Beach Barbeque
Ash rubbed his head to relax the migraine that he was feeling, as he was supported by Pikachu and Charmander who had entered the room, after Ash had not returned to play with him. Gary was being supported by an equally worried Eevee and Litten who was licking his cheek to comfort him. Gary opened his eyes and smiled reassuringly at Litten and Eevee before looking at Lance who still had his eyes closed. He looked more relaxed than before and definitely looked less tense. Ash got up and tapped Lance on the shoulder before sitting back and waiting for him to wake up.
Lance opened his eyes and croaked, "So that's what a core looks like."
Ash smiled a bit sadly, "Not exactly, no. A core is not locked up like that. It's more open and deep. It is us, at our rawest form."
Gary nodded, "Yeah dude, I don't know who put those things on you but whoever it was. They are powerful."
Dragonite nudged his trainer, -Are you okay Lance?-
Lance's eyes widened, "I'm alright old friend, I apologize for worrying you."
Dragonite shook his head, -It was not your fault, I'm just happy you are okay, Lance.-
Lance's eyes softened, "Thank you my friend, truly."
Dragonite's eyes widened when he realized his trainer could understand him, -You understood what I said? You truly understood. I'm so happy. We can finally be bonded properly, like the stories of the old said, we would.-
Ash observed the two, "Dragonite looks really happy."
Gary nodded, "He must have been very worried about you Lance."
Lance smiled softly, "He was worried, but he is more happy that I can understand him. I mean actually understand, what he is saying."
Ash brightened, "Awesome! This shows that breaking the weakest chain was completely worth it."
Blaine looked at Ash, "You guys broke one of the chains?"
Gary nodded, "It was hard but breaking it helped Lance connect with the core. His inner self or his mind you could say, was asleep near his core but when we broke the chain he woke up and Lance connected with it. It's a small connection right now but I'm sure, we can get rid of the rest of the chains soon."
Lance blinked, "That's.... You will have to give me a detailed description of what happened in there."
Ash made himself comfortable while Pikachu and Charmander made themselves comfortable on his lap, he started to explain his part of how he connected to Gary, first. Gary who was sitting with Eevee and Litten on both sides explained how he met Ash and what they talked about as they searched for Lance's core. Lance and Blaine listened fascinated to the rules Ash had told Gary about entering cores. Ash then proceeded to tell him everything that happened inside his core, how they tried to wake him up but failed and then finally deciding to try and break the weakest chain present. They ended it with returning to the real world, but not before Gary saw Lance inside the core had woken up.
Blaine, "You kids had quite an adventure. Are you sure, you are alright?"
Lance, "So we can connect with other cores. I'm actually happy, that it is difficult to connect with others though."
Ash, "We are fine Blaine promise ~ Also we are taking a break for today. I don't want to push my luck."
Gary sat back nodding, "We can Lance and I agree with your feeling. I can't imagine my core being locked away like that."
Blaine hummed contemplative, "Perhaps a break is a good idea... I have to inform your grandfather about this new abilities of yours though. I promised him after all."
Lance, "And I need to get back to my actual mission. Which is to win Moltres' favour and bring the Flame back to the league."
Blaine looked at Lance, "Is this your first mission as a Kanto Champion?"
Lance nodded, "You said Moltres was here on the island."
Blaine looked at the kids, "She came here to gift them... Yes, yes, Moltres is a Lady."
Lance nodded and decided to get to work and left but not before promising to say goodbye when his work was done. Ash and Gary waved and wished him good luck in winning the Fire Lady's favour back. The wild Magmar watched everything from outside along his sibling.
Wild Magmar, -Hm! The young warrior might have a chance to win back Milady's favour.-
Magmar, -Perhaps. She has been worried about the line, the Kanto dragons had chosen to represent them.-
Wild Magmar mused, -There might still be hope and from what I can see, he will become strong and perhaps maybe, we will have the Dragon aura users among us again.-
Magmar, -Indeed, will you be joining the children at the beach?-
Wild Magmar, -I gave my word to My Lord and My Lady to watch over them as long as they are on this island.-
As the two Magmars talked, Ash and Gary decided to prepare for the barbeque. It was late afternoon but too early in the evening. Cooper soon joined them after he finished his work and offered to help them get the barbeque items from the storage. It was old but still useable after a good and thorough cleaning in hot water. Cooper led Ash and Gary to a more private area at the beach and this time the group has two Pokemon added, Charmander and Litten. They refused to let Ash and Gary leave without them and only after getting permission from Blaine they let went out. Blaine was contemplative and apprehensive, as he looked at the two beginner fire type Pokemon. He had seen the gleam in the eyes of many fire types and wished Pikachu and Eevee good luck dealing with the possessive nature. But that was not even the main problem, they will be going to meet new trainers soon, he got a headache just thinking of the drama that will happen.
Cooper stopped at a spot on the beach, "Here we are, I'll set up the barbeque grill and table."
Ash nodded, "I'll barbeque the fish and the lobsters."
Gary piped up, "I'll do the oysters, clamps and muscles. I read a really good recipe before coming here."
