[Holy crap??? Cynthia herself is here?]
[Besides Hoenn Champion Steven, do you also know the Sinnoh Champion?]
[Bro, who exactly are you?]
[Streamer is a clout chaser?]
[The three-year wait is over; the prodigal son of Sinnoh has returned?]
As Cynthia appeared in the live stream with her eye-catching golden paid message, the barrage instantly turned into a storm of question marks, flooding the chat.
---
Aiden was utterly stunned.
What just happened? Is this still PokéTV?
Why did Cynthia suddenly appear in my live stream and toss me a gold coin bomb…
Is this even real?
Though he didn't fully understand why, Aiden still went through the motions of thanking her:
"Thanks for Mythology Scholar Cynthia's generous paid message, boss is awesome~"
Then, amidst the barrage of question marks, he decisively cut the stream.
[??? Where'd he go?]
[Did the streamer not realize this was Cynthia's account…?]
[Such a role model! Not even Cynthia could stop him from ending the stream—truly a Sigma!]
After his glorious retreat, Aiden clutched his racing heart and finally exhaled in relief.
Thank goodness I reacted quickly—otherwise, this would've been a live-streaming disaster.
There was no way to respond directly.
First of all, he and Cynthia hadn't coordinated anything beforehand.
Without understanding, things might only get worse if he tried to explain.
At this hour, quickly ending the stream meant the barrage would likely just joke around, and by tomorrow, everyone would forget about it.
Wait...?
Aiden suddenly froze.
What exactly am I afraid of?
Isn't it fine for an old childhood friend to drop by and boost my stream's popularity? Why not interact openly?
Why am I so worried about the barrage stirring the pot?
Realizing this, Aiden sighed deeply and covered his face in frustration.
He had to admit that ever since understanding the system's hints about the future, he couldn't look at the name "Cynthia" the same way anymore.
I can't even begin to comprehend what I'm thinking...
But at this point, continuing to dwell on it wouldn't help.
Instead, he should figure out why Cynthia appeared in his live stream.
Aiden picked up his phone and sure enough, he had already received a reply from Cynthia.
Not only did she completely ignore his six-month-long "read but not replied", she even offered words of encouragement and support.
Mom, I think I just saw a real angel descend upon Earth!
But he couldn't quite make sense of the second line of her message.
"Why is Cynthia asking me to confirm the Gym's location?"
Aiden was confused.
Since he couldn't figure it out, he decided to ask directly.
[Aiden: Yes, why the sudden question?]
Almost immediately after sending the message, she replied.
However, she didn't answer his question directly. Instead…
[Cynthia: The streamer I just saw on PokéTV really was you, right? Though your voice has matured, I recognized you instantly!]
Even through the screen, Aiden could feel the subtle pride in her tone.
He scratched his head.
Something about the Cynthia chatting with him now felt different from the one in his memories.
But then again, the stereotypical image of "big sister" Cynthia had been a Champion for a long time, and she was more mature and composed.
Now, she was still half a rookie who had just become Champion, and her mindset wasn't nearly as mature as he imagined.
[Aiden: No wonder you sent that message—it seems you really recognized me. Thanks for the top-tier donation, big sis~]
Facing such a cute and lighthearted "sugar mommy", Aiden gradually relaxed.
He even started cracking small jokes.
[Cynthia: It's just a little money—if it can help you, I'm glad.]
[Cynthia: Running a Gym alone in Paldea must be tough, right?]
[Cynthia: If there's anything I can help with, please don't hesitate to contact me.]
"Whoa..."
What kind of domineering CEO line was this?
Aiden felt like he'd just been flirted with.
But weren't their genders reversed here?
Maybe I'm overthinking it.
Shaking his head, Aiden pushed aside these irrelevant thoughts.
---
Afterward, the two chatted for a long time through Navigator.
This might have been the longest conversation they'd had since adding each other as friends after moving away from Celestic Town.
Though most of it was trivial daily chatter, Aiden found himself thoroughly enjoying it.
Time quietly slipped by.
It wasn't until Cynthia said goodbye that Aiden realized they had been chatting for a full hour.
His usual off-stream time was 7:30 PM, so an extra hour of chatting didn't disrupt his routine much.
But Paldea and Sinnoh had a seven-hour time difference…
"So, it's almost 4:00 AM where Cynthia is?"
If she didn't sleep soon, she'd be pulling an all-nighter.
[Aiden: Sorry! I completely lost track of time and kept you chatting for so long!]
Aiden immediately slid into a kneeling apology.
Just imagining Champion Cynthia appearing at the Pokémon League tomorrow with dark circles under her eyes because of him…
Dragging a Champion to kill time with him made him feel like he should commit seppuku to apologize.
[Cynthia: Well then, good night. See you tomorrow.]
[Aiden: See you tomorrow.]
[Aiden: … Wait? What do you mean, see you tomorrow?]
Perhaps years of being childhood friends had ingrained certain instincts in his DNA, but Aiden instinctively felt something was off about Cynthia's parting words.
Looking back at their chat history, their conversations were always irregular.
So this "see you tomorrow" felt… intriguing.
Caught red-handed.
On the other side, Cynthia, now dressed in comfy pajamas, yawned repeatedly, though her lips couldn't help but curve into a smile.
[Cynthia: I originally wanted to surprise you, but Detective Aiden figured it out.]
[Cynthia: Actually, Grandma asked me to pass along a Pokémon to you. Since I'm free tomorrow, I thought I'd drop by and visit you.]
[Cynthia: I'm going to sleep now. Good night~]
"Huh?"
After receiving the message, Aiden was dumbfounded.
Tomorrow, Cynthia is coming to the Sunshine Gym?
For real?
Is this a surprise or a scare?
Why does it feel like I'm getting nervous before an offline meetup…
Compared to Aiden's confusion, Cynthia seemed much calmer—
If you ignored her tightly clenched hands gripping the phone.
"I can't believe I actually said it…"
Cynthia let out a sigh of relief.
She had just said that Professor Carolina asked her to pass along a Pokémon to Aiden.
That was a lie.
In reality, Professor Carolina hadn't said anything like that.
However, there was indeed a fairly strong Pokémon in the lab that hadn't found a suitable Trainer for various reasons.
"If it's Aiden, I'm sure he'll earn its trust, right?"
Muttering to herself, Cynthia walked over to the sleeping Garchomp and gently nudged it.
"Kraaw…"
Interrupted from its sweet dreams, Garchomp reluctantly opened its eyes and locked gazes with its Trainer, who was looking at it with hopeful anticipation.
"Garchomp, do you remember Aiden from next door?"
Five years ago, when Aiden left Celestic Town, Garchomp was still a freshly hatched Gible.
Insert 'He even held you when you were a baby' that everyone hears when they meet extended family that they've never met before in their life.
"I bet you'd love to see him again, so tomorrow we're heading to the Paldea region~"
Cynthia chuckled softly, her tone light and cheerful.
Before Garchomp could process what she said, she had already made up her mind and casually walked into her bedroom.
Leaving behind a completely baffled Garchomp.
???
Garchomp: No, I don't want to!
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