Welcome to the chapter of 2020, and the next one in Gracie's story! This story to a bit of a break due to Christmas events, but is now back for the New Year! Anyone interested in checking out what I did for Christmas can look at my original fiction before a new story and my Deviantart account for several logs of Pokémon runs. This includes a log of the most recent games at the time of this writing, Sword and Shield, which have now been completed entirely. However, beware of spoilers for those games upon reading that log.
Other than that, I'm glad to be doing this story again, and enjoy!
37. Adaptations for All
Day 36 (September 30, 2019): Sinnoh
On to another time with Gracie!
A quick stop at the café, and then to continue the journey. Gracie seems to be becoming a regular there… Perhaps she will be, with people being friendly to her and giving her discounts. It would certainly be interesting, seeing as nothing like that can actually happen in the games…
But nevertheless, it's off to do take care of some sick Pokémon with the new item. These Pokémon are acting as a roadblock, and its Gracie's job to clear them out. Interestingly, I'm not entirely sure how to write this scene, since in Traveler, no such roadblock exists. There could be something with Gracie being sick and needing the potion, but that's already been done with Jasmine, and Gracie is not considered weak enough to warrant getting sick again.
A more likely explanation is that she still pursuing the criminal from the city before, but ends up running right into a massive amount of them. It would make sense, considering the criminal is headed towards the lake, and later on, it shown that there's an entire gang of Team Galactic Grunts at the lake. Most of these grunts are ready to battle, or have battled before. So it makes sense that Gracie would get dogpiled by whatever criminals there were, and quickly be overwhelmed. Cynthia would then have to rescue her, and then have to treat her for her injuries. Cynthia is shown to have a lot of medical knowledge canonically, to the point where she serves as a replacement for a Pokémon Center for Pokémon that can't get to one at certain points in the anime. So her being able to treat Gracie's injuries is consistent with what is known about her character.
After being defeated by the grunts and falling unconscious, Gracie wakes up sometime later, feeling groggy and a little discombobulated. A voice states. "Thank goodness! You're awake!" Gracie's eyes go wide and fear is in her voice as she tries to register her surroundings. "I… I am… Where…" The other person hushes her stating. "You'll be all right now. You are back in the hotel near Pastoria. It was the closest place I could bring you, and I didn't want to risk taking you all the way to the Pokémon Center in the shape you were in. So I brought you here and treated you myself. I might not be a Pokémon Center nurse, but I've got enough medical knowledge to act as one if need be." Gracie's eyes continue to go wide and carefully lets the person come into focus in front of her. However, she can't quite remember the name despite the familiarity. So she slowly states. "You… You're…" The person responds matter-of-factly. "Cynthia, Sinnoh's Champion." Gracie lets out a gasp. "Sinnoh's Champion took the time to help me?" She cannot keep surprise and embarrassment from flooding her voice. However, before she can speak again, Cynthia motions for silence.
The Champion warmly responds. "Just because I'm the Champion doesn't mean I have to stay locked up in the League all the time. It is the duty of the Champion to protect the region, no matter where that might lead, so I help others away from my position quite often. Think nothing of it." Gracie starts protesting. "But, wouldn't that make things difficult for your duties?" Cynthia shakes her head. "No. Those affiliated with the League can do something call a field challenge. If a Trainer or a League official cannot challenge someone where they normally would be, they can choose to challenge them wherever they are, or designate a different area for challenges. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to hold down a job or have a life outside the Championship, Trainers who cannot get the League challenges for reasons beyond their control would be at a disadvantage, and there would be no way to battle for practice or even fun. This rule also allows those in the League to challenge Trainers anywhere, and if they have fulfilled the necessary requirement to advance in that part of the League, then the Trainers can be awarded properly on the spot. Trainers are still expected to be at the designated area, if possible, though. But it means things like me healing you and staying at the hotel for a while aren't issues." Gracie is still a bit confused, and Cynthia smiles warmly and continues to explain.
What she explains will probably involve part of my explanation here.
The idea of the field challenges and being used as a substitute for battling at a Gym is actually a reference to Cynthia's first appearance in the anime, with the concept is first being used much earlier. In Cynthia's first appearance, Paul requests a battle while Cynthia is away from League investigating ruins. She accepts, despite Paul not having the requirements to challenge the Champion officially nor Cynthia being at the League. She then states it's been a while that since she's taken a field challenge, implying that she's done something like this before. In Pokémon Special, she's also seen doing something similar, as she helps train several members of the main cast.
