Pokémon: Master of the Rain Team

”Poliwag, get ready. If the catch fails again, rush in and use Double Slap!”

”Yo,” Poliwag gave a firm nod, eyes fixed on the Poké Ball flickering red and shaking on the grass.

Bang—

The moment the Poké Ball popped open, Poliwag darted forward, raised its tail, and slapped the stunned Caterpie before it could react.

Smack smack smack, smack smack—

Before the Caterpie could even respond, Poliwag’s relentless slaps knocked it out cold.

Reiji picked up the failed Poké Ball and threw it again at the unconscious Caterpie.

The previous failure was likely because the Caterpie hadn’t been knocked out yet.

This time, he refused to believe it would escape again.

Incredible jump strength, absurdly thick stamina, resistance to Poliwag’s Hypnosis, and the ability to break out of the Poké Ball—this Caterpie was full of surprises. It had already shocked him four times. Just what kind of Caterpie was this?

The Poké Ball flashed red, wobbled a few times, and then—thud—came to a stop.

That final thud signaled success.

Reiji hurried over and picked it up, instantly pulling up its proficiency panel.

[Caterpie]

[Type: Bug]

[Gender: Female]

[Potential: 58%]

[Level: 4.14%]

[Ability: Shield Dust / 0.71%]

[Hidden Ability: Run Away / 2.23%]

[Known Moves: (Confusion / 0.54%), (Tackle / 0.61%), (String Shot / 3.25%)]

”Holy crap—fifty-eight percent potential—and Confusion?! This… this is insane…”

Reiji was completely stunned.

While the panel wasn’t flashy, that 58% potential was the highest he had seen so far. And that Confusion move—an inherited Psychic-type attack—was outright broken.

Confusion was a basic Psychic-type move, and learning it made picking up other Psychic moves much easier.

No wonder this Caterpie could jump so far. It was probably aided by Confusion. And that mental resistance to Hypnosis? Same reason. The thick stamina and its ability to break free of the Poké Ball—also explained by psychic power.

Even though this Caterpie hadn’t quite hit the 60% threshold he set for capturing, it was close enough.

But after his initial outburst, Reiji quickly calmed down. Clutching the Poké Ball tightly, he glanced around cautiously. Seeing nothing suspicious, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

He wasn’t afraid of someone seeing that this Caterpie knew Confusion—he was checking to make sure a Butterfree parent wasn’t lurking nearby.

A Caterpie this extraordinary couldn’t possibly be out alone, right? It wasn’t paranoia. Think about what happens when you get near a mother dog’s pups—you’ll get bitten, and Reiji had the scars to prove it.

After scanning the surroundings for a long while and finding no ambushes from enraged Butterfree, he finally relaxed.

There were two possibilities:

One, the Caterpie had snuck out to play on its own.

Two, it never had a parent to begin with and had been alone since hatching.

He much preferred the second option.

Why? Because if this Caterpie did have a Butterfree parent, that parent was definitely an Elite Four–level Butterfree.

No level-60+ parent, no way it’d produce a Caterpie with 58% potential.

Based on his earlier speculation, level 80+ Pokémon were Champion-tier. So the Elite Four threshold must be around level 60.

If that were true, then sure, some Elites were probably common enough. But a top-tier Elite capable of rivaling Champions? Those were rare. And actual Champions—rarer still.

Reiji stared down at the Poké Ball in his hand. If trained properly, this Caterpie could take him all the way to the Elite Four. Of course he was tempted.

But he’d just declared he wouldn’t settle for anything under 60% potential—and now look at him. He couldn’t help but feel like a hypocrite. It made his heart flutter with guilt and his body uneasy.

Someone could probably stab him in the back right now and say, ”Shameless.”

He used to drool over the idea of getting a pseudo-legendary or a starter. Now that he had a sweet little Caterpie, he was ready to ditch those dreams. What a jerk.

cough Ahem. He needed to seriously think things through. No need to make a decision right now—he still had work to do on the shelter.

”Yo yo?” Poliwag tilted its head, watching Reiji bounce between excitement, suspicion, happiness, nervous sweat, and sheepish guilt. Humans were so hard to understand.

”Alright, Poliwag. I’ve got work to do. Go enjoy your bath.”

Reiji, feeling guilty as hell, shrank the Poké Ball and casually tucked it into his pocket before returning to the hollow tree. He picked up the wood chunks knocked loose by the earlier Water Gun attacks.

Those fragments from the top of the tree trunk would be nailed back on as camouflage—to make the broken tree look more natural and disguise the modifications.

Climbing the ladder, he resumed hammering nails in with Poliwag’s favorite frying pan.

Once the fragments were secured, he brought some embers from the fire into the hollow to dry the damp walls and floor.

Next came further camouflage—digging up some climbing plants, like ivy, to plant at the base of the trunk. Once they grew and covered the whole trunk, it would be perfect.

To make the disguise even better, he decided to leave the giant fallen tree on the beach untouched. Once its leaves dried and wilted, it would look like a naturally fallen tree. A hollow base with no fallen tree around it would look suspicious as hell.

Even if no one was around, better safe than sorry.

He filled a bucket with beach sand and hauled it back to flatten the bumpy floor of the shelter.

He didn’t spread the sand too thick—just enough to reduce moisture.

For tree roots that stuck out too much, he trimmed them down with his folding knife.

With that done, he stepped out and saw the sunset nearing the ocean.

”Poliwag, time to catch dinner!”

The Caterpie he just caught was off the menu. Even though it hadn’t hit the 60% bar, it was close—and had enough significance to be worth keeping over eating.

”Yo yo?” Poliwag floated belly-up in its water barrel, confused. Didn’t they already catch a Caterpie? Why catch another?

”Hurry up!” Reiji called back, not knowing what Poliwag was puzzled about.

(End of Chapter)

[+50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]