Sinnoh League building.
Backup field.
Steven and the others were already sitting in the spectator stands, waiting and watching.
"Speaking of which, does this guy, Lucas, really have the confidence to defeat Cynthia?"
Lance, holding Little Tomoyo in his arms, looked at Steven beside him and asked.
Steven shook his head. "I am not too sure either, but based on the strength of Miss Cynthia——it is very difficult."
Cynthia, Champion of the Sinnoh League.
From her debut to becoming the League Champion, it took a very short time, and she has held the position of Sinnoh League Champion firmly ever since. Among all the Champions of the leagues, currently, only Leon is able to defeat her.
Compared to the Kalos Champion, Diantha, who is also a woman, the gap is not just a little bit large.
"Little Shauna, who do you think will win, Lucas or Cynthia?"
Shauna was sitting on Lucian's lap, looking at Lance. Her bright eyes blinked, and then she replied without hesitation: "Uncle."
Everyone looked at Shauna, and Lance smiled and said "Mm".
"Mm? Why?"
"Because Uncle said he would win, and he would not lie to me," Shauna said crisply.
"No matter what he says, he has never lied to me, so if he says he will win, then he will win."
Shauna showed a naive smile, her voice crisp and childish. "So cute, come, let big sis give you a hug."
Clair, sitting behind her, reached out towards Shauna. Shauna looked up at Lucian, then jumped off Lucian's lap and threw herself into Clair's arms, held in her embrace.
"Our Little Shauna and Little Tomoyo are truly cute to the point of exploding."
Clair planted a kiss directly on Shauna's little cheek.
Little Shauna wiped the drool off her face in disgust.
Clair: ————
Lance: "Hahahahahaha."
"You are so noisy!"
Clair glared at her cousin.
Steven and the others, each with a Pokémon in their arms, Meowstic, Munchlax, Zorua——
It seems that anyone who has been to the Breeding House will develop this kind of habit, usually holding a fluffy Pokémon in their arms, or one that feels very good to hold, like Munchlax, with its duang-duang belly.
On the field, Cynthia stood there, arms crossed, the fingers of her right hand constantly tapping on her left arm.
Thinking about the battle with Lucas later, she felt an indescribable sense of anticipation, and couldn't wait.
She hoped her other half would be someone even stronger than her.
So she had been waiting for the moment Lucas would challenge her.
That night, when Lucas said those words in front of her, she felt an inexplicable sense of relief, followed by a sense of excitement.
When was the last time she had this feeling?
When she challenged the Sinnoh League Champion? Or when she was battling Leon in the Galar region?
It had been too long; she had almost forgotten this feeling——
Lucas, you won't let me down, will you?
Spectator stands.
"Sister, aren't you going to help?"
Latios suddenly appeared in the crowd, looking at the invisible Latias beside him, and asked.
Latias revealed its true form, looking at the suddenly appearing Latios, "Why are you here?! Shouldn't you be continuing your journey with your Trainer?"
Latios gave a dry laugh.
"Oh~ If you ask me, your Trainer is so stingy. Unlike Lucas, who gave me a Soul Dew the first time we met as a greeting gift, and then gave me a Mega ite that allows me to Mega Evolve. Sigh, I already said it was enough, but he insisted on giving it to me. There was no helping it, I had to accept."
Hearing Latias's statement, Latios rolled his eyes, and then turned invisible, ignoring Latias.
What is she putting on airs for! Isn't it just a Soul Dew and a Mega ite? Who doesn't have one?!
Alright, I don't——
"Huh? Is Latias not playing today?"
Ash saw Latias nearby and asked in confusion.
Latias shook its head, its voice ringing in everyone's minds, "Lucas said he wants to rely on the Pokémon from the Breeding House for today's battle."
Everyone was a bit confused.
Isn't Latias also a Pokémon from the Breeding House?
Latias didn't continue speaking, but turned invisible, focusing on the field.
Lucas, you have to do your best——
After things here are over, it probably won't be long before it and its brother head to the City of Water to help protect the city that the Latios and Latias Family has guarded for generations, until the next pair of Latias and Latios appears.
Cynthia stood on the field, staring at the tunnel opposite; it was pitch black inside.
Lucas stood in the tunnel, surrounded by Gengar and the others.
Lucas was so nervous he could hear his own heartbeat.
"What do you guys say, what if we lose?"
