Cynthia

Early morning, Sandgem Town, Professor Rowan's laboratory.

A rampaging Electivire was wreaking havoc, and the Pokémon inside the laboratory fled in every direction.

Click, click-click-

The crisp, steady sound of high heels approached, and Electivire turned to look.

"Graa."

A pair of crimson eyes appeared on the other side of the doorway, followed by their owner.

A Dragon-type Pokémon resembling a hammerhead shark, its body predominantly dark blue, stared fixedly at Electivire.

Click, click-click, click-click-click-

The sound of high heels striking marble traveled through the air and straight into Electivire's heart.

A flash of gold appeared behind Garchomp, followed by a black trench coat, long, wide-legged trousers, and black heels with red soles.

A gentle smile rested on a beautiful face.

"What happened?"

A cool, clear voice rang out.

Electivire looked at her. The electricity crackling around its raised palm faded before her, and then it lowered its hand.

With Garchomp rubbing its claws together, itching to act, Electivire obediently came over to Cynthia.

The assistant nearby sighed in relief at the sight, then acknowledged her and ran outside.

"Cynthia, sorry for troubling you again this time."

Cynthia turned, and Professor Rowan emerged from behind the door.

"Professor."

Cynthia patted the Electivire in front of her, signaling that everything was fine and it could leave, before turning to greet Professor Rowan.

Professor Rowan nodded, then led the way inside. Cynthia followed with Garchomp.

It was not until the afternoon that Cynthia emerged from the laboratory with Garchomp.

"Your help made all the difference. Otherwise, this research really wouldn't have gone so easily."

Professor Rowan laughed heartily as he spoke to Cynthia at the entrance.

"It was my honor to help you."

Cynthia smiled.

After saying goodbye, Cynthia wandered along with Garchomp.

She had not been to Sandgem Town in a long time. This visit to help Professor Rowan with his research also happened to give her a chance to slack off a little.

Not wanting to return to the League yet, she thought of Twinleaf Town and headed in its direction with Garchomp.

Walking along Route 219, Cynthia quietly listened to the cries of the bug and bird Pokémon around her, her mind wandering for a moment.

It felt as though she had not stopped for a proper rest in a very long time.

At the thought of returning to the League later and having to deal with a mountain of League business, Cynthia could not help frowning and sighing.

Being Champion is so exhausting...

Just then, a house not far away caught her attention.

"Is this... a Pokémon Day Care?"

Cynthia looked at the sign outside the entrance and asked in puzzlement.

"Graa."

Garchomp indicated that it did not know either.

Hearing the Pokémon's laughter coming from inside, Cynthia grew curious. Standing at the entrance, she rested one elbow in her other palm and propped up her chin. After thinking for a moment, she clapped her hands and went inside with Garchomp.

As soon as she entered, she noticed the seating area in front of the counter. Her heels clicked against the marble as she walked over, bent down to pick up a picture frame from the table, and examined the photograph inside.

A Petilil was smiling sweetly.

She then walked toward the counter, where more photographs were displayed. Some featured individual Pokémon, others showed people with Pokémon, and still others showed people holding Pokémon Eggs.

The people holding Pokémon Eggs were probably customers of the Pokémon Day Care, while those Pokémon were probably the ones it raised. Cynthia nodded to herself as she looked.

She could tell that all these Pokémon were very happy.

Then one photograph caught her attention. In it, a Gengar was pressing its face against a man's, squashing his face to one side as it grinned. Its expression stood in stark contrast to the man's look of distaste and helplessness.

She picked up the photograph and examined it closely, the corners of her mouth unconsciously lifting slightly.

Just then, laughter came from beyond the door behind the counter. Cynthia returned the photograph to the counter, facing it toward the entrance. After a moment's thought, she went behind the counter, pushed open the door, and walked through.

In the backyard, Fang Yan was preparing everything needed for afternoon tea with Gengar and the others.

Since he had learned last night that Shauna would be visiting her grandfather today, Fang Yan had not sent Dali to pick her up that morning. Instead, he had opened for business and worked as usual, just as before.

Because the midday weather had been far too hot, Fang Yan had decided to make some ice cream by hand.

At that moment, he stood in front of a chest giving off cold air, serving Gengar and the others scoop after scoop of ice cream.

He asked Mime Jr. to come help serve the ice cream, then had Gengar go ask Vespiquen and the others whether they wanted any. After all, he had used so much of their Honey these past few days that he could not simply take it for nothing. Coming over to enjoy some delicious ice cream in weather like this before returning to make more honey was a wonderful option, too.

He then returned to the kitchen himself, ready to bring out the desserts and officially begin today's afternoon tea.

It really did feel a little strange without Shauna here. Fang Yan sighed inwardly, wondering whether she liked ice cream.

Shaking his head, Fang Yan reached out to open the kitchen door, but before his hand reached the handle, the door opened on its own.

Fang Yan looked up curiously to see who had opened it.

What greeted his eyes was dazzling blond hair, a black trench coat, and wide-legged trousers over legs that looked especially long in their high heels.

As he looked up, his gaze met that of the face looking down at him below the steps.

A beauty straight out of a painting...

Fang Yan stared at the familiar face before him in disbelief.

"Cynthia?"

"Hello. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to barge in."

Cynthia looked at the man below the steps, her fair face growing slightly warm. She had come in out of curiosity, but doing so without permission was very rude, and she had been caught red-handed. It left her truly embarrassed.

"I'm really sorry. I'll leave right away."

Cynthia pressed her palms together and hurriedly apologized. Then she lifted her head, ready to leave, only to spot the ice cream nearby.

"Is that... ice cream?"

Cynthia spoke in surprise, stopping in her tracks for a moment.

"Ah, yes."

Hearing this, Fang Yan snapped out of his daze. Looking at the fair-skinned, beautiful Cynthia before him, he took a deep breath to steady himself and continued:

"Would you like to try some? I made it myself."

"Huh? May I really?"

Cynthia asked in some surprise.

"Of course."

Fang Yan nodded, then stepped aside to make room for her.

Cynthia hesitated, glancing at him, then at Mime Jr., Petilil, and the others nearby, and finally at Garchomp beside her.

Then she nodded and stepped out of the kitchen on her long legs.

Leading Cynthia over to the ice cream chest, Fang Yan took the large scoop from Mime Jr.

"So, what flavors would you like?"

"Hmm..."

Seeing her struggle to decide, Fang Yan finally remembered that Cynthia was an avid ice cream fan, but also had terrible trouble making decisions when it came to choosing ice cream.

"How about this? I'll give you a little of each."

Fang Yan interrupted Cynthia's deliberation with a smile.

Seeing the smile on Fang Yan's face, Cynthia clapped her hands.

"Sorry for the trouble, then."