Angel wakes up to a familiar bumpy motion that she immediately associates with Cynthia's hurried strides. Cynthia smiles down at the adorable, foggy violet eyes staring at her in a sleep induced delirium. The child feels the champion's body shake when she pushes away and violently shoves her face back into the adult's neck when her eyes register the bright lights of the Pokemon Lab.
"You're pretty tired today," The blonde teases as she bounces the child.
"You dragged me to Hearthome to look at some ruin, which I admit was pretty cool. Then flew us to a lake where I had a twenty minute swim, a quick retreat to Twinleaf for lunch and socialising, and finally a forty-five minute drive here. Excuse me for being tired. And stop bouncing me!" She whines as she grasps the adult's shirt in irritation.
"Cranky?" Cynthia cooes and chortles at the glare she receives.
Angel slinks off her carrier and looks around to see that they had entered a room full of spectators. Her cheeks flush and she doesn't hesitate to hide in Cynthia's jacket to avoid the amused eyeballs. She buries her face into the back of the blonde's pants and feels the fur coat wrap around her like a cocoon. She hears a slight chuckle that originated from the champion's grandmother.
"Guess you have some life to you after all."
"My liveliness and my annoyance with your granddaughter are not the same thing," The muffled voice earns another round of laughter.
Angel's somewhat joyous shrieks are added when Cynthia digs her fingers into the child sides behind her and the little girl removes herself slightly from her hiding spot to join the land of the living. Cynthia smiles, it was progress.
The violet eyes stare at the machines in curiosity. She stares at the screen to her side and tilts her head as the recording plays quietly on repeat. Her eyebrows furrow as she leans closer to try and hear better. Angel turns to one of the assistants watching her with curiosity and points at the screen.
"Can you turn up the volume for me? It's hard to hear what it's saying when it's so quiet."
The assistant stares at her in a stupor before hurrying to do as she was told and pushes up the small lever on the keyboard below the screen. The frequency rises as the volume increases and everyone stares intently when Angel deeply furrowed her brows in confusion.
"Well?" Professor Carolina asks impatiently.
"It's blurry. Like it was speaking with a foghorn in the background. It's angry whatever it is. Can you give me another minute?" Angel answers as she moves even closer and closes her eyes in concentration. Cynthia moves to stand next to the child as she opens her eyes when the sound replays twice. Gray eyes widened in concern when she notices the disturbed glint in the child's violet orbs.
"What did you hear?" Cynthia prods.
"I can't even tell the gender of it, but I can tell it's not happy. The words, if you can even call them that, are gurgled and slurred. Ancient sounding too. I made out a thought or two though."
"What was it?" The blonde pushes the younger's hair away from her face.
"I don't think I could recite it even if I knew how to pronounce it. Either way I'd be wary of that pokemon. It seems lost in its anger. Where did you record this?"
Professor Rowan is the one to answer, "On Route 214. It's quite a ways away from here. We were recording for a swarm of pokemon and found this instead. This recording is actually amplified by around one hundred."
"Stay away from there if you know what's good for you. Running into whatever that thing is…" Angel trails off as she shudders in discomfort and forces her way into Cynthia's arms. She shoves her face into Cynthia's shoulder.
"How, exactly, is she able to understand this recording?" One of the assistants speaks up meekly.
"We're not really sure, but it's phenomenal isn't it?" Cynthia gushes and chuckles quietly when the child blushes.
"Quite. Angel, perhaps you'd be able to assist me with a pokemon that recently came into the lab. A small gible has been recovering here and has been rather hostile."
"I can look at it, but no guarantees on anything. Mama could you let Garchomp out? I find pokemon feel more reassured when a member of its species' family is present."
"Of course Love."
The dragonic beast roars and sniffs at the air before bumping Angel with a friendly claw. The child smiles and gives the dragon's head a loving pat. Garchomp tromps over to her trainer and sniffs at her as she makes sure she's alright.
"Hello Garchomp. Would you mind lending us a hand?" The dragon gives out a cry.
