Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

"It's so beautiful."

Looking up at the beautiful night sky amidst the misty atmosphere, Zhe couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

Bogarman, on the other hand, swooped down and jumped into the pool.

This place is much bigger than where it used to live, but the water quality is just so-so.

Bogarman thought to himself as he floated on the water.

"Waterfalls are great for Fighting-type Pokémon to train under high pressure. It's a pity your Blaziken can't do that, but Gallade could try it, which would also help train its psychic abilities."

Nobuhiko pointed to the rushing water and said.

Tetsuya glanced at the waterfall, which was hundreds of meters high, and nodded subconsciously.

He was well aware that this training method placed extremely high demands on both the elf's body and mind.

No wonder Nobuhiko chose to undergo ascetic training and ascetic practices here.

Even in the Pokémon world, waterfalls of such exaggerated height are rare.

"However, I remember you said there would be a special view tonight, but the view should be the same every night now."

Tetsuya looked at Nobuhiko.

Nobuhiko smiled mysteriously: "Don't be in such a hurry, look."

He pointed towards the top of the waterfall.

Tetsuya and Kogoro, who had just lowered their heads due to neck pain, had no choice but to raise their heads again.

In the sky, a bright full moon hangs high in the sky, and a beam of moonlight shines down vertically onto the waterfall.

The surroundings seemed to be draped in a light veil, making it appear hazy and indistinct.

Looking down again, I saw that the entire pond had been covered with a dense mass of red, which were countless carp kings that could be seen everywhere.

"Poga Poga"

Bogaman scrambled and crawled onto land.

Although a single Magikarp is weak, the sheer number of them appearing together would be enough to overwhelm Piplup with their sheer physical toughness.

If it evolves into Empoleon, it can hold its own, but in its Piplup form, forget it.

The pale blue water of the waterfall was gradually covered by red.

Countless Magikarp swimming upstream launched an attack on the waterfall.

Magikarp is constantly being knocked down by the force of the waterfall, but its kin immediately fill the gap.

They seemed tireless as they swam upstream frantically.

"The carp leaps over the Dragon Gate."

Xiao Gang muttered the name of this scene to himself.

Legend has it that the Dragon Gate is located above the waterfall, and to transform into a dragon, one must swim upstream against the current to the top of the waterfall.

The weak Magikarp cannot climb waterfalls, but the powerful Gyarados can.

The carp leaping over the dragon gate represents both the efforts of the carp kings to become stronger and their angry roar of defiance against their own weakness.

The three of them stood there, staring blankly.

Chapter 443 Leaping Over the Dragon Gate

Tetsuya subconsciously raised his wristwatch and started recording.

If nothing unexpected happens, this will be the fourth location in the Pokémon world to be found where the "carp leaping over the dragon gate" phenomenon is observed.

The other three are located in the Orange Islands, Hoenn, and Unova.

"Where did these Magikarp come from?" Xiao Gang asked, observing the Magikarp.

Although Magikarp is a Pokémon that can be found everywhere, it is still quite surprising to see a large group of them appearing in this pond.

Nobuhiko remarked from the side, "This is probably the magic of elves."

Even the most authoritative Pokémon professors wouldn't dare to say what made these Magikarp gather here.

Perhaps it's the fluctuation of the light of evolution, or perhaps it's an instinct deep within the body.

They converge here from countless underground rivers.

“Look there.”

Zhe didn't participate in the two's discussion. Instead, he held up his wristwatch in one hand and pointed to a certain spot on the waterfall with the other, making an excited sound.

Xinyan and Xiaogang looked in the direction he was pointing.

A touch of gold mixed in with the red stood out so brightly.

"It's a shiny Magikarp!"

Both of them expressed some surprise.

But that's all there is to it.

Research has shown that the occurrence rate of Shiny Pokémon has remained stable at around one in 100,000, regardless of the type of Pokémon.

This results in a significant number of shiny Pokémon among the countless Pokémon like Magikarp, given the sheer number of them.

If you might not find a single shiny Pokémon in a large forest, you're sure to find a shiny Magikarp in a large lake.

It's not surprising to see a shiny Magikarp in the Dragon Gate.

However, for a Pokémon like Magikarp, even a shiny one has limited value.

It's mostly because the flash color is generally golden yellow, which is why it's sought after by the wealthy.

Becoming ornamental pets kept in the bathtub is their most common fate.

Since a shiny Pokémon has absolutely nothing to do with whether it can evolve into Gyarados, that's a problem.

Unless it evolves into Gyarados, Magikarp is undoubtedly one of the weakest Pokémon.

Many people don't even consider Shiny Magikarp to be a Shiny Pokémon, feeling that it lowers the rarity and prestige of Shiny Pokémon.

Besides, I've never heard of anyone raising a shiny Magikarp into a shiny Gyarados.

The probability of Magikarp evolving into Gyarados is already low, and shiny evolution is even more difficult.

