CHAPTER 213

The Hotel Grand Lake sat atop a hill, and the stories of how luxurious it was never prepared me for how beautiful it would be. Trainers didn't actually have to go through it to get to Sunyshore since there was an alternate route around the resort, but we'd forgone it since we would be staying at the hotel for at least a day.

The road was a vibrant grey laid in a criss-cross pattern and demarcated by a row of white bricks laid onto the ground while the edges were made out of the same color, although in a different square-like pattern that was almost hypnotic. Cecilia gasped next to me at how amazing it all looked as we stepped up the first step of stairs.

Calling the place a hotel would have been disingenuous. It was a massive complex the size of a small town with dozens of homes, restaurants, and stores sprouting up from the floor. The buildings' exteriors were all so white they were like snow reflecting sunlight, but some of them had more color thrown in. Turquoise and azure bricks that shone like marble, acting as their support, and there were also resplendent blue windows, doors, and rooves. Everything here shared that color scheme, and they bled together in a beautiful mix that I couldn't help but admire. Since it was winter, there weren't that many people in the resort, but it still felt alive, and both they and small Pokemon walked to and fro. There were also guards here, which made sense. No luxurious complex was going to keep its guests unprotected, and they were probably getting paid a lot of money. Retired trainers no doubt.

"Woah, look over here!" Mira exclaimed.

My eyes drifted across the white and blue canvas that was the Hotel Grand Lake, and I saw the enormous lake that the place was named after. The resort had been built around the lake, but there was a small quay there with jet skis and even a small boat. The water wasn't only confined to the lake, of course. There were plenty of pools and even some kind of winding, snaky pool that wrapped around the entire property. Cecilia called it a 'lazy river.'

Chase didn't hide his displeasure as we entered the largest, central building, where we'd be able to register in and rent a place. The inside was a lot more modern than the outside and was what I'd expect from a hotel, but bigger and more extravagant. There was an indoor garden with blue and white parasols to protect guests from the sun with blue flowers and trees with their leaves dyed blue. Inside of it sat a lake with a few Magikarp, and children swarmed around the Pokemon and tried to touch their scales. The water types felt happy enough, although they were annoyed at the attention and just wanted to be left alone.

"Welcome to the Hotel Grand Lake! How may I help you?"

The receptionist behind the counter— one of dozens— snapped me back to reality. Chase muttered something under his breath that I couldn't hear and Mira started to giggle, but Cece took the reigns of the conversation.

"We'd like one home for four," she said. "Can we look at our options?"

What followed was a list of different homes for very exorbitant prices that Cecilia paid for, but that I promised to pay back. The most expensive suites with their own private pools cost up to 80,000 Pokedollars per night, but she thankfully opted for the 30,000 per night option, which wasn't the smallest place we could buy, but definitely more affordable than the more extravagant options.

That was one battle with Maylene per night. Arceus. And to think some people stayed here all summer long. This was a very trendy spot that tourists loved to stay at before and after the Conference. Sinnoh's international tourism industry was small when compared to other regions overseas, but the Hotel Grand Lake was where a lot of the money was made. In addition to this fee, we had to get our Pokemon approved for release, but since we were relatively well-known trainers, the process went pretty quickly and we were given a pass. Ordinary people would have to get their Pokemon individually assessed if they wanted to keep them out in public.

I released Princess as soon as we were out, and Chase did so with Zangoose while Cecilia released Scyther. Mira had already kind of been cheating with Porygon, since she never stayed in her Pokeball anyway, but she released both of her psychics so they could take in the place in case she ever wanted to Teleport here. There were designated Teleportation pads for people to appear on, however, and appearing randomly throughout the resort would be breaking the rules.

I grabbed Princess in my arms as I took in the sights again.

All of this belonged to the Antonovich family, one of the richest in Sinnoh (although not as rich as the Bianchis had been before) who stayed here all year long. Their home hadn't been hard to spot. It was the largest one and stood at the highest point on the hill.

"So? What's the plan? In and out, you deliver the news and we leave tomorrow?" Chase asked.

