"It was just floating there, stiff and unmoving, in the shallow water less than two meters from the shore! Those deeply sunken, dead-fish like eyes on that 'human face' were just staring at me so darkly!"
The fisherman's voice trembled as he fought to suppress his fear. "It felt like something evil down there was pulling my soul straight out of my body. There was only one insane thought in my head—get in the water… dive down and catch it. I'd already taken off one shoe—half my foot was about to step into that dark green water."
He whipped his head around, shooting a wildly grateful look at the small brown beast still dutifully keeping watch on the high bank behind him. "If it wasn't for my Sentret, I would've been a goner! It suddenly let out a shrill, distorted warning scream. That shriek was like a sledgehammer, instantly smashing the evil urge in my head to pieces!"
"The moment I woke up, a cold wind blew across the water," he continued, still reeling. "I looked down and finally got a clear look at that 'dead man's face' that looked like a rotting corpse! Then, as if it knew I was awake and couldn't be lured into the water anymore, the bizarre monster fish vanished into the deep water! Master, tell me, isn't this a water ghost looking for a replacement?!"
Listening to the fishing bro's wildly vivid, suspenseful account—which sounded more like a paranormal thriller than reality—the viewers, who were already spooked by the dark environmental backdrop of the stream, completely exploded. The chat feed was instantly submerged in a wave of sheer panic and frantic comments.
[Viewer "Goji Berries in a Thermos": Mother of God! Bro, please stop talking! I'm working the night shift alone, and every hair on my body is standing up! This is definitely a 'guiding fish' or 'water monkey' from the folk legends! They specialize in confusing fishermen in wild ponds and drowning them!]
[Viewer "Wilderness Survival Boss": Stagnant pools in the wilderness are prime breeding grounds for this kind of evil stuff! The calmer the water, the heavier the resentment underneath. Bro, you really need to go home and set up a feast for your Sentret! If it wasn't for that yell, you'd be blowing bubbles at the bottom of the lake right now!]
[Viewer "Canyon's Strongest Keyboard Warrior": Are you telling us a ghost story right now?! A monster fish with a rotting human face? That makes zero biological sense! I highly suspect you were just too excited about catching fish back-to-back today, which led to brain hypoxia and severe hallucinations!]
[Viewer "Veteran Breeder Old Wang": I've studied Pokémon for most of my life. I've seen my fair share of ferocious Water-types, like Gyarados and Sharpedo. But something 'covered in potholes, tattered, and capable of confusing the mind' is unheard of! This completely exceeds the scope of Pokémon!]
[Viewer "Midnight Heartbreak Club": I'm begging you! Where are the mods?! Shut this stream down! Running a paranormal exploration script this late at night—I'm definitely going to have nightmares. That description of the dead man's face is way too graphic; I'm too scared to even go to the bathroom now!]
[Viewer "Scientific Cultivation Boundless Mana": Appraisal complete. The streamer and the caller are putting on a scripted act for hype. They just appraised some top-tier eggs, and now they're pulling out water ghost legends. They'll do anything for traffic. Let's disperse, it's all fake.]
[Viewer "Frontline Melon Eater": Holy crap! If this is true, this guy has a death wish! He didn't immediately pack up and run, but actually dared to sit at the scene of the crime and video chat with Master Miles?! I can only bow down to this level of psychological fortitude!]
[Viewer "Outlaw John Doe": It's better to believe it than not! Who knows how many corpses have sunk to the bottom of these wild, sunless lakes? It wouldn't be surprising if some mutated water ghost Pokémon spawned from it. Bro, listen to my advice: your life is more important. Retreat immediately!]
Seeing over half the live chat questioning whether he was spinning a ghost story or hallucinating, the fishing bro grew frantic. For a fisherman, you could question his technique, but you absolutely could not question what he saw with his own eyes by the water!
"I didn't write a script! And I'm definitely not hallucinating!"
He flushed bright red, his neck bulging as he violently raised his right hand. Facing the camera with a solemn, almost tragic expression, he swore the most ruthless oath known to any angler: "I swear on this top-tier carbon fishing rod I bought for over ten thousand bucks! If I'm speaking a single word of a lie, or if I'm acting to deceive everyone, let me be skunked every single time I cast a line for the rest of my life! May I never even hook a single blade of seaweed!!!"
