Chapter 65: Lavaridge Spa and Gym
Lucas now only needed three more badges to earn the right to face Hoenn's Elite Four. The teen's latest victory was in the newly established Verdanturf Town's Gym, lead by a family of Trainers known as the Winstrates. To prove a lesson about the value of all Pokemon to a group of bullies who had harassed a young boy with an Eevee, Lucas had fought the entire match with only Gizmo, making it one of the toughest challenges he had ever faced in a Gym. But he had made his point. With his fifth Gym victory the bullies had learned their lesson and their business in the small town of Verdanturf had ended. With Morgan still having things to do in the region, the two rivals decided to travel together again and the third Trainer joined their party. So Lucas, Skyler and Lucas' rival Morgan started their trip to their next destination.
They had to back track Route 117 to return to junction at the north of Mauville. Because Skyler had wanted to explore a few destinations the three companions decided on this route before heading to the Gyms on the east coast of the Hoenn region: the next Gym would be in Lavaridge Town, located on the side of the active volcano, Mt. Chimney, and with Meteor Falls, a possible location for Rayquazza, north of the mountain being farther, the group settled on going to the Gym for Lucas' sixth badge first, followed by Falls and then to go through the desert to head towards Fortree City and head out towards the coast, where the final two of the League's Gyms existed on islands off of the mainland. This route, they decided, required the least amount of back tracking beyond what they had just done by coming back from Verdanturf, and would allow all the Trainers to get what they wanted: Lucas would get his badges, Skyler would get to explore possible locations for the mystic dragon Rayquazza and Morgan would see if she could locate more dark types.
On their way back from Verdanturf, Lucas stopped back by the Daycare to pick up his two Pokemon, Franky and Bernadette, and as he suspected, his Gyrados and Milotic had spent some quality time together, and produced an egg. Still wanting to rely on less used Pokemon, Lucas returned the two water types and their egg to the PC and prepared for the trek ahead.
Lavaridge Town was just west off the path to Mt. Chimney, the active volcano whose smoke was visible from almost every part of Hoenn, and one of the first things newcomers to the region would see either by plane or ship. Because of the seismic activity, Lavaridge had several natural hot springs and geysers, and was a popular place to visit for Trainers and tourists alike. The first thing the three Trainers noticed as they arrived from the cable car that brought people up and down the volcano and led to the city was the energy of the town. Tourists gathered in flocks and owners of local spas coaxed people to come to their specific location. It was not a large town, and most of the spas were very close to one and other, and the three could even see people engaging in the therapeutic treatment of being buried in hot volcanic sand right off the sides of the some of the roads. And as they arrived at the Pokemon Center, they saw that even the Trainer sanctuary offered complimentary spa treatments, advertising a series of hot springs behind the Center for any tired Trainers to use.
The trip from Verdanturf to Lavaridge was not particularly long or hard, but after the intense Gym battle from earlier in the day, and Lucas still getting back on his feet from his illness, he had decided to wait until the next day to face the Gym Leader. According to the Pokevice, this town's Gym was a fire specialty, lead by a woman named Flannery. An advanced team of fire Pokemon would always be a challenge, since nearly all fire Trainers knew they had to prepare for obvious attacks from water Pokemon. Prep would require time and effort, and Lucas was in no immediate rush. Both Skyler and Morgan agreed to the plan, also wanting some rest and a chance to explore what the town had to offer.
For whatever reason, the three were the only Pokemon Trainers at the Center for the moment and had first dibs on the buildings' best facilities. They grabbed beds, raided the vending machines and sat around the couches to discuss their upcoming plans. From their seats they could see the foreign tourists wandering around outside the Center, curious about the fixture seen in every city or town in the Pokemon Regions. Morgan got bored of people watching first and explained what she had intended, "There are a lot of world class spas in this town that offer discounts to Pokemon Trainers. I think I might go get a facial or something. It's been a really long time since I've had a beauty treatment,"
Lucas opened his mouth to reply but Morgan cut him short with a sharp flick to the earlobe, "Ow! I didn't say anything!"
"Only because I'm not giving you a chance to. Your mind's not that hard to read, Rooster Boy," Morgan snapped back.