"I guess," I shrugged. "Think I can just knock on their door?"

"No way in hell," Mira shook her head. "But if you tell them… I don't know how many guards here that you knew their son, maybe they'll let you in. I don't really know why Luca would leave this place, honestly. Seems like he had his entire life set up for him."

"Sometimes, it's about freedom," Cecilia said. "The silver spoon is nice and all, but you can want more in life. Independence is a great feeling."

Scyther strode up ahead, unwilling to walk too close to her, but still slowed down whenever he got too far. People weren't really enamored with his demeanor and flinched or recoiled whenever he got too close. Mira's psychics told him to relax, and he did… slightly. We passed an open air arena where children that were definitely younger than fifteen were battling using a Yamper and an Azurill. The electric type clumsily ran forward, barely able to generate any electricity while Azurill sprung on her tail and jumped above him to dodge.

"Huh," I muttered. "Interesting."

"Interesting to see them breaking the law with no consequences 'cause they're loaded," Chase grumbled.

"Don't be a hardass. We all know people ignore it anyway," Mira said. "Cynthia started training when she was six. This is no different."

While owning Pokemon before you were fifteen was allowed and encouraged— after all, I'd owned Princess— battling beforehand was technically illegal, but it wasn't enforced whatsoever.

"The laws are a lot more harsh in Galar and Unova," Cece explained as we walked up the winding streets. "Unless you get an exception from a Gym Leader or someone in a position of authority, you won't be battling until you're fifteen, so people come here and like to let loose and get their children started early on battling. Any advantage is sought after, especially with the amount of money to be made as a top-level trainer."

"You're telling me that these are all Galarians? And Unovans?" Chase asked.

"Not all, but the majority, yes. Affluent people speak of Sinnoh as a dangerous region, and they'll try to impress their friends by spending a few months here in the so-called 'trenches.' Oh, I've heard plenty of stories about acquaintances coming back 'scarred.' They'll make a whole show out of it too."

"When in reality, they're just staying in a luxurious resort," I smirked. "I don't mind the kids battling. If they're having fun, so be it."

"Unova's starting to sound more like a prison than a region," Mira joked.

Cece rolled her eyes. "I don't think you know what prison is, Mira. The more Pokemon battling is regulated, the fewer accidents there can be. Don't take Sinnoh's laxness as the standard, otherwise we might as well be Kanto and turn it into survival of the fittest."

"Yeah, yeah. By the way, can we go to that lazy river thing later? Doesn't it look fun?"

"I'll die before I go into that," Chase shook his head.

The pink-haired girl gently clapped his back. "You'll come."

"I wouldn't be opposed to it," I said. "But first, we deal with this."

The path widened and we reached an enormous gate with a few chatting guards who turned toward us. Persian, Boldore, Solrock. We weren't looking for a fight, but I couldn't help but attempt to assess their Pokemon's strength, which I found was more complicated than I thought.

"Good morning," I greeted them with a gentle smile. "We'd like to have a word to… uh, the Antonovich family," I slowly said, realizing I didn't even know their names. "It's about their son."

"Mr. and Ms. Antonovich are away on business today. If you want to meet them, you'll have to set up an appointment at reception."

Well, honestly, that had gone better than expected. I thought they'd be a lot more confrontational, but then again, business would probably suffer if the personnel were rude, and the keycards around our necks showed that we'd paid for a room and to have our Pokemon out. People that had paid here were treated like royalty.

"Do you know when they're coming back?" I asked.

"That information is private, miss. If you want to meet Sergei, the process is the same. Make an appointment."

"We apologize for the inconvenience," another guard said. "Now if you'll please turn back."

I opened my mouth, and then closed it again.

Sergei? Who the hell was Sergei?

—

Mira giggled like a little kid as we opened the door to our temporary home. The interior somehow looked crowded and spacious at the same time. I ran my hand on the rugged white walls and peered into the tiny kitchen. This time, I could buy things to cook. The living room had a small coffee table along with creamy beige couches, and the windows let ample amounts of sunlight in. There was a TV and free WiFi, so that was neat. Mira dashed in every single room and then we heard her jump on one of the beds.

