[Bonus Chapter]
"It's yours—have some soup to calm down," Reiji said, gently stroking Caterpie's round little head. He thought Caterpie was still traumatized from the earlier Spearow attack.
"Wuuh." Caterpie glanced at Poliwag's bowl—no bird meat, just broth.
Immediately, Caterpie's bad habit of showing off reared its head. It fluttered its big eyes at Poliwag and chirped smugly, "Wuuh-wuuh, wuuh-wuuh…"
"Yoh-yoh, yoh-yoh!" Poliwag snapped back at once.
Judging from the tone, Reiji could tell Caterpie was taunting Poliwag again, and Poliwag's voice clearly carried irritation.
"Clang, clang, clang—enough!" Reiji rapped his chopsticks against the stew pot to quiet them down. "Disrupting team harmony is a no-go."
"You don't need to be jealous, Poliwag. Your roasted meat is ready…"
He removed the roasted bird meat from the rack. It had been seasoned only with salt. Tearing off a piece, he tasted it—it wasn't great. Whether boiled or roasted, the meat was dry and tough.
It reminded him of the gamecock meat from his previous life—dense and chewy. Probably due to Spearow's constant flying.
It would make decent jerky, if dried and slowly chewed—like old cured meat back home. Not for the faint of stomach.
"You each get half. No fighting. Eat up and train hard after," Reiji said, giving both of them a light tap on the head in warning.
If they didn't behave, he wasn't above using force. He was even the kind to hit himself when frustrated.
"Wuuh-wuuh." Caterpie squinted its glossy black eyes and tossed a sideways glare at Poliwag.
"Yoh." Poliwag responded with a grunt, ignoring Caterpie and focusing on its lunch.
Reiji, seeing both of them finally settle down to eat, had to admit—Caterpie was full of tricks, schemes, and even had a bit of spoiled brat energy.
He saw through it all but chose not to call it out.
After a quick lunch and a thirty-minute break, he looked at the two Pokémon by his side.
"Alright, you two, time for a battle. Let me see who's stronger."
"Wuuh-wuuh!" Caterpie jumped up at the word "battle." It still hadn't forgotten being smacked unconscious by Poliwag.
"No worries, you two can fight freely. I won't interfere." Reiji patted Caterpie's little head. He knew Caterpie couldn't win, but this was about humbling its ego, not actual results.
Just because he had its back didn't mean it could keep provoking Poliwag. In the end, strength still spoke the loudest.
"Yoh-yoh, yoh-yoh!" Poliwag's eyes burned with determination. It had been dying to teach Caterpie a lesson.
"Alright, to the grass. Get ready. Once I say 'start,' go!"
Caterpie crawled slowly toward the grass, still stewing with resentment. It wanted to turn the tables on Poliwag.
Last time, Poliwag had the advantage of Reiji's commands. This time, without a trainer calling the shots, Caterpie was determined to win.
"Ready?" Reiji asked.
"Wuuh." Caterpie stared hard at Poliwag.
"Yoh." Poliwag locked eyes right back.
Neither of them moved—just stood their ground, glaring.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Ssssshh! Ssssshh!
Suddenly, they launched their ranged attacks simultaneously—Water Gun and String Shot.
The two moves collided mid-air, but Water Gun overpowered String Shot. Poliwag's higher level and skill proficiency were clear.
Caterpie took a direct hit and staggered.
Poliwag saw an opening and leapt forward with its tail raised, ready to strike.
But jumping exposed a flaw—being airborne meant no ability to dodge.
Ssssshh!
Caterpie's accuracy was poor, and it wasn't in great shape, but even a single hit would be enough to disrupt Poliwag's rhythm.
A well-placed String Shot wrapped around Poliwag's foot mid-jump.
Before it could land, Caterpie shuffled backward.
Poliwag hit the ground, and the sticky string glued its foot to the grass, immobilizing it.
Ssssshh!
Caterpie didn't stop there. It fired another round of String Shot, binding Poliwag's other foot—and even reinforced the first one.
Poliwag was stuck. It could only retaliate with Water Gun.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Of the three blasts, only two hit. Caterpie winced from the pain but endured it. Then, coiling like a spring, it launched itself forward—
Thud!
A clean Tackle slammed into Poliwag's belly. Because Poliwag's feet were immobilized, it couldn't brace itself, and Caterpie bounced back from the impact.
Both Pokémon ended up dazed, heads spinning, seeing double.
They rested briefly.
Caterpie was first to recover, shaken awake by the Water Gun damage. Using its powerful jumping ability, it dodged Poliwag's shots, circled around behind it, and fired String Shot—binding Poliwag's tail.
If it could bind Poliwag's mouth next, it'd win.
Caterpie, now emboldened, sidestepped into Poliwag's blind spot and fired again—String Shot sealed Poliwag's mouth shut.
With victory in its grasp, Caterpie strutted right in front of its immobilized foe and sneered, "Hmph-hmph-hmph! Without your human giving orders, you're nothing, you bad tadpole."
"Bet you can't move now, huh? Hmph-hmph-hmph!" Caterpie gloated like a triumphant rooster, full of pride and taunts.
This was revenge for the beatdown it had taken earlier.
But then… something wasn't right.
Caterpie had clearly won. Poliwag was stuck and silenced. And yet—why was its vision going fuzzy? Why was its head spinning?
Was it a delayed effect from that Tackle?
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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