[Bonus Chapter]
Day 13 of survival on the deserted island. Overcast.
Last night,Reiji fell asleep while reviewing Poliwag's proficiency panel. It had been a while since he'd last checked, and Poliwag was now close to reaching level 9.
After a full night's rest, it should have broken through to level 9. He imdiately opened Poliwag's panel to confirm.
[Poliwag]
[Type: Water]
[Gender: Male]
[Potential: 31.01%]
[Level: 9.01%]
[Abilities: Damp / 0.53%] [Hidden Ability: Swift Swim / 1.53%]
[Moves: (Mind Reader / 0.21%) (Ice Ball / 0.31%) (Refresh / 0.81%) (Bubble / 1.31%) (Hypnosis / 0.72%) (Double Slap / 4.12%) (Pound / 0.91%) (Water Gun / 6.01%) (Water Sport / 1.61%)]
As expected, Poliwag had reached level 9—one step closer to level 25 and evolution into Poliwhirl.Reiji was excited.
The abilities hadn't changed, but the moves had improved significantly.
Poliwag had knocked out five Caterpies recently, one of them twice, using primarily Water Gun and Double Slap. Double Slap had risen from 3.1% to 4%, dragging Pound along with it. Water Gun had increased to 6%, which was quite the progress.
"Huh? Refresh increased too? Not by much, though… maybe Poliwag's been secretly using it?" Reiji glanced at Poliwag's tail—it was indeed covered in scratches.
Probably from recoil damage during all those tail slaps. Fortunately, they were minor; Refresh could handle them if Poliwag had the stamina.
Then there was a new move—Water Sport?
Reiji blinked at the unfamiliar na. Did Poliwag actually learn a new move just from soaking in its bucket?
[Water Sport: Water-type status move. Using Water Sport changes the field into a Water Sport state, halving the power of Fire-type moves.]
"Ugh… how situational," Reiji muttered after checking the move description. As a Water-type, Poliwag already resists Fire-type moves—cutting the damage further to one-fourth isn't bad, but it's nothing special.
It's not like every trainer is so type-reversal master who insists on using disadvantageous matchups. He wasn't a clueless ten-year-old just starting out who didn't even know water conducts electricity.
He was a veteran Pokémon player, with type charts morized like the back of his hand. He'd never choose a type disadvantage unless he had no other choice.
Closing Poliwag's panel, Reiji stepped out of the treehouse. "The day starts in the morning," he muttered. Exercise remained the top priority.
"Rise and shine, little tadpole."
He called into the treehouse as he stretched outside.
"Polii…" Poliwag blinked sleepily, crust in its eyes. It squird in irritation—no hands to rub them out. Annoyed, it dove into the water bucket to rinse its face, then hopped out, ready for their jog.
Before they started, Reiji released the stubborn green Caterpie. Keeping it bottled up wouldn't help. He hadn't fully tad it yet, and there was always the risk it might run—or worse, attack.
If it really did escape, he wouldn't go chasing it through the dense jungle, not even for a high-potential Pokémon like that.
Pop!
The Poké Ball opened. The Caterpie erged with its usual haughty attitude, head held high, barely acknowledging Reiji.
"Caterpie," Reiji said evenly. "Wanna join us? All als included, a safe place to stay—you won't be eaten by any Flying-types. How about it?"
The Caterpie snorted in response, cold and indifferent.
Not a yes, not a no—just a sassy sideways glance, clearly saying 'I'm too good for this.'
"Polii!" Poliwag couldn't take it anymore. It was fuming. How dare this little worm throw attitude at Reiji—its favorite person?!
It flared up on the spot, ready to teach Caterpie a lesson.
"Caterpie…" the bug spat back, calling Poliwag a brat. It wasn't afraid of anyone—bold and unyielding.
"Poli! Poli!" Poliwag was about to retaliate, its tail already twitching with fury.
But Reiji stopped it with a hand. "Poliwag, don't hit it just yet."
Turning back to Caterpie, he tried once more. "I'll give you ti to consider. Safe shelter, regular als—at, even. Like what we had last night."
"…at?" The Caterpie perked up.
But when it rembered who was offering it—the two demons who'd already beaten it up and locked it away—it turned up its nose again.
Tempting? Yes. Tempting enough? No.
The Caterpie strutted over to a nearby tree, climbed up, and began munching on a leaf. It glanced around, clearly considering a chance to escape.
If it could, it would. It wanted freedom more than at.
Reiji didn't stop it.
If it ran, so be it. It wasn't like Caterpies were rare. If he could find one like this, he could find another.
He began his morning jog with Poliwag.
Poliwag was still fuming, but Reiji cald it down with a pat to the head. Poliwag just needed a little emotional guidance—its impulsive personality was both a weakness and a strength.
As for Caterpie? He'd already made two offers. If it didn't accept, that was that.
"Poli…" Poliwag grumbled as it jogged, still side-eyeing the Caterpie, not quite over it.
"Forget it," Reiji said with a grin. "Focus on your training."
"Poli!" Poliwag nodded, letting go of its grudge and concentrating on the run.
(End of Chapter)
[ 50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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