Uxie and Azelf have left.
They're heading back to their lakes to get some real sleep.
They'd been caught by Team Galactic for quite a while, and even had their "soul" power siphoned away; for them, that was not a pleasant experience at all.
Now that it's over, of course they need proper rest.
Mesprit, on the other hand, has stayed behind.
It's going to follow Damian on his journey.
Of course, before Uxie and Azelf left, Damian had the three of them perform their "prayer" again together.
Yeah, Damian had Caitlin record it for him.
He can show it to his future kids someday.
This is a Lake Guardians' prayer, after all.
"Feels good~"
Damian looks at the wrecked ruins of Spear Pillar around him and stretches.
It's finally done.
"Today's haul is absolutely insane~"
Damian looks over what he's gained and can't keep the smile off his face.
Adamant Orb, Lustrous Orb, and the heavyweight Azure Flute.
Those are his Item gains.
And he's also caught a very "talkative" Mesprit, plus Giratina.
Those are his Pokémon gains.
On top of that, he received the Lake Guardians' blessing of the heart, Arceus's blessing of the flesh, and even got a share of Arceus's power as a gift.
"This power still needs training, but it already blows the power of Viridian out of the water."
Golden light shimmers over Damian's palm.
With almost no effort, he lifts a rock off the ground by sheer will alone.
Telekinesis with a thought.
Psychic‑types can do this too.
But Damian knows full well—this power of his is way stronger than standard Psychic.
Before this, his power of Viridian only gave him a natural affinity with Pokémon, the ability to sense Pokémon's emotions and communicate with them, and healing.
The power of Viridian itself wasn't turning Damian into "Superman."
Now, though, it's different.
"Arceus's power of creation really is busted. Even the simplified version I gave you, once you train it deep enough, you'll be able to do things like accelerate plant growth and stuff like that."
Mesprit sits on Damian's shoulder, its twin tails swaying as it speaks.
Accelerate plant growth?
Cynthia feels a bit shaken hearing that.
A human can do something like that?
That's too absurd.
He's basically a humanoid Pokémon at this point.
"Yeah, I know."
Damian waves his hand and disperses the golden light.
No question, the power he's gotten now should be similar to the energy held by Arceus's followers in Kalos's Arche Valley.
And this energy has to be trained by oneself.
In the movie, the siblings Meray and Baraz demonstrated that clearly.
But Damian's different—he's received Arceus's gift directly.
Right now, his power of creation is already thick and solid.
Most important of all is this body tempered like steel.
Damian's confident now.
With the way he is, even an energy‑draining little temptress like Elesa—he can take ten of her.
Make her cry and beg "Daddy, no more."
"Spear Pillar, I'll be back."
Damian's lips curl slightly.
Next time he returns, it'll be to challenge Arceus.
The three of them ride Reshiram and leave Spear Pillar.
Hearthome City, also called Hearthome City, is "Where hearts touch."
This city formed when humans and Pokémon gathered here, and as commerce grew, it turned into a warm, friendly metropolis.
Hearthome City has even been voted the most livable city in Sinnoh, which shows how much people love it.
Right now, Damian and the other two have arrived in Hearthome City.
After an entire day like this, they're all pretty exhausted—even if Damian's stamina is still through the roof.
They grab dinner together at a famous restaurant, then find a hotel, book a suite, and get ready to rest.
"So comfy~"
Inside the room, Damian is lying on the bed, while Sinnoh's Champion, Cynthia, is standing barefoot on his back, pressing down with her long legs.
"Cynthia, a bit harder."
"…"
Cynthia really can't understand this man sometimes.
But she still presses down harder with her feet.
A few minutes later, Cynthia lets out a quiet breath and steps off Damian.
Damian leans back against the headboard and reaches out a hand toward Cynthia.
Cynthia, totally used to this, sits down smoothly, leaning back into Damian's arms, her pretty face pressed against his chest.
"Good work."
Damian's arm slides around behind Cynthia's neck.
His hand slips very naturally down inside her collar.
"Damian, I need to go back to the League tomorrow."
Cynthia doesn't protest his wandering hand.
She really can't help it; she's gotten a bit used to it.
Their relationship is a little complicated now, but Cynthia still quietly believes she hasn't "betrayed" Caitlin.
After all… she and Damian haven't taken that final step.
That has to mean it doesn't count, right?
And strictly speaking, Caitlin is currently just Damian's friend and subordinate.
That's not exactly anything else.
Yeah.
Cynthia knows this line of thinking is a bit off, but she can only talk herself into it like this.
"Why're you going back to the League?"
Damian is lazily tracing circles on her chest.
He glances at her, curious.
"You don't know?"
Cynthia catches Damian's restless hand and looks at him, puzzled.
