Chapter Six: Interview
With Every Legend, There's a Beginning
The wind wisped around me and cradled me in its chilly, nighttime embrace. I shivered a bit as I walked in the darkness. I clutched the flashlight that was leading me on tightly and wished I had dressed just a little warmer. The beach breeze was comfortingly cool when the warmth of the sun was beaming down on you. At night, however, the breeze was cold.
I already missed the smell of salt in the air and the bits of sand beneath my feet. But a new smell flooded the area around me. It was woody and fresh. The perfect forest breeze that Celestic lacked. No matter how far you go into the forest it doesn't smell this fresh and woody. Maybe because the trees there are usually a yellow-brown color not this deep-dark green.
The sky above me was a black blanket with only a few twinkles of stars. When Celestic wasn't overcast, you could see almost every star up there. It was unreal. One of the perks of living on a mountain.
We had finished training my Snorlax-Gible with progress made. Rowan made his level-guess of fourteen, but I shot it down. My Pokémon wasn't level fourteen.
He really isn't a professor. I had thought when he said that. He's a fake. My Gible is not that high in levels!
So, to prove his point, he told me to call off a few moves. "Sand-Attack!" I commanded. After a few tries, Gible protruded an inch of sand, proving that she at least knew the move and we would work on it.
Rowan also figured out that she didn't know the move Growl, she just liked to growl at people. That proved that 'she is high in levels' or so Rowan said. I rolled my eyes.
He told me to call of Dragon Rage, and at first I refused. "My Pokémon doesn't know that good a move or she would have tried to use it on me like she did with Tackle." I stated with my arms crossed over my chest.
"Not if she's just lazy and hadn't worked with the move in her time." He shot back. "Just call it before I do." That last part sounded like something Ember would have said.
"Dragon Rage, now!" I yelled in anger to my Pokémon who started to doze off. She jumped up, turned toward a huge tree, opened her mouth, and let the smallest ember of blue stuff out. It was so small it evaporated before making it to the tree that was five feet away.
"That doesn't mean she knows it." I muttered.
"Oh, yes it does Miss Cynthia. No Pokémon can just use a move. They have to learn it by nature. Its instinct, you know."
So with that, that proved that she was at least level seven. I believed that. Seven was a good number and we would work with that.
"So she's level seven." I had said.
"No. She's most likely past level ten. Just look at her size." He pointed to her head. "If she wasn't below level ten, her head wouldn't be this big."
"It's big no matter what." I rolled my eyes at the Pokémon. She growled.
Rowan ignored me and pointed to her teeth. "See those? Those are nice and sharp. Level ten teeth, my dear."
"She's not that high in levels, I tell you! Grandfather wouldn't have given me such a great Pokémon as my first Pokémon."
"He wouldn't? That's what he would do, in my opinion. Anyways, he found this Pokémon most likely in Wayward Cave. In there, it has been proven, that there is a Gible nest. All Gible are around level fifteen that aren't in the back of the newly born section. If there is a newly born section. What I'm getting at, Miss Cynthia, is that Winnie would have had to battle the angry mother Garchomp, and win, to get to her nest and catch a Pokémon. Like all dragon dens it's made up in sections, probably with the level tens and under in the back where they most likely won't get hurt, and the other in the front ready for a fight. Do you think Winnie would really give you a weak Pokémon? If he thought what I'm thinking, he thought about getting you the Garchomp, because you are more than ready for the responsibility."
I was silent for a moment. Thinking this through. He could have me beat by the logic, but I know my Pokémon. "Still. She's so stubborn she probably wasn't 'in the back' she probably escaped the den, if there was one." I countered. I returned my Pokémon and put her in my bag. He didn't say anything else. I smiled in victory.
My smile returned on my face as I focused back on where I was. We stopped training when the sun had set so it had gotten really late and really dark. One thing I noticed about this path was that Pokémon didn't linger around and yet there were no electric fences or giant walls. There were no walls or fences in Sandgem either. I questioned Rowan on this.
"Well, I guess they felt no need for security. Maybe because I live in that town." That's not it. I thought. I decided this was good time to talk to Rowan about his thoughts on Lea. More dirt to throw at Ember later.
"Hey, Rowan—"
"Halt!" Someone yelled. Three guards ran to us. One grabbed me from behind and the other two surrounded the professor.
"Where do ya think you're goin'?" One asked.
