A/N: Takes place in a Generations universe where there was no player at Mt. Coronet to stop Cyrus alongside Cynthia, but takes elements from the games, anime, and other sources.
Her study was completely covered in papers strewn about. Cynthia barely knew how she could walk through it without crushing a thousand papers beneath her heel. She really needed to clean…
There was no time for cleaning, however. Ever since her experience in the Distortion World plus her encounters with some of Sinnoh's Legendary Pokémon, Cynthia felt responsible for sharing her newfound knowledge with the region. Before that fateful day, she had only used the research she had stumbled across and a few studies of her own to piece together her knowledge, but now she had her own personal experience with these Pokémon of legend. She figured she'd publish a comprehensive book of all her findings...but all of her findings were scattered across her study. It was not comprehensive in the slightest at that point.
Cynthia sighed and lowered her head onto the desk. She couldn't get any more words out of herself. The book would have to wait another day. Turning off her lamp, Cynthia stood up and went back to her bedroom. She worked herself to midnight, and she could really use some sleep.
It wasn't a phone call Cynthia was expecting to receive, though she wasn't going to complain.
In the middle of the night, far past when she fell asleep, her phone suddenly started to ring. It took a few buzzes before she stirred awake and blindly searched the nightstand for her phone, picking it up and answering it at the last moment. She was too tired to check the caller ID, so she just hoped it wasn't a prank call or anything of the sort.
"Hello?" Cynthia answered, trying to not sound like she just woke up even though she did.
"Salut, mademoiselle!" The voice on the other line began excitedly, "Might I bother you for a moment of your time?"
Cynthia sat up, eyebrows furrowing in realization. The accent was obviously Kalosian, which also explained why someone was calling at this ungodly hour. It was around noon over in Kalos at that point. Rubbing her forehead and trying to snap herself awake, Cynthia stifled a yawn, "Who am I speaking to?"
"Ah, my mistake! I was too excited that I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Charlie Écrit." He explained, "I am a scriptwriter over in the Kalos region. I was hoping to speak with the esteemed Cynthia of Sinnoh herself about a movie pitch."
Cynthia raised an eyebrow, "I'm no actor. I'm not sure if I would be of any help."
"I did not call to request your acting services, non." Charlie said, "I would rather like to request if you could be an informant of sorts to the project I'm exploring. You see, mademoiselle, I was tapped to write a script about the illustrious myths of Sinnoh for a big-screen adaption. Who better to ask then the mythological expert herself, I thought!"
"I see…" Cynthia tapped her chin and let out a bit of a sigh. Before she could say anything else, however, Charlie spoke up again.
"Maître Diantha has already expressed interest in playing the lead." He said pridefully, as if he knew this would be the only other point he needed to use to persuade Cynthia, "A collaboration of Champions would surely allow this movie to be a blockbuster success. Can I count you in?"
Maybe it was the fact that it was so early in the morning and that she was exhausted, or that she simply enjoyed the subject of Sinnoh mythology so much, but Cynthia's answer came quickly, "I would be honored to assist."
"Ah, c'est parfait!" Charlie sounded absolutely ecstatic, "If it's also no trouble to you, we'd also enjoy having you on set as filming begins on location. I'm sure Maître Diantha would appreciate the guidance you could offer in visualizing these legends. She is very committed."
"I could probably make that fit into my schedule. I'll help as much as needed." Cynthia nodded, seemingly forgetting that Charlie wasn't in the room with her.
"Merci, merci! I will keep in contact!" Charlie exclaimed, "Adieu, mademoiselle!" And there was a click.
Cynthia let out another yawn and set her phone aside, falling back onto her pillow and closing her eyes. She seemed ready to fall asleep right then and there, but then suddenly her eyes flew open and realization dawned on her.
"Oh. This wasn't a dream." She whispered to herself, grimacing.
Those Kalosians. They knew what they were doing in calling her so early in the morning. They knew they wouldn't get a no.
