Pokémon: Start with an Admiral Crab!

"I never thought that Grandpa Xia Bo is also a barbecue master~"

"It makes sense that he is the master of a fire gym and is good at barbecue."

After dinner, Wang Yao and Xiao Feng chatted while soaking in the hot spring in Xia Bo's backyard, separated by a wooden wall.

Since it was a rare occasion for guests to come to the house, Xia Bo made a super large portion of grilled beef ribs for dinner to entertain the two of them.

When trimming the ribs, the scraps are cut into bite-sized pieces and skewered together for grilling.

Even though he hasn't cooked for a long time, Xia Bo's barbecue dishes are still well controlled in terms of heat and seasoning.

His barbecue skills are not inferior to Wang Yao's, and are even more sophisticated.

However, as people get older, their energy levels do decline dramatically. After dinner, Xia Bo went upstairs early to rest.

Wang Yao and Xiao Feng were left alone in the backyard enjoying the hot spring.

"—raise the pliers higher."

"Guji~"

Swish—!

Swish—!

Wang Yao used a large wire brush to clean the giant crab's shell.

Because the crab claws are too heavy, the giant crab is unable to clean the attachments on its shell by itself.

"This side is also fine... Whew! This is so tiring."

Wang Yao fetched a bucket of hot spring water and poured it on the crab shells to rinse off the dirt and debris rubbed off the crab shells.

"Octopus barrel—you come and help polish it."

Wang Yao wiped his sweat and handed the work over to the octopus bucket master.

"Woo~~"

The eight tentacles of the octopus barrel are very flexible. They have just helped the Scaredy and Arbok maintain their shells and scales. Now it is finally the turn of the Giant Claw Crab.

The towel coated with polishing cream is stretched back and forth by four tentacles and pulled back and forth quickly on the crab shell, so that even the various grooves can be quickly polished to a shine.

"Huh~ the temperature is just right..."

Wang Yao immersed his entire body in the hot spring pool.

Wow…

There was the sound of water coming from the other side of the wooden wall.

"I feel so sleepy all of a sudden - Ayao, I'm going to rest first!"

Xiao Feng walked out of the hot spring pool. She was already feeling a little sleepy.

"Well... I'll stay a little longer."

Wang Yao squinted his eyes and replied lazily.

After a while, the sound of a door closing was heard upstairs, and Wang Yaocai slowly opened his eyes.

"Octopus Bucket, go and put away the wooden wall."

Because the hot spring pool in Xia Bo's backyard is an integrated one, with only a removable wooden wall in the middle. After it is removed, it turns back into a large pool with a radius of ten meters.

And once Xiao Feng leaves, Wang Yao can release the Zapdos.

It wasn't that he was afraid of being seen...it was just a bit difficult to explain.

The Zapdos appeared directly in the pool, and the extra volume caused a lot of hot spring water to overflow, which then flowed away through the drain in the courtyard.

"Fuwu~"

The lightning bird chirped softly and stretched its wings on the spot.

Because the pool was only about one meter deep, most of the Zapdos' body was above the water.

But at this time, the Zapdos no longer had the airs of a divine bird in front of Wang Yao.

After getting out of the ball, he leaned against the pool wall like Wang Yao, with his wings stretched out in the water.

The three-meter-long yellow bird had only its head and part of its belly exposed above the water.

But the water in the pool overflowed again.

"Fu~~"

Zapdos made a relieved twang.

After more than a month of recovery, the hair on its head has grown several centimeters in length.

Of course, all this is thanks to the [Pokémon Hair Repair Potion] that Wang Yao bought at the cost of debt!

It’s definitely not because of natural growth!

After all, considering the long lifespan of Zapdos, its hair growth should be extremely slow.

Right!

At least that's what Zapdos thinks...

So is Wang Yao.

If there is any misjudgment, it is all because of Dr. Tamba, a hair care expert, who went wrong in his research on Pokémon hair regeneration!

It has nothing to do with Wang Yao.

……

After washing the Zapdos and praising the magic of the hair repair potion...it was almost time for Wang Yao to go to bed.

"Oh~~ Another fulfilling and tiring day..."

Wang Yao stretched, dried himself, put on a bathrobe, and went back to his room to sleep.

"Coward—wake me up at seven-thirty."

"Guji~"

As usual, Wang Yao set the alarm, wrapped himself in the quilt and fell asleep.

……

"Are you leaving now?"

Xia Bo stood at the door to see Wang Yao and Xiao Feng off.

He still misses the feeling of being with young people.

"I'm going to Vermilion City to continue my gym challenge..."

Wang Yao's route had already been decided.

Previously, his team couldn't defeat Gym Master Ma Zhishi's Raichu due to their attributes... This is also one of the reasons why he took a detour through the Diglett Cave.

As for now - Wang Yao hopes that Xiao Ma will perform well and not let his gym challenge experience become too boring.

"Since you said there are snow boys on the Twin Islands... of course I have to go and see them~"

Xiao Feng has to complete the journey that was missed due to the storm...that is, to cross Waterway 21 and head to the Gemini Islands covered with ice and snow.

Xia Bo had seen many ice-attribute Pokémon on the Twin Islands, including Snow Boy.

[PS: In the Piyi version, there are Articuno, Mimi, Clam, White Sea Lion and other ice-type elves on the Twin Islands... It makes sense for me to add a Snow Boy. ]

Because the journey was quite far, Wang Yao directly bought a cruise ticket this time. Xiao Feng was very close to the Gemini Islands, and with a map, he could easily arrive there by riding the Diya Sea Lion.

Therefore, the two people who formed the temporary team separated.

"After I subdue the Snow Boy, I will also go to Vermilion Leaf City~Ayao, you have to wait for me!"

Xiao Feng said goodbye to Wang Yao.

"no problem!"

Wang Yao agreed immediately.

He was going to visit the Toucan and the Ironclad Tyrannosaurus anyway... He might have to stay in Vermilion City for about three days.

As for why it was three days——because he had an invitation ticket to the Pokémon Center!

……

Wang Yao, who had boarded the Ink Sea Horse, had already changed into a casual shirt in southern style.

“It’s still the most relaxing to take a boat ride~”

Wang Yao, wearing a straw hat, was lying on a beach chair on the deck of the cruise ship, holding a glass of iced juice in his hand.

"Guji~"

The coward who was acting as a waiter beside him helped Wang Yao get a plate of free fruit from the buffet restaurant.

The Ink Sea Horse is a medium-sized sightseeing cruise ship, nearly 120 meters in length, so trainers on board are allowed to release a small Pokémon.

In fact, the requirements are not very strict. Generally speaking, as long as the Pokémon does not exceed the trainer's weight, it will be allowed to release the Poké Ball.

"Ahem - good morning, ladies and gentlemen!"

Just as Wang Yao was enjoying cold drinks and free fruits on the stern deck, a voice suddenly came from the public loudspeaker on the yacht.

"I am the captain of the Ink Sea Horse - Li Yang."