A few days later, as the team sent from Sinnoh arrived by ship at the port of Slateport City, Cynthia's schedule in Hoenn also entered its final countdown.
On the day before departure, Cynthia specifically accompanied Steven to Rustboro City, intending to meet Theo in person.
…
The morning sunlight filtered through a thin layer of mist and spilled across the beach, dyeing the fine sand in a warm golden hue. The sea breeze brushed past the coconut trees along the shore, making them rustle softly.
Theo was currently leading his Pokémon in special training behind the manor.
The area where the beach met the shallow sea had been divided into several training zones, and each Pokémon was fully focused on improving itself.
Tyrantrum stood within a gravity field created by Metang. Every step it took felt as if it were trudging through thick mud. It let out low growls continuously, its powerful hind legs pushing hard against the ground while its short forelimbs swung forward with effort, barely managing to execute Dragon Claw.
Each time its claws sliced through the air, faint explosive sounds followed, shattering the fireballs launched at it by Larvesta.
This was Tyrantrum tempering both its physical body and its mastery of Dragon Claw under extreme gravity.
Meanwhile, Larvesta hovered at the edge of the gravity field, occasionally spitting out fireballs toward Tyrantrum to assist with its evasion training. At the same time, the increased gravity environment also helped Larvesta refine the precision and control of its Flamethrower.
Metang itself was not idle either. While maintaining the gravity field above them, it was simultaneously undergoing its own special training.
The gravity field also affected Metang itself.
A faint electric current flickered around its metallic body as it used Magnet Rise to counteract the immense pull of gravity.
The rare metals and ores it had consumed from the Devon Corporation warehouse over the past few days were now being digested under the pressure of the gravity field, slowly breaking down within its body and gradually transforming into the energy required for its evolution.
As for Milotic, it was training alone on the distant surface of the sea.
It glided gracefully through the waves, a gentle flick of its tail fin sending up towering waves several meters high, crashing head on against the surging tides.
Occasionally, Milotic would suddenly dive deep into the ocean, only to resurface much later, droplets of water cascading off its elegant body.
Theo knew that it had most likely gone to spar with deep sea Pokémon such as Wailord or Gyarados again.
He was not worried about Milotic.
With its current strength, combined with the advantage of the ocean environment and its numerous recovery moves, even if it encountered an opponent it could not defeat, protecting itself would not be a problem.
Suddenly!
Just as Tyrantrum braced itself under the crushing gravity and gathered strength to unleash another Dragon Claw, its entire body stiffened. A low whimper escaped from its throat.
Within its perception, it had once again sensed an extremely powerful dragon type aura, causing its bloodline to surge uncontrollably.
Although it was not as overwhelming as the presence of the green scaled being in the mysterious cave at Meteor Falls, it was still powerful enough to make Tyrantrum tremble involuntarily.
"What's wrong?" Theo had just begun to ask when Tyrantrum suddenly turned its head, staring toward the entrance behind the manor, its amber eyes filled with vigilance.
Following its gaze, Theo saw Steven walking along a nearby path, and beside him was a tall woman.
She wore a sharply tailored black coat paired with a matching outfit and high heels, exuding a powerful and cold aura from head to toe.
On both sides of her head, she wore black hair accessories with pale yellow stripes, swaying gently as she walked, adding a touch of elegance to her otherwise dark attire.
Combined with her long, waist length golden hair, she appeared like a regal and imposing queen, someone not easily approached.
She was the Champion of Sinnoh, Cynthia.
Beside her stood a dragon type Pokémon with an overwhelmingly imposing presence.
Garchomp!
It possessed a head resembling a jet fighter, and within its open jaws, rows of sharp fangs gleamed with a chilling light.
On the ends of its arms were backward facing fin like blades, which served as its wings.
Although Garchomp was a dual type Dragon and Ground Pokémon, it was fully capable of flight.
Its body was covered in fine, sharp scales that reduced air resistance and could even generate cutting air currents during high speed movement, allowing it to maintain stability and agility in the sky.
Combined with the fin like wings on its forearms, it had sufficient lift and propulsion to achieve incredible flight speeds.
Through the system, Theo observed the detailed information of Cynthia's Garchomp and could not help but marvel at its strength.
It had mastered nearly every major dragon type move.
