Right now Cynthia really is sweating a little, because Caitlin is staring straight at her.
It's not that she's actually scared of Caitlin.
It's that Cynthia knows perfectly well Caitlin clearly likes Damian.
And now Damian's talking about having a kid with her…
How is she supposed to feel about that?
Cynthia can't shake the guilty, taboo little thrill of "stealing her Sis's man." Strictly speaking, Caitlin's current situation should probably still count as just a crush, right?
But the feeling's the same either way. Cynthia's honestly a bit embarrassed to even meet Caitlin's eyes.
"Damian, you already have a girlfriend, don't you?"
Cynthia steadies her mood and looks at Damian.
"Doing stuff behind your girlfriend's back like this—are you really okay with that?"
She's not hinting so much as flat‑out spelling it out.
When it comes to relationships, aren't you supposed to be faithful?
"Cynthia, the League has never mandated monogamy."
Damian can't help laughing.
"…"
Cynthia's dark brows draw together.
True enough, the Pokémon League has never explicitly written one‑man‑one‑woman into any rulebook.
But the League has also never promoted polygyny or polyandry either.
Over a hundred years ago, before the League was even founded, the regions were still in the feudal era. Big powers, petty kingdoms, noble clans—they were everywhere.
Only after the League was established and slowly unified things did the modern, fast‑growing era arrive.
Even now, the League still preserves the "honorary" titles of traditional regional nobility—queens, kings, that sort of thing—but it's just titles and nothing more.
Looking at Damian, though… it's obvious he doesn't plan on stopping at one wife.
Caitlin's thoughtful.
So Damian really is planning on collecting a few little wives?
Honestly, she's not that surprised. Her "resistance" is pretty high by this point.
Compared to Damian sneaking around later on, it might actually be better if he just openly had a few more wives.
But that main‑wife spot?
Caitlin absolutely intends to claim it.
And she has full confidence she can.
"Damian, why do you have to make things difficult for me?"
Cynthia sounds helpless.
"Sounds like you're not very willing, Cynthia."
Damian props his chin in his hand, thinking it over.
Who would be willing?
Cynthia practically wants to snap back at that.
Join Team Rocket? She's really resisting that one right now.
Have Damian's child? Isn't that basically marrying him?
Of course Cynthia doesn't want that.
"How about this, then. You were planning to travel with us for a while anyway. During that time, be my maid and take care of my daily needs. How about it?"
Damian smiles warmly at Cynthia.
Caitlin's expression changes in an instant.
A maid again?
Erika in Kanto, Elesa in Unova—they're both still fresh in her mind.
Caitlin looks straight at Cynthia.
Cynthia, you're Sinnoh's Champion.
"A maid…"
Cynthia hears that and actually falls into thought.
She's never done 'maid' work before, but if it's just basic day‑to‑day stuff, it's not exactly hard.
Compared to the first two demands, Cynthia really does see this as the "easy mode."
"You're sure it's just being a maid?"
"Of course."
"Alright. I accept."
Cynthia nods.
Being Damian's maid for a while isn't that outrageous a request.
Measured against the safety of the entire Snowpoint City, this kind of hardship is something she can tolerate.
Besides, it really is just a maid. It's not like she's becoming Damian's beast of burden.
With Caitlin around, Damian won't be able to push things too far anyway; there's no need to worry.
"So straightforward… makes me feel like I should've raised the stakes."
Damian lifts a brow.
Cynthia: "…"
"I've agreed to your terms, Damian. You should keep your promise now too."
Cynthia looks toward Regigigas, still raging in the distance. She's still really worried this thing is going to lose it and hit Snowpoint City.
"Relax. Right now it's just too pissed to think straight."
Damian shrugs.
"You three keep an eye on this woman. I just burned a whole bottle of mini Sacred Ash on her. If she doesn't sell her life to Team Rocket after that, I'll kill her myself."
Damian glances at Hunter J, a cold smile at his lips.
He knows Hunter J's mind is definitely still clear.
She just can't move because of her injuries.
He has zero intention of being nice to this woman.
Anyone who can thrive in the hunter‑org game is tough and capable; Hunter J's mindset and skill speak for themselves.
But getting Hunter J to fall in line isn't going to be that easy.
That's fine. If she won't play nice, he'll just "educate" her properly.
If she really insists on staying hard‑boned?
Feed her to the Sharpedo.
Conveniently, she and her crew already keep a whole pack of Sharpedo.
"Mmm~"
Caitlin wears a shallow, perfect smile.
Cynthia: "…"
Hunter J: "…"
"Reshiram."
Damian throws Reshiram's Ultra Ball.
The noble, Reshiram appears in front of him.
Damian swings onto Reshiram's back and heads for Regigigas.
Regigigas is still going berserk down below, throwing out Hyper Beam after Hyper Beam like they're free.
"At this fire rate, Slow Start's probably worn off by now, huh?"
Damian sizes up the Regigigas beneath him.
The pace of those attacks doesn't look hampered by Slow Start at all.
In the games, Slow Start halves Attack and Speed for five full turns. It's a brutal debuff.
And even though Regigigas is spamming Hyper Beam right now, its Special Attack actually isn't that insane.
Relatively speaking, anyway. With a body this strong, Regigigas's Hyper Beam is still something most Pokémon could only dream of matching.
And Black's comment on Slow Start is pretty funny:
"A Pokémon with this Ability will have its Attack and Speed halved for the first five turns it's on the field. Whether it can survive those five turns is the key to victory with this Ability!"
