On the tenth day of surviving on the desert island, the sky was cloudy.
Last night, Ryan noticed that the potential of his Poliwag had increased by 0.01. He was so excited that he couldn't sleep, eager to figure out how this improvement came about.
Since its potential increased once, it could happen again. Even if Poliwag reached level eight or if its Water Gun proficiency rose to 5%, it wouldn't be surprising. But the real shock was the potential increase.
Poliwag hadn't eaten anything special these past few days, just the same food Ryan ate. The only mystery was what Poliwag might have eaten while Ryan was unconscious. Did it consume something unusual, something Ryan wasn't aware of?
"Poliwag, what did you eat the day I fainted?" Ryan asked, concerned. This was a critical question, tied directly to Poliwag's future.
"Poli?" Poliwag thought hard, sensing Ryan's urgency but shook its head, not understanding.
Ryan felt helpless. He knew Poliwag couldn't understand complex words yet.
Based on his observations, there was nothing particularly special in Poliwag's diet, aside from the fact that it had been eating well. Kelp, shells, snail meat, fish, Caterpie meat, and Metapod meat were the usual.
If there was anything unique, it was that Poliwag was well-fed.
Ryan speculated another reason for the potential increase: perhaps Poliwag's body was recovering. Poliwag's potential might have been higher than 31%, but malnutrition from hunger stunted its growth. Now that it was receiving better nutrition, the potential was slowly recovering, though incrementally.
If this was true, it was a tough situation for Poliwag. Once potential drops, it's difficult to regain.
"Poor Poliwag," Ryan thought, "we're both just two unlucky souls on this deserted island."
Regardless of how the potential increased, Ryan knew it would become clearer with time. He had to be patient.
"Poliwag, it's time for morning exercise. Are you ready?" Ryan asked, snapping Poliwag out of its thoughts.
Ryan had almost fully recovered from his illness. Today marked his first day of regular exercise to regain his strength. He didn't want to risk getting sick again.
Back when Ryan played the Pokémon games, he remembered that Poliwag's newly grown legs weren't well-suited for walking on land. Poliwag preferred swimming or hopping.
To help Poliwag prepare for its evolution into Poliwhirl and develop its Swift Swim ability, Ryan decided to focus on land-based training. Rather than practicing Water Gun, they would work on walking and running today.
"Poli?" Poliwag tilted its head, confused by yet another new word from Ryan.
"Like this," Ryan said, demonstrating by jogging around their shelter.
"This is running, Poliwag..."
"Poli!" Poliwag understood and started running, but quickly stumbled over the uneven ground. Poliwag was better at jumping than running.
"Take your time. We'll start with walking," Ryan encouraged, helping Poliwag up and brushing the sand off its blue skin.
"Poli..." Poliwag's eyes sparked with determination. Ryan smiled, seeing the fire in Poliwag's eyes. With enough effort, Poliwag could push beyond its limits.
"Run, Poliwag!" Ryan called, taking the lead. Soon, he had run three laps around Poliwag.
Slowly, Poliwag transitioned from walking to running.
After jogging for half an hour, Ryan grew tired. He stopped for a drink of water, but Poliwag kept running until it collapsed from exhaustion. Ryan hurried over and scooped Poliwag up, bringing it back to the shade.
"Poliwag, you need to rest," Ryan said, noticing that Poliwag's skin had dried from all the sweating.
Ryan fetched some water, and Poliwag eagerly drank it. After all, it was a Water-type Pokémon.
They spent the morning exercising—resting occasionally, rehydrating, then running again until the sun grew too strong. By the end, both Ryan and Poliwag were thoroughly exhausted.
Ryan knew he had to keep exercising to improve his own fitness. Being a Pokémon Trainer required endurance.
Poliwag, now completely spent, soaked in a bucket to rehydrate while Ryan prepared lunch.
Their meal for the day was the Caterpie Ryan had caught earlier. He boiled the green caterpillars, pinching off the heads and tails before dropping them into a stew. There'd be no barbecue today—he had eaten too much recently and his lips were starting to blister.
Ryan also included fish and bug Pokémon in the stew, essentially feeding Poliwag, Magikarp and Caterpie.
The meal was simple, just a salty stew. After finishing, Ryan called, "Poliwag, dinner is ready..."
"Poli!" Poliwag eagerly jumped from the bucket, ready for its meal.
After lunch, Poliwag returned to its bucket, and Ryan laid down under the shade of a tree to take a nap, using a lifebuoy as a pillow. But he hadn't been asleep long before Poliwag sprayed him with a Water Gun to wake him up.
"Poli! Poli!" Poliwag was frantic, trying to alert Ryan to something.
Ryan sat up, groggy. "What is it? What's going on?"
Poliwag led him to a fainted Caterpie on the grass. Ryan sighed, "It's just another Caterpie, Poliwag. That's dinner again."
Still, Ryan used a Poké Ball to catch it. After capturing the Caterpie, Ryan inspected its stats.
[Caterpie]
[Type: Bug]
[Gender: Female]
[Potential: 36%]
[Level: 4.59%]
[Ability: Shed Skin/0.91%]
[Hidden Ability: Run Away/2.61%]
[Move Mastery: (Tackle/0.91%) (String Shot/0.55%)]
Nothing special. Caterpie's stats were as average as expected.
With the Caterpie captured, Ryan turned his attention to a giant, hollow tree nearby. He had an idea—why not use this hollow tree as their shelter?
It would save the trouble of hollowing it out himself. All he needed was to smooth out the cracks and add a door to the trunk. However, without proper tools, he'd have to improvise.
Ryan gathered some broken boards, bamboo poles, and ropes from the beach to build a simple ladder. With the ladder complete, he used nails he had scavenged and started hammering them into the tree trunk.
As Poliwag watched from its bucket, Ryan called for help. "Poliwag, aim your Water Gun here!"
"Poli?" Poliwag hesitated, not wanting to waste more water.
But Ryan insisted, and Poliwag reluctantly fired off three Water Guns, breaking apart the tree trunk as Ryan had hoped.
By the time they were done, it was evening, and Ryan decided to finish capping the tree the next day.
"That's enough for today. Let's head back and make dinner," Ryan said, leading Poliwag back to their shelter.
The day's work had been productive. Poliwag had improved its Water Gun proficiency, and their shelter was coming together nicely.
As a reward for Poliwag's hard work, Ryan gave it extra dinner.
Ryan couldn't help but feel grateful. Poliwag was truly his partner in survival on this deserted island.