Finally, the Carvanha stopped struggling.
Seizing the moment, Reiji yanked his rod and dragged the Carvanha toward shore. He didn't even have time to catch his breath before shouting out,
"Poliwag! Quick! Use Double Slap—knock it up onto the beach! Hurry!"
"Yoo-yoo!" Poliwag tensed with excitement, thinking, Finally, it's my turn!
Smack smack smack! Smack smack smack!
With a hop, Poliwag bounced to the shoreline, raised its tail, and slapped the Carvanha toward dry land with a burst of Double Slap.
The moment the Carvanha left the water, it sensed danger. Somehow, it found the strength to start thrashing again.
Its bulging eyes locked fiercely onto Poliwag, filled with rage at being struck.
Seeing that the Carvanha wasn't knocked out and was preparing to flop its way back into the sea, Reiji—completely drained—could only call out again:
"Poliwag! Keep going! Hit it with Double Slap until it faints—hurry!"
Smack smack smack! Smack smack smack!
Poliwag landed another combo, but it only seemed to make the Carvanha even angrier.
Its mouth, lined with sharp fangs, kept snapping open and shut, aiming for Poliwag's tail.
But a fish out of water is just meat on a cutting board—it can't keep thrashing forever.
Seeing the Carvanha still glaring at it fiercely, Poliwag struck again, landing several more slaps until the Carvanha finally fainted.
With his last bit of strength, Reiji pulled out the other Poké Ball he had picked up earlier.
He had used the first one to catch Poliwag. This was the second.
He rolled it over to Poliwag and said, "Poliwag! Use this Poké Ball—catch the Carvanha!"
Having been caught in one before, Poliwag understood what Poké Balls were.
"Huff… yoo-hoo…" Poliwag, panting heavily, saw the ball roll toward it. It raised its tail and smacked it squarely, launching it at the Carvanha.
Thunk!
The Poké Ball hit the Carvanha right on the center button.
A red beam of light shot out, wrapping around the fish and pulling it inside.
The ball began to wobble, the button flashing red.
Reiji and Poliwag both stared at it, afraid it would fail and the Carvanha would burst back out.
Reiji braced himself for failure—ready to have Poliwag beat it down again if needed.
Click.
After a few tense shakes, the Poké Ball stopped moving.
He exhaled deeply. Success.
Completely exhausted, both man and Pokémon collapsed flat onto the sand.
They were truly spent.
The mental and physical battle with that fish had left Reiji soaked in sweat.
His arms were limp, totally drained of strength. Even twitching a finger made his whole body ache like hell.
He didn't start recovering until the sun had begun to set.
Finally, he forced himself into a sitting position and reached for the Poké Ball beside him—Poliwag had pushed it over.
The little guy was still gasping for breath but seemed to be recovering faster than he was.
They were both starving. No wonder their stamina was bottomed out.
But this catch would fill their bellies—for now.
Still, he needed to find more reliable food sources soon. Fishing was way too unpredictable.
Without stable food, he wouldn't even have the energy to train Poliwag.
That would make survival on this island even more precarious.
He wasn't about to become the first transmigrator to die of starvation.
But that could wait until tomorrow.
He didn't want to think about it now—it would just make him hungrier.
Picking up the Poké Ball, Reiji opened the proficiency panel for Carvanha.
[Carvanha]
[Type: Water / Dark]
[Gender: Male]
[Potential: 29%]
[Level: 7.32%]
[Ability: Rough Skin / 3.53%]
[Moves Known: (Leer / 1.11%) (Bite / 3.13%) (Rage / 2.34%)]
"Lousy potential, mean-looking, and stupid strong," Reiji muttered.
This thing had nearly killed him. He thought it was some high-tier beast.
Turns out, just another stronger-than-me weakling.
At least now he understood how this Carvanha managed to rage-boost so many times.
Even when it had no energy left, it withstood repeated Double Slaps without fainting.
The key was its Ability: Rough Skin.
That passive trait increased defense slightly and inflicted recoil damage on attackers.
Reiji glanced at Poliwag's feather-like tail—now marked with cuts and bleeding wounds.
The damage had to be from Rough Skin's retaliation effect.
But he had no healing items. No potions.
Nothing he could use to treat Poliwag's wounds.
He sighed, then looked at Carvanha's moves.
No wonder it had been so stubborn—it knew Leer and Rage.
That explained the intense glare it gave him. That look wasn't just scary—it was actually using a move on him.
If he hadn't been so hungry, he might have flinched.
He might not have had the courage to face it head-on.
And Rage—that was the real problem.
That move had kept Carvanha in the fight, buffing its power with every hit like a shot of adrenaline.
Now he got it.
A starving transmigrator isn't even as good as a fish. What a joke.
Then there was Poliwag's injured tail.
He had nothing to help it.
The best he could do was give it a bigger share of the fish they were about to cook.
He didn't know whether dragging this little guy along would turn out to be a blessing or a burden.
But at the very least, as long as he had food, Poliwag wouldn't go hungry.
He might be useless now—but someday, when he had money, he'd make it up to him.
Even if Reiji had to go hungry, he wouldn't let Poliwag starve.
As long as it was within his power, he'd give the little guy the best he could.
That was his promise.
Poliwag didn't understand. It couldn't comprehend the meaning of a promise.
But Reiji would never forget.
Only adults knew how heavy a promise truly was—how hard it was to make one lightly.
Reiji didn't make promises often.
Because a promise meant responsibility.
And helping a weak Pokémon grow strong—that was a Trainer's job.
And he would do his best to fulfill that promise.
"Yoo-yoo."
Poliwag noticed Reiji looking at it with a worried expression.
Why? They'd just caught a huge fish! Shouldn't the human be happy?
"Yoo-yoo? Yoo-yoo?"
It chirped again, puzzled, rubbing against Reiji's hand like a kitten.
Reiji shook his head with a faint smile. "It's nothing."
He forced the concern off his face, then pressed the button on the Poké Ball—releasing Carvanha.
(End of Chapter)
[+50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]