So I guess I'll do as suggested and show a bit more of Clair's interactions with her Dragon-types o-o as well as her Gym Leader-ly duties. Also, I capitalized the status effects, such as Fainted or Confused, just to more easily differentiate between the Pokémon usage and the normal usage.

-Missing the Champion-

Clair sat cross-legged on the platform at the end of the Blackthorn Gym's battlefield opposite her opponent, eyes closed. She opened them as the young woman who was to act as their battle judge stepped out into the middle of the rectangular field.

"Trainer Joel challenges Gym Leader Clair for the Rising Badge." The speaker was one of the newer shrine maidens—Minako was her name, if Clair remembered correctly. She had been training in the Brass Tower for some time and the Elder had handed her off to Clair to "test her worth" by running the gauntlet of duties the shrine maidens were expected to do. Basically, she had been a personal assistant to the Blessed User of Dragon Pokémon and… seemed to be in awe of the bluette. It made the aforementioned woman slightly uncomfortable, but that was another matter. "Do you accept?"

These formalities were so troublesome. "I accept."

"Each Trainer may use only three of the Pokémon in their current parties. You may begin!"

Smiling half-heartedly at the beaming smile she received, Clair rose smoothly and unclipped a Poké Ball from her belt, tossing it over her shoulder, towards the pool that rang around the stage's outer edges. "Let's go, Undine."

"Tch. I only need one. Hitmonchan, I choose you!" Her challenger, a teenaged boy with spiky green hair, pumped his fist and grinned cockily. "Prepare to lose, lady."

The young woman straightened her spine, her unwavering aquamarine orbs taking on an intensity that was enough to make the boy's grin fade a bit as he quickly averted his own gaze. "Undine, Twister."

Purple-tinted winds roared all around the Hitmonchan, forming a funnel shape. She could make out the vague shape of the human-shaped, tan coloured Pokémon as it took on an odd stance and the Gym Leader tilted her head slightly. What was it—

"Thunderpunch, go!"

The Hitmonchan wound up its right arm and the boxing glove crackled with electricity. Before Clair could open her mouth to warn her Pokémon, it lunged out of its windy prison and a powerful fist drove into the underside of the sea serpent's broad jaw, sending it reeling backwards and into the wall of the surrounding pool with a pained roar.

'Ouch.' Frowning slightly, the bluette recalled her Pokémon, not wanting it to take further damage and Faint. The frown deepened when her opponent snickered, that cocky grin back in place, and his Pokémon beckoned as though daring her to send out another challenger.

She'd crush their spirits easily.

"Yume, you're up." Clair had been trying to use her more frequently in something other than training battles. Despite lacking maturity, the Dragonair had a surprisingly powerful move set that made the Dragon user wonder just what her parents had been. Speaking of which, upon initial release, the Pokémon immediately rounded on its mistress, cooing and wending around her leg and the woman sighed. "Yume, now is not the time."

"Dra…" The Pokémon uncoiled and made for the center of the field where her opponent waited.

Joel snorted with laughter. "Lady, I think your Pokémon's a lover, not a fighter."

"You'll find that she makes quite a capable 'fighter'."

"Alright, suit yourself. Hitmonchan, Ice Punch!"

Somehow, Clair had seen that coming. "Yume, eight pattern followed by a Dragon Rush."

The name of the move triggered a memory of a grinning Cynthia and an immense flash of light, but she shook it off before the pang she knew would accompany any thought of her beautiful, roaming girlfriend could distract her from the battle.

Her opponent was fast, but Yume was faster: the Dragonair lurched forward, slithering cleanly out of the way of a sharp jab in a wide arc around the back of the Hitmonchan, then swiftly changing gears and rushing past it to place distance between herself and the other Pokémon in the vague approximation of the number '8'.

At the top of the numeral, Yume's lithe form became charged with viridian energy and she lunged at the Hitmonchan, smashing into its purple, tunic-like torso before it could manage to throw another punch.

"Hitmonchan!" Joel shouted.

The impact sent the Fighting-type flying backwards and it pressed its fists into the ground in order to slow its velocity, managing to stop just before falling off the edge of the platform and into the water. "Hit… mon…" the Pokémon panted, one eye screwed shut as it clutched its side.

"Finish it."

"Dra!"A ball of swirling orange energy danced at the tip of the Dragonair's horn.

"Hitmonchan, get up!"

But it was no use. The Pokémon could only Flinch as Yume pointed her horn directly in his direction—

"Hyper Beam!"

—and shot an intense beam of yellow-orange energy that struck the Hitmonchan dead-on and sent him smashing into the far wall with a sickening 'crack' as the surface broke open and let rays of sun filter into the Gym.

'Whoops…' The Elder wouldn't be happy about that.

"Winner: Gym Leader Clair!" Minako cheered.

~O~

"Hey, sweetie, how was your day?"

"I had a challenger today. They seem few and far in between for some reason."

"Yeah… I've noticed that in my region as well. That's why I'm taking this trip while I can." She noticed the way Clair's eyebrows drew together minutely at the mention of travel and quickly said, "How badly did you beat the kid?"

