The One Fishing... Is Gengar?!

"This doesn't make sense…"

Johan turned to look at the pile of flopping Magikarp on the boat, along with a few Shellder and Goldeen.

No need to guess—other than the Magikarp, the rest were caught by Cynthia and Aaron.

"Top-tier golden fishing gear, top-tier bait… Did I sign some sort of contract with Magikarp? Something must be off!"

But for now, Johan couldn't figure out what the problem was.

At the top of the leaderboard was Lana.

She had already reeled in two Chinchou, a Luvdisc, two Starmie, and a bunch of other high-scoring Water-types, not to mention an absurd number of lower-point Pokémon.

"Forget it. I give up."

Since he couldn't figure it out, Johan decided to just go with the flow.

At least he wasn't going home empty-handed.

Besides, his real goal today wasn't fishing.

"Marsha?"

From the shadow of the boat, Marshadow emerged, gazing at the pile of flopping Magikarp with a thoughtful look.

Are we making Magikarp stew tonight?

Magikarp stew… didn't sound bad.

But it had to be the biggest and fattest one!

Marshadow's eyes swept over the pile of Magikarp—

Before locking onto the largest and plumpest one.

Slurp—

Marshadow swallowed its saliva.

And the Magikarp, sensing its gaze, shivered.

Magikarp: (_.)

SPLASH!

It instantly used Splash Attack, sending water splattering all over Marshadow's face.

"Ka-kaah~! (*σ´∀｀)"

Gengar pointed at Marshadow and burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"Marsha! (◣_◢)"

Marshadow's eyes sharpened.

Magikarp froze in fear.

The next moment—

A dazzling white light burst from its body!

Marshadow blinked in confusion.

Johan and the others also turned their heads, drawn to the sudden glow.

"Wait… did it just…?" Aaron wobbled his ahoge.

"It evolved?" Cynthia said with slight surprise.

Johan instinctively looked at Gengar.

"Ka-kaah! Ka-kaah!"

Gengar waved its hands frantically.

Not me! I swear! I didn't even touch it! It was Marshadow!

Without hesitation, Gengar sold Marshadow out.

Johan turned to the corner of the boat—

Marshadow had just realized what happened. Seeing Johan's gaze, it panicked, turned around, and dove back into the shadows.

Johan's eye twitched.

Why does this always happen around me?

"RAAAARRGGHH!!"

The expanding white light was followed by a deafening roar!

"It's a gigantic Gyarados!"

The announcer finally took notice of their boat.

A normal Gyarados was about 6.5 meters long—

But this one, originally a massive Magikarp, had grown to over 7.5 meters after evolving!

Gyarados was already a high-scoring Pokémon. With its size bonus—

"RAAAAARGH!! GLUB GLUB—"

SPLOOSH!

Johan's little fishing boat couldn't handle a Gyarados that huge—

So Garchomp immediately yeeted it back into the ocean.

When Gyarados surfaced again, it looked… confused.

It turned and saw Garchomp's expressionless face—

And Gengar's menacing grin as it cracked its knuckles.

…

This was not how it imagined its evolution going.

"Ka-kaah~~"

I'm happy for your evolution, but I didn't like your attitude earlier.

Gengar put on its swim goggles—

And jumped in first!

Blub blub blub—

Garchomp snorted.

A dragon like me has no business in the water.

But before Gengar could reach Gyarados—

It suddenly popped back up, eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Ka-kaah!!"

BIG TOOTHY FISH!!

It gestured wildly, puffing up its cheeks in an exaggerated motion.

Toothy fish?

Johan blinked.

How big?

"Ka-kaah!"

Gengar pointed at Gyarados.

BIGGER THAN THAT!

Bigger than a 7.5-meter-long Gyarados?

Was it Kyogre?!

Johan glanced toward Lana's direction—

The water was calm.

…So probably not.

Or maybe—

Team Rocket's submarine?

But weren't they still busy filming a movie?

And let's be real—Team Rocket's taste in submarines leaned more toward Magikarp or Gyarados, not Sharpedo.

Suddenly—

Johan pulled out his phone and called Anabel.

"Johan-sensei?" Anabel answered.

"Anabel, do we have surveillance underwater?" Johan asked.

"Underwater?" Anabel sounded confused.

Her hesitation confirmed it—

The International Police hadn't set up any underwater monitoring. They were only watching the boats on the surface.

"What's going on?"

Cynthia noticed Johan's change in expression and asked.

"I think… we've found the Pokémon hunter gang," Johan said gravely.

"Pokémon hunters?"

Cynthia's eyes widened slightly before her expression grew serious.

"Gengar," Johan called out.

"Ka-kaah?"

Gengar floated on the surface.

"See if you can drag them out!"

Gengar turned to the dazed Gyarados—

And grinned wickedly.

"Ka-kaah…"

It vanished into a cloud of black mist, reappearing on Gyarados's head.

It patted Gyarados's crest.

Behave and take me down there—

Or else…

"RAAAAAAARGH!!"

Gyarados roared in fury and prepared to lash out.

BZZZZT—

Electricity crackled ominously from Gengar's palm—

Dancing right in front of Gyarados's eyes.

Gengar's twisted grin reflected in its pupils—

Amidst the flickering blue lightning.

Or else I'll fry you.

"…RAAAARRGHH!!"

Gyarados immediately surrendered.

Every Pokémon had a duty to capture criminals!

It flipped over and darted toward the target, with Gengar proudly surfing on its back—

Like a ghostly warrior riding the waves!

"Milotic, Gastrodon—go help!"

Cynthia tossed two Poké Balls.

Her Pokémon dove in and followed after Gengar and Gyarados.

At the same time—

The International Police officers all received Anabel's urgent message in their earpieces.

"All units, we've found the target! Keep your eyes on Gengar—Johan-sensei will bring them out!"

Handsome, who was rowing a boat, immediately straightened up.

So the hunters really were sneaking through underwater…

He had suspected it earlier—

But lacked the means to confirm it.

He turned to his Croagunk.

Croagunk: 凸(｀△＋）

"Ka-kaah!!"

Gengar shouted.

FISHING ROD!

Ghostly surfer Gengar zoomed past—

Croagunk grabbed Handsome's fishing rod and threw it toward Gengar without hesitation.

Then—

With an evil grin, Gengar whipped the rod forward!

The hook latched onto the giant Sharpedo.

"Ka-kaah!!"

GET OVER HERE!!

Sharpedo started surfacing—

And the Pokémon hunters realized—

They had been found.

—

Inside a massive submarine shaped like a Sharpedo—

"Boss, something's latched onto the hull!"

The leader of the Pokémon hunters smirked.

"Who cares? Just ram your way through!"

"Full speed ahead!"

The sudden movement inevitably drew the tournament's attention.

"T-That's a giant Sharpedo!!"

"One contestant is locked in a battle with it—it's… it's…?"

When the announcer finally saw who was reeling in the Sharpedo—

They froze.

"The one fishing is… is… GENGAR?!"

The entire audience erupted.

Meanwhile—

Johan rode his Dragonite, Cynthia crouched on Garchomp, her golden hair whipping in the wind—

And Aaron surfed in on his Masquerain.

"Let's lure them out of the tournament area first," Johan ordered.

"Understood!"

The International Police all responded in unison.

The hunt had begun.

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Powerstones?

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