When Sato had Krookodile crack open the final generator and pulled out the fifth Comet Shard, the most valuable items in the entire Sunyshore Power Plant were now in his hands.
Five Comet Shards, enough to purify the typing of five items and allow them to be applied to any Pokémon.
But if used to purify Sato's Dark Energy, as long as he avoided inputting too much energy at once, the shards could be reused indefinitely.
And the [Dark Energy: Blood Nourishment] itself didn't involve much energy to begin with, it was simply a special method to enhance potential.
Now, Pikachu, Ariados, and Gengar could also share in the benefits of Sato's power and gradually improve their own potential!
But as Sato looked at the five Comet Shards before him, he thought for a moment, then handed two of them to Cynthia.
Cynthia didn't take them.
"I already said, everything we got after catching Magmortar belongs to you."
Sato didn't pull back the Comet Shards in his hands either.
"Magmortar will ultimately be handed over to the League, and the rewards they issue won't mean much to you at this point.
But a universal item like the Comet Shard is useful to everyone. Since we're traveling together, we shouldn't hoard the spoils of… um… victory!"
Sato spoke with firm resolve, but Cynthia had her own principles. For a moment, the two found themselves at an impasse over this uneven distribution.
Except… this "uneven distribution" was caused by one trying to give, and the other refusing to take!
Beside them, Lucario and Krookodile exchanged confused glances. They couldn't understand why humans were so awkward.
Not open or honest at all!
In the end, Sato sighed, grabbed Cynthia's hand, and forcibly pressed a Comet Shard into her palm, closing her hand tightly around it.
"Let's meet halfway. You take one Comet Shard, I'll keep four. These things are far rarer than ordinary Items. You never know when you'll need one."
"I…"
"Or do you want two?"
"…Fine. I'll take this one."
Cynthia lowered her voice, "calmly" pulled her right hand back, and then carefully placed the Comet Shard into her backpack.
"Heh~ Okay, let's check the surroundings again to see if we missed anything."
Sato chuckled, suddenly realizing that he had just grabbed Cynthia's hand¹[1]… The lifelong bachelor immediately started panicking a little and turned to inspect the area.
Cynthia glanced at the flustered Sato, and a faint, almost invisible smile curled her lips.
"Lucario, use Aura to scout the area~"
She wasn't going to lose her composure just because someone grabbed her hand.
'No way… ABSOLUTELY NOT!'
---◓---
Half an hour later, the two regrouped. After one last look at the battered pit, they each mounted Garchomp and Sharpedo and flew straight out of the Sunyshore Power Plant.
This time, they didn't bother to hide their movements at all. They even removed their facial disguises, so it didn't take long for onlookers to recognize them.
"Look! That's Investigator Cynthia, one of the top contenders to become the next Elite Four!"
"Cynthia-sama is so beautiful~"
"Sorry, Volkner. I'm switching teams… Cynthia really is that gorgeous!"
"So there really were powerful Pokémon in the power plant? Could it be that she already caught them…?"
"What! Cynthia-hime caught the strongest Pokémon in the power plant?"
"Cynthia is going to become an Elite Four!"
"So… does anyone know who the guy next to Cynthia is? He's pretty handsome too!"
"Being handsome won't feed you. Without strength, you're nothing."
"The important thing is… CYNTHIA CAUGHT A LEGENDARY!"
The next moment, the crowd fell into another frenzy of gossip.
So, when Sato and Cynthia arrived at the Pokémon Center in Sunyshore City to get some rest, they found the entire area outside the center completely swarmed by fans and reporters.
"Gengar, go gather some intel."
"Gengengengen~"
A ghostly cry rang out next to Sato. In the blink of an eye, Gengar silently slipped away, unnoticed by others.
It wasn't long before Gengar returned, bringing back a full scoop of "info".
"…I caught a Legendary? I became an Elite Four…? How come I didn't know about it myself?"
After "hearing" Gengar's report, Cynthia was so baffled she didn't even know how to respond. Without a word, she started moving forward to explain… but was quickly stopped by Sato.
"One-sided explanations are pointless. These people only hear what they want to hear."
"Then…"
"Your strength and talent will eventually earn you more recognition. These kinds of rumors will collapse on their own. Just ignore it."
Cynthia frowned. Reason told her Sato was absolutely right, but she still couldn't shake the discomfort.
So, she remained silent…
Sato looked at the pensive Cynthia without pushing or interrupting. He simply gave Gengar a silent command to cast a Spatial Barrier over them, shielding them from outside view.
A full ten minutes passed before Cynthia took a deep breath, as if something had finally clicked in her mind.
"Feeling better?"
"Yeah. Where are we heading next!?" Cynthia smiled brightly, no longer carrying any frustration.
Sato didn't ask further. He simply pointed northeast from the Pokémon Center.
"That way!"
Sunyshore Gym, the strongest recognized Gym in the Sinnoh region. Its Leader was none other than one of Sinnoh's "Twin Stars," Volkner.
Of course, with Cynthia's meteoric rise, the light of the "Twin Stars" had begun to dim. Many other outstanding peers were also starting to gain fame.
---◓---
When Sato and Cynthia arrived at Sunyshore Gym, the first thing Volkner said was…
"So… I heard you two caught a Legendary?"
"…"
"…"
After that, the two were invited inside by Volkner, who kindly led them to the medical room first to have their Pokémon treated.
"…So it was just a really 'huge' Magmortar?" Volkner raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself how dangerous rumors could be.
"Yeah. And you? How've you been?"
Sato nodded and forced himself to make small talk with Volkner. Neither of them was particularly chatty…
"…Not bad."
"Mm…"
"…"
"…What about Flint?"
"Also fine. Probably busy with the Elite Four tournament," Volkner replied, his eyes naturally drifting toward Cynthia.
As a rising star in Sinnoh, Cynthia had long since entered the radar of Trainers like Volkner. His curiosity about her far outweighed any desire to battle.
"…Let's have a match sometime."
"Mmh…? Sure."
"…"
Right… Three people who weren't good at talking. It was awkward beyond belief!
At that moment, Sato suddenly thought: whether it was Joseph, Mark, Flint, or even Sina or Akira… If any of them could show up and break this awkward silence, he'd be forever grateful!
In the end, with nothing left to talk about, the three finally headed to the battlefield…
Time for a battle!
•
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¹.ALERT! INSERT *Handholding Censored GIF*
[1] ALERT! INSERT *Handholding Censored GIF*