Chapter 21:Reciprocation
I still do not understand the necessity of this overtly-
"Oh shut up." Ash muttered, as he found himself standing in the shopping district of Mirage Island, as he checked his pokedex to check his monetary finances. If what he had accounted for was correct, it should have dwindled out more than a bit, but then he supposed it was well-deserved. Then again, he had something around twenty three thousand pokedollars under his name, a grand amount to be frank. Coupled with the fact that his purchase of TM's came from the Silph Co. stipend, it only meant that he could save more than the usual trainer.
After his lousy excuse to Cynthia, he had headed to his tent to make plans. Considering the mess he had made with his friend (his delayed realization hadn't helped matters either), it was now up to him to mend matters before things took a turn for the worse. In his excitement, he had completely ignored the needs and wishes of his friend, something that didn't sit right with him.
He had made the mess, and he would be the one to fix it.
After a somewhat early dinner, he had all but blackmailed Alakazam into teleporting him all the way to Mirage Island. Specifically, to the shopping district. He had gone ahead and gotten himself one of the storage caskets that held more space than they had any right to—an application of the pokeball technology in the commercial world. The concept was same as that of the trainer bag packs, only that these held some special refrigeration systems pre-installed, to keep food and medicines from getting spoiled. Either way, while it charged a hefty amount, it was nicely spent. Besides, he could use the contraption from now on to store more food, restore packs and concoction ingredients—the last week with Cynthia had taught him a lot about creating medical potions either way.
It was past eight in the evening and already most people were returning to their homes, though most of the shops were still open. He had done with the first part of his secret shopping spree and as for the second part…. He would need to go to the other side of the district.
"You do know that tomorrow's my birthday, right?" Ash muttered. "Consider your aid as a birthday present in advance."
You seem to be harbouring the delusion that I'd even care it is your unfortunate date of creation in the world. If anything else, I should be unhappy that-
"I'll get you a personalized TM. Of your choice."
Silence reigned for two seconds.
I suppose I could contribute a little aid, what with it being your birthday and everything.
Ash rolled his eyes. "I knew you'd see the light. Now stop procrastinating, and help me get all this stuff. We still need to visit the Pokemart, you know."
Humans have an odd way of expressing their mind. A disadvantage borne out of lack of psychic intellect, I presume.
"Yes, yes, my lord, now help me."
Of course. Never one to shrink from an honest reciprocal trade.
"Of course you wouldn't." Ash returned sardonically. "Now the next thing we need is…"
The next morning.
Cynthia got up from the bed, the alerts on her Pokenav more than enough to shed off every inch of sleepiness. Wondering what the matter was, she quickly checked up on the device. There were several messages from the Sinnoh league, especially from the Elite Four—something that she had begun associating with bad news.
Wonder what they need from me now…
The Elite had been very specific in their words. She was to be the one joining the St. Anne along with the other Sinnoh trainers boarding the ship. The official reason was that it would allow her the opportunity to travel and make connections with the Elite of the other regions- what they had never really expected was the attack on St. Anne and the aftermath after it. The next couple of days, Cynthia had literally run herself ragged running from one place to another, making sure that she had accounted for everything- the survivors of the event, and the dead. Doing so that gained her a lot of notice from the other Champions—especially Steven and the Elite Four of Kanto and Hoenn, something that had gone a long way in cementing her stature as a newly crowned Champion.
And now the Sinnoh Elite were getting more restless and wanted the challenges to begin immediately.
Yes, Cynthia. She told herself sardonically. Welcome to the life of a Champion.
After defeating the previous Champion on a six-on-six battle, Cynthia had been given the traditional vacation before the Champion duty began. A vacation whose first part had been spent on the ship, and taking care of the aftermath, and the second part… she had spent in training Ash. And now the Elite wanted her back to get started on the grill.
As soon as she would return to Sinnoh, she would have to answer challenges from the Elite Four as well as the Ace teams—whoever wished to formally challenge her that is- and defend her position. The maximum number of such challenges could not extend beyond fifteen, and would have to be conducted within the span of thirty days. Should she be able to maintain her position, the Elite and the Ace squad would then accept her superiority and follow her commands for the course of one year. After cementing her position, she would be liable to accept two challenges per month for the rest of her term. It was tradition, and nothing personal.
Bollocks! Cynthia cursed inwardly. Nothing personal my ass. They just don't want to accept that a little girl has stolen their grandeur.
She sighed.
The last week had been nothing like she had expected it to go. After that sudden bout of misunderstanding between her and Ash, she had resigned to simply training him to the best of her ability. After all, she owed that much to him, if not out of friendship, then out of the debt of saving her life all those times. And debts must always be paid in full.
And yet…
"What are you doing, Cynthia? Why? What are you trying to prove and why does it matter?" She asked herself aloud.
The silent tent did nothing to answer her concerns.