Lucas continued to rub his stinging ear and glared at his rival. He then stretched himself out and added his thoughts for the day, "I've never been to a hot springs before. I think I might just check out the Center's ones. That way if it's something I don't like I won't waste money on it. What about you Skyler, what are you going to do today? More Legendary Pokemon research?"
Unlike Morgan and Lucas, Skyler seemed less enthusiastic than his companions. His mood seemed a bit distant and melancholy, "I'm not sure yet,"
Lucas noted the uncharacteristic behavior in his friend with some concern. The teen had only seen Skyler this down once before. Morgan was of course oblivious to her new traveling companion's mood and got up to wish the two other Trainers a good day as she went to pursue her plans, "I'll see you two later. I'll probably be back around six or so,"
The two young men gave the raven haired woman a casual wave as she left and turned back to themselves. They remained silent as Lucas tried to figure out a way to ask his friend what was wrong, but as usual the teen lost his nerve. That mix of fear and frustration bubbled up in his chest, wanting to get closer to Skyler, but at the same time terrified that the Dragon Tamer would figure out the reasons for his concern beyond two bros who cared about each other. After seemingly endless minutes of Lucas trying to figure out a way to broach the subject, he gave up and stood, "Well, I'm going to go see those hot springs now, see you around,"
Lucas mentally kicked himself for his cowardice and tried to redirect his train of thought towards checking out the Pokemon Center's hot springs. The spring was just behind the Center through a specially built set of doors that opened into special changing rooms segregated by gender. Above both sets of changing rooms were the few rules about the Center's springs: bathing suits must be worn, no rough housing, no Pokemon allowed in the springs, sorry for the inconvenience. The teen looked down to Gizmo and Diablo, who were still wandering around with their Trainer, "That sucks, but I sorta get it. Probably don't want people putting Gyrados and stuff in there and not leaving room for the people. Maybe we can find a Pokemon-only springs elsewhere,"
Gizmo and Diablo responded with sympathetic whines and went back to their Pokeballs. The tattooed teen then went into the men's dressing room and dug out the pair of swim trunks he had wadded up deep in his duffel bag. In spite of the heat from the nearby volcano, Lucas was hit with a slight cold draft as he went further back outside to where the hot springs were. There were small amounts of steam wafting off of the water's bubbling surface and the mild smell of spoiled eggs from the sulfuric liquid. It was slightly off-putting, but Lucas decided to pursue it anyway. He carefully dipped one foot in the water, jerking it back right away. Even with 'hot' right in the title, the water's high natural temperature still took the Trainer back in surprise. Hot but not unbearable, Lucas stepped back into the water and edged himself in until he waded towards one of the edges where the water went up to the middle of his chest. He understood now why such attractions were so popular. Once he got over the smell the movement and heat of the water seemed to permeate through even the deepest parts of his muscles, and all the tension seemed to melt away. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh until a voice caused him to snap back to reality, "Hey,"
Standing just at the mouth of the men's changing room was Skyler in his own pair of swim trunks. Lucas had never seen the other young man in such a small amount of clothes and was able to marvel over the lines and muscles of the other Trainer's body. Lucas knew he was staring, and being painfully obvious about it, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight. His mind was blank except for taking in and memorizing every part of Skyler's body. Only a single sentence broke the spell, "Hey, what's that?"
Lucas panicked and dunked himself deeper into the water, hoping the slightly cloudy water would mask his waist and pelvis and at that moment was genuinely grateful for the Pokemon Center's swimsuit requirement. He dared to look up only to notice Skyler was gesturing to his own chest and torso, miming a slashing movement as he approached the spring. The Mohawk-bearing Trainer hoped he let out a fairly inconspicuous sigh of relief as he looked down to his own chest. Skyler had been indicating the shining white line that started at about his collar bone and crossed down diagonally to just past his stomach. Lucas pointed at his scar, "Remember how I said I hate Tentacool? This is why. I was at the beach in Olivine City when I saw a Tentacool on the sand. I went to try to help it when the little prick lashed out at me and used Poison Sting. Had to spend an entire day at the hospital to get treated. It hurt like hell,"
"Geez, no wonder. That's a pretty healthy reason to not like them," Skyler was in the water now and waded towards Lucas to sit next to him. He crossed his arms, laid his head on a rock and let out a heavy sigh of his own, "I can't quite figure out if I really like it here or hate it here. It reminds me so much of home,"
"You mean Blackthorn City?"
