Reiji wasn’t just out to catch dinner this time—he also wanted to find a metal bucket to turn into a makeshift stove.

After all, a treehouse was made of wood. Lighting a fire inside without proper precautions would be suicide—one spark and he’d be passed out from smoke and roasted alive.

If he really wanted to have a fire inside, he’d have to build a chimney too. That would just mean more work.

Then again, it wasn’t absolutely necessary. Even at night, the temperature hovered in the low teens. As long as there was no wind, it wouldn’t be too cold. Rain was a different matter.

So instead of rushing to find another Caterpie or the iron bucket, what Reiji really wanted to find… was a Poké Ball.

That was what he desperately lacked right now. Forget the “natural refrigerator” aspect—without a Poké Ball, he couldn’t access a Pokémon’s proficiency panel at all.

Eating a wild Pokémon he just caught without knowing its stats? That felt like opening a blind box and tossing it before seeing what was inside. It left him feeling empty, like something important was missing.

Hunting for high-potential Pokémon had started to become addictive.

But for some reason, ever since finding that last Poké Ball, he hadn’t seen another. Were Poké Balls really that rare?

Couldn’t some rich guy with bad aim just show up and chuck a few more into the sea? Let a poor guy like him pick up some scraps.

He returned to the usual beach where he often scavenged, but still didn’t find any Poké Balls. Poliwag, however, did spot a Caterpie.

“Yo yo! Yo yo!” Poliwag called out, seeing Reiji distracted again, and gave him a warning.

“Caterpie,” Reiji looked up and saw it slowly crawling up a tree trunk at the forest’s edge.

He had no emotional reaction at this point. “You go knock it out and drag it back. I’m gonna keep rummaging.”

“Yo!” Poliwag enthusiastically ran off. Water Gun to knock it down, Double Slap to KO, then drag it back—this sequence had become second nature.

By the time Poliwag returned with the Caterpie, Reiji was still digging through a pile of junk near the rocks.

The foul stench hit him first. That’s when he noticed Poliwag had come back.

“Ugh, disgusting! Take that thing further away, Poliwag!” Reiji gagged, waving his hand to drive them back. The stench was unbearable.

“Yo yo…” Even Poliwag was holding its breath. It couldn’t take the stink either.

“Take it to the sea and rinse it off—go!” Reiji pointed toward the ocean. He was genuinely on the verge of throwing up.

This was the downside of not having a Poké Ball. Without one, the stink of Caterpie couldn’t be sealed away. These things were like walking stink bombs.

As Poliwag reluctantly dragged the Caterpie into the water, Reiji finally found what he was looking for—a metal bucket.

The bucket was rusted and stained, but beneath the corrosion, he could make out traces of blue paint.

“Was this a paint bucket?” Reiji guessed, then shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. If it works, it works.”

“We’re heading back, Poliwag. You drag the Caterpie through the water.”

The smell was still potent even from a distance. Let Poliwag haul the thing back—it needed the swim anyway.

“Yo yo… yo yo,” Poliwag grumbled at being stuck with the dirty work, but it was their dinner, so it clenched its metaphorical nose and complied.

Back at the shelter, Reiji wanted to release the Psychic-type Caterpie and free up its Poké Ball so he could check the potential of today’s dinner.

But the moment the Caterpie came out, it glared at both Reiji and Poliwag with a fierce, defiant expression.

Reiji wasn’t about to tolerate that. “Poliwag, watch out for String Shot and use Double Slap!”

“Yo!” Poliwag, seeing the Caterpie’s rebellious look, was more than ready to teach it a lesson.

“Wuuuu! Ssshh!” the Caterpie screeched furiously, spraying white silk directly at Poliwag’s face.

But Poliwag had been on alert the whole time. The moment it saw the Caterpie open its mouth, it jumped to the side, fired a Water Gun to shut that mouth, then—

Smack smack smack!

Another round of rapid slaps. Poliwag didn’t stop until the Caterpie fainted once more.

“Wuuugh…” the Caterpie whimpered just before losing consciousness.

At only level 4, there was no way it could take on Poliwag. Even with Confusion, this Caterpie was still just a frail bug. It had already taken a beating earlier—now it was down again. Hopefully, it would learn not to be so stubborn.

If it were a regular Caterpie, it would’ve surrendered by now. But this one had pride—and Reiji liked that.

While it was unconscious, he used the now-empty Poké Ball to capture the Caterpie Poliwag had dragged back and checked its stats:

[Caterpie]

[Type: Bug]

[Gender: Male]

[Potential: 19%]

[Level: 2.89%]

[Ability: Shield Dust / 1.69%]

[Known Moves: (Tackle / 0.31%), (String Shot / 1.15%)]

After reading the panel, he sighed. As expected, just a typical Caterpie. He’d hoped to get lucky again, but mediocrity really was the norm.

He released tonight’s dinner and re-captured the Caterpie with Confusion. Then, as usual, removed the head and tail, boiled water, and started making soup.

Once it started to bubble, he called out, “Poliwag, dinner time!”

After dinner, Reiji leaned against the tree trunk, holding the Poké Ball containing the gifted Caterpie. After much thought, he had finally made a decision.

He would officially take this Caterpie in as his second Pokémon partner. Even if its personality was a bit fiery, that could be dealt with.

If it wouldn’t listen, he’d just train it through brute force. Harsh, maybe, but what choice did he have? It’s not like he had a professional Breeder around to help. He’d have to do everything himself.

“Poliwag, time to rest. Let’s see how comfy our new house is.”

Reiji grabbed the foam mattress and, with a confused-looking Poliwag, walked to the treehouse and opened the wooden door. He crawled inside first.

After setting up the bedding, he waved to Poliwag from inside. “Come in already. I need to close the door.”

“Yo?” Poliwag had never slept inside a fully enclosed space before. But since Reiji was inside, it must be okay. Hesitantly, it hopped in.

Once Reiji shut the door, only a faint trace of moonlight lit the inside. Poliwag lay down beside him. There was no wind, no rain—just peace.

“So comfy… No breeze. Just looking up at the starry sky before bed… the stars are beautiful, don’t you think, Poliwag?”

“Yo…”

(End of Chapter)

[+50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep