Chapter 8: Bullied Poliwag

The next day marked the fourth day of life on the deserted island.

Ryan was awakened by a bird. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the grilled fish they had stuck in the sand had been half-eaten by a pesky seabird.

Seeing this, Ryan was furious. His eyes practically flamed with anger as he stood up abruptly and charged at the Wingull.

But it was too late. The Wingull had already noticed the movement and flew up, evading Ryan's reach.

"Ha ha ha ha..."

It laughed mockingly from the sky, taunting Ryan for his futile attempt to catch it without wings.

After driving the Wingull away, Ryan quickly moved to protect what was left of the grilled fish. The squawking of the bird also woke up his companion, the Poliwag, who had been sleeping and drooling.

When Poliwag noticed that most of the grilled fish was gone and a large chunk had been pecked off, it became enraged. The annoying Wingull still taunted from above.

"Poli! Poli!" Poliwag angrily used its Bubble attack, trying to shoot down the Wingull.

But the bubbles, despite their effort, couldn't reach the bird, and they popped mid-air.

This only caused the Wingull to laugh harder, flapping its wings, "Ha ha ha ha..."

Frustrated, Poliwag decided to try another attack, summoning an Ice Ball, but it could only form a small chunk of ice the size of a pinky finger. The ice melted before it could even launch.

Once again, the Wingull burst into laughter, "Ha ha ha ha..."

Poliwag was heartbroken, its attack attempts futile. It looked back at Ryan with its large eyes, filled with tears, whining for help.

"Poli! Poli..."

It seemed to plead with Ryan to take revenge on the taunting Wingull.

Ryan sighed. "I can't fly either, Poliwag," he said, squatting down in front of it, patting Poliwag on the head to comfort it.

"We'll get them one day... When you evolve, you'll be able to take them down."

"Poli?" Poliwag blinked, still not understanding completely but appreciating the gentle reassurance.

"Here, have some of the grilled fish," Ryan said, knowing explaining evolution to a Pokémon would be difficult. He then drew the evolved form of Poliwag—Poliwhirl—on the sand, to show it what it could become one day.

Poliwag turned its grief into hunger and took a big bite of the grilled fish Ryan handed it. Its cheeks puffed out as it ate, glaring at the Wingull in the sky.

Seeing Poliwag angry and confident again, the Wingull flapped its wings and flew off, finally leaving them in peace.

Poliwag, having chased off the Wingull, puffed with pride and turned its attention back to the sketch Ryan had drawn. It stared at the image of Poliwagon the sand, thinking about what it would look like once it evolved.

"Poliwag, this is you after you evolve," Ryan said, pointing at the sketch. Though the drawing was simple, it got the point across.

"Poli! Poli!" Poliwag walked up to the drawing and stood on it, looking at Ryan excitedly.

"You want to look like that, huh?" Ryan smiled, guessing at what Poliwag was trying to say.

"Poli!" Poliwag nodded vigorously, confirming Ryan's guess.

At that moment, Ryan felt a little proud. They had a smooth moment of communication, and now they shared a common goal—defeating the Wingull. But Poliwag's evolution was still a long way off; it would need to reach at least level 25, and so far, their battles had only earned minimal experience.

Ryan knew they had a long way to go before Poliwag could evolve, but it was good that they had something to work towards.

However, just when things had settled down, the Wingull returned, swooping in and dropping a disgusting revenge gift—bird poop—right on top of the drawing Ryan had made.

"Poli! Poli!" Poliwag lost its cool again, jumping to its feet and angrily shouting at the Wingull in the sky.

The two exchanged furious cries, but this time Ryan couldn't help but laugh at the silly exchange. He had more pressing matters to attend to—like collecting fresh water. The plastic bottle he found yesterday might be their lifeline.

Ryan hadn't had a sip of fresh water since yesterday morning, and his lips were cracked and his throat dry and sore. Though the grilled fish was a blessing, it had only made him thirstier. He needed fresh water badly.

He remembered there had to be fresh water on the island since wild Pokémon lived here. He just had to find it. As he walked along the island's edge, he searched for signs of moisture in the soil or cracks in the rocks.