"Here you go."
Victor scooped a little of each flavor, arranging them into a multi-colored ball. He handed it to Cynthia, along with a spoon.
"Thank you," Cynthia said politely, accepting the ice cream. She took a small scoop and brought it to her lips.
"Mmm..." Her eyes instantly closed in delight. After swallowing, she said, "This is delicious."
"Thank you for the compliment," Victor grinned, then made a portion for her Garchomp as well.
"Grawr."
The Garchomp devoured it in one bite, its crimson eyes staring intently at Victor.
Feeling the powerful aura emanating from the Garchomp, Victor focused his attention.
[Garchomp]
[Type: Dragon, Ground]
[Gender: Female]
[Ability: Sand Veil]
[Known Moves: Dragon Claw, Dragon Breath, Slash, Sandstorm, Dragon Rush, Dragon Cheer, Draco Meteor, Swords Dance, Outrage, Scale Shot, Thunder Fang, Fire Fang, Flamethrower, Breaking Swipe, Sandstorm, Earthquake.]
[Mood: Happy (So nice not to be working)]
[Status: Wary]
[Friendship: 10 (Thanks for the ice cream)]
[Introduction: The ace of the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia. Overlooks all.]
"Hiss..." Looking at the Garchomp's moveset, Victor couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.
As expected of the Champion's ace. It's a shame it doesn't know Dragon Dance, though.
"Is something wrong?" Cynthia asked.
"Oh, it's nothing. Let me introduce you to the partners here at the Breeding House," Victor said, snapping out of his thoughts and smiling at Cynthia's bright eyes.
After he had introduced her to the Breeding House's Pokémon, Gengar returned with the Vespiquen and its Combee.
"Gengar—"
"I'm back."
"Gengar?"
"Who's this?"
Gengar floated over to Victor's side, curiously looking at Cynthia and her Garchomp, and feeling the powerful aura coming from the Dragon Pokémon.
"Gengar?!"
So... so scary...
Even so, Gengar still floated in front of Victor protectively.
Victor patted Gengar's little bottom, signaling that it was okay.
"Gengar, this is our Sinnoh region's Champion, Cynthia. And that is her ace, Garchomp."
"Champion Cynthia, this is my... ace, Gengar. And I'm the owner of this Breeding House, Victor," he said, introducing Gengar and then formally introducing himself.
"Hello, Gengar. And you too, Victor," Cynthia said. Her mood brightened even more as she recalled how Gengar had unhesitatingly stood in front of Victor just now.
"You can just call me Cynthia," she said softly, then looked at Gengar. "This Gengar trusts you a lot. The bond between you is very strong."
"I trust it a lot, too," Victor said, looking at the Gengar beside him with a smile.
He then signaled for Cynthia to wait a moment, turned to the Vespiquen, and served it and its Combee a large portion of ice cream, drizzled with sweet Honey.
"Thank you for all your hard work lately. Please, try some and see if you like it."
The Vespiquen stared at Victor for a long moment, then extended a claw and accepted the bowl.
"How have things been here? Is everything okay?"
The Vespiquen took a bite of the ice cream and nodded.
They liked it here very much. It was beautiful, clean, and filled with cheerful laughter.
The Sweet Honey they produced in this environment had a better, sweeter flavor.
It would be even better if a certain Pokémon didn't come by to ask for Sweet Honey all the time.
"That's good to hear. I actually have a small favor to ask. You know that Sweet Honey you gave me a while ago? I've used it all up today, and I was hoping to get a little more from you."
Victor scratched the back of his head, a harmless smile on his face.
"..." The Vespiquen stared at him intently, not saying a word.
"Don't worry, from now on, I'll use it more sparingly! I won't ask you again until you give me the next batch," Victor immediately promised.
The Vespiquen looked at the ice cream in its hands, then at the nearby Gengar, then at the Garchomp in the distance, and finally back at Victor.
In the end, with a little help from Gengar and Garchomp's presence, the Vespiquen reluctantly nodded.
After all, this was part of the original agreement, the Vespiquen comforted itself.
