Chapter 112 – Boss Fight

Day 32 of island survival. Clear skies.

Time to steal honey again. Reiji woke up Poliwag and Butterfree.

He left instructions for Wingull and Krabby, and headed straight for the Beedrill territory.

Same old plan—Butterfree used Sleep Powder and Stun Spore to disable the Beedrill while they slipped in to grab the honey.

Today was a big day for Poliwag. He was planning to steal more than usual—enough to let the little guy feast before evolution.

By the time they returned, their bucket was full. Enough honey for the entire day.

Back at the treehouse, the first thing Reiji did was distribute the honey. Honey for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—no need to worry about running out. They'd been stealing from the same tree for days, and Beedrill had more than one of these trees anyway.

"Kraak, Kraak!" Krabby came scuttling out to greet them as soon as they got back—but as soon as he reached the treehouse entrance, he flopped over.

"Krabby? You molted again?" Reiji stared at its limp body. This guy was shedding way too often—he was going to run out of calcium at this rate.

Fish meat and bones might not be enough to replenish all the nutrients Krabby was losing.

If they were in a city, he could've just bought it calcium supplements. But out here, they only had fish meat, bones, and the occasional other Pokémon meat. Who knew if that would help.

After dividing up the honey, Reiji placed Krabby in the water basin, crushed up the leftover fish bones from a few days ago, and added the powder to the water so Krabby could absorb it.

He also poured honey into the basin. Just because Krabby had molted didn't mean he'd go without honey—Krabby got his share like the others.

Once the Pokémon finished their honey, they began their morning training. Same routine. Reiji went for his daily jog—consistency mattered when it came to staying in shape.

Two hours later, he stopped to shower and prep lunch. The Spinarak hadn't caught any crabs that morning.

All the dumb crabs that would wander into webs had already been eaten. The ones left were smart. They'd have to go after them directly.

"Poliwag, Spinarak—come with me." Reiji stopped Poliwag mid-run and called up to the sleeping Spinarak on the branch. Time to check the rocky shallows.

When they arrived, the smart crabs had already gone into hiding. The less clever ones thought they were intruders and decided to chase them off—it was their turf, after all.

Yeah… that didn't end well. Poliwag was in the twenties now, level-wise. These wild crabs were all below 20. He steamrolled them—each slap knocked one out.

They quickly KO'd six and brought them back to the treehouse. As always, their potential was trash. Not a single one worth keeping. All got boiled.

Lunch was ready in no time. Reiji called over the others.

Krabby's shell had already started to harden again, so he joined them for lunch—eating fish meat to help with calcium.

The rest? Crabs, of course. They had too many.

After lunch came more honey. Reiji secretly gave Poliwag an extra scoop. Evolution was close, after all.

Afternoon nap. Then more training.

Butterfree focused on honing Confusion.

Poliwag, Wingull, and Krabby worked on Water Gun.

Spinarak stayed in the tree, waiting for another crab to bumble into its web. Reiji took his fishing rod and headed to the shore.

He tied the chunk securely to the hook with string this time. No way any fish was stealing it again. No fish was untying that knot.

Today had to yield something...

Well, okay. Truth was, he wasn't too confident either. Maybe the hot weather had driven the fish deeper into cooler waters.

A week of brutal sun had already pushed him to weave himself a straw hat and sew together a makeshift sunproof outfit from rags.

He was wrapped head to toe. Yeah, it was hot—but better than sunburn or peeling.

If he had sunscreen, he wouldn't be going through this trouble. Just another reason human society had its perks.

As the sun began to set and he prepared to pack it up, figuring it was another empty-handed day—something stirred.

A massive dark shadow surged up from the depths and slammed into the bait.

Bzzzzzzzz!

"Holy crap, strong bite!" Reiji staggered. The force nearly yanked him into the water, but he instinctively yanked the rod upward, using the flex to hold the monster in place.

Just as he was getting into the rhythm—bam. The rod suddenly went slack.

He tumbled backward and landed on the rocks.

Before he could even stand, something felt off.

He looked up—and froze.

A Sharpedo was hovering just at the surface, blood-red eyes locked onto him, radiating contempt. Every hair on his arms stood up.

"Shaaa." Sharpedo spat out the bait, unimpressed. That wasn't what it wanted.

It wanted the fisherman.

But the human just wouldn't get in the water. It was done waiting. Time to drag him into the food chain. Time to go on land—

Crunch—crunch—crunch!

"What the hell is wrong with this fish?! Why's it opening its jaws like that?! And those teeth—he'd lose three legs if it bit down on him!" Reiji panicked, jerking back, reeling in the rod.

He didn't care about catching fish anymore. But why the hell was it a Sharpedo this time? He couldn't win this. That thing weighed over 80 kilos—he'd need two of himself to pull it.

