Pokémon: Master of the Rain Team

Day 42 of surviving on the deserted island. Clear skies.

It had been six days since Poliwirl and Pelipper were gone. Reiji had spent the last five days sitting outside the treehouse, and today was the fifth.

Just like always, he got up early and sat outside, hoping to see Poliwhirl the moment it returned.

But today, as usual, he only snapped out of his daze when the Pokémon called him for breakfast.

Then for lunch. And then dinner. The day passed just like that.

After dinner, Reiji prepared an evening meal and healing medicine and handed them to Butterfree, asking her to deliver them to Poliwhirl.

He and the remaining five Pokémon—Krabby, Spinarak, Slowpoke, Magikarp, and Wishiwashi—sat around the stove, waiting for Butterfree to return so they could all go back into the treehouse to rest.

But tonight's wait dragged on. He had already added wood to the fire several times and still no sign of Butterfree. Instead, Pelipper's sudden appearance caught them all off guard.

Pelipper hadn't come back for several days after being told to stay with Poliwhirl.

"Peli, peli!" Pelipper swooped down from the sky and crashed straight into Reiji's arms.

It happened so fast—Reiji only saw a white blur before Pelipper was in his lap. He hadn't even registered what had hit him.

Only after hearing its cry and grabbing its large beak did Reiji realize what Pokémon had ambushed him.

"Oh, it's you, Pelipper. Why are you back? Ran out of food?" Reiji rubbed Pelipper's head. Even after five or six days away, it had kept its feathers neat and smooth. It still felt nice to touch.

"Peli, peli!" Pelipper didn't answer him. It just raised a wing and pointed toward the forest, urging him to look.

"The forest? What's in the forest?" Reiji looked up—and saw a battered blue silhouette and a pair of unwavering, determined eyes.

"Poliwhirl? Poliwhirl…"

Reiji saw it. He had imagined this reunion so many times—wondered every day when Poliwhirl would return—and now, just like that, it had come back.

He was caught completely off guard. So many things he wanted to say had filled his heart during the wait, but now, not a single word would come out.

Alongside Poliwhirl were Butterfree and Rhyhorn.

As Reiji started to rise, Poliwhirl rushed over and stood in front of him, eyes full of joy.

Reiji, equally overjoyed, gave it a full once-over. Aside from a few scrapes, nothing was missing. He clapped a hand on Poliwirl's shoulder, feeling the strength in its frame, and then pulled it into a hug.

"Poliwhirl… you've had it rough these past few days. You must be exhausted. Have you had dinner yet?" he whispered softly into its ear.

Poliwhirl said nothing, simply letting itself be held. In Reiji's arms, it finally felt at peace. Only here, in front of Reiji, could this tenacious little tadpole drop its stubborn guard.

The other Pokémon didn't disturb them. Butterfree, upon hearing mention of a late-night snack, immediately flew over and placed the food down.

Reiji set the meal on their makeshift table and placed it in Poliwhirl's hands, signaling it to eat first—everything else could wait.

"Yobo." Poliwhirl sat on the grass, stared at the food for a second, then dug in—it was starving.

But before it started eating, it picked up a piece of bread and handed it to Reiji.

"Let's eat together. Everyone, come have a late-night snack," Reiji said, accepting the bread and tossing more food onto the cloth in the center for the others to take.

Tonight's dinner group had grown from five Pokémon to eight: Pelipper, Poliwhirl, and Rhyhorn had joined.

"Woohoo…" Rhyhorn had come just to escape the hellish training inflicted by Rhydon. No more torment—it could finally eat to its heart's content. This felt like heaven.

"Yobo." Poliwhirl looked around the table at all the familiar faces. It felt like it had been ages, but it had only been gone six days.

That evening, after its training ended, Rhydon had told it it was free to leave. The rest of the training would be self-directed—everything that needed to be taught had been taught.

Poliwhirl had leapt with excitement the moment it heard the news. It didn't even bother with dinner—it just wanted to return to Reiji and tell him all about its incredible experiences.

