If only it would rain—it'd help cool down this damn scorching weather and make everything perfect.
But when Reiji looked up, all he saw was endless blue sky without a single cloud. Rain? Not happening.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Reiji dumped out the impurities from the bottom of his cup, scooped another portion of water, and set it over the fire to boil for later.
Was the water particularly tasty? Not really.
But what mattered was—it was drinkable.
After that, he lay back on a boulder with his hands behind his head, gazing out at the never-changing view of the sea as he waited for the tide to go out.
Fishing had been fruitless. Once the tide receded, he could go clamming—pick up some shells, conches, and seaweed, cook up a seafood dinner, and maybe even make some kelp and clam soup.
Just imagining that hot, savory seafood soup made his mouth water.
If the midday sun weren't so brutal, he'd be out there already.
He hadn't eaten since yesterday.
Forget three meals a day—he was surviving on one meal a day now.
He wasn't some wilderness survival expert. Going three days on nine meals like in those shows? He'd be dead.
He was lucky to even have one decent meal.
Back in the modern world, he'd lived a pretty cushy life—always well-fed, no hardships.
Now, he was stuck roughing it on a deserted island, sleeping under the open sky, with no guarantee of food each day.
This island… it could absolutely kill him.
But when he thought about that delicious seafood dinner waiting for him tonight, Reiji gradually drifted off into a nap—until something soft and wet licked him awake.
"Yoo-yoo, yoo-yoo," Poliwag had tried calling to him, but when Reiji wouldn't wake up, it stuck out its tongue and licked his cheek, worried he might be sick.
"Don't eat me, don't eat me—ahhh!" Reiji jolted awake, and the first thing he saw was a long, pink tongue.
He thought he'd been caught by some wild Pokémon and was about to be devoured, which scared the hell out of him.
Pushing himself up with both hands, he scrambled backward in a panic—until he realized it was just Poliwag messing around.
He sighed in relief, stood up, and looked toward the sunset on the horizon.
The sun was already close to dipping below the sea.
Damn this endless sunny weather.
It made you sleepy, muggy, uncomfortable—and even gave him a nightmare where he was swallowed whole by a Kyogre.
When he was utterly exhausted, the sound of waves crashing against the shore had been comforting. But now that his basic needs were met, he had the energy to notice how noisy—and annoying—it actually was.
He was a landlocked guy from the interior—this constant whooshing surf was seriously affecting his sleep quality.
Plus, he didn't dare sleep too deeply.
This was a deserted island, after all—what if a wild Ursaring showed up and dragged him off in his sleep?
Once he fully woke up, his stomach started to growl.
"Grrrrrr…"
Not just his—the sound came from Poliwag's stomach too.
Hearing their bellies rumble in unison, the two exchanged a glance… and burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Poliwag, you're starving, huh? Let's go clamming—we're eating good tonight!" Reiji said, motioning for Poliwag to follow.
It was low tide now—the perfect time for clamming.
Exposed rocks and shallows were teeming with conches, shells, seaweed…
They weren't Pokémon, just regular sea critters.
Reiji brought along a plastic bucket, planning to gather as much as he could—especially kelp. Tonight, he was gonna feast.
"Yoo-yoo? Yoo-yoo," Poliwag tilted its head, confused at first by Reiji's enthusiasm, but obediently followed behind.
When it saw Reiji crouch down and start picking off shells from the rocks with his bare hands, it finally understood.
Sort of.
It still didn't get why Reiji wanted these weird, hard things.
They didn't look edible.
If they were, Poliwag figured it wouldn't have been so starving before—it would've just eaten them.
But Poliwag's little brain couldn't grasp all that.
So instead of overthinking, it joined in.
Scanning the area, it spotted a shell stuck to a rock and moved to help.
Just as it opened its little pink mouth to bite down on one, Reiji scooped it up in his arms.
"Stop! These shells and rocks are sharp—you'll get hurt," Reiji said, lifting Poliwag and gently explaining.
He then grabbed the shell from Poliwag's mouth and replaced it with a piece of kelp, holding it up to demonstrate.
"This is kelp. You gather this."
He tossed the kelp into the bucket.
After a few repetitions, he figured Poliwag probably got it.
Probably.
"You get it now? I gather shells, you gather kelp," Reiji said, confirming once again.
"Yoo-yoo, yoo-yoo," Poliwag nodded its little head.
But Reiji still wasn't totally convinced.
With this little guy, it was hard to be sure.
Under his watchful gaze, Poliwag bent down, grabbed a strip of kelp in its mouth, and dropped it into the bucket.
Then it looked back at him with its big shiny eyes.
Since Reiji didn't say anything, it figured it had done the right thing.
Seeing that, Reiji smiled and returned to collecting meaty shells.
What he didn't notice was that when Poliwag dropped the second piece of kelp into the bucket, it smacked its lips a few times.
Hmm… this actually tastes pretty good…
Poliwag tried chewing a piece—and realized kelp was delicious!
Why hadn't it ever noticed that before?
It was like discovering a whole new world—a land of infinite food spread out across the low-tide shallows, all green and glistening. More than it could ever eat.
Poliwag remembered how close it came to starving before, and couldn't help but stare at the endless kelp with a puzzled look.
How had it almost died of hunger with all this lying around?
What a mystery.
"Yoo-yoo, yoo-yoo…"
Poliwag shook its head and gave up on trying to understand. All it wanted now was to eat—to make up for everything it missed.
And with that, it forgot Reiji's instructions.
Wherever it went, it ate.
Everywhere, kelp.
Its cheeks puffed up from constant chewing, mouth always full of green strands.
When Reiji glanced over and saw this, he could only smile wryly.
At last, he understood why this little guy had been so hungry before.
It must have hatched not long ago—and before it could learn how to tell food apart, it got separated from its group.
Without parents to teach it, the only way to learn what was edible was trial and error: bite everything.
If it tasted bad, spit it out.
If it tasted good, swallow it.
Clearly, Poliwag hadn't found anything good to eat until it got lured in by the scent of Reiji's bait.
(End of Chapter)
[+50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]