It then flew back to its nest and brought him a jar of Sweet Honey, taking a container of ice cream back with it as it left.
Meanwhile, Cynthia finished her ice cream, handed the empty bowl to Mime Jr., and turned to look at Victor. Seeing that he was still talking with the Vespiquen, she walked over to the Petilil.
The Petilil looked up at the beautiful Cynthia. As she smiled a smile as warm as a spring breeze, it leaped into her open arms.
"You're so cute, Petilil," Cynthia said, gently fiddling with the small, neatly trimmed leaves on its head.
"Lili~"
"You seem to like him a lot."
The Petilil nodded, looked towards Victor, and let out a sweet cry.
"That's a Petilil, a Pokémon from the Unova region," Victor said, walking over with Gengar.
"I know," Cynthia's voice replied.
Victor gave an awkward smile. Of course the Champion would know what a Petilil is.
"But why is it here in the Sinnoh region? Did you travel to Unova before?" Cynthia's cool voice asked.
Victor explained the Petilil's situation to her.
Cynthia nodded, then looked down at the Petilil in her arms.
"You're very brave."
The Petilil happily shook its small head.
It was now able to bravely face what had happened in the past. It no longer felt sad when Victor mentioned its story, because it had now found the trainer it loved most, the best of friends, and the best of homes.
"Would you care to join us for a lovely afternoon tea?"
"Umm..."
Seeing Cynthia hesitate, Victor continued, "Being the Champion must be a lot of work, right?"
Cynthia nodded quickly and let out a sigh.
"In that case, on such a beautiful day, how about having a lovely afternoon tea to properly relax?"
Cynthia blinked her beautiful eyes and then nodded.
"Then I'll have to trouble you."
Victor waved his hand and went back to the kitchen, bringing out the desserts he had prepared earlier.
When he returned, Cynthia was already lying back on one of the lounge chairs under the sun umbrella, holding the Petilil.
After serving desserts to the Pokémon, Victor brought a slice of cake over to the sun umbrella, placed it on the table, and poured Cynthia a glass of his special milk tea.
"Please, try it."
Cynthia sat up, first taking a sip of the milk tea, then a small bite of the dessert with her spoon.
"Delicious," she said, her eyes closing in contentment.
Hearing this, Victor smiled happily, and he and Cynthia began to enjoy their afternoon tea.
"They all rely on you so much," Cynthia said, lying back in her chair and looking at the Pokémon in the distance.
"Honestly, I don't know why they trust me so much. In fact, if it weren't for them, this Breeding House probably wouldn't have been able to stay open."
"Oh?" Cynthia turned her head curiously and looked at Victor, who was lying on the chair on the other side of the table.
Although the Breeding House wasn't large and didn't have many Pokémon, it was the most comfortable one she had ever felt.
Victor began to tell her the stories of the Breeding House.
When he mentioned that he was from the Eastern Alliance, she nodded. Mustard from the Isle of Armor was also from the Eastern Alliance, and he had been the Champion of the Galar region for many consecutive years.
She then listened as Victor told her about his first meeting with Gengar, with the Machoke, and then about the Petilil, the Vespiquen, Mime Jr., and the story of the little girl.
Cynthia listened quietly. When he had finished, she finally spoke. "The meeting between people and Pokémon is a wonderful thing, isn't it? Although it's always full of uncertainty, the final result is often something one can accept, almost as if it were destined."
"And it's not just between people and Pokémon, but between Pokémon and Pokémon, and people and people, too. That's what makes every encounter so precious."
She now understood why Gengar and the others trusted him so much. When you raise a Pokémon with love, the Pokémon will often return that love, even at the cost of its own life.
That's what Pokémon are.
"Precious, huh?" Victor murmured, looking into the distance.
"Yes, truly precious," he said with a soft laugh.
"Thank you, Champion Cynthia."
"Cynthia!"
Hearing the change in her tone, Victor paused, then looked over and saw that Cynthia was busy playing with the Petilil. He smiled.
"Right. Cynthia."
"So, are you planning to stay for dinner, Cynthia?"
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