Ninth day of survival on the deserted island.
Cloudy skies. No rain.
The weather was fairly decent today. Reiji woke up early, just as the sky along the sea's horizon began to pale with dawn.
Perhaps it was because his fever had broken—once he woke, he couldn't fall back asleep. He shifted his upper body slightly and leaned against a tree trunk about the size of a plastic basin, quietly watching the sun slowly rise on the horizon.
By this time, the campfire had long since burned out, but he hadn't forgotten about Poliwag. The little guy was curled up beside his leg, sleeping soundly with a clear droplet of drool hanging from its mouth. It was probably dreaming something sweet.
Reiji didn't have the heart to wake it. Better to let it rest a while longer.
To avoid disturbing it, he moved very gently. Yesterday had been exhausting for the little guy.
Being cared for by a tiny Poliwag was something he could never have imagined.
Perhaps this was the magical charm of the Pokémon world—every Pokémon had remarkable intelligence, comparable to that of a young human.
In his previous world, even the smartest pets barely reached the level of a child.
As he watched the slowly rising sun, Reiji chewed on salty kelp to replenish some energy. As the sunlight warmed his body, he began to feel better.
But at some point, a dewdrop fell from the tree canopy and landed on Poliwag's nose, waking it.
"Poli…" Poliwag blinked sleepily and also caught sight of the sunrise. It felt warm and cozy, even slapping the grass beside it with its tail.
But then it suddenly realized something was off—it hadn't touched Reiji.
It clearly remembered sleeping right next to him. Why wasn't Reiji there?
Fully alert now, Poliwag sprang up and scanned the surroundings—only to find Reiji sitting by the tree trunk, smiling at it.
"Poli! Poli!"
Poliwag squealed and bounced over, leaping into Reiji's arms.
"Cough, cough—easy, easy," Reiji winced. The little guy weighed over 20 pounds, and his body wasn't fully recovered. The impact nearly knocked him out again, triggering a coughing fit.
"Poli… poli…" Realizing it had messed up again, Poliwag bashfully backed away and stood to the side, no longer daring to act so rashly.
Once Reiji caught his breath, he didn't scold it. Instead, he reached out and gently patted Poliwag's blue head.
Poliwag looked like a guilty child. It didn't even dare to nuzzle him like it used to—just blinked its innocent black eyes, worried it might hurt him again.
"It's okay, Poliwag. Let's make breakfast," Reiji reassured it, propping himself up and dragging his body over to the fire pit. He pulled out the leaves from the stew pot, poured the remaining water into a plastic bottle, then emptied the sandy dregs at the bottom before refilling the pot with clean water.
Next, he used leftover plastic and some driftwood from the night before to relight the fire. Once it caught, he set the stew pot over the flames to boil.
Then he grabbed some kelp from the grass nearby, rinsed it with clean water, and added it to the pot.
Compared to eating raw, salty, and fishy kelp, he much preferred it boiled.
"Poli! Poli!"
Hearing Poliwag call out, Reiji turned to see it dragging a piece of driftwood over and dropping it at his feet.
"You even know how to gather firewood now? That's amazing, Poliwag," Reiji praised with a grin.
"Poli! Poli!" Poliwag's tail practically curled up with pride—it was overjoyed and beaming.
Reiji could clearly see the little guy was wagging its tail like a helicopter rotor. He could afford to be gentle now—but when training began, he'd have to be strict.
Once the water came to a boil and the kelp was fully cooked, Reiji and Poliwag each took a leaf as a bowl. He even fashioned a pair of makeshift chopsticks to eat the kelp.
Poliwag had quite the appetite today. Reiji only ate three or four strips before he was full. The rest—stacked into a mini-mountain—were all devoured by Poliwag.
"Is the kelp good, Poliwag?" Reiji asked, seeing how happily it was eating.
"Poli! Poli!" Poliwag nodded eagerly. As long as it was eating with Reiji, everything tasted great.
"Heh…" Reiji chuckled helplessly and gave Poliwag another pat on the head. Then he poured some of the salty hot water from the pot into a metal cup and slowly sipped it to soothe his throat.
The fever had completely broken—he could feel it. Now, all that remained was a scratchy throat, which he could fix with enough warm water.
In truth, the old advice from doctors—drink more hot water—wasn't a myth. Most minor inflammations in the body could be treated by simply drinking hot water.
Still, in his previous life, drink more hot water had turned into a joke. Probably because it became a catch-all excuse from emotionally clueless guys.
"Poliwag, are you full? Starting today, we're officially beginning special training. Are you ready?" Reiji put down the cup and asked Poliwag, who was still munching on kelp.
"Poli! Poli!" As soon as it heard "special training," its eyes lit up—training meant getting stronger.
It wanted to become stronger—strong enough to help Reiji. Determination blazed in its eyes.
"You're fired up, I see. Let me check your Water Gun proficiency," Reiji said, opening Poliwag's skill panel.
It hadn't changed much since last time:
[Poliwag]
Type: Water
Gender: Male
Potential: 31%
Level: 7.01%
Abilities: Damp (0.53%), Hidden Ability: Swift Swim (1.53%)
Known Moves: Mind Reader (0.21%), Ice Ball (0.31%), Refresh (0.51%), Bubble (1.31%), Hypnosis (0.52%), Double Slap (2.64%), Pound (0.51%), Water Gun (2.52%)
"Your Water Gun proficiency is at 2.52%. Your mission this morning is to raise it to 4%," Reiji instructed after reviewing the stats.
"Poli!" Poliwag instantly leapt up and sprinted toward the beach.
"Poliwag! Be careful and don't go too far. If you're in danger, dive into the sea!" Reiji called after it.
"Poli! Poli!" came the cheerful reply—as if to say "Got it! I'll train hard!"
Still worried, Reiji poured more hot water into his metal cup, added fresh water to the pot to keep it boiling, and slowly stood up with the help of the tree trunk. Using a nearby stick as a cane, he hobbled toward the beach.
His condition had improved slightly. As long as he avoided cold water and direct sunlight, he'd make a full recovery soon—it was only a matter of time.
(End of Chapter)
[+50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]