"Aw man, this feels so good! Guys, come feel the mattress, it feels like I'm floating!"

I'll go take care of her, Gardevoir spoke.

There was a staircase that led to the roof of the building, where we had a fantastic view of the entire Hotel Grand Lake, Veilstone to the north, the beaches near Pastoria to the south and Sunyshore to the east. It wasn't often that a view made us realize the scale of the distance we traveled. It was quite windy up there, so we didn't spend long, but Scyther decided to stay and Chase left Zangoose and Sigilyph with him.

When we went back downstairs, Mira had been dragged out of the bed by Gardevoir because she hadn't showered yet after traveling for days. I sat on the oversized couch and my friends followed suit. Some battle from a Galarian channel was playing on television, and I almost gasped at how huge their stadiums were. This was some random tournament, and it was almost as large as our Conference stadium at the Lily of the Valley island. They didn't lie when they said it was among the wealthiest regions. People in Sinnoh would riot if they saw the government spending that much money on stadiums.

"So. Sergei," Cecilia whispered. "I had no idea Luca had a brother."

We had looked up Sergei Antonovich as soon as we left the gates of their homes, and as it turned out, he was Luca's younger brother. He hadn't been hard to find, especially when his family ran the most successful resort in Sinnoh. He was only fourteen and looked almost exactly like Luca.

"I mean, you barely knew the guy," Chase shrugged. "He wasn't about to spill his entire life story. So, what's the plan?"

"Meet him and tell him instead," I said. "We have no idea when the parents will be back, and there's no point staying here long when Cece's burning cash."

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"I wouldn't call it burning," Cecilia said. "This place is nice."

"It better be, with how expensive it is," Mira said with a nervous laugh. "So we go to reception, then? Tell these guys we want to meet this Sergei fellow and call it a day?"

I nodded. "I doubt he'll refuse, especially if we talk about his brother. We owe it to Luca. I feel like… like we could have been great friends had we been given the time."

"We'll do right by him," Cecilia declared firmly. "Let's go now. Chase, since you don't feel like doing anything and you don't want to come to this meeting, how about you go shopping for Grace?"

The teen scoffed. "Shopping?"

"Do you want dinner tonight or not?" I sarcastically asked. "I can make a list for you so it'll be quick. It'd be a huge help."

"I can help," Mira said as she leaned back. "I want to be there for the meeting, but the setup is boring."

"You just want time alone with me."

"Yeah. Is that okay?"

The boy grunted in approval and Mira clapped her hands excitedly. Before we left, we agreed to reconvene here at three at the latest, and I also asked Mira if I could borrow her Alakazam to Teleport back onto the mountains of route 214 to train. I wasn't about to make lava in the middle of a resort.

Would the League be able to track me if I Teleported? I assumed they had a way to do so, but I'd probably text Ariel just in case. She had given everyone her work number before we left Lake Valor. Soon enough, we split up in two groups, but some of our Pokemon decided to stay. Scyther and Zangoose, for one. The normal type had decided to make it her life's job to laze around on Chase's bed, and Scyther was happy enough. His relationship with Cece was currently… alright, but I wondered what else they needed to have a true breakthrough.

Or maybe it would stick to incremental progress as they got closer inch by inch.

Princess stuck around with me, but she was tired and floating with her head on mine. She hadn't slept much yesterday due to all of the speaking we'd done, and her barrier training with Gardevoir was quite intense.

"Will you go to the lazy river today?" Cece asked out of the blue.

"Me? Nah. I mean, the pool is heated, but it's still cold out. Maybe I'll dip my feet in the water, though. I'm sure Buddy will enjoy floating along the current very much. Hopefully he won't scare the pool-goers, but there aren't that many people."

"I'd like it if you came along," she said.

"I don't have a swimsuit. Don't worry though, I'll come."