From Dragon Claw to Outrage, from Draco Meteor to Dragon Rush, it possessed them all.
Although it did not know Dragon Dance, the combination of Scale Shot and Swords Dance could roughly rival the effects of that move.
However, that particular combination was actually more suited for Mega Evolved Garchomp.
Theo recalled information from his previous life regarding Mega Garchomp.
When Garchomp Mega Evolved, the immense surge of energy would cause its forearm fins to merge and transform into massive scythe like blades, greatly increasing its offensive power and destructive capability.
But the trade off was a reduction in speed, as it lost the fin structures that aided its mobility.
At that point, strategies involving Scale Shot and Swords Dance became extremely effective.
Just as Theo's thoughts were drifting, Garchomp suddenly moved.
Its figure blurred, and in an instant, it crossed the beach and appeared directly in front of Tyrantrum.
Cynthia's Garchomp was exceptionally large, standing well over two meters tall, noticeably bigger than the average individual.
Yet in front of the nearly three meter tall Tyrantrum, it still appeared slightly shorter.
At that moment, Metang's gravity field had not yet dissipated, yet Garchomp stood firmly on the sand as if unaffected, even casually swaying its tail.
It was as though gravity had no effect on it at all.
Only after Metang voluntarily dispelled the gravity field did Tyrantrum finally manage to move its stiffened body. It stretched out the limbs that had been suppressed under the crushing force, restoring itself to its full state before turning its gaze toward Garchomp.
Even though it clearly knew that Garchomp's strength far surpassed its own, the pride inherent to Dragon type Pokémon made Tyrantrum unwilling to back down. It let out a threatening roar toward Garchomp, unwilling to yield an inch.
Garchomp responded with a low growl of its own. The two dragon type Pokémon slowly approached each other, pressing their foreheads together as they began to push against one another in a silent contest of strength.
"TYRAANT!"
"GAAARCHOMP!"
Their deep roars intertwined, and under the force of their footing, the sandy ground was pressed into deep pits beneath their claws. The sheer intensity of their clash was no less than that of a real battle.
Cynthia called out softly, her tone tinged with helplessness.
"Alright, Garchomp, that's enough. This isn't an enemy. Behave and greet properly."
Garchomp turned its head and let out a low growl toward Cynthia, but then immediately turned back and continued pressing its head against Tyrantrum without showing the slightest intention of backing off.
Cynthia could only turn to Theo, greeting him with a slightly apologetic smile.
"You must be Theo, right? I'm Cynthia. Sorry about this, Garchomp has always been like this. Whenever it meets another of its kind, it just has to test itself a bit. It probably saw that your Tyrantrum is taller than it and felt a little unwilling to accept that. But don't worry, it won't attack recklessly. It will calm down after a while. It often acts a bit childish like this."
As she spoke, she could not help but shake her head, though there was clear affection in her eyes when she looked at Garchomp.
"It's alright. Tyrantrum used to be the same way," Theo replied with a smile. "When it was younger, it would often butt heads with Beldum. Even when it hurt, it would stubbornly endure it and pretend nothing was wrong. If it lost to Beldum's steel head, it would secretly sulk by itself afterward."
Hearing this, Cynthia could not help but laugh, instantly feeling a sense of familiarity. She reached out her hand, and the two shook hands.
As they did, Theo's gaze inadvertently swept over the ornament on Cynthia's wrist. It was none other than a Key Stone used for Mega Evolution.
Cynthia noticed his glance and gently shook her wrist.
"I should be the one thanking you for discovering the secret of Mega Evolution. My Garchomp can already barely achieve Mega Evolution now. With a bit more practice and synchronization, it should be able to stabilize that form."
She paused briefly, her tone turning more serious.
"As for the Deino matter, you can rest assured. When I go to Unova this time, I will definitely choose one with the best potential for you."
Standing beside them, Steven Stone added,
"Drake and Cynthia have both already succeeded in Mega Evolution. Winona's Altaria is still trying, but it should not take much longer. The League is accelerating research on new Key Stones and Mega Stones for other Pokémon. Once there are results, I will deliver them to you immediately."
While they were speaking, a splash suddenly rose from the sea. Milotic gracefully swam to the shore, and upon seeing Cynthia, it gently swayed its tail fin in greeting.
