By gosh this thing is like 124 pages long and I'm now dead. Here it is the final chapter. Enjoy!
Three weeks after rushing Angel at mach speed to the nearest hospital and dodging countless paparazzi after Jupiter explained all the hullabaloo that resulted in a half dead child being flown to the ICU, Cynthia slumps onto the couch of her villa exhausted. Angel turns to look at her for a moment, lifts her still half broken body (well her fractured ribs), and flops gently on her mother's lap in a craving for warmth. It didn't seem to matter how many blankets she wrapped herself in, she still felt frozen.
She shifts, ignoring the dull pain in her torso, to stare at the sky outside. Angel hadn't been allowed outside, more by the doctor than anyone else. The house seemed annoyingly small, even after being trapped inside a hospital room for days upon days.
Cynthia runs a hand through the child's hair, lazily braiding the loose strand into small ropes before undoing her work in dissatisfaction. She watches as Angel stares out the window to where her pokemon played outside in the setting sun.
The blood she had been coughing up, had luckily been due to a tear in her gum and cracked lip instead of internal bleeding. The news itself had lifted so much weight from Cynthia's shoulders and the choke hold suffocating her loosened to allow a relieved breath to exhale before filtering through air naturally. Several of her ribs had cracked slightly, jagged lines curving around the rib. Nothing could be done to speed up recovery, so the poor child was stuck inside on bed rest.
"I'm sorry you're stuck in the house," The champion laments.
"Moving hurts anyway. You'll take over my training for now right Mama?" Angel confirms.
"Miss Angel, you're medication," Jervis announces as he enters with two sizable pills and a glass of water.
The platinum makes a dramatic display of displeasure, her nose scrunches with wrinkles and her lips curl back in distaste. She'd roll dramatically if it didn't mean causing further injury. She sulks as the large white pills are placed into her palm, their round form giant in her smaller hands. They taste bitter and Angel drowns them as quick as possible just to remove the flavor.
"I know they taste bad Love, but it'll…"
"I know, I know. It'll make it hurt less," Angel continues and sticks a tongue out playfully. "Doesn't mean they don't taste terrible."
The girl is gathered by practiced arms that had become accustomed to the art of transporting the injured and the champion carries her daughter carefully to her bedroom. Angel winces slightly as she is laid on her stomach, the doctor had said something about it allowing her to take deep breathes easier and prevent pneumonia. Or something along those lines, Angel had been in too much pain to take any directions to heart besides how many hours it took before she could take another pain killer. She sighs as deeply as she dares, the pain killers wouldn't kick in for about another ten minutes, and returns her gaze to the window towards the water. If one squinted then they could make out the mass of land across the bay. Angel believed it to be Route 14, one she had not yet traveled through.
"Your ribs are much better," Cynthia comments as she looks through the notes a doctor had left after her check in with Angel. "They say in another three to four weeks you'll be raring to go!"
"Summer will be almost over by then," Angel reminds somberly. "We'll have to return to Sinnoh by then. Your vacation time will be up."
"I'm sure we could stay another week or two," The mother insists and pushes Angel's hair out of her face.
"You really can't. The summer is when everyone collects badges, you'll need to be there to make sure things run smoothly, and by the end of fall it'll almost be time for the tournament. It's okay, they're always next summer." The platinum yawns, the day getting to her. "Wake me up in an hour?"
"Of course," Cynthia stands, waits for Angel to fall asleep, before slipping out the door to let the pokemon back into the house. She pauses Calamity by the door and squats to face the pokemon at eye level. "Go get Giratina for me."
…
The two dragons had to be met in the forest outside the chasm, where they had yet to leave the immediate vicinity of. Although Kyurem no longer posed a threat, its body still naturally released a bitter chill and Cynthia rubbed at her freezing arms.
The ghost dragon floats forward to greet the hatchling's mother. Phantasmal tendrils float with the pokemon's energy as red eyes watched inquisitively.
"I want you to take Angel on an adventure. One where I cannot follow. One where she can feel free." Cynthia starts and her nails dig into her arms. "She may not be your trainer anymore, but she is still your girl. The one who gave both of you your freedom. I want you to return the favor."
The shadow dragon makes no movement, musing her thoughts and considering the request. Her large head turns and her eyes catch to her new charge. The ice dragon murmurs his opinion and his large body shakes as he tosses his head. Giratina returns her attention to the hatchling's mother and gives one solid nod.
"Thank you Giratina. If I may tack on another desire? If she tries to return home, at least convince her to give it two months?"
Another nod.
…
Three weeks later
Angel wakes to the harsh sun streaming through her window. Her eyes blink blearily in confusion before she jolts up in her bed, her chest hissing slightly in protest due to her still tender but newly healed rib cage.
Cynthia hadn't woken her up for the flight. Angel jumps out of bed and trips her way over to her dresser. It held little inside its drawer; only one outfit sat inside. The rest were packed away in a travel bag where she had stored the clothing she would bring back to Sinnoh. She quickly changed, night outfit being thrown into the open top of her wardrobe bage in a messy bunch.
The child glanced at the sky. The sun sat pretty high in the blue, but perhaps the flight still hadn't left? Why hadn't her mother woken her up? Cynthia had to return home tonight to take a press interview in the morning and the flight back home was wickedly long.
