"Move aside, move aside—let me do it!" Reiji squeezed past Poliwag, who had been digging in the sand, and began digging with his bare hands.
Before long, he unearthed a Poké Ball, buried beneath the sand with only its top peeking out.
"Hahaha! A Poké Ball! No wonder I never found it before—it was buried," Reiji said with a smile, cradling the red-and-white sphere fondly in his hand.
This stretch of beach near their treehouse? He rarely visited it, unless it was for fishing.
There wasn't much edible here. The real food and scavenging spots were a little farther off, along the tidepools and rocky shallows.
Now that he had the Poké Ball, the first thing he did was test whether it worked.
Pop!
The Poké Ball opened with a clear click—no signs of internal damage. The exterior had a few scratches that ruined its aesthetic, but otherwise, it was functional.
To give it a proper field test, he needed a new subject.
"Poliwag, let's go catch lunch."
"Yo!" Poliwag's eyes sparkled. It was already starving.
"Let's move!" Reiji called as he led the way, eager to test the Poké Ball.
Following the jungle edge, they soon spotted a Caterpie. This time, Poliwag didn't even wait for a command—it charged ahead, hit it with a Water Gun followed by a Double Slap combo, and knocked it out cold.
Reiji noticed Poliwag had developed a clear preference for Double Slap. It liked straightforward, punchy combat—up close, personal, and satisfying. It wasn't fond of using Hypnosis, which often left the Caterpie drenched in stink.
Sigh… nothing he could do about that.
Reiji tossed the Poké Ball and captured the Caterpie. Then released it. Then captured it again—just to confirm that the Poké Ball was truly functional.
Once satisfied, he called Poliwag back.
"Let's head back, Poliwag."
"Yo yo!" Poliwag darted off so fast his feet blurred. All that running practice? Apparently it paid off—specifically in escaping stink.
Before heading back, Reiji picked up some kelp and shellfish along the shore. He glanced at the new Caterpie's stats—it was, as expected, unremarkable. Only 34% potential, with basic moves like Tackle and String Shot.
Back at the shelter, he cleaned the pot, lit the fire, and prepped the Caterpie. Same process: decapitate, gut, boil.
This time, though, he used the stove he'd modified that morning. The concentrated flame from the dry wood burned hotter than the old campfire, and the Caterpie meat was cooked in no time.
Once lunch was ready, he brewed a pot of kelp and shellfish soup, then released the Psychic-type Caterpie.
"Caterpie, want to join us for lunch?"
That question would've sounded horrifying—to a Caterpie, anyway.
The little green bug, freshly released, caught a whiff of the rich, savory meat aroma wafting from Reiji and Poliwag's lunch and reflexively swallowed.
But when it saw—saw—the head of the decapitated Caterpie, eyes still wide in eternal terror, still lying beside the pot—
The poor thing almost fainted.
It finally realized what the savory smell had been all along.
This wasn't lunch. This was a horror movie.
Like the Pokémon equivalent of The Ring—Caterpie style.
A chill shot down its spine. Its legs gave out. It stared at Reiji and Poliwag like they were demons.
But it wasn't about demons. It was just the food chain. If Arceus had wanted all living things to be vegetarian, then plants and Grass-types would've filed complaints—they feel pain too, after all.
"Caterpie, want to eat lunch with us?" Reiji repeated, nudging the frozen bug.
Caterpie toppled over, stiff as a board. It was utterly terrified.
Reiji, not understanding the fear, panicked. Did it starve? He held the rigid Caterpie in his arms and carefully spooned some shellfish broth into its mouth. When it started smacking its lips, he relaxed.
"Did you just get too hungry?" He set the Caterpie down and served it a portion of shellfish and soup.
Little Green, having regained control of its body, still smacked its lips. The broth was honestly quite good—much better than the bitter taste of tree leaves.
"No! No!" it shook its head violently. Its distant cousin died today—it couldn't just eat like nothing happened!
But the aroma… oh, the aroma was so tempting. It was weakening. Someone save it. Please.
Reiji watched the Caterpie's struggle. He knew what it was thinking.
Caterpie weren't born loving leaves—they just didn't have any other option.
Bottom of the food chain. No strength. Couldn't win berries from stronger Pokémon. Couldn't hunt without getting hunted themselves. Eating leaves was their only option.
"Wuuu… Little Green has fallen… o(╥﹏╥)o," the Caterpie whimpered as it cried and chewed. "Wuuuuu… but it's so good…"
Meat. Actual meat. A godsend for a Caterpie.
Once you accept the meat, it's just protein. Survivalists are tough people. They've eaten worse.
That's how humanity got here in the first place—then came civilization, morals, and societal restraints.
But if the world ever fell into ruin, if order broke down and the chains of morality snapped, then that's when hell would truly arrive.
Reiji had seen enough post-apocalyptic films in his past life to know: the kind don't last long.
He wasn't a good person, but he had boundaries. If this Caterpie wanted to leave, he wouldn't stop it.
After lunch, he recalled the bug into its Poké Ball. They weren't close yet, and he needed to observe its behavior more before deciding anything.
After taking a nap with Poliwag in his arms, Reiji got up and spent the afternoon stockpiling firewood in preparation for the next storm.
Time flew by. With Poliwag's help, the treehouse was soon filled with dry wood, and evening fell.
Dinner was another helping of the shellfish-kelp soup—reminiscing about those earlier days of hardship. Afterward, man and Pokémon returned to their treehouse.
Reiji lay in the still, windless shelter, Poliwag snuggled beside him. He opened Poliwag's proficiency screen to check on its recent progress.
[Poliwag]
Type: Water
Gender: Male
Potential: 31.01%
Level: 8.99%
Ability: Damp / 0.53%
Hidden Ability: Swift Swim / 1.53%
Mastered 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%
(End of Chapter)
[+50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]