Because of certain events that had happened before, Liko, as Haru's student, had a kind of unshakable faith in her teacher that ordinary people could hardly understand.
Many times, the things Haru said would sound unbelievable to others—but Liko would never doubt him.
In her eyes, her teacher's whole style revolved around one thing: hiding.
The strength he showed in public was always just the tip of the iceberg. Nobody knew what kind of monsters he was still keeping hidden "in his pants," so to speak.
At first, everyone thought he just had some special variant of Mismagius. Then it turned out he was carrying around a Legendary of the second tier.
Just when people thought they had him figured out, he'd casually whip out a Mythical.
And beyond the Mythical, Liko also knew he had a first-tier Legendary tucked away...
But that only made four Pokémon total. Nobody knew what the other two slots on his team were hiding.
From this alone, it was clear her teacher was truly unfathomable.
For someone like him, even if he claimed that a first-tier Legendary would willingly serve him, Liko would believe it.
That was why Cynthia's skeptical tone rubbed her the wrong way...
You're not Haru. So what gives you the right to assume Haru can't pull something like that off?
That was more or less what Liko thought.
Her attitude was so fervent it even left Cynthia a little surprised.
The girl's near-fanatical faith made Cynthia begin to wonder—had Haru used some kind of illicit trick on her?
Could she have been hypnotized?
But no—her mind seemed perfectly clear. Nothing about her looked like she was under hypnosis.
Meanwhile, Haru himself stayed utterly calm, showing no trace of irritation at Cynthia's doubts.
He rummaged through his backpack for a while, then casually tossed a lollipop at the Sinnoh Champion, before handing another one to his favorite student.
Some things sounded like pure nonsense—but the world itself was magical nonsense, so what could he do about it?
Before going to Alola, Haru never would have dreamed he'd capture Necrozma in the way he did.
With Necrozma as precedent, who knew what other bizarre first-tier Legendary he might encounter later?
For all he knew, one might show up someday calling him "dad."
"Honestly, for people like us, first-tier Legendaries aren't as out of reach as they might sound, don't you think?"
"Miss... Cabbage—ah, I mean Miss Cynthia. If I'm not mistaken, you yourself have had contact with Pokémon that should only exist in myth, haven't you?"
"Or at the very least, you've heard the legends."
"Dialga, the god of time who links past and future. Palkia, the god of space who rules endless dimensions."
"And beyond them—the third god, Giratina, forever soaring through the ruined world, master of antimatter."
"Their power isn't a bit weaker than Rayquaza's—if anything, they might surpass it."
"So really, the fact that I've set my sights on Rayquaza instead of those three should be considered modest of me."
"Who knows, maybe one day a pretty widow will come knocking on my door and we'll get a story called The Tyrannical God-King Fell in Love with Me."
Haru said this with a straight face, tearing open his lollipop wrapper and sticking it in his mouth.
In truth, if you set aside battle performance and just looked at Pokémon lore, the Sinnoh trio ranked extremely high in both power and status.
At the very top of the Pokémon world was Arceus.
Other Pokémon could only be called "divine beasts." Arceus was the only true "god"—the one who created infinite time and space.
According to Hisui's lore, the Arceus caught by a trainer in the game was only one of its avatars...
And even that was only because Arceus allowed itself to be caught.
But even an avatar of Arceus had the power to crush every other Pokémon without contest.
As for the Sinnoh trio, their origins were explicitly tied to Arceus. They were its very first creations.
And they were given forms resembling their "god," making them even closer to divinity.
If Arceus was God, then they were either God's children—or "godlike beings."
That said, both Arceus and Giratina were virtually unknown to the world at large. Few people had even heard the name "Arceus."
Cynthia, being an archaeologist, was more familiar than most with Sinnoh's myths. She knew Dialga and Palkia fairly well.
But Giratina...
Even "future intel-Cynthia" would barely have scraps about it.
And judging by the timeline, Haru figured the Cynthia of this era probably hadn't even heard the name "Giratina." Arceus, even less so.
Only someone like Haru, a "meta breaker," could know these secrets buried in the deepest layers of history.
Other than Arceus itself, Haru probably knew more than anyone alive.
"Giratina? Arceus? Those are... names of Pokémon?"
As Haru expected, the unusual names immediately caught Cynthia's attention.
"They're not Pokémon. They're gods... okay fine, children of God."
"Giratina is Sinnoh's third deity, a being that practically never manifests in the real world. Honestly, I think it's kind of embarrassing..."
For all its lofty image, Giratina was so underwhelming in actual battles that it was often lumped in with the so-called "Three Trash Gods." Haru never cared much for it.
(Of course, one certain first-generation Legendary also belonged to that category—but best not to name names.)
"How do you even know all this?"
At some point, Cynthia had pulled out a notebook. She scribbled furiously as she continued her conversation with him.
She couldn't be sure his claims were true, but that didn't stop her from writing everything down to investigate later.
If any of it were confirmed, it would be groundbreaking.
"Because I've seen it with my own eyes... do you believe me?"
"..."
Of course not. You talk like a con man on fast-forward. Who knows how much of what you say is real?
Even so, curiosity made Cynthia press on:
"You said 'children of God.' So you mean the so-called gods of myth aren't actually gods themselves?"
"And who is Arceus? Why was it never mentioned in the tablets I've deciphered?"
These questions weighed heavily on her.
Up till now, her research suggested that Sinnoh's supreme deities were the time and space gods. But if Haru was right, then the real "god" was someone else entirely.
Was Haru spouting nonsense, or had she been on the wrong track all along?
"They can't be called gods."