Key to victory, huh?
Buddy, that's five whole turns.
Attack and Speed cut in half for five turns—what is Regigigas supposed to use to "survive" those five turns?
That's exactly why, despite being a Tier‑1 legend, Regigigas never made it onto the restriction lists.
With Slow Start, Regigigas is just flat trash—unless you cheese it with special setups.
So bad no one even bothers with it in Kanto formats.
In reality, though, Slow Start isn't that lethal—if you use Regigigas right.
As long as you don't throw it straight into a fight the second it comes out.
Just let it stand on the sidelines a bit and "spin up."
You can also have it spend the Slow Start window buffing itself and warming up.
And even with Slow Start active, Regigigas's raw power is still ridiculous. Sure, before it's fully spun up, you don't know exactly how it stacks against other top tiers.
But once that startup period ends, Regigigas is flat‑out stronger than Palkia and Dialga.
At least, when those two haven't gone Origin Forme.
Just as Damian's pondering the best way to calm Regigigas down, Regigigas itself seems to notice Reshiram in the sky.
"Re‑gi!!"
Without a word, Regigigas lifts its right arm.
Red‑orange energy gathers in its palm.
Hyper Beam.
A huge beam lances up through the air toward Reshiram.
"Dodge."
Reshiram reacts instantly.
It slips aside and avoids the Hyper Beam.
"Pretty rude, attacking us on sight like that. Reshiram, think you can take it down?"
Damian clicks his tongue, then asks Reshiram beneath him.
"Eh? Damian, that big guy looks really scary. You should let the others handle it."
Reshiram startles, then immediately answers Damian with cool, melodious Telepathy.
It's not because it's scared of Regigigas in this state.
Really, it's not.
But how can such a beautiful Reshiram like itself be brawling nonstop?
It's Damian's personal mount.
It has to maintain its image.
And keep Damian safe.
"You this guy… Regigigas can't even fly and you're scared of it."
Damian is speechless.
Yeah, like Groudon, Regigigas can't fly.
They're basically the only two high‑tier legends that don't have any kind of flight capability.
"In that case…"
Damian thinks for a beat, then throws out Shadow Mewtwo's Ultra Ball.
"Mewtwo!"
Shadow Mewtwo drops into the air in front of him, deep purple eyes glowing as it looks down at Regigigas.
Shadow Mewtwo's just gotten a power boost.
Perfect time to use Regigigas as a test dummy.
"Mewtwo."
Light of Evolution blooms around Shadow Mewtwo.
The Mega Evolution sigil flashes once; thick purple‑black flame flares up, and Mega Shadow Mewtwo Y appears in its place.
Mega Evolution.
A violent, suffocating malice spreads through the air.
Mega Shadow Mewtwo Y lowers its head, glancing at its own arm.
Power.
Endless power is flooding in.
"It evolved?!"
Cynthia stares, shocked, at Mega Shadow Mewtwo Y in the sky.
Its body's clearly shrunk.
But that crushing presence—no one can miss how terrifyingly strong it's become.
Shadow Mewtwo can Mega Evolve too?
Cynthia's lips press tighter.
Damian just got even stronger.
"Re‑gi!!"
Regigigas clearly feels the threat from Mega Shadow Mewtwo Y.
The seven "lights" on its chest start flashing crazily.
Its two massive arms lift; energy swirls in its palms.
Hyper Beam.
Two gigantic beams punch through the sky, screaming toward Mega Shadow Mewtwo Y.
Mega Shadow Mewtwo Y just stretches out an arm.
A deep purple barrier shimmers into being in front of it.
Boom, boom, boom!
The Hyper Beams slam into the psychic wall and explode, shockwaves billowing outward and smoke flooding the air.
Through the smoke, a pair of eerie purple eyes flare to life.
A gust whips up out of nowhere, scattering the clouds of dust and ash.
Mega Shadow Mewtwo Y hangs there in the sky completely unharmed, expression still cool and aloof.
"Not bad."
Damian nods in satisfaction.
Without Mega Evolution, Shadow Mewtwo could never have casually brushed off two Hyper Beams like that.
"Once this big guy calms down, we can ask it a few questions."
Damian looks down at Regigigas.
He's always been curious about something—some guesses he wants confirmed.
In Arceus's creation Plates, there's a set of glyphs with some very interesting lines.
Mind Plate: "The Original One breathed alone before the universe came."
Insect Plate: "Where all creation was born, that is the being's place of origin."
Earth Plate: "When the universe was created, its shards became this Plate."
Meadow Plate: "The powers of Plates are shared among Pokémon."
Splash Plate: "The rightful bearer of a Plate draws from the Plate it holds."
Flame Plate: "The power of defeated giants infuses this Plate."
Those first ones are easy enough to read.
They talk about Arceus, the origin of this cosmos, and why later‑born Pokémon have "types" at all.
Types are the result of Pokémon being influenced by the rules embodied in the creation Plates.
But the Flame Plate line has a particularly interesting bit:
"The power of defeated giants infuses this Plate."
So who exactly are those "defeated giants"?
Damian's gaze settles on Regigigas.
It's only a theory.
But it fits surprisingly well.
It's one way to explain why Regigigas is lugging around this Slow Start handicap.
Maybe it really did get wrecked by Arceus.
Not just its power broken—but its body left with a permanent startup flaw.
Arceus really did beat the crap out of it, huh?
~~
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