Day 22 on the Deserted Island – Clear

After two days of gloomy skies following a night of heavy rain, the weather had finally cleared.

Today, Reiji had big plans. He woke up early, ready to take Butterfree and Poliwag with him to steal some honey from the Beedrill territory—and maybe grab a few berries to snack on along the way.

He had already promised Butterfree a taste of honey before. If he didn’t deliver, he’d lose face as a rookie trainer.

“Poliwag, Butterfree, we’re heading out before sunrise. With the heavy rain last night, the Beedrill should still be resting—perfect time to grab some honey,” Reiji said as he stepped out of the treehouse and saw the sun hadn’t yet risen.

His leg still wasn’t fully healed, but they had Butterfree—and its powders.

They were only after some honey. With the right planning, this should be an easy job.

“Yo yo, yo yo!” Poliwag poked its head out of the water bucket, excited at the idea of a honey heist.

“Muu yii yii!” Butterfree fluttered its wings, equally spirited. It had been waiting for this day for so long—no eating, no honey—those days were torture.

“Krabby, you stay here and watch the place. Look after Magikarp and Wishiwashi—we’ll be back soon,” Reiji instructed, closing the wooden door of the treehouse behind him and leaving Krabby inside with the “two dummies.”

“Krack-chi, krack-chi.” Krabby called out to Poliwag as the door was closing.

“Yo yo, we’ll bring back something tasty,” Poliwag wagged its tail in farewell.

Once they neared the Beedrill territory, Reiji stopped and nodded at Butterfree. “Butterfree, fly over the forest and use Sleep Powder and Stun Spore to knock out the Weedle and Kakuna. Also, find the hive’s location and use your powders on any patrolling Beedrill.”

“Muu yii yii!” Butterfree nodded and took off.

Reiji had brought a large water bucket with him—he planned to bring back at least half a bucket of honey, around ten pounds or so.

He wanted the new Krabby and also Magikarp and Wishiwashi to have a taste.

Half an hour later, Butterfree returned and nodded—she had found the hive and stunned the patrolling Beedrill. It was time to move in.

“Nice work, Butterfree.” Reiji patted her lightly and began carefully making his way into the Beedrill territory. He whispered to Poliwag, “Stay close and quiet. If any Beedrill are still awake, use Water Gun to knock them out.”

Butterfree soared above, wings gliding softly. Poliwag followed closely. Reiji tied a damp rag over his nose to avoid inhaling the Sleep Powder.

Even with Butterfree’s powders, he moved with care, avoiding dry branches and leaves that might snap underfoot and alert the hive.

Guided by Butterfree, they reached the heart of the Beedrill territory and found the golden, fragrant honey.

It was Butterfree’s sharp sense of smell that led them here.

No matter how far, if the honey carried floral notes, Butterfree could track it to the exact tree.

All the Beedrill guarding the hive were out cold—and even if they woke up, the paralysis would keep them grounded. The Weedle and Kakuna nearby were also sound asleep.

“Poliwag, climb up and cut down the honeycombs. Butterfree, catch them—and grab some berries while you’re at it.”

With that, Reiji placed down the bucket and assigned roles.

Thanks to teamwork, they quickly filled half the bucket and grabbed some Charti Berries too.

The tree they picked from wasn’t the one hit by Pidgeot earlier. This one was loaded with honey—probably over 100 pounds in total. They only took ten—consider it payback for the last chase.

On the way out, they also picked up some Rawst Berries before heading home.

Back at the treehouse, Reiji sent Butterfree back to wake the Beedrill—he didn’t want others stealing from his future honey stash. In his mind, this was already his backyard.

As Reiji opened the treehouse door, Krabby came scuttling out. “Krack-chi! Krack-chi! You’re finally back!”

“Just went to grab some honey. No worries,” Reiji said, patting Krabby on the head. It had only been part of the team for two days, so being left behind made it anxious. It probably feared they’d been attacked, or worse—abandoned it.

After comforting Krabby, Reiji released Magikarp and Wishiwashi, poured a cup of honey into Poliwag’s frying pan, then another into Krabby’s bowl, and a third into Butterfree’s.

Just as Butterfree returned and saw the bowls, she cried out, “Muu yii yii! Why didn’t you wait for me?!”

“Relax, no one’s started eating yet,” Reiji said, rubbing her head. “You did great today. You can have extra as a reward.”

He poured an extra half cup into her bowl.

“Muu yii yii! Now that’s more like it.” Seeing her portion was bigger than the others, she happily dug in.

Back in her Metapod days, she could only watch Poliwag eat. Now she could finally indulge herself.

“Muu yii yii… Honey’s still as sweet as ever. So good…”

Seeing her eat, Krabby glanced at Poliwag, and when Poliwag started eating, Krabby finally joined in.

