"Co on… you know where. Skip ahead."
------------------
Sam blinked and picked at his ear, thinking he must've misheard.
"...Co again?"
Sabrina paused, seemingly weighing her words before replying softly,
"I an... we should get married."
"Yeah. Marriage."
Married?!
Sam ntally choked.
Good grief, this girl's serious?
They'd barely known each other for a few days.
How did it jump straight to marriage?
Was this that trope where the hero saves the damsel and she falls head over heels?
'One's more than enough. I don't need the headache of another.'
He glanced at Sabrina.
No way her brain's fried, right?
Sam looked genuinely concerned now.
She had to be delirious.
No normal person would blurt out sothing like that so casually.
But Sabrina stood firm. Her expression didn't change.
Calm. Serious.
"I've always known I was different," she said, her voice eerily steady.
"Even as a child, I could feel it."
"I used to think I was the only one like this in the world. But then I t you."
"You're not like the others. You have the sa kind of energy; our psyches resonate."
"You and I… we're the sa kind."
"And the sa kind should be together."
Her gaze didn't waver.
She hesitated for a beat, then continued.
"The energy in your body calms . It quiets the chaos. For the first ti, I feel... peace."
"So," she said with almost childlike certainty, "we should be together."
Sam: "..."
'Her logic isn't wired the way most people think.'
But… weirdly enough, it made sense.
Still, that didn't an he could go along with it.
"I can't," he said bluntly.
"I have a fiancée, soone I love."
"Fiancée?"
Sabrina tilted her head slightly, processing the word as if it were foreign.
After a mont, she asked with complete sincerity, "So what?"
"I'll be with you."
Sam was stunned and silent.
Good lord.
Her words echoed like a from his past life:
"Destroy you? What's that got to do with ?"
Sabrina's logic was bulletproof… in a completely unhinged way.
And this whole "sa kind" theory?
Sure, she had a unique energy signature, overflowing with psychic power.
But she wasn't the only one.
Caitlin, a mber of the Sinnoh Elite Four, possessed similar power.
Olympia, the Gym Leader from Kalos, also wielded strong psychic abilities.
Were they supposed to be "the sa kind," too?
By Sabrina's logic, did he need to marry all of them?
'Yeah, no thanks.'
Still, Sam knew Sabrina wasn't coming from a place of malice.
She'd grown up isolated, misunderstood, even by her parents.
Her emotions were locked behind a wall long ago.
Social norms didn't apply in her world.
So he couldn't just brush her off with sarcasm or laughter.
He softened his tone.
"Look, Sabrina. Marriage isn't just about energy compatibility or being alike."
"It's about love."
"You can't just decide sothing like that alone. The other person has to feel the sa way, too."
"It's not like two people can get married just because they have sothing in common…"
Sam was trying his best to explain calmly, hoping to get through to her.
But before he could continue, Sabrina's expression suddenly shifted.
"She's here again."
She turned sharply, gaze narrowing as she stared off into the distance.
A cold, sharp look washed over her face.
Sam imdiately followed her line of sight.
At the exact mont, he activated the aura coursing through him.
Sure enough, soone was approaching.
"Who?" he asked, already alert.
Sabrina's voice was ice-cold.
"Ariana."
"One of Team Rocket's four executives."
"She tried to recruit ."
"When I refused, she tried to kill ."
"She attacked while I was weak, while my psychic energy was unstable."
"Her goal was to push into losing control… to turn into a weapon."
Sam gave a slight nod.
From Sabrina's explanation, he could piece together what had happened.
He recalled that in so tilines, like the manga, Sabrina did end up siding with Team Rocket.
But this rged world was different.
She didn't fall this ti.
"Alakazam."
Sabrina called out gently.
A faint shimr appeared in the distance.
Her Alakazam floated over, looking battered and drained.
Its energy was fragile, especially after the earlier battle with Lucario and Darkrai.
Both trainer and Pokémon were in no state to fight.
Sam was about to say sothing when suddenly,
Ding!
A familiar chanical voice echoed in his mind.
[System Notification: Random Mission Triggered]
[Mission Objective: Defeat Ariana, one of Team Rocket's Four Executives]
[Reward: Dark Z-Crystal]
[Penalty: None]
[Dark Z-Crystal: A rare item that enables Dark-type Pokémon to use Z-Moves.]
[Accept Mission?]
Sam didn't hesitate.
"Accept."
With a breath, he turned to Sabrina and said, "I'll take care of Ariana."
Sabrina looked at him for a long mont, eyes unreadable, then silently nodded.
She stepped back and took Alakazam with her, placing full trust in Sam without a word.
"Luca. Darkrai," Sam called quietly.
"Hide and wait for my signal."
"Luka!"
Lucario gave a short nod and disappeared into the shadows, slipping behind the brush near the hot spring.
"Hssss…"
Darkrai lted into the darkness of the earth, becoming one with the shadowy ground.
A few seconds later, Ariana arrived.
Fiery red hair swayed behind her as she stepped confidently into the clearing near the spring.
Her eyes locked onto Sabrina, alive and well.
Not collapsed. Not unstable.
She frowned.
Then her gaze shifted to the young man standing at Sabrina's side.
She stared.
"Who are you?"
Sam t her look with an even colder one.
"Professor Samuel Lockwood," he said plainly.
Ariana narrowed her eyes. She repeated the na under her breath.
After a mont, her expression shifted with recognition.
"Samuel… Professor of Historical Research from the Sinnoh Region?"
"That's right."
His voice was calm, steady.
But through his aura, he gave the silent order.
Now.
Just as Ariana opened her mouth, likely to try and persuade him to join the Rockets, a sudden chill crawled down her spine.
Sothing was wrong.
Very wrong.
A flash of blue ca from the side.
Lucario, fist charged with pure aura, shot forward in a blur.
Behind her, the shadows twisted.
Darkrai erged, eyes glowing crimson, energy coiling like a storm.
Ariana spun around, too late to react.
Battle had begun.
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