"...At least I didn't accidentally agree to another one of Alder's dinner requests…"
The initial consulting part of the agreement she made wasn't too bad in actuality; in fact, all she had to do was sent a bulk document containing the basics of the mythology. Cynthia omitted a few of her own opinions and new revelations, believing them to be either too complex or too controversial at the time. Charlie was ecstatic by what he and his staff received, so apparently that was all she needed to do for the production half of the film. Charlie did warn her that the writing staff may contact her if they have any questions, which she didn't mind. Cynthia enjoyed talking about her life's research and the myths, so it was just an excuse for her to gush about what she loved in life the most. She was also told that she would have to be heavily involved in post-production, seeing as Charlie was deadset on having their depictions of the legends and the Distortion World be as accurate as possible. Cynthia would have to consult with the animators to ensure that what was on the screen matched what was in real life- with a few artistic liberties, of course.
A little while down the line, Cynthia received another phone call from Charlie. She was in the middle of grooming her Garchomp when her phone rang, so she switched hands on the brush and used her free hand to answer.
"What can I do for you, Charlie?" She asked upon answering.
"Ah, Cynthia, ma chérie!" Charlie purred, "Always straight to the point! How admirable!" There was a content sigh on the other line, and his voice showed that he was obviously excited as usual, "I would just like to inform you that Maître Diantha will be arriving in Sinnoh today! As you already know, filming starts in a few days! She wanted to come early so she could discuss some of the myths in more detail with you!"
Cynthia smiled to herself, "Good to know. I could probably even pick her up from the airport. When her flight coming in?"
Charlie laughed nervously, "Aha… Erm… Y-You see, it appears that I initially messed up in my calculations with the timezones and whatnot… I thought you had another two hours to spare, but it appears as if she's due to arrive in….ten minutes."
"Wow! So I'll get to meet her shortly then!" Cynthia said at first with a grin, but then suddenly realization dawned on her and that grin was wiped right off her face, "Wait, wait, wait! Did you just say ten minutes?!"
"...Oui. I said that." Charlie sighed, and he noticed how Cynthia's line went dead silent, "...Hallo? Mademoiselle?" Then came the click.
"Garchomp! Return!" Cynthia fumbled around with the Pokéball until she managed to get it to work, calling Garchomp back inside. She then rummaged about for another ball, and once finding it she took off in a run and threw it with all her might.
"Togekiiiiiiiss!" She shouted once the red light revealed the Jubilee Pokémon, who turned towards his trainer with a happy grin, "Use Fly! We have to get down to the Hearthome City Airport, like, yesterday!"
Togekiss looked confused at first, but eventually he turned determined and floated closer to the ground for Cynthia to hop on, then flew off in a dash. Cynthia slumped over when they were in the air on and on their way, finally getting to relax after that panic of hers.
"I'm never going to hear the end of it if I'm late…!"
She never had an issue with being recognized in public, but it certainly never did her any favors… That is, until she arrived at the Hearthome City Airport with no time left to spare, and she made her way to the front desk.
"C-Champion Cynthia!" The lady said, astounded, "What can I do for you?!"
Cynthia was out of breath from a combination of stress and running, and she rested her hands on the counter and leaned forward, "Has the flight from Kalos arrived yet?"
The lady looked at her computer monitor for a moment and shook her head, "The only flight arriving from Kalos today isn't set to land until late tonight…"
Cynthia hung her head and sighed, and as a last resort, she asked, "What about any private flights? Have any come in just now?"
Again, the lady checked the listings on her computer, and she looked back at Cynthia with a smile, "One just landed moments ago! A car is on its way to take the passenger to her hotel!"
"...I'm getting in that car." Cynthia said bluntly, lifting her head.
"...Oh. Well. Um… Okay." The lady blinked nervously a few times. That wasn't exactly proper protocol...but this was the Champion she was talking to here, "...If you go through that door to your far left, you can go down a ramp to the car service area. Though you didn't hear that from me."