"To Jubilife, mind you." Rowan said. He started to walk forward. The guards stepped closer.
"No you ain't. You're turnin' back to where you came from."
"And no one gets hurt." The one who had me said.
I started to struggle.
"Watch it!" He yelled. "I have the power to take your life right now, missy!"
"Listen, we don't want trouble." Rowan said. "We have a trainer here who wants to challenge Oreburgh. I, being Jerry Rowan, wanted to escort her. What's the problem with that?"
The guard in front of him scoffed. "Whatever Oldie Von Quack, you ain't goin' nowhere tonight. Don't ya know anythin'? Can't be on this route after sunset. Boss' orders. Yeah, ya heard me, my boss is Lea. I can report to him and have you arrested."
"Yeah, arrested." The other one said. "A-r-e-s, uhh, yeah, arrested!"
"What are you talking about? Why not?" I yelled.
"Well the little girl gotta voice." My guard tightened his grip around my shoulders.
"So why don't you be a pretty little princess and shut up?"
"Okay then we'll make our way back to Sandgem. But I assure you, I'm Sinnoh's Professor, anyone is safe with me." Rowan said.
"Sinnoh's what? How do we know you ain't lying?"
"He is lying, dopey!" My guard screamed. "Just arrest him already! This girl is struggling and I'm ready to leave!"
"All right, all right!" The guard grabbed Rowan. "Listen Buck, you're comin' with me for breakin' the law!"
Rowan pushed the guard away. "No, you listen to me, I have more right then you to escort a trainer on a route that's perfectly safe!"
"Oh yeah? Says who? Now, I'm going to arrest ya just 'cause I don't like ya!" Both guards grabbed Rowan and started pulling him down the route. My guard started pulling me too.
What can I do? Gible is in my bag, I can't reach her! The guard had my arms in front of me. I'm not strong enough for this guard, and I hope Rowan gives up on trying to talk us out, I don't have a chance at talking us out since I'm so aggravated I would end up getting myself killed… I hung my head. I was helpless.
There was nothing I could do, no hope at all. Unless Rowan was thinking of something. But he seemed helpless too.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something. I flicked my eyes over in the direction and turned my head just slightly. Champ, Rowans Staraptor, had come down from his glide in the sky and was flying in the shadows of the forest. A smile tugged at my lips. He was hope.
Just then Champ turned and hit both my guard and one of Rowan's guards with a light Wing Attack. The Staraptor kept on flying at a low-fly into the woods.
"Get 'im!" One guard yelled. They all dropped us and ran after the Pokémon in the woods.
Rowan silently chuckled. "Good boy, Champ!" He cheered.
I laughed. "Wow. Those guards are such morons they probably won't even come looking for us later."
"You're probably right!" He laughed good-heartedly.
"So, what now? Do we go back to Sandgem?" I asked.
"I don't see why we can't continue. Law or no law we're almost there. Let's go." We picked up our flashlights that had been dropped to the ground. Rowan took the lead and we got back on track to Jubilife.
After probably an hour or so we came upon a huge white building, just like the one to get into Hearthrome. Then it hit me: I'm probably a fugitive in Hearthrome, a wanted escapee. My heart race increased and my feet became glued to the ground.
"What is it? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"No, no. No ghosts." I said. I bit my lip. "I'll be fine." I continued walking forward. There was the Golden City logo on the building. Under the logo there was a guard who had fallen asleep.
"Hey, Rowan," I whispered. "Won't the guards in there arrest us for being on that route?"
He thought for a moment. "Probably not. It looks like it's naptime for these guards."
We walked into the building. It was a similar scene from Hearthrome's gate. A weird looking man sat half-asleep at the desk, and another man stood off to the left waiting for you to walk through the doorway-thing. We approached the desk.
"Hello welcome to Jubilife what may I do for you?" He grumbled. I could hardly make out what he was saying.
"We would simply like to get in." Rowan said. And like the lady in Hearthrome, this man laughed.
"Okay. That's rich." He said. "Letting someone in at night that doesn't have appointments or anything? Do you not know the Golden City laws, my good sir? Maybe you don't. You cannot get into Hearthrome without an appointment, you cannot get into Jubilife at night without appointment. We're all too happy to let you in during daylight, but nighttime-" He wiggled his finger in front of his face and shook his head no.
