Pokemon: A Fisherman's Tale

In the past two days—well, not exactly two days, since the first day only lasted until midnight—he couldn't even see his own fingers at night. He had no food and didn't dare to run around. All he could do was curl up in the cracks of rocks and wait for dawn.

When the sun rose, it warmed his body, so he explored along the shore and drank some dew.

Tonight, he finally caught a fish. His mouth was dry, his lips were chapped, and he was so hungry he could barely hold on.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to pull in even a small, one-pound fish.

He wasn't weak, just starving.

Thank goodness the fish wasn't a ten-kilogram Magikarp, or he wouldn't have been able to reel it in.

In the moonlight, he could make out what type of small fish was flopping on the beach, trying to jump back into the sea.

It was a Finneon, a Pokémon at the bottom of the food chain. In most cases, it's reduced to just being prey.

In his previous life, Finneon was nicknamed "Little Z God" by players because a group of weak Finneon could merge and evolve into Lumineon, a monster in the sea. This is the survival strategy of weak Pokémon.

Finneon is white with blue fins, constantly opening and closing its small mouth. Its round eyes are mainly blue and light blue. It's about 20 centimeters long and weighs anywhere from 60 grams to 10 pounds.

From a visual estimate, this fish was definitely more than half a kilogram. The fisherman felt embarrassed that he couldn't even pull in a fish of this size. Who would believe him?

After resting for a while, he was about to stop the Finneon that was trying to jump back into the sea. He couldn't let it escape, or he'd starve to death.

Bang, bang, bang—

But before he could act, the Finneon was already flopping back toward the beach.

He was sure he had traveled to the Pokémon world because he recognized the Poliwag using its tail to slap the small fish.

Ryan only kept the thumb-sized bait and decided not to feed the Poliwag any further. This was his last gamble. As he cast the bait, he noticed the Poliwag were entranced by it. Their large black eyes were fixated on the bait, ready to dive into the water to snatch it.

To prevent the Poliwag from ruining his bait, Ryan, quick in reflex, reached out and caught the jumping Poliwag without thinking, preventing them from plunging into the water. The Poliwag, now in his arms, turned back in confusion, curiously staring at Ryan, seemingly wondering why this human was holding it.

Realizing how how the Poliwag felt in his hands, Ryan quickly put it down before it could bite him. He awkwardly touched his nose, trying to explain to the Poliwag why it couldn't eat his bait. He wasn't sure if the Poliwag could understand, but he hoped it would.

"Poliwag, you can't eat that. I'm using it for fishing..." he said, his voice almost pleading.

"Poli? Poliwag!" The Poliwag tilted its head, blinking its big, bright eyes, as if it vaguely understood. It seemed to think this human was strange, but harmless. Since Ryan wasn't letting it eat the bait, it decided not to.

Seeing the Poliwag calm down and sit by his feet, no longer interested in the water, Ryan relaxed. Now, he could wait patiently for a fish to bite. But after two days of fishing, he hadn't caught anything—not even a nibble. It seemed his bait wasn't suited to the local environment, only attracting these snack-loving Poliwag.

Now, everything rested on this final cast. Either he would get a fish and have a good meal, or he would go hungry until tomorrow, forced to find another way to survive. He had no intention of exploring the dense forest behind him unless it was absolutely necessary. That would be risking an early death. His goal was to survive, not die prematurely.

Luckily, it seemed fortune was on his side. A weak tench had taken the bait, the result of his last effort. His fishing proficiency increased as well, finally hitting a solid ten percent.

[Proficiency: (Fishing/10%)]

"Poliwag, stop slapping!" Ryan quickly rushed forward to stop the Poliwag, afraid its enthusiastic slapping would injure the already weakened tench.

To his surprise, the Poliwag was quite reasonable. It stopped immediately, panting from the effort of smacking the fish. Ryan smiled and silently gave the Poliwag a thumbs up.

"Poliwag, Poliwag," the Poliwag panted, clearly exhausted from its efforts. Both Ryan and the Poliwag were starving, and they shared a bond over their mutual hunger.

Kneeling down, Ryan examined the tench and saw that it was just unconscious, which didn't stop it from being edible. He picked up the limp fish and prepared to start a fire to cook it. However, when he looked around, he suddenly realized that he didn't have anything to start the fire with.

Frustrated, he threw the fish onto the beach in anger. He reached for a cigarette, hoping it would calm him down, when he noticed the flames flickering from his lighter. That's when it hit him: he had fire all along.

Feeling foolish, he used the lighter to ignite some driftwood he had collected earlier. The fire roared to life under the moonlight, providing both warmth and light in the cold night air. Ryan took a folding knife from his keychain and started cleaning the fish. There were no humans on this deserted island—only the wild, where you either ate or were eaten.

As he gutted and scaled the tench, he reminded himself of his goal: to survive. He wanted to leave this island alive and see the vast, wonderful world beyond. If, however, he were to die here, eaten by some wild Pokémon, then he would accept his fate. But for now, he was determined to fight.

After preparing the fish, Ryan skewered it with a stick and roasted it over the fire. The smell of sizzling fish filled the air, the first real food he had smelled in two days. His mouth watered, and he couldn't stop the drool from escaping the corner of his lips.

Just as he was about to bite into the fish, he noticed the Poliwag sitting beside him, staring up with big, pleading eyes. It looked as if it was about to cry. Ryan sighed. The Poliwag had helped him catch the fish, after all. Maybe he should share?

But then he reconsidered, shaking his head. The Poliwag had already eaten his bait. It couldn't be that hungry. He would share the next fish, if he caught one. For now, his own survival came first.

Ryan turned his back on the Poliwag, trying to ignore its desperate gaze. He took a bite of the fish, but the image of the Poliwag's teary eyes stayed in his mind. The fish in his mouth no longer tasted good.

With a reluctant sigh, he broke the stick in half, splitting the fish and tossing the head to the Poliwag. The little Pokémon leaped into the air, joyfully snatching the fish head and devouring it with happy cries of "Poli! Poli!"

The fish wasn't enough for either of them, but it was better than nothing. It would at least keep their stomachs from aching with hunger.

After finishing the fish, Ryan added more firewood to the flames. The night was cold, and without the fire, he might freeze to death. Though his throat burned with thirst, he knew better than to wander the island at night. In the world of Pokémon, the darkness could be dangerous.