The moment Cynthia saw the shimmering blue fins and golden tail of the shiny Milotic, her eyes lit up.
"So this is your shiny Milotic? So that's what the shiny coloration looks like. What a beautiful little one."
As she spoke, she released her own Milotic from its Poké Ball.
The two Milotic immediately began curiously observing one another. Cynthia's Milotic stared intently at Theo's, clearly fascinated by the unique blue fins and golden tail.
Soon, the two drew closer, circling and intertwining as they examined each other, their antennae gently touching as if exchanging greetings.
After a moment, Theo's Milotic suddenly leaped into the sea and gave a soft flick of its tail toward Cynthia's Milotic, as though issuing an invitation.
Cynthia's Milotic glanced back at her trainer, and after receiving a nod of permission, it followed. The two elegant figures dashed joyfully into the ocean and quickly disappeared among the waves.
"No wonder both Steven and Wallace speak so highly of you. You've raised your Milotic exceptionally well," Cynthia said, her eyes still fixed on the sea, her tone filled with admiration. "And your other Pokémon are impressive too. Once they grow a bit more, I would really like to have a full team battle with you. I imagine it would be quite an enjoyable match."
As she spoke, she turned her gaze back to Tyrantrum and Garchomp, who were still locked in their head to head contest, and suddenly asked,
"By the way, your Tyrantrum was revived from a fossil, right? I watched its battle footage a couple of days ago. Your tactics were excellent, the combination of sandstorm and Dragon Dance, right?"
The moment the words Dragon Dance were spoken, Garchomp, which had been pushing against Tyrantrum, suddenly froze as if someone had pressed a pause button.
It abruptly lifted its head, then rushed over to Cynthia's side, lowering its head and staring intently at Theo as though this question was of utmost importance.
Seeing Garchomp withdraw, Tyrantrum also returned to Theo's side, lifting its head proudly while looking toward Garchomp with an air of superiority.
But Garchomp had no interest in responding to Tyrantrum now. It was entirely focused on Theo, waiting for his answer.
Theo's eyes shifted slightly as he looked at Garchomp, then he spoke calmly,
"Champion Cynthia, you must have seen it wrong. That wasn't Dragon Dance. Tyrantrum doesn't know that move. In the sandstorm, it uses Swords Dance to boost itself. As for Dragon Dance… that's something only weaker Dragon type Pokémon need. Truly powerful dragons have no need for such a move."
The moment those words came out, Cynthia was completely stunned.
Her mouth hung slightly open, her eyes wide, her face filled with disbelief. The dignified and regal aura she had carried earlier completely vanished, replaced by an unexpectedly adorable, almost dazed expression.
She had never imagined Theo would give such an answer.
To say something like that with a straight face was simply outrageous. It was blatant nonsense spoken as if it were truth.
Before coming here, she had specifically watched Theo's videos, including his Gym battles and Contest performances. She was very familiar with Tyrantrum's battle style, which made this answer even more unbelievable.
At the same time, Garchomp's eyes widened upon hearing that Tyrantrum "could not use Dragon Dance."
When it looked at Tyrantrum again, the corners of its mouth curled upward, and its expression became noticeably friendlier.
It had been slightly bothered earlier by being shorter than Tyrantrum, but now, this large dragon that "could not use Dragon Dance" suddenly felt much more agreeable.
And when it heard the latter half of Theo's statement, its eyes lit up completely. It nodded excitedly again and again, its tail wagging forcefully against the sand as if to say, "Exactly right!"
Meanwhile, Tyrantrum, who was enjoying Theo's gentle pats, suddenly widened its amber eyes in confusion upon hearing its trainer claim that it "did not know Dragon Dance."
It clearly knew the move, so why was it being said otherwise?
Although puzzled, Tyrantrum was still quite sensible. It nodded along obediently, cooperating with its trainer's statement.
Seeing Tyrantrum "agree," Garchomp completely let go of its earlier awkwardness.
It stepped forward on its own initiative and extended its foreclaw, offering a friendly gesture.
Tyrantrum froze for a moment, then extended its own short, sturdy forelimb, and the two Pokémon's claws met in a firm handshake.
(End of Chapter)
TN: Lmaoo.