The New Normal – 10-16 – Interlude – Cynthia
Cynthia stood with her arms crossed as she stared stoically at the two titans of battle in action. She watched each blow with a critical look, trying to scorch the memory of the power behind each attack into her brain.
THIS was what she hoped to achieve with her Garchomp.
The sheer devastation, the unstoppable power, their unyielding strength – all of this was mesmerising to see. Her Garchomp may not be at this level yet, but one day, she vowed to train up her starter to be able to match these Legends of battle.
"It's humbling, is it not?" Her fellow Champion Wallace spoke up from next to her, "To think that someone like Lance is your peer. I'm known for my contests and my bulky Water types, but I don't think I hold a candle to Lance. Or John. Those two starters of theirs would put mine deep into the ground like a Magikarp out of water."
"Everyone mocks raw strength until they truly see it in action." Cynthia agreed, "They say that there's no skill in brawling, and while that may be true, I doubt you could find someone who could witness a battle like this and not be awed."
"Quite the statement from such a renowned generalist." Wallace smiled, "I thought you would have been espousing the benefits of versatility."
"Oh I still hold that being a generalist is the greatest path to strength, but once you witness something like this, you cannot deny the efficacy of raw power." She stated, "It doesn't matter how many strategies or plans you have on hand if your Pokémon doesn't have the strength to enact them. Or if they simply get knocked out in one hit."
"And even better is when you have a combination of both." She added, "To have a mixture of strength AND skill. Then you would truly be unstoppable."
It was the ideal that she sought for her team. For every member of her team, not just her Garchomp, to be able to hit as hard as Lance's Dragonite or John's Slaking and to be equally as durable. While she knew that might be an unachievable ideal, she wasn't going to stop trying to reach for it.
And she thought that training with John had allowed her to take a huge step forwards towards that.
"It's a wonder that John isn't Champion already." Wallace commented, "With strength like that, I'd say he has a decent shot of beating Lance in a full battle. Although…it's hard to say. Lance's full team is very much nothing to scoff at. Victory would be hard."
"He's not interested in becoming Champion either way." Cynthia informed him, recalling the conversations that she had with John, "He's happy enough where he is without being further burdened by the responsibilities that come with being Champion."
"So he's a Champion in all but title." Wallace muttered, "Yes, I can see that. He didn't seem like someone who chased after glory. I could tell that he hunted down those criminals in Hoenn because it was what needed to be done, rather than for his own popularity."
That might be the case for John, but she wanted John to be recognised publicly as more than an Elite Four. He was her partner, and he deserved no less than that. That was why she hoped for his victory.
Wallace chuckled, "I guess I shouldn't be so surprised at how strong John's Slaking turned out to be. Drake had hinted the same to me a while ago. But I guess I overlooked it because John rarely brings it out in official battles."
She shot Wallace an odd look, "Did John's 1v6 with his Slaking against Shin's entire team not count?" That was something that was still engraved into most of the minds of the public.
"Ah, it does count, but Shin's Pokémon didn't look very impressive to me." Wallace replied, "Not to undermine John's achievement, but with how easily he disposed of some Pokémon it was easy to assume that Shin was just far too weak for John to take seriously. And I was busy enough that I didn't really look any deeper into it, which was my oversight."
The two of them fell silent again as they continued to watch the battle unfold in front of them. As a spectator, Cynthia had a more objective view of the utter destruction that their battle had caused. The material used to reinforce the arena was supposed to be able to withstand against attacks by Elite Pokémon and higher, but both their starters tore through it like nothing.
There was no doubt that they would have to run a short break after John and Lance's battle to fix up the arena for the rest of them to fight.
The battle raged on, but both Pokémon were growing increasingly exhausted as their wounds took a toll. Seeing a lull in the battle, Cynthia turned away from it for a moment to observe how the other audience members were reacting to a battle like this.
As she had hoped, her boyfriend's performance had completely stunned them. They had open looks of admiration on their faces as their eyes were locked on to the battle in front of them. The crowd had stopped their cheering as they stared in undisguised awe at what the pinnacle of Pokémon battling looked like.
A small smile appeared on her face. If THIS was the reaction that the people watching live had, then she imagined that the reactions on Pokénet would be far more explosive.
That was what she hoped for. If John could achieve victory here, then it would prove once and for all that he truly deserved to be recognised as a Champion in all but name. His strength was already impressive before, but this would solidly cement him as someone who deserved the same amount of respect as any other Champion.
If not more, considering that Lance's strength was considered exceptional even amongst Champions.
And finally, as she turned back to the battle just in time to see John's Slaking ruthlessly slam Lance's Dragonite onto the ground with a Play Rough before unleashing a violent Earthquake right underneath it.
She could still see the fires of determination and pride burning in Emperor's eyes, but she knew the fight was over. And as Emperor's final roar petered out as his body could take no more, her hands unconsciously began clapping before she knew it.
John – no, her partner had done it. He had won. And the world screamed his name in revelry. For his Slaking had toppled Emperor, taking his title of being 'the strongest in the world'.
And with John having completed the first step towards their plan to reveal their relationship, it was up to her to make sure she also won her battle.
So when it came time to announce their relationship, they could both stand side-by-side, with the evidence of their combined strength fully engraved into the minds of the public. They would stand there as joint victors.
And as joint Champions.
A.N. I wanted a reaction chapter from someone very close to John. Don't worry, there will be more reactions to John's victory coming up after this as well. But I thought Cynthia's perspective deserved extra attention, since both she and Wallace have a Champion's perspective. Hope you enjoyed!
And yes, there WILL be a Pokenet Interlude coming, but there are other events that I want to show first!
And to anyone who wants to support me, please check out my p atreon at CartecTNN where you can read 8 advanced chapters! Thanks to those who have supported me already!