Release That Pokémon!

The sky finally brightened...

Drake and his group gasped for breath as they came to a stop.

They couldn't believe what had happened... The damned Mamoswine had chased them all night!

"Is it really not following us anymore?" Tristan asked hesitantly.

After a night of fleeing, everyone was physically and mentally exhausted, their eyelids heavy with fatigue.

Not to mention, their Pokémon were already weakened from the earlier battle with the Mamoswine. If another Dynamax Pokémon showed up now, they'd be done for...

"No," Hayate replied, glancing back warily.

"That's good." Tristan sighed in relief, collapsing onto the grass like a deflated balloon.

He stared blankly at the sky. After running all night, he was both starving and dead tired.

Dark circles hung under Drake's eyes as he sat on the ground...

Watching Hayate and the others rubbing their sore legs and shoulders, he issued a command in a tone that brooked no argument: "You guys, go find some berries for everyone to eat!"

Luna frowned, displeased, "Why should we go?" she questioned.

Tristan, being already irritated with her since the beach incident, immediately sneered: "Why? Did your Pachirisu even do anything in that fight? You had it easy, didn't you? If it weren't for us, you'd have been trampled to death by that Dynamaxed Mamoswine!"

Luna scoffed, "If your eyes are useless, donate them to someone who needs them. Before pointing fingers, take a look at yourself... your Lickitung didn't even get close to the Mamoswine. Who's the real freeloader here? I think we all know."

Still fuming from yesterday's encounter with Caleb, Tristan exploded. All his grievances condensed into one sentence: "Shut your damn mouth, b*tch!"

Luna was livid. Abandoning her usual 'goddess' demeanor, she pointed at Tristan and cursed: "Your whole family are b*tches! Pachirisu, use Thunderbolt and fry him!"

Walter hurriedly intervened, "No, Lulu! Attacking another player will get you penalized!"

Seeing all this, Drake got fed up. He roared: "Enough! Everyone, go find food! NOW!"

No one moved.

Drake's voice turned cold as he threatened, "Anyone who refuses can spend tonight alone!"

Hearing this, Walter quickly coaxed his companion, "Come on, Lulu, let's just go together..."

Luna snorted, shaking off his hand, "As if I care!"

With that, she turned and stormed off, heading back to the beach where they had started...

No one followed...

Alone, Luna pulled an Oran berry she had picked earlier from her Inventory and fed it to her Pachirisu.

Only then did she notice... the beach looked completely different from when they'd left yesterday.

Seaweed and shells washed ashore, towering trees snapped in half, the shipwreck vanished from the sea…

All of it was evidence of a massive battle last night.

And she was certain none of this was the Dynamaxed Mamoswine's doing... it had never reached this area!

Her mind flashed back to their arrival at the beach last night. If she remembered correctly, it had been drizzling then.

Only a Water-type G-Max/Max move could change the weather to rain...

A bold speculation formed in her mind... 'Did another Dynamax Pokémon appear here last night?'

Her thoughts turned to Caleb's calm departure, and shock spread across her face...

"Did that guy, Terrence, actually defeat a Dynamax Pokémon by himself?!" {T/N: This is just a reminder, Caleb introduced himself as Terrence Jones to this group...}

If that were true… Just how strong was he?

...

Meanwhile, Caleb woke up in a cave...

Dragonite had spent hours last night searching before finding this resting spot.

Though there was no bed or blankets, Caleb was more than satisfied. He and Dragonite had gathered dry grass and firewood from the forest, and fashioned a simple bedding.

Dragonite lit the wood with Flamethrower, and just like that, a rudimentary camp was set up.

After a night of drying, his seawater-soaked clothes had returned to normal.

Caleb got dressed, pulled a pack of cheese crackers from the salvaged iron pot, and sat beside Dragonite, munching on them dry.

"Wuu…" Dragonite rubbed its eyes sleepily as it woke.

"Want some?" Caleb held a cracker to its mouth.

Dragonite didn't refuse, eating it straight from his hand...

Food wasn't an immediate concern... what they desperately needed now was drinkable freshwater.

After a simple breakfast, Caleb sat cross-legged, taking stock of his current supplies:

- 8 sprouted potatoes...

- 3 unopened packs of ramen...

- 2 cans of malt beer...

- 2 sandwiches in sealed bags...

- 1 unopened jar of fermented bean paste...

As for the rice and berries? Those sunk to the ocean floor with the shipwreck...

He wasn't sure if sprouted potatoes were safe to eat, but to avoid food poisoning, he had Dragonite slice them into pieces and bury them in fertile soil outside the cave.

His gut told him this Instance wouldn't be short. For sustainable survival, he planted every last potato chunk...

"Friday, time to find water!"

He plopped the iron pot onto Dragonite's head, and the two began scouting the area around the cave.

First step, they needed to ensure the surroundings were safe.

Dragonite adjusted the lopsided pot with a resigned sigh, trailing behind Caleb as he enthusiastically recounted 'Robinson Crusoe'...

Caleb was feeling whimsical... after all, his current situation was eerily similar. If he was Crusoe, then Dragonite was Friday!

"Freshwater is essential for human survival, so we need to locate a nearby lake or stream," he explained as they walked.

"Wuu~" (...Got it!..)

Dragonite responded patiently, humoring its trainer's human-centric lecture.

Caleb eyed the wild Pokémon lurking in the bushes, using Scout to check their levels...

Confirming they weren't threats, he mused to Dragonite: "But we don't have containers to store water. Maybe we should just kidnap a Water-type that can shoot water for us..."

"Wuuu!" (...Deal!..)

Dragonite shot a glare at the aggressive wild Pokémon, its iron pot-wearing presence intimidating them into retreating.

Caleb continued brainstorming, "Besides a Water-type, we'll need something strong to chop trees."

The cave was short and straight, letting cold wind howl through at night.

"I wonder if there are any Diglett here..." If they could find a Diglett, they could expand the cave deeper...