"We don't have an appointment?" Rowan stroked his chin in thought. "Oh I could have sworn we did. Oh now what was it?" He snapped his fingers. "Oh! I remember. This lady would like to become a trainer!" He motioned towards me. I had no idea where he was going with this. I just fake smiled and nodded my head. "We wanted to stay the night in Jubilife and get the interview early tomorrow morning. That won't be a problem, right?" He asked.
The man gave us an aggravated look. "Okay, fine, just this once, you hear?" We nodded.
The man grabbed our hands quickly and poked us with the needle. He smeared the blood on forms. "Names. Yours first." He pointed a pencil at Rowan.
"Professor Jerry Rowan." He said. The man wrote the down on the form and started taping at his odd, flat device.
"J-e-r-r-y R-o-w—Oh! Here we are." Something popped up on the screen. "Mr. Sinnoh Professor, you're done." He pointed to the doorway. Rowan walked over there.
My stomach became in knots. What if they discover I'm an escapee right there? My stomach turned.
"Name, please?" He asked aggravated.
"Cynthia," I paused.
"I need more." He scoffed.
"Cynthia Everheart." I choked out.
He typed in a few letters and poked the thing that popped up. A weird expression went over his face. He shot me a weird look. "There is record of you entering Hearthrome from Solaceon, but there is no record of you leaving." He placed his hands under his chin and prepared to listen to me.
I struggled to think of something. Anything, Cynthia! Anything! I thought of something, but it was very farfetched.
"Oh, really? That's silly because, as it happens, I did leave Hearthrome. You see, I had a check-up at Hearthrome's huge, and very nice, Pokémon Center one day. But after my check-up I left back to Solaceon." I shrugged. "I don't know what happened there then."
"If you went back to Solaceon, how did you get here? You came from Sandgem, and there is no way to get to Sandgem except for going through Jubilife from Route 204. Or coming from Hearthrome."
"Right. You see, Rowan was a good friend of my grandfather, and because my grandfather isn't alive anymore, he wanted to come and help me become a trainer. He flew to Solaceon and took me back to his lab in Sandgem." I smiled.
The man was still looking at me weird. "Whatever, girly. I don't want to deal with you, so just go." He stood up quickly. "But if I hear anything strange about you, I'll report you."
"And I promise you won't hear anything strange." I said dryly as I walked to the doorway. I stepped through and it gave a good beep. The man there nodded. I walked to the back of the building and approached Rowan. Thankfully, he hadn't heard any of that.
"What took you so long?" He asked.
"It was just a mix-up. Apparently, the last time I was here, there's no record of me leaving." I shrugged. "It's all fixed now."
"Good. Ready?" I nodded and we walked through the door.
A fast wind came through and made me shiver. I was almost blinded by the city lights that lit up Jubilife like its daytime. Many people roamed the streets. It was set up a lot like Hearthrome. Huge walls outlining the city, tall buildings everywhere, and everyone wore the 'Golden City' look.
Rowan led the way down the large street. At the end of the street was a huge Pokémon Center. The center was a complete replica of the one in Hearthrome. I handed Gible to the pink-haired nurse and walked over to the large sofa in the lobby. Rowan sat and waited with me.
No one else was around in the Center; in fact only one nurse was working. Well, since its Jubilife, who needs Pokémon? At least in Hearthrome you need them for contests. I thought. It was true, no one needed them.
I relaxed in the overstuffed couch and yawned. I was very tired. I think I went into a weird mode where I couldn't process anything and put my emotions away in the back of my mind and locked them there. I didn't really realize I was in Jubilife. I didn't realize that I was becoming a trainer. I didn't realize that soon I would be known to Sinnoh. I was just distant.
"Are you ready to become a trainer?" Rowan asked all of a sudden.
I was taken aback by this. I didn't want to answer this question, wasn't it obvious I didn't know? "I think so." I said. I bit my lip. Did I think so? I wasn't sure.
"You think so?" He echoed. I nodded. "Miss Cynthia, you have to make up your mind before tomorrow."
"I don't know, okay?" I shot at him. "I don't know if I'm ready or if I'm making the right choice, okay? What do you want me to say? 'Oh most certainly Professor, I'm ready to run away from everything and become a trainer and start challenging gyms and become somebody'?"
"Haven't you already run away from everything?" He challenged.
I processed his words as best as I could in my sleeping-mode. "No, I don't think so…"
"You don't think so? Are those your favorite words? You've been so sure of everything, why do you doubt now?"
