Chapter 77 Fishing Competition, Obtaining Mienfoo
Ron bid farewell to Gold and Crystal. They still had one week of vacation left before heading to the Hoenn region, and Ron was counting on them to complete their tasks.
After resting a bit longer, Ron resumed his journey toward Goldenrod City.
Two days later, Ron arrived at a small town called Ripple Town, where a fishing competition was being held. It was said that the person who secured first place could not only keep the Pokémon they caught but would also receive a rare Pokémon from another region as an extra reward.
Ron wasn't particularly interested in competitions, but he was intrigued by the rare Pokémon from another region, so he decided to participate. After all, with his Super Rod, it would be difficult for him to lose.
However, when Ron entered the competition area and saw three of the participants among the dozen or so contenders, his mood instantly took a dive.
One was his very familiar acquaintance, Gary, who was accompanied by his Eevee. Another was a boy wearing a distinctive hat, who, if Ron wasn't mistaken, was Ruby from the manga. Wait a second, in the manga, Ruby was Norman's son, and Sapphire was Professor Birch's daughter. But in the anime, Sapphire became May, Norman's daughter, who also had a younger brother named Max. Then whose son was this Ruby?
Coincidentally, Ruby briefly removed his hat to fix his hair, which revealed a hairstyle identical to Norman's. If someone claimed Ruby had nothing to do with Norman, Ron would never believe it.
"It seems like I should have a good talk with him after the competition," Ron thought.
As for the third person, Ron didn't even know how to comment on the energetic girl. She appeared to be Rosa from the Unova region, known officially by that name. Other unofficial or regional translations of her name included Mei or Mei Mei. But she was from Unova—why had she come to Johto? Ron knew this world's timeline had already deviated significantly from the anime and games he remembered, but seeing these characters suddenly appear still gave him the urge to complain.
Ripple Town's fishing competition was held on its famous Ripple Lake. Participants were provided small boats, fishing rods, bait, and special competition Poké Balls to catch Pokémon. The rarity of the Pokémon caught determined the winner.
Ron instantly felt a headache coming on. He originally thought he'd easily win the competition with his Super Rod, but now it seemed winning might actually be challenging.
Putting bait onto the hook, Ron cast the fishing line into the water. Sitting helplessly on the small boat, he patiently waited.
Occasionally, other contestants pulled up their lines, mostly revealing Magikarp, with only a few managing to catch Pokémon like Krabby or Goldeen. Ron soon felt his line tug and immediately pulled up, only to see a Magikarp emerge from the water.
Ron felt despair at his bad luck—not only was it a Magikarp, it was also low-grade. Clearly, without the Super Rod, Ron's fishing skills were genuinely poor.
"System, do you have any similar bait available for purchase?" Ron began to call upon the system.
"This is considered cheating and must be strictly prohibited!" the system sternly replied.
"A system that can provide cheats is telling me not to cheat? Are you kidding me?" Ron sneered. "I'll pay double!"
"Triple."
"Deal!" Ron replied generously.
Immediately, a bait identical to the competition's appeared in the system's store. Originally priced at 300 coins per piece, after tripling, it became 900 coins. Ron painfully bought one, secretly mixing it with the official bait. He then attached the system-provided bait to the hook and cast it back into the water.
Relaxing on the boat, Ron waited confidently. After all, he held the title of "Fishing Master" back in Pallet Town. It would be embarrassing if he couldn't win this small competition.
Soon enough, the fishing line tightened. Without hesitation, Ron quickly reeled it in. His incredible strength instantly pulled the Pokémon out of the water before it could react.
It was a Gyarados—high-grade quality. The system's products were truly exceptional. Ron immediately released Gengar, commanding, "Gengar, use Hypnosis."
Gengar floated over and instantly hypnotized the Gyarados. The sleeping Gyarados heavily splashed back into the water, soaking Ron completely.
Looking at his drenched clothes, Ron sighed helplessly, caught the Gyarados with the provided Poké Ball, and rowed to shore to change clothes.
Ron's commotion attracted many people's attention. Seeing this, Gary shook his head, smiling, "Since Ron is here, we don't need to compete seriously anymore. Let's just enjoy our time, Eevee."
Eevee rubbed affectionately against Gary's face, happily agreeing.
Ruby glanced over at Ron, slightly surprised, and said, "He seems to be the one Dad mentioned. I'll meet him after the competition."
Rosa also glanced in Ron's direction, murmuring, "It looks like it's really him. Damn it! I won't lose—let's do this, Rosa!"
After changing clothes, Ron handed over the Gyarados to the competition officials. With the current standings, Ron's Gyarados was unquestionably in first place unless something miraculous happened.
Ron stood on the shore, watching how the three people he had noticed were doing.
Gary had clearly given up, leisurely enjoying his time. Ruby had managed to catch a Corsola and was preparing for battle.
"No matter how time passes, its cuteness never changes. Its adorable body shows charming allure. This Pokémon is Skitty—Coco!" Ruby called out confidently, releasing his Skitty.
"Skitty? So Ruby hasn't moved to Hoenn yet. Ah, I remember now. In the manga, Ruby's original hometown was Goldenrod City in Johto. Later, after Norman was transferred to Hoenn, their family settled there," Ron suddenly understood.
With this analysis, Ruby was undoubtedly Norman's son. In that case, May wouldn't be May here—she must be Professor Birch's daughter, Sapphire.
Ruby was indeed talented. Although this Skitty appeared to be recently acquired, Ruby's skill truly impressed Ron, fitting the saying perfectly: Like father, like son!
As for Rosa, she commanded her Serperior effortlessly, continuously using Leaf Storm to brutally defeat a Tentacool. Watching each increasingly powerful Leaf Storm, Ron confirmed Rosa's Serperior had the Contrary ability.
Eventually, the competition concluded without any surprises—Ron took first place easily. After the concluding speech, the event officially ended.
Ron received the Pokémon he had been eager to see, while the Gyarados was sent directly back to his ranch.
"Come out," Ron said excitedly, releasing the rare Pokémon he won, wondering what it was.
In front of Ron appeared a small but fierce-looking Pokémon with a yellow and red body. Upon seeing Ron, it smiled and gave him a traditional Chinese-style salute, acknowledging Ron as its trainer.
"Mienfoo, huh? That's a nice surprise!" Ron exclaimed happily.
"Oh, that's a Mienfoo from the Unova region! It looks quite strong," a female voice suddenly said behind Ron.
Ron turned around and saw Rosa standing there, smiling at him curiously.