As they walked through the arrival area of the Jubilife City airport, Professor Rowan cleared his throat and spoke politely. "Ah, where are my manners. I forgot to introduce you to my successor. You see, I am not going to be champion for long. I am old and looking for retirement." He stepped to the side with a small smile and revealed a young woman standing behind him.
She wore a stylish black coat and had long blonde hair that flowed gracefully over her shoulders. The woman carried herself with confidence.
"She is Cynthia. My successor," Rowan continued. "She has beaten me in a battle and is understudy under me until she is ready to take the mantle of Champion." His voice showed clear pride in his student. Cynthia stepped forward with a warm and professional smile on her face.
"It is nice to meet you all," Cynthia said politely. She shook hands with everyone in the Indigo delegation one by one. When she reached Gladion, she said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Gym Leader Gladion. I have heard a lot about you since Sinnoh had tried to establish relations with Indigo. Your business ideas are already tried to be copied here since patent rights were not yet established but why failed to work. Now with the alliance, I hope you could expand some of your businesses here. I am already quite a fan of your social media. I hope that I could use it soon enough." She said this with a bright smile that reached her eyes.
"Sure, I hope that the people of Sinnoh would accept..." Gladion replied smoothly on the outside. Internally, he thought with genuine excitement, 'Ah, my favourite champion of all regions. How nice it is to meet her. And she is quite good with talking too.'
For Gladion, meeting her in person felt like a special moment.
Gladion knew that the comment about his social media was only to make him feel good before she went to her real motive. He had dealt with many people who approached him with compliments first.
'And now she would come with her motive for starting a conversation and praising me, cheeky little woman,' he thought with amusement.
'Well, if I was someone who did not have a girlfriend, I would have surely been high if a woman like her would have praised me and would have helped for whatever she is going to ask.' The idea made him smile inwardly. He imagined how easily some trainers would get distracted by her charm and beauty.
'Thank goodness I have Sabrina, or I might have offered her my entire company by now just because she called me impressive,' he joked to himself.
"By the way, I am also an archaeologist and researcher of myths," Cynthia continued in a natural tone. Gladion waited patiently for the real question he knew was coming. Cynthia then asked, "Since we have started learning about Indigo, I have heard about your Latios and Latias. How did you come to meet them?"
"You can say that they found me for some reason that I myself do not know," Gladion answered honestly. Cynthia looked confused by his simple reply. She tilted her head slightly, clearly wanting more details about the legendary dragons.
Though she continued not wanting to be too aggressive, "From what I know, your Latios and Latias do not seem to be the young ones. They seem to be very old considering they are legendary dragons. They must know a lot about the ancient history. Could I perhaps talk to them?"
Suddenly, Latias's voice echoed gently in both Gladion's and Cynthia's minds. "We do not talk to anyone and everyone. You must earn our recognition to get the knowledge that we have and you seek."
Cynthia's eyes widened in surprise at hearing the voice of a legendary Pokemon directly in her head.
Cynthia's face turned resolute and determined. "I will do anything to earn it. Would you like me to fight Gladion in a Pokemon battle to prove myself?" She sounded ready and excited at the idea of proving herself.
Gladion was pretty sure that he heard Colossus roar inside his Pokeball with excitement at the prospect of fighting a future champion and her Pokemon.
The alpha Tyranitar was probably imagining a grand battle already. 'Easy there, big guy,' Gladion thought with a mental chuckle. 'You just want to smash everything again, do not you?'
"No. Battling would not mean anything since against little brother Glady you would just lose. There would be no excitement or surprise for that," Latias said calmly through telepathy.
Gladion thought with slight embarrassment, 'Oi oi, while that is true you just do not say it directly to someone.' Even Cynthia frowned a little at the blunt assessment of her chances. It was a direct blow to her pride as a strong trainer, but she tried to hide her reaction.
"So what must I do?" Cynthia asked with determination still in her voice.
"Conquer the heart of Gladion," Latias said, but this time the message was sent only to Cynthia's mind. The legendary Pokemon's voice carried a playful and mischievous tone.
She made it sound like a grand quest from old legends. 'Win his affection, make him see you as more than a trainer, and perhaps the knowledge you seek will open up naturally. After all, a dragon's heart is not easily won, but when it is, the rewards are great.'
Gladion looked confused and asked Cynthia directly, "What did she ask for?"
Cynthia's face turned bright red. She looked away quickly and said, "Umm... well... nothing..." Her voice was soft and embarrassed as she tried to hide her reaction. The sudden challenge from Latias had caught her completely off guard.
Gladion looked confused for a moment before shaking his head. "We will chat later. I will try to help you if I can." He decided not to press the issue and continued walking forward, following Professor Rowan toward the waiting vehicles.
What Gladion did not know was that Latias had also used telepathy to communicate the entire conversation to another person. As Gladion walked away with Rowan, Sabrina walked up to Cynthia.
She glared at the blonde woman with clear intensity and said in a firm voice, "He is mine."
Cynthia did not know what to say. She stood there speechless for a few seconds, her face still flushed from Latias's earlier message.
Latias giggled softly inside her Pokeball. 'Ah, this drama is going to be so much fun. Hmm, a dragon like Gladion is being fought for by other women to become his mate. How much fun it would be.'
The legendary Pokemon sounded thoroughly entertained by the developing romantic tension. She settled comfortably in her Pokeball, looking forward to watching how everything would unfold during their stay in Sinnoh.
The group continued their walk toward the official cars waiting outside the airport. Professor Rowan led the way, talking about the schedule for the coming days.
Blaine stayed quiet in the back, still annoyed from the earlier events. Gladion walked beside Sabrina, completely unaware of the secret conversation that had just happened between Latias and Cynthia.
Behind them, Cynthia followed with a thoughtful expression, clearly affected by the legendary Pokemon's unexpected request.
-----Author Notes------
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