CHAPTER 1

A/N:

The second update is here! If you noticed, I've changed the rating for this story from K+ to T. I decided that this story would fit that rating, especially with how I plan to proceed with the plot from now on. But if there is ever a chapter that warrants something higher, I promise to place a warning.

Such as this chapter.

THIS CHAPTER MAY CONTAIN EXPLICIT AND/OR SUGGESTIVE THEMES.

Cynthia rode on Garchomp's back as the Pokémon flew at a constant speed towards Jubilife City. They had been in flight for half an hour now. Normally, Cynthia would opt to drive back home. Jubilife was only an hour's drive from Celestic Town where she had spent most of her day doing research.

She would only call on Garchomp whenever she had to go back home from the League. However, this day felt like one of those days. Her mind and body were too exhausted to even have the patience to be stuck in traffic. Besides, the dual dragon/ground type loved to take flight during the night. It was the one time of the day when people took least notice of their surroundings. Many are either too tired from the day's activities or are intent on getting back home before dinner. This meant that Garchomp could fly freely without calling too much attention to itself or its trainer. After all, Cynthia was the Sinnoh Champion. Attention to her often extended to her team of six, especially her ace.

Cynthia readjusted herself in a more comfortable position before looking down below. It was nighttime and the urban lights provided the much-needed illumination to the city. From above, the scenery looked like a constellation on earth's ground.

"We're almost there, Garchomp," said Cynthia as she carefully tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Gar!," replied the Pokémon.

"How about we land on the rooftop. I'm not really in the mood to greet people on the front entrance for now," Cynthia suggested. And she wasn't lying. She wanted to reach home with as little exchange with people as she can. She didn't want to fake her expressions and greetings. No, Cynthia was too sincere for that.

In a few minutes, Cynthia saw the towering structure of the Jubilife condominium. She felt her Garchomp descend slightly before landing on solid ground at the rooftop.

"Looks like some of the neighbors did laundry," She noted as some of the clothesline had blankets hanged as they swayed slightly in the wind.

Recalling Garchomp, Cynthia slowly made her way to a door that would lead to a set of stairs. As usual, she would have to descend by feet until the 20th floor where her unit was located. Before she could reach for the handle, she heard a man's voice from behind.

"Busy day, Champ?" said a man.

"Wha- Oh! Goodevening, Alfred. I didn't see you there," she replied.

The man was sitting on a stool and holding a small canvas. The old man had a habit of painting the Jubilife cityscape in different styles. It was always the same subject, but with different depictions of the scenery. Cynthia wondered sometimes if he ever runs out of ideas on how to uniquely paint the city every time. Maybe painters had a gift that allowed them to see a subject in different perspectives, hence the seemingly unlimited impressions. It's like in archaeology, only it was less personal since the perspectives belong to historical individuals.

"Not aware of your surroundings? That doesn't sound like you, Champ. Must've been another exhausting day, eh?" said Alfred as he began to perform different strokes with his paintbrush.

"Yeah," she replied in a tired tone.

"We've all been there. Luckily, we get to go home to our families at the end of the day. Seeing them just lifts all the stress away." Alfred said, "Better get going then. Some rest will do you good,"

"Thanks. Have a nice evening, Alfred," Cynthia replied. Soon, she began to descend the stairs. She sighed internally, knowing that it was 10 floors away.

After a few minutes, Cynthia finally stood in front of her unit's door. She took a key card out of her bag before tapping it on the reader. A beep was heard, followed by a click. She pushed down on the handle and silently entered inside. As she closed the door, she noticed a familiar pair of leather shoes on the shoe rack.

He's home early, Cynthia thought.

Making her way to the living room, she was about to make her presence known before she heard someone speaking.

"Come on. Say 'Dada'. DA-DAAA," a man said gently.

Cynthia was amused and slowly peeked into the living room while keeping herself hidden behind the wall. She saw her husband facing away from her direction and lying down on the sofa. Their 1-year old daughter sat on top of his stomach, little hands held by her father to prevent her from falling.

"Why won't you say dada? You said mama the other day," he said in a childish voice.

Cynthia covered her mouth to suppress a chuckle. Without seeing his face, she could already see her husband pouting in front of their daughter.

An idea came into mind and Cynthia quickly fished her phone from her bag and started to record what unfolded before her. She couldn't help but smile at the scene. This was one of the moments when her husband would show a side of himself that only his parents, her, and their daughter would witness.