Note that this is different than someone giving a Badge for reasons other than winning a match, since the official match usually takes place in the Gym anyway (if there even is a match). With this scenario, the first case of this ever happening is with Brock and Ash. The former is moved by the latter's compassion and honesty, with Ash first refusing to accept the Badge because he won via a sprinkler accident that made Brock's Pokémon weak to attacks they normally should not have been. However, Brock tells him to accept the Badge anyway, seeing him worthy for the above traits regardless of what happened. It's not known how often in cases like this will occur in Traveler, if it all. However, it's possible these cases may be called alternative victories.
While Cynthia is the first person to give the field challenge a name and explanation, she's not the first person to have one. The first person to ever use a field challenge for an official League battle in the anime is actually Koga. He and Ash are in the middle of a traditional match in the Gym when Team Rocket interrupts the battle and destroys parts of the Gym. After chasing off Team Rocket, Koga chooses to finish off the match on the lawn in front of the Gym. The battle goes as normal, and Ash earns his Badge. Things like this have been seen in the anime several times since, usually with similar situations. While field challenges have also been used in other media, they have yet to appear in the games themselves. Fan creations have used them, however, and the reasons vary widely.
Field challenges are a staple in Traveler, being something that a challenger can request if they wish. However, if the field challenge is to take the place of an official League battle, the challenger must have proof that they cannot do the official battle in the proper place at the time the field challenge is requested. Since Traveler does not require Trainers to do the Badge battles in any specific order, Trainers who cannot do the battle due to time are usually asked to come back later. A Gym Leader must also have proof that a field challenge is acceptable and necessary, or that they otherwise feel the Trainer is worth challenging outside of the Gym. While the proof is usually conducted by the League official themselves, there are other times when someone gives that proof to the official League records.
The entire process is not only for convenience, but also in the case that it is dangerous or impractical for someone to challenge the Gym traditionally. For example, challenging Erika's Gym could be deadly, even fatal, for someone that has allergies or asthma. This is due to all the spores and plants in her gym, and a common allergy being those things. Someone in any of the Flying Type Gyms might become uncomfortable at best and crippled at worse if they have a fear of heights. And anyone with a physical disability might find Kalos Gym Leader Grant's Gym almost impossible, since it requires rock climbing. However, field challenges are often looked down upon, as people are seen as being too weak to take on a Gym properly. This has led many Trainers to endanger themselves needlessly, believing they're not worthy if they don't do a traditional Gym match. The League has tried to change this, but to no avail.
Cynthia would probably explain how the field challenge is used in Traveler, although she may make references to canon usage as examples that have happened in the past. Gracie thinks that it's stupid that people would look down on field challenges if someone really needs it, and Gym Leaders are still trying to treat everyone equally as best as possible. She then wonders if anyone has used that in recent memory, because this is the first time she's heard of one. Cynthia replies that the trainer known as the Mold Breaker Kristine did one, although it was not by her request. Additionally, she was also given the chance to do several more, but turned it down whenever she could, or otherwise requested to go to the Gym later. Gracie responds, eyes wide. "The Mold Breaker did that? Why?"
Cynthia then goes into detail about the instance. "The Mold Breaker sees visions, particularly if those visions involve someone's possible death. That day, Clair of Blackthorn was around, and Zinnia of the Draconids tried to force Clair into a vicious battle the latter didn't want. The Mold Breaker's visions also told her that Zinnia had plans to attack Clair herself, leaving the Gym Leader injured or dead. Being a kind soul and driven by the visions, the Mold Breaker chose to go investigate. She was able to stop Zinnia from doing anything to Clair, and when Zinnia tried to attack her instead, the Mold Breaker took down all of Zinnia's Pokémon using her ability to fuse with other ones.
Once Clair learned of the Mold Breaker's abilities and motives, she became intrigued. Additionally, Clair it thought noble that the Mold Breaker would save an almost complete stranger, associate since she risked losing the support of the few companions she had at the time. Clair also learned that the Mold Breaker had no Badges, and no previous record of going on any journey, despite being significantly stronger and older than a typical Trainer would be. As a result, Clair decided a field challenge would be a proper reward, and the rest of the League agreed. The Mold Breaker, however, wasn't so sure. She had specifically trained herself so that she was able to adapt to almost every puzzle a Trainer may find, so that her disability wouldn't get in her way and she wouldn't be subject to stigma. Accepting a field challenge felt like downplaying that accomplishment, and made her feel as though she wouldn't earn the Badge.
