Even Siebold was amused by the Magikarp Bai Feng kept fishing up.
Siebold suggested, "It seems hard to catch Clauncher here. How about we try somewhere else?"
Bai Feng thought about it and agreed. Surely, he wouldn't keep catching Magikarp even if they moved?
So, the two packed up, ready to leave.
However, just then, the surface of the sea suddenly churned. Following that, the two saw one Magikarp after another surfaced, all spitting water towards Bai Feng and Siebold.
This scene left both of them utterly bewildered.
What were these Magikarp trying to do?
It would have been better if these Magikarp could express themselves clearly, but all they did was stare with dull, lifeless eyes, constantly spitting and making gurgling sounds, making it impossible for Bai Feng to understand what they wanted to convey.
Originally, Bai Feng wanted to just pull Siebold away, but as a Pokémon Trainer who loved Water-type Pokémon, Siebold insisted on staying to figure out the reason for the Magikarp's abnormal behavior.
But the Magikarp were too silly. Besides spitting water, they just kept staring at the two. After a long while, they still hadn't figured out what was happening.
Just as Siebold was about to give up, a roar suddenly echoed from the distance at sea.
"ROAR!!!"
The sound was loud and powerful, clearly coming from a strong Pokémon.
"It's the cry of a Gyarados!"
Siebold knew most Water-type Pokémon like the back of his hand and instantly recognized which Pokémon the roar came from.
"Gyarados have a volatile nature and easily get into conflicts with others. Let's be careful," Siebold added.
His original plan to leave was abandoned with the appearance of the Gyarados.
Before long, a ferocious-looking Pokémon suddenly emerged from the sea not far from the two. It was the ruler of the ocean—a Gyarados.
However, before Bai Feng and Siebold could express their surprise, another Gyarados emerged from the water.
Seeing this, Siebold gripped the Poké Ball at his waist and whispered to Bai Feng, "Do you have a problem dealing with one Gyarados?"
Bai Feng shook his head, "No problem."
The moment the two Gyarados saw Bai Feng, their eyes lit up. They quickly swam over, reaching Bai Feng and Siebold in the blink of an eye.
Seeing the two Gyarados approach, Siebold quickly stepped back two paces, remaining vigilant.
"Roar~ Roar~"
"Roar~"
Then, the two Gyarados suddenly called out to Bai Feng a few times.
Bai Feng's expression froze as he understood the Gyarados' meaning, then broke into a look of surprise and joy.
"You're the Magikarp from back then?"
The two Gyarados nodded vigorously, their ferocious faces even becoming gentle.
The scene of Bai Feng and the Gyarados chatting happily completely confused Siebold.
"So you've all evolved!" Bai Feng walked over to the two Gyarados and gently hugged their large heads. "I really didn't expect us to meet again."
Brionne beside Bai Feng was also utterly bewildered.
Who are these guys? Why is Bai Feng so happy to see them? Are there Pokémon Bai Feng knows that I don't?
"Roar~ Roar~"
"Roar~"
The two Gyarados explained to Bai Feng the reason they were able to meet again.
"What? You specifically came looking for me?" Bai Feng said in surprise.
It turned out that not long after parting ways with Bai Feng, the remaining seven of the eight Magikarp had also evolved one after another.
Because of the foundation laid by Bai Feng's Golden Finger, the Gyarados' growth speed was much faster than that of ordinary Pokémon.
They used to live in the dangerous deep sea waters, experiencing various life-and-death struggles every day, so their strength grew stronger and stronger.
But as time passed, they became increasingly tired of the endless fighting at sea and increasingly missed the feeling of Bai Feng giving them special treatment.
One day, when the eight Gyarados were gathered together, one of them suddenly suggested, "Why don't we go find Bai Feng!"
This suggestion was instantly approved by the other seven Gyarados.
So the eight Gyarados left the deep sea waters together, following the direction Bai Feng had left in their memory, and finally arrived at the Seaside near Biyi City.
In fact, the eight Gyarados had been here for a year, but they had never managed to meet Bai Feng again.
To find Bai Feng, they worked together to catch all the nearby Magikarp, attempting to use the Magikarp to help monitor the coast and achieve their goal of finding Bai Feng.
The Magikarp didn't recognize Bai Feng, so the Gyarados caught a Bruxish and had it use Psychic to invade their minds, imprint Bai Feng's appearance from their memory, and then transmit it to the Magikarp using Psychic.
The reason Bai Feng kept catching Magikarp today was because a Magikarp recognized him. They wanted to hold Bai Feng back and wait for the Gyarados to arrive.