Outside the confines of home, her husband Steven carried himself with great dignity and pride. He is solitary with a bit of humorous side. However, he never showed weakness to other people. Being the former Hoenn Champion and current President of Devon Corporation's Sinnoh Branch, Steven believes that unwavering strength is part of the job. However, Cynthia knew otherwise. She was a witness to his failures, downfalls, and struggles. She had been there every step of the way just as he had been for her throughout the years.

"Just one time, come on. You can do it. Say Da-da," Steven said, snapping Cynthia out of her trance. However, Garnet simply stared blankly at her father. Blinking once, the toddler tried to lay down on her father's chest.

"Aaaahhhmamm," her small voice babbled.

"No, a hug isn't going to suffice, Garnet," Steven said as he carefully held Garnet by her sides to prevent her from falling due to her kicking. Eventually, she was able to lay down on her stomach, on top of her father's chest.

Garnet looked at Steven with big, wide eyes. Steven looked back with an unamused expression. Ice blue eyes to ice blue eyes stared at each other for a few moments.

"Nnnggg Hehehe" Garnet giggled.

"All right, you win this time," Steven couldn't help but chuckle and wrapped both arms around the girl to lock her in an embrace.

Garnet's attention went to the figure that emerged from the wall. "Ma-Ma!" she cried happily.

"Okay you don't have to rub it in. It's obvious that you have your favorites," Steven said.

"Overdramatic,"

Hearing this, Steven looked behind him and saw his wife walking into the living room.

"Cynthia! How long have you been there?" he asked, sitting up slowly while still holding Garnet in an embrace. The baby made happy gurgling sounds as she tried to outstretch her arms to her mother.

"Just early enough to hear your little conversation," Cynthia replied, picking up Garnet when Steven passed the baby to her.

"I-uhhh," Steven said awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head. "Anyway, did you and your Pokémon eat already? I finished some paper works early at Devon today, but I was hoping we'd eat dinner together so I waited a bit,"

"Wait, Garnet hasn't eaten yet?" she asked.

"Kayla fed her before going home," he replied. Kayla was Garnet's babysitter that the family hired from babysitting services. Ever since Garnet could crawl, he and his wife decided that they can no longer ask friends and family members to babysit for them. Their busy schedules meant that a regular babysitter was needed. Thankfully, Kayla was someone they could trust as she was the niece of Cynthia's close friend back in Celestic Town.

"I see. My Pokemon already ate before I went home," Cynthia said. She set Garnet down on the carpet in front of the television when the baby started to fuss and repeatedly pointed at the screen. "Alright you can watch some Pokemon battles, but only until me and dada finished eating, okay?" Then, Cynthia reached for a Pokeball to call on Roserade.

"Roserade, could you watch over her while we eat dinner?" she asked.

"Rose!" Then, the Pokemon happily sat beside Garnet who was engrossed in watching a Ninetails and Mightyena clash in battle.

"What do you want for dinner? I came home first, so that means I'll do the cooking," said a voice as Cynthia entered the kitchen.

"Can we just have the leftover spaghetti from this morning?" she answered. With no further reply, Steven took two large bowls from the fridge and started to reheat the extra sauce and spaghetti on the stove. As he did, he noticed his wife leaning on the counter and staring blankly at the countertop, brows furrowed in concentration.

Steven knew that her mind was elsewhere. "Did something come up in your research today?", he asked.

"It's actually the opposite. We're at a dead end," She replied, "All those weeks. Wasted. I thought we were finally near to decoding those stone tablets," exhaustion was evident in her voice and features.

He knew exactly what she was referring to. It was the exact same topic they had spoken over dinner for weeks on end. To hear that Cynthia and everyone involved in the research had been unsuccessful only meant that it was back to square one. Even for him and his team.

Yes, he was also involved in this.

"I'll call Riley and Roark's units tomorrow. They need to know it's time to pack up for the mean time," he said after a few minutes.

"I'm sorry. This is the third time around."

"Don't be, Cynth. We're all doing our best and I'm sure the excavation team understands the situation," Steven replied as he placed the spaghetti on two plates before serving them to the dinner table. He leaned in to give his wife a kiss on the cheeks. "I forgot to tell you. Welcome home, and please don't send that video to my father. I won't hear the end of it,"

Cynthia simply chuckled before taking a bite of the reheated spaghetti.

After half an hour, Cynthia and Steven emerged from the kitchen. They were immediately met with a sleeping Garnet on the sofa, with Roserade sitting beside her. The television program that Garnet was watching earlier seemed to have ended as evidenced by several eeveelutions dancing on screen.

Roserade turned its attention to the couple who entered the living room. "Rose," it said in a low and somewhat sleepy tone.

