December 25, Crazy Thursday.
It was also Christmas.
In theory, the Pokémon world could even be considered a parallel universe of the real world. Apart from the existence of special creatures called Pokémon, many aspects of daily life had direct counterparts.
The world map, holidays, regional characteristics, and so on...
With the students all on break, Gym Leaders' workloads had dropped by ninety-nine percent. Apart from exceptions like Larry, who had to help with League affairs, almost everyone got to enjoy the benefits.
That was how Qingyu, a rising Gym Leader in the League, had managed to get a Christmas vacation lasting half a month.
"I hear Kitakami's hot springs and natural scenery are famous. They have a pretty good reputation, too."
On the tourist boat bound for Kitakami, Cynthia reclined in a deck chair, holding a travel guide to Kitakami.
"I read about that, too. Apparently, they have the 'Kitakami Six Wonders,' something like Paldea's Ten Scenic Spots."
Qingyu nodded in reply.
Kitakami was a place he found a little hard to judge based on his memories.
As an area added through DLC, it wasn't particularly large, but its scenery and Pokémon had left a deep impression on him.
It had remained isolated from the outside world for a long time. Only in recent years, after Chairwoman Geeta gave her approval, had it begun developing its tourism industry, while preserving its original landscape as much as possible.
Aside from the heavily promoted Kitakami Six Wonders, many other areas had their own distinctive appeal. Visitors could even encounter plenty of Pokémon rarely seen in Paldea.
For example...
There was "Bloodmoon," a special Ursaluna that had swum all the way across the southern sea of Sinnoh, settled in Kitakami, and survived there, hidden deep in the forest.
Ursaluna, once revered in