After a good meal, Reiji drank some hot water and finally felt his strength returning.
His weakness wasn't just from the fever—it was also from sheer hunger.
Ever since the storm began, he had barely eaten anything beyond a few strands of seaweed. His stomach had been completely empty.
That he managed to survive the illness at all was a miracle.
Now that the protein was slowly digesting in his body, he could feel a growing strength coursing through his limbs. Even the irritation in his throat had subsided.
But after lunch, the question of dinner naturally arose.
Just then, an idea popped into his head—a perfect plan that would both train Poliwag's moves and get them a tasty meal.
"It's decided, Poliwag…"
"Yo-yo?" Poliwag tilted its head, puzzled at what Reiji was suddenly excited about. But seeing him happy made it happy, too.
"Poliwag, rest up for now. Once it cools down, we're going Caterpie hunting. That's tonight's dinner," Reiji explained to the confused tadpole.
"Yo-yo! Yo-yo!" At the mention of dinner, Poliwag immediately perked up, bouncing excitedly and calling out repeatedly.
No wonder—the roast bug they had earlier was the most delicious thing it had eaten in a long while.
"Don't rush it. The sun's too strong right now. Let's wait a bit," Reiji held up a hand to calm the overexcited Poliwag.
There was plenty of time left in the afternoon. They didn't need to hurry to catch a Caterpie—those common little bugs were everywhere.
"Yo…" Poliwag deflated a little like a popped balloon, but one glance at the blazing sunlight outside the shade was enough to convince it—if it went out now, it might end up as a dried poliwag jerky.
While they waited for the sun to ease, Reiji pulled up Poliwag's move proficiency panel again.
Ability: Damp / 0.53%
Hidden Ability: Swift Swim / 1.53%
(Mind Reader / 0.21%)
(Fresh Start / 0.51%)
(Double Slap / 2.84%)
Compared to the morning, the only changes were a small increase in level experience and some gain in Double Slap proficiency—no doubt from the earlier battle with Caterpie.
Reiji's plan was to make Poliwag use Hypnosis on the next Caterpie they found and simply toss a Poké Ball while it slept. Simple and efficient.
No flashy battles, no dramatic critical captures. Just Hypnosis and done.
"Poliwag, do you know how to use Hypnosis?" he asked, glancing at the blue blob sitting next to him.
"Yo?" Poliwag looked confused at first—until Reiji pointed at the black spiral pattern on its belly. Only then did Poliwag realize what he meant.
Poliwag's Hypnosis relied on that spiral on its belly. The downside? It only worked if the target was looking directly at it. Just closing your eyes could avoid it.
Of course, Poliwag also had a second way to cast Hypnosis: through its eyes, as hypnotic waves. This method was common to many non-Psychic-type Pokémon capable of learning Hypnosis—like the Gastly line, Meowth, Vulpix, Psyduck, and Noctowl.
Once it understood, Poliwag immediately tried to test it—on Reiji.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Not on me! If I get knocked out, who knows when I'll wake up!"
He quickly stopped the eager tadpole.
"Yo…" Poliwag looked down, a little disheartened.
"Don't be down. We'll go find a poor sucker to test it on," Reiji said with a pat to Poliwag's little blue head, motioning for it to follow.
After a good rest and with the sun no longer scorching, they began circling the edge of the forest, on the lookout for an unsuspecting Caterpie.
He'd seen lots of them before the storm. They probably all went into hiding to avoid the downpour.
The one Poliwag caught earlier had just been dumb luck—it had been trying to snack on leaves from the fallen tree when Poliwag stumbled across it.
Reiji and his partner searched for several minutes but found no Caterpie. They did spot several Weedle, though.
But he didn't dare mess with those things. Weedle were poisonous. He wanted nothing to do with them.
They were on a deserted island, without any medicine or antidotes. If he got stung or bitten, there'd be no one to save him. Game over.
Even snake venom was dangerous in his previous life—Weedle venom? Absolutely lethal. Not to mention Beedrill… just thinking about those giant stingers made him shudder.
Imagine a needle as thick as your arm—the kind used on elephants—being used on you. What do you do? Cry? Or cry harder?
They circled the forest edge for another seven or eight minutes until they arrived at the beach where Poliwag had been attacked by Pidgey. There, they finally spotted a Caterpie.
This one was tucked inside a tree hollow, preparing to evolve.
Its hiding spot was clever—on a thick branch, beneath the foliage. From above, flying-types wouldn't be able to see it.
If Reiji hadn't been scanning the area from below, he might've missed it himself. This was clearly a Caterpie's carefully chosen defensive nest.
Spotting their target, Reiji turned to Poliwag and laid out the plan.
"Poliwag, hit the Caterpie in the tree hole with Water Gun—get it riled up. Then use Hypnosis to put it to sleep…"
[+50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]