Rotating the reel as soon as he felt a significant tug on his line, Derek began fighting with the catch for a few brief moments before it's head began to surface...or should he say horn? It honestly freaked him out at first, wondering what exactly had horns down there in the water's depths. Yet as the lustrous orange and pale white scales came into sight, he immediately knew what it was. He'd seen many of them in the inner city ponds, as well as commercials featuring surfing at the beach. Unfortunately, he didn't have it in him to try and catch the pokemon. Maybe another time, when he had more pokeballs.

"Just hold...still...there!" The pokemon, unsatisfied with the fact it was dangling on the end of the line, began to splash at the water's surface. Quickly doing his best to release them from the grasp of his rod, Derek waited a few moments for the pokemon to dive back down before preparing for another cast. He very much hoped it would not be silly enough to take the lure a second time.

Pulling the rod and lure back over his head, the trainer let loose another cast to the other side of the water. This time he simply let it dawdle there without reeling back so fast. After all, if he wanted a different pokemon, he'd need to try another approach to his fishing. Not that he was really much of an expert...

Moments later, Derek could feel the slack on the line slowly disappearing. Instead something heavy was on the other end, which he could tell simply by pulling just a little. "Huh...I wonder what it could be..." Taking a better stance, Derek gripped tightly and begin reeling back with all of his might, using the edge of the bank for advantageous leverage. Not that it would help him reel them in, but that it'd make it harder for them to gain back any line should they begin to resist him doing just that.

But whatever it was, it didn't put up a fight. This caused Derek to grow even further confused, that was until it's ears and head began to crest over the water's surface. "Good lord...what a goof ball."

The Slowpoke, as it appeared to be, was flailing it's arms slowly as it was raised from the water head-first, tail and waist still drooping into the water. Derek should've known one of these would take to his lure sooner or later, though was still pleasantly surprised. Dragging it up onto the bank, he approached carefully. "You just hungry, buddy? Or maybe...you'd like to come along with me?"

The pokemon responded by opening it's maw. Not sure whether that was a sign of hostility to peace, he came closer in order to try and work the lure out of it's mouth. The Slowpoke didn't seem to move after that, so he began to think of another way to procure an answer. "I've got a pokeball just for you...it may not look very comfy from the outside, but it's actually better than you'd think. Already got some friends in these two." Flashing two pokeballs between his fingers, Derek placed them back in their respective holsters before taking to his knee. All the while, the Slowpoke remained still...

"I won't lie, I do have all day to sit around trying to get an answer out of you, but the truth is I would rather not waste that much time. So I suppose there's only one way to do this...don't bite me now, okay?" Pushing the pokemon over and onto it's side, he waited for any kind of reaction. When there was none, he continued moving on to rubbing it's belly gently with his fingers. When it still refused to give a response he could interpret, Derek took to using his fingers to tickle the pokemon instead. Not the best idea...

The Slowpoke couldn't resist the tickling, and began making a noise akin to laughter. His limbs writhed in what could be depicted as pain or joy, making Derek unsure whether or not he should stop. After a few more moments of it, he removed his hands completely. "I don't like to think of myself as someone who bribes others, but there's more tickles if you come along with me and my friends. All you've gotta do is press this pokeball. We'd be more than glad to have you."

Rolling itself back over and onto it's feet, Derek waited for the choice the Slowpoke would soon make, desperately hoping it would come along with him on their journey across Johto. It'd be great...

After the Slowpoke made it's intentions clear, Derek couldn't help but smirk a little in response. He'd known many pokemon to crave affection, but he wasn't sure about Slowpoke as a whole. They certainly looked good being held in one's arms, or being patted on the head with that silly look on their face, but it still stood out to him for some reason...

And yet he couldn't resist! If the little guy wanted belly rubs, tickles and scratches, then that was what he was going to get. Derek shifted his weight from a knee to his rear as he sat down next to the Slowpoke, running his hands along it's underside and tickling every so often to get a rise out of the pokemon. He certainly hoped it wouldn't be a waste of time, as it was one of his favorite pokemon - especially among the water type. Though he couldn't argue with them. If they wanted to laze about out here in the caverns of Yadon Well, then so be it. Derek was always ready to go out into the wilds in search of powerful, new pokemon regardless of if they were one of his personal favorites.

And as he sat here thinking about it, Derek got lost in the moment. He felt very at peace within the dark environment, which seemed odd to him at first. "Do you really like it that much down here in the dark?" The trainer knew he wasn't going to get much of a response, but it definitely made him curious to wonder about the quality of life in a place like this. Perhaps they were just well-suited for it...?

Regardless, Derek realized it wasn't very comfortable sitting on the hard, damp rock that comprised nearly all of the cavern's surfaces. After another generous amount of belly rubs, his hand retreated from the Slowpoke and instead put itself to use propping himself back up onto his feet. Taking hold of the rod he left on the ground, Derek took a step towards the exit before turning to look back at the Slowpoke...

"Well, what's it gonna be? You coming along?"