Day 29 of survival on the deserted island. Clear skies.

As usual, morning meant one thing: another round of Beedrill honey gathering.

"Krabby, Wingull, you two stay home. We're just going to steal some honey. Won't take long..."

"Krakk, krakk." Krabby responded quickly, watching Reiji and the others leave.

"Wuuoh..." It was the first time Wingull had been left in charge. Perched atop the treehouse roof, it stared after their fading figures.

It wanted to go with them, of course—but if Reiji had said no, he surely had his reasons. All it had to do was wait patiently. Do nothing, get sweet honey? Who could complain?

Once they arrived in Beedrill territory, Reiji sent Butterfree ahead to use Sleep Powder and Stun Spore on the Beedrill. They wouldn't enter the area until she returned.

Same tree as before—the one closest to their treehouse. No point making things harder than they had to be.

"Poliwag, get up there and slice off the honeycombs. Butterfree, help bring them down. Pick a few berries too," Reiji instructed, setting down the bucket and eyeing the golden sheen of honey on the branch.

The comb they'd stolen two days ago had already been replenished. But here they were again.

They filled half a bucket with honey and grabbed seven or eight berries before heading back.

Once again, no issues. Another successful mission.

"All right, come on, everyone—time for honey," Reiji called as he stepped back into the treehouse, motioning to his four Pokémon.

He used a metal cup to pour out four servings of honey and placed them into the food bowls for Poliwag, Butterfree, Krabby, and Wingull.

While the Pokémon enjoyed their meal, Reiji sealed the bucket and stashed it away. Then he made himself a cup of honey water.

Now that he had four Pokémon, sneak attacks from that shady group didn't scare him anymore. If too many showed up, he'd flee. If only a few came? Easy targets.

Krabby spent most of its time in the water anyway, and not every Pokémon would even catch the scent of honey. Today's southeast breeze was blowing in from the rocky shallows—toward the forest. That meant the honey scent would carry deeper inland, not out toward the beach where those scavengers might smell it.

Once the Pokémon finished their honey, it was time for morning training.

Poliwag did endurance runs, Butterfree worked on Psychic control, and Wingull practiced Water Gun. It wanted to close the gap with Poliwag's water attack proficiency, so it was doubling down during morning sessions too.

As for Krabby, Reiji hadn't scheduled training for it today—it had a different assignment.

"Krabby, come with me. I need your Dig," Reiji said, patting Krabby's shell. He planned to reroute fresh stream water.

Their freshwater buckets had all been busted by that roaming gang. Aside from the bath barrels for Magikarp and Poliwag, they were running dry.

They needed to dig a channel from the forest stream, ideally one that passed close to their treehouse. That way they'd never run out—and they could even enjoy proper cold baths.

"Krakk, krakk." Krabby lowered its claws and followed behind Reiji into the woods.

"Butterfree, you too." Reiji wouldn't head into the forest with just Krabby. After the last jungle survival fiasco, he knew better.

Only bringing Krabby would be like walking into a trap. He needed Butterfree for backup.

"Mmii-ii!" Butterfree flapped its wings and hurried up front to scout ahead.

"Butterfree, find the nearest stream," Reiji added. Her hypersensitive antennae would come in handy.

"Mmii-ii!" Butterfree flew upward, sniffing the air for moisture. She caught the scent quickly, confirmed the direction, and called out, "Mmii-ii, this way..."

She led from the front while Reiji and Krabby followed. After ten-plus minutes of walking, they began to hear flowing water. A few more minutes and some shrub-clearing later, and they found it—a clear stream.

"Stay alert. I'll check the terrain." Reiji had Butterfree keep watch from the sky while Krabby guarded him up close. Then he turned his attention to the stream's path.

The water flowed downhill toward the coast, as expected. The farther upstream, the higher the elevation.

Cutting off the whole stream was a no-go—that would upset the Pokémon living downstream.

Instead, Reiji looked for the highest viable point to dig a branch channel.

Once he found it, he waved Krabby over. "Krabby, I need you to dig from here and divert some of the stream. Angle it toward the treehouse. Start shallow, break the surface after about 30 meters. Butterfree will help redirect you if you go off course."

"Krakk!" Krabby understood and got ready to dig.

"Dig at a slant from this spot—don't go too deep." Reiji marked the starting point with his foot.

"Butterfree, fly up again and double-check the treehouse's direction. Come back and tell Krabby."

"Mmii-ii." Butterfree soared above the trees, pinpointed the treehouse, and flew back to inform Krabby—it lay to the southeast.

With directions locked in, Krabby got to work, shoveling dirt like a machine and breaking ground after quite a distance.

When Reiji and Butterfree caught up to the hole, they helped recalibrate. Krabby had gone a bit off track, but it wasn't a big deal—he just needed to adjust and keep digging.

Krabby, now more cautious, paced itself better. After about 50 meters, it broke the surface again and called out: "Krakk, krakk, krak..."

"Krabby? Krabby?" Reiji and Butterfree followed the noise, but something was off—it sounded like spasms.

