Aside from the occasional indecisiveness brought on by having too much delicious food, Sato discovered that Cynthia was practically an all-round genius… no, an all-round monster.
Her strength went without saying. After several days of sparring, Sato had lost more than he had won. Aside from that initial trick-win with Weavile, every other match had been a hard-fought struggle.
As for Pokémon training, every one of Cynthia's partners had been raised by her own hand. From Pokémon care to daily meals, she personally handled everything.
When Joseph and Cynthia discussed about Pokémon care, neither Sato nor Mark could get a word in.
At least half the vocabulary they used was completely foreign to them. Only when the two occasionally mentioned the name of some rare Berry did Sato get to chime in with a single line:
"I know that one… xx Berry is yellow!"
That was about it...
And when it came to wilderness survival -navigating terrain, locating water sources, scouting the environment, setting up camp- Cynthia was on par in every way… aside from her cooking not being quite as tasty as Joseph's.
Even her luck wasn't lacking. Just look at her team: Garchomp, Glaceon, Roserade, Gastrodon, Milotic, and Lucario.
The key part was, aside from Garchomp being her Starter Pokémon, she had actually caught all the others herself.
Now tell me, aren't you annoyed?
Of the six Pokémon, only Gastrodon was relatively common. None of the others were Pokémon you could just casually obtain.
And that was only her current main six. Once someone reached Ace level, unless you were like Mark, you'd obviously have a second lineup ready.
And the one Sato had managed to defeat was the most ordinary one of all: Gastrodon.
Tell me that doesn't sting.
---
By 3 PM, the group of four had stopped to rest in harmony.
The moment they paused, Sato turned his gaze to Cynthia.
"Sharpedo didn't get a fair shot yesterday. Let's go again today!"
Cynthia sat on the folding stool she had just taken out, rubbing her slightly sore calves and looking at Sato with mild exasperation. But before she could say anything, Joseph had already spoken up.
"I've been thinking about it all the way here… I think the assumption we made at lunch was flawed. When you mix Hondew Berries with Tamato Berries…" The rest of what he said, Sato and Mark couldn't follow at all.
Thinking is way easier than battling, so Cynthia promptly ignored Sato's eager challenge.
"And if we balance the tartness with just a bit of Salac Berry… or maybe…"
Seeing the two of them get absorbed in their discussion, Sato could only walk away in defeat. Turning around, he spotted Umbreon and Glaceon cuddled up under a tree and immediately felt much better.
'At least my Umbreon has already secured its clutch, no need to be too greedy in life.'
As for now, he'd have to spar with Mark instead. Both of them had recently caught new Pokémon, and their old teammates were too familiar with each other to offer anything new in battle.
About ten minutes later, Skorupi and Phione both collapsed from exhaustion. With Sato and Mark deliberately holding back, the match focused more on practicing evasion and endurance than on actual victory.
Just then, Joseph finally wrapped up his conversation with Cynthia. Seizing the opportunity, Sato darted over and stared straight at her.
"Let's do this. Your Sharpedo won't beat my Milotic on speed alone!"
Once Cynthia had rested enough, she naturally didn't avoid the battle. On the contrary, she was just as passionate about Pokémon battles; otherwise, there was no way she'd have become Champion at such a young age.
"Sharpedo, let's give it your all! Show everyone the results of our special training last night!"
"SHAAA!" Sharpedo let out an excited cry. Facing the elegant Milotic, its fighting spirit surged even higher.
"Milo~"
Aqua Ring automatically surrounded its body. Unlike Sharpedo's Whirlpool, Milotic's levitation ability appeared much more graceful and fluid.
"Then, let the battle begin…" Mark stepped naturally into the center of the field, calling out the command with zero emotion.
"Sharpedo, Surf!"
"Milotic, Twister!"
Both sides moved at once. Grass flew everywhere, leaves scattered. All fitting for a clash between two Ace level Pokémon. It was anything but quiet.
---
Ten minutes later, Milotic, panting heavily, looked at Sharpedo -now unable to maintain flight- and finally gave up on delivering a glowing, metallic Iron Tail.
Sato let out a long, heavy breath and recalled his clearly exhausted Sharpedo, which, though still standing, was at its limit.
"If I hadn't battled you, I never would've realized Sharpedo's battle system had such a huge flaw. But it won't take long… Sharpedo and I will fix it!"
"Mhm, I know~" Cynthia also recalled Milotic and responded with a smile.
The truth was, there wasn't much difference in strength between Milotic and Sharpedo. The real reason Sharpedo kept losing was because Cynthia had exploited its flaw in levitation control.
The combination of Whirlpool and Aqua Jet formed the core of Sharpedo's levitation, but Milotic had been able to disrupt the Whirlpool's flow by using sound waves and Water Pulse, throwing Sharpedo's movement into chaos.
Cynthia said she got the idea from Lucario's Aura. She had casually tried it, and to her surprise, it worked.
Sato had nothing to say to that. 'How, Arceus, had she gone from Aura to using sound waves and water ripples to disrupt a Whirlpool… and actually succeeded?'
All he could think was: there are geniuses every year, but true monsters are rare. When you meet one, you better secure them… cough, build a good relationship and cling to their leg.
Follow a monster's footsteps and grow alongside them, and you'll become one too!
---
With the battle over, the four cleaned up a little and continued on their journey.
Behind them, Umbreon and Glaceon followed side by side, exchanging romantic glances without a care in the world. Even if they ended up with a Pokémon egg tomorrow, Sato wouldn't be surprised.
Still, he'd better find a chance to help Umbreon reach Ace level soon. Otherwise, people might start thinking all his Pokémon were freeloaders!
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a loud crash came from the forest up ahead. The four exchanged a look, then charged in without hesitation.
What's a journey without unexpected events?
Racing toward the source of the noise, the group quickly found the culprits behind the disturbance.
"Lopunny, Golduck, Machoke? What kind of weird combo is this?" Mark pointed to each one and couldn't help commenting.
Right now, Golduck and Machoke were locked in a fierce battle, and with its access to Psychic-type moves, Golduck clearly held the upper hand.
Machoke was struggling, getting pushed back again and again, while the nearby Lopunny looked on in distress, seemingly torn about whether to jump in and stop the fight.
Sato stared at this cheesy, yet familiar scene and wondered, '…Why does it feel like we keep running into the stench of romance lately?'