Chapter 13: Fifth Day
Ryan, suffering from insomnia, woke up with dark circles under his eyes. He couldn't understand how he managed to sleep in the first few days, given how loud the waves were.
The previous afternoon nap had left him unable to sleep the night before, with fears of a Kyogre attack or other wild Pokémon lurking around. The fire had even gone out during the night, and he saw many glowing green eyes—probably night Pokémon.
The unsettling noises of the ocean and the dark shapes in the night kept him awake, and the constant noise of the waves was driving him crazy.
With no rain in sight for five days, Ryan suspected they might be near the equator in the Pokémon world, considering the intense heat. The weather was unbearable, but he had no choice but to continue surviving.
Ryan and Poliwag rose early that day, driven by the urgency of the training plan they had set. After filling a bucket and a half with fresh water, Ryan headed back to their shelter, covering the water with a foam board to prevent evaporation.
With Poliwag by his side, the day's training and survival were about to begin once more.
Early the next morning marked the fifth day of surviving on the desert island, and the sun was scorching again.
Ryan suffered from insomnia and woke up with dark circles under his eyes. He didn't know how he managed to sleep the previous days, but his sleep quality was unquestionable, likely due to exhaustion from improving his fishing skills over the past two days.
Since he had taken a nap the previous afternoon, Ryan couldn't fall asleep last night. He was always worried that Kyogre would attack at night, or some other wild Pokémon would assault him in the darkness. The fire had gone out during the night, and he also noticed numerous glowing green lights.
Those were probably the eyes of nocturnal Pokémon, which terrified him. He reignited the fire and couldn't sleep for the rest of the night.
The constant fear of an attack kept him on edge, and the relentless sound of crashing waves was unbearable. His ears buzzed, and he had no idea how long it would take to get used to the ocean's noise.
To make matters worse, it hadn't rained for five days, and Ryan suspected they were near the equator of the Pokémon world. Otherwise, it wouldn't be this unbearably hot. The weather reminded him of a thought:
"Life beats me down countless times, yet I still treat it like my first love…"
There was no other choice. Desert island survival would continue.
That morning, Ryan and his Poliwag woke up extra early. After all, the training plan was set, and their survival was at stake. There was no time for delay.
Ryan headed to the water source, changed the plastic bucket, and returned to the shelter with a large bucket of fresh water. He now had one and a half buckets of water.
The water had lasted the whole night, but the bucket had overflowed. He hadn't dared to replace it at night, as he couldn't see the road clearly and feared stepping on or running into a wild Pokémon. Doing so would lead to a chase he'd be unlikely to survive. Safety came first, and that meant not changing the water bucket at night.
After placing the buckets of fresh water in a cool spot and covering them with a foam board to prevent evaporation, Ryan took his fishing rod and headed to the fishing spot from the day before, determined to catch something. Since catching the Carvanha last time, he had been out of luck, and it embarrassed him. Today, he wanted to catch something—anything.
This time, the bait wasn't leaves like the day before.