Lorze, who had arrived at the venue of the scientific research summit, got acquainted with Cynthia because he lent a helping hand. After releasing the cute Zorua, the curious Sinnoh Champion also wanted to rub her. He just didn't expect Zorua to actually reject it unappreciatively, even wearing a fierce appearance.
Facing that human woman's hand, Zorua raised her fox paw and slapped it away. Looking at Cynthia somewhat angrily and baring her fangs, she glared: "Get lost!"
The only ones who can touch her are Dad, Mom, and the other older and younger sisters at home. Bad women outside... are not allowed to touch!
Although she was snubbed after offering her warm face (warm enthusiasm met with cold rejection), Cynthia was still very surprised—because she heard what Zorua said.
Isn't this telepathy? Pokémon with this ability are not common.
However, a large hand rested on Zorua's head, stroking that tuft of hair on top and smoothing down the little fox's bristling body.
"Zorua, don't be so aggressive. This is my friend."
Hugging the little fox on his shoulder into his arms, stroking her back all the way to her perfectly round little butt and little tail, the agitated Zorua was calmed by Lorze into a particularly obedient and cute appearance.
"Mhm, Zorua understands..."
Her attitude towards Lorze was completely opposite to Cynthia. She intimately clung to Lorze's front and rubbed against his cheek. As a result, Lorze scratched her chin, and Zorua, with a face full of enjoyment, emitted comfortable "purr purr" sounds. Such a heartwarming scene made Cynthia unable to resist curling the corners of her mouth, completely disregarding Zorua's fierce appearance from before.
Being very docile towards one's own people but holding high vigilance towards outsiders, such a trait cannot be considered a shortcoming for a Pokémon.
"You guys have a really good relationship, hehe."
"Is that so? I think so too. Then thank you very much for the compliment, Miss Cynthia~"
Receiving Cynthia's heartfelt praise, not only Lorze but even Zorua wagged her tail proudly: "Of course. Because Lorze is Zorua's most beloved..."
"Ahem ahem ahem, Zorua!"
Lorze suddenly let out a burst of dry coughs, which also made the little fox squatting in his arms realize she almost said something incredible. She hurriedly covered her long fox snout with her two paws and began to stammer.
"Zorua's most beloved master!" Zorua, making a sharp turn, hurriedly corrected herself.
If she had spoken the word "Dad", Lorze might have suffered an unnatural death. Zorua clearly knew this too, it's just that she got a bit too carried away just now—after all, she was truly very proud to be able to obtain Lorze's doting.
Cynthia keenly perceived there was a story between Lorze and Zorua. Her violently burning heart of gossip also made her particularly curious. It's just that even thinking with one's toes, one could know it's probably a very private matter. In the end, the tactful Cynthia didn't ask, and this matter was left at that.
Although Zorua didn't like Cynthia, considering Lorze's face, she still performed her signature trick for her—Illusion! As for the object of the illusion... naturally, it was the Cynthia in front of her.
Zorua transformed in a flash, and two identical Cynthias stood on Lorze's left and right sides respectively.
But her Cynthia, besides the appearance, had a huge difference compared to the original. The tail exposed behind the trench coat's butt goes without saying; that was a flaw Zorua still hadn't handled well to this day. More importantly, it was the posture and temperament—the prankish, mischievous smile contrasted particularly obviously with the original's aloofness and maturity. The hunched-back posture also didn't match the original's straight figure. Instead, it outlined the shape of the massive breasts on Cynthia's chest into a very slutty appearance, making the original beside her quite shocked.
After that, "Cynthia" very intimately hooked her arm through Lorze's arm, using her cleavage to squeeze his crook and act spoiled. This instantly made both Lorze and Cynthia's cerebellums atrophy!
Wait wait wait, this... is not right!
Fortunately, there wasn't a large flow of people where they were right now. With an extremely strong desire to survive, Lorze also made Zorua change back to her original form before anyone could take a photo. The little fox still had a blank look on her face, not knowing what she did wrong.
If this were captured by someone with ulterior motives, showing "Cynthia" so flatteringly being lovey-dovey with some man, it would absolutely be blockbuster news in the Pokémon world. This consequence... he absolutely couldn't bear!
Cynthia also breathed a sigh of relief. Since becoming famous, although she had quite a few scandals, a straight foot fears no crooked shoe (a clear conscience fears no false accusations). In the end, they all collapsed on their own. But if she were caught with evidence in a situation like just now, I'm afraid she couldn't wash herself clean even if she jumped into the Yellow River.