Sighing, she got up from her sleeping bag, getting ready for another day of training—oh, no wait- Ash had wanted to go to the city today. Maybe she could get herself an ice-cream. It always worked wonders for-
Wait.
She sniffed.
What is that smell?
She sniffed again, before the familiar (and horrifying) dark shade of smoke slowly diffused into her tent.
"…ire?" She half-mumbled, and without bothering to change her pyjamas, she searched for Milotic's pokeball, rushing out of the tent. The situation outside was something she had never expected to be.
It was a mess. There were several caskets littered all over the place, and on the top of everything, Ash was trying to prepare something. The keyword to be noted here was trying, since all he had managed to do was lose control and create a big mess, literally burn the bacon that he was trying to cook.
"…. What the hell do you think you are doing?" Cynthia screamed.
Ash turned towards her, looking like a deer in the headlights. He glanced back at the flames that had gotten out of control, at the bacon that he had managed to burn, and at the horrible mess and smoke. He glanced at Magnus whom he had delegated the task of making sure the flames stay at an appropriate level, but the draconic pokémon had… made a mess out of it. Poliwhirl's water gun (despite his honourable intentions) had only spoiled matters and drenched him completely from head to toe. Thus, there he was, completely drenched, standing with a large piece of burnt, wet bacon in one hand.
He turned back towards her again.
"…"
"Well?" Cynthia demanded, her hands on her hips.
"… let's face it. This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."
"I thought… we were going to go to Mirage Island today." Cynthia spoke softly, as the two trainers cleaned their makeshift kitchen in the aftermath of Ash's self-created disaster.
"Yeah, well I thought I'd just make something for you,"- Ash observed the sudden stiffness in her posture as he uttered the words—"you know."
"For… what? The training?" Cynthia asked, a slight tinge of melancholy in her tone.
"Not… really. I just decided to make some changes today."
"I thought… as your tutor, you are supposed to run all the decisions through me." The Sinnoh girl muttered, as she cleaned out a couple of plates.
"I'm allowed some lenience on my birthday."
"…"
"…"
Cynthia turned to face him. "Today's your birthday?"
"… Yeah?"
She looked at him blankly for a moment, gathering her words. "So… what exactly are these… caskets doing around here? And why exactly are you trying to burn half the island?"
Ash chuckled at her sardonic tone. "Um… because I wanted to spend the day with my friend?"
That stopped her short.
Ash sighed. "Look I'm sorry. I know what I said that day was kind 'a unfair on you, and I totally lost it in anger, and-"
"So this is your way of trying to patch things up?" Cynthia returned in a somewhat cold tone. "You think that I am angry at you, and not training you properly? I assure you that I am not."
"No, No!" Ash waved his hands animatedly. "I just… look I'm sorry okay? I just… you know I never really got the time to even digest that you are you… and you are a Champion… and-"
"You could fool me." Cynthia deadpanned. "You remind me more of that fact than myself."
"Look," Ash was getting nigh uncomfortable now. He sighed. "You know what happened right? With the cruise and the forest and Mewtwo and-"
"I fail to see the point."
"I'm coming to that." Ash nearly yelled. Gosh, this is difficult. "My point is, with all that happened, and with Steven and you offering me to train my pokémon, it literally influenced me to think that-"
"Oh so this is my fault." Cynthia replied, her expressions choleric.
"Will you allow me to complete?" Ash yelled uncharacteristically, shutting her up midway.
Silence.
"Well?" the Sinnoh girl demanded after a moment.
"I miss my friend." Ash confessed. "And I know that it is because of my own stupidity. I didn't really care about you being the Champion, but when you offered to help train me… somewhere in that, I forgot about my friend Shirona and I just focussed on the training, and I completely ignored the fact that you chose to sacrifice your vacation for me and,"—he gulped seeing the dangerously calm expression on her face, "—and I will just shut up now."
A second passed away.
Another second passed away.
Cynthia's expressions remained inscrutable.
"…. Umm… you aren't going to kill me now, are you?"
…
…
Finally, her lips parted. "I did not sacrifice my vacation. I chose to spend it with you."
Ash swallowed. All right, at least this was better than the silent treatment. "Cynthia… I'm sorry."
"For what?" Came the cool, cynical reply.
"For ignoring my friend. I… I overreacted about your treatment with Charmander, and I completely ignored that my friend chose to spend her vacation with me, and that means that I should not ignore her, just like she doesn't ignore my own need of training. I just…" he paused, "—I just feel like I've been behaving like an asshole completely and I wanted to make this vacation special for you and I even brought you ice-cream and I—mmmmh!"
The last words remained unsaid as Cynthia pushed a finger against his lips. "Anybody ever tell you that you talk too much?"
"No way. Metagross and Alakazam talk way more than-" He stopped midway, gulping at the dangerous glare that his friend gave him.
"Yeah. I talk too much." He admitted in a desultory tone.
