Aaron returned to Grit City, then immediately set off for the next stop on his journey.
His next destination was Ocean City, a coastal city famous as a tourist hotspot.
Every year, countless people traveled there for sightseeing, and the city was even livelier than Grit City.
After leaving Grit City, Aaron rode Charizard north.
Whoooosh!
With the wind rushing past him, Aaron shouted freely into the open sky, a carefree smile spreading across his face.
After brushing so close to death, Aaron felt as if his outlook had changed.
Now, all he wanted was to cherish everyone around him.
And every one of his Pokémon.
Because no one knew when death might come knocking.
Right?
Only by treasuring the present could someone truly be considered alive.
…
By the time evening arrived, the setting sun had dyed the sky a glowing orange-red.
A flock of Pidgeotto flew side by side across the horizon, their silhouettes forming a breathtaking picture beneath the sunset.
Warm.
Peaceful.
Beautiful.
Aaron and Charizard descended into a forest and found a hollow tree to stay in for the night.
"Alright, everyone. Come on out!"
Aaron took out his Poké Balls and released all his Pokémon.
Several flashes of light burst forth.
One after another, his energetic Pokémon made their grand appearance.
"Gyaaaar!"
"Kabiii!"
"Scep-tile!"
"Bzzzz…"
…
The enormous Gyarados.
The towering, muscular Snorlax.
The elegant and handsome Sceptile.
The cool yet arrogant Infernape.
The calm and steady Beedrill.
And, of course, Greninja with its trademark dead-fish eyes.
All of them appeared on the grassy clearing in the forest.
The Pokémon immediately crowded around Aaron, rubbing against him affectionately.
Although Aaron usually released them whenever he had time, the recent Fighting Tournament had kept him busy.
It had indeed been two or three days since everyone had gathered together like this.
"Hahaha!"
"Alright, alright, stop rubbing against me. That tickles!"
"Gyaaaar!"
The others rubbing against him was one thing.
But Gyarados opened its huge mouth and swallowed Aaron's entire head.
Aaron was instantly speechless.
Gyarados had the largest body among all his Pokémon, yet somehow, it also had the fewest brain cells.
Otherwise, it never would have been lured away with just a grilled fish back during the survival training camp.
Aaron immediately rewarded Gyarados with a loving iron fist.
Bonk!
The hit made Gyarados howl pitifully.
Aaron's physical strength nowadays was no joke.
Even Gyarados could not just shrug it off.
"You idiot. Were you trying to eat me or something?"
Aaron smacked Gyarados on the head and said irritably.
"Gyaaaar…"
Gyarados let out an aggrieved cry.
It had only wanted to kiss Aaron.
Its mouth was just too big.
Was that really its fault?
"Gyaa…"
Gyarados looked utterly wronged.
"You silly dragon. I was joking."
Seeing Gyarados looking so pitiful, Aaron could not help laughing helplessly.
He rubbed the giant dragon's head to comfort it.
"Gyaaaar…"
Gyarados immediately looked blissful, its eyes curving into happy crescents.
Aaron smiled softly.
Even though Gyarados was the largest Pokémon on his team, it had the purest and most innocent heart of them all.
A simple heart.
Once it decided on something, it would stubbornly keep doing it forever.
And once it accepted someone as its Trainer…
It would follow that person for life.
That was this silly dragon.
A very lovable silly dragon.
"Everyone, it's been ages since we had a barbecue feast!"
Aaron raised his arm and cheered loudly.
"Grenin!"
"Snor!"
"Scep-tile!"
"Infer-nape!"
"Bzzzz!"
"Rooar!"
…
The Pokémon's eyes instantly lit up, and they began cheering excitedly.
"Same old rules. Gyarados and Greninja, go catch fish."
"Snorlax, gather firewood."
"Charizard and Beedrill, catch wild chickens and birds."
"Infernape and Sceptile, go pick wild fruit for after dinner."
Aaron quickly assigned tasks to everyone.
The Pokémon all nodded before dashing into the forest.
Aaron then pulled out a massive grill and his soul-seasoning box from the System.
He began preparing the sauces.
Cilantro.
Chopped scallions.
Garlic.
Soy sauce.
Sesame oil.
Oyster sauce.
Millet peppers.
And various other seasonings.
He even crushed up Energy Cubes to mix into the barbecue later.
Delicious and filling.
A perfect combination.
…
About ten minutes later, the Pokémon gradually returned.
Greninja used Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Each clone carried several fish skewered on water-forged forks and blades.
There were dozens of fish in total.
Meanwhile, Gyarados simply opened its mouth.
"Bleeergh!"
Along with a disgusting retching sound, dozens of giant fish spilled out of its mouth.
Aaron was instantly speechless.
The fish were technically edible.
But it was still pretty gross.
Snorlax also returned carrying a mountain of firewood.
Infernape and Sceptile each dragged back two plump wild chickens.
Beedrill and Charizard also lived up to expectations, catching several wild birds.
Next came Aaron's turn.
With his greatly enhanced strength, preparing ingredients like these was effortless.
It only took him five seconds to clean a fish.
Scales removed.
Innards removed.
Only clean fish meat and bones remained.
Before long, Aaron had finished processing all the ingredients and placed them onto the giant grill.
The grill had been custom-made specifically for him.
It could hold over a hundred fish at the same time.
The firewood beneath had already burned down into glowing charcoal.
Then Aaron officially entered barbecue mode.
Right now, he really wished he could learn Greninja's Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu.
That way, he would not need to keep running back and forth while grilling.
"Frog Boss… can you teach me Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu?"
Aaron looked at Greninja expectantly while grilling.
"Grenin…"
Greninja glanced at Aaron with dead-fish eyes and answered coldly,
"People who are too dumb can't learn it."
Aaron: "…"
Aaron's lips twitched slightly.
That one hurt a little.