"Why did you stop eating?" Hisoka placed a bowl filled with High-concentration Pokeblocks in front of the Rhydon.
"Roar... roar..."
The Rhydon shook its head, gesturing with its branch-thick fingertips. It looked at the tiny, one-centimeter cubes in the bowl and let out a disdainful snort.
Hisoka laughed and scolded playfully, "Well, look at you being picky!"
"Lulu, tell him what these are. Don't let their size fool him. A dozen of these will be enough to make him feel stuffed."
Lulu conveyed Hisoka's message through Telepathy.
The Rhydon was skeptical at first, but with a hint of curiosity, it delicately pinched a High-concentration Pokeblock with its fingertips. Its tongue flicked out, and before it could even register a taste, the Pokeblock melted, flowing down into its stomach with its saliva.
Burp!
The Rhydon let out an involuntary belch. It felt a warmth spread through its belly, and its hunger was instantly satiated. Its eyes widened; it hadn't expected the little things to be so potent. Without further hesitation, it opened its palm, grabbed a handful of Pokeblocks, and tossed them into its mouth.
...
Beneath the shade of the trees, the Rhydon leaned against a massive trunk that two adults couldn't have embraced. It rubbed its belly, belching occasionally. Its stomach was visibly larger than it had been minutes ago. It turned out that one really could get full from eating.
For the first time in its life, the Rhydon experienced the sensation of being overstuffed.
Looking at the Rhydon's lethargic state, Hisoka burst into laughter. "Stuffed, aren't you?"
"Roar..."
The Rhydon shook its head, refusing to admit defeat. It pointed a finger at the crumbs left in the bowl, insisting it could still eat more.
Three High-concentration Pokeblocks could sustain a Tauros through a full day of high-intensity labor. This small bowl held twenty-five. Given how much the Rhydon had already eaten, it would have been a miracle if it wasn't stuffed.
Hisoka had assumed that even for a creature as big as Rhydon, ten would be enough. He hadn't expected the big guy to simply swallow them whole, especially such unassuming little cubes.
Too full to move, the Rhydon lay against the giant tree and soon drifted into a deep sleep.
Hisoka watched the unsuspecting creature sleep, his eyes narrowing as he pondered. He had an ambitious idea.
He had decided to capture this giant Rhydon, which stood over four meters tall. His envisioned team was currently lacking a dedicated "tank," and this behemoth was undoubtedly the perfect choice.
It was massive, had staggering physical defense, and its attack power was nothing short of monstrous.
Most importantly, this Rhydon knew its way around water. While it hadn't completely overcome its elemental weaknesses, its familiarity with the sea significantly reduced the natural fear Ground-type Pokémon had for water.
It ate a lot, and raising a creature of this size would be a massive financial drain.
But that didn't matter. The bag of gemstones Hisoka had looted from the Rhydon's cave would fetch around nine million once he returned to human society. That sum alone would be enough to support the Rhydon's growth for a year or two.
The giant Rhydon had lived its entire life on this deserted island, isolated from the world. It didn't even understand the concept of being "captured." Therefore, Hisoka's plan was to befriend it first. Perhaps he wouldn't even need a battle to bring this high-potential general under his command.
After their brief interaction, Hisoka realized the Rhydon's mind was like a blank sheet of paper, and he was about to be the one to paint upon it. Whether the plan succeeded would depend on his execution.
Thinking of this, Hisoka tucked his hands behind his back and walked toward the thicket on the other side. As he did, he subtly gestured to Weavile behind his back.
The clever Weavile caught the signal immediately and hurried after him.
Hisoka crouched down on one knee and whispered into Weavile's ear. The Pokémon listened intently, nodding repeatedly.
"Go find a bird's nest or a cave somewhere on the island and hide this inside... But don't stray too far from it. You must keep a constant eye on the treasure..."
"Weavile~"
Clutching the black cloth bag his master handed her, Weavile bent her knees and leaped onto a tree trunk. Her extraordinary agility made the forest floor seem like flat ground. After a few more bounds, she vanished from Hisoka's sight.
Watching Weavile's departing figure, Hisoka's lips curled into a smile. This plan was full of holes; any human with a decent IQ would see through it instantly. But for the innocent, blank slate that was the Rhydon, it was the perfect method.
There was no such thing as a stupid methodonly the most suitable method for a specific target!
...
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. After establishing their initial rapport, Hisoka and the others spent those three days living with the Rhydon. With Lulu as a top-tier chef, the Rhydon enjoyed delicacies it had never even imagined, often eating until it could no longer walk...
To find enough food, Hisoka and Lulu had to rack their brains. Resources on the deserted island were scarce, and there were almost no land animals to be found.
They had to turn their attention to the fish and shrimp in the sea. Even though the seafood was delicious, Hisoka was starting to get sick of it after three days straight.
The Rhydon, however, didn't care. It usually survived on raw fish and shrimp anyway, so eating Lulu's cooked versions made it happier than it had ever been.
In the shallow waters, the Rhydon carried a custom-made bamboo basket on its back, wading ahead along the coastline. Seawater that would have completely submerged a two-meter-tall man only reached the big guy's belly.
A coil of rope was wrapped around the Rhydon's waist, extending behind it to a small, simple wooden boat.
Hisoka stood on the boat, holding a collection of small red balls, each about the size of a golf ball. He flicked his wrist, tossing one into the water. With a loud bang, a pillar of water erupted, spraying droplets everywhere. A few seconds later, ripples spread as fish and shrimp began floating to the surface, belly-up.
The Rhydon let out a joyful roar and reached out with a massive hand, scooping up the stunned seafood and tossing them into the basket on its back.
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