"That move just now!" Ash gasped, his eyes wide.
"When Lugia hit the ground... the whole earth shook!"
"It wasn't just 'like' it shook," Dawn interjected, rubbing her arms.
"It really did! I felt the vibration in my bones. That attack was terrifying!"
Brock nodded, his face pale. He was equally terrified by the raw power of Silver's Aeroblast.
Red remained silent. He just kept his eyes glued to Silver high in the sky, his gaze glittering with a mix of envy and anticipation.
'That is the power of a High-Tier Legendary,' he thought.
On the other side of the field, Cynthia stood frozen.
"Zapdos..." she stammered, looking at Sam in disbelief.
"Was he just... one-shotted?"
"Uh..."
Facing the stunned Champion, Sam didn't know how to answer.
Usually, when he sparred with Cynthia, he held back.
He treated it as practice. But this time, Silver had used Aeroblast, a signature move capable of destroying landscapes.
There was no holding back with a move like that.
Sam scratched his head, changing the subject awkwardly.
"Well... why don't you recall Zapdos first? Let him rest."
Somewhat disappointed, Cynthia recalled her fallen bird into its Poké Ball.
She hadn't really expected her newly advanced Zapdos to beat Silver.
But she had expected a fight! She thought they would go back and forth for at least a few rounds.
She didn't expect an instant KO.
Especially after she had just arrogantly declared that she might defeat Sam.
The slap in the face came too quickly.
Depressed, Cynthia decided to vent her frustration on the only available target: her fiancé.
She walked over and pinched Sam's arm.
"Bad Sam~" she complained, pouting.
"I hate you~."
At this moment, Cynthia didn't look like the majestic Champion of Sinnoh.
She looked like a girl who had lost a video game and was blaming her boyfriend for being too good at it.
"Ouch~"
Sam hugged the pouting Cynthia, smoothing her hair to soothe her bruised ego.
"Be good, baby. Don't be mad," he coaxed gently.
"As long as you practice hard, you'll have a chance to win one day."
"Liar~" Cynthia buried her face in Sam's chest.
"Your Pokémon are too shameless. Tell me, what do I have to do to defeat you?"
Her voice was muffled, carrying three parts dissatisfaction and seven parts charm.
"Well..."
Sam couldn't answer that. Beating him was statistically unlikely.
So, he changed the subject to something she wanted to hear.
"So what if I'm stronger?" Sam whispered.
"At home, what you say goes. If you tell me to go East, I go East. Everything I have is yours anyway, right?"
"Hmph."
Cynthia snorted, but she smiled.
'That's true,' she thought.
'No matter how strong Sam is, he's my husband. With how much he dotes on me, his victory is basically my victory.'
Thinking of it this way, she felt much better. Her body relaxed in his arms.
Just as the atmosphere was turning pink and bubbly, a voice cut in from the side.
"Sister Cynthia," Dawn said with a smirk, holding Piplup.
"Don't let him fool you."
"Huh?"
"Sam might be the Head of the House," Dawn teased, quoting an old saying.
"But don't forget... the Wife is the Neck. And the Neck turns the Head whichever way it wants."
Hearing Dawn's teasing, Cynthia turned bright red.
"Dawn!"
She squeezed Sam's arm hard again out of embarrassment.
"Dawn, well done," Sam grimaced in pain, though he was laughing.
"Hehe~" Dawn giggled and walked away with Piplup, leaving the lovebirds alone.
The next day.
The group gathered at the training grounds.
Ash and Red were in full swing, training their Pokémon with intense focus.
Dawn was sitting on the grass, teasing Piplup.
Brock, wearing his apron, watched the training session with a bored expression.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a white figure in the distance.
He froze. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
"Miss... Miss Diantha?"
In the distance, walking through the garden, was the Kalos Champion.
She was wearing her signature white dress, holding Cynthia's hand intimately as they chatted and laughed.
"OH MY GOD!"
Brock danced with excitement, his voice cracking.
"It's really Miss Diantha!"
"Ah!"
Dawn jumped, startled by the sudden scream. She clutched her chest.
"Brock! You scared me to death! What is wrong with you?"
"Pii-ka!" Piplup raised his wings in protest.
"Miss Diantha has come to Celestic Town!" Brock ignored them, rubbing his hands together nervously.
"I never thought I would see her in the flesh again so soon! My heart can't take it!"
Hearing the yell, Red paused his training.
He turned, glanced at Diantha for a split second, and then...
He turned back.
"Charizard, use Flamethrower!"
Ash's reaction was similar.
He glanced over, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, Oh, another Champion, and then immediately refocused.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail! Let's go!"
For these two battle maniacs, Brock's excitement was incomprehensible.
'Woman?Unimportant!Training is life.'
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