Yo Yo

Poliwag watched the flames grow smaller and smaller. In the end, it took the right step and went to pick up broken Wooden Boards.

It left quickly and returned just as fast. Poliwag casually picked up a broken wooden board, ran back at top speed, and tossed it into the fire.

The fire burned quickly as well. Soon, it had consumed the broken wooden board Poliwag had brought back, forcing it to go collect more.

After several trips, it still remembered Yu Hai's instructions to soak the rag on his forehead in cool water.

After soaking the rag on Yu Hai's forehead in cool water again and putting it back, Poliwag went out to collect more broken Wooden Boards.

While gathering broken Wooden Boards, Poliwag spotted some lush green kelp on the sand, probably washed ashore by the waves.

Its hungry stomach urged it to eat the lush green kelp on the beach. It looked tempting just sitting there.

It slowly walked over to the kelp and carried it, along with the broken wooden board, back beside the fire. It threw the wooden board into the flames, then carried the kelp over to Yu Hai.

Yu Hai had not woken up. Poliwag even stuck out its little pink tongue and licked his cheek. "Yo yo, yo yo..."

But Yu Hai did not respond to the little tadpole. It was probably saying, "Food, I found food. Wake up and eat..."

But Yu Hai's fevered mind was muddled. How could he hear Poliwag's cries?

Seeing this, the little tadpole directly picked up the kelp and placed it by Yu Hai's mouth, hoping to wake him with it.

Even with the kelp by Yu Hai's mouth, he showed no reaction at all. The little tadpole felt somewhat dejected.

Its large, bright black eyes no longer held their usual liveliness. They had become rather dull, and even its cries had lost much of their spirit.

"Yo, yo," Poliwag called to Yu Hai, rubbing its head against his, but received no response.

The little tadpole did not understand what this meant. It could only sit weakly on the grass, staring blankly at Yu Hai's tightly shut eyes. Even with delicious kelp at its feet, it had no appetite at all.

Until it began to feel cold. Looking up, it realized that the fire was about to go out, and only then did it start moving again.

Before it moved, it did not forget Yu Hai's earlier instructions. It replaced the rag on Yu Hai's forehead with one soaked in cool water before going to gather broken Wooden Boards.

Before collecting the broken Wooden Boards, it also carried away the kelp beside Yu Hai. It had to eat something. If it did not, it would run out of strength too.

After eating the kelp, Poliwag went out to gather broken Wooden Boards again, occasionally eating kelp it found along the way.

At the same time, Poliwag also brought some kelp back for Yu Hai.

But the kelp beside Yu Hai kept piling up, nearly forming a little mountain. Still, Poliwag did not see Yu Hai wake up and enjoy the delicious green kelp with it.

At last, Poliwag grew tired. It no longer wanted to gather broken Wooden Boards. It only wanted Yu Hai to wake up.

By then, dusk had arrived. The little tadpole leaned against Yu Hai and noticed that his body was no longer as hot as before. It wanted to stay with him and watch the first sunset after the storm.

The broken Wooden Boards it had collected that afternoon were enough to burn for a long time. It did not know how long that was, but the Wooden Boards, like the kelp, had been piled into a small mountain.

If the fire grew smaller, it only needed to add more broken Wooden Boards.

The sunset passed quickly, and the sky became completely dark. Before it knew it, the little tadpole had dozed off.

When it woke up, the fire was nearly out. It hurriedly added broken Wooden Boards, then turned to look at Yu Hai. There was still no sign that he was waking up.

It could only place a strip of kelp by Yu Hai's mouth, then sit obediently beside him, staring blankly at the fire as it crackled and popped, keeping watch over him.

Whenever it got sleepy, Poliwag would nap for a while, but it never slept too deeply. It constantly watched for changes in the fire and did not forget to resoak the rag on Yu Hai's forehead in cool water.

After resoaking the rag in cool water and adding broken Wooden Boards to the fire, Poliwag would quietly sit by Yu Hai's side again. It did not make a fuss or cause trouble. It simply sat there in silence.

"Cough, cough cough..."

Suddenly, Yu Hai broke into a violent coughing fit, startling Poliwag awake.

"Yo yo, yo yo!" Hearing the sound, Poliwag leaped up excitedly. Looking at the coughing Yu Hai, it kept calling out to him.

"Poliwag?" Yu Hai did not open his eyes. He had only regained a little consciousness, opening his eyes to a narrow slit. He saw Poliwag and heard its cries.

"Yo yo, yo yo!" Hearing Yu Hai call its name, Poliwag thought he had recovered. But after calling to him for a long while and seeing no movement from him, it realized that something must have happened to Yu Hai. He was not simply resting.

"Poliwag, water, water..."

"Yo?" Poliwag watched Yu Hai's dry, cracked lips part and close repeatedly, then looked at the plastic bottle of lukewarm water set nearby. It immediately understood what Yu Hai needed.

Poliwag immediately clamped its mouth around the bottle opening and dragged the plastic bottle over. It aimed the mouth of the bottle at Yu Hai's lips and, just as Yu Hai had fed it before, slowly poured the water into Yu Hai's mouth.

"Cough, cough cough cough..."

The lukewarm water had barely entered Yu Hai's mouth before he could swallow it, and he choked it back out.

Poliwag had probably fed him too anxiously. He had no time to drink; the water had just entered his throat when he spat it out. Still, he had managed to drink some.

Seeing Yu Hai cough, Poliwag moved the bottle away as well.

Yu Hai had still thought too highly of himself. He had assumed that after a rest, his fever would go down and he would regain some strength.

The fever had subsided a little, but his whole body was weak. The stew pot beside the fire had been prepared so he could drink hot water after waking up.

But he had no strength to drink that hot water. He could only accept his fate.

"Poliwag, come here." Yu Hai would not remain conscious for long. Rest was also an effective way to fight illness, and he would probably fall asleep again soon.

While his mind was still clear, he wanted to see how Poliwag was doing.

"Yo yo, yo yo." After hearing him call, Poliwag even carried over a strip of kelp in its mouth.

"Kelp!" Yu Hai raised his arm with difficulty, took the kelp Poliwag was holding, and put it in his mouth. He took a bite, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it.

Kelp was still as awful as ever, but it was better than nothing.

He only took one bite. Then, seeing Poliwag, he raised his hand and patted its head. "Poliwag, you've worked hard..."

It was nighttime, yet the fire had not gone out. It seemed Poliwag had not forgotten what he had said.

Understanding such complicated instructions and then putting them into action was truly not easy for a Pokémon.

That was why he had not dared make things too complicated. He had been afraid Poliwag would not understand, but judging from the current situation, it had understood.

"Yo yo." Seeing a smile return to Yu Hai's face, Poliwag felt a small surge of joy. Its mood improved greatly, and the gloom in its heart was swept away. As long as Yu Hai was all right, it was happy to do anything.

This was the truest thought deep within the little tadpole's heart.

"Poliwag, I'm going to sleep again. Keep an eye on the fire. See you tomorrow." Yu Hai had only just woken up, but after saying a few words, he already felt a headache coming on.

His fever probably had not fully subsided, and his throat was still terribly itchy. He did not know whether he would feel better tomorrow.

Before sleeping, he felt around for the plastic bottle and drank some water himself, then fell into a stupor once more.

Seeing this, Poliwag no longer worried. As long as Yu Hai could wake up once, he could wake up a second time. It only needed to watch the fire and wait for Yu Hai to wake up.

It had always believed that Yu Hai would wake up...