The moment those words dropped, the viewers who had been stirring up drama and calling it a script sucked in a sharp breath, instantly shutting their mouths. For a guy whose ID was literally [Never Skunked Fishing], swearing an oath to be "skunked for life" was a curse far harsher than anything else. He truly meant it—he was desperate.
"Brother, put your hand down. I never said you were making up stories."
Just as everyone was reeling in doubt, Miles finally spoke. His voice remained steady and calm, acting like an anchor in the chaotic live chat, instantly suppressing all the panic and skepticism.
Interlocking his fingers, he stared deeply into the screen.
"I believe you," Miles stated plainly. "Not only do I believe that everything you just saw was real, but..."
He deliberately dragged out the final syllable, a mysterious smile appearing at the corners of his lips. "I can also tell you that what you saw was absolutely not some ethereal underwater vengeful spirit, nor was it a water monkey looking for a replacement. Based on your description—potholed, tattered, and sporting a 'dead man's face'—that thing not only has a physical body, but it also perfectly matches an extremely obscure, bizarre, but very real Pokémon in my mind!"
Boom!
Miles's words were like a depth charge, instantly sending a thousand-foot wave crashing through the live chat!
[Viewer "Goji Berries in a Thermos": Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!!! What did Master Miles just say?! That thing is actually a Pokémon?! Are there really Pokémon with dead human faces in this world?! What kind of hellish joke is this?!]
[Viewer "Wilderness Survival Boss": How is that possible?! Nature is miraculous, but evolution follows basic aesthetics! How could something that looks like rotting flesh and gives you nightmares just by looking at it survive and reproduce in the ecosystem?!]
[Viewer "Canyon's Strongest Keyboard Warrior": Master Miles, stop keeping us in suspense! My curiosity is literally in my throat! What kind of bizarre Pokémon is that? To scare a grown man into almost throwing himself into a lake?]
[Viewer "Veteran Breeder Old Wang": I am ignorant. I truly cannot think of any Water-type Pokémon that fits such a terrifying description. Master Miles's knowledge is simply unfathomable!]
"Master, are... are you telling the truth?! That's really just a Pokémon?! Not some water ghost?!" The fishing bro babbled incoherently, as if grasping at a lifeline.
If it was just a Pokémon, at least half of the terror in his heart would dissipate.
However, before Miles could answer, and before the wild joy on the fishing bro's face could fully bloom, the stream's public screen was suddenly overrun. As if hacked by someone, the chat feed was instantly flooded with countless blood-red, exclamation-mark-riddled comments!
[Viewer "Midnight Heartbreak Club": BRO!!! DO NOT TURN AROUND!!! Behind you! There's something coming up out of the water behind you!!!]
[Viewer "Just Want to Play With Squirtle": HOLY FUCK AHHHHHH!!! The water ghost! The water ghost is back!!! It's staring at you from the reeds right behind you!!!]
[Viewer "Frontline Melon Eater": Mother of God! There really is a face! A dead man's face really floated up from under the water!!! Help! My heart just stopped!!]
[Viewer "Outlaw John Doe": Run, bro!!! That thing poked its head out! Those hollow eyes are staring dead at the back of your head!!! RUN!!!]
[Viewer "Scientific Cultivation Boundless Mana": Mods, shut down the stream! This is not a drill! This is not a drill! There is a genuinely terrifying unidentified creature on camera! It's too scary!]
[Viewer "Elden Ring Gold Medal Instructor": Heavens... How can such an ugly, hair-raising creature exist in this world... My blood pressure is spiking...]
[Viewer "Outlaw John Doe": Bro, absolutely do not move! It's less than a meter away from you! If you move, you'll definitely startle it! Master Miles, hurry and think of a way to save him!!!]
Seeing the screen fill with frantic warnings, feeling like doomsday had arrived, the fishing bro's blood instantly froze. A freezing draft grazed the back of his neck, as if it had come from the depths below. He froze in place like a rusted statue, clutching his phone in a death grip. His breath caught—he didn't dare turn his head in the slightest.
But through the wide-angle lens of his phone's front-facing camera, Miles and the tens of thousands of viewers across the internet witnessed a shocking, crystal-clear scene unfold on the water behind him!
Less than a meter behind the fishing bro, right at the edge of the shallow reed bed, the dead-silent, ink-green water rippled faintly without any warning. Immediately after, a massive, bizarre head intertwined with earthy brown and yellowish hues slowly, silently came to the surface.