The fragrant honey made Krabby’s eyes narrow with joy—it was deliciously sweet, better than anything it had ever tasted.

It hadn’t done anything to earn it. No battles. No effort. And yet here it was, savoring something this good. It felt like the happiest moment in its life.

It glanced at Poliwag and Butterfree—both of them were grinning, faces smeared with honey.

Finally, Krabby looked at Reiji, who wasn’t eating—just watching them.

“Krack-chi?” Krabby asked Poliwag curiously.

“Yo yo,” Poliwag explained casually—Reiji preferred to drink his honey in hot water.

As Reiji boiled water for his drink, he noticed Magikarp and Wishiwashi eyeing the honey with longing.

“You two want some too?” he asked, though he already knew.

“Garloo garloo!” Magikarp slapped the water eagerly.

Saltwater fish like Magikarp probably had never even seen honey before, and the smell alone was driving it wild.

Reiji grabbed a spoon and fed Magikarp a generous scoop. “Open wide.”

“Garloo!” Magikarp shoved Wishiwashi aside and gulped it down in one go.

By the fifth spoonful, Reiji finally stopped.

Wishiwashi had watched the whole thing silently.

It really wanted to try it too—but there was no way it could beat Magikarp in a contest of strength.

“Alright, Magikarp, let Wishiwashi have a turn,” Reiji tapped Magikarp’s head with the spoon.

“Garloo!” Magikarp sank to the bottom of the bucket in shame.

“Woo…” Wishiwashi poked its head out, eyes full of tears.

Not because it was crying—its eyes just always looked teary. That was just its face.

“This one’s for you. Want it?” Reiji held the spoon in front of Wishiwashi.

Wishiwashi sniffed, then slurped it down. Its little mouth smacked afterward, savoring the flavor.

Sweet. Incredibly sweet.

“Woo…” it chirped again—clearly asking for more.

Reiji obliged with four more spoonfuls.

Once the honey fest was over and the water was boiling, Reiji finally sipped his honey water while the three Pokémon sprawled on the grass, basking in the afterglow.

“Unbelievable,” Reiji muttered. “Are they living too comfortably, or am I just not harsh enough?”

He clapped his hands. “Alright! Poliwag—start running! Krabby—claw raises! Butterfree—focus on Confusion training!”

“Yo yo!” Poliwag obediently took off around the treehouse. That was the plan anyway—morning training after a short rest. Very self-disciplined.

“Krack-chi!” Krabby followed suit, inspired by Poliwag’s hard work and guilt over its own weakness.

Time for some serious catch-up.

“Muu yii yii…” Butterfree sighed, watching the two throw themselves into training. You guys are such try-hards… how am I supposed to slack off now?

“Forget the leaves—use this instead,” Reiji handed Butterfree her clean food bowl to practice with.

“Muu yii yii, got it, got it.” Butterfree flew off to the shade and began levitating the bowl with Confusion.

With all three Pokémon now training—moves, strength, and technique—Reiji finally sat back and sipped his honey water.

For lunch, he prepared the usual: boiled and grilled fish.

Yesterday’s leftover Krabby and Carvanha would do just fine.

The main dish: berry-and-fish soup with Rawst Berries to cool them down—it was already getting hot.

Butterfree’s soup got special treatment—with added Charti Berries.

Those were only useful for Butterfree. Poliwag and Krabby weren’t weak to Rock-types—if anything, they were strong against them. So no need to waste the effect.

“Yo yo…” Poliwag stared at the Rawst Berry floating in his bowl and grimaced. Memories of bitter trauma.

Last time, Reiji had forced him to eat one, and it was disgusting.

“Muu yii yii…” Butterfree’s face scrunched up even more. Not only did she have Rawst Berries, but also spicy Charti Berries. I don’t want fruit, I want honey!

“Krack-chi?” Krabby didn’t get it—why did the others look so miserable? Were they starving?

It didn’t even occur to him that the fruit might taste awful. Food was food. Taste didn’t matter.

Until…

“Krack…” Krabby bit into a berry and immediately twisted his face in disgust before spitting it out.

“Yo yo yo yo!” Poliwag burst out laughing.

“Muu yii yii!” Butterfree danced in the air—Welcome to the club!

“Alright, enough teasing. You don’t have to eat the fruit,” Reiji finally stepped in.

The three Pokémon all cheered—they thought they had to eat it!

The fruit was meant for soup, not straight-up chomping.

Food was supposed to be enjoyable—not torture.

After they finished their soup, Reiji took the uneaten fruit, mashed it up, added honey, and stirred it until the bitterness and spiciness mellowed out.

Now the mix was edible.

