While Machoke and Haunter were in the forest gathering wood, the rest of us set up the entire camp. While Bran and I went straight to setting up the tents, Lilly modestly just laid out her blanket. An eager Houndoom immediately dug a deep pit for a campfire in the sand, right between our things. Half of the excavated sand landed directly on Wartortle, but for once, he didn't mind. Wartortle was staring at the sea with undisguised longing and would have loved to jump right in. However, we still hadn't discussed today's plan, so he had to wait obediently.
I carefully placed the sleeping Abra on a blanket under the tent's awning, making sure she had shade and comfort for her nap. Naturally, I put Aron right next to her, but just in case, I placed another piece of iron near his nose—I didn't want to risk him waking up hungry and eating the frying pans in our backpack.
"So, Patrik? Are we going to let them go yet?" Bran asked, noticing Wartortle shifting impatiently on the spot.
"Wait just a little longer. As soon as Haunter and Machoke get back, we'll go over today's plan, and after that, everyone can do whatever they want," I answered calmly, scratching Wartortle on the head.
At first, he tried to act incredibly cool and tough, but after a second, he couldn't resist and pressed his head even deeper into my palm.
"Waaaaar..." he whimpered softly when I stopped scratching.
At that moment, our two wood gatherers emerged from the forest. Haunter was flying forward at an incredibly competitive pace, as if determined to win some imaginary race. Machoke walked behind him completely relaxed, carrying a pile of wood in his arms that could easily last us for two days.
Haunter eyed the dug-out pit with a toothy grin, looked at Houndoom, his grin widening as he amusedly remarked, "Haunt!"
"Hound!" agreed the hellhound, wagging his tail contentedly. He clearly approved of his work.
Both dropped their haul right next to the fire pit, and it was time for a quick meeting.
"Fall in!" I commanded authoritatively, though the corners of my mouth twitched slightly.
"What is this, the army?!" Bran protested immediately, but with a half-smile, he and his Pokémon obediently fell into line.
"Fall in, you hopeless bunch!" I repeated with a smirk.
"Geo!" Geodude was the only one who immediately saluted with his stone hand, while the others stared at me as if I had finally lost my mind. I quickly got to the point before this whole crowd could scatter across the beach.
"So, today we have a relaxing, laid-back day by this beautiful sea," I gave them a calm smile. However, my warm tone didn't do much for this high-energy pack, so I quickly continued, "You can basically go anywhere. Whether into the forest or into the sea. The main thing is not to get lost and not to wander too far. When I call for you, I want you to return immediately, so stay close enough to hear me clearly. Do we understand each other?"
Some nodded silently, others voiced their agreement in their typical Pokémon tones, so I could move on to the details.
"I have two important tasks for you. Wartortle, Poliwhirl, you two are in charge of our safety in the sea. I don't want anything catching us off guard there, so first scout the water near the beach and let us know immediately in case of any danger—even before we even step into the water. Houndoom, Haunter, you take care of the forest. I assume you'll be drawn there anyway. Make sure nothing dangerous surprises us from there either, got it?"
"Haunt!" "Hound!" both agreed.
It seemed they all understood exactly what I wanted down to the last detail, so I could move on to the main point.
"Please don't bother any other trainers on the beach. I'd rather not deal with unnecessary disputes during our day off... And the second thing is just as important to me. As you know, Lilly currently has only one Pokémon on her team, Bulbasaur," I pointed to Lilly, and in that instant, everyone's eyes turned to her.
Lilly waved one hand a bit awkwardly, smiled, and looked at me curiously, wondering where I was going with this.
"If you come across any interesting or potentially strong Pokémon in the forest or in the water today that might be a good fit for her, bring it back here to camp so Lilly can catch it," I finished.
I let my gaze slowly sweep over each of our Pokémon, and one by one, I received understanding and determined nods. Only Abra, Aron, and Zubat slept in the cool shade of the tent. The others were already shifting on the spot, hyped up and ready to head off on their own adventures.
