle Kam went to the library in Lilycove City and looked it up. It seems to be a special ability that only the People of Water possess. He said I might be a Descendant of the People of Water."

"A Descendant of the People of Water? That sounds so cool!" Xiao Hai had no idea what that meant, but the name alone sounded awesome.

Xiao Hai still remembered what had happened ten years ago. He had already been three years old then, and when the village chief brought Zeno back, he had crowded around to watch.

"Zeno, have you decided what kind of starter Pokémon you want?" Xiao Hai asked curiously.

"Not yet. Uncle Kam said I should think it over carefully and see what I like."

"It's fine, don't rush. You have to help me catch a Magikarp today!"

"Mm-hm."

Since the adults would not let them go to the seaside, the two could only fish in the stream behind the mountain.

They sat by the stream, cast their fishing rods into the water, and waited quietly for Pokémon to take the bait.

"Xiao Hai, what are you planning to do in the future?"

"Me? Once I catch three Pokémon, I'm going to travel, challenge Gyms all over the place, and compete in the Hoenn League tournament." The moment Xiao Hai mentioned it, his entire body seemed to ignite with passion.

"Then you have to work hard!"

"By the way, what about you, Zeno?"

"I like the sea. In the future, I want to become a navigator and travel all around the world."

"Great, great! Once I finish competing in the Hoenn League, I'll go with you. When the time comes, Captain Zeno, remember to take me in!"

"Okay."

The two excitedly discussed their futures and completely failed to notice the floats on their fishing rods.

"Zeno, your fishing rod! You've got a bite."

Hearing Xiao Hai's reminder, Zeno hurriedly reeled in his line. When he pulled it up, he found that the bait had already been eaten.

"Ah, it got away."

Zeno was somewhat regretful. It was his first time fishing, and he lacked experience.

"Don't lose heart. Fishing requires patience. Take it slow." Seeing how dejected he was, Xiao Hai comforted him.

Just then, Xiao Hai's fishing rod moved as well. He pulled hard, but he was surprisingly unable to overpower the Pokémon on the other end.

"Zeno, come help me! It's way too strong!" Seeing that he could not handle it alone, Xiao Hai hurriedly asked Zeno beside him for help.

After exhausting themselves, the two finally hauled the Pokémon out.

It was an enormous Magikarp with a scar across its forehead. It looked exceptionally energetic. Its tail flapped nonstop as it leaped very high.

"What an energetic Magikarp. Zeno, stand back. I'm going to catch it!"

Xiao Hai was brimming with excitement as he quickly took out a Poké Ball.

"Tentacool, it's up to you."

"Tenta~ Tenta~"

Tentacool was still angry. It crossed its two tentacles over its chest, turned its head to one side, and completely ignored Xiao Hai.

"Could you not be angry at a time like this?" Xiao Hai tried to reason with it gently.

Seeing how insincere he was, Tentacool still did not want to pay him any attention.

"I'll never secretly eat your snacks again, okay?" Xiao Hai muttered quietly, afraid Zeno would hear him.

"Tenta~"

Tentacool remained unmoved. Those snacks had been its own to begin with.

The Magikarp that had been hooked was originally preparing to slam into the two of them, but the moment it saw Zeno nearby, it suddenly calmed down. It sensed an aura around that human that it liked very much.

"I'll share all my snacks with you too, okay?"

This time, Tentacool finally relented, though Xiao Hai looked deeply pained.

"Alright, it's time to go."

Tentacool stared fixedly at the fat fish in front of it. As long as it defeated it, wonderful and happy days awaited.

While Tentacool was lost in its fantasies, Magikarp had already charged at it.

"Tentacool, grab it with your tentacles—Bind!"

Tentacool and Xiao Hai had great coordination. The instant it heard his command, it swung its two tentacles and caught the rapidly charging Magikarp.

This Magikarp was incredibly strong. Tentacool was knocked back again and again, but it ultimately held it in place.

"Good, just like that! Use Poison Sting, then throw it away!"

Because they were so close, Poison Sting hit directly, leaving Magikarp with no chance to dodge.

The flung Magikarp lay weakly on the riverbank, its forehead turning purple. It had clearly entered the Poisoned status. Bind's lingering damage continued to torment it, and before long, Magikarp was too weak to move.

"Xiao Hai, that's enough. Magikarp has already been poisoned. If you keep fighting, it'll be in danger."

"Don't worry. This is my future partner. I won't let anything happen to it."

As Xiao Hai spoke, he took out a Poké Ball and threw it at the listless Magikarp.

Magikarp turned into a beam of red light and was drawn into the Poké Ball. The Poké Ball shook a few times on the ground before slowly becoming still.

"Hahaha, I caught Magikarp!"

Xiao Hai raised the Poké Ball high with both hands, his expression full of excitement. After all, Magikarp was the first Pokémon he had caught himself. Xiao Hai quickly let it out and fed it an Oran Berry and a Pecha Berry.

Watching the excited Xiao Hai, Zeno was happy for him deep down. At the same time, he looked forward to meeting his own first Pokémon.