Uxie and Azelf left. The two of them prepared to return to their respective lakes to have a good, long sleep.
After all, they had been captured by Team Galactic during this period. They even had the power of their souls extracted. For them, it had been a very unpleasant experience.
Now that the matter was over, they naturally needed to rest well.
Mesprit, however, stayed behind. It wanted to follow Damian and go out on a journey.
Of course, before Uxie and Azelf left, Damian had them perform the prayer one more time along with Mesprit.
He even had Caitlin help him record it. He could show it to his future children later.
This was the prayer of the Lake Guardians!
"That feels better~"
Damian looked at the messy surroundings of Spear Pillar and stretched his arms. It was finally over.
"Today's harvest is truly full~"
Damian looked at his gains, and he couldn't stop smiling.
The Lustrous Orb, the Adamant Orb, and the Azure Flute!
These were the item gains.
He had also brought Mesprit along, and he had also reached an agreement with Giratina.
These were the Pokémon gains.
Finally, he had received the blessing of the Lake Guardians and the blessing from Arceus. He had even received power gifted by Arceus.
"I still need to keep training this power, but it is already much stronger than Viridian Power."
Golden light appeared on Damian's palm. He easily controlled a stone on the ground, moving it with his mind!
Psychic power could also do this, but Damian understood that his new power was much stronger than ordinary psychic abilities.
Before, Damian's Viridian Power only gave him a natural closeness with Pokémon. It allowed him to feel a Pokémon's emotions, communicate with them, and then heal them.
But Viridian Power itself did not turn Damian into someone superhuman. Now, it was different.
"The power the Great One gave you is incredible. Even if it's just a small part, if you train it properly, you can even do things like making plants grow instantly," Mesprit said.
It was sitting on Damian's shoulder, wagging its two tails back and forth.
Making plants grow?
Cynthia felt a lot upon hearing this. Could a human really do such a thing? It was hard to believe.
Was he really becoming something like a human-shaped Pokémon?
"Yes, I know." Damian waved his hand to make the golden light disappear. Without a doubt, the power he obtained was similar to the energy used by people connected to Arceus at the Vale of Creation.
This kind of energy required self-training. In the movie, the siblings Meray and Baraz had shown this.
However, Damian had received the gift directly from Arceus. In fact, his current power was already very strong.
The most important thing was this physical body that had been forged and tempered!
Damian was confident now. With a troublesome little demon like Elesa, he could handle ten of her.
He would make her cry and beg for him to stop!
"Spear Pillar, I will be back."
The corners of Damian's mouth slowly curled up. When he returned next time, it would be the time to challenge Arceus!
The three of them rode on Reshiram and left Spear Pillar.
Hearthome City is also known as the city where hearts touch.
This city was established because humans and Pokémon gathered together. It became a friendly city as business grew.
Hearthome City was also voted the most suitable place to live in the Sinnoh region. One could see how much people loved it.
Damian and the other two had arrived in Hearthome City. After everything that happened today, they were still quite tired, even though Damian's energy was currently very high.
They went to a famous restaurant together for a meal. Afterward, they found a hotel and booked a suite to rest.
"So comfortable~"
Inside the room, Damian was lying face down on the bed. Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion, had pulled up her pants and was stepping on Damian's back to give him a massage.
"Cynthia, a little heavier."
"..."
Cynthia heard his voice and truly couldn't understand how he could take it. However, she still increased the pressure.
A few minutes later, Cynthia breathed a sigh of relief and stepped down from Damian's back.
Damian leaned back against the headboard. He reached out his hand to Cynthia. Cynthia sat down very naturally and leaned into Damian's arms. Her face rested against Damian's chest.
"Thanks for the hard work."
Damian wrapped his arm around the back of Cynthia's neck.
Then, he put his hand inside her clothes and started to massage her breasts.
He squeezed her soft breasts firmly. Cynthia let out a small breath as she felt his hand on her skin.
"Damian, I have to go back to the League tomorrow."
Cynthia allowed it. She couldn't help it; she was already somewhat used to it.
Although her relationship with Damian was currently complicated, Cynthia silently believed that this did not count as betraying Caitlin.
After all, she and Damian still hadn't crossed that final line. So it didn't count, right?
And strictly speaking, Caitlin was currently only Damian's friend and subordinate. They didn't have any other official relationship.
Yes, Cynthia knew it was a bit wrong to think this way, but she had no choice. She could only convince herself like this.
"What are you going back to the League for?"
Damian's hand moved in slow circles, pressing against her chest. He asked when he heard her words.
"Don't you know?"
Cynthia pressed down on Damian's hand. She looked at Damian with confusion.
"This afternoon, Zinnia led people and broke into the League prison. They injured the guards and killed several prisoners."
Cynthia sighed as she spoke.
And those prisoners who died were exactly the members of the Berlitz family who had participated in the Rayquaza Capture Incident back then.
