Cynthia had to admit it to herself.

  Getting out of here was going to take more time than she anticipated. On her own, maybe she could have gotten out in a couple of days, but with Myst along for the ride? It was probably going to be closer to a week, and even that might be optimistic.

  He was simply too weak.

  Even before his wound and the subsequent use of the Aura booster, he had been struggling, pushing himself to keep up. Now, after all of that had gone down? Even after spending almost the entirety of yesterday resting, he was still not back in the shape he had been.

  And that shape hadn’t been very good to begin with. Honestly, it made Cynthia realize how weakened he was from the lack of proper food. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen how thin he was, but she had imagined his build had contained some wiry strength considering he had survived out here on his own.

  Now she realized that was more than optimistic.

  “Sorry,” Myst said, finally catching his breath from the log he was sitting on. He gave her a smile, but one that hid a bone-deep exhaustion. “I think all that candy got to me. I guess this is why my mom always said to limit my sugar intake.”

  Cynthia rolled her eyes at his joke, honestly, he could not stay serious. Still… she didn’t miss the way he hid his arm, holding a hand over it, forcing it to not shake.

  “We are setting up camp.” She said simply.

  Myst opened his mouth, like he was about to disagree, but she glared at him. Rei let out a cry of agreement, with Riolu rapidly backing her up.

  Three against one. His mouth shut with a clank, and he shrugged, like he was saying fine, but I don’t need it.

  Of course, it wasn’t like they could just set up camp here, that would be stupid. They needed to find someplace a little bit more suited than the middle of an open clearing.

  Cynthia glanced towards the higher trees in the distance, with one in particular seemingly towering over the others.

  Not the largest she had seen in the forest, but it was large enough that they could sleep there, the branches and leaves hiding them from any unwanted rain.

  And more importantly?

  With the tree against their backs, they would only have to defend a single angle of attack, making an eventual fight much easier without having to worry about getting stabbed in the back.

  As long as they weren’t completely surrounded, of course, but Cynthia couldn’t imagine a group of Pokémon being coordinated enough to do that... she felt a shiver travel up her spine, as she cast a glance behind her, where a couple of hours away lay the caves they had rested in yesterday.

  The caves, but also the Dustox swarm.

  It was fine, they were more than far enough away...

  At least, she hoped so.

  …..

  To be honest, Cynthia wasn’t quite ready when Myst asked her to battle.

  Maybe she should have been. After all, there wasn’t much else to do, not after Rei had managed to pacify the local group of Starly and Staravia just by showing her face.

  It was almost funny. Cynthia had tried a dozen tricks to bargain with the birds to let them rest under their tree, from offering food to suggesting training sessions. Yet in the end, just before she was ready to simply challenge the bird for the right, Rei had walked forward.

  And managed to convince the flock with two words

  When she demanded an explanation, Myst burst out laughing, his eyes crinkling with genuine amusement. “Oh, didn’t I mention? Rei’s basically half-royalty around here. Mommy Lopunny is more or less the strongest thing in the forest after all.”

  After everything she’d tried, the solution was just... Rei.

  She retaliated by pretending Myst didn’t exist for the next few hours. It was surprisingly satisfying watching him squirm.

  Honestly, he could be so immature.

  Either way, after the first hour of not being able to talk to her he had given up and challenged her to a battle.

  Which led to this entire situation.

  “Double kick!” Myst called out.

  Rei’s ears glowed as she swung one forward.

  “Feel her out!” Cynthia ordered.

  Riolu’s eyes flashed blue, his body curving unnaturally, Detect guiding him to dodge with precision. It was eerie how his form bent, flowing around the strike before spinning low, his foot sweeping towards Rei’s.

  Rei hopped lightly, avoiding the Low Kick, her other ear flaring with power as she followed through with the second hit.

  This time, Riolu didn’t dodge. He countered with a Force Palm, his paw glowing as the air rippled. Energy exploded between them, forcing both Pokémon back.

  Cynthia’s felt some reluctant admiration as Rei forced Riolu to confront her directly.

