Cynthia, also known as Shirona, is the Champion Trainer of the Sinnoh region...
Possessing profound strength and an elegant, dignified appearance, she may seem like an ice-cold beauty at first glance, but in reality, her personality is gentle and unassuming, devoid of any arrogance typical of the powerful.
Calm and decisive by nature, she has a deep interest in theology and history, adores ice cream, and suffers from chronic indecisiveness.
The moment Caleb saw the young woman, this information flashed through his mind.
Noticing the little boy frozen stiff and trembling in place, Cynthia frowned slightly and removed the black coat she was wearing. Under Caleb's slightly dazed gaze, she gently draped the coat over him.
Only then did Caleb snap out of it. He looked up, meeting Cynthia's eyes as she stood before him in just a sweater, her figure accentuated by the snug fit.
From this close, he could even catch the faint natural fragrance unique to her, which was identical to the scent lingering on the coat.
Caleb pursed his lips uncomfortably, using his tiny hands to pull off the coat and hand it back to her.
Cynthia smiled softly but firmly wrapped the coat around him again.
Standing up, she glanced back at Snowpoint Temple, then at Hunter J rolling around in the snow nearby, and asked, "Little one, can you tell me what happened here?"
Caleb's ability to fabricate stories on the spot shone brilliantly at this moment.
Without batting an eye, he pointed at Hunter J and spun his tale, "She used explosives to blow up the ground, and then we fell all the way to the bottom, where we ran into that big guy."
'The big guy is likely referring to the legendary Pokémon, Regigigas.' Cynthia pondered for a moment before asking, "Do you know her?"
Caleb shook his head, "No."
'Child abduction?' Cynthia's frown deepened as she walked toward Hunter J, "Then why did you follow her?"
Caleb, "Because she said she knew my mom."
Cynthia: "..."
'Definitely child abduction.' Her expression turned serious. After a brief pause, she said, "Let's head down the mountain first."
And so, Caleb rode on Dragonite as they escorted Hunter J back to the Snowpoint City Police Station with Cynthia.
Officer Jenny spotted Caleb the moment they walked in. Early that morning, she had received a call from the orphanage reporting that the boy had gone missing... again.
She strode out from behind the counter with a stern expression, only to freeze when she saw Hunter J rolling on the floor, "This is…?"
Cynthia replied solemnly, "Officer Jenny, I suspect this woman is involved in a child abduction case."
"You mean… the child in question is this little one?" Officer Jenny pointed uncertainly at Caleb.
Cynthia nodded.
Officer Jenny turned to Caleb, frowning, "Little Terrence, care to explain? And why did you lie to me yesterday? You sneaked out of the orphanage on your own!"
Caleb: "..."
Hearing this, Cynthia also fixed her gaze on Caleb. She glanced back at the Dragonite that had followed them in, recalling the scene she had witnessed in the temple.
The ability to heal Pokémon, the calmness to command them in battle… 'This child… seems a little unusual.'
Caleb: "..."
He pressed his lips together, looking 'timidly' at Officer Jenny before whispering an apology, "I'm sorry…"
Then, without missing a beat, he pointed at Hunter J and continued, "Yesterday, on my way back to the orphanage, I saw her stealing Pokémon from other trainers. I tried to follow her, but she caught me…"
"Pokémon?"
Officer Jenny immediately latched onto the key detail in his words.
Caleb nodded, then pulled out a handful of shrunken Poké Balls from his pocket, all confiscated from Hunter J, "These are all the Pokémon she stole from other trainers."
Officer Jenny accepted them with a frown, releasing the Pokémon inside. In an instant, the police station lobby was filled with Pokémon of all shapes and sizes.
Another Officer Jenny gasped at the sight, "Shieldon! Flygon! These match the descriptions of the Pokémon reported missing by trainers!"
Just then, Caleb received a notification that his side quest was complete, with the five Escape Ropes automatically deposited into his inventory.
Officer Jenny's tense expression softened slightly as she signaled for someone to handcuff Hunter J and take her away.
While Officer Jenny began contacting the trainers who had filed reports, Caleb and Cynthia sat idly on a nearby sofa, waiting.
From their earlier conversation, Cynthia had pieced together most of the story. She looked at the Dragonite in front of Caleb and asked curiously, "Is this Pokémon your partner?"
Caleb paused mid-pat on Dragonite's claw. He knew Cynthia must have seen him healing and commanding Dragonite in the temple.
With that in mind, he shook his head and explained, "It was also captured by that bad woman. After I healed it yesterday, it became my friend."
'Might as well pin everything on Hunter J...' He thought.
Turning to Cynthia, Caleb asked with feigned innocence, "Onee-san, do you know its name?"
Cynthia bought the explanation. Patiently and gently, she replied, "This Pokémon is from the Kanto region. If I'm not mistaken, its name is Dragonite."
"Dragonite?" Caleb looked at Dragonite, forcing himself to play dumb. "Big guy, is your name Dragonite?"
Dragonite: "..."
Even it was at a loss for words at this point.
Fortunately, Officer Jenny finished her task and hurried over, crouching in front of Caleb to pinch his cheeks.
"You little troublemaker! Don't you dare do something so dangerous on your own again, understand?! You're so cute, what if you ran into some creepy criminal next time?"
Caleb remained internally unfazed but nodded obediently, "Mhm!"
Officer Jenny tweaked his nose and stood, turning to Cynthia, "Thank you so much for rescuing this little unlucky star."
Cynthia raised an eyebrow at the nickname, "Unlucky star?"
Officer Jenny nodded, "Absolutely. To be honest, this is already the second time he's been kidnapped. We still haven't even found his family..."
Just then, Caleb suddenly received a notification that a Pokémon was trying to emerge from his inventory. His expression shifted slightly as he abruptly stood from the sofa.
"What's wrong?" Officer Jenny asked, puzzled.
"Stomachache…" Caleb clutched his belly.
'He must've caught something after being out in the cold all night.' Officer Jenny pointed down the hallway, "The room at the very end. There's a 'WC' sign on it."
"Thank you, Nee-san!" Caleb nodded and hurried off in that direction.
The moment he closed the bathroom door, Terrence burst out of the inventory, his face alight with excitement as he whisper-shouted, "Dammit bro, holy smokes! It's Cynthia! My queen!"
Caleb quickly clamped a hand over his mouth, "Shh! Keep it down!"
Terrence shut his mouth instantly, nodding furiously.
Caleb released him and asked, "You can see what's happening outside from inside the inventory?"
Terrence, "Yeah. Yesterday, we wanted to come out and help you fight that Regigigas, but the Infinite World's rules locked us in. We couldn't get out..."
"But that doesn't matter now! What matters is Cynthia! Ahhhh! You've gotta go out there, act cute, and get her to take you on her travels!"
"...I remember she loves investigating ancient ruins. If we tag along, our Instance exploration progress will skyrocket! Aaaah! Go out there and call her 'Onee-san' or even 'mom' if you have to!"
...
{T/N: Bro has lied so much in this Instance, he even forgets that his old lies should at least match his new lies. I suspect that no one calls him out on this because he's a 'kid'...}