Clair convinced her that a Gym Leader has the right to challenge and give Badges to anyone they deem worthy. Considering what the Mold Breaker had done, Clair felt she was worthy. However, the two decided that when the Mold Breaker came to Blackthorn, Clair would give express permission for her to challenge the Gym normally despite already having the Badge, and the two would have a rematch. The Mold Breaker accepted the terms, earned the Badge in the following battle, and eventually did return to conquer the Gym in a more traditional fashion. Hardly anyone knows about the field challenge though, and the Mold Breaker doesn't speak about it freely. Even though was for a very good reason, there's still stigma surrounding it." Gracie thinks of the League really is a benevolent organization, trying to provide for all Trainers as best they can, and that so many are wrong to rail against it. There may also be additional explanation in this area, with the parts Gracie doesn't know, such as the relationship between the Mold Breaker and Zinnia.
However, she is interrupted from those thoughts by Cynthia speaking again. "Enough about me, can you remember what happened?" At this point, the previous events slowly come back to Gracie. "I was chasing a criminal… It looked like I had almost caught him… But then a whole gang of them appeared… They were allies of the one I was chasing, and I couldn't fight them all…" Gracie shudders as she comes to a bleak realization. "If you hadn't found me, I'd be dead… I'm sorry, I should've realized an attack would've happened…" Gracie cringes, but Cynthia shakes her head reassuringly. "Don't worry, you couldn't have seen that attack coming. Even if you used the psychic power to see it, it's likely your opponents would have noticed and would have attacked you first. Luckily, the medicine I gave you was able to help you recover faster."
At this point, Cynthia mentions the medicine's name, and Gracie realizes that this is the same medicine that tried to cure Meredith and failed. She shudders again and says Meredith's name, prompting Cynthia to ask what's wrong. After Gracie explains, Cynthia comforts her. She explains Gracie didn't have an illness like Meredith's, and that she was found time. Gracie slowly repeats "in time…" Cynthia suddenly cringes, seems to be deep in thought, and says the name Dawn. Gracie is confused, wondering what Cynthia is talking about.
Cynthia responds that Dawn is a young Trainer, like an apprentice and daughter to her. However, when she started becoming more powerful, Dawn thought she could do everything by herself. Of course, Dawn was just a child, and she got into trouble because of her way of thinking. Cindy often had to rescue her. Cynthia ends the conversation by saying, "If it wasn't for all of that, she would not have done what she did…" Gracie is still confused, but doesn't press the subject further. Cynthia then elaborates, saying that she has another apprentice now. That apprentice is strong enough to be mostly independent, so the help Cynthia gives is usually indirect. But she still worries regardless. Gracie wonders if this has any connection to the Mold Breaker, but doesn't say anything.
It's worth noting that this point, Gracie doesn't know Cynthia's true identity or any connection she has to Kristine. For this story, the lore currently acts like she doesn't, at least until the very end. There are also plans to Cynthia be a former mentor to some of the older Trainers in the story. Possible candidates include Johanna and Reggie, but not much is confirmed. Regardless, Cynthia takes Gracie to the route to the next town. She states that there is someone that will help her, and the route ahead provides good training. Cynthia also tells Gracie to take the Old Charm, as the people in the town will recognize it and now that she has sent her. Gracie nods, and accepts, and the two go their separate ways.
And so begins the gameplay.
After curing the sick Pokémon with the Secret Potion, Cynthia shows up and gives me an Old Charm. She says to take it to her grandmother, but never says why or what it's for. The item never shows up again in the story either. Another thing that doesn't really make sense… Not to mention there's no reason why Cynthia can't heal the Pokémon herself, but maybe she needs something to motivate the player…
Regardless, with the route clear, I press forward.
The next place is a foggy route that's very long. Additionally, there are many powerful Trainers and no places to heal. Even though I have a way to remove the fog, I will still have to be careful when traversing the place.
