Marcato blinked.
Being a cactus, the majority of his body was composed of water, so soaking in a hot spring was like resting in a slice of heaven. However, this state of pure relaxation had suddenly just been disturbed by someone poking him, taking him out of the complete bliss he had been feeling.
Swearing up and down to completely and utterly destroy the poor soul that had made the grave mistake of making him angry, he whirled around only to see Orpheus standing in the water next to him.
Surprised to see his teammate being the one to disrupt him, Marcato sincerely hoped that this was a genuine emergency involving their Trainers as well, or else Orpheus would be on the receiving end of ten thousand Wood Hammers.
As Marcato glared at Orpheus, the Kirlia simply gestured at the pipe that water was originally coming out of, which had now stopped its flowing for some reason. While Marcato hadn't felt it at first, it was starting to become apparent that this had been the case for a while, as the water was starting to cool down in the chilly air.
Hopping out of the hot spring, Marcato looked around to see if any of the Pokémon present with them were responsible for this. Seeing as there were no Water-type Pokémon present, the most obvious suspects in this case were immediately ruled out.
The next likely to disable the water dispensers were the Ice-type Pokémon, who could easily freeze the water all the way back to its source, and maintain the temperature of the ice to prevent it from melting. However, this didn't hold up since the only Ice-type Pokémon present were Idina and Demi, whose bodies couldn't tolerate the heat of normal hot springs, so they were currently relaxing in the cold water baths, a distance away from the regular hot springs.
Following up were the Psychic-type Pokémon, which Marcato mentally crossed out as well, since this category only included Orpheus and Eurydice, who were standing next to him and looking completely at ease respectively, lacking the focus that was needed for sustaining a Psychic barrier.
Sighing, Marcato hopped over to where the water pipe was, hoping to find some clues as to what had caused the sudden blockage in water. Reaching several Mega Drain tendrils into the pipe, Marcato felt around for anything blocking it, before sensing something squishy inside.
Attempting to wrap his tendrils around it, Marcato was surprised as it managed to dodge his every strike by shifting its mass around the pipe, sending sudden jets of hot water flying into his face. Getting angry at whatever hid inside for almost scalding him, Marcato used more tendrils to restrict its movement before finally ensnaring it.
Pulling on the thing blocking the water, it still used all its might to resist Marcato's strength. Despite the Mega Drain doing its work on whatever he captured, Marcato was starting to get exhausted at this tug-of-war. Seeing Marcato slowly losing his grip, Sparkle went over and tugged on him as well, giving her teammate a much-needed assist in his struggle.
After a while of tugging, Sparkle and Marcato finally managed to overpower whatever was in the pipe with one final pull. However, it seemed they used too much force to do so, as they fell down into the hot springs when it finally came out. The naturally-occuring static electricity in Sparkle's wool discharged itself in the water, electrocuting all the other Pokémon currently soaking in the hot springs.
Hearing the sounds of the other Pokémon being shocked, Idina and Demi looked in the direction of the ruckus to see what had happened. Upon glimpsing at the carnage caused by Sparkle's accidental burst of power, they both exited the cold water pool and went over to check if the other Pokémon were all right.
Around the hot spring, basically every Pokémon on the four girls' teams had been rendered unconscious by Sparkle's stored electricity, even though some of them had typing that resisted it. Scanning the area to see what caused Sparkle to unleash her full strength all of a sudden, Idina glanced over at the water as something splashed around, causing sizable ripples to appear in the water.
As she had battled against many Water-type Pokémon before, Idina immediately recognized the movements as those that only a Pokémon accustomed to an aquatic environment could make. Quickly freezing a loose perimeter around where the ripples were, Idina hoped to lure out whatever was hiding there, even if she had to completely encase it in solid ice.
As her ice closed in on the mystery Pokémon, Idina glance over at Demi, who was currently poking at a Shroomish starting to get back up. If Idina remembered correctly, its name was Staccato, and she belonged to the girl with the pink hairclip who wasn't that talented at battling. Realizing who her Trainer was, Idina hoped that she hadn't gotten itself hurt that much, even though Grass-types were naturally resistant to electricity.
Nearby, Midori's Floette Valse also stirred back to consciousness, going over to Tuba-kun and Macaroon's side to help her teammates recover with a Heal Bell, its sonorous sound also waking up the other Pokémon present.
