Chapter Forty-one: Waterfall

The Next Step

The sound of the bathroom door squeaking open woke me. It was unusually cold in my room, I guessed that Grandmother hadn't even got the fire going. The fire warmed the whole house, at least somewhat. I yawned and turned on my side. I disrupted both Thumper and Roserade, who both raided my bed. "You guys do know this is a twin-size, right?" Roserade made a gurgle noise and I pushed her off the bed. She jumped up and glared at me. Garchomp, who sat at the foot of my bed, let out a dragon laugh. I laughed, too. "I guess that means it's time to get up." I stood up and stretched. Cold hit me like a brick. A brick filled with ice cubes. I found my old, three-sizes-too-big sweatshirt and pulled it over my head. It was Grandfathers favorite sweatshirt, that's why I kept it. When I was feeling really down, I would put on one of my father's tees and my grandfather's sweatshirt. It just made me feel better.

I walked out of my room and walked into the living room. I could hear the shower running. I put some pellets in the fireplace and warmed up next to it. Then I decided to make breakfast for Grandmother and I. On her birthday I would always wake up early and make breakfast, and since I would be leaving for the League today, I wanted to do something special for her.

I fumbled around looking for things. The day before I collected a good bit of berries from my berry bush and brought them in, so I decided to mash them up for jam. I started mashing. Then, I found some bread. I toasted it and spread the berry jam over it with the last bit of butter from our cupboard. The other day Jamie made some juice for us, so I got two cups of juice. All in all, we had toast and jam with berries on the side, juice, and two pancakes each. How I found all the items to make pancakes beat me, but that didn't matter. When Grandmother came out, she was so pleased with the sight. She sat down and ate breakfast with me. Yes, I did know that it could have been the last time we had breakfast like this…Who knew what all would change.

"Are you nervous?" Grandmother asked in-between bites.

"Yes." I admitted. "But I'm also excited and happy."

"That's good." She smiled. "Everyone here has been talking about you challenging the League, it's wild."

"Yeah? That is kind of crazy." I started to say something else, but someone started banging on the door. Grandmother scurried up and over. She started to open the door, but the person stormed in and almost knocked her over.

Isis, Ember's mother, held up a piece of paper. "I got a letter from Ember!" She yelled. She was crying and grinning.

Grandmother composed herself. "That's great!"

"That's really great, Misses Isis." I said. I hadn't told anyone about my meeting with Ember.

Isis wiped her face with her hand. She lifted the paper up to her face and started to read. "Dear Mom and Dad, I'm safe and in Eterna City. I'm staying with a friend here. I'm working, eating and staying under a roof. The people here are great, everything's very different from Celestic. I'm sorry I stormed off, it was very wrong of me. I was confused, but things are clear to me now. I can't come home just yet. Please try to understand. Just trust me. I'll be home soon, hopefully. Don't worry too much about me, I'm doing good. Love, Ember." Tears started streaming down her face again. "Donald is going to start heading over there today. He's going to get our son and bring him home." The last few words were hardly audible.

"Oh, Isis, do you think that's really a good idea?" Grandmother asked. She sat Isis down on the sofa. I was glad Grandmother was going to talk her out of it. Ember was hiding from The Callousen, and getting up the courage to come home and apologize. He would come home when he was ready.

"Carolina, I know you're trying to help, but as a parent I need to see my son again. I had thought the worst! I miss him and so does Don. We want him home."

"No one understands missing their children better than I do, believe me, but he needed his space. He's only now realizing he was wrong. Just give him his space, he will come home, I promise."

"How can you be so sure? He's been gone more than a month! I thought he was…Was…" She put her head in her hands weeping.

Grandmother put her hand on her shoulder for comfort. "I know. But you don't want to make him feel…Smothered. Let him come to you."

After a few minutes, Isis took Grandmothers words to heart. She didn't say she was going to tell Donald not to leave, but she did consider it. She said her goodbyes and left, and Grandmother and I went back to breakfast. We enjoyed our meal with pleasant small talk, and then I went to packing. A week at home was nice, but I was ready to get back out there. My Pokémon had improved so much; I was ready to show off their new strengths.

