Capture the Heart
by rkOujirou

Author's note: This story is a continuation based on the Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl anime, starting from after the episode "The Battle Finale of Legend!".

Disclaimer: Pokemon is not my idea and I don't own it or any of the characters, obviously.

Extra Chapter 6: Riding the Wind

With the collective gasps of thousands of spectators, a Vibrava and an Espeon crashed down to the stage on their sides. Neither were able to get up.

"Wow, what a gorgeous display of power!" the announcer, Vivian Meridian, bellowed into her microphone. "Pachirisu and Typhlosion are the only ones left standing, and that means Dawn is the winner of the Hoenn Grand Festival!"

A roar of applause rained down from the capacity crowd, and Dawn, in her bright red dress with white trim and no shortage of frills, lit up with joy. "We won!"

While Dawn shared a celebratory hug with her Pokemon, an incognito J applauded from up in the stands, a proud smile crossing her lips. Dawn's Piplup danced around atop the railing in front of the woman, waving its pompoms about in triumph.

After the Ribbon Cup presentation, Dawn had a horde of reporters to work through, during which time the spectators gradually filtered out of the Slateport City stadium. Her final interview came just outside the stadium doors after she'd gotten changed out of her contest attire.

It was late enough in the day now that the sun was setting and most everyone had gone home or back to the dorms to get ready for the closing ceremony. One person remaining, however, was J, who sat on a bench alongside Piplup, both of them waiting not-so-patiently for today's victor.

"I'm glad she won and all, but does every reporter in Hoenn really need to talk to her right after the fact?" J grumbled.

Beside her, Piplup nodded its head. "Pii piplup."

Legs crossed and elbows sitting atop the bench's back rest, J turned away momentarily, taking in the mostly empty stadium vicinity bathed in dusk's reddish-orange hue. It was such a stark difference from when everyone was pouring into the building earlier. There was a nice ambiance about it like this, as quiet as it was. The south wind was really picking up, though, causing her wig some grief.

When J looked ahead again, she saw the reporters leaving and Dawn hurrying towards her. That was her cue to get back to her feet.

"Hey!" Dawn ran into J's open arms, hugging the woman with one arm while the other gripped her Ribbon Cup.

"Well look at you, a two-time Grand Festival winner," J said to her. "Not bad."

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe I did it!" Dawn exclaimed. Once she'd gotten her fill from J's embrace, she placed her hand atop Piplup's head. "Hey, Piplup! Did you do a good job cheering us on?"

The Pokemon shook its pompoms in the air excitedly. "Pii piplup pip!"

"Was it tough?" J asked.

"Really tough," Dawn replied. "I actually felt a lot calmer this time, though. I guess winning that first Ribbon Cup took a lot of weight off my shoulders."

"I bet. So, what's next? Off to Kanto to fill out the trophy case some more?"

Dawn had to laugh at the suggestion. "You know what, I don't even want to think that far ahead right now," she said, taking J by the hand. "After all the time I spent preparing for this, I think I need a nice break. With you. Just us."

J, enjoying the sound of that, gave the girl's hand a squeeze. "I feel like I've heard this somewhere before. Not that I'm complaining."

The two of them were ready to head out on that break right now, at least until the sound of a motorcycle's engine caught their attention. On the path leading up to the stadium, they spotted a female officer waving to them as she approached, an Arcanine running alongside her bike.

"There she is!" Dawn waved back to her.

J's expression soured in an instant. "Of course," she muttered.

When the Slateport City police department sent out requests across the Hoenn region for some extra police presence at the Grand Festival, Lilycove City's Officer Jenny was among the first to offer her assistance—partly out of boredom, but also because she wanted to see how Dawn fared at the competition.

Pulling up next to them, Jenny cut her engine. "Dawn! Congratulations!" she said, hopping off the bike.

"Thanks! Did you get to see the match?"

"Sure did. You looked great out there. That last combination really packed a wallop!"

While Arcanine settled in for a brief rest after its run, Jenny noticed J standing there with her arms folded, shooting her an annoyed look. "What?"

"Would you hurry it up so Dawn and I can go?" J griped.

"Excuse me?" Jenny snapped back at her, going nose-to-nose with the woman as she got right up in her face. "Am I not allowed to congratulate her or something? Huh?"