"Thank you Garchomp. Much appreciated." Angel thanks as they are led outside and into a fenced pasture.
Professor Rowan scans the grassy plain before making a beeline to the one rocky area in the whole enclosure. He motions girl and dragon forward and waits on the side with Cynthia as they approach the small hole in the rocks. Garchomp lets out a cry to coax the pokemon hiding in the shadows out.
The gible was small. That was Angel's first observation. It had a jagged fin, making it male, and a scowl displayed its razor teeth that he kept snapping the air with as an intimidation factor. Muscle lines furrowed as it cried out a warning and threatening growls emitted from its throat. The pointy teeth dig into Angel's flesh when she reaches a hand out to try and stroke its head. Cynthia rushes forward to pry the pokemon off her Angel when Rowan grasps her arm.
"What are you…"
"Let me see how this plays out." The gruff man answers and represses a shiver when the blonde throws him the iciest of glare.
"If you are suggesting in the slightest that you are using my daughter as a subject for your research, I will release my garchomp onto your precious files."
"It's not that Cynthia. You should know I wouldn't leave a small girl to get mauled by a gible. Garchomp will make sure of that." The professor motions with the hand not being slowly strangled by the champion's long nails, at the girl in front of them. "Look."
The gray eyes move to the trio. Garchomp was leaning over the two smaller creatures as the gible reluctantly releases its grip on the child's hand. The bigger dragon gives a short, curt murmur to the small pokemon who turns to Angel and lets out an apologetic cry and licks the puncture wounds it had caused. Angel doesn't respond and instead rubs a reassuring palm over its head. Garchomp gives a friendly cry. The child returns to the champion's side and rolls her eyes when her hand is instantly grabbed to be examined.
"Relax. It's nothing important. The gible will be fine Professor. He has some inner rage, but will warm up eventually. Just leave it be."
…
The blonde champion untangles the small arms from around her neck and tucks the child into the bed at the pokemon center. She places a kiss onto the child's forehead before turning off the light. Her grandmother watches her exit.
"Well this was an exciting day."
"She's wiped." Cynthia agrees as she closes the door and they make their way to the lobby.
"How long have you had her?"
"She's been in Sinnoh for over three weeks now. Can't believe how time flies."
"Are you going to bring her to Celestic Town? I'm sure everyone would enjoy meeting her." Carolina states as she places a teacup in front of her granddaughter.
Cynthia stirs extra sugar into her tea before taking a sip of the herbal ambrosia. She feels its warmth melt down her throat and wraps her palms around the china. "I'll think about it. You know how she is around strangers."
The professor grunts in reply and nods. The old woman quiets for a few moments before speaking again. "Are you going to adopt her?" Carolina asks, never straying her eyes away from her cup.
"I would like to." The champion answers as she places the empty cup onto the table. Her gray eyes stray to the clock on the wall before they return to her elder. "Would that be okay?"
The professor doesn't answer in preference of having Cynthia come to the answer herself, but decides to put the girl out of her misery when the similar gray eyes stare at her expectantly, "I don't care either way, the real question is, is this what you really want. Don't think that what I'm about to say make you think I don't like her, but you think a decision like this through before you jump in. You're young. You might find a boyfriend one day and what if they don't like each other? You're a champion who travels across this country and to countless others for appearances, battles, tournaments, etc. Would Angel like being dragged everywhere, or would she not be lonely and missing you if she decided to stay behind and wait. There are consequences to this decision."
Cynthia looks down at her fiddling hands. The pale digits twist around each other as the champion ponders the reality check given to her. She had half a mind to just throw romance out the window, but knew that it wasn't rational to pretend that one day she might never fall in love. And travel?
"Don't strain your brain now. Think about it later. I just wanted to bring it up before you get too attached." The professor stands, clears the wrinkles of her coat, and walks out of the lobby to her room.
Cynthia sighs and runs her fingers through her hair. "Before I get too attached, huh? Way too late for that."