Grandmother sat on my bed while I packed, and she talked to me about random things. She seemed sad, and that made me sad. But I had to leave. She knew that. I knew that.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked to the front door. Grandmother pushed my loose hairs that had fallen from my bun behind my ears. "What Winnie would say now." She smiled. "He would be the proudest man alive. Much like I am the proudest woman alive." We walked outside. I released Thumper. I turned towards Grandmother.

"Grandmother…Thank you for…Everything." Tears stung my eyes. I took her into an embrace. Maybe tomorrow I would beat the League. If I did, I wouldn't live here anymore. I wouldn't have Grandmother looking after me anymore. Currently she wasn't really looking after me, but there was some part of me that still knew Grandmother was parenting me still. But if I lived at the League, she really wouldn't be looking after me. That hurt, but also excited me. Growing up was…Well, a big deal.

I broke the hug. We hugged for a while, but it didn't feel like enough. "Stay safe." She told me, and I nodded. "I love you Cynthia."

"I love you Grandmother." I held the tears back. I got on Thumper. "Goodbye, I'll see you as soon as I can."

"Goodbye." She held back her tears, too. And I knew we both wanted to cry. This was different then the first time I left.

I didn't wait any longer. I soared up into the sky. And as soon as I was out of sight, I shed a few tears. I'm sure Grandmother did the same. But as quickly as I shed them, I stopped. And excitement took its place.

Later that day, I arrived on the outer beach. It was a perfect beach day, so it was full of families and kids. The shore wasn't as appealing when it was full of people. So I kept walking into town. The smell was delightfully salty and, at the same, fresh. I made my way to the Center and got my room. Unfortunately, I didn't get my ocean view room. But the room was good nonetheless. I sat my stuff down and sat on the bed. I contemplated visiting Volkner, but decided against it.

I clicked the television on. Just in time for Jubilife News. Great. A bad windstorm hit Sandgem, not a lot of damage, but a few trees fell over. Lea put the lakes on extra lockdown, and the anchors had theories to discuss. Then, the topic changed to me. That was a bit weird, but I guess I should have been used to it. They talked about how sources said I arrived in Sunyshore, and that meant I was going to head to the League. Well, at least they were accurate one time.

A few hours passed. I got dinner from the Mart and took a long shower. I curled up in bed, most of my Pokémon hanging out in my bedroom, and looked at the ceiling. Tomorrow, everything will change.

I woke up a bit earlier then I had been. Excitement filled my stomach. I was actually excited about having these battles. Nervousness was there, too, but excitement was definitely a card being played. I put on a grey tee and jeans, and threw my hair into a tight bun. "Roserade, how do I look?" I asked, although I couldn't care less. She made a positive noise, so I took that as "You look great, Cynthia."

I returned all my Pokémon and ran down to the lobby and grabbed breakfast. While I was eating, someone approached me. I should have guessed he'd come see me before I left.

Volkner smirked. "Hey." He sat down at my table.

"Hey." I greeted.

"Leaving today?"

"I was going to take off as soon as I was done."

He took a deep breath. "You're going to do great, you know that, right?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah I know."

He slightly laughed. "You'll have to visit me."

"I'm sure we'll see each other. A gym leader and a champion must meet some, right?"

"Not Lea's way, but, with your way…Sure." He said.

"So what do you do with yourself? Just wait for challengers to come by? Maybe train a little here and there? What?" I was curious. It seemed like a good time to ask.

Volkner shrugged. "My reason for life changes. One day it's because I wanted to pursue training, the next day it was because I wanted to be a gym leader, the next day it was because I wanted to learn more and more about Pokémon."

I wasn't sure how I felt about those answers. "And what's your reasoning for life today?" I popped a berry in my mouth.

He thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. Maybe it's waiting around for something amazing to happen."

