Day 25 of surviving on the deserted island. Clear skies.

There was no “the day starts in the morning” today—only a horror movie-style jump scare to kick things off.

Rhydon’s savage and brutal appearance scared off every Pokémon drinking at the lakeside. They all scattered and fled, not daring to go anywhere near it.

Even the Krabby that had been sunbathing by the lake quickly scurried into the water, only daring to poke their heads above the surface to check things out. After all, the crab Rhydon was eating were their ocean-side relatives!

“Gulp… gulp…”

Reiji, completely stunned by the scene, was hiding behind a tree with Poliwag, hugging it tightly as both of them trembled. His throat bobbed with each swallow, overwhelmed by panic.

Every time Rhydon stomped a foot, the earth trembled—Reiji’s legs felt it, the trees shook, his whole body shook. His heart skipped a beat like it was about to leap out of his throat.

That overwhelming pressure that shook the land was far too powerful. And that was just from stomping—Rhydon hadn’t even used Earthquake. If it did…

He was certain the tremor would be felt all the way to the shoreline. The sheer destructive power of that move was terrifying to imagine.

It was only then that he remembered where exactly this uninhabited island was.

The Orange Archipelago. Fairchild Island. The one with the Totem Pidgeot and Totem Rhydon. Both extremely territorial. They would attack any intruder without mercy and drive them off the island.

He remembered that episode clearly—Pidgeot and Rhydon were such a distinct pair.

Also, every Pokémon on this island was abnormally large—noticeably bigger than their usual counterparts. The Totem Pidgeot and Rhydon were famous for their sheer size.

According to the official data, Snorlax is 2.1 meters tall.

Rhydon is supposed to be 1.9 meters.

But the Rhydon here was even taller than a Snorlax. Maybe 2.3 meters, maybe 2.5. Either way, way bigger than usual.

“Damn it… this pressure is too much. My legs won’t move,” Reiji muttered, hiding behind the tree. He desperately wanted to escape, but his legs simply refused to listen.

No matter how much he slapped or pinched them, there was no feeling. That was just from indirect pressure—not even face-to-face.

If it had been direct, he would’ve pissed himself already. Maybe even pooped from the shock of Rhydon stomping him.

“Damn it, move already!” Reiji shouted in his head, but his brain had lost control of his trembling legs.

Then Butterfree flew in, grabbed his shoulder with its tiny claws, and started dragging him into the forest. Only then did he finally let out a breath of relief.

His back was soaked in cold sweat, and his whole body felt weak. But he still managed to mumble, “Thanks, Butterfree…”

“Buuuh-reee,” Butterfree was terrified too. It had ducked behind a tree at the sight of that monstrous Rhydon.

It was the first time it had seen such a ferocious Pokémon. It was absolutely terrifying.

But then it remembered it could fly—and Rhydon couldn’t—so it relaxed. At least it couldn’t catch her.

This place was way too dangerous. All it wanted was to leave as soon as possible. When it saw Reiji’s legs had gone soft, it didn’t hesitate to drag him away.

“Poliwag, stop spacing out! We’re getting out of here—this place is way too dangerous! The coast is still safer!” Reiji called out urgently.

Poliwag had been just as stunned, but the moment Reiji spoke, it snapped out of it and followed along. It didn’t want to stay even one second longer either.

Thump. Thump. Thump—

Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed again. Rhydon was on the move. Each stomp hit Reiji’s heart like a hammer, sending his pulse racing.

As the footsteps got closer, his face went pale, his forehead and palms slick with cold sweat.

“No way… no way… it can’t be coming our way, right?!”

The thought alone nearly gave him a heart attack. He quickly had Butterfree put him down and told her to fly out and scout Rhydon’s direction.

Back on the ground, Reiji found he could walk again. He was still scared, but at least with a cane, he could move.

He hid behind a tree and peeked out toward the forest edge. There, Rhydon was sniffing around like crazy, seemingly picking up their scent.

Seeing that, Reiji’s heart sank. They were totally busted.

Just as he was debating whether to run, Rhydon suddenly dropped to the ground—and in its place appeared a butterfly. It was Butterfree.

