"Phew, that was close. Still way too weak…" Poliwag muttered, chewing on a chunk of fish. Seeing that Reiji was safe, it quietly let out a breath of relief. If something had happened to him, it wouldn't be able to forgive itself.

Today had been dangerously close. Even though they arrived just in time and managed to stop Sharpedo, it still took the combined strength of five Pokémon to bring it down. That thing was really strong.

When would it become stronger than Sharpedo? When could it finally protect Reiji?

"Mu-ii~" Butterfree, usually carefree and frivolous, had finally felt the sting of powerlessness. Only now, in the wake of danger, did it realize how weak it truly was.

It thought the same as Poliwag. If it wanted to protect Reiji, it couldn't afford to slack off anymore. It had to train harder.

As for a goal… let's start with being strong enough to beat a Sharpedo one-on-one.

"Krack-krack." Krabby's thoughts were simpler. Seeing big bro Poliwag looking down and distracted even while eating, it didn't have the appetite either.

"Woooooh…" Wingull, however, was more open-minded. It knew this human was clever—other than the initial panic, he had calmly directed them through the battle.

Reiji had issued clear commands for all five Pokémon. He coordinated their attacks with precision, used moves efficiently, timed everything cleanly. No mistakes.

Against an explosive and lightning-fast Sharpedo, he still managed to create multiple opportunities.

Like setting up Krabby's attacks. Or using Electroweb to pin Sharpedo down.

To avoid close-quarters fighting, to avoid getting struck by those vicious jaws, they had kited and outlasted Sharpedo, draining its stamina until they finally defeated it.

In truth, once the team had arrived, their worry had been excessive. As long as Sharpedo didn't go straight for Reiji, his five Pokémon could have outlasted it regardless. There was no need to fear.

This was the edge you had when fighting wild Pokémon instead of those with Trainers.

Wild Pokémon had no command structure—they didn't know who to prioritize. That alone gave Reiji enough space to work with.

But to command Pokémon like a Trainer does, one had to know everything—habits, behaviors, strengths, weaknesses, especially their move sets.

Among all types, only Psychic-types, smarter species, or Legendaries could command others effectively in battle.

"Yitoh~" Spinarak didn't seem the least bit discouraged. On the contrary, it was munching happily, its face full of meat.

It hadn't even registered how close Reiji had come to getting killed. And unlike Poliwag, it didn't share a deep bond with him. It genuinely just saw Reiji as a meal ticket.

It worked for Reiji, followed his orders, and got food—plus sweet honey—in return. That was the deal. Simple and pure.

Closing Krabby's proficiency panel, Reiji looked out at his team, each one feeling something different.

Spinarak squinted with happiness as it chewed.

Wingull ate politely, pecking away at fish meat.

Butterfree had worries on its mind, but still managed to eat.

Krabby was chewing, but its attention was entirely on Poliwag.

And Poliwag… it was picking at its meal with a distracted face.

"Poliwag, eat properly." Reiji raised his hand and gave its little head a rub.

"Yo-yo…" Poliwag drooped its eyes, glanced up at him, then lowered its head again.

"Come on, Poliwag. You're about to evolve. Don't be so down." Reiji knew the reason for the tadpole's low spirits. He tried to change the subject. "Poliwag, evolution means getting stronger. You'll even grow arms—"

"Yo-yo? Really?" The gloom vanished from Poliwag's face in an instant. It stared up at Reiji in surprise. It was about to evolve? This was news to it.

"Poliwag, finish your dinner first. Then I'll explain." Reiji patted its head again and opened its proficiency panel.

Tonight's star was definitely Poliwag—it really was about to evolve.

[Poliwag]

Type: Water

Gender: Male

Potential: 34.31%

Level: 24.89%

Ability: Damp / 8.13% / Hidden Ability: Swift Swim / 3.13%

Known Moves:

Mind Reader / 7.21%

Ice Ball / 0.31%

Refresh / 5.11%

Hypnosis / 0.82%

Double Slap / 10.12%

Water Gun / 18.14%

Water Sport / 10.21%

Bubble Beam / 1.21%

"Almost there… he'll evolve tonight." Reiji saw that Poliwag's experience was nearly at 25%. He decided he'd stay up late and skip sleep if needed.