Lucas asked softly.
"Gen Gengar?"
Lose? Then we will go back and train properly, and come back next time.
"Gothitelle."
Right.
"Lilli~"
No need to worry~
"Gen Gengar"
Leave it to us, believe in yourself, believe in us.
Looking at Gengar's suddenly reliable smile, Lucas reached out and tugged at the corner of its mouth.
"You are right, I am not alone, I still have you guys."
Lucas put on the Z-Ring and looked at the field outside the tunnel where Cynthia was standing, waiting for him.
"Everyone, let's give it our all together!"
"Gen Gengar!"
Lucas recalled them into their Poké Balls, then took steps to walk out of the tunnel.
The crowd, who were still chatting, immediately quieted down when they saw Lucas come out.
Lucas walked onto the battlefield, locking eyes with Cynthia opposite him.
Cynthia took a gentle breath, then said: "I have waited a long time for this day."
Her voice was cool, yet exceptionally warm, as if it wasn't an opponent standing on the field, but Family.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Now, I am here."
Lucas smiled and said.
Cynthia smiled.
"I am looking forward to it, Lucas, really, I am very much looking forward to it. I am looking forward to you being able to defeat me, but, Lucas."
Cynthia released her arms. Her outfit was exactly the same as when they first met: black high heels with red soles, and long, slim-fit wide-leg pants. Above that was a shirt and a black trench coat. Her blonde hair covered one eye.
"I will use my full strength, and then, I will completely crush you!"
Saying this, Cynthia's eyes were icy, and a terrifying aura erupted from her body.
A gust of wind blew, making Cynthia's coat rustle.
Lucas was expressionless.
Speaking of which——should I say something to boost my courage at this time? Pretend to be cool?
Gengar's Poké Ball shook slightly.
That's right~
In that case——
"Then are you prepared to lose? Gengar and the others, and I, won't lose."
"Such a plain sentence——"
Flint patted his afro, complaining.
"I thought Lucas would say something harsh, but it is just such a plain sentence?"
"But it is understandable. After all, he is facing big sis. It is normal to be afraid and have unclear thoughts," Aaron said.
"Speaking of which, Elite Four Aaron, I suddenly remembered, Lucas hasn't battled many times, right?"
Clair asked her cousin, Lance.
Lance frowned slightly and thought for a moment. "If you are talking about battles, the number of battles should be quite high. After all, every time I chat with him, he mentions how many people have come to challenge the Breeding House. But if you are talking about formal battles, standing on a stage to battle on a battlefield, it seems like he has never done that, right?"
Lance looked at Lucian. Lucian also thought for a moment, then shrugged.
"Countable on one hand."
"Ah? Then isn't that over?"
Clair said, going "Ah".
"Shh!"
Lance pressed his index finger to Clair's lips, signaling her to speak quietly so as not to disturb Lucas and Cynthia on the field.
Clair, having her mouth blocked by Lance, just wanted to push him away, but looking up at Lance's mature face and the strong sense of security coming from him, her ears flushed red. She looked at the finger on her lips again, and the red began to spread from behind her ears to her cheeks.
She was afraid of being seen by Lance and Steven and the others, so she quickly turned her head away and stopped talking.
Lance looked at Clair, who suddenly turned her head away, a bit confused about what was wrong with her. But seeing she didn't want to bother with him anymore, he could only give up helplessly, sit back in his seat, and wait slowly for the battle between Lucas and Cynthia to begin.
In the more distant spectator stands, Paul leaned against a stone pillar near the entrance, with Electivire standing beside him, watching the battlefield intently.
"Not planning to record it?"
Gary's voice sounded beside him. Paul turned his head and found the spiky-haired boy with an Umbreon was adjusting a long pole with a rotom phone clipped to it. Paul saw the lit-up page was set to recording mode.
"I reckon this battle will be very exciting. I always feel there will be many places worth learning from, so I plan to record it, collect it, and analyze it frame by frame. Learning from others' battles is also crucial for strength improvement."
Gary didn't turn his head, talking to himself while his hands didn't stop.
He held the long selfie stick and pressed a button on it. The screen flipped, and his and Paul's faces appeared on it. Gary came to Paul's side, and amidst his confused expression, wrapped his arm around his shoulder. "Come on, smile, let's take a picture together."
Paul looked at himself on the screen, trying his best to squeeze out a smile.
