Over the past few months, the long-quiet Sinnoh Region had been shaken by several major events.
The first—
A young rookie Trainer had successfully crushed the Lily of the Valley Conference and passed the trial of Victory Road.
This meant that after several years of vacancy, Sinnoh finally welcomed a new Champion, injecting fresh youth and vitality into the Sinnoh League.
That Champion's name was—
Cynthia.
And the next two major events were also closely related to this young Champion.
With the Champion position finally decided, the elderly members of the Sinnoh Elite Four no longer needed to struggle on.In one go, three of them retired.
If not for concerns that an all-rookie lineup might lack experience, even the last remaining Elite Four member—Bertha, the Ground-type specialist—would probably have retired as well…
Elite Four retirements alone weren't that big a deal.
But having three positions vacant at once made selecting replacements an absolute headache.
Naturally, this responsibility fell squarely on the shoulders of the new Champion.
Sinnoh Region — Pokémon League
BOOM—!
A deafening explosion echoed from the battlefield behind the League.
"GRAAAH—!"
Rough skin bristling with sharp spikes, a massive dragon tail slammed against the ground with heavy thuds.
Garchomp threw its head back and roared, its cry carrying an overwhelming, chilling pressure.
Before it, a battered Gallade knelt on one knee, its sharp, unyielding gaze still fixed stubbornly on its opponent.
How can something be this strong… like a monster?
No matter how hard I try… I can't win.
With that thought, Gallade's eyes rolled back, and it collapsed.
"Battle over!"
"Final score: 6–2. Champion Cynthia wins!"
A referee wearing a safety helmet waved his flags, declaring the result.
Behind Gallade, a young man with light-blue hair let out a helpless sigh.
"I lost."
He looked forward—Behind Garchomp stood a woman in a black coat, long golden hair fluttering in the wind, her arms crossed as she examined him.
If not for the pink lollipop held between her fingers, she would have looked impeccably heroic.
They were clearly the same age—So why was it that even giving it his all, he could barely defeat two of her Pokémon?
Despair welled up in Lucian's heart, yet he still forced himself to maintain proper etiquette.
"Thank you for the guidance, Champion Cynthia."
Lucian bowed deeply.
"Please continue to advise me next year as well."
"?"
Hearing that, the imposing Cynthia blinked and tilted her head unconsciously.
"But… you already passed, didn't you?"
Do Psychic-types really care that much about their image?Even with a 90-degree bow, his hair didn't move at all…
"Remember to report to the Pokémon League tomorrow," Cynthia said casually."Along with Flint and Aaron."
With that, before Lucian's stunned eyes, Cynthia calmly recalled Garchomp into its Poké Ball and walked away without another glance.
"Th-This… is that really okay?"
Lucian stood frozen in place.
He'd lost that badly, and yet… he still passed the Elite Four evaluation?
"Don't worry," said Grandma Bertha, who had been quietly watching nearby. She walked over and patted Lucian on the shoulder, smiling kindly at his visibly shaken spirit.
"With your strength, you're more than qualified to be an Elite Four member."
"Honestly, when little Cynthia challenged Victory Road back then, the previous Elite Four combined only managed to defeat two of her main Pokémon."
...
Late at night.
Sinnoh Region — Celestic Town.
"Haaah—"
Garchomp gently descended in front of a villa, carrying a golden-haired beauty on its back. Cynthia yawned softly.
"So tired…"
After entering the house, Cynthia sat down on the couch, staring blankly at the dark screen in front of her.
After days of nonstop work, the selection of the new Elite Four was finally over.The three Trainers chosen were young like her, but at least their strength was solid.
With Grandma Bertha guiding them, they should adapt to their roles quickly.
That meant the next stretch of time should finally be… relaxing.
And yet—
Despite finally having a long-awaited break, she had no idea what to do.
She didn't even feel like opening the game she'd been craving for days…
Cynthia sighed. After loosely tying up her waist-length hair, she picked up the phone on the table.
Raised by her grandmother since childhood, a mythology scholar by profession and only a Champion on the side, Cynthia was fairly traditional and rarely used her phone.
So when she went to the Pokémon League this time, she—unsurprisingly—forgot it at home.
Of course, when she was especially bored, she would still open PokéTV to watch Professor Oak's breeding series or check whether there were any new archaeological discoveries in other regions.
But this time… something was different.
On the locked screen, a message notification appeared before her eyes.
**[Qingyu:]Sorry for not replying earlier. I'm doing much better now.
The Gym my parents left behind is something precious to me, so if possible, I want to try continuing to run the Sunshine Gym.
Also—congratulations on becoming the Sinnoh Champion!]**
Qingyu?
After half a year of near silence, suddenly receiving a message from her childhood friend made Cynthia's pupils contract slightly—and her lips unconsciously curved upward.
Even the exhaustion accumulated over days of work faded considerably.
The reply had come a little late, but knowing that Qingyu had finally emerged from his grief, Cynthia was genuinely happy for him.
After such a tragedy, being able to move forward required immense courage.
If she hadn't been so busy these past months after becoming Champion, she probably wouldn't have been able to resist going to Paldea to bring Qingyu back to Celestic Town to recuperate.
Now that she thought about it…Maybe he didn't need her help after all?
Cynthia smiled softly and slowly typed out a reply.
**[Cynthia:]It's alright. I'm just glad you've pulled yourself together.
If I remember correctly, Sunshine Gym is in Poco Path Town, Paldea, right?]**
She happened to have free time these days—Should she just go check on him personally?
Running a Gym alone couldn't be easy. Maybe she should offer what help she could?
She vaguely remembered that there was a rather capable Riolu in her grandmother's research institute…
While waiting for Qingyu's reply, Cynthia absentmindedly opened PokéTV.
The very first recommended video caught her attention.
"Steven shared this? And this username…"
Azure Feather.
Cynthia raised an eyebrow and tapped it instinctively.
"Hello everyone, I'm rookie streamer Azure Feather."
A familiar voice.
It sounded slightly different—but she recognized it instantly.
It really is Qingyu.
Was the Gym abandoned for too long, so he was trying to rebuild popularity through other means?
Cynthia immediately understood his thinking.
But after watching the two uploaded videos, she suddenly felt like she didn't quite recognize her childhood friend anymore.
Had Qingyu really grown this strong in just five years?
…Then again, even she herself had gone from a rookie Trainer to a regional Champion.
Qingyu growing into a competent Gym Leader was only natural.
After finishing the videos and noticing that Qingyu was currently live, Cynthia clicked into the stream out of pure curiosity.
"Although Garchomp can't learn Dragon Dance and is far less noble than our Maushold who can use Mouse Dance, it's still very practical~"
The moment she entered, she heard Qingyu making fun of Garchomp.
And worse—
It was one of Garchomp's top three most hated slander jokes.
Cynthia instinctively glanced toward the living room.
Thankfully, after days of high-intensity battles, Garchomp had clearly accumulated quite a bit of fatigue.At the moment, it was hugging a Gible plushie, sleeping soundly.
It hadn't heard anything from the phone.
Holding back her laughter, Cynthia slowly typed a line in the chat.
Before sending it, she made sure to tick Paid Message, cranking the amount all the way up—the message glowing in brilliant gold.
[Myth Scholar Cynthia:]If Garchomp heard that, it would probably be very angry, wouldn't it? (/covers mouth laughing)
If it was Qingyu, her appearance in his stream should at least bring in some traffic, right?
Cynthia's guess wasn't wrong.
But right now—
Qingyu was starting to sweat.
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