Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

Besides, it didn't cost much more.

"Will you be paying by watch transfer, cash, or credit card?"

As the shop owner put the fishing rod into the box, he skillfully asked Tetsuya a question.

Tetsuya took out his Union Card from his pocket and gestured for him to swipe it to pay.

"Speaking of which, do you have any top-grade fishing rods here, shop owner?"

While making the payment, Tetsuya asked the shop owner another question.

He was quite confident in the quality of everything in this fishing tackle shop.

On the one hand, Miss Joey couldn't possibly lie to him; on the other hand, the shopkeeper had only glanced at the fishing gear and then produced one that he felt was quite suitable, which showed he was a hidden master, not to mention the impressive fishing rods hanging on the wall.

"Oh, looks like you did your homework."

The shop owner quickly collected the money, saying jokingly.

"Yes, we do have them, but I guess you're too reluctant to buy them."

He didn't say Tetsuya couldn't afford it because he recognized Tetsuya's identity to some extent. As a Johto native living near Kanto, he naturally had a good understanding of the new generation of genius trainers in the Kanto League.

A young and powerful trainer like that wouldn't be short of money.

But even if you don't lack them, fishing rods aren't exactly a very useful thing.

The shop owner didn't think Tetsuya would be willing to spend a lot of money to buy a so-called top-grade fishing rod. For trainers, spending money on improving their Pokémon's strength is the right way to go.

Fishing rods are generally classified into three quality levels, much like the Pokémon games that Tetsuya played briefly in his previous life. From low to high, they are old fishing rods, good fishing rods, and powerful fishing rods.

The prices of the first two are not expensive for most people. For example, the good quality fishing rod that Tetsuya bought only cost close to five figures in League Coins.

High-end fishing rods are slightly more expensive, but they generally range from 50,000 to 100,000 yuan.

Of course, the main consumer group for the latter two is still concentrated among trainers. Ordinary people who raise Pokémon as family companions mostly use cheap, old fishing rods to satisfy their joy as anglers.

Believe it or not, quite a few ordinary people actually make money from this.

To give a simple example, when some trainers who aren't very good at fishing want to catch a decent Water-type Pokémon but can't catch it even though they have a good fishing rod or even a powerful fishing rod.

In such cases, they often choose to hire ordinary people with good fishing skills to help them catch Pokémon. The ordinary people are responsible for fishing, while the trainers are responsible for capturing them.

One gains money and the other gains a spirit, so it can be considered a win-win situation.

Strictly speaking, according to League law, this behavior involves illegal Pokémon trading, but the League does not strictly control this aspect.

After all, this can also be interpreted as an ordinary person requesting the protection of a trainer, so it's perfectly normal for a trainer to capture their favorite Pokémon during this process.

A more important reason is that trainers are also human, and their energy is limited. It's impossible for them to improve their fishing skills after investing so much in Pokémon training.

If this interaction is prohibited, not to mention the disappearance of some professions that ordinary people rely on for a living, it will also be detrimental to the expansion of the variety of Pokémon trainers can create.

Moreover, stopping one would mean equally stopping many other professions that arose because of the existence of elves, which is unacceptable to the Alliance and would be tantamount to self-destruction in the long run.

So even though the black market has been officially shut down by the League, there are still many private Pokémon trades, it's just more complicated now.

Returning to the question of fishing rods, in addition to the three more common qualities of fishing rods, there is also an extremely rare and precious type of fishing rod, namely the premium fishing rod that Tetsuya just mentioned.

The reason why this fishing rod is considered rare and precious is mainly because it is made from spirit items.

That's right, it's a spirit item that enhances and helps spirit battles.

For example, the large root that appears in the forest and amplifies the stamina absorption effect;

Or it could be a binding hook that appears in sandy environments to enhance the binding or tightening effect;

For example, the red line, which can appear in random environments, can be used to fascinate your opponent when you are fascinated.

The three parts correspond to the rod, hook, and fishing line, respectively.

