Rustboro Grand Hotel was the largest hotel in Rustboro City, owned, of course, by the infrastructure powerhouse, Devon Corporation.
The taxi came to a smooth stop in front of the hotel, and attendants quickly stepped forward to welcome the guests.
"Hey, young man," the driver called out as Johan was getting out of the car.
"Hm?" Johan turned back.
The driver wore a melancholic expression, as though reliving countless memories. "If you care about someone, don't wait too long to tell them. You don't want to regret it once it's too late."
Judging by his wistful look, it was clear he had many stories of his own.
Sir, aren't you getting a bit too invested?
Before Johan could respond, the driver tapped the car door and cast aside his nostalgic mood. "That's all!" He started to roll up the window but hesitated, leaning closer and whispering conspiratorially, "This girl looks well-off. You should take the chance to—uh, you know—start a family. Trust me, you—"
Johan's face twitched. "Haunter, would you kindly see the driver off?"
"Ka-kah~~" Haunter grinned mischievously, prompting the driver to go pale.
"No need, thanks, kid!" The driver sped off in a flash.
"What's that about?" Cynthia approached, having just completed her check-in.
"His wife was calling him for dinner."
"He seemed to linger quite a while for someone in a hurry."
"His wife is as fierce as an Incineroar."
"Would you like to come in?" Cynthia asked as they reached her room's door.
"Not sure if that's appropriate..."
"Ka-kah!" Haunter peeked through the door and beckoned them with a wave. It's huge in here!
Johan sighed, noticing the mischief in Haunter's expression.
Cynthia chuckled softly. "I have a few things to give you."
She opened the door, and Johan followed her inside, unable to help but marvel. No wonder Haunter was excited—the suite was impressively grand. The ceilings were nearly four meters high, and it had a bedroom, living room, kitchen, exercise room, and even a small training arena—clearly tailored for Trainers.
"Having money... is really something."
"Everyone, come out."
As Johan marveled, Cynthia released multiple Poké Balls simultaneously. The room buzzed with activity as beams of red light filled the space.
The fierce-eyed Garchomp stood tall, exuding an intimidating presence. Lucario leaned against the window with crossed arms, looking effortlessly cool. Beside them were Roserade, the recently evolved and graceful Milotic who slid into the outdoor pool, the curious little Eevee, and, finally, Spiritomb.
"Ka-kah! Σ(дlll)" Haunter, who had been floating carelessly, froze in terror, beads of sweat forming at the sight of the powerful Pokémon, especially Garchomp and the ever-stoic Lucario.
A glint from their eyes was enough to make Haunter's face go pale, its floating form stiffening.
"Ka-kah..." Sirs, I was just going to show you a magic trick...
Haunter hesitated, then opened its palms, and a Hypnosis ring turned into sparkling Energy Cubes.
The two Pokémon exchanged surprised glances, intrigued.
They nodded, their interest piqued.
Vulpix and Cynthia's Eevee exchanged curious looks. For Eevee, this was a rare opportunity; it was used to being the smallest and facing much larger Pokémon like Garchomp and Lucario. So, seeing another small and adorable Pokémon made it feel a kinship.
With a gentle hop, Eevee bounded over to Vulpix.
"Oowu?" Vulpix instinctively stepped back.
Eevee tilted its head, smiled warmly, and made a heart shape with its ears and paws.
"Oowu!" Vulpix chirped back, intrigued by the gesture.
Meanwhile, Johan approached the pool, crouching down as Milotic surfaced with a splash. Its eyes brightened as it recognized Johan's voice, the one that had soothed it to sleep so many times.
"Seems it likes you a lot," Cynthia observed, joining Johan and stroking Milotic's smooth scales. "Thanks to you, it was able to evolve perfectly."
"It was its own efforts in the end," Johan replied with a modest smile.
"Hmm," Milotic purred softly, nudging him affectionately. Tell me a story?
"What did it say?" Johan asked.
Cynthia's smile widened. "It said it misses your bedtime stories."
Johan glanced between Milotic and Cynthia, whose expression resembled that of a living doll.
Wait, are you sure it was Milotic that said that?
"By the way," Cynthia started, catching his attention.
"Earlier..." Cynthia's eyes drifted toward Haunter, who was now surprisingly surrounded by Garchomp and Lucario, engaged in sharing Energy Cubes. It was unusual; even Cynthia hadn't seen her Pokémon warm up so quickly to another, especially not with newcomers.
But it looked like Haunter's treats had charmed them.
"Energy Cubes?" she noted.
Johan chuckled. "Things always taste better when they're someone else's, don't they?"
"True..." Cynthia nodded thoughtfully. Even she found that treats at Professor Rowan's home seemed tastier than her grandmother's.
"You were saying?" Johan redirected the conversation.
"Oh, right. Earlier, Haunter showed me something on your phone..." Cynthia trailed off.
What? My phone?! Johan felt a chill run down his spine.
"I think it said something about a... 'Cynthia Show'?" Cynthia tilted her head, looking genuinely curious.
Drawing on all his psychological training, Johan kept his composure, fabricating a calm reply. "Ah, that must've been Haunter's own phone. It has one that looks like mine."
"It's a fan of battle shows and streams. It must've been watching your battles and was probably looking to get an autograph."
"Oh..." Cynthia's brows furrowed slightly in thought, but she nodded, buying the explanation.
"Shall we check on Spiritomb?" Johan suggested, subtly wiping sweat from his brow as he changed the topic.
Cynthia's expression grew serious. "Is it bad?"
Johan nodded, face turning grave. "Very serious."