Knowing where this was likely headed, Dawn put herself between the fiery women. "Now come on, you two. Not here." She sighed. Some things never changed. "Are you all done for the night, Jenny?"

Grudgingly, the officer backed down, clasping her hands behind her head as she stepped away. "Yeah, everyone's cleared out of here now and they don't need me for the closing ceremony, so I'm going back to the hotel to unwind."

The sudden clapping of someone's hands interrupted the conversation, bringing everyone's curious eyes back towards the stadium. A long, dark coat swaying in the breeze beneath a mane of flowing blonde hair, there was little doubt about the identity of the culprit coming their way. They were in the presence of one of the world's greatest trainers.

"Cynthia!" Dawn batted her eyes at the woman with surprise.

Turning white as a ghost, Jenny quickly faced away, acting as if she were writing something down in a notepad…with no pen or paper in hand.

"That was quite the performance," Cynthia complimented the coordinator. "Well done."

"Thank you! I had no idea you were here," Dawn replied.

"Aren't we lucky?" J added, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Cynthia fought through the snide remark with an unflinching expression. "Charming, as always," she joked, focusing her attention back on Dawn. "I wasn't busy today, so I thought I'd come watch the final. Well worth the trip, I'd say."

Down by Cynthia's waist, Jenny's Arcanine barked to get the trainer's attention.

"Oh, hello to you, too," Cynthia greeted it with a giggle. She knelt down to scratch it behind its ear, and Arcanine was appreciative of the attention. "You know, you seem very familiar."

With everything that was going on, only now did Dawn fully realize Jenny's predicament. She peeked over at the officer who, unsure what to do, had a pleading look about her.

J, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow at the sight of her cowering rival. "Am I seriously seeing this right now?"

Her eye twitching, Jenny silently mouthed the words "shut up" in J's direction.

"By the way, Dawn," Cynthia spoke again, prompting Jenny to bury her face back in her nonexistent notepad, "are you going to the closing ceremony? I heard from one of the organizers that they have a rather large fireworks display planned."

Piplup watched curiously from the bench as J circled around Jenny like a pest, acting as if she were trying to read what the officer was pretending to write. It took every ounce of willpower Jenny could muster to resist the urge to smack the woman.

Difficult as it was, Dawn tried her best to ignore her girlfriend's antics. "Actually, we were just going to head home. It's not really her thing," she said, gesturing to J, "and, honestly, I've had my fair share of closing ceremonies over the years. After today, I just want to relax."

"And we'd like to go soon, if you don't mind," J stressed, retaking her place at Dawn's side. "We have a long trip ahead of us."

J's abrasive behavior earned her a stiff nudge from Dawn's elbow.

While Dawn was trying to be polite, Cynthia had a feeling that she likely wanted to get going as much as J did. "I see. I won't keep you, then," she said, bringing her pampering of Arcanine to an end as she stood herself back up. "I just wanted to congratulate you before I left. Have a safe trip home."

"Thanks, Cynthia. I'll talk to you again soon," Dawn said, looking to her Pokemon. "Come on, Piplup. Let's go."

Jenny snapped back to attention, not liking what she was hearing as Piplup hopped down from the bench. "You're leaving?!"

"Yeah, sorry. It's getting pretty late." Dawn gave her an apologetic look. "We'll see you when you get back, Jenny! Bye!"

At a loss, Jenny reflexively raised her hand up and waved to the girl. "O-okay! See you!" she called out with a nervous laugh.

Dawn waved back to the officer, looking to her partner with concern as they walked off. "Is she going to be okay?"

"I doubt it," J replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Either way, I'm sure we'll hear aaaallll about it the next time she barges in on us."

Gradually, Jenny's hand froze in front of her as she watched her "help" take their leave. Those two...they just left her on her own with Cynthia. This was bad. This was really bad!

Swallowing hard, Jenny slowly slid her gaze over to the famed trainer. Cynthia was peering over her shoulder, the one eye not hidden behind those blonde locks of hers practically staring a hole through Jenny.

Officer Jenny recoiled in fear, a whimper escaping her lips. What was that look for? Was Cynthia angry with her? What did she do wrong?!

Twirling on her heel, Cynthia spun to face the officer, her long hair briefly lifting and falling against her back. Holding her hands behind her, she flashed Jenny a warm smile. "Hello there. I don't believe we've been properly introduced. My name is Cynthia."

