Day 36 of survival on the deserted island. Clear skies.

It was another bright and sunny morning, but not a good one.

Reiji and his Pokémon all knew that something important had to be done today—something that concerned their very survival. They needed to send the Totem Pidgeot's chick, Pidgey, back home.

Everyone was already on high alert. They would have to face the Totem Pidgeot that had chased the poachers into the sky and across the earth, and its entire flock.

Even after the damage done by the poachers, the Pidgeot flock was still large.

As long as the Totem Pidgeot remained, their status as rulers of the skies would not be shaken.

Reiji had no better strategy than to take things one step at a time. He got up early, made breakfast, and planned to send both Pidgey and Rhyhorn back afterward.

He wasn't going to keep either of them.

Let the two freeloaders go home. He just wanted to survive and leave this island in one piece. Where did all this trouble even come from?

First it was poachers, then wildfires, then the Totem Pidgeot and Totem Rhydon—it was exhausting.

Living in constant fear every day was no way to live. He just wanted to be a peaceful, laid-back fisherman. Why was that so hard?

While he grumbled to himself, breakfast was ready. He returned to the treehouse to wake the Pokémon up.

Main fighters: Poliwhirl and Krabby.

Support: Butterfree, Wingull, Spinarak.

Useless liabilities: Magikarp and Wishiwashi.

Too dangerous to keep: Rhyhorn and Pidgey.

Nine Pokémon total. It was getting hard to support them all, but luckily Rhyhorn and Pidgey would be going home soon.

The two freeloaders and Spinarak didn't need any serious training—just let them wander.

Butterfree and Wingull were for support, mobility, and training assistance, not battle. No need to push them too hard.

Poliwhirl and Krabby were the true core fighters, and they needed focused development. Most of his energy would go into those two.

Once everyone was out for breakfast, they sat around a makeshift tablecloth spread on the ground.

Reiji looked at the cheerful Pokémon gathered around the meal. If only time could freeze right here. They were all happily eating honey and other food—all looted from the poachers.

In addition to honey, there were some berries, bread, and what looked like beef or something similar.

But he knew time wouldn't stand still. Rhyhorn and Pidgey would have to leave eventually.

"Pidgey. Rhyhorn."

When Reiji called their names, all the other Pokémon looked over.

"Once you finish breakfast, it's time to go home. Butterfree and Wingull will escort you back."

"Pidgey?" The little bird looked at Rhyhorn, as if asking whether this was for real.

"Hmph. Go if you want. I'm not going anywhere. No more honey if I leave." Rhyhorn didn't even look up from its food as it responded.

"Tch." Pidgey rolled its eyes. It knew full well this freeloader had only agreed to be captured to mooch off food here.

Still, getting to eat honey was a nice bonus. It hadn't had any since its mother brought some back.

"Pidgey, when you get back, I want you to tell Pidgeot that we'll be leaving the island within a week. We won't set foot in the central forest. If Pidgeot wants to send scouts to watch us, that's fine…"

Reiji wasn't just saving Pidgey for goodwill. He also wanted it to deliver his message.

If he tried to explain himself, Pidgeot would probably kill him on the spot.

But if the message came from Pidgey, things might be different.

"We're leaving soon. We just want to get off the island," Poliwhirl translated. "Can you tell Pidgeot that?"

"Pidgey." The chick looked around at the Pokémon gathered around Reiji. So they were all planning to leave the island? That was unexpected. It thought they'd live here forever.

"Pidgey." It nodded to Poliwhirl. It would tell its mother everything and make sure she didn't give them trouble.

Poliwhirl looked to Reiji and nodded. Message delivered.

Reiji let out a breath. Finally, he had earned Pidgey's friendship.

With Pidgey's help, maybe he could get Pidgeot to stand down. At least it gave him a fighting chance—better than nothing.

...

While the Pokémon continued eating, Reiji handed out food. Today, they would eat well. Even if they died later, they'd die with full stomachs.

Just as they were enjoying breakfast, a piercing bird cry rang out from the jungle.

"Kreeehhh... Pidgeoooottt...!"

It startled every Flying-type in the forest into the air.

The cry came from the Totem Pidgeot. Awake again, it flew straight to where the poacher had been last night and saw the man lying in a pool of blood.

The body was lifeless. The bag was gone. The Pokémon—gone. Poké Balls—gone.