  She wouldn’t lie, after noticing all the gaps in Myst’s knowledge, she had assumed he wasn’t much of a trainer. Sure, he had managed to teach Rei the elemental punches, but she had rationalized that was probably just the whole… Egg Move thing.

  Even watching Rei battle the group of Vigoroth, hadn’t really changed her mind, she had chalked that up to Rei’s raw talent. The little rabbit’s tactics had been simple, the kind that a smart Pokémon might develop on its own.

  After all, how good could someone who didn’t even know about Aura be?

  Riolu charged, faking another Force Palm before twisting into a Feint.

  Watching this?

  Rei didn’t bother dodging. She tanked the hit, retaliating with a Pound that sent Riolu stumbling.

  It was obvious that wasn’t the case.

  Riolu dropped low, his leg igniting with energy as he swept out with another Low Sweep.

  This time, Rei was caught off guard. She tried to jump, but Riolu's kick struck before she could react, sweeping her legs out from under her and sending her soaring.

  Riolu sprang after her, a paw glowing with a fully charged Force Palm aimed right at her midsection. But the moment it took to recover from his Low Sweep was a moment too much.

  Just as Force Palm connected, Rei's form erupted into a glowing white sphere.

  Riolu's strike hit the orb dead-on, spiking it toward the ground.

  That should have been the end of it. The impact alone should have knocked her out cold.

  But instead of crashing, Rei bounced.

  In an instant, her glowing form blurred as she shot back up, appearing right in front of Riolu's face. The light faded just as she snapped into a spin—one ear already glowing with ice-cold energy.

  Riolu barely had time to cross his arms before Ice Punch slammed into him, launching him backward.

  Cynthia’s eyes narrowed.

  Rei charged forward, leaping as her leg flared with energy, Double Kick primed and aimed straight for Riolu’s chest.

  Riolu barely managed to steady himself in time. His body tilted at an impossible angle, Detect guiding him just enough to slip past the incoming strike.

  But Double Kick had two parts.

  As Rei flew past, her ear came whipping around, glowing with the same fighting energy. Riolu threw up his arms to block, but the force behind the strike was too much. The impact sent him hurtling backward, slamming into the ground hard enough to leave an indent.

  No, there was simply no way this was natural talent.

  Coordinating both ear and foot in a Double Kick combo wasn’t something a Pokémon could pick up instinctively. It required control, precision, the kind of skill that only came from dedicated training, like teaching someone to move each hand independently.

  Cynthia could admit it, Riolu might be the better technical fighter. But Rei? Rei fought dirty.

  Her movements were wild, unpredictable, almost feral. It was like fighting a wild Machamp, not a Buneary.

  Four arms, not two.

  But that didn’t mean Cynthia intended to lose.

  “Turn it technical!” Cynthia called out.

  Riolu sprang to his feet and charged straight into Rei. A fully charged Fire Punch tore past his head, missing by inches. He retaliated instantly, Rock Smash, quick and brutal, slamming into Rei’s side.

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  She grunted, but tanked easily enough, the attack not forming a proper move due to how fast it came out.

  In return Rei lashed out with Pound, but Riolu knocked her attack off course with Feint, then slipped past another Double Kick like he saw it coming before she even moved.

  For a moment, the battle turned into pure hand-to-hand combat.

  And Riolu was simply better.

  Even with her two extra limbs, every clash ended the same, Riolu winning the exchange through sheer skill. He read her movements, adapted, and countered with brutal efficiency.

  Rei met him again, Fire Punch colliding with Force Palm. The impact burst between them, forcing both Pokémon back.

  “Reposition!” Myst called out.

  Cynthia quirked a smile, it seemed like he finally realized that going head-on against a Fighting-Type wasn’t the smartest strategy.

  Rei’s form glowed white as she activated Quick Attack, vanishing from her spot and leaving an afterimage behind.

  Riolu’s Force Palm struck the ground, obliterating the spot where she’d stood a heartbeat ago.

  “Use Aura to chase!” Cynthia called out.

