Want to read ahead. You know where
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The battle was over.
With Carr captured and the giant Tentacruel finally defeated, the chaos that had drowned Cerulean City began to fade.
The streets, once flooded and broken, were slowly being restored.
Officer Jenny directed her squad tirelessly, organizing the rescue and cleanup.
Misty, the Cerulean Gym Leader, worked beside her, doing everything she could to rally the townsfolk and keep morale from collapsing.
For the city, it could have ended much worse.
And everyone knew who they owed for turning the tide, Cynthia.
With her help, alongside Sam, Cerulean had been spared complete ruin.
The City Council wasted no time showing gratitude.
A public statement was made, and as a gesture of thanks, they booked the most luxurious hotel in Cerulean for Sam and Cynthia, promising that every expense during their stay would be covered.
Their room was on the top floor, overlooking the sparkling ocean that now seemed calm, as if nothing had happened.
That night, when the door shut behind them, silence lingered for a moment.
It had been a long time since Sam and Cynthia had been truly alone together.
Naturally, closeness followed, at least, that's what Sam expected.
Instead, he was pushed away.
Hard.
Cynthia sat on the edge of the bed, arms crossed, her pout making her look more like a sulking girl than the Champion of Sinnoh.
Sam leaned back on the sofa, breaking the quiet.
"I forgot to ask, why are you even in Kanto?"
Cynthia's golden eyes narrowed, her voice carrying a sharpness that made his chest tighten.
"You know why. I met a girl named Sabrina. She came up to me and asked if she could be your lover."
Sam nearly choked.
"She what?"
"You haven't explained it yet," Cynthia cut him off, her tone cool but edged with something far more dangerous.
"What exactly happened between you and her?"
Sam blinked, completely thrown.
"Her? Wait, Cynthia, "
"Don't play dumb." Cynthia turned her head slightly, refusing to meet his eyes.
Her arms crossed, the image of pride and control.
But the faint steel in her voice sent a shiver down his spine.
"You'd better explain everything."
Sam hurried to her side, hands resting on her shoulders as his words poured out fast and desperate.
"Heaven itself could vouch for me, the sea outside could prove it, I swear, nothing happened! I'm innocent!"
Cynthia didn't answer.
She raised a brow, lips pressed in a thin line, daring him to keep going.
So he did.
He laid it all out, his meeting with Sabrina at Mt. Silver.
He explained his thoughts, his choices, his actions, one after another, like he was standing trial.
The only thing he left unspoken were the strange, unsettling words Sabrina had whispered.
By the end, Cynthia's posture softened just enough to let him breathe.
But her pride and her temper refused to let it go so easily.
She hummed, curling her lips.
"That's your side of the story. How do I know what really happened between you two?"
"Nothing," Sam said immediately.
"Absolutely nothing. I only have one person in my heart, and you know who that is. No doubts, no second thoughts."
Her eyes narrowed, but this time a faint smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"Good. Because if any girl thinks she can take what's mine…" Cynthia leaned in close, her voice low and sharp, "…she learns the hard way why that's a mistake."
Sam swallowed.
There was a flicker in her eyes, not just jealousy, but satisfaction.
She wasn't bluffing.
"…Cynthia," he said slowly, realization dawning, "you didn't, "
Her smirk deepened.
"Let's just say… Sabrina won't be making that kind of request again."
She wrinkled her nose playfully, though the underlying message was crystal clear.
"Now, you'd better not make me prove myself twice."
Sam couldn't help but chuckle, relief mixing with awe.
That was Cynthia, beautiful, brilliant, terrifying when she wanted to be.
Still, she wrinkled her nose at him, feigning stubbornness.
"But I still don't believe you. Not unless you have proof."
Sam leaned closer, arms wrapping around her.
Cynthia squirmed like she might resist, but it was only for show.
Soon she was resting against his chest, lips curling in mock defiance that didn't fool him for a second.
"Proof, huh?" he whispered.
"Well, I do have some. But the Champion will need to check it herself."
Her curiosity cracked through her pout.
"And what kind of proof is that?"
"As long as the Champion inspects the depot herself," Sam teased with a sly grin, "she'll know if the ammunition's ever been touched."
Before she could fire back, he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
Cynthia blinked, cheeks warming, though her pride forced her lips into another pout.
But this time, there was no denying the sparkle in her golden eyes.
That night, words faded away, leaving only the quiet comfort of being in each other's arms, secure, unshaken, and stronger than before.
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Meanwhile, in Saffron City
Far away, beneath the Rocket headquarters in Saffron City, a different kind of silence filled the air.