All my attacking moves other than Magical Leaf run out of Power Points, but other than that, I don't have any issues.
Before long, I'm at the next town.
A place called Celestic.
It's a tiny rustic town, filled with ruins, wise elders, and ancient myths. Cynthia's grandmother and family live here, although Cynthia's hometown is unknown. The town is so old that they don't even have a Pokémon Mart like those seen in other towns. Instead, one can head into a house to buy items, some of which cannot be found anywhere else.
I'm not here for any of that, though.
Instead, I'm here for something else.
And that's something is a battle.
At first, there is a warm-up against a Galactic Grunt, who is immediately taken out by Shock Wave.
The next battle is the real one, as I enter a cave with a painting and go up against Team Galactic's leader, Cyrus.
And boy, have I been waiting to talk about him.
He influences a few others as well, and I've also been waiting to elaborate more on them.
But first, the fight.
Cyrus is considered one of the most difficult fights in the game, perhaps even the series. With Gracie being weak to most of his Pokémon, I'm also expecting a challenge here.
Thankfully, that does not appear to be the case.
Cyrus sends out Sneasel, Mukrow, and Golbat. Only Sneasel manages to do damage, though, striking back with Ice Punch before going down to two Shock Waves. The others are weak to the attack, so they go down without even being able to fight back.
At last, I am finally able to elaborate on Cyrus.
But not before talking about those he affects.
Such is the original character mentioned in the Lost Tower should Zinnia be the one Gracie sees in her vision there.
Gracie walks into the cave to see the aforementioned original character talking with a man there. However, she seems flustered, saying, "You must know what happened back in the Lost Tower, Cyrus! Zinnia was seen as a ghost there, despite being alive and well! The Trio of Sinnoh's Lakes must have noticed what was going on. And you are currently in a place where those that are worthy of the power can communicate with them! Surely you must know something!"
At this, the man shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Kalmia. The Lake Trio have not told me anything about the visions in Lost Tower. Since dealing with ghosts and the afterlife isn't their domain, I doubt they could tell me anything, assuming they even know what happened." The one now named Kalmia throws up her hands and her voice becomes more desperate. "Then Giratina must be aware…" The man's sharp gaze locks eyes with Kalmia, and she flinches away from what Gracie can only detect as the man's tranquil fury. "You know I am not privy to information from the god of death." Kalmia's voice only rises to his shout as she shrieks. "Then what about the Mold Breaker, Kristine?" Cyrus's voice stays calm, but Gracie thinks she can still detect fury. "Just because Kristine is considered worthy of many gods doesn't mean they will automatically give her information about everything. Furthermore, Kristine cannot control the information she does receive, and it's so garbled sometimes that she misinterprets it. Besides, you of all people should know how much Kristine guards her secrets."
Kalmia's hand tightens into a fist, but Cyrus stops her again before she can say anything. "Knowing what's happened during the past, Kristine probably wouldn't tell normal people anything until she was absolutely sure she properly understood what she saw. And even then, she would know seeing something like that would break your heart. Not to mention it might get you worked up over something that would be in the far future and might be completely unpreventable. That would give Kristine several reasons to think it would be better not to tell you."
Kalmia stutters. "But…" Cyrus cuts her off again. "I understand your concern for Zinnia and those affected by the Lost Tower vision. And I'd say your concern for the latter is valid. But in terms of Zinnia… Considering what she's done, her history with you, what she has the potential to do, and what she is suspected to have done, it may be better just to forget about her. Or at least, abandon the thought of saving her somehow. Even if you do manage to make sure she survives all this intact, she won't be the same person you knew as a child, and her reputation won't be the same, either. She'll probably spend her life locked up, if she's even deemed worthy of surviving. And if she somehow does escape punishment and try to reform, she will spend the rest of her life repenting. And that would only bring sorrow to both of you." At this point, Kalmia's voice has risen to a screech. "No! I can't abandon Zinnia! I just can't! She was my best friend when we were younger! She'll come back! She has to!" Cyrus retains his calmness as he speaks. "Just think things over, Kalmia." At that, the female leaves, and Gracie instinctively gets out of her way. After that, she heads up to speak with the man.
But before that, a bit more explanation.
So, Kalmia is an original character, or OC. However, she's based off of a concept with a canon character.
