Chapter One - A Clash of Ideals
(Disclaimer - I do not own the charaters, themes and settings from the pokémon franchise used in this story they belong to their rightful owners.)
So, this is the first chapter of the real story, the prologue was essentially a taster of the story if you will. As Cynthia has said in the Anime, in the games and in the previous chapter she was not always the all loving champion she is now. Once the only thing that drove her was strength and the unshakable desire to win and keep winning. This is my interpretation of her origin story and how she became the most powerful champion in the franchise.
So as with pretty much every fanfiction i do have some notes first.
This is normal narrative text.
"this is normal speech,"
this is me interrupting your enjoyment of the story (authors notes)
these are the thoughts of a character
(...) - and this is a scene break, a change in time or place.
I'm going to apologise ahead of time for any grammatical or spelling errors, i am writing this on a tablet so the spell check is not very good. I will try to rectify it is i notice it but i need you to be my eyes if you see an error please PM me to let me know and i will change it as soon as possible. Also I apologise for any missed accents on the word Pokémon or other words, it's likely i'll miss some.
Also as this story is an origin story i have to apologise if Characters seem ooc, i try to make my charaters personalities as realistic as possible but it is sometimes not easy. There is a huge example in this chapter where this happens but in order to force the story in the direction i wanted it needed it to happen.
This story is likely to update once a month due to the size of the chapters and there will be no set deadlines it will simply be when i finish a new chapter. I have written quite a few ahead of time so i'll try to keep pace.
Please follow and fave if you enjoy the story, It means the world to me when i get those notifications it makes my writing feel wanted.
And if you loved it or hated it please, please, review they are honestly the best thing you can get back from a fanfiction. It improves my writing and the community as a whole. So if you have any ideas, constructive critisism or if you just want to say hi please review.
Sorry these notes were so long I'm going to go now and let you read the actual story.
Enjoy!
50 years earlier, a young Markus Finch stepped out and breathed in the fresh sea air. A gentle breeze swam through his thick sandy hair, his green eyes shone in the sunlight. He sighed happily, His muscles were sore from the long plane flight from Kalos but now he had finally arrived his spirits were high. He bolted down the steps, almost knocking over the other tourists, and ran up to the edge of the dock they had arrived at. The view was stunning, on one side was the vast and endless sea filled with untold wonders and to the other was the colourful Undella town in the Unova region. He could tell without a doubt that this would be the best vacation he'd had in a long time. His mission this week was simply to kick back and relax. Quickly he ran back to the sea plane to collect his vast amount of luggage then ran off towards his hotel.
No less than half an hour later Markus was hopelessly lost in the middle of the town, buried in his luggage as he attempted to read a map to the hotel he was meant to be staying at. He groaned loudly, "This is supposed to be a holiday, finding the hotel is supposed to be the easy part." He cried, he was tempted to call out a pokémon to help him search but decided against it, almost all his pokémon were exotic in this part of the world and the last thing he wanted was to draw attention. Unfortunately that is exactly what he managed to draw.
He decided to return to the beach in order to regain his bearings, walking downhill with increasing speed. Eventually he was beginning to run, the weight of his luggage was far too much. He quickly turned a corner in an attempt to slow him down but suddenly smashed into something.
"Hey asshole watch where you're going." A woman shouted. Markus sat up from his pile of luggage in a daze and looked up to see a tall slender teenager looking down angrily at him, her long blonde hair shone in the sun pinned up by four oddly shaped accessories. Markus' mouth gaped open as he looked at the raging beauty in front of him. Unsure what else to do, Markus laughed and scratched the back of his head.
"Sorry about that, I couldn't see where I was going." He looked up and met the eyes of the woman, they were a striking but stormy grey, Markus flinched in terror, she looked furious. Markus quickly realised why. Markus felt cold sensation on the top of his head. He reached hand up to find out what it was and pulled an ice cream cone of the top of his head, vanilla flavoured. Markus looked back into the furious eyes of the teenager.
"Oh, jeez I'm sorry, urm how about I buy you another one to make it up to you." Markus nervously said. Cynthia tried to decide whether it was worth it. With a huff she bent down and looked Markus dead in the eye.
"Look brat, you're in my way and frankly I'm not in a good mood, on any other day I would have made you pay dearly for this but I have somewhere to be so consider yourself lucky punk." Markus gulped, people in the Unova region were scary, or maybe it was just this girl. Under normal circumstances the boy would have defended himself but this girl was so intense he simply couldn't say a word and just stared at her.
"Ugh, get out of my way I can't deal with nuisances right now." The woman walking past the boy. Markus quickly realised he couldn't leave things like this and the woman could probably help him find his way, gathering his things, he stood up in order to follow the woman. He quickly caught up.
