"Shiish... almost forgot to upload today..."
As time passed, Saturo and Cynthia continued finding new ways to torment each other.
Not that kind of torment.
"The childish kind."
The type where both parties lost brain cells daily while everyone around them suffered emotional damage.
Surprisingly, Saturo managed to survive Cynthia's absurd training routine. Of course, the only reason his body could even handle the Saitama-level nonsense was because it had been strengthened by the two energies inside him. Otherwise, a normal kid would have already been hospitalized several times over.
Then again, considering the kind of nonsense Ash survived in the anime, maybe the Pokémon world simply ignored logic altogether.
Using part of the million pokédollars he had received earlier, Saturo began teaching various moves to his Pokémon while secretly saving James's portion of the money for future travel expenses.
Somehow, through pure Pokémon-world nonsense, Oriana learned Draco Meteor while Escanor learned how to use Psychic.
Did it make sense? No.
Did anyone question it? Also no.
Eventually, both Oriana and Escanor evolved together before immediately making the same complaint to Cynthia:
"Saturo has too much free time."
At that exact moment, Cynthia was sitting comfortably on top of Saturo's back while he struggled through another set of push-ups.
"Hah... hahhh..."
"Keep going," Cynthia said calmly. "I need you to have at least eight abs by the time we're done."
"You heavy idiot..." Saturo muttered between breaths.
Cynthia immediately placed a hand over her chest dramatically. "How dare you speak to a lady like that?"
Saturo instantly replied, "You aren't even a lady, so shut up."
Silence.
Dangerous silence.
In the distance, Oriana burst into laughter while Escanor's expression darkened.
The two Pokémon had apparently placed a bet earlier.
The rules were simple:
How long could their trainers go without provoking each other?
Oriana guessed ten seconds.
Escanor, believing the two secretly cared about each other, optimistically guessed one minute.
The loser would have to let the winner ride on their back.
Without hesitation, Oriana extended her hand toward Escanor for payment.
Escanor lowered his head in disappointment.
A few moments later, Oriana jumped onto his back before using her personally invented move—sand surfing—to glide across the area at full speed while laughing victoriously.
Meanwhile, Cynthia suddenly removed the heavy weights from Saturo's back and stared at him thoughtfully.
Saturo immediately felt danger.
"W-Wait... what are you thinking, my dear friend...?"
Cynthia smiled.
That was the moment Saturo realized his life was over.
An hour later, Cynthia had somehow prepared a blanket, pillow, and several suspicious items while Saturo stared at her nervously.
"What are you doing...?"
He tried standing up only to realize he had somehow been wrapped tightly inside the blanket like a burrito. To make matters worse, black sunglasses had been placed over his face for absolutely no reason.
"Hey! Hey! This is dirty!"
Ignoring his complaints completely, Cynthia picked up the struggling Saturo and carried him home.
Oriana and Escanor immediately saluted her.
"Yes, mom."
Even Feebas looked slightly sympathetic from the corner.
Not sympathetic enough to stop laughing though.
Unfortunately for Saturo, his suffering had only begun.
The moment they arrived home, Cynthia forced him to participate in the most horrifying game imaginable:
House.
Specifically, Cynthia declared herself the mother while Saturo was forced into the role of the child.
Saturo wanted to escape immediately.
Unfortunately, every Pokémon in the house had already sided with Cynthia.
Traitors.
Still, despite all the chaos, Saturo noticed something strange.
Cynthia had changed slightly.
It was subtle enough that he couldn't fully explain it, but compared to before, she laughed more often now. Her expressions had become softer too.
Of course, Saturo was smart enough not to mention it aloud.
He valued his survival.
As the weeks passed, Saturo slowly realized his time in Sinnoh was approaching its end. In only a few months, he would eventually leave for Johto and Kanto.
Because of that, he began focusing more seriously on his studies.
Geography.
Regional cultures.
Medicinal herbs.
Poisonous plants.
Survival knowledge.
Fortunately, thanks to his abnormal memory, Saturo only needed to read something once for it to become permanently engraved into his mind.
Meanwhile, Cynthia continued obsessing over myths, ruins, legends, and ancient history while also dedicating herself to inventing new ways to annoy him.
For example, Saturo once used his powers to teleport Cynthia directly into a freezing lake right before her bath before immediately teleporting her back out again.
In retaliation, Cynthia learned trick shooting.
Then she weaponized the Pokémon.
Escanor started "accidentally" hitting Saturo with Psychic whenever he walked by.
Oriana developed the habit of dropping sand into his food.
Even Feebas somehow joined the conspiracy despite barely moving most of the day.
Saturo eventually reached one terrifying conclusion.
He was no longer fighting Cynthia alone.He was fighting an entire organization.