Under Lorze's patient explanation, Zorua also understood she almost caused a disaster of monumental proportions. Fortunately, Lorze's remedy was timely enough. But she clearly didn't dare to mess around anymore. She switched from an alert and clever mischievous rascal to a harmless, obedient little fox. As for whether she truly knew she was wrong or simply feared Dad getting angry, that's hard to say...
Lorze, having encountered Big Sister Cynthia at the summit venue, also had a very pleasant conversation with her. Although a catastrophe was almost caused by his precious daughter's disruption, fortunately he reacted quickly and directly nipped the crisis in the bud...
Lorze coughed drily twice and, looking slightly awkward, shifted the topic to Zorua's abilities: "Well... anyway, that's how it is. Whether it's Zorua or its evolved form Zoroark, they are both famous for their Illusion ability. Moreover, this illusion is actually physical..."
That's right, so Zorua's actions just now truly made Lorze feel plump, soft breasts and deep cleavage clamping his arm. Big Sister Cynthia's figure is indeed quite hot.
This was also because Lorze knew beforehand that it was Zorua transformed. If it were truly Cynthia throwing herself into his arms, I'm afraid he would only feel disgusted and ruthlessly reject her like Darkrai's dream. As for now, he was quite enjoying it.
Cynthia, however, wore a thoughtful appearance, not realizing for a moment that Lorze had covertly taken advantage of her.
"But you saw it too, Zorua's illusion isn't powerful enough yet. For example, when transforming into a human, the tail on her butt can never be hidden. In comparison, Mom Zoroark is very amazing; her illusions can always mix the false with the genuine!"
Lorze's words seemed to reveal some incredible information, which naturally wasn't missed by Cynthia—
"Wait a minute, are you saying... you caught a mother and daughter pair!?" "Yeah, and I caught them in Sinnoh too."
This aroused Cynthia's interest even more. Lorze didn't mind sharing the adventure story of repelling Kodai with her either. So, bringing Zorua along, they chatted while walking, informing Cynthia of some hidden facts about Kodai's capture.
Compared to her previously relaxed and playful state, Cynthia's expression now became somewhat serious. As the Sinnoh Champion, she indeed had heard of the matter in Crown City, she just didn't expect that the guy who fully assisted in the process of arresting Kodai was right before her eyes.
Cynthia stopped and bowed very solemnly to Lorze. She was thanking Lorze from the bottom of her heart for helping Sinnoh eliminate a major hidden danger, making the lackadaisical young man feel somewhat embarrassed.
"N-No problem! Actually, I didn't do it intentionally either. I only lent a helping hand because I cared more about that Pokémon mother and daughter pair. Being able to solve the bad guy in passing, of course I wouldn't pass up the opportunity. But to me, being able to obtain the recognition of Zorua and Zoroark is the happiest thing! Because I hope I can also bring them happiness, so I became companions with them."
Lorze spoke very sincerely. These words made both the daughter outside and the mom in the ball flush red in the cheeks. The most pleasant-sounding romantic words are often spoken inadvertently—Zorua, staying outside, infatuatedly buried her small head deeply into Dad's embrace. The Love Ball containing Zoroark also wobbled responsively.
As for why Lorze didn't mention Celebi, he just didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble. It didn't mean Lorze disliked the cute little onion head. The understanding Celebi could also comprehend him.
Watching Lorze say these words with a serious face, Cynthia seemed to also be infected by him and somewhat moved: A guy who values Pokémon this much, he must be a very gentle person.
At the same time, she was very certain her judgment wasn't wrong; Lorze truly wasn't an ordinary person.
The two chatted while strolling. Zorua also didn't dare to cause trouble anymore, so she simply obediently ducked into Lorze's coat, only occasionally poking a small head out from the collar position. Her furry body closely pressed against Lorze's skin. Dad and daughter mutually warmed each other. Lorze just strolled aimlessly through the venue with Cynthia like this, accompanied by his precious daughter.
This convention not only set up a main venue, but also sub-venues for various specialized fields so scholars in different fields could fully exchange research results.
Since they were both attending the summit in the capacity of scholars, they naturally would exchange the content of their respective research. Cynthia went without saying, she researched Pokémon myths and legends together with her mother, Professor Carolina. As for Lorze... his research projects were relatively mixed. He had both Fossil populations and special individuals, and even dipped his toes into the field of Dynamax.
