The sweet scent of a Slowpoke's tail held a powerful allure for many Pokémon, but its effect on Shellder and Cloyster was particularly intense.
The moment this group of Shellder caught a whiff of that sweetness, they went completely wild, like addicts chasing their fix. They had lost all reason.
At this point, Caster's bait held absolutely no appeal for them. Even with the lure right in front of their faces, not a single Shellder would bite.
But as time passed, their frenzy gradually subsided and their senses began to return.
And so, at last, one finally took the bait.
"Here we go!"
Caster immediately yanked the rod, and the Shellder was hauled violently from the water.
Once the first one bit, the rest couldn't be held back. They began striking one after another, each scrambling to be next.
Caster was on a streak!
[Shellder caught. Reward: X Defense Defense TM x1.]
[Shellder caught. Reward: Whirlpool TM x1.]
[Shellder caught. Reward: Energy Orb x1.] x N
[Shellder caught. Reward: Rapid Spin TM x1.]
[Shellder caught. Reward: Toxic Spikes TM x1.]
With each Shellder reeled in, the rewards from his cheat ability kept rolling in one after another, and Caster couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.
"Maybe I really should think about raising a Shellder."
Watching the Shellder pile up, the thought surfaced naturally in his mind.
Whether a Slowpoke evolved into Slowbro or Slowking, it needed a Shellder's cooperation in the real world. Rather than grabbing just any random Shellder for the evolution, or letting some opportunistic one latch onto his Slowpoke without warning, Caster much preferred the idea of carefully raising one to be his Slowpoke's proper partner.
Two little ones growing up together from the start, side by side, building a bond along the way. Then, when the time was right, combining into their evolved form with the blessing and witness of their "proud father." That was a proper, beautiful union. Anything less would just be a messy affair.
"These Shellder's talents all seem pretty average, though."
He could see the stat panel of every Shellder he caught, and while some were standouts within their group, stacking them against his own Slowpoke made them look utterly outclassed. None of them were remotely worthy of fusing with his little Slowpoke.
"No rush. I'll keep fishing."
Steadying himself, Caster kept casting and reeling with relentless focus.
He wasn't sure how much time had passed when the feel of the line suddenly shifted beneath his hands.
"This one's a big guy!"
He immediately snapped to attention — "Come give me a hand!"
"Pika!"
"Dra!"
Seeing Caster straining with the rod, Pikachu and Dratini rushed over.
Pikachu, without an ounce of spare muscle on its body, was mostly moral support, but Dratini had been growing steadily larger and stronger from the nourishment of the Dragonair's massive scales, its body now thick and its strength formidable.
Dratini coiled its tail around the rod and pulled with everything it had. Whatever lurked below shot out of the water with a tremendous splash.
It was a massive shell, nearly two meters tall, its surface bristling with jagged spines.
[Cloyster caught. Reward: Shell Smash TM x1.]
[First Cloyster caught. Bonus reward: X Defense x1.]
"An X Defense drop! Finally, another rare reward!"
Caster let out a low whistle as the notification appeared.
Items like X Defense, alongside other stat boosters for Attack and Speed, were the kinds of things that could make or break a battle, and he valued them enormously.
Without exaggeration, back when he faced Lance, those Attack and Speed items had been the deciding factor. Without them, he likely would have lost, and the consequences of that loss didn't bear thinking about.
After the rush of excitement faded, Caster glanced over at the Cloyster with visible disdain. "I'm here picking out Shellder, and you, already fully evolved, just had to show up and crash the party?"
"Cloy!"
Unlike the meeker Shellder, the massive Cloyster was far more aggressive, and the moment it caught Caster's dismissive look, it launched an attack.
A preemptive Electroweb from Pikachu dropped it instantly; the Cloyster twitched and smoked as it tumbled back into the sea.
For all its terrifying physical defense, its Special Defense was laughably weak, a glaring one-sided stat spread. Find the right angle, and taking it down wasn't hard at all.
Caster then turned his attention to the newly earned rewards.
[Shell Smash: Normal-type move. The user breaks its own shell, sharply lowering Defense and Sp. Def, but drastically raising Attack, Sp. Atk, and Speed.]
[X Defense: A curious supplement that sharply raises the Defense stat of a single Pokémon. The effect fades when the Pokémon leaves the field.]
"Shell Smash too, of all things."
Staring at the TM floating in his fishing space, Caster broke into a wide grin.
Shell Smash was, without a doubt, an absolutely broken move. Sure, it dropped Defense and Sp. Def by one stage each, but it boosted both Attack stats and Speed by two stages each.
Once Shell Smash went off, what followed was practically a clean sweep.
Perhaps because both sides of the cape were lined with rocky cliffs and cavern walls, the area was home to an enormous population of shellfish Pokémon. A single dip of Slowpoke's tail had been more than enough to keep Caster fishing for half a day straight.
For three consecutive days, he stayed out at Cape Brink, casting for Shellder.
He had long since lost count of how many he had reeled in. All he knew was that his Energy Orb supply in the fishing space had been replenished handsomely, and he now had a sizable collection of TMs suited specifically for Shellder. The moment he found one worth keeping, he could bring its strength up several notches in no time.
But to his disappointment, he had gone through nearly every Shellder in the waters around the cape, and not one of them had caught his eye.
"Am I setting the bar too high?"
He couldn't help but second-guess himself, half-worried that his Slowpoke, by virtue of being too exceptional, might end up forever alone, growing old without ever finding a worthy partner.
Just then, his phone buzzed unexpectedly.
"Alert, Rotom. Incoming call from Elite Four member Lorelei!"
His phone's Rotom appeared and floated up in front of him.
"Lorelei?"
Caster blinked, then his expression immediately brightened. "Does that mean Lorelei is back on Sevii Islands?"
The thought had barely formed before he answered the call.
On the screen, Lorelei's signature warm smile appeared. "Caster, I'm back home on Four Island. Where are you right now?"
"Lorelei, I'm out at Cape Brink on Two Island, fishing for Shellder."
He held the phone up and panned it around, showing off the endless stretch of blue sea surrounding him.
"Fishing for Shellder? Are you thinking of raising one?"
Caster nodded, answering honestly. "That's the idea."
"Then you might want to try the Icefall Cave. The Shellder there have been soaking in Ice-type energy for generations, so their aptitude for Ice-type moves tends to be a cut above the rest."
Lorelei offered the suggestion with a light smile. "Come to think of it, a few of my own Pokémon, including my Cloyster and Lapras, were caught right there in Icefall Cave."
"Icefall Cave?"
Caster's interest sparked immediately. "Alright then! Lorelei, I'll head over to Four Island to meet you right now."
The thought of seeing Lorelei in person, maybe even getting to visit her home, sent a wave of excitement through him, and before he knew it, his cheeks had gone pink.