Pidgeot took a moment to recall what it had seen before blacking out. It remembered another human.

It knew who it was. The boy who had been surviving by the sea. It had seen him when it raided the Beedrill hive for honey.

He was the only other human on this island besides the poacher.

Its wings exploded open and it shot toward the southwest—toward Reiji's treehouse.

Reiji and his Pokémon heard the cry. So did Pidgey.

They each reacted differently. Reiji and the main Pokémon stood up in full alert.

The two dumb fish hid at the bottom of the water barrel. Rhyhorn kept eating.

Pidgey was excited—it was finally going to see its mom again. It took off into the sky.

Poliwhirl moved to intercept, but Reiji held it back.

"Don't go," he said quietly. "All we can do now is wait."

They had no chance of defeating Pidgeot. The gap was too great.

Just the wind from its wings could knock them over. This wasn't a fight they could win.

"Pidgey!" the chick called out as it flew.

"Pidgeot!" The totem bird increased speed as it spotted its child, landing on the canopy beside the treehouse. It spread its massive wings and let the chick perch on its shoulder, nuzzling it affectionately.

"They saved me and gave me lots of good food," said Pidgey.

"Saved? Humans?" Pidgeot's eyes locked onto Reiji, radiating murderous intent.

"They even said they'd send me home after breakfast," Pidgey added quickly.

"That Rhyhorn?" Pidgeot noticed Rhyhorn still eating casually. "Is that Rhydon's child?"

"Yes," said Pidgey.

"Did the human capture it too?" Pidgeot's wings lifted slightly, ready to attack.

"It chose to stay. It just wanted to eat honey." Pidgey rolled its eyes again. This guy was way too easy to bait.

"Honey?" Pidgeot looked again at the oblivious Rhyhorn and sighed. Just like its father—too easily bribed by food.

Pidgeot lifted its wings and let out another sharp cry, preparing to retrieve the Rhyhorn and kill the human.

But Pidgey flew into its path, pleading, "Don't hurt them! They were kind to me! They gave me food!"

Rhyhorn finally noticed what was going on. It ran in front of Reiji and shouted, "No! Don't kill my honey source!"

Poliwhirl was sweating cold bullets. The aura from Pidgeot was overwhelming. Even the wind it stirred felt like a blade.

But it refused to back down. Reiji was behind it. It would protect him no matter what.

Butterfree, Wingull, Spinarak—even Reiji himself—were all trembling in fear.

He wasn't exaggerating. His legs were shaking, his hands ice cold, drenched in sweat. The wind slicing through him made it all worse.

His eyes never left Pidgeot, terrified it would unleash a Hurricane and obliterate them.

But then... Pidgeot folded its wings.

Pidgey quickly relayed Reiji's earlier message about leaving the island.

Pidgeot gave one final glare at the humans, then called to its flock: "Leave two Pidgeotto to watch them. The rest, return!"

With a powerful flap, it rose into the air and called for Pidgey to come home.

Just two Pidgeotto remained, watching from the trees.

The rest returned to their nests.

As Pidgeot departed, Reiji and his team collapsed to the ground, all tension gone.

They thought they were dead. Reiji had even planned how he'd tell his team to dive into the water and run.

But it hadn't come to that.

They hadn't earned Pidgeot's friendship—but they had Pidgey's. That alone was enough to stay alive.

Returning to the table, Reiji stared at Rhyhorn still chowing down and sighed.

"Knock knock," he tapped Rhyhorn's head. "Pidgey's gone. Why are you still here? Planning to freeload forever?"

Now that Pidgeot had seen Rhyhorn, sneaking it off the island was no longer an option.

They'd know the Rhydon line's kid was still here.

...

Elsewhere, Pidgeot flew past the central lake and saw the Rhydon sunbathing.

It landed and shouted, "Hey dumb brute! Your kid's missing! Didn't you notice?"

"Huh? Kid? I have a kid? Which brat are you talking about?" Rhydon yawned, annoyed to be woken up. But seeing it was Pidgeot, it didn't get angry.

No point. It couldn't fly. Couldn't beat Pidgeot either.

"Go see for yourself. At the beach. With that human." Pidgeot flew back to its stone perch.

Pidgey landed on the edge of the nest and looked worriedly back toward the treehouse.

Rhydon was headed into the forest.

What would happen next... it didn't know. It could no longer help them.

(End of Chapter)

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