Pokemon: Radical Redux-Chapter 357: Got the new Power up

A while later, everyone was sitting in Chuck's dojo having dinner, along with Chuck, his wife, and all the students in his dojo. It was honestly impressive, Chuck gave his students training, and afterward, they got three meals a day cooked by his wife. So, a few extra people was pretty much nothing, since Chuck's wife cooked a lot of food anyway.

Everyone was eating and enjoying conversation. Liko and the others even went over and invited the rest of the Rising Volt Tacklers, who happily joined in and were enjoying themselves too.

The long tables were lined with steaming dishes. Cain was seated dramatically on a floor cushion, sipping miso soup with his pinky raised.

"Now this is how you celebrate a battle. Honestly, why don't more Gyms do this? We should normalize feast-based Gym culture."

Heather, sitting across from him, deadpanned, "Because most Gym Leaders don't have a personal chef for a spouse."

Cain paused. "...Touché, darling. Still, I stand by my point."

Meanwhile, Murdock and Brock were in the kitchen with notepads in hand as they watched Chuck's wife cook, writing things down like it was going to be on the final exam.

"The seasoning balance! The perfect texture!" Brock exclaimed.

Murdock nodded. "And the desserts you're making, they're incredible! Your mochi is the best I've ever had. What's your secret?"

She chuckled warmly as she refilled a rice bowl. "Practice. I have to keep my husband happy, don't I? And I cook for so many people, I've learned a thing or two."

Shelly walked up with Liko. "Um, thank you... it's delicious. Thank you for having us."

"If you want, we can help, you know, clean up," Liko offered.

Chuck's wife laughed softly as she took the stack of plates from them. "Aww, aren't you two cute? But no can do, you're guests. What kind of host would I be if I asked you to clean up?"

Misty walked up holding a few plates and handed them over as well. "Well, thank you. And for what it's worth, it's all delicious. You could really open a restaurant if you wanted to."

She laughed softly. "If I did that, Chuck would just move into the restaurant and never leave."

"I mean, she's not wrong," Chuck admitted, patting his belly. "I married her for her left hook, but I stayed for the dumplings."

That got a round of laughter from the room, especially when one of the younger students piped up, "No wonder we have to run laps every morning."

"Yeah, I can confirm. My mom ran a restaurant, if I didn't exercise every day, I'd probably be fat," Ash said, arm-wrestling two of Chuck's students at once without even looking.

Meanwhile, in the background, Vee went off to enjoy himself. Pikachu offered Vee some ketchup. Since Vee had never tried the stuff, he hesitantly reached out a little paw and licked some. He immediately hated it, he preferred dry flavors instead.

Pikachu flinched and pointed at him accusingly, "Pika! [What, you think just because you don't like that, you're more mature than me?!]"

"Vee... [I never said anything, dude. I just don't like overly sweet stuff like you.]"

Pikachu squinted, "Pika... [You know what you did...]"

Vee took a bite from his Micle Berry, "Ve... [Yes I do.]"

Ash grinned as he won the arm-wrestling match with one hand, casually sipping tea with the other, "Come on, that's it? Chuck's training has really gone soft," he teased, only to yelp as Bea cracked her knuckles behind him.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked flatly, already sitting down and locking hands with him.

"Ha, fine. We didn't get to fight, but let's settle it with this. Winner is the official winner. Deal?" Ash said with a smirk.

Bea smiled back. "Alright, deal. Let's settle this once and for all."

Chuck came over and placed his hands over theirs. "Alright then, standard rules. If your elbow leaves the table, you're disqualified. Everything else is fair game. Go!" he said, letting them go.

Immediately, they started, arms shaking. Ash wasn't using Aura, just pure physical strength, and he was matching Bea, who, by the way, literally trains and spars with her Machamp every day.

As this was going on, Yellow finished another plate of cake and glanced at the dessert table, which had just been refilled. She leaned close to Misty, "Do you think it's rude to go back for fourths?"

"Not unless you take the last slice of chocolate cake," Misty joked, patting her shoulder.

Roy, who had been silent this whole time because he was too busy eating, looked up. He swallowed his mouthful of food and blinked at Yellow, "Fourths? I'm already on my seventh plate!"

