"What's wrong, Misty? Isn't that Ash back?" Brock asked as he stepped out of the kitchen, apron still tied around his waist. His gaze shifted from Ash to the figure behind him.
Clatter.
The spatula slipped from Brock's hand and hit the floor.
In the next instant, no one even caught his movement. He was already on one knee before Cynthia.
"Ah! I was wondering where that heavenly fragrance came from, so it was the Sinnoh Champion herself! Might this humble soul be honored to dine with Miss Cynthia?"
"Dine your head!" Misty snapped, grabbing Brock by the ear and yanking him away. "Stop making a spectacle in front of the Champion!"
"Owowow! Easy, Misty! At least let me save some face in front of Miss Cynthia!"
"And since when do you care about face?" Misty shot back. "Who else would act this rude the moment they meet a Champion?"
"Toge-pi~" Togepi, at Ash's feet, clapped happily, utterly delighted by the chaos.
"Hehe, your friends are quite amusing, Ash," Cynthia said, covering a soft laugh.
"Uh… haha. Please don't mind them, Miss Cynthia," Ash said awkwardly. "They're usually dependable, just a bit flustered, I guess."
Ash led Cynthia into the living room. Thanks to steady perfume sales, money wasn't an issue, and he'd rented the most expensive place available.
Three bedrooms, a spacious living room, a full kitchen, a study with a computer, and a hall so wide it almost felt empty.
Cynthia settled onto the sofa and glanced around. "So this is your temporary base?"
"Yep. The Indigo Plateau Conference lasts over half a month, so we needed somewhere stable."
"It's quite nice, very spacious. How long did you rent it for?"
"A month."
"And the price?"
"About fifty thousand."
In most cities, fifty thousand could rent an entire villa. In this world, aside from Pokémon-related expenses, daily costs were generally low, rent included.
Here, though, fifty thousand only covered a single-story flat. Still, Cynthia wasn't surprised.
The Indigo Plateau Conference was underway.
Once a year, the region's biggest event drew in Trainers, spectators, and tourists alike. Landlords, vendors, and merchants all cashed in. For many, these few weeks meant earning a full year's income.
Open once a year, eat for the year.
In fact, Ash had gotten a discount. The landlord recognized him and happened to be a fan. Otherwise, securing this place for fifty thousand during the Conference would have been impossible.
After chatting for a while, Brock and Misty, now fully recovered, called them over for lunch. Ash had been training all morning, so Brock handled the cooking alone; Misty only helped with stirring. Seasoning was strictly Brock's territory.
Which explained why the spatula had dropped earlier, Misty had just finished sautéing a dish when she saw Cynthia.
"Mmm, delicious," Cynthia said after tasting a slice of meat, genuine satisfaction on her face. "You're Brock, correct? Your cooking is excellent."
She was used to gourmet cuisine, yet Brock's food rivaled professional chefs, and had an added warmth that couldn't be replicated.
"Oh no, no," Brock replied instantly. "My cooking is nothing compared to your beauty!"
"That's enough," Misty said with a dangerous smile, her temple twitching. "We're eating. Don't make me slap you."
"Ahem, right. Eating. Eating." Brock immediately buried his face in his bowl.
Ash was already on his second helping. He was still growing, after all.
He'd trained all morning with his Pokémon and was starving. Nothing beat a proper meal.
Laughter filled the room until lunch ended. Ash went outside to distribute prepared Pokémon food, then used Tokiwa Power to restore each of them.
He was essentially a walking Pokémon Center, though large-scale recovery was still faster at an actual one.
From inside, Cynthia watched quietly, a faint smile touching her lips.
Scenes like this always lifted her mood. Seeing how Ash treated his Pokémon reassured her completely.
That meant she could tell him everything without worry. Someone like him wouldn't covet that existence, he would protect it.
After finishing up, Ash returned inside and flopped onto the sofa. "So, what were you all talking about?"
"Miss Cynthia wants to know more about you," Brock said, sounding oddly sour. "She seems quite interested."
"Huh? Interested?" Ash blinked, then brightened. "You mean a battle, Miss Cynthia?"
The thought alone excited him. He desperately wanted to gauge the gap between himself and a Champion.
Challenging her outright felt presumptuous. If she offered, it was guidance. If he asked, it would be asking for trouble.
Still, that wasn't Ash's main concern. Cynthia was a guest in Kanto during the Indigo Plateau Conference; openly challenging her could easily be seen as disrespectful.
