And then there was Tauros… hmm, this thing should be viviparous, right? Not oviparous?

According to official settings, most Pokémon are oviparous, but who knows how it works in the real world.

Among all these Pokémon, he really only liked Pidgey, Cubone, Kangaskhan, Staryu, Eevee, and Swinub.

The rest weren't necessarily bad—but they were either ugly or too common. He just wasn't into them.

Besides, it would depend on the potential of the Pokémon hatched from the egg. If it turned out to be garbage, he wouldn't raise it. He might release it outright, or if it refused to leave, just let it free-range.

Other than Poliwhirl, he had no intention of putting effort into raising low-potential Pokémon. There was no point.

Putting aside those thoughts, Reiji found two small foam boxes, tore one apart and stuffed the pieces into the other. He placed the Pokémon egg inside, making sure the foam bits fully surrounded it.

He sealed the lid, tied the four corners with rope, and stowed the whole thing into his backpack.

No way to tell when the egg would hatch. For now, this would have to do. Once he reached human civilization, he'd buy a proper incubator with heating and move the egg into that.

After handling the egg, he rummaged through his backpack again—maybe he could still dig out something good?

But after feeling around for a while and finding nothing useful, he opened the bag wide and peeked inside. Yep, all emptied out. He finally gave up.

He repacked the egg, along with everything he'd just taken out, and added the parcels containing the Dragon Scale and Silver Feather. Everything went back into the backpack.

Only food, water, Sharpedo jerky, and some clothes soaking in water were left outside.

All in all, a pretty good haul. Definitely profitable for him. But considering this was the legacy of a trainer near the Elite Four level… it felt a bit underwhelming.

That guy must've been poor as hell. Seriously, this was what passed for an Elite-level trainer's kit?

Maybe that was why he came all this way to steal a Pidgey.

Just one word—broke…

After sorting out the poacher's belongings, Reiji called his Pokémon over for lunch.

He'd spent the entire morning sorting through everything. It was noon now.

With Rhyhorn and Pidgey gone, things returned to normal. Except for the two Pidgeotto still watching them from afar.

So today's lunch was back to their usual setup—Reiji, Poliwhirl, Krabby, Wingull, Butterfree, Spinarak. Five Pokémon around one table.

There were also Magikarp and Wishiwashi in a bucket. Reiji tore up some bread and tossed in some fresh stuff they hadn't seen before—something for the fish to try.

As for the others, they could pick what they liked: bread, meat, berries, jerky, and Pokémon-specific chow. There was still one bag left—the other had been dragged away by Rhyhorn.

Unfortunately, the honey was all gone. Nobody dared to stash any with Rhydon looming over them. They surrendered everything.

For the first time, the Pokémon were seeing this much food. Except for the berries and jerky, they tasted everything.

hand"Yobo yobo, this one's good!" Poliwhirl, holding a fistful of Pokémon food in his white glove-like s, set it in front of Krabby and told him it was delicious.

"Kwachi?" Krabby picked some up with a claw, gave it a taste, and found it pretty good. He started munching happily.

Seeing them so cheerful, Reiji pulled the food bag closer and took a good look. It read: For Water-Type Pokémon.

Ah. That explained it. No wonder those two were loving it—it was made specifically for water-types. Wingull and the dumb fish should like it too.

Sploosh, sploosh—

He immediately grabbed a handful and tossed it into the bucket. Then another handful for Wingull.

"Wingull, try this one out. Poliwhirl and the others say it's great."

"Woooh," Wingull called back, then started eating without hesitation.

The moment it tasted the food, its eyes narrowed in bliss. This stuff… was good.

Honestly, it tasted better than Reiji's cooked meals. After all, it was professionally formulated for the palates of water-types. Everything from texture to flavor was on point.

It was hard to describe just how good it was.

Wingull had thought cooked food was already a luxury—but this was on par with honey.

If it ever got to try Pokéblocks, that would probably top everything.

So, in terms of taste ranking:

Pokéblocks Honey = Pokémon-specific food Cooked food Raw food Grass.

Suddenly, as Wingull was enjoying its food, its body burst into bright white light—just like Poliwag had done before.

"What the—?" Reiji was mid-bite, about to sear a steak, when the flash blinded him. He raised an arm to shield his eyes from the glowing bird.

Since it was daytime, the light wasn't as harsh as Poliwhirl's evolution. He could barely make out the process through the gaps in his fingers.

"Oh crap—I totally forgot. This guy was about to evolve," Reiji muttered, remembering the skill panel he'd checked yesterday.

He had figured it would evolve either last night or today. And now it was happening. Over lunch, no less.

He quickly opened the panel—no, Pelipper's panel now. Wingull had completed its evolution.

[Pelipper]

Type: Water/Flying

Gender: Female

Potential: 69%

Level: 26.57%

Ability: Drizzle (1.39%)

Moves Known:

Gust (8.59%)

Roost (9.01%)

Aqua Ring (9.23%)

Water Gun (19.49%)

Quick Attack (9.29%)

Wing Attack (7.58%)

Water Pulse (4.87%)

Agility (1.37%)

Rain Dance (3.17%)

Tailwind (1.11%)

Pelipper's potential now stood at 69, almost matching Butterfree—just a sliver lower.