A little grin spread across the girl's rosy lips. "You and I are going to spend this day having fun and nothing else. Is that understood?"
"Uh-hmmm."
"Good." Cynthia's lips twisted into a grin. "Now I need to go back in and change into proper clothes"—Ash just realized that she was still in her pyjamas- "and then we are going to celebrate your birthday together. Is that understood?"
Ash gulped. "Crystal."
"Good." She turned away, a spring visible on her every step. She took a few step towards her tent, before she stopped and spun back, a sublime expression on her face. "What did you mention about ice-cream again?"
"I'm… not really sure if this is really a good idea, you know."
Cynthia rolled her eyes, as she stared at the just-turned fifteen trainer, who was only dressed in his swimming trunks, looking oddly uncomfortable about the entire situation. She herself, had shed her nightwear and gotten into a comfortable two-piece swim-suit, one that only managed to accentuate her curves, causing the most natural reaction from the trainer from Pallet.
Desire, at first sight.
"You wanted to have fun, so this is my idea of having fun." The Sinnoh Champion grinned.
After the awkward end to their conversation (and his apology), Ash had treated Cynthia to his entire stash of ice-cream. He had gotten all thirteen-flavours, unsure of her favourites, though it had hardly helped matters. For one, he certainly didn't anticipate an ice-cream lover like her to just stare in wonder (and extreme focus?) at the different flavours for over half an hour, unable to decide which one to take. He had asked her to try all flavours and knock herself out, but in reality, her answer was the one that knocked him out.
"Well, every one of them looks great… but where would I put them all?"
After fifteen more minutes, she had settled with a triple cone of chocolate, strawberry, cookies and cream, much to his eternal gratitude, to whichever deity had listened to his prayers, and taken pity on him.
And now, she had the bright idea to go surfing on Milotic into the sea, and not just that, she wanted Ash to join him.
The Sinnoh Champion was an adrenaline-junkie. Go figure.
"Come now, Ash. It will be fun." She emphasized, before pulling Ash's arm with her towards Milotic who was already on the water, ready for surfing.
"Hold tight. It's going to get messy in a while."
An extremely self-conscious Ash held her waist tightly, as she herself held on to Milotic's red hair, which protruded from the temples all the way down to the ground, having a length closer to two feet.
"All set, Milo… let's go!" Cynthia pulled the hairs backward almost as if pulling a Ponyta's rein, as Milotic let out an enthusiastic warble, before shooting into the waters at night unbelievable speeds, literally parting the sea on two sides as it shot, with water spraying upwards all over, drenching Cynthia and Ash- the former laughing uncontrollably while the later shrieking like a little girl.
"Are you having fun?" Cynthia yelled aloud, knowing very well that it would be otherwise difficult to converse, what with the sound of the waters parting on both sides.
Ash just held on to her waist for dear life. He had nearly slipped of Milotic's body several times, and had almost fallen off. At her words, he simply held on tighter, wondering why on earth he had subjected himself to this torment.
Cynthia laughed. "We can stop by for a moment, and then continue if you want."
"Don't stop." Ash yelled back. "Once I am getting down, there's no way I'm getting back up on this."
Milotic let out another warble, almost as if in answer, and shot ahead, if possible at increased speeds.
Another hour later, an overwhelmed Ash and an excited Cynthia got themselves off Milotic, who let out another warble before leaping into the depths of the sea, vanishing from sight.
"She loves doing it." Cynthia chirped. "Did you have fun?"
Ash muttered something incomprehensible under his breath.
Cynthia laughed. "It's an acquired taste, Ash. Just try that on your Gyarados sometime. You'll love it." She paused. "On second thought, maybe we should try that out."
Ash looked at her, horrified. "Uh… Cynthia. You know I'm sorry, right? Please don't punish me anymore."
Cynthia's grin only turned wider.
He took a step back. "You are not going to go for that now, are you?"
The Sinnoh Champion smirked. "It would be fun, but… some other time, I suppose."
Ash sighed, elated.
"-after lunch, that is."
His eyes shot up in horror.
Fortunately, Ash hadn't had to face the problem of surfing on Gyarados. The strenuous exercise all morning, had made both of them quite hungry, and despite his attempts for the contrary, Cynthia had taken it upon herself to prepare the lunch, claiming that he had prepared the breakfast and hence it was her prerogative to make lunch. Knowing a lost battle when he saw one, the trainer from Pallet had agreed and let her do as she did.
The Sinnoh girl had been literally teleporting all over the place, preparing what was sure to be a succulent and appetizing meal. Then again, considering the amount of ingredients he had gotten for the occasion, he shouldn't have been that surprised in the first place.
"Mmmm… that was delicious." Ash claimed about the bacon. The morsels literally melted in his mouth when he had tried them. "Seriously, if you ever get tired of being Champion, you should open a restaurant."
