At Mount Coronet's summit, silence lingered long after the battle ended.
Lucian, Flint, Bertha, and Aaron all understood the truth now.
This entire disaster—
Had started with a few arrogant security guards.
If they had verified Aiden's identity…
If they had shown even basic courtesy…
The Sinnoh League would not have been crushed in front of hundreds of witnesses.
Now?
The humiliation was irreversible.
Lucian exhaled deeply.
"So you are the Gym Evaluation Officer appointed by League Headquarters… Aiden Flint."
"This was… a misunderstanding."
Aiden raised an eyebrow.
A misunderstanding?
When he first arrived, no one had bothered verifying his credentials.
Flint had attacked immediately.
Lucian had returned and attacked immediately.
If not for overwhelming strength—
Would they have apologized?
No.
They would have suppressed him by force.
But Aiden didn't pursue it further.
Because—
Ding!
Congratulations, Host. For overwhelming the Sinnoh Pokémon League with absolute strength, you have obtained one Arceus Creation Plate: Fire Attribute.
The Flame Plate has been stored in system space.
Aiden's lips curved upward.
A Creation Plate.
One of the most powerful artifacts in the Pokémon world.
Arceus—
The origin of all things.
The creator of legendary Pokémon.
The one who formed Mew, the World Tree, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina—
Even the pantheon of legends ultimately traced back to it.
And the Plates—
Were fragments of that primordial authority.
Eighteen Plates.
Eighteen attributes.
A complete Arceus was invincible.
The Flame Plate—
Would amplify Fire-type Pokémon beyond ordinary limits.
And Aiden possessed four of them.
Infernape.
Blaziken.
Charizard.
Arcanine.
But most importantly—
Bond Infernape.
If empowered by the Flame Plate…
Its Bond state might evolve further.
Perhaps even approach divine authority.
Aiden immediately placed the Flame Plate within system space and summoned his Fire-types inside to cultivate before it.
Far away—
In a realm beyond ordinary perception—
A white, llama-like figure opened its eyes slightly.
"…The aura of a Plate?"
It noted the location.
Then returned to slumber.
It was not yet time.
—
"So," Aiden said calmly, "where is Cynthia?"
Now that the matter was clear, and he had gained the Flame Plate, his anger had faded.
There was no need to escalate things further.
After all—
Cynthia stood between both sides.
Holding grudges would only complicate things for her.
As if summoned by name—
A Togekiss descended from the sky.
And atop it—
Cynthia.
She wore her familiar black coat, golden hair flowing in the mountain wind.
From afar, she had already seen the twin Rayquaza circling Mount Coronet.
She had guessed.
Only one person would arrive in Sinnoh like that.
When she landed—
She saw fallen Pokémon everywhere.
The Elite Four standing in grim silence.
And Aiden.
"…You two fought already?" she asked lightly.
The Sinnoh trainers straightened instantly.
Their Champion had arrived.
Cynthia—
Undefeated since her debut.
Surely she would restore Sinnoh's dignity.
Flint opened his mouth to speak—
But froze.
Because Cynthia smiled.
Then walked straight past the Elite Four—
And into Aiden's arms.
The entire League headquarters broke internally.
"…Wait."
"She's not angry?"
"They're hugging—"
"I'm done. My goddess…"
Somewhere, the collective heartbreak of Sinnoh echoed across Mount Coronet.
Lucian removed his glasses quietly.
Flint stared blankly.
Bertha sighed.
Aaron looked skyward.
Cynthia pulled back slightly and asked, "What happened?"
Aiden projected the memory again.
The arrogance.
The threats.
The mockery.
Cynthia's expression turned cold immediately.
She turned toward the League staff.
"Security without judgment. Elite Four without verification."
"You escalated a misunderstanding into a regional disgrace."
"Return and reflect."
"If this happens again, step down from your positions."
The guards responsible were dismissed on the spot—
Expelled from Mount Coronet.
Their careers ended.
Order slowly returned.
Lucian began handling damage control.
Flint helped restore the field.
And Aiden—
Left with Cynthia.
Together, they departed Mount Coronet—
And headed toward her hometown.
Celestic Town.
The storm over Sinnoh had passed.
But the legend of that day—
The day one man suppressed the entire Sinnoh League—
Had only just begun to spread.
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