Shaking his head, Marcato quickly recalled what had happened just before he got knocked out, and glared at Sparkle for letting the static electricity in her wool continuously build up without discharging it periodically. Sheepishly rubbing her head with her hand, Sparkle apologized to Marcato before glancing over at the area that Idina had just frozen, where only a small circle of water remained.
All Pokémon present went over to that small opening, hoping to figure out just what had caused them so much grief and suffering in the first place (aside from Sparkle). As if alerted by the presence of more Pokémon, the splashes grew more rapid and became louder, seemingly acting as a warning to deter any of them from taking action.
However, Eurydice seemed unaffected by these sorts of threats, and she quickly precision-guided a psychically-compressed Shadow Ball into the opening before anyone else could make an attempt at stopping her rash actions, dropping it in like a bomb.
Eurydice quickly released her telekinetic grip, and the compressed Shadow Ball exploded under the water, causing an impromptu geyser to shoot up as all Pokémon present got soaked once more in the hot springs, this time involuntarily.
As the water thrown into the air rained down as a light foggy drizzle, Marcato saw a Pokémon about a third of his height plop down in front of him and began waddling to the part of the hot springs that wasn't frozen. Realizing that it was the culprit behind all this, Marcato quickly used his Mega Drain tendrils to ensnare it before it could escape back into the water. Reeling it back in, Marcato could now clearly see what Pokémon they were dealing with.
Its blue body housing a red gem with a yellow dot below it, the Pokémon Marcato had captured was squirming in his grasp, its stubby legs preventing it from running away while its long arms swatted helplessly at the air. Looking around its surroundings with its onion-shaped head, its two antennae flung around wildly, barely missing Marcato several times.
Though Marcato hadn't seen this Pokémon before, he had heard stories about it from the other Pokémon at the laboratory before he met Kumiko. If memory served him correctly, then this Pokémon was the Mythical guardian of the sea Manaphy.
Confused as to what such an elusive Pokémon was doing so far from its natural habitat, the other Pokémon began to crowd around Marcato as they gasped at the Manaphy he was holding. Feeling happy that it was receiving so much attention, Manaphy clapped its hands in delight, clearly not being able to read the room.
While Marcato deliberated with the other Pokémon about what to do with Manaphy since it had caused them so much trouble, the Seafaring Pokémon noticed that its captor was starting to be distracted, causing the bonds holding it to be slightly loosened. Changing its body shape to become smaller than its restraints, Manaphy was able to escape from Marcato's grasp, about to make a run for it and find a new body of water to live in.
However, Staccato noticed the Manaphy sneaking away, and the Shroomish fired out a stream of Bullet Seeds at the escaping Pokémon, impeding its plan and alerting the other Pokémon simultaneously.
Disappointed that it had been caught, Manaphy knew that it had no choice but to fight now. Summoning a large wave of water behind it, Manaphy unleashed a Surf at the horde of Pokémon chasing it, pushing them all away while it swam in the opposite direction, hoping this would serve as a good enough distraction for it to reach the drain pipe.
In the split second before the water reached her, Staccato jumped up and spat out another stream of Bullet Seeds in Manaphy's direction, hoping to delay it enough for the more powerful Pokémon to recover and pick up her slack.
After the water cleared away, Staccato saw that even though Manaphy hadn't escaped thanks to her efforts, the other Pokémon had been washed too far away to quickly come and assist her or launch long-range attacks accurately. While she wasn't the best fighter of the bunch, she still had to do something here and give that Manaphy what it deserved.
Spitting more Bullet Seeds out, Manaphy constantly jumped around in an effort to dodge Staccato's attack, but her relative inaccuracy helped more that it hindered here. Since her seed stream wasn't tightly focused at one point, the projectiles were dispersed over a wider area, leaving less room for Manaphy to maneuver around.
Manaphy threw out another Surf in retaliation, but this time Staccato was too close to dodge it properly. Idina was about to get closer and use an Ice Beam to freeze the incoming wave, but she would have been too late to do so anyways. All Pokémon present sighed at how the managed to let their tormentor get away scot-free as the Surf washed over Staccato, completely covering her.
With the water slowly beginning to drain away, most likely allowing Manaphy to escape, the remaining Pokémon were beginning to go back to soaking in the now-functioning hot springs when an elongated arm shot out of the water, holding a wriggling Manaphy by its antennae.