She gripped my hand and looked into my eyes, and she was about to say something but a younger girl asked her for a picture. One of her fans, no doubt. They took a selfie together and spoke for a few minutes, and then we were on our way again.

"Grace, I'll be frank with you. Forgive me if this is too forward, but is it the scars?"

I blinked. "Well, no— yes, but it's not— it's hard to explain."

"We have a while until we reach reception," Cece said.

"I don't really care that much, not anymore," I quietly spoke. "But it's still weird. I mean, I don't feel confident in a swimsuit. Even that dress during our date was pushing my limit, but a swimsuit would be too much."

"You should feel confident. You're beautiful."

"I don't know…"

She dragged me forward and turned around, smiling at me. "What if we went and bought one today? I could help you pick one out."

"Why does it feel like you're going to get your way?" I asked.

Her grin turned mischievous. "Because I am. Slowking tells me I'm very good at it."

"He's onto something. Fine, I'll come. I didn't even know lazy rivers were a thing, and it sounds fun. Relaxing, even, after all of yesterday's events."

"Good. I want you to be comfortable in your own skin."

"I am. I'm not lying."

"I know you aren't. But it's still hard, isn't it?"

I nodded, and we continued on our way as Cece tried to cheer me up with more of Slowking's puns. As it turned out, he was really starting to feel himself with the jokes and there was a treasure trove of bad humor there. Plus, she was absolutely right. They were so bad they were good, and the funniest part is he didn't even know. He just kept going because he saw Cecilia and Talonflame laugh at them every time.

The woman at reception was very nice about setting up this meeting for us. At some points, I almost thought she was scared to say no, one because of Cecilia's last name, which even if it was tarnished, her family business was still extremely rich. Plus, it really did look like her father hadn't known much about Team Galactic's involvement with the Bianchis and he'd probably be let go soon.

Either that, or he had buried the evidence far enough. Either way, there was no way they'd let him stay here, so they'd ship him back to Unova soon enough.

There was also the fact that we were known to be involved with the League. The receptionist scampered off and dialed a number on the landline phone.

"How is it?" Cecilia whispered. "Your first taste of soft power?"

"This kind of stuff already happened at the Café Cabin. Feels dirty," I said.

"It is. I dislike having this name attached to me, but people will always associate me with the name Obel no matter what I do. People use connections and fame like this all the time."

"I know. At the end of the day, I won't complain, since we're getting what we want, but I guess it kind of feels… undeserved. I want these things to be attributed to me. Not the League, or a name."

"We'll get there," she said.

"The first thing we do need to do to get there is make a splash at the Conference. Being the last two remaining first-years would be nice. Everything else would be icing."

"Thinking that far ahead already?"

"Well, I'd be stupid not to, right?" I said as I stared at the Magikarp. One of them looked right back at me and blinked. "Violence is nice—"

"That'd be hilarious out of context."

"Well, you didn't let me finish," I chuckled. "What's that saying again? Speak softly but carry a big stick."

"Ah, that one was said by an Unovan Champion a century or so ago."

"It's Unovan? I thought it was Galarian," I said.

"What? No, no, I'm positive it's Unova— wait, you're just teasing, aren't you?"

I burst into laughter. "You got me. You're like Denzel, you know? It's funny to tease and probe at your more patriotic side. Anyway, the underlying threat of violence is a very effective tool when you're nice to everybody. It lets them know not to step on your toes."

Cecilia smirked at me. "Not that I mind, but how did we start talking about threats again?"

"Uh, I— yeah, I just launched into it, didn't I?"

"It's okay. I agree. There's a reason Cynthia managed to take over the entire government in a few months. The threat of her being able to do so anyway."

"That's what I'm saying," I nodded. "Not that I think that was a good thing."

"Oh, of course not. But it's still a good technique, isn't it? No matter what we think of her, she was still a transformative leader, which is something I want to achieve as well. A good performance in Sinnoh's Conference will guarantee headlines back in Unova since I'm Mark's sister."

"Does he know you're coming for him?"

