One minute, two minutes, three minutes...
A full ten minutes passed, and still nothing bit.
Bored, Tong Hua even started counting the rings of ripples the raindrops made on the water. That was the only thing keeping him waiting.
Beside him, only Minccino, who hated getting wet, stayed pressed against him. Turtwig and the Celebi were already having the time of their lives in the spring rain.
"Bii!"
Watching the Pokémon play so happily, Tong Hua relaxed, his mood lifting after the cold rain and his fishless streak had dampened it.
Thinking about it, he had been going nonstop ever since he crossed over to this world. Every day, he was either working or on his way to work.
Maybe he should consider this chance to sit idly by the river and fish a gift from the heavens.
"Not bad."
As long as he was with his Pokémon, even doing nothing was a pleasure.
That was just how optimistic Tong Hua was.
Of course, that still did nothing to change the fact that he had caught nothing...
In the pond at Fairy Tale Ranch, the Bibarel family that had settled there was holding its daily meeting.
"Bi-bi!"
On the surface of the water, Bibarel, the head of the family, was giving a morning briefing to a dozen or so underlings.
Translated into human language, it went something like this...
"Everyone, it has been three full days since we moved into our new home.
"In these few short days, we have already established initial contact with the owner of this place.
"After all, we were in the wrong for cutting off his water supply at first, but he repaid our wrongdoing with kindness and let us live here.
"So, starting today, I have decided that we will put this pond to good use for its owner! Everyone will come fishing with me, and we will raise the fish here!
"Who's in favor, and who's against?"
The Bidoof in the pond remained expressionless. Only when Bibarel repeated that last sentence and slapped the water with a tail did the slow little creatures catch on and burst into enthusiastic applause.
"Then let's start fishing today! Don't forget our slogan! All together now!
"Number one!"
"Work hard!"
"Number two!"
"Never fall behind!"
"Number three!"
"Smile all the way!"
"Bi-bi!"
With the rally over, Bibarel gave the order, and the dozen or so Bidoof rushed out of the pond and scattered.
They all headed straight for the various streams in Wind-Circling Forest to catch fish.
As the head of the family, Bibarel needed to hold down the fort, so the stream at the edge of the forest closest to their base was the natural choice.
As it happened, Tong Hua was fishing right there.
"Huh? Isn't that Bibarel?"
"Bi-bi?"
Bibarel poked a head out of the water, droplets still clinging to those wet whiskers.
Seeing Tong Hua sitting by the river with a fishing rod, Bibarel glanced at the empty bucket beside him and understood at once.
"Bi-bi!"
Before Tong Hua could say anything else, Bibarel suddenly plunged into the water, making him and the Pokémon beside him crane their necks to look.
Bibarel swam effortlessly through the stream, herding the fish toward Tong Hua's hook at incredible speed.
Finally, Bibarel caught a lone Magikarp in that mouth and leaped out of the water!
The landing on the riverbank was precise and graceful.
Bibarel held the Magikarp up in both forepaws, showing Tong Hua.
"Amazing!" Tong Hua couldn't help giving a thumbs-up, then watched as Bibarel put the Magikarp into the bucket beside him.
"So there are Magikarp in this river... I thought there were only ordinary fish."
Magikarp was reputed to be the weakest of all Pokémon.
Although some Pokémon had even lower base stats in the games, the vast majority of Magikarp went their entire lives knowing only Splash, a completely useless move. It was hard not to associate Magikarp with weakness.
Tong Hua looked at the Magikarp in the bucket. It still seemed not to understand what had happened. Even in that cramped space, it kept trying to jump.
It jumped and jumped. Although it accomplished nothing, it kept jumping, and barring anything unexpected, it would go on jumping for the rest of its life.
It would keep jumping until, one day, it soared to new heights and evolved into Gyarados, changing its fate completely. Or it would simply disappear into some forgotten corner, its life ending without anyone caring.
Thinking about it, that was actually pretty inspiring.
"Anyway, I definitely can't eat it. Luckily, Magikarp aren't picky about water quality. I'll take it home and keep it in the pond."
Tong Hua turned his attention away from Magikarp and looked back at Bibarel, who was still beside him.
"Bi-bi."
Bibarel waved, then plunged into the water and vanished...
"..."
So what exactly did Bibarel come here for? To catch fish to eat too? But bark and Berries should be enough for the Bibarel family. They don't need meat.
While Tong Hua puzzled over that, the fishing rod in his hands suddenly jerked violently!
"Tur!" "Cin-cin!"
Minccino and Turtwig immediately cried out beside him. Both had seen the instant the float was pulled underwater!
A fish had taken the bait!
"It's here, it's here, it's here!"
Tong Hua sprang to his feet, gripped the rod tightly with both hands, and hauled upward with all his strength!
That reckless, utterly unskilled motion was the most instinctive response of a complete fishing novice like Tong Hua.
Normally, yanking the rod up like that could easily snap the line and let the fish escape.
The proper approach was to lift the rod slightly, play the fish, reel in the line little by little, and finally bring it ashore with a landing net.
However, such techniques meant little under the influence of the mysterious power known as the newbie halo.
Splash!
With that one mighty tug, Tong Hua sent a Magikarp even larger than the one in his bucket flying off the hook and onto the bank!
"Tur!" "Cin-cin!"
Minccino and Turtwig excitedly circled the desperately flopping Magikarp. The Celebi flew over from the rain as well and used Confusion to place it in the bucket.
"I finally caught one, and it's a Magikarp, too."
Tong Hua bent down to inspect the two Magikarp in the bucket. This was the first fish he had caught with his own hands, a moment worth commemorating.
Of course he had to get a good look.
"Huh?" That look suddenly left Tong Hua stunned.
[Magikarp: quality C. An exceptionally energetic individual with abundant potential. Recommended processing method: none.]
He hadn't expected the Magikarp he caught to receive a Material Panel from his golden finger too...
But what truly shocked Tong Hua wasn't that his golden finger had classified Magikarp as a material.
It was that the recommended processing method in the panel actually read "none."
"The first material ever that isn't recommended for alchemy has appeared."
Yes, at last, there was a material whose information didn't say it could be used for alchemy!
That was what truly shocked Tong Hua.
"Looks like alchemy isn't all-powerful after all. But why does Magikarp have a quality rating too? Could that rating simply represent its potential?
"The higher its potential, the more likely it is to evolve?"
Watching the two Magikarp jump and struggle in the metal bucket, Tong Hua couldn't help scratching his head.
"Anyway, I still haven't unlocked the Fisher profession. Better keep fishing."
So Tong Hua put those complicated matters out of his mind, baited his hook, and sat down on the bank to wait again.
Two hours later, Tong Hua finally caught his third fish.
"Why is it another Magikarp?"
This one was slightly smaller than the first two, and its quality was only D, just like the second Magikarp Tong Hua had caught himself.
Yes, after fishing for ages, Tong Hua had caught nothing but three Magikarp.
A reasonable deduction was that the rod the Village Chief had left him was undoubtedly a Broken Fishing Rod.
Just as Tong Hua removed the hook and dropped this third Magikarp into the bucket, the notification panel he had been longing for finally appeared before his eyes.
[Successfully caught fish three times!] [Achievement unlocked: fisher beginner]
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