Misty gestured at Roy. "See what I mean? Just don't turn into him and you're fine."

Yellow blushed slightly, but didn't stop herself as she refilled her plate at the dessert table, watching Ash and Bea arm-wrestle.

Bea and Ash were still at it, their arms trembling from the pressure, "Give it up, you can't go forever," Bea said through clenched teeth.

"Do your worst. I had a Dragonite as a neighbor, most of my bones have already been broken," Ash shot back, as the table beneath them audibly cracked.

"Ha! Then let's up the ante. If you win, I'll give you something. If I win, you have to tell me what that move your Charizard was using was."

"Aight, bet. You'll never beat me when I go into maximum overdrive," Ash said with a smirk, activating just a touch of Aura. Bea's arm slowly began to lower.

Now, if this were a different kind of story, Bea might've leaned in and kissed Ash to distract him and steal the win. Unfortunately, it's not that kind of story, and Ash and Bea aren't dating, so that didn't happen.

Ash slammed Bea's hand down onto the table. Immediately, people burst into cheers and laughter as both competitors rubbed their slightly numb hands from gripping so tightly.

Brock pumped a fist. "Let's gooo! That's my boy right there!"

Bea, to her credit, didn't look too upset. She nodded with a small, respectful smirk, "Not bad. That almost makes up for you dodging our rematch."

With that, everyone returned to laughing and chatting. Shelly, who had been quietly watching from the side, smiled to herself. She wasn't sure what it was, but seeing everyone so relaxed and happy made her feel a little more at home. She caught herself glancing at Ash, then quickly turned back to her food, gently rubbing the Poké Ball Bugsy had given her.

Back with the Pokémon, Pikachu and Vee continued their little stare-down, until Sprigatito slipped between them and casually stole both their snacks, unnoticed.

"Spriiiii..." she purred contentedly, darting off to find Cyndaquil and Quaxly to share the stolen loot.

Vee blinked, looked down at the now-empty spot where his Micle Berry had been, and sighed. "Vee..."

Pikachu huffed, then offered Vee another ketchup packet, only for Vee to gently push it away with a look of polite horror.

A few hours later, it was getting late. Most of Chuck's students had returned to their dorms, since they had to get up early for training, which Chuck decided would involve helping to rebuild the town.

Friede, sipping tea with Cap beside him doing the same, looked over at Chuck, "You know, after everything that's happened, I almost forgot, but I've got a question for you, if you don't mind me asking."

Chuck nodded with a warm smile. "Sure, ask away, but I can't promise I'll be able to answer."

Friede nodded, "Well, you see, my team and I came to Johto looking for Entei. And we heard from the Gym Leader in Olivine that there might've been sightings around these islands..."

Chuck stopped and frowned, looking down.

"Yeah... that's accurate. I'm sure I've also heard that the Legendary Beasts have been going around challenging Gym Leaders, for something."

"Did you get challenged too?" Orla asked, setting down her cup of coffee. Everyone at the table was listening now.

"Yeah, I did get attacked, but not by Entei. It was Suicune. Strangest thing too... it happened the day my friend Walker was coming to visit. After that, he went missing. I've been doing what I can to support his son. Sometimes my wife visits him and brings him home-cooked meals."

"It hasn't been easy," he continued, voice heavy. "Falkner buried himself in his work, being both a police officer and Gym Leader, and I've been searching, but we haven't found anything."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Horace said gently. "Do you think Suicune had something to do with it?"

"I did at first," Chuck admitted. "I found Walker's torn jacket and thought... I thought he'd been killed by Suicune." His voice caught in his throat. "But the more I looked at the scene, the less sense it made. No blood. Nobody. Just... his jacket, draped over a tree branch. And a trail of mist."

Ash listened closely. He and the core gang, Misty, Brock, and Yellow, exchanged silent glances before Ash spoke up.

"You know... I don't think they're after the Gym Leaders to hurt them."

"Really? Why do you say that?" Chuck asked, curious.

"We fought against them," Brock said. "With Falkner, funny enough. All three of them, Entei, Raikou, and Suicune. And as for Suicune, well... Misty and Yellow challenged it, but—"

"Suicune didn't fight us," Misty cut in. "It just looked at us," she admitted. "I'm next in line to become a Gym Leader, so... maybe it was testing us somehow."

