Dawn was now helping Cynthia place the wild Ditto inside a small transport box. It would be taken for analysis at the Pokémon League laboratories and soon returned to the wild.
"All set, now we're ready to head back!" exclaimed Cynthia, wiping a fake sweat from her forehead. "Need a ride to the next town?" she asked Dawn. Although she hadn't directly helped during the battle, Dawn had been very useful afterward, helping to clean the battlefield and effectively contain the small Ditto.
"Really? I'd be very grateful!" Dawn replied. She was still confused about how a legendary Pokémon Champion knew her name, but remembering that her mother was once a successful coordinator, she connected the dots and came to a conclusion. 'Maybe she knows my mom?!'
Ignoring Dawn, who was lost in thought, Cynthia took one last look at the state of the small forest near Route 202. As she had imagined, the area was truly devastated from the battle between the two Pokémon.
'Maybe I should report this to the League so they can take action after we return.'
Looking up, she pulled a small black Poké Ball with two golden stripes from her utility belt, which caught little Dawn's attention.
"What's that?"
Looking at Dawn, Cynthia turned her gaze back to the strange Poké Ball. "This?" she asked, pointing at the object in her hand.
"Yes!"
It was understandable that Dawn didn't recognize the unusual Poké Ball. Although she was a trainer, she only had basic knowledge, but she wasn't completely clueless. She knew it was a Poké Ball, but since it looked different from the ones she had seen in Professor Rowan's lab, it piqued her curiosity.
'This strange Poké Ball can't be common—how could Miss Cynthia have ordinary things?!' Dawn thought.
"Well, this is called an Ultra Ball..." Cynthia replied, waiting for Dawn to process it before continuing. "It's a type of Poké Ball with a capture rate modifier twice that of a standard Poké Ball and 33% higher than a Great Ball!"
Hearing about the Ultra Ball's incredible capture rate, Dawn was amazed. She knew about the Great Ball since, as her mother had been a skilled Pokémon coordinator, she owned some Pokémon captured with Great Balls.
"Where can I get those?" Dawn asked, even more excited. If she could get her hands on even one of those incredible Poké Balls, it would be a huge advantage to catch rare Pokémon—or maybe even mythical or legendary ones.
'With Cyan by my side, it wouldn't be impossible to weaken a legendary Pokémon and then use the Ultra Ball to catch it!' Lost in her daydreams, Dawn noticed her beloved Cyan was nowhere to be seen.
"Huh??? Where's Cyan??" Turning her head, she looked in every direction. Not finding him, she started to panic.
Cynthia also realized that the cute dragon Pokémon was no longer in sight. Looking closely, she noticed her Garchomp was missing as well.
"Lina? Where are you?" Cynthia softly called her Garchomp, and just like Dawn's Cyantherion, she got no response. That left both trainers a little worried about the strange disappearance.
...
Meanwhile, not far from the clearing, near a strange cave hidden by some bushes, Cyan and Lina (Garchomp) were slowly walking toward the cave's entrance. He had found it after sensing traces of Lumencryta in that direction.
It was obvious that Ditto's strange behavior earlier and the visible changes in its mimicry ability—which could even fool the sharp senses of a champion-level Garchomp—were by no means natural.
"Could it be because of that mysterious Lumencryta?"
Lina, following the little Chinese dragon that glided through the air as if sliding over a frozen lake, looked at some rocky fragments emitting a cyan glow, sometimes shimmering between white and lilac.
"You mean these little crystals?" she asked, moving closer to grab one small fragment—but was stopped before touching it.
"Don't touch that. Remember Ditto?"
Nodding, Lina continued listening to Cyan's explanation.
"I suspect these strange crystal fragments are linked to Ditto!" Cyan expressed his suspicions.
Lina was surprised for a moment, but after thinking more calmly, she came to the same conclusion as Cyan. Both continued their walk inside the dark cave. The walls were narrow, but even in the gloom, as Pokémon, Dawn and Lina could still see clearly. The air was getting increasingly humid. Cyan noticed the walls seemed carved from rock, so this wasn't a natural cave. His suspicion grew stronger when they found some tools scattered on the slippery floor.
Passing through an even narrower passage that almost trapped Lina, at the end of the cave they could see a small glow illuminating almost everything around.
Lina and Cyan looked at each other and nodded in tactical agreement to continue the path, but then they stopped and turned their gaze toward the cave entrance, where quick footsteps were growing louder nearby.
They were about to go into combat mode when a familiar scent hit their nostrils, calming them down. They didn't have to wait long—just minutes later, Dawn and Cynthia appeared in their line of sight, both running with a bit of panic on their beautiful faces, but upon seeing Cyantherion and Garchomp, they visibly relaxed.
Stopping in front of Cyan, Dawn approached and pinched his scaly cheeks.
"Baka Cyan!! What are you doing disappearing like that?" She looked at him annoyed, but the tears forming at the corners of her beautiful dark blue eyes showed how worried she really was.
Cyan felt a little guilty for leaving without telling his trainer, but he couldn't resist the strange call he heard coming from the end of the cave.
Garchomp wasn't so lucky. Cynthia looked at her with a disappointed gaze that hurt more than a thousand needles. She said nothing to Garchomp, but the silence already told a lot about her master's mood. A little scared, she stepped back with her head lowered. Cyan, feeling a bit sorry for Lina, stayed by her side after Cynthia finished her silent reprimand. Even though they had just met, he already considered this Garchomp a friend. First, she wasn't annoying or bothering him with endless questions. Second, she followed him obediently, even when he hadn't called her.
To be honest, he wouldn't have dared enter the strange cave without Lina. Cyan was still in his early stages—that is, extremely weak. Another reason he'd gathered the courage to answer the strange call was his confidence in Garchomp's strength.
CRAAACK!!!
Without the two Pokémon noticing, the rocky ground where Garchomp was standing began to crack rapidly. There was no time for her to react. Cyan, being a little faster and floating in the air, wasn't affected by the sudden loss of balance and tried to grab Garchomp to stop her fall. Unfortunately, Garchomp was much larger and heavier. Both fell rapidly through the small ravine that opened in the floor.
"LINA!!!"
"CYAN!!!!"
Both their respective trainers screamed as they noticed their Pokémon's sudden fall. Running toward the edge of the ravine, all they could see was a bright light emerging from the crater.
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Hello everyone!
Just a quick update: I'll be posting only one more chapter today because I worked overtime and only just got home about an hour ago. The bonus chapters are still coming, so don't worry—they'll be posted soon!
Also, I'd love to hear your thoughts: Do you feel the story's pacing is too slow, or should I keep expanding the world and adding more detail? Your feedback means a lot!
Thanks for your patience and support!
— Piusmith