Lance's final pokemon collapsed into the waters of the cave, indicating his defeat. Yet again, he had been unable to defeat Red.
The dragon master let out a frustrated sigh, before retrieving his dragonite back to its pokeball. He closed his eyes, before diving deep into his thoughts, trying to figure out what he did wrong this time.
Red silently retrieved his own lapras. He approached Lance and the group of spectators in the same manner, almost unfazed by it all. It did not matter how long it had been since Red had demonstrated his absurd talent as a trainer, it was still baffling to everyone else.
A very short old man, wearing an old kataginu attire, approached the red-haired man. He placed his wrinkly hand on the dragon master's back, and patted it as if comforting a little kid.
Lance was visibly annoyed by this, and his eyebrow began twitching. However, the old man was the least of his concerns.
A familiar blue-haired woman began laughing uncontrollably at Lance's defeat. She was his oldest rival, and had been there to bother him from the very beginning.
"Sorry, sorry." She said while trying to calm herself down. It would be unwise not to stop after one of Lance's signature deadly stares. "You just did it especially bad this time, even for you!"
"What do you mean?!" Shot back the dragon master, quite pissed off at the gym leader.
A blonde girl quickly stepped between them, to avoid a confrontation. She was obviously fearful for her own safety, but wanted to avoid any harm if possible.
"Ah, Yellow, I'd advise you to move away from there." The old man cleared his throat after speaking, wanting to make sure his words were heard loud and clear.
She hesitated, but Red quickly pulled her out.
"But I must admit, young Lance, that Claire is right." The old man scratched one of his eyebrows, which were so thick that they blocked the view of his eyes. Lance, of course, fell on his back almost instantly. "Your technique wasn't on point with your usual standard, while your decision making was a little poor, considering you faced such a familiar opponent."
Veins began to appear on the dragon master's forehead. It was not the best moment to annoy him.
"I think you are burned out." As the phrase finally came to him, the old master raised his hand. Then, he lowered it and began playing with his white beard. "I think you might need a vacation."
A drop of sweat fell from Red's forehead. He knew Lance too well to not expect his signature menacing stare. And so the dragon master did.
Clair, on the other hand, failed to contain her giggles.
"You know, a little relaxation on the beach. Sunbathing, maybe swimming a little. And the beautiful girls wearing bikinis…" He sighed, as if daydreaming.
Yellow and Red exchanged cringing looks.
"Yes, young Lance, I think we need a vacation."
"Oh, 'we' now, huh?"
"Well, of course! An old man like me can't be managing an entire clan and the Dragon's Den and not be tired!" The elder then began daydreaming again.
"Well, you have your advisors to take over your job, they already do most of it anyways." Lance shrugged. "But I can't just leave being part of the Elite Four and the League."
"Meh," the old man's carelessness shocked even Lance, "Claire can take over."
"No, she can't."
Yellow intervened, raising her hand. "Well, Mr. Lance, technically she can if you authorize her."
Red put his hands over her mouth and pulled her back, shocked at the fact that she had interrupted Lance, and only to contradict him.
"See?" The old man's face formed a smile of satisfaction. "We can now begin the preparations!"
Lance's stare at Yellow was more of disappointment than anger. There were no much worse things you could do to him than enabling his grandfather and his cousin.
Claire, as cocky as ever, began to shamelessly celebrate her new position as interim member of the Elite Four, even if she was yet to receive confirmation from Lance.
"You're very rich, aren't you, Lance boy?" The old man turned around and began to walk towards the old temple that was not too far from them. "Find the most luxurious hotel in all of Kanto and Johto! We have to make sure our valuable time is well spent!"
He raised his small arm, before continuing his slow walk towards the building. Lance could only sigh in defeat.
As the pair finally arrived at the entrance of their hotel, they were met with a surprisingly rustic look for such expensive prices. Lance felt as if his soul was leaving his body after realizing that he may have been scammed. After all, he had paid over 250k Pokécoins for their room.
The seemingly small hotel was right in front of the beach. The Sevii Islands were well known across Kanto and Johto for their beautiful beaches, and in recent years had become a popular place for vacation. Despite the urbanization of the island, swarms of slowpoke still populated Five Island, becoming a key attraction for the tourists.
However, the elder was not worried in the slightest. He stretched a little before looking back at his grandson.
Unlike the red-haired man, the elder was fully prepared for the trip. He was wearing a trusty pair of beige shorts, as well as a blue alolan shirt with a floral design. Knowing that at his age his skin was less resistant, he also made sure to put on a sun hat.
He noticed Lance's concerned expression, and raised his sunglasses to more properly look at him. He raised one of his very thick eyebrows, revealing only a little of his right eye.
"What's up, Lance boy?"
The younger man, who was still wearing his usual uniform despite the heat of the beaches of Five Island, sighed.
"I think I was scammed."
"Eh? You don't know this place?" The elder seemed confused, and had to turn around to once again read the name of the place. Once he confirmed it, he turned back towards his grandson. "That's The Three Slowpokes! The most popular hotel in all of the Sevii Islands!"
"Well, it looks a little… unsurprising."
The old man carelessly scratched his butt. "Well, have you never had a vacation before? Because it shows."
