My Pokémon Story of Seasons

Chapter 271 The Mystery of the Phantom Hotel

Welcome back!

The two servants seemed to have been waiting behind the door for a long time. As soon as Tong Hua and the others entered, they immediately went forward to greet them.

Offering towels and helping carry things made everyone, who had been out all day, feel like they were coming home.

"We're back."

Everyone responded with smiles to the two servants. At the same time, some pink auras, representing positive emotions, flew out from everyone and gathered on the antennae of the two servants.

"Your service lasted for 30 hours and 21 minutes. The remaining time is 39 hours and 36 minutes."

Tong Hua smiled and nodded to the Ai Guan Shi siblings, handing them several small woven bags with Alora characteristics, "These are souvenirs."

"This won't do!"

Although her older sister Lanny declined verbally, she had already accepted the woven bag with her hands, her eyes sparkling as she examined the bright Alora-style patterns on it.

"This is too precious." Although his younger brother Butler said this, he carefully accepted the gift.

Tong Hua looked at the siblings who were saying one thing but meaning another and couldn't help but laugh: "It's just a small token of my appreciation, please accept it."

"No, no, no, you don't understand!" Lani said excitedly, her antennae twitching.

"It's precisely these kinds of objects, which contain gratitude, joy, and small sentiments, that are so meaningful to us!" Butler added.

After hearing what the two servants said, Tong Hua finally realized what was going on.

Absolute and the others are Pokémon that feed on positive emotions. These souvenirs, imbued with the joy and gratitude of their journey, are probably more delicious to them than any delicacy.

"I see," Tong Hua said with a sudden realization. "Then we'll bring you souvenirs every time we come back from our travels."

"I... I can't possibly trouble you like this!" Lani said, but the antennae on her head started twitching rapidly, betraying her inner anticipation.

Butler coughed lightly, trying to maintain the demeanor of a professional butler: "Besides, it's really not appropriate to make you spend money every time."

Seeing the awkward expressions on the siblings' faces, everyone couldn't help but laugh.

"It's okay," Jessica waved her hand cheerfully. "It's just something I did. Bringing back souvenirs for friends when you travel is common sense, even Slowpoke knows that."

"That's right," Feng nodded, "and it was you who gave us such a wonderful experience, so this is the least we can do in return."

As they spoke, the two attendants had already ushered everyone into the hotel.

The familiar warmth of the lobby lounge area immediately puts people at ease.

"Well then, please get some rest." Lani bowed gracefully. "We will then send you back to the fairytale ranch in the present time."

Butler added, "The estimated arrival time is 7 p.m. local time on June 11."

"Then, please get some rest."

After the exciting and energetic journey through Alora, the tranquility of the Phantom Hotel is all the more precious.

Everyone waited quietly in the lounge area of ​​the lobby, where there were comfortable sofas and warm tea and snacks.

Tong Hua lay on the soft sofa with her eyes closed, and scenes from her trip to Alora flashed through her mind.

From encountering the full moon on the beach, to Ascendant, Team Rocket, Ketchum, Mallow, and Water Lily.

And finally, Tapu Lele—

"I never imagined that Ash from this world would win championships in both the Sinnoh and Kalos regions."

This is truly a dream come true!

The thought that characters she had only ever seen on TV and in games were now appearing in front of her in real life moved Tong Hua to tears.

"It's a pity we didn't see any recent photos of Ash. If we calculate it according to real time, he was ten years old when he left Pallet Town, so he should be around twenty years old now."

After all, the anime has been airing one episode a week for over twenty years, so with over a thousand episodes, it must have taken at least ten years!

It's hilarious to think that Xiao Zhi won't age!

Tong Hua muttered to himself, and an image of a mature, composed Pokémon Master with the demeanor of a champion involuntarily appeared in his mind.

"And most importantly—who exactly is Ash's partner?!"

This is a question that every anime fan wants to know the answer to! However, everyone has their own interpretation, and perhaps only Ash himself knows the answer.