"Hey, seriously I am sorry, I hope you're not hurt, the thing is I'm a bit lost so I don't suppose you could give me some dire…" The woman turned quickly and faced Markus. She leaned forward and pointed a finger at him angrily,
"Did you not hear what I said, I can't deal with you right now, you continue to follow me and I will break both your legs." Markus was intimidated by her glare but stood his ground.
"It will only take a second." He said meekly. The woman seemed to fume with rage, she hooked her foot around his ankle and gave a sharp pull knocking Markus to the floor and burying him in his luggage. With that she turned on her heel and left.
Markus sat up and watched the woman walk away. He frowned sadly but decided not to pursue her any further, she was obviously quite stressed. With a sigh he picked himself up dusted himself down and continued towards the beach trying not to let the event put a dampener on his day.
It took an hour before Markus actually found his hotel, it was a rather run down place but it served his needs, he didn't think he would spend much time here anyway. Quickly he checked in and left, only taking what he thought he would need in a small satchel. Enjoying the sun and the lack of luggage on his shoulders he sauntered down to the beach.
Undella bay was undoubtedly one of the most popular beaches in the world, its white sandy beach coupled with the clear warm sea attracted tourists like Butterfree to honey. As Markus surveyed the large beach he could only think that perhaps this place was too popular. The whole beach was covered in people and their pokémon with not any room to spare. Markus sighed and decided to head west along the beach in order to find a quieter spot. After an uneventful trip Markus reached the cliffs on the other side of Undella town here the beach was much quieter due to the shade of the cliffs but the sun was not why Markus was really here. Markus looked around he noticed there were very few people around, a few small families enjoying their holidays. Markus decided it was time to bring his friends out. He tossed six pokéballs into the air all of them bursting open to reveal his companions. In a flash six pokémon stood in front of their trainer. A Gardevoir, Doublade, shiny Roserade, Gyarados, Aurorus and his first ever pokémon Charizard. The pokémon instantly ran up to their trainer to greet him.
"Alright everyone it's time for our vacation, you've all worked hard this last month so let's relax for a while." The pokémon squealed in delight and set off to play in the sea or sand. Two young boys ran up to Markus, "Hey, are they your pokémon?" They asked excitedly Markus nodded proudly. "Can we play with them please?" They begged.
Markus grinned at the boys, "Sure I'll introduce you." He said. Markus and his pokémon played for the rest of that afternoon, many children came up and played with them taking turns to have rides on Charizard and Gyarados, Roserade and Doublade spent a lot of time in the sun enjoying the heat and Aurorus and Gardevoir enjoyed looking after the kids, although fierce battlers the pair were incredibly gentle around the children. After a day of pure and brilliant fun, the sun began to sink below the horizon and the children left, the six pokémon and their trainer all sat together on the beach watching the sun fall beneath the quiet waves.
From afar the party were closely watched by an ageing woman, she grinned to herself plotting carefully. "It seems Sycamore was right, he may be exactly what I need." With that she turned on her heels and entered the car behind her.
(...)
That night around nine o'clock Markus decided to leave and head to the hotel, once again finding himself hopelessly lost in the labyrinth of streets causing him to scratch his head glumly, "Well, it's hardly as bad as Lumiose city."
A black limo rolled up beside him, its expensive make and tinted glass told him instantly it held someone important. A window was rolled down revealing an old woman, she looked incredibly stern with an expression that could make grown men break down into tears. Her greying hair matched her jacket fashionably.
"There is nothing I hate more than lost boys." She said without even turning to look at Markus.
"Well if it helps Madame, I am trying to become unlost." Markus said perhaps too smartly.
"Humph Madame huh? You're from the Kalos region ain't ya."
"Yes that's right ma'am." If he wasn't already, now he was really worried as to where this was heading,
"That will be where you got that interesting looking bracelet then." Markus's hand moved to the band on his left wrist. This was the proof of the bond with his pokémon he was surprised anyone in the Unova region would know what it was but it seemed that not even the smallest details escaped this woman.
"Here is my card, I hate to admit it but I need your help, be at that address by nine o'clock tomorrow, do not be late." The woman finished handing out a small business card. Markus was about to ask another question but the car was already rolling away leaving him in the middle of the road with not much idea as to what had happened. He looked at the card it read.
Agatha A.
Rosewood manor
Seabreak road
Undella town
Unova
No visitors past 2pm OR ELSE!
Markus frowned and tucked the card in his pocket already debating whether to go or not. This was meant to be a holiday but whatever was going on seemed to be worth investigating. Somehow his feet eventually managed to bring him to the front door of the hotel, he entered looking at the sleeping attendant, he chose not to disturb the young man and headed up to his room. Slinging his satchel on the floor he jumped into his bed to find it was rock solid. Maybe it would have been worth investing in better accommodation he thought to himself before closing his eyes and dropping off to sleep.