I shrugged. "That seems like an okay reason." I lied, I didn't like that answer.

"Yeah, not as fulfilling as it could be. But it's something."

I nodded and stared at my empty plate. Time to go. I looked at Volkner. He smirked. "Good luck, Champion. Us gym leaders are cheering you on. I'll be cheering you on."

"Thank you, Volky." I grinned and stood up, he did the same.

"Anytime, Miss Cynthia." We walked out to the back beach. I looked out towards the water. I couldn't see anything but water for miles.

"My destination is out there, right?"

"Yep. The big ugly League set on top of a waterfall." He sighed. "You're really going? Do you want to back out? We could go to Hearthrome and buy big wigs and live surreptitious lives as Goldens."

I laughed. The thought of that was humorous. Me in a big wig was an awful thought. A big, pink wig, with curls and bows. Volkner would have a green wig, since that was the more manly color. It would lay to his shoulders and flip out on the ends. I would have to wear a big puffy dress. Pink, to match my hair, most likely. With ruffles overflowing and lace everywhere. He would have to wear one of those weird suits, with the pants that came to the knee, but white stockings underneath. And a bowtie, to tie it in. My face would be covered in makeup so no one would recognize me. I laughed again. "No. I'm going. I'm gone." I looked at him. He didn't have anything to say. I released Thumper and got on him. "See you." I smirked.

"Bye, Miss Cynthia."

Thumper and I took off in the skies. It looked like water for miles, but I knew I would reach my destination soon.

The waterfall was huge. You could barely hear yourself think when next to the roaring waters. You could see the League, sitting on the mountain. It was huge, too. Much bigger than I expected. It stood five stories tall, at least. And it was long. Maybe four gyms long, and just as wide. The grey bricks reminded me of what lines Canalave. It was completely reconstructed since Lea took charge. Every window was stain glass, with a different picture in each. The front door was a huge, wooden, medieval door. The building looked terrifying. Maybe that was Lea's point? Probably. It wasn't just scary, it was magnificent. Huge and beautiful, in its own way.

I stood in front of the door. I pushed it open. There were a few people standing around. Guards, of course. It was a small room. Well, small for the size of the building. It was the size of a Center lobby, which it was. It was done up to look just like one. But on one side, a Center counter stood, and on the other a Mart counter stood. It wasn't what I really expected, but it was better than walking into a dungeon, like I somewhat expected.

Locus Lane stood up from the far corner, where the average lobby was set up, with tacky sofas and a television. He was grinning. "Cynthia Everheart!" What is he doing here?! I thought. "Surprised, huh?" He chuckled.

I put on a smile. "Locus Lane." I decided to address him by his full name, it was more fitting then just Locus.

"To answer your unspoken question, I'm here to interview you before the challenge. I interviewed Lea, too. That's when they anointed me the Before Champion Challenge Interviewer." He flashed another smile.

"Alright. Let's do it." A camera crew stood a few feet away.

Someone handed him a microphone. Another person took my bag away, pulled my hair from a bun so it hung down, and quickly put powder on my forehead. All before I could react. Professionals, what are you going to do. Locus put his arm around my shoulder and whispered "Smile." I smiled just as the red camera light came on.

"Hello Sinnoh, Locus Lane here with the beautiful Cynthia Everheart. We are here at the League, before the battle we've all been waiting for begins." He looked at me. "Cynthia, darling, do tell, what are you feeling right now?"

"Anticipation, excitement, some nervousness. But I'm prepared and ready." I said, my voice clear and steady.

"Just as I suspected. Lea is probably feeling the same way. So are the Elites, but secretly, I feel like you won't have a problem going through them." He shook his head. In the back of my mind I wondered why he talked like the Elites were nothing. "Cynthia, sweetheart, what is the first thing you'll do if you accept the Championship?"

"That's a hard question." I thought for a moment. "Probably celebrate with my friends and family."

