Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Pokémon or any of its parent companies. I am merely a humble storyteller. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this journey with me.

Note: I am English, so some of the wording, spellings, and expressions will be those commonly used in England.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Wishing for Some Fishing!

"Okay, I'm heading off for Vermilion, Bill."

Leaf's smile was rather strained. Why, oh why, could she not simply head to Cinnabar? Bill was a scientist. He should understand that she had Fossils that needed to be resurrected, the sooner the better. He should be jumping for joy that science was advancing even further, enough that bringing back those who died millions of years ago into the modern age was now a possibility.

Okay, okay, it would be wrong to say that he was not excited; on the contrary, he was indeed ecstatic. But Leaf did have questions when he gave her a ticket for a cruise liner party, the S.S. Ticket for the S.S. Anne.

"This is extra thanks for helping me and Nidorino," he had explained before adding sheepishly, "And, confidentially, I'm not too big on any sort of swanky do."

Reluctantly, Leaf accepted the S.S. Ticket. Oh well, maybe she would see loads of Pokémon she had never seen before, considering the S.S Anne was docking in Vermilion on a worldwide journey; there were bound to be all kinds.

And then she could hop on Fearow and fly the rest of the way to Cinnabar.

Speaking of Fearow, the bird craned his neck towards the sky, ready to stretch his great wings once again, to push his significantly increased flying prowess even further. Oh, what a fantastic avian specimen Fearow was! Large enough to carry Leaf and Eevee comfortably on his back, Fearow was covered in unshorn, brown feathers with touches of cream, and had an extended neck and a long, pink beak. Upon his head was a red, fleshy protuberance that formed four spikes, known as a coxcomb.

Leaf knew she made the right choice in training her Spearow over her Pidgey, and now she could fly anywhere she desired, thanks to Fearow's new move, amusingly enough called Fly. Still, it was not perfect as she would have to use her Town Map to direct him to future destinations he had never been to before.

Hopping onto Fearow's back, Eevee sat snuggly between her knees, Leaf prepared herself for take-off. Bill watched her with Nidorino and the Eeveelutions from his front porch.

"I wish you a safe trip, Leaf," he said cheerfully.

"Thanks, Bill," Leaf replied. "And thank you for having us here and for everything you taught me. I feel more prepared than ever for the rest of my journey."

"You're very welcome," the Pokémon Researcher said. "And you're still comfortable with the Pokémon Box, are you? I know it's a new invention, but…"

"Don't worry about it," Leaf said. "You explained everything perfectly well. And you said Blue knows about it, didn't you? Well then, I'll be sure to tell Red when I find him so we're all in the loop and can use it whenever."

"You are brilliant, Leaf." Bill held up his hand in farewell. "Okay, good luck. I hope to see you again. And enjoy the party!"

Leaf barely stopped herself from grimacing. "I'll try to." She took a handful of Fearow's feathers and held tightly onto them. "Okay, Fearow. Next stop, Vermilion City!"

With a strident squawk, Fearow spread his wings and kicked off from the ground. The trio were among the clouds within seconds.

However, for a couple of moments, before they left earth and ascended to the heavens, something caught Leaf's eye. Something pink. Something with a long tail.

It could have been her imagination.

It could have been nothing at all.

Whatever it was, it struck a chord with her. She could not say why, but she almost demanded for Fearow to take her back down. But she did not. They merely soared through the sky, leaving behind the whatever it was she saw.

o~o~o~o~o

Red cast his line again. There had better be a bite this time or he would go into the sea after them. He wanted a Water-type already.

Oh! Something pulled. Quickly, Red reeled in his line. Lo and behold…

… there was nothing there. Not even the bait. Red fumed as he imagined the Water-types laughing at him beneath the waves at the hapless wannabee fisherman. Funnily enough, they were. Pikachu was too.

"Argh! Not again!" Red cried. "I can't even get a Magikarp."

"You're rushing it, lad," the fisherman who loaned Red the Fishing Rod, a gentleman sitting upon a fishing tackle box going by the name of Eno, said. "Fishing is a patience game. Just relax and don't panic when you feel a bite." Eno closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "Just be one with the rod."

Eno reeled in his line and at the end was a Magikarp. The Pokémon hit land and started hopping every which way, performing an ineffectual Splash attack.

"You see," he said. "As easy as that."

"'As easy as that', huh?" Red said. He shrugged. "Okay, let's go again."

Red reapplied bait to his hook and hurled his line back into the sea. The float plopped onto the water and simply laid there, enjoying its soothing watery bed once more.

Patience. That was it, right? All he had to be was patient, just wait, do not rush. It was just like Beedrill battling Misty's Goldeen. Yes, of course, it was exactly like that! Patience won him that round. It would win him this one too.

He waited. And waited. And he did a bit more waiting, watching boats and Water-type Pokémon in the distance go about their days.

