"Young man, what's your name?" Asked Bryan, as a kindly old man with a gentle smile.
"My name is Cole, Mr. Bryan."
Bryan nodded, "Hmm, that's a good name."
"Well, are you going to make us stand at the doorway to talk?" Ramos interjected.
Bryan glared at him, then turned to Cole with a smile, opening the door fully, "Come in, come right in."
He led the newcomers inside.
The home was simply furnished with only essential items, adorned solely by photographs hanging on the walls. Each photo showed Bryan with different water-type Pokémon, revealing his deep love for them.
Cole noticed another figure appearing in several photos — a young boy about his age...
Ramos, who had already made himself comfortable on the sofa, asked, "Where's Siebold? Not home?"
"He went fishing, he should be back soon." Bryan replied.
Ramos glanced at Cole, "Siebold is this guy's grandson, about your age. You two should get along well."
Siebold... that name...
Before Cole could think further, Bryan said, "Siebold should be back soon. I'll introduce you to him."
Cole nodded, about to speak when the door opened behind him. A wind chime hanging by the entrance tinkled crisply, and with that sound entered a slender young man.
The young man stood about Cole's height, with light blonde hair, bearing a strong resemblance to Bryan. He was the same youth from the photos — unmistakably Bryan's grandson, Siebold.
Though Siebold... this seemed to be the name of a future Kalos Elite Four member. Cole couldn't confirm if they were the same person by appearance alone, as this one was still just a young boy.
But the characteristics matched — his grandfather was a water-type Pokémon trainer, and he had blonde hair.
"Grandpa, I'm home!"
The boy called out as he entered, then noticed Cole standing in the living room.
Upon seeing the guest, he paused in his tracks and politely said, "Hello."
"Hello." Cole responded.
"Siebold, you're back!" Ramos said cheerfully.
"Old Ra, you're here!" Siebold exclaimed, finally noticing the old man on the sofa. His familiar tone made it clear they knew each other well.
Behind Siebold, a Squirtle followed obediently, carrying a metal bucket while eyeing Cole with curiosity.
Bryan glanced at the empty bucket, "Still no luck?"
Siebold shook his head, "No."
Bryan turned to explain to Cole, "Siebold wants to catch a Clauncher, but he's been to the seaside several times without any success."
Cole nodded as Bryan introduced him to his grandson.
"This is Cole, Ramos's junior. I hope you two get along well."
Siebold nodded and gave Cole a slight smile before turning to Ramos, "Since Old Ra is here, please stay for lunch — I'll start preparing now."
Ramos clapped his hands, "Good, that's exactly what I was hoping to hear!"
Bryan glared at him, "Did you deliberately come at lunchtime?"
Cole found this exchange puzzling, though its meaning became clear during lunch.
As Siebold headed toward the kitchen, Cole offered, "Let me help too!"
Bryan quickly waved his hand, "I'll go — we can't have a guest helping."
Ramos intervened, "Let Cole go. Come chat with me instead; I have something to discuss with you."
Bryan relented and found an apron for Cole — judging by its size, it must have been Siebold's. The apron was sky blue with delicate white flowers printed on it, quite... cute...
When Cole entered the kitchen, Siebold had already begun working, his movements skilled and efficient, clearly indicating his familiarity with cooking.
What a capable kid!
Siebold wore a matching apron with identical white flowers, though his was gray.
"Thank you for helping."
Having just met, and neither being particularly skilled at conversation, their interaction remained somewhat awkward. They focused on their work, speaking little throughout.
With Cole's average cooking skills, he could only assist Siebold by washing vegetables and fetching ingredients.
As time passed, increasingly delicious aromas filled the kitchen, revealing just how talented Siebold was at cooking!
This further convinced Cole that this must be the future Kalos Elite Four member — after all, that Siebold was not only an Elite Four member but also a renowned chef!
Soon, they brought dish after dish to the table. Ramos immediately sat down and began eating, behaving nothing like a guest.
"Siebold's cooking is still the best!" He exclaimed with satisfaction.
Bryan gave him another glare before turning to Cole, "Sit down, everyone — let's eat."
Cole nodded and took his place beside Ramos.
All the dishes on the table looked appetizing, and Cole didn't know where to start.
Seeing his hesitation, Ramos pushed a plate of Slowpoke tail sashimi toward him, "Try this, it's Siebold's specialty!"
Cole knew that Slowpoke tails were edible and specially farmed for the market, though he had never tried one before.
Slowpoke tails, having almost no nerves, break off painlessly — much like a human haircut. Their delicious taste has led to specialized farms raising Slowpoke specifically for their tails.
The League strictly regulates these Pokémon food farming facilities. Everything from tail harvesting frequency to the Slowpoke's living conditions and psychological well-being is carefully monitored.
Due to these strict regulations, very few facilities exist, making Slowpoke tails quite expensive.
