Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon
Chapter Seventeen
Hmm. What flavor should I choose? The blonde champion thought to herself as she stood before an ice cream truck in her native Celestic Town. A line was forming behind her, and the vendor was beginning to get annoyed because Cynthia had been standing there for quite a long time. The people in line were also getting frustrated, but no one said anything because Cynthia was champion after all. No one wanted to be on her bad side.
"I've decided!" Cynthia suddenly exclaimed. The vendor nearly had a heart attack after Cynthia's sudden outburst. The people behind her silently cheered. "I'll play it safe with the usual, Al."
"Of course, Champion Cynthia." The vendor, Al, sighed and quickly gave Cynthia her cone.
After collecting her ice cream, Cynthia headed towards the pokémon center to see if any new trainers were in town. Celestic didn't have a gym, so many trainers never came there. The ones that did usually came to see the ruins, and Cynthia liked talking to fellow students of history. What she did find in the pokémon center surprised her.
"Hello Ash and Brock. What are you guys doing here?"
"Hello Cynthia." Ash and Brock responded. "I'm competing in the Commissioner's Cup, and we're resting here before we head out to Sunnyshore, so I can face Volkner."
"I see. How many coins do you have?"
"I have seven. Only three to go!"
"Congratulations, Ash. Based on the stat sheets of each leader, the leaders have gotten a lot tougher, so you should feel proud."
"Stat sheets?" Ash asked.
"They keep track of the win loss ratio of gym leaders." Brock spoke up. "After every battle, a gym leader has to record the outcome. At the end of the month, stat sheets are submitted to the league."
"Precisely" Cynthia said. "So Volkner makes eight, what region do you have left?"
"Unova" Ash responded.
"Ah, Brycen and Clay. Two very tough leaders. I wish you luck Ash, and I'll see you at the Cup in a few months."
"You'll be there?"
"Yep. In fact, every champion and many gym leaders and elite four members will be there." In order to make sure Team Rocket doesn't hurt anyone. Cynthia silently added.
"That's so cool. I'll get to meet all of my heroes again."
"I'm sorry to be so abrupt, but I must visit my grandmother. Like I said, I'll see you guys at the Cup. Farewell." With a wave of her hand, Cynthia exited the center.
"Bye Cynthia" Ash and Brock waved back. The duo then picked up their pokémon from Nurse Joy before departing for Sunnyshore.
-Line Break-
"Boss?"
"Yes Domino?"
"We have a bit of a problem, sir."
"What is it?"
"All the champions will be at the Cup. It won't just be Gowly and random trainers."
"Ok. I'll let our tacticians know. They should develop a strategy such that those champions won't be a factor anymore. Keep following the child though. Got it?
"Yes sir"
"Good" Giovanni hung up. Picking up a glass of wine, he smiled to himself as he looked out the window. Soon, the ultimate power will be mine. I'll be unstoppable; and no one: not Cynthia, not Lance, and definitely not Gowly, can stop me. Soon, I'll remake the world, with me as its King!
-Line Break-
"Thank you Salamence. You deserve a nice long rest." Saying that, the Commissioner recalled his pokémon back to its pokéball.
Is it really necessary for us to make a stop at Cameroon? Lucario asked as the duo started walking towards the Palace.
"Salamence needs to rest before we fly out to the Tree of Beginning."
And there's no other motive. You don't want to see someone "special?" A certain member of the nobility? Lucario nudged Gowly as he said this.
"Lucario! There is nothing going on between me and Ilene! She's a queen, I'm a former knight."
Aren't you also Grand Duke in Kalos?
"You know the Chateau is just for fun. Besides, I'm married. Remember?" Gowly was beginning to get a bit annoyed and flustered at Lucario's teasing.
I remember that you're married. The better question is, do you? You never call her or anything.
"Don't start about that now. It's for her protection. I have a lot of enemies, and I'd rather not have them go after her to hurt me. Keeping in contact is too risky."
Whatever you say, Master. Lucario dropped the subject because the duo had arrived at Ilene's throne room. Gowly and Lucario kneeled before the queen.
"Rise" Ilene spoke in a calm manner. As the duo rose, she smiled at them. "It's so good to see you, Gowly. And you too Lucario."
"Likewise" Gowly responded. At this point, Lucario ran off to see if any of his pokémon friends were nearby.
"What brings you here?" Lady Ilene inquired.
"I was just in the area, so I thought I'd say hello."
"So the former knight decides to grace these halls with his presence due to a coincidence?"
"I didn't think my response was that controversial…" The Commissioner trailed off at a loss for words.
"I'm only joking. But still, it's great to see you! These halls haven't been the same since you left."
"I'm sorry. It's just that even though I had mastered aura, I still felt there was more out there for me to do."
"I understand, and I don't blame you at all. Sometimes, I wish I could leave this place."
"Why don't you attend the Commissioner's Cup in a few months? I'm hosting a tournament on Pokémon Isle to commemorate my tenth anniversary of being commissioner. You'll see a bunch of new up and coming trainers."
"I'll think about it. But that reminds me, there was a trainer here not too long ago who also had aura capabilities."
"Was his name Riley?"
"No, his name was Ash Ketchum. His aura was very strong. He didn't stick around to train though."
"Hmm. I heard he's competing in the Cup. I might train him in the ways of aura, if I ever manage to run into him."
"He could use your guidance." As Ilene finished speaking, Lucario re-entered the hall.
"Well, my lady, I do believe it's time for me to go. I'm here on league business, so I bid you a farewell."
"Good bye. I might see you at the Cup!" Ilene waved the duo off.
When Gowly and Lucario got outside, Gowly sent out his Salamence. After climbing onto his back, the trio departed for the Tree of Beginning. "So, Ilene told me that Ash has developed aura abilities." Gowly told Lucario.
And this shocks you?
"Not really. It just further confirms that he is the child of the prophecy."
But we won't know for certain until the end of the Cup.
"Yep"
The rest of the flight passed in silence. Eventually, the trio arrived at the Tree of Beginning. After recalling Salamence, Gowly and Lucario searched for Mew. The pokémon was small, and it knew transform, so the search took a while. Before long though, Gowly and Lucario found Mew.
"Hello Mew."
Gowly. Lucario. Let's play!
"I'm afraid we're here on business. We'll play some other time."
Fine. Mew sighed, clearly disappointed.
"Anyways, on to why we're here. What can you tell us about Mewtwo?"
Mew instantly sobered up after hearing Mewtwo's name. After a few moments of silence, Mew told Gowly and Lucario everything she knew about Mewtwo, starting with his creation and ending with their epic battle. However, Mew did mention that he was now more peaceful.
After hearing the story of Mewtwo, Gowly and Lucario left the Tree of Beginning. The duo felt conflicted because on the one hand, they felt sorry for Mewtwo. On the other hand, Mewtwo did try to hurt innocent people. Regardless, the duo hurried back to Pokémon Isle. Gowly no longer thought that Gardevoir would be adequate protection against Mewtwo.