56 Stranded

Hisoka stared at the approaching cyclone calmly. He had done everything he could to escape from this plight. Right now, he can only resign to his fate.

The violent vortex quickly swept them under the water. When Hisoka was sucked into the whirlpool, he immediately bent his body and protected his head with both hands.

This is a human instinctive reaction when exposed to danger. It can at least protect the body from a more severe injury.

The wrath of Gyarados came and went by quickly. After a few seconds, the vortex finally dispersed into a light rain. The figures of Hisoka and others also disappeared without a trace under the rough stormy waves.

After seeing the disappearance of the humans who had harmed their companion, the Gyarados finally calmed down their anger. They then surrounded their unconscious companion and slowly pulled it back toward the depths of the sea.

...

Coconut trees swayed gently in the wind, the sun shone down on the beach, and the light reflected on the clear sea sparkled like a crystal.

This is a deserted island, which can be found everywhere in this world.

A Krabby was strolling on the beach, following its routine. Then, it suddenly saw something strange lying on its path. The Krabby, who had regarded this place as its own home, was furious that someone dared to block its way.

'Someone dared to block me?' it thought domineeringly.

'Aha! I have an idea!' A light bulb went off in its head.

It then sneakily walked sideways toward the unconscious figure and snapped its claws open.

...

Hisoka awoke only to feel a stinging pain near his butt. It was as if there was something pinching it. He swiped his hand behind his back and came across a hard object in confusion. Then, he quickly rolled his body to the side and grabbed the hard object away from his butt.

Shaking his head to relieve his dizziness, Hisoka gradually came to his senses. He then looked up, only to close his eyes in pain due to the dazzling sunlight. After his sight was restored, he looked around his surroundings and found that he was stranded on a small deserted island.

He looked around a few times and didn't see anyone else on the beach besides himself. It seemed that everyone had separated during the storm just now.

"I hope they're all right!" Hisoka murmured.

Although he didn't know them very well, they still can be considered half-friends after experiencing a life and death situation together. Right now, Hisoka can only send a silent prayer for their survival in his heart.

Something moved in his hand, escaping from his grasp and falling toward the sand. When Hisoka looked to the ground, he saw a Krabby staring at him angrily. The crustacean Pokemon with a strong outer shell is quite big, about forty centimeters tall, which is twice the size of the expensive Red King Crab back on Earth.

"It turns out to be a Krabby. You're the one who pinched my butt just now, right?"

Hisoka laughed and quickly scooped the River Crab Pokemon out of the sand. He disregarded its threatening gesture and dropped it to the ground toward his feet.

Then, Hisoka lifted his feet and kindly punted the Pokemon back to the sea.

The stunned Krabby crossed a parabola in the air and fell into the sea with a splash.

Splash!

Hisoka pumped his fist and yelled, "Goal!"

After venting out his feelings, Hisoka's depressed mood became much better.

He had a huge loss this time. And due to the sinking of S.S. Anne, he would not be able to get the promised salary after failing this task. He also wasn't quite sure if the three conditions that Ryoichi had promised to him could still be fulfilled.

'He probably thinks I am already dead, buried at the bottom ocean, becoming fish food,' Hisoka thought spitefully.

He then carefully checked the three Pokeballs inside his bag before sighing in relief. He was worried that they might be damaged during the struggle just now, causing it to fail. Luckily, the Pokeballs used by him were all high-quality Ultra Balls, which were much harder than ordinary Pokeballs. Even if it fell from a five-story building, there would hardly be any cracks on it.

This was why Hisoka always spent more to buy high-quality items. They were more reliable in an emergency situation rather than using ordinary-quality items.

Hisoka then took out the egg incubator from his waterproof bag. It was one of the prizes he got after winning the tournament. Under the double protection of the incubator and the space-folding bag, the egg was safe and sound.

Then, he carefully checked the tools in his bag. After confirming that they were not damaged, Hisoka was completely relieved.

There was no signal on his Navigator, which once again showed that the small island where he was stranded had never been discovered by humans before.

Hisoka had rich experience surviving in the wild, so he wasn't worried about being alone on a deserted island. Besides, his bag was packed to the brim with clean water and canned food, which was enough for him and his three Pokemon to survive for a whole month.

According to the pointer on his compass, he could determine that he was somewhere along the southern sea of the Kanto region. But he wasn't sure if they were any inhabited islands around this area. If it were, then the chances of him being rescued would be much higher.

Of course, Hisoka wouldn't pin all his hopes of survival on other people. This wasn't his way. He always held on to the saying that said, 'at the end of the day, you can only rely on yourself.'

"Huh? What's that?"

Hisoka's eyes were suddenly attracted by a large hole not far away. He quickly walked toward it to take a closer look. It was not a naturally formed hole but more like a large footprint left by some kind of Pokemon due to its outline.

Hisoka crouched on the ground and measured it with his hand. The footprint was about 60 centimeters long and 40 centimeters wide. Based on his estimate, the height of the Pokemon that had left this footprint should be around four meters tall.

'What kind of Pokemon can grow up to four meters tall?' Hisoka rubbed his chin in thought.

Take Tyranitar, for example. The average height of Tyranitar was around two meters, and the strongest among them can even grow up to three meters tall.

Although it is quite rare, it does exist. The stronger the Pokemon, the bigger they tend to be.

But even Tyranitar, the Armor Pokemon, couldn't grow up to four meters tall. Hisoka was staring at the footprint in confusion. He also couldn't determine the type of Pokemon based on its footprint alone.

"Is it some kind of Pokemon that humans have never discovered before?"

This possibility flashed in Hisoka's mind.

There were many unexplored places in the Pokemon world. Human beings only managed to uncover the tip of the iceberg. Every year, many research papers are published about newly discovered Pokemon. Hisoka's conjecture wasn't without reason.