As stated much earlier on, Zinnia is meant to be a heroic character in the games, but is portrayed more like a villain. As a result, a lot of fan works and even some official interpretations do make her a villain. As mentioned before, Traveler follows suit.
But it wasn't always that way.
In very early drafts of Traveler, Zinnia was intended to be heroic. This was both to flesh out the character and to see what would happen if she was genuinely kind as she believed herself to be, and as the narrative of the original games tried to portray her. In these very early drafts, Zinnia and Kristine were close friends, sharing the same goals and dreams. Zinnia also remained by the protagonist's side no matter what, helping her even when several characters didn't, and becoming one her most stalwart allies. The two's similar ages and initial backgrounds caused them to have a lot of things in common, and as such, Zinnia's more positive traits are highlighted as she and the protagonist help each other through their issues.
But this friendship was not to be.
Upon looking at and studying Zinnia's traits in more detail, I realized it was impossible to make her a positive character without changing many aspects of her personality and background. So much of the canon character would be rewritten that Zinnia would be changed to a completely different person. In the end, the Zinnia shown in Traveler would share only her name, her appearance, her position, and some of her Pokémon with her canon counterpart. Furthermore, as the protagonist of Traveler was also being developed, I realized that if most aspects of Zinnia's canon character was kept, she and the protagonist would clash constantly. At that point, I realized having her as a completely heroic character wouldn't work, and it would make more sense to have her be villainous. Thus, this led to the final version of her character in Traveler. In there, she is not only villainous, but genuinely believes what she's doing is right, regardless of the methods used to get there. It's a much more accurate portrayal of Zinnia's character, while getting rid of some of the issues the canon portrayal had.
But then I realized that I had some wasted potential.
I still wondered what would happen if Zinnia was heroic, and sometimes regretted turning her into a villain, because I thought that idea was completely useless. However, due to Traveler's setting and Zinnia herself, I realize I couldn't use Zinnia for the idea.
But I could create another character.
So that's exactly what I did.
Kalmia was then created to serve the role of Zinnia was intended to have in Traveler's early drafts. She is meant to be a heroic character from similar circumstances to Zinna's, while not destroying the canon character's personality and having some more freedom with her own. She is much less aggressive and trigger-happy than Zinnia, but she's also less powerful, and is seen as weak by some. Additionally, Kalmia is less popular than Zinnia, despite being friendlier, more compassionate, and much more stable. This becomes an issue in her backstory. Regardless, she lacks any of the issues that Zinnia has in terms of either physical or psychological disability, but still goes through a lot nevertheless. Originally, Kalmia was intended to be Zinnia's sister, but I soon realized there would be a chance Kalmia could inherit some of the issues Zinnia had, in addition to the whole thing bringing up a lot of sibling clichés. Thus, she just has the relationship with Zinnia that she has in the final version. Originally, Kalmia's name was Orchid, in keeping with the flower motif of Zinnia and Aster. However, after researching the symbolism of the orchid, I realized it didn't fit what I wanted for Kalmia's character very well. There was also another character canonically based off of an orchid (Caitlin, someone I will get to much later), and that character fit the symbolism much better. So a different name was chosen.
As for Kalmia's backstory, she starts off as the childhood friend of Zinnia. They are both candidates for the coveted title of Lorekeeper. However, Zinnia quickly becomes more powerful, helped by being more aggressive and getting into frequent battles. Furthermore, she knows how to put on a charming act despite having some ability to manipulate, and also shows extensive knowledge of what is required for the Lorekeeper. With all of this, Zinnia becomes immensely popular with the Draconids and quite a few others. Zinnia's aggressiveness also leads to her being reckless and downright rude in many cases, such as the way she acts with the protagonist of Traveler in her current incarnation and having Aster out of wedlock without really being careful or understanding what that meant.
With all of this, Zinnia starts distancing herself from Kalmia and others that first supported her for who she originally was. Kalmia, on the other hand, is horrified by what is happening, and tries to tell her friend she is going down the wrong path, in addition to trying to help Zinnia get back to who she knew her to be. However, Zinnia doesn't listen, and with the former having so many supporters, Kalmia cannot find allies. Zinnia supporters are willing to ignore her flaws or overlook some of her more reckless actions, because of the power and popularity she displays. Kalmia, on the other hand, is no longer worthy of the Lorekeeper position, being seen as weak and cowardly. As a result, she is dropped out of the position, unable to get it no matter what. The worst of this is that Zinnia's personality comes partially from untreated behavioral issues rather than how she really thinks, leading to mental instability. Zinnia's mother, Coriander, tries to bring this up, and supports Kalmia. But she goes unheard, as the people only care about Zinnia's power and nothing more. Kalmia just removes herself from the conflict, seeing it as something not worth getting herself involved in.