…Huh? Did Cynthia not remember her from before, Jenny wondered? She opened her mouth to reply, but actually getting words to come out wasn't so easy.

"H-hi…" Jenny finally uttered, her tone soft as could be. "I'm…umm…J-Jenny…"

"Jenny…" Cynthia spoke her name, the very sound of which set the officer's heart aflutter. "It's a pleasure to meet you. This is probably going to seem very sudden, but are you busy right now?"

Jenny shook her head meekly in response.

"Really? Then, if it isn't too much trouble, may I ask something of you?" Cynthia continued. "Some of the locals told me earlier about something interesting I wanted to look into further. Unfortunately, it would require a trip quite a ways outside of the city, and I didn't prepare any transportation for myself. Would it be possible for you to escort me to the location?"

As the request sunk in, Jenny blinked. Cynthia…needed her? She needed her! Of course! As a police officer, she was the perfect choice for this sort of thing! Who knew what sorts of dangers would be lurking out in the wild, right?

Jenny, showing some gusto, raised her hand into a salute. "We'll do it! You can count on us, Cynthia! We'll make sure you get there safely!"

Arcanine joined its trainer, letting out a roar of approval.

Clapping her hands together, Cynthia's expression betrayed her excitement. "You will? Thank you. I'm grateful for the assistance." She bowed her head slightly. "The area I'm interested in is within the forest northwest of the city. If we exit here from the north and head west from there, we should arrive in roughly half an hour."

"Understood!" Jenny shouted in acknowledgement.

As late as it already was, it would surely be dark out in half an hour, Jenny figured. But that was no problem. She couldn't believe her luck. Now she could make a good impression on Cynthia by showing how dependable she was.

Jenny put Arcanine back into its pokeball for the trip and hopped onto her bike. At that moment, she paused. Her face went blank.

"Is everything okay?" Cynthia asked.

Wearing a pained look, the officer glanced back at her. "I…I detached my sidecar before I left home," she explained. "I didn't think I'd need it!"

As frustrated as Jenny was, Cynthia didn't appear overly concerned about it. "It's fine if I ride on the back, isn't it?"

Jenny's eyes went wide. Riding on the back? That would mean…

"U-uh…I mean, I don't mind at all! But…are you okay with that?"

"It's fine," Cynthia said with a chuckle. "It won't be my first time."

Cynthia put her leg over the bike and took a seat directly behind the officer. Immediately, an enamoring scent barraged Jenny's senses. It had a light citrus fragrance to it, like a bed of magnolias. Cynthia was so close that she couldn't help but be consumed by it.

"Be sure to…h-hold on tight, then," Jenny said, trying to keep a grip on herself.

As instructed, Cynthia wrapped her arms around Jenny's midsection. "How's this?"

Her face flushing, Jenny's body shivered from the touch. "G-g-good. Really…good…"

"Hmm?" Cynthia squeezed her arms around Jenny once, then again.

Officer Jenny squealed with delight. She had no idea what Cynthia was doing, but she definitely wasn't opposed to it.

Behind her, Cynthia let go and touched her fingertips to Jenny's sides several times, the other woman making strange noises with each move. She placed her hands over them fully, giving them a more thorough feel. "Ohh…"

"Wh-wh-wha-…"

"Your obliques are incredible. So firm." Cynthia raised her head, eyeing the filled-out sleeve of Jenny's police uniform. "Excuse me…"

Cynthia switched her hands-on attention to the woman's upper right arm now, causing Jenny's muscles to tense up. "Your biceps and triceps, too. You're in amazing shape."

Jenny's mind was too far gone from the stimulation to formulate a reply.

"Oh, forgive me," Cynthia apologized, letting go of her. "Sometimes I'm too curious for my own good. I always tell myself I should work out more. It's a frustrating thing that there's only so many hours in the day. In any case, we can leave whenever you're ready."

Despite Cynthia's words, Jenny was still stuck in a daze.

"Jenny?"

"Y-yes! I'm okay! Totally okay!"

Jenny fired up her bike's engine and turned on the headlights. Cynthia wrapped her arms around her again in preparation for the journey, filling the officer with renewed glee.

"All right, off we go!"