In a dimly lit office, Giovanni leaned back in his chair, eyes fixed on the screen in front of him.
The video ended with Sam's Pokémon standing victorious over the massive Tentacruel.
Across the room, Ariana stood stiffly, her head bowed.
She had delivered the footage personally, but she knew better than to speak.
Giovanni's last two plans, both carefully laid out, had been derailed, one after another.
A stolen Master Ball from Silph Co.
An invasion through Cerulean's shores.
Both failed.
Ariana braced herself, expecting the outburst, the storm.
But it didn't come.
Giovanni steepled his fingers beneath his chin, his expression unreadable as the flickering light of the monitor painted sharp lines across his face.
The silence that followed was far more terrifying than anger.
Giovanni didn't rage.
Instead, he sank into the leather sofa of his office, shadows pooling across his sharp features.
The city lights beyond the glass window flickered faintly, but his eyes didn't really see them.
There was something heavy there, an emotion so rare in him that even Ariana had been unsettled.
He raised a crystal goblet of red wine, tilting it back until the liquid burned down his throat. The bitterness lingered.
"Makoto," Giovanni said at last, his voice low, controlled.
"Tell me everything we have on him."
Makoto, the Rocket admin at his side, straightened immediately.
He rifled through a folder, pulling out a neat stack of documents before handing one copy to Giovanni.
His tone was crisp, but even he hesitated as he began to read.
"Report to the Boss. His name is Sam. He works in the Celestic Laboratory as a respected researcher, specifically a Professor of history and ancient texts. He's well-known across the academic field, particularly for his work in deciphering ruins and Pokémon lore."
Giovanni flipped the file open.
A young man's face stared back at him, sharp-eyed and composed.
Handsome, in an irritatingly charismatic way.
Makoto continued, his voice echoing faintly in the room.
"He is also the fiancé of Sinnoh's Champion, Cynthia. Some months ago, when the two ancient titans clashed in Sinnoh, it was Sam who found the Sky Pillar. He awakened Rayquaza and ended the battle before the region was destroyed. Because of this, rumors spread… many believe he is Rayquaza's chosen inheritor."
Giovanni's brow twitched, his fingers tapping against the armrest.
"There's more," Makoto said, glancing briefly at his notes.
"Our intel suggests he was in Viridian Forest around the same time as our Evergreen Project. Based on the aftermath, we suspect he intervened and calmed the guardian Pokémon there as well."
The room fell silent again.
Giovanni leaned back, staring at the file a little too long before exhaling a quiet sigh.
"…I see."
His gaze lingered on Sam's picture.
He looked far too young for the kind of weight he carried.
Giovanni's hand clenched slightly, nails tapping the edge of the paper before he set it aside.
Finally, he spoke.
"Inform Archer and Petrel. Suspend all their current operations. The Master Ball project will wait until after he leaves the region. And spread word to the other Executives, " Giovanni's eyes sharpened.
"They are to avoid this Sam at all costs."
Ariana, who had remained silent throughout, lifted her head in disbelief.
This wasn't the Giovanni she knew.
The man she followed was decisive, ruthless, never once hesitant.
Yet here he was, putting everything on hold because of one man.
"Boss…" she started, but his hand waved her off.
"Leave," Giovanni ordered without looking at her.
"…Yes." Ariana lowered her eyes, hiding her unease as she exited the room.
The door shut softly behind her, leaving Giovanni alone.
The office was silent once more.
Giovanni poured another glass of wine, this time filling it nearly to the brim.
He drained it in one swallow, feeling the burn run deep into his chest.
A sharp bitterness coated his tongue, but he welcomed it.
He set the goblet down.
His fingers clenched around it, harder and harder until the stem snapped.
Shards cut into his palm, crimson drops mixing with the dark wine that spilled across the desk.
He didn't flinch.
"The inheritor of Rayquaza…"
Giovanni murmured, his gaze far away, as though looking beyond the city skyline.
"The so-called man of destiny. You've finally appeared."
His lips curled into something between a sneer and a smile.
The emptiness in his eyes hardened, sharpening into the cold gleam of ambition.
"Destiny…" he whispered, his voice low and dangerous.
"It won't make me bow. Not to him. Not to anyone."
The air around him seemed to thrum with quiet intensity as he pressed his bloody palm against the desk.
"Let him come. Let him stand in my way. Once I've gathered the power of this world, I'll crush destiny itself and prove that Giovanni is the only one fit to rule."
The broken goblet clattered to the floor.