"Poliwag, let's take it step by step. As long as you keep training, you'll be able to hit two, three, even four float balls..."
What Reiji wanted most was this fighting spirit. Poliwag's fiery enthusiasm should be channeled here, not wasted on pointless squabbles and childish outbursts.
"Come on, start with two float balls. One has a trajectory, and two also have patterns. Now you need to multitask..."
"Wag wag..."
This round of Water Gun practice lasted until evening, and only then did the float ball training wrap up.
Clap clap. "Alright, Poliwag, Water Gun training is over. Rest a bit, and we'll head out to find some food."
After nearly three to four hours of training, Poliwag was totally exhausted. If not for the seawater replenishing its strength, it might not have been able to climb ashore at all. It had been forcing itself to keep going—Reiji saw it all—but didn't stop it. If Poliwag couldn't even handle this level of hardship, there was no way it'd be able to withstand the grueling training ahead.
From today's session, it was clear that Poliwag wasn't just average in potential—its move usage was also thoroughly ordinary.
But that didn't mean Poliwag was dumb or slow to react—just that being average is the norm.
Just like Reiji himself wasn't some genius—just a quiet fisherman who had been forced to start training a very average Poliwag.
What reassured him most, though, was Poliwag's sheer effort and persistence. That was its shining trait. And that perseverance was a result of deliberate guidance—he'd taken its emotional outbursts and redirected them toward something productive.
The hardest part of a two-shot Water Gun sequence is the second hit.
If the first needs to be fast, the second has to be faster.
Only when the first Water Gun becomes muscle memory can you shift full attention to the second—timing it and anticipating the float's motion.
From there, once both the first and second shots become instinctive, training can begin on hitting a third.
It reminded him of Ash's Squirtle from the Orange Islands arc. Before it was even caught, that Squirtle was already ridiculously skilled.
Reiji remembered the gym battle episode clearly—Ash's Squirtle going toe to toe with the gym leader's specially trained target-hitting Pokémon.
Those gym Pokémon had undergone extensive training, and yet Ash's newly acquired Squirtle managed to match them. It was a testament to how much the writers favored Ash's team.
In his previous life watching the anime, Ash rarely trained his Pokémon—he'd just battle and grow through adversity, full of fiery resolve and passion.
That's why half his Indigo League badges were handed to him by Gym Leaders, not earned in battle.
Cerulean Gym? Didn't even need a match. They just gave him the badge.
Totally unscientific. But well… it's Ash. The writers' favorite. Can't compare.
After putting Poliwag back in its water bucket, Reiji lay down to rest too. He had spent the entire afternoon calling out instructions, encouraging Poliwag. It wore him out.
Thankfully, the sun hadn't shown itself much today, and the temperatures stayed cool—he didn't even break a sweat.
"Speaking of the sun…" Reiji glanced toward the horizon—there was no sunset at all. The sky was ominously dark. Looked like rain was on the way again.
Just thinking about rain made him sit back up. He went to the water collection point and brought back the bucket he'd set up in the morning, replacing it with a fresh one.
If it rained overnight, the old one would be ruined anyway. It was only a single bucket—not a big deal.
On the way back, he spotted a Caterpie in a tree. Setting the bucket down, he called for Poliwag.
"Poliwag, let's go get dinner!"
"Wag wag!" Poliwag had recovered a bit during its rest in the bucket—enough energy left to take down a Caterpie.
"Poliwag, knock it out," Reiji said, pointing at the Caterpie on the tree.
These things were endless. He just kept catching and eating more. Caterpie didn't like the central jungle, so they always gathered near the forest edge to avoid predators.
Aside from a few Wingull along the shore, most Flying-types stayed deeper inland where the resources were richer.
Reiji still didn't know what the island's apex predator was, but he often heard beastly roars and felt tremors.
The tremors weren't that intense, probably a Ground-type using Earthquake.
If so, the island must have rich mineral deposits—what else would a Ground-type eat?
Ground, Rock, Steel... You needed money to raise those. Literally. Those types eat you into bankruptcy.
He couldn't afford that. He could barely afford to feed a tadpole.
After catching the Caterpie, he checked its stats. Another average one—32% potential. They returned to the temporary shelter to cook.
Poliwag was starving. Reiji had to hurry with dinner.
But the smell of food attracted some uninvited guests.
Click click, click click—
"What the hell? Krabby? Why are these here!?" Reiji whipped his head around to see three Krabby waving their red pincers, crawling toward him.
He immediately recalled the Magikarp in the bucket and shouted at Poliwag while bolting for the trees.
"Poliwag, run!!"
Boom boom boom—
"What the hell!? These Krabby don't play fair—they're throwing Mud Shot!"
Reiji ran while covering his head, occasionally glancing back to make sure Poliwag was still following.
Splash splash splash—
He saw Poliwag turning back to fire Water Guns, intercepting the Krabby's Mud Shots and protecting him from several hits.
"Don't bother with them! Just run!!" Reiji yelled.
The sounds of mud smashing into tree trunks and splashing Water Guns echoed behind them. Reiji ran even harder—he even lost a shoe.
"Damn it! All this time they never showed up, and they just had to come during dinner..."
But then it clicked.
Dinner.
Could it be they were here for dinner?
"Poliwag! Find a tree and hide behind it!" Reiji shouted, darting behind a trunk after running about 100 meters.
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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