"Dismissed, youngsters!" I commanded again in the tone of an army general, and at my word, the whole gang happily scattered.
Wartortle and Poliwhirl immediately ran toward the sea... closely followed by Houndoom.
The fact that the hellhound ran with them didn't surprise me that much, but it took my breath away that he even approached the water at all. And not only that—he jumped right into it without hesitation like a professional swimmer! I watched as Houndoom submerged completely under the sea's surface for a second, but immediately resurfaced and began paddling his paws confidently.
"Hound, Hound, Houndoooooom!" he howled triumphantly across the beach, celebrating his victory over an element he should theoretically hate.
However, his victory cry was instantly cut short by a thin, weak stream of water from Wartortle, hitting him straight in the snout. Wartortle vanished beneath the surface right after with an amused smirk.
The rest of us watching from the shore burst out laughing.
Meanwhile, Machoke and Haunter headed back into the forest—the fighting-type had clearly gone for a proper scouting of the terrain, while our ghost was just hungry and went looking for some wild berries or something to bite.
Bulbasaur lay down contentedly on Lilly's blanket, stretched out, and with closed eyes, began to soak in the warm sunbeams to the fullest. Geodude, on the other hand, squatted in the sand a little way from us and, with a small, focused smile, began building a rather impressive replica of Mt. Moon.
"That's the Pokémon sorted," I noted with a smile and suggested, "Shall we go into the sea?"
I pulled off my shirt and shorts right then and waited for an answer in just my boxers.
"I'd rather sunbathe," Lilly replied with slight disapproval.
But right after, she also began undressing, this time down to just her underwear. From what I remembered of her, she had always enjoyed freedom and had no problem being naked. After losing part of her arm, however, her confidence had probably suffered a bit. Despite that, she still had a beautiful figure—toned curves, a flat stomach, and naturally feminine shapes. And that content smile suited her more than anything else.
"We're at the sea, Lilly. Going for a swim is practically mandatory," Bran smirked at her.
Following our example, he was soon down to just his boxers too. I chose not to comment on his huge arms and otherwise disproportionately small chest muscles, shoulders, or legs. Still, there was a clear improvement. Pokémon genetics in this world worked wonders—in such a short period of active training with me, he had registered a visible increase in chest muscle, as if he were on some kind of steroids. Fortunately, though, I hadn't seen any needles on him.
"It's going to be hard to swim with only one arm," Lilly returned his smirk, clearly enjoying Bran's helpless reaction.
But I decided not to overthink it. I quickly dashed over to her and scooped her up right off the blanket like a sack of potatoes.
"Let me go, Patrik!" she screamed immediately. "That's not funny!"
"Don't worry, you won't drown," I replied in amusement, heading straight for the water.
"Bulbasaur, help me this instant!" she yelled at her Pokémon lying on the blanket.
I quickly glanced over my shoulder. Bulbasaur, however, only lazily cracked open one eye, instantly shut it again with utter indifference, and pretended to be asleep. So, accompanied by Bran's amused laughter, I continued on with my catch.
Lilly squirmed on my shoulder like a desperate Magikarp thrown onto dry land. In the end, I had to shift her to the front to keep a grip on her. She immediately wrapped her single arm tightly around my head.
"Please, no," she whimpered softly and pleadingly.
Too late.
I was mid-jump, and a second later, we both hit the cool sea waves with a loud splash. We immediately vanished beneath the surface. It was quite a shock—the transition from the hot air to the cold water knocked the breath out of me for a second. It wasn't freezing, though, but rather pleasantly refreshing. Lilly immediately started kicking her legs frantically, but she was still desperately clutching my head with her single arm, so I had to start paddling immediately as well.
In a second, we both surfaced. I had to tread water hard to keep us both up.