"Oh, he doesn't. We don't talk much, as you know. I'll tell him formally the next time we speak."

I restrained another laugh. I couldn't help but imagine her giving him the most formal speech possible while he just listened over the phone, utterly confused.

He'd probably underestimate her.

"Young Master Sergei has agreed to meet you tomorrow at eight in the morning," the receptionist said. "He will be accompanied by guards. Do not bring your Pokemon and do not be late."

Cecilia frowned and then shook her head as she leaned over the counter. "We will bring them."

"But—"

"I'm sorry. What we mean to say is, we don't feel safe without our teams around," I gently said. "I think it'd be a mistake not to allow this. We have very public records and we wouldn't do something foolish. We just want to tell him about Luca. This is extremely important."

The receptionist sighed and dialed her phone again. I leaned against Cecilia and whispered.

"Gotta remember to speak softly."

It took a while, but the meeting was approved.

Afterward, Cece spent the next hour making me try all kinds of swimsuits, and I resigned to my fate knowing that she'd be putting different clothes on me for as long as she wanted.

I did end up buying one.

—

"Thank you for the help, Alakazam," I said.

The psychic type nodded. Of course. I will stay here while you train.

"Oh, you can come back in an hour or so, there's no need. I know you're busy—"

Nonsense. It would be best for me to stay in case you need to change locations and you are nowhere to be seen when I come back. We're a few days out of the hotel, and you'd have to walk the entire way back. Or ask one of the League Trainers for a ride, which is a request I doubt they would accept.

"Fair enough," I nodded. "They always do the strict minimum. Well, make yourself comfortable, then."

I released Sunshine, Princess and Buddy. Honey was back at the hotel with Angel, and Sweetheart was asleep in her Pokeball. Togetic yawned and complained that it was time to train already. Sunshine mocked her and began to walk away to create the usual lava, and she called him an impotent wyrm. The fire type didn't seem to care at all and laughed. Buddy floated up ahead to warn any passersby and got ready to extinguish the lava at a moment's notice.

"How about this," I raised a finger. "You do this today, and tomorrow, you'll be free to relax at the hotel and do whatever you want. I'm sorry about this, but you're a really important part of our strategy. If you really don't want to train though, then we can skip today. It's up to you."

Princess considered her options for a few seconds, but she decided to accept my offer. I thanked her and we watched as the terrain in front of us turned into a molten hell. As usual, I timed how long the stone took to turn into lava and got two minutes and thirty-nine seconds, so he was getting better at it slowly but surely. Once we reached the ideal time of one minute, I'd get him started on the explosion jump plan.

"You can go ahead," I whispered.

The flying type slowly approached the molten rock.

Stage one had been to teach her how to move the lava as well as she moved actually solid rock. We weren't there quite yet, but we were close. The last thing we wanted was to accidentally fling lava at a Pokemon during the gym battle. Lava was a liquid. That meant that it was difficult to contain, and small globs of it flew everywhere whenever Princess carried it. Once we reduced that waste, we'd be ready to move onto stage two.

I grinned as she lifted a portion of the lava and spun it around. It was difficult to see, but barely any particles were falling off from the main chunk, and she was keeping it far enough away not to burn. Once she mastered proper barriers, this wouldn't be an issue, but for now, she had to stay safe.

Step two was to learn to shape that liquid.

Not into spears or drills like I had done with stones. That was extra effort for no reason. Lava was lava, and it didn't need to be shaped to kill. What I could do, however, was zone Pokemon and confine them wherever was needed with that lava.

For example, say Sunshine had just finished turning the middle of the arena into lava, separating our sides into two. Princess would then be able to move that lava en masse and trap her enemy somewhere, by surrounding the Pokemon— albeit from a safe distance— while they slowly burned.

Lava, as it turned out, would also be quicker to move than rock, and it was a terrible conductor of electricity, which meant Princess would be able to use it as a shield. Even if she mastered psychic shielding, I knew that it wouldn't last long against Volkner's powerful electric attacks. So long as she raised it at a safe distance, the technique would be sound to use, but even with her perfected shield, I didn't want to risk her burning herself if she could avoid it.