(...)
For the fifth time that morning, Markus' alarm blared and for the fifth time Markus looked at the clock and turned it off. But this time was different 8:45 it read. "Holy crap!" Markus yelled as he realised what time it was. Quickly he ran into the toilet, emptied his bladder, speedily brushed his teeth looked at his messy long hair in the mirror before deciding he didn't care enough to give it a wash, he could have a bath when he got back. He quickly threw on a white t-shirt and some tan trousers and ran down the stairs faster than an Arcanine's extreme speed. Markus shielded his eyes from the morning sun, it was still early but the light was pretty intense. He took a quick glance at the card he received last night and set off running.
Markus reached a set of golden gates hopefully this was the place, the gates were golden with its bars shaped into a pair of Swanna that looked rather regal against the sky. Markus walked up to the electronic panel in the side of the gate and pressed the button. With a slight bit of static a voice became clear.
"Good morning sir, do you have business here," said a posh man's voice, Markus became aware of the cameras that sat on top of the gates.
"Urm yes my name is Markus Finch I believe urm, Agatha is expecting me." Markus said nervously. There was a long moment of silence and Markus grew very conscious of the cameras, he was having grand delusions of them having lasers primed to blast him at any moment.
"Come in Master Finch." The voice replied making Markus jump. The gates slowly opened and Markus began to walk up the driveway towards the mansion.
The building itself was quite modern, the very vision of luxury, Markus would much rather spend a night here than another one in that shoddy hotel. As he reached the front door he was about to knock when the door opened by itself. Markus gulped, a man dressed in a tail-coat with slicked back grey hair and a small moustache stood at the side of the door, "Right this way sir." He gestured into the marvellous house. Granite pillars held up a large landing that lead round to a single marble staircase that ran down the centre of the hall. Markus' trainers clicked along the marble floor as he ventured into the magnificent building, Markus couldn't help but gasp as he saw the enormous chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The butler lead Markus into a large living room, its stately walls and fancy furniture made Markus nervous to touch anything. He hadn't been in such a fancy place since he'd visited Parfum Palace.
"Wait here just a moment." The butler said as he left Markus alone in the room. Markus entered the room, the view from the window was stunning he could see for miles over the sea. There was also a grand piano in the room which attracted Markus' attention. He slowly walked up to it and ran his fingers over the woodwork, Markus had never learned how to play an instrument, the price of setting off on a journey, but he had learned the basics of piano from his mother who was currently back in the Kalos region. Markus settle his hands in the correct position and pressed down on a D note with his index finger. He heard a cough behind him and quickly spun round to see Agatha at the door.
"May we get you something to drink?" Agatha inquired.
"Um, I guess I'd quite like a lemonade." Markus said meekly.
"One... lemonade for the young sir, and for you Madame?"
"Some of that nice green tea would be lovely. Thank you Jervis."
"Of course." The butler bowed and walked out of the room.
Agatha eyed the youth in front of her, "Tch, Stand up straight boy, there's nothing I hate more than boys with bad posture." Markus instantly straightened up, he had to admit he was more than slightly afraid on the woman in front of him. Agatha sat on a long sofa and gestured for Markus to sit too. He perched himself on the edge of a recliner opposite the elder woman.
"Now I'm sure you're wondering what this is about hmm?"
"Urm, yes." Markus said stupidly
"Speak more decisively boy, anyway, as I said before I am in need of your help."
"Right, what with?"
"Well that depends on a few things. Tell me, you must be a pokémon trainer yes?"
"Yes I am, I have recently finished a journey around Kalos."
"So do you prefer to battle or use your pokémon for other goals."
"I prefer to battle I guess, but there are other ways in which the bonds between me and my pokémon have grown." Markus couldn't help the feeling that he was being interviewed.
"And would you consider yourself a strong trainer."
"Well there will always be someone stronger than me which has been recently proven."
"Do tell."
"Well, I competed in the Kalos pokémon league and made it through to the third round."
"That is commendable for one so young, so tell me what is the most important thing in a battle."
"That's easy, it is the bond of trust between the trainer and his pokémon. I have known what it's like to not have such a bond and the fact is, as a team you simply cannot function." With this Agatha grinned worrying Markus even more. Just as she was about to say something Jervis came in holding a tray.
"Your drinks are ready. I apologise young sir but we appear to have run out of… Lemonade, I hope tea will suffice." He announced and set the tray on the table.
"Urm, that's fine thank you."
"I apologise for the inconvenience," the butler bowed slightly.
"Thank you Jervis, could you send in Cynthia." Agatha asked.
