A Champion Time


Cynthia sat stiffly behind her desk, looking down at her Poketch with a gaze intense enough to stop a rampaging Tauros on its tracks. Time was running out. A decision had to be made.

"AAAAAAGH!"

After a few more seconds of contemplation she yelled out, throwing both hands up in the air as she leaned back on her chair. Noria, her Espeon, jumped at the sound, the fur on her back standing on end. At her side, a book fell from its shelf due to the small, panicked release of psychic energy.

The Champion office was mostly bare, with the exception of a couple potted plants, a small bookshelf and the golden Champion trophy standing behind her like a sun, eclipsing her in its light. She'd never found the time or energy to decorate this place. She spent so little time here, after all.

"Ah, sorry, Noria." The Espeon frowned at her, letting out a hiss before curling herself into a ball once more. "It's just… agh! It's my day off and I don't know who to challenge!"

Another hiss, even more pronounced this time. Of course, despite being the ones who actually did the battling, every one of her Pokemon with the exception of Lorencia was tired to death of hearing the same thing over and over. But what was she to do? It wasn't her fault there were only a handful of trainers in the world strong enough to challenge her. And it also wasn't… well, it might have been her fault that a good percentage of said trainers had gotten sick of her calling them up for fights every week or so.

"There has to be someone," she muttered angrily to herself, tapping her foot under the desk. "Let's try calling Steven again."

Her Poketch beeped for almost half a minute before her call was answered. Steven Stone's voice came loud and clear from the other side, and for a moment Cynthia felt excitement build up inside her. That is, until she actually heard the words he said.

"You have reached Steven Stone's voicemail. Unfortunately, at the moment I am not available for interviews, challenges from other Champions or any other affair, professional or otherwise. Leave a voice message, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Cynthia felt herself deflate, her back slowly sliding down the chair as she sighed.

"Figured. Same as bef–"

She paused, eyes narrowing.

"Hold on… that part about challenges from other Champions wasn't there last time I called."

Just then, she heard a muffled 'Oh crap' at the other side, followed by a beep denoting that the call had been ended.

"Ugh… Maybe I have been challenging him too many times lately," she mused. "But am I really to blame? That Metragross of him is one of the only Pokemon I've seen that can compete with Lorencia!"

Noria let out a purr from where she was resting, one which Cynthia interpreted as 'You're talking to yourself again'.

"But who else is there?" she wondered, shaking her head sadly. "Iris? Oh but I'm sure she's got her hands full preparing for the world tournament next year. Hmm… I guess I could always call Lance. But he's just…" She straightened up in her chair, raising both hands in front of her in frustration. "Like, we get it man, you like dragons! You don't have to be so smug about it and flaunt that gaudy cape of yours everywhere you go. Why can't you just be like Iris?"

"Eoony!" purred Noria, lazily looking up at her.

"Ah… Yeah, there's Diantha, but…" Cynthia rubbed the back of her neck, scrunching up her face. "Things between us are… It's just awkward."

"Onyy?"

"What? No, we weren't… a thing. I don't like people saying that." She shook her head. "We just… clicked for a while, and then we didn't, just like that. I'm guessing she's still angry at me." She rested her face in her palm. "How was I supposed to know that offering to train with her so she became a better challenge for me would offend her like that? No, that wasn't the only reason I became close with her, but… She should've known. I saw her as a good challenge, nothing more. It's not my fault she misinterpreted what our relationship was about."

At this point Cynthia knew she was just trying to convince herself. Yes, perhaps she hadn't handled that situation with as much tact as she could have, but still. Why did people make such a fuzz about settling down together? She couldn't think of something more boring than that.

"And Leon is, of course, too damn far away for me to bother," she continued, letting out another sigh. "What to do, what to d–"

The door flew open, and from it appeared Lucian, one of her Elite Four, sporting one of the grumpiest expressions she'd seen from him yet. And that was saying something. He walked toward her desk proudly, chin up, holding a small stack of papers under his arm.

Cynthia beamed at his presence.

"If it isn't the man of the hour!" she exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "Did you bring me what I asked for, Lucian?"

The man let out a prissy scoff, disapproval clear in every inch of his face.

"You know, if you're really this bored, I could easily think of at least ten different ways you could help me or the Association," he said. "How about looking over those papers I sent you last week?"

Cynthia simply laughed. "Come now, Lucian, what kind of sad creature would spend their day off working?"

"Someone with the barest sense of responsibility, perhaps," he whispered to himself. "In any case… yes I did some investigating, and I believe I've come across Alder's current whereabouts."

She did a quick exhale, curling her fingers in excitement. "Yes! Great job, Lucian!"

At least ten seconds passed in silence with Cynthia extending her arm out to Lucian and him not moving an inch. Her smile dropped after the sixth one.

"Are you… going to give me that information?"

The biggest shit-eating grin spread across Lucian's face.

"You specifically only asked me to gather this information, so… no."

He turned around and began heading for the door.

"Wh– Hey, come on Lucian!"

"That will teach you to whisk me away from my job for such pointless reasons," Lucian muttered to himself. "I'm sorry, dear Champion, but you really should learn to–"

However, before he could finish his sentence or leave the room, the door flew open once again, almost hitting him in the face. Lucian glared at the Association employee that came through. Cynthia, on the other hand, looked up with hope in her eyes.

"I… Ah, sorry, Chief Lucian!" The girl shrunk into herself at the sight of him. She was carrying a small tablet in her hands. "Er…"

"Speak," ordered Cynthia. "You can ignore that one's grumpiness."

"Hmph."

"I… of course, miss Champion." The girl cleared her throat, then looked down at her tablet. "Er… I've been looking at the news and forums just like you instructed me, and I think I found something!"

Lucian sharply turned to Cynthia. "You've been using our employees for what?"

"I believe I found the current whereabouts of trainers Red and Blue, miss!"

It felt as though the air had been sucked from the room. Even Noria stopped and looked up from her nap, picking up the sudden spike of surprise and tension in the room.

Lucian sighed, hiding his face in one of his palms. "Here we go…"

The room felt as though it grew hotter, or perhaps that was just Cynthia. The storm behind her eyes flashed ominously, a sudden spike of energy rushing through her veins, making her skin itch uncomfortably. The corners of her lips quirked up, and the entire world felt the weight of her smile.

"Where?" she asked, almost hungrily.

"I… well…" The girl seemed to shiver at the sound of her voice. "It appears… They're spending some vacation time in Alola. Poni Island, if I'm not mistaken."

Cynthia was moving before she'd even finished her sentence. With a flick of her right hand she returned Noria to her Pokeball, while with the other one she grabbed onto Devias' Pokeball. Going around the pedestal holding the golden trophy, she threw the curtains behind it open and almost kicked the windows open with how excited she was feeling.

"You know," Lucian said from behind her. "Usually people don't appreciate being stalked and harassed during their vacation."

Light exploded outside the window, taking on the form of Devias, her Togekiss. Cynthia placed a foot on the sill.

"Do you have any idea how hard those two are to find?" she said. "Like hell I'm letting them go so easily."

And with that, she jumped off the window. For a second, nothing happened. Then a blurry white figure flew up in a flash, Cynthia sitting on her back, and let behind a sonic boom behind it as it disappeared through the horizon.

Inside the office, Lucian sighed again.

"Call Sarah for me, would you?" he asked the girl. "Looks like we'll be splitting the Champion's work between us for another week."