Poor Wallace chose to stay in Sootopolis City during this time, waiting for Steven to arrive.
Wallace watched the Pokémon training in the water, anticipating eagerly, "Come quickly, Steven!"
The Sootopolis Gym looked exactly like a blue palace, which indeed suited the temperaments of Wallace and Juan.
However, little did he know, Steven had already set foot on the land of the Sinnoh Region.
"Phew!"
Steven let out a sigh of relief, chuckling to himself. "Wallace used to be so busy, always traveling around. Now he can stay in the Sootopolis Gym for a while."
This time, traveling through Route 211 east of Eterna City to Celestic Town on Metagross, the travel time was greatly reduced.
Ding-a-ling—
After ringing the doorbell, there was no response for quite some time.
"Has Grandma Carolina gone out?"
Steven helplessly looked up at Mount Coronet behind Celestic Town.
Cynthia was probably training there right now.
"Let's go, Metagross. Let's find Cynthia."
"Metagross!"
Steven rode Metagross to the summit of Mount Coronet, searching for Cynthia on the open, flat mountaintop.
"Garchomp?"
Garchomp, who was sparring with Lucario, suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky.
There was a very irritating presence...
"What's wrong, Garchomp?"
Cynthia was holding a Pokémon Egg, entirely white with blue and red triangular patterns at the bottom.
Noticing Garchomp's unusual behavior, she asked curiously.
"Milotic~"
From the small pond behind Cynthia emerged a serpentine Pokémon, entirely cream-colored with a Prism Scale adorning its tail.
Cynthia smiled as she stroked Milotic's smooth scales.
"Garchomp..."
Garchomp called out to Cynthia, then turned and flew into the air.
Something was wrong—this feeling was too wrong!
"Don't fly too far, Garchomp!"
Cynthia's shout came from behind. With full permission granted, Garchomp unleashed its speed, rocketing forward like a jet.
The Metagross beneath Steven sensed a certain shark flying toward them.
It gently touched the Poké Ball of Skarmory on Steven's waist.
"Skarmory?" Skarmory, released by Metagross, looked bewildered.
"What's wrong, Metagross?"
Metagross said nothing, using its Psychic power to lift Steven and place him on Skarmory.
"Metagross."
Metagross's speed surged, and it shot forward with a whoosh.
"Could it be that it sensed Garchomp?"
Steven smiled helplessly—it seemed highly probable.
Soon, Metagross's eyes reflected a Garchomp folding its body and flying toward them at high speed.
Garchomp's gaze was sharp, showing no intention of slowing down.
Blue-purple energy danced wildly around its body, instantly converging into a massive dragon phantom!
Dragon Rush!
Metagross was not to be outdone, its arms gathering immense Steel-type energy.
Meteor Mash!
If you want to fight, then fight!
Boom!
The energy ripple from the clash of moves even affected Steven behind them.
Looking at the blue-purple dragon-shaped phantom not far away, Steven confirmed his earlier thought.
"It really is..."
As Steven rode Skarmory closer, he nodded in satisfaction, seeing Metagross subtly overpowering Garchomp.
Previously, Metagross was slightly suppressed by Garchomp in terms of strength, but now the tables had turned.
"Hey! If you two are done fighting, come back!" Steven shouted to the two Pokémon.
Metagross and Garchomp stopped simultaneously.
Compared to Metagross's nod, Garchomp looked as if it wanted to bite Steven.
"Garchomp!"
Once I crush this iron crab, you're next!
Metagross: (Calm stare) Shark.
Garchomp: (Furious) I'll destroy you!
Steven no longer bothered with the two of them and slowly flew forward.
Since Garchomp had flown from this direction, following it would lead him to Cynthia.
Sure enough, in a short while, Steven spotted a blonde girl on the ground from the air.
"Hm? Feebas evolved into Milotic so quickly?"
Steven shaded his eyes with his hand, looking into the distance.
"Let's go, Skarmory."
"Skarmory!"
Skarmory flapped its wings, slowly descending.
"Hmm?"
Cynthia looked up, and a smile appeared on her face when she saw the person riding Skarmory.
"Why are you here?"
Steven jumped off Skarmory, chuckling as he replied, "Can't I come visit?"
"You didn't tell me in advance," the blonde girl said with a slight pout.
"Then it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"
"I don't care about surprises."
Steven chuckled. How could a girl her age not care about surprises?
On the surface, Cynthia looked no different than usual, but she was probably very happy inside.
If you ask Steven how he knew...
Let's turn the camera to Lucario, whose mouth was twitching as it subtly glanced at Cynthia.
"You don't care about surprises, so what about gifts?"
Steven retrieved the previously crafted black, teardrop-shaped ornament from his pocket.
Although this item was stone, it was actually very light.
Even if you wore several of them, your head wouldn't feel heavy.
"It should match the one I made before."
"I don't care about gifts either." Cynthia gently shook her head.
"You don't care about anything?" Steven was somewhat troubled.
He truly couldn't figure out what the girl was thinking.
"Then you don't want this either?"
"I do!" Cynthia puffed out her cheeks, pouting adorably.
"Then let me put it on for you."
Cynthia's puffed cheeks deflated like a punctured balloon.
Her action of holding the Pokémon Egg stiffened, allowing Steven to arrange the ornament in her beautiful golden hair.
Steven placed the ornament on the right side of Cynthia's hair.
He also removed the ornament from the ponytail at the back of her head and placed it on the left side of Cynthia's hair.
Hmm, quite symmetrical!
Cynthia's golden hair behind her fell loosely, some strands draped over her shoulders, flowing like silk.
As a gentle breeze blew, Steven caught a pleasant fragrance.
Steven was also curious—how long would it take for Cynthia to grow her hair as long as in the games?
It was currently just below her shoulder blades.
Cynthia's face flushed as she asked with feigned irritation, "H-how much longer are you going to stay this close?"
"Huh?"
Steven suddenly realized that his chest had been resting against Cynthia's shoulder.
He took a step back, explaining with an awkward smile, "I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself..."
"..."
The sudden, direct explanation made Cynthia's face turn crimson, and she slowly lowered her long eyelashes.
Steven had successfully landed a critical hit!
Wow—
The critical hit chance is really high!