All eyes turned to see who had captured Manaphy, and saw that not only was Staccato responsible for apprehending the culprit behind all this, but she had evolved into a Breloom as well. Slamming her extended arm down onto the ground, the pinned Manaphy could only quiver in fear as every single Pokémon smiled at it with a sinister grin, preparing to give it its well-deserved payback for causing them all this strife.
Pummeled by attacks of all types, what ultimately did in Manaphy was Tuba-kun managing to grab ahold of it, swinging it around for a while, and finally throwing it out of the hot springs with a twinkle in the sky.
As all Pokémon present high-fived each other to celebrate getting rid of their tormentor, Marcato hopped back and looked at the now-flowing water pipe that Manaphy had initially occupied, which was pumping out hot spring water normally without any trouble.
While it certainly made sense that a Water-type would choose to hide in an aquatic environment, Marcato couldn't think of a reason why a Pokémon that normally resided in the ocean such as Manaphy would suddenly choose to live in hot spring water, which wasn't its natural habitat. Had someone been trying to capture it, causing to escape through various bodies of water all the way here?
Marcato pondered on that train of thought for a while, then shook his head and dipped himself back into the hot spring, happily sighing as he did so. After all, mysteries could wait, but his delayed comfort could not.
"Ahh, that was a good soak. We should do this again someday!"
Stepping out of the changing room, Hazuki stretched her arms out as she felt the cool air with her warm body. After soaking in the hot springs for a while more, the four girls then washed off the excess hot spring water clinging to their skin in the communal bath.
"Midori agrees! Hey, maybe we should do this again when we get to Subdomi City!" Midori offered, the loose strand of hair above her head wiggling in delight as she nodded at Hazuki's suggestion.
"I'd certainly want to do that, but it'd cost too much for us." Kumiko rebutted. "Even if Asuka didn't help pay for our stay here, this resort costs far less than those in the city proper."
"Speaking of Ms. Tanaka," Reina interjected, her attention regained upon hearing the Elite Four member's name, "why would she set up such a convoluted plan just to meet up with us at this hot spring. If she wanted to avoid being detected, wouldn't there be better methods available to her?"
"Huh, now that you mention it, that seems odd." Kumiko replied. "I know she's a bit eccentric, but staking us out just by renting out all the hot spring resorts in the area seems too excessive even for her. Could there be a secondary purpose to all this?"
"I've considered that she would want to throw our potential pursuers off the scent by setting up so many decoys, so they wouldn't know where she went to." Reina admitted. "But still, doing so seems like a waste of money if she just wanted to meet us in person."
"Maybe there's something else going on that we don't know about?" Kumiko wondered. "A Legendary or Mythical Pokémon on the loose in this area that the League doesn't want anybody knowing about?"
"It'd be hard for them to cover up something like that, since their sheer power causes massive collateral damage on everything nearby." Reina responded. "Though I guess it would be possible if it were one of the weaker Legendaries or Mythicals, maybe with the help of Psychic-type Pokémon if large-scale events happened."
"Well, maybe that's why." Kumiko offered. "Maybe another Elite Four member is also in the area to track down that Legendary or Mythical, and Asuka decided to use this as cover and meet up with us, killing two Pidgey with one stone."
"That seems like the most probable chain of events." Reina concluded. "It would be best not to dwell on it further, especially considering that it involves Ms. Tanaka. What a piece of work."
As Kumiko wondered what Reina meant by that comment, she saw that their Pokémon were already in the foyer waiting for them, with one notable addition. Wondering who the Breloom that joined them belonged to, Kumiko thought that it might have been Asuka's before Hazuki ran up to it and tacked it in a hug.
"Wow, Staccato!" Hazuki exclaimed. "What happened to you in there? Guess those hot springs really did you some good, huh? Look at you now! All big and strong!"
Surprised that Hazuki's Shroomish had somehow evolved while in the hot springs, Kumiko looked around at her own Pokémon to see if there were any changes in her own team members, and was both relieved and disappointed that all of them stayed the same.
Seeing his Trainer, Marcato hopped over and waved his arms at Kumiko, hoping to get her attention. As Kumiko looked over, Marcato tried to explain the events that transpired in the Pokémon-only hot spring, but it seemed like his Trainer didn't get his gist, just laughing at his awkward gestures.
"Oh, Marcato," Kumiko playfully lamented. "What's gotten into you? Did you soak up all the water in the hot spring and become a big, fat, cactus? Are you now a part Water-type now?"
