When they arrived near Ice Lake, Lu Ze and the others couldn't help but stare.
The scene before them—groups picnicking along the shoreline—made them wonder if they'd walked into the wrong place.
Around the lake's edge, grills crackled with roasting meat. Some people were fishing from the shore while others were directly scooping fish from the water.
A row of makeshift shops lined the area, their vendors' calls and laughter blending together.
There was even the sound of people drinking beer, playing cards, rolling dice, and betting on finger games.
"Uh… is this really Ice Lake?"
"Let me check."
Fugui opened his map with a puzzled expression and pulled up the Ice Lake entry.
"Uh… yeah, it's right. According to this, because the Pokémon here don't actually live in the water, and Black Zone Pokémon don't need food, the lake is packed with resources. Fish, shrimp, crabs, loaches—the whole deal."
"So… does that mean we can have a cookout too?"
The moment Fugui finished, Su Tingxi's eyes lit up as he turned to Lu Ze.
The past couple of days had been all convenience food—sure, edible, but it got old. And now with these conditions right in front of them? Not taking advantage would be a crime.
Lu Ze glanced around at the others. They were all looking at him with gleaming eyes. He smiled.
"Sure—you catch the fish, I'll grill."
"YES!"
Both girls jumped up in excitement.
Sui Yan, Su Tingxi, and Fugui rushed off to the lakeside vendors to buy fishing rods and nets.
"I… I'll grill with you."
"Sure."
Lu Ze smiled, then got started on preparations with Sui Yan.
After marking out their spot, Lu Ze went to buy a grill and various seasonings.
Where there were people, there was business. Of course the shops had fishing gear—they also had grills, seasonings, and vendored cuts of beef, lamb, pork, chicken wings, and chicken legs. Ridiculous.
After getting the grill, Lu Ze bought seasonings. Tang Yunqin and Linling Yin went to buy beef and lamb.
Worth noting: the meat here came in two versions—marinated and unmarinated. After asking Lu Ze, the girls bought equal amounts of both. They'd marinate some themselves, eat the pre-marinated batch first, then move on to their own once those ran out.
While the two Charizard were still getting the charcoal going with Flamethrower, Crawdaunt strode over with a claw clamped around one fish in each pincer—chest puffed out with pride.
*Snap! Snap!*
Two fish hit the ice. Crawdaunt then raised its head and shot Sui Yan and the other two a look of pure disdain.
They'd been at the lake this whole time and had caught absolutely nothing.
"Awesome!"
Lu Ze gave Crawdaunt a thumbs-up, then turned to Yuyou Yin.
"Yuyou—buy a fish scaler and a knife. I forgot those."
"On it."
Yuyou got excited too. He jogged back to the lakeside shops and came back not just with a scaler and knife, but also some bowls and chopsticks so everyone could eat more easily.
Soon, the two Charizard had the charcoal burning with well-aimed Flamethrower bursts. Lu Ze started cooking.
Snorlax and Dratini had been unable to resist the aroma of roasting meat wafting through the air from the moment it started—and now they were both pressed right up against the grill, waiting impatiently for the first batch to come off.
Lu Ze didn't keep them waiting. The meat rolled and flipped over the grill, with chili powder, cumin, cumin seeds, and just a hint of salt sprinkled over it, seeping into the meat as it cooked.
The first batch came off the grill fast. One piece for each person or Pokémon, and there was barely anything left.
Couldn't be helped—there were too many Pokémon.
Lu Ze had seven Pokémon (not counting Deoxys). Sui Yan had six. Tang Yunqin had five, though she'd only brought three with her—her Galarian Vulpix and Ice Vulpix were back with her mother.
Su Tingxi had five. Fugui, Yuyou, and Linling each had four.
Thirty-three Pokémon total. Thank goodness Lu Ze had claimed a big enough spot—otherwise they wouldn't have fit.
"Come get your BBQ!"
Lu Ze had served everyone—both human and Pokémon—and now turned to yell at the three still battling with the lake's fish.
"You all go ahead!"
The three refused. How could Crawdaunt bring fish and they couldn't? Sure, it was getting toward evening, but they'd had a big lunch—they weren't hungry. Pride was the issue.
After bringing two fish on its first trip, Crawdaunt had gone right back into the water. A short while later, it emerged again with two more fish.
And Sui Yan, Su Tingxi, and Fugui? After working together for all that time, their total catch was one finger-length loach, some tiny lake shrimp, and a baby crab.
"Boys, come on—we're literally being looked down on by a Crawdaunt!"
"I want to!" Fugui turned to Sui Yan with a miserable face. "But is this something you can fix by trying harder?"
Three amateurs, nearly half an hour, zero results. Meanwhile, Lu Ze's first batch of BBQ was already done. Who could stand that?
"Ah—I want BBQ…"
Su Tingxi stared at the net they'd just hauled up, containing nothing but a few jumping shrimp, and let out another lament.
Sui Yan's eyes went wide. "What! You want to betray the revolution?"
Su Tingxi sighed. "Fine, fine—let's try one more net."
The three had just cast their net when Crawdaunt waded out of the lake beside them with two more fish clamped in its claws.
It glanced at the three of them sideways, then carried its fish toward Lu Ze.
"HEY! My temper's flaring—I'm not leaving until I catch a fish today!"
Sui Yan blew his top. Being dissed by a lobster? Unacceptable.
With that, he put everything into one more cast.
*…*
" This is amazing—I'm telling you, Lu Ze, your grilling skills are unreal. The stuff they sell at the school's back-gate food stall can't compare."
Sui Yan was gorging himself alongside the grill. Su Tingxi and Fugui said nothing, heads bowed.
Embarrassing!
Crawdaunt had brought back eight big fish. Sui Yan and the others? One tiny fish, maybe the length of a finger. That was it.
With that kind of comparison in mind, Sui Yan went sprinting back the moment Lu Ze called out—"Fish is enough, come eat BBQ!"
Finally, except for the few Pokémon that didn't eat fish, the smaller ones split one fish, Snorlax ate one, Lu Ze and the others split two, Sui Yan ate one by himself, and the remaining three went to the Charizard, Alolan Dugtrio, and Altaria and their group.
The BBQ was almost gone now. Even though Snorlax had eaten a filling nutrition cube before the meal started, it was still planted right by the grill, waiting.
The little ones—Dratini, Probopass, Eevee, Deino, Mareep, Goomy, Ralts, and Bulbasaur—were all lying on the ground with round, full bellies.
Tang Yunqin had laid out blankets for them so they weren't directly against the ice. Eating hot food and then lying on ice could give them stomach aches.
*…*
At the Sand Pit, on a rock formation in the yellow sand, Soren Li watched the two groups meet up. His eyes sharpened.
"Time to move."
"Ne!"
Author's note: Got caught up today. Two chapters first—I'll post the third one later tonight or this afternoon.
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