Cynthia chortled at that. "I'm glad you liked it, Ash." She glanced at Milotic and Gyarados who were still in the waters. "Though I must say that it wouldn't be possible without those extra additions you brought in." She paused. "Must have cost a hefty amount."
Ash shrugged. "I'll manage. Besides, you deserve it." He never noticed her going stiff all sudden as he made his comment. "I'm just happy because you are."
Cynthia beamed at him. "Thank you, Ash. It means a lot to me."
Ash just grinned.
"Speaking of that, what about the Trevenant? I don't think you mentioned clearing stuff out with it."
"I didn't." Ash admitted.
Cynthia arched an eyebrow. "And the pokémon that you got from Team Rocket? Dusclops, was it?"
Ash shook his head.
Cynthia's eyebrow rose higher. "At least tell me that you checked the pokémon you got underwater?"
Ash repeated his gesture.
Cynthia gazed at him, impassive.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Ash defended, feeling awfully uncomfortable.
"Trying to think what goes around in that mind of yours. Why on earth would you-?"
"Because I didn't want to mess up the training." He admitted.
Pause.
"Say that again?"
Ash sighed. "Because I didn't want to mess up the training."
"I don't understand. How would releasing a pokémon mess up with-?"
"Steven said that I shouldn't get the mystery pokémon out until I was back in health. But then, all that forest stuff happened, and you know what happened after that. I got myself Dusclops, another Team Rocket pokémon, and Trevenant. I don't think I need to remind you what happened when I released him?"
Cynthia had to agree. He had a point. However, that line of thought wasn't without its flaws. "You could have released it without me, and our pokémon around. I'm pretty sure a single pokémon, no matter how powerful, would be able to defeat them all."
Ash opened his mouth to counter, but Cynthia held up a finger. "Mewtwo is an exception. So are legendaries."
Ash looked away. "As I said, I didn't want to mess up with our training. Releasing either of them could cause a-", he paused, looking back at her, "you think it is easy for me? Having a pokémon and yet no checking it out, or releasing it?"
"Then why didn't you?"
"Because I was worried it would cause a commotion, like it happened with Trevenant. That would mean less training for my team. Choosing between my own curiosity and their development…. It isn't a choice to be frank."
Cynthia stared at him blankly, half-vexed and half-frustrated. As much as she attempted to do, trying to figure Ash Ketchum out was an exercise that ended in vain. A trainer that seemed to have ridiculous luck with rare pokémon, had a sort of… connection with the Legendaries, loved his pokémon like nothing else, and had balls of steel. However, pull all of that away and you had a person who seemed literally incapable of thinking about his own self-preservation. He had literally chosen to save her—an acquaintance he knew next to nothing about, on the cruise, and not just once, but several times. He had then accepted, even embraced the possibility of death, if it meant that it would bring up the mythical counter that could stop Mewtwo. He had almost died of a curse in the forest and had still-
Cynthia shook herself off from those thoughts. Even now, the boy had been thinking of either his pokémon, or her. Never for himself. It went beyond selflessness. It was more like he didn't have a sense of self-worth in the first place. He hadn't thought once before taking Magnus's attack on himself, trying to save her from it, when she had caused it in the first place, and now- on his own birthday, he was doing all he could to make sure that she had a memorable day.
There, she had gotten to ranting all over again. His personality, his quirks… it all reminded her of the conversation she had had with him back on the cruise. Back then, she hadn't taken it that seriously, but now it made a lot more sense.
"I am just hoping to discover my own purpose while helping my team achieve theirs."
It didn't sit well with her. Not at all.
What kind of life experience could have made you… this purposeless, Ash Ketchum?
"Release it." She finally said.
"What?" Ash asked, surprised.
"Release it out, the pokémon, I mean." She paused, rephrasing her words. "At least the dark-type, if not the ghost you captured from Team Rocket in the forest."
"You… sure about that?"
Cynthia nodded her head. "Let's see that mystery pokémon of yours."
"But you already know what it is, don't you?" Ash countered. "Steven told me that the two of you decided to let me keep it."
"I do." Cynthia admitted. "And in any other situation, I would probably- never mind, let it out."
Ash frowned, wondering where she was going with that statement. "All right." He whispered, plucking out the sole greatball in his belt, as he let out a deep breath. "Here goes nothing."
The great-ball opened wide as he pressed the release button, sending red light all over the place, which then condensed to form a sort-of, sauropodian structure at first look. As the pokémon materialized completely, he was surprised to find a two-headed, quadrupedal form. Two black wing-like appendages were present on the back, while black scruffy fur covered both heads' necks and eyes. It had two claws on each front leg, as well as a stubby tail and two feather-like "horns" on both of its heads. Its round, plumper underbelly had two rows of magenta scales.
"Whoa… what sort 'a pokémon is that?" Ash whispered, as he scanned it with the Pokedex.