The bluette's expression cleared. "His Hitmonchan was strong, but Yume was stronger."

"Oh, little Yume gets a go now?"

"I don't really think you can call her 'little' anymore. She's been shedding her skin like crazy recently. In all my years training here at the Shrine, I've never seen a Dragonair grow so quickly. And she has an incredible move set. I'll have to show it to you when you get back."

Cynthia smiled warmly, her heart filling with affection. "Yeah?"

"Mhmm. I wasn't sure how she'd do in battle seeing as she evolved so suddenly without any sort of real training, but she's doing well. I don't think any of the Trainers around here are prepared to face her."

There it was again: that spark—that indomitable spirit that the blonde had fallen so hard for. She crossed her legs, her body responding as it always did to the way those aquamarine orbs blazed. "I can't wait. I have to go now, though. Steven wants to do one more sweep of the main hall of the ruins to see if we missed anything early in the morning tomorrow. I'll be back soon."

"Alright." She hesitated and the Champion arched a questioning eyebrow. It wasn't like Clair to hesitate. "I… Miss you."

Affection gave way to an intense warmth that threatened to overwhelm the older woman. She didn't know what she would do without her Clair. "I love you."

The screen went black and the blonde sighed, slouching on her cot. It was less than comfortable, the tent was cramped, she hadn't showered in days, her back was sore, she desperately missed Clair… And now she was excited on top of it all.

Why was she here again?

"Miss Cynthia, I'm sensing something." He didn't really have to say anything—the appendages on the back of his head were standing on end and that was more than enough of an indication. Still, his tone was difficult to place.

"Is it good or bad?"

"I… Cannot tell."

Odd.

She carefully placed the ornate clay vase she had been examining back on its pedestal and turned to head down the stairs into the yawning darkness below. "Steven? I think we should—"

It was then that she realized that the torches that should have been lighting the narrow corridor had gone out and all was still. She took a step backwards and nearly screamed as she bumped into Raynor.

"Sir Steven is not here."

"Where did he go?"

The jackal-like Pokémon raised a glowing paw. "I cannot sense him at all… It is as though he has vanished."

Okay, this was getting creepy.

The woman reached out and felt her way along the wall for the torch that she knew was there, sighing in relief as Raynor set it ablaze. "Perhaps we should not be here."

"We can't just leave Steven."

That being said, Cynthia started forward, holding the torch in front of her to light the temple's stone innards. She almost tripped over something, but Raynor caught her arm.

"Take care."

"I'm fine. I—" The blonde frowned, her gaze on the ground. Was that… fog? Sure enough, tendrils of vapor were reaching across the ground like long, intangible fingertips. But there wasn't a source of water around and they were pretty far underground. 'How…?'

She was so caught up in puzzling it out that she didn't see the shadow that bubbled around her feet, a single hand-shaped tendril rearing up to grab her ankle.

"Get out." A roar.

"Miss Cynthia!" The Lucario's eyes glowed blue and the Pokémon hidden in the shadows was grasped by a powerful telekinetic force that enveloped it in energy of the same colour—Psychic. A Dusclops was revealed, its sole red eye bouncing around in its socket the only thing the Champion saw as it was hurtled across the room. "We leave. Now."

The urgency in his voice spurred his Trainer into moving without question; together they turned and hurried back the way they had come, only to find that the staircase had disappeared.

"Get out." A howl.

The room was flooded with fog now and Cynthia released a whimper as the torch flickered wildly, then suddenly went out, plunging the pair into darkness. A moment later, the dark was interrupted by dozens of shifting red eyes and Raynor's eyes glowed intensely.

"I want you to run. Do not look back."

"Raynor—"

"Miss Cynthia, please."

There was an ominous rumbling and the ground beneath their feet shifted like a living creature and Cynthia lost her footing, tumbling to the hard surface and managing to scrape her palms as she caught herself.

"Who are you?" Those swirling eyes were closing in; Raynor's light had disappeared. "What is it that you seek?"

"Knowledge," she whispered, snapping her eyes shut. That was the point of her travels, wasn't it? To uncover rare and amazing Pokémon.

She had to stay calm. Losing it wouldn't do her any good. An image of Clair—brave, strong, measured Clair—flashed through her mind's eye and she immediately felt a little better. Enough to straighten and open her eyes to face the darkness.

"Interesting." The comment was made almost absent-mindedly. Something shiny revealed itself in the middle of the room—a mirror. "Here is the knowledge that you seek."

Cautiously, the woman stepped forward, gaze flicking from eye to eye. They were still for the moment, focusing on her with nerve-wracking intensity.

What could that voice have meant?

She peered into the mirror and gasped. 'Clair?'

Sure enough, the bluette was walking alongside a pretty brunette along a dirt path, both girls carrying a basket full of linens. They began to hang them out on the clothesline in the verdant garden that the Elder tended to in his free time, the brunette chatting animatedly about something while Clair listened, smiling slightly.

