As Cynthia headed to the coordinator area, everyone seemed to be staring at her with concern.
As she's about to wave the other coordinators off, she's swept up by a wave of purple. "Cynthia, ça va ?! Ici, laissez-moi jeter un œil à cela," Fantina says, pulling back from the sudden hug to grab her arms. "Cette brute..."
Cynthia looked down at her forearm, covered in blood. She hadn't realized her hands were still shaking.
"Come here, love. Let's go get you clean." Fantina coaxes, pulling her away from the gazes of the rest of the contestants and into her own preparation booth.
"It's… it's fine. I just need to have a serious conversation with my Pokémon, I think." Cynthia offers her a shaky smile. "Besides, isn't your own appeal soon? You should get ready for it. I'll come out to watch it after the pause."
Fantina looked unconvinced but allowed her the peace. Good.
She needed a bit of time to think on how to go about this. But… she was fine. She was made of sterner stuff than this. Cynthia would recover and grow stronger from this mistake.
Everything began with her need to better understand her Pokémon's intentions.
The first one out, of course, is Riolu. While he was arguably her least well-trained Pokémon… no, did that even hold anymore? Perhaps it was she that was doing a poor job in terms of training him. He'd just shown himself of perhaps better judgment than she had.
For a moment, as she sat down to think, she pressed the palms of her hands into her eyelids. She was doing just fine before this little guy showed up. And yet, it felt more like unearthing weaknesses that were always there. Ripping out a bandage and finding the wound beneath to be infected, instead of healing.
…
With a soft sigh, she pulled out of her bag something she'd bought the other day when thinking about how to improve her training with Riolu during the contest practice. A small, old-school blackboard and piece of chalk that came out to a ridiculous 30 .
Releasing the pest, she saw him sway side to side for a moment, staring at her. After a moment, he moved over to the trash can and promptly puked. Besides the disgusting sight, her eyes widened.
"What's wrong?!" Her Pokémon blinked dazedly at her for a moment before shrugging. However, looking at him, Cynthia noticed a tiny trail of red down his chin. Her blood. "Open your mouth for a moment, please."
Staring at her in suspicion, the Riolu opened his mouth. Wrinkling her nose at the smell, she promptly sprayed a considerable amount of Antidote down his throat. He hissed like a startled Rattata and glared at her. "We don't know if biting my arm got you poisoned too, and you look pretty unsteady. Better safe than sorry." She replied unapologetically.
With a grumpy look at her, Riolu stalked into the bathroom, turned the sink's faucet on, and began washing his mouth. It was a quizzical sight to see how casually her most recent catch interacted with the human appliances that reminded her that he had a previous owner.
When he stalked back to stare at her, she offered him an uneasy smile. "Rio?"
"I just have a few questions that I wanted to ask you, that's all." the Riolu tilted his head, before looking at the blackboard and picking it up. He gave a few tentative strokes, winced at the noise produced by the chalk, and promptly broke it in two. When he tried it again, the noise was much less grating, and Cynthia was forced to mentally file yet another case of how would he know that.
"So, we've already established that you're pretty smart…" Cynthia leaned onto her knee, placing her chin in her palm. "Did you just get a gut feeling, or did you know what was actually wrong?"
The small blue humanoid stared at her for a moment, before turning to the blackboard and making a symbol. As she was about to ask what it meant, he brushed his paw over it, canceled the symbol, and instead placed two strokes on the blackboard. Already she felt her brain stirring and moving to a much more comfortable space. Analysis and figuring out strategies and ways to use the knowledge she had was much better than trying to deal with the feeling of vulnerability.
"So you knew that Roselia are poisonous by contact. I assume it's because of prior experience with battling them?" This time, he did a so-so gesture with his paw. "Just knowledge on Roselia in general?" he repeated the gesture, but after a moment nodded. "I see…"
After a moment, Cynthia decided to test her luck a little further. "Do you know what this is?" she asked, pulling out the Dawn Stone. After a moment's glance, he nodded, before pointing at her second Pokéball. "That's right. I'll admit, Budew evolving into Roselia puts me at a disadvantage for the battle stage because I do not know how evolution changes its capabilities." She'd had this on hand for a while, even prior to catching Budew, but she'd have to wait to use it because first she'd have to familiarize herself with Roselia's capabilities, let alone a Roserade's…
She bit her lip. This didn't sound like a very good idea, but… well, only her pride was on the line here, and Riolu had spared her collapsing like an idiot because she hugged her Roselia. Considering what Riolu had just done for her, perhaps a show of appreciation was just what he needed to begin listening to her… by beginning to listen more to him.
