A dozen or so minutes later, Tong Hua emerged from the hot spring, nearly dizzy from the soak, carrying a Minccino who had already passed out.
Delibird followed behind, unable to understand why Minccino had kept pressing against the wall in the hot spring pool.
And why Minccino had insisted on waiting until he and Tong Hua had both left the pool before daring to climb out too.
"Here, drink up."
Having changed into a yukata, Tong Hua opened a bottle of chocolate milk for himself and each of the two Pokémon. After a bath, something cold and sweet like this really was the way to go!
Minccino and Delibird held their milk bottles and gulped away.
Just then, sounds came from the women's bath as well. Feng emerged in a yukata too, carrying Glameow, who had gone limp from the soak.
Steenee and Smoliv followed behind her, their faces all flushed from the hot spring.
"Oh? You're out too?" she greeted them lazily, her hair still dripping.
Tong Hua handed over a few bottles of chocolate milk. "Here, my treat."
She accepted the milk, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right, I still have two requests left, don't I?
"On the way here, I saw that the inn has an activity room. Play a match with me after dinner."
"Huh? A match of what?"
The two returned to their room and ate the dinner the inn had prepared together with the Pokémon.
The two Celebi seemed to have gone out after eating their fill. Tong Hua quietly dealt with the takeout containers and utensils they had left behind, then called softly around the room for quite a while without seeing any sign of them.
"Meow-"
"Hm?"
As soon as Tong Hua entered the room, he heard a faint meow from