Chapter 230: Sabrina: Emergency Alert! Get Over Here Now!
Cynthia struggled to connect the fierce trainer on the field with the image of Professor Oak's grandson.
Meanwhile, Eevee, still in Asahi's arms, flailed its paws indignantly — clearly unhappy with Gary for bullying a member of the Eevee family.
Feeling a bit awkward, Asahi tried to defend Gary. "It's a cautious strategy — for all he knows, that Flareon might be pretending to be weak, secretly charging up for a devastating counterattack."
Just as he finished speaking, Gary had Nidoking launch a brutal Earth Power, sending Flareon flying.
It hit the ground. Unconscious.
"…"
Asahi felt the stares of Cynthia, Sabrina, and Eevee.
…Okay. Maybe he should've just stayed quiet.
The referee lowered his flag.
"And with three consecutive wins, Gary advances to the next round! Let's congratulate him!" the announcer boomed.
…
After the match, Gary headed straight for the VIP section.
At close range, Gary finally confirmed what he had suspected — the woman standing beside Asahi really was Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion!?
"Asahi, what's going on here…?" Gary leaned in and whispered.
He was completely confused.
That morning, Asahi had only mentioned running errands with Sabrina — so how did he suddenly end up with the Sinnoh Champion by his side?
Cynthia gave Gary a polite nod, while Asahi simply let out a sigh.
Gary blinked. Why the sigh?
Wait — could Asahi have found out about that time Gary anonymously asked the internet for tips on how to subtly mock his boss?
The thought alone made Gary feel a bit nervous.
Before his imagination could spiral any further, Asahi finally spoke. "It's nothing. Cynthia is here in Kanto to discuss an alliance with the League, and I'm in charge of hosting her. By the way — nice performance just now."
He deliberately emphasized the word "performance."
Gary had been about to ask about the collaboration — why Asahi, of all people, was handling it — but the moment he heard the compliment, his curiosity vanished. Puffing out his chest, he grinned.
"Of course! I've been the acting Gym Leader of Viridian City for so long — a little preliminary match like that is a walk in the park!"
He was completely oblivious to the hidden sarcasm in Asahi's words.
Meanwhile, the looks Asahi, Cynthia, and Sabrina exchanged grew even stranger.
Luckily, the next match began, and everyone's focus shifted back to the arena.
Cynthia then broke the silence. "I heard from Lance that you caught Celebi back in Johto?"
At the mention of Celebi, Sabrina's eyes narrowed slightly.
Her gaze toward Cynthia now carried a faint hint of… wariness.
Asahi, however, didn't think much of the question. It wasn't classified information anyway. He nodded.
"Yeah, I just got lucky. Celebi was in danger at the time — I had no choice but to catch it."
The moment those words left his mouth, the Poké Ball in Asahi's pocket began shaking violently.
It was clearly Celebi protesting.
No choice? Asahi had knocked it out cold with a Poké Ball just as it was about to leave with Pryce!
Sensing Celebi's fury, Asahi subtly used his Aura powers to soothe it — silently assuring Celebi that this was just an official "cover story."
Cynthia's interest deepened. "I've studied many ancient ruins. Celebi and Dialga are both linked to time — I wonder if there's a deeper connection between them…"
Her voice held a trace of wonder.
Having spent her life researching Sinnoh's history and mythology, Cynthia was always excited about uncovering the mysteries behind Legendary Pokémon.
Asahi corrected her. "Technically speaking, Celebi is more of a time-travel Pokémon."
"It's the guardian of forests and specializes in healing humans and Pokémon — it's quite different from Dialga, the true god of time."
While Celebi could manipulate time to an extent, it wasn't on the same level as Dialga, who could directly control it.
And how did Asahi know all this?
Simple — he'd tricked Celebi into spilling its secrets one day by distracting it with specially crafted Pokéblocks.
The Poké Ball in his pocket shook even harder.
"Really?" Cynthia blinked in surprise.
She hadn't heard this explanation before.
Asahi suddenly thought of something. "By the way, Cynthia — you gave me a Togepi egg, but I haven't given you anything in return…"
"You already treated me to ice cream," Cynthia replied easily.
For her, the Moomoo Milk ice cream was more than enough. Besides, Asahi had helped her earlier — not only suggesting Lorelei as reinforcements but also pushing for Koga's release to bolster Sinnoh's support.
Asahi chuckled. "So you're saying Togepi's only worth a scoop of ice cream? If it heard that, it'd be heartbroken."
Before Cynthia could protest, Asahi summoned Gengar.
Reaching into Gengar's shadowy body, Asahi pulled out two feathers — one shimmering with rainbow hues and the other glowing with a silvery light.
Cynthia's eyes were immediately drawn to them. Without thinking, she accepted the feathers, a puzzled look crossing her face. "These are…?"
"Feathers from Ho-Oh and Lugia," Asahi explained. "Holding both at the same time grants protection against temporal distortions."
At that, Cynthia's expression shifted. She quickly tried to return the feathers.
These were tied to Legendary Pokémon — far too valuable to accept lightly.
"As you mentioned earlier, Team Galactic might be targeting Palkia and Dialga. If they succeed in capturing Dialga, these feathers could offer you some protection," Asahi said calmly.
Of course, the real reason he gave them away so easily was that… well, he had a surplus.
He'd collected quite a few Rainbow Feathers from Ho-Oh, and baby Lugia was still shedding feathers like crazy during its molts.
So using them as a gift seemed perfectly reasonable.
Cynthia hesitated. If Team Galactic truly intended to capture Dialga, these feathers would be a crucial safeguard.
In the end, she convinced herself to accept them — for Sinnoh's sake.
Meanwhile, Gary stood to the side, watching with growing envy.
He had known Asahi for so long — why had he never received a gift like that?
And then there was Sabrina…
She was already discreetly using her psychic powers to text Green.
[Emergency alert! Get here now!]
…