Kalmia then leaves start her own journey, but faces issues due to being older (although she's not as old as the protagonist of Traveler) and her past. Eventually, she meets Traveler's protagonist and the two become friends as they journey around. Like Zinnia in her original role, the two have much in common. Additionally, the protagonist of Traveler finds herself sympathetic to Kalmia's plight. The protagonist believes that the Draconids and others who supported Zinnia were wrong for letting Zinnia get away with her behavior and seeing Kalmia's kindness as a weakness, even if the latter may be not as strong in battle.
Later on, when people who know Kalmia's history start mistreating her, the protagonist of Traveler uses her own powers to stop the mistreatment. Additionally, she scolds the others about judging someone by how powerful they are in battle, or otherwise only looking at their abilities rather than who they are as people and whether are not they are suited for their powers. This inspires Kalmia to support the protagonist when the latter requests to learn the responsibilities of and take on the role of Lorekeeper out of guilt for what happened to Zinnia. Even though Kalmia still isn't considered strong enough to become the Lorekeeper, she guides the protagonist through the training, and is happy that someone responsible can take up the position. Afterward, Kalmia finds the courage to start to try and pursue a new life away from her past. Not much is known about Kalmia otherwise at the present. However, she may wear blue or even purple to contrast with Zinnia's red. In addition, her main Pokémon may be Mega Altaria, to contrast with Zinnia's Mega Salamance.
Her name, like Zinnia and Aster's, comes from a flower. Kalmia is a flower symbolizing perseverance. It's something that fits the character's nature to keep going after what happened with her and Zinnia. It can also be given to someone as a sign of treachery. While Kalmia herself is not treacherous, it doesn't stop opponents from thinking she is. Additionally, a big part of her story is having to deal with the treachery Zinnia and others who support her leave in their wake. Depending on how one looks of that, by joining against her, she may bring treachery onto Zinnia or those that support crime. It's also worth noting that Coriander, the name of Zinnia's mother (who is never shown in the games, but Zinnia does have a grandmother) means in terms of plant symbolism, hidden worth. This is meant to symbolize how she sees the hidden worth in Kalmia and the hidden lack of worth in Zinnia. Speaking of Kalmia, it's not known what exactly happens to Kalmia in Holly Rising's timeline, since she was added late. Not to mention the protagonists there are much more ruthless and villainous than the one of Traveler overall. However, considering Kalmia no longer has the protagonist to back her up and still has many of her weaknesses without any way to work through them, it's likely she'll end up dead.
But that's enough about original characters.
Now it's time to talk about someone who's canonical.
And that someone is Cyrus.
Optional backstory reveals that Cyrus was born in the city of Sunnyshore. By speaking to his grandfather, it is also revealed that Cyrus was very good academics. However, he lacked social abilities, and preferred machines over associating with people and Pokémon. Unfortunately, his efforts were not enough for his parents, and they rejected him. Faced with his own bitter emotions and the disappointment of his parents, Cyrus believe that emotions were the source of all the ills in the world. He believed that eliminating them along with the human spirit would create a peaceful new world. Cyrus would then rule over and protect the new world as its god, ensuring that strife that like what happened to him would never occur again. His grandfather laments all this, thinking that if he had intervened, Cyrus would not have gone down the path he did.
By the time the player meets him, Cyrus has become a nihilist, not showing much emotion and otherwise being rather bitter. He is researching legendary Pokémon in various places. However, when he is doing this, he runs Team Galactic in secret and puts on a front that they are searching for alternative energy resources. However, the methods Team Galactic use to do this are questionable, putting many people in conflict with them. Meanwhile, Cyrus continues his plan to find the legendary Pokémon and their power. What he does depends on the game.