It was worth pulling an all-nighter if it meant getting Poliwag to evolve. This evolution mattered more than anything.

Besides experience, the rest of the stats had changed too:

Damp had risen by 1%.

Mind Reader up by 1%.

Water Gun up 1%.

Water Sport also rose 1%.

All moves related to Moisture Sense were steadily improving.

But that wasn't the point. Evolution was the point.

Letting his Pokémon eat their dinner, Reiji returned to the treehouse and took out a tattered cloth-wrapped Water Gem and a barrel of honey.

When dinner was over, he brought out the honey again—but everyone was stuffed. No one could eat more, even though the smell was still tempting.

Everyone except Poliwag. Reiji told him to eat as much as he could.

"Yo-yo…" Poliwag stared at the honey in front of it, drooling. Under Reiji's orders, it activated its full-on scarfing technique again.

It devoured two full jin of honey—almost a kilogram—before stopping and finishing the leftover fish.

Then, Reiji unwrapped the Water Gem. In the glow of the fire, the blue gemstone gleamed brilliantly. It radiated such rich Water-type energy that the air itself turned humid.

"Poliwag, do you want to eat this stone?" Reiji asked, holding it in his palm. Blue liquid swirled visibly inside the gem.

The moment the Water Gem appeared, every Water-type present locked eyes on it. None could look away.

Wingull had no opinion—it had already consumed one before.

If it was going to Poliwag, Krabby had no problem. That was its respected big bro.

The dumb fish really wanted it… but being dumb, it didn't get a say. No Water Gem for it.

Wishiwashi wanted one too. But Reiji wouldn't give it either—both fish had way more potential than Poliwag.

"Yo-yo, yo-yo…" Poliwag was sprawled on the ground, belly full, but seeing the Water Gem made it serious. It stared at it for a long while before turning to Reiji's gentle smile.

It really wanted that tempting gem. From the first moment it saw it. But the Water Gem had been a gift to Reiji from Wingull. So it waited for Reiji's call.

So much time had passed that it nearly forgot about the gem. But now, Reiji had brought it out.

"Poliwag… eat this, and you'll evolve—"

"Yo-yo." Poliwag looked toward the honey barrel, at the two dumb fish still staring at the gem, and at Krabby clapping its claws for encouragement. Wingull watched with quiet confidence from the corner of its eye.

It also glanced at Butterfree, who wasn't paying attention to the stone at all. Seeing no one object, it stepped up beside Reiji, looked him in the eyes, and saw that same smile.

Then it leaned in, sniffed the gem, and bit into it. The flavor was a little sweet. It swallowed it.

The moment it did, a blinding white light exploded from Poliwag's body, covering the entire coastline like a second full moon.

Reiji, who had spent a month on this island with Poliwag, shielded his eyes from the dazzling light. The others shut their eyes too, protecting their vision from the brilliance of evolution.

When the glow faded and their eyes readjusted to the firelight, Reiji saw the new Pokémon before him—Poliwhirl.

Poliwhirl's skin was still blue and coated in a thin, sticky moisture.

Its eyes now bulged slightly out of its head. The pupils were still black, and between them were tiny nostrils, just like before.

Its white belly now featured a black, counter-clockwise spiral—opposite of its pre-evolution form. Its hands looked like they were covered in white boxing gloves. And its feet were round, no toes.

Poliwhirl now stood taller than Reiji's thigh. With his legs at 170cm tall, that meant Poliwhirl was about 80–85cm. The Pokédex said Poliwhirl was 1 meter tall—reaching his waist made sense.

"Yoo-bo!" Poliwhirl examined its new body with excitement. It had arms. It finally had arms.

"Poliwag, you've evolved. You're Poliwhirl now," Reiji said, bringing over a bowl of water. Poliwhirl stared at its reflection.

