Using bath time to bond with Ralts was part of the daily routine.
"Ralts~"
The sky-blue-haired Ralts did not seem to dislike water as much as Larvitar did. It did not resist when Heiduo wet its hair, instead closing its eyes voluntarily and splashing about.
"You're much cleaner than your predecessors."
Holding a bath sponge, Heiduo watched in surprise as Ralts's bowl-cut hair parted, revealing a pair of adorable big eyes.
Not a speck of dust stained its pale pink body. Even the hem-like parts trailing along the ground like pant legs were spotless.
Its blue hair was incomparably soft and smooth, while the two orange disks symbolizing its emotions shone brightly.
"Ralts?"
Still young, it could not fully understand Heiduo's words. Yet the intelligence granted by its Psychic typing, far beyond that of Pokémon its age, allowed it to remember what Heiduo had said.
It then turned its head to ask Gengar, who was soaking in the bathwater, bobbing up and down with a white towel draped over its head.
Who knew why a Psychic- and Fairy-type Pokémon was so close to a Ghost-type Pokémon.
"Gengar..." Gengar enjoyed the comfortable sensation of being wrapped in scorching water. Hearing Ralts's question, it casually waved a hand and told it the embarrassing stories it had heard from Umbreon about Garchomp and the others bathing.
It had also enjoyed the hot springs of Mt. Silver before. Though the water in this bathtub was not as comfortable as Mt. Silver's, it was still extremely precious.
People had to know how to be content.
Ghosts did too.
Ralts's worldview had yet to take shape, but under Gengar's instruction, it received its first lesson.
Always keep yourself clean, or you would become a source of embarrassing history for your juniors to laugh at.
"Ralts..."
Ralts