"It's truly unbelievable."
Looking at Kamado's skilled expression of amazement, people who didn't know might think he really knew where the Sinnoh Region was and understood what being a Champion meant.
In reality, he didn't understand the Sinnoh Region or the Sinnoh Champion at all.
But knowing just one thing was enough for him.
The Sinnoh Champion is almost equivalent to being the highest authority of an entire region.
Just this is enough to make Kamado treat the matter with caution.
So even if he didn't understand the true meaning of the Sinnoh Champion, he could still put on an appropriately amazed expression.
This is the shared understanding between adults.
However, Kamado's words actually hid a layer of probing.
You're already the highest figure in another region, so why would you come to Team Galactic to be a regular member?
"Haha, Captain Kamado is joking." Cynthia smiled slightly, "As the saying goes, reading ten thousand books is not as useful as traveling ten thousand miles."
"If one just stays put in one place, acting like a local tyrant, they'll never know how high the sky is or how deep the earth is."
"That's why I came to the Hisui Region — to avoid becoming that frog at the bottom of the well."
Kamado: "..."
Wait a minute, are you insinuating that I'm the frog at the bottom of the well?
Fine, fine, you endure hardships, and I'm the frog in the well, is that it!
Kamado decided it was better not to continue probing this woman through words.
Otherwise, with just a few sentences, she could really mess with his mindset.
Initially, Kamado had some doubts — was Cynthia really a leader of a region?
The reason was simple.
Cynthia was just too young.
Adaman and Irida were also quite young, but they both had members from their respective teams to assist.
Moreover, when Kamado first arrived in the Hisui Region, Team Galactic wasn't fully formed yet, and he was already able to suppress the Diamond Clan and the Pearl Clan with his abilities.
This was enough to demonstrate the difference in their abilities.
However, when facing Cynthia, this old fox felt a sense of powerlessness.
This person... Is she really only in her twenties?
Kamado would even believe she had gone through decades of power struggles, so he decisively changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, you've already defeated the tribe and leader of the Kricketune, right? Could you tell me how you managed to defeat them?"
Ash and Cynthia returned too quickly, so Kamado still wasn't clear about how they dealt with the Kricketune.
Mai's side would probably also send messages to Adaman and Irida, but the speed of messaging obviously couldn't match Wyrdeer.
Moreover, all three of them were upstairs, so even if the message arrived, it wouldn't be delivered immediately.
All they knew, as informed by Cyllene, was that Ash and the others had already defeated Kricketune.
Therefore, none of the three present still knew how Ash and Cynthia actually dealt with the Kricketune.
Cynthia had no need to hide any of this.
However, she naturally wouldn't exaggerate.
She simply explained that she used Pokemon to solve the threats posed by the Kricketune Boss and its tribe.
But merely defeating them couldn't rid the Kricketune Boss of its frenzy.
In the end, it was Ash's ability to communicate with Pokémon that restored the Kricketune Boss to normal.
Furthermore, Cynthia also took the opportunity to reveal the reason behind the Kricketune's frenzy.
The Kricketune Boss became like that due to the influence of the King of the Obsidian Fieldlands.
And the frenzy of the King of the Obsidian Fieldlands was related to the golden thunderbolt that descended from the sky.
Even if Cynthia didn't mention these details, they would eventually find out later.
After all, both Mai and Professor Laventon had already heard about this matter.
Given that, it was better to proactively mention it now.
Upon hearing this, the three people in the room almost simultaneously cast their curious and puzzled glances at Ash.
Originally, they, like Cyllene, thought Ash was just a young boy tagging along with Cynthia to broaden his horizons.
The one truly in charge of making decisions should have been the powerful Sinnoh Champion.
But now, it seems they were all mistaken.
Ash actually possessed such a special ability!
From Cynthia's description, she seemed to be the one responsible for the battles.
But Ash was the one with the special abilities.
In terms of importance, Ash was even more special than Cynthia.
Being able to fight is indeed useful, but there are plenty of people on their side who can fight!
However, fostering harmonious coexistence between humans and Pokémon doesn't just depend on combat abilities; the most crucial aspect is communication!
And Ash, without a doubt, possessed this ability.
For a moment, all eyes in the room were drawn to Ash.
No one had expected that this seemingly ordinary boy would possess such power.
Even Irida's gaze toward Ash became gentler.
Someone with such an ability must be extremely sincere towards Pokémon.
Otherwise, even if one had the ability to communicate with Pokémon, if their heart only harbored intentions of exploiting them, Pokémon would never acknowledge such a person.
Pokémon, though often unable to understand complex human words, can sense human emotions.
Whether genuine or fake, Pokémon are far more sensitive than humans imagine.
So Ash must be empathetic towards Pokémon.
In Irida's view, someone good to Pokémon is a good person!
So, as she thought, from the moment she first saw this boy, she felt he was quite decent, and indeed, her instincts were right!
"…I never expected your younger brother to have such an ability."
Kamado looked at Ash with a tone full of emotion.
"If everyone possessed such an ability, the day of peaceful coexistence between humans and Pokémon might not be too far off."
Cynthia's eyes narrowed slightly, then she spoke with a playful smile, "The so-called ability to get along with Pokémon is nothing more than the icing on the cake."
"When it comes to coexisting with Pokémon, the key is still training... oh, according to your terms here, it should be the Beast Tamer themselves."
"When Beast Tamers treat Pokémon with sincerity, then Pokémon will naturally reciprocate in kind to humans."
"Those who think they can rely on trickery to get along with Pokémon, no matter what kind of power they wield, will never earn a Pokémon's acknowledgment in the end."
Kamado: "..."
Although you didn't use any bad words or even mention me, why do I feel as if every word you say is indirectly criticizing me?
Kamado, oh Kamado, why don't you ever learn your lesson? Just earlier, you suffered a loss, and yet you can't help but probe this woman again?
Moreover, her response is even more aggressive this time than before. Is it because I touched upon that boy's matters?
It seems that boy is this woman's Outrage!
"Ahem." Kamado cleared his throat, forcibly steering the conversation back, "Miss Cynthia is right. Actually, I have an unreasonable request..."
"Since it's an unreasonable request, it's better not to say it out loud." Cynthia continued to look at him with a smiling face, "Otherwise, it would be awkward for everyone, wouldn't it?"
Kamado: "..."
These words made the room fall a bit silent.
Ash and Pikachu stood to the side, almost sweating from their foreheads.
Is this Cynthia with her aggression fully unleashed?
The opponent not only failed to gain any advantage in the conversation, but was also repeatedly countered by Cynthia.
More importantly, Kamado couldn't find a suitable reason to refute.
Just like now, Kamado was the one who mentioned the unreasonable request. Cynthia merely followed up with that, with an uncomplicated meaning—since you know your request is inappropriate, why bring it up?
If it's stated and I disagree, it makes everyone uncomfortable.
If I agree, aren't you easily taking advantage then?
Now Kamado was stuck whether he spoke or remained silent.
Changing his phrasing now would make it seem as if his earlier words were problematic.
And Cynthia still maintained her playful smile, as if her words were just casually mentioned.
In truth, when Kamado attempted to test them with a commission, Cynthia had no intention of showing a friendly face.
Now it's your turn to ask something of us?
Did you think we would agree so easily?
No matter what you want to request, you should first experience how it felt when we were previously deceived.
If we don't fight back, you'll really think we're easy to handle.
For a moment, Kamado was in a very awkward situation, his face even reddening slightly.
Since becoming the Captain of Team Galactic, when had he ever suffered such a big loss in a verbal exchange?!