Cynthia marveled at the broadness of his research content. Perhaps she had accidentally seen the author's name when browsing other papers?
Regardless, there didn't seem to be much time left until the opening ceremony. Lorze then recalled Zorua into her ball, entered the main venue together with Cynthia, sat next to each other, and quietly waited for the opening of the summit.
At the same time, Lorze also finally saw more acquaintances in the front row of the venue: Samuel Oak, Birch, Juniper, Sycamore, even Professor Kukui from Alola and Professor Magnolia from the Galar region were also present. Famous scholars in the Pokémon academic circle gathered together. It could truly be described as "immortals arrayed as thick as hemp" (a gathering of many outstanding figures). In comparison, Lorze seemed like a minor character (small fry). In this aspect, Cynthia wasn't much better than him; Professor Rowan of Sinnoh was still more authoritative.
"It's about to start soon, what are you doing?"
"Looking to see if there are any acquaintances~ Hoho, there really are many, many!"
Lorze's answer was truly baffling. Cynthia was already desensitized and unfazed by his bizarre actions. She merely felt this person was indeed very interesting, quite different from others.
Lorze, looking left and right like a curious baby, searched for other NPC acquaintances in the sea of people. Those attending naturally couldn't just be the famous Pokémon Professors from various regions, but also many scholars with relatively special research directions. For example, the Dream Researcher Fennel from the Unova region, and the developer of the Dynamax Band, Oleana—The narrative regarding the developer of the Dynamax Band in the games and anime didn't seem to be uniform, making Lorze also somewhat unsure of exactly who tinkered it out.
There was only one point that could be confirmed: Oleana was an important member of the villainous organization Macro Cosmos in the Galar region over ten years later, Chairman Rose's personal secretary.
To be honest, others might be nothing, but Oleana's appearance still made Lorze feel quite surprised. At this time, she seemed to still be an unknown junior. Moreover, compared to her mature, older auntie appearance in the games, she was over ten years younger, so she looked greener. It's just that her listless expression seemed to be consistent throughout...
Lorze didn't dare proclaim himself the savior of others, but he also hoped that knowing the future, he could change some regrettable things. For example, the path of no return Oleana embarked on following Rose.
Having her work her life away for Chairman Rose was truly somewhat a waste of talent—one couldn't say Chairman Rose was a pure villain either. One could only say his direction of progress was wrong; the harder he tried, the more he would only sink into the quagmire unable to turn back. Since that's the case, why not choose a broad, open road right from the beginning? This time, let him act as Oleana's Bole (someone who recognizes talent) and discover her. Her joining would definitely also make the talent-loving old man Stone feel very happy.
After silently noting this matter down, Lorze continued to identify familiar people. The final result obtained was both satisfying and very emotional: The scholars with names and surnames in his impression had basically all come. Truly living up to being the developed and advanced Unova region, the appeal of this academic circle is just powerful...
As time slowly passed, everyone had taken their seats. The opening ceremony proceeded punctually when the clock pointed exactly to ten o'clock.
At the opening ceremony, Professor Oak, as a pioneer of Pokémon research, delivered some heartfelt words. It was nothing more than feeling gratified about the currently thriving scientific research situation, and exhorting young people to continue struggling in the Pokémon research they love, and so on. Most scholars listened to the highly respected Professor Oak's speech with a pilgrimage-like mindset, but there were also a few exceptions... for example, this guy Lorze.
As the saying goes, distance produces beauty. But he was truly too familiar with Professor Oak. Plus, the old geezer's speech truly had no solid content. So Lorze couldn't muster up any feeling of reverence at all, wearing an appearance of not caring about Professor Oak's speech. This feeling was like during student days when the homeroom teacher was giving grand speeches at a class meeting and he was doing his own thing below.
Since things have come to this... I might as well play on my phone for a while.
Lorze took out his PokéNav, hid it under the armrest of his seat, and stealthily started playing. This also successfully attracted the attention of Cynthia beside him.
She originally wanted to mock Lorze for playing on his phone during Professor Oak's speech, but she froze for a moment after seeing the model of his phone.
Wait a minute, this is... a PokéNav? Meaning Lorze is from the Hoenn region? Even if not from Hoenn, he's probably inextricably linked to it...
PokéNav, Hoenn... Hoenn... Steven?
Suddenly, Cynthia's body jolted. She finally remembered where she had heard the name Lorze from—It seems it was that guy Steven who told her several months ago!