"W-wait... Gym Leaders in training c-count?" Shelly stammered, her face paling. She was training to take over for Bugsy, and the idea of being targeted by a Legendary was hitting a little too close to home.

Heather glanced over at Shelly, who was gripping her Poké Ball like a lifeline, "Hey," she said quietly, nudging her with an elbow. "Don't psych yourself out. You're not alone."

Shelly blinked at the unexpected softness in Heather's voice. She gave a small nod, comforted more than she expected.

Cain added with a calm smile, "Yeah. Don't worry. If any mythical beasts come charging in, they'll have to get through me first to get to you two."

Heather smirked. "Yeah, and hey, look on the bright side. If they do come, we can just use Cain as our meat shield and run away. So don't be scared."

Chuck sighed, rubbing his beard, "If they're testing people... then maybe it's not about hurting us. Maybe they're trying to find someone."

"That's what I'm thinking," Ash said, leaning forward. "If they wanted to do damage, they could've. But they didn't. Suicune looked at Misty and Yellow and left. Like it... approved."

"Huh," Friede muttered, crossing his arms. "This rabbit hole just gets weirder. So it's after Gym Leaders... Well, maybe we should start tracking down the ones that haven't been targeted yet. That might lead us to Entei."

Chuck rubbed his beard again, visibly debating something. Then he looked at Friede, "If you don't mind me asking... why are you looking for Entei?"

Friede sighed. "It's kind of a long story... but we're looking for six ancient heroes. And we think Entei is one of them. We want to ask for its help."

Chuck nodded slowly. That was enough for him, he could tell they weren't acting out of selfishness, "Well, you might not need to search far. Entei is known to live near volcanoes."

"Yeah, we heard a bit from Jasmine," Mollie chimed in. "She told us there were some sightings."

Chuck nodded, "It's true, there have been sightings. Some fishermen here in Cianwood say they've seen Entei around the smaller islands near the Whirl Islands, specifically the one next to Blue Point Isle. People living there have reported multiple sightings."

Friede nodded thoughtfully, "Huh, interesting... Alright. Thanks, Chuck. We'll check it out, and if we find anything about your friend, we'll let you know. But for now, I think we all need a good night's sleep. What do you all think?"

"I think that's probably a good idea. I'm exhausted after the day we've had," Dot said. "Besides, I want to get to my computer."

Liko lit up at that and looked at Dot, "Oh, are you going to edit a Nido—" She abruptly cut herself off, realizing what she was saying. She quickly slapped her hands over her mouth, cheeks flushing. "I mean, uh, nothing. Nothing at all."

"Well, whatever that was," Horace said, raising an eyebrow, "yeah, I could use some sleep too."

Ash stood up and stretched his arms, "I'ma go for a walk first," he said casually, heading for the door.

Misty's hand slammed down on the table, "STOP HIM!"

Everyone froze. Ash blinked, one foot halfway out the door. Then, chaos.

His friends who knew what 'a walk' meant scrambled to their feet and charged. Ash bolted, but it was too late.

What followed was a full group tackle, a blur of limbs, shouting, and tape. Ash was dragged back to the rooms, tied up in rope, and squirming with tape over his mouth, trying to mumble something about revenge. ƒreewebɳovel.com

"...Is that normal?" Bea asked Yellow, one of the few who hadn't moved.

"It has been since we got to Johto," Yellow sighed, as Pikachu walked over and gently patted her back in solidarity.

—-

The Next Morning

Aside from the fact that Ash escaped at some point during the night, not much happened. The group had breakfast together, helped out a little more around town, and eventually it was time to split paths.

Horace had already said his goodbyes and headed home, he lived on the island, after all.

Most of the Rising Volt Tacklers had gone ahead to wait on the ship, ready to help out with the Entei search. Their reason? Misty. She'd learned from Chuck's wife that the Whirl Cup would be held nearby, and the island where Entei was last seen was right next to the competition site.

And, frankly, every time they didn't go looking for trouble, they somehow ended up in it anyway. Maybe this time, by walking straight into the mess, they could actually prepare for it.