"Of course ma'am." The butler left again and Agatha poured two cups of tea. Markus sheepishly took a sip of his tea.
"So are your pokémon ready?" Agatha asked.
"Urm for what?"
"You're going to battle my student." She said.
"Well we were here for vacation… but I've never backed down from a battle so we'll take her on." Markus said. Agatha smiled a cunning smile, she had found exactly who she needed, albeit he was rough around the edges but he would work. The door opened again and a blonde teenager walked in. Her grey eyes looked bored.
"No way you're the girl from yesterday, you knocked me over." Markus announced. Cynthia turned to Markus looking the boy over before dismissing him from her sight.
"Cynthia what have I told you about that violent disposition of yours it will get you nowhere, especially with men." Agatha told Cynthia who just sighed bored in response.
With a sigh Agatha continued "Boy, this is my student Cynthia, she made it to the first round of the pokémon league in Sinnoh a couple of months ago and now she is here to train with me. But seems you've already met."
"Yeh, I guess we have, it's good to see you again Cynthia." Markus said politely as he could, he still resented her slightly for damaging his pride. Cynthia didn't say a word to the boy.
"Well then, I don't want to keep you from your vacation, we should move to the battle field." Agatha suggested leading the way after draining her cup of tea.
Markus clenched his fists as he walked past the young woman momentarily meeting her stormy eyes.
(...)
"The battle between Cynthia of the Sinnoh region and Markus of Kalos will now begin, the battle will be six on six with the standard league rules. Trainers please select your first pokémon." Jervis called from the side-lines it seemed he would be the judge.
Just like every battle he had been in since his Charizard had been a Charmander, Markus' mind raced, this woman came from the Sinnoh region meaning it was likely she had pokémon he had never seen before. The prospect made him incredibly excited. He selected his first pokéball,
"Good luck, Cynthia let's have an awesome battle. Roserade I choose you!" Markus called.
With a flash of light Markus' Roserade stood in the centre of the field, it's purple and silver flowers striking Cynthia as rather odd but she quickly dismissed it.
Cynthia threw out her first pokémon, a Staraptor, Markus could tell she was bored already which began to frustrate him. "We'll just have to change that." Markus said. "Let's do this Roserade." Roserade replied confidently, eyeing her foe.
"Brave bird," Cynthia called. Staraptor soared into the sky and flew in front of the sun shading Roserade for a second. The bird then nosedived towards the ground and was instantly surrounded in flames, as it swooped down through the ground the flames became more intense as they sailed towards Roserade. Markus cursed, this attack looked incredibly strong and polished. "Quickly Roserade use protect!" He yelled. The Roserade held her roses to her face and produced a shield of light that Staraptor directly collided with, taking a large amount of recoil damage. "Now use sludge bomb!" Roserade summoned a ball of sludge and threw it towards the large bird.
"Get out of the way, Staraptor and use brave bird again, faster this time." The Staraptor rolled out of the way of the toxic projectile and soared into the sky again. As it soared towards its target, Markus once again called for Roserade to use protect which again worked successfully. Cynthia grimaced in annoyance as she watched Staraptor land in slight pain. "What do you think you're doing, don't stop now, brave bird again, and don't stop until you break through its defence." Agatha frowned from the side-lines as did Markus, that wasn't an order a trainer should give when using a move with such high recoil. Markus dismissed it and called for a third protect, fortunately it succeeded but was notable weaker than the others. The Staraptor turned round in the sky the damage it was taking was now visible in how it flew. For a fourth time the great bird descended cloaked in flames.
"Wait for it Roserade." Markus said as the bird glided across the ground.
"Now, dodge and use Giga drain!" Markus shouted.
The Roserade jumped spinning over the Staraptor it absorbed all the remaining energy it had left. The bird fell to the ground sliding to a halt in front of Markus. Markus looked down at the battered bird with a grimace. In a second the bird was gone absorbed back into the pokéball. Cynthia simply scoffed at the bird, she still was not quite entertained by the fight but one thing had changed, her eyes were now furious.
"Infernape, don't fail me." She tossed out her pokémon, it was an Infernape she had received from professor Rowan when she first started her journey, out of a tiny penguin and a turtle, the flaming monkey seemed like the obvious choice and was now one of her prized pokémon.
"Hurry Infernape, Flare blitz." Cynthia called.
Infernape coated itself in flames and charged towards the Roserade.
"Roserade quickly dodge," Roserade attempted to jump out the way but the Infernape managed to catch her mid jump and pull her inside the intense flames. Roserade screamed in pain and Cynthia smirked. "Now use close combat." Roserade was released from the fire only to be met by a barrage of fists knocking her to her trainer's feet. Markus looked on at the attack in awe, this bitch was ruthless. He ran to Roserade and picked her up. Weakly the Roserade told her trainer she was fine. "Take a rest Roserade, I'm sorry I couldn't do better," the Roserade returned to its pokéball.
