Pokemon: A Fisherman's Tale

"Yo yo, yo yo," Poliwag glanced at the food in front of him, calling out to Ryan twice before pushing some towards him with its tail.

Ryan smiled and declined. "I'm not hungry. This is for you. You caught that Magikarp on your own. You did a great job."

Ryan praised Poliwag while patting its blue head.

Poliwag closed its tired eyes, basking in the praise and affection. Ryan, still worried from earlier, now felt reassured.

He wouldn't blame Poliwag for acting on its own. Doing so would only stifle its independence, making it timid and hesitant in future situations. He realized the importance of Poliwag's ability to make its own decisions.

Nevertheless, he analyzed the battle carefully. Two major mistakes stood out.

First, after Poliwag landed the first Water Gun, he pushed it to continue the attack. But the accuracy of its subsequent Water Guns was poor, causing it to miss repeatedly. Ryan had overestimated Poliwag's mastery of Water Gun.

Second, after several failed shots, he should have instructed Poliwag to stop and conserve energy. Instead, he let Poliwag waste precious energy in a situation where a defensive strategy would have been more effective.

This was a desert island without a Pokémon Center, where a Pokémon's stamina couldn't be easily restored. Wasting energy was a foolish mistake.

He had been too focused on Pidgey and neglected Poliwag's condition as it kept firing Water Guns.

Poliwag's energy had been drained after just a dozen shots, which was surprising to him, likely because it hadn't fully recovered yet.

These mistakes could have been fatal, but fortunately, nothing irreversible had happened.

Ryan was determined to prevent this from happening again. It served as a warning, not just to him, but to Poliwag as well, especially since Poliwag wasn't yet strong enough.

"Poliwag, do you realize how dangerous that was?" Ryan asked as he offered more food.

"Yo, yo," Poliwag nodded, knowing how close it had been to serious harm.

"I know you mean well, but you need to become stronger before you act on your own like that. You were really close to being in trouble," Ryan explained, not sure if Poliwag fully understood, but he said it anyway.

"Yo yo, yo yo," Poliwag's little eyes grew serious, understanding the gravity of the situation. It had felt the threat of death for the first time.

If it hadn't been for Ryan distracting Pidgey with the Poké Ball throw, it might not have made it back.

Captured and eaten by Pidgey—that would have been its fate.

Determination ignited in Poliwag's eyes. It wanted to grow stronger, strong enough to face any foe and protect its beloved trainer, Ryan.

With newfound resolve, Poliwag finished its meal eagerly and attempted to head for the beach to train.

But when Poliwag stood, its legs were still weak. Ryan gently pushed it back down.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ryan chuckled. "You need to rest, not train right now."

"Yo yo, yo yo," Poliwag looked toward the beach, spitting out a small Water Gun to show its desire to train.

Ryan smiled helplessly. Poliwag's determination was admirable, but now was not the time for training.

"Rest up first. No training today," Ryan said firmly, keeping Poliwag from running off in its overexcitement.

Seeing Ryan's refusal, Poliwag deflated like a balloon, but it quickly perked up again when more food was placed in front of it.

Ryan offered the leftover fish bones from last night, reheated in a pan.

Poliwag tried to share some food with Ryan, but he declined again, taking care of his own small portion of fish bones.

While the fish wasn't ideal, it would do for now.

After finishing his portion, Ryan resumed fishing at his favorite spot, trying to catch a new Water-type Pokémon with better potential than Magikarp.

Patience was key, and today seemed to be a slow day for bites.

Still, he felt optimistic as he focused on the bobbing line, sipping fish soup to pass the time.

Another day, another challenge. But today, Poliwag had proven its courage, and that alone was worth celebrating.