When they arrived, Krabby was collapsed, foaming at the mouth.

"Krabby!? Butterfree, keep watch—try to find what hit it."

Burn marks and a faint charred smell—like boiled crab.

Only two types of attacks could do this: Fire-type or Electric-type.

Was there a Fire-type around here? Or an Electric-type?

Either way, they'd be trouble. Reiji wasn't built to tank electric shocks or fire.

"Butterfree, did you see it? What hit Krabby?"

"Mmii-ii." Butterfree shook her head. Her Compound Eyes hadn't picked up anything.

"Then check on Krabby—but be careful. Use Confusion if anything happens."

"Mmii-ii." Butterfree cautiously floated toward Krabby, scanning her surroundings.

BZZZZZT—

Suddenly, a net crackling with yellow electricity shot out from the treetops—straight at Butterfree.

"Confusion, now!" Reiji yelled.

He'd kept his eyes on Butterfree the whole time and saw the net the instant it appeared.

"Mmii-ii!" Her red eyes flared blue. A pulse of energy knocked the net off course and sent it rebounding.

That was enough to flush the attacker out.

A green shape with many legs leapt between branches—exposed.

"Don't let it get away! Use String Shot to stop it!" Reiji ordered.

Butterfree launched a stream of silk, aiming to entangle the nimble figure.

But the green Pokémon was agile, dodging and countering with its own silk to cancel hers.

"Close in—use Confusion first, then tie it up!" Reiji said. No more games of tag.

This was why he focused Butterfree's training on Confusion—because once you had control, the opponent was helpless without a countermeasure.

"Mmii-ii!" She got close, eyes glowing once more. The green creature's legs suddenly lifted from the branch—it could no longer jump.

Butterfree followed up instantly, wrapping it in silk until it dropped like a tied-up dumpling.

Reiji ran over and tossed a Poké Ball.

Click.

It locked.

He scooped it up and checked the Ball: it was Spinarak.

[Spinarak]

Type: Bug + Poison

Gender: Female

Potential: 49%

Level: 13.27%

Ability: Swarm (7.91%)

Known Moves: (Electroweb 6.58%), (Poison Sting 8.59%), (String Shot 9.01%), (Constrict 6.13%), (Absorb 5.49%), (Infestation 5.73%), (Scary Face 4.51%), (Agility 7.87%)

Reiji skimmed the panel—decent potential.

Just short of 50%, and lacking the Hidden Ability Sniper, which knocked down its value for training.

Still, Electroweb was a good move.

Not that he planned to raise this Spinarak—but Butterfree had a new move to learn now.

Also, Agility—great for boosting Speed by two stages. Worth spreading to the team.

He pocketed the Ball and returned to the dig site. Gently shook Krabby awake.

"Krabby, wake up. Come on..."

"Krakk...chi?" Krabby blinked groggily. What happened? Why was it lying there?

"You got zapped. Don't remember?" Reiji reminded it.

"Krakk!" Its eyes snapped wide—it finally recalled. Just as it broke the surface, something shocked it, and it blacked out.

"You're okay now. Keep digging. Only about a kilometer left to the treehouse," Reiji said, patting Krabby's solid shell.

"Krakk!" Krabby raised its claws, unbothered by the fainting episode. It waited for Butterfree's guidance and resumed digging.

"Mmii-ii." She flew up, reconfirmed the direction, and pointed Krabby onward.

The trench already had water in it. Krabby kept tunneling with renewed vigor.

After more than twenty breakthroughs, Krabby finally spotted the treehouse.

"Krakk, krakk... this crab's exhausted..."

"Good job, Krabby. Take a break," Reiji said, patting its head as they reached the forest's edge.

He moved to the grass beside the treehouse and marked out a circular area, about 3–4 meters wide—enough for a small pool. It was 4 meters away from the treehouse, leaving a path toward the sea.

With the outline drawn, he called over Krabby.

"Once you've rested, divert the stream here. Then dig out a big pit, and pack the base with your claws so it doesn't leak."

"Krakk." Krabby, barely catching its breath, got right back to work. It dug from the forest edge straight to Reiji's feet.

"Right here. Your job today is building this pool. I marked the size with sticks," Reiji said, patting Krabby's head again.

"Krakk!" Krabby accepted the task.

Building a pool was good claw training too. Without a week of lift-claw exercises, it wouldn't have had this much control over its pincers—let alone for fighting or digging.

Butterfree returned to training Confusion. Reiji began lunch prep and took Poliwag with him to the beach to catch crabs.

They returned with six of them. All low-potential. Worse than their own Krabby. Straight into the pot.

When lunch was ready, everyone paused: Krabby stopped digging, Butterfree stopped training, Wingull stopped water blasting, and Poliwag sat down too.

Krabby got grilled fish. The rest had crab.

Before eating, Reiji released Spinarak and addressed his team: "Poliwag, Butterfree, Krabby, Wingull—I'm letting Spinarak out. Don't let her escape. I have something to say to her."

[End of Chapter]

[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]

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