Pokemon: A Fisherman's Tale

Ryan called out to his partner, the Poliwag, "Yo, yo, yo!" Hearing this, Poliwag was immediately energized. Eager to evolve, gain hands, and help Ryan, it could hardly wait.

Ryan had quite a few tasks lined up today. After setting up some water buckets, he planned to pick up trash from the beach. Over the past few days, while swapping buckets and passing by the rocky shoreline, he had noticed a lot of useful things washed up.

"I haven't done any scavenging in a few days, and I'm itching to get back at it," Ryan thought. He wondered if he'd be lucky enough to find a Poké Ball today. Those were like natural refrigerators, perfect for storing food. Without one, he would have to catch and eat fish the same day. Any leftovers would spoil.

He hadn't gone fishing yet today, but he already had food preservation on his mind. He chuckled at himself, knowing he was getting ahead of things.

There were no dangerous Pokémon on this part of the rocky shore, only Caterpie, Spearow, Pidgey, and Weedle. The most hazardous creatures here were the Beedrill, but as long as he stayed out of their territory, they wouldn't attack. Beedrill were highly territorial, and Ryan actually found them easier to deal with than the massive Kingler that roamed the beach on the opposite side of his shelter.

His shelter was situated between two groups of territorial Pokémon—the Beedrill in the forest and the Kingler by the shore. He preferred scavenging in Beedrill territory because the beach wasn't theirs to claim. The Kingler, on the other hand, dominated both the jungle and the shore, making them more of a menace.

Then there were Spearow and Pidgey. Though both birds could be dangerous, humans weren't on their menu, so Ryan didn't worry too much about them.

Today's scavenging spot wasn't far from his shelter, just a little ways down the beach. "Poliwag, let's go scavenging," Ryan called, leading the way. They walked along the beach, where bits of foam and plastic waste were scattered around. Some of the foam pieces could be used to store water, while the plastic buckets were always handy for holding liquids.

"Dang, dang, dang—what a find!" Ryan exclaimed as he picked up a metal pot. It seemed to be stainless steel, with no rust. "Perfect for cooking," he thought. The tiny cup he'd been using to boil water was too small; with this, he could make enough in one go.

The pot was about the size of a household rice cooker and could boil five or six bottles of water at once. It was definitely worth keeping.

Then, he found an orange life buoy. "Not bad," Ryan thought, picking it up. He wasn't planning on going into the sea, but it might serve as a decoration or even a tool for some other purpose.

He continued his haul, finding a small wooden table, a plastic basin, and a fishing net. However, the net was in such poor shape that he left it behind. A good length of rope caught his eye, and after ensuring it wasn't too corroded by seawater, he cut it free with his folding knife.

Walking back and forth across the rocky beach, Ryan didn't see any sign of the Poké Ball he'd been hoping for. The only thing he found was half of a broken one. With nothing else left to scavenge, he gathered some plastic sheeting and rags to fortify his shelter against rain.

Ryan noticed plenty of driftwood scattered around the beach, enough to keep his fires going for quite some time. "The life of a scavenger is so simple and unpretentious," he mused as he started back toward his shelter, arms full of useful finds.

Suddenly, Ryan realized that Poliwag, who had been following him, was nowhere to be seen. Putting down his gathered items, he scanned the beach. No Poliwag in sight, but something else caught his attention—a rope net entangled in a foam ball, being pulled in and out by the waves. It was a good find. Ryan rushed over, retrieved the net, and removed it from the foam ball.

"A hammock!" he thought instantly, imagining how he could string up the net. The holes in the net were too large for fishing, but perfect for lounging.