"Of course, if you'd prefer something other than money, feel free to tell me what you'd like," Cynthia continued, her gaze moving across the group.
She was well aware of Gary's background—the grandson of Professor Oak, one of the most renowned researchers in the entire Pokémon world. And since Gary and Ash clearly knew each other, she assumed they were all trainers who weren't exactly struggling financially. Offering nothing but cash might feel a bit impersonal for people who had just helped save an entire region.
"I just want the money!" Dawn declared without a moment's hesitation, her blue eyes sparkling. Her pocket money from home had always been tightly controlled by her mother Johanna, and the prospect of a League-issued bonus was intoxicating. She was already mentally compiling a list of things she'd never dared to buy before—new outfits, accessories for Contests, premium Poffin ingredients.
"Pip-lup!" Piplup chirped in enthusiastic agreement from her arms.
"I don't really need anything specific," Brock said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. He glanced sideways. "What about you, Ash?"
Ash scrunched up his face in deep thought—an expression that made him look like he was trying to solve an impossibly difficult math problem. After several seconds, he gave up. "I… I can't really think of anything right now. Just give me money too, I guess."
"Pika pika," Pikachu agreed with a casual shrug from Ash's shoulder.
Cynthia nodded, then turned her attention to the last member of the group. "And what about you, Gary?"
Gary had been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, watching the exchange with quiet amusement. At Cynthia's question, he straightened up.
"Can you get me a Larvesta?" he asked.
The request clearly caught Cynthia off guard. Her silver eyes widened slightly, and even Professor Rowan—who had been observing the conversation from a nearby chair—looked up with raised eyebrows.
"What's a Larvesta?" Ash asked, tilting his head.
Dawn was already pulling out her Pokédex, flipping it open and scanning for information. After a moment, the device beeped—then displayed a blank screen.
"No data available for this Pokémon."
"What?! There's no entry?!" Dawn stared at the screen in disbelief. "My Pokédex doesn't even have information on it!"
Professor Rowan rose from his chair and adjusted his spectacles. "That's because Larvesta is a Pokémon native to the Unova Region—far beyond the scope of a standard Sinnoh Pokédex," he explained, his deep voice carrying the weight of decades of academic authority. "It is an exceptionally rare Bug and Fire-type Pokémon, sometimes called the Torch Pokémon. It wraps its body in flames for protection, and ancient civilizations once believed it was born from the sun itself. Throughout history, it has been revered as a solar emissary."
"Born from the sun?" Dawn's eyes went wide. "That sounds incredible!"
"Its evolved form, Volcarona, is even more remarkable," Professor Rowan continued. "It is said that when volcanic ash blocked out the sunlight in ancient times, Volcarona's flames served as a substitute for the sun itself. In terms of rarity and power, it rivals most Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon."
Cynthia let out a slow breath. "Gary, that's… quite the request. Larvesta is extraordinarily rare even in Unova. Sourcing one through official League channels would be extremely difficult."
"If the Sinnoh League can't manage it, money is fine," Gary said with an easy shrug. His tone was casual—he'd clearly considered the possibility and accepted it without issue. Worst case, he'd travel to Unova himself and track one down. It wasn't urgent.
Cynthia studied him for a moment, then offered a small smile. "I'll see what I can do. I have some connections with Professor Juniper's laboratory in the Unova Region. I can't promise anything, but I'll try."
"Appreciated."
With the immediate crisis resolved and law enforcement securing the ruins, the group descended Mt. Coronet and made their way to the Pokémon Center nestled in the valley below. The sun was hanging low by the time they arrived—painting the sky in broad strokes of amber and violet behind the mountain's jagged silhouette.
While Ash, Dawn, and Brock settled into the Center's common area and began the welcome process of resting and recovering, Gary excused himself and sought out Cynthia privately. He found her in a quiet corridor near the Center's administrative offices, speaking into a communicator. She finished her call and looked up as he approached.
"Miss Cynthia, I wanted to ask you something," Gary said, his voice lower now, stripped of the casual lightness he'd shown around Ash's group. "What does the Sinnoh League intend to do with Cyrus?"