Zweilous. The hostile pokémon. The two heads do not get along. Whichever head eats more than the other gets to be the leader. Thus, it eats too much more than is normal.
"Zweilous." Ash murmured, staring at the strange-looking pokémon who seemed to have finally realized that they were out of the pokeball, and strangely enough, had waved each head, colliding them midway, after which the two heads had begun to screech and bicker endlessly. He scanned Dexter for further details.
This Zweilous is female. Current move set: Bite, Dragon rage, head-butt, dragon breath, and crunch. Genetic typing: Dark/ dragon.
"This is a dragon-type?" Ash whispered, staring wildly at his 'mystery' pokémon.
"Indeed. The only dark/dragon combination in the entire world." Cynthia supplied, her eyes shining with interest. "Their evolved form is called Hydreigon, and one of the most powerful ones out there."
"Whoa…" Ash whispered in surprise and fascination. "Why are they… you know, ignoring everything else and fighting amongst themselves?"
"They are functionally blind." Cynthia explained.
"Blind?" Ash inquired, fearing that he heard it wrong.
"Blind." She confirmed, shaking her head towards the dark draconic pokémon in front of them. The two heads were, haphazardly, screeching, and biting out of thin air, tackling imaginary creatures which were apparently around them. "It is their way of hunting. They rely on luck to capture prey, and keep on eating whenever they get the chance."
Ash looked conflicted, as he stood up from his position.
"You… might not want to get too close. They have rather sharp teeth, you know."
"Yeah. But they need food, as you said. There's lots of food over here." He countered offhandedly, as he took a step forward. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. I just… want to give you food to eat."
At the mention of food, the two heads perked up, their line of sight automatically aligned towards the general direction where Ash was standing.
He picked up two rather large pieces of bacon, before holding each in either hand. "Listen to my voice. I have food in my hand. You can smell it can't you?"
"I bet they can." Cynthia snorted. "Zweilous have some of the best noses out there. They can smell stuff from a mile away. Then again, they eat almost anything, so I guess, even people are food for them." She saw the Zweilous take a step forward towards Ash, and just for precaution, released Spiritomb who floated right beside her.
The trainer in question just tilted his head in curiosity, extending both hands, a large piece of bacon in each, as the draconian creature slowly stomped her way towards him. Sniffing the bacon, the two heads snapped their ridiculously sharp fangs into it, tearing it for themselves, before going for another bite, this time literally snatching away the bacon for themselves.
"That was pretty fast." Ash observed.
"Yeah, and a murder on your pocket as well." Cynthia advised. "You should be glad that Shelgon eats practically nothing."
Ash raised an eyebrow.
"Dragons are voracious eaters, Ash, and your team in particular, has too many of them. With a Salamence, a Charizard, a Gyarados and now Zweilous—evolving into a Hydreigon, I won't be surprised if you have to battle much more only to keep them satisfied when it comes to food."
"The others?" Ash asked, slightly wary and curious at the same time.
"Rhydon, Lairon and Metagross shouldn't matter much. As long as you stay on rocky land- mountains and all, they should be able to eat to their heart's content, and besides, they don't eat all that much. Besides, Rhydon is herbivorous, so that should get it covered."
"Uh-huh."
"Ghosts… don't eat, as far as normal food is concerned, and the rest of your team… they don't have any particular food habits. The standard pokémon food should do."
"So it's only meat for the dragons." Ash confirmed. He hadn't really taken into account the costs of having so many pokémon with him at all times. Perhaps that was why trainers kept to smaller teams, sending the rest to corals, where they got fed appropriately.
"Yeah, and lots of it. Of course, dragons mostly fly around, and prey on wild pokémon out there. Your Pidgeot for example, feeds on bugs which are available by the plenty."
"I think I understand." He murmured, slowly pushing his hand further to touch the Zweilous on their heads, scratching the surface slightly. Surprisingly, the two heads seemed to relax on contact, merrily chewing the bacon he had given them. He grinned, his fingers pushing past their head into their thick fur, caressing their protruded necks. Even so, the Zweilous didn't display any kind of hostile behaviour.
"That… is not something you usually see, you know." Cynthia muttered, blinking owlishly at the draconian pokémon. "Zweilous are supposed to be hostile, at least as far as dark-types are concerned. They aren't supposed to be Growlithe."
"Well, this one is certainly not host-" Ash almost finished that line of thought when Cynthia stiffened, making him turn around, as the head on the right opened her maw, displaying her powerful fangs. Ash was almost able to remove his hand away but the head was faster.
The panic, however, was unnecessary.
A long tongue rolled out of it, licking his wrist twice, before the head let out a little screech, before picking up the bacon that had fallen off her mouth, and began to bite into it again.
The two trainers sighed.
"I repeat. They are not supposed to be Growlithe."
Ash almost chuckled. He had barely removed his left palm from the other head, but surprisingly, the head pushed itself into his palm, almost as if demanding to be caressed.
"I suppose she likes me."
"There come in all kinds." Cynthia drawled.
"Are you jealous?" Ash countered, catching her off-guard.
"Huh?" she stammered, her cheeks catching a tinge of pink. "Why—why would I be jealous?"
"Just checking."
"Pfft!" She scoffed. "Just make sure there is tasty food nearby, else your hand might as well be the bacon in their mouth next time."
Ash shuddered at the mental image, as he turned to face Zweilous. "All right, I need to return you back to the pokeball. I will be releasing you out pretty soon for more food, all right?"
Zweilous's heads gave out a soft screech, as the red light engulfed that.
"And Steven told me it would be dangerous." Ash wondered.
"That… was surreal." Cynthia expressed after a moment. "That is one odd Zweilous you have there, Ash."
"Either way, I like the way they are." Ash defended.
"Yes, yes. Take their side why don't you," Cynthia barked. "You attract all kinds of oddities."
Ash just shrugged.
"And here I was worried if giving you that pokémon was the right thing to do or not." She murmured.
That grabbed his attention. "For their excessive hunger?"
"Nah, for their hostility. It increases on evolving. Hydreigon are literally the… apex predator in Unova."
Ash peered at her. "A blind dragon as the apex-"
"Hydreigon aren't blind." Cynthia corrected. "They are… much more violent though, and are the pseudo-legendary kind."
Ash choked. "You gave me a pseudo-legendary?"
"Well, we didn't give you per se. You got the pokeball. We only… made it legal."
"Semantics."
Cynthia sighed. "Yes, we did." She couldn't help but wonder exactly what Ash knew about pseudo-legendaries. Perhaps she should have given him more credit than she did.
"Well," Ash drawled out, gathering his thoughts, "they are supposed to quite special, right? More than the others? That was what Derrick told me back then."
Not much then. As guessed. Cynthia bobbed her head in agreement. "You are right." She paused, wondering if she should tell him or not. Taking a decision, she continued, "you probably do not know, but to gain the allegiance of a pseudo-legendary is significant."
"What does that mean?" Ash asked, not even bothering to hide his ignorance on the subject.
Cynthia's lips twisted into something that was almost but not quite a smile. "It means- whenever a pseudo-legendary pokémon bonds with a trainer, it is almost always…" she paused, "—a fated event. Not a matter of chance."
Ash listened to her words, before his countenance shifted to a frown. "I disagree."
Cynthia arched an eyebrow. "What?"
"I disagree. Pseudo-legendaries are powerful, and can become strong enough to stand against legendaries. Derrick told me that once upon a time." He paused, as his tone became more nostalgic than anything else. "I can agree with that, having seen the King's power, and Derrick's Metagross, or even your own Garchomp in action. Pseudo-legendaries are damn powerful, and thus having even one on my team is significant. I agree with that too." He looked squarely at her. "However, I do not agree that it is a fated event, while the rest is a matter of chance with other pokémon."
"But-"
"I'm sorry, Cynthia." Ash went on. "Believing in the sentiment you told me, would mean that me meeting Magnus back at Route 24 was a matter of chance as well. It wasn't. The same is true for each and every of my pokémon. All of my pokémon are special, in their own way, pseudo-legendary or not."
Cynthia had a searching expression on her face. Why can't he understand? He just had a Zweilous licking out of his palm and he- She paused the line of th0ught. "If you say so."
"Yeah." Ash murmured.
The Sinnoh Champion parted her lips, but then paused, before making a decision. "You should know though… that not everyone will share that sentiment of yours."
Ash arched an eyebrow.
"The league." Cynthia added.
"…"
"Believe it or not, for most people in the high-up positions, especially the Elites, being a pseudo-legendary trainer means something. It will make them notice you, like they noticed me, or Steven or anyone out there that has ever tamed and gotten the pseudo-legendary's allegiance."
"Notice?"
Cynthia suppressed an urge to yell out in frustration. "Ash… when I met you back then on the cruise, it was because of well, two things. The first was your battling style—it was eerily similar to my own, and the other, well because of your Bagon and your-"
"Because I had two pseudo-legendary on my team."
Cynthia suppressed her emotions. "Yes."
"And not because you wanted to be my friend?" It wasn't a question, just a confirmation.
"I am your friend." Cynthia reached forward to hold his hand. "I truly am, but back then, I was… interested in you because of that."
Ash didn't say anything.
"Come now, surely you aren't that naïve to believe that people don't have any private intentions apart from just getting acquainted?"
Ash nodded. He understood it, but it didn't mean he had to like it.
"You better believe that, Ash. Everyone of significance that has ever demonstrated any interest in you, must have had some personal interests and intentions behind making their acquaintance, at least at the beginning. Me, Steven, Mr. Stone, or even Bill Montgomery—everyone always acts out of their own expectations, and rarely out of altruism. It's only natural."