She flies into Cynthia's bedroom, narrowly missing the doorknob with her high speeds. She screeches to a halt at the threshold. The room had been cleaned to point that it looked barren. The sheets were tucked neatly and the desk and tables cleaned of her mother's clutter. Any books that had been lying around last night when Angel had fallen asleep on the champion's lap while listening to old legends were either missing or packed away neatly onto the bookshelves. The child examined the wall of literature and found it alphabetical, a trait of Jervis. Her mama always shelved books in clusters by relevance with her favorites always in easy reach. That meant the Sinnoh legends should all be in the middle where Angel could reach with the help of a stool, not the lone book of Kalos folklore the veteran had picked up at a outdoor market.
Angel retreats to the kitchen, hoping to find someone there, but it is just as barren as the bedroom. The connecting living room is also empty and all signs of living neatly tucked away. In fact, it looked remarkably like the way it did when Angel first step foot into the villa.
"Mama? Mama," Angel calls out louder and listens for an answer. Her eyes furrow in anxiety. "Jervis!"
A glare catches her eye and the child turns to the plate covered by a fancy looking cover that reminded Angel of the cartoons with rich people who had their food served on silver platters and revealed by many elegantly dressed staff. She removed the lid and stares down at the food. It was a simple meal, two rice balls and slightly cooked berry kabobs, but the pecha, mango and even the rarer watmel berry showed Cynthia had made it knowing of Angel's sweet tooth.
A note laid beneath the plate and Angel picked it up to read as she nibbled on the incredibly sweet berries. The watmel distracts her for a moment, she had only ever had one before when Diadem found one growing in a forest and its flavor was one of the sweetest known in culinary.
However, the flavor is quickly forgotten as Angel reads the letter.
Dear Angel,
I have already left for Sinnoh by the time you are reading this. I want you to finish your adventure and have already asked Giratina to take you wherever you desire. The world is huge Angel, and I wish I could show it all to you. However, you know that the league is my responsibility, but it is not yours and I will not let it tie you down.
You are full of potential Love and it will blossom under this challenge. There is still all of Unova left to explore and I'm sure that other regions await you in the future.
I am unable to let you fly the way you should. The media is ruthless and would be all over you here. Sinnoh is wonderful, but it can wait a little longer. Go find your next adventure,
Love,
Mama
Angel fists the paper tightly, the smooth surface crippling with the motion.
"But I want my adventure with you."
…
Three months later
Life without Angel was… strange Cynthia supposed was one word to describe it. Six months after their first meeting. That was what today was. The blonde had spent ten minutes looking at her planner trying to decide why it looked so familiar before it hit her like a cinder block.
She supposed that if she couldn't spend the time with her daughter then watching her potential competitors fight their way through the Pokemon League was the next best thing. Trainers had been preparing for weeks for the opening battles and it will take days before the first sixty four is swept aside in the preliminary round.
The champion sits in the center chair on the balcony overlooking the battle grounds. It split into four sectors with varying turf, not only to speed up the beginning rounds but also to challenge those who were used to fighting of flat ground. The preliminary was blessedly cut down to three pokemon, full team battles would only occur for the top twenty.
Cynthia got comfortable in the plush seat, she was going to be there awhile and ignored the nervous eyes that twitched between her and the stadium ground. Flint had been driving her up the wall with his gibberish lately. The blonde knew something was going to happen, probably another champion gracing the Sinnoh League with a visit that would result in a expedition battle. Nevertheless she didn't let it bother her.
The announcer's voice booms over the PA system and the crowd roars in excitement for the annual competition.
"Good morning ladies and gentleman! Welcome to the Pokemon League tournament! I am your host and let us begin! The screening battles have been completed and our lucky sixty four contestants. Let's see our first battle pair! The machine is shuffling…"
The league members straighten to watch the screen as two rectangles are drawn and the black fades to reveal the pictures. Cynthia's mouth drops slightly.
"And our first two contestants are Richard Newman of Jubilife and Angel Shironia of, of… uh…"
"Celestic Town," Cynthia shouts to the flustered man at the mic.
The host nods and continues speaking, "Angel Shironia of Celestic Town"
"Draw your pokemon," The referee comands and flings a flag down.
The teenage make grips a pokeball with a smug smirk and releases an infernape, "I don't care if you are the champion's adopted daughter or how you managed to get all eight badges, I'm still going to sweep the floor with you. It's not like you've got champion blood anyway."
Angel pushes her long hair out of her face, her stray bangs had grown a tad too long. She pulls a pokeball from her waist and released its contents. A garchomp roars as it drops to the ground with a thud and steam snorts out his nostrils as his jagged fin arches skyward.
"Blood or not you do get a few things from being a champion's daughter. For example, I don't like to lose. Besides, I may not have champion blood but I do have royal blood. So as a daughter of Kalosian royalty I present to you Titan," The garchomp bellows once more and Angel smiles at her opponent. "Titan says we're going to wipe the floor with you."
"Bring it on!"
"Angel, anything to say to your mother?"
The platinum tilts her head slightly in confusion before remembering that this wasn't some random battle with a stranger. She refocuses in on her mother who still held a shocked look across her features. Angel smiles.
"Watch out Mama; I'm after your crown!"
She throws a fist down as the battle commences.
And the end is here. For those who managed to stay this long, thank you and I will start posting short stories to the one shot series. I don't know if I'll make another novel like story- I don't really have the dedication for it but we'll see; until then MoA will have to suffice. BTW apparently the new girl for the I Choose You Movie is Cynthia's daughter and I refuse to accept it as actual canon because it breaks up my adorable mother-daughter duo who probably has a way better story anyway.