Day 37 of surviving on the deserted island. Clear skies.

Today, they were finally preparing to leave. Reiji woke early, but didn't rouse the Pokémon. Instead, he went over to the clothesline to retrieve what he'd left hanging the night before.

It wasn't just his jacket and pants he'd washed—he'd also cleaned a black T-shirt, his cap, his face scarf, and other small items.

Once the clothes were down, he put them on immediately—pants too.

Now, aside from his underwear, none of what he was wearing was actually his anymore.

Before the Pokémon woke up, he also fetched the bark he'd prepped yesterday, wrapped it in rags, and sewed the edges to make makeshift shoe insoles.

By the time the insoles were done, the Pokémon had woken up. Reiji slipped them into his hiking boots, then called Poliwhirl and Butterfree to head out with him.

This was their last day on the island. He planned to steal some honey for breakfast—enough for now, and maybe a bit to take away.

The honey raid followed the usual routine: Butterfree handled the sleep powder while he and Poliwhirl carried the buckets. This time, they meant to fill two full pails. After all, it was the final job.

Once they returned from the raid, they gathered the team for breakfast.

With breakfast done, it was time to depart for Kinnow Island.

Everything had been packed yesterday—there wasn't much to do now. It all fit neatly inside the black backpack.

While eating, Reiji brought out the compass and placed it over the map of the Orange Archipelago, recalibrating their direction.

Kinnow Island lay to the southeast. Mandarin Island was due west. Fairchild Island was directly between the two.

East and west—on paper, it should've been unlikely to bump into those familiar with the Pokémon hunters. Still, better to be cautious.

Anything marked with the Pokémon Hunter insignia, he'd already tossed into the ocean. He had no intention of bringing such things back to human society.

That said, the things he threw away were just trivial items—like the hunter ID. He hadn't gotten rid of the Pokémon themselves.

Those five Pokémon… he intended to unload them on the black market once he reached civilization. That would net him a hefty sum.

A Totem Pidgeot's chick was valuable enough to lure hunters across the sea. Pokémon at pseudo-Elite level or even close to breaking through to Champion potential? Easily worth a few million.

A few million. That would be his startup capital for returning to the human world.

He had so many little gluttons to feed—he'd need the cash.

Looking at the map again, Reiji noticed a small island next to Kinnow Island. The name printed on it was "Fukuhara Island No. 4."

"Fukuhara island No. 4… wait, Fukuhara…"

He murmured the name. It felt familiar. He must've heard it from the anime in his past life.

After thinking it over for a moment, it came to him: this island was home to many Kabuto—a prehistoric Pokémon and a rain-based physical attacker.

"No, wait…" Reiji remembered something. In the anime, that island had been where the Kabuto were hibernating. When they were awakened, the island collapsed and sank.

But on this map, the island was still there, meaning the Kabuto hadn't been disturbed—they were still asleep.

If a normal person found such a site, they'd definitely try to capture them all and sell them off.

Reiji had no such intention. He wasn't going to disturb the hibernating Kabuto. He certainly wouldn't traffic in a rare, prehistoric species like that.

It wasn't that he was noble—it was just that the risks outweighed the gains, especially in his current state.

Selling even one Kabuto would bring death to his door. People would definitely capture him and demand to know where they came from.

If he told, the island would collapse just like in the original storyline.

If he refused… well, who knows what would happen. He had his whole life ahead of him—he wasn't about to die young.

So to avoid drawing attention and bringing trouble down on himself, the best choice was to leave the Kabuto alone.

Later, when things settled down, he could consider carefully selecting one with high potential to train. There was no rush.

There were plenty of Kabuto on that island. Finding a good one wouldn't be hard.

Fukuhara island No. 4 would be their first stop. He planned to use it as a stepping stone to reach Kinnow Island.

Actually, between Fukuhara island No. 4 and Kinnow, there were many smaller islets—just a kilometer or two wide. Most were uninhabited, and they were all marked on the map.

While Reiji was immersed in planning the route, he failed to notice the odd looks the Pokémon were giving him.

He only realized something was off when the breakfast table became too quiet—no chewing, no slurping.

Looking up, he was about to ask what was going on when a massive face leaned in close.

"Snrrrk, snrrrk." The Rhyhorn didn't even wait for a reaction before licking him with its huge tongue.

"You? I—hey! Stop it! Don't lick me!" Reiji shoved the Rhyhorn away in a panic. "Why are you back?! I just saw you leave yesterday!"

"Snrrrk, snrrrk!" The Rhyhorn wasn't bothered at all. It had come for food—especially that sweet, sweet honey it had smelled from a mile away.

The honey and Pokémon food it took home yesterday? Gone in a single day between it and the Rhydon. So of course it was back.

"Don't you dare—!" Reiji snatched the bucket away before Rhyhorn could stick its tongue in and ruin the whole batch.

Then he filled half a washbasin—originally Krabby's bath—for the eager Rhyhorn.

"Snrrrk!" The Rhyhorn squealed in delight at the sight of the honey. Pure joy.

"Coo! Coo coo!" A Pidgey landed on its back. It had come along with Rhyhorn.

Seeing Rhyhorn with honey and itself with none, it chirped twice at Reiji, indignant.