"I don't know!" I yelled. I stood up. "I just don't know, okay? Let me have time to think and get your nose away from me!" I stomped out of the room and up to the nurse behind the counter.
"Is my Pokémon ready yet?" I asked her irritated.
She walked into the room behind her and came back out with my Pokéball in hand. She handed the ball to me. "Your Pokémon is doing well. Do you also want a room, miss?"
"Yes." I thought about asking for another one for Rowan, but he was a grown man, he could get it himself. She handed me a room key.
"Top floor. Third room on the right, very easy to find."
She was right, the room was easy to find. I opened my door and walked in. The room was probably as big as Sake's house. And it had its own bathroom. Relief hit me like a rock and I sat my black bag down. I went into the bathroom and smiled at the shower. I quickly went to it a reached for the handle to turn on the rushing water, but something stopped me. There were two handles. I cocked my head and looked closer. Both looked exactly the same, but one had a cursive 'C' and the other an 'H'. Of course, I forgot, the Golden Cities had both cold and hot running water.
After a quick shower and raking a brush through my hair, I put on my favorite pair of pajama pants and a fresh t-shirt, I climbed into the bed. I was pleasantly surprised to find the bed had nice silk sheets. The leaves around my elbow didn't survive the shower so I had to do without. As long as the elbow wasn't completely straight, it didn't hurt as much. I sighed happily and relaxed.
A few thoughts like 'are you ready? 'Are you sure you're ready?' and 'you've made the wrong choice and you have left your grandmother alone!' scampered into my mind. But I swatted them away. Now was not the time to think these things. I need to get a good night's rest, then tomorrow have a nice breakfast, then go to my interview and see what happens from then on. I thought.
I sighed again and set my mind to rest. I was too tired now to try to process my emotions; I would just have to wait. I told myself that over and over again as I fell into oblivion…
I awoke the next morning feeling very refreshed. After dressing, brushing my hair, brushing my teeth with the toothbrush the Center provided, and relaxing in my room for a bit, I went down to the lobby in hopes to find food. I was overly starved. My stomach ached with hatred since it hadn't been fed in, how long? Who knows?
I reached the lobby and my hopes vanished. No food. Just Rowan.
"Good morning, Cynthia. I see you slept in. So did I." He said as he approached. "We just missed the breakfast tray. But I found out that there is a restaurant near here. Right next-door, I believe." I was amazed at how he was just ignoring the fact I yelled at him and stomped away. I was relieved.
"That will be fine. Let's go."
We walked to the building next door. It was a nice restaurant. The walls were made of glass and there were flowers everywhere. We sat at a table in the front. I didn't want to go in, and I guessed Rowan didn't want to either. Our waitress came by and took our orders. We both ordered a muffin and water.
The day was sunny, only a few clouds lingered in the heavens. The sun was as bright as ever. It beamed on us all happily.
It was a perfect day. If you weren't in a Golden City. It made me sick, actually. I hated sitting at this table because I knew that Lea had favored this place over every other town. Trust me; it looked like no one here was starving. I thought of Sake and Ellena. They were starving. Maybe Sake's last meal was with me, and maybe she would go a few more days without food. Hopefully not, but, when you live in poverty you lose those luxuries.
I looked up at the sky. I saw a bird gently gliding along. "Hey… Is that Champ?" I pointed to the bird.
Rowan chuckled. "Yes that is. I would know that crafty bird anywhere. He's just up there having a good time, isn't he?"
I nodded. I decided it was now or never to talk to Rowan about Lea, since he was leaving as soon as I have my interview. "Rowan?" I looked at the older man.
"Yes?"
"What do you think about Lea?" I know I couldn't be blunter, but what else was I supposed to say?
"Champion Lea?" I nodded. He thought for a moment. "Well, I think my thoughts on him are extremely bias, Miss Cynthia."
"Does that mean you do not like him, or you do like him?" I scooted to the end of my seat, ready for him to feed me things that I could spit on Ember.
"I do not like his decisions, I have nothing against him. I think Pokémon should be treated as partners or pets, not slaves." My respect for him rose. Just above 'Oldie Von Quack' as a guard called him earlier. Now it's resting at about 'Fake Professor.'
"Well I do not care for him in any way." I shrugged. "He's an unfair person and he is a horrible person." I said emotionlessly.
"I wouldn't go that far. He's made mistakes, haven't we all?"
"But he's the champion, people depend on him. People are going into starvation. People who aren't in the Golden Cities, I mean. People in Celestic. Sometime we go to bed hungry. I'm sure you have, too. Or do you get funds from Lea, too?"
He blinked. He processed my rant. "Yes, people are starving. I do go to bed hungry sometime, and no, I don't have any funds coming in." I expected him to add 'from Lea' to the end of that, but he stopped.
"You know, other regions are doing fine. They are normal. You know why? Because they don't have Lea as a champion. Lea has ruined everything here. Allowing non-vegetarianism, creating the Golden Cities, favoring towns over others, forcing people to work and everything else he has done." I ranted.
"I don't think its Lea's fault Sinnoh has become this way." Rowan said.
"Then why are we like this, Rowan? Why are we in ruins? Except for here, obviously. Why?"
"I have a theory." He leaned forward, ready to lecture me. "You see, I have studied the history of the regions for many years when I was a lab tech, but recently I revisited those old books. I realized that we have record of explorers discovering, Johto, Hoenn, even Unova, and a few other far away regions, but we have no records of finding Kanto and Sinnoh. Can you believe that? Maybe it was so long ago that all history of those days has been lost in time, but still, it's possible that Sinnoh is the oldest region. Do you know what that means? That means that of course we would be the first ones to go into ruins. Correct? I think so! Also, in an old book that's located in Canalave, it is said that most of the planet was swallowed up by water. That's why the world is made up of so much water and the regions are all, mostly, large islands. Can you imagine? Being swallowed up by water! I would think that would knock out most of the population of the world." He leaned back on his chair.
"That makes sense." I said. "But, still, we need a champion who can line everything back up. And Lea isn't doing that."
He nodded. "Maybe. Has it ever occurred to you that Sinnoh cannot be helped?"
I drew my eyebrows together and stared at him. "No. Sinnoh can be helped. It would take a lot of work…"
"More than a lot of work. The person who even tries to become Champion would have to bring it out of the odd financial distress. And no champion, at least recently in Sinnoh, has ever made the financial problems one hundred percent."
"What about Annie?" I asked. "She seemed like a good champion."
"Annie was good, temporarily. I couldn't see her lasting. Not only because of her Pokémon, just because of the way she had run things. When Annie left the League, the financial problems had started increasing." Our waters and muffins came. But all of a sudden I wasn't hungry.
"In what way? Did she create the Golden Cities?"
"No, she didn't. But, because she was from Eterna, she was giving them a good load of money. Eterna was just like Celestic a long time ago. Except in the middle of the forest. Eterna Forest used to be Eterna, don't you know. But then with the money they were getting in, they were able to chop half of the forest off and build a nice town. They would have been even greater if Annie hadn't had been beaten by Lea. Eterna would have been a Golden City." He took a bite of his muffin. "Almost all champions have done this. They contribute to their hometown. That's why I think Sinnoh is better off having temporary champions. Maybe for a year. And then another one comes in. You see what I mean, Cynthia?"
I did. He meant that all champions make that mistake, and someone needs to just level it out completely. If I become the champion, I need to not favorite Celestic. I thought.
I took a bite of my muffin and drank some water. I really was starving. I ate my muffin quickly and gulped my drink. After we finished eating Rowan paid for my breakfast and we started walking into the city.
"I need to write Grandmother." I said. "Do you know where the post office is?"
"I saw it yesterday, its right around the corner."
We walked to the post office. He walked in with me, which made me feel a little more comfortable. My last post office experience wasn't the best.
A lady walked up to me. She had on a yellow dress and way too much makeup. "Here you go." She said. She handed me a piece of paper and a pen. I quickly wrote a letter to Grandmother. I told her I was in Jubilife with Rowan and that I was on my way to becoming a trainer. I gave the note to the lady and she put it in a slot. With that, she walked away. That was the rudeness of the Golden City people. I shook my head and walked out.
We went towards the television studio. It was the biggest building I had ever seen. It was so tall and so large; a million people could fit in that building.
When we walked in it took my breath away. The floors were made of marble and stone ran up the wall. At the back of the room a small waterfall spouted out the wall and into an indoor pond. There was a huge desk with a few secretaries hastily writing things and talking to the few people standing around the desk.
All of a sudden, it hit me that I was about to start my journey. I turned to Rowan. "What's going to happen now?" I asked. My heart rate increased.
"What do you mean? You're going to be interviewed and become a trainer."
"But… But… Rowan, Gible isn't ready to battle yet! And she hates me!"
"No, she doesn't, and yes, she is ready. Level fourteen is a good level to battle Byron. Don't worry so much, Miss Cynthia. You'll have time to train, and even catch a Pokémon before your first battle. They'll be fair."
I scoffed. "Them? Fair? Please."
"I mean it." He said sternly. "Now, let's get to your interview." I nodded.
We walked to the desk. The lady there had just finished a conversation with someone else. I was surprised when she looked normal. Except for her unnaturally red hair.
"Can I help you?" She asked. I could detect the fake sweetness seeping between her fake smiles.
"Yes you can. This lady here would like a trainer interview." Rowan said.
The lady seemed surprised. "Really?"
"Yes. Is now a good time?"
"Perfect timing, actually." She stood up. "We'll postpone tonight's news a bit, and squeeze you in. Ready?"
I nodded. My throat had dried out. She led me to the weirdest thing I had ever laid eyes on. It was two metal doors that slid open, and revealed a small room. But when we walked in, the doors closed and the room started levitating up. I grabbed the handle bars behind me. "What is this?" I shrieked.
"It's an elevator." The red-haired woman said. She cocked her head at me. "You didn't know what this was?"
I shook my head. "No! Why are we in one?"
"It's quicker than stairs." I heard a faint 'ding.' "Here we are." The doors slid open and I stepped out unsteadily.
The room we walked into was a big studio. There was an overstuffed couch and an office chair. I recognized the area. That was the interview chairs.
A group of people ran over to us. The lady quickly explained that I had an interview. The group approached me.
"Hello there, we'll be prepping you for the televised interview. I'm Constance. This is the studio team. We're not sure when Maxina will arrive though. But, until then, come with us." Constance? Maxina? Uhg, the names of these weirdoes. I thought. She led me into a large room. There was a large mirror and a table and chair. She sat me on the chair and grabbed a few items off the table. Two women, both a few years older than me, started brushing through my hair. Constance started commanding them things, but I didn't really understand. She would point to a section of my hair and say stuff like 'twist this then braid and clip and make it flow down like this and curl the ends.' She started examining my face as she barked commands to them.
"Now, once after you get you prepped you're going to go straight to your interview, okay? Maxina will be one of your two interviewers. You'll have simple questions. Just have a clear head and don't say anything stupid, okay? I'll be right back to do your makeup. I have to go get your outfit." She scurried away. I looked in the mirror at myself. My hair was being transformed by the two ladies. One of the women was a brunet who wore little to no clothes. She had on the shortest dress I had ever seen. The other woman had blue hair in a pixie cut. She wore all black with black eye shadow and lipstick to match.
Constance came back in with a big, orange dress in her hands. "Look at this gem I found!" She held it up so we could see. The two ladies doing my hair squealed in their Golden City accent at the dress, but I was silent. The dress was awful.
"Do I have to wear that?" I asked.
"What? Little Miss No-Color-Who-Only-Wears-Black-And-White is scared of orange?"
I glared at her. "It's way too big and puffy."
She rolled her eyes. "I'll be back." She stomped out of the room. She came back in with a long, slim blue dress. "You're wearing this Missy. It's perfect and goes with your eyes. We won't even have to use contacts." She smiled happily. Her Golden accent was at its finest in the first sentence. 'You're vering zis, Mizzay.' It was so fake it stung.
She put the dress on a rack and came back over to me. "Now about your face…" She grabbed some makeup and started rubbing creams and brushing powders on my face. I was scared. I didn't want to look like one of these Golden City ladies. Constance was blocking my view of the mirror, so I couldn't even see myself.
I zoned out as the three women around me made comments about me like I wasn't even there. "Her skin tone is like paste." One said. "Her hair is so thick. We should do something to make it silkier." I heard a comment as one of the girls twirled a brush around my hair. "Such great color. Is this natural?"
"Of course it is, what else would it be?" I snapped. A wig? Hair dye?
They squealed with delight. I did have a voice. They started asking me questions. "Where are you from?" "What hair products do you use?" "Don't you just love being in a Golden City?" But I didn't answer these. Why would I? They were pointless. These people were strangers. I would keep it that way.
They continued twirling things around my hair and making comments. I didn't listen to them. I tuned out. I had learned how to from my years in Celestic. Thoughts of my tiny cabin with the clear sapphire pond and Jamie and Ember stumbled through my thoughts. I smiled. What if they saw me like this? No one really used cosmetics at home. Maybe Bianca. But before she moved back to Celestic she said she lived in the 'city.' She could have lived in the Golden Cities. Or Eterna, Sunyshore, or anywhere else that's considered a city. Makeup was hard to come by at home. The shop owners did have a few 'luxuries' that we didn't have. Lilliana wore glasses. Bianca had some makeup and nicer clothes. Clarice had toys that the other kids couldn't dream about having. In all of that, the Sketchits stayed humble. That doesn't mean they're rich. They just could have that stuff.
The torture continued for another hour. Finally, Constance moved away from my face and the two behind me stopped working on my hair.
I stood up and looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was curled and placed on the top of my head. A braid wrapped around the side of my head. It didn't look bad, actually. My face wasn't horrific, either. It was re-shaded with rouge and creams. My lips were extra pink, but that was all.
"Don't you love it? Even spending such a short time with you I knew that you would be happy about the little makeup thing. It goes with your plane dress, too. Ready to put it on?" Constance asked.
I nodded. I stripped and quickly put on the dress. I had to mind my elbow, which was still sensitive. I didn't even look in the mirror. Honestly, I didn't want to look. Being in a dress was bad enough.
I walked back out to the studio room. Rowan wasn't there. I guessed he left. I shrugged, it didn't matter. Constance led me to the overstuffed sofa and sat me down. "Maxina will be here shortly. I hope you're ready." Her voice was extra high-pitched now.
I sat there for a few moments after Constance left. Then, a girl in a large pink dress and outrageous pink curls came trotting into the room. "I'm here!" She announced. A large group of people flocked her. Constance applied a bit of makeup to her already shaded face and she came over to her.
"Hello, hello! I'm Maxina. You are?" Her accent was insane. Her voice so high-itched she basically sang with everything she said. She held her hand out to me.
"I'm Cynthia Everheart." I didn't shake her hand. She waited a moment before her grin disappeared and she sat next to me.
A man, one a recognized from the news, came and sat in the office chair. "Are you ladies ready?" He asked. The male Golden accent was just a smooth voice with some prolonging of letters. Like the 's' for instance, it came out a hiss.
I nodded.
"Oh most certainly." Maxina said. Her perkiness gave me a headache.
Cameramen circled around us. One man came over to the set. "Ready in three, two, one."
"Hello there everyone, thanks for tuning in I'm Steven here with the one and only Maxina and, you guessed it, a trainer here for her interview." He looked at me. "Now, tell everyone your name."
"I'm Cynthia Everheart." I smashed my lips together and smiled.
"Where are you from, Cynthia?"
"Celestic."
"Oh wow, quite a ways away." He commented. "Did it take long to get here?"
"Yes it took a while." I smiled more sweetly. "But it was worth it."
"Oh, yes I bet it is." Steven said.
"Are you excited about becoming a trainer?" Maxina asked.
"Of course!" I lied. Now I had fake perkiness. "I've really always wanted something to do with Pokémon, and I thought it was time to become a trainer." I did my best fake girly giggle. It didn't sound too good, but luckily Steven moved right along.
"So do you have anyone rooting for you in Celestic?" Maxina asked.
"Yes, my grandmother and friends." I answered.
"Want to say anything to them before we leave?" Steven added.
"Actually, yes, I would." I turned toward one of the cameras. "Friends and family, I will make you proud."
"And with that, goodnight Sinnoh!" Steven smiled before the man yelled 'cut.'
"You're a natural, Celia." Maxina said as she stood up from the couch.
"Cynthia." I corrected. I got up and walked over to Constance. "What now?" I asked.
"You get to stay in one of the luxury rooms for the night, and then in the morning I'll talk to you about your first gym battle in Oreburgh."
"About that, will you guys follow me to every gym?" I asked as we walked back into the dressing room.
"Oh no, just to gym number one. We have to take you there by underground train, since you can't get there any other, safe, way." I loved how she added the 'safe' there.
I nodded. Good. I already can't stand these people. I changed back into my clothes and grabbed my bag. Constance took my up another level in the elevator and escorted me to my room. She opened the door and led me in.
The room was as big as my house. A huge bed, a kitchen area and a living room.
"Alright, here you are. In the bathroom there's a tray of shampoos, bath beads, soaps and things. Someone will bring you dinner in a bit and tomorrow morning I'll be here to wake you up. Would you like anything now?"
"Maybe a pitcher of cold water." I said. She nodded and closed the door. I explored. The living area had a bunch of potted, fake, plants. I scoffed at them. "Too rich to get something real, I see." I murmured.
I walked into the bathroom and took a quick shower using one of the hair lotions. It made my hair very soft and it smelled very woody. After, I sat on the sofa and turned on the huge flat screen television. While I was showering my water came. I poured myself a glass. The news had just come back on from a commercial. Nothing interesting. Just talking about weird whether habits on the other side of Sinnoh. I zoned out, maybe even fell asleep on the large sofa. A knock on the door made me jump.
I walked across the room and opened the door. Rowan was standing there. "Hello." He greeted.
"Hi." I made a gesture telling him to come in. He didn't.
"I wanted to bring you something before you started challenging gyms and such." The weird pouch that he tried to hide from me was in his hand. "And before I left back to Sandgem. I believe that, if Winnie was around, he would help you catch Pokémon and teach you more and does all that stuff. I feel as though I owe him something… I owe you something. So, as a parting gift, this is yours." He handed the giant pouch to me. I took it from him. It was surprisingly heavy. I looked inside. I was stunned.
I looked up at him. "Why?" I asked. Why did he give me this? Why does he owe me? I thought.
He sighed. "Winnie would, right? It's not much… It will take a while for it to hatch, and then it will be level one. Easy to get up to about, I'd say, level ten before it actually gets difficult. But a Pokémon is a Pokémon nonetheless."
I nodded. "Thanks. This means a lot to me. I'm going to have to catch a Pokémon tomorrow. Any tips?" I just asked so I wouldn't seem too much like a jerk.
"Make sure you ask to catch one here. In Oreburgh you'll only catch a Geodude or some other weak Pokémon. A water type would do you great, do you have a fishing pole? Maybe you could catch a Magikarp. Anything will do, really. When you train, make sure you work on Sand-Attack and Dragon Rage. Okay?"
"Sounds good." I said. Even though I didn't have a fishing pole.
"Alright, goodbye, Miss Cynthia." He smiled thinly.
"Goodbye Rowan."
He disappeared down the hallway and I closed the door. I pulled out the Pokémon egg and smiled at it. "Well, Little Egg, what are you hiding in there?" I put it back in the pouch and nestled it on the couch. I relaxed back in the overstuffed cushions. The news had gone off, but something news related played all the time. Now, slow music played in the background and all the news articles rolled down the screen.
I read some aloud. "Lea announces Sunyshore's black trade market has been taken care of. Lea announces that the attackers have been taken care of. Lea announces that the Pikachu attack in Pastoria is nothing to worry about. Lea announces…" And I went on. Nothing interesting.
I laid awake in my bed for what felt like hours. My heart was pounding against my ribcage. Attendants had brought up dinner, but I was turned away fast when something on the tray caught my eye. It was brown, stringy and covered in sauce. I normally wasn't picky about what I ate, but I got a bad feeling about this. I studied it as it twirled around my fork. Then, with a gasp, I threw the fork across the giant room. It was Pokémon meat.
My stomach churned and I curled up in my huge bed and cried. I never really cried about things, and it wasn't really the meat that I was crying over, it was just everything. Where was I? Jubilife. I cringed at the word. I became very angry at the thought of it.
Hot tears spilled over my eyelids and unto my pillow. Even though I was doing what I thought I wanted, I wasn't happy. I don't know what brought on this sudden outburst, considering that I had shut my emotions away and never, ever wanted to see them again.
My life was upside down, and it would never be the same. My life would be full-force starting the next day. The thing is... did I have what it takes to be the champion? Rowan himself said that he thinks champions should be temporary. The strange thought of 'would Lea be a better than I?' Crawled into my thoughts. I actually laughed. Gible would be a better champion then him. A smile tugged on my lips as I relaxed in my bed. A few last tears rolled past my lips.
Still, I was in a weird place. I didn't have a solution for my problem other than store my emotions in a faraway place forevermore. So I did. I stuck them away and lied to myself (I thought of myself as a good liar) until my exhaustion took me away.