Something tugged on his line. It was light.

It tugged harder. Yes, it was digging in.

Red gripped the fishing reel handle and began rotating it as fast as he could. Spin, spin, spin, he spun it so fast, drawing the float ever closer to him. It left the water with its new buddy attached.

Oh, how glorious it was! Granted, it was a Magikarp, but it was his first ever successfully hooked Pokémon.

"Eno! Look at this Eno!" he jabbered excitedly. "It's a Magikarp! I hooked a Magikarp!"

"Well, would you look at that," Eno said. "You actually did get one. Good on you, lad. I suppose you'd better get on capturing it."

"Right," Red said, fishing (geddit?) in his rucksack for a spare Poké Ball. A Water-type Pokémon. How useful it would be!

He owed a lot to this fisherman, to someone he only just met who sold him on the idea of fishing. The passion with which Eno spoke about his calling was contagious.

His fingers barely brushed the metallic Poké Ball skin when a colossal shadow robbed him of the sun's light and water droplets fell upon him. Rain? No, rainclouds would not arrive so quickly from out of nowhere unless one was in Galar.

No sooner did Red have that thought did a sound follow. It was an angry sound, a screeching, roaring, eldritch noise that froze Red's blood and forced his heart to leap into his throat.

Slowly he looked up, and there, glaring back at him, was a monster he had seen many times on television, on underwater documentaries, and in battles. It was a serpentine creature, over twenty feet in length, covered in blue scales with a yellow underbelly. A darker blue, three-pronged crest rested between its harsh red eyes and white dorsal fins decorated its back. Its mouth was wide and gaping with, surprisingly, only four fangs (two on top and two at the bottom), and either side of its mouth were two more white fins. To complete its formidable look, along with the fins on the side of its face, it had two tan barbels, whisker-like organs that looked like a drooping moustache.

It was a Gyarados.

The Gyarados roared again, soaking Red with spittle as well as the brine it had already showered him with. Its eyes darted from Red to Eno to the Magikarp. An even louder roar followed.

Screaming. There was screaming from behind Red. His peripheral vision told him passersby were legging it anywhere that was not in the vicinity of the raging Water and Flying-type Pokémon.

"Blow me down," Eno mumbled, barely moving his lips. "What a thing to happen on your first fishing experience. A Gyarados. It must be the Magikarps' father or their leader. Must be protective of its kin. This is almost unheard of."

"What do we do?" Red said at the corner of his mouth.

"Let's put the Magikarp back in the sea. Do it slowly, though. Don't make any sudden movements." Eno grimaced. "I'm sorry, lad. I didn't think we would have to deal with something like this. It's not a thing you'd expect when using Old Bait."

Red did as he was told and followed Eno's example, dropping his Magikarp into the sea. It dove and disappeared into the great blue yonder.

It was sickening to lose a Pokémon he was going to have in his party, but it was better than being obliterated by a Gyarados.

Speaking of which…

The Gyarados' stare never wavered from the humans. When the Magikarp scarpered, the terrifying serpentine beast's already wide mouth extended more than it had hitherto.

"Dodge!" Eno bellowed.

Red and Pikachu leapt to the side as an immense jet of water missed them by inches, the force of the attack blasting them further away. The technique, known as Hydro Pump, tore through the concrete, leaving a crater.

Getting straight to his feet, Red was ready to show the Gyarados who was boss.

Except, Pikachu was already underway to show the Gyarados that he was the boss. He hopped onto the Gyarados, zipped up its body, and rammed it hard in the face with Zippy Zap.

The Gyarados lurched, the critical hit from Pikachu's attack bypassing the attack-lowering effect of its Ability Intimidate, its double weakness to electricity doing it no favours either.

Pikachu was not done.

He discharged a Thunder Shock, the voltage running through the Gyarados, who hissed and shrieked, thrashing wildly.

Red simply watched, admiring how Pikachu took the initiative but also annoyed that he had gone ahead without his say-so. Whatever. The most important thing was subduing the Gyarados.

Wait. It was weakened. Could Red…

He pulled out the Poké Ball that would have been the home for his Magikarp. It appeared as if it was destined to contain a freshly caught Gyarados.

"All right!" Red declared excitedly. "Let's go!"

Pikachu ended his Thunder Shock and Red hurled the Poké Ball at the Gyarados. It struck it in its crest, and the sea serpent was absorbed by the Poké Ball.

The Poké Ball floated on the water's surface, still disturbed by the sudden displacement of the massive mass.

It shook once.

It shook twice.

Red gulped. Just one more.

It shook thr –

An explosion of light. Tiny fragments of Poké Ball flew all over. The Gyarados reappeared.

Red punched his fist into his palm. So close.

Pikachu's cheeks crackled, ready to unleash more electrical punishment upon his foe, on his toes in case the Gyarados tried another Hydro Pump.