Traffic while getting out of Slateport City wasn't as bad as Jenny expected it to be. There were a fair number of visitors who came for the Grand Festival still out and about, looking to experience some more of the city's attractions before heading back to their respective hometowns tomorrow, but with the Grand Festival itself having ended quite some time earlier, packed roads weren't an issue.

After exiting the city and traveling north for a ways, a road to the west appeared just as Cynthia said it would. The road was unpaved, leading Jenny's bike to kick up a cloud of dirt behind them as they rode. The deeper it went into the darkened forest, the more twists and turns it presented, forcing Jenny to slow down for the sake of their safety—not that she minded; every extra second the ride took was an extra second Cynthia was holding onto her.

As the last minutes of daylight faded into night, the terrain became increasingly steep, further diminishing their pace. In time, they found themselves starting up a hill with the greatest incline yet. Thick trees lined the sides of the road as they pushed upward, and the wind, having grown stronger the higher they went, added some challenge to controlling the bike.

Finally, they reached the hill's top where, out ahead of them, Jenny saw the path curving downward and to the left.

"There!" Cynthia shouted over the motorcycle's rumbling. She pointed to a reflective sign over to their right that read, "TRAIL".

Jenny pulled over and parked her bike near the sign, leaving her headlights on for the moment to improve their vision. Cynthia letting go of her to dismount the vehicle was a disappointing feeling, but the officer reminded herself that it wouldn't be the last time she'd experience it; she still had the trip back to look forward to, after all.

"That was quite the exhilarating ride, I must say." Cynthia groomed her hair back into place after the breezy journey.

"W-was I going too fast?" Jenny asked nervously.

Cynthia held her head high. "Not at all. I can handle it," she replied with a confident smirk. "When you get involved in some of the research I do, quick escapes and the like are sometimes necessary."

Seeing the woman standing there all proud like that, Officer Jenny practically felt her heart turn to mush within her chest. Cynthia was so cool!

The light from Jenny's bike was about the only way the two of them could see their surroundings right now; the sun had set, and the tree cover was especially heavy in this area. The gusts blowing the countless leaves around were almost constant, bringing with them fresh air the likes of which you could only find this far out from the city.

Her hair shifting in the persistent wind, Cynthia looked around at the trail leading up into the forest. "It's gotten quite dark, hasn't it?"

Jenny livened up, standing at attention. "Leave it to us!"

Another chance to be useful! The officer brought Arcanine back out of its pokeball and retrieved a flashlight from the pack at her waist.

"Listen up, Arcanine! We're to make sure the trail is safe and escort Cynthia along the way! All right?"

Wagging its tail excitedly, Arcanine barked in understanding.

Cynthia had to chuckle at the pair's enthusiasm. "You two certainly make a good team."

"Of course!" Jenny beamed with satisfaction at the compliment. "Together, we're unstoppable!"

The three of them started up the darkened path, Officer Jenny and Arcanine leading the way using their flashlight and nose respectively to make sure they stayed on the right track.

Despite the tree growth being so thick it blocked out nearly every shred of moonlight, it still wasn't enough to shield them from the stiff wind threatening to blow Jenny's hat right off her head. In the distance, they heard the cries of wild Pokemon, but they were too far off to tell what they were.

"Watch your step. There's a tree root sticking out of the ground right here," Jenny warned as they walked.

Cynthia did just that. "So, how long have you known Dawn for?"

"Hmm? Dawn? Oh, only a short while," Jenny replied, too focused on her task to think much of the question. "It really surprised me the first time I saw her with J, but she's always been super nice to me."

Following behind, Cynthia narrowed her eyes. "I see, so you do know about J."

Jenny froze in her tracks, horrified at the realization of what she just admitted. "N-no! Well, I mean…you see-!"

"It's fine," Cynthia assured her. "I know, too, after all. It's just surprising, I suppose, that even a police officer is letting her be."

If only Cynthia knew how often Jenny struggled internally with that very conflict of interests. Still, it was a difficult thing to put into words.

"J and I, we…have a long history with each other," the officer tried to explain. "And it's…it's complicated…"

Cynthia held up a hand to stop her. "I understand," she said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I was only wondering what you thought about their relationship."

