Chapter 148: Hot Springs and Blaine
Mew was delighted with its mask.
However, to the mask vendor, the scene was downright terrifying.
A Dragonite mask floating in mid-air, alongside a half-eaten grilled mochi—how could that not be eerie?
For a moment, the vendor's mind raced with thoughts of Cinnabar Island's many ghost stories.
Noticing the vendor's frightened expression, Asahi quickly patted Mew.
"Mew?"
Realizing it had forgotten to make the mask and mochi invisible, Mew stuck out its tiny tongue in embarrassment.
A blue glow flickered, and the floating objects vanished.
"Sorry, my Pokémon's a bit mischievous," Asahi apologized.
"H-Haha… So it was a Pokémon… Have a nice day!" the vendor replied with a forced smile.
Asahi wasn't sure if the vendor actually believed him.
If not, the guy was probably going to have nightmares tonight.
After paying, Asahi left the mask stall.
---
Silph Hot Spring Villa Hotel
Asahi presented the membership card he had received from the president of Silph Co., immediately earning VIP treatment.
Now that he thought about it, ever since Silph "donated" that large sum of money, he hadn't checked in on their situation.
Had they passed the League's investigations yet?
At that moment, Green had finished gathering information on Blaine.
"Asahi, based on online reports, Blaine hasn't been seen at the gym for a long time. Right now, Cinnabar Gym is officially closed."
"Some trainers claim they've still received badges from him, but most can't even find him."
"Oh, I know that," Asahi replied.
"So what's the plan? Do you have a way to find Blaine?" Green asked.
"Find him? Why would I?" Asahi looked confused.
Green was puzzled.
Weren't they here to conduct a gym evaluation? If they couldn't find Blaine, wouldn't this trip be a waste?
Seeing Green's confusion, Asahi laughed. "We're the examiners. It's always the test-takers who seek out the examiners, not the other way around."
"I already had Gengar post the evaluation notice on Cinnabar Gym's door."
"He has three days to show up. If he doesn't, we'll just mark him as failing the assessment."
Green paused.
That actually… made perfect sense.
They were the ones administering the exam—why should they be the ones chasing down the candidate?
Feeling reassured, Green decided to reward herself with a soak in the hot springs.
However, when she arrived at the villa's private bath in her bathrobe, she realized something shocking—
It was a mixed-gender bath.
Just as she was about to go back and change into a swimsuit, she heard footsteps behind her.
Turning around, she saw Asahi approaching with Mew, Gardevoir, and Eevee in his arms.
"Why are you just standing there? Too hot for you?" Asahi asked curiously.
Green didn't respond—her face had turned bright red.
---
In the end, Green went back to change into her swimsuit.
Even though she and Asahi were close, they definitely weren't that close yet…
"Vee~"
Eevee, with a towel on its head, lounged by the edge of the hot spring, letting out a satisfied sigh.
Gardevoir's cheeks were slightly flushed from the heat, but even so, she didn't forget to hold onto the stone tablet Asahi had given her while keeping a watchful eye on him and Mew.
"Mew, stop moving, or else—"
"Mew~!"
Mew giggled as it splashed water at Asahi before vanishing in a blur.
However, right behind Mew, a Slowpoke was testing the hot water with its tail near the high-temperature zone.
Unfortunately, it got caught in the splash instead.
Unstable on its feet, the Slowpoke—who had only intended to dip the tip of its tail—ended up dunking the entire thing into the hot spring.
Several long seconds passed…
A faint, fragrant aroma wafted from Slowpoke's tail.
"Slow...!"
The poor Pokémon clutched its tail, eyes welling up with tears.
Gengar, who had been waiting for Slowpoke to test the water first, reconsidered and quietly retreated to the lukewarm area.
There, the chubby purple ghost relaxed, looking utterly content.
"Gengar!"
It tried to strike up a conversation with a nearby Marshtomp, but Marshtomp simply stared blankly ahead, completely unresponsive.
Meanwhile, Asahi was losing badly in his splash battle with Mew.
He needed a plan.
Just as Mew dodged another splash, Asahi suddenly widened his eyes in shock and pointed behind it. "Look, Mewtwo!"
Mew instinctively turned around.
And in that moment—
A whole bucket of water came crashing down, drenching Mew from head to toe.
"Mew~!"
Realizing it had been tricked, Mew was furious.
And so, the "battle" escalated.
Eevee, Gardevoir, and even Green, who had been peacefully holding Jigglypuff, were all dragged into the chaos.
The hot spring turned into a complete war zone.
---
Soaking in the hot water afterward, Asahi had to admit—hot springs really were amazing.
The stress from dealing with Team Rocket had completely melted away.
If regular hot springs were this effective, he could only imagine how powerful the healing springs on Mt. Silver must be.
Dinner was particularly extravagant that night.
Aside from the hotel's dishes, they also had Slowpoke tail hot spring eggs—courtesy of Green's Chansey, who had forgotten to remove its egg before soaking in the high-temperature area.
By the time they noticed, the egg was already cooked.
So, with a heavy heart, they turned it into part of the meal.
As Asahi enjoyed dinner, he replied to Gary's messages.
[Don't be discouraged. Losing to Erika isn't a big deal.]
Gary: "You said you'd put in a good word for me. Why did she go even harder on me after I mentioned Interpol?"
[Huh? No way. I definitely told her to 'take care' of you. Look, here's a screenshot… [image] [image]]
Gary: "…I see. But why did you put 'take care' in quotation marks?"
…Crap. Forgot to edit those out.
Desperately trying to salvage the situation, Asahi replied:
[Ahem… It's just a small setback! You endured Sabrina—this is nothing. I believe in you! You got this!]
Gary: "..."