There was also the last thing on my mind. Creating a proto-eruption.

That was, however, still in the theoretical stage. I had no idea if there was a way to do it in a safe and controlled manner, and worst-case scenario I'd keep it for non-friendly battles.

But if I could do it? Arceus, it would be cool as hell. Seeing Princess and the others wield forces capable of so much destruction was the kind of thing that excited me the most.

Alakazam, who I had completely forgotten about, stared at my notes over my shoulder like I was mad.

I ignored him.

—

"I don't know about this, Cece."

"Grace, you look amazing."

She spun me around and stared into the bathroom mirror. My burns were on full display here, and they tingled whenever I looked at them for too long. She grabbed her phone, placed her face against mine, and took a picture. She'd never been one for photos like Denzel or Emi, but she did take them once in a while.

"Can I send it to Pauline?" Cece asked. "Knowing them, they'll probably stay here too and drag Denzel with them."

"Are you kidding me? Drag? Denzel would love this place. Have Emi and Pauline been here before?" I asked, trying to stare straight.

"Oh yes, plenty of times. Emi loves it here in the summer—"

There was an obnoxious knock on the bathroom door, which could only be Mira.

"Get out, you lovebirds! It's time to go!"

We put on clothes over our swimsuits and exited the room. Somehow, she'd convinced Chase to come during their shopping trip as well, and I had no idea how. We grabbed our bags and our Pokeballs as well and we made our way to the lazy river.

There were more people now than this morning, and employees were handing out inflatable tubes (which almost no one was using because of how cold it was) and plenty of Pokemon and humans swam inside of the water. At this point, it was too cold to stay out for too long and I started shivering. I grabbed Honey's Pokeball and released him, along with Angel. I would have made Sweetheart swim, but she definitely would have destroyed the pool and probably killed or injured someone. I would bring her to the lake at the resort's center tomorrow, however.

"Honey and the others can watch our bags," I said, my teeth chattering. "I'm going in, it's too cold."

Cece asked Slowking if he wanted to swim, but he preferred to laze around on one of the folding chairs. Angel, meanwhile, couldn't help but dip his vines into the water and shiver in excitement at the touch. He sprayed Sweetheart with it, but she was angry I wasn't letting her in, so her reaction was pretty muted.

As for Sunshine and Princess? Well, they were sleeping soundly, the first back in our room and the latter in her Pokeball. They'd worked hard today and deserved a break.

"Don't jump in the water, shrimp. It's shallow and you'll break your ankles," Chase told Mira.

"What a specific injury," she said. "But okay."

She was first in the water, and we soon followed, but before that, I released Jellicent directly into the pool. The ghost shivered in excitement, although he did immediately complain about how warm the water was. I dipped my feet into the pool and slowly lowered myself in.

"You'll get used to it," I said. "For now, let's just hang out. Let the current carry you, but don't scare anyone, alright?"

Jellicent rumbled under the water, and I felt a powerful jet at my feet. Soon enough, his two red eyes were floating off into the distance. He was almost invisible, so most people that weren't paying attention wouldn't see him.

Chase swam ahead as if this was actually a competitive swimming race while Mira tried to keep up despite her Pokemon's warnings. Cece and I hung in the back and got carried by the current as we spoke of the limits of how a battlefield could be altered and ways around that limit, and she spoke to me about different ideas she was thinking of implementing for her future battle with Volkner. Nerding out about battling with her was so much fun.

Every time we passed our Pokemon, Honey would wave at me with the biggest smile on his face and Angel followed suit. Sweetheart was angry, but she couldn't help but join in. Slowking was already half-asleep. Sigilyph beeped as she dipped her bottom wing in the water and Zangoose grunted when some of it got on her. Lucario meditated next to the edge, undisturbed by any noise.

The eyes of strangers felt uncomfortable for the first few minutes, but soon enough, I shed the final bits of reluctance and realized I wasn't interested in anything they thought.

Just the girl in front of me.