"Well, thankfully, I haven't used up my free service time yet. Next time I have the chance, I might as well just go and meet Ash directly, hehe————"

While Tong Hua was lost in her daydream, Jessica and Feng also started chatting together.

"So—what's the deal with this hotel?"

"Xiao Tong didn't explain either, and the two servants who liked to take care of things didn't seem willing to say more either."

"It's so mysterious—" Jessica lowered her voice, her gaze sweeping curiously over the hotel's elegant yet somewhat empty lobby.

A gentle breeze stirred the warm tea in the cup, and a thoughtful expression crossed the mind: "Could it be some kind of large-scale teleportation device? Like a bunch of Psychic-type Pokémon teleporting together?"

"I don't understand—why don't we just wander around the hotel?"

"Terrible!" "Oh my!" "Bree!"

Hearing the conversation between the two, the Pokémon that had been resting nearby also gathered around with great interest.

"Oh my!"

As the captain of the fairy tale adventure team, Sweet Cold Beauty naturally wanted to find out the secrets hidden in this illusion hotel.

"Bree!"

Tebriam, on the other hand, is simply interested in the power to travel through time and space. If she could master this ability, it would greatly help her research into the spatial magic inherited in her family.

"Terrifying!"

As for the Chinchilla—it's just that it's too bored—

"That's a great suggestion!" Jessica's eyes lit up, and she immediately stood up from the sofa. "Since we still have some time before we arrive, let's go exploring!"

Nagi also showed interest, gracefully setting down her teacup: "Then let's go!"

So, the group quickly agreed and, while Tong Hua and the other Pokémon were resting with their eyes closed, they quietly left the rest area.

The hotel's interior was much more profound than it appeared from the outside.

The long corridor was covered with a soft carpet, with antique wooden doors on both sides. The walls were decorated with landscape paintings that evoked a sense of tranquility, and the clouds in the paintings seemed to be slowly drifting by.

Perhaps because the exterior and interior designs often need to be changed depending on the landing location, the decorating style changes drastically every few steps you take in the hotel.

One second it might be a Gothic castle, the next it's a cabin on a luxury cruise ship, and a little further on it becomes a woodland villa built entirely of wood.

"No wonder it's called the 'Phantom' Hotel—"

"Oh my~"

The sweet and aloof Queen, as the team leader, hummed a song and led the way. Jessica and Fuu followed behind with Tibrim and Chino.

They walked along a seemingly endless corridor, the carpet beneath their feet so soft that their footsteps were barely audible.

In the landscape paintings hanging on the wall, clouds drift slowly and rivers ripple, as if sealing miniature worlds within the frames.

"I remember this hotel having many floors, but I can't find the stairs to the next floor."

The corridor seemed endless, with doors on both sides tightly closed, yet the style kept changing.

From a futuristic metal hatch, one abruptly transitions to the entrance of a primitive cave draped with vines and animal bones, and a few steps further, it transforms into a religious-style archway adorned with intricate golden patterns—this surreal sense of temporal displacement left everyone in awe.

"Stairs? I don't think I can see them—"

Jessica stood on tiptoe, trying to see something at the end of the corridor, but there was only a hazy halo, as if space itself was knotted there.

"That being said, we've been walking in the same direction, but we just can't seem to reach the end—"

Is this hotel infinitely large?

"Oh my!"

Suddenly, Sweet Cold Beauty, who was walking at the front, stopped. Everyone else also stopped and saw the transparent glass doors on both sides of the corridor.

Inside the door is a small, box-shaped space, with all six walls, floors, and ceilings made of glass.

"Is this... an elevator?" Feng looked up at the top of the door frame, where an electronic screen displayed the number "1".

"Huh?"

Sweet and cold, after a moment of curiosity, touched the smooth wall next to the metal door. There were no buttons there, only a metal plate that gleamed faintly.

The moment her leaf touched the wall, the metal plate suddenly lit up with a soft white light, and an elegant female electronic voice sounded out of nowhere.

"Identity verification: VIP companion Pokémon. Access confirmed. Which floor would you like to go to?"