Glacia led Lucas to the reserved room.
The moment the sliding door opened, a fresh, pleasant woody incense scent wafted into his nose. The room was spacious with several bedrooms, so there was no worry about feeling cramped. More importantly, all the necessary furniture was arranged tastefully. Lucas quite liked this Japanese-Western fusion style.
He couldn't stand the idea of simply laying a futon on tatami mats and calling it a bed. If it wasn't a proper bed, he wouldn't be able to sleep well. Nor could he handle sitting on cushions around a low wooden table, legs crossed or kneeling. That would definitely make his legs go numb. Why not just lie on a sofa?
In short, the part he had been most worried about was fine. Lucas finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Glacia personally finished explaining the room layout, then flicked her wrist to open the fan she had been holding, covering half her face. She blinked playfully.
"Now comes the highlight, Mr. Lucas."
Opening a sliding door decorated with an unknown flower pattern, Glacia led him into the private courtyard attached to the room.
The courtyard landscape had clearly been meticulously designed and maintained by a professional gardener. More importantly, after turning left at the bottom corner onto a new gravel path and walking a few steps further—a massive hot spring pool with rising white steam came into view. The faint scent of sulfur eagerly filled the air.
This was exactly what Lucas had been longing for—Lavaridge's famous specialty: the Lavaridge Hot Springs.
Just judging by its size, the pool was almost as big as a normal swimming pool. It could easily accommodate Lucas and all the Pokémon he carried with him. He could even do a 100-meter freestyle sprint in it without issue.
"Hehe, aside from the large mixed bathing pools, you won't find a bigger hot spring pool in any inn in Lavaridge Town."
Noticing Lucas's eyes practically sparkling, Glacia smiled proudly.
"It perfectly meets my expectations."
Still pleasantly surprised, Lucas nodded at her.
Speaking of which, although Glacia was one of Hoenn's Elite Four, she herself was not originally from Hoenn. Judging from the Pokémon she specialized in, Glacia probably came from a region with colder climates. She also clearly came from a wealthy family. From her bearing alone, she might even be nobility.
As expected of foreign capital—she really had some substance.
He had also checked the prices of this hot spring inn online. Compared to the noisier inns, the quieter atmosphere here already said a lot. The prices were not pretty. At least, this place wouldn't be the target of ordinary tourists. But for someone like Lucas, who needed privacy and a large hot spring pool, it was the perfect choice.
Before leaving the room, Glacia told him the times when the inn served meals. She reminded him not to miss them if he planned to go out or enjoy the hot springs. Lucas had no intention of causing trouble for her. He nodded and made a mental note of the meal times.
It was currently 5 PM. Meals were served from 5:30 PM until 9 PM. Honestly, that was quite generous.
In that time, Lucas could comfortably soak in the hot springs to wash away the fatigue from the previous battles, enjoy the specialty cuisine, and then take a stroll around the brightly lit Lavaridge Town while the night breeze was cool.
"…Alright, everyone come out!"
Standing in the courtyard, Lucas acted like a heartless Poké Ball launcher. In no time, he released all the Pokémon he carried.
Victini and Terapagos, the two kids who hadn't fully grown up, were already playing together, dragging Mimikyu along to admire the flowers planted in a corner flowerbed.
Politoed and Swampert immediately ran to the source of the sulfur scent—right beside the hot spring pool. They looked eager to jump in.
Lucas quickly held back the two restless fellows and emphasized, "You have to shower first!"
"Polito?"
Politoed tilted its head in confusion.
Seeing its puzzled look, Lucas had to explain the proper hot spring etiquette. Even though this pool would essentially be private during his stay, he still wanted the water kept as clean as possible.
A moment later, a tiny lightbulb seemed to light up above Politoed's head.
"Polito! Polito!"
Politoed clapped its hands loudly, trying to stop Lucas.
The next instant, under the warm yellow lighting, bubbles with a strange luster filled the entire rinsing area.
Lucas's eyes lit up. Right! He had almost forgotten about Bubble Beam!
He had Swampert go first to test it. When Swampert emerged, not only had the mucus it naturally secreted been completely cleaned away, its skin had also become smooth and supple, looking like a baby's skin under the light.
While gasping in amazement, Lucas began calling the Pokémon over one by one to receive the Bubble Beam treatment.
…
Meanwhile, on the hot spring side—
With a loud splash, Swampert had already jumped into the pool first.
Soaking in the steaming water, Swampert nearly submerged its entire head, its eyes comfortably narrowed into slits. The discomfort from the hidden injuries left by the reckless Ice Punch a few days ago was gradually disappearing the longer it soaked.
Victini, who wasn't afraid of water at all, tried to imitate Swampert but nearly choked itself. In the end, it could only sit obediently by the edge of the pool with a dry towel on its head, enjoying itself.
Luxray had also entered the hot spring. Its usually majestic mane was completely soaked, making it look somewhat comical. But none of the Pokémon dared laugh at it.
There was movement on the shore. Milotic, with most of its body submerged, opened its beautiful eyes. Its gaze landed on Lucas, who was wearing only swim trunks, then shifted sideways.
At that moment, Lucas was dragging a reluctant Moltres, trying to pull it into the water.
"Soaking in hot springs promotes blood circulation, boosts metabolism, and helps with weight loss!"
Moltres was full of resistance. Its slightly plumper legs kept pushing hard, claws digging into the ground. It refused! It would rather fly to the crater of Mt. Chimney and bathe in magma than enter this sulfur-scented hot spring pool!
Moltres's intense reaction completely caught Lucas off guard. In his expectation, the one who would resist the most should have been Luxray or Ninetales.
After sweating from washing the Pokémon, Lucas had Politoed clean him with Bubble Beam, then prepared to enter the pool himself.
Suddenly, he noticed that besides Moltres, another Pokémon was still on the shore. Unlike the resistant Moltres, this one's eyes were filled with longing.
Bending down in front of Mimikyu, Lucas smiled. "Are you worried about your doll getting wet?"
The dejected Mimikyu looked up at him with its beady eyes and nodded subconsciously.
"Just use your real body to soak," Lucas suggested.
Mimikyu's eyes brightened, but then showed a trace of worry. It wasn't very confident in its true form.
"Everyone won't mind. Besides, I've already seen your real body before, and I haven't been cursed."
At that moment, voices calling for Mimikyu came from the hot spring—Terapagos and Victini.
After a few seconds of silence, Mimikyu seemed to make up its mind. Its lively doll costume suddenly went limp. From the bottom of the doll, a small, pitch-black figure jumped out and bounced into the hot pool like a glutinous rice ball.
Victini and Terapagos immediately welcomed it. Terapagos, despite being a land tortoise, somehow could breathe underwater. The little guy simply sank to the bottom, occasionally blowing out strings of bubbles with a "blub blub." It actually looked quite cute.
Stepping into the hot spring with his long legs, Lucas planned to teach Terapagos how to swim. At the same time, he casually placed the wooden basin he was holding onto the water's surface.
Inside were several unopened bags of Lavaridge Rice Crackers and the Pokémon Egg the old lady had entrusted to him.
At that moment, Victini dog-paddled over, pointed at the Pokémon Egg in the wooden basin, drooled, and asked, "Vimi Vimi?" (Can Vimi eat this hot spring egg too?)
…