Their relationship? Every time Jenny saw them, she always thought about how lucky they were. "Well, as many issues as I have with J, I have to admit Dawn seems perfect for her. And the reverse is probably true, too."

Smiling, Cynthia nodded her head. "I agree, they really are an ideal fit." She continued on up the path, stepping past Jenny and Arcanine. "In truth, watching them together makes me rather envious."

Cynthia? Envious? That was a surprising thing to hear from her. Jenny didn't even know how to respond to it. One thing she did know, however, was that by allowing Cynthia to head up the trail first, she wasn't fulfilling her duty.

"Ah, wait! It's dark up there!"

Jenny and Arcanine rushed ahead to retake the lead position, and further on the group went.

After walking a while longer, they spotted a break in the trees where the moonlight was allowed to light the trail. As they strode up to it, they realized it also marked the end of the path. It was a hilltop overlooking the vast forest below. A waist-high railing lined the edge of it.

"This is it," Cynthia announced.

Jenny marveled at the expansive scene, largely unobstructed by the trees that lined the way here. "Wow, what a view!"

The officer had to hold onto her hat as another gust tried to carry it away. Once it settled, she looked to the sky. There was plenty of room for the crescent moon to shine through, but also some fast-moving clouds here and there.

While Arcanine sat down, Jenny walked up to the railing and looked over. Down below was a long, straight drop, followed by an especially steep hill with plenty of trees that would promise to be a rough tumble.

Grimacing at the thought, Jenny put her flashlight away. "Um, what was it you wanted to come here for?"

Cynthia had her attention set on the sky above. "If what I heard is correct, we should be seeing it very shortly."

A sudden rustling noise drew their eyes to a set of bushes on their left. Something was there.

Arcanine took up a guarded stance, watching along with the others as a creature emerged from the bushes. It was smaller, a pair of horns adorning its head. As it stepped into the light, the others recognized its form.

"A…Ralts?" Jenny cocked her head.

Ralts peered around at the group, seemingly unafraid of their presence.

"How unusual," Cynthia said, looking upon the Pokemon with fascination. "Ralts don't typically approach humans like this."

While Arcanine relaxed itself, unconcerned about the new arrival, Ralts looked to the sky. "Ralts?" Keeping its head pointed upward, it walked over to the railing, just beside a tree growing at the hill's edge. "Raaaaalts…"

Puzzled by the Pokemon's behavior, Jenny turned her sights on the sky as well. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary, though, leaving her to ponder what exactly it was doing.

"Chiiiiime…"

Jenny's ears perked up. She knew that sound. That was…

"Chime, chime, chime…"

Overhead, the shadow of a Pokemon appeared high above from out of the cover of the trees. Another followed behind it, and then another. The Pokemon formed what felt like a never-ending line as more continued to come into view beneath the moon, over a hundred of them being carried along by the strong wind currents.

Officer Jenny's jaw hung open as she watched the scene unfold. "Chimecho! Look at all of them."

Close by, Cynthia's eyes sparkled at the sight. "How beautiful. The Slateport City residents spoke of hearing Chimecho southwest of the city last night. With the wind blowing north, I took the chance we may be able to see them here."

Jenny had seen Chimecho before, but never more than one at a time. Seeing this many of them at once was incredible. It was only when she remembered the Ralts that she was able to pull her eyes away. She looked to the base of the tree where it was before, but the Pokemon was no longer there.

Scanning around, Jenny at last spotted the Ralts again. It was further up, standing atop a branch of the same tree hanging over the railing.

Ralts stared up in wonder at the Chimecho. "Raaaalts…"

"Ahh, it must have sensed the Chimecho and become curious about them," Cynthia said.

The famed trainer had to shield her eyes as a sharp gust of wind swept by and hit her. Lowering her arm, she gasped as she saw Ralts losing its balance. The Pokemon was about to fall over the cliff.

Cynthia quickly reached for a pokeball at her waist. "Garch-!" She stopped. Out of the corner of her eye, Officer Jenny came into view, dashing right past her.

As Ralts fell from the branch, Jenny dove out over the railing, catching the Pokemon with her right hand. "Gotcha!"

The wind finally claimed Jenny's uniform hat, blowing it off and carrying it down to the forest below. Nearly all of her body hung down over the hill's edge, the only exceptions being her left foot hooked onto the railing and her left hand gripping it. Then, Jenny heard a creak. She knew immediately what it was. She could feel the iron panel of the railing she held coming loose, about to break free from the excess weight placed upon it.

