After testing the soil's moisture with his hand,Reiji picked up a dry, sturdy bamboo shard and began digging into the ground like it was a shovel.
He only dug a pit as deep as his forearm before stopping—there was no water, just damp soil.
Staring into the pit, he started doubting whether he was even looking in the right place for fresh water.
After resting for a moment, he looked back at the hole he'd dug. A bit of water—just enough to wet his knuckles—had seeped into the bottom. It was hardly anything, but better than nothing.
At least it proved his instincts weren't entirely wrong—just that the efficiency was too low.
He dusted the dirt off his hands, dipped a finger into the muddy water, and brought it to his tongue. He could taste the distinct flavor of fresh water, then spat out the gritty sand.
Confirming that it was indeed fresh water, he covered the pit with a piece of foam board and weighed it down with a rock to keep debris from falling in.
This pit could only serve as a backup source.
How much water would seep up from the soil was anyone's guess—and the quality of it was... questionable.
He wouldn't dare drink it without boiling it first.
This spot wasn't good enough. He needed to keep looking.
Getting up, Reiji resumed his search along the coastline.
He had considered the fruit trees scattered along the shore, but every single one had a Pokémon guarding it—Kingler, Beedrill, Fearow...
Whenever he saw one, he'd give it a wide berth.
He wasn't about to waltz into a wild Pokémon's territory and get himself maimed.
He couldn't even take on a Kingler with three legs, let alone a whole group of them.
So rather than get poisoned or have his skull cracked open, it was smarter to keep searching for fresh water.
That was his only real option right now.
Luckily, not far from the shelter—only about a seven or eight minute walk—he found another damp patch.
This time, it was a reef rock that was strangely moist, even after days of blazing sunlight. It wasn't near the tide either.
Without caring about appearances, Reiji dropped to the ground and licked the rock with his cracked lips.
Fresh water.
He was overjoyed. This was it!
He looked up and followed the wet trail along the rock, climbing up to find a stone dripping water.
The drip rate wasn't fast—about one or two drops per second—but that was still better than the muddy pit.
He unscrewed the plastic bottle he'd brought and set it below the drip.
Then he lay down beside it, letting the cool, damp air soothe his overheated body.
Maybe it was the humidity, but the whole place felt several degrees cooler.
The sound of water droplets hitting the bottle gave him a rare sense of peace.
Finally. Fresh water.
Fish soup was no longer a fantasy.
He didn't know how long he waited.
Eventually, he picked up the bottle, now about half full, and slowly tilted it toward his cracked lips, eyes watching the precious liquid pour into his mouth and slide down his throat.
The moment the fresh water hit his throat, he felt alive again—
—only to immediately burst into a coughing fit.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
He'd gulped too fast and choked. The water that hadn't even fully hit his stomach was now coming back up.
What a waste.
After hacking up the water onto the ground, Reiji sighed—but when he looked at the bottle and saw there was still more left, his smile returned.
The water wasn't perfectly fresh—it had a slightly salty taste.
Maybe it was the container, maybe it was just the water itself.
Still, it was drinkable—better than having nothing.
This time, he drank slowly, taking small sips to stretch it out.
Strictly speaking, drinking unboiled water in the wild was not a good idea.
Even dew should be boiled before consumption.
But he was so dehydrated, he had no choice.
If he was lucky, nothing would happen.
If not, he could get diarrhea.
Worst case?
He could get infected with parasites that would leech his nutrients until he died.
Let's hope this world is as clean as the anime.
If it had parasites, he'd be in trouble.
He returned the bottle to its place beneath the dripping stone and secured it with a rock, then headed back to the shelter to swap it out for a bigger plastic container.
That bottle of unboiled water had only been an emergency fix.
Once he had enough, he would boil it before drinking.
By the time he returned, Poliwag had worn itself out from yelling at the Wingull and was collapsed on the sand, panting heavily.
It didn't even react to Reiji's return.
When it saw him grabbing a large plastic tub and leaving again, Poliwag forced itself to its feet and followed after him.
At the water source, the smaller bottle had already collected another half portion.
Reiji held it up and asked,
"Poliwag, want a drink?"
He mimed drinking, pressing the bottle to Poliwag's mouth.
Poliwag stuck out its tongue and licked the water off the rim.
Smacking its lips, it chirped,
"Yoo-yoo! Yoo-yoo!"
"You want it?" Reiji asked, tilting the bottle slightly.
Poliwag opened its mouth and drank eagerly.
Satisfied that he'd interpreted correctly, Reiji let Poliwag drink all the remaining water.
When it finished, Poliwag smacked its lips with a look of lingering thirst, glancing at the plastic tub next.
But Reiji quickly covered Poliwag's eyes with his hand.
"Nope. You are not messing with that."
That tub was their lifeline.
Then he scooped up Poliwag and headed back to the shelter, picking up several more big plastic containers along the way.
He also kept an eye out for any large cooking pots that might've washed ashore.
Now that he had fresh water, he could make seafood soup—finally, a proper meal!
Based on the drip rate, it took about ten minutes to fill half a 500ml bottle.
By rough calculation, he could collect about four to five liters of water in a single morning.
Including nighttime, that came to four full containers per day, or about twenty liters total—twenty kilos of drinkable fresh water.
(End of Chapter)
[+50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]