Lucas rarely chatted during his afternoon tea, because he felt that since he had such beautiful weather and a hard-won mood, he didn't want to ruin the mood with irrelevant matters.
Therefore, his afternoon tea time with Wallace was mostly spent in quiet, and Wallace was happy to enjoy this hard-won tranquility.
Wallace was increasingly understanding why Lance liked this place so much.
He had long since released his Pokémon.
Milotic and the others were having a great time playing with the Lapras Siblings in the Lake area.
He glanced at Lucas out of the corner of his eye and found that Lucas was gently grooming the fur on the head of the Ninetales that had rested its head on his lap.
Under the sunlight, Ninetales' fur looked so bright and soft; it was clear that this was the result of frequent grooming.
Ninetales was squinting its eyes, enjoying the gentle movements of Lucas's hands.
From time to time, it would even make a purring Lilli.
Meanwhile, Gothitelle, sitting beside Lucas, continued to be busy with her handiwork, looking as if she were weaving something.
Gengar's milk tea was on the table, but its figure was nowhere to be seen.
Wallace turned his head to look and found it chasing a few Combee to play pranks; those Combee were fleeing in all directions, looking terrified.
The Breeding House was filled with Gengar's laughter.
Soon, the laughter disappeared, followed by pleas for mercy.
Wallace looked ahead; Gengar was fleeing desperately, with a yellow Pokémon following behind it, scolding Gengar while chasing it.
Gengar nimbly dodged Vespiquen's Air Slash, running while begging for mercy incessantly.
It wasn't until Gengar pretended to be hit by the Air Slash, fell onto the snow, and stuck out its tongue to play dead that Vespiquen finally let it go.
After the commotion, Wallace heard another Lilli.
"Nini~"
Lucas put away the comb and looked at the small figure running over from the entrance.
He opened his arms.
Ninetales lifted its head from Lucas's lap and sat quietly beside him.
Mime Jr. skillfully jumped into Lucas's arms and sat on his lap.
"Off work?"
Mime Jr. nodded.
Afterward, Lucas introduced Wallace to Mime Jr.
"This is our Breeding House's head chef, Mime Jr.," Lucas said while holding Mime Jr. and looking at Wallace.
As soon as he finished speaking, another Lilli rang out.
"Uncle."
Shauna bumped into Lucas's arms, bringing Chingling with her.
Mime Jr. skillfully climbed onto Lucas's shoulder to sit, while Shauna bumped into Lucas's arms, found a comfortable position, and sat on Lucas's lap with peace of mind.
"Uncle, are you also a friend of Uncle Lucas?" Shauna asked Wallace with a familiar air.
"That's right."
Wallace looked at the cute little girl in front of him and reached out to pinch her nose.
Shauna frowned.
"You can't pinch my nose, or I won't grow up to be pretty."
"How old are you, and you're already thinking about whether you'll grow up pretty or not?" Lucas asked with a smile.
"It's true, Tomoyo told me."
"She said I can't let people touch my head or pinch my nose, or I won't grow tall and won't be pretty. But I told her I'm not afraid, because Uncle won't let me not grow tall or not be pretty."
Lucas and Wallace immediately burst into laughter.
"This is Champion Wallace, he is a Champion just like Uncle Lance, Sister Cynthia, and Sister Diantha."
"Wow."
Shauna didn't know the concept of a Champion, but she knew it must be something amazing.
Because she often heard that annoying little fatty in class say that being a Champion was a very strong profession, and even his uncle was only a Gym Leader.
The arrival of Shauna and Mime Jr. brought a lot of joy to this quiet afternoon tea time.
In the end, Shauna simply ran into Wallace's arms and let him hold her.
It had to be said that Wallace really had a way with coaxing children.
Lucas looked at Wallace suspiciously.
He thought, you kid, wouldn't happen to be...
"Gothitelle."
Finished.
Gothitelle cut the thread and said.
Lucas and the others looked over and saw Gothitelle holding a hat knitted from yarn and waving at Mime Jr. in Lucas's arms.
Mime Jr. ran over, and Gothitelle put the hat on Mime Jr.'s head.
Christmas-edition Mime Jr. made a sparkling debut.
"Nini~"
Mime Jr. swung its arms, showing off its new hat to Lucas and the others.
"It suits you very well, Mime Jr."
