"Poli… wag…" Poliwag hadn't passed out completely. Though its eyes were weary, when it saw that it was Reiji offering the water, it obediently opened its mouth and let him pour it in.
Seeing this, Reiji quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Poliwag wasn't seriously hurt. There were no wounds—just extreme fatigue from overusing its moves. A good rest would be enough for recovery.
And despite the danger, the battle hadn't been without gains. After helping Poliwag drink some more water and urging it to rest well, Reiji pulled up Poliwag's proficiency panel.
[Poliwag]
Type: Water
Gender: Male
Potential: 31%
Level: 6.92%
Ability: Damp / 0.53%
Hidden Ability: Swift Swim / 1.23%
Learned Moves:
Mind Reader / 0.21%
Ice Ball / 0.31%
Refresh / 0.51%
Bubble / 1.31%
Hypnosis / 0.52%
Double Slap / 2.64%
Pound / 0.51%
Water Gun / 2.47%
Poliwag's experience had jumped significantly—almost level 7 already.
The rise in Refresh proficiency had come from the night before. Double Slap and Pound had increased from earlier. Strangely enough, Mind Reader had also risen. Had Poliwag subconsciously used it during the battle?
That move was strange—boosting the accuracy of other moves and helping to lock onto targets. Reiji had a feeling it could be used for some sneaky setups in the future.
The biggest gain was clearly Water Gun, which had improved by over one point.
Of course, now wasn't the time to focus on that. He needed to get food ready for Poliwag to restore its stamina.
Eating and sleeping were still the most reliable ways to recover.
Speaking of food, Reiji dug up the leftover fish bones from last night—but those weren't ideal for Poliwag in its current state. They'd have to wait until it regained some strength.
Instead, he would cook the Magikarp that Poliwag had captured on its own.
When he took out the Poké Ball, Magikarp's proficiency panel appeared.
[Magikarp]
Type: Water
Gender: Male
Potential: 22%
Level: 3.18%
Ability: Swift Swim / 1.21%
Learned Moves:
Splash / 0.98%
Tackle / 0.34%
This Magikarp had noticeably higher potential and level than the previous one. No hidden ability, and only the usual two moves.
As Reiji looked at its stats, a thought struck him: same species, yet different potential—visible right on the proficiency panel.
If he had a large number of Magikarp, couldn't he just screen them to find the ones with the highest potential?
Of course, this approach only worked for Pokémon like Magikarp.
Why? Because they were everywhere. Completely common. Totally worthless.
If it were a rare Pokémon, the sheer lack of numbers would make this method impossible. This strategy only worked on things that were abundant.
His method was straightforward too—just check the panel at a glance. With a bit of luck, he could find a high-potential Magikarp worth raising into a Gyarados.
Potential meant possibility. At least this way, he wasn't gambling blind.
Still, this one clearly wasn't worth training—it was better off as food to help Poliwag recover.
Reiji wasn't the same person he was yesterday. Even without Poliwag, he could now handle a Magikarp on his own.
He released it from the Poké Ball, pinned its head down with one hand, and quickly slit open its belly with his folding knife before the fish even realized what was happening.
With practiced movements, he cleaned and gutted the Magikarp, then lit a fire and set water to boil.
First up—its innards. These were the best for replenishing strength, perfect for Poliwag's recovery.
Glug, glug, glug…
Soon, the water boiled. Bubbles rose as the fish guts swirled.
Reiji offered Poliwag more water several times. Only then did the little guy begin to perk up slightly, though it was still pale and weak. It couldn't even sit up without Reiji's help.
Before long, the broth was done. Reiji scooped out some of the fish organs and set them in front of Poliwag.
"Poli… poli…" Poliwag looked down at the food, then turned and pushed some toward Reiji with its tail.
But Reiji gently pushed it back. "I'm not hungry. This is yours. You caught that Magikarp all by yourself. You did great."
As he praised it, he rubbed Poliwag's soft blue head.
"Poli~ Poli~" Poliwag squinted its tired eyes and leaned into the touch, basking in the praise.
Truth be told, Reiji had been really worried about it earlier. Now that the crisis had passed, there was nothing to be anxious about.
He didn't plan on scolding Poliwag for acting on its own. Doing so might backfire, making it hesitant or fearful in future critical moments. That would only hurt its independent judgment and initiative.
While he wasn't upset, he still planned to take the incident seriously—especially in how he analyzed and learned from it. He needed to clearly explain the stakes to Poliwag.
Looking back on the ambush, he saw two major errors in judgment.
First, he had gotten too excited when Poliwag's first Water Gun hit. He assumed it could follow up with more, not realizing that Poliwag's accuracy was still poor. That overestimation caused every shot afterward to miss.
Second, after the second, third, and fourth Water Gun attempts all failed, he should've told Poliwag to stop and conserve energy instead of letting it waste valuable stamina. It would've been wiser to stay alert and ready rather than firing blindly.
This was a deserted island. There were no Pokémon Centers. Stamina was precious. Wasting it was foolish.
He had focused too much on the threat from Pidgey, assuming that as long as it didn't dive again, Poliwag would be safe. He hadn't noticed just how drained the little guy was becoming—that was his failure.
Plus, Poliwag's stamina clearly wasn't fully restored. It had burned out after just ten or so shots of Water Gun. He hadn't expected that.
Both of those errors could've been fatal. Thankfully, nothing terrible happened. But if it had… he wasn't sure he could've forgiven himself.
He wasn't going to let something like that happen again.
This incident was a wake-up call—for both him and Poliwag.
Especially now, while Poliwag was still far from strong.
(End of Chapter)
[+50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]