It's not hard to imagine that they can each serve the purpose of their respective tools when fishing.

Generally speaking, if any one of the three parts is made from a spirit item, it can be considered a top-grade fishing rod.

To date, there has never been a top-tier fishing rod where all three parts are made from spirit items.

Aside from cost considerations, manufacturing technology is also a crucial factor.

Modifying a single spirit item can take up a lot of the maker's energy. Combining multiple spirit items and considering their mutual influence makes it no easy task.

Moreover, machines cannot complete such a process; it can only be done by hand.

Just like the best Poké Ball maker in the world will never be Silph or Devon, but Mr. Steel from Azalea Town.

To put it simply, the head of Silph's Poké Ball Research Center is the son whom Mr. Steel considers a disappointment.

With so many factors combined, the price of special effects fishing rods can be described as astronomical compared to the other three types, with millions or even tens of millions being quite normal.

"I have a fishing rod made from a large rootstock. If you want it, I'll give you a discount and you can take it for 900 million."

The shop owner's face once again displayed that smile that Tetsuya both knew all too well and found incredibly irritating.

"No, no, thank you."

Tetsuya quickly waved his hand, put his newly bought fishing rod and box into his spatial backpack, and then ran outside.

"Hey, if you're not going to buy, how about taking a look? It's 1000 Alliance Coins per visit."

Or should we take a look at Pokémon bait or something?

The shop owner's friendly voice echoed behind me.

Even though Tetsuya could still hear it from a distance, he chose to ignore it.

He's not a sucker, why would he spend that money on a fishing rod?

Buying him is even more impossible; he's not crazy.

Besides, if a breeder like him can't even make fishing bait, then he shouldn't be doing this job.

However, Tetsuya was still surprised that the shop owner had a spare, high-grade fishing rod made from large rhizomes that was available for sale.

This suggests that the shop owner must have an even better one; otherwise, as a seasoned angler, he wouldn't have left such a high-quality fishing rod unused.

Better than premium fishing rods made from large rhizomes...

Tetsuya thought for a moment, and it seemed that the only thing left was a super-grade fishing rod made by combining two kinds of spirit items.

After all, if we only consider the three materials, the large rhizome is not only more difficult to process, but also has a greater effect after completion than the other two.

It seems there are hidden talents everywhere, Tetsuya thought to himself as he walked toward the nearby fishing grounds.

On his way to the fishing grounds, he kept feeling like he had forgotten something.

Zhe was also bewildered, wondering if his own memory could be faulty.

Ten minutes later.

Tetsuya emerged from the fishing tackle shop on the isolated island with a dark expression.

Come again next time!

The shop owner squinted as he said goodbye to Tetsuya from behind.

What Tetsuya, who has a photographic memory, forgot was the fact that the owner of the isolated island fishing ground was also the owner of the isolated island fishing tackle shop, so the entrance ticket had to be bought at the fishing tackle shop.

Actually, these words were clearly written behind the fishing tackle shop counter, but Tetsuya subconsciously blocked them because the shop owner had done so many shady things.

The only saving grace was that the entrance fee to the fishing grounds was only 500 Alliance Coins, which was very cheap, and the shop owner didn't say anything more to Tetsuya, otherwise Tetsuya felt that he would go crazy sooner or later.

"A funny little guy."

The shop owner chuckled as he watched Tetsuya's departing figure, then turned and went back to the courtyard behind the fishing tackle shop to lie down on a rocking chair and rest.

It was interesting and nice as it was, but he had seen too many people chasing after the deserted island, and none of them, except him, had ever been lucky enough to reach it.

Even he didn't have the luck to do it a second time.

With the setting sun overhead and a gentle evening breeze blowing, the shop owner closed his eyes contentedly.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the fishing grounds, Tetsuya handed his ticket to the gatekeeper and was then allowed to enter.

Fishing Ground No. 1 - The main spirits are the Agate Jellyfish clan.

Fishing spot number two – the main Pokémon are Crab family members.