"I guess." Ash murmured. "I just… never mind." He looked up at her. "What about you? You also have a pseudo-legendary."
"Yeah, and I was the heir of an old clan, who started out with a shiny Gible. That attracts a lot of attention."
"Like?"
Cynthia paused, wondering what to say. "Put it like this. You remember I told you about the Wataru clan?"
"From where Lance is."
"Yes, well, I had a professor who tutored me in private before I set out on my journey. He was a descendant from the Wataru clan, and it was him who gave me my shiny Gible. He only asked me to keep a promise that I have never faltered, even now."
"What was that?" Ash asked, before realizing that he had perhaps overstepped his boundaries.
Cynthia, it seemed had deduced his thoughts from his facial expression. "It's okay, I don't mind. He told me never to tame another dragon in my life as a trainer."
"Huh? Why would he tell you to do such a thing?"
Cynthia frowned. "Honestly? I do not know, but he did, and I followed that rule. I never regretted it. Garchomp and I are made for each other, and he's the only dragon I need on my team."
"Oh."
"Yeah." Cynthia's face had the quintessential nostalgic expression.
"We travelled all around Sinnoh, catching several pokémon. Within three months of my journey, I already had fifteen pokémon in my team- Meditite, Jellicent, Spiritomb, Espeon, Heracross, Pupitar, Riolu, Solrock, Staravia, Roselia, Shellos, Snover, Rhydon and a Togetic. Apart from my Gible that is, who had evolved into a Gabite." She recited out from memory.
"And here I thought that Gary was overzealous, and me, plain lucky for having caught so many pokémon in my first two months."
"Sorry to break it to you, but you aren't the biggest freak in town." Cynthia quipped.
"Welḷ… that's a first." Ash chortled.
"It's actually true." Cynthia continued. "Most trainers catch a majority of their pokémon in the first couple of months, and the number dwindles down from there onwards. I only caught some four or five pokémon in my subsequent years, as I realized that it was more important to train my existing team than get more."
"I guess the same will happen to me." Ash muttered. He was slowly seeing the problems arising out of handling a large team. He had already had a large enough team, and if he managed to train them well, they would be able to bring him victory in subsequent challenges to come.
"It should." Cynthia agreed. "Though there are some morons you will find on your journey, trainers who capture a relatively decent amount of pokémon, win the badges but lose at the conferences, because they have spent their entire time poking their noses into matters they have no business with, instead of training and evolving their pokémon. Then, they just start afresh with a new region, hoping to catch newer pokémon, and repeat the entire thing."
"Let me guess, they lose again?"
Cynthia arched her eyebrow. "What else did you expect?"
"But… but what about the pokémon they caught earlier? What about them?"
She shrugged. "Sitting in the corals, perhaps. Waiting for their trainer to come back and train them sometime, I suppose. Pathetic, I tell you."
Ash swallowed. "I don't think that I'd like to follow that route."
"Good. As long you stay sensible, you always have a chance of winning a league conference." The blonde-haired girl laughed. "The Sinnoh league holds its annual conference in December, every year, so I had around sixteen months before my first try. That got me a lot of time to prepare for."
Ash was hanging on to her every word.
"That didn't mean I did pokémon training and nothing else. There was a lot about Unown research and visiting places, though I'll admit, I never got to see any legendaries like you do. I'm insanely jealous."
Ash scoffed.
"I had finished acquiring all my badges by the first ten months. The rest of the time, I spent on Mt. Coronet. It is a wonderful place for training."
"Tell me about the Sinnoh conference." He prodded.
"It's not called Sinnoh Conference, dummy." Cynthia chortled, much to his chagrin. "It is called Lily of the Valley Conference, hosted every year on Lily of the Valley Island."
"Oh."
"You'd be surprised by the starting rounds of the Conference. For one, you need to register yourself as fast as possible, since they take only two hundred and fifty six participants every year. The rest, they have to wait for the next year."
"Isn't that unfair?" Ash scoffed.
"Not really. You get a four-day duration to come up and put your names in, and the dates for registration are announced months prior. If you still cannot make it to the registration in time, the blame's on you."
"I guess." Ash mumbled.
"The eliminations are a group of four matches, winning it will bring you to the Top-32. You'd need to fight one battle every day for four days consistently, so you better keep your pokémon arranged in teams and in the peak of health for that. There are some trainers… you'd find, who only keep a tiny team of six or seven perhaps, and train them to their best. However, if even one of their pokémon gets a fatal injury, they run the risk of getting eliminated in the next match. That is why it is always better to have a large team, for insurance if nothing else."
Ash had to agree. She had a point. Besides, his own thoughts paralleled hers on the subject.
"The best strategy, I think, is to take around seven to eight pokémon at a time, train them rigorously, and then rotate them with the next batch. It helps to have multiple team-sets to rely on."