"You're a lifesaver." Cynthia breathed out, and she ran over to the door and opened it, sprinting down the ramp to the parking lot. There, she spotted a car that was pulling out of a space and turning around to head towards the airport lanes, but Cynthia waved it down before it could get so far.
The driver rolled down the passenger's seat window, a little annoyed at first but then confused to see the Champion, "Oi, Champ. I'd love'ta talk but I gotta pick up a high-priority flyer. Can it wait?"
"That high-priority flyer? I'm supposed to be meeting her. Might if I ride along?" Cynthia faked a big smile, hoping that would help her case.
The driver looked to have been thinking it over for a few moments, but eventually he shrugged and turned away, "I don't care, man. It's all the same to me."
Cynthia opened the door and slid into the passenger's seat, letting out a relieved sigh, "Thanks… Truly."
The driver let out a noncommitted grunt and drove off. They pulled up to the private jet shortly thereafter, and the door on the side of the jet opened and turned into a stairway. Cynthia stepped outside of the car and rested her arm on top of the open door, leaning against it. Sure, she was a panicked mess the entire way there, but she wasn't going to show that in front of this actress. She had to make a good impression. This was one of the world's most famous actresses she was set to meet.
Diantha stepped out from the jet, one hand carrying her luggage while the other was holding down her hat due to the high winds. When she placed foot on solid ground, she spotted Cynthia and smiled vibrantly as she approached the other.
"Ah… So you must be Cynthia!" Diantha brimmed, "Charlie told me you were coming! But he wasn't too sure if you could make it on time…"
Cynthia shrugged easily, returning the grin, "I have my ways. It's nice to meet you, finally." She held out her hand for a handshake.
"Of course, darling!" Diantha let go of her roller bag and kissed both of Cynthia's cheeks in a typical Kalosian greeting. Cynthia froze for a moment, caught off-guard with a bit of culture shock, but she shook it off and tried to appear composed. She didn't retract her hand after she unfroze, however, so Diantha ended up taking that too for a handshake, "The pleasure's all mine!"
Cynthia just nodded, clearing her throat to straighten herself out after that, "Welcome to Sinnoh." Turning to the driver that had stepped out of the car, Cynthia shot him a smile, "I got this from here...But I'll be taking the car."
The driver just threw his hands up in a shrug and walked away, "Fine by me. Knock yourself out."
Cynthia grinned smugly and crossed her arms, turning to Diantha, "So, where shall we head first? I'm not sure whether you'd rather rest first or jump right into a Sinnoh mythology crash course."
"I've had enough rest on the plane." Diantha placed her hands on her hips and straightened her posture, "I think I'm more than ready to learn."
"Heh… I like that enthusiasm of yours." Cynthia tilted her head and looked to the sky, pondering over where to go first, "We'll start off by heading to Celestic Town. You can store your luggage at my place while we explore the ruins."
"Sounds perfect!" Diantha grinned widely, closing her eyes.
Cynthia flicked a bit of hair out of her face and motioned with a tilt of her head for Diantha to climb inside the car, "Hop in then, movie star. Celestic Town is just up north of here. We'll be there in a flash." With a toothy grin, Cynthia took Diantha's bags and set them in the trunk before sliding into the driver's seat.
"Well, you certainly know how to make a traveller feel welcome!" Diantha said to herself, laughing softly.
"We're only just getting started!" Cynthia ignited the engine and glanced down at her phone for a moment. She synced her phone with the car's speakers and hit play, "I hope you don't mind a bit of music, especially rock. I've been told by some of the Four that it can get a bit...obnoxious at times."
Diantha shook her head and smiled, sparing a look at the track name, "Not at all! I wonder if it's anything like the music that plays in Kalos…" Listening to the song for a moment, Diantha nodded to herself, "No, this is definitely something quite different."
Cynthia leaned back in the driver's seat and grabbed the shift lever, "Maybe you could show it to me sometime." Shifting into drive, she sped off.
"Heehee… Oh, for sure!"