While there are a considerable number of Shiny Magikarp, that's only relative to the number of Shiny Pokémon of other types; compared to the overall number, it's still a negligible amount.

Therefore, people still don't know what color a shiny Gyarados is.

Tetsuya did know that it was red, just like the red Gyarados that Wataru was currently searching for in the Team Rocket experiment.

However, the two are worlds apart.

A normal red Gyarados evolves from a golden Magikarp, and the red color of its scales is its own.

As for the experimental subject, the red color on its body is the same as that of Magikarp, a defect that is not considered a defect due to forced evolution.

Although they have become rare, different colored elves, any elf with its own thoughts would be unhappy to have its body color different from that of its kind.

Sometimes, their unusual coloration might make them popular with their peers, but more often than not, they'll be ostracized.

The golden Magikarp had just rushed up the waterfall and swam about one-fifth of the way before it ran out of steam.

The cascading water pushed it down hard.

The ordinary Magikarp around it met a similar fate.

After resting for a while, they launched another assault on the waterfall.

"What an admirable spirit!" Nobuhiko exclaimed.

As a fighter, he had genuine admiration for this scene.

“Having spirit alone is useless.” Tetsuya shook his head.

Although it may be a bit too direct, what he said is true.

In his field of vision, it was clearly visible to the naked eye that the heights reached by these Magikarp launching their second and third attacks were not a significant breakthrough compared to their first.

Not to mention the fourth, fifth, and sixth times after their strength was exhausted, they rushed to a lower altitude each time.

The most typical example is the golden carp.

Because its color was so eye-catching, Tetsuya's gaze was frequently drawn to it.

But even at my best, I only managed to swim about a third of the way, leaving two-thirds of the distance still to go.

That is the insurmountable barrier between Magikarp and Gyarados.

Xiao Gang, however, stared intently at it.

"What? You want to subdue it?"

Tetsuya read his thoughts from his body's reactions.

"A little," Xiao Gang didn't deny it.

His mother, Xiaomi, is a highly skilled Water-type trainer, so he has been exposed to Water-type Pokémon from a young age.

In his opinion, this golden magikarp has good potential.

He also wanted to try to breed the world's first shiny Gyarados.

Despite being the heir to the Rock-type Gym, raising Water-type Pokémon isn't a big deal for him, given his father's henpecked nature.

Tetsuya glanced at the panel that Zero had provided.

Shiny Magikarp has the potential to become an elite, and it does have a certain possibility of evolving into Gyarados.

Having high aptitude doesn't guarantee reaching that level; many other factors also influence it, including but not limited to the Pokémon's efforts.

After evolving into Gyarados, its potential will be greatly improved, at least to the level of a near-Elite Four member. With a bit of luck and the addition of a Water Stone, it's not unrealistic to expect it to reach Elite Four status.

This would be impossible for a normal Pokémon, but it's quite normal for Magikarp and Feebas.

Gyarados and Milotic are on a completely different level of life compared to them.

Even so, Tetsuya had no interest in this shiny Magikarp.

He didn't particularly like elves who were too headstrong.

In his view, the best way to deal with the Dragon Gate is, besides becoming strong oneself, to get help from one's own kind.

If these Magikarp work together, there is a good chance that some of them will be able to leap over the Dragon Gate.

Unfortunately, driven by their own desire to evolve, not a single Magikarp was willing to sacrifice itself for the sake of other Pokémon.

It's easy to understand why they are strong.

Magikarp may be weak, but there are still Magikarp that can leap across a mountain in one bound.

Compared to its kind that can only leap two meters above the water, this creature is undoubtedly the "strongest" among Magikarp—even though it jumps high, its fighting power is still approximately zero.

For a Magikarp like this, leaping over the Dragon Gate is not a very difficult thing, and the evolved Gyarados must be very powerful.

Tetsuya believed that with the potential of this golden magikarp, it was not impossible for it to achieve this, it just needed time and continuous training.

The best course of action is to temporarily forgo this opportunity to leap over the dragon gate and wait until you are stronger before trying again.

But Xiao Gang doesn't think so.

In his eyes, this Magikarp has a very resilient personality and also has the rare Rock-type traits, making it a rather excellent Water-type Pokémon.

This probably comes down to the individual differences between people.

Pokémon and their trainers have always had a mutually selective relationship; in most cases, those who are incompatible cannot become partners.

It's possible for a talkative person to be paired with a socially awkward person, but normally it's difficult for the two to get along.

Take Tetsuya as an example; most of his spirits are cunning, which is related to his personal temperament.

Even the most composed Pang Yan monster occasionally reveals its liveliness.

For Xiaogang, resilience and steadiness are his defining characteristics—please disregard his demeanor when facing Joey, as he may have been possessed.

This stubborn golden Magikarp is quite fitting for him.

However, Xiao Gang did not choose to disturb the Golden Magikarp at this time and say that he wanted to catch it and become its trainer.