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Luther had just learned something interesting: even Cynthia didn't personally prepare food for her Pokémon every single time.
According to her, she handed her prepared lists to a daycare center she was familiar with. The day care would handle the actual preparation. If needed, Cynthia would make small adjustments based on her Pokémon's appetite that day.
"With so many Pokémon in one courtyard, even if I handed all the food preparation work to the Blissey, they'd be busy for half a day. This is the most efficient method. Diantha and Lance also have partners they work with. As for Steven, his family is his greatest support.
Of course. Even if Cynthia wanted to do everything herself, she wouldn't have the energy. With so many Pokémon, preparing three meals a day would be exhausting enough.
As they returned to the courtyard, an Espurr came rolling straight at them through the air. Luther quickly reached out and caught it in his arms.
Garchomp was still frozen in an attacking pose, indicating to both Luther and Cynthia that it was training Espurr in real-time move transitions.
Garchomp had perfect control; Espurr merely shook her head and floated right back into the training session.
The sound of footsteps in the hallway drew Luther's attention. Mai came in holding a sheet of paper covered in writing. She excitedly stuffed it into Luther's hands.
"This is...?"
"A dating guide! It'll absolutely come in handy. You two said you wanted to fake-date someone as part of your plan, right? Follow it, and I guarantee it'll look real!"
Mai was brimming with confidence.
So, this was what people meant when they said, "A Mai product is guaranteed quality"?
He definitely had to look through it properly.
Curious, Luther unfolded the paper. It was densely packed with words, which made him marvel at Mai's meticulousness and seriousness.
She wrote out times, events, and activities in detail, filling every inch of space. She had even drawn tables to make them easier to understand.
But how am I supposed to do any of this?
"Let me see, let me see."
Cynthia took the dating guide from Luther and read it attentively.
As she read, she glanced at Mai several times. Seeing that Mai was also watching her, Cynthia smiled slightly. She folded the sheet neatly and placed it in her pocket.
"Luther, there are some treats in the kitchen that Gastrodon likes. Take him to eat some, and while you're there, bring out the desserts from the fridge for me."
Gastrodon, who had suddenly been called, looked confused. Treat time? At this awkward moment?"
Seeing Cynthia's expression, however, Gastrodon immediately understood. He nudged Luther and led him toward the house.
Luther knew Cynthia wanted to send him away, but he was curious to see what she planned to do.
Once Luther was far enough away, Cynthia pointed to a nearby stone bench, signaling for Mai to sit down.
"What do you plan to do about your relationship with your father?"
Mai froze. Cynthia's first question had completely thrown her off.
She lowered her head and fiddled with her fingers for a long while before sighing.
"He rarely compromises or gives in. But he said that if I pass the Breeder Qualification Exam, I can make my own choices, so he shouldn't go back on his word this time."
Cynthia stroked the Togekiss leaning against her as if thinking.
"What about your relationship with Luther?"
Mai trembled and turned her gaze away, unable to look Cynthia in the eyes.
"You like him very much, don't you?" Cynthia held up the dating guide that Mai had written. "Everything written here are things you hope to do with him, aren't they?"
"Why did you give this to him? This is something you should have kept for yourself, your treasure. It's precious."
Mai clenched her fists and lowered her head. After a long moment, she slowly loosened her grip.
"I can't help him."
"I already realized what he was doing back at Diantha's villa. He's always in danger, and he always handles everything alone."
All I can do is support him by taking care of things he doesn't have time for. That's the only way I can help."
At the very least, in matters like this, I don't want to drag him down. Right now, you all are the ones who can truly help him."
Cynthia suddenly thought of Lance. As an investigator, he had never had a partner because he believed that every partner would just slow him down.
Cynthia folded the paper neatly.
"Relax. I'm only borrowing Luther for a moment. Don't make it sound like I'm trying to steal him away."
Mai hesitated for a moment, then teased, "If you did want to steal him, I wouldn't be able to stop you..."
Hearing this, Cynthia was genuinely amused.
"Do you have that much confidence in me or that little confidence in yourself?"
"But you're not wrong. Diantha has said before that if I liked someone, even if she liked that person too, I would try my best to win them over."
Seeing Mai's flustered discomfort, Cynthia felt the satisfying thrill of a well-executed prank.
Just as Evergreen gave Luther a sense of urgency, pushing him to keep moving forward and improving, Cynthia had now given Mai her own sense of urgency.
Luther protected her too well. Perhaps it was his inner sense of belonging, or maybe he was simply too afraid that Mai might fall into danger. But this gave Mai the illusion that she couldn't help him at all.
"A girl in love has to work hard, you know. Otherwise, I might start showing Luther the different marriage laws of the Alola Islands."
Cynthia hummed as she walked into the kitchen and found Luther and Gastrodon feeding each other cake.
One human and one Pokémon sharing the same silly fate.
Gastrodon knew he had been sent away because of Luther.
Even though he got snacks out of it, he still wanted to ask:
'Why am I always the first to get dragged away? Why am I always the one who gets punched? Why always me?'
Bored out of his mind, Luther had Gastrodon lean back and use his soft body to hold a spoon.
Gastrodon, not very skilled, fed Luther a bite. Luther fed him one back. The scene was so ridiculous that Cynthia wondered if she should have just turned around and let these two idiots continue whatever they were doing.
"We're done talking. Training resumes."
Hearing Cynthia's voice, both Luther and Gastrodon felt as if they had been released from torture. Not caring that they'd been seen, Luther shoved the remaining cake into Cynthia's hands and headed straight back to the courtyard.
Darkrai, who had been brooding restlessly and unable to find an answer to his confusion, suddenly shot forward irritably. This instantly drew the attention of Cynthia's Pokémon.
Cynthia had learned from Professor Rowan that Luther had a Darkrai with him. But after arriving at the villa, Darkrai had barely shown himself. Cynthia assumed that Luther hadn't fully tamed him yet, so she never asked to see him.
Darkrai had cornered himself in a mental dead end.
He tried to think and understand using his own logic and experience, but there were simply too many things he couldn't comprehend.
Right now, he just wanted to release his pent-up emotions.
Otherwise, he felt like he would suffocate.
Luther had said this was the courtyard of a Champion-level Pokémon trainer and had praised Garchomp's abilities repeatedly.
So Darkrai walked right up to Garchomp.
This usually silent Pokémon suddenly spoke incredibly fast, no one knew what he said, but Garchomp gave him a "I can't be bothered with you" expression.
"Accept his request."
Cynthia's voice made Garchomp gently set down the Milcery sitting on his shoulder and face the Darkrai in front of him seriously.
(End of this chapter)