Lance fell on his back, having been caught off-guard by his grandfather's comment.
"They serve the best food, have the most comfortable rooms and even one of the best pokémon daycares of the region!" Declared the old man, raising his hand. "I've heard stories, legends even, but never had the pleasure of coming myself. Now me, and my old buddies will finally be able to enjoy the greatest of hotels!"
"Well, at least you seem excited." Lance sighed, before grabbing their bags to continue their walk into the lobby.
There, they were attended by a young girl who was accompanied by a slowpoke. She greeted the two and proceeded with the check-in. All while her pokémon just existed, staring mindlessly at infinity.
Once the administrative part was over with, the girl gave them the keys. However, she would also have to ask for their pokémon, as it was their usual methodology to take their guests' teams to the daycare.
The old man was more than happy, as those of his pokémon that remained were just as old as him and would probably love to relax. However, Lance was a little reluctant.
Ultimately, the elder managed to convince him. After all, his pokémon needed a rest as much as himself. But for some reason, Lance could just not shake off a strange feeling. Almost like a shiver going down his spine.
Once they finally arrived at their room, the old man rushed to their balcony. It had a direct view over the pool, which was decorated with slowpoke memorabilia. The umbrellas and even the chairs were slowpoke themed, while the real slowpokes hung out around the pool with the guests.
He quickly entered the room once again, and began digging into one of his bags. From it, he took a bottle of sunscreen.
"Change that uniform already!" He yelled as he noticed that his grandson was still wearing his full uniform, including the long cape. "You'll look like a weirdo and the cute girls will run away from us!"
The member of the Elite Four cringed again. He removed his cape and then his boots.
"You can go to the pool if you want, I'll take a shower first."
The old man shrugged, before running off towards the pool. He could not wait to flirt with some cuties. It had been a long time.
After about fifteen minutes, Lance was ready to go. He put on a pair of shorts and remained shirtless. He grabbed the bottle of sunscreen his grandfather left behind, and used a little for himself. His family were usually very pale, and he was not the exception, so he had to take care of his skin.
As he exited the room and into the hallway, he casually looked to his right. The elevator was in that direction, so he wanted to make sure there was no line for it. However, he only saw one person. A woman with very short pink hair who was wearing a one piece swimsuit, and a white beach skirt around her waist.
He almost felt like his grandfather when he spent more than two seconds staring at her. Ashamed, he quickly turned back towards the door, which he shut closed.
Lance then casually walked towards the elevator, like nothing had happened. His legs felt a little weird, an unusual occurrence for him.
He stopped just before the woman, and then turned towards the elevator. It was closed, and was on a floor marked as 'basement'.
The woman was the first one to crack the ice. She had noticed that the man standing next to her was none other than Lance of the Elite Four. And she could not possibly waste the chance to talk to a former champion.
"It's not every day that you meet one of the strongest trainers of the past few years. What an honor." She said while turning to look at him.
Lance nodded in acknowledgement.
"I'm Jessilee," she extended her hand towards him, "nice to meet you."
Once again, he nodded, while shaking her hand. Her skin was remarkably smooth.
"Nice to meet you too. I figure you already know my name." She confirmed with a nod, and the former champion smiled.
"It says a lot about this place that even champions come!" She exclaimed, quite cheerful about the fact.
"Champions? Who else have you seen around here?" Inquired the Elite Four, with genuine curiosity.
"Well, I saw Cynthia from Sinnoh yesterday! I don't know if she already left, though…"
"Cynthia… That's one big coincidence, isn't it?"
Jessilee nodded excitedly. She opened the purse she was carrying, and from it grabbed a picture. It showed the woman posing with Cynthia, and the image had been signed by the champion herself.
Lance raised his eyebrows in surprise. It was a little odd, but that was the whole point of coincidences. Plus, if he was not misremembering, Cynthia never really returned to her position as Champion after she was dethroned. Similarly to himself.
"But that does make me wonder…" The woman's soft voice snapped the dragon tamer out of his thoughts. "What could someone as busy as a member of the Elite Four be doing here?"
The red-haired man laughed nervously. "Well, I was told to go on a vacation, and so I did."
The woman seemed surprised. "So even the likes of the Elite Four get overworked!"
Lance nodded.
"That's kind of relieving, no offense…"
He laughed a little. "I figure."
A 'beep' indicated the arrival of the elevator. The woman approached it, before looking back at the man. He followed, while the metallic doors began to open.
It was not empty. Inside of it, a single figure stood. That of a middle-aged man, who wore a long leather overcoat and a pair of black jeans. His feet were covered by a pair of elegant black leather shoes, while his hands remained uncovered. To finalize his look, he wore a black fedora that obscured part of his face and most of his hair; except for certain bits, which revealed a gray tone of hair.
Lance flinched at the sight of the man. However, the woman wrapped his right arm with her own, and pulled him into the elevator.
The doors closed.
The woman kept hugging his right arm, but Lance was still shocked. In his mind, that man was long gone. Dead.
The middle-aged man raised his fedora with the tip of his thumb, revealing the face that Lance dreaded so much.
With his deep voice, now with an extra hoarseness that had not been there years ago, he spoke.
"I've come to collect my pay."