But now, face-to-face, even a thousand things to say faded into silence.

Just hearing Reiji say, "You've had it rough…" was enough.

That one sentence filled its heart completely.

Pokémon really were simple creatures. One word of concern was worth more than a thousand others. Everything it had gone through was worth it. It hadn't suffered—it was happy.

As long as it could live with Reiji, eat with him, grow stronger with him, and watch the sunset together, it would never think it was hard.

While Poliwhirl ate, Reiji didn't sit idle. He fetched a basin of clean water and began washing Poliwhirl.

It had come back right after training—covered in sweat and dirt, still wounded, with red, swollen hands and feet.

Using a soft towel, Reiji gently wiped away the grime and sweat, cleaning its whole body.

Then he sprayed medicine over Poliwhirl's wounds to speed up healing.

There would be no training for a while. Poliwhirl would rest and recover before resuming.

Once he was done treating Poliwhirl, Reiji turned to Rhyhorn—it was covered in bruises too. Rhydon hadn't held back. That was some real tough love—like a father beating his kid half to death in training.

Seeing that Rhyhorn had even slimmed down, Reiji could tell the fat had turned to muscle. He actually liked this sturdier version more. It seemed like sending Poliwhirl off to train was the right choice after all.

After tending to Rhyhorn's wounds, Reiji began prepping food again.

The Krabby they'd caught five days ago had finally all been eaten. Only the last Kingler remained. He'd planned to cook it tomorrow and send it to Poliwhirl—but now that they were back, he could cook it tonight.

That Kingler was massive. Even without its crushed claw, it still weighed around 60 kilograms—according to official stats. And if not, it was close enough.

His regular stew pot wasn't big enough—he had to use the large cauldron from the backpack.

After boiling Kingler for the team, Reiji pulled out 20-plus pounds of Sharpedo jerky—his last stash—and threw it into the pot for Rhyhorn, who had the biggest appetite.

That guy alone ate 50% of the food. Poliwhirl took 30%, the rest shared among the others—and Reiji.

Once everything was set, only Poliwhirl and Rhyhorn were still eating, but Reiji didn't just watch. He opened Poliwhirl's proficiency panel.

He wanted to see how much had changed since the last time—over a week ago.

[Poliwhirl]

Type: Water

Gender: Male

Potential: 50%

Level: 33.73%

Ability: Damp – 14.13% / Hidden Ability: Swift Swim – 10.13%

Learned Moves:

(Mind Reader – 12.21%)

(Ice Ball – 3.31%)

(Refresh – 15.11%)

(Double Slap – 10.12%)

(Water Gun – 22.14%)

(Water Sport – 17.21%)

(Waterfall – 10.22%)

(Rain Dance – 1.11%)

(Ice Punch – 3.31%)

(Mega Punch – 10.82%)

(Mega Kick – 9.45%)

The first thing that stood out was its potential—now at 50%. That ugly 49.99% had been an eyesore before. Hard to miss the change.

Its level had reached 33. Progress!

But leveling up was harder now. What used to take a day now took two—and it'd only get tougher from here.

Both abilities had risen by about 3%.

Mind Reader and Ice Ball also increased by 2%.

Refresh had jumped a full 7%—clearly a frequently used move.

Waterfall had increased by 5% too. Reiji glanced at Poliwhirl—it must've spent a lot of time training that one.

Then there were three new moves: Ice Punch, Mega Punch, and Mega Kick.

Had Poliwhirl learned these from Rhydon?

Ice Punch was still new, but Mega Punch and Mega Kick had decent proficiency.

If Reiji knew it had shattered dozens of boulders with those moves…

He'd be stunned by how ferocious Poliwhirl had become.

Seeing those moves made him think of Rhydon—those were probably its teachings. He had nearly stopped Poliwhirl from going. Almost cost it a huge opportunity.

Sigh… language barriers really suck.

So many misunderstandings. He almost missed Rhydon's good intentions—it had given him Rhyhorn and new moves for Poliwhirl.

