The familiar sound of "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" reached her ears, and Cynthia immediately became excited. She quickly stood up and followed the sound into the lobby of the police station.
The moment she saw the Pokémon in Sam's arms, Cynthia could no longer hold back her emotions and hurried toward him.
Cynthia?!
Sam was equally surprised when he saw the blonde woman in front of him. He hadn't expected to run into Cynthia here, nor had he expected that the Shellos belonged to her. What a coincidence.
Shellos had clearly recognized its Trainer as well. Strangely, it didn't look very happy. Instead, it quickly buried its head into Sam's arms and bit onto his shirt, as if urging him to leave immediately.
Sam looked down at Shellos in his arms, then back at Cynthia. He couldn't help but wonder what exactly Cynthia had done to make Shellos so reluctant to return to her.
Abusing Pokémon? Impossible. Everyone knew Cynthia adored her Pokémon.
Cynthia looked at Shellos, both amused and exasperated. Shaking her head, she said helplessly, "Alright, alright. I promise I won't forget you when I buy ice cream next time. Forgive me, okay?"
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" Shellos shouted back, clearly dissatisfied with such a casual apology.
The truth soon came out. When Cynthia had gone to buy ice cream, she had forgotten to bring Shellos along. Pampered since birth, Shellos couldn't tolerate such neglect and had run away from home in a fit of anger.
Fortunately, everything had ended well. Sam gently handed Shellos back to Cynthia and said with a smile, "Don't let Shellos wander off again next time, Miss Cynthia."
Cynthia sighed in relief as she took Shellos into her arms. "May I ask your name? Thank you for bringing this little one back. I really don't know what I would have done otherwise."
"My name is Sam. It was nothing, really," he replied casually.
Nothing? Cynthia didn't see it that way. This time, Shellos had simply been lucky. If it had encountered someone with bad intentions, the consequences could have been serious.
"No, you've helped me a great deal. Is there anything I can do for you in return?"
Anything she could do?
Sam smiled slightly. It wasn't every day one ran into a Regional Champion. If he didn't seize this opportunity to battle a top Trainer, he would regret it.
"If you really want to thank me, how about a Pokémon battle?" Sam said eagerly.
Opportunities to battle the famous Cynthia were rare. He couldn't let this one slip away.
"Oh?" Cynthia looked intrigued. She hadn't expected such a request. Clearly, Sam recognized her—otherwise he wouldn't have called her by name so confidently. Yet instead of asking for something else, he simply wanted a battle.
A pure Trainer through and through.
She genuinely wanted to agree, but unfortunately, she currently didn't have her full team with her. Most of her Pokémon had gone with the police officers to help search for Shellos.
"I'm sorry," Cynthia said apologetically. "Could we postpone the full battle? I don't have the right Pokémon with me at the moment."
Sam nodded in understanding. To be honest, he hadn't planned on battling her seriously right away. Facing Cynthia required preparation.
"However…" Cynthia smiled playfully. "Would you like to battle my Shellos?"
Shellos?
That worked perfectly. Sam happened to have a Pokémon around the same level.
"No problem," he agreed immediately.
Under the guidance of the lone officer remaining at the station, the two moved to the police training grounds. It was normally used for officer drills, but it served well enough as a battlefield.
Standing opposite Sam, Cynthia smiled. "Just so we're clear—I won't hold back just because you helped me."
Sam chuckled. Hold back? If Cynthia held back against a newly hatched Shellos, he'd be the one embarrassed.
"Don't worry," Sam said confidently. "I won't lose."
His confidence wasn't unfounded. The moment he had first seen Shellos, he had assessed its strength. Although it possessed astonishing potential, it was still very young and currently weaker than his Dratini.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Shellos cried eagerly, clearly ready to fight.
"Then I choose Dratini. Go, Dratini!"
Sam tossed his Poké Ball, and a flash of red light revealed Dratini at the center of the field.
"Dratini!"
Just as the battle was about to begin, Officer Jenny returned to the station along with the rest of the police force. The moment she entered the training grounds, she froze.
Shellos versus Dratini.
Officer Jenny couldn't help but inhale sharply. Dratini was no ordinary Pokémon. In the Kanto Region, only a handful of Trainers possessed one.
She looked curiously at the young man standing opposite Cynthia.
A Trainer who owned a rare Dratini—and dared to challenge the Sinnoh Champion.
How interesting.
---------------Author---------------
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