"Oh cr-…!"

The panel snapped off. Jenny's first thought was to brace herself for the fall and protect Ralts from it as best she could, but her fall was short-lived as something caught her by the wrist. Looking up, she saw Cynthia straining as she held onto her.

"Cynthia!"

Cynthia tried pulling the officer up, but struggled to do so. Her shoes weren't getting good traction here, and Jenny, with her right hand occupied by Ralts, couldn't provide much help of her own. Luckily, they had some assistance. Arcanine, biting down on the back of Cynthia's coat, gave it a mighty tug.

Now they were moving. Her left foot still hooked onto another of the railing's plates, Jenny used her leg strength to assist as much as she could. As she was pulled closer, she managed to get her right foot back over the railing. The rest of her body followed.

With Cynthia and Arcanine continuing to pull, Jenny hopped for a couple of steps before falling to her back atop the hill. She breathed a huge sigh of relief. Raising her head, she saw Ralts sitting upon her abdomen. "You okay there?"

Ralts, appearing shaken by the whole ordeal, bowed its head frantically. "Ralts ralts! Ralts!"

The Pokemon promptly hopped off of Jenny, scurrying back into the forest whence it came.

"Huh, must be a shy one. At least it's all right." Jenny let out a deep exhale. Closing her eyes, she laid her head back down. "That was close!"

Only now did Jenny realize that something felt off beneath her. The ground shouldn't have been this soft. She opened her eyes again to see Cynthia staring down at her, the moon peeking out from behind her head. She was laying in Cynthia's lap.

Panicking, Jenny jolted upright, facing Cynthia from her knees. "S-sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…!"

Jenny paused. Before her, Cynthia's arms hung in the air, having reached out for the officer as she was getting up.

As the last of the Chimecho vanished into the night sky, Cynthia's wide eyes relaxed. She looked down, her hands falling to her lap. "Always sacrificing yourself like this…"

Jenny blinked. "Huh?"

"It was the same in Lilycove City with that purse snatcher," Cynthia spoke. "You were off-duty then, and yet..."

Reeling back, Jenny's mouth hung open with surprise. "You…you knew that was me?"

"You were with Dawn and J then, same as today," Cynthia reminded her. "It was you in Hearthome City as well, wasn't it?"

Officer Jenny was too stunned to reply.

"I was almost certain before, but when I met your Arcanine again today, there was no doubt." Cynthia grasped one hand in the other, holding it tightly. "After that day in Lilycove City, I thought you were very interesting. You were so unlike the other members of your family I've met. Then one day I was in Hearthome City. I fell asleep for a time on a park bench, and what did I find next to me when I woke up but you, bleeding and scraped up all over the place."

Cynthia stared Jenny dead in the eyes, a stern look about her. "Those wounds could have gotten infected, you know," she chided the officer, her voice rising. "You aren't invincible. You need to take better care of yourself. Don't you know there are people out there who care about you and need you? When I saw you looking like that…!"

She stopped herself. Biting her lip, she looked away.

"It's…it's nothing. I apologize for speaking to you this way. It was uncalled for." Cynthia got back to her feet, not bothering to dust herself off. "It's gotten quite late. We should be going."

As Cynthia turned to leave, Jenny instinctually rose to one knee and grabbed the woman by her left hand.

"I like you!"

Cynthia didn't take another step more.

Kneeling in the grass, Jenny was aghast at herself. What did she just do? What did she just say? Cynthia seemed like she was bothered by something, so she didn't want to leave it like that, and she just…!

Officer Jenny waited with bated breath for the other woman to say something.

"Like?" Cynthia asked, not turning around. "In what way?"

Jenny couldn't even think right now. Her heart was pounding like crazy. "I…like…like you, in a…r-romantic…way…" She forced the words out, shakily standing herself up. "Umm…a-after you gave me your ice cream, I just…"

Cynthia brought her free hand up, placing it gently over her chest. "So many people have said such words to me. Fans, challengers, even that flirt Alder. But…what is this feeling?"

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Cynthia slowly stepped over to Jenny, close enough that her fragrance reached the officer once more. "Tell me, where are you from?"