"You too?" Reiji blinked. On instinct, he looked up—no sign of the giant Pidgeot. He exhaled in relief.

But the moment he turned back, he realized: one of the Pidgeotto that had been keeping watch in the treetops was missing.

Crap.

The missing Pidgeotto had definitely flown off to report back to Pidgeot. After all, Pidgey had sneaked over here—its lookout buddies would have to let their boss know.

Since Pidgeot hadn't appeared yet, Reiji sighed and scooped some honey into a bowl for the Pidgey.

Now, their little breakfast picnic had two new guests: Rhyhorn and Pidgey.

Headache intensifying…

They were just about to leave. What were these two doing here? Hopefully, they wouldn't stir up more trouble.

But peace was too much to ask.

Even breakfast wasn't going to go smoothly—Spinarak raised the alarm.

"Yito! Yito! Crabs incoming!" Spinarak had been eating, but suddenly jumped up and dashed off. It came back a moment later, shouting.

"Crabs?" Reiji looked toward the beach. Sure enough, a whole swarm of Krabby was gathering.

They hadn't gone after the crabs in a while. Reiji had assumed they'd part ways peacefully. But no—on the very last day, the crabs were back.

Poliwhirl and the others saw the incoming horde too. They stood in front of Reiji, bracing for battle, their expressions grim.

Because the one leading them was no ordinary crab—it was a Kingler. Much larger than the Krabby, likely level 28 or higher. On par with Poliwhirl, maybe even stronger.

But this wasn't the Leader Kingler—Reiji could tell. That one had been even bigger.

"Yo-bo! Stop licking and look alive!" Poliwhirl barked at Rhyhorn, who was still lapping up honey. It kicked him right on the rear.

Even now, this glutton was eating?! Poliwhirl was speechless.

"Snrrrk?" Rhyhorn blinked, then looked up and saw the Krabby army. Immediately, it charged forward to the front lines, bellowing: "ROAR! BACK OFF! LET US EAT IN PEACE OR I'LL STOMP YOU FLAT!"

"Click clack click! Big words for a rhino—we'll snap you in half!" one Krabby retorted.

Until now, without a Kingler boss, they'd been powerless to stop Reiji's crew.

But today, catching them mid-honey-feast, they'd called in reinforcements. The big boss was here.

"Click clack! Boss! These guys grabbed our brothers—they ate them!"

"Click! Yeah boss, we can't even step on that beach without getting caught!"

"Click! They've got honey too! Delicious honey! Let's take it all!"

"Ka-ka! Krgh!" Kingler raised its claw to quiet the chatter. Then pointed at Reiji's group and bellowed:

"Krgh! Hand over the honey and I'll only crush your bones! Otherwise I crush you and then take the honey!"

"Yo-bo! Arrogant much? Come fight me one-on-one!" Poliwhirl shouted, knowing full well they were outnumbered—at least 40 or 50 crabs covered the beach. Its goal was to lure Kingler out.

Take out Kingler, and the swarm would scatter.

"Click! Boss, don't fall for it—we've got numbers!"

"Click click! Surround them! Crush them!"

Kingler hesitated. On one hand, if it refused, it'd look cowardly. On the other, if it lost, everything it'd built would vanish.

But its lackeys gave it an out. Since they wanted a group attack anyway—

"Krgh! Attack!"

"Click clack click! Clatter clatter!" The Krabby charged forward, pincers snapping.

Reiji watched the first wave of 20+ crabs barrel forward. More followed. Only Kingler stayed behind.

He knew: take down the leader, the rest would fall. But Kingler was too well-guarded.

So he barked orders: "Poliwhirl and Rhyhorn up front! Krabby—Dig and Harden, then ambush Kingler!"

"Yo-bo!" Poliwhirl surged forward, punching through the swarm with each blow.

"Snrrrk!" Rhyhorn charged like a battering ram, bowling over crab after crab.

"Click!" Krabby, assigned to the ambush, dug in and used Harden.

Reiji didn't stop there. Ten Pokémon total. Magikarp and Wishiwashi were already returned to their Poké Balls.

That left Butterfree, Spinarak, Pelipper, Slowpoke, and Pidgey.

He gave orders only to his own: "Spinarak, use Electroweb to cover Poliwhirl and Rhyhorn—watch for sneak attacks!"

"Yito!" Spinarak leapt into the trees, flinging web after web at flanking crabs.

"Butterfree—target Kingler with Electroweb. Also hit it with Sleep Powder and Stun Spore!"

"Bii~!" Butterfree launched into the air, circling over Kingler, disrupting its commands—creating an opening for Krabby's ambush.

"Pelipper, Tailwind! Speed boost for everyone!"

"Peli~!" Pelipper flapped hard, summoning a breeze to quicken their allies.

That left three: Pelipper (now Reiji's shield), Slowpoke, and Pidgey.

He wasn't sure if the last two would obey, so he gave them no commands.

Swish—!

A sudden burst of air hit a crab sneaking behind Poliwhirl. It was Pidgey—slicing through the air from above.

"Yo-bo!" Poliwhirl glanced back and saw the toppled crab. It shouted thanks to Pidgey.

"Coo! Don't get distracted!" Pidgey's wings glowed white, flinging another Air Slash that sent a second crab flying.

[End of Chapter]

[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]

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