Markus grimaced at the trainer in front of him, he couldn't stand people like her, they were cruel and sadistic caring about nothing but victory. He looked at Agatha with hard eyes understanding what she was trying to achieve with this battle.
"Cynthia watch closely because you are about to receive the thrashing of a life time." Markus promised.
"Humph you wish but if all your pokémon are like that Roserade then you don't stand a chance."
"You here that Gyarados let's show her our spirit!" Markus yelled throwing out his second pokéball revealing an enormous Gyarados that towered above the Infernape.
"Use waterfall!"
"Infernape overheat." The Infernape yelled and let loose a huge burst of intense flames, neither trainer flinched at the heat both now fully engaged in the battle. Gyarados surrounded itself in water and launched itself into the vortex, the sheer heat caused an enormous steam cloud to erupt, the attacks cancelled each other out.
"Gyarados use earthquake!" The Gyarados smashed its tail into the ground causing it to shake wildly,
"Infernape, flare blitz!" The Infernape took heavy damage from the earthquake but quickly curled up into a ball and launched itself towards Gyarados.
"Now, Gyarados use waterfall again!"
"Infernape take the hit." Cynthia yelled.
Markus was shocked at the order and prepared himself for what was next. Gyarados smashed into Infernape who blocked holding on against the super effective attack. Infernape was in bad shape but that was what Cynthia wanted. All of a sudden infer nape's blaze kicked in.
"Now! Fire punch!" Cynthia ordered.
Gyarados was too close to dodge and received several harsh punches along the length of his body.
"Gyarados use dragon dance to get out."
Gyarados began to spiral around knocking back Infernape, a red mist surrounded the serpent as it increased its attack power and speed.
"Infernape! Flare blitz!" Cynthia called with disregard to her pokémon's safety.
"Gyarados counter with waterfall." The two pokémon sped towards each other as they collided steam exploded causing Markus to shield his face. As the steam dissipated neither pokémon was left standing. Markus called Gyarados back.
"Good job Gyarados that was a tough battle." He then brought put his third pokéball. "Come on out Doublade!" The dual blade pokémon revealed itself spinning round intimidatingly.
Cynthia's eyes twinkled "I've never seen a pokémon like that before, even so it is obviously a steel type. Smash it Gastrodon."
Cynthia threw her pokéball out releasing a pink and brown Gastrodon.
"Hmm that's a new one on me too, let's see how this goes." Markus called
"Gastrodon let's start with a body slam!"
"Dodge it!" The Doublade successfully dodged the attack then turned to face it.
"Now sacred sword!" Doublade's blades shone with golden light as it soared towards the Gastrodon, it struck it but gastrodon's superior defence and soft body shrugged the attack off easily.
"Gastrodon mud bomb!"
"Doublade hang in there!"
Doublade took the attack that dealt super effective damage.
"Now shadow claw."
"Muddy water!"
The pokémon unleashed their attacks Doublade coming out on top. The first blade sliced right through the oncoming attack and the second swung round to strike the Gastrodon dealing heavy damage and knocking the pokémon out easily.
"Nice one Doublade return you deserve a rest." Doublade swung round celebrating his victory. Cynthia was getting more and more frustrated by this battle and threw out her next pokémon, a Glaceon.
Markus threw out his Aurorus. "Ice vs ice huh?" Agatha pondered, the boy was planning something. Cynthia cursed it was another unfamiliar pokémon but she could tell it would be slow by its size.
"Let's go Aurorus hail!" The Aurorus called, its sails lit up as the battle field darkened and the hail began.
"Your mistake, blizzard Glaceon." The hail strengthened becoming a full on storm blanketing the field in snow despite the warm weather.
"Aurorus light screen." Light surrounded the Aurorus setting up a protective barrier that covered her and her trainer cutting the effect of the blizzard in half.
Cynthia scoffed "Glaceon use shadow ball." The Glaceon jumped into the air and summoned the dark ball launching it at Aurorus. "Aurorus, blizzard!" Aurorus obliged sending forth viciously cold waves of snow at the shadow ball knocking it right back at Glaceon, the swift pokémon dodged easily but was still struck by the blizzard which seemed to be much stronger than her own. Cynthia was surprised at the intensity of the blizzard she was finding it increasingly difficult to believe these pokémon were just well trained there was a lot more to them. She had felt the same when she started to lose in the first round of the Sinnoh league unfortunately this just added to her frustration. Before she even realised, her Glaceon had been defeated by an ancient power scattering stones across the field. She called it back and angrily stuffed the pokéball back on her belt. She simply did not understand why this was happening. As the hail subsided Markus threw out his next pokémon, "let's go Gardevoir," he called,
"Roserade," Cynthia said with rage.
