Johto Region, Goldenrod City.
Pokémon Center.
On opposite sides of the standard battle arena, Adrian and Andreas stood facing each other.
In front of them, Pichu and Poliwag were poised and ready.
Many people gathered outside the arena, whispering and discussing amongst themselves.
"Wow, Andreas is going to battle that kid? This is going to be good! Who do you think will win?"
"Hard to say! As a fishing master, Andreas has caught many powerful and rare pokémon, so he definitely has skill. But that kid seems to be connected to Gym Leader Clair of Blackthorn City, so he probably isn't an easy opponent either."
"From a pokémon perspective, Poliwag is a Water-type pokémon, and Pichu is an Electric-type pokémon, so Poliwag has a type disadvantage. However, Poliwag has evolved once, so its overall strength should far exceed Pichu's, giving it a better chance of winning."
... "Poliwag, use Mud Shot!"
Since it wasn't a formal competition, there was no referee. After exchanging glances, Andreas immediately launched his attack, aiming to seize the initiative and quickly defeat Adrian.
"Yo~"
Poliwag brought its hands together, and countless mud projectiles shot out from its palms, fiercely striking towards Pichu.
Mud Shot is a Ground-type move, which is super effective against Electric-type Pichu.
Adrian dared not be careless and shouted, "Agility!"
"Pi~"
A flash of white light enveloped Pichu, and its body suddenly became much lighter and more agile. As it rapidly moved to close the distance, it effortlessly dodged all the mud projectile attacks, appearing to have plenty of leeway.
Seeing Pichu continuously closing the distance, Andreas was not surprised but delighted: "Go meet it, use Pound!"
Because Poliwag is better at close combat than special attacks.
Moreover, the size difference between the two was several magnitudes; in close combat, Poliwag would have an absolute advantage.
"Yo~"
Poliwag's large eyes fixated on Pichu, and its hands, like white mittens, spread open and swung down like large fans, striking fiercely.
Even from a distance, the onlookers could still hear the whistling sound of the palm strike.
This showed that Poliwag's strength was undoubtedly extremely powerful.
If it hit, Pichu would likely be knocked flying.
Buzz!
But just then, an astonishing light suddenly appeared on Pichu's body; the dazzling white light made it impossible for people to open their eyes.
Especially Poliwag, who had been intently staring at Pichu, was forced to close its eyes, losing its vision completely.
Whoosh!
Poliwag's attack, as expected, missed.
With just a light leap, Pichu jumped behind Poliwag.
Zzz!
Taking advantage of Poliwag's closed eyes and lost vision, a fine electric wave condensed between Pichu's ears and struck Poliwag from behind.
"Yo~"
Poliwag's face immediately showed an expression of pain, and arcs of electricity flickered across its body.
"Damn it! It's Thunder Wave!"
Andreas gritted his teeth, secretly thinking it was bad.
Once hit by Thunder Wave, a pokémon falls into a paralyzed state.
In a paralyzed state, a pokémon not only suffers a significant speed reduction, but the electricity constantly running through its body also affects its movements, and there's even a certain chance that the pokémon's moves will fail.
Undoubtedly, this is an extremely powerful debuff!
"Pi~"
Just when everyone thought Pichu would take the opportunity to counterattack, to their surprise, Pichu gave a cute wink, causing many female onlookers to exclaim how adorable it was.
As a red flying kiss heart struck Poliwag, Poliwag's head immediately spun with stars, and it involuntarily started slapping itself.
Poliwag was confused!
"Not bad, not bad. This little combo is quite smooth, my special training these past few days wasn't in vain."
Adrian watched everything, quite satisfied with Pichu's performance.
First, taking the enemy by surprise with 'Shinny' to deprive the opponent of vision, then using 'Thunder Wave' to paralyze the opponent, and finally using 'Sweet Kiss' to confuse the opponent—this was the smooth little combo Adrian had set up for Pichu.
Once successfully executed, the enemy would basically be incapacitated, at its mercy.
Of course, this was judging from Adrian's perspective.
From the enemy's perspective, this was a bit sinister.
"Three consecutive debuff status moves? Is this Pichu a devil?!"
"Dirty! So dirty! So damn dirty! I feel my blood pressure rising!"
"It's a bit too much! Actually, after Poliwag was paralyzed, Pichu could have counterattacked, but it didn't. Heh, it just played around!"
... Everyone's gaze towards Pichu instantly changed, and their gaze towards Adrian was filled with deep apprehension.
Because Pichu is just a pokémon; in a battle, it only needs to follow orders.
The root of all a pokémon's tactics is actually the trainer behind it.
What kind of good person could a trainer who uses such sinister tactics be?
"Pichu, continuous Thunder Shock!"
And after Poliwag fell into a triple negative status, the outcome of this battle was already decided.
After two consecutive 'Thunder Shock' attacks, Poliwag was scorched all over, collapsing directly to the ground, its body still twitching.
This was because the Thunder Wave inside Poliwag was still at work.
"Pi~"
After winning, Pichu shook its head proudly.
Small in size, but mighty in battle!
That's me!
"You're very strong, aren't you? What's the point of being strong?!"
Andreas's face was gloomy, but he was unconvinced in his heart. He looked at Adrian and sneered, "I am a fisherman, not a battle trainer, and what's being held here is a fishing competition, not a battle. If you're really capable, then beat me in tomorrow's competition."
Andreas took out a poké ball to recall Poliwag, then turned and strode away, not giving Adrian a chance to retort.
"Beat you in tomorrow's fishing competition? That's not impossible!"
A glint flashed in Adrian's eyes.
Andreas is a fisherman, and what he excels at most is fishing.
If he were to be beaten in a fishing competition, it would surely be a huge blow to him.
And Adrian had Misty's special bait; with just a little bit of luck, it was not impossible to beat Andreas.
"Let's go, Pichu! Let's get some good rest today too!"
Adrian waved his hand, and Pichu immediately jumped obediently onto his shoulder and sat down.
As Adrian walked, Pichu's pair of diamond-shaped ears kept wiggling, truly adorable.
When checking into the Pokémon Center, two girls even came up to plead, hoping to pet Pichu.
Seeing that the girls were pretty, Adrian agreed.
However, when the girls finished petting Pichu and, revealing their true intentions, wanted to add Adrian's contact information, Adrian, as a Sigma male, unhesitatingly refused.
Women would only affect his fishing speed!
Of course, rich women were an exception!
... The night passed without incident.
The next morning, Adrian woke up early, took his fishing gear, and arrived at a large bay area on the northeast coast of Goldenrod City.
This was the venue for the Seaking Fishing Tournament.
At this time, a large number of fishermen had already gathered in the bay area, numbering three to four hundred.
Some were resting with their eyes closed, some were exchanging fishing tips, and others were fiddling with their fishing gear, and so on.
Adrian sat on the grass for a while, feeding Pichu some poké blocks.
Just then, a host walked onto the stage and spoke into the microphone: "Welcome everyone to this year's Seaking Fishing Tournament. I am today's host. Now, I will introduce the rules and prizes of the Seaking Fishing Tournament..."