Now I didn't wonder at all why Houndoom had vanished beneath the surface so quickly right after jumping in. I had no doubt that this beach was man-made. It was practically impossible for such a beautiful sandy beach to exist, only for a depth so sudden to follow after just two steps that I couldn't touch the bottom at all despite being nearly two meters tall.
Houndoom immediately swam over to us energetically, pressing against us with his wet, heavy fur.
Even though Lilly was breathing heavily, she had a wide smile on her face, so I considered the whole operation an unequivocal win. A short distance away, Bran emerged from the water, soon following our example.
"Great water, right?" he smirked immediately, running his hand through his wet hair to slick it back.
Poliwhirl kept him close company, while my Wartortle was probably somewhere beneath us, conscientiously exploring the seabed.
"Yeah, it's awesome," I smiled back and then looked at our black swimmer. "Lilly, why don't you grab onto Houndoom and swim with him? He moves as if he was born for the water!"
I laughed, but thoughts were already swirling in my head.
Physical water didn't actually harm Fire-type Pokémon. Only auric water energy, which worked on a completely different principle, harmed them. After all, if they had a problem with pure water, they wouldn't even be able to drink it. Still, this was the first Fire-type Pokémon I had ever heard of throwing himself directly into the sea with such genuine joy... and I was sure he was seeing it for the first time in his life.
What followed was a few minutes of pure, unadulterated, almost childlike joy. While Houndoom circled us with Lilly clinging to his neck, Bran and I, after swimming a few laps, decided to attempt some "murder." I admit, I started it.
We were playing water wrestling, so to speak. Strength-wise, he could push me around with his massive biceps, but with skill and technique, I managed to dunk him under the surface significantly more times than he did me. It was quite fun drowning him—harmlessly, of course.
Lilly was a wonderful sight. All the worry, fear, and stress completely melted from her face during our sea antics, so I already considered today a massive success.
During our next wrestle, Houndoom wanted to join in too. He jumped on me from behind, but Lilly slipped from his neck and vanished beneath the surface. Before I could dive down for her, my turtle pushed her back up to the surface. Wartortle, simply put, was always on alert.
"Hound!" Houndoom barked at the sputtering Lilly with his tongue sticking out, and the game could cheerfully continue.
The hellhound desperately wanted to play, but with Wartortle's arrival, that desire quickly faded. The bullying swiftly turned against him, and when a tired Houndoom dragged himself out of the water onto the shore another half-hour later, the rest of us climbed out after him. We were laughing and happy, but thoroughly exhausted.
"Wartortle, could you catch something to eat? We're about to have lunch," I asked with a smile.
"War!" he nodded right from the water and vanished beneath the surface again a second later.
Fortunately, a satisfied Houndoom shook the water off himself a safe distance away from the others. If he had showered Bulbasaur, a war would probably have broken out on the beach.
Lilly collapsed onto the blanket next to her partner with a smile, wrapping her still-wet arms tightly around his body.
"Saaaaur..." Bulbasaur mumbled discontentedly, but in the end, he remained lying submissively in her embrace.
Meanwhile, Geodude was proving to be quite the artist. His sand Mt. Moon looked almost identical to the real thing, and he had made it so realistically it was unbelievable. He incorporated forests, paths, and bushes into the sandy details, stretching all the way to Cerulean City. Finally, he dug out a larger hollow in front of the entrance to crawl inside the sand mountain, where he fell asleep contentedly.
Meanwhile, Bran conscientiously stacked the gathered wood so it would burn well.
"Houndoom, light the fire pit," I ordered him.
He obeyed immediately, lighting the wood in the center of the hollow with a weak, perfectly controlled flame, just as I had taught him. Right after, he collapsed onto my blanket with a tired yawn.
While Haunter was still somewhere in the forest—probably feeding on the fear and energy of the local wildlife—Machoke stood nearby in the sand, bouncing around and throwing shadow punches into the air. He clearly didn't feel like going into the water, and the forest didn't seem to interest him either. More likely, he hadn't found anyone there to stand against him as an equal opponent.