The two pokémon clashed and the outcome was similar, Gardevoir had managed to easily overpower Cynthia's Roserade with psychic abilities which astounded Cynthia.
"Cynthia are you starting to understand?" Markus asked.
"Understand what, that you found better pokémon than me,"
"Of course not, my pokémon were not always strong like yours were, Roserade was the smallest in her family, Gardevoir used to be so afraid of fighting she wouldn't leave her pokéball. My pokémon are only strong because they trust me and I trust them."
Cynthia just scoffed at the statement, "Oh spare me the sob story,"
"Well than you've got one pokémon left, I've got four so tell you what you beat my next pokémon and you win the match,"
"That's fine with me but I'm done playing around. This is my first and strongest pokémon you don't stand a chance." Cynthia said with a smirk.
"Well then here is my first pokémon the one I share the closest bond with, let me show you what trials we have had to overcome, the rewards of our harsh training. Come on out Charizard!" Charizard flew out of his pokéball a silver band sat on the Charizard's arm, inset into the band was an orange stone no bigger than a marble. Charizard glanced back at his trainer who nodded to his oldest friend. Charizard stepped forward and bellowed loud enough that even the people on the beach would have heard. Cynthia didn't flinch, it was time to reveal her trump card the best pokémon in her arsenal. "I trust you won't fail me, let's crush them!" Cynthia threw her pokéball which exploded with light to reveal her signature pokémon. As the light faded a Gible stood in the centre of the battle field.
"A Gible huh? Must be something special if it's her strongest. Even so we aren't going easy on her, let's go Charizard heat wave!" Charizard took to the sky and began to beat his wings. A hurricane of hot air erupted from the wings causing intense heat lines across the horizon and melting all the snow left on the field.
"Gible use dig and avoid it." Cynthia called the Gible curled into a ball and began to dig, Markus frowned.
"Charizard land and try to sense her!" Charizard landed in the centre of the field both Charizard and Markus closed their eyes in order to sense the small dragon. After a moment they simultaneously opened their eyes knowing exactly where the Gible was going to come up. "Charizard dodge!"
Charizard stepped to the side as Gible flew out of the ground in an attempt to hit Charizard.
"How?" Cynthia asked angrily.
Markus quickly decided to counter, "Charizard air slash."
"Gible dragon claw." The attacks met and exploded knocking both pokémon back.
Markus chuckled, there was no doubt this Gible was strong but it was only the Gible, as a trainer Cynthia was lacking and it was time to prove it.
"Right Charizard you know what to do," Charizard nodded and soared into the sky. "Now focus blast."
Cynthia called, "Draco Meteor!" Again the attacks collided cancelling each other out.
"Air slash."
"Dragon claw!" Gible jumped up to meet the projectile blocking it just before being knocked back down to the ground.
"Now Charizard solar beam!" Charizard rose up using his wings to absorb energy from the sun. Due to the seaside sunlight the attack charged quickly and Charizard released the beam. Cynthia watched shocked as the beam struck Gible, she never stood a chance, the relentless attacks coupled with the power Charizard held meant Gible had no chance to defend, Gible collapsed on the floor. And Charizard landed with his trainer who petted his Charizard in gratitude, before Jervis could call the battle Cynthia yelled.
"Get up you useless thing, I trained you better than this we can still win!" Cynthia yelled at her Gible.
It was then Markus snapped, his eyes met hers in sheer and utter rage. "How dare you call yourself a trainer and call your pokémon useless."
"Gible, now!" Cynthia said ignoring the other trainer's comments.
"Don't you even think about putting your poor pokémon through more, you heartless …"
Suddenly something happened that startled both trainers, Gible began to glow. "No way?" Markus said. Gible was evolving.
Gible's tiny arms extended and his body lengthened gaining a streamlined shark like body. The glow dissipated and left it in its place was a Gabite.
"Ha, now who's talking, let's teach them a lesson Gabite. Draco meteor!" Gabite roared and let loose a shot that rose into the sky, it exploded like a firework and rained down on the battle field.
"Charizard dodge it." Charizard took flight and began to weave between the meteors not letting one hit them.
"Argh why are you so frustrating, Gabite dragon claw!" The Gabite sped towards Charizard with twice the speed of gible, her claws glowing blue. Charizard knock it back down, with a swing of its tail it smashed the Gabite on the head throwing it back down to earth.
"Cynthia, it's time to end this, this whole battle I know you have been wondering how my pokémon have gotten this strong. I'm about to show you our secret. Charizard awaken the power to exceed evolution, may our hearts become one and our bond be strengthened! Mega evolve!"