"I see. It seems Zinnia found out where those people were."
Damian understood instantly. He gave a light laugh.
"They deserved to die. You don't need to worry about it. They were just people blinded by greed. Keeping them alive would just be wasting food."
Damian saw Cynthia go silent and tried to ease her mind.
In Damian's view, anyone who could participate in the Rayquaza Capture Incident was someone swallowed by desire.
None of them were innocent. In Damian's eyes, Zinnia killing them was doing the world a favor.
And for this matter, there was no one more suitable to act than Zinnia.
"No, Damian. I just feel their crimes didn't deserve death."
Cynthia shook her head. Her tone was still heavy.
She understood Zinnia's situation. That was why, when Cynthia first returned to Sinnoh, she immediately took people to the Berlitz family to arrest the participants of that incident.
In her view, these people were wrong, but how should she put it?
In Cynthia's eyes, these people were bad, but they didn't deserve to die. After all, the Berlitz members were not the masterminds. They were just participants.
The masterminds, the people from the Johto Pokémon Association, had already been killed by Zinnia.
"Cynthia, your thinking isn't wrong. But this matter isn't about what we think. It's about the victim."
"Zinnia is the victim. So she has the most right to speak."
Damian spoke calmly. He didn't mock Cynthia like he used to.
After all, the relationship between the two of them was different now.
"Zinnia lost her most important older sister. So, she wants revenge on the participants from back then. That is normal."
"I can understand that the League has its own laws. But if I'm being honest, simply locking up those criminals won't erase Zinnia's hatred."
"Sometimes, people need an outlet. Otherwise, if Zinnia's mental state becomes unstable, she might do something even more extreme. Don't you agree?"
Damian looked into Cynthia's clear eyes. He was hinting at something.
"Sometimes, justice that only looks right on paper ends up helping evil."
"Cynthia, the League does not have the death penalty. It claims that human rights and life come first. If I hadn't helped Zinnia, maybe those trash from the Johto Pokémon Association would still be safe today."
"Or perhaps they would just be locked in prison, but because of what they used to control, they might find other ways to get out."
"Is that right?"
Cynthia froze when she heard this. She really hadn't considered that angle.
"What's wrong with it? Is the League really completely clean? Take Team Rocket, for example. There are several council members in the Kanto League who have connections with us."
"Not to mention the Johto Pokémon Association. Otherwise, how could President Goodshow not have heard even a single rumor about what happened back then?"
Cynthia went silent. She bit her lip and didn't know what to say for a moment.
"Because of their own selfish interests, these people even targeted Rayquaza. They even caused the death of the trainer Rayquaza had accepted. Most importantly, Zinnia's sister originally left Meteor Falls to stop the prophetic meteor."
Damian's tone carried open contempt.
"I can tell you straight, Cynthia. Rayquaza has kept this matter in its heart. When Rayquaza masters Mega Evolution on its own, one day it might come to take revenge on those people."
"At that time, Rayquaza might end up hurting many innocent people. Which is more important?"
"Think about it another way. This time, they dared to act against Rayquaza. Even if they failed, they were still only one step away."
"Next time, who will they dare to act against?"
Damian's question had no answer. Those people were already dead.
But the question still hit Cynthia hard.
Yes, Damian's point was reasonable. If they dared to lay hands on Rayquaza today, what about tomorrow?
But before Cynthia could think further, she suddenly felt something.
Note: here, Damian's hand was supposed to go to you know where, haha. And sorry for not making it explicit; it's just that since Cynthia doesn't want that right now, I would've taken it as a refusal, and because of censorship they would've taken the chapter down. I'm only putting this here so you understand.
"Don't, Damian. Don't do that."
Cynthia pressed down on Damian's hand and shook her head.
As long as they didn't truly take that final step, she could still use that to comfort herself—that she hadn't betrayed Caitlin.
But if they really did it, how would she face Caitlin?
Seeing Cynthia's reaction, Damian did not push further. He just held Cynthia tighter.
"Cynthia, join Team Rocket. Stay with me."
Damian's voice was soft in Cynthia's ear.
"Damian, you have a girlfriend."
Cynthia's palm brushed over Damian's cheek. The expression on her face was hard to describe.
"The League doesn't have a rule saying I can only marry one wife."
Cynthia was speechless. It was true, but the League didn't have a rule saying a man could marry multiple wives either.
Cynthia felt helpless. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She knew what was going on.
Caitlin liked Damian. Damian was the leader of Team Rocket. But now, she had ended up in this kind of relationship with Damian.
This was a mess.
"Even if you join Team Rocket, it won't stop you from being the Sinnoh Champion, right?"
"But that isn't appropriate."
Cynthia did not refuse immediately like she did when Damian invited her before. This time, she hesitated.
During this period, she had seen how Team Rocket operated with her own eyes. There was indeed a real difference between them and the version of Team Rocket people talked about.
"Let me think about it for a bit, okay?"
"Fine."
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