The friend request at the top of Grey's list was from Boss "Sleeping Beauty."
No, wait—that one was already handled.
This one was new:
["Archaeologist Cabbage" has requested to add you as a friend.]
[Note: I'm Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion]
[Source: account search]
[Accept][Decline]
Grey: ???
"What the heck is this supposed to be?"
Staring at the sudden note attached to the request, Grey's brain went a little fuzzy.
Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion?
Wanting to add his private account?
So scammers were playing it like this nowadays, huh?
For a moment, Grey didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
If it had been someone saying they were Bea, a Gym Leader from neighboring Galar, he might actually have considered believing it.
But this person was claiming to be Cynthia.
That was just too much.
It had the same energy as, "I am Emperor Qin. I didn't actually die."
Grey had to bite back his laughter. He even had the urge to screenshot this and post it online.
But after thinking it over, he tapped the reply button instead.
[DojoDeadbeatApe: Are you really Cynthia?]
[Archaeologist Cabbage: ? I think I am.]
"Oh, so we're doing 'I think I am' now? In that case, I'm Lance, the Dragon Master."
Seeing that reply, Grey's fingers flew across the keyboard.
[DojoDeadbeatApe: I'm Lance of the Kanto Elite Four. This is my alt. May I ask what Miss Cynthia needs from me?]
[Archaeologist Cabbage: ?]
[Archaeologist Cabbage: Sir, please don't joke around. I really am Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion. I'm here to ask about something rather personal. If it's convenient, could you accept my friend request?]
"Oh? Something 'rather personal,' huh?"
Reading what "Archaeologist Cabbage" had sent, Grey felt an even stronger urge to laugh.
[DojoDeadbeatApe: If you want me to believe you, sub to the channel with Governor-tier first and show me you're the real deal.]
[Archaeologist Cabbage: ...]
When "Archaeologist Cabbage" didn't respond, Grey simply tossed his phone aside and went back to working with Annihilape, guiding Ash's Primeape through its training.
Come to think of it, this was his first time formally teaching a move.
He was actually pretty excited.
And at that moment, he wasn't the only one feeling that way.
Far away in the Sinnoh region, inside the Battle Castle, someone else was just as keyed up.
"Caitlin, this guarantor you found… he's got quite a personality…"
Looking at the little red exclamation mark on her screen, the blonde older woman sitting on Caitlin's bed let out a long sigh and squeezed out that line.
The clock turned back a few minutes.
Sinnoh region, Battle Frontier, inside the Battle Castle.
"Lady Caitlin, Miss Cynthia is here to see you. Would you like to meet her?"
The butler, Darach, knocked once on Caitlin's bedroom door, then took three steps back before announcing the guest.
Creak—
The door opened, and Caitlin was just getting out of bed.
Wearing a pink dress, she stepped out into the hall and took small, dainty steps toward the reception room.
Darach followed behind at a respectful distance.
At the same time, he prepared to quickly recite the day's schedule.
"Milady, after lunch there are still many things that must be attended to at the—"
"Cancel them for me."
Caitlin kept walking, dropping that sentence directly into Darach's mind with her Psychic powers.
"B-but, Milady, you haven't handled any Battle Castle affairs for several days already. If this goes on, the family will—"
"Cancel them. I'll speak to the family myself."
Her tone was even, but already edged with a hint of impatience.
Lately, a lot of things had piled up at once, leaving Caitlin's thoughts in a constant jumble.
Thankfully, Grey's "manual" from before had helped her enough that her Psychic powers hadn't gone out of control again.
Otherwise, judging from past experience, the Battle Castle would probably be undergoing yet another round of reconstruction.
"Darach, other than Cynthia, does anyone else have an appointment to see me?"
Caitlin had reached the stairs. She glanced sideways at Darach, her lips barely moving.
"For today, no. However, the Battle Tower's Tower Tycoon, Palmer, has requested a sparring session for the day after tomorrow. Milady, would you like to battle him?"
Darach flicked open his tablet and scrolled through the appointment list, finding only Palmer's name.
"Forget it. I'm leaving the Battle Castle's affairs to you for the rest of the month. Your pay will go up—don't worry."
Caitlin headed downstairs, sending the thought straight into Darach's mind with her Psychic power.
"It's been so long since Milady mentioned a raise…"
Darach stayed where he was, muttering quietly to himself.
Tap, tap, tap…
Caitlin entered the reception room and slowly walked inside.
At that moment, a blonde beauty was sitting on the sofa, flipping through a deluxe edition of some ancient mythological text.
Beside her, a bipedal shark-like Pokémon was sipping tea, its eyes full of contentment.
One of Sinnoh's late-blooming powerhouses—Garchomp.
And its Trainer was none other than the Sinnoh Champion herself—Cynthia.
"In the beginning of heaven and earth, all was chaos. From that chaos, the ancestor of Pokémon, Mew, was born into the world…"
Cynthia scooped up a spoonful of ice cream and popped it into her mouth, reading the text in a slightly muffled voice.
Caitlin approached and reached out one slender finger, gently pressing it down on the open page.
"Feel like going out shopping with me?"
Noticing Caitlin's arrival, Cynthia slowly closed the book, set it aside, and invited her out.
"Let's talk about that later. Come with me first."
Caitlin touched Cynthia's shoulder, and a wave of Psychic power surged forth, teleporting the two of them back to her bedroom.
The world spun for a moment, but Cynthia, long used to such teleportation, felt no discomfort at all.
If anything, she was impressed by the refinement in Caitlin's control.
"That was really stable this time. Have you managed to control your powers?"
Cynthia stroked Caitlin's waist-length, silky blonde hair and asked softly.
"Mm. So… can my application to go to Kanto be approved soon?"
Caitlin lifted her gaze. Those calm, rippleless eyes met Cynthia's.
The question left Cynthia silent.
She was delighted and proud that Caitlin had gained control over her Psychic abilities, but with the League's current policies, if Caitlin wanted to visit another region, she needed a locally well-known Trainer to act as her guarantor.
This wasn't just about protecting the residents of other regions.
It was also about protecting Caitlin herself.
Her Psychic powers had been unstable ever since she was a child. Even if she truly had full control now, there would still be people who doubted her.
"Caitlin, I can't approve this alone…"
Cynthia took Caitlin's pale hand, her tone tinged with apology.
"Do you trust me, Cynthia?"
Caitlin suddenly countered.
Faced with that question, Cynthia didn't answer right away. She looked into Caitlin's eyes, searching for the slightest hint of uncertainty.
"I trust you."
Cynthia nodded firmly.
"Good. Then this is my guarantor. When will I be able to go to Kanto?"
Caitlin pulled out her phone, opened her chat with Grey, and held it out in front of Cynthia for her to read.
"?"
Cynthia raised an eyebrow, took the phone, and started scrolling through the conversation.
"You've… gotten into livestreams now?"
She couldn't keep the edge out of her voice. As she flipped through the chat, she pulled out her own phone and started searching for information on Grey at the same time.
"The Fighting Dojo in Saffron City… there's a Gym like this?"
Cynthia handed Caitlin's phone back to her, then used her own account to try adding Grey as a friend.
And that brought things back to the scene from a moment ago…
"The Kanto Elite Four's Lance…"
Cynthia stared down at her phone, then tapped open her chat with Lance.
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