Cynthia stepped back, what was he on about, mega evolution? She watched as Markus touch a small stone inset in a bracelet. Instantly both the boy and his Charizard began to glow with an intense pink light, Agatha grinned this is what she had been waiting for. Markus was about to reveal the true strength of the bond he has with his pokémon.
Beams of light connected trainer to pokémon and Charizard began to change, the horns on his head grew larger his body more streamlined and his wings wider. In a flash Mega Charizard appeared. The monster roared menacingly causing Cynthia to flinch, she could feel the power emanating from the pokémon. How could something this powerful be awakened by something as menial as the bond with the trainer.
"This is stupid," she called, "Gabite use crunch!" Gabite roared and headed towards Charizard, Charizard simply flew out of the way his speed had increased tenfold, after three more attempts at crunch Gabite gave in waiting for his next order.
"Charizard let's show them what they lack, Air Slash!"
Charizard bellowed forcing Cynthia to cover her ears and beat his wings once releasing the fastest air slash attacks she had seen. She looked at her Gabite and he looked back at her with an apologetic look before bracing himself. The air slash smashed into its target creating an almighty dust cloud. Charizard landed next to his trainer and with a defening bellow released himself from his mega evolution. As the dust cloud settled Gabite stood in the centre of the arena unharmed. An enormous X shaped crater was behind him. Charizard had missed and he had done it on purpose.
Cynthia knew this and fell to her knees in defeat. She was in total shock that Markus had spared her pokémon. This kid, this stranger she had thrown to the ground only yesterday had just annihilated her and her pokémon. How? Markus looked right at her and nodded bringing out a pokéball and returning Charizard. Cynthia looked at the boy in a totally different light to yesterday, then he was an annoyance but today she feared him and his immense power, she hadn't even scratched the power the boy had. Tears began to fall from her face, she quickly got up and stormed away leaving her Gabite in the centre of the field. Markus looked to Agatha, "I hope your happy." he said spitefully.
"Hmm yes very, don't hate me for it she had to learn this lesson and she had to learn it the hard way, from now on she will become a much better trainer, you'll see."
"I hope so, hey Gabite," the dragon turned to Markus who walked up to him and place a warm hand on his snout, "You did a good job today you should be proud, now go and find your trainer, building bonds is a two way bridge." The Gabite nodded before running off to find his master,
Markus turned and decided to leave, the battle had ruined his day but at least he had helped someone out and that had to count for something.
(…)
Cynthia stood on the edge of a cliff, she couldn't believe she had run off in tears from a simple loss. But it wasn't just a simple loss was it.
"Godammit Agatha, what kind of lesson is this?" Truthfully she knew the answer but couldn't come to admit it yet. The battle played back through her head constantly on repeat, normally after such a loss she would force all her pokémon into cruel and rigorous training determined not to be humiliated again but she was realising that that was the problem from the start. She fell to her knees tears soaking her cheeks.
"Argh why can't I stop crying?" She shouted angrily. "What the hell is wrong with me?"
Suddenly she felt a presence behind her, not being able to stand being seen in such a vulnerable position she turned around aggressively to face the intruder.
"Oh, Gabite it's only you." She said her rage fading as she saw the look in Gabite's eyes.
Gabite walked up and sat next to her trainer. Cynthia thought back to their first meeting, she was six and found him in a cave, lonely and cold, she had taken her in and looked after her secretly as her parents were not very fond of pokémon. They used to play a lot in the meadows outside Celestic town, Gible had even been there when Cynthia was at her weakest point, the point when she swore she would never feel like that again. A heavy sense of Deja vu weighed down on her. She remembered how close they had once been. They had been friends once and now they were no less than servant and master, she had driven a wedge in their friendship. Cynthia turned to her Gabite still in tears, then fell into Gabite's arms crying more than she'd ever had in her life. Gabite just sat there holding his trainer, happy she was letting her feelings out to her again.
Soon after Cynthia had calmed down slightly. She pulled away from Gabite and looked into her eyes. "Gabite, thank you for evolving, and I am so sorry that I forced you too I know I don't deserve it but please, bear with me until I can sort myself out." Cynthia said, this was probably the most honest she had been in her life. Gabite smiled down at her trainer accepting her apology and promising to stand by her side. Rekindling the bond that they once had. "You know, I think it's time we got a new teacher." Cynthia stated, Gabite nodded vigorously she had never really liked Agatha. "Let's just hope he accepts."
