[Bonus Chapter]

After confirming everything was fine, Butterfree resumed her morning training, still focused on improving Confusion.

Krabby was practicing by lifting its claws. Wingull had gone to the shore to train Water Gun. Spinarak stood guard on a branch over the honey trap.

As for Poliwhirl, Reiji called him over to the side. He was planning to incorporate Waterfall into Poliwhirl's running routine to boost its burst movement ability.

"Poliwhirl, you're already familiar with Waterfall. You need to start weaving it into your running drills," Reiji explained the next phase of the training plan.

"Poli?" Poliwhirl scratched his head. He understood Waterfall—it just meant jumping really high, right? What did that have to do with running?

"Poliwhirl, use Waterfall and rush over there." Reiji tapped the confused Pokémon back to focus. It was fine if Poliwhirl didn't get it yet—he would guide him step by step.

"Poli." Poliwhirl nodded and stopped overthinking. If Reiji said it, that was enough.

Boom—

After a moment of charging, the ground beneath Poliwhirl exploded with force, and his figure vanished. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared ten meters away on the grass.

"Exactly like that. Try using Waterfall twice in a row," Reiji said, giving him a thumbs-up.

Boom, boom—

Following Reiji's instructions, Poliwhirl fired off two Waterfalls back to back, speeding past Reiji and tumbling on the grass across the way, mouth full of green.

"Poliwhirl, the next part of your training is to control the power of Waterfall, use it in succession, and learn to change direction mid-burst."

Reiji helped Poliwhirl up and brushed the grass off his head while explaining the updated plan.

Waterfall was a Water-type burst move. Reiji wanted to integrate it with running to make it a repeatable, directional burst—more like dashing than leaping. It needed lateral control, not vertical.

Every Waterfall burst was a chance to change direction. That was the adaptation Reiji was building—turning the move's raw power into a tactical asset.

Because in its raw form, Waterfall couldn't turn or dodge mid-burst.

So, if Poliwhirl could shorten the intervals between bursts and moderate the force, he could pivot mid-run.

There was no need to use the full ten or twenty meters every time. Five meters, three meters, even one meter—close-range bursts were all possible.

If Poliwhirl could control the distance and strength of each burst, he could sidestep and redirect on command.

That meant dodging attacks, shifting approach angles, even striking from a blind spot to end battles in one hit.

And if a battle could be won in one hit—why bother trading blows?

Unless he was throwing the match…

But Reiji wasn't the type to hold back. All that sweat and effort with Poliwhirl had one purpose—when he finally struck, it had to be stunning.

That's how you secured a spot in the League's good graces—by showing them you were worth investing in.

If the League wouldn't, Team Rocket certainly would. That was how the system worked: demand shaped the market.

If the League didn't want him, Team Rocket's doors were always open to trainers the League ignored. That was Team Rocket's corporate culture.

Even back in his previous life, watching the anime, Reiji noticed—Team Rocket might be villains, but they were a business. A cross-regional, publicly listed enterprise, right under the League's nose.

There was no way that wasn't backed by certain powers...

"Poli," Poliwhirl thought it through and kind of got it.

Reiji wanted him to keep chaining Waterfall, weaving it into laps around the treehouse.

Each takeoff and landing from a burst was a pivot point. If he compressed the intervals enough, he could burst and turn at every step.

Right now, he could only run in straight lines. Each Waterfall took him ten meters forward. Running around the treehouse with it was going to take some getting used to.

"Poliwhirl, your morning training from now on is Waterfall-running, and afternoon is Moisture Sense," Reiji concluded the plan and went to cook lunch.

This morning had been delayed by the Rhyhorn incident and Poliwhirl's new training, leaving no time for his own exercises. He had no choice but to head under the honey trap tree and call Spinarak to go crab hunting.

"Spinarak, let's go catch some crabs."

"Yitoo!" Spinarak chirped and leapt straight onto his shoulder from the branch.

"Warn me next time before you jump, and tuck in those fangs—if you poison me, I'm done for," Reiji reminded him.

