{T/N: Poll time!!!
A) 1 Extra Chapter for every 100 Power Stones, No upper limit!
B) 2 Fixed Daily updates!
Choose wisely. I will implement the winning option (The one with the most votes) starting Monday...}
....
"Let's go!" Cynthia called to Caleb, who was beside Growlithe...
Caleb nodded, rubbed Growlithe's head, then stood up and followed Cynthia out of the police station.
Cynthia was no stranger to this city. Not long ago, she had come here to collect the Fen Badge.
"This is Pastoria City," Cynthia mused briefly before saying, "Let's find a place to rest first."
"Alright," Caleb replied while surveying the surroundings.
He remembered how Pastoria City was described in the Pokémon Encyclopedia:
{..A city that coexists with the Great Marsh. It was built to protect the Great Marsh, and had been developed over several years..}
The Great Marsh was once part of the ocean, but after the water was drained, it became land. It was home to many rare Pokémon that could only be found in marshland areas.
As Caleb was recalling this, Cynthia suddenly noticed an ice cream stall by the roadside not far away. After such an intense battle, her throat felt dry.
She wanted some. But the line in front of the stall was full of five and six-year-old kids...
Wouldn't it be a little awkward for an adult like her to queue behind a bunch of children?
Cynthia lightly bit her lower lip, glanced down at Caleb beside her, and softly asked, "Terrence, do you want ice cream?"
Caleb, who had been lost in thought, lifted his eyelids. He wasn't particularly thirsty, and after a moment's consideration, shook his head, "I don't want any."
Besides, he wasn't really a child. He wasn't particularly fond of snacks. As long as food could fill his stomach, it was good enough for him.
Cynthia pressed further, "Are you sure you don't want any?"
Caleb: "..."
'What could possibly make Cynthia act like this?' thought.
He hesitated, then turned his gaze down the street, quickly spotting the long line of little kids.
'Oh. I get it now.'
Being dependent on her hospitality, he nodded, "Actually, I want some."
A faint smile curled at the corners of Cynthia's lips as she happily took Caleb's small hand and led him over, joining the queue behind the group of children.
A little girl with a small ponytail in front of them turned around, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Caleb, "You're so cute!"
Caleb silently glanced at her, then subtly took a step back before politely replying, "Thank you."
The wait in line was rather dull. Coincidentally, the New Year's Gift Box that had dropped from Saturn hadn't been opened yet.
With nothing better to do, Caleb accessed his inventory, selected the Gift Box, and tapped to open it.
The next second, accompanied by a burst of firework-like effects, a bright red festive-looking fishing rod appeared before him.
[Super Rod (New Year's Edition): The latest Super Rod. When used near water, it can catch Pokémon.]
It was a pretty decent item. But... For some reason, seeing this fishing rod reminded Caleb of the Kyogre that had been hooked by Lana in the 'Pokémon Sun & Moon' anime.
'Seriously, what kind of dignity does a Legendary Pokémon have left after being caught by a fishing rod…'
He internally complained before turning his attention to the gacha draw icon in his inventory.
'Should I try it?'
As someone with notoriously bad luck, Caleb hesitated, but ultimately decided against it. He decided to wait until he got back to his residence to let Dragonite do the honors.
Soon, it was their turn...
"Two vanilla ice creams, please." Cynthia dropped the change into the money box on the stall, took the ice creams from the vendor, and left with Caleb.
Unlike Ash, who was too poor to stay anywhere but Pokémon Centers, Cynthia chose a rather luxurious Pokémon-themed hotel.
Seeing her holding only one room key, Caleb hesitated before asking, "What about my room?"
Cynthia blinked, then shook her head, "No need to worry, it's a twin room."
Caleb was speechless. He reminded, "You haven't forgotten I'm an adult, right?"
Cynthia thought for a moment, realizing he might be uncomfortable with the arrangement, and returned to the front desk to switch the twin room for two single rooms.
Before heading upstairs, she asked worriedly, "Are you sure you'll be fine alone?"
Caleb: "I have my Pokémon with me."
Only then did Cynthia remember that he wasn't some defenseless three-year-old, "Oh, right."
She said nothing more and led him upstairs. Since it wasn't bedtime yet, she dropped her backpack in her room before heading to Caleb's.
Caleb released Dragonite, Mimikyu, and Lucario. He then took out the nutritious food prepared earlier by Gardevoir to feed them.
Smeargle (Terrence) didn't come out... He had rolled over inside its Poké Ball, continuing its sweet dreams.
He had slept so soundly, that he missed the Lake Valor event and even Garchomp's annihilation of Team Galactic.
Caleb glanced at Smeargle's Poké Ball, then he stored Terrence's portion of food in his inventory to give him later when he woke up.
"Where is Azelf?" Cynthia asked.
"Here." Caleb turned slightly, revealing Azelf curled up under the blanket.
He reached out and used the Viridian Power to restore Azelf's strength. A vibrant green energy enveloped the Pokémon, rapidly healing the injuries it had sustained from the explosion.
But at that moment, a blinding white light erupted from Azelf's body and surged straight toward Caleb!
The next second, he felt his sense of touch, hearing, and smell vanish. When he opened his eyes, all he saw was an endless expanse of white...
'Where is this?' Confused, he looked down at his hands.
Soon, the white void began to shift. A screen-like projection appeared out of thin air. Images flashed across it at lightning speed.
Among them, Caleb saw the other two Lake Guardians, Uxie and Mesprit, being captured by Team Galactic, taken into a towering building, and placed inside special containment devices.
A blue-haired, blue-eyed middle-aged man with a sinister expression stared at the restraints holding Uxie and Mesprit.
Caleb clearly heard him say: "Just one more left."
Then, the scene suddenly flickered, switching to another setting entirely.
This time, it showed two grown men engaged in a brutal hand-to-hand fight. One of them was Cyrus, the man from the previous vision.
And the other… it was Caleb himself!
The camera slowly panned upward. Caleb saw Dragonite, Lucario, and Mimikyu, but something was off...
The Pokémon in the vision didn't look the same as his current ones…
He rubbed his eyes, trying to get a closer look, but before he could, the images shattered like broken glass.
The next moment, he jolted awake, his consciousness snapping back to reality.
"Are you okay?" Cynthia asked, her brows furrowed with concern.
Caleb froze for a second before slowly shaking his head, his gaze shifting to the still-unconscious Azelf beside him.
'What just happened? Why was I fighting Cyrus? And why was I in my adult form…?'