"Yeah, we have a lot of hot springs as well. We don't have an active volcano like here, but there are a bunch of caverns with magma flows that heat up underground pools and stuff," Skyler said. He let out a another melancholy sigh, "I have spent most of my adolescence and adult life trying to get away from that place, and now that I'm here I'm actually homesick. Funny, right?"
"Not really," Lucas shrugged, "I mean, I know you say you get frustrated that everybody treats you like you're still a kid, but you know how much your family loves you. It's not that you miss the city, right? It's more like you miss them,"
Skyler laughed, "That's totally true. I miss working in my sister's Gym and her arguing with Lance all the time. I miss tea with my Grandfather and all the things he has to tell me, and when I sit here I can almost hear my younger cousins playing outside one of the family inns,"
"It's not like you never want to go back to Blackthorn, you just want to go back on your terms, when you did what you wanted to do and they won't look at you like you're just a kid anymore. I'm the same way. I know towards the end my parents and I did nothing but fight, and yes, John is the biggest douchebag I've ever met, but I still love them. I want to go home too, but I also never want to see that look on their faces ever again, that disappointed look. So let's make the most of our time here, seeing the sights and becoming better Trainers so that when we go back home we know we'll be ready to do it,"
"I like that plan a lot," Skyler once again smiled, that happy glow that drew Lucas to him. But now Lucas felt a knot in his own stomach. Lucas wanted to go back to Cherrygrove and see his family again, but home meant being away from Skyler. And before then once he faced the League, the Dragon Tamer would keep his promise to his cousin and return to the place he belonged. Time was running shorter and shorter as more badges were won by the Trainer, and tomorrow, he'd get yet another one. So in the meantime, he'd enjoy every minute he had with Skyler, and figure out what he'd finally do with those feelings for him that refused to go away.
Morgan came back later that afternoon like she had promised. She had claimed she had become completely relaxed and felt more at peace, but Lucas hardly saw a difference in her appearance or demeanor. He kept that thought to himself however, because he didn't have the time to waste bickering with her, his thoughts were now on the match tomorrow.
Water types were plentiful in Hoenn, and Lucas had a plethora of choices to make as he had caught many while traveling the region as well all the water Pokemon he had captured back in Sinnoh. Blobby Bob the Wailmer and Bruce the Swampert he had received when he first came to the Region from Professor Birch. He also had the Tentacruel he had rescued from the stranded old cruise ship outside of Slateport City. Rounding out his strategy was Bernadette, a Pokemon he hadn't really used in battle but was fairly high level when he captured her in the bowels of Mt. Coronet. With Gizmo and Diablo finishing the team, the teen spent his afternoon getting warming his Pokemon up and conditioning them for the Gym match ahead.
Lucas wasn't entirely sure why he was up and ready so early the next morning. While he had adapted to early rising on the road, he was already dressed and ready to leave the Center before either Skyler or Morgan had eaten breakfast. The sooner he left the sooner he would get his badge, which granted, he needed, but it also meant he was cutting short his own time with Skyler. That nervous energy seemed to be the source of his anxiety, and for Lucas, the best way he knew to burn that energy off was with a Pokemon battle. So as counter-intuitive as it was, the only way he would not panic about Skyler was to go to the Gym as soon as he could. He waited for his traveling companions as he paced back and forth through the lobby as recently arriving Trainers looked at him curiously as they came into the Pokemon Center. But soon enough they were caught up to Lucas and Skyler and Morgan joined their friend to the Gym.
The Gym was not as easy to find as Gyms in other towns, it looked just like another spa and blended into the community. Only the Gym sign just outside the building told the Trainers they were at the right place. Flannery, one with a fiery passion that burns! Lucas held his breath as he entered the Gym and readied himself for the upcoming fire fight. While he knew Flannery and her Junior Trainers would use fire type Pokemon, her preferred strategy and the amount of obstacles he had to pass before facing her were still unknown to him. Yet as many Gyms as he had faced and defeated, and some of the odder instances he had encountered with missing Leaders, Gyms still under construction, and his first Gym match against a Leader who had lost her team in a fit of panic over a ghost, Lucas still found Gyms could surprise him.
