"What's this...?"
Cynthia had received a Dragonium Z.
Kommo-o had snatched it from a Totem Pokémon.
Caitlin leaned in for a closer look. "That must be a Z-Crystal, right? I remember it lets Pokémon unleash incredible power!"
She had looked it up after seeing Baimu use one.
A Z-Crystal?
Cynthia's interest was piqued, though from a historical perspective.
She had spent much of yesterday reading historical and mythological records. Among them were accounts of Z-Crystals, Z-Moves, and Z-Power.
If she remembered correctly, a Z-Crystal also required an item called a Z-Ring to use.
"Come on. Let's take a look up there."
Cynthia and Caitlin headed to the upper level of the Altar of the Sunne.
The mysterious sun pattern and towering mountains matched the records exactly.
She had not witnessed Solgaleo's birth or Necrozma's invasion, but the information she had gathered was enough to let her imagine those scenes.
Her teacher had once told her that studying history required a rich imagination.
After all, anything was possible!
"It's beautiful."
Cynthia spoke from the heart. Everywhere she looked, she saw the weight and color of history.
Moments like this always moved her beyond words.
Caitlin was just as entranced, though it was Cynthia's flawless profile that had captivated her.
Ever since childhood, Cynthia had been the one person Caitlin had never stopped admiring.
Her strength was part of it. Her maturity, dependability, and striking looks were the rest.
Caitlin wanted to grow closer to her, but a member of Unova's Elite Four could hardly transfer to Sinnoh's. As things stood, she had only two options—
Challenge Iris and become the Unova Champion, or challenge Cynthia and become the Sinnoh Champion.
Caitlin wanted to defeat Cynthia, but she did not want to replace her.
That was why she was working toward challenging