Pokemon: A Fisherman's Tale

Before entering the treehouse, Ryan took the berries out of his shorts pocket and washed three of them with fresh water outside the door. One was bad, but two were good.

He remembered that he had picked up five berries; two must have slipped away, but it didn't matter as long as he had some fruit.

After washing the berries, he entered the treehouse and released Caterpie from the Poké Ball.

"Woo... woo..."

Caterpie's cry was faint, its consciousness hazy, and its once bright eyes were now half-open and half-closed.

Ryan touched Caterpie's body with his hand; it was still burning hot without any signs of improvement. He immediately took out a folding knife, cut off a small piece of blue pulp from the berry, and placed it into Caterpie's small, constantly opening and closing mouth.

He had found the berries but didn't know how to use them. He could only feed them directly to Caterpie, hoping they would work. Looking at the translucent screen in front of him, he glanced at the information about the berries.

"[Berry: Can heal burns in Pokémon (maturity 73.58%)]"

Seeing this line of text, Ryan realized another function of the proficiency panel—it could display the status of other items, not just Pokémon.

The proficiency panel wasn't just for showing the progress of Pokémon but for all items in the game. After all, the proficiency panel's predecessor was an infamous Pokémon game.

When he got the Poké Ball earlier, he tried it out casually, and it worked.

He hadn't known much before because he hadn't had the opportunity. The only things in his possession that the proficiency panel could display were his Poliwag and the Poké Ball.

What would the Poké Ball even show? Durability? He wasn't interested enough to check, as long as it worked.

This time, though, the berries were only 73.58% ripe. Ryan cut off a small piece and tasted it.

"Ugh, cough, cough..." Ryan chewed twice before spitting out the berry. It was extremely bitter, like eating bitter melon.

"Woo... woo..." Caterpie stirred, clearly awakened by the bitter taste of the berry.

Ryan could refuse to eat it, but Caterpie couldn't. To make sure it ate the berry, Ryan mashed the pulp in an iron cup, mixed it with warm water, and fed it to the Caterpillar.

The warm water had been heated by the sun and came from fresh water outside the treehouse.

After watching Caterpie slowly drink the berry juice, Ryan went outside to tend to the wound on his foot.

He heated water in a saucepan, poured the warm water into a plastic basin, unwrapped the makeshift bandage on his left foot, and dipped it into the basin.

"Hiss... it hurts, it hurts so much," Ryan gritted his teeth, his face contorting in pain as soon as he dipped his foot into the water, pulling it out almost immediately.

He was only cleaning the wound, not stitching it, so why did it hurt so badly?

"Oh, I see, it's because the fresh water isn't pure. It's been sterilized and disinfected, but it still stings," Ryan muttered to himself as he looked down at the warm water. He remembered that fresh water contains small amounts of salt.

There was no other option. Ryan grabbed a wooden stick, bit it to keep from biting his tongue, and forced his foot back into the basin. His face twisted in pain once more, his body stiff, and his limbs twitched uncontrollably.

After a while, he breathed a sigh of relief, calmed down, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked at the water in the basin, which had turned red. Despite the pain, it felt slightly soothing.

He left his foot in the water to soak and sterilize. Once the water cooled, he removed his foot and let it air-dry in the wind. Lying on the grass, he gazed up at the blue and white sky, longing for a moment of peace.

"This time, I really suffered a huge loss. Getting the lighter wet was minor, but the wounds on both feet are a real issue."

The wound on his right foot wasn't severe, and he expected it to heal within half a month, but the left foot was more complicated. He had no medicine, and it was sweltering. He needed to keep his feet dry.

If the wound got infected, it could mean trouble—like inflammation, fever, or worse.

His journey as a Pokémon Trainer hadn't even started, and he wasn't ready to give up yet.

He'd traveled through time, into the Pokémon world no less! There were so many beautiful ladies waiting for him. How could he die here? He wanted to live...

"Let's just treat the wound properly first. Don't let it get infected..." Ryan stood up, boiled water again in his pot, cut some long strips of fabric with his folding knife, and put them into the pot to sterilize them.

Once the water boiled, he stirred the fabric around with chopsticks, then fished it out and let it cool. Afterward, he wrapped his foot with the fabric. If he wanted to walk, he'd need to wear shoes, otherwise, he wouldn't get far.

Fortunately, he hadn't lost his shoes. He'd tied them together with the laces and hung them around his neck when he jumped into the sea, keeping them safe.

After dealing with all this, half the day had passed. He hadn't prepared lunch yet, and he didn't feel like eating.

Catching a Caterpie might be possible, but he was afraid it would attract Krabby, and there was no way he'd outrun it if that happened.

Why did it feel like everything around him was trying to kill him? What did he ever do to deserve this?

He had finally discovered a place more dangerous than the city—nature itself, an uninhabited island.

This was the real world, where survival meant everything. The city's cruelty was spiritual, but here, it was literal.

"See, I told you not to try to be a hero. But no, you didn't listen. Now look where you've ended up," Ryan sighed as he lay in the shade. There wasn't much else he could do for now, and he couldn't go anywhere.

"Poliwag, go gather some seaweed and bring it back," Ryan called out to his Pokémon, who was carrying a fresh bucket of water.

After last night's rainstorm, he had enough fresh water. Over twenty buckets were enough for a long time, but he couldn't lift the bucket, so he had to rely on rainwater.

"Yo... yo..." Poliwag came to Ryan's side, its eyes fixed on his injured legs. Blood was seeping through the makeshift bandage.

These injuries were all because of those berries and his efforts to treat Caterpie.

Poliwag kept thinking that if Caterpie hadn't come back, Ryan wouldn't be hurt like this. Its joy at seeing Caterpie had faded, replaced by silent concern.

"Hey, it's alright. The wound will heal. Right now, I need you to help me out, Poliwag..." Ryan reached out and patted the blue head of Poliwag. Though it didn't have the best potential or intelligence, it was the most reliable partner he had.

Finding and taming Poliwag had been the luckiest thing for Ryan since arriving on this deserted island.

"Be careful, just grab some seaweed and come right back," Ryan said with a smile, his hand resting on Poliwag's body, reminding it to stay safe.

"Yo!" Poliwag nodded, its big black eyes flashing with determination. It felt the weight of responsibility again, just like when Ryan had fallen unconscious. It knew it would once more have to take care of him.

At the same time, it no longer held any resentment toward Caterpie. Ryan wasn't angry, so how could it be?

This was Ryan's decision, and it would always stand by his side, protecting him from everything.

But it wasn't strong enough yet. It needed to become stronger.

Ryan didn't notice the fire of determination burning in Poliwag's eyes as it left, walking with newfound steadiness.