[ti]fishing[/ti]first course: grilled karp

The fish he pulls up is a white magikarp with a large orange dot between its eyes. It flops, blubbing and flailing as it clings to his hook.

“Almost like koi,” he hums. “Not quite right, though.”

He turns, flinging the line and the fish on the end of it toward his awaiting party. “Have at it!”

Pansear acts quickly, shooting at it with a violent plume of fire, intending for a rather showy cooking debut.

Sprigatito, who up until now had never realized that the fish he ate had to be processed for him to eat, looks on in horror. He quickly musters a Magical Leaf, intercepting the flames and throwing the magikarp back into the water.

Pansear tenses. He slowly turns to look at Sprigatito, who yelps at the terrifying look on the otherwise cute monkey’s face.

You will rue this, it seemed to say.

Kazuki snorts at the brewing rivalry and proceeds to bait his next line.

<I’m a monster.> Sprigatito wails, face in his paws as Mudbray gently drags her tongue over his head, turning the tuft of fur on top into a cowlick. The magikarp had been sliced n’ diced perfectly by his leaves—which should feel like an accomplishment, were it not for the crippling guilt.

Pansear sighs, holding his fresh ingredient in his paws. What a baby! He grumbles soundlessly as he takes the fish to his makeshift kitchen-rock, using his new knife and the water nearby to gut and clean it. Sprigatito is a feline pokemon; he should be used to killing fish—plus, those tears are ruining his appetite!

Now Pansear would have to hold off on cooking it. He’d have to use up their salt, dry it, smoke it, and pack it tight until Sprigatito will let him cook the rest of it and make him see the light.

Kazuki, meanwhile, watches his team’s dynamic with mild interest. He’s drawing up his next line. “Guess it’s you and me,” he says, glaring at the Magnemite floating beside him.

Tinnitus glares back.

The magikarp becomes a sponge.

When Kazuki tosses the fish over to Pansear, the monkey’s less than enthused. This cut’s been overcooked. He settles with cutting off the charred bits and trying to even out the cooking. Maybe he can mask the taste and smell with touga berries. A lot of touga berries.

The sparks don’t cease, however. Kazuki continues dodging Tinnitus’ ritual zaps, following a hybrid between breakdancing and highland dancing as he keeps his legs moving while his upper half prepares his fishing rod for his next cast.

“Aren’t you getting bored of this?” The trainer hisses.

Tinnitus doesn’t respond, but zaps with enthusiasm as if to say ‘Dance for me, clown!’

Kazuki somehow manages to toss his hook into the water as he runs.

The magikarp clings to life by a half. It makes a break for it, managing to unhook itself and soaring beautifully across the sky.

Kazuki plugs his ears briefly as Tinnitus unleashes an outraged screech at the fish smacking hard against its chassis.

For the first time, the magnemite switches targets, its wrath now directed at the magikarp making a valiant escape towards the water by flopping over the ground.

Spawn Reset

The next one that surfaces is covered in orange splotches—very koi-like. He pulls it up, calling for Pansear’s attention. Pansear squints from where he has resumed honing his tools, rubbing his chin for a moment. He flashes a thumbs up.

Kazuki looks down to where Sprigatito stares at him. “You know, if you don’t knock it out, it’s just going to spring back up and die.”

The cat’s face puffs up. He shoots Kazuki and Pansear both a look. He knows that. He was there!

Kazuki, shrugging, tosses the fish to Sprigatito as if he were a seal accepting a treat with a flourish.

Sprigatito makes a valiant effort to pelt the fish with leaves.

The leaves send the fish flying onto the ground. It flops there in all its splotched glory, blubbing nonsense.

Sprigatito’s face is soaked. It’s also a little red, flushed from the embarrassment that overcomes him when he sees how his teammates stare. Mudbray looks at least mildly supportive, nodding for him to continue. Pansear is blatant in his disappointment. He doesn’t try to look at his trainer, trying to spare himself from the killing blow to his ego.

“Come on,” he hears Kazuki say, the words laced with amusement. “One more hit, cat.”

He puffs up his face as the fish flops closer to the water’s edge, scurrying over to bite its fins.