The Bait

Solidad, accompanied by Yuga and Drew, arrived at a beach strewn with scattered rocks. Among these rocks, Yuga could spot various Pokémon like Krabby, Corsola, and Corphish taking shelter.

Upon seeing Yuga and the others, these timid Pokémon immediately hid among the rocks.

"The Pokémon I want to capture is inside that cave over there," Solidad pointed towards a dark cavern at the far end of the rocky area.

"However, inside, there's not just one type of Pokémon, and some are stronger than what I can handle," Yuga nodded in acknowledgment.

"Got it, let's go in," Yuga said as he released his Lapras.

The cave was at the end of the rocky terrain, with the sea cliffs standing by the shoreline. To reach the cave, they had to travel over the water.

Seeing Yuga release his Lapras, Solidad also summoned her own Lapras.

After Yuga climbed onto his Lapras's back, he extended his hand to help Drew up. Then, he rode his Lapras towards the cave, with Drew holding onto his clothes tightly with one hand and clutching the Budew in his other arm.

"Don't worry, Lapras is very stable in the water. You won't fall," Yuga reassured Drew, who appeared a bit nervous about this water journey.

Drew nodded but didn't loosen his grip on Yuga's clothes.

Seeing Drew's reaction, Yuga found it somewhat amusing. The Drew he remembered wasn't like this at all. It seemed that time had changed him from being cute and innocent to a sassy and sharp-tongued teenager.

Arriving at the entrance of the cave, Solidad took out a Poké Ball and released a small lantern-like Pokémon, Chinchou.

"The cave is very dark inside, so we'll need the light from Chinchou to see what's going on," Solidad explained.

Yuga nodded, and he noticed that Chinchou climbed up Solidad's Lapras's neck and settled on its head. Meanwhile, Chinchou's two antennae above its head emitted a bright glow.

"Alright, let's go in," Solidad said as she led the way, riding on her Lapras.

Before entering the cave, Yuga's Mismagius appeared beside him, startling Drew, who was unprepared for its sudden appearance.

"This is my Pokémon, no need to be scared," Yuga reassured Drew as he gently patted Drew's head.

"I'm not scared," Drew nodded, though Yuga couldn't tell if he was genuinely unafraid or just trying to appear brave.

The reason Yuga summoned Mismagius was that Lapras was currently serving as their mode of transportation, and it wasn't convenient for battles, especially with a child on board.

Solidad's Chinchou emitted a very bright Flash, illuminating the entire cave's interior, startling some Zubat that were roosting inside.

As he headed into the cave, Yuga could see ripples appearing on the water from time to time, and knew that they were Water-type Pokémon living in the cave.

It's just that these Pokémon ran away in panic as soon as they saw Yuga and the others, they didn't even see their appearance clearly.

As they ventured deeper into the cave, the number of Water-type Pokémon decreased. Soon, their path was blocked by a massive creature.

With blue scales, enormous eyes, and a menacing horn, it was unmistakably a Water tyrant, Gyarados.

"This is the Pokémon you mentioned, blocking your way?" Yuga inquired.

Solidad nodded, "Yes, that's it."

It's no wonder, with that enormous head, it's practically blocking half of the cave's passage. It's completely normal that we can't get past it, let alone capture the Pokémon deeper inside the cave.

"Later, I'll restrain it with my Mismagius, and you can slip past from the side."

"Alright, got it."

Their arrival quickly caught the attention of the Gyarados. It opened its menacing eyes, lifting half of its head out of the water, and let out a deafening roar.

Yuga, Drew, and Solidad were caught off guard and ended up getting sprayed with Gyarados saliva, which had a rather unpleasant odor. This wild Pokémon was certainly not concerned about hygiene.

"Mismagius, Taunt it," Yuga commanded his Mismagius, then pointed towards the deeper parts of the cave, indicating that the rest was up to Solidad.

Upon hearing Yuga's command, Mismagius generated a small red fireball about the size of a fist and provocatively threw it at Gyarados's forehead. Gyarados instantly became infuriated and roared at Mismagius before chasing it.

And so, Yuga and Mismagius lured the blocking Gyarados out of the cave. The passageway inside the cave was too narrow for a battle with a massive Pokémon like Gyarados, as it could potentially cause the cave to collapse.

Mismagius was faster than Gyarados, leading it out of the cave before coming to a halt.

As soon as Gyarados saw Mismagius stop, it opened its mouth and released a powerful Hydro Pump. Lapras, concerned for Yuga's safety, quickly retreated, moving out of Gyarados's attack range.

Gyarados's Hydro Pump hit Mismagius, and Mismagius responded with Power Gem.

...

<<Gyarados >>

Type: Water/Flying

Ability: Intimidate

Gender: Male

Potential: Green

Level: 60

Moves: Bite, Thrash, Aqua Tail, Scary Face, Dragon Rage, Hydro Pump, Roar, Hyper Beam, Swagger

...

It wasn't surprising that Solidad couldn't handle this Gyarados. Although it was only pseudo-Elite Pokémon. Given Solidad's strength, it was already fortunate that she hadn't lost her life when facing this Gyarados.

However, Yuga was surprised by the Gyarados's strength. In theory, this area was very close to human settlements, and such a high level Pokémon shouldn't appear here. It was quite unusual.

Nevertheless, regardless of the circumstances, since they had encountered it, Yuga decided that it was time for Milotic at home to find a partner, and his gaze toward Gyarados suddenly became different.

Gyarados's Hydro Pump was intercepted by Mismagius's Power Gem, which made Gyarados extremely angry.

This seemingly oblivious Gyarados still hadn't realized the huge gap in strength between itself and Mismagius.

Its massive body rolled in the seawater continuously, and its long tail stirred the water, creating a thick, powerful water pillar that headed straight for Mismagius.

Mismagius swiftly evaded by using Double Team, and dozens of identical Mismagiuss appeared in the sky. Gyarados's Aqua Tail missed them entirely.

Over a dozen Mismagiuss merged back into one and stood still. Looking at the rolling Gyarados in the water, its golden eye sockets emitted a dark radiance. A pair of colossal black pupils locked onto Gyarados, and the once-restless Gyarados was suddenly immobilized.