  Riolu’s eyes narrowed, his body pulsing with a faint glow. A split second later, he disappeared.

  Cynthia barely kept up as two white blurs streaked across the battlefield, colliding and rebounding at impossible speeds.

  Rei was faster, but Riolu’s aura-sensing ability let him track her movements, predicting her strikes before they landed. He cut off her escape routes, forcing her into direct combat.

  Quick Attack might grant almost unmatched raw speed, but its turns were wide, predictable.

  Or well, at least they were at their level.

  “Rei, you should know the easiest way to handle Riolu by now.” Myst’s voice cut through the air, sounding almost disappointed.

  Cynthia blinked. That tone, calm, certain, instructive, was different from how he usually spoke. It caught her off guard for just a moment.

  Rei skidded to a stop, eyes narrowing. Then, at the last second, she twisted, her ears flashing forward to intercept Riolu’s Quick Attack with a deceptively simple Pound. The impact rippled through her body, but she absorbed it, refusing to give ground.

  It still left Rei wide open, and Riolu wasn’t going to give away the chance. His paw glowed as Force Palm charged in a flash.

  And that’s when Cynthia understood.

  “Close y-” she started, but it was already too late.

  Riolu’s strike came down just as Rei’s eyes widened, glowing bright pink.

  Cynthia felt it instantly, like a physical blow to the chest.

  Her heart skipped a beat.

  Her pupils dilated.

  Rei was just... adorable.

  Her big eyes shimmered with a soft, vulnerable light. Her tiny body trembled, her ears drooping ever so slightly.

  A fragile little thing, needing protecting from everything around her.

  Riolu’s arm wavered mid-strike. The glow around his paw flickered as his entire body seized up. His expression softened, his gaze unfocused, pupils blown wide.

  His arm dropped slightly.

  "Riolu..." He said, voice was barely a whisper, small and uncertain. Like he was asking what he had done wrong.

  Charm.

  Cynthia gritted her teeth, shoving past the residual haze of the move’s effect.

  “Nasty Plot!” she shouted, voice cracking with urgency. “Shake it off!”

  But Riolu’s shoulders slumped, his eyes never leaving Rei, looking utterly captivated. Cynthia’s fists tightened.

  She hadn’t realized Charm could be this powerful.

  Then again… maybe that was the secret. Some moves could influence a Pokémon’s mind, but she’d never considered that their effectiveness might depend on the target’s state of mind.

  For Riolu, who clearly had a crush, Charm wasn’t just effective.

  It was Super Effective.

  Rei’s expression brightened, the feigned vulnerability vanishing. In one swift motion, she pivoted, her ear igniting with Fire Punch.

  The blazing strike slammed into Riolu’s face. Fire-Type energy exploded on impact, scorching his Aura and sending him hurtling backward.

  He tumbled across the ground before coming to a stop, motionless.

  Cynthia was at his side in an instant, kneeling down and pressing a hand to his fur. A relieved sigh escaped her when she felt not a trace of damage, he was fine, just knocked out.

  She stroked his fur once before returning him to his Poké Ball. Then, rising to her feet, she turned toward Myst.

  Myst was ecstatic.

  “Holy shit, you did amazing!” he laughed, grabbing Rei and spinning her around like she was a doll. “I wasn’t sure how well our tactics would work, but that was insane.”

  Cynthia sighed but still made her way over. She smiled and held up a hand.

  Rei was promptly dropped like a forgotten object as Myst took her hand instead, putting on a serious face. “Good battle.”

  Cynthia rolled her eyes, then glanced down at Rei.

  She almost cooed as she saw Rei motioning for the same treatment, face serious, one arm raised.

  She shook her hand too of course and stood up, taking a moment to replay the fight in her mind. It had gone… not great.

  Still, while the loss was bitter, she couldn’t deny she’d learned something. Riolu needed to get better at handling tricks and unorthodox fighting styles.

  As for the charm?

  Well… some weaknesses might just be unfixable. She had no clue how to train that out of him, not without breaking his heart at least.