"Yoo-bo, yoo-bo." It raised its white-gloved fists, scratched its head, patted its round belly, felt its oval feet.

So this was evolution. So this was what Reiji meant by having arms. It pressed its fists together.

It could finally help Reiji. Help with the treehouse, help cook, carry water, carry honey, do all kinds of things—and most of all, protect him.

While Poliwhirl admired itself, Reiji was already checking its updated panel:

[Poliwhirl]

Type: Water

Gender: Male

Potential: 44.51%

Level: 26.19%

Ability: Damp / 9.13% / Hidden Ability: Swift Swim / 4.13%

Moves Known:

Mind Reader / 8.21%

Ice Ball / 1.31%

Refresh / 5.11%

Double Slap / 10.12%

Water Gun / 20.14%

Water Sport / 12.21%

Waterfall / 2.22%

"Potential… potential…" Reiji scanned for it—and saw it had risen to 44%. He finally exhaled.

The Water Gem worked. It gave Poliwag a full ten-point boost in potential. Not bad.

Its level was now 26. The evolution also gave a 1% XP bump.

Damp and Swift Swim both gained 1%.

Mind Reader and Ice Ball +1%.

Water Gun and Water Sport gained 2% proficiency.

And lastly… it had learned a new move—Waterfall, a Water-type physical move with 80 base power.

Waterfall: Charges forward with incredible force. Has a 20% chance to make the target flinch. Outside battle, it allows travel up or down massive waterfalls.

Waterfall was a contact move.

After reading the move description, Reiji looked at Poliwhirl. It was a good surprise—Waterfall was its only Water-type physical move.

It was a burst-damage STAB move—just what Poliwhirl needed.

Moisture Sense gave it auto-targeting.

Swift Swim doubled its Speed.

It had lock-on and evasion. Now it had burst too.

"Poliwhirl," Reiji called out, intending to test the new move. But when he looked up, Poliwhirl was already mobbed.

Butterfree, Wingull, and Krabby had swarmed around it, chattering away, poking and patting its new body curiously.

"Yoo-bo?" Poliwhirl heard Reiji's voice and squeezed through the crowd, rushing over. Reiji hadn't lied—it had grown arms. It was stronger.

It could feel the power inside itself—just waiting to be tapped.

"Poliwhirl, did you learn a new move—Waterfall?" Reiji asked.

"Yoo-bo?" Poliwhirl scratched its head. First time it had heard that name.

"It goes like this. Spinarak, jump up that tree," Reiji said, bringing Spinarak over to demonstrate.

"Yitoh?" Spinarak didn't know why, but jumped anyway.

Once it was up there, Reiji turned to Poliwhirl. "Just like that. Waterfall is a burst-type move."

"Yoo-bo." Poliwhirl stared at the branch, bent its knees slightly, water pooling beneath its feet… and leapt.

It soared over the branch. Past the crown. Over the tree.

Then faceplanted into the sand. When it got up, its mouth was full of sea grit.

"That's it, Poliwhirl. That's Waterfall! Remember it—we'll train tomorrow." Reiji ran up and spun Poliwhirl around in excitement.

Eventually, his excitement cooled. But seeing Poliwhirl's smile—a smile just like his, eyes curved into crescents—he knew its mood had lifted.

He put it down and told the others to finish the honey. It was time to head in.

He thought he'd be staying up late tonight, but the Water Gem had completed Poliwag's evolution exp, and now… they could go to bed early.

"Poliwhirl, Butterfree, Krabby, Wingull, Spinarak, Magikarp, Wishiwashi—get some rest. See you tomorrow…"

For the first time, Reiji told every single Pokémon goodnight. Then he pulled the blanket up and drifted off peacefully.

It had been a fulfilling day. He hoped tomorrow would be even better…

"Mu-ii~"

"Yoo-bo…"

"Krack…"

"Wooooh…"

"Yitoh…"

"Kalu…"

"Wuuu…"

[End Of Chapter]

[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]

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