Chapter Six: A Dire Warning

Celestic Town was a small village built around a shrine, dating back to the ancient times. It served as retirement place for the elderly because of the peaceful atmosphere – there was no gym and therefore no tourists and no youth to deal with. It was a place of ancient history, and only those with an interest in the past came here to visit.

Cynthia walked up to her house, and knocked on the door twice, patiently waiting for it to open. She had returned home on her grandmother's request. It could not have come a better time since Cynthia was in a desperate need to do something exciting. Being the best the region had to offer had its downsides and one of them was having too much time to carry out leisurely activities. It had been fun for the first few weeks to be able to travel the region and explore what Sinnoh had to offer, but it grew old quickly. It could've been worse – she could've been stuck at the league all day like the unfortunate members of the Elite Four. Nowadays, she spent her leisure time visiting her family. Hopefully, her grandmother could help her find something exciting to do.

The door opened. A young girl, who shared the same taste in clothing Cynthia had, opened the door. She glanced up, a smile appearing on her face, blue eyes shining with mirth. "Cynthia!" Her younger sister, Jade, wrapped her arms around Cynthia's waist.

"I was only here yesterday you know," Cynthia joked, glancing down at her nine year old sister.

"You're not here often enough," the younger girl said, removing her arms.

Cynthia closed the door behind her, and followed her sister to the living room. Her grandmother was already there sipping on some green tea. The woman had never been a tea drinker until she became good friends with Sheila, Pryce's wife. Now the old lady drank tea at least three times a day and urged her granddaughters to do the same.

Her grandmother looked in her direction immediately, lips pressed into a thin line. That expression could only mean one thing – something was wrong and she needed Cynthia to solve it. "Jade. Please wait in your room," their grandmother said. Cynthia caught Jade's eyes and shrugged, and the younger girl frowned, but did as asked and hurried upstairs.

Once Jade had returned to her home, Cynthia sat down next to her grandmother and helped herself to some green tea. "Guess who I saw this morning?" Cynthia started, after taking a sip. Her grandmother said nothing. "Johanna's daughter, Dawn. I had to admit, I didn't think I'd be seeing her as a trainer since Johanna seemed reluctant to let her go on her journey. What made her change her mind?"

Cynthia had seen Dawn on two occasions – one when the girl was born and a second time when Dawn was five years of age. Dawn probably didn't even recognize her now since it had been quite a number of years since they last met.

"Johanna couldn't hold her daughter back from pursuing her dreams any longer."

"And what's so bad about that?" Cynthia replied, pouring more tea into her cup, filling it to the brim. "Becoming a trainer is nothing to be ashamed of. I recall there were tears in your eyes the day I left for my journey." It was almost hard to believe that nine years had passed since she had had started on her road to become the Champion of her region. "Are you worried about Dawn struggling? Wasn't her father a trainer?" Carolina nodded. "Well, what's the problem?"

Her grandmother snorted. "He is the problem."

Cynthia frowned. "How could he be a problem if he's no longer around?" Dawn's father had abandoned Dawn before she had been born and moved to another region, or at least that's what she had heard. "I thought he had moved to Unova?" The man apparently had an eye for business and Unova was the business capital of the world. There was so much more potential to start a business there than there was here in Sinnoh.

Carolina shook her head. "No, he still lives in Sinnoh and I fear what will happen when he learns the truth of Dawn's existence."

"He's her father, grandma."

"He's a danger, Cynthia. You do not know him like I do. You have never seen him before and I hope you never do. A man who leaves his pregnant wife when she needs him the most is not worthy of being called a father. I fear for the worst if he learns of Dawn – I want you to protect Dawn to the best of your ability."

Cynthia wondered what else the man had done to earn her grandmother's distrust. She seemed to be holding back more information, regarding Dawn's mystery father's history. "I will look out for Dawn." Johanna was her grandmother's closest friend, and Dawn seemed like a sweet girl. Besides, it would be nice connecting with the girl she had known since she was a baby, even if Dawn didn't know it yet. "Should I tell Dawn that I'm the same Cynthia who attended her fifth birthday party?"