Cooper blinked, "You two can barbeque?"
Ash grinned, "Our older brothers taught us how to."
Gary nodded, "It was difficult at first, but we got the hang of it."
Cooper, "Big brothers are already teaching you how to survive in the wild, huh?"
Gary waved it off, "Nah! Not exactly."
Ash laughed, "They were babysitting us when they decided that wanted to show off their skills they learned."
Cooper laughed, "Your brothers sound like a lot of fun."
Ash giggled, "They are~"
Ash took over prepping the fish and the lobsters for the grill, while Gary prepared the oysters, muscles and clamps. The smell coming from the grills was really good in Cooper's opinion, and his mouth watered just imagining how good it will taste. Cooper all of a sudden had an epiphany of chasing away many boys and girls from the two boys in the future. He snorted and waved the ridiculous thought away and got to making drinks, non - alcoholic for the kiddies, alcoholic for the adults. As they were prepping the food, they heard a few Pokemon cries coming towards them. Axel's Scyther, Luke's Venomoth and Lisa's Raichu was coming towards them followed by their trainers and the rest of the Pokemon.
Ash greeted them happily, "Hey everyone, welcome to the Beach barbeque."
Gary introduced them, "Cooper, these are Axel, Luke and Lisa. We have been hanging out with them, whenever we can."
Cooper nodded, "We met before. Great battle today Lisa. It was pretty impressive."
Lisa smirked, "Thanks Cooper. I didn't know, you knew Ash and Gary though."
Cooper grinned, "I'm their babysitter for today."
Luke laughed, "Good to know there's someone watching out for them."
Axel, "Yeah! What's up with that Magmar over there though?"
Cooper looked towards the Magmar that had followed them, "He's doing his job of keeping the kids safe, believe it or not."
Axel, "Huh? You learn something new everyday."
Luke grinned, "Yeah? Or maybe these two just make you want to protect them."
Cooper smirked, "I would not be surprised."
Lisa walked towards Ash and Gary, "Do you need any help with the barbeque?"
Gary piped up, "Well... If you could prepare the hot dog bun, hamburger bun, baguettes and loaves of bread in the brown paper bag. It would be great."
Lisa, "Got it. How do you want your bread?"
Ash turned the fish, "I want mine grilled with butter."
Gary, "Grill mine with the butter and garlic."
Luke, "I'll help you."
Axel, "I'll get the food for the Pokemon ready then."
Ash, "Thank you."
Gary, "Appreciate it!"
Cooper, "I'll show you which food is for which Pokemon."
The group prepared the barbeque dinner working together, with a few accidental spills here and there. They laughed and ate as Lisa recalled her battle for the badge. She told them how Blaine almost defeated her but in the last minute her Wartotle evolved into the magnificent Blastoise in front of them and got her a win. Of course, she had to rush her Pokemon to the Pokemon centre and nurse them but they all healed up pretty well despite the beat down they got. Gary's eyes sparkled as he took in the fully evolved from of the squirtle line, making Blastoise feel very proud of how they turned out.
Ash was sitting with Raichu next to him, "So where will you guys go to next?"
Axel, "I'm challenging Koga next so Fuchisa city."
Luke, "I'm going to challenge the Viridian city gym leader, Giovanni, so I guess, I'll be heading that way."
Lisa, "I'm challenging Sabrina, so my next destination is Saffron city."
Cooper gave a whistle, "You guys are challenging the main gyms? That's impressive."
Ash, "Main gyms?"
Cooper smiled, "Kanto has many gyms in the cities and towns, due to how large the region is, among these gyms there are eight main gyms. If you beat the eight main then you do not need to collect fifteen lower level gym badges to qualify for the league. Eight badges are more than enough as they are powerful gyms."
Luke spoke up, "On top of that, they are responsible for protecting the cities and the area and towns as well as any villages around the vicinity, they are in from any danger out there. So they have a very high authority all things considered."
Ash gaped, "I didn't know that."
Lisa bit her fish burger, "You learn that stuff when you go to Pokeschool, to get ready for a licence."
Gary nodded, "Makes sense."
The group chatted about the rules of the league and the different routes they can take and took when they were journeying in the Kanto region. Luke spoke of his own battles with Sabrina and Koga, how Sabrina's little Abra may not be strong physically but was a very clever and tricky guy to defeat and how Koga's poison type Pokemon were really though and you had to be extra careful as they enjoyed mixing their attacks with poison a lot. Axel and Lisa thanked Luke for the heads up and promised that they will have a sound strategy by the time they challenge the gym.
The group enjoyed the barbeque till it was time for the three trainers to depart. Ash, Gary and Cooper waved them farewell from the docks before they returned to the lab. Magmar followed them till they were safely inside before returning to his own home. Litten and Charmander however were reluctant to return to their pokeballs that caused Blaine to be exasperated and promised to allow them to spend more time with the two kids the next day. The two beginner Pokemon lit up like the sun at that promise and went back to the pokeball without any further problems.
Blaine, 'Looks like I'll have to prepare two new trainers for disappointment.'