While they were holding Bai Feng, several Magikarp had already gone to notify the Gyarados as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, although Bai Feng had grown quite a bit over the years, his former appearance was still clearly recognizable, which is why the Magikarp were able to recognize him smoothly.
When Bai Feng and Siebold proposed leaving, the Magikarp were afraid of losing Bai Feng, so they collectively came out to try and keep him there.
This was because the eight Gyarados were not nearby and needed time to arrive.
After hearing the Gyarados' explanation, all of Bai Feng's confusion was finally resolved. He had wondered why he had such a connection with Magikarp; it turned out the root was here.
Thinking of the great effort the Gyarados had gone through to find him, Bai Feng felt touched. He gently patted their heads and said:
"You've worked hard!"
"Brionne! Brionne! Brionne!" Bai Feng, who are they? Who are they?
At this moment, Brionne finally couldn't hold back and asked anxiously.
Bai Feng then remembered that Brionne didn't know the Gyarados. He introduced them, "These are Gyarados. Back when Mother and I left the Island..."
Bai Feng told Brionne the story of how he and Bai Ye met the Gyarados on the Island.
Bai Feng had told his Pokémon about his life with Bai Ye on the Island, but he had rarely mentioned their journey from the Island to Biyi City, so most of the Pokémon at Home didn't know about the Gyarados' existence.
Siebold didn't know Bai Feng's background and was confused while Bai Feng told this part. Seeing this, Bai Feng had to tell Siebold about leaving the Island with Bai Ye.
Siebold was very surprised after hearing it. He had heard his Grandfather introduce Bai Feng as Grandpa Fu's junior and thought Bai Feng was Grandpa Fu's relative. He hadn't expected the truth to be like this.
At the same time, he was moved by the Gyarados' act of traveling thousands of miles to find Bai Feng.
What sincere feelings! Truly worthy of being the Water-type Pokémon I love!
Now that the Gyarados had arrived, the Magikarp gradually dispersed.
These two Gyarados had arrived earlier because they were closer, and the other few were still on their way, so Bai Feng stayed put to wait.
Having some time, Bai Feng chatted with the Gyarados. The Gyarados told Bai Feng about their adventures in the sea over the past few years, while Bai Feng told them about his life in Biyi City.
For a while, both sides chatted, forgetting the time.
At this point, Siebold no longer thought about catching Clauncher. He sat quietly on a reef, listening to Bai Feng and the Gyarados recount their experiences. He suddenly felt that his own life was too peaceful, so peaceful it was completely uneventful.
Bai Feng had been working hard all these years, silently learning a lot of knowledge. Through his own efforts, he not only owned his own Orchard but also significantly improved the living standards of the Orphanage.
The Gyarados' adventures in the deep sea were even more epic. Just listening to their descriptions, Siebold felt thrilled and excited.
If the eight Gyarados hadn't always been united and stuck together, they probably would have been buried in the boundless sea long ago.
Thinking of this, Siebold suddenly wondered if he should try a new life?
Since his Grandfather began a semi-retired life, Siebold had moved to Biyi City to live with his Grandfather and began his training as a Pokémon Trainer under his Grandfather's guidance, while also researching culinary skills in his spare time.
He had made rapid progress over the years, and his Grandfather had always been very satisfied with him. But recently, Siebold suddenly felt as if he had fallen into some kind of slump. Neither his training as a Pokémon Trainer nor his improvement in culinary skills showed any significant progress.
At this moment, Siebold felt that if he stayed in Biyi City and didn't see the outside world, both his training as a Trainer and his research into culinary skills might become stagnant.
Just as Siebold was lost in thought, the remaining six Gyarados finally arrived one after another.
They were reunited with Bai Feng once again, filled with mixed emotions, and let out excited roars, scaring the Pelipper and Wingull foraging by the Seaside quite badly.
After catching up, Bai Feng looked at the Gyarados and asked, "Do you really want to come with me? Although I can afford to support you now, I don't have a vast ocean at Home for you to live in."
Bai Feng was worried that the Gyarados, having been accustomed to the free life of the sea, would be unable to adapt if they suddenly returned to Fangxing Mountain with him.
"Roar~"
"Roar~"
"Roar~"
...
The eight Gyarados nodded without hesitation, determined to go with Bai Feng.
Bai Feng smiled upon hearing this, "In that case, you'll follow me from now on. I won't let you go hungry."
"Roar~"
"Roar~"
...
The Gyarados cheered in unison.
Just then, Bai Feng suddenly thought of something. He said to the Gyarados, "Do you know where there are Clauncher? My friend wants to catch one."
Siebold, who was deep in thought, was startled. He hadn't expected Bai Feng to remember to help him catch a Clauncher even during this reunion after a long separation.
"Roar~" Leave it to us!