  With a sigh she turned back to Myst.

  “You’re good,” Cynthia admitted. “Better than I expected.”

  Myst simply grinned at that, “I honestly thought you would smoke me.”

  Cynthia shrugged, and said honestly, “Well, I would if I used Queenie, but that wouldn’t be much fun would it?”

  “Touche.” Myst chuckled. “But really, that was close. If Riolu wasn’t so affected by Charm, I’m not sure we would’ve won.” He admitted it easily, without hesitation.

  Rei glared at him.

  Cynthia giggled, hiding her smile behind a hand. “You shouldn’t say that sort of stuff when Rei is standing right there.”

  “Well, she knows I’m right. We got in a lot of good hits, but when Riolu started to close in and stopped trying to play our game, Rei almost couldn’t hit back.” He glanced toward Rei.

  The little Buneary simply pouted adorably, her little nose scrunching up, like she was refusing to admit the fact. She smashed her foot threateningly next to Myst, whose face turned into a helpless what do you want me to say?

  Feeling a little bad for him, Cynthia crouched down, digging into her pocket and handing the rabbit Pokémon an Oran berry.

  “Rei, can you go ask one of the Staravias if there’s any food around here? We might start running low soon.”

  Rei shot Cynthia a disdainful glare, like she couldn’t believe she’d even suggest such a thing. Did Cynthia really think she could be bribed that easily?

  Then, without a word, she snatched the berry and hopped away.

  Cynthia giggled.

  Apparently, she could.

  When Rei was out of sight, Myst opened his mouth, then hesitated. His eyes lingered on the path Rei had taken, his expression shifting slightly, like he was waiting for something.

  Cynthia raised an eyebrow. “You were going to say something?”

  He waited a few more seconds before finally answering, almost in a whisper. “Just wanted to make sure she was out of earshot. Rei has crazy hearing.”

  Cynthia blinked, but before she could ask why he felt the need to wait, he continued.

  “You were wrong, by the way.” His voice even lower, expression carefully blank.

  Cynthia frowned. “Wrong? About what? You wanting to say something?”

  Myst shook his head. “No. About me being better than you expected.” He exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m not. The only reason we won? It wasn’t because of my training. Rei’s just that good. When we first met, she only helped me because she thought I could train her. And, well… I kinda bullshitted my way through it just to survive.”

  If Cynthia could raise her eyebrows any higher, they’d leave her face entirely. “You mean you didn’t train her to mix up her Double Kick?”

  Myst hesitated. “Well, no, I did, but she barely needed he—”

  “And you didn’t help her figure out how to get the Elemental Punches down?”

  “That’s just because of her eg—”

  “And Quick Attack? She just figured out how to use it like that on her own?”

  “You don’t get it! I spent months teaching her those things.” He snapped before taking a breath. “And those are things that are supposed to come to her—” He snapped his fingers. “Like that. Most of those moves are supposed to be instinctual.”

  Cynthia blinked at that, what was he talking about?

  Sure, a Buneary might pick up Quick Attack quickly, but controlling it mid-use? Making slow turns at that speed? That was advanced. Most trainers didn’t have Pokémon that could do that before the later stages of their Gym Challenge.

  And the way she split up Double Kick between an ear and a foot? Cynthia had only seen that kind of coordination on TV, during the semi-finals of the Lilly of the Valley Conference.

  Myst let out a low laugh, shaking his head. “I keep feeding her bullshit, like how she needs to meditate on her type energy to sense it better. How understanding the ‘concept of Fire’ is supposed to help her learn Fire Punch.”

  Then he took a step closer.

  His light blue eyes shone with intensity as he stared into hers. “And it just… worked.”

  Cynthia instinctively took a step back.

  She wasn’t short, but for the first time, she realized Myst was tall, taller than she’d thought. When he wasn’t slouching, he loomed.

  “That shit? That’s from fantasy books I only half remember. And now you tell me that there isn’t even type energy, and that it comes from their Aura? Cynthia, I don’t know any—” His jaw clamped shut with an audible click.

