Chapter 7: Ice Fishing
In December, the river surface had long since frozen over with a thick layer of ice.
Standing on the ice, one could see plump fish swimming below through the ice layer.
Lord Ryan and his companions were already eagerly beginning to fish. After a short night of rest, they arrived at the riverside the next morning.
“Hoo!”
Ryan rubbed his frost-reddened hands and said loudly, “Brothers, get your gear ready, we’ll have fresh fish soup tonight!”
A cheer went up from the surrounding knights.
The group picked up their weapons and chiseled an ice hole in the ice surface.
In just a short while, the fish below, lacking oxygen, began to swim towards this opening.
“A great harvest!”
Looking at the pile of fish before him, Ryan’s face showed the joy of a bountiful catch.
He quickly ordered those around him to bring tools to catch fish.
Perhaps due to staying under the ice for too long, these fish were somewhat oxygen-deprived, allowing Ryan and the others to easily catch a large basket of fresh, plump fish.
Once placed in the basket, these fish belatedly realized their predicament and thrashed about.
Gazing at the scene of the great harvest, Ryan couldn’t help but grin.
But just then, he suddenly spotted a peculiar fish among the pile: one that was entirely red, with two long tendrils like a catfish around its mouth, and whose dorsal and ventral fins resembled a crown.
“What is this? How did this guy get mixed in!”
Ryan unhappily picked up the Magikarp and kicked it away.
With a splash, the scorned Magikarp landed precisely in the river.
“Lord Ryan, why did you throw that fish away?” a novice knight asked, confused.
“That thing is basically just bones, skin, and scales. It’s not even edible, unless you have a special preference for eating bones,” Ryan said dismissively.
As he spoke, he turned around and his gaze suddenly fell upon Lei Wen, who had arrived behind him at some point.
Ryan’s eyes lit up, and he waved excitedly while showing off the fish he had caught: “Prince Lei Wen! We have fish to eat tonight!”
Lei Wen, who had witnessed the entire process: “…”
Poor Magikarp… it was a creature of disdain even in ancient times.
“Well done,” Lei Wen praised, pausing before his gaze shifted to the ice surface. “In the future, if you catch that kind of fish again, don’t kick it.”
Ryan scratched his head. “Why?”
Lei Wen thought to himself that if the Magikarp were to become enraged and evolve directly into a Gyarados, they wouldn’t be able to handle it.
“…Just do as I say,” Lei Wen said.
Ryan and the others were somewhat perplexed, but as knights, they should obey their prince’s commands unconditionally.
Several commoners were responsible for carrying the caught fish back to the territory.
Ryan and the others prepared to continue exploring the plains and forests surrounding the camp.
“Prince Lei Wen, aren’t you coming back?”
“I have something to do. You can go ahead,” Lei Wen replied.
They were not far from the camp, and the Knight Order had already scouted the vicinity, confirming that there were no dangerous Pokémon and it was very safe.
Therefore, Lei Wen decided to test the Dratini’s moves here.
“Dratini,” Lei Wen patted the area on his chest.
The Dratini, hidden inside, cautiously poked its head out. “Woo?”
“Come on, let me see your Twister. I’ll make you fish soup tonight.”
“Woo…”
The outside temperature was indeed a bit challenging for the Dragon-type, but upon hearing Lei Wen’s words and thinking of the delicious food later, the Dratini mustered its courage and flew out from under the cashmere coat.
“Dratini, use Twister!” Lei Wen commanded.
“Woo—woo!”
Following the command, a stream of purple Dragon-type energy surged from the Dratini’s mouth.
That energy was compressed and spun within the Dratini’s mouth, then transformed into a twister that gushed forward.
“Boom!”
The twister struck the ice surface. Although the Dratini’s strength was still weak, it easily shattered the ice.
Lei Wen pondered.
Judging by this, the power of this Twister move seemed quite good.
Was this the power of Pokémon?
However, what surprised Lei Wen even more was that the Dratini could understand commands and react without any prior training.
How did the Dratini know what Twister was?
Was this perhaps a factory setting made by the Creator God Arceus for all Pokémon? Lei Wen couldn’t help but wonder.
Ryan, standing nearby, widened his eyes at this sight.
What had he just seen?
The P-prince was actually commanding a monster?!
“Wrap and Leer aren’t necessary to demonstrate. At Dratini’s current state, Wrap’s power is limited,” Lei Wen murmured.
This Twister move could be considered Dratini’s most powerful move at present.
“Alright, Dratini, come back!” Lei Wen called out.
The shivering Dratini immediately burrowed into Lei Wen’s embrace.
Lei Wen prepared to return to the tent, but as he turned, he saw several knights standing there with shocked and dumbfounded expressions.
Lei Wen raised an eyebrow. “What are you staring at?”
Ryan finally snapped back to reality, exclaiming, “P-Prince Lei Wen, were you just commanding a monster?”
“Yes,” Lei Wen replied with a smile. “What? Are you also interested in commanding monsters?”
Ryan and the others shook their heads vigorously.
They were not interested at all!
Monsters were such dangerous and terrifying creatures; countless people had died at their hands… they dared not approach them.
What surprised them was that the small monster was so obedient to Prince Lei Wen…
Humanity’s attitude towards Pokémon in this era was exactly as Lei Wen had anticipated.
He was not surprised.
Rashly telling these people that “monsters aren’t dangerous, humans can treat them as family and companions” would likely not be believed.
It’s just that…
Lei Wen, seeing Ryan and the others spacing out, knew that today’s event had planted a seed in their hearts, sparking their curiosity and desire to investigate.
—Could humans truly command monsters?
*
As the sky darkened, nightfall enveloped the entire territory.
People who had a busy day huddled in tents with their families, warming themselves by the fire while eating black bread and drinking hot fish soup.
For those who had been lost in a blizzard for over a month, this was a long-awaited warmth and happiness.
But beyond that, there was a greater sense of confusion about their future and fear of their unknown destiny.
Could they truly survive this winter?
Food supplies were limited, firewood was insufficient, and the temperature continued to drop. Perhaps soon, a terrible blizzard would ravage the entire camp.
The tents they were living in could not withstand the onslaught of a blizzard.
More importantly, the tents offered no warmth.
Even if a blizzard didn’t come, when the firewood ran out, they would freeze to death in this icy wasteland.