Ash walked alongside Liko, a few steps behind Misty and Brock, rubbing his wrists where the rope had left faint marks.

"You know," he muttered, "one of these days, I won't try to sneak off, and you'll all be sorry."

"Not if we beat you to it," Misty teased, elbowing him.

"Yeah," Yellow added softly. "You looked cozy... all wrapped up. Like a Caterpie in a cocoon."

"At least you got a full night's sleep," Liko chimed in.

Ash rolled his eyes. That's when he spotted Cain, Shelly, and Heather up ahead. He waved to the others.

"I'll meet you guys on the ship," he said, jogging over. "Yo! You guys good?"

Heather looked up and sighed, "Shelly's still got cold feet after realizing she might be on Suicune's hit list."

"H-Hey!" Shelly stammered. "I didn't think I'd have to deal with anything that scary! What happened to just wanting to fight Gym Leaders?!" She buried her face deeper into her hoodie, resembling a nervous turtle.

Ash sighed, "Well, good luck, and you know, if you need help, you've got my number, right?"

Shelly blinked, "N-number? I-uh... no, I don't think I do..."

Ash nudged his Rotom Phone, which zipped out of his pocket and hovered in front of Shelly. She stiffened, startled, but pulled out her own phone and tapped to exchange contact info. Ash's phone beeped and zipped back into his pocket.

"There. If you need help, just call me and I can teleport to you," Ash said with a warm smile. "Does that make things a little better?"

Shelly stared at her screen, where Ash's number now sat in her contacts. She nodded faintly, "I... yeah. I feel a little better. Thank you."

Ash grinned, "Alright, well, I better get to the ship before they tie me up again. See ya!" He waved and jogged off.

Shelly held her phone a little tighter.

Cain leaned over with a smirk, "Hey, you just got a good-looking guy's number. Lucky~ don't suppose you'll share?"

Heather rolled her eyes, grabbed Shelly by the arm, and started dragging her toward their own boat, "Shut up, Cain."

—-

Ash caught up with the rest of the group just as they reached the ship. Pikachu and Vee were already waiting, having spent the night hanging out with Cap.

Friede spotted Ash approaching, "Alright, that's everyone accounted for. Is everyone ready to go?"

Just before Ash stepped onto the ship, a voice called out behind them, "Wait!"

Everyone turned to see Bea jogging toward them.

Ash blinked, "Oh, hey, what's up?"

Bea stopped in front of him, slightly out of breath, "I still haven't given you what I meant to give you yesterday."

Ash waved his hands, "Oh, no, you don't have to give me anything. We were just training, right?"

Bea shook her head and grabbed his wrist, "No. I wanted to give you this. Especially after what I saw you do against that Black Tyranitar."

People on the ship shifted awkwardly, some misreading the moment, but Bea ignored them. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a bracelet, pressing it into Ash's hand before letting him go.

Ash blinked and looked down, "This is..."

Bea stood tall, arms crossed, "My Dynamax Band. And don't try to give it back, I've got more at home. I finished my training here, so I'm heading back to Galar. Besides... that thing your Charizard did? You can charge it even without being in Galar. Might come in handy."

Ash looked at the band, then smiled, "Thanks. I'll keep it safe."

He called out, and Charizard came flying down from above. Ash hadn't sent him back to Charicific Valley yet, they were chasing Entei, after all.

He slipped the Dynamax Band onto his wrist and held it up, "Hey, can you give me a charge?"

Charizard puffed out his chest confidently, then raised his head. With a roar, he let out a focused, condensed [Eternabeam] that fired straight into the Band. It glowed red-hot as it absorbed the energy, pulsing with power.

Bea nodded, clearly impressed, "As I thought."

Ash looked at the glowing band, then back at her, "Thanks, really. And one day, we'll have a real rematch. You can count on it."

"I look forward to it," Bea said with a smile punching Ash in the shoulder, and held her hand out "Now go. Your friends are waiting."

Ash took her outstretched hand and shook it, then turned and jogged up the ramp.

Their next destination: the Whirl Islands.

---

Remember at 500 stones you'll get your new Chapter...probably tomorrow, unless you somehow get to 1000 before that