It didn't take long before Wartortle tossed a pretty decent catch onto the beach. A massive white-and-orange Goldeen with a sharp horn on her forehead, which promised a hefty portion of meat just by looking at her. She was a rather attractive Pokémon, so some restaurants in coastal areas bought undamaged specimens like this—unmarred by battle—as luxury decorations for large aquariums. But for a Pokémon, it was a fate I wouldn't wish on anyone. Although authorities strictly monitored these tanks to ensure they were massive and provided enough swimming space, Goldeen were still significantly more intelligent than Magikarp. Trapping them in glass was a truly cruel punishment.
Before I could even walk over to her, the Goldeen stopped squirming entirely on the dry land. It was only when I lifted her by the tail that I noticed Wartortle had pierced her head precisely with his sharp claw.
It didn't really matter, so I tossed her straight onto the cutting board and began preparing her with sharp kitchen tools. First, I cut off the fins, part of the head along with the dangerous horn, and the tail, leaving only a clean piece of meat covered in scales on the board.
Next, I sliced her open, quickly and quite roughly removed the entrails, skinned her along with the scales, and cleaned up the large, firm pieces of meat. After this preparation, we were left with a good seven to eight kilograms of clean fish meat, so it was clear that all three of us, along with our Pokémon, would feast like kings for lunch today.
While Wartortle continued hunting, Poliwhirl was already standing by us. At my request, he used a gentle, controlled stream of water to thoroughly wash away any remaining sand from the cut chunks of meat and cleaned the board and knife as well.
Machoke then carried all the organic waste deeper into the forest so our camp wouldn't attract wild Pokémon, allowing me to quietly continue slicing the meat into neat, smaller fillets.
A moment later, the fresh meat was already simmering in frying pans alongside some vegetables. While Machoke and Houndoom opted for roasted pieces, Poliwhirl went ahead and grabbed a whole chunk of clean, raw fillet, biting into it with immense relish.
Another five minutes passed, and the surface of the sea parted once more as Wartortle tossed another Pokémon onto the dry land. Unlike the previous Goldeen, however, this one immediately stood up on all fours. With a completely blank, vacant stare, it began sizing us up, while its pink tail swung from side to side at a leisurely pace.
It was a Slowpoke.
It didn't take long—well, by his standards, it was actually a lightning-fast thought process—for him to finally realize that Wartortle had fished him out with the intention of turning him into lunch. But instead of panicking or attempting to flee, he walked straight toward us with complete composure.
"Slow... Slowpoke!" he greeted us phlegmatically, a surprising hint of brightness flashing in his eyes for a brief second.
***
Author's note:
Even trainers need a day to completely relax and goof around on the beach. And even though Lilly wasn't thrilled about getting in the water at first, it clearly did her some good!
I had fun writing Houndoom's unexpected plunge into the sea. What do you guys think of the distinction between physical and auric water? I always thought the idea of Fire-types being completely helpless in ordinary water was a bit of a stretch.
Also, what's the deal with that Slowpoke? Are we going to turn him into lunch, or is Lilly actually going to catch him? He's clearly not as clueless as he seems!
***
Step into the Restricted Section
The shadows are shifting, and the story goes much deeper... If you can't wait for the next update, Advanced Chapters are already waiting for you.
Enter the Restricted Section here: you-know-what/PatrikWriter
Upcoming Chapters – Already Written(15):
47. Not on the Menu
48. Blood in the Water
49. Beneath the Surface
50. Gearing Up
51. Borelli's Forge
52. Two Badges and a Persian
53. Steel, Silence, and Whispers
54. Steel and Blood
55. The Spoils of War
56. The Price of Survival
57. A Heavy Debt
58. Into the Dark
59. Where Dragons Feed
60. Heart of a Dragon
61. Time for a Training Arc
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