Sighing to himself at how dense his Trainer could be at times, Marcato just hopped over back to where his teammates were, surrounding himself with smarter beings as Kumiko looked on, oblivious to what had gone through Marcato's mind.
Nearby, Reina was also interacting with her team, though she was confused when they seemed to be acting something out that she couldn't comprehend. Apparently, it involved Sparkle shocking everyone and Eurydice using Shadow Ball, but that was all she could understand from their poor acting.
"Our Pokémon seem to be acting strangely," Hazuki noted. "Did all the water vapor get into their brains or something?"
"I have no idea." Reina responded. "Maybe there was a powerful Psychic-type Pokémon nearby causing them to have mass hallucinations? Though that would beg the question of why we weren't affected."
"Midori thinks it's best not to dwell on this." Midori chimed in. "Haven't we all not had dinner yet?"
Patting their stomachs, the four girls soon realized how empty their stomachs were, and quickly rushed to the dining hall with their Pokémon in tow. As Midori liked to say (and whose thoughts were echoed by Hazuki), a good meal could ease their minds and wash away their worries.
After having a delicious dinner, the quartet stayed up all night chatting to each other, then fell asleep and woke up to a brand new day. Leaving the hot spring resort with full stomachs, they drew closer to the low-lying skyline of Subdomi City, punctuated by the volcano it was built on top of.
"Reina, do you know what type of Pokémon this Gym uses?" Hazuki asked, wanting to know more about their next opponent. "I want to go in prepared so my battle doesn't go down to the wire."
"The Gym in Subdomi City specializes in the Fire-type." Reina promptly answered. "It should be quite straightforward to beat, so many Trainers often come here to start their Gym journey and get a feel of battling in an official match. However, the Gym Leader here is fully aware of this, so she set up a challenge outside her Gym to make sure only those with a will of fire can take her on."
"Doesn't that mean she's an antisocial loner who got bored of constantly beating weak people?" Kumiko pondered. "Should a person like that even be a Gym Leader?"
Even though Kumiko subtly realized that she had spoken her thoughts out loud again, they were instantly drowned out by Hazuki's enthusiasm. "Ooh! A challenge! I wonder what it could be?"
"Apparently, it has something to do with the Gym Leader's personal experiences." Reina explained. "Before she became a Gym Leader, she got thoroughly thrashed by the Champion in an exhibition match, and conceded rather quickly to save face. After being lectured by the Champion, she vowed to push on through any challenge from that point on, no matter how tough it may be."
Hazuki peered over at Reina's phone. "...Wait, aren't you just reading that straight from the League website? Lemme see. So it says here that she wants her challengers to develop the trait of perseverance under pressure, giving them the strength to continue forward. Sounds cool! I wonder what's in store for us?"
"Obviously nothing good." Kumiko commented, not caring at all whether she said that out loud or not. "Like I mentioned, does she want to face people at all with something like that?"
"Kumiko, you really shouldn't judge a book by its cover." Reina chided, a hint of seriousness in her voice. "This is an excellent opportunity to develop our resilience. If the Gym Leader learnt something from the Champion, then we should at least get a glimpse of the lesson she was taught, don't you agree? After all, this is one more step to becoming special."
"Fair enough," came Kumiko's belated reply. "Though I hope it isn't that complicated."
Heading in the direction of the Gym, the quartet noticed the road in front of them getting steeper and the temperature steadily increasing. Feeling the sweat trickle down her back, Kumiko was starting to feel uncomfortable as dampness started to form on her shirt from exhaustion and heat. She was starting to seriously consider taking it off before realizing Reina was with her, and immediately ceased those thoughts.
"We should almost be at where the Gym's preliminary challenge is." Reina stated. "I can't explain why, but I sense that whatever lies ahead of us will certainly be daunting."
Arriving at an arched gate near the volcano's summit, the four girls saw the Gym building built into the volcano behind it. In front of the gate was a lone girl guarding it, with a maroon ribbon knotted in a tiny bow tied around her hair and a perpetual frown on her face
"Welcome. Are you here to take on the Gym?" the gatekeeper asked in a cranky voice, slightly irritating Kumiko.
"Yes, we are." Reina answered. "I'm aware that there's a challenge we need to undertake before we can enter. Can you tell us more about what we need to face?"
"Well lookie here," the gatekeeper grumbled. "Somebody's done their research before coming. I don't see that very often around these parts. Seems like they finally managed to send someone more alert than a Slowpoke to take on the Gyms."