“Buuuh-reee,” she hovered in the air, having taken advantage of Rhydon’s obsessive sniffing to quietly release Sleep Powder and Stun Spore, knocking it out.

“That was you, huh? Butterfree?” Reiji called out when he saw her fly back.

“Buuuh-reee,” she nodded—yep, she’d done it.

“Nice, let’s get out of here. Back to the treehouse—now!” Reiji called to both Poliwag and Butterfree, urging a quick retreat while Rhydon was still out cold.

As for throwing a Poké Ball to catch it? Yeah, no. If he even tried to catch Rhydon and it woke up… he’d be torn to shreds. Literally.

A wild Pokémon like that—so savage, so strong—wasn’t the kind you could just tame with a ball. Only an idiot would think they’d earn its respect that easily.

And this place was not meant for humans. It was too scary. One wrong step and he’d be dead. He didn’t want to stay a second longer.

The coast was still safer. As long as he didn’t step into Beedrill territory, he wouldn’t get attacked. Same with Krabby—they had their own zones. Just don’t mess with them, and you’re fine.

Unless he had something that really attracted them—then a few might come for a snack. If too many came, he’d just run for it.

Once they were far enough from the island’s center, Reiji and the two Pokémon finally relaxed and sat down to rest under a tree.

Ssshhh… ssshhh…

“What’s that hissing sound?” Reiji muttered, puzzled.

Just then, Poliwag shot three Water Guns over his head.

Splurt! Splurt! Splurt!

“Poli-poli!” Poliwag cried out, warning them that an Ekans had tried to sneak up on them.

“Buuuh-reee!” Butterfree quickly grabbed Reiji again and carried him out of Ekans’s attack range.

That thing was poisonous. One bite, and it could be fatal.

“Crap, Ekans? A whole bunch of snakes?! Did I stumble into a nest or something?!” Reiji stood up on his cane and told Butterfree to lead the way out of there—fast.

Poliwag stayed behind to cover their escape and prevent any more sneak attacks.

Once they got out of Ekans territory, they were chased by a horde of Rattata. Seriously—he got bitten by rats.

The rats chased them straight into Spearow territory, which triggered the Spearow’s fury. But thankfully, the Spearow turned on the Rattata instead of them.

Then they ran into a group of Pinsir munching on sweet tree sap. When the Pinsir saw intruders in their zone, they went berserk and attacked too…

…

By midday, Reiji and the two Pokémon finally made it back to the treehouse.

To put it lightly, the place was a mess.

Some of the Krabby were still there. Too late to drive them off now—those guys had trashed the place like it was a chicken coop.

“Butterfree, quietly put them to sleep. Let’s call this lunch.”

They’d been on the run since midnight and hadn’t eaten a bite. Everyone was starving.

Poliwag collapsed on the ground at the sight of the treehouse, too tired to move.

Butterfree was also exhausted, but at Reiji’s request, she used Sleep Powder on five or six Krabby.

The rest ran off, leaving five snoozing behind. No need to bother with Poké Balls—too much hassle.

None of them had higher potential than their Krabby anyway. He might as well just boil them.

The stove hadn’t been damaged. There was still dry wood stacked by the treehouse—though everything was a bit chaotic.

Reiji got the fire going and started boiling crab. The stew pot hadn’t been lost either—just buried under some dirt beside the treehouse. He dug it back out.

He also used it to boil some hot water to drink—he was parched.

As for the Pokémon, they could drink straight from the source. No need to wait for it to cool.

He released Krabby, Magikarp, and Wishiwashi from their Poké Balls.

Krabby rested alone in its water basin. The basin was cracked at the edge but still held water.

Most of the other buckets had been wrecked, but the Krabby had spared a few. They weren’t complete savages after all.

Still, that meant Poliwag and “the dummy” had to share a bucket.

Reiji checked the treehouse interior. Foam bedding was shredded, sand was everywhere, firewood was knocked over—just a complete mess. But nothing truly valuable was missing.

The wooden door was broken. He’d have to nail up a new board. The latch had come off too and needed to be reinstalled.

Outside, the grass was pitted with craters. Not a single intact patch of ground remained.

Krabby had dug holes everywhere, leaving the place in tatters. It was a nightmare for anyone with OCD.

