Reiji knew Magikarp couldn't evolve that easily, and yet... the closer the fish got to shore, the more nervous he became.
He hadn't done anything wrong, had he? So why was his forehead sweating?
He shook the thoughts away. Overthinking wasn't helping. First things first—he had to get the Magikarp onto land.
Once he'd finally dragged it to the edge of the water, it was time for Poliwag's turn.
The poor little guy had dozed off during the long standoff, and honestly, Reiji couldn't blame him.
"Poliwag, use Double Slap to smack that Magikarp onto shore!" Reiji shouted, pouring the last of his strength into the command.
"Yo-yo! Yo-yo!" Poliwag perked up instantly, no longer sleepy or yawning. It dashed over to the shoreline, tail raised, and started swatting the flopping Magikarp with precision.
Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!
Two solid bursts of Double Slap later, Magikarp was up on the sand.
Even then, Reiji didn't dare approach. What if this pathetic fish suddenly evolved from rage? Better safe than sorry.
So, despite being exhausted and aching all over, he forced himself to act quickly—pulling out an empty Poké Ball and tossing it at the dazed Magikarp.
Thud!
A direct hit. The Poké Ball opened, absorbed the fish in a flash of red light, and began to shake.
That throw? He'd practiced. Tossing pebbles for fun had even unlocked a new skill:
[Reiji]
[Pokémon: 1]
[Proficiencies: (Fishing/12.12%) (Throwing/11.11%) (Cooking/3.46%)]
Besides fishing and throwing, he'd gained a cooking skill—presumably from roasting two batches of fish and making one soup.
Not that cooking was particularly useful without proper seasonings. It was barely edible.
Fishing and throwing were his most practical skills. The former had been a lifesaver early on, and the latter meant he could at least hit a target with a Poké Ball—maybe even train with throwing knives someday.
But ultimately, nothing mattered more than the strength of his Pokémon. That was real power. Unless you were one of the rare superhumans, humans were just plain weak.
Forget Ash with his super strength and thunder resistance. That was just animation error.
Even if the people of this world were a bit stronger than those in his previous life, the gap wasn't big. Not enough to matter.
All that thinking happened in a flash—the same moment the Poké Ball clicked shut, and the red light faded.
Click.
Magikarp had been caught.
"Poliwag, roll the Poké Ball over here," Reiji called out. He had zero strength left to stand, let alone walk.
His body ached like hell.
Seriously, if he'd known he was wrestling with that dumb fish all day, he would've given up from the start. But by the time he realized what it was, he was already too invested. There was no turning back.
All that effort, and what did he end up with? A nearly meatless skeleton of a fish. What a joke.
As Poliwag obediently nudged the Poké Ball over to him, Reiji picked it up and brought up Magikarp's status screen:
[Magikarp]
[Type: Water]
[Gender: Female]
[Potential: 19%]
[Level: 2.11%]
[Ability: Swift Swim/1.31%]
[Hidden Ability: Rattled/2.11%]
[Moves: (Splash/0.38%) (Tackle/0.54%)]
Looking at this thing's stats...
Well, there wasn't anything worth writing home about.
If anything, the only thing mildly interesting was the hidden ability.
But even that couldn't hide how utterly mediocre this fish was. It was born to flop on the sand like a dried-out sardine. Honestly, it was a sardine.
In the games, Magikarp evolved at level 20. This one wasn't even close.
All that fear he had about a sudden evolution? Completely unwarranted.
Still holding the Poké Ball, Reiji glanced at Poliwag by his side. They rested for about half an hour as the sun drifted closer to the horizon.
But now it was time for action—low tide was setting in, and that meant gathering time.
He wasn't about to cook Magikarp right away. That thing might not even be edible.
No, first priority was grabbing more kelp and shellfish. Even if they didn't eat it tonight, they could dry it and store it for later.
There was no way he was missing a daily tide run.
So Reiji forced his aching body upright and called to his partner, "Poliwag, let's go beachcombing. Time to collect kelp."
"Yo-yo! Yo-yo!" Poliwag didn't really understand the words, but seeing Reiji move was enough. It eagerly hopped along behind him.
The little glutton had barely worked today, eating kelp as needed. Now, as the sun sank low, it was full of energy, bouncing excitedly.
Instead of bringing a bucket this time, Reiji handed Poliwag a plastic bottle to carry.
Poliwag clamped it between its teeth and followed as they headed back toward yesterday's rocky tidal flats.
It was a bit clumsy at first—still not used to walking on land—but the moment it saw the sea, Poliwag dove straight in, graceful and swift.
It even overtook Reiji, arriving first at the flat where they'd foraged yesterday.
"Yo-yo! Yo-yo!" Poliwag chirped proudly from atop a rock, already munching away on fresh kelp without waiting for Reiji.
Once Reiji caught up, he didn't waste a second and got to work collecting shellfish.
He was running out of daylight—only a sliver of sun remained over the ocean's edge. He needed to move fast.
Once night fell, he'd be half-blind. No night vision like the Pokémon had.
After all, he was just human. And nighttime belonged to the wild.
(End of Chapter)
[+50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]