Mime Jr. happily wore the hat and spun around the garden.
Afterward, Gothitelle put hats on Shauna and the others one by one.
Lucas looked at the new hats on their heads, "Great, Christmas is almost here."
"Thank you for your hard work, Gothitelle."
Gengar, who was on the side, heard this, floated back to the Breeding House, and glanced at the calendar behind the counter.
It wasn't even December yet, was Christmas almost here?
Gengar scratched its butt, completely puzzled.
"Gengar gargar?!"
Could it be that Lucas was sick?! Σ(ǒǒ)
"Lilli?"
Lilligant closed the door of the Breeding House, saw Gengar staring blankly at the calendar on the wall, and asked curiously.
Gengar told Lilligant what Lucas had said.
Lilligant covered her mouth and laughed after hearing it.
"Lilli~"
Because he wanted one too.
Gengar suddenly realized.
Then it wanted to pass through the wall to go back to the backyard.
"Lilli?"
Gengar, with half its body through the wall, looked back at Lilligant and found that it was reaching out a hand towards it.
Gengar quickly pulled its body out of the wall, came to Lilligant's side, took its little hand, and walked towards the backyard together.
After Gengar brought Lilligant to the backyard garden, Gothitelle handed scarves to Gengar and Lilligant respectively.
Lucas looked at Gothitelle with longing eyes.
Who knew Gothitelle pretended not to see.
Lucas's mood instantly dropped.
Gothitelle actually didn't coax Lucas this time.
Until after dinner, Lucas glanced at the sky and then looked at Wallace.
"Wallace, there is another great place in the Breeding House, do you want to go and try it?"
Wallace was digesting the food in his stomach; he had eaten too much and was stuffed.
Hearing this, he asked suspiciously: "Where?"
Lucas pointed to the distance.
"Let's go to the hot spring together, shall we? I believe there is nothing more comfortable than soaking in a hot spring in winter, right?"
Wallace was surprised, the Breeding House even had a hot spring?
Looking at the expression on Lucas's face, he was also a little expectant.
"Is that okay?"
He asked.
Lucas waved his hand, "Let's go."
Gothitelle took Wallace's luggage and went upstairs to tidy up the room for him, while Lucas also took Wallace towards the hot spring.
Gengar and the others had already run to the forest to make a reservation at the first opportunity.
Wallace rested his head on the stone wall at the edge of the hot spring and breathed a sigh of relief comfortably.
"I didn't expect there to be a natural hot spring deep in this forest."
Wallace said comfortably.
Lucas washed Gengar's back, then handed the towel to Gengar, signaling it was its turn.
Gengar took the towel and began to wash Lucas's back.
Lucas squinted his eyes and enjoyed it, while saying: "This is nature's gift to the Pokémon in this forest, and we are just borrowing this place."
Wallace nodded.
After Gengar finished washing his back, Lucas came to Wallace's side, leaned his hands on the stone wall behind him, and soaked in the hot spring quietly.
The two of them and a group of Pokémon enjoyed the winter hot spring.
Ding-dong.
Lucas opened his eyes, picked up the mobile phone on the shore, and found it was a message from Cynthia.
Lucas clicked to open it.
Cynthia: What are you doing?
Lucas: Soaking in the hot spring, what's up?
Cynthia: Soaking in the hot spring? So distant?
Lucas looked at the message from Cynthia, thinking he had misread it. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the name; it was indeed Cynthia.
Could it be that Caitlin or Shauntal had taken her phone?
Lucas: What would count as not distant?
Cynthia: Uncle, you guess?
That's right, it was indeed Cynthia.
Lucas made a video call directly.
He thought Cynthia wouldn't answer.
Unexpectedly, she answered in a second.
Looking at the beautiful face on the screen, Lucas fell into silence.
No, you really answered?!
Cynthia looked at the mist on Lucas's side on the screen, seeing only a head and shoulders.
Her ears began to turn pink.
You're really soaking in a hot spring?!
"In a few days — — — — I might be resting — — — —"
Cynthia's voice pulled Lucas back to reality, "Oh — — — — Oh, then I will prepare something delicious for you then?"
"Hmm."
Cynthia lowered her head and hummed, then hurriedly hung up the phone.
Lucas looked at the hung-up phone and the message from Cynthia.