Not only had the outside of the Gym looked like a spa, the inside had as well, including a cheerful elderly woman with her white hair pinned neatly up, wearing a drab but dignified kimono sitting as a receptionist. Lucas had to do a double-take, making sure the spa he entered was the Gym he sought, and even with the official Pokemon League 'P' on the front of the desk, he second guessed himself.
"Good morning and welcome to the Lavaridge Gym Spa, the largest and most complete facility in town. We offer a wide variety of services including a sauna, volcanic mud bath and salt scrub massages. How many in your party today, three?" the elderly lady inquired politely.
"Um...actually, I'm a Pokemon Trainer. I'm here to challenge the Gym Leader," Lucas explained. The whole situation felt awkward and absurd.
The receptionist pulled out a pair of spectacles from her desk and smiled brightly, "Oh of course, my apologies! I should have seen right away. You're the boy from the Pokevice commercials, the Sinnoh Champion who's challenging Hoenn. We've been hearing about how you have so quickly gotten more than half the League's badges. One moment please," The elderly lady bent down and pulled out an vintage corded telephone and dialed an extension.
Lucas had glanced back to see Morgan's amused smile as she mouthed 'Pokevice commercial?' He groaned as he realized she didn't know about his recent stint in acting and would probably never hear the end of it now that she knew.
"We have a Pokemon Trainer here. No, that doesn't mean he wants services for himself and his team, he's here to challenge Flannery. Honestly! Just let everyone know to get ready," the receptionist hung up the receiver and turned back to the Trainer, "I'm sorry for the wait, if you'll just change we'll be ready for you,"
"Change? You do remember I'm here for the Leader, not for the spa, right?" Lucas eyed the woman skeptically.
She pulled out a series of three yukatas and gestured enthusiastically, "I know dearie, I know. Please if you would, changing room is just over there,"
Lucas looked back at his two human companions and Gizmo and shrugged. Taking the robes the receptionist had handed to him, he passed them to Morgan and Skyler and went to change as the woman had requested. They went into their respective changing rooms and came out a few minutes later with the thin cotton robes embroidered with the name of the Gym. The receptionist got up and shuffled gracefully where she pulled back a curtain behind her desk and motioned for the Trainers to go through. Behind the curtain was a door that when opened let out a blast of intense heat. Suddenly the thin yukatas made perfect sense.
The room behind the lobby was a steam room with impossibly hot volcanic rocks being drizzled with tiny streams of water that hissed as soon as they touched the rocks' surface. The heat made Lucas instantly sweat, with his hair collapsing into his face and streams of perspiration poured down his neck and back. Morgan's hair also collapsed with the heat, become a limp nest of frizz and her makeup melting off her eyes and lips. The mist was thick and hard to see through but when the Trainer squinted he could just make out a silhouette up ahead. The shape lurched forward to reveal a large man equally coated in sweat, the first of the Gym's Trainers, "If you think this heat is too much you won't have a chance against Flannery! Go Vulpix!"
"Go Tentacruel!" The heat from the steam room caused the giant jellyfish to shrivel slightly, but it's tenacity would not allow it to show weakness in battle. The other Trainer's Vulpix started the battle with a Psybeam attack. An unexpected advantage that walloped but not defeated the Tentacruel. Lucas commanded a Toxic attack to set up the strategy. Recalling his first Pokemon, the tattooed teen next summoned Bruce the Swampert. The part ground type barely noticed the heat and quickly finished the battle with a devastating Earthquake attack.
"Ah well," the Trainer said good-naturedly, "At least I don't have to stay in here anymore and can go back to the massage room. If you ever come back to the Gym for a treatment, ask for Kenny,"
Lucas gave the man a perplexed look as he took the Trainer's business card, "Uh, sure,"
The next room wasn't anywhere near as hot as the steam room. Instead there were a series of large tubs filled with a gray gelatinous liquid that looked most unpleasant. Morgan was still fighting her rebellious hair and ruined makeup, but upon seeing her rival's confusion explained, "Those are mud bathes, they're supposed to pull dirt and toxins out of your skin,"
"Maybe I'm just an idiot, but I'll never understand how a mud treatment is supposed to clean your skin. But that wasn't what confused me. Where's the Trainer?" In an instant response to Lucas' question, one of the large stone tubs seemed to boil as a series of bubbles formed on the surface before a boy dressed as a ninja popped up and jumped in front of the three Trainers.
