This is freaking insane

But the lake refused to hand him anything new.

He sighed, about to reel in his next cast and consider moving on—when the rod bent violently. Almost yanked from his grip.

"Whoa—what the hell—"

The line zipped across the lake like it had hooked a torpedo. He stood quickly, gripping the rod with both hands, digging his heels into the soft earth. Whatever it was, it was massive. It pulled hard, thrashing, churning the lake's surface into a frenzy. The line strained, the rod creaked dangerously.

BOOM!

A massive blue shape burst out of the water in a coiling leap, scales gleaming like polished sapphires, crimson eyes blazing with fury. It landed on the shallows with a ground-shaking thud, letting out a deafening roar.

"GYAAAAAAAAR!"

Ayan staggered back.

Gyarados.

Level 15. Wild.

"Nope. Not fighting you," Ayan muttered in panic. "You'll steamroll my entire team."

He reached for a Poké Ball—but paused. Then, slowly, deliberately, he pulled out something special:One of his Lure Balls, meant for water Pokémon. Premium catch rate in lakes.

"Let's go."

With a flick, he hurled it straight at the towering serpent.

Click.

The ball hit Gyarados in the center of its brow. A brilliant flash of light consumed it—and it was sucked inside. The ball landed in the mud.

Once.Twice.A long third wobble.

…

Ding.

Ayan stared. Mouth open. Knees bent like he'd been mid-run.

"...No way," he whispered.

The ball stopped moving. The lake was quiet again.

He caught it.

"WOOHOO!" he shouted, jumping into the air, practically dancing as he sprinted to pick up the Lure Ball from the mud. "A Gyarados! On Route 22! Level fifteen! Are you kidding me?!"

He turned to his Pokémon, who were equally stunned. Charmander's flame flickered high in disbelief. Cyndaquil rolled over dramatically. Pidgey screeched once, then fluttered up in celebration. And Shinx just blinked twice… then gave a single approving nod.

Ayan was still riding the wave of adrenaline as he clutched the damp Lure Ball in both hands. His heart pounded like a drumline, and his face hurt from how wide he was grinning. This wasn't just a good catch—it was outrageous.

"A Gyarados. A freaking Gyarados," he said to himself, still not quite believing it. "No battle. No struggle. Just one ball." He chuckled under his breath, then gave a low whistle. "The Super Rod paid for itself already."

It might not mean much in gaming statistics, but it was a huge deal in real world. Very few people could evolve or even catch Gyarados because Gyarados in the wild was very rare and always very powerful. They were known to destroy cities and this description was even written in the PokeDex. 

Once someone in European Alliance annoyed a Gyarados for some unknown reason. This led to the Gyarados chase after him. The man thought he was safe once he was inside the city gates, but that Pokemon didn't let it go and came after him. Thankfully, the Gym leader of the city was quite powerful and was able to stop and catch the Gyarados. 

But even then it caused huge destruction in the area and the man actually died in his escape run. So Gyarados was always looked as some kind of mythical creature. And very, very few Magikarp could even transform into Gyarados. Thus him catching a Gyarados, even though in hindsight it wasn't as powerful as the wild ones, it was still a huge achievement for Ayan. 

"Alright, let's meet the beast." He stepped back from the lake's edge and, with a sense of reverence, enlarged the ball in his palm.

With a flash of white light and a sudden gust of displaced wind, Gyarados emerged. Even in the wide clearing, the serpentine Water/Flying-type took up an intimidating amount of space. It loomed, scales shimmering in the afternoon light, mouth slightly open in a rumbling breath.

But... it didn't roar. Didn't lash out.

It looked down at Ayan—then simply blinked. Curious. Watching.

"Hey there, big guy," Ayan said carefully, holding his ground.

Pokemon : Gyarados 

Level : 15 

Gender : Male 

Ability : Intimidate ( Intimidate lower's the Attack of all opponents by one stage when the ability-bearer switches in (including the start of a battle)/ If a Pokémon with Intimidate is the leading party Pokémon, wild Pokémon are 50% less likely to be lower level. )

Moves : Flail, Leer, Splash, Tackle, Twister, Whirlpool, Ice Fang, Brine, Scary face

Friendship : 70/255

Ayan's eyes twinkled watching the umber of moves this 20 feet tall and huge Pokémon had. He slowly reached into his bag and pulled out his box of Poké Cubes—carefully crafted treats designed to appeal to a Pokémon's taste preferences. He opened the lid and crouched down, letting Gyarados see the assortment.

"I don't know what you like yet," he said. "But let's start figuring that out."

The Gyarados lowered its head cautiously, its breath warm and heavy. Then, without warning, it devoured a cube. Then another. And two more in quick succession.

"...Four?"

The massive Pokémon gave a satisfied growl. Its eyes narrowed just slightly—not in aggression, but in what could only be interpreted as contentment.

Friendship 100/255

"What? Already?" Ayan's jaw dropped again. "Dude, you're just behind Charmander now!" He stepped forward slowly and raised a hand.

"Mind if I...?"

The Gyarados lowered its massive head obligingly, letting Ayan rest a hand on its snout. The scales were smooth but firm, like touching cold metal that radiated a soft heat underneath. Gyarados gave a pleased rumble. Then—suddenly, without warning—the beast shifted and leaned down further, lowering the crest of its neck as if inviting something more.

"You serious?" Ayan whispered. "You want me to ride?"

The head gave a small nod. He scrambled up, gripping the ridge-like scales carefully as he climbed. With one great surge of muscle, Gyarados launched into the air.

Ayan's stomach flipped—but then the rush of wind, the view of the lake shrinking beneath him, the forest in the distance blurring into green smears—it all took over.