They were almost done with their chore when, without warning, the brunette's cheeks went red and she leaned in, stealing a quick kiss before gathering up her empty basket and darting off, leaving the bluette with a stunned expression in the middle of the garden.

Rage made Cynthia's blood boil and she balled her fists. How dare anyone touch what was hers?

But then she felt horrified—how could she claim ownership over Clair? The younger woman wasn't an object to be owned.

"Why did you show me this?"

"You wanted knowledge. This answers the question you so desperately want answered."

"And what would that question be?"

"Only you can answer that."

This wasn't making any sense at all… She couldn't think of any particularly pressing questions she had other than who in the world—or what—was speaking. "Who are you?"

"Leave here. There is no place for your kind in the Reverse World."

Before she could open her mouth to ask another question, a swirling vortex of energy enveloped her, sucking her out of the darkness and into the light.

"Cynthia? Answer me!"

The blonde stirred, her eyelids fluttering open as she registered the fact that she was being shaken. "Huh…?"

"Oh, thank goodness!" It was Steven. The normally cool, collected Trainer was pale, his expression distraught.

"Are you okay?"

"Me?" His bark of laughter stemmed more from disbelief than anything. "We found you unconscious on the floor inside the ruins and have been trying everything to get you to wake up for the past two hours and you're asking me if I'm okay?!"

Whoops… She started to sit up, but the silver-haired man rested a hand on her shoulder, restraining her. "Raynor said you would try to move and to stop you in any way possible." When the blonde opened her mouth to protest, he continued, "He also told me to ignore all protests because it was for your own good."

Ugh. "Where is Raynor?"

Steven pointed: in a corner of the cramped tent slouched the Aura Pokémon, his long pink tongue lolling out as he panted. "You gave me quite a scare."

The woman frowned. "You… You were actually there with me, weren't you?"

"For a time. I was repelled by some powerful force."

"It was like some epic battle of wills," the Hoenn Champion commented. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Whatever Pokémon is inhabiting these ruins does not want to be found."

"In that room you were looking around… Did you see a mirror?"

"A mirror?" He looked thoughtful. "No. Not unless you count the mural in there. It depicts a mirror, and some sort of crude vortex."

A chill ran along Cynthia's spine. "I need to go home."

"So soon?" He was right to sound surprised—usually wild Ponyta couldn't drag her away from her work.

"We're playing with a power that is beyond our comprehension. It wouldn't be right to press onward… I promised Clair."

'Clair…'

/ The bluette raised a hand to her lips, eyes wide as she watched the pretty brunette scurry away. /

When she looked away, Steven cleared his throat. "We'll get you home soon, no worries. Just rest." He rested a hand on her shoulder then exited the tent.

"Miss Cynthia?"

"What?" She hadn't meant to snap.

Raynor's ears flicked backwards just a bit. "What happened after I was expelled from your dream world? I am sensing turmoil."

"I…"

/ "Lighten up, Cynthia. Geez. It's just a bit of harmless flirting."

"I just feel as though we should have a certain level of respect for one another since this is a serious relationship."

"Darling, I respect the hell out of you." That impish pout and those emerald green orbs were the blonde's supreme weakness. "Don't be such a stick in the mud. I mean people aren't property. What gives you the right to hog me to yourself?"

She was just being silly. "Sorry…"

"No big. Can we go get lunch? I'm starved."/

Maybe Helene had been right—she was just being too old-fashioned. What reason did she have to get jealous that someone else had interest in Clair?

None at all.

"Miss Cynthia?" Raynor frowned. "You seem more distracted than usual. Please tell me what happened."

The blonde forced a smile. "It was nothing, Raynor. I'm just being silly."

So why did it feel like the end of the world as she knew it?

x.x.x

"Hey."

"Hey… You were supposed to call."

"Sorry."

Clair blinked, taken aback by the insincere flatness of the blonde's tone. "Is everything okay?"

"Fine. I'm headed home now."

There was that flock of Butterfree. "Will I see you soon?"

Hesitation. "I'll probably be busy for a little while."

"Oh…"

"Mhmm."

"… Are you certain everything is okay? You seem… Different."

"Did anything happen today? Anything worth mentioning?"

That was an odd question. "Um… Not that I can recall. Why?"

There was a soft sound—a… sob?—but before the bluette could ask about it, the Champion said, "I'm pretty worn out, Clair. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Then the line went dead. No goodbye, no warning—nothing.

The Dragon user frowned, dropping her Pokégear onto her comforter. What had that been about? Her heart was racing as though she had just run a great distance and she knew it was because something was clearly bothering the blonde who refused to talk to her about it. Worry made her gnaw on her bottom lip and she crossed her legs, heeding Raynor's warning and attempting to keep in control of her negative emotions.

Without Cynthia there, it felt like a losing battle.

Was it weird that the blonde Champion's troubles felt like her own? Was it weird that she wanted to Fly over there and do whatever it took to put a smile on that beautiful face?

… Was it weird that Clair had begun to look forward to hearing "I love you"?

-End Chapter-