If Steven had been around in Sinnoh when the entire Galactic incident occurred. And they happened to fall in love.
He first saw her for real in the cave.
He has met her, the pale blonde Champion of Sinnoh, legendary for being the first female to achieve that position, but they've never really been more than distant acquaintances. Just a pretty face of high status, something behind glass walls.
He hasn't met the real her until that day.
Rocks, as usual, came to his rescue. From an awkward, chilly silence blooms a warm, friendly conversation on the best relics and ruins of Sinnoh.
Not quite the best start, but a start nonetheless.
In Celestic, she runs into the silver-haired man again. Literarily, as neither happened to be looking where they were going.
After several apologies and offers of a new coat, or at least paying for her coat (Really, I insist!) they compromise on a drink, as soon as Cynthia manages to snag her extra coat from home.
It's the first time she's called him anything but 'Mr. Stone', and it's the first time he calls her Cynthia.
Team Galactic comes into their conversation after a grunt is chased away from Oreburgh City by the both of them.
When the dam holding back her frustration at this mysterious organization bursts and she finds herself pouring out their story and how she wishes she could tear down these ruthless people, he does not smile in amusement.
Instead, he gives her valuable advice on criminal organization. Advice that has come from the experience of having not one, but two criminal organizations in his region.
"We had a girl defeat them single-handedly," he tells her near the end of their coincidental meeting. "Maybe another starting trainer will do the same."
Whether he was joking or not, she's not sure, but she meets a boy with determination shining in his eyes in Eterna, and wonders if he will be the hero of Sinnoh.
Somehow, he never expected to see her in Floaroma Town, and it seems the feeling is mutual.
"Enjoying the flowers?" she teases him, and he realizes that they are more than fellow champions now.
(Or, at least, a former Champion and a Champion. Despite the burdensome title off his shoulders, he still forgets every now and then.)
They are friends.
That pleases him more than the thought of finding a rare stone near the Valley Windworks.
Mount Coronet is where they run into each other again.
"What a coincidence," he remarks, helping her up. "I was just thinking about you."
He gives her the files on Regigigas he'd been meaning to send to her, and she smiles, something he likes to see a lot.
It really makes the hours of effort he put into those papers worth it at her happiness as she reads them.
(Although, she's happier because he remembered what she had said.)
While going up Mt. Coronet, she silently curses the treacherous rocky terrain and Team Galactic and how her heels can't quite grasp the meaning of 'balance' on the recently rearranged path up the mystic mountain.
Still, everything is evened out when he stumbles out of a cavern, dazed and lost, but brightening at seeing her.
"I'm lost here," he chuckles helplessly.
"Sinnoh caves too much for you?" she jokes, but blushes when he has to help her walk straight without falling over.
"Before we go, I'm just going to say that it's been nice knowing you, and I'm glad we became friends."
"Scared?" he lightly jokes, but promises silently at her side that he'll do whatever he can to keep her safe.
Cynthia admits, perhaps Steven was right about gifted children being able to do better than adults. Lucas and his friend certainly seem capable of taking care of everyone, but the Champion is preoccupied with her Garchomp and the Pokémon of the grunts surrounding her.
In the mob she fails to notice being backed up onto the edge of a cliff until she doesn't feel solid ground under her feet, her predicament of letting go unnoticed by the chaotic battle where the boy is in the center of attention as she's slipping off.
Only Steven realizes, and his face is horrified as he orders Skarmory to fly to the dangling woman.
She is hauled up safe by the metallic bird, and the steel-type expert nearly collapses with relief. Before she can thank him, he finds himself kissing her, in the middle of a raging battle where everyone else is busy fighting.
And, to his pleasure, he finds her kissing back.
After the entire fiasco is over, she finds herself saved by the silver-haired man again – this time from boredom after she is defeated by the hero.
No longer Champions, the two go into dusty caves and smile over long-forgotten artifacts and shining jewels, exploring the past from their present view.
And they're quite happy like this, the golden woman and the silver man.
There's an awesome author named Twinklefeather, and this amazing writer, in their story 'To Be Champion', who wants to call this shipping 'Blacksteelshipping' instead of Lolishota. Frankly, I agree. Lolishota seems... kinda anti-climatic.
Check out above-mentioned story, thank you for reading, and if you review, I may write another Pokemon fic soon.
~Ten-Faced~