Staring at the message, Gary could only respond with an ellipsis, hoping Asahi would feel a shred of guilt.
As for whether Asahi felt guilty...
Well, after chatting with Gary, he ended up eating two extra bowls of food.
---
That night passed without incident.
The next morning, Asahi woke up feeling something heavy pressing down on him.
The sensation was oddly familiar—it reminded him of when he first got Eevee, and the little guy nearly smothered him in his sleep.
Assuming it was just Eevee rolling around again, Asahi instinctively reached out to grab it by the scruff and move it aside.
However, as soon as his hand made contact, he realized something was off.
Soft, round, covered in fine fur…
Wait a minute—
Asahi jolted awake, only to find himself staring into Mew's big, bright blue eyes.
His hand was currently resting on Mew's belly.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Asahi muttered, "Phew, you scared me. I thought—"
"This isn't my fault! You're the one who used me as a pillow! I could barely breathe!"
Mew, being falsely accused, was utterly baffled. "???"
With a flash of blue light in its eyes, Mew telepathically projected the events of the previous night into Asahi's mind.
Originally, Asahi had indeed reached for Eevee in his sleep, but Eevee's weird sleeping posture caused it to dodge instinctively.
As a result, the unfortunate Mew—lying next to Eevee—became the victim instead, getting grabbed and hugged like a plush toy for the entire night.
Mew was fuming. It hadn't even struggled! But now, Asahi had the nerve to deny everything the moment he woke up?
Mew pouted and glared at him.
"Misunderstanding! I was sleepwalking, totally sleepwalking…"
Asahi felt a little awkward—this totally counted as sleepwalking, right?
After finally calming down the sulking Mew, Asahi stepped out of his room and found Gardevoir and Green already up.
Even Salamence had started breakfast, munching through a massive bag of Pokémon food and gulping down Moomoo Milk.
"Morning, everyone!" Asahi greeted his Pokémon one by one.
Just as he was about to eat, Green handed him a letter.
"A hotel staff member delivered this. Apparently, an old man asked them to pass it on to you."
Asahi raised an eyebrow, already having a good guess.
Opening the letter, he saw an address inside—along with a crimson badge shaped like flames.
"Blaine sure is efficient!"
He had only posted the evaluation notice at Cinnabar Gym yesterday, allowing a three-day period. Yet just one night had passed, and Blaine had already responded.
"Do we need to prepare for anything?" Green asked.
She had expected Asahi to confidently say no. But to her surprise, he actually nodded.
Seeing Green's puzzled expression, Asahi explained, "Blaine was one of the scientists involved in the Mewtwo Project. According to Sabrina's intel, he cut ties with Team Rocket and stopped participating in the research…"
"But we should still be cautious."
"So what's the plan?" Green asked.
With a grin, Asahi pointed at his breakfast.
"Obviously, eat first!"
Was there anything more important than a full stomach?
Salamence, still inhaling its food, wholeheartedly agreed.
---
Cinnabar Gym
After being closed for months, Cinnabar Gym finally reopened.
This was fantastic news for trainers on the island, who had long been frustrated that obtaining the Volcano Badge relied entirely on luck—only those who managed to randomly encounter Blaine could get one.
However, their excitement quickly turned into frustration when they saw the notice posted on the gym doors: "Temporarily Closed"
Angry trainers gathered around the gym staff, demanding an explanation.
Meanwhile, inside the gym, Blaine stood on the battlefield, clutching his bandaged arm.
Beneath the bandages, something seemed to writhe.
"It's getting closer…" Blaine muttered, gripping his arm tightly.
He had implanted unstable Mewtwo cells into his body, which allowed him to sense Mewtwo's condition.
Lately, the reactions in his arm had grown more intense, and Blaine was certain—Team Rocket had officially begun the final stage of the Mewtwo Project.
In just over a week, Mewtwo would be born into this world.
Blaine had originally planned to sneak back to New Island, hoping to steal some research data from Team Rocket and find a cure for his condition.
But his plans were disrupted when a Gym Evaluation Notice arrived.
Now, he had to delay his personal mission until the evaluation was over.
Looking at the letter, Blaine—who had distanced himself from the League for a long time—knew nothing about Asahi, the examiner.
He could only hope that this assessment wouldn't be too difficult.
As he pondered this, Asahi and Green arrived at the gym.
Under the curious gazes of the trainers outside, Asahi presented Blaine's letter and entered.
---
Inside the battlefield, Asahi finally saw Blaine.
A white lab coat, bald head, sunglasses, and a thick white beard—his signature look.
"Didn't expect this year's examiner to be so young..." Blaine remarked, a little surprised.
It wasn't flattery—just an honest thought.
In the past, Kanto's examiners were either high-ranking trainers from the League or someone like Lance, who only showed up for a formal inspection. Seeing an unfamiliar young face was rare.
Asahi was slightly surprised that Blaine knew nothing about him.
After all, every other Gym Leader—whether affiliated with Team Rocket or the League—had thoroughly investigated him.
Even so, compliments wouldn't make Asahi go easy.
"Blaine, care to explain why Cinnabar Gym has been shut down for months without a proper reason?"
Glancing at the faint movements beneath Blaine's bandages, Asahi used telepathy to signal the invisible Mew beside him to stay calm.
Blaine hadn't expected such a direct question right away, leaving him momentarily at a loss.
Was he supposed to say that he used to work for Team Rocket, but bailed halfway, and now he was hiding from their retaliation?
Seeing Blaine hesitate for too long, Asahi simply took out a notepad and jotted something down.
Then he moved on.
"Let's not waste time. I'm sure we all have things to do."
"We'll proceed with a standard 3v3 battle format for the evaluation. Sound good?"
---
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