On the fourth day of survival on the deserted island,Reiji had finally achieved a basic level of water security. That in itself was worth celebrating.
With so much fresh water, there was more than enough to drink—he could even store some for a shower.
Of course, that estimate was conservative. If the daytime temperatures spiked, the dripping could slow, or even stop entirely. Then he'd really be in trouble.
But at least for now, he didn't have to worry about water. His next priority was food.
The four fundamentals of survival: water, fire, food, and shelter.
And on this island, he had to add a fifth—safety.
With fire taken care of thanks to his lighter, and a makeshift shelter from the patched-up tarp, the weather had been good for now—clear skies and starlit nights. No heavy rain yet.
Even if it did rain, that would actually be a good thing for him. He was desperate for water, and rain meant he could collect it with his buckets—and even take a bath.
These past three days, his focus had been almost entirely on securing food and water.
Three days under the blazing sun... As a modern man, he could barely stand his own smell anymore—it was that bad.
Shelter from rain? He could just hide under a tree.
As long as it didn't get too windy—he had no defense against strong winds. He wouldn't last.
To maximize water collection when it rained, he'd already prepared lots of containers to spread across the sand.
He didn't even use his plastic tarp as a roof—he had dug pits and lined them with it to catch rainfall directly.
Shelter wasn't urgent—food was. Even safety came second.
He could starve long before anything ate him.
Without food, Poliwag couldn't grow stronger, train moves, or build stamina.
Constant hunger would only grind down its already low potential. And that was something Reiji couldn't accept.
So getting a steady food source had to be his top priority.
They also needed to change up their diet. Fish was too hard to come by. Fishing was way too dependent on luck.
He'd only spend mornings fishing now—if a bite came, great; if not, that was just how it went.
He had no bait for chumming the waters, and no quality bait for the hook. The intense heat didn't help.
His only tool was a single hand rod, with no backups.
As far as "perfect conditions" went, he had none.
Catching fish was a real challenge.
Looking back, landing those first two fish had just been pure dumb luck. Without them, he would've been eating sand by now.
As a seasoned fisherman, Reiji was confident that once a fish bit, he had an 80% chance of reeling it in.
But if no fish bite, that was the real problem.
Besides fish, they could also eat plants. While searching for water, he'd seen lots of seaweed—possibly kelp—along the shoreline.
There was plenty of it, especially in the shallows and among the rocks.
He'd even seen Krabby eating it—omnivores, after all... and scavengers too.
"Wait, scavengers?" Reiji's heart suddenly sank. A terrible realization struck him.
The fish guts he had buried yesterday were likely eaten by those damn crabs!
Panicking, he left Poliwag behind and sprinted toward the burial site.
When he got there, the sand had already been dug up. The guts were gone. All that remained were messy Krabby footprints.
Reiji slumped onto the ground in despair, staring at the ransacked pit.
He clenched his teeth.
He'd never hated a Pokémon this much in his life.
They were practically burned into his psyche now as a personal nemesis.
He used to think they were kind of cute and dopey—probably because of anime depictions.
But now all he felt was fury.
Their image in his heart had hit rock bottom.
He swore—even if someone gave him a Krabby, he'd turn it down.
Useless, thieving crabs. Even with his sorry life on the line, they still stole his precious bait.
With the meat bait gone, he was forced back to plant bait.
He carved some leaves to look like fish, rigged them as lures, and cast the line into the sea.
Just then, Poliwag hopped over and chirped twice,
"It's nothing," Reiji said, quickly masking his emotions with a smile.
He reached out and gently rubbed Poliwag's round, blue head.
There was no need for Poliwag to know how frustrated and angry he was.
Reiji would handle it.
Since Poliwag had chosen to follow him, he'd make sure the little guy didn't go hungry.
If no fish bit, they'd eat grass instead.
Nothing to be ashamed of—it was standard for survivalists.
Besides, Poliwag was omnivorous, just like him.
That sigh was full of helplessness.
And so, Reiji sat by the fishing rod for the whole morning.
But unlike yesterday, there was no lucky catch—no Carvanha today.
He'd expected this. A fisherman's worst enemy was no bites—and that meant going hungry.
It couldn't be helped.
Turning the rod into a passive trap, he left it behind and walked through the midday sun to the water collection spot.
He switched out the bottle for an empty plastic bucket, filled another with half a load of water, and carried it back to boil.
Now that boiling was possible, there was no excuse to keep drinking raw water.
His container for boiling? Just a small iron cup, about the size of a clenched adult fist.
He hadn't found anything bigger.
But it was good enough for boiling water.
He washed the cup with clean water, filled it up, and placed it over the fire to boil.
Poliwag, meanwhile, was sprawled under a patch of shade, passed out from the heat.
Reiji didn't disturb him.
He was sweating buckets himself from tending the fire.
In the end, he even took off his shirt.
But for the sake of safe drinking water, he had no choice.
When the water finally boiled, he retrieved the blackened iron cup from the fire and set it aside to cool.
After half an hour of effort, he finally drank his first cup of clean, boiled fresh water.
"Ahhh… that hit the spot," Reiji sighed contentedly.
That faintly salty but refreshing boiled water brought him real comfort.
With water no longer a worry, he finally felt a sense of peace.
He didn't need to fear dehydration anymore.
Whenever he wanted to drink—he could.
And that kind of freedom?
Was satisfying from head to toe.
[+50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]