And it wasn't done yet. Rhydon had truly transformed Poliwhirl—mastering Waterfall, and combining it with Mega Punch and Kick. That kind of power? Devastating.

Closing the panel, Reiji turned to Rhyhorn.

From now on, it belonged fully to him—a Rhyhorn with Elite Four potential. Owning a Pokémon this powerful? Enough to make him laugh in his sleep.

Too bad about that Pidgey. The Totem Pidgeot despised humans—no chance of it gifting another child.

Just look at how it hunted down poachers. The Pidgeot flock would stop at nothing.

Even if it had gotten the child back, there was no way it'd hand it to a stranger.

Still, getting even one was already incredible. He wouldn't be greedy.

Once his own Rhyhorn became leader of the wild herd, that whole clan would be his strength.

And if he could keep ties with the Pidgey, they'd both become clan leaders—one leading the skies, the other the land.

Plus, the Krabby colony along the coast—he hadn't forgotten them. Once his Krabby reached Elite Four level, it'd conquer the others and form a third army—the ocean corps.

Land, sea, and sky—once complete, this island would be his true base. When he became an Elite Four-level Trainer, he'd command three full Pokémon armies.

With that kind of force, he could go toe-to-toe with even a Champion—no fear.

He wouldn't be like any other Elite Four-tier Trainer.

Outside of the League and Team Rocket, here in the far corners of the Orange Islands—he'd be king.

But that was all for the future. For now, he turned his attention to Rhyhorn's panel.

[Rhyhorn]

Type: Ground + Rock

Gender: Male

Potential: 58%

Level: 19.89%

Ability: Rock Head – 16.15%

Hidden Ability: Reckless – 12.17%

Learned Moves:

(Counter – 10.22%)

(Skull Bash – 13.31%)

(Rock Polish – 10.26%)

(Crunch – 13.82%)

(Thunder Fang – 5.45%)

(Ice Fang – 8.94%)

(Fire Fang – 9.91%)

(Rock Slide – 6.21%)

(Stomping Tantrum – 8.99%)

(Double Edge – 15.14%)

(Smack Down – 7.37%)

(Bulldoze – 9.17%)

(Horn Attack – 17.53%)

(Rest – 15.81%)

(Tackle – 19.21%)

(Dig – 8.73%)

This foodie had reached level 20. Its potential hadn't changed—it was already high to begin with.

Both abilities had increased by 2%.

Counter had jumped 8%.

Good grief—was it using Counter to reflect Rhydon's beatdowns?

You had to survive to reflect damage. If you got KO'd in one punch, what's there to reflect?

Skull Bash was up 2%, Rock Polish 3%, Stomping Tantrum 3%, Double Edge 4%, Bulldoze 3%, Horn Attack 4%.

Rest increased 5%—yep, this guy loved to eat and sleep.

Tackle jumped 5% too.

Looking at the spread, it was obvious—this guy liked to charge. He was a full-on brawler.

Another reckless one… Reiji was speechless. Why were all his Pokémon so obsessed with head-on brawling?

Poliwhirl brawled, Rhyhorn brawled, Krabby brawled… even Farfetch'd brawled.

Why did all his fighters charge in like lunatics?

They weren't like him at all. But he liked them this way.

Or to put it more kindly—they had strong fighting spirits and a fierce desire to grow stronger.

Poliwhirl wanted strength to protect and support him.

Krabby wanted to become strong like its Poliwhirl big bro.

Rhyhorn was forced into it—didn't even understand what strength meant yet.

Farfetch'd fought purely for revenge—it carried hatred in its heart.

"Yobo, yobo." Poliwirl was already chatting with the others, sharing stories of the past few days.

"Huruu, huruu." Rhyhorn was grumbling about how violent its dad was. It had been tormented to death.

Reiji just sat by the stove, listening quietly as the team soaked up Poliwhirl's tales.

When the firewood finally burned out and darkness fell, they all returned to the treehouse and drifted into sweet dreams.

The departure had been delayed once again—until tomorrow.

Tomorrow… they would leave the island.

[End of Chapter]

[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]

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