And why the hell was it staring at him like that? He hadn't done anything! But those bloodshot eyes were wild—no, excited. There was madness in there.

And it was getting closer. "Crap, it's charging! Poliwag—help!"

Reiji abandoned the rod and bolted. Or tried to.

Legs failed him. He dropped to hands and knees and crawled frantically away.

Crunch—crunch—

From the corner of his eye, he saw the Sharpedo lunge onto the sand, crushing the rocks with its jaws. It was coming.

"Damn it—it's using Crunch…"

Psssssshhhhh!

The first to respond was Spinarak. It shot out a thread, wrapped around Reiji, and yanked him up into the branches.

Poliwag and the others were already running over. Too late to stop the initial charge, but they had arrived.

Butterfree flew in from the treehouse. All four Pokémon now surrounded Sharpedo.

"Yo-yo! Yo-yo!" Poliwag trembled with rage. Reiji had almost been eaten—right under their noses. He was furious.

"Ku-chi, ku-chi! Ka-cha, ka-cha!" Krabby snapped its claws in challenge. It'd take that fish's head off if it tried anything.

"Fuuu-iii! Fuuu-iii!" Butterfree was seething. She'd only been away for two days, and this happened? Just a stupid fish—how dare it?!

"Shaaa." Sharpedo glanced around. Poliwag and Krabby blocking the beach. Butterfree and Wingull circling from above. Surrounded.

But it was Sharpedo—the brutal, cunning king of the sea. Its jaws could chew through metal. These small fry didn't scare it.

"Shaaa. You're all my dinner tonight." The Sharpedo bared its teeth, declaring war with a predator's grin.

But neither side moved.

The numbers were on Poliwag's side.

Still, the four had never coordinated before. Numbers could backfire if teamwork was sloppy.

Then came the command that unified them.

"Krabby, use Harden twice. Then aim Mud Shot at its eyes. Poliwag, Wingull—Water Gun its face. Blind it!" Reiji barked from beneath the tree.

This shark wanted him for dinner? No way. He'd turn the tables. Eat it instead.

"Ku-chi!" Krabby's body flashed twice—Harden activated.

Then it spat out three precise Mud Shots. It had practiced Water Gun, so its aim was solid.

Poliwag and Wingull fired Water Guns in sync, adding pressure.

"Shaa!" Sharpedo ignored the water, but when it saw the Mud Shot—it charged up, cheeks puffing, and unleashed Hydro Pump.

A roaring blast of compressed water ripped through the Mud Shot and tore toward Krabby.

"Krabby—Dig, now! Poliwag, Wingull—keep distracting it!" Reiji shouted.

He turned to the others. "Butterfree, Spinarak—get the electroweb ready!"

Sharpedo gritted its teeth. Wingull was out of reach in the sky. Krabby had vanished underground. Only Poliwag was exposed.

Crunch—crunch!

It launched forward, using Aqua Jet from its tail to accelerate as it aimed a Crunch at Poliwag.

"Poliwag, max power Water Gun—stop it head-on!" Reiji commanded.

"Yo-yo! Psshhh!" Poliwag braced and fired its strongest shot. It slowed Sharpedo, but didn't stop it.

They were locked in a power struggle. One slip, and Poliwag would be fish food.

"Now, Krabby, clamp it!" Reiji roared.

"Ku-chi!" Krabby burst from the ground and lunged, pincers wide.

Sharpedo caught it in its peripheral vision, gave up the tail jet, and dodged. But that let Poliwag's Water Gun smack it hard, slamming it across the sand and carving a trench.

"Now! Butterfree, Spinarak—Electroweb!"

Butterfree in the air, Spinarak from the tree—both launched their pre-woven nets, now crackling with electricity.

"Shaaa!" Sharpedo panicked. Another Aqua jet sent it airborne, dodging the nets.

"Wingull—Wing Attack! Drive it into the trees!"

"Woooooh!" Wingull's glowing wings slashed the air, launching wind blades that struck Sharpedo midair.

"Again, Butterfree, Spinarak—net it!"

"Shaaaa!" The shark tried another dodge, but two more electric nets arced through the air toward it.

Now hovering above the battlefield, it finally paused to reassess.

Five enemies. Three on the ground, two in the sky.

Anger and bloodlust gave way to calculation. It realized—it could lose here.

It adjusted its posture midair, preparing to jet back to the sea.

"Wingull, Wing Attack again! Don't let it realign!" Reiji saw it. The shark wanted to flee. No way.

"Wooooh!" Wingull struck again, interrupting its motion and driving it back toward the trees.

"Butterfree—help Wingull! Max power Gust!"

(End of chapter)

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