“Krabby, use Dig to help patch up the holes,” Reiji said, eyeing the damage.

Butterfree and Poliwag were still resting from their long run. Krabby had stayed in the ball the whole time, so it was still full of energy. The digging job went to it.

Once the holes were filled, the grass would grow back.

“Krab-krab,” Krabby nodded, glancing at the dozing Poliwag in the bucket and the napping Butterfree on the tree.

Knowing they’d protected Reiji until they dropped, it immediately got to work, hauling dirt to fill the craters.

If there wasn’t enough soil nearby, it would dig more. For large pits, it hauled rocks from the shore, covered them with dirt, and filled the gaps.

By the time the crab was fully cooked, Reiji called a break. “Krabby, wake the others up for lunch. You can work more afterward.”

“Krab!” Krabby stopped digging and knocked on the bucket to wake Poliwag, then called up to Butterfree in the tree.

“Poli-poli!” Poliwag perked up at Reiji’s wave and dashed over to the table for lunch.

“Buuuh-reee!” Butterfree did the same—though too tired to fly with any strength.

“Caaawww!” Wingull showed up right on cue.

Reiji suspected this guy had been watching the whole time. It always arrived exactly when lunch was served.

Still, he made it lunch anyway—split from his own.

He boiled three crabs and grilled five Wishiwashi.

The crab went to Poliwag, Butterfree, and Wingull.

Reiji took a crab leg and one fish. The remaining four fish were given to Krabby.

While grabbing the fish, he checked the buckets. One had been lost, but four remained—four buckets of fish left.

After lunch, Poliwag and the others took a short nap before returning to work patching up the yard.

Reiji went to fix the door, hammering on a new board and reinstalling the latch.

The door couldn’t stop Krabby’s claws, but at least it kept out wind and rain.

No fishing that afternoon—just restoring the chaos. Digging out the foam mattress, recovering scattered supplies—that took up the rest of the day.

By evening, they had the treehouse mostly back in shape. Nothing important was lost. Fishing rod, lighter,folding knife, four Poké Balls—all still on him.

Some buckets were broken, but there were plenty on the beach.

Poliwag’s bowl, the frying pan, life ring, rope, hourglass, metal cup, ladder—everything else was intact.

Even the rags, rain plastic, firewood, bottles—still there.

Only Butterfree, Krabby, and Wingull’s food bowls were missing. He’d just make new ones later.

Freshwater was running low—only five buckets left. Hopefully it would rain soon to refill the supply.

But he wasn’t too worried. Since exploring the forest, he’d found several streams coming from the central lake.

He planned to have Krabby dig a trench to divert the stream. Then freshwater wouldn’t be a problem anymore.

Once the latch was fixed, he started prepping dinner. Poliwag and the others were still patching holes—so many that they’d probably need to work after dinner too.

Dinner was simple: the last two crabs, some grilled Wishiwashi, and some seaweed for “the dummy.” That was it.

“Poliwag, Butterfree, Krabby, Wingull—come back and eat!”

“Poli-poli! Coming!” Poliwag dropped the rock it was pulling, took a quick rinse in the bucket, and ran to the table.

“Buuuh-reee!” Butterfree let go of the basket it was using to carry rocks and flew back too.

Krabby and Wingull had been hauling rocks all afternoon as well.

Reiji was surprised that Wingull had even pitched in. That was a good sign—maybe after they grew more familiar, he could eventually catch it.

If they left the island, he’d take Wingull too. It was just a shame he couldn’t see its proficiency panel yet.

Poliwag and Butterfree ate crab.

Krabby and Wingull ate fish.

Once they finished dinner, they kept working to fill the rest of the holes. It took several more hours, but they finally finished.

While the Pokémon were busy, Reiji prepped supper.

After patching the last holes, the four Pokémon had grilled fish for a late-night snack, and Reiji tended to his feet.

After walking all day, his feet were covered in blisters. He popped them all—new wounds over old ones. No idea when they’d heal.

The cut on his heel was almost scabbed over. The blisters were minor. After treating his feet, he thanked Wingull again and returned to the treehouse to rest with his three Pokémon.

Everyone was completely exhausted. They didn’t even have the energy to eat much. Best to sleep early tonight…

(End of Chapter)

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