Chapter 8: The Ugly Fish That Loves Instant Noodles

Around eight o’clock the next morning, Qian Lin awoke from his sleep feeling refreshed. He stepped out of his tent and washed up briefly by the lakeside.

The rain from the night before had ceased, leaving the air unusually fresh. He retrieved the firewood hidden away last night—it was a bit damp but not soaked—and cleared a dry enough patch of ground. After about ten minutes, he managed to get the fire going and boiled water to cook some noodles.

Today’s breakfast was braised beef noodles.

While waiting for the water to boil, Qian Lin started his livestream, hitting exactly nine o’clock on the dot.

Watching the viewer count climb to over two hundred before leveling off, Qian Lin smiled and said, “Good morning, everyone. I’m your host, Qian Lin. Right now, I’m in a natural reserve in Zhuxian, Sichuan, which was sealed off two months ago due to a Pokémon incursion. It has just been declared safe and reopened, though citizens are still advised to keep their distance.”

“Yesterday, I arrived here to begin a week-long camping trip. During this time, I’ll be introducing the Pokémon I encounter—explaining their personalities, abilities, types, and more—to help you get to know these adorable creatures.”

“Good morning, streamer.”

“Did you finish your Pokémon encyclopedia?”

“Wow, the streamer is amazing, going out alone like this—aren’t you afraid of monster attacks?”

“You can tell he’s new here.”

“You’re that streamer from Bilibili riding the hype train? What about that pretty snake? Why haven’t we seen it yet?”

“That’s Milotic. Newbies should catch up on the past streams.”

“Milotic, huh? The big Bilibili players got their names way better than you. If you’re gonna ride the hype, have some self-awareness.”

Facing the flood of curious and mocking comments, Qian Lin chuckled and addressed them one by one.

“First, yes, I’m scared—not of Pokémon hurting me, but of the misunderstandings between humans and Pokémon deepening.”

“Second, that beautiful snake is Milotic, a gentle Pokémon by nature. It’s generally shy and doesn’t show itself often, so if you’re unlucky, you won’t see it.”

“Third, Milotic isn’t a name I gave it; it’s the species name, like ‘human’ for us. We call them Milotic, but if you want, you can use another name, as long as the Pokémon agrees.”

“As for the Pokémon encyclopedia, I’ll make it after the livestream ends. It’s not something that can be done quickly.”

“Is that true?”

“Dummy streamer, confirmed.”

“Who’s that annoying dog barking? Don’t like the streamer, just leave, alright? As if we welcome you here.”

“Everyone, please don’t get angry.” Seeing the chat starting to heat up, Qian Lin quickly intervened. “Everyone has their own perspective. There is indeed a rift between humans and Pokémon now, but if you support me, our goal is to bridge that gap—not to argue pointlessly.”

“Dummy, do you really think you…”

“Streamer, ignore them.”

“Yeah, it’s school holidays, so all these kids are flooding the stream.”

“These people don’t listen to reason.”

“Streamer, streamer, what cute Pokémon are we meeting today?”

Suddenly, the chat fell silent. Those who had been mocking disappeared as if by magic, leaving the screen clean.

Qian Lin glanced at the viewer count—it was still climbing slowly, not dropping. Had someone muted those troublemakers? But he had no moderators, and he hadn’t muted anyone himself.

Strangely, Qian Lin thought of the warrior he met yesterday.

Shaking his head to dispel the thought, he smiled and said, “Today’s goal is the lakeshore. I’m going to walk all the way around this lake.”

“Water is the source of life, and many Pokémon must inhabit this area. If I encounter any, I’ll tell you all about them. But first… let me have some breakfast.”

The water boiled, and Qian Lin cheerfully pulled out a pack of instant noodles, dropping it into his pot. The morning breeze carried the aroma far away, hinting it might spread even further.

Just then, ripples appeared on the water’s surface. Qian Lin looked over instinctively and saw a Feebas floating by the shore, its dead fish eyes fixed on him, bubbles bubbling from its small mouth.

“Whoa! That ugly fish from the videos is real!”

“It’s called Feebas. Can you at least say its name properly?”

“Feebas forever… no, scratch that—Milotic is forever the true god!”

“Streamer, it must have smelled the noodles. Feed it a bite!”

Qian Lin scratched the back of his head. “That is definitely the Feebas from yesterday, but how can it smell the noodles underwater? I’m not that smart, don’t trick me. Besides, Feebas probably doesn’t eat instant noodles… right?”