"Oh, why so serious? Be optimistic, smile, think about Gengar's expression. Yeah, that's it. Electivire, now behind him, yes, hands on our shoulders, yes, yes, yes."
Gary looked at the stiff smile Paul was wearing and nodded with satisfaction. "Come on, get ready, three, two, one, Gengar!"
Click.
Ash's two most important rivals had their first group photo.
"Perfect."
Gary looked at the photo, nodded with satisfaction, looked at Paul, handed the selfie stick to the Electivire (Paul's) beside him, and leaned back on the chair, watching the battlefield, the wooden plaque pendant on his chest naturally hanging down.
"Lucas has told me about you, but I think your idea is not wrong."
Gary suddenly said: "Capturing more powerful Pokémon, this thing itself is not wrong. A powerful Trainer and powerful Pokémon working together can achieve 1+1 2. The teacher also agrees with this point of view. No, it should be said that the teacher agrees with all of our points of view."
"After all, he thinks it's all to become stronger, this thing itself has no error. What he focuses on is the process."
"As long as you don't hurt the Pokémon."
Paul remembered what he said when he released Chimchar, and thought about the look in its eyes when he battled Infernape. Paul sighed softly.
"But he values Ash more."
"Perhaps. Haven't you felt it yet? His expectations for us are all the same, which is to hope we achieve our goals, our true goals."
Paul looked at Gary. Gary didn't turn his head. "For example, Ash, he wants to be a Pokémon Master. The teacher will teach him knowledge about battling. I said I wanted to be a Pokémon Researcher, and he let me study with him, knowledge about Pokémon. And you, he said you haven't found your true goal yet."
This was what Lucas talked to Gary about last night.
"He said you just wanted to prove your path was not wrong, and your ideas were not wrong."
Paul watched Gary quietly. Gary turned back and spread his hands. "You have already completed this matter. Everyone knows your path is not wrong, and you have also proven your ideas to Reiggie."
Gary paused, then stood up straight, looking at Paul. "Paul, he asked me to ask you one thing. He asked, last time you chatted with him, you said you would become stronger. Then, can you tell him, what is your reason for wanting to become stronger?"
Paul opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but swallowed the words back.
Becoming stronger——
To defeat Ash?
To prove he is better than his brother?
Or——
To become the League Champion?
Seeing this, Gary nodded with satisfaction, then said: "The teacher asked me to give this to you."
Paul looked at the camera that suddenly appeared in Gary's hand, looking at Gary in confusion.
Gary took a letter out of his pocket.
Paul took the letter, opened it, and saw it said: "If you haven't thought it through, why not just keep going? Go to the Unova region, the Kalos region, walk through every region, then capture more Pokémon, record their appearance, or record the moments you spend with them. In the days to come, there will be a day when you will thank yourself at that time."
"What did it write?"
Gary stretched out his head, wanting to see the content inside. Paul grabbed it and stuffed it into his pocket.
"Curiosity killed the cat."
"Then do you want this camera? If you don't want it, I'm taking it?"
Paul took the camera, fiddled with it, then aimed the lens at Electivire.
"Smile."
Electivire was stunned for a moment, then smiled and posed a cute pose.
Click——
Electivire came over, looking at itself in the photo. Paul said with disgust: "Ugly to death."
But the photo was not deleted.
Electivire happily high-fived Gary.
Today is a good day~
"It really is you guys, Paul, Gary."
The two looked up and found it was Ash and Pikachu.
"Why are you watching here? Isn't it better to go down?"
Ash walked over and asked in confusion.
"The view is good here."
Paul pushed his head against Ash's forehead, click.
The flash wasn't turned off.
"What are you doing!"
Ash just frowned slightly. "You even bought a camera? How is it? Should we take a picture together?"
Paul didn't speak. Just as he was about to hand the camera to Gary, he heard movement on the battlefield.
The referee, riding a Rotom drone, raised the flag in his hand.
"Three, two, one, battle start!"
"Spiritomb, let them feel your charm."
"Staraptor, tear the sky for me!"
The battle between Lucas and Cynthia was imminent.
"Acrobatics!"
"Sucker Punch!"
***************************
Thoughts on where the plot is heading? Let me know in the comments! If you're enjoying the ride, please leave a quick review and toss a few Power Stones my way. Every bit of support means the world! 🙌