Xinhai smiled awkwardly at that, realizing that he really had been pushing his partners a little too hard in training.
After reflecting on it, Xinhai quickly finished dinner and brought his partners to the room he had reserved.
Steam from the hot spring pool glowed a warm white in the twilight. The water was crystal clear, carrying a faint mineral scent.
Xinhai released his partners, and they each tested the water temperature by the pool before slowly slipping in.
Eevee crouched by the pool and lightly tapped the surface with a paw. Startled by the temperature, its ears twitched before it cautiously dipped its paw into the water again.
Milotic was already swimming slowly through the pool, its cream-colored scales gleaming softly through the steam.
Alolan Golem quietly soaked in the sandy area, the sand covering only its body as the rocks across its body gradually relaxed in the warm grains.
Xinhai leaned against the stone wall beside the pool, hot spring water reaching his shoulders as the warmth slowly dissolved the exhaustion of the day.
He closed his eyes, feeling the heat seep from his skin into his muscles, then from his muscles into his bones, as though the hot spring were slowly melting his entire body.
The soreness accumulated from days of intense training was gradually drawn from deep within his shoulder blades, waist, and back, turning into wisps of steam that drifted into the night sky.
He raised his head toward distant Mt. Chimney. In the darkness, he could only make out its deep silhouette, blending into the starlight at the horizon.
Steam rose lazily from the hot spring, glowing a faint white beneath the moonlight.
His partners soaked in twos and threes, making all sorts of relaxed noises.
Eevee soon adapted to the water temperature and