  Silence.

  They stared at each other.

  Slowly, his face turned red.

  Cynthia opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.

  What.

  Myst shut his eyes, exhaled, and took a step back. “Sorry, just forg—”

  “You won against me, and you want me to tell you that you aren’t a good trainer.” Cynthia’s voice was flat, cutting through his words before he could finish.

  She hadn’t been bitter before.

  Not really.

  Her rational side had told her Myst wouldn’t be that good. His knowledge was too scattered, too theoretical. But deep down, a part of her had wanted to be wrong. She had expected him to surprise her.

  She wanted to believe he’d surprise her.

  Expected it, in some way.

  And he had.

  So why was he standing here, trying to tell her he didn’t deserve it?

  A slow anger bubbled up inside her, curling in her gut.

  Myst pursed his lips. “Cynthia, that’s not what I meant. Rei is insane, but she’s a genius being fed bullshit and making it work. Did you not hear what I said about type energy?” His voice tightened, almost desperate. “I thought it was... I don’t even know, some kind of internal reservoir of power. Even after battling with Rei for months, I never realized she used her Aura to fuel her moves, you needed to tell me that.”

  Cynthia’s eye twitched. “When did I say that?”

  Myst blinked, looking a little lost. “That time in the cave. You said Pokémon use Aura to battle.”

  Cynthia glared at him. “I did not say that. I said Aura functioned as a shield, not that it fueled their moves. The Type Energy that a Pokémon uses to fuel moves is separate from their Aura.”

  “Huh?”

  “How did you even arrive at that conclusion?” she demanded. “If Aura and moves were connected like that, wouldn’t that mean a Pokémon could faint just from using Pound too many times?”

  Myst held up his hands in a T-sign, signalling her to pause. “Wait, wait, what do you mean they’re separate? Pokémon have types, right? So wouldn’t it make sense that their Aura is, I don’t know, made of those types? Like, Buneary would have a Normal-type Aura, and she’d use that to fuel her moves.”

  Cynthia took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and counted to ten.

  She wanted to stay mad at him for thinking she was mediocre enough to lose to a trainer who lucked into a talented Pokémon, but this was... sort of her fault.

  When she’d explained Aura, they’d both been half-dead on their feet, and he had even lost a decent amount of blood. Honestly, she couldn’t even remember exactly what she’d said, so maybe she had explained it badly.

  She would correct that mistake now.

  “First off, let me repeat it again: do you think Rei would faint from using Pound against a tree for a whole day?”

  Myst held up a finger. “Well, no, but if we’re talking Double Ed—”

  Cynthia glared, and he slowly stopped talking.

  “So, Aura isn’t the fuel for moves, okay? You were right in your first assumption, type energy is its own thing. Think of it like sunlight. A star, Aura, naturally gives off light, which in this case is type energy. A Pokémon’s Aura constantly produces it, and they can store, transform, or use it to power their moves.””

  Myst frowned, deep in thought. “Okay… but then how do type weaknesses work? Like, when Rei takes a hit from a Fighting-type move, she ends up getting hurt twice as much, right?”

  Cynthia shifted her weight, exhaling. “Well, think about stars. Some are red and give off more heat, kind of like Fire-type energy. Others are blue and burn cooler, like Water-type energy. Different Auras react depending on what kind of light they absorb. A Fire star gets destabilized more easily by Water sunlight… you get what I mean.”

  Myst blinked. “Oh. That actually makes sense.”

  “So, I don’t know how you landed on your theory, but you weren’t completely off. As for that training method you mentioned? It’s not unheard of. In Kanto and Johto, it’s they have something similar. Trainers expose their Pokémon to different elements first, getting them used to the feel of it before teaching them how to wield it.” Cynthia finished, sighing as she saw her words sinking in.

  Myst just stood there.

  And Cynthia, after all this, realized something.

  Maybe he was a genius, for figuring all this out on intuition alone.

  Maybe he was a genius, for just knowing all these facts about Pokémon.

  Maybe... he really was a genius.

  But he was also an idiot.