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Chapter 15: Fish: An Overkill Approach
Chapter 15: Fish: An Overkill Approach
The spring rain persisted until late in the afternoon before it finally let up.
Naoki glanced at the antique wall clock; it was just over twenty minutes to five.
After a moment's thought, he decided to take Golurk out for a quick trip to see if they could catch some more fish to sell to Zach for some extra income.
The post-rain air was thick with moisture, creating an overwhelmingly damp feeling.
Transparent droplets of water trickled along the veins of the grass blades, falling into the soft, moist soil.
Naoki stood under the eaves and pulled on his rain boots. He left Caterpie and Lizardo at home, opting to take only Golurk with him to the river.
The reason for this decision was that Pokemon couldn't wear shoes, and taking them out would inevitably result in muddy messes that would require baths later. Naoki wanted to avoid the hassle, so he chose to bring only one Pokemon.
Lizardo, left behind, stood under the eaves, gazing longingly at them.
Golurk turned back and looked at Lizardo, feeling delighted that Naoki had chosen to bring it along.
Even though that Lizardo was its own pre-evolution.
Naoki was unaware of Golurk's thoughts as they arrived at the riverbank. With a cheerful smile, Naoki looked at Golurk and said, "Golurk, it's all up to you now!"
On gloomy, rainy days when the air pressure was low, the oxygen levels in the river water also tended to dip, prompting the fish to swim to the shallows to breathe. This often presented an opportune moment for fishing.
Golurk immediately understood Naoki's request and confidently patted its chest with its claw, letting out a hearty "Gurrrr!"
It was ready to get to work!
As it spoke, Golurk's expression turned serious. Its aura surged, and its robust crimson body leaped into action. The whiskers on its head transformed into wing-like appendages, morphing and contorting as it unleashed a fierce strike.
A loud "boom" reverberated, and a gaping hole was blasted into the water's surface.
The river water was sent upward, cascading back down in a shower of droplets.
Naoki: "......"
That move... it must have been Golurk's signature Full Force Crash.
Naoki observed Golurk's movements, and as it reverted to its standard form and returned to shore, he confirmed his suspicion.
Indeed, it was Full Force Crash.
In the games, it was Golurk's exclusive move, boasting a power of 100 and 100% accuracy. When hitting a weak spot, its power would further increase.
Using Full Force Crash for fishing seemed a bit overly extravagant.
Naoki looked up at the river's surface, now adorned with fish of various sizes floating on top.
These fish had truly suffered...
However, it seemed that Golurk had intentionally held back its strength. Despite the dramatic display, it hadn't actually harmed the fish; it had merely stunned them with the shockwave.
"Gurr Golurk!"
Having completed the task assigned by Naoki, Golurk looked quite pleased with itself.
It gazed upstream at the drifting shadows of fish and eagerly asked, "Gurrr?"
Although Naoki couldn't understand the words, he somehow miraculously grasped its meaning. He quickly interjected, "That's enough!"
As a qualified ranch owner, he needed to think long-term. Overfishing the river would be shortsighted, and a sustainable approach was necessary for the ranch's future.
The fish needed time to reproduce and replenish their numbers, after all.
Naoki released the common Pokemon like Magikarp and kept only the regular river fish. After bustling about for about fifteen minutes, they had gathered them all.
The iron bucket was now brimming with fish, and Naoki couldn't hide his delight.
It was a bountiful harvest!
Carrying the bucket of fish back to the wooden house, he found Lizardo still standing under the eaves, looking out.
"Alright, alright, I'll make grilled fish for you tonight!" Naoki ruffled Lizardo's head affectionately and selected several fresh and plump trout from the bucket, ones with ample meat and few bones.
Just as he finished, he heard the sound of a truck starting up.
Looking up, he saw Zack, donning a pair of rain boots, jump down from the driver's seat.
"The weather today is just awful! It's been raining all day. I visited several ranches, but they had nothing to sell. I only managed to get a few baskets of eggs and some milk," Zack complained.
On days like this, most ranch owners wouldn't venture out. They'd prefer to stay indoors, spending time with their wives and children, watching TV or chatting.
"Do you have anything to sell?" Zack asked.
Naoki brought out the bucket of fish he had just caught. "It's easier to catch fish in the rain."
Zack's eyes widened. "This many?"
Naoki exchanged a smile with Golurk beside him.
"This is quite a surprise!" Zack stepped forward to sort and weigh the fish. "In total, it comes to 5,210 Pokedollars. You've been working hard! Here you go."
He handed the money to Naoki.
"Thanks for your business!" Naoki took the money.
Just then, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky again.
Zack glanced upward, then picked up the iron bucket. "I won't stay long. Gotta go before the rain picks up again!"
"Take care," Naoki said.
The truck, which had arrived in a hurry, left just as hastily, carrying the fresh catch toward Lacunosa Town.
Naoki took a deep breath and began washing the mud off Golurk.
Once it was clean, Golurk instinctively shook its body, spraying water droplets everywhere, before transforming into its Run Mode and bounding over to Naoki, happily licking his face.
Naoki was left covered in slobber and nearly knocked over, leaving him speechless. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden..."
"Gau!"
He draped a blanket over Golurk to dry it off, then turned and went back inside, putting the day's earnings into a drawer.
Spring 198, January 7th.
Income: Fish +5210
Expenses: 0
Remaining Funds: 37700
"I'm still about 10,000 Pokedollars short of the amount needed to repair the Pokemon cottage. After the repairs, I can start raising Wooloo and Miltank on the ranch... But I don't know their prices, so this money might not be enough."
"Should I consider building a chicken coop first?"
Naoki fell into deep thought.
Unlike the Pokemon cottage, constructing a chicken coop only required 20,000 Pokedollars. Moreover, compared to Miltank and Wooloo, ordinary chickens were much cheaper.
Chickens laid eggs quickly; a healthy chicken could lay an egg every day. The eggs could be sold, incubated to hatch chicks, or used for cooking dishes like fried eggs, steamed eggs, or omelet rice.
That way, he wouldn't need to buy eggs from elsewhere and could become self-sufficient.
While chicken eggs were not as good as Exeggutor eggs, breeding an Exeggutor was out of the question for him at the moment.
In comparison, raising chickens was a much more cost-effective option.
With his mind made up, Naoki decided to wait for a dry day and then head to the carpentry shop to commission Keri to build a chicken coop, officially starting his poultry venture.
(End of Chapter)
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