Cynthia: The network just cut out.
Lucas couldn't help laughing. So, Miss Cynthia would also use such a clumsy excuse?
After sending a few more messages, Lucas put the phone back on the shore.
"Did I just hear Champion Cynthia's voice?"
Seeing Lucas put his phone away, Wallace finally asked.
Lucas gave an affirmative hum.
This time, it was Wallace's turn to be a bit shocked.
"Are you and Champion Cynthia—?"
Lucas shook his head. "Still a long way off."
Wallace looked at the constantly sighing Lucas, nodded, and pulled his head back into the water.
"A woman's mind is truly the hardest thing to understand."
Wallace suddenly remarked.
Lucas looked at Wallace, his eyes lighting up.
Is this—a story?
"I remember you having a girlfriend... right?"
Lucas asked weakly.
Wallace nodded. "She said she didn't like a boyfriend who was stronger than her, so we broke up."
"Gym Leader Winona?"
Wallace nodded.
Lucas then remembered that the relationship between Wallace and Winona was indeed a bit complicated.
Winona was very competitive, but Wallace was too strong. As the League Champion, he put a lot of pressure on her. It was only after breaking up with Wallace and working hard that Winona became a Gym Leader in the Hoenn region.
"Then what do you plan to do?"
Lucas inquired.
Wallace shook his head.
"I don't know."
Wallace fell into a state of confusion.
"Did Gym Leader Winona break up with you because you're the Hoenn Champion?"
Wallace looked at Lucas.
You know about that too?
But thinking about how familiar he was with Lance and Cynthia, especially his relationship with Cynthia, it wasn't hard to understand how he knew about Wallace's affairs.
"So in short, it's still because you're too strong."
Lucas said.
Wallace knew that too.
But he couldn't think of any good solution.
"A man doesn't actually need to act so strong all the time; it's fine to show weakness occasionally."
Lucas originally didn't want to interfere, but seeing Wallace's state, he couldn't help but speak up.
"For example, with Champion Cynthia, I act very weak in front of her."
Gengar glanced at Lucas.
Is that 'acting' weak?
You *are* weak; I just don't want to expose you.
"Isn't Steven a Champion too?"
Lucas suddenly said with a mischievous intent.
Wallace seemed to fall into deep thought.
In an unknown cave in Kalos, a handsome man with silver hair wearing a decent suit stood beside a Shiny Metagross, carefully digging for stones. Suddenly, he felt a chill down his spine.
He abruptly turned his head to look, frowning, but found nothing.
"Strange. Why do I feel a chill on my back?"
Hearing Steven's words, Metagross kept staring behind them, but after a long time, it found nothing.
It looked at Steven in confusion.
Nothing there.
Steven shook his head. "I must have felt wrong. Metagross, I'll count on you to keep staying alert for me."
Metagross nodded and then floated beside Steven, keeping watch on the surroundings.
Steven continued digging for the stone he had discovered.
It looked like a mega stone that had never been discovered before.
Back at the Breeding House's hot spring, Wallace nodded thoughtfully.
"Would that be a bit unfair to him? After all, he finally managed to do what he likes."
Listening to Wallace's concern for Steven, Lucas looked at Wallace with some suspicion.
He remembered seeing it somewhere while surfing the internet before—it was said that Wallace and Winona broke up because of Steven...
Wallace, you couldn't be—
Lucas's thoughts strayed further and further.
"What's wrong, Lucas?"
Wallace looked at Lucas's increasingly absurd expression with some confusion.
What is Lucas thinking about? Why does he look so distorted?
Lucas snapped out of it and moved slightly further away from Wallace, almost imperceptibly.
Wallace realized what was happening.
"I say, Lucas—"
Wallace said helplessly.
"Yes?"
Lucas immediately responded.
"The person I like is Winona—"
Lucas realized his thoughts had been caught by Wallace and scratched his head in embarrassment.
"I know, I know. Hehe, let's go back to the Breeding House."
Lucas quickly changed the subject to avoid the awkwardness. "After all, we've used this hot spring long enough; it's time to give it back to the Pokémon of the forest."
Wallace followed Lucas's gaze and saw several Aipom already waiting in the trees.
Wallace nodded, then walked out of the hot spring with Lucas and got dressed.
Lucas picked up Mime Jr. and led Wallace and Gengar back toward the Breeding House.