(…)
After the battle Markus really did not know what to do with himself, after healing his pokémon at the pokémon centre he began to aimlessly wander the streets trying to diffuse his bad mood. It had actually hurt him watching how that woman treated her pokémon, they were more like tools to her than companions. Frustrated he kicked a bin over enjoying the satisfying clang it made as it hit the pavement. While going over to gently pick the bin up Markus decided he would simply forget about it and walked down to the beach. He reached the beach and sat with his back against the sea wall, he closed his eyes attempting to calm himself using the sound of the waves and the Wingull in the air. He struggled. For some reason he couldn't get that woman out of his head no matter how hard he tried. Over and over again he replayed the battle, Staraptor's forced kamikaze fighting style, his Roserade getting viciously attacked by infernape, how Cynthia had treated her pokémon after they were defeated and Gible's forced evolution. The whole thing was sending his head into turmoil.
Without warning the sun was blocked from his closed eyes, he opened them and looked up. To his disbelief, standing there was Cynthia looking down on him with her stormy eyes.
"Come with me we need to talk." She simply stated, Markus was about to yell at her and tell her to get lost and treat her pokémon better but for some unknown reason didn't. Instead he stood up and followed her.
Cynthia and Markus walked along the beach side, Markus three paces behind Cynthia. He had no idea what was about to happen but decided, now he was here, he would go along with it, for a while at least. It was strange but he actually wanted to hear what she had to say. Markus didn't even see her walk inside a small café on the seafront only realising when she literally dragged him inside.
Inside the café was brightly coloured with small tables spread around at regular intervals. Cynthia walked up to the counter, a young woman at the counter recognised her and asked.
"The usual Cynth?"
Cynthia looked annoyed as she replied, "If you would Sophie… Thank you, and how many times do I have to tell you it's Cynthia." The young woman laughed before suddenly noticing Markus in shock she asked. "And for your date?"
"He is not my date!" Cynthia said angrily getting more and more annoyed.
"Urm, I'll have what she's having please." Markus asked nervously.
"Right you are, take a seat you two and I'll be right over" Cynthia turned and sat at the table closest to the window. Markus went over to join her. In a matter of seconds Sophie came up with two large ice cream sundaes, Markus scratched the back of his head, he didn't want to admit it but he honestly couldn't stand ice-cream. Cynthia slowly began to spoon up hers as she looked out of the window into the open sea leaving Markus to sit awkwardly and watch her.
Markus had no clue what was going on, he had been dragged here, more or less against his will, and now Cynthia had forgotten he was here. He looked up to Sophie who just shrugged having no clue what was happening either. Fed up with the silence Markus decided to try conversation. "Sooo… Is there a reason I'm here?" He asked.
Cynthia turned to face the boy. "You're not eating your ice cream," she stated coldly.
Markus chuckled, "Well truth is, I'm… not very fond of ice cream."
"Wait what?" Cynthia said showing more emotion to him than she had in the last few hours. "I mean I knew you were weird but… Sooo, you're not going to eat that then?"
"It's all yours," Markus said. He was astonished as Cynthia genuinely smiled quickly taking the ice-cream and taking a spoonful, melting in delight at the taste. Markus watched in awe, this was the first time he had seen her smile and honestly, it looked scarily beautiful.
"I guess you like ice-cream a lot then, that's the first time I've seen you smile... Ever."
"Ha, she can't get enough of it she's our best customer." Sophie laughed from the counter. She then looked glumly at the other empty chairs and tables before getting back to wiping the surface.
"That stone on your bracelet what is it?" Cynthia asked changing the subject.
"Why do you ask? You've seen what it does and I can tell you, they're not easy to come by."
"Yes I know what they do but what you said before you Charizard changed?"
"Mega-evolved, what about what I said?"
"There was something about the bond between you and your pokémon."
"Yes, a pokémon can never mega evolve unless it has a near perfect bond with its trainer."
"That's why I lost against you isn't it." She said, Markus was surprised at her sudden maturity. This meant Agatha's plan worked, Cynthia now knew what she was seriously lacking. It caught him totally of guard he'd assumed she would be more stubborn than this. That it would take a long time but then again maybe this had been happening for a long time, he sighed.
"Yes, the bonds between you and your pokémon are seriously awful. As you are, you are the worst, most despicable trainer I have ever come up against." Cynthia looked like she had been slapped across the face but it quickly changed to a guilty frown.
"I know," she said her eyes beginning to water, "I guess you're right, looking at you and how you and you pokémon battle compared to how I treat my own pokémon… I… I." Cynthia was once again on the verge of tears. Markus had no idea what to do, the harsh, cold teenager he had met yesterday was about to become a weeping mess in the middle of a café.
In the end he chose to smile, "You do have one thing going for you, you know you need to change and that's the first step to becoming a better trainer and besides for some reason your pokémon seem to trust you absolutely so they must see something in you to have stayed with you for so long."
"Yes but I have to get better for my pokémon's sake, Markus I want you to help me become a better trainer. If… If it is not too much trouble would … Would you go on a journey with me?"