"This afternoon, Zinnia stormed the League's detention cells. She injured the guards and killed several prisoners."
Cynthia sighs as she says it.
Those few dead prisoners were the House of Dawn members who took part in the "Rayquaza capture incident."
"So that's how it is. Looks like Zinnia's tracked down where they were being held."
Damian gets it instantly.
He chuckles.
"They died as they deserved. Don't dwell on it. Greedy trash, the lot of them. Keeping them alive just wastes food."
Seeing Cynthia go quiet, Damian offers a line of comfort.
Anyone who could join in on the "Rayquaza capture incident" was, in Damian's eyes, someone already swallowed by their own greed.
Not one of them is innocent.
Zinnia cutting them down is doing this world a favor.
And there's no one more suitable than Zinnia herself to do it.
"No, Damian. I just think their crimes didn't warrant this punishment."
Cynthia shakes her head, her tone still heavy.
Of course she knows the whole story of Aster.
So when she returned to Sinnoh, the first thing she did was head to House of Dawn to arrest those involved in that incident.
In her eyes, they were guilty.
But how to put it…
To Cynthia, they are terrible, but not deserving of death.
After all, those people from Dawn weren't the masterminds, just participants.
The real masterminds in Johto's Pokémon Association have already been killed by Zinnia, haven't they?
"Cynthia, your way of thinking isn't wrong. But this isn't about what we think—it's about what the person involved thinks."
"Of course, that person is already dead. Which means Zinnia's the one with the most right to speak now."
Damian laughs softly.
He doesn't mock Cynthia like he might have in the past.
Their relationship isn't the same anymore.
"Zinnia lost the sister who mattered most to her. Wanting payback on the people who took part in that is only human."
"The League has its own laws. I get that. But I'll be blunt—just locking them up wasn't ever going to dissolve Zinnia's hatred."
"Humans, as a kind of Pokémon, sometimes need a way to vent. If Zinnia can't get it out of her system, she might do something even more irrational later. Don't you think so?"
Damian looks into Cynthia's clear, beautiful eyes that seem deep in thought, his words very pointed.
"Sometimes, that self‑righteous 'justice' actually turns into an accomplice of evil."
"Cynthia, the League has no death penalty. It champions human rights, the sanctity of life. If I hadn't helped Zinnia, the scum at Johto's Pokémon Association might still be sitting pretty right now."
"Or at best, maybe they'd be locked up in cells. But with the influence they've held, they might still have ways to wriggle out of prison."
"Is that… right?"
Cynthia freezes.
She really hasn't thought about it like this.
"What's wrong with saying it out loud? Is the League really that clean? Take us Team Rocket for example—over in Indigo League, there are several lawmakers who have ties with us."
"Don't even get me started on Johto's Pokémon Association. If they were spotless, how did Goodshow never hear a whisper about what they were doing back then?"
Cynthia falls silent.
She presses her lips together, unable to find a reply for a moment.
"Driven by greed, they dared set their sights on Rayquaza. Even if they didn't quite succeed, they were one step away."
"Next time, who do you think they'd target?"
Damian's words have no answer now—Johto's Association people are already dead.
But that question still makes Cynthia's heart jolt.
Yes.
Damian's hypothetical is completely reasonable.
If they dared go after Rayquaza today, what about tomorrow?
But before Cynthia can think it through more, she suddenly feels something.
"Stop, Damian. Don't."
Cynthia grabs Damian's hand and shakes her head.
As long as they don't cross that final line, she can keep comforting herself that she isn't really betraying Caitlin.
But if they actually do it, how is she supposed to face Caitlin?
Seeing her react that strongly, Damian doesn't push it.
He just pulls Cynthia into a tighter hug.
"Cynthia, join Team Rocket. Stay by my side."
Damian's voice is soft, but it lands clearly in the Sinnoh Champion's ears.
"Damian, you already have a girlfriend."
Cynthia's pale hand brushes lightly across Damian's cheek.
Her expression is… hard to describe.
"The League's never said I can only marry one wife."
Cynthia is speechless.
True—but the League also never said one man can have several wives, right?
Cynthia feels helpless.
She doesn't even know what's wrong with herself anymore.
She's fully aware Caitlin likes Damian.
She knows Damian is Team Rocket's boss.
And yet here she is, entangled with Damian like this.
It really is… a sin.
"Even if you join Team Rocket, it won't stop you from being Sinnoh's Champion, will it?"
"But it's still not appropriate."
Cynthia doesn't reject him as decisively as she did the last few times Damian invited her.
This time, she actually hesitates.
These days, she's seen with her own eyes how Team Rocket has grown and how it operates.
It's fundamentally different from the "evil organization" in the rumors.
"Let me think about it a bit more, okay?"
"Sure."
~~
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