Probably not. Pokémon eat all kinds of things—rice, meat, whatever—but Feebas is still a fish. A fish eating instant noodles is a bit odd.

He scratched his head, then decided to scoop up some noodles and walk to the shore, looking at the Feebas. “You want some, Feebas?”

“Blub~” The Feebas spat a mouthful of water, then swam slowly over, lifting its head and opening its mouth expectantly.

Qian Lin was speechless.

Sweating nervously, he said, “You really want to eat that, huh?”

It went beyond his expectations. Despite his doubts, he picked up a noodle and placed it in the Feebas’s mouth, staring at it intently. “Feebas, if it tastes wrong, spit it out quickly.”

The Feebas closed its mouth and chewed curiously. Its usual deadpan eyes suddenly seemed to glow as it stared at Qian Lin, then opened its mouth again.

Qian Lin was speechless again.

Actually, it was kind of cute.

“I actually think this ugly fish is a little adorable?”

“Ugly but cute~”

“Ah, Wei is dead.”

“Where’s Milotic? Milotic, come save us!”

“A fish that likes instant noodles… this isn’t scientific.”

“Scientific? You think a Milotic five meters tall, maybe ten when stretched, is scientific?”

“I’m impressed, to be honest.”

“It’s okay. The streamer said if he finds a partner, he’ll choose one of us to join him. Then we can go too!”

“Shut up, you dummy. It’s quiet now, don’t jinx it or you won’t get picked when more people join.”

“Whoa, going with the streamer? I’m in!”

“Oh no…”

While feeding the Feebas and watching the chat shift from talking about the fish to wanting to join him in the wild, Qian Lin was caught off guard by how fast the topic had changed.

But it wasn’t a bad thing.

After about ten minutes, Qian Lin looked at his empty bowl and the Feebas, which was burping contentedly in the water. He laughed, “You ate all my breakfast. I’ll have to make another bowl.”

Hearing there was more, the Feebas’s eyes lit up and its tail slapped the water enthusiastically.

“Blub~” was probably the sound it made.

“Don’t even think about it. The second bowl is mine!” Qian Lin took back the empty bowl, mock scolding, “Can you be a little modest? Scrounging someone else’s food so brazenly—I haven’t even eaten yet.”

Of course, he wasn’t really angry; it was just a joke.

But the Feebas seemed to understand something. Making soft ‘blub blub’ sounds, it slapped its tail and disappeared into the lake.

Qian Lin was speechless.

“Hahaha, ruthless Feebas!”

“This fish freeloaded a bowl of noodles and it’s totally hyped.”

“Next time for sure!”

“Feel sorry for the streamer but it’s hilarious, hahahaha!”

Qian Lin scratched his head, watching the Feebas vanish and looking at the empty bowl in his hand. “Alright, let’s just say I’m feeding the local wildlife out of kindness.”

He refilled his pot with water and set it on the campfire. “As you all saw, my noodles got eaten by Feebas. I’ll make another bowl and after breakfast, we’ll set off.”

It felt a bit unlucky, but oh well—no big difference.

As the water neared boiling, Qian Lin reached into his backpack to grab another pack of noodles—only to find something else.

What was this?

He stared at the grayish-white bundle in his hand, baffled. A towel? When had he bought such a dirty towel?

The grayish-white color was from dried mud all over it; the base color should be white with hints of blue. It felt like a towel—very soft, almost like feathers.

Wait—white, blue, soft feathers? No way…

Qian Lin’s expression suddenly turned strange.

“What’s that? A ball of yarn?”

“Looks more like a towel to me.”

“Definitely a Pokémon. Streamer is awesome!”

“If it were me, I’d have pulled it out earlier.”

“Judging by the streamer’s face, it really might be a Pokémon.”

“???"

“To all viewers, if I’m right, this really seems to be a Pokémon.” Qian Lin said with a wry smile, holding the bundle up to the camera in a low voice. “You can see its base colors are white and blue, and it feels like a towel—warm and soft. My guess is this is a Swablu.”

“But why would a Swablu be in my backpack?” Qian Lin looked at the bundle curiously. “By nature, Swablu shouldn’t approach humans on their own.”

Swablu is a bird Pokémon, much like real birds in that they fear humans and live in flocks. Whether Swablu are truly flocking Pokémon, Qian Lin didn’t know, but it was rare for Swablu to appear before humans.