As soon as Caterpie was caught in the Krabby's claw, Reiji shouted urgently, "Caterpie, use String Shot to cover its eyes! Poliwag, support Caterpie with Water Gun—hurry!"
He couldn't allow the claw to close. If it did, Caterpie would be snapped in half.
He hadn't expected Krabby to escape by digging underground. He'd thought binding them with silk would be enough—but hadn't accounted for the fact that they could tunnel through the soft, loose sand and rub off the silk in the process.
He had underestimated their survival instinct. In life-or-death situations, any creature could explode with strength beyond imagination.
Thankfully, Caterpie responded quickly. She shot silk to blind the Krabby, halting its next move.
Blinded, the Krabby flailed into chaos, slamming its claw repeatedly onto the sand. The violent thrashing knocked Caterpie unconscious.
Pew pew pew—!
Poliwag fired off Water Guns, but they splashed harmlessly against the Krabby's hard shell. Just as Poliwag was about to dash in to rescue Caterpie—
—a stream of Water Gun blasts rained down from the sky, striking the claw that held Caterpie and knocking her free.
Seeing this, Reiji wasted no time. He immediately recalled Caterpie with her Poké Ball and shouted, "Poliwag! Knock it out with Double Slap—then check if the other Krabby is still in the pit!"
"Wag wag! Slap slap slap!"
Poliwag darted in and began slapping the confused Krabby on the head until it fainted. Then it ran to the other silk-covered pit.
Peering in, Poliwag saw a fainted Krabby inside. It looked up and nodded to Reiji. "Wag wag!"
Only then did Reiji finally exhale. That was close—Caterpie had nearly died from that sneak attack.
With the danger cleared, he released Caterpie again to check her condition. On the third segment of her body, a long, deep gash showed where the claw had clamped down.
Reiji's feet were still injured—he couldn't go searching for berries to heal her. All he could do now was hope the wound wouldn't affect her future growth.
If she evolved, the wound would likely vanish.
After checking carefully and confirming there were no other injuries, Reiji released Magikarp and used his remaining three Poké Balls to capture the unconscious Krabby one by one.
[Krabby]
Type: Water
Gender: Female
Potential: 26%
Level: 9.23%
Ability: Shell Armor (4.62%)
Moves:Leer (0.93%), Water Gun (3.51%), Harden (3.87%), Metal Claw (2.34%), Dig (2.98%)
[Krabby]
Type: Water
Gender: Male
Potential: 34%
Level: 12.69%
Ability: Hyper Cutter (6.49%)
Moves:Leer (3.45%), Water Gun (5.71%), Harden (4.56%), Metal Claw (6.82%), Dig (3.37%), Mud Shot (4.94%)
[Krabby]
Type: Water
Gender: Female
Potential: 22%
Level: 8.39%Ability: Shell Armor (3.74%)
Moves:Leer (0.73%), Water Gun (3.59%), Harden (2.41%), Metal Claw (2.83%)
The strongest one—at Level 12—was the one Poliwag had knocked out first. It could use Mud Shot, meaning it was probably the leader of the trio.
The one that ambushed Caterpie was likely the Level 9 Krabby, and it was the only one among the remaining two that could use Dig.
"Whew… it's finally over," Reiji muttered as he finished reading through their stats. Though he felt relieved, he was also a little disappointed—none of the Krabby had high potential.
And yet, these three low-tier Krabby had terrorized him for days. They'd made him afraid to even cook meat. Even when he did, he had to eat cautiously, terrified that the smell would lure them in.
Just these three nobodies had once driven him to flee in panic. In hindsight, it felt ridiculous. The truth was, he'd just been too weak.
"…Wait. Who saved Caterpie just now?"
He remembered those final Water Gun shots that knocked Caterpie out of the claw. Looking up, he saw no one—but after scanning the area, he finally spotted the source perched on the rocks by the shore:
A Wingull.
"Was that the same one from before?" he wondered. But they all looked the same, so he couldn't be sure.
Shrugging, he decided not to overthink it. At the very least, he could share a bit of their spoils later.
After all, it had helped and didn't seem hostile.
"Poliwag, take care of Caterpie. Let her eat some meat to regain strength. We're having crab tonight," Reiji said as he handed over the cooked Caterpie meat and emptied the pot for a new dish.
According to official stats, a single Krabby weighed about thirteen kilograms. Three of them? Thirty-nine kilos. Remove the shell and there should still be about ten kilos of meat—unlike Magikarp, which was mostly for show.
Once the water was boiling again, he removed the claws, then placed the crab bodies into the pot.
By the time the crab was cooked, Caterpie had woken up.
"…Coo?" Caterpie opened her eyes weakly, her gaze still hazy. She heard Reiji calling her name.
"Caterpie… Caterpie…" Reiji helped her sit up and fed her crab broth and crab roe.
Her fever had only just broken. She had fought a battle, nearly been snapped in half, and was still injured.
Sigh. He shouldn't have let her fight. But it was too late now.
"Are you feeling any pain? Tell me if anything doesn't feel right, okay?"
"Coo…" Caterpie tried to squirm out of his arms, but the motion tugged at her wound. Her face contorted in pain immediately.
"Don't move. I'll feed you," Reiji said gently.
The gash was getting worse. He didn't know what it meant—would she become disabled? Would she…?
All he could do was take care of her the best he could. Let her eat, let her rest, and hope she could recover.
This was an uninhabited island. No healing items, no Pokémon Center. He was helpless.
After helping her eat some crab and drink some broth made with Rawst Berry, he returned Caterpie to her Poké Ball so she could rest.
Then he began dealing with the claws and legs—more boiling.
When it was ready, he even set aside one large claw for their feathered helper.
"Wingull, this is for your help earlier," Reiji said, leaving the claw on the rock where Wingull had perched earlier. Then he turned to leave.
As he walked away, the Wingull landed, tilted its head, and let out a cry toward Reiji—and also at Poliwag, who was glaring at it.
"Waaah~ Waaah~!"
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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