Cinnabar Island was a large island in the southern waters of the Kanto region, located directly south of Pallet Town. A massive volcano towered over the island.
In the anime, Cinnabar Island had become primarily a seaside resort. Many powerful Trainers never bothered coming here at all, while others visited only to relax.
After dealing with far too many weak Trainers who came to Cinnabar Island for vacation and challenged his Gym on the side, Blaine eventually got fed up. He simply closed the Gym and went into seclusion.
On top of that, possibly because of Mewtwo, Blaine also shut down his research laboratory. The former lab had since been completely transformed into a tourist attraction, drawing huge crowds every day.
While living in seclusion, Blaine opened an inn for tourists. He dressed like an old hippie and had no intention of letting anyone know he was actually the Gym Leader.
For the moment, though, none of that had anything to do with Caster.
After riding Dragonair to Cinnabar Island, he headed straight to the Pokémon Center and asked Nurse Joy to give Gyarados a thorough examination and treatment.
"Your Pokémon is fine. It simply exhausted too much energy."
After quite some time, Nurse Joy returned Gyarados's Poké Ball to Caster and reminded him, "For the next little while, your Pokémon needs plenty of rest. Try not to let it battle. Also, it would be best if you brought Gyarados back to the Pokémon Center once a day for the next three days so we can continue the treatment."
"Thank you, Nurse Joy!"
Hearing that, Caster finally relaxed completely.
When it came to treating Pokémon in this world, Nurse Joy was the undisputed authority.
"Nurse Joy, does the Pokémon Center still have any rooms available?"
Since he would need to bring Gyarados back for follow-up treatment over the next few days anyway, Caster figured he might as well stay at the Pokémon Center.
To his disappointment, Nurse Joy gave him an apologetic look.
"I'm very sorry. Ever since hot springs were discovered on Cinnabar Island and it became a tourist destination, we get a huge number of visitors every day. The Pokémon Center is already completely full. If you'd like to stay here next time, please remember to make a reservation in advance."
"Ah! I forgot about that!"
Caster slapped his forehead in regret.
He remembered that in the anime, Ash had also been unable to find anywhere to stay, so he'd ended up lodging at the inn run by Blaine. That eventually led him to accidentally uncover Blaine's secret and discover the battlefield hidden inside the volcano.
Then came one of the anime's famous scenes, where the giant 大-shaped Fire Blast became a 中-shaped Fire Blast, then a 小-shaped Fire Blast, before finally disappearing into the sky.
The animation staff had really known how to have fun with that one.
"Am I going to have to stay at Blaine's inn too? If I remember correctly, it was under the big clock."
Caster rubbed his chin as he recalled the events of the anime.
Still, Blaine's riddles were seriously exhausting. He could give Professor Agasa from Detective Conan a run for his money.
Just then, Caster's Rotom Phone floated out of his pocket and announced, "Report! A villa at the best resort complex on Cinnabar Island, Cinnabar Resort Villas, was just canceled. Would you like me to reserve it, Rotom?"
"Book it! Book it now!"
Caster agreed without the slightest hesitation. Pikachu, perched on his shoulder, immediately lit up with excitement as well.
The Rotom Phone warned him, "However, the price is rather high. It costs P10,000 per day."
"Pika?"
Pikachu stared in shock.
That expensive?
They were practically robbing people!!!
A single night's stay cost as much as an Electric Gem.
Caster quickly held down the agitated Pikachu and laughed.
"Everyone's been training and battling hard during our time in the Sevii Islands. I've also spent days doing nothing but fishing. What's wrong with treating ourselves a little? Rotom, book it!"
Caster was now an internet celebrity with over a million followers. He was no longer the broke kid he'd once been.
P10,000 a day was certainly expensive, but as long as he didn't stay too long, he could easily afford it.
After all, the livestream of his Trainer Tower challenge alone had earned him well over P100,000.
Once the villa was reserved, Caster followed Rotom's directions and soon arrived at Cinnabar Resort Villas.
It was an enormous resort complex, with rows of private villas neatly arranged across the grounds. Everything looked clean, orderly, and upscale, and plenty of guests passed through the entrance.