The gatekeeper gestured over to where the gate was. "Your challenge is to walk barefoot across 4 meters of 538°C coals (or 12 feet and 1000°F if you're Unovan) all the way to the Gym's entrance without the assistance of your Pokémon. Only then will you have the right to challenge the Gym."
"W-walking on coals?!" Hazuki was shocked. While she expected the challenge to be related to fire in some way, never in three thousand years had she guessed that it would be this dangerous.
"Don't worry," the gatekeeper informed them. "There's a trick to it. You see that pool of water beside the gate? Before you start your walk, soak your feet in the cold water. When you actually walk over the coals, the water evaporates and forms a layer of protective gas over your feet so you don't get burnt, but you've got to be quick or else it'll disappear."
"Moving quickly?! Midori's not good at that!" Midori exclaimed. "Hazuki-chan, we need to train ourselves so we can avoid getting burnt! Midori's body has a weak composition, so Midori can't tolerate pain well!"
"What? Wait! I can do this! Let me go!" Hazuki cried out as she was dragged down by Midori back the way they came up, clearly displeased with how her best friend was trying to rope her into speed training, something she was already good at.
"Oh well. Just as I thought today was going to be a busy day." the gatekeeper lamented. "So are you two going to wuss out as well? Saves me a lot of time that way."
"No, we're not." Reina declared, walking over to the pool before taking off her shoes and dipping her bare feet into the ice-cold water, prompting Kumiko to do the same. "There's only one way out of a challenge like this: forward."
"I like your attitude." the gatekeeper smirked. "Kind of reminds me of Ms. Gym Leader when I first met her, though I hope that your Bite hits as hard as your bark."
Steadying herself, Reina took a deep breath before stepping out of the pool, her feet drenching wet. Without hesitating for a second, she nimbly pranced across the hot coals while making sure she didn't land on a single spot for more than a brief moment, gracefully dancing on the smoldering stones like a ballerina.
By a stroke of misfortune, Reina stepped on a particular section for a bit too long halfway to the Gym's entrance, and flinched before letting out an ear-splitting scream. Thinking that she had been severely burned by the coals, the gatekeeper immediately sent out her Braixen. "Use Psychic to rescue the challenger!"
Levitating Reina back to the starting point, the gatekeeper's Braixen lowered her safely down to the ground as she rushed over with a bucket of cold water scooped from the pool. However, upon inspecting Reina's feet, the gatekeeper frowned. "Haah? There's not even a first-degree burn or a bruise on your feet. What was that scream for?"
"Well… looks like I'm not as resistant to Fire as I expected." Reina admitted. "Guess that's what happens when you've spent too much time with Ice-type Pokémon. I'll try again after a bit of rest, if that's OK with you."
"Fine." the gatekeeper sighed. "Challengers can try as many times as they want, provided they don't get any serious injuries." She turned to look at Kumiko. "How about you? Prepared to go through after what happened to your friend?"
Kumiko kind of regretted not telling Reina beforehand, but she actually had above-average tolerance to heat. Once, she managed to carry a piping-hot pot of curry at a school camp by herself, though she still had to wash her hands afterwards to cool down. While the coals were far hotter than a pot carrying freshly-cooked food, Kumiko had enough confidence in her resistance to make it across 4 meters without burning herself.
"Yes. Like my friend said, I have to persist if I want to be special, and this is just one more obstacle I need to overcome on the way there." Kumiko answered, though the gatekeeper didn't seem as pleased as she did with Reina previously.
"Hmph. Ladies and gentlemen, looks like we've got another talker here." the gatekeeper sarcastically announced. "Anyone taking bets on whether she's gonna make it through? Anyone?"
Disregarding the gatekeeper's barbing, Kumiko mentally prepared herself before taking the first step on the coals, testing their temperature in an instant before continuing on with her second quick step. While she didn't move as fast as Reina did, her slight heat resistance meant that she could use more time to affirm her footing and make it across more carefully.
Methodically maneuvering, Kumiko subconsciously locked herself into a cycle of putting her foot down, making sure she could balance herself, putting her other foot down in front of her, and immediately lifting the first foot after her second foot was stabilized, minimizing the time she spent on the coals. Before she knew it, she was already on the other side, the Gym building directly in front of her.
