Pokémon: My Parallel World Daughters Revealed

The video continued playing.

Celestic Town, the ancestral estate of Cynthia’s family.

The estate was built in a traditional Japanese style, with several ancient pine trees growing in its courtyard and an old Sinnoh family crest hanging above the entrance.

At that moment, two rows of colorful triangular flags stretched across the estate’s walls, extending from the front entrance all the way into the courtyard.

Professor Carolina had personally chosen them. According to her, gold and purple were the only colors magnificent enough for the occasion—and they matched Tiana’s eyes.

In the courtyard, the steward and maids hurried back and forth.

”Hang two more lanterns on the tree to the left!”

One of the maids leaned down from a ladder and shouted to her colleague below.

”There are already six! If we hang any more, the branch will break.”

”...Then put the remaining ones along the veranda.”

[VIP Chat Group]

[Dawn]: Is it really necessary to make it this extravagant? It’s hard to believe this is only Tiana’s tenth birthday party.

[Gary]: Is it that extravagant? I think it looks fairly ordinary.

[James]: Indeed. It’s rather modest.

[Trip]: Wait, you consider this ordinary? What kind of families do the two of you come from to casually say something like that?

[Brock]: Gary is Professor Oak’s grandson, while James is the young master of the Sasaki Group.

[Gary]: In that case, Trip, which family do you belong to? Why haven’t I heard of it?

[Trip]: ...

[Brock]: All right, all right. Let’s continue watching.

The video continued playing.

Inside the kitchen, Cynthia stood at the counter wearing an apron, staring contemplatively at the cake before her.

She and one of the research institute’s assistants had baked the three-layer sponge cake together, filling each layer with cream and fruit.

The problem was that she still hadn’t decided how to decorate its surface.

”Champion Cynthia,” the research assistant beside her said quietly, ”would you like us to pipe the decorations for you? You’ve been standing there for almost ten minutes.”

”No.”

Cynthia frowned.

”I’ll do it myself.”

She picked up the piping bag, took a deep breath, and began squeezing cream onto the cake.

After making two flowers, she stopped, tilted her head, and examined the result.

”...Is this flower slightly crooked?”

The assistant leaned closer to look, then silently retreated again.

”...It’s fine.”

Cynthia remained silent for a moment before abandoning the piped flowers and arranging a circle of sliced Berries around the edge instead.

At least Berry slices couldn’t go wrong.

In the study on the second floor, Professor Carolina stood before a full-length mirror and adjusted her collar.

She wore a dark-purple kimono that day, with an antique brooch fastened near the neckline. The two gemstones set into the brooch were gold and purple. She had personally selected them from her mineral collection and commissioned someone to create the piece especially for the occasion.

”Little Cynthia.”

Professor Carolina adjusted the angle of the brooch in the mirror and called downstairs without turning around.

”The rest of the family will be arriving soon. Have you finished the cake?”

Cynthia poked her head out of the kitchen, with a small smear of cream still on her face.

”Grandma, how many people did you invite to Tiana’s birthday this time?”

”Not many.”

Professor Carolina left the study and stood at the top of the stairs, counting on her fingers.

”Your uncle and his family of three, your aunt’s family of four, Professor Rowan and his assistants, and several old friends from the Historical Research Association...”

”Grandma, that’s already almost thirty people.”

”That isn’t many.”

Professor Carolina waved one hand dismissively.

”How many years has it been since our family produced a child as talented as Tiana? If we make the celebration too modest, people might think our family has fallen into decline.”

[Regular-Seat Chat Group]

”With the scale of Professor Carolina’s preparations, she probably notified everyone she could find in the family registry.”

”Tiana is going to receive so many gifts today that her arms will go numb.”

[VIP Chat Group]

[Diantha]: Cynthia has that many relatives?

[Professor Carolina]: Those are only members of the main family. If we included all the branch families, the ancestral estate wouldn’t be large enough to accommodate them.

[Dawn]: Tiana has to meet so many elders at once. Won’t she become nervous?

[Brock]: Judging from everything we’ve seen in the video, Tiana probably isn’t intimidated by occasions like this.

[May]: With Tiana’s personality, attending a family gathering is probably no different from walking down a red carpet.

[Iris]: The gifts are the important part!

The video continued playing.

Professor Rowan arrived with two assistants, followed by Professor Carolina’s old friends from the Historical Research Association and the elders of the family.

The courtyard gradually became livelier.

Professor Rowan wore a dark-gray academic robe and carried a long rectangular gift box as he spoke with Professor Carolina.

Just then—

A Dragonite began descending through the clouds.

Two people rode on its back.

They were Tiana and Asher.

Tiana wore a pale-purple dress that reached her knees, with a golden ribbon tied around the collar.

The golden streak in her short black hair had been braided into a thin plait and pinned behind her ear with two tiny pearl hair clips.

Asher sat behind her, one hand resting against Dragonite’s neck and the other supporting Tiana’s shoulder.

Dragonite slowly landed in the courtyard.

Asher helped Tiana down from Dragonite’s back and casually straightened his cuffs.

He was dressed exceptionally formally that day. A golden brooch was pinned to the collar of his dark-gray overcoat, matching the color of the ribbon on Tiana’s dress.

When Professor Rowan saw him, he raised a hand in greeting from a distance. Asher returned the gesture before leading Tiana toward them.

”Grandma, I’ve brought Tiana,” Asher said to Professor Carolina.

”That’s enough. There’s no need to be so formal when we’re family.”

