After arriving at the room assigned to them by the crew, Kael tossed his backpack onto the bed, slipped off the black high-collared coat he was wearing and hung it on the rack, then changed into slippers, leaving himself in nothing but a white dress shirt.
This room wasn't one of the S.S. Anne's top-tier VIP suites, but it certainly wasn't something an ordinary ticket holder could enjoy either. It was reserved for internal executives. The space was over sixty square meters, complete with an oversized marble bathtub and a faucet sculpted into the shape of a Dragonite's head—cast from pure gold. Every detail spoke volumes about just how absurdly wealthy the shipping conglomerates behind the S.S. Anne really were.
"Come out, everyone," Kael said, unfastening the three Poké Balls at his waist and releasing them.
With a series of soft pop sounds, Kirlia and Weavile appeared in the room.
"Flop… flop…"
And of course, there was Feebas. Being a fish Pokémon, it could only wriggle helplessly across the carpet, its body swaying back and forth.
Kael scooped Feebas up in his arms and looked at the two Pokémon standing before him, smiling as he spoke. "You should rest for now. I've got a feeling the atmosphere on this ship isn't simple. Something might happen over the next seven days. Make sure you're in top condition in case anything unexpected comes up."
Lulu and Weavile both nodded in understanding.
In the next instant, Lulu used Teleport and claimed the luxurious round bed in the center of the room. She knelt neatly atop the pristine white sheets, hands resting lightly on her abdomen, eyes closed as she entered a meditative state in place of sleep.
Weavile clicked her tongue in mild annoyance at the sight. She'd been planning to rest on that bed too, but Lulu always beat her to it. Dark-types and Psychic-types were natural opposites, after all. The fact that both Pokémon could coexist peacefully under Kael already spoke to his skill as a Trainer—expecting them to be as close as sisters was simply unrealistic.
Weavile gathered several red sofa cushions, tossed them onto the floor, and piled them into a small nest. She sprawled across it lazily like an ordinary housecat, let out a long yawn, scratched her belly with a hind leg, and released a soft, deeply contented purr.
Even though Weavile was a high-tier Pokémon, she still couldn't escape the instincts of a feline at heart.
...
Five minutes later, the marble bathtub had been filled, the water temperature adjusted to a comfortable twenty-two degrees. Wearing only a pair of black boxer shorts, Kael cradled Feebas in his arms and leapt into the water.
Splash!
Water sprayed everywhere.
"So good," Kael sighed, wiping the droplets from his face as he leaned back against the edge of the tub. Behind him, eight small jets continuously sprayed thin streams of water, massaging his back.
Feebas seemed to have been frightened by the sudden jump. With a flick of its tail, it swam off to a distant corner, sinking to the bottom of the tub and refusing to come anywhere near Kael's side.
After resting with his eyes closed for a while, Kael stood up and retrieved a white, lacquered case from his bag—about twenty-five centimeters long. He returned to the tub, opened it, and revealed an assortment of bottles and jars that looked like products only women would normally use.
Charm-Boosting Skincare Oil for Water-type Pokémon!
Scale-Lustre Powder!
Scale-Gap Cleansing Solution!
Deep-Sea Volcanic Mud!
Red Sea Mineral Salt!
According to the information Kael had obtained from the Sootopolis Gym, evolving Feebas into Milotic required more than just the Prism Scale as an external catalyst. Feebas's own "Beauty" also had to be raised.
This so-called Beauty was a broad concept. Beauty and ugliness were subjective, rooted in different standards of aesthetics among different life forms. Some prefer slim figures, others favor plump ones. Some like conventionally attractive looks—and it's entirely possible for others to find beauty in what most would call ugly.
Feebas's appearance certainly didn't align with mainstream tastes, but since this world had created such a lifeform, it had naturally endowed it with its own original kind of beauty.
Beauty was both an outward expression and an inner bloom.
Kael wasn't just planning to build Feebas's confidence—he intended to refine its appearance to absolute perfection. At the very least, it would become the finest-looking Feebas of its entire kind.
Every bottle in that case was a top-tier product, and none of them came cheap. Fortunately, Vermilion City was the most developed port in the Kanto region; most imported goods passed through here first. Otherwise, acquiring all of this in such a short time would have been nearly impossible.
"Come here, little guy," Kael beckoned toward the corner.
Feebas blinked its large eyes, hesitated for a moment, then finally gathered its courage and swam closer to its owner—the same owner who still felt a bit unreliable to it.
Kael lifted Feebas back into his arms and gently stroked its head to calm it. "Sorry about that. I startled you earlier."
His gentle voice slowly eased Feebas's nerves. It relaxed against Kael's chest, its blue, fan-shaped tail swaying lightly back and forth.
Kael started with the scale-gap cleanser, a solution designed to remove grime and parasites from between the scales or plates of Pokémon with scaled or armored bodies.
The bottle was fitted with a thin plastic nozzle. As Kael carefully injected the solution between Feebas's scales, black residue began to seep out from areas that had looked perfectly clean—along with tiny parasites almost invisible to the naked eye.
"Puff… puff…"
Once all the scale gaps had been cleaned, Feebas closed its eyes in comfort, happily blowing bubbles.
After rinsing away the dirt and parasites, Kael scrubbed Feebas's entire body with Red Sea mineral salt. Then he coated it in deep-sea volcanic mud, pulling out impurities from even the deepest layers.
Next, he dipped a small brush into the scale-lustre powder and carefully polished Feebas's freshly cleaned scales. Finally, he applied a layer of premium Water-type Pokémon skincare oil, completing the process.
The oil was water-resistant—once applied, it wouldn't wash away easily even as Feebas swam around.
After finishing the entire routine, Kael let out a tired breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead. It wasn't physically exhausting, but the meticulous work demanded intense focus.
Still, the results left him deeply satisfied.
Calling it a night-and-day difference might have been an exaggeration, but compared to before, Feebas now looked undeniably better. Its scales gleamed with a soft luster, its fins were neat and well-defined—beautiful in a quiet, understated way.
Kael was confident that if he kept this up, then once he obtained the Prism Scale, Feebas's evolution into Milotic would only be a matter of time.