The moment the creature's face was fully exposed to the lens, countless people in the live chat gasped in sheer horror, some even letting out physical screams. It had the shape of a fish, but wore a mug that could give someone nightmares for three days straight.
Its body was cratered and covered in rough, dark spots, looking exactly like rotting flesh that had been severely corroded by strong acid. It lacked any of the smooth scales a fish ought to have. Its fins were a dilapidated gray-blue, their edges jagged and frayed like torn rags, drooping weakly against the water.
But the most terrifying part was its face.
It had incredibly thick, dead-gray lips that drooped slightly. Both eyes bulged outward, yet the sockets surrounding them were deeply sunken and blackened. Due to its overall skeletal structure and the arrangement of its spots, the dim twilight refraction, coupled with the human brain's tendency to see familiar patterns, made its fish face look exactly like a twisted, unyielding, and infinitely resentful rotting human face from certain angles.
Right then, the two bulging dead-fish eyes on that "dead man's face" were staring at the fishing bro who was frozen stiff on the bank. This scene cranked the uncanny valley effect to the absolute maximum.
Gulp.
A terribly difficult swallow tore from the fishing bro's throat. Although he didn't dare look back, watching the horrific reflection of the creature behind him on his phone screen sent tears pooling in his eyes. His voice broke into a despairing sob. "M-Master... I can feel it right behind me... Am I going to die here..."
"Don't panic! Stay calm! Whatever you do, don't move around and startle it!"
Just as the entire internet plunged into absolute panic, Miles's incredibly steady voice—even carrying a faint hint of excitement—rang out through the live chat like a morning bell. As a man gifted with special abilities, the very second Miles laid eyes on the incredibly ugly creature, he had activated the Eye of Pokémon Insight.
Hum—!
A highly detailed data panel glowing with a faint blue light instantly overlaid the monster in the water.
[Target: Feebas (Fish Pokémon)]
[Level: Infancy, currently in an extremely slow accumulation phase]
[Type: Water]
[Gender: Female]
[Base Stats: D-Rank (200, the absolute bottom of the barrel, extremely weak)]
[IVs: A-Rank (169, amidst this exceptionally mediocre species, she possesses one-in-a-hundred outstanding innate potential!)]
[Ability: Oblivious (Extremely long neural reflex arc, highly delayed reactions, completely immune to emotional interference like infatuation and taunts)]
[Nature: Bold (Defense ↑ Attack ↓; despite her ugly appearance, she possesses a massive heart that fears no strangers)]
[Moves: Splash (Aside from flopping twice on the water's surface, it is a useless skill with absolutely zero lethality)]
[Current Status: Safe / No offensive intent / Purely zoning out and observing]
And at the very bottom of this long string of basic data, a Fate Entry shimmering with a soft, pure white light completely laid bare the true inner world of this Pokémon that everyone viewed as a terrifying monster.
[Fate Entry: Innately Curious (White) - Because her appearance is ugly, she is fiercely despised and ostracized by other Pokémon in the underwater world, living in loneliness all the time. But there is absolutely no resentment or malice in her. The only reason she is floating quietly by the shore like a ghost is because of the pure curiosity nurtured by her loneliness! She is simply observing the strange human on the bank, dressed in weird clothes, who keeps throwing food into the water.]
Pfft...
Reading through the entry analysis, Miles couldn't help but chuckle internally.
'What life-claiming water ghost?!' he mused. 'This is clearly just a lonely ugly duckling who couldn't make any friends, so she curiously swam to the shore to watch a human fish! That isn't a man-eating gaze; that's an "undercover observation" full of curiosity!'
'Come to think of it, normal Feebas are generally shy and withdrawn—where would they get the curiosity? I have to admit, this white Fate Entry is pretty good. At the very least, her evolution into Milotic is an absolute certainty.'
"Everyone, put your hearts back in your chests." Miles leaned back against his wide chair. Under the wildly disbelieving gazes of tens of thousands of viewers, he announced in an incredibly relaxed, almost teasing tone. "Brother, you can go ahead and turn your head. You can even try reaching out to pet her."
"I can guarantee to the entire internet, staking all my reputation as a Master Appraiser, that the weird fish with the so-called 'dead man's face' in the water behind you harbors zero malice toward you. Furthermore, the only tangible physical damage she could possibly inflict upon you is, in all likelihood, splashing two drops of water onto your face."
Miles took a deep breath, dropping the ultimate answer that was enough to shatter everyone's common sense.
"She is absolutely not some urban legend water ghost."
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