"Well done! Looks like you're made of tougher stuff than your friend over there." the gatekeeper admitted. "Though judging by her low tolerance to heat, I'm starting to think that she can't make it here on her own…"
That last poke set off a chain reaction of thoughts in Kumiko's mind. Reina prided herself on being strong-willed and independent, always conquering each challenge in front of her with unbroken determination. To be stopped here just because of a physical limitation she had no control over was most likely a devastating blow to her psyche.
Sure, she could build up her tolerance to heat over time, but Kumiko suspected that Reina wouldn't accept a setback like that. That would take too much time, time that she could have used to become even more special in other things such as Pokémon training and battling.
Unsure of what to do, Kumiko didn't move until she heard the faint sound of dripping water emanated from her feet. Looking down, she saw that her soles were still wet, which gave her one of the riskiest ideas she ever had.
"I'll carry Reina across, even if it means that I have to walk across the coals once more and start all over again." Kumiko declared. "She promised me that we'd be together no matter what happens, and I'm not even thinking about dropping my end of the bargain, even through the fire and flames. Is that allowed?"
"Hmmm… nobody's done that before, but it isn't explicitly banned by the rules." the gatekeeper mused. "I'll let you do it just this once, but whether or not you manage to cross over on the next try, it's going to be disallowed after that. Fair?"
"Fair." Psyching herself up again, Kumiko used her hands to slather her feet with some of the excess water clinging on to her legs before walking back to the starting point. While her body had already adapted to the routine clockwork of firewalking, Kumiko found it more unbearable compared to the first time, as there was less water on her feet and it wasn't cold enough to evaporate slower.
By the time she got back, Kumiko could start to feel the tingling sensation of pain on her soles, and immediately went over to the pool of cold water to soak her feet, quickly dispersing all the heat concentrated there.
Once she felt she could make the journey again, Kumiko stepped out of the pool and gestured for Reina to come to her side. Stretching her arms out and bending down to pick Reina up, Kumiko's special one obliged and rested herself comfortably, knowing that she was in the best care she could possibly imagine.
With a bit of heaving, Kumiko managed to lift herself up along with Reina, silently noting that she was lighter than expected, despite her petite frame already lowering Kumiko's expectations by a sizable amount. Clearly, Reina was either in top shape or she had been eating less than she needed.
Putting her first foot on the coals, Kumiko could feel the heat getting to her, but vowed to continue pressing on as Reina clung to her for dear life, briskly skipping from one spot to the next and always mentally checking she wasn't standing in one area for too long.
Despite nearly losing her balance several times due to Reina's added weight shifting her center of gravity, Kumiko managed to catch herself, trying her best to advance no matter how much it pained her to do so.
As Reina had her arms wrapped around Kumiko, she could feel a special sort of warmth emanating from her desired, different from the harsh heat of the coals or the tepid temperature surrounding them. Unlike those unsatisfactory feelings, Kumiko's body gave her a sense of reassurance; even if she couldn't do it herself, her special one would help pick up the slack together.
Nearing the goal she had rejected the first time around, Kumiko saw Reina looking at her expectantly, as if waiting for an explanation of why she was going a fair distance out of the way for her. Though Kumiko wanted to continue staring into those deep purple eyes for the rest of eternity, she still needed to push forward if Reina wanted to achieve her goals.
Still moving her legs with unerring precision, Kumiko suddenly felt the ground below her go from piping-hot to lukewarm. Looking down, she realized that they had finally reached the other side. Letting Reina alight from her arms, Kumiko turned to look at her, but their moment was interrupted by the gatekeeper.
"Congratulations. I almost thought that you'd trip and fall on the way." the gatekeeper reluctantly praised as her Braixen levitated their shoes across to them, as well as two buckets of water from the pool to soak their feet in. "Now, where did I put my markers? Looks like I need to close that loophole after all."
As the gatekeeper rummaged around the gate she was overseeing, Reina had the first word. "Wow… I'd never thought that you would carry me like that."
"Yeah, and I hope it won't be the last time either." Kumiko thought to herself, causing a blush to appear on Reina's face, though Kumiko didn't realize what she had just announced out loud.
"Excuse my face. It must be because you were so hot." Reina replied without paying attention to her words, causing Kumiko to turn a similar shade of red. Was Reina…
"Let's not waste any more time here." Reina seemed to have mentally repressed her previous sentence already, wanting to finally fight the Gym Leader with her own power after relying on Kumiko for the challenge beforehand. "Before we enter the Gym, I suggest we cool our feet with the water provided. What do you say about getting wet together?"
Reina still didn't understand how or why Kumiko's face could get even more red than she already was.