But the Gyarados did not. It merely stared daggers at Red and Pikachu.

It then started a slow descent back into the sea, its eyes never leaving Red and Pikachu. If it had hands, it would have done that thing when you point your index finger and middle finger at your eyes before pointing them at someone else, basically saying 'I'll be watching you'. You know, don't you? That gesture that can be super effective and cool in certain situations? Yeah, that one.

The top point of its crest finally vanished and with it so did the Gyarados.

Yet, it was not time to breathe easy. What if the Gyarados was lulling them into a false sense of security? What if it burst from the sea and annihilated them with a point-blank Hydro Pump?

Pikachu hummed with coursing electricity.

Two minutes, fifteen seconds, and several thousand nanoseconds passed before Red was comfortable enough to let out a sigh of relief. They were not killed by a Gyarados. Some people believe not getting killed is such a nice thing, and Red would be inclined to agree with them. Although, Red could not help but feel hard pressed by the fact he failed at capturing a Water-type. And he had wasted a Poké Ball! There would be a visit to the PokéMart in the very near future.

"Phew," came a voice. It was Eno, and he strolled up to Red, a small bruise forming on his chin. "Can't believe we got out of that unscathed. Good thing you trained your Pikachu so well. Even better that type advantages exist."

"Too true," Red said. He gazed out at the ocean. Yes, he did not have a Water-type Pokémon to show for his (admittedly short) time fishing, but it was still a new experience he would learn from. He made to give Eno the Fishing Rod back. "Here you go. Looks like I'm done here for now."

Eno jumped back. "No, no, no, lad," he said, waving his hands. "You go ahead and keep that. I've got plenty others anyway. You've got a passion for fishing one rarely sees in these parts, and I want you to take that and fish everywhere. Besides, you can consider it recompense for getting you into that Gyarados trouble. I should've been better prepared."

"Whoa, really?" Red said. "I can really have this?"

"For sure," Eno said, nodding fervently. "And I'll give you these too." He hurried over to his fishing tackle case, which had been knocked away by the Hydro Pump, and rummaged inside. He pulled out three small boxes and hurried back over to Red. "There you go. We've got the Old Bait…" he handed one box over, "we've got the Good Bait," he offered the second box, "and we've got the Super Bait." He perched the third one on top of the other two.

"All for me?" Red said. Pikachu stood on his toes and sniffed the air, attempting to get a whiff of the various Baits.

"Yep," Eno said. "Now remember: the Bait you use depends on the Pokémon you want. Old Bait for weaker Pokémon, Good Bait for slightly stronger ones, and Super Bait for powerful ones like that Gyarados." He slumped. "Unless catching more Magikarp with the Old Bait is another way of luring a Gyarados." He sighed. "I still don't understand that."

"This is awesome!" Red squealed. "I'm going to capture a super amazing Water-type! Aw man, I should've asked Misty for recommendations. Oh well, maybe next time."

Red spun on his heels, dancing with the Fishing Rod like it was his partner at a ball. Pikachu cringed.

"Glad to see that you're so excited, lad," Eno said. "Makes me want to get right back to fishing. And you know what? I think I will. Somewhere else, mind." He jabbed a thumb over at the crater. "I'll assume Vermilion City Council will send someone over to fix that, so I'll go elsewhere and while the rest of the day away."

"And I'll be on my way to Saffron," Red said. "Need another Gym Badge after all."

"Oh, did you already get the Thunder Badge?"

"Thunder Badge?"

Eno shook his head good-naturedly. "Apparently not. There's a Gym here in Vermilion. You may want to check it out before thinking of heading elsewhere for a Gym Battle."

"There actually is one here?" Red said. "Whoa. And you said the Badge is called the Thunder Badge?"

"That's right. Explains mighty well what type of Pokémon the Gym uses."

It did indeed. It sounded like it would be a shocking encounter.

Learning Vermilion had a Gym, what was the first thing Red craved to do at that very moment? Head there and battle the Gym Leader? Well, every atom in Red's body was leaning towards that option. It was so very tempting. But the encounter with Gyarados and his failure to capture it nor any other Water-types had knocked the stuffing out of him a tad. There was no point in battling if you were not all there, especially when it would be a high-stakes one such as against a Gym Leader.

He would simply explore Vermilion for now. Maybe he could go to the construction site he saw when he first got into the city? Maybe he could go and see that cruise ship he heard people clamouring on about? Or Diglett's Cave? Didn't Mint say she came from Vermilion through Diglett's Cave when he first met her? Maybe he could capture one? And that reminded him; he truly needed to stock up on Poké Balls. Wasting one made him feel as though he had wasted a hundred. A few more healing items would not go amiss either.

Yes, there was so much to do, so much to see.

He could spare a quiet day.