"Yes, yes, yes."
Cynthia responded with a smile, then looked at Irida.
"Now that the battle is over, when do we set out?"
Irida collected herself, her expression becoming serious again: "The preparation for quelling the Noble King is already complete."
"If you're all ready, you can head to Grandtree Arena now."
"Then let's set off immediately." Ash retrieved his restored Typhlosion in the Ancient Pokeball.
Espeon returned to Irida's side, following her along with Glaceon.
Professor Laventon naturally wouldn't miss this close-up investigation opportunity for the King and quickly organized his portable recording tools.
Kamado and Adaman prepared to escort the group to the village entrance, then return to their respective positions to handle affairs.
The group left the training ground and soon arrived near the road leading from Jubilife Village to Obsidian Fieldlands.
Just as they were about to reach the village entrance, a merchant walked toward them.
He wore a blue-and-yellow hat, with short golden hair protruding from the sides.
His clothes covered his body tightly, and he carried a massive backpack almost as tall as he was.
The chest of his clothing was printed with a gingko leaf-shaped insignia, belonging to one of the largest guilds in the Hisui Region—the Ginkgo Guild.
The Ginkgo Guild frequently traveled between different regions of Hisui and had a station in Jubilife Village.
What truly made the group stop was not the merchant's identity but his appearance.
Ash first looked at the approaching man, then turned to look at Cynthia standing beside him.
Then he looked back at the merchant, his expression becoming more and more peculiar.
"Sis... why does that person look so much like you?"
The merchant's facial features were more rugged, and his hair was much shorter than Cynthia's.
Yet, aside from these differences, their facial features were almost identical.
Even if someone claimed the man was a male version of Cynthia, no one would doubt it.
Cynthia's body also briefly stiffened, but she quickly thought of a possibility.
Since arriving in the Hisui Region, they had already encountered many people resembling modern individuals.
This man before them was more likely than not her ancestor from the Hisui Era.
"Ah, what a coincidence..."
Meeting her ancestor here was not entirely unexpected, but... seeing a gender-swapped version of oneself was still a rather strange feeling.
Kamado, Adaman, and Irida also noticed the amazing resemblance between the two, and for a moment, everyone's gaze shifted back and forth between the merchant and Cynthia.
The merchant originally approached them with a smile.
"Captain Kamado, Captain Adaman, and Captain Irida are all here?"
"Are you all here to welcome me? That's incredibly flattering..."
As he spoke, his gaze suddenly froze on Cynthia's face.
The next moment, the merchant's steps suddenly halted.
"Huh?... Eh!!!"
Looking at the lady who almost shared his face, the smile on his face completely froze.
Cynthia quietly observed him.
They stood on opposite sides of the road, neither speaking first.
For a whole month, Ash and Cynthia had never seen this person in Jubilife Village.
But just when they were about to quell Kleavor, he returned from outside Jubilife Village—what an uncanny coincidence indeed!
After a brief pause, the merchant was the first to react.
"Um... please allow me to introduce myself first." He adjusted the large backpack on his back, "My name is Volo, and I'm a merchant from the Ginkgo Guild."
"May I ask who this young lady is?"
Volo's gaze remained fixed on Cynthia's face.
Having traveled across the Hisui Region for many years, it was his first time meeting someone who resembled him so closely.
"My name is Cynthia," Cynthia nodded politely, "My brother and I traveled to the Hisui Region from another place, and we encountered some mishaps along the way."
"Now, we're both members of Team Galactic."
This explanation was an identity story she and Ash had long prepared.
Naturally, Cynthia couldn't directly tell Volo that she was from a millennium later and that he might be her ancestor.
"So, it's Miss Cynthia."
Volo looked at her face, unable to help but chuckle dryly twice.
"For a moment there, I almost thought I had a lost sister somewhere."
"Does Mr. Volo have a sister?"
"That has never been the case," Volo said quickly, waving his hand, "I just think our appearance is incredibly similar."
"It truly is surprising."
Cynthia spoke naturally and soon shifted the topic to the Ginkgo Guild and adventures across Hisui Regions.
Volo frequently traveled through different territories and spoke keenly about regional ruins and Pokemon.
Cynthia also had a keen interest in Hisui's history, and the two soon engaged in conversation.
However, they had more pressing matters at hand.
After chatting for a moment, Cynthia proactively ended the conversation.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Volo, we're currently headed to Obsidian Fieldlands on a mission, so we'll have to continue our conversation next time."
"I see." Volo smiled as he stepped aside, "Then indeed not to delay, being able to meet Miss Cynthia has been my pleasure."
"Once you return, let's find a chance to have a more extended conversation, farewell."
They exchanged farewells.
Volo walked into Jubilife Village, carrying his massive backpack, soon disappearing at the end of the road.
Throughout, he seemed to keep most of his attention on Cynthia.
Ash quietly stood next to them, appearing uninterested in their conversation.
Yet only when Volo was completely out of sight did the alertness in Ash's eyes gradually emerge.
He held Cynthia's hand, and the Aura Power within him flowed, transmitting his voice directly into Cynthia's heart.
'Sis, although Volo might be your ancestor, there's something peculiar about that man's aura.'
Cynthia's pace didn't falter, her face remained calm, but her voice spoke directly in Ash's mind: 'What have you discovered? '
'His aura feels irregular to me.'
Ash recalled the peculiar feeling he detected on Volo from before.
Using Aura to judge a person as good or evil isn't accurate.
A person's thoughts can change at any time, and Aura doesn't directly label notions of justice or evil.
But Volo's case was different; his aura contained a presence Ash found very familiar yet noticeably different.
'That force is similar to Giratina.'
Cynthia's eyes slightly narrowed.
'Giratina?'
'Very similar, but not the Giratina I know,' Ash said thoughtfully, 'So I'm unable to determine what that presence actually is.'
Ash had met Giratina before and naturally remembered its Aura.
The power within Volo was distinctly connected to Giratina, yet subtle differences existed between them.
This was why Ash felt both familiar and strange.
Giratina, they were swept into this temporal incident together and remained missing, Palkia, Dialga, and Mewtwo's whereabouts also remained uncertain.
Now they had discovered a clue related to Giratina on Volo, and Ash wouldn't easily let it go.
During their conversation earlier, he had quietly planted a tracking mark on Volo's Aura.
As long as their distance didn't exceed his sensory range, Ash could roughly judge Volo's direction.
Now they needed to quell Kleavor at Grandtree Arena and had to defer the matter about Volo for later.
'Sis, we should not just trust him because he might be your ancestor.'
Cynthia paused for a moment, her expression softening.
'Ash, you've indeed grown a lot over this past month.'
If it were the Ash from the past, upon discovering Volo's resemblance to Cynthia, he might instinctively consider him a trustworthy person.
But the current Ash had learned to separate personal feelings from practical judgment.
'Didn't you teach me, Sis?' Ash replied with a smile, 'After all, we don't belong to this era.'
'No matter who we face, we should observe for a while first.'
'Hehe, that's right~ Come on, let's head over and quell Kleavor! The two of us together!' Cynthia's resolute voice echoed in Ash's mind, and Ash smiled knowingly as he held Cynthia's hand and stepped out of Jubilife Village.