...

Naturally, the larger the size of the Pokemon, the more powerful they are.

Such a large Pokemon obviously required a huge amount of energy to support their daily actions.

And to support their energy intake, these large-sized Pokemon must find enough food sources. They had to expand their territory while competing with other Pokemon tribes. It was hard to imagine how cruel the competition would be in this place.

The discovery of this large footprint made Hisoka didn't dare to wander around the island recklessly. He wasn't sure if it was only a single giant Pokemon or a group of Pokemon. If it was only a single Pokemon, it would be fine. But, if it was a group, then Hisoka could only say goodbye to this world.

The huge Pokemon would only need a single stomp to cause an Earthquake-like attack. Imagine what a group of gigantic Pokemon can do. He got shivers just by thinking about it.

Hisoka temporarily gave up the idea of exploring the island for now. He had just experienced a life and death situation. And after drifting in the ocean for an unknown amount of time, both his mental and physical strength were at their limits.

He also released Kirlia and Weavile just to be safe. According to his past experiences, it's better to release the Pokemon from their Pokeball when surviving in the wild. So that in the event of an emergency or a sudden attack, they would be able to react with haste and protect his safety.

Since Weavile didn't participate in the previous battle with the Gyarados, she was still full of energy at this time. Meanwhile, Kirlia was still groggy after teleporting five people away from the onslaught of the Gyarados.

Hisoka slowly placed her down inside the tent that he erected a few minutes ago. She hugged her favorite pillow and gradually fell asleep.

Weavile then stared at Hisoka eagerly.

"Fine, I'll cook," Hisoka sighed.

Since their cook was already asleep, Hisoka could only cook their lunch by himself. After fighting for a whole night, he was already starving.

He then went to his bag and took out a mini-fridge. This thing was solar-powered. It could be used for two weeks before the power ran out. After that, he only needed to leave it under the sun for a few hours to recharge its battery.

Next, he placed a folding table with chairs near his camp. He also brought out a portable gas stove and a pressure cooker. Hisoka's bag was like a Doraemon's 4D pocket, full of items. Since he had this handy bag, he might as well fill it with many useful items to live a comfortable life in the wild. Besides, he didn't want to live like a savage.

Weavile was staying on the lookout for danger or trouble in their surroundings under Hisoka's order. She first patrolled their camp vigilantly. After not finding any threat, she went toward the tallest tree in the area. She then used her sharp claws to nimbly climb up the tree and stayed put on top of the tree to act as a sentry.

Hisoka decided to make a simple meal for lunch. First, he took out two large pieces of beef flank from the fridge and thawed them out in the open. He then cleaned a few pieces of bone and threw them into the pressure cooker. After that, he added some vegetables and some herbs before pouring a jug of beef stock into the pot. He also didn't forget to ask Weavile to bring down a few coconuts from the tree she was sitting on later.

While the soup was cooking, he fried the two beef cuts in a large frying pan, adding some black pepper and salt while flipping it a couple of times.

Thirty minutes later, their lunch was ready.

"Weavile! Food is ready!" Hisoka shouted while waving toward Weavile.

Two flank steaks and three bowls of vegetable soup were already placed on the picnic table.

Weavile's eyes lit up with joy. Then, she quickly jumped down toward the ground and walked toward the camp while carrying a few coconuts in her arms.

"Can you poke a few holes in them?" Hisoka pointed his finger toward the coconuts in her arm.

Weavile nodded and used her claw to make a hole in each coconut.

After that, Hisoka placed a straw through the coconut before going toward the tent. He then woke the still sleeping Kirlia and handed the coconut to her. He quickly went back to the table and carried the vegetable soup back to the tent. Kirlia's lunch today was a vegetable soup, and five pieces of Pokeblock specially made for Psychic-type Pokemon. Since her psychic power consumption was high in the previous fight, Hisoka added a few more Pokeblock to her meal. So she could quickly recover her energy.

"Just go back to sleep after eating your lunch," Hisoka looked at her fondly before leaving the tent, letting her finish her meal in peace.

"Itadakimasu!"

Both Hisoka and Weavile sat at the table while looking at the food greedily.

After saying their prayer, they both began to eat their lunch. Hisoka was so hungry that he just grabbed the steak and munched it like a starving beast. Anyway, there was only him and Weavile on this island. He didn't need to pay attention to his table manners.

Meanwhile, Weavile was more civilized than Hisoka. Although she was hungry, she was not hungry enough to eat like her trainer did. She cut the lean steak into several thin slices using her sharp claw. Then, she stabbed a piece and brought it into her mouth, savoring it slowly.

...

After gulping the vegetable soup in the bowl, Hisoka rubbed his belly and burped in satisfaction. He had never felt so content in his life.

After they had finished their lunch, the Hisoka quickly washed the dishes and sat down on the picnic mat under a tree. He put on a pair of sunglasses and leaned his back against the tree, enjoying the beach's scenery.

Weavile had returned to her post at the top of a tree to resume her watch over the surroundings.

'It looks like I need to capture a new Pokemon as a scout,' Hisoka thought while relaxing in the shade.

What Pokemon is the most suitable for being a scout?

Well, the first requirement is the Pokemon must be able to fly. There are many places that humans can't reach due to the dangerous terrain. So having a Pokemon that could fly will allow them to pass through the area much safer. And this is something that many Bug and Flying-type Pokemon could do.

The second requirement is the Pokemon must be able to fly at high altitudes without being affected by weather conditions.

This made many Bug-type Pokemon that he was interested in eliminated from his list. Because once they encounter bad weather conditions such as a storm or heavy rain, it is difficult for these Bug-type Pokemon to perform their task.

...