"Yitoo..." Spinarak had been about to nuzzle Reiji's cheek, but his face stiffened and he awkwardly retracted his mandibles.

Seeing them leave, the Rhyhorn who had been lying in the grass pretending to be dead got up and followed. It wanted to see what they were doing. Were they going to steal honey?

But when it trailed them to the reef flats and saw Reiji and Spinarak hunting crabs, its interest vanished.

Crabs had a muddy stink to them—worse than rocks. It wasn't going to eat those.

Still, it kept watching, wondering if this had anything to do with honey.

When it saw the crabs go into the pot, it finally understood—they were for eating, not for honey. The realization sapped all its energy. Its stomach even growled.

"Poliwhirl, Wingull, Butterfree, Krabby—lunchtime!"

Reiji called his team over once the food was ready. They had caught eight crabs.

One for Spinarak, one for Butterfree, one for Wingull, two for Poliwhirl. Krabby got fish meat instead—just in time to use up the last of the stock. Only dried Sharpedo strips were left now.

Magikarp and Wishiwashi ate seagrass and shells. Reiji had one crab for himself and tossed the last two to the Rhyhorn.

He didn't want it to faint from hunger and fail to return to its herd. If that happened, he couldn't explain why the Rhydon cub went missing.

"Rhoo?" The Rhyhorn lowered its gaze to the crabs near its mouth and sniffed. They smelled pretty good—no weird stench.

Well, of course. It had only ever eaten crabs raw. This was probably the first time it had seen cooked ones.

Reiji always washed the crabs thoroughly before cooking. If they weren't cleaned, he couldn't eat them either.

They only ate the meat. The Rhyhorn, though, crunched the whole shell—so it made sense it usually tasted bad to it.

After lunch, Reiji didn't bring out any honey. With the Rhyhorn clinging to them like a sticky bandage, he didn't dare.

The others noticed too. All their eyes turned to the Rhyhorn lying in the grass chewing on greens, oblivious to the simmering resentment around it.

"Poli?" Poliwhirl wanted to drive it off, but Reiji raised a hand to stop him.

"Don't worry about it. Let it be," he said, reclining in the shade and pulling his straw hat over his face.

By the time he woke up, all the Pokémon had resumed their training.

Krabby and Wingull were practicing Water Gun at the shore.

Poliwhirl was working on Moisture Sense near the water.

Spinarak was back above him, guarding the trap from a branch.

Butterfree sat nearby, refining Confusion.

He didn't plan on fishing this afternoon—he was scared of reeling in another Sharpedo trying to bite his leg off.

There were Rhyhorn and Rhydon that could stomp him on land, Sharpedo ready to tear him apart in the sea—he was getting PTSD.

Right now, he just wanted to get rid of this Rhyhorn. It was a walking time bomb. If the Rhydon herd discovered their youngling was missing, that bomb would explode.

But he couldn't hurt it. He had to make it leave on its own. That wasn't easy.

Especially when it didn't seem too bright. What kind of Rhyhorn eats grass? It had almost plucked the whole patch around its mouth bare.

Watching the silly Rhyhorn chomping away, Reiji realized something else—it wasn't weak to Water.

This morning, Poliwhirl had used Waterfall on it—a Water-type move—and it hadn't flinched, pushing forward like nothing happened.

That hunger for honey was way too strong for something supposedly 4x weak to Water.

Sure, Poliwhirl had just learned Waterfall, and probably wasn't using it at full power. But even a partial Water-type hit shouldn't have been tanked like that.

He'd never seen a Rhyhorn that wasn't afraid of Water. But he had seen a Rhydon like that.

In a past anime episode, a girl wanted to catch a water-resistant Rhydon to help dig a flooded tunnel. Only one that could dig and handle water would work.

So if there were outliers in the Rhydon population, there had to be some among Rhyhorn too. Especially for a future boss Rhydon—it couldn't afford a Water weakness.

Even so, Reiji didn't dare try catching this one. If it couldn't even fight Water-types, it wouldn't be able to run away either.

But a swimming Rhydon? One that could surf?

Yeah… better not.

He'd rather not be chased into the ocean by a dinosaur. No thanks.