This extends beyond just Slowpoke tails — Petilil stems, Tropius bananas, Gloom saliva, Bounsweet fruit pulp, and other Pokémon-derived foods all require rigorous League oversight for commercial farming.
The Slowpoke tail before Cole was beautifully presented — sliced into uniform, translucent pieces that looked fresh and inviting.
He carefully lifted a piece with his fork and tasted it. An explosion of umami filled his mouth — the meat was fragrant, tender, and impossibly smooth, without a trace of fishiness. A subtle, plant-like aroma lingered after each bite.
Cole couldn't find words worthy of such exquisite cooking. Now he understood why Ramos had timed his visit for lunch — this meal was extraordinary!
Despite his youth, Siebold's culinary mastery was simply otherworldly. Both Ramos and Cole were thoroughly impressed.
After lunch, Cole suddenly remembered why he had come today and glanced at the old man.
Ramos, deep in conversation with Bryan, caught his look and signaled with his eyes to be patient.
Seeing this, Cole could only wait.
Ramos turned to Siebold, "Are you still going to catch Clauncher this afternoon?"
"That's the plan." Siebold replied.
Hearing this, Ramos suggested, "Why don't you take Cole with you? I need to discuss something with your grandfather, and with two of you together, you might have better chances of catching a Clauncher."
Siebold looked at Cole, who nodded in agreement, "Alright, let's go together then."
After resting briefly, the two boys each shouldered a fishing rod and set out. Siebold's house had plenty of spare rods since he and his grandfather often went fishing by the sea.
Siebold, who knew the area well, quickly led Cole to a promising spot where huge rocks covered the shoreline, "Clauncher like to hide in this kind of environment."
Before casting his bait, he called out his Squirtle again.
"When we hook a Pokémon, we can have our partner Pokémon battle it first, then catch it." He explained. Then, as if just remembering something, he asked, "Are you a trainer? If not, I can lend you a Pokémon."
Cole waved his hand, "No need, I have one."
He released his Brionne.
"Bri!!!"
Upon seeing the ocean, Brionne became excited and started calling out to the sea.
Cole quickly cautioned it, "We're going to fish soon, so keep quiet, or you'll scare away the Pokémon in the water and we won't catch anything."
Brionne immediately covered its mouth, promising to stay quiet.
Siebold looked surprised, "Oh, you have a Water-type Pokémon too!"
"Yes, this is Brionne."
Cole introduced Brionne to Siebold and Squirtle, and the two Water-type Pokémon exchanged friendly waves.
With preparations complete, they began fishing in earnest.
Time passed quietly until Siebold's line moved. Rather than rushing, he waited for the underwater Pokémon to tire itself before starting to reel in.
The Pokémon surfaced — just an ordinary Remoraid.
Disappointed, Siebold didn't bother continuing to reel, letting the Remoraid struggle free and fall back into the sea.
His fishing technique proved impressive. After the Remoraid, he caught several more Pokémon — Magikarp, Goldeen, Qwilfish, Corsola, and others.
Meanwhile, Cole hadn't caught anything yet, feeling rather inadequate.
Siebold released every Pokémon he caught — after all, his target was Clauncher, so the others held no interest.
Cole actually didn't want to catch any Pokémon — he was mainly there to help Siebold catch a Clauncher.
As time passed, Siebold continued having frequent catches. Though he released them all, it was still quite a successful haul. Meanwhile, Cole had only caught dead branches and leaves, which left him feeling embarrassed.
"Why aren't any Pokémon biting?" He wondered, despite Siebold's fishing tips.
'Am I really this bad?' Cole thought to himself.
Suddenly, he had an idea. He took out his space bag, retrieved some berries, cut them into small pieces with a knife, and scattered them near his bait.
Siebold looked at him with surprise but stayed quiet. He sometimes used this method too, though he preferred specially prepared Pokémon food that Water-types liked, rather than berries.
"Will berries really work?" Siebold asked skeptically.
As it turned out, Cole's berries did work — perhaps too well.
After just a short while, his line moved. Being a fishing novice, he quickly imitated Siebold's earlier movements and pulled a Pokémon to the surface.
The Pokémon was bright red with golden fins and large round eyes — a Magikarp, one of the most common Pokémon in the sea!
"Karp karp karp~"
The Magikarp dangled from the end of the fishing rod, wriggling in the air while Cole stared, dumbfounded.
After throwing it back into the sea, he continued fishing. Now that he'd caught his first Pokémon, surely there would be others, he thought.
Indeed, another Pokémon soon took the bait. Cole was excited, but when he pulled it up, he was stunned.
It was another Magikarp...
Then came the third, fourth, and fifth catches — all Magikarp.
Cole wondered if his random combination of berry pieces was particularly appealing to Magikarp.
So he tried a different combination, cutting up new berries and throwing them into the water. But it wasn't the berries' fault — after a while, what hooked on his line was yet another Magikarp!
✲✲✲
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