That was why he hadn't asked, though the desire to face her burned fiercely in his chest.
If Cynthia herself proposed a battle, however, he would have no reason to refuse.
Cynthia, who had been about to say something else, blinked. Then she smiled and nodded lightly.
"All right," she said. "Let's have a match."
"I want to see how strong you've become," Cynthia continued calmly. "Though, strictly speaking, that incident back then wasn't truly about your Pokémon's power…"
"Huh?" Ash missed the quiet murmur entirely. He was already grinning, excitement written all over his face.
"Nothing," Cynthia said, waving it off. "Where should we fight? At our level, we can't simply battle out in the open."
Elite- and Champion-level battles weren't something you could conduct casually. The environmental destruction alone would be catastrophic.
Ash and Mewtwo's clash on New Island had annihilated the entire island. While Champions weren't quite that extreme, they still required containment to fight safely.
'Don't worry. I'll restrict the shockwaves to within a stadium-sized boundary.'
A mature female voice echoed directly in everyone's minds.
Cynthia froze.
Her gaze swept the surroundings before settling on Ash. "That voice, was that your Pokémon?"
"Yeah," Ash said simply. "That's Mewtwo."
"Mewtwo," Realization bloomed in Cynthia's eyes. "So it really is that Pokémon."
She clearly already knew the name.
Though Mewtwo had first appeared in Kanto under Team Rocket's control, its existence had long since shaken the world. An artificial God–level Pokémon created by human hands.
Back then, it hadn't yet reached that realm. Later, it truly became godlike, so powerful it had once contemplated erasing humanity itself.
Only Ash had managed to change its path.
Officially, the League maintained that Mewtwo had vanished after recovering. With power like that, no one could have detained it anyway.
Even Lorelei, Cynthia's close friend, had upheld that story.
Now, seeing Mewtwo at Ash's side, Cynthia needed no further explanation.
"So you're still holding that card," she said softly. "With you in charge of it, I can rest easy."
"Huh?" This time Ash heard her, but the meaning slipped past him entirely.
"Nothing," Cynthia said again, serene as ever. "Anyway, will you use her against me? If so, I'd be the challenger, wouldn't I?"
She clasped her hands behind her back, utterly relaxed.
Even knowing Mewtwo stood at God Level, and that Ash could deploy it, Cynthia showed not the slightest hint of fear.
"No, no," Ash said quickly, waving both hands. "The one fighting you today is Pikachu. Under normal circumstances, I don't let Mewtwo battle."
Using Mewtwo wouldn't be a battle at all. He'd gain nothing from it.
God level versus anything below it was absolute dimensional suppression. No amount of tactics could bridge that gap.
Even with every trick from the chat group, Ash would still need six Champion-level Pokémon to stand a chance against a single God level being.
Cynthia was strong, exceptionally so, but Ash doubted she surpassed his parallel-world self. At best, they were equals.
Sending out Mewtwo would end the fight before it truly began.
"Pikachu, then…" Cynthia murmured thoughtfully. "All right."
She rose from the sofa and headed outside. Ash and Pikachu exchanged a look, then followed.
The open area beyond the house was part of the landlord's private land, well away from the Conference grounds. Few people passed through here, and fewer still knew Ash lived nearby.
He had fans, but none obsessive enough to stalk him home.
The four gathered in the clearing. Misty, holding Togepi, and Brock stood several metres behind Ash. Once a Champion-level clash began, anything closer would be dangerous.
Fortunately, Mewtwo was present.
A translucent cerulean barrier unfurled across the field, neatly sealing Ash and Cynthia inside while isolating the surroundings. Ash himself could shield the shockwaves, but doing so would divide his focus.
Better to let Mewtwo handle it.
Misty glanced at Mewtwo, her heart steady. The fear she'd once felt had long since faded. Somewhere along the way, they'd come to see Mewtwo as one of their own, and Mewtwo, in turn, had accepted them.
Otherwise, its aloof nature would never have compelled it to prepare the battlefield so carefully.
"We're counting on you, Pikachu," Ash said firmly. "Let's give it everything."
"Pika-pika!"
Pikachu nodded, leapt forward, passed through the barrier, and took its place on the field.
Cynthia considered for a moment, then released her Poké Ball.
"I'm counting on you as well," she said gently. "Togekiss."
Light flared.
A massive white figure emerged, wings unfurling as radiant as clouds. Togekiss, the final evolution of Togepi.