"I've got a plan to knock this contest out of the park if it succeeds. Will you help me out with it?"
Riolu tilted his head, but nodded, causing her to smile. After a moment's uncertainty, she swept up the canine into her arms for a hug, causing him to yip in surprise.
"You're my only Pokémon left for cuddling." She complained with a sigh. "Budew was too small before anyways and Gabite's evolved. I love her, but her scales feel like sandpaper."
"Rio! Riolu!" He howled back, trying to wiggle his way out of her grasp. He probably could've used a move to free himself, or even just hit Cynthia really hard with his fighting-type strength… but he didn't.
Honestly, Cynthia felt that she was making progress in the right direction.
As Gabite is released out of her ball, she can see that Cynthia is looking frazzled, immediately raising her hackles. However, it seems that any damage she suffered has been looked into, so Gabite merely settles for nodding in acknowledgment of whatever battle she may have won. Her Best Friend smiles faintly, and Gabite ducks her head to receive the customary scritchies on the head.
After a moment, the little devil is also produced out of his ball, together with... a grass type?
As Gabite blinks, she cautiously ducks her head down to sniff at the miniature newcomer, she smells a strong scent of flowers. Something tickles her nose, and a moment later, she can feel the buildup of a sneeze.
Flailing around in a panic, she looked around the pretty small room. The Leader there, new underling there, fragile objects there- ah, perfect.
She finally released the sneeze, watching the twerp get showered in dragonfire and snot. Looking up at her with a look of pure outrage, deadly frost began gathering in his paw. "You wanna die, shark?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, teammate." Gabite grins ferally in return, claws fully on display. "I just sneezed."
"Yeah, and I'm only going to shove your nose up your-" Riolu growled, before being picked up by Leader with a sigh.
"Come on. Apparently, I've got to clean you from more than just my blood on your muzzle."
Gabite processes the words for a moment. "YOU HAVE WHAT?!" she hisses, getting up in her face with the runt. However, Cynthia puts a hand up on her muzzle.
"Down, girl. Now's not the time." She says, gently gliding her hand on Gabite's sandpaper-like scales. However, all that Gabite can currently think of is the smell of blood on her clothes.
"I'M SORRY!" The new, flowery runt finally screams. "Please stop fighting, it's all my fault that this happened! I'm the one who hurt the Mistress!"
Wait. That squeaky voice... on a small grass type who calls the Leader Mistress...
"What do you mean you're the one who did this, Budew?" Gabite rounds on the smaller Pokèmon, who begins trembling intently.
"I... it's Roselia, now..." Gabite growled, making her squeak in alarm. "I got so excited about finally evolving and all the praise I was getting and how good everything felt a-and Mistress touched me..." the thorny Pokèmon cried. "If it wasn't for Riolu, things would have gotten really, really bad!"
"Liar!" Gabite stomped, glaring down at the quivering grass type. "Don't blame her for your own mistakes!"
A moment later, Riolu shoved Cynthia out of the area she'd carried him in, before closing the door. "I can wash myself just fine, thank you!" he shouted over the door.
The human blinked in bemusement, before turning to give a fake, plasticky smile at the two of them. "It's alright, girls. I didn't get hurt. It was just a little accident." Still, Gabite's chest swelled with draconic pride at her showing strength in the face of being poisoned.
"HA! Of course she didn't get hurt, you dumb little runt! The Leader's way stronger than you!" Gabite roared at Roselia in a show of posturing. They could decompress later when it was just the two of them.
"Wow…" Roselia breathed in awe, staring up at the human. "O-of course."
"How are you doing, Roselia?" Cynthia asked in confirmation. "The performance looked pretty taxing but at the same time…"
"I'm fine!" Roselia shouted. "More than fine, even! I feel incredible! All of the energy out there, together with my evolution… it feels like I could beat anyone right now!"
"Good." Cynthia grinned. "Because you're going to be my ace for the upcoming battle."
