February 28th, Sunday. Sunny.
Departing from Hearthome City, the transport of the [Adamant Orb] continued toward Celestic Town.
At this point, what they were transporting hardly mattered.
The two sat in the front seats. When their gazes brushed past each other, they shared a smile before looking ahead again.
Backseat.
"Gengar! (｀Д｀)" Gengar clutched its Reaper Cloth tightly. The home chef's cooking was just fine—why did they have to feed us lemons?!
"Garchomp! (╥﹏╥)" Garchomp wept silently. The cabbages at home were so fresh and tender—how could they just let them get stolen?!
The forgotten safe in the backseat remained silent.
I'm the main character here!
At least pay some attention to me!
"Blastoise…" Only Blastoise dutifully kept watch over the bomb, deep in thought.
Wouldn't it be better… if I just threw this bomb away at some point?
According to the route, they'd reach Celestic Town by evening.
At noon, the two stopped for a break in Solaceon Town.
It was a leisurely little town, its main livelihood being Moomoo Farms, home to a few farm owners and herds of Miltank.
Walking along the forest-lined path, they could see Gold's favorite Pokémon Day Care and the entrance to the Solaceon Ruins.
"It's said that the Solaceon Ruins are where Unown were first discovered in Sinnoh," Cynthia explained with a smile. "And in similar ruins across other regions, Unown are always found."
"Sounds like my specialty," Natsume said.
Cynthia didn't argue, merely pressing a finger to her forehead with a sigh. "Couldn't you be a little more humble, like Sirfetch'd?"
"Sirfetch'd!" Hearing the praise, Sirfetch'd raised its leek and shield with dignified composure.
No one understands knightly virtues better than me!
Natsume stroked his chin.
Knowing Sirfetch'd, it's probably just timid…
But with Natsume-sensei's high emotional intelligence, he naturally kept that thought to himself and instead asked, "Shall we investigate the ruins later?"
Cynthia's eyes gleamed, as if to say 'You read my mind.'
With Natsume, an expert in ancient languages, exploring the Solaceon Ruins would be much easier.
Natsume smirked.
The young Cynthia hasn't yet realized—every gift in life comes with a price.
Once she's got enough translated research papers, she won't have any reason to refuse wearing that bunny girl outfit…
As they strolled through Solaceon Town, Cynthia glanced around, her black hair accessory swaying.
"It's changed a lot since I last visited."
"You used to come here often?"
"It was my grandmother," Cynthia said, gazing into the distance, her slender neck like a black swan's. "She loved the café on the mountain behind town. Their Moomoo Milk was supposedly top quality."
"Oho!" A chef's ingredient radar activated—Natsume's eyes lit up. "Let's check it out!"
"Aren't you afraid of running into her?"
Cynthia crossed her arms, resting her chin on a slender hand, eyes teasing.
"What's there to fear? Worst case, I'll make her some Moomoo Pudding."
"Gengar! (ˉ﹃ˉ)" Gengar suddenly popped out of Natsume's shadow.
Natsume: "I know, I'll make some for you first."
"Gengar~! (`▽′)"
The mountain café turned out to be a waitress café… Natsume had no idea what the owner was thinking, opening this in the middle of nowhere.
A waitress in a short-styled uniform, her features delicate, froze for a moment upon seeing Natsume's face.
"Here's your—"
Another waitress nudged her, and the first quickly clutched the tray to her chest, bowing hastily.
"Your Moomoo Milk and apple pie, please enjoy!"
Cynthia didn't seem bothered. Fingers interlaced under her chin, she watched Natsume with a gentle smile.
"You're quite popular."
"The Sinnoh Champion isn't any different."
"I've never… had that kind of experience," Cynthia murmured, glancing around, cheeks faintly pink.
She meant romantic experiences.
Natsume's apple pie nearly fell from his mouth. He wiped his lips with a napkin and nodded.
"Same here."
For some reason, Cynthia felt a sense of balance restored. She slid the Cheri Berry pie toward him.
"For you."
"You're not eating it?"
"Don't you like Cheri Berries?" Cynthia asked, puzzled.
"Uh…"
Natsume stared miserably at the honey-drizzled pie, feeling the agony of being force-fed.
"I'll eat it!"
The two waitresses hugged their trays, exchanging a look of shared suffering.
So THIS is why they ordered so much?!
If you can't finish, just feed it to someone in need!
...
Solaceon Town wasn't far from Celestic Town, so there was no need to rush.
That afternoon, as planned, the two followed a lush green path to the Solaceon Ruins.
After ten minutes, the palace-like ruins came into view, its arched entrance standing tall.
"Are those… Dialga and Palkia?"
Natsume eyed the vaguely familiar statues outside the ruins.
Cynthia nodded, her black coat swaying as she strode forward in high heels.
"Over here," she called. "There's something I want to show you."
"Let me see!"
Beneath the Dialga statue was an inscription.
Cynthia traced the words lightly with her finger, reciting softly:
"Every meeting of life with life…"
She moved to the other statue, completing the phrase:
"...gives birth to something new."
Then she stood between the statues, arms crossed, golden hair cascading to her waist.
"These are my favorite words."
A pause. Her voice lowered.
"Now I'm giving them to you."
Natsume blinked, then grinned.
"I'll tell you mine when I think of one."
"Such as?" Cynthia tilted her head.
"Like 'As expected of Natsume-sensei!' or 'Pokémon and Trainers resonate with each other!'—stuff like that."
"I'll look forward to it," Cynthia said, smiling.
The ringing of Rotom Dex shattered the warm silence.
"Beep… Incoming call, Rotom!"
Natsume glanced at the screen and nearly cursed aloud.
These three idiots actually have phone credit now?!
He answered, immediately met with sobbing.
"Executive! Help! We're stuck again!!"
Natsume sighed deeply.
Oh, so NOW you know what 'again' means?!
"Call me after you've been blasted off," Natsume said flatly. (They'd be fine.)
"Nooo!! We barely got signal inside the ruins—you're our only hope!"
Natsume stared blankly, then turned toward the arched entrance. "Which ruins?"
"We were outsmarting this Pokémon Hunter J lady, but then we fell into our own Dig trap and wound up inside the Solaceon Ruins, meow!" Meowth wailed.
"Uh… that Dig trap," James added sheepishly. "Pretty sure we dug it?"
"Shut up!" Jessie and Meowth snapped.
"Solaceon Ruins?"
"Yeah! The place full of Unown—AHH, HELP!!"
The call cut out.
Natsume scanned the ruins. Faint explosions echoed from within.
Pokémon Hunter J was a notorious figure in Sinnoh. Even after Team Rocket's reform, she'd evaded capture repeatedly.
For these three to hold their own against her was… impressive, in a way.
"What's wrong?" Cynthia asked.
Natsume summarized the Team Rocket trio's situation.
Cynthia frowned slightly.
"You seem… quite close with Team Rocket?"
"Even Red joined Team Rocket once."
Not the time to explain. Natsume shrugged. "They're… friends. I help when I can."
Cynthia slid her hands into her coat pockets, not pressing further. Her gaze shifted to the ruins.
"Then… shall we go in together?"
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