In all of the Sinnoh games, he uses the Pokémon known as the Lake Trio to create an item called the Red Chain. In Diamond, he summons a Pokémon called Dialga. In Pearl, the Pokémon is called Palkia. In Platinum, Cyrus summons both of them at the same time, but the Lake Trio appear to try and thwart him. They fail, but suddenly the Pokémon Giratina appears. Giratina takes Cyrus to a new area called the Distortion World. The Lake Trio, Cynthia, and the player soon follow. After being eventually found and being defeated in a battle, Cyrus elects to stay in the Distortion World, vowing that his plans will one day be fulfilled. Oddly enough, he cannot be found again after this, even the player enters the Distortion World a second time.
Cyrus is one of, if not my favorite, of the evil team leaders. Not only is he the first to have a complete backstory, but it also believable and can be related to. Cyrus being extremely intelligent academically but also lacking social skills is something that could happen to real life people. And just like that Cyrus, there can be consequences with family not knowing what to do. Also, just like Cyrus, there can be members of one's family who believe that even being intelligent is not enough. The resulting drive to pursue perfection can cause someone to snap, just like what happened to Cyrus. And if someone as intelligent as Cyrus is snaps, the results can be deadly. Considering Cyrus was surrounded by negative emotions or otherwise lacked understanding of them, it's no wonder that he would think they were the source of all the world's problems. And even though his methods of wanting to prevent what he had gone through hurt many people, the goal itself was not malevolent. In addition, the career of operating a business to find alternative methods of energy can easily be an honest one. All this makes Cyrus closer to a real person with visible goals than arguably any other Pokémon villain before him.
With all this, it's no wonder some fan interpretations (and even official ones) make it so that Cyrus is either redeemed or never evil. Some interpretations also pair him with Cynthia, due to their shared love of ruins, high intelligence, and power. There is also the fact that they are seen speaking together or otherwise following each other. In many interpretations, Cyrus additionally has some sort of condition that prevents him from understanding emotions fully, but whether or not that leads to his problems down the road depends. While I am not sure if Cyrus will have some sort of emotional issue, Traveler does follow suit on the other two interpretations.
Cyrus is married to Cynthia, and probably also has children. His business trying to discover alternative energy is a legitimate one, and he serves the League honorably. The issues with his family either never occurred, or got only to the point where he could work with them. It's likely the latter, due to his grandfather intervening. In very early drafts of Traveler, Cyrus was considered for the Elite Four and Champion positions, but was later replaced by someone else. It's not known if this will carry over into the final version of the story. What is known is that he met up with two other people called Malva and N. Together, the three of them became leaders of a resistance movement, a part of the League dedicated to helping wipe out criminals and keep order in the regions. Cyrus is also someone called a Vessel. A Vessel is someone that can use a legendary Pokémon's power themselves, but are also required to perform that legendary Pokémon's duties and be their eyes in the mortal world. Cyrus is the Vessel for the Lake Trio, but he has trouble controlling Mespirit, the being of emotion.
So, with Cyrus no longer the leader of Team Galactic, do they still exist?
The answer is yes, and they are led by a man named Charon.
I've talked about Charon earlier in this arc, but for the purposes of what he was going to do in Traveler, I wanted to wait until clearing up what Cyrus's role before giving more info.
Because while Cyrus is the better character, Charon is the better villain. By that, I mean it's clear what his allegiances are. While he has Cyrus's intelligence, he lacks the humanity the former has. That makes him someone the player wants to take down, as opposed to someone who's just fighting on the wrong side and that the player can never seem to reason with. All of this also makes him more suited for villainous position, and thus that's exactly what he is. In the games, he wastes no time reassembling Team Galactic after Cyrus leaves, but is stopped by Looker and the player. In addition, his plans don't really work because the remaining members of the team are still loyal to Cyrus. He also doesn't appear to have any means of battling, as Looker arrests him easily.
But what if Charon could battle, having a clear advantage over Looker? What if some of the Galactic Grunts were loyal to him, especially since Cyrus never founded the team? What if the plans did work, because Charon had intelligence and power in addition to support? What if there was the possibility that Cyrus and Charon had worked together in the past, only with Cyrus choosing to pursue honest work, and Cyrus wanting more ruthless methods? The answer to this was Charon as the evil team leader and Charon's position in Traveler. It's not known who is going to be on what side as far as the commanders go, and there may be some sort of split. Regardless, Charon is will be presented as someone much deadlier than he is in his own game.