"Waah! Caught you off guard, didn't I? And I'll keep you just as off balance as we battle!" as mud dripped to the floor from his face and clothing, the pint sized ninja pulled out an equally dirty Pokeball and summoned his creature, "Go Slugma!"
"Go Bernadette!" The serpentine Milotic undulated around her Trainer and soon it was the ninja that was finding himself on the defensive. Though not experienced as a Trainer's Pokemon, Bernadette's naturally high speed and evasion made her run circles around the slower slug Pokemon. The Milotic quickly was victorious, and Lucas, Skyler and Morgan moved on to the next treatment room.
The next room was the sauna, as hot as the steam room but not as stifling or humid. The Trainer there was not hidden or obscured but the battle ended as quickly as the other two rooms when she summoned out a Numel. The room after was the massage room where Kenny worked, and waved to his earlier opponent as he worked on a client. Lucas' opponent for that room was another masseuse who fought him with two Pokemon: another Slugma and Numel. Kenny and his client watched the battle with intense interest as Lucas pitted his Tentacruel and Swampert against them, but like the other battles, the talented Sinnoh Champion made short work of the Junior Trainer. And like the other Trainers of the Gym, she seemed just as happy to be done with their battle and back to work as an employee of the spa.
Lucas and the others braced themselves for the next round of battles in another treatment room, but instead found himself in the heart of the Gym. Unlike the rest of the building which was clearly just as easily used for business as battle, the heart of the Gym was built like a traditional Pokemon arena. Though slightly smelly hot springs bubbled gently and maple trees grew out of the rocks, the center of the large room had official markings with a Leader podium on the other side of the doors and seating areas for observers and fans to watch, though it seemed the spectators in this Gym preferred to view battles from the springs themselves. What seemed out of place compared to the aesthetic of the Gym was the Leader herself.
The Pokevice never showed pictures of Leaders, only general descriptions, but Lucas doubted a picture would have helped soften the blow. Sitting on the podium drinking green tea out of a traditional tea set was a girl with flaming red hair, tattoos and facial piercings. Cute, but not so attractive that Lucas would get tongue tied, Flannery was the kind of girl he would ask on a date if he weren't currently lusting after Skyler. Less than a decade older than Lucas, she had low cut cargo pants and a Howling Mankeys band shirt with the sleeves ripped off. Her left arm was a black and red tat made up of flames with fire types weaving in and out of the fire and she had a septum ring made out of hematite. She looked up from her tea and gave Lucas an enthusiastic wave, "Hey! I've been waiting to meet you!
"I'm Flannery, the Leader of the Lavaridge Gym! Word about the Sinnoh Champion has been spreading like wildfire and when I saw stuff about you on TV and the news and stuff, I've been counting the days until you'd show up at my Gym. It's been a while since I've had any real challenge, and the Gym gets more business from tourists than Trainers, so I'm just burning up for a real fight!" Flannery hopped down and got face to face with her new opponent.
"Yeah, nice to meet you too. You'll have to forgive me if I seem a little...confused. With the rest of the town and this spa—and I can't believe this is me saying this—but you're not what I expected for this Gym," Lucas offered his hand in friendship.
Flannery laughed, "A million years ago this was my grandfather's Gym and when he retired I promised I'd take over and maintain the dignity and decorum of his legacy and the legacy of the town. I tried to do things the old way but that didn't work out at all. After a few really embarrassing losses me and Grampa came to an understanding: I'd honor him and Lavaridge but I was not going to change me to do it. By the way, who did your right sleeve? Those skeletons are ill,"
"Z, out of Goldenrod. Did the left sleeve too. If you ever get him to do it tell him I sent you and I say hi," Lucas smiled.
"D'oh! I'm dorking out again. Sorry about that, you're here for your badge, not to trade artists—we can do that after the match. Alright, time to get serious, especially since I'm going to be using my advanced team," Flannery gently tapped herself on the head and ran back to the podium and began her Leader speech, "Fire is pure power: it has the power to destroy, the power to provide energy through heat and fire is even the very lifeblood of this world, as the springs and geysers of this town can testify to. And this fire is going to burn you down!"
"Okay Skater Girl, show me what you got!" Lucas replied.