"She doesn't remember you; you'll most likely scare the girl. Keep your identity a secret. You will guide her down the right path. Promise me, Cynthia."

Cynthia detected a tone of desperation. Whoever this guy was, he certainly had left a foul impression on her grandmother's mind. It wasn't surprising though – her grandmother didn't hold a high opinion of men, stating they were easily swayed and manipulated. She could understand where her grandmother was coming from since all the male members in their family had left, though Cynthia bore no ill feelings towards the opposite gender. A person's gender didn't determine how good of a person they could be – it was up to the individual to shape their own destiny by making the right choices.

"I promise, grandmother. I'll protect Dawn as if she was my sister."

A rare smile crossed her grandmother's worried expression. "Then that is all I can ask for."

Before entering the forest, Dawn had made sure to obtain some new attack moves for her friends. They had grown considerably stronger since their first battle – with the right training, Dawn was sure her team could become a force to be reckoned with. Battling other trainers and wild Pokemon had given her Pokemon valuable experience, but battling the Galactic members had been essential to growth of her Pokemon and herself.

Wild Pokemon acted on instinct and other trainers played by the rules presented in the guidebook, but a Galactic member fought with no honour and that was more dangerous than anything she had encountered. It opened her eyes to the world around her – the way the world was depicted on the trainer channel made it appear to be a happy place to live in, but Dawn now knew better. There was darkness where there was light.

She entered the forest, her team of four following close behind her. Dawn wanted them out of their pokeballs so they too could see the sights around them and learn more about the world they lived in. She could only hope they didn't run away and get lost in this dark place. The canopy was so thick that only thin rays of sunlight made it through, providing her with just enough light source to know where she was going.

It was also incredibly humid. Her clothes stuck to her skin, making her feel rather uncomfortable. Her usual tame hair was now in a frizzy mess, and her face was dripping with sweat. What she wanted right now was a long cold shower, but that was quite a fair way yet. To top it all off, the bugs still came to her despite having covered herself in bug repellent. The man selling the product had informed her that the repellent would drive bugs away, so why were they still harassing her? Granted, she didn't have to deal with a swarm of bugs, but the odd few still annoyed her.

"Here, try this repellent instead. This one has a much stronger stench," a gentle feminine voice said from behind her.

Dawn spun around, her eyes resting on another young girl with green hair. The lady's hair matched the dark leafed trees and her eyes were as green as the grass. "Uh, thanks," Dawn said, reaching out to the woman's hand to grab a spray can of bug repellent.

She sprayed it all over herself and on her Pokemon as well since they were having problems with pesky bugs too. The spray did not have a recognizable scent, but it must have been powerful to the bugs because the ones that were harassing her now moved far away. Once she was done, she handed it back.

"I'm Cheryl, a treasure hunter," the lady replied, placing the repellent back in her shoulder bag. "I take it you're lost as well?"

Dawn huffed. "I'm not lost. I'm just exploring, that's all."

Cheryl just chuckled. "That's what all the lost people say."

"How long have you been in here for?" Dawn asked.

"For a few hours now, I'm afraid. All the trees here look exactly the same and it's hard to see with such little sunlight. Sometimes I think I've found my way out only to find I'm back where I started again," the girl explained, shaking her head sadly, giving Dawn a grim smile. "I've got an idea. Why don't we stick together? There are dangerous people roaming the region and I don't want to encounter one of those spacemen again." A visible shudder ran down her spine.

Dawn lifted an eyebrow. "You mean Team Galactic?"

"You've met them too then? Don't they just give you the creeps?" She flipped her long ponytail over her right shoulder, giving Dawn a wide eyed look. "I ran into them the other day in the forest. I was searching for some treasure and I accidentally crossed paths with them. The bowl-cut duo demanded that I give them everything that I had otherwise they would teach me a lesson with their Pokemon. My Chansey beat the first duo, but then two more came along and defeated my poor baby." Cheryl sighed. "Fortunately, I had a couple of revives. I would hate to find myself in a tight situation without them."

