"Poliwag, do you realize how dangerous that was just now?" Reiji asked as he scooped food into Poliwag's bowl.
"Poli… wag…" Poliwag nodded. It did realize how dangerous it had been. It had felt the threat of death for the first time.
"Then don't act on your own next time. You're still too weak. If you want to be unafraid of any enemy, you need to grow stronger." Reiji didn't know if Poliwag could fully understand, but he still said it out loud.
"Poliwag! Poliwag!" The expression in Poliwag's small eyes grew more serious. It understood just how reckless its behavior had been.
If Reiji hadn't thrown the Poké Ball to distract the Pidgey, it might not have made it back alive.
If Pidgey had caught it and eaten it—that would've been the end.
A fire seemed to burn in Poliwag's eyes. It felt its own weakness for the first time and, for the first time, truly longed to become stronger—strong enough to fear no enemy, strong enough to protect the trainer who cared for it most: Reiji.
To grow stronger—that was the one, unwavering thought echoing in Poliwag's mind. Fueled by frustration and determination, it devoured the food Reiji had cooked like a whirlwind and immediately tried to head out to train by the sea.
But as soon as it stood, its legs were still shaky, and Reiji quickly reached out and pressed it back down.
"Where do you think you're going?" Reiji didn't know what Poliwag was thinking, but he knew one thing: it shouldn't be going anywhere right now. Eating and resting were its only priorities.
"Poliwag, poli!" Poliwag turned to face the shore and fired off a Water Gun, trying to say it wanted to train.
Reiji smiled helplessly. He felt like maybe he'd over-motivated it. Having that fire was a good thing, but this wasn't the time to act on it.
"Get some rest. No training today." Reiji firmly pressed his palm against Poliwag's head to keep it from impulsively running off. He even shook his head to emphasize it.
Seeing him shake his head, Poliwag deflated like a balloon and slumped back down.
But when it saw the food Reiji brought over, its fighting spirit reignited. It looked up at him with hopeful eyes.
"This is the leftover fish bones from last night. I reheated them in the pan. All you need to do now is eat and rest. We'll talk about training after that."
"Poliwag…" Poliwag pushed the pan full of food toward Reiji.
Reiji appreciated the gesture, but fish bones were hard to digest, so he declined.
"You eat first. There's more where that came from." After gently pushing the pan back, Reiji grabbed the freshly scaled Magikarp, grilling half over the fire and tossing the other half into the stew pot.
Even though Magikarp was mostly bones, there was still a little meat and skin clinging to them—edible, if not particularly tasty. Probably tough and hard to digest.
If he had a pressure cooker, he might've made something good. But since he didn't, he opted for a longer cooking time. Naturally, the grilled half finished sooner than the boiled half.
When the ribs were done roasting, he broke them up and served them to Poliwag using the flat-bottomed pan as a makeshift bowl.
"Poli… wag…" Poliwag gulped as it saw the pile of fish bones and nudged the pan toward Reiji again.
But Reiji pushed it back once more. "I've got mine."
He pointed to a small bowl of fish bones beside him. Compared to Poliwag's pile, his serving was modest.
They were edible, just hard to chew and bad for the teeth. Crispy when roasted, they had the texture of potato chips… but the flavor? Hard to describe politely.
Seeing that Reiji had his share, Poliwag accepted the offering and eagerly began to chow down.
While the bones in the pot weren't ready yet, the broth was. Reiji ladled some into a metal cup for himself and used a plastic bottle cup to serve a bowl to Poliwag.
After placing the broth in front of Poliwag, he sipped his own. It tasted… fishy, with a faint seafood note. That was about it.
If he had some seaweed and shellfish, now that would've brought out the true umami and cut the fishiness.
But the tide wasn't low—definitely not a good time for foraging.
Well, at least he had something to drink. Beggars couldn't be choosers.
Sighing, Reiji poked at the fish bones with his chopsticks. The skin and meat still stuck to the bones had softened, so he pulled out a piece and took a bite.
It was tough—chewy like leather—and he could barely get through it. He was about to toss it back in the pot when Poliwag called out to him.
"Poli! Poli!"
Poliwag was able to stand now. Its voice had regained some strength, and its complexion was much better.
"You want it?" Reiji asked, placing the piece of fish skin in Poliwag's bowl.
Without replying, Poliwag lowered its head, bit down, and began to chew.
Seeing that, Reiji didn't stop it. Instead, he scooped out more leftover fish guts from the pot—breakfast, essentially.
As the skin cooked more thoroughly, he pulled out every bit and added it to Poliwag's bowl.
Let the little glutton deal with all that chewy meat on its own. He wasn't getting involved.
He poured himself another cup of broth and set the pot aside to cool before refilling it with water and setting it over the fire again.
Then, he grabbed his old trusty fishing rod and headed to the familiar rocky spot by the sea. He baited the hook with fermented shellfish and cast the line.
At this point, fish wasn't even the main food source anymore. But he still fished—for the hope of catching a Water-type Pokémon with decent potential. Not just Magikarp, either.
Of course, he wouldn't take a Krabby. Wouldn't accept one even if it were free. Unless…
Forget it. Thinking about those thug-like crabs would just ruin his mood.
Shaking off the negativity, Reiji focused on the bobber, sipping fish broth like it was tea.
Fishing could be painfully dull. If you weren't into it, the waiting alone would drive you crazy.
But that's what made a true fisherman—someone who could endure that stillness. Waiting ten years the same way he did yesterday. That's the life of a fisherman.
Only… this morning, the wait for a bite felt longer than ever.
(End of Chapter)
[+50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]