"Shhh!!!"
Cynthia gently placed her finger on her lips, signaling Ash not to be so excited.
But hearing that he had traveled a thousand years into the past, how could Ash possibly not be excited?
The time span of this journey was just too massive!
No wonder he felt such a strong sense of incongruity upon arriving here.
"Miss Cynthia, how do you know this place is a thousand years ago?"
Seeing Cynthia's gesture, Ash hurriedly lowered his voice as well.
Cynthia's gaze returned to the man who resembled the professor, and after confirming he hadn't heard their conversation, she began to speak in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"I once read in an ancient text, records about 'Hisui'."
Her words carried a hint of uncertainty, as it was a long time ago; however, she indeed had an impression of the name Hisui.
"Hisui is actually the ancient name for the Sinnoh Region."
"During that era, humans and Pokémon had not yet established the harmonious relationship we have today."
"Back then, humans were filled with awe and fear of Pokémon, even considering them beings to be worshipped and feared."
"The entire region was far from being prosperous; vast untouched wilderness lay everywhere, and humans could only survive by gathering in the few villages."
"Ancient texts described it as an era of most tense, yet simplest, human and Pokémon relations."
Ash's eyes flashed with comprehension after hearing the explanation; this place was indeed recorded in ancient texts.
And it was the ancient period of the Sinnoh Region.
Meaning the land under his feet was actually the same Sinnoh Region he knew a thousand years later.
Only separated by a thousand years of time.
Even though they realized they had traveled back to a world a thousand years ago, they had no idea how to return.
Ash furrowed his brow slightly.
He leaned closer to Cynthia, again lowering his voice near her ear.
"Oh, Miss Cynthia, I just remembered something... Inside that chaos space, I vaguely saw Dialga and Palkia."
"If nothing else, they should have been swept into this region just like us. As long as we can find them, there must be a way to travel back to our original world!"
Ash's voice lightly brushed Cynthia's ear.
The ticklish sensation caused a faint blush to involuntarily appear on Cynthia's small ear.
It was a natural reaction, but Cynthia wasn't bothered by it. Thanks to Ash's reminder, she also thought of something: "This place being ancient Sinnoh means that the era's versions of Dialga and Palkia must exist."
"Even if those two Legendary Beasts didn't travel with us, it's actually not a big issue; if we can find the era's versions, they can also find the way home."
Ash gently nodded; regardless of what happens, they need to find the Space-Time Gods to find their way home.
With the primary goal established, they ceased their whispering and turned their attention back to the man resembling the professor.
At this moment, the man was looking at Ash and the others with a strange gaze.
Perhaps it was because Ash's sudden outburst had startled him a bit.
Cynthia's face displayed her signature graceful smile, and she walked forward with poise to introduce herself.
"Sorry for scaring you."
"I'm Cynthia, from a distant overseas place."
"We're newcomers, just happened to see a large pit here, so we came to check it out and didn't see any meteorite."
With that, she pulled Ash over from the side.
"This is my brother, Ash. We're siblings and rely on each other, having arrived on a ship from the distant overseas."
"But we encountered a storm halfway, which swept our luggage and identity documents into the sea."
"Could you please allow us to stay at your place for a while?"
Ash looked at Cynthia with a strange expression; how come he hadn't noticed before how easily Cynthia could make up such nonsense?
The man resembling the professor immediately showed a look of realization.
"So you came from overseas, that's why. No wonder you're wearing such strange clothes; I was just wondering, I've never seen clothes of this style before."
Silently, Ash rolled his eyes.
Your outfit of a white lab coat paired with dress pants and a funny hat looks strange, you know...
However, thinking again, this place is after all a thousand years ago; perhaps it was the fashion back then.
The man quickly and warmly introduced himself.
"I'm Laventon, from Jubilife Village, and I'm the village's professor residing there."
He paused, a hint of difficulty flashing on his face.
"I'd love to take you two siblings in."
"But... I'm not sure if the village I belong to will agree to host you."
A hint of intrigue flickered in Cynthia's eyes.
She could tell this man genuinely believed their poorly fabricated story.
Are people here too pure, or is it that this person has no complicated thoughts?