Fishing Ground No. 3 – The main Pokémon are Staryu.

Fishing spot number four – the main Pokémon are the Corsola family.

Also: There are plenty of king carp in every fishing spot, so anglers who fish for king carp all day should not complain; it's just that your skills are lacking or you're unlucky.

Also: I heard there are a few baby alligators living at our fishing spot, but I don't know which spot.

Also: If you want to know which fishing spot has a higher probability of catching small alligators, please turn left after leaving the fishing spot and go to the fishing tackle shop on the isolated island, about 200 meters away, to ask the shop owner for details~

Looking at the long string of words on the sign, Tetsuya felt a strong sense of déjà vu at the last three additional markings.

He shook his head, quickly trying to shake the image of the socially arrogant shop owner out of his mind.

"Then let's go check out fishing spot number three first."

Tetsuya thought for a moment and made a simple decision.

The reason is simple: he doesn't like jellyfish and crabs.

After looking at the map and choosing a direction, Tetsuya started walking.

The fishing grounds in the Pokémon world are more like small-scale aquatic Pokémon nature reserves, where the Pokémon are still wild.

However, compared to fishing anywhere outside where you never know what kind of Pokémon you might catch, the Pokémon populations at the fishing grounds are distributed in a more regular way, so at least you don't have to worry about them all being Magikarp.

"Starfish~ Starfish~"

Tetsuya hummed a little tune as he arrived at Fishing Ground No. 3, located on the west side of the coast.

Although it was late, there were still quite a few people fishing there.

Sitting on the small stool provided by the fishing spot, Zhe didn't start fishing immediately. Instead, he took out the materials from his backpack and started making bait.

One blue aquamarine fruit, half a passion fruit, a pot of special water that supposedly soaked in mysterious water droplets overnight, and the most ordinary flour.

In less than half a minute, a huge bait ball was completed.

Aside from being a bit rough around the edges, Tetsuya felt it was still pretty okay.

He took out his fishing rod, broke off a piece of bait, and officially began his fishing trip for the night.

"Okay, let's set a small goal: catch five, six, seven, or eight starfish in the next hour, then move on to another spot and continue playing."

Zhe was thinking about it casually.

The fishing rod swayed, and the first one caught was a carp king.

Tetsuya remained calm as he watched the Magikarp, its entire body covered in red scales, leaping across the ground.

The first Magikarp is perfectly normal, it's just a good start, a good thing.

He kicked the Magikarp into the sea and continued fishing.

The fishing rod jerked again, and there it was—a second carp, the King Carp.

It's normal. With so many Magikarp surviving, it's perfectly normal for them to fight over food. Tetsuya remained calm.

The fishing rod jerked for the third time, and there was the third carp—the King Carp.

"That Magikarp took the bait pretty quickly," Tetsuya thought, but he remained calm.

Magikarp, Magikarp, Magikarp...

Finally, an hour, both long and short, passed. After catching his 73rd Magikarp, Tetsuya, who felt he was about to become the Magikarp King, was in despair.

He finally understood what the first "other" on the sign at the entrance meant; it turned out that only Magikarp could be caught in the end.

"This is what the fishing spot looks like. I don't know if it's because so many people fish here every day, but these creatures have become smarter, and it's rare for them to take the bait."

The fisherman next to Tetsuya, who had gone from excitement to numbness to despair, chuckled and comforted him.

While ordinary Pokémon might be tempted by hunger, Staryu shouldn't be fooled at all.

These hermaphroditic elves, who can form romantic relationships with anyone, don't have mouths at all. Their feeding method is almost like filtering, or they rely on the red core in the middle of their bodies to absorb energy and survive.

To get them to take the bait, you have to wait until they become curious about the hook.

Tetsuya's decision to tackle a high-difficulty challenge right from the start was undoubtedly a mistake in choosing his target.

Tetsuya gritted his teeth, packed up his bait and fishing rod, and headed towards fishing spot number four, where the sun corals lived.