After checking in, Caster followed a young female attendant to a private detached villa.
The villa was three stories tall and came fully equipped with every amenity imaginable. It even had a dedicated butler assigned to serve him throughout his stay.
Most importantly, there was a pool in the villa's private courtyard.
Bubbles continuously rose from the water as thick steam drifted into the air.
This was Cinnabar Island's biggest attraction these days: a hot spring pool!
"Come on out, everyone!"
Before getting into the hot spring, Caster released all of his Pokémon.
Splash!
The moment Gyarados entered the hot spring, the water level surged upward, nearly spilling over the edge.
"Raaawr~"
The hot spring water was wonderfully warm. As the heat spread through Gyarados's entire body, an expression of pure enjoyment immediately appeared on its face.
"Draa~"
Dragonair was much the same. As it soaked in the hot spring, its whole body relaxed, and its little face flushed red from the heat.
"Pika~ Pika~"
Pikachu manipulated Water-type energy and somehow started surfing around the relatively small hot spring pool, having the time of its life.
"Yaaawn~"
Slowpoke, meanwhile, rolled onto its back, exposed its round belly, and floated across the surface in a backstroke.
Judging by the expression on its face, it was clearly enjoying itself too.
"Shell~"
The only one who wasn't particularly happy was Shellder.
It sat beside the hot spring with an annoyed expression, its huge pink tongue hanging out.
Ever since eating that thousand-year-old Never-Melt Ice, the power of Shellder's Ice-type moves had increased tremendously. Unfortunately, it had also left Shellder radiating far too much cold.
If Shellder entered the hot spring, it would probably neutralize the heat in no time, turning the hot spring into an ordinary pool, or perhaps even an ice bath.
So, at Slowpoke's extremely strong recommendation, Shellder had been stripped of its hot-spring privileges altogether.
"Shell~"
Although it wasn't particularly happy about the situation, the moment Shellder looked at Slowpoke, it still put on a flattering smile.
It was the very picture of a shameless simp.
Just then, the professionally dressed female butler approached and knelt beside Caster.
"Honored guest, is there anything else you require? Our hotel provides massage services. We offer massages not only for Trainers, but we also have professional Pokémon Breeders who can massage Pokémon."
Several of the Pokémon's eyes immediately began to sparkle.
Now that sounded good!
"All right, then. Give all of us the full treatment!"
Seeing how eager his Pokémon looked, Caster laughed and agreed.
Before long, several staff members filed in and began giving massages to Caster and his five Pokémon.
"Mmm... that's good!"
With a hot towel resting on his head, Caster soaked in the pool for a while before letting one of the staff members massage him.
It felt as though every pore in his body had opened and every channel of energy inside him had been cleared at once.
After only a short while, more than half of his accumulated exhaustion had vanished.
His five Pokémon weren't much different. Every one of them wore an expression of complete bliss.
"Pika~"
Pikachu was especially shameless.
Not content with simply enjoying the massage, the little guy actually crawled into the young masseuse's arms and started rubbing against her.
Absolutely no shame whatsoever!
"Heave! Ho! Heave! Ho!"
The only one suffering was the young man assigned to massage Gyarados.
His workload was enormous.
For one thing, Gyarados was huge.
For another, Gyarados liked its massages strong!
Before long, the massages came to an end, leaving Caster and all five Pokémon refreshed and practically glowing with health.
Meanwhile, the female butler had already prepared a lavish meal inside the villa for Caster and his Pokémon to enjoy.
"Honored guest, if you find eating like this a little dull, we also have excellent geisha who can provide our signature local entertainment."
As she spoke, the female butler gave Caster a playful wink.
"Since it's part of the local culture, we might as well experience it!"
Caster looked at his Pokémon and laughed.
"Nothing else to do today. Might as well listen to some music and enjoy ourselves!"
Clap! Clap!
The female butler clapped her hands.
A moment later, the door opened.
Several extravagantly dressed "geisha" entered wearing kimonos and wigs, musical instruments in hand.
"Huh? These are geisha?"
Caster nearly jumped to his feet in outrage.
He cursed inwardly.
"Are you kidding me? Aren't those Hitmonlee and Electabuzz?"