Cynthia's expression hardened. The warm, approachable Champion disappeared, replaced by the steely-eyed leader of an entire region's defense.
"You're worried he'll try again," she said. It wasn't a question.
"His plan failed today, but the man isn't dead," Gary replied. "The Adamant Orb and the Lustrous Orb still exist. The Spear Pillar is still standing. The knowledge of how to forge the Red Chain is still in Charon's head. As long as Cyrus is alive, there's always a chance—however small—that he finds a way to try again. People like him don't stop."
Cynthia met his gaze steadily. "You don't need to worry about that. Cyrus won't survive to make another attempt." Her voice was quiet but absolute—a sentence delivered with the finality of a gavel striking. "His ideology is too dangerous. He attempted to enslave Legendary Pokémon, threatened the stability of space-time itself, and would have potentially destroyed the fabric of reality if his plan had succeeded. The courts will show no leniency. What awaits Cyrus is the death penalty."
Something in Gary's chest loosened—a tension he hadn't fully realized he'd been carrying. He nodded slowly.
"Good. But there's something else." He leaned against the wall, choosing his next words carefully. "Team Galactic was in possession of certain artifacts—stone tablets, specifically. Plates. They're connected to Arceus."
Cynthia's eyes sharpened visibly. As one of the world's foremost scholars of Sinnoh's mythology, the mention of Arceus was not something she took lightly.
"The Plates are items of immense significance," Gary continued. "Each one corresponds to an elemental type and carries a fragment of Arceus's power. Team Galactic had at least one in their possession—the Flame Plate, which they used in connection with Heatran. There may be others. You need to interrogate the prisoners about the whereabouts of any Plates they've acquired."
Cynthia nodded firmly. "Understood. We'll conduct a thorough interrogation of every Team Galactic member in custody. No one will be released until we've accounted for every artifact, every piece of technology, and every scrap of research they possessed." She paused, her gaze steady. "You have my word."
"One more thing." Gary's voice dropped another degree. His expression was unreadable—calm, measured, and cold in a way that made him look far older than his years. "If the interrogation fails to produce results… I would recommend that Cyrus, Charon, Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter all receive the maximum sentence. The death penalty. All five of them."
Silence.
Cynthia stared at him. For a long moment, she said nothing—her gray eyes wide, her lips slightly parted. She had anticipated that Cyrus would face capital punishment. That was almost a foregone conclusion given the magnitude of his crimes.
But all five of them?
She hadn't expected Gary to be this ruthless. This wasn't the request of a teenage trainer celebrating a victory. This was the cold, pragmatic calculus of someone who understood exactly how dangerous these people were—and who had decided that the safest outcome was one where none of them ever had the opportunity to cause harm again.
"That's…" Cynthia began, then paused, composing herself. "I can push for the maximum sentence across the board. I can apply pressure to the courts and present the evidence myself. Cyrus's death sentence is essentially guaranteed. As for the Commanders and Charon…" She hesitated. "I'll do what I can. But I can't make promises about all five."
"That's fine," Gary said, his expression unchanged. "As long as Cyrus is dealt with, the rest is secondary."
His reasoning was sound, even if he didn't voice it aloud. Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter were dangerous, yes—but they were followers, not visionaries. Without Cyrus's leadership and Charon's scientific expertise, they lacked both the ambition and the capability to recreate Team Galactic's plan. And critically, the Flame Plate that Team Galactic had intended to use required Heatran to activate—and Gary's Heatran was safely in his possession. Unless they found another Heatran somewhere in the world, that particular avenue was permanently closed.
Cynthia searched his face for another moment, then nodded. "I'll make it happen."
Later that evening, Cynthia and Professor Rowan departed with the Adamant Orb and the Lustrous Orb under heavy guard. The Sinnoh League had decided to take the two artifacts into secure, classified storage—ensuring that no one with Cyrus's ambitions could ever use them again.
The Pokémon Center's cafeteria was warm and brightly lit when Gary joined Ash, Dawn, and Brock for dinner. The atmosphere was lighter now—the weight of the day's events slowly lifting as hot food and familiar company worked their quiet magic.
