Mt. Chimney

After lunch, Xinhai and Gardevoir cleaned up the tableware together. Warm sunlight streamed through the window into the room, making everyone a little drowsy.

Xinhai lit some Incense with soothing, calming effects, and a faint herbal fragrance spread through the room.

"Everyone, get some proper rest this afternoon," Xinhai said to his partners. "We prepared for the Gym Battle last night and went through intense battles again this morning. We all need to recover our energy. We'll go shopping around four."

"Vee..." (I'm a little sleepy...) Eevee let out a tiny yawn and rubbed her eyes. After the excitement faded, fatigue truly came rushing in.

"Gardevoir~" (Then let's all rest for a while.) Gardevoir gracefully floated over to the cushioned chair by the window, gently closed her eyes, and entered a light meditative resting state.

The other partners also found places to lie down. Blaziken leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, Zigzagoon and Mightyena squeezed together on a soft mat, while Sandile burrowed into his own little nest.

Xinhai leaned against the headboard as well, picked up his Pokédex, and logged into the Pokémon Breeders' Association's internal network. He intended to use this time to look up information on Pokémon ecology in volcanic regions, as well as key care practices for Pokémon in high-temperature, high-sulfur environments.

Warm sunlight lit up his focused profile. The room held only the steady breathing of his partners and the violet smoke rising from the burning Incense. Time passed in peaceful laziness.

At around four o'clock, Xinhai and his partners woke up one after another, all fully refreshed.

"Alright, we've rested enough! Everyone, get ready—we're heading to the shopping district for a big haul!" Xinhai stood up, stretched his limbs, and wore an eager smile.

"Vee! (★ω★)" (Shopping! New gear!) Eevee instantly woke