"What happened then?"

"They left. I didn't have any treasure on me other than a couple of revives which they didn't appear to be interested in thankfully. Chansey and I have been so terrified of wondering on our own because of those spacemen." She smiled warmly. "I'm glad you came along when you did. You look like a tough trainer."

"Oh, I'm not. Not yet anyway, but hopefully I will be one day. I just started out on my journey." It was then she realized she hadn't yet formally introduced herself. "I'm Dawn by the way. I'm from Twinleaf Town."

"Twinleaf Town? Oh, I've heard the name before but I don't think I've ever visited. I hear it can be quite chilly down there." Cheryl started walking, taking a right turn. The path was blocked by a pair of thick bushes. Cheryl parted the vegetation and crawled through. Dawn followed her thankful the bush wasn't one of those prickly ones.

"Sometimes," Dawn admitted, climbing to her feet, brushing some dirt off her dress. "It's tolerable though. What do you know about Team Galactic?" They continued walking down a dirt-covered path. Dawn didn't pay much attention to her surroundings; she was far more engrossed in the conversation she was having with Cheryl.

Cheryl glanced upwards at the canopy, looking thoughtful. She turned her gaze away focusing on Dawn again. "I don't know much truthfully, but I know they're searching for something. One of the grunts mentioned something about meeting up with a lady called Jupiter in Eterna City," she explained.

Looker had mentioned something about the Galactic base in Eterna City. He said he was going to investigate himself, but Dawn had a feeling that somehow she would reach the base before him. "So, you come to forests searching for treasure?" she asked, changing the topic to a more delightful one.

Cheryl nodded. "I come from a family of treasure hunters. We search the region looking for rare objects. If we come across exceptionally rare items we'll give it to the scientists, but otherwise we'll keep it for ourselves. It's an adventurous career. What about you? What's your background?"

"My mother is a fashion coordinator and my father…" she paused briefly then continued. "I don't know he is, but I'm going to find him. Mum never speaks about him much – it's one of those 'off topic' conversations. All I know is that he is a trainer as well and is hiding somewhere in Sinnoh."A horrible thought dawned on her. What if her father was Charon, the old guy she met back in the Valley Windworks? He did claim to know her after all.

No way. Her mother would have better sense than to go out with a guy who was probably three times her age. "You seem troubled." Cheryl's gentle voice brought Dawn back to reality.

"Just thinking, that's all. How come you're not a trainer?" Again, she changed the topic.

"I always thought I was going to be a trainer. I remember waking up one morning and hearing that Red claimed the title from that snotty kid, Blue. I told myself that I wanted to be like him as well." She chuckled, shaking her head a little. "But I wasn't much of a trainer. Battling didn't appeal to me – I was more fascinated in finding objects instead of seeking out trainers. What about you? Why did you decide to be a trainer?"

"Well," Dawn started. "I wanted to explore the world. I used to watch the trainer channel every Monday morning and I felt jealous of all the kids who were old enough to embark on theirs. Mum didn't want me going for some reason, but eventually gave into the idea when I turned twelve. I want to become the next Champion and be someone my parents can be proud of."

"It's good that you know what you want already. I wish I had known what career path to take when I was ten. It would've saved me a lot of stress. Oh," Cheryl suddenly said, pointing a finger forward. "I believe that's the exit."

Dawn turned her head. There was an archway a few metres way. It was camouflaged so well Dawn would not have recognized it if Cheryl hadn't been there with her. "We made it out."

Grinning, Cheryl nodded. "Isn't it amazing what we can discover when the mind isn't plagued with worry and doubt? Talking with you has cleared my mind, thank you for accompanying me. Take one of my revive potions - I'm sure you'll find it useful in the road ahead." She reached down into her bag and pulled out a bottle. The bottle had a red cross on it. Dawn thanked her and put it away into her own bag. "Good luck in your journey Dawn, I hope we meet again sometime." The girl waved and headed through the rusted archway.