“Time for lunch! We’ve got more training this afternoon,” he said, returning the bowls. He even ate a Charti Berry himself—he’d missed spicy food after twenty days of blandness.

“Oh right, Paralyze Powder!”

Reiji grabbed a bowl, set it in front of Butterfree, and had her release a bit of powder.

He dipped a Charti Berry in it—paralysis and spice. A fiery combo.

Seeing Reiji eat the fruit too, the Pokémon all decided to give theirs a try.

Tasting the mix of bitterness, spiciness, sourness, and sweetness—they found the sweetness strong enough to balance it out.

Magikarp and Wishiwashi also got their share—some water plants and Rawst Berries.

After lunch came nap time.

Reiji dozed under the tree, Poliwag in the bucket, Krabby in the basin, Butterfree up on a branch.

After the break, Butterfree resumed Confusion training while Reiji went to the beach to fish. Poliwag and Krabby practiced Water Gun on the shore.

“Poliwag, level up your Water Gun to hit four floating balls. And help Krabby train with one,” he said.

“Yo yo!” Poliwag nodded and dragged Krabby along.

Reiji found a fishing spot and cast his line. Butterfree was by his side—she couldn’t be trusted alone.

Without supervision, she’d definitely slack off.

So began a lazy afternoon of fishing and training.

Time flew by. No wild Krabby interruptions this time.

Why? Because Reiji caught nothing—there was no bait for Krabby to chase.

The sea was calm, like Reiji’s mind.

Before packing up, he harvested some seaweed, conches, and shells, then called the trio back.

The seaweed and shells went into the bucket—for Magikarp and Wishiwashi’s dinner.

For the trio, it was fish stew with berries.

This time, the “emergency ration” Wishiwashi went into the pot.

After dinner, Reiji checked their training progress:

[Butterfree]

Type: Bug/Flying

Gender: Female

Potential: 69.96%

Level: 13.12%

Abilities: Compound Eyes (0.21%) / Hidden: Tinted Lens (0.21%)

Moves: Confusion (4.14%) / Stun Spore (3.22%) / Sleep Powder (3.15%)

Her level had gone up again—probably due to the honey and berries. But potential remained unchanged. Honey alone didn’t boost that anymore.

Still, Reiji was satisfied. A Butterfree with nearly 70% potential could reach Elite Four level.

With Butterfree and Krabby at his side, he could make it anywhere.

Confusion training was progressing—now at 4%. She could barely levitate her food bowl.

Sleep Powder and Stun Spore had jumped 2% each after coating the whole forest. These were likely to become her fastest-improving moves—especially since they’d probably keep raiding Beedrill.

[Poliwag]

Type: Water

Gender: Male

Potential: 34.01%

Level: 16.22%

Abilities: Damp (1.13%) / Hidden: Swift Swim (2.53%)

Moves: Water Gun (10.91%)

Honey had boosted his potential again—though the gains were smaller, now just 0.3%.

Still, a 4% total gain was already impressive.

Reiji’s worries about Poliwag’s growth were fading. If honey could do it, maybe other rare items could too.

Poliwag deserved better than mediocrity. He’d help him shine under the spotlight—champion of the league.

Water Gun had broken 10% mastery—he could now hit four targets. Progress was solid.

[Krabby]

Type: Water

Gender: Male

Potential: 56%

Level: 8.89%

Abilities: Hyper Cutter (0.92%) / Hidden: Sheer Force (0.53%)

Moves: Hammer Arm (0.22%) / Leer (0.43%) / Water Gun (4.95%) /Harden (5.14%)/

Metal Claw (0.84%)

Experience had gone up fast—probably thanks to all the food and honey.

But potential didn’t budge. Likely because it was already high. Honey wasn’t enough anymore.

To raise it further, he’d need a Water-type energy treasure—or evolution into Kingler.

Interestingly, Hyper Cutter’s mastery had increased. Normally, that would only improve if Krabby kept getting its Attack lowered in battle.

Maybe it was tied to Krabby’s huge claw and its confidence?

If so, then maybe its deformed claw wasn’t a total drawback after all.

Water Gun was up 1%—Krabby could now control one floating ball. Tomorrow’s training: two.

With that, dinner was done.

Reiji treated his foot—right one fully healed, left one scabbing over.

Soon, he could run again and resume physical training.

He recalled the two “dummies” to their Poké Balls, called Poliwag back from swimming in the bucket, Krabby from blowing bubbles in the basin, and Butterfree from the roof.

“Poliwag, Krabby, Butterfree—time to sleep.”

“Muu yii yii…”

“Yo yo…”

“Krack-chi…”

[End of Chapter]

[+100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]

[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]

[[email protected]/BellAshelia]

[Thanks for your support!]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep