Chapter 4.
The next day
Cynthia decided to call Tobias, who had just finished contacting the aforementioned people. Most of them seemed very willing to combine their efforts and protect the Legendaries and Mythicals that they knew.
"Tobias, could you please arrive to the Sinnoh League for further preparations? I will tell the front office to let you through."
Tobias responded on his Xtranceiver. "Yes, Cynthia. I will head there post-haste. As much as beating the Elite Four members as a warm-up would be, that would be very useful. Thank you, Cynthia!"
In strode Tobias, with his crimson cape. He would normally have parted others before him, but no one else was there. Cynthia greeted him.
"Good morning, Tobias. Let's do this."
They walked into Cynthia's battle room. This room was grayish-white with a circular design with two green rings separated by a reddish-brown ring in the center of the room. Four emitters lined the corners of this room.
Tobias spoke first, "I've trained tirelessly ever since that day. The day you told me I relied too heavily on power and not enough on finesse."
He sent out Latios. Cynthia sent out her Garchomp, and a battle begun.
Tobias yelled, "Latios, use Dragon Pulse!"
Latios started with a Dragon Pulse, which Garchomp dodged narrowly.
Cynthia responded, "Garchomp, use Outrage!"
Garchomp used Outrage and flew at Latios. Twice, Garchomp missed, but the third usage of Outrage destroyed Latios, Latios fainted immediately.
Tobias seemed barely fazed by the fainting of Latios. He recalled it, then spoke.
"Very good, Champion Cynthia."
Tobias sent out Darkrai, which screeched as it entered the arena.
"Go, Darkrai."
Cynthia answered, "Garchomp, Mega Evolve"!
Darkrai fired an Ice Beam which Garchomp had avoided with some difficulty. Garchomp then used Earthquake, shaking the arena floor. Earthquake would have done major damage to Darkrai had it not started to float above the shockwaves. Darkrai fired a Dark Pulse at Garchomp, which barely missed. Garchomp then used Sandstorm, triggering its Sand Force ability and raising the power of some of its moves.
Tobias stated, "Darkrai, use Dark Void! Make a barrier with it."
Darkrai fired the Dark Void projectiles in a ring-shaped formation around it. Black orbs hung in the air.
Cynthia seemed unfazed. "Garchomp, use Draco Meteor!"
Garchomp used Draco Meteor. This move would have knocked out Darkrai had it hit. Darkrai dodged all the meteorites, then fired a Dark Pulse, which hit Garchomp for some damage. Garchomp retaliated with Outrage, doing almost three-quarters of Darkrai's health.
Tobias and Darkrai seemed to be sharing one mind at this point. Cynthia had not seen something like that since Ash and his Greninja…
Outrage prevented Cynthia from switching Garchomp. Tobias smiled as he commanded Darkrai to continue dodging the Outrage, and Garchomp hit one of the Dark Void projectiles on the ground. It fell asleep instantly. Bad Dreams from Darkrai kicked in, further damaging Garchomp. Garchomp woke up immediately, only to be blasted in the head by Ice beam, fainting it. Unfortunately for Tobias, Darkrai was at such low health that sandstorm damage fainted it as well.
Cynthia remarked, "So you've improved. This is starting to get fun. But this battle has only just begun. I'm having fun here. You are a much better challenge than the last ten people I have defeated without breaking a sweat."
Tobias responded, "Master-level trainers like us rarely find worthy opposition. Last I checked the power standings were 1. You. 2. Me. 3. Leon. 4. Lance. 5. Red. 6. Steven. 7. Raihan. 8. Wally?"
Cynthia, the Sinnoh League Champion, claimed, "You are right. One of the perils of greatness is boredom. Trainers all over the world 'want to be the very best, like no one ever was', but what do you do when you have reached that peak? Where to next?
Cynthia brought out Lucario. Tobias decided to switch in Shaymin-Sky.
Tobias stated, "Shaymin-Sky, use Air Slash!"
Shaymin-Sky used Air Slash and fired straight at Lucario, who dodged by a hair. Lucario fired out a Flash Cannon, which Shaymin-Sky had ducked under.
Cynthia saw that trying to hit Shaymin-Sky using range attacks from the ground from Lucario seemed pointless. "Lucario, use Extreme Speed"
Lucario used Extreme Speed, hitting Shaymin-Sky with high priority, and before the flier could avoid the attack, bringing Shaymin-Sky to about 60% health.
Tobias commanded, "Shaymin-Sky, use Seed Flare"
Seed Flare hit Lucario in the air, where it had difficulty dodging. While Seed Flare was not very effective, it heavily reduced Lucario's special defense.
Lucario tumbled to the ground after Seed Flare struck it.
Tobias ordered Shaymin-Sky to use Air Slash on Lucario when it had hit the ground. A direct hit ensued, and Lucario flinched. Shaymin-Sky used Air Slash a second time, fainting Lucario. This, however, came at a cost. Shaymin-Sky had taken heavy damage from Dragon Pulse, Extreme Speed, and Flash Cannon, and the sandstorm. . Shaymin-Sky was at 10% or less of its health,
Cynthia sent out Spiritomb.
She called, "Spiritomb, use Sucker Punch!"
Spiritomb fainted Shaymin-Sky with Sucker Punch, using the enhanced priority to get the jump on the otherwise-faster Shaymin-Sky.
Tobias, once again, seemed unperturbed.
"Go, Heatran."
Heatran jumped out of its ball and crawled towards Spiritomb.
"Heatran, Magma Storm!"
"Spiritomb, Shadow Ball."
Both moves hit their targets. Spiritomb found itself enveloped in the flames while Heatran slid backwards after Shadow Ball struck it. Every turn, Spiritomb would take damage from the Magma Storm. Heatran took 25% damage, while Spiritomb took 45%, and more from the aftereffects.
Tobias seized his advantage. "Heatran, use Flash Cannon!"
"Spiritomb, use Dark Pulse."
Heatran took another 25% from Dark Pulse, while Spiritomb took about 40%. The lingering damage that turn fainted Spiritomb.
Cynthia did not depart from her usual elegant tone.
"Go, Milotic. Use Surf!"
Milotic used Surf, fainting Heatran instantly.
Tobias responded. "Hmm. Go, Rayquaza. Mega Evolve now. "
Rayquaza emerged from its ball. It spiraled toward the top of the room and transformed into its Mega form.
Tobias seemed ready to finish this battle. "Rayquaza, Dragon Ascent"!
Rayquaza destroyed Milotic with one strike from Dragon Ascent. Milotic fainted instantly.
Cynthia sent out Togekiss.
"Rayquaza, Dragon Ascent!"
Rayquaza roared, then struck Togekiss faster than it could react.
"Togekiss, Air Slash"
Togekiss took 70% from Dragon Ascent, and Rayquaza took about 40% from Air Slash.
"Go, Roserade!"
Rayquaza defeated Roserade with one use of Dragon Ascent.
Tobias claimed, "I guess we are 1 for 1 here".
Cynthia responded, "I think we should get our teams even stronger. This battle helped, but there is always more training. There is always an opportunity to get stronger."
"Thanks, Cynthia. You are the only one who can stand up to me effectively. Speaking of which, I have to tell you something."
"Yes?"
"For my entire life, I felt like no one really trusted me, or respected me, besides you."
"…"
"I'm always thinking about you. One of the reasons I wanted to become who I am today, is because of you. Seeing your accomplishments made me pursue the highest possible strength my team could reach."
Cynthia responded, "When one life meets another life, something will be born."