" Now, I will call upon our guests to present the prizes to our Top-4 finalists." Steven turned towards Jon, as he beckoned him to join him at the centre. "Please welcome, our dear Ice Queen and Elite Four of Kanto, Lorelei."

An extremely enthralling lady stepped out of the other room, much to everyone's cheers. Austin could see Misty and Brock literally swooning at the woman , Elite 4 Lorelei. The woman looked in her late twenties and had rich, red hair, with two pigtails and a ponytail, a pair of silvery glasses over her hazel eyes. She wore a blue jacket, a red shirt, and a black pencil skirt, a rather normal dress, but nevertheless, looking breathtakingly beautiful.

Just as Lorelei reached the centre of the stage, a single trainer belt with ten, shiny ultraballs latched onto it, aside from a single brown bag that must have contained the four full-restore packs inside it, along with a single certificate of appreciation. She handed those to Jon, before smiling and muttering something to Jon, before stepping back and moving over to join Steven.

"Now join me in welcoming Glacia, our dear Ice Mistress and part of Hoenn Elite Four." Steven announced, as a tall, slender young lady, with pale, creamy-blonde hair hanging in thick locks behind her head, bluish eyes and pale skin, walked out of the other room. Just like before, she took the suddenly appeared trainer belt with seven ultraballs, a bag of restores, a cheque and a certificate of appreciation. She handed them to Harrison, who looked pleased as ever, before Glacia stepped back to join beside Lorelei.

"Our next is the breathtakingly beautiful, brand-new Champion of Sinnoh. Please welcome the new Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia." The person who walked in next was wearing a beautiful gown of black and gold that accentuated her eyes and hair, as she gracefully walked towards the center, a soft smile on her face. She turned towards a flummoxed Austin who was literally gaping at her, before an impish smile formed on her lips. "Nicely performed, Mr. Ketchum. Your performance was impressive."

"I- I thought your name was Shirona." Austin replied weakly as his mind went blank for a second .Had he noticed, he would have seen both Brock , Misty and the others look completely shocked.

Cynthia chuckled, as she gracefully took up the trainer belt with five ultraballs, the bag, the cheque and certificate of appreciation, before turning towards Austin. "My full name is Cynthia Shirona."

Austin opened his mouth, before closing it back, his mind gone dizzy as he tried to digest the revelations while he wanted to hit his head on the wall.

' From Sinnoh , Has a Garchomp and is a blonde ... Why didn't I put all of that together .'

Austin thought as he went back to his friends. As for Cynthia, she just smirked before joining Lorelei to her left.

"And finally, please welcome our oldest and one of most revered of Kanto's Elite, the Ghost Mistress and Kanto's Elite Four, Agatha."

The old woman that slowly trudged her way into the platform set Austin on edge. Something about the old blonde-haired woman was odd. She had been walking, with support her wooden cane, her shadow slightly darker than normal, and her eyes- one red, and one white, creating a strange juxtaposition of infirmity and controlled power at the same time. Almost subconsciously, Austin took a step back as she walked past him, before stopping in front of Ritchie. Silently, she gave away Ritchie's prize before walking back, her wooden cane tapping all the way, as her… odd shadow moved back with her.

From within Agatha's shadow, a Gengar peeked out at Austin while thinking.

' Interesting, that boy's soul so heavily connected with causality. Good luck to you for fate will ripe you apart mentally and physically for your involvement in it's grandiose plans. Kekekekeeke '

"Now that the prize distribution is over," Steven held up a glass of wine, "let the party begin!"

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Austin had gotten back to his friends , all of them completely outwitted and awed by the fact that they had been in the presence of a Champion all this while. Austin in particular, was completely outwitted since he had come to view Shirona as someone he could talk to, spend time with as an equal and dare he say it, someone he could call a friend. Somehow, he found it rather… conflicting to connect the image of a Champion with the girl who had been on deck with him an hour ago, trying to talk sense into him, someone with whom he had spent time, had ice-cream and battled for fun. Someone on whom he had demonstrated anger, as if she were a friend and thus, in his own circle.

And Shirona had been Cynthia, the Champion of Sinnoh region, all this time.

"Still angry at me?" The sudden, feminine voice shook Austin out of his reveries, as Shirona—no, Cynthia walked up to him, the impish smile still floating on her lips.

"It is an honour to meet you," Austin replied, if somewhat tersely, "Sinnoh Champion."

Cynthia winced. It seemed like her little trick had taken a little wrong turn. "I'm really sorry. I thought it would be funny to reveal myself to you at the party. Please don't be angry on me."

"I don't understand." Misty replied suddenly.

"What?" Cynthia and Austin asked in unison.

"You are the Champion. Not just anyone, but the Champion. Why would… you know, someone like you, deign to talk, forget being friendly, with a newbie trainer?"

Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "Are Champions not worthy of making friends?"

Misty coughed. "No, no, not that—I mean, he's just…"

Brock chimed in ," He is just Ash , a trainer with barely a few months of experience.Why would a champion even care to take interest in his profile ?"

Austin looked at the woman who was embarrassingly, his prepubescent awakening which was something he would take to his grave.

Absolutely no one will know that.

Cynthia's lips thinned. "I thought I was being friendly, not merely appearing to do so."

Yellow looked confused as Austin opened his mouth and closed .

He didn't know what to say.

Cynthia let out a sigh. "I just…. Never mind. You won't understand. I guess… I saw a little of myself in you, and it attracted me, and-"

Misty and Brock coughed.

"—I mean, I found you an interesting person to talk you, and it was a good way to spend time on the ship. So, that's it, I guess."

"Oh." Austin replied, something that wiped off the smile on Cynthia's face. However, she controlled her irritation. "Anyway, come with me." She pulled Austin's hand.

"Huh, where are you taking me?" Austin asked, perplexed.

Cynthia arched an eyebrow. "I did tell you that I'd introduce you to my friends, didn't I?"

Misty and Kris looked at Yellow to see how her friend was dealing with essentially another woman taking away her crush.

Misty and Kris sweat dropped when they saw that Yellow had gone to sleep while all of this was happening.

Brock and Gold meanwhile were trying to flirt with a few women and failing.