Pokemon: A Fisherman's Tale

"Found it," Ryan didn't have to search long before spotting the conspicuous blue berry called Oran Berry.

Berry tree isn't a rare tree fruit. Compared to other fruits he had seen, Berries and Beedrill honey are prized resources of the Beedrill colony, guarded by Beedrill deep within their territory.

The shape of the Shuca berry resembles a conch, a dark yellow shell. Its effect is that it reduces damage from Rock-type moves by half, making it highly useful against Bug-type and Flying-type Pokémon.

If consumed regularly, it can improve the resistance of those two types to Rock-type attacks.

There's also Beedrill honey, which has immense nutritional value for young Pokémon. Just the floral fragrance wafting through the wind is intoxicating.

But he couldn't reach it. Both the Shuca Fruit tree and the Beedrill honey were on the same tree, constantly patrolled and guarded by the Beedrill.

To be honest, Ryan didn't dare to steal the fruit in front of the Beedrill, so he planned to gather some fallen berries under the tree and leave.

He didn't want to provoke the Beedrill, the rulers of the forest—he couldn't afford to.

" Poliwag, I'm going to gather some berries. Keep watch for me. If any Beedrill come, alert me."

"Yo..."

The Poliwag started to respond, but Ryan quickly covered its mouth, whispering the whole time.

"Shh, quiet. I'll be right back." Ryan even removed his shoes to avoid making any noise, hanging them around his neck and creeping barefoot toward the berry tree.

There were plenty of Berry Berries scattered beneath the tree. He didn't need to pick them from the branches. He simply gathered the fallen ones, good or bad, and stuffed them into his shorts pocket.

As long as there was a good one among them, he would have fulfilled the purpose of his trip.

Just as he tiptoed, gathering the fruit and preparing to slip away quietly, he heard the Poliwag's voice.

"Yo, yo, yo, yo..."

"Oh no, this is bad," Ryan thought, hearing the Poliwag's warning cries. He didn't have time to see what was happening or ask why it was screaming. He just acted.

As he passed by Poliwag, he scooped it up and bolted out of the forest.

They had barely covered any ground when, startled, the Beedrill guarding the hive let out a piercing buzz, awakening more of the colony.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."

As the buzz grew louder, more Beedrill arrived at the scene of the theft. They saw Ryan fleeing in the distance and swiftly flapped their wings in pursuit.

Thwack, thwack, thwack...

Thwack, thwack, thwack...

The Beedrill were closing in on Ryan. Their large, sharp stingers glowed with a purple hue as they shot several small, venomous needles at him in a Poison Sting attack.

The needles missed Ryan, sinking instead into the tree trunks behind him. Hearing the thudding sounds of the needles striking the trees, Ryan's heart pounded as he ran faster.

He felt like he was faster than Bolt, running barefoot like he could break the 100-meter dash in under nine seconds.

It was clear who was faster: a human on two legs or Beedrill in flight.

With the Poliwag on his shoulder, Ryan shouted, "Water Gun, Poliwag, use Water Gun! Knock down the Beedrill with Water Gun!"

Swoosh, swoosh—

One person and one Poliwag moved at high speed, making accuracy impossible. At best, the Water Gun might slow down the pursuing Beedrill.

After running for what felt like an eternity, Ryan finally saw light as he neared the edge of the forest. More and more beams of white light appeared in front of him, signaling he was almost out.

But the Beedrill were still hot on his trail, showing no signs of letting up.

Fortunately, all the exercise and running Ryan had been doing paid off. Had he not been training, his legs might have given out at the mere sight of the Beedrill, let alone being able to sprint at full speed.

Whoosh—

Ryan burst through the grass and finally made it to the beach, but the persistent buzzing behind him kept him from stopping.

His eyes scanned his surroundings quickly, locking onto the crashing waves. Gritting his teeth, he made a split-second decision.

In a single breath, Ryan charged toward the sea, clutching Poliwag, and leaped onto the rocks, plunging into the water.

Splash—

As they dove into the ocean, the enraged Beedrill stopped at the shore, firing Poison Stings into the sea in frustration before returning to their hive.

Once Ryan saw from beneath the water that the Beedrill had left, he surfaced for air and swam to shore.

But as soon as they landed, a fish with sharp teeth and a vicious snout leaped out of the water, having caught the scent of blood.

The fish missed its target and left quietly, disappearing just as it had come.

After landing, the Poliwag quickly alerted Ryan to the danger they had just narrowly escaped. "Yo, yo, yo, yo..."

"What?" Ryan turned his head toward the Poliwag's warning and saw a dark shape swiftly retreating beneath the sea.

Ryan didn't know it yet, but after stealing that berry, he had narrowly escaped death twice.

"It must've been some kind of carnivorous fish. And why is there red in the water?" Ryan muttered, noticing the fading shadow. The seabed was too murky to clearly identify the fish.

But he quickly noticed the red color on the water and wondered about its source. He also heard the Poliwag's continued cries.

"Yo, yo, yo, yo..."

Following the Poliwag's sounds, Ryan looked down and found the source—his feet were bleeding.

"Ah, crap, my foot!" Realizing the injury, Ryan lost his composure. Pain shot through him as he immediately sat down to inspect the wounds on his feet.

He discovered a large gash on the sole of his left foot, bleeding profusely.

The sole of his right foot also had several smaller cuts, bleeding as well.

Ryan looked back at the jagged rocks he had stepped on earlier, realizing they were to blame.

"Wait, the berries..." Panicking, he reached into his pocket, feeling a few round objects that reassured him. He still had the Berries.

He also touched his lighter, which had gone through the ocean with him, and sighed. "What a loss this time." He had the berries, but his feet were injured, and his lighter was soaked.

Luckily, it was just a cheap, waterproof plastic lighter—it would still work once it dried.

For now, though, he had to deal with his foot injuries. Ryan immediately took off his shirt and used it to wrap his left foot, the one with the worst wound. He put a shoe on his right foot for now, planning to treat the rest back at the treehouse.

"Hiss, it stings," Ryan groaned as the seawater-soaked shirt made contact with his wound, causing sharp pain. He gasped as the sensation burned.

His shoes, wet from seawater, added to the discomfort, making every step more painful.

All for a few berries. Gritting his teeth, Ryan picked up a wooden stick on the beach for support.

Enduring the pain with each step, he limped back to the treehouse, with the Poliwag standing guard...