Haru dismissed Sinnoh's traditional legends outright and declared:
"There is only one true God—Arceus."
"The reason your tablets don't mention Arceus is simple: even your ancestors in Hisui had no idea it existed."
"As for what Arceus is—didn't I already say? A god. Or maybe a pretty widow."
With that, Haru stood up.
"All right. Today's 'history class' is over. I've got things to do, no time to keep telling stories."
"Miss Cynthia, if you're really that interested in these dusty old secrets, come find me again later. If I'm in the right mood, maybe I'll share a bit more."
He grabbed Liko's hand and walked off without looking back, leaving Cynthia hanging.
Just before turning the corner, though, he suddenly glanced back at her:
"Oh, by the way—you yourself have quite the 'fate' with Sinnoh's dragon trio. In more ways than one."
With that cryptic remark, Haru disappeared around the bend, not lingering for even a second.
Cynthia stared at his retreating back, her feelings mixed.
She couldn't be sure whether what he said was true. But the confident, matter-of-fact way he spoke didn't feel like idle nonsense either...
Her recent studies of Sinnoh's ancient murals did suggest there could be a third god no one had ever found.
But the name, the stories—it was as if they had been erased from history.
She had only wanted to give herself a "day off" today, a little break from the exhausting grind of decoding murals.
Maybe meet this trainer called Haru, and learn about the new Pokémon Ogerpon.
She did find Haru, and she did see that adorable second-tier Legendary.
But instead of Ogerpon lore, she got buried in a flood of Sinnoh mythology.
Now the only question was—was he telling the truth?
And if he was, how could he possibly know any of it? Surely not because he'd "seen it with his own eyes"?
The man was too much of a mystery. No past records, no known origin.
All she could confirm was that he was absurdly strong—and that his first known appearance had been in Alola.
Earlier records? Nothing.
The Paldea reports even claimed he had been in Area Zero "since the moment he was conscious."
How could a man like that know Sinnoh's deepest history?
The Champion of Sinnoh's mind spun with questions, until she finally decided she had to ask him directly.
She hurried a few steps and called out just before he vanished around the corner:
"Wait! Whatever you're busy with right now—let me help you."
Then, as if remembering something, she quickly added:
"If necessary, I can even tell you what team Blue is preparing to fight you with, and which moves his Pokémon have learned."
"He told me himself once, and I even gave him some advice."
"..."
Haru froze in his tracks.
"You're just gonna sell him out like that?"
He gave her a strange look.
In both games and reality, information advantage in Pokémon battles was priceless.
Like those dirty Geodude users who spam Explosion—if you knew ahead of time, you could bring a Damp Pokémon and make them look like clowns.
And now Miss Cynthia was just... handing over Blue's intel, just to pry some secrets out of him?
"How is that selling him out? He never said I couldn't share it."
Cynthia puffed herself up, defiant yet guilty.
Blue might only have been "Champion for ten minutes," but he was still a Champion.
Even against an opponent with Legendaries and Mythicals, surely he wouldn't be at too much of a disadvantage, right?
So by sharing his info, she was actually enhancing his experience!
Otherwise, what fun was a one-sided stomp?
Who knew—maybe Blue would even thank her afterward.
"Well, well. Didn't expect you to be so persistent."
"But no, I don't need your opponent's data... I've got something else to do."
Haru crunched the lollipop in his mouth, chewing as he studied the beautiful woman before him.
Cynthia was stunning—the very image of an intellectual beauty.
She was exactly his type, and he couldn't help but be amused that their first meeting had ended up being over Sinnoh's three dragons.
He had only tossed out a few casual lines, yet she was already hooked...
Still, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.
"As far as I know, while Kanto isn't the birthplace of Mega Evolution, both Blue and Red have mastered it."
"Miss Cynthia, as a fellow user of Mega Evolution, you should know well how powerful it makes Pokémon."
"I may have uncovered the secrets of Terastallization, but I've always been interested in Mega Evolution too."
"So, I was planning to capture a Pokémon with Mega potential, then later track down a Key Stone and the right Mega Stone."
"If everyone else has Mega Evolution, it's only fair I have it too."
Haru spread his hands and shook his head.
"That's not really something you can 'help' with. I'll just handle it when I have the time."
In Paldea, Terastallization was widespread. Any elite trainer could obtain a Tera Orb. Mastering it wasn't too difficult; the real challenge lay in practical use.
But Mega Evolution was a whole different beast.
You needed both a Key Stone and the Pokémon's specific Mega Stone.
And even with both, you couldn't just trigger it at will.
It required a deep bond between trainer and Pokémon, and the Pokémon had to be able to control the raging power of Mega Evolution.
Only then could the transformation succeed.
To make matters worse, both Key Stones and Mega Stones were incredibly rare. Finding them—let alone buying them—was nearly impossible.
Money wasn't enough. You had to locate someone who had one, and convince them to part with it.
"No. If that's what you need... I do know at least one person who definitely has a Key Stone. He might even have the Mega Stones you're looking for."
"His name is Gurkinn."
Haru paused, thought it over, then nodded.
"Korrina's grandfather? If it's him, yeah, he probably does."
"?"
"Why would you know that man's granddaughter's name?"
Cynthia looked a little puzzled.
It wouldn't be strange if Haru knew about Gurkinn—after all, he was a Gym Leader. But knowing about Korrina? Now that was a bit odd…
She wasn't exactly all that well-known.
"Ah, that's nothing worth worrying about. People tend to take an interest in things they're… personally curious about."
"So, what you're saying is, you want to introduce Gurkinn to me?"
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