Akari's sudden challenge caught Cynthia off guard. Everyone else looked at her in surprise, wondering why she was in such a hurry.
Mingyou stood at the back with Ogerpon. He did not quite understand either, but he had promised Akari yesterday that he would not interfere. He trusted her to handle this herself.
Once Cynthia recovered, she rested her left hand on her right arm and touched her chin. A trace of doubt entered her eyes. "I don't mind a battle. You're welcome to test yourselves against me. But there's something I'd like to ask you first."
"Sure. Go ahead!"
"Um... who is Volo?"
That was what puzzled Cynthia. Akari wanted her to battle not as a Champion, but as Volo's descendant. Yet this was the first time Cynthia had heard his name, or the term Ancient Sinnoh Person.
Akari paused, surprised that none of this history had been passed down. "He was an ambitious scholar obsessed with myths, a direct descendant of the Ancient Sinnoh People from thousands of years ago—and one of your ancestors. A little over a century ago, he used Legendary Pokémon and nearly caused this world to vanish into a Space-Time Rift!"
"!!!"
Everyone who had never heard that history was stunned. Shali froze with her camera in her arms, while shock spread across Cynthia's face.
After taking some time to absorb it, Cynthia grew serious and smiled. "It seems you know many of the truths about myths I've been searching for. I accept your challenge, but I hope you'll talk with me properly afterward!"
"That was my intention!"
They headed one after the other toward the Battlefield behind the Villa. Shali hurried over to Mingyou, wanting to know what was going on.
"Don't ask me. I don't know either. Let's wait for her to