The leader Gyarados said. Without waiting for Bai Feng's reaction, it took the other seven Gyarados and dove back into the sea.
Bai Feng and Siebold didn't have to wait long. Soon, the eight Gyarados returned together, each biting onto a struggling Clauncher.
*Plop plop plop*~~~
The eight Gyarados threw the eight Clauncher onto the reef and said to Bai Feng, "Here, choose!"
Siebold looked at the eight hopping Clauncher, a little slow to react. Was it really this easy to catch them?
Because this stretch of coast was near a human city, there were hardly any strong Pokémon. After the eight Gyarados arrived here, they had already thoroughly understood the situation. Naturally, they knew exactly where Clauncher lived.
Finally, Siebold chose the one that was largest and most lively.
"What about the remaining seven?" Siebold asked Bai Feng.
After spending an afternoon together, the awkward atmosphere they had at the beginning had finally disappeared.
Just then, Brionne tugged at Bai Feng.
"You want me to take them back?" Bai Feng asked in surprise, pointing at the seven Clauncher still randomly hopping around.
"Brionne~ Brionne~"
Brionne nodded.
It felt a strong sense of crisis now. It had thought it was the Pokémon that had been with Bai Feng the longest, besides Bai Ye. Unexpectedly, these Gyarados suddenly appeared, and eight of them at once!
Terrifying!
These eight were all Water-type Pokémon, weren't they competing for the same niche? Brionne felt its position was precarious.
To prevent the eight Gyarados from taking Bai Feng's attention in the future, Brionne felt it needed to find some helpers. The ones at Home were all competitors, so it might as well find some from outside.
These seven silly-looking guys in front of it were just right.
Water-type Pokémon were positioned as watering workers in the Orchard. There were eight Gyarados, so if it recruited seven subordinates, wouldn't that also make eight?
Brionne's mental arithmetic was clicking away.
Listening to Brionne's suggestion, Bai Feng thought it was feasible. His Orchard would definitely continue to expand in the future, and the demand for Water-type Pokémon would naturally increase. This could be considered hiring employees in advance.
Clauncher and their evolution, Clawitzer, both have the Mega Launcher Ability, which is quite suitable for watering workers.
"Alright, but since you want to keep them, they'll be under your management from now on," Bai Feng said to Brionne.
"Brionne~ Brionne~" Leave it to me!
Hearing this, Brionne was secretly delighted. It was exactly what it wanted.
Then Bai Feng took out Poké Balls and caught the eight Gyarados and seven Clauncher one by one. He didn't have enough Poké Balls, so Siebold generously sponsored a few.
"Okay, we can go back now."
Seeing that it was getting late, Bai Feng said to Siebold.
"Okay, let's go back," Siebold replied. Today's task was successfully completed.
The two returned to Mr. Bryan's Home. Grandpa Fu and Mr. Bryan were still chatting. Seeing the two enter, Mr. Bryan said kindly:
"How was it? Was the fishing smooth?"
"Yes, the harvest was good," Bai Feng said, nodding happily.
"I've already caught a Clauncher." Siebold seemed a little distracted. Bryan noticed but didn't say much.
Just then, Grandpa Fu stood up and said, "It's getting late. Bai Feng and I should head back."
Mr. Bryan waved impatiently, "Go on, go on, don't come next time!"
Grandpa Fu snorted and left with Bai Feng without looking back.
After Grandpa Fu and Bai Feng left, Mr. Bryan asked Siebold, "You spent the afternoon with Bai Feng. What do you think of him?"
"He's very nice," Siebold replied. Someone who could be so fondly remembered by Water-type Pokémon surely couldn't be a bad person.
Siebold also told his Grandfather that Bai Feng was an orphan. He felt Bai Feng was very impressive and admired him a little.
However, Mr. Bryan already knew about this from Grandpa Fu.
Mr. Bryan said after hearing Siebold's answer, "That's good."
Siebold asked curiously, "Did Grandpa Fu bring Bai Feng to see you for something today?"
"That old fellow wants me to help make Pokéblocks for Bai Feng's Pokémon."
"Did you agree, Grandfather?" Siebold asked.
Bryan was not only an Elite Four but also a master very skilled at making Pokéblocks. However, few people knew about this second identity; only a few close to him were aware. Therefore, he never made Pokéblocks for outsiders.
But Grandpa Fu, his old friend, was an exception. Most of the Pokéblocks for Grandpa Fu's Pokémon were made by Mr. Bryan.
"How could I not agree? It's decades of friendship!" Mr. Bryan replied with a smile. "By the way, is something on your mind? Did something happen?" Mr. Bryan asked again at this point.
(End of Chapter)