On the island, Luther watched as the Pokémon League began renovating and expanding the Pokémon Center. All he could do was marvel at their efficiency.
He had only signed the contract two days ago, and construction was already in full swing.
Joy had changed into her swimsuit and taken her surfboard into the water. There wasn't much for her to do while the renovations were underway, after all.
The large ship running directly between Lily of the Valley Island and Lily of the Valley East Island was also carrying construction materials for the expansion of the Power Plant.
So it wasn't just Joy who was temporarily out of a job; Aoi Nanjo, along with the Magnemite and Magneton assigned to the Power Plant, were also temporarily off duty.
Aoi Nanjo had no interest in surfing or swimming. Her attention had been caught by someone else.
"I never even took a proper look around the island when I impulsively wanted to buy it back then. What a shame. The environment really is excellent."
Cynthia spread her arms and took a deep breath of the fresh air, looking completely refreshed.
"Where are you planning to set up the temporary construction camp?"
"Near the Pokémon Center and Power Plant. The closer the temporary worksite is to the docks, the better."
There were large stretches of flat land around both the Pokémon Center and Power Plant, so construction wouldn't be particularly difficult.
The ship sent by the Pokémon League had also brought materials for building temporary housing. Mismagius and the others were already using Psychic to quickly unload everything onto the open ground.
Mai and Mira were directing their own Pokémon to help as well.
Once the house was finished, she and Luther would be getting married. Mai was absolutely brimming with motivation.
"Do you want me to find professional architects and construction workers?" Cynthia asked.
"No need. You've already agreed to invest so much money. How could I make you worry about these little things, too? Besides, didn't Ulter and the others say they owe me favors? One favor from each of them means eight favors..."
Luther gave a mischievous grin.
Cynthia stared at him in surprise.
That smile was a little too sly.
She had never imagined that Luther was counting his favors from Ulter and the other Inspectors individually. She'd always assumed the remaining eight Inspectors had been treating it as a single collective favor!
If handling something this minor counted as repaying one favor, Ulter and the others would undoubtedly be more than happy to do it.
With the connections they'd built up over the years, getting several famous architects they knew personally to come over would be effortless. They might even pay for it themselves.
Being able to repay a favor with money was practically a bargain!
"What about the designers?"
Cynthia had been mentally prepared for this, but after seeing Luther's expression, she still had to pat him on the shoulder in approval.
Two favors in exchange for designers and architects.
That was an incredible deal.
"Just to be clear, it's a whole team. They'll bring their own people and Pokémon with them," Luther explained. "I've heard they're all renowned masters in the field. So our job is simply to determine the construction sites and investigate the Pokémon activity in those areas before they arrive."
It seemed there wasn't much left for Cynthia to worry about.
Luther had already taken care of the preliminary work. All she needed to do was inspect the land, choose her location, and then wait for the designers to arrive and draw up the plans according to her ideas.
Cynthia was just about to look around and decide where she wanted to build her villa and estate when Aoi Nanjo called out to her.
"So it really is you, Cynthia..."
Aoi Nanjo looked at Cynthia and took out a Poké Ball.
"Battle me."
Cynthia tilted her head and thought about it for a long while before asking in confusion, "Who are you?"
Aoi Nanjo's eyes widened in shock.
She quickly realized that, in Cynthia's eyes, she really was nothing more than some completely forgettable stranger.
Luther watched Aoi Nanjo curiously. Joy had previously told him that Aoi had reached the Top 16 in one of the previous Lily of the Valley Conferences and was normally an unsmiling, introverted person who wasn't good at interacting with others.
Yet the way she was looking at Cynthia now, and the fact that she had taken the initiative to speak to her, seemed completely contrary to Joy's description.
"I'm Aoi Nanjo. We fought in the Top 16 of the Lily of the Valley Conference that year."
Someone like Cynthia had faced countless challenges throughout her career and overcome countless doubts along the way. At one point, trivial matters had occupied most of her time.
Aoi Nanjo was just one of the many opponents Cynthia had defeated. After all these years, even her voice and face had become blurry in Cynthia's memory. Even after Aoi introduced herself, Cynthia could only vaguely remember that there had once been someone by that name who had battled her.
Still, Cynthia vaguely remembered that the match had been a complete one-sided victory.
She had won without even losing a single Pokémon.
"You've been working on this island all these years?" Cynthia looked at Aoi with some curiosity.
"I've been working on improving myself and training my Pokémon, as well."
"Do you know how I've been doing in competitions these past few years?"
"I know a little," Aoi Nanjo replied.
Cynthia gave a soft laugh. "Sure. I'll accept your challenge. As for the format..."
"Six-on-six..."
Aoi Nanjo was cut off by Cynthia's cheerful smile.
"Let's make it one-on-one. If you still want to continue after that, I'll accept your request for a full-team battle."
Luther couldn't help but admire Aoi Nanjo's courage. The last person he could remember challenging Cynthia to a six-on-six battle outside a standard tournament format was probably Paul.
Cynthia was actually being very considerate of Aoi's feelings. If she'd accepted a six-on-six battle and then swept all six of Aoi's Pokémon, Aoi might have been so crushed that she wouldn't want to battle again.
As expected, Cynthia sent out Garchomp.
Aoi Nanjo's choice was the Crawdaunt that had always accompanied her.
Crawdaunt, with its Water/Dark typing, faced Garchomp's Dragon/Ground typing. Neither had a direct type advantage over the other.
They didn't need a referee. Luther was the only witness.
"I'll let you make the first move. Go ahead."
Cynthia sounded completely relaxed.
Aoi Nanjo's Crawdaunt started by using Dragon Dance, boosting its Attack and Speed.
Garchomp didn't move.
It seemed to be deliberately waiting for Crawdaunt to finish setting up.
"Crabhammer!"
After watching so many battles, Luther could judge a Pokémon's strength from the way it attacked.
Crawdaunt's massive claws looked powerful as they swung forward, but somehow, the attack still gave Luther a fragile feeling.
"Brick Break."
Crawdaunt had clearly moved first, yet Garchomp somehow struck before it could react.
Even from the sidelines, Luther couldn't see Garchomp's movement clearly. The gust of wind created by its sudden burst of speed didn't even reach Aoi Nanjo until after its Brick Break had already slammed into Crawdaunt.
The attack drove Crawdaunt straight into the ground.
Its two claws were raised toward the sky as it lay completely unconscious.
Aoi Nanjo reacted immediately. She rushed over, pulled out the cup she carried with her, and fed Crawdaunt a mixed juice that appeared to contain Berries.
Crawdaunt slowly regained consciousness, and Aoi let out a relieved breath.
She gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Were you using your full strength?"
Cynthia didn't answer. She simply looked at her silently.
Aoi Nanjo bowed to Cynthia, then went over to check on her grimacing Crawdaunt before walking away.
It was a question that didn't really need an answer.
Judging by the moment she asked it, Aoi probably already felt foolish for saying it aloud.
Luther watched her walk away, deep in thought.
Suddenly, he realized that he absolutely couldn't afford to neglect his own battle training.
This battle had reminded him of something.
Most of the Pokémon Trainers he'd faced in competitions were like this. Even when everyone worked equally hard, time didn't necessarily allow the weaker side to close the gap.
More often, the gap only grew wider.
But if he became too complacent...
That would be a completely different story.
(End of Chapter)
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