He didn't even know how hard it would be to push from 69.9 to 70.

Each 0.1-point increase was like scaling a cliff.

Whether Butterfree and Wingull could break past their physical limits and reach 70 was still uncertain.

It would depend on whether they encountered any Legendary Pokémon willing to drop them a boon.

Pelipper's level had risen to 26.

Its Ability had shifted from Hydration to Drizzle, and Hydration's mastery had been reset.

As for its moves, nothing drastically new—just a 1% increase across Flying and Water-type attacks.

Only Rain Dance had gone up by 2%. It was similar to Drizzle, so he'd pair them for focused training.

That way, Pelipper would open with double rain strength—anyone trying to control the weather would need to be stronger than that.

Also, Pelipper had learned a new move: Tailwind.

Tailwind was a team-wide speed buff—it doubled the speed of all allies on the field.

So if Pelipper came in with rain already up and then set Tailwind… wouldn't that mean Poliwhirl's speed was x2 then x2 again?

Sounded like a plan.

"Peli, peli!" Pelipper was clearly excited, checking out its new body.

It didn't look that different—just a little fatter.

Its huge yellow beak took up most of its body. White feathers, blue on the beak, wings, claws, and forehead. Its pouch-like bill was so big it could probably fit a young human.

Overall, Pelipper looked better than Wingull. A bit cooler, if chunkier.

Officially, it was now 1.2 meters tall and 28 kilograms.

Whether this Pelipper met those stats was another matter—Reiji didn't have proper tools to measure it. He'd need to check once they reached civilization.

But… could Pelipper actually carry him while flying?

He wasn't sure.

Still, in the anime, Ash had once ridden a Pelipper. So maybe it was possible.

"Pelipper, wanna try flying with me?" Reiji asked as the bird flapped its wings.

"Peli, peli!" it nodded and soared into the sky.

Higher and higher, until it vanished into the open blue—free, unrestrained, and clearly loving it.

Reiji hadn't even gotten a chance to hop on.

Oh well.

He returned to the table and resumed his lunch.

"Yobo?" Poliwhirl looked around, puzzled by Pelipper's absence.

"Buuu~" Butterfree shook her head. The guy was probably just too excited and flew off to test his body.

"Kwachikwachi," Krabby glanced from Poliwhirl to Butterfree and Spinarak, wondering if he would grow wings when he evolved. He really wanted to fly.

"Just eat. Don't worry about it," Reiji said, waving off their chatter. After lunch, it'd be nap time.

Once Pelipper got back, he'd skip the afternoon training and instead work on carrying passengers.

Which meant… tomorrow, they'd finally leave the island.

No need to pack—everything was already in the bag.

After eating, Reiji lay back in the shade and lit a cigarette. Only two left.

The thought of leaving the island—after over a month of survival—left him feeling… torn.

Even afraid.

For a second, he almost didn't want to leave.

But he shook that off immediately. Staying here wasn't an option.

Living under constant surveillance from the Pidgeot clan might feel safe… but it wasn't life.

It wasn't that being watched was uncomfortable—on the contrary, it kept them safe. As long as they stayed out of the central island, the birds didn't interfere.

But people are social creatures. Even a laid-back fisherman couldn't live without ever interacting with human society or relying on industrial products.

He had to go back. He couldn't spend his life on a deserted island.

There were no trophies here. No glory. No praise. No seasoning. No gourmet meals. No girls.

Even if he didn't care about those things, his Pokémon did. And honestly… so did he.

By the time he finished that thought, the cigarette was gone—and Pelipper returned, landing beside him with an excited cry. "Peli, peli!"

"All right, all right, I get it. Go finish your lunch," Reiji chuckled, petting its head, back, and soft white wings.

He could feel Pelipper's excitement. He was just as thrilled. He hadn't stopped smiling since the bird came back.

"Peli!" Pelipper nodded, finished its lunch, then flopped down beside him for a nap.

Everyone started napping—except for Spinarak, who kept watch from a tree branch.

Later in the afternoon, training resumed. Reiji called Pelipper aside to test if it could carry him.

"Pelipper, can you lift me into the air?" he asked, not climbing on right away.

"Peli," Pelipper nodded confidently.

Seeing that, Reiji mounted the bird's back. It was wide, soft, and warm—surprisingly comfortable.

But he had nothing to hold on to. He lay flat and wrapped his arms around Pelipper's neck. "Okay, try to fly. Not too high—just hover over the grass."

"Peli," Pelipper tested his weight. Still manageable. It started flapping.

But… nothing happened.

Still standing there, it seemed frustrated. Was Reiji too heavy?

Maybe the wings just weren't generating enough lift. They needed to flap faster.

Pelipper ramped up the power, beating its wings rapidly—finally lifting off.

Only five meters, though. That was as far as it could go.

(End of Chapter)

[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]

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