"I was working on something like that." Ash admitted.
"And here I thought you were catching dangerous pokémon to impress me." The Sinnoh girl teased.
Ash just mumbled something incomprehensible, causing her to chortle even more.
"Tell me more about your experience at the league." Ash tried, wanting to change the topic.
"Spoilsport." Cynthia muttered playfully. "Well, the talented trainers are actually those you face from Top-32 onwards. The matches become a six-on-six from there onwards, instead of a three-on-three, right till the finals." She paused. "There was this trainer called Reginald, who was a prankster. He and his ghosts gave me a really hard time in the finals. Also, there was this guy called Paul"- Ash stiffened—"he gave me a really hard battle in the semi-finals, but then I managed to defeat him. Come to think of it, your own team reminds me heavily about his own—large, powerful, heavy hitters."
Crap.
"Just like him?" Ash asked, more to himself than to her.
"Yeah," Cynthia was oblivious to his reaction, lost in her own nostalgia. "All of them strong as hell. It took a lot out of Garchomp, but he managed to defeat his Rhyperior and Gyarados."
A Rhyperior and a Gyarados. Ash repeated in the back of his mind.
"Yeah, and that reminds me, you should start looking a Protector shard for your Rhydon."
"A protector shard?" Ash repeated.
"It's chunk of Rhyperior's inner armour, one given freely by said Rhyperior. You need it to evolve Rhydon into one. I'd have gotten you a shard myself, it's just that my Rhyperior isn't that old enough to synthesize its inner armour yet."
"It's okay." Ash promised. "I'll look for one."
"See that you do. Rhydon in general can become crazy strong, but Rhyperior are a class of their own. Even a powerful Metagr0ss or a Hydreigon would face several issues dealing with one."
"Right." He paused. "I just hope that I'll be able to perform just as well."
Cynthia held his hand tightly. "I know you will, Ash. Few can gloat of a more naturally powerful team than yours. You have four dragons on your team, for one." She paused. "Too bad I will never really know what it is like to train other dragons apart from my Garchomp."
"Is that why…." Ash paused for a moment. "Zweilous, I mean."
"… Yes." Cynthia admitted. "Hydreigon are very powerful pokémon. In fact, if you can train it to fully realize its potential, it can literally defeat each and every pokémon in your team. However, the same is true for almost all pseudo-legendaries, and you have three on your team."
"Will that… you know, pose a problem?" Ash swallowed. "From the league?"
"No, but it will certainly gain you attention from the higher-ups. I know for a fact that Lance has two Dragonite and a Dragonair on his team, and from what Steven told me, a Hydreigon too. Yours however, is much more diverse, and while Lance comes from a clan associated with draconic-kind, you are…."
"A no-name nobody." Ash muttered.
"I wouldn't have put it that way, but yes." Cynthia admitted. "It will certainly catch the eyes of those at the top."
"Do you think that they will… you know, try to get my team from me?" he couldn't help but shudder at the thought of his team getting snatched from him.
"Nothing like that." Cynthia denied. "However, they would get acquainted with you. For some, like Steven for one, you are like an experiment of sorts... I think. For Lance, from what I have heard, you are a significant… entity, no thanks to the interest that Mewtwo has demonstrated in you. The fact that you have also managed to acquire a little legendary interest doesn't help matters."
"That's what you meant about Lance wanting me tied."
"It was metaphoric, but yes."
"And you?"
Cynthia widened her eyes, caught off-guard by the sudden question. "What about me?"
"What about you? Where do you stand?"
"I…" Cynthia tightened her hold on his wrist. "I stand with you."
Somehow, Ash felt that he couldn't have been happier with any other answer.
Back in Kanto.
Ace Squad. A name that was associated with power, money and social stature in the pokémon world. As far as the administration was concerned, there were two levels of Ace trainers—the Group A and the Group B. The Group A were the upper class, with each and every single member being a winner of the Indigo League at one point or another. The Group B comprised of trainers who had come up to the Top-4 in the League conferences, and multiple times at that. Usually, they were handpicked by the Elite Four, in hopes of polishing them into a gem, and also, to make sure that such talent didn't go waste, or worse, get incriminated into the malicious forces trying to creep up every now and then. However, there existed a special team—a mixture of Group A and Group B Aces, one that answered to Lance and only to Lance himself.
The Ryoto Brigade.
A team of exactly eighteen Ace trainers, each of them specializing in at least, a single type of pokémon, to cover all eighteen types of pokémon out there. The Ryoto Brigade, was created to aid the Champion alone in defending the security of Kanto and Johto regions.
A brigade that had been mercilessly slaughtered in less than ten seconds, by a not-quite-a-legendary pokémon known as Mewtwo.
A brigade that was now only limited to the stack of papers on his deck. Lance mused silently.
After the events of St