Day three of surviving on the deserted island. The sun had just begun to rise.
Last night,Reiji had been thinking about getting a Poké Ball to try catching a Pokémon and test whether his proficiency panel worked on them. Thinking about it... he ended up falling asleep.
He had good reason to be exhausted—he hadn't rested properly for two days. Combined with the warmth of the campfire, he slept all the way until morning.
When he woke, he stretched lazily and tried to get up—only to feel something heavy pressing down on his legs.
Looking down, he realized: it was Poliwag, sleeping curled up on top of him.
The little guy didn't look heavy, but according to official data, it weighed a solid 25 pounds.
Imagine 25 pounds pressing down on your legs, and you'll get the idea.
The moment Reiji saw it, he also realized… his pants were wet. Right as he noticed that, he also saw Poliwag smacking its lips in its sleep, a string of crystal-clear drool hanging from its mouth.
"…Damn it." A vein popped on his forehead. He wanted to yeet this sloppy little tadpole far, far away.
But after thinking it over, he let it go. After all, it was rare to meet such a friendly wild Pokémon in the wild.
Having Poliwag around gave him at least a bit of comfort.
"Hey, wake up, you lazy lump."
Reiji nudged Poliwag. The little guy mumbled and smacked its lips but didn't want to wake up—just rolled over and kept sleeping.
So Reiji had no choice but to lift Poliwag off his leg and gently set it down beside him.
"Yoo? Yoo… haa…"
Poliwag stirred as it was moved, gave a big yawn, and blinked at the human stretching in front of it.
Reiji didn't pay it much mind. He turned and started walking along the coast, searching for freshwater.
Two days without a proper drink—he'd only licked a bit of dew and eaten a bit of grilled fish. He was extremely thirsty now. He had to find fresh water soon.
Though Poliwag was a wild Pokémon, if Reiji had a Poké Ball, he definitely would've tried catching it as his first partner.
After all, Poliwag's final evolution—Poliwrath—had a base stat total of 510. Not bad at all.
Poliwag actually had two possible final evolutions: Poliwrath and Politoed.
Excluding pseudo-legendaries, both were solid second-tier Pokémon, each with base stats over 500.
For comparison, even Venusaur, a starter, only had 525 base stats. Sure, it had a Mega Evolution—but still.
And those were starter Pokémon—the kind you'd only get if you were part of the Pokémon League's inner circle.
Reiji? He was a nobody. A shadow person. Stranded on a deserted island.
Even if he cried, no one would hand him a starter.
So meeting a friendly Poliwag was already a stroke of luck. He had no room to be picky.
And Poliwrath wasn't bad. Its stats were evenly spread—not excelling in anything, but not lacking either.
Its only weak point was its Speed.
But that could be fixed with its ability.
Reiji remembered Poliwrath could have the ability Swift Swim, which doubled its Speed in the rain. Used properly, it could outspeed most Pokémon.
He really wanted to catch this Poliwag…
All he was missing was a Poké Ball.
"Ugh…"
Reiji sighed helplessly. Without a Poké Ball, he was stuck. Even with the proficiency panel, he couldn't cook a meal without ingredients.
Still, no point obsessing over it now. That way lies madness.
He was in the Pokémon world. His goal was to become a Trainer.
But for now, basic survival came first.
Dying of thirst on this island would be the most humiliating way to go.
There was no fresh water by the shore. And he didn't want to venture into the forest.
So he folded a large leaf into a cone-shaped bowl and went along the forest edge, collecting dew off plant leaves.
If he couldn't find water, this dew would be his only source of hydration for the day.
And he had to move fast. Once the sun rose high and temperatures went up, the dew would evaporate. Then he'd have to wait for tomorrow.
Fortunately, this anime-flavored world had big fat dew drops. It wasn't long before he filled a leaf bowl and took a few gulps.
Poliwag had been tailing him the entire time, watching the strange behavior of this human with curiosity.
When it saw Reiji drinking dew, Poliwag stuck out its tongue and licked a dew droplet too.
One drop later, it smacked its lips and nodded—sweet and refreshing.
Then it went after a second droplet.
There were plenty around in the morning.
Truth be told, Poliwag could survive just fine in salt water. It could filter out salt from seawater—it didn't need dew. It was just copying Reiji out of curiosity.
With his lips moistened and thirst temporarily relieved, Reiji's urgency faded.
He continued scavenging while collecting more dew.
He was hoping to find useful items:
Driftwood to use as firewood
Foam pieces to use as bedding (and insulation)
Plastic bottles or jugs for holding water or catching rain
Waterproof plastic sheets to sew into a roof—he needed shelter
Even if the weather had been good so far, he had no idea how long he'd be stuck here.
Who knew when it might rain? He wasn't about to gamble on good luck. Prevention was key.
This island had plenty of washed-up garbage—just like those islands in real-life survival streamer videos.
When he first transmigrated, the sheer amount of trash had broken his fantasy.
So much for the "beautiful Pokémon world"—that was just anime. Reality was garbage-covered beaches.
But in a way, he owed his survival to that trash. Without it, he wouldn't even have had wood to grill fish.
Before he knew it, he'd collected a huge pile of junk—mostly wood.
At least he wouldn't be short on firewood tonight.
Still, he hadn't found any real fresh water, so he turned back, returning to last night's campfire to drop off what he'd gathered.
Next up: food.
He had no more bait for fishing.
Maybe he could dig in the damp soil for earthworms later?
If not, the innards of last night's fish could be repurposed as bait.
While he was thinking through all this, Reiji wasn't paying attention to where he stepped.
Something underfoot tripped him, and he fell hard to the ground.
All the junk he'd scavenged spilled everywhere.
As he got up, brushing himself off and preparing to see what he'd tripped over—
A red-and-white round object rolled into view.
And it was rolling toward the ocean.
"Wait—wait, wait, wait! That's… That's a classic Gen 1 Poké Ball!"
Reiji stood there, frozen, watching the ball roll farther away.
It took him a second to snap out of it.
That was the very thing he'd been dreaming about!
When he saw it about to tumble into the sea, he jumped to his feet and dashed after it.
In his panic, he lost a shoe, but he didn't care—he charged right into the water.
He caught it—just before the waves could sweep it away.
"Hahahaha! A Poké Ball! I've got a Poké Ball!"
Reiji stood there in the surf, gripping the red-and-white ball with both hands like a treasure, laughing like an idiot.
But then it hit him.
Wait… this was supposed to be an uninhabited island.
Why the hell was there a Poké Ball here?
(End of Chapter)
[+50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]