And still—he couldn't force it to leave.

Man, life was hard...

Reiji stared blankly up at the canopy, wishing Wingull would evolve already. If the Rhydon herd still hadn't shown up by then, maybe he'd catch this Rhyhorn and leave the island.

A Rhyhorn that wasn't afraid of water? It'd be perfect for a Rain Team. Just the thought made him drool. He just hoped the herd didn't come looking too soon.

Then it would be freedom—no one could stop him.

He'd become a Pokémon smuggler and steal away this waterproof Rhyhorn.

And so, lying under the trees that whole afternoon, Reiji came to a difficult decision: to abduct the Rhyhorn. As evening fell, he called Spinarak and went crab hunting again.

He gave the honey bait to Spinarak. Most of the local crabs had caught on to their tricks, and only brave newcomers dared approach. The rest bolted at the first sign of movement.

This time, they caught seven. The potential was trash across the board, so they just boiled them all. Training was over for the night.

Even Rhyhorn got some. Krabby munched on Sharpedo jerky.

Dinner passed quickly. Afterward, they all sat around the fire waiting for Reiji to hand out honey.

Of course, Rhyhorn waddled up with a shameless look. Reiji was speechless. If he didn't give it honey, no one else could have any either.

In the end, he gave it a little just to shut it up.

But the Rhyhorn wanted more, and Poliwhirl had to scold it before it backed off.

Once the honey was gone, Reiji recalled Spinarak and Magikarp into their Poké Balls. Time for bed. He'd heard distant thunder earlier—probably rain tonight.

Just as they entered the treehouse, Rhyhorn tried to follow. But there was no way it would fit.

"Rhyhorn, why won't you go home?" Reiji blocked the door with one hand.

"Poli! Yeah, go home!" Poliwhirl yelled.

"Rhoo..." The Rhyhorn lowered its head, looking wronged. It just wanted to stay and eat honey—why was everyone so mean?

A few days ago, it got stung by Beedrill while trying to steal honey. That really hurt.

Today it followed the scent of honey and ended up here—only to be turned away again.

It just wanted a taste. Why was that so hard?

"…Fine, fine. You can come in, but only inside a Poké Ball. Take it or leave it," Reiji relented. The Rhyhorn's sad face made him feel like a villain who abused baby Pokémon.

He pulled out the Poké Ball he'd prepared and offered his terms.

"Rhoo!" The Rhyhorn nodded furiously and tapped the Poké Ball with its snout. It was absorbed instantly.

Reiji stored the ball and shut the wooden door. He placed the four Poké Balls—including Rhyhorn's, which he'd already locked—beside his pillow.

"Poliwhirl, Butterfree, Wingull, Krabby. Get some rest. See you tomorrow."

He wished them all good night. Before sleeping, though, he wanted to check Butterfree's progress screen. It had been three days since last time.

Butterfree

Type: Bug/Flying

Gender: Female

Potential: 69.96%

Level: 23.56%

Ability: Compound Eyes (10.21%) / Hidden Ability: Tinted Lens (0.21%)

Moves:

(Confusion – 14.14%)

(String Shot – 10.15%)

(Gust – 6.13%)

(Bug Bite – 1.29%)

(Supersonic – 2.11%)

(Poison Powder – 5.13%)

(Stun Spore – 12.52%)

(Sleep Powder – 12.35%)

(Psybeam – 2.11%)

(Electroweb – 5.34%)

Her level was now 23. Not bad.

Compound Eyes had gone up 2% and broke into double digits.

Confusion, String Shot, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, and Electroweb had all gained around 2% proficiency.

Gust had risen by 1%.

Confusion was boosted by training, the powders by honey heists, and the rest by battles.

All in all, pretty solid. Confusion still had room to grow.

Reiji closed the panel and went to sleep. Only the night-vision Pokémon stayed awake, exchanging silent glances in the dark.

Rumble, rumble...

Drip, drip...

Rain began to fall—first a sprinkle, then a downpour.

The first rain after seven or eight blazing days.

(End of Chapter)

[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]

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