In the natural world, the larger a creature is, the more terrifying its strength tends to be.
It's simple: the bigger the body, the greater the power. A creature of massive size burns tremendous energy just by moving about in its daily life.
To sustain that kind of consumption, large creatures must secure vast amounts of food. Their territories expand accordingly, and the brutal competition for survival in nature is everywhere.
The discovery of that enormous footprint made Kael no longer dare to underestimate this uninhabited island. What he didn't know was whether there was only a single giant Pokémon here—or an entire group. If it was just one, that was manageable. But if it was a whole population, then he'd have no choice but to keep his head down and tread carefully.
A Pokémon of that size—one stomp and it would be like an earthquake. There'd be no running from it. And if it were a group? If he angered them and they triggered a collective quake, they might very well sink the entire island.
For now, Kael temporarily abandoned the idea of fully exploring the island. He had just survived a brush with death and drifted at sea for who knew how long. At this moment, both his mind and body were stretched to their limits.
To be safe, Kael released Weavile and Lulu.
From past experience, when surviving alone in the wild, it was best not to keep your Pokémon inside their Poké Balls. If a sudden crisis or ambush struck, you might not have time to send them out.
Weavile hadn't participated in the earlier battle against Gyarados and had remained inside her Poké Ball the entire time. She was still full of energy, sharp and alert. Lulu, however, had consumed a great deal of psychic power when she teleported five people at once. Although she had rested inside her Poké Ball for a while, she still looked drowsy, as if she could fall asleep at any moment.
Kael lifted Lulu and settled her on his shoulder. The little girl wrapped her arms around his neck, her head brushing against his ear as she gradually drifted off to sleep.
With Lulu asleep and without his all-purpose little cook, Kael had no choice but to prepare the meal himself. He'd been busy all night and hadn't had a single drop of water. Earlier he hadn't felt it, but now that he had relaxed, hunger surged like a raging tide, battering his already fragile stomach.
Thankfully, this world had the magnificent invention known as the spatial-fold backpack.
Kael let out a relieved sigh and pulled a miniature refrigerator from his pack. The thing ran on solar power—one full charge could generate electricity continuously for two weeks. When it ran out, all you had to do was set it under the sun. Extremely convenient.
A folding table. A folding chair. A small gas canister. An iron skillet. A pressure cooker… nothing was missing. Kael's backpack was like a treasure chest—capable of producing almost anything.
Weavile was highly vigilant and didn't even need Kael's command. She first surveyed the surrounding area with caution. Seeing no immediate threats, she dashed toward the tallest coconut tree nearby. Her sharp claws gripped the bark as she leapt upward in a few swift bounds, landing atop the crown. Standing high above, she resembled an elite sentinel, scouting the surrounding situation for Kael.
Lunch was simple.
Both Kael and Weavile were carnivores. After thawing the steaks from the fridge, he tossed them straight into the oiled pan to sear. He also placed the remaining beef bones into the pressure cooker with vegetables and medicinal herbs to brew a nourishing broth. Then he had Weavile knock down a few fresh coconuts from the treetop.
That settled lunch for the day.
"Weavile, come eat!"
Kael arranged the steaks and beef-bone herbal soup on the folding table and waved up at her. Weavile nodded lightly, bending at the waist before springing from the coconut tree back onto the beach.
Kael set the three coconuts she had brought down—two large and one small—in front of her. Understanding immediately, Weavile extended a single claw and lightly traced a circle atop each coconut. Then she tapped along the scored line.
Pop.
A neat round opening appeared on each one, and the fragrant scent of fresh coconut milk spread through the air.
Kael gently woke the half-asleep Lulu and inserted a straw into the smallest coconut before handing it to her. Her lunch consisted of fruit salad and pokeblocks specially formulated for Psychic-type Pokémon. Her earlier psychic exertion had been considerable; food alone wouldn't restore her quickly enough. She needed the energy cubes as supplementation.
Lulu sipped slowly through the straw, savoring the pure, natural sweetness of the coconut milk. With her tiny fork, she speared slices of sweet peach and lifted them delicately to her lips. From a distance, she looked like a well-bred noble young lady enjoying a refined luncheon—so picturesque it seemed like a painting.
Kael and Weavile were far less refined.
Each started with a roughly one-pound medium-rare steak, sprinkled generously with cumin and chili powder. Then came a large bowl each of beef-bone medicinal broth. Both man and Pokémon ate with unrestrained vigor. Kael was starving and didn't bother with knife and fork—he simply grabbed the steak with his hands and tore into it. He could wash up afterward. Filling his stomach came first.
Weavile followed suit perfectly. With a swift slice of her sharp claws, she cut the one-pound steak into two pieces and devoured them one in each hand, grease glistening at the corners of her mouth, eating with obvious delight.
Finally, a large bowl of beef-bone herbal soup went down.
Kael let out a long, satisfied burp, feeling as though life had returned to his body. The gnawing emptiness of hunger had been unbearable.
After finishing their meal, the trio lay down on the sun-warmed sand to rest. Kael reclined beneath the coconut tree, hands folded behind his head, a pair of sunglasses resting on his face. Lulu stretched her petite body and lay across his stomach.
Weavile, bearing the responsibility of sentinel, returned to the top of the coconut tree to continue monitoring their surroundings.
"Looks like I need to move up my plan to capture a reconnaissance specialist," Kael thought, gently stroking Lulu's smooth hair.
What kind of Pokémon would be best suited for scouting?
First requirement: it must be able to fly. Many terrains are too treacherous to traverse on foot alone. A flying Pokémon makes things much simpler.
Many Bug-types and avian Pokémon could meet that criterion.
Second, however, simply being able to fly was only the baseline. It had to fly high—and fly fast.
That requirement eliminated many flying Bug-types. Their fragile insect wings only supported low-altitude flight, and in harsh weather—strong winds or heavy rain—they would struggle to carry out aerial reconnaissance missions.