Gabite can't help the narrow of her eyes at the declaration. The sting of humiliation burns in her, but she yields to her friend's choice.
She would just have to prove herself again later.
Being able to understand both human and Pokémon language in real-time is such a stupid fucking advantage. I thought to myself with a sigh as I leapt back to Cynthia's side.
"And the winner is Cynthia by a landslide!" the announcer, Zoey, calls. Now that I'm looking at her up close, I faintly remember her from the anime. "What an incredible performance!"
I won't claim to be the perfect battler. Riolu are actually pretty terrible, and I'm pretty sure that my keeping up with the rest of our opponents' Pokèmon is less a result of me being innately strong and more a mixture of anime rules and me being over-leveled.
Still, in a battle where the objective was not to overpower your opponent but to outsmart and outmaneuver?
I could not be beaten. Especially since Cynthia had cottoned on to the fact that if she issued no command for me to follow, the opponent wouldn't know how to react, and their Pokèmon, overreliant on their trainer's input, would be inevitably lost.
...I was aware that this was an advantage that wouldn't last, but Cynthia was a one-badge trainer still. I'd enjoy the easy ride as much as I could while it lasted.
This opponent in particular, a large, biker gang looking man with a Pachirisu, in particular looked like I'd murdered his pet. Which... well, I'd gone out of my way to not do, sticking to gaining points via neutralizing their attacks, so that was especially rude of him.
"HEY PAL!" The uninjured Pachirisu dashed up to me. Now I was small, but this guy was smaller, and given what I'd seen of its battle prowess, I wasn't intimidated by the lightning squirrel as I shoved my foot up to hold it away from me. "YOU'RE REAL NASTY, YOU HEAR ME? CHEATING WITH YOUR PARTNER IS NASTY BUSINESS I TELL YA. YOU'RE NOT EVEN A REAL SHOWMON, YOUR TRAINER LADY WENT AND SWITCHED TO HER BATTLE TEAM FOR THIS PHASE, YOU SON OF A-"
His tirade was interrupted by the biker dude picking him up, with his hands being large enough to entirely conceal the rodent. "I apologize. Mimi is disappointed in loss." He rumbled gravelly, and after a moment of pause added, "So am I." With that, he turns and leaves without shaking her hand as we stare impassively at their retreating forms.
"Prick," I growl out, rolling my eyes.
"Incredible! After the earlier show of unmatched control and brutality with the very field, Cynthia's reign continues after this savage smackdown of the opposition without ruining a single hair on the opponent!" Zoey announces. I blink in surprise.
"Indeed. Between giving no orders to her Pokèmon and handicapping herself through only getting points without ever attacking their opponents, the message Cynthia wished to send is clear; "You're not worthy of my time." the male judge nods in agreement.
"It appears that after brutally demolishing the trainer population of Floaroma, Cynthia and her Riolu are coming for the contest world as well." the nurse Jenny finally adds.
"Are we being turned into wrestling heels?" I ask Cynthia, whose expression is similarly bemused, but after a moment smiles and gives me a 'what can you do' shrug.
"You seemed to be enjoying yourself," she said, not really understanding what I told her.
I narrow my eyes at her, as we leave the arena to allow more people to battle. I was Cynthia's pick for the quarter-finals, and wouldn't battle anymore for today.
"I'm just saying, I'm surprised. Considering you seemed to believe contests a waste of time earlier."
We go back to the contestants area. Everyone there seems to be, for some reason, of the same impression that we'd done this great sin. Fantina, who I'd seen Cynthia interact with, seemed to want to speak up- only to be called to the field by the judges. She gives a tight-lipped smile to Cynthia, and her eyes burn with determination as she leaves.
okay then
As we sit down to wait for the next battle, Cynthia fishes my Pokéball out of her belt, but I shake my head. I also can't help but feel like I am forgetting about something…
"Excuse me! Miss!" Suddenly, someone is entering through the door with an egg incubator in hand. It's the green-haired woman from before. "You left the incubator up in the stands..."
"Ohhh…" me and Cynthia sweatdrop simultaneously as we both remember about it. In the nerves of this idiot accidentally poisoning herself, it had completely escaped my notice. "Thank you very much for bringing it back to me, miss…?"
