No, something wasn't right—Caterpie stared at the black, spiral pattern on Poliwag's belly and felt dizzier the longer it looked.
By the time Caterpie realized something was off, it was too late.
It had gotten too cocky, dropped its guard, and thought victory was in the bag—only to be hypnotized by the swirl on Poliwag's belly.
Caterpie fell into a deep sleep, unable to continue the battle.
And just like that, Poliwag won.
But it was a pretty frustrating win…
From the beginning, Poliwag had let its guard down, and Caterpie had seized control of the match, pressing the advantage the entire way.
Poliwag, despite its superior strength, lost its edge through overconfidence, allowing Caterpie to make a comeback. Though it recovered in time, the opportunity was already gone.
And Caterpie? It made the exact same mistake—got cocky and blew the lead.
With that much advantage… how do you even lose?
In his past life, Reiji was sure this would've earned them a flame war in some online game community—probably flamed into oblivion.
Both of these Pokémon had serious personality flaws.
Poliwag's biggest issue? Hot-headedness. Classic "bad but loves to play" type.
It was easily provoked, easily angered, easily excited, and once its emotions took over, it lost all judgment—just wanted to smash the opponent.
Against stronger foes like Wingull, it would rage if it couldn't land a hit, then mope and come crawling to Reiji for comfort.
But against weaker Pokémon like Caterpie, it got cocky, arrogant, and smug—especially after receiving praise.
Hopefully this near-loss will humble it a bit.
Once Poliwag matured, this kind of flaw might fade. Its emotional volatility was a clear weakness, but it also had its strengths.
With the right guidance, this passionate energy could be channeled into hard work and determination.
But if no one corrected it, Poliwag was bound to mess up again in the future.
Sigh. One problem child wasn't enough—now there's another one: Caterpie.
Caterpie's flaw was overconfidence. It couldn't follow through with a win. As soon as it felt in control, it taunted instead of finishing the fight.
Classic villain behavior—like those movie antagonists who capture the hero and then waste time monologuing about dreams and ideals instead of finishing the job. Arrogance builds, mouth keeps flapping, and boom—downfall.
Overestimating oneself, underestimating the opponent, refusing to flee even when losing, refusing to strike when winning, and insisting on trash talk—Caterpie checked all the boxes.
Hopefully this crushing turnaround will teach it to stop celebrating mid-battle.
That "champagne before halftime" attitude… unacceptable.
Sigh. What a headache. These two troublemakers really knew how to test him.
Reiji looked at one tied up and one passed out, then walked over to free Poliwag by melting the sticky white threads with warm water.
The silk Caterpie used was rich in protein—hot water, especially sun-warmed water, would melt it. But traces still clung to Poliwag's legs, so it'd need a soak to clean it all off.
"Poliwag, you're way stronger than Caterpie. So why did you nearly lose?" Reiji asked, his tone firm as he undid the bindings.
"Yoh…" Poliwag, sensing the seriousness in Reiji's voice, lowered its head in shame. It knew Reiji was angry.
"Remember this, Poliwag: Never underestimate your opponent. Even if it's just a Caterpie," Reiji said, pointing toward the water bucket. "Go reflect on your actions."
Then, Reiji turned to look at the "knocked-out" Caterpie. Poliwag's hypnosis wasn't even that strong, and Caterpie had a natural resistance to it—there was no reason it should still be out cold.
"Caterpie, wake up. Come on."
"Wuuh?" Caterpie blinked and rose from the grass, confused. What just happened? How did it end up knocked out?
Reiji didn't bother exposing its act. Instead, he simply said, "You lost."
"Wuuh?" Caterpie looked around in a daze, spotting Poliwag sulking in the water bucket. If it had won, Poliwag didn't look particularly victorious.
Then suddenly—Caterpie's inner drama queen took over. It squeezed out a tear and dramatically clung to Reiji's leg, sobbing, "Wuuh wuuh wuuh…"
"You little actor…" Reiji muttered, exasperated by Caterpie's two-faced antics.
Still, he gently patted its head. If Caterpie wanted to put on a show, he'd play along.
After being comforted, Caterpie shot Poliwag a quick, smug wink. Even if it lost the battle, it would win in other ways.
Poliwag, seeing this, was absolutely fuming.
Not only had this bug taken food from its bowl, it was now stealing Reiji's affection too!
Unforgivable. Infuriating! (￣︿￣)*
Poliwag didn't lash out, but the bubbles rising rapidly from the bucket said it all—pure frustration.
"Caterpie, do you know why you lost?" Reiji asked, seeing the smug look still lingering on Caterpie's face. He could feel a vein popping on his forehead.
"Wuuh?" Caterpie blinked innocently, pretending not to care. Losing's fine, as long as I'm happy, right?
That attitude just made Reiji grind his teeth. If Caterpie were his daughter, he'd have made it stand in the corner until it reflected on its actions.
"Get serious, Caterpie." Reiji scolded. "You're grinning and making faces at Poliwag like some little schemer who got their way. Where's the remorse for losing?"
"Wuuh?" Caterpie hadn't expected him to get mad. Startled, it turned its head and muttered, "I'm not listening, I'm not listening…"
Reiji could almost see its favorability points dropping: -1, -1, -1...
"If you lose, you face consequences. Go stand by the tree until you understand what you did. No meat until then."
That got a scoff from Caterpie. "Hmph! Who says I have to listen to you? Hmph-hmph-hmph!"
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my to read 20+ chapters ahead]
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