"Gary," Ash said between mouthfuls of rice, unable to contain his curiosity any longer. "How did you even end up at Mt. Coronet? I thought you were doing your Gym challenge."
"I finished collecting all eight badges a while ago," Gary replied, picking up his chopsticks. "I was training nearby for the Lily of the Valley Conference when I noticed Team Galactic activity on the mountain. I followed them, found the ruins, and things escalated from there."
"That's so like you," Ash said, grinning despite himself. "Always one step ahead."
"Pika pika," Pikachu agreed, nodding sagely.
Ash's grin faded into something more serious as he leaned forward. "But Gary—what's going on with your Blastoise? I've never seen it look like that before. That huge cannon on its back, the extra armor… Cynthia said it was something called 'Mega Evolution,' but what even is that?"
Dawn and Brock both perked up, leaning in closer. This was the question they'd all been burning to ask since they'd witnessed Mega Blastoise effortlessly obliterate Mars's Purugly and Jupiter's Skuntank with a single attack.
Gary set down his chopsticks and considered how much to explain. There was no reason to hide it—Mega Evolution wasn't exactly a secret, just an extremely rare phenomenon that hadn't gained widespread awareness yet.
"Mega Evolution is a temporary transformation," he began. "It allows certain Pokémon that have already reached their final evolutionary stage to evolve one step further—gaining significant increases in power, altered appearances, and sometimes even changed Abilities or typing."
"Evolve again?" Ash's jaw dropped. "You mean… even after a Pokémon is fully evolved, it can go even further?"
"Essentially, yes. But there are strict conditions," Gary continued. "First, the Pokémon must hold a specific Mega Stone—each species that can Mega Evolve has its own unique Mega Stone. Blastoise's is called Blastoisinite, for example. And second, the trainer must possess a Key Stone."
He reached into his pocket and produced the small, iridescent sphere—the Key Stone, nestled in its silver setting. It caught the cafeteria's fluorescent light and refracted it into a spectrum of soft, prismatic colors that danced across the table.
"What a beautiful stone…" Dawn breathed, her eyes reflecting the shifting colors. She leaned closer, mesmerized. "It's gorgeous."
"When the Key Stone and the Mega Stone resonate with each other—and with the bond between trainer and Pokémon—it triggers the Mega Evolution," Gary explained. "The transformation lasts as long as the Pokémon has the energy to sustain it. Once that energy runs out, it reverts to its normal form."
"So not every Pokémon can do it?" Brock asked, his analytical mind already cataloging the implications.
"No. Only specific species have been discovered to have Mega Evolutions, and their corresponding Mega Stones are extremely rare. It's not something you can just buy at a Poké Mart."
Ash was practically vibrating with excitement. He turned to the yellow Pokémon on his shoulder with shining eyes. "Pikachu! Did you hear that?! Can you imagine—Mega Pikachu!"
"Pika!" Pikachu's ears perked up with interest. If it was temporary and reversible, the concept didn't seem so bad—
"Not possible," Gary said flatly, cutting through Ash's enthusiasm like a knife through butter.
"Huh?!"
"Pikachu isn't a fully evolved Pokémon," Gary explained. "Mega Evolution only works on Pokémon that have reached their final evolutionary stage. If you wanted Pikachu to Mega Evolve, it would need to evolve into Raichu first. And beyond that, no one has even discovered a Mega Stone for Raichu yet—assuming one exists at all. So don't get your hopes up."
The light drained from Ash's face. He looked at Pikachu. Pikachu looked at him. A moment of silent, mutual understanding passed between them—the same unspoken agreement they'd shared since the very beginning of their journey.
"If it means evolving…" Ash said slowly, "then forget it."
"Pika," Pikachu agreed immediately, crossing its small arms with an air of absolute finality.
When it came to the question of evolution, Ash and Pikachu had always stood united. They were partners exactly as they were—no changes needed, no compromises required. It was one of the few things in the world that Ash had never wavered on, not even for a second.