Day 34 of survival on the deserted island. Clear skies.

After a night of heavy rain, the weather cleared up. In other words, it was another sunny day.

As usual this morning, Reiji took Poliwhirl and Butterfree to steal some honey. This time, they brought two buckets—one large, one small.

Because now, they had one more big eater on their hands. Even though Reiji hadn't decided whether to capture the Rhyhorn, it didn't hurt to build some goodwill.

Whether or not he'd eventually catch Rhyhorn would depend on whether its herd noticed it was missing.

Judging by the Rhyhorn herd's muscle-for-brains logic, if they didn't realize one was gone after a week, he'd consider Rhyhorn fair game.

Which meant—if he could hold out for a week—he'd have his answer.

Hopefully, the Rhydon were just as brainless. If even the cub went missing, maybe they'd still be so carefree they'd nap by the lake and sunbathe like nothing happened.

Once both buckets were half-full of honey, Reiji signaled Poliwhirl and Butterfree to head back. He carried the big one, Poliwhirl the small.

If it weren't for Rhyhorn, one bucket would've been enough. But this new glutton? He was next-level.

If Poliwhirl and the others were small snackers, Rhyhorn was a full-blown food monster—one Reiji couldn't afford to feed.

Ugh… What a headache.

On the way back to the treehouse, Reiji kept fretting. If he did capture this Rhyhorn, how was he supposed to handle its food?

Then he remembered: Rhyhorn eats rocks. Problem solved.

Still, if this Rhyhorn grew up eating rocks like the rest of its herd on this island, what made it special?

Sure, its potential was impressive—reaching the Elite Four level wouldn't be hard at all.

But Reiji wasn't aiming for the Elite Four. He wanted a Champion.

Even if it didn't reach Level 100, it had to hit at least Level 99.

He hoped the humans of this world had already developed Pokéblocks. That way, he wouldn't have to stress about Pokémon meals—just how to make money.

For the younger Pokémon, Moomoo Milk would be enough. That wasn't a problem. Moomoo Milk was probably common. The real issue was whether Pokéblocks existed yet.

Back at the treehouse, Reiji released all his Pokémon. After distributing the honey, he grabbed the stew pot and headed to the pool to boil water and make himself some honey tea.

Clang—

But when Reiji reached the pool, something made him lose grip of the pot, which clattered to the ground.

The Pokémon thought something had happened to him and rushed over to protect him. But Reiji just stood there, frozen, staring blankly at the water.

They followed his gaze—at the surface of the pool.

Floating in the water was a plastic bag—transparent and colorless—just like the ones he'd seen on the beach.

Reiji reached out and scooped it up. It was a food wrapper.

While these were common on the beach, this was the first time he'd seen one in the pool.

Given last night's storm, it might've been blown in by the wind.

But examining it closely, he realized it was practically pristine—no sign of rain or weathering. And inside, there were still some leftover bread crumbs.

When he saw the bread crumbs, Reiji's pupils narrowed ever so slightly. His expression darkened, brows furrowing.

Something was wrong.

How could a fresh food wrapper just randomly show up on an uninhabited island?

Its presence could only mean one thing: someone new had arrived.

A stranger had come ashore.

Reiji didn't see this as good news. Quite the opposite—he saw more danger than benefit.

Because this stranger could only be one of two types:

A Pokémon hunter.A Pokémon Ranger.

Either way, someone had deliberately landed on this island. There were no shipping routes nearby, not even fishing boats. Reiji didn't believe anyone would come here just for fun.

If it was a Pokémon hunter—that was the worst-case scenario. These people weren't the kind you'd want to meet. Blood on their hands, more than you could count on both hands.

If they had come here, it was clearly for the island's biggest prizes—the Pidgeot flock or the Rhydon herd.

Only the dominant leaders or their young would be worth the trip for a hunter.

Krabby were common—any beach had them. No one would chase after them.

Beedrill were even more common—any forest had them.

But Pidgeot and Rhydon? Those were different. One was fast and majestic, with that striking red crest. The other was towering and fierce. Catching either would make anyone feel safe.

Looking back, maybe he had been overhyping and Beedrill by calling it the "king" of the jungle.

He'd never seen a Beedrill on par with an Elite Four-level opponent. If they really had such power, the Beedrill wouldn't have let them steal honey for so long.

So a hunter's goal would be obvious: a powerful Pidgeot or a Rhydon cub destined for greatness.

That was one possibility.

The other was a Pokémon Ranger.

While this was an uninhabited island, checking on wild Pokémon populations and monitoring ecological conditions was part of a Ranger's job.

The Pidgeot and Rhydon acted not just as rulers but as guardians of the island.

Rangers were tasked with stopping poachers and maintaining that balance.

Still, Reiji leaned more toward the idea that it was a hunter.

Because of the food wrapper.

Littering is a matter of character. Especially in a place with no one watching—on a deserted island—someone without morals would act without restraint.

Even from something this small, you could judge a stranger's personality.

And whether they were a Ranger or a poacher.