Dawn thought about following her, but figured this was a good place to do some training. As long as she stayed near the archway she'd be fine. She gazed down at her Pokemon who were peering up at her, waiting for their orders. "What do you say we get some training done?" Her four Pokemon nodded and immediately rushed over to a patch of grass nearby, Dawn following close behind.

Cynthia carefully crossed over the moving flower petal as she made her way to the gym leader's area. As per usual, Gardenia was tending to the flower beds surrounding her gym, and admiring her new selection of garden gnomes. Cynthia had never been interested in gardening herself, but the scent of the flowers was somehow relaxing.

"Hello Gardenia," Cynthia said.

Gardenia immediately rose from the ground and turned around. A brilliant smile spread across her face as she noticed Cynthia. "Cynthia!" The girl rushed over to her and gave her a hug, which Cynthia returned. "I'm so happy to see you!"

Cynthia was the trainer all the girls in Sinnoh admired. Before her, there had never been a female Champion since it was falsely assumed only males could make it to the top. She had proven the critics wrong by claiming the title when she was sixteen which had been three years ago. "It's good to see you too, Gardenia. I notice you have redesigned your gym?"

The last time she had been here the gym had been designed to look like a maze of trees. Gym trainers would be waiting in the tree tops, waiting to ambush challengers from above. Now the place had a mechanical moving flower metal in the centre of the gym and water spouts decorating it. The gym trainers were clearly visible from the entrance ruining the suspense the gym had previously.

Gardenia nodded. "The place needed a feminine touch."

"But what about the trees?" Cynthia replied, puzzled.

"Don't look so shocked, Cynthia." She laughed softly. "You know I would never bring harm to the natural land. The old gym is just across from here – we turned it into a greenhouse. It's also a place of education. The local children come once a week to learn about our wonderful flora and look after plants of their own. So, what brings you down here? Not much activity happening at the league?"

Cynthia shook her head. "I came here to see you were feeling. You were having problems with a boy the last time I was here if I remember clearly." The beginnings of a blush formed on the gym leader's face. She looked down and tended to the flowers again. "What was his name again, Roark? Byron's son?"

At the mention of Roark, Gardenia jerked her head back up. "I've lost interest in him," she said, turning away again. That was an abrupt change in tone, Cynthia thought. Cynthia waited. Gardenia would confess when she felt ready. A few minutes passed by when the gym leader sighed. "Okay, I still like the guy, but he doesn't seem interested in me at all. I think it's because I defeated his team easily the last time we met." Her expression turned into one of regret.

"How long ago was this?" Cynthia moved to the cloud-wallpapered wall and leaned against it.

"Two months ago. He challenged me to a battle and I agreed. He knew he didn't stand a chance against my team, but he was intent on battling. After he lost, I never heard from him again. Do you think he hates me?"

Cynthia had met Roark on several occasions, and he was usually accompanied by his father. The boy was over confident at times, but he would never sever ties with someone for no reason. "I think he's embarrassed. You hurt his ego. It's going to take a bit of time for him to recover from that."

Gardenia stood up. "Well, how long will I have to wait? He won't even answer his calls! Candice is hosting a dinner party and I wanted to see if he was going or not."

"Why don't you just drop by his place instead? He doesn't live that far away from here."

"And what would I say to him? Apologize for winning?"

"Tell him how you really feel, Gardenia. He probably thinks you don't like him and that's why he's keeping his distance," Cynthia explained, arms crossed over her chest. She couldn't help smile at Gardenia's dilemma.

Gardenia stared then nodded, sighing heavily. "You're right. You're always right. I don't understand why you haven't hooked up with anyone yet, Cynthia. You're like the coolest female trainer in history. You'd think guys would be lining up at the league doorstep waiting for you," she teased, chuckling.

"I have other things to focus on than worry about relationships," she replied calmly.

"I know dating gym leaders isn't something a Champion would do, but have you considering the other Champions from surrounding nations? You know, Lance is pretty attractive and I hear he's still single."