Jenny, anxious for some sort of answer, was caught off-guard by the question. "Oh, I-I'm from Canalave City originally, but I live and work in Lilycove City now…"

"Ahh, so you're from the Sinnoh region, same as I am," Cynthia replied, an intrigued look about her. "I guess that explains where you picked up that 'Canalave Cyclone Suplex,' hmm?"

Mortified that Cynthia remembered her using that move on the purse snatcher, Jenny's face grew pale. She brought Cynthia's hand upward, cupping both of her own over it. "Noooo! Please forget about that! He…he just made me really, really mad, so I-!"

Cynthia giggled at the reaction. "It's nothing to be ashamed of," she said, placing her other hand over Jenny's. "There are so many things I don't know about you, but I want to learn them—as much as I can. And you can learn all about me as well. I think that sounds like a good place to start. Don't you?"

A glimmer of hope twinkled in Jenny's eyes. Did…did this mean…?

The moon was almost directly overhead by the time Officer Jenny and Cynthia were back within the Slateport City limits. The Grand Festival's closing ceremony was long since over, and traffic was especially light now with most everyone having settled in for the night.

Jenny could hardly believe the amazing things tonight brought with it. Her only regret was that it had to end.

She and Cynthia had the chance to talk for a while out in the forest, though not nearly enough for Jenny's liking. Cynthia asked a great deal about her, taking a particular interest in her history with J. Jenny didn't get to ask quite as much, but did learn some about Cynthia's schedule and interests—useful information for the future, she hoped.

Cynthia, it turned out, had to leave for the Sinnoh region early in the morning, which kept her from staying out any later. Jenny would have to head back to Lilycove City tomorrow herself. That ride was going to be a lot less enjoyable without Cynthia holding onto her.

Eventually, the two of them pulled up outside of Cynthia's hotel. Jenny was staying at a different one on the other side of the city.

Cynthia hopped off the motorcycle, unwrapping herself from Jenny in the process. "I don't think I could ever tire of traveling like that," she said, brushing her hair back into place again. "Thank you for everything, Jenny. I hope it wasn't too much trouble."

"Not at all!" Jenny's reply was emphatic as she dismounted her vehicle. "My bike got a nice coating of dirt out there, but I was meaning to give it a wash when I got home anyway."

"And your hat?"

"Not a problem! I lose them all the time. Actually, I get chewed out a lot for it."

Though Jenny tried to remain upbeat, she couldn't hide her disappointment over their imminent parting from Cynthia's observant eyes. "I'm sorry, this was all quite unexpected," Cynthia told her. "It's unfortunate I can't reschedule my plans to stay longer."

Jenny managed a smile despite herself. "No, it's fine. I get it. They probably wouldn't give me an extra day off work on such short notice anyway."

Cynthia pulled a folded piece of paper from her coat pocket, waving it in front of her. "I have your number now, so I'll call once I'm able, all right?"

"Yeah," Jenny replied with a nod. "Patience isn't my strong suit, but I'll do my best to tough it out until then! See you, Cynthia."

"Soon." Cynthia gave her a wink. "You can count on it."

The trainer swiveled on her heels, walking towards the hotel entrance. Each step she took was slower than the last. Before she reached the door, she peeked back over her shoulder.

Jenny, back on her bike, fired it up. It was okay, she told herself. Tonight was absolutely magical for her, perfect in so many ways. She couldn't wait to see Cynthia again.

"Jenny?"

The officer turned her head, feeling a warmth against her cheek as Cynthia cupped her hand over it. Before Jenny even knew what was happening, Cynthia drew closer and brought their lips together in a tender kiss.

Jenny felt as if a jolt of electricity were running through her body. What…was this? So warm. So soft. Was this…real? It wasn't a dream, right?

Blushing, Cynthia broke the kiss, smiling brightly at the object of her affection. "Good night."

Officer Jenny watched, stunned, as Cynthia disappeared into the hotel lobby. Not blinking even once, she looked ahead of her and drove away…in the opposite direction of her hotel, where she kept on going straight out of the city. Once she was far enough out, she pulled over on the side of the road.

She looked around to make sure she was alone. There was no one to hear her. No one to see her.

Welling up with joy, Jenny threw her fists into the air.

"YEEEEESSSSSS!"

End of Extra Chapter 6