To be a Pokémon Ranger, you had to care. You trekked through forests, crossed rivers, braved danger, and got little money for it. You had to love Pokémon and nature to take that job.

And someone like that wouldn't trash the environment. At least, not like this.

If someone wasn't chasing power or profit, you could assume their moral compass wasn't too bad. But if money was all that mattered to them, they'd stop caring about little things like litter.

Then again… if they had that much money, why be a poacher at all? Everyone would just be Rangers.

After all, the most profitable jobs are all written in the penal code—300% profit margins. If Rangers made that kind of money, there'd be no criminals left.

But that didn't rule out the possibility of someone pretending to be a Ranger to cover up poaching. It happened—just rarely. The cross-check patrol system usually caught them.

Hunters were different. They existed purely for profit. They didn't care about anything else. Their eyes only saw rare Pokémon.

Poliwhirl and the others noticed Reiji staring at the wrapper, lost in thought. Realizing it must be serious, they left him alone and returned to eating honey.

"Poliwhirl, Butterfree, Wingull, Spinarak—come with me." Reiji dropped the wrapper and called his team. He was heading into the forest.

He wanted to verify his guess. To find out if someone really had come ashore.

The wrapper probably wasn't blown in—it had likely floated down from upstream.

If a stranger had walked through the stream, they'd have left tracks. And since they didn't know Reiji was here, they wouldn't have hidden their trail. It should be easy to find.

If he confirmed a human presence, he'd have to avoid them at all costs—no contact, no confrontation, not even cooking at noon or night.

If it was a poacher, their target would surely be the island's apex Pokémon. That meant trouble way above Reiji's pay grade. He wasn't even a side dish in a showdown like that.

Anyone brazen enough to steal a dominant cub was probably near-Elite Four level. Even one of their Pokémon might be stronger than his Sharpedo boss fight. He wouldn't stand a chance.

He was bringing the four along not for a fight, but for recon—to avoid this stranger.

"Krabby, stay here and watch the place. Don't let Rhyhorn wander off." Reiji gave his orders before entering the woods.

"Krk-krk," Krabby raised a claw and saluted. Got it. It would keep Rhyhorn locked down.

"Rhoo, rhoo!" Rhyhorn, seeing them leave, immediately followed—probably thinking they were off to steal more honey.

But Reiji blocked it with a hand.

"Stay put, Rhyhorn. We're doing something important," he said, tapping its forehead. "Don't mess around. No honey if you misbehave…"

"Rhoo…" Rhyhorn deflated immediately.

Nothing beat honey. It was the ultimate bargaining chip.

"If you follow us or get in the way—no honey." Reiji warned again.

"Rhoo." Rhyhorn nodded and backed off. If sitting still meant free honey, no need to overthink it.

Seeing how serious Reiji looked, it didn't dare act out. Especially with Poliwhirl already cracking his knuckles.

"Butterfree, Wingull—go ahead to the stream fork and scout. Look for humans—ones like me," Reiji instructed the fliers.

"Fwee?" Butterfree paused just before taking off. Humans… like Reiji? She'd only ever seen one human. Him.

"Yes. Like me." Reiji pointed to himself. "If you see someone like me, don't react—no fear, no joy, no panic. Just fly past like normal and circle back."

"Fwee!" Butterfree nodded. She understood now—this was a test. Not all humans were good like Reiji.

"Caw!" Wingull nodded too. It still remembered being tricked with honey. Otherwise, it never would've been caught.

With that, the two took off. Reiji followed with Poliwhirl beside him and Spinarak up in the trees. They moved cautiously through the tunnel Krabby had dug toward the stream fork.

Every time a leaf rustled, they froze.

A trip that should've taken ten minutes took thirty.

Butterfree and Wingull were already waiting at the stream.

Standing at the water's edge, Reiji asked, "Anything?"

"Fwee." Butterfree shook her head. Nothing.

"Caw." Wingull agreed. Same result.

Reiji knelt and double-checked the area. Nothing out of the ordinary.

He looked upstream.

This was just the fork. Any tracks would be further up.

"Butterfree, Wingull—check upstream. If you see anything, come tell me."

As they flew off, Reiji followed behind on foot.

Every step, he chose firm ground—no footprints.

Even if they left marks, Spinarak could clean them up, weaving leaves to cover his and Poliwhirl's trail. That was its job.

While searching for signs, they also had to make sure they left none of their own.

This time, they'd barely gone ten minutes before Wingull returned.

"Caw, caw!" Wingull landed on Reiji's arm, flapped its wing forward—there was something ahead.

"Lead the way." Reiji didn't panic. This had always been the worst-case scenario. It wasn't a surprise.

As long as they hadn't been seen, it wasn't too bad. Still, he stayed cautious.

After a few more minutes, they reached the spot Wingull had indicated. Butterfree was waiting.

"Footprints?" Reiji spotted them instantly.

Big ones—bigger than his own shoe size.

Several of them. Not just one or two, but over a dozen.

He stepped on one for comparison—at least a full size larger.

Which confirmed it. The stranger was male.

The footprints were only along the bank. The person had crossed the stream—and was heading toward them.

(End of Chapter)

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