Cynthia raised both her eyebrows. "He's fine on the eyes, I agree, but he's certainly not my type. Besides, I hear he's keeping an eye on a trainer called Lyra." Gardenia was about to raise another suggestion when Cynthia wagged a finger. "Don't even mention Steven. Steven is a good friend of mine, but I have no romantic interest in him at all."

Steven was the former Champion of Hoenn, having chosen to resign from his position to locate rare stones instead. Every fortnight Cynthia would meet up with Steven for dinner and they'd discuss texts of the past and other historical topics. The other gym leaders weren't interested in such things and the Elite Four members would rather watch reality shows and play video games than learn about the world around them.

"I still think you need to get out and meet some cute guy, but if you're happy then I'm happy."

Cynthia was glad the topic had been dropped. Gardenia hadn't been the only one hoping Cynthia would meet someone nice. She ignored all the comments of course but getting into a relationship now when her career was at its peak point didn't seem like the wisest choice. Besides, she was supposed to be keeping an eye on Dawn, not running around seducing men that caught her fancy.

"Do visit Roark when you can, okay? I have to be going now. Prepare yourself for a worthy challenger, Gardenia. She'll be arriving soon." Before Gardenia could ask further questions, Cynthia left the gym and headed back outside. It was somewhat chilly here. She tugged her coat around her body and moved towards the city's most famous sighting, a giant carving of a golden dragon. The statue used to have an inscription plate, but it had since been removed… or stolen.

Once a year a festival celebrating nature was held here and people would decorate the statue with flowers to show their appreciation of the beauty life presented. It wasn't festival month yet though so the city was rather quiet, but there was a man with light blue spiky hair there standing before the statue. She had never seen him before, but somehow she felt like she already knew him.

"The flower festival isn't until late September," Cynthia said, strolling over to greet the stranger, "but you can still lay a flower here if you'd like."

He turned to face her, cold blue eyes fixing on her face. "I'm not interested in flowers."

Ah, so he was interested in history in himself, Cynthia thought. She wondered if Steven knew him since Steven had contacts with everyone that was interested in stories of the past. "The inscription plate has been missing for a couple of months."

"Stolen, I presume."

She frowned. "We don't know for sure, but it's the most likely outcome." She studied him closely. She generally thought her people reading skills were quite good, but she couldn't read him. His expression never seemed to change; it was as if he were incapable of expressing emotion at all. Her trainer instinct told her this man could not be trusted.

He was studying her face as well. "You're the Champion, are you not? Cynthia?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Tell me Champion, what do you see when you look at the world around you? I'm sure someone of your reputation has experienced many things."

"I see potential."

He snorted, turning his gaze back to the statue. "Yes, so do I. The world we live in is incomplete and full of strife, but I think we're capable of achieving so much more. But this thing we call spirit… it holds us back from reaching our full potential… it weakens the mind. We're slaves to our emotions. A world devoid of spirit and feeling would be a better place, don't you agree, Champion?" He turned to face her again.

"We're going to have to disagree on that topic. If we couldn't feel the world would lose all meaning. We would be machines in human flesh. What reason would there be to live in a world like that? Spirit reminds us that we're alive and that isn't something to detest." She wasn't sure why she was defending her opinion against a stranger, but what he was saying made no sense at all. Why would someone want to rid the world of something as complex as emotion?

He looked at her for a more seconds and Cynthia thought she detected a hint of irritation in the way he slightly narrowed his eyes, but it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. "Remember the name, Cyrus. I'm sure we'll cross paths again, Champion. Maybe you'll understand my views the next time we meet." He walked past her without saying anything else. Cynthia watched him walk away before deciding to leave herself.

It was time to give her old friend Steven a call. As she walked away from the statue, she spotted Dawn approaching the Pokemon Centre. She quickly moved out of the girl's vision – now wasn't the right time to communicate her. Not until she had more answers to her growing number of questions. She ducked inside the old gym and stood in amongst some trees. Thankfully, there was no one here right now probably because it was the least busy time of the year for tourism here in Eterna City. She pulled out her Xtransceiver and dialled Steven's number.

"Hello, Steven. This is Cynthia. We need to talk."

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