"It is getting late. Thank you for watching over her, Roserade," Cynthia answered in a whisper. She took a Pokéball from her belt and recalled the Pokémon. The sound caused Garnet to slightly stir before letting out little cries.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" Cynthia cooed as she picked up the toddler. She brushed some steel blue hair away from her daughter's face. In response, Garnet rubbed one eye with her little hand before resting her head on her mother's shoulder. "I'll tuck her in. You can go and get ready for bed if you want," Cynthia said to her husband who was watching them with a small smile.

"Alright," he replied, the smile never leaving his face even as he went to the direction of their bedroom.

"Steven? Are you asleep?"

"Not yet. Is something wrong?" the man replied.

They were currently in bed, having retired for the night about an hour ago. However, sleep did not seem to arrive for either of them despite their tiring day.

"I was thinking. Could you remind me why we are doing all of this again? You know, the research and excavation stuff. I feel like I've lost motivation after failing three times in a row now," she said, resting her head on her husband's chest.

"Really? I thought I managed to clear your mind a bit after that steamy lovemaking we had in the shower earlier," he playfully replied with a smirk.

That earned him a light slap on the arm by his wife. However, he did take notice of the light blush on her face.

"Alright, let's see. We are doing this because the events from 5 years ago has left more questions than answers. It also revealed something about those, uhm, 'individuals with special abilities' that we would have never thought was possible. Also, that 'Man' and his motives are still a mystery. What we do know is that it has something to do with the world, but that's as far as we've got at the moment. Unless we find the answers to these questions, we don't know what the future truly has in store. All of us who were involved in the infiltration managed to convince the world that everything is back to normal, but is it really? The moment we all decided to conceal the truth meant that we've shouldered the responsibility for the matter. I think it's the reason why we all feel weighed down to this day. We may have continued on with our lives, but there is unfinished business to take care of," Steven explained. As he did, he realized how his hand tightened around his wife. He loved how she provided him a sense of comfort with just her presence.

Wait, had he been tensed while talking? Apparently so, because Cynthia had moved her hand from his chest to his torso. They were now in a cuddling position.

"You know, I suddenly thought of Garnet. Maybe a part of me wants to finish this responsibility not only due to what you said, but because I want her to have a secured future. The next generation deserves to live peacefully. Our generation, the current one, and our predecessors have all fought to attain peace in the past. Heck, every reigning champion had to resolve some sort of regional conflict that threatened to destroy the world. You were a champion too before giving your position to Wallace, so you know what I'm talking about, right?" Cynthia said.

Steven simply nodded. As a Champion, he once had to deal with two criminal organizations in his region alone. That and the event concerning the large meteor that almost crashed on earth. "It kind of makes you think when all of it would end. In an ideal world, probably. I just hope that if ever Garnet chooses to become a trainer one day, she wouldn't have to be burdened by these kinds of matters. But that's just me dreaming. Conflict and struggles are a part of life, and such experiences often build a person,"

"Best we can do is to raise her well so she would grow into a strong-willed person with a steadfast heart," she replied. "Thanks, Steven. I think I can sleep soundly now,"

"I can't. I'm not tired enough. That steamy moment we had in the shower made me more energized," he replied suggestively as his hand slowly snaked under her nightgown.

"If you want to get tired, go do some push ups on the floor. A little exercise should do th—" Cynthia let out a squeal as Steven suddenly moved on top of her.

"I have another kind of 'exercise' in mind, but it would have to involve the two of us," he whispered seductively into her ear.

Cynthia couldn't help but squirm slightly under him. His right hand kept caressing her soft skin, roaming the curves of her body. After a few moments, she replied, "Maybe you're right. We're not tired enough for sleep. Let's see that exercise routine you got there, Mr. Stone,"

"My pleasure, Mrs. Stone," Steven said before capturing his wife's lips with his.

And that's the end for Chapter 1. What was this event from 5 years ago that Cynthia and Steven talked about? You'll find out in the succeeding chapters I plan to reveal "things" gradually. So please don't give up on this story yet. It's going to be a long ride before we reach the point in the prologue. I already know how I want this story to end despite only beginning to write it. I feel that the ending would feel rushed if you don't feel connected enough with the characters.

If you've noticed, I made some references in the manga and ORAS regarding the meteor. Don't worry, it doesn't have a huge impact on the story in case you are not aware of it.

Also, I've actually written this in parts. After accomplishing some requirements in university throughout the day, I spend at least an hour before going to bed to continue the story. That means there may be times when I am too sleepy to notice some errors.

Still, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.