"I'm glad to hear that, because we in Hearthrome are going to throw you a grand dinner and dance, and since we're your friends, you won't mind one bit, will you?" That's what you think.

"No, not at all." I grinned.

"Great, then I'll save you a dance, dearest." He looked at the camera. "I know we all want to watch these battles, but they've been requested as private. Sorry, everyone. That's just how it has to be. Until next time, wish this lovely lady the best of luck." He smiled, and the camera clicked off. He squeezed my shoulders. "Ready?"

I nodded. "As I'll ever be." He lead me to a door between the two counters. The lady behind the Mart counter came to me, a few things in hand.

She smiled and handed them to me. "Lea requested you have this." They looked like different kinds of potions. They were expensive. "Six Super Potions, six Full Heals, six Revives and this note." I quickly read the looping handwriting. Cynthia, I hope you find these items very useful. They're from me as my personal present. I wish you luck. I am most excited for the day we meet. My Luck, Lea S. Saydan. 'The day we meet.' Something about that sounded off. I looked at my presents.

"Well that's…Nice." I was shocked. I took the items. Potions were very expensive. Not to mention Revives. And there were six of them. Someone gave me my bag back, and I put the items in it.

"Go right through this door, down the hallway, to the first Elite. The door will lock behind you. No turning back." Locus Lane reminded.

"Okay. I'm going." I took a deep breath, and went through the door, down the hall, through an electric sliding door, and into the first arena. The field was granite, with pink and yellow marking lines. The walls were splashes of bright colors, and in the two back corners there were pink statues with some Pokémon and a heart. I knew I had just walked into hell. Or worse, pink hell.

Standing in the middle of the field was a girl, shipped straight from a Golden City factory it looked like. Long, pink hair, a five-inches-too-short yellow and pink dress, and tall white heels. Her unnaturally pink lips curled into a grin, and her way too perfect blue eyes looked way too incredibly happy. Right, how could I forget about this Elite? Daisy, the Contest Champion.

She skipped over to me. "I'm Daisy, the first Elite!" Her accent flicked in and out. She stuck out her hand, her nails stood an inch away from her fingers.

"Hello, I'm Cynthia." I shook her hand. It burned.

"I know who you are, silly! Let's not waste any time, let's play." She walked over to her side. And I knew it was her side, because there was a pink throne she placed herself on. "I hate to stand and battle." Of course she did.

I took my place and prepped myself. I took a deep breath. She picked up a Pokéball and held it up. "Beautifly, go!" I rolled my eyes. This would be easy.

"Togekiss, take her down!" I had to admit, the Beautifly was the biggest Beautifly I had ever seen. I still knew I could take her.

"Mega Drain!" Daisy yelled. The rival batted her huge, bug eyes, and Thumper was on the floor in pain. Only for a second, but it was enough to get a glimpse at how powerful she was.

"Air Slash!" Togekiss flew like a jet over to the foe, and slashed his wing through the air. You could see the air ripple right before it blew Beautifly across the field. It was super effective.

"Bug Buzz, now!" The opponent closed her eyes. I couldn't hear anything, but Thumper moved his wings so his ears were covered. Otherwise, he didn't do anything. Daisy seemed disappointed. She frowned and uncrossed her legs on the throne. She leaned forward. "Do it better!" She snapped.

"Fly." I commanded. Togekiss swooped into the air, up to the ceiling. Beautifly flew up with him. Thumper used his body and pushed the foe all the way to the ground, where she crashed and was almost smashed into a million bug pieces.

"Silver Wind." Daisy yelled. Beautifly flapped her wings and Togekiss was pushed slightly backwards by the silvery air, but he lunged forward and broke the blow.

"Quick Attack." Thumper jumped up and landed on the rival. They both smashed on the floor, but Togekiss was the only one who got up.

I could see Daisy's jaw clench. She pursed her lips. "Beautifly, return. Cherrim, go!" A small, red Pokémon came out. She was definitely a Grass Type, she was basically a flower. I kept out Togekiss.

"Air Slash, now!" Thumper flew a few feet high, and then pushed his big wings toward the opponent. A gust of air pushed the Pokémon backwards, weakening it.

"Solar Beam." Daisy shouted, a new sense of optimism filling her tone. A blast of light shot out of Cherrim, and Thumper was brought back to the ground. He composed himself quickly.

"Fly." Togekiss was back to the ceiling in seconds, and was on top the foe just as quick. The small Grass Type squirmed underneath his weight.

"Take Down." Cherrim used everything inside her to reverse the situation. She pushed Thumper to his back, making him slam his head against the hard ground. He groaned, and his eyed rolled back in his head.

I returned Thumper. I grabbed my next Pokémon, and took a deep breath. Spiritomb was the way I was going. I knew she was a contest champion, so I knew she was going to throw a Normal Type in sometime. "Spiritomb, let's finish her!" She came out of the ball with a wicked laugh. Her face was upside down. Daisy gasped and covered her face. My Pokémon chuckled and swirled her face, and ghostly body, around.

"Cherrim, use Solar Beam!" Light sprang from inside the Pokémon, Spiritomb absorbed the light and grunted. Not a hard hit taken.

"Ominous Wind." I commanded. Purple and black oozed from my Pokémon and wrapped around Cherrim like two snakes. The grip tightened and Cherrim squirmed. It got tighter, and she yelped. Spiritomb closed her eyes, which were still going in circles around her body, and Cherrim screamed. Ominous Wind still had her in a bind, but not her eyes were black shadow. Spiritomb used Dark Pulse.

"Magical Leaf." Daisy called. The bind shattered, and the shadows left her eyes all at once. Leaves swirled around her body, ridding all the bad things, and then shot towards Spiritomb. They went through her body, but she screeched. And then I had to duck when the leaves shot over my head. "Solar Beam!" Spiritomb absorbed the light and cried out.

"Sucker Punch, now!" My Pokémon, with light filled in her body, materialized in front of Cherrim in the blink of an eye. A black fist appeared, and wailed on the small Pokémon. She was thrown across the room and landed with a thud. She jumped up and readied herself.

"Petal Dance." Tons of leaves appeared this time, and they moved around her like a large wave. Then, they zoomed over to Spiritomb and circled around her. The wall of leaves and petals was so thick, you couldn't see my Pokémon, only hear her screams. Let's get her out of there.

"Faint Attack." I shouted. The black shadow crawled from under the wall of dancing petals, and over to the foe, where she bounced up and slammed into Cherrim, sending her to the ground once again.

"Magical Leaf." The rival sent leaves to Spiritomb again, and she groaned and turned into a puddle, dodging the attack altogether.

"Sucker Punch." I commanded quickly. My Pokémon formed into herself again, and punched Cherrim nice and hard. She fell to the ground and wilted, like the helpless flower she truly was.

Daisy frowned. Then returned her Pokémon silently. "Ambipom, let's go!"

I rolled my eyes. There's the Normal Type. Ambipom looked like a large purple monkey, with two thin tails with extra hands on the tips of them. Contest people. "Sucker Punch." Spiritomb grinned and threw another punch. The monkey fell to the ground, but sprang back up instantly.

"Swift!" Daisy smiled and crossed her legs. She leaned back in her chair, like she had just got the game turned back in her favor. Large stars swirled around her Pokémon, and then they smashed through Spiritomb, and disappeared right before smashing into me. But, Spiritomb laughed, and I smiled, because Normal moves don't affect her. Daisy frowned.

My Pokémon wailed another punch, probably because she enjoyed it too much, and the monkey hit the ground again. "Dark Pulse!" I commanded. Ambipoms eyes coated over with shadows, and she screamed out. No doubt Spiritomb was messing with her head, filling it with fears and horrible scenes.

"Snap out of it!" Daisy sounded desperate. "Sand-Attack, Ambipom!" Ambipom fought back, and broke the pulse. She opened her mouth, and gobs of sand hit, or should I say, went through, Spiritomb. She made a negative noise, but I wasn't too worried. I still didn't want her to faint. Need to step up and end this. I thought.

"Faint Attack." My Pokémon preformed the move perfectly. "Dark Pulse." Ambipom fell over this time, and cried out in pain. Spiritomb chuckled, and Ambipom fainted.

Daisy made a sound of defeat as she returned her Pokémon. She grabbed another ball. "Last one." She told me. "Lopunny, defeat her!" The large bipedal rabbit came out. She was brown and cream colored, with ears that hung to her knees. She stood as tall as me, and had large, animalistic eyes.

"Sucker Punch." I yelled. Spiritomb punched Lopunny, and not much happened.

"Bounce." Daisy commanded. Lopunny jumped into the air, and landed hard on Spiritomb. She screamed and took a good hit. I knew she was close to fainting.

"Faint Attack." Spiritomb quickly used the move, and Lopunny fell to the ground.

Daisy sat forwards and uncrossed her legs again. She jumped off her seat and stepped up to the line. "Bounce again!" She must not have had any other effective move. The foe jumped up and landed on Spiritomb. She cried out.

"Dark Pulse." Lopunny's eyes over coated, and she was on the floor, weeping and screeching. Energy draining from her. What could she be seeing? Do Pokémon have fears? Bad dreams? Bad memories? Or, is she just feeling those things, and seeing nothing but darkness? Endless darkness.

"Bounce!" Daisy shrieked, knowing it was close to the end for her. But the Pokémon was still inside of her darkness.

"Sucker Punch." I yelled. Spiritomb wailed one last punch, and that was the end of it.

Daisy and I returned out Pokémon. I walked over to her, my arm extended. She shook my hand and quickly pulled it away. "Good game." I said, the awkwardness closing in on us.

She frowned and sighed. "Yes, I suppose." She bit her lip. She handed me some money. "Your earnings." I took it and stuffed it with the rest of my money in my bag.

"Thank you. Is there anything you could tell me about Lea? Or the other Elites?"

"I can tell you that they're not as easy as I am." She crossed her arms over her chest, and I definitely believed that. "That's all I'm going to say. You win. You get to continue." A door behind her throne opened, and I started to it.

My first Elite was over with. Relief felt great. But three more…And then I would be staring right into snake eyes, which may or may not turn red.

Authors Note: Hey, not a clichéd ending! ...Wait...

I would just like to say, I love the blue line thingies that Fanfiction uses as spacers. They make me smile. So! My excuse for why this took so long to upload(And why I broke my own rule, again, by not completing the next chapter): I became a writing fool...For another Fanfiction. Static, to be exact. I perfected the prologue. My only issues with it is I feel like a prologue needs to set the tone for the rest of the story, and this tone is not what the rest of the story will be...Yet, I'm in love with the prologue. Advice?

WE. ARE. GETTING. SO. CLOSE. I mean, I feel like I can share personal things with you now! Just kidding, that's not what I meant. The ending is coming! It's coming! It's coming! Hurrah! So, let's get this Fanfiction to 200 reviews! Oh my word, I would feel very gracious getting up to 200, just saying. Work your magic, awesome readers! A lot of you haven't reviewed in quite a while. Cough. Flubby48. PheonixLyric. Espionage Espeon. Cough. BUT, I'm not one to pry or beg, so do as you please.

DeathGoblin: Your view of battles is spectacular. Unfortunately, it's too late for Cynthia to train that way, but I will use that way of training for another powerful trainer...Who's coming up soon...Picking up what I'm putting down? Heh...I'm deceitful. Anyway, thanks for that! It gave me inspiration. Very powerful.

This lengthy A/N is over, and I seriously don't know how I write so much. I just sit down, think of one thing to say, and then this comes out. And I don't even know where my "sarcasticness" comes from. It just appears when I write author notes. Crap, I'm doing it again. Next chapter, no authors note, I promise!

Thanks for reading!