Cyrus's specific role in Traveler overall is not known at this point. In the original drafts of Usurping, the protagonist was a bit nervous around him because of her issues with her father and his similarities to him. Since she's closer to Cynthia in the later versions, this nervousness and might not persist. Cyrus may also help her find the Lake Trio earn their power, but this is unconfirmed. It is known Holly Rising's protagonist hates him either way, due to her allegiance as well as her family problems.
As for Gracie's story, she walks up and asks Cyrus who he is. Cyrus explains his history, and what he is doing there. When Gracie shows him the Old Charm, Cyrus knows that Cynthia sent her, and replies that she is his wife. Gracie is surprised, prompting Cyrus to explain the similarities the two of them have. He offers to give Gracie a test himself, after having her be tested by several of his facilities earlier on in the run. If she passes, she can ask for even more information, and he will glean what information he can from the powers of the Lake Trio. Gracie passes this test with a battle easily.
Afterwards, she asks him what he was talking about before. He elaborates on the history of Kalmia and what she is trying to do. When Gracie mentions Kristine and the visions, he asks her if she's ever heard of the prophet Cassandra. Gracie is confused, shaking her head no. Cyrus then goes on to explain that the prophet Cassandra was cursed by the gods in that she would always have accurate visions but no one would ever believe her. Cyrus then goes on to say Kristine is much the same way, and Gracie is confused as to how.
Cyrus continues, explaining that Kristine also receives visions and omens, but hardly anyone believes them. Gracie immediately wonders why, as psychics and other people that have visions are not that uncommon. Cyrus explains that Kristine has visions different from what a typical psychic or any other person with the power would have. Additionally, the means of her having visions and what she looks like when she's having one is unusual. Finally, Kristine exudes no magical power that can be used, at least, not to a normal person or anyone that doesn't know her more personally. So people thought she was faking the visions or otherwise crazy. Eventually, Kristine decided not to talk to anyone about her visions, aside from those that were closest to her, if even then. This is despite the fact that her visions have saved many lives, and have otherwise benefited many people. It may be also the reason why she refuses to go into supernatural power training, since doing so would mean having more visions, and everything that came with them. Gracie thinks that's horrible, but Cyrus shakes his head and says it doesn't end there.
Even before Kristine's visions were more well-known, people still thought she was crazy. Since people with Kristine's condition often have cognitive disadvantages, people believed she couldn't think for herself. People thought she was gullible and docile, when in reality, she is anything but. However, that belief still damaged her reputation, and continues to do so. That's because many people believe she was brainwashed or otherwise manipulated into supporting the League, and that she needs to be freed from her captors.
Gracie throws up her hands. She yells loudly, believing that's absurd and still asking why. Cyrus simply continues explaining. Kristine was trained by Blue, Giselle, and others that were high-ranking members of the League. So it's believed that one of them could've easily influenced her, since she was the age of a normal Trainer when starting with them. The League knew of Kristine's power early on, so some people tried to recruit her. There was the idea that Kristine was didn't know she was brainwashed and the League only wanted her for her power. What those people don't realize is that Kristine's first recorded encounter involving someone from the League's was actually against a particularly aggressive recruiter, and she chose Blue and Gisele as her mentors herself. Every other decision, she's had a direct hand in, and has made it clear that nothing is to be done without her consent, else she forces it undone. Gracie simply looks down, wondering what tale to believe.
Cyrus notices her expression, and says that she still wants her promised information. With that, he concentrates, and Gracie can feel intense psychic energy. Before Gracie can inquire about what's happening, Cyrus speaks in what appears to be a chorus of voices. Gracie shivers as Cyrus states, "The gods notice something is happening. What they are noticing is the one that pushes their powers to the absolute limit." Gracie shouts, "That could be anyone!" She gasps, wondering if she committed blasphemy by interrupting. All of a sudden, the energy fades and Cyrus returns to normal. When he speaks, his voice softens. "I know, and I'm sorry. But that is the only information the Lake Trio has chosen to share with me. I wish I could tell you more." Gracie nods, responding. "Don't worry. You've done more than enough." With that, the two say farewell, and Gracie leaves.
With that, this chapter comes to its conclusion! A very story focused update, and a longer one, but contains some of the biggest adaptations in the series. Next one probably won't have as much story or adaptations, as I approach the last quarter of the region…