Professor Carolina examined him from head to toe.

”Little Cynthia is in the kitchen. Go and check on her before she blows the place up. Tiana can stay here with us.”

”All right.”

Asher smiled and headed toward the kitchen.

Tiana ran over to Professor Carolina.

”Great-Grandma!”

”Good, good. What a wonderful girl.”

Professor Carolina pulled Tiana closer and looked her over for quite some time, her eyes filled with affection.

”You’re ten years old now. From today onward, you’re a big girl.”

Tiana tilted her head and thought for a moment.

”Great-Grandma, does being ten mean I can set out on a journey?”

Professor Carolina laughed and patted her head.

”There’s no need to rush your journey. For today, you should simply enjoy your birthday. Come and greet Grandpa Rowan.”

Tiana bowed properly.

”Hello, Grandpa Rowan!”

”Good, good. What a polite child.”

Professor Rowan bent down and held the rectangular gift box out to her.

”Tiana, this is your birthday present.”

Tiana accepted the box with both hands, and her mismatched eyes immediately lit up.

”Thank you, Grandpa Rowan!”

”Go ahead and open it.”

Tiana removed the wrapping paper and lifted the lid.

Inside rested an irregularly shaped stone tablet about the size of her palm. Several curved lines were carved into its surface, and it emitted an extremely faint blue glow beneath the sunlight.

”This is a newly excavated fragment of a star chart from the ruins at Mt. Coronet,” Professor Rowan explained with a smile. ”It came from the same collection as the fragment in your great-grandmother’s research institute. I thought you might like it.”

”I love it!”

Tiana lifted the tablet before her eyes and looked at the sky through its carved patterns with her golden and purple eyes.

”Great-Grandma said these star-chart fragments are connected to Dialga!”

”That’s correct.”

Professor Rowan nodded.

”However, researchers are still working on a complete interpretation. Once you’re a little older, you can come to my laboratory and study it with us.”

Professor Carolina watched from beside them, unable to conceal the smile on her face.

”Rowan, are you trying to poach my future researcher?”

”This is called academic exchange,” Professor Rowan answered without changing his expression. ”Besides, with Tiana’s talent, she will accomplish great things regardless of which research institute she eventually joins.”

Tiana carefully placed the stone tablet back inside its box.

Then she turned toward the other elders in the courtyard and blinked her mismatched eyes.

”Hello, Grandpas, Grandmas, Uncles, and Aunties. Does Tiana have any more presents?”

”Tiana!”

Professor Carolina lightly tapped the back of her head.

”Where are your manners?”

”It’s fine, it’s fine.”

The vice president of the Historical Research Association approached with an exquisitely wrapped gift box in his hands.

”Here, Tiana. This is the present I prepared for you.”

Tiana accepted the box and opened it, discovering a complete Anorith fossil preserved in amber.

Her eyes widened into circles, and her mouth formed a tiny ”O.”

Gabite poked its head out from beside her and nudged the amber fossil with its snout. Then it opened its mouth and prepared to bite it.

”You can’t eat that!”

Tiana immediately clamped both hands over Gabite’s mouth.

”It’s a fossil!!”

”Move aside! Everyone, move aside! Don’t block me from seeing Tiana!”

A rapid series of footsteps came from outside the entrance.

Professor Carolina frowned, clear disdain entering her voice.

”That impatient temperament hasn’t changed in decades.”

An elderly man with gray hair and a ramrod-straight posture strode inside. He wore a dark-gray suit, and a golden Dragon-type emblem was pinned to his tie.

”Hello, Great-Granduncle!”

Tiana reacted extremely quickly, calling out the moment she saw him.

”Good, good! Tiana truly is a wonderful child.”

Her great-granduncle pulled a box from inside his coat and handed it to her.

”Take it! This is Great-Granduncle’s birthday present for you!”

Tiana opened the box.

Inside was a Mega Stone.

When Tiana saw it, even she froze briefly.

”Great-Granduncle, is this Garchompite?”

”That’s right! I obtained it many years ago when I competed in a Pokémon League Conference in the Kalos region. Unfortunately, my Garchomp was already unable to battle by then, so I never had a chance to use it.”

Her great-granduncle crouched in front of Tiana.

”You’ll definitely be able to use it someday. Your Gabite is the child of your mother’s Garchomp, isn’t it? Once it evolves into Garchomp, you’ll be able to use this Mega Stone.”

Tiana cradled the Garchompite in her palms before smiling brightly.

”Thank you, Great-Granduncle!”

[VIP Chat Group]

[Dawn]: Hahaha! Tiana’s reaction was so adorable! She directly asked all her elders whether they had more presents for her!

[Iris]: But the elders seem to love that about her. The old gentleman who gave her the fossil looked rather nervous, as though he was afraid Tiana wouldn’t like it.

[Ash]: Tiana’s personality really is popular with older people!

[Gary]: It’s probably because she directly says what she wants. That makes her much easier for her elders to understand.

[Diantha]: What do you think, Cynthia?

[Cynthia]: She was much better at charming her elders than I was at that age.

[Professor Carolina]: You were too busy causing trouble. In that respect, you were nowhere near Tiana.

[Cynthia]: ...

...

TL: Due to the requests, I now have a P@tre@n page—hihihihaw! If you want advanced Chapters (5, 12, and 20 respectively), head over there. Don’t worry, I’ll still post about 1–2 Chapters a day, not counting the bonus two Chapters per 100-stone milestone. You can find my P under the same name as my Webnovel one.