Pokémon: Master of the Rain Team

[Bonus Chapter]

Poliwag's potential had increased—by 2.2 points! Now that was worth celebrating.

Turns out Beedrill honey really was a top-tier supplement for young Pokémon—it could even boost potential.

Besides the potential, Poliwag's level had also gone up, from 10.94% to 13%.

Only twelve levels left until it evolves into Poliwhirl. It was getting close. Almost there.

This morning was full of surprises. And this was all from just a little bit of honey. If he had a lot...

Oh man. The possibilities were too good to even think about!

The Beedrill hive wasn't far. Once Metapod evolved into Butterfree and learned Sleep Powder, he could go start milking that hive for real.

The rest of Poliwag's traits and moves hadn't changed much, though. Most of them still required hard training to increase proficiency.

Leveling up by eating delicious food? That made sense. But when it came to moves, there was no shortcut—it was all about practice.

Unless, of course, a Legendary descended from the heavens and blessed him with divine gifts to rocket him forward. But that was another story.

Closing Poliwag's proficiency panel, Reiji was in a great mood. He pulled out the leftover honey from last night and called out, "Poliwag, come eat the rest of this honey!"

"Yoyo!" Poliwag immediately bit down on its food bowl and waddled over excitedly, ready to be hand-fed by Reiji.

But Metapod wasn't having it. She wanted honey too and came rolling over, calling out frantically, "Doran, doran!"

"Whoa, whoa, Metapod. I know you want some, but… you don't have a mouth anymore," Reiji said, exasperated. It wasn't that he didn't want to share—it was that Metapod physically couldn't eat it.

"Doran doran…" Metapod kept wriggling in his arms, squirming like crazy. No matter what, she wanted that honey. "Wuuuuh, this is so unfair!"

"Calm down, Metapod! Just listen to me a sec!" Reiji called out, trying to stop her squirming. Ten-plus kilos of bug Pokémon flailing around on your chest was not a fun time.

"Doran! Doran!" Metapod wouldn't listen. She just really, really wanted that honey.

"Metapod, I didn't expect you to evolve either. But you physically can't eat it anymore. If I don't use it up soon, wild Pokémon might catch the scent. That's why Poliwag has to eat it now..."

"Once you evolve into Butterfree, we'll go raid the Beedrill hive. You can eat as much as you want then, okay?"

After some heartfelt persuasion, Metapod finally quieted down. The real issue was simple—she didn't have a mouth. Couldn't eat anything.

For a little glutton like her, being unable to enjoy food was the ultimate critical hit. A 999-damage blow straight to the soul.

"Doran doran…" Metapod knew she couldn't eat it. She was just a little bummed, watching Poliwag enjoy the treat. That's all.

"Just hold out a little longer. Once you evolve into Butterfree, we'll go raid some honey," Reiji said, painting the dream again. Just the usual sales pitch. Standard procedure.

Truthfully, Reiji also wanted to see if Poliwag could get another boost in potential. He wanted to find the upper limit of the honey's effect.

No wonder Pidgeot risked sneaking into the Beedrill hive during that rainy night. If it was just for some food, that wouldn't make much sense. But if honey could increase a Pokémon's potential…

Well, that changed everything.

As for whether Caterpie's own potential boost had anything to do with the honey, it was hard to say. Evolution was another variable that muddied the waters, so he couldn't be sure.

Either way, Reiji had already made up his mind. That honey was as good as stolen. Not even Kyogre could stop him. His Pokémon had to eat honey. All of them. Daily. Like a staple food.

At this point, Reiji was definitely riding high on delusion.

His confidence in the future had skyrocketed. In his mind, the Beedrill hive was already his backyard. Go in, grab what you want, leave when you feel like it. Wait until he actually got stung—then he'd understand why roses have thorns.

"Metapod, your job now is to digest all that evolution energy. Just rest inside your Poké Ball and let it work through your system. When you feel ready to evolve again, let me know—I'll bring you out."

Reiji pulled out the Poké Ball. Metapod wasn't just unfit for training—she couldn't even handle any kind of vigorous activity right now. Her best option was just to sleep and process the energy.

"Doran, doran." Metapod gave a little nod. She couldn't help Reiji in this state anyway. Sleeping it off really was the best idea.

But after accepting that she couldn't have honey, Metapod shook her head at the Poké Ball. No need for that—she'd just sleep in her spot.

"Doran, doran," she murmured, crawling into her bed of tree bark and curling up. Finally, she could enjoy a proper nap.

Seeing this, Reiji sighed and put the Poké Ball away. Fine. Let her sleep however she wanted. Whatever made her comfortable.

Once she was fully asleep, Reiji and Poliwag left the treehouse, each munching on some leftover food from yesterday. Then it was time to get back to training.

Morning was for running drills, and in the afternoon, they'd work on Water Gun.

While Poliwag trained, Reiji released Magikarp. He had almost forgotten about the salty boy.

It hadn't gotten any honey either—because Reiji still didn't count it as officially "his." Until he did, no honey for it.

He tossed the fish a bit of food and let it swim in a bucket for a while, then recalled it back into the Poké Ball.

This was a 54% potential Magikarp, after all. Releasing it would be a waste, but eating it? He didn't have the heart. So… guess it was getting raised after all.

After that, Reiji built a fire outside the treehouse to treat his foot again—disinfecting it with heat and wrapping it in scrap cloth.

Then he got to work on lunch. Just enough for himself and Poliwag today, using the last of the battlefield-scavenged ingredients. They'd be gone after today's meal.

He also grilled a few Wishiwashi for Poliwag to eat post-training. Leftover dead fish went bad quickly, so better to cook them now.

The bucket was pretty cramped, and every morning there'd be a couple dead fish. Cooked, they were still edible.

Morning passed quickly. Reiji called Poliwag in from its run, and they sat down to eat together. Poliwag was allowed to go all out.

After lunch, Poliwag took a long soak in the bucket, relaxing its sore body and even sneaking in a nap.

When the sun wasn't as harsh, Reiji woke him up—it was time to head to the beach for Water Gun practice.

"Poliwag, let's go train Water Gun by the sea!"

"Yoyo!" Poliwag flipped out of the bucket, said goodbye to Magikarp, and followed Reiji and his fishing rod down to the shoreline.

(End of Chapter)

[+100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]

[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]

[[email protected]/BellAshelia]

[Thanks for your support!]