As the green-haired woman hands the incubator to me, she smiles back at Cynthia. "I'm Cheryl. I've had the pleasure to meet your Riolu… he looks healthy."
Cheryl?
I tilt my head as I better take in her appearance. I guess the hairstyle fits, though instead of the green dress, she's kitted out in the Ace Trainer fit, dressed in tight, practical earthy tones and green boots… and she also has some pretty impressive bags under her eyes that I hadn't taken too much notice of, prior.
Cynthia's eyebrows shoot up. "Oh! You're that Elite 4 member that dropped out a couple of years ago!"
At that, Cheryl winces. I also give Cynthia a side-eye. Wow. Very smooth.
An ethereal giggle runs through my tassels at my annoyance, reminding me that I'm now holding the incubator again. Yes, yes. Have fun at my expense, egg.
The egg does just that.
"Yes… unfortunately, it seemed I was no longer fit to perform in such a high stakes, competitive environment, so I retired." A polite smile pulls at Cheryl's features, but it's clear that she's faking it. The serenity I can feel from her is disturbed by something dark stirring from inside her.
Cynthia, thankfully, seems to realize that she was being rude. "Oh, I'm sorry if I came off as rude… it's a remarkable position, anyways, even if you're not one anymore."
...this doesn't prevent her from being rude again by accident, apparently.
"A-anyways," Cheryl coughs. "I was just looking to give back the incubator and this." She says as she hands Cynthia the Pokédex. After a moment, Cynthia's eyes trail towards me, and I shrug. She shakes her head in exasperation.
"Thank you. Honestly, with one of my friends having a Murkrow and a Sneasel, I'd assume that he'd be the one stuck with thieving problems, but Riolu keeps sneaking things when no one's looking."
"It was no issue. To be honest, it was the first time I've had a Pokémon ask me to record an appeal." Cheryl giggles.
"Did he now?" Cynthia gives me a side-eye. "Interesting. Still, if I may ask, what are you doing now that you're no longer in the Elite Four? I can't imagine someone who sat so close to the top of the world to just be "on vacation" now."
Through the haze of obvious discomfort I could feel emanating from her, Cheryl sighed. "You're not wrong… while technically I am on vacation, I can't help but try to help people out when I can. I've been collaborating with the police and a friend of mine to get rid of some crooks, but recently, my grandpa told me that he's going to retire." she sighs in dismay. "My brother… he's supposed to take over the gym, but he's still got way too long of a way to go before doing so. I fear I may be forced to become the Hearthome Gym leader for a while if he doesn't shape up." she sighs, before blinking. "Apologies. I got caught in rambling."
"It's alright." Cynthia smiles thinly at her. "I wish you luck with the Gym."
"Ah, one more thing… let me heal your Riolu, before I go. Best to keep your Pokémon healthy, and electric shocks can mess with a Fighting Type's muscles."
I blink, staring down at my leg. Minute twitches and spasms run through it. Hadn't even noticed it.
I was expecting her to pull out a Potion or a Paralysis Heal, but instead got suddenly face to face with the poster child for Fairy Pokémon, Sylveon. The slender, pink and white canine stands at attention taller than me, even as she sits down after being released from her Pokéball,
"Sylveon, help out this trainer's Riolu, will you?" Cheryl asked. For some reason, I can't help but feel on edge at the request.
"Okey-dokey, mom~" Sylveon chirps, and she begins glowing with the power of… whimsy? All I could feel through my tassels was just a strong desire emanating from her. "Come over here a sec, will you?" Sylveon asks, standing up before bodily plopping herself on top of me.
As I choke and try to shove her off, her ribbons shoot off towards me. "Shhh, this'll take just a-"
As the ribbon ties around my arm, two things happened. The first was that the Wish came true, and as I was bathed in light, I felt energy and vigor return to me as what little wounds I had faded and I finally understood what she was doing.
...the second was that I can feel myself begin to violently convulse. Something in my chest feels like suddenly it's igniting to red hot temperatures, and my heart is stopping.
Sylveon's grip tightens, and the effect worsens. I can see her looking at me, not comprehending what is going on.
I… I don't want to die. Not again, please.
What is going on?
Please, stop-
I can solemnly promise that what just happened won't be explained at all for the longest time.
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