After saying goodbye to Wallace, Lucas returned to his room, took a quick shower, dried his hair, and lay down on the bed.
He was just about to browse his phone for a bit before going to sleep.
The room door was suddenly opened.
Gothitelle signaled for Lucas to stand up.
Not knowing why, Lucas stood up from under the covers.
Gothitelle looked Lucas up and down, then took out several high-neck knitted sweaters and told him to try them on.
Looking at the clothes in Gothitelle's hands, Lucas's smile stretched from ear to ear.
He quickly put one on and found the size was perfect and quite warm.
There were no extra patterns, nor the colorful hues of Mime Jr.'s hats. Lucas's clothes were a single, solid color—simple and unadorned, yet exceptionally warm.
Gothitelle had Lucas spin around twice.
After watching him spin, she nodded in satisfaction and then had him try on the remaining two.
They fit just as well.
Gothitelle was extremely satisfied.
"Gothe."
Looks just right.
Gothitelle nodded, then had Lucas take off the clothes. She hung them up with hangers and placed them in the wardrobe.
"Gothe."
Alright, it's fine now. Go to sleep.
"Alright, I knew Gothitelle wouldn't forget me."
Gothitelle clenched her fist and made a threatening gesture toward Lucas, then turned off the room light and pulled the door shut.
After Gothitelle left, Lucas exchanged a look with Gengar and the others, then opened the wardrobe door and changed into one of the knitted sweaters Gothitelle had made for him.
Red, blue, and yellow—three knitted sweaters.
Gengar and Mime Jr. also put on the hats and scarves Gothitelle had prepared for them. One person and two Pokémon began to jump around excitedly on the bed.
Ninetales lifted her eyelids to glance at them, wore an expression that said 'you're on your own,' and closed her eyes again.
Just as Lucas was jumping around excitedly on the bed with Gengar and Mime Jr., the room light was suddenly switched on.
The movements of the person and two Pokémon froze instantly.
Lucas, Gengar, and Mime Jr. slowly turned their heads.
They found Gothitelle looking at them with a smile.
"Gothe?"
Can't sleep?
Lucas took the lead in nodding.
Gothitelle nodded in understanding.
"Gothe."
Fine then, don't sleep yet.
When Alcremie finished the preparations for the desserts to be made tomorrow and returned to the room, she found Gothitelle sitting on the bed, while in the corner, Lucas, Gengar, and Mime Jr. were standing facing the wall in order of height.
Reflecting on their actions.
"Imai?"
What's wrong?
Alcremie climbed onto her small bed and asked in confusion, looking at Lucas and the others who were facing the wall.
"Alcremie—"
Lucas turned his head aggrievedly, just about to complain.
"Gothe."
Turn back!
Another half hour.
Lucas turned his head back pitifully.
"Siu."
Don't mind them, just sleep.
Ninetales' voice rang out, and Alcremie nodded.
Lucas, who was facing the wall, exchanged looks with Gengar and Mime Jr. beside him.
Then they started making faces at each other.
Gengar made a funny face.
Lucas and Mime Jr.'s shoulders shook as they tried to hold back their laughter.
As Gengar's faces got weirder and weirder, Lucas couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"I report Gengar! It's cheating; it's making us laugh!"
"Nini!"
I report it too.
Gengar: (0O)
You guys betrayed me!
Looking at Lucas, Gengar, and Mime Jr. fooling around again.
Gothitelle stopped her knitting and took a deep breath.
Ninetales was already used to it.
Alcremie looked at them curiously.
psychic power erupted.
Lucas and the others immediately stood at attention.
"Gothe."
Last question: are you going to sleep or not?
"Yes!"
Gothitelle stood up, and Lucas quickly hopped onto the bed holding Mime Jr., diving under the quilt.
Gengar also hid in the ceiling.
"Goodnight, everyone. Sweet dreams."
Gengar gargar
"Nini~"
"Imai~"
"Siu."
The lights went out, but Gothitelle left a nightlight for them.
Then she closed the door.
"Gothe."
Goodnight.
Lucas secretly whispered to Mime Jr. under the covers.
"Siu."
Lucas and Mime Jr. instantly went quiet.
After that, Mime Jr. snuggled into Lucas's embrace.
They finally fell asleep.