The sun had only just begun to rise, casting long golden lines across the forest clearing beside the lake.
Birds chirped in the trees. Dew clung to the grass.
Skylar was still asleep, sprawled out beside the embers of the fire, Charmander tucked beside him and his arm loosely wrapped around the protective case holding the Gyarados egg.
Nearby, Misty sat cross-legged on a rock, hair loosely braided from the night before, quietly watching the lake.
She heard a soft ping from Skylar's PokéGear, which he'd left beside his bag.
Curious, she picked it up, glancing at the screen.
A message.
📞 Incoming Call: Cynthia(For Misty.)
Her breath caught.
She hesitated.
Then answered.
Cynthia's face appeared on-screen—elegant as always, her long blonde hair down, robe slightly open at the collar, and eyes as sharp as the blade-shaped clip holding her bangs aside.
There was no smile at first.
Only silence.
"Misty," Cynthia said coolly.
"Cynthia," Misty replied, sitting up straighter.
A quiet moment passed between them.Not awkward.Measured.
Then Cynthia tilted her head slightly.
"I heard you want to travel with Sky."
"I do," Misty answered evenly. "At least while he's in Kanto."
"Why?"
"Because we work well together," she said. "Because I can grow from it. And because… I care about him."
Cynthia raised a brow, intrigued.
"Honest. Good start."
"I'm not here to replace you," Misty added after a pause. "But I'm not going to pretend I don't admire him. I always have."
That made Cynthia smile—just slightly.
"You were always competitive, even at camp. I noticed."
"You noticed everyone at camp," Misty said, folding her arms. "But Skylar… he noticed me."
There was a flicker in Cynthia's expression.
"He notices more than he lets on."
Silence again.
This time, heavier.
Then Cynthia leaned closer to the screen, her golden eyes hard to read.
"I don't share easily, Misty. I chose him. Not just as a partner—but as mine."
Misty didn't back down.
"I didn't ask you to share."
Cynthia blinked.
"Then why are we talking?"
"Because I respect you enough to answer your call," Misty said. "Because you're strong. And if I'm going to walk beside Skylar, I need to understand the people who shape him."
That gave Cynthia pause.
She smiled—not softly, but genuinely.
"I like that answer."
Misty relaxed slightly, but her guard stayed up.
"So… do you have a problem with me traveling with him?"
"Not anymore," Cynthia replied. "I had questions. You answered them."
"And if I hadn't?"
Cynthia's voice went velvet-smooth.
"You'd have found yourself suddenly too busy to travel."
Misty snorted.
"Good to know where the lines are."
"There aren't lines," Cynthia said. "There are standards."
A beat of silence. Then Misty laughed quietly.
"So this is what being around him does to people."
Cynthia smiled. "He makes you want to become someone who deserves to stand beside him."
Misty nodded.
"He does."
Cynthia's expression softened, just a little.
"Then prove it."
"I plan to."
The call ended.
Misty sat there for a moment, heart pounding, fire in her chest—but not from fear.
From drive.
She looked over at Skylar, still peacefully asleep, then at the egg nestled beside him.
"I'm not here to take anything from you, Cynthia.""I'm here to earn something next to him, in my own way."
And if that meant fighting by his side…
Against trainers.Against the world.Maybe even with her?
So be it.