By the time the demonstration disc finished running through its full sequence, Steven had formed a clear opinion.
The Z-Move forms were, without question, awkward. Professor Kukui's enthusiasm as demonstrator did not help matters. That said, a few of them were at least tolerable to look at. If pressed to name the one that carried the most dignity, Steven would have reluctantly settled on the Poisonium Z — which, given the competition, was not a high bar.
Beside him on the sofa, Cynthia had gone completely still. She was staring at the darkened screen with the expression of someone who had just been asked to reconsider a major life decision.
Can I actually do that? The question forming in her mind had nothing to do with physical coordination. It was a matter of psychological endurance.
Steven glanced down at the two Z-Crystals sitting on the low table in front of them — the Normalium Z and the Icium Z. He had half-considered using the Normalium Z to power up Lucario's Extreme Speed. Now, looking at the form required to activate it, he thought perhaps they were better appreciated as collector's items.
The Icium Z, on the other hand — that one he could probably manage. And the Steelium Z form, which he had originally been most interested in, was at least bearable.
"Hey, Steven."
Cynthia tugged at his hand. He turned to find her watching him with wide, expectant eyes, blinking with a curiosity that immediately put him on guard.
"What is it?"
"Are you going to practice the Z-Move forms now?"
Steven's expression went carefully neutral. "I think they're rather nice as collectibles, actually."
"No, no — just try it." Cynthia shook his hand, and her voice took on that particular softness that was functionally impossible to refuse. "Just once~"
"You want to watch me embarrass myself." Steven looked at her flatly. "I can see it."
Cynthia's eyes flicked to one side. Then, before he could say anything else, she leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.
"Please? Just this once~"
Charm. And a kiss on the cheek.
Steven held out for approximately three more seconds before something in his resolve quietly gave way.
"Metagross." He glanced over at the steel-blue form resting nearby.
Metagross gave a slow, solemn nod.
Strength is built through discomfort. This is simply part of the process.
"Metagross." Steven's tone shifted. "Don't encourage this. You're not the one who has to do the poses."
Metagross regarded him with four red eyes that expressed nothing whatsoever.
I am merely stating a fact.
Steven pinched the bridge of his nose. The reality was that the poses fell almost entirely to the Trainer — asking Metagross to perform the choreography itself was a stretch even the most committed imagination couldn't quite make. This particular burden was his alone.
"Go on, Steven~" Cynthia beamed at him from the sofa, folding her hands neatly in her lap.
Steven stood up from the sofa and faced the open centre of the room. He took a slow breath. Then another.
"Cynthia."
"Yes?"
"Put your phone away."
Silence.
"…Why?"
"No filming."
A small pout appeared on Cynthia's face. She made a show of reluctance, but eventually slipped her phone behind her back. Steven watched this performance with narrowed eyes, then turned to face the room.
He chose to begin with the Icium Z. The opening sequence was similar across most Z-Move forms — it was the closing movements that diverged. He brought his crossed arms up to chest height and swept them outward in a wide semicircle, extending them straight with his left hand resting over his right. He raised them again, returning to the starting cross. Then he straightened his palms and lifted his left arm slightly upward while his right moved to the front at a higher angle — both arms rising, crossing at their apex — before lowering together into a triangle shape and spreading wide to either side. Finally, both arms drew inward and forward, and the form was complete.
His cheeks were faintly pink by the end of it.
He was deeply, privately grateful that using a Z-Move did not require announcing its name aloud. If he had to stand in front of a crowd and shout Subzero Slammer while performing that sequence, he would have seriously reconsidered his career choices.
"That was wonderful!" Cynthia clapped, delighted.
Steven turned and looked at her with the patient suffering of someone who had just done something humiliating at the request of a person they trusted completely.
The thought of repeating those movements in front of a stadium full of spectators settled in his chest like a stone. He entertained, briefly, the idea of petitioning the Pokémon League to allow trainers to design their own Z-Move choreography. Something simple. Raise a hand. Wave it. Done. Efficient, dignified, functional.
A quiet giggle broke his train of thought.
He turned. Cynthia was looking at her phone, hand pressed over her mouth, shoulders shaking with barely-contained laughter.
Steven went very still.
He took a step toward her. Cynthia snapped the phone face-down against her leg with the reflexes of someone who had been caught doing exactly what they'd been told not to do.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing." The word came out slightly too quickly.
"Show me."
"No." Cynthia lifted her chin, pulling the phone further behind her. "It's nothing."
Steven looked at her for a long moment. "You filmed it."
"I didn't."
"Cynthia."
"I didn't."
"Then show me the phone."
"No!"
"Show me."
"No~"
Steven set both hands on her shoulders and gently but firmly guided her back onto the sofa cushions. Cynthia went stiff, staring up at him with wide grey eyes.
"Honesty," Steven said, with great seriousness, "is a virtue."
What followed was not particularly dignified for either of them, though Cynthia bore the greater share of it — specifically several seconds of helpless, completely unguarded laughter as Steven applied a very targeted tickle to her side, which she had not anticipated and could not defend against.
"Hahaha — stop — Steven — hahaha — I was wrong —"
Steven relented the moment she said it.
"Tell me exactly what you did wrong."
Cynthia took a breath, trying to reassemble herself. "I… shouldn't have… filmed without permission."
"Good. Now delete it. Here, in front of me."
"This is history, Steven —"
"Delete it."
Cynthia had barely recovered her composure when she changed tactics entirely. She looped both arms around his neck, pulled herself up, and kissed him — properly, with clear intent, for long enough that whatever firm position Steven had been occupying a moment ago became somewhat difficult to remember.
When she finally drew back and settled against the sofa cushion, she was wearing an expression of complete, unruffled calm. She tilted her head slightly and looked up at him.
"Can't I just keep it? Only for me to watch~"
Steven sat motionless.
Somewhere nearby, Metagross had closed all four of its eyes. It had, to the best of anyone's ability to observe, become entirely invisible. It was not present. It had no sensory input of any kind.
I am not here. I have no ears. I have seen nothing. I know nothing. This is all entirely outside my awareness.
Steven remained on the sofa in a state of temporary non-function, distantly attempting to reorganize his thoughts.
"Please~"
Cynthia sat up, rested both hands on his shoulder, and tilted her head from side to side with an expression of such earnest appeal that it was, objectively, unreasonable.
"…Fine."
"Yes! Steven is the absolute best~"
She kissed him on the cheek again, light and quick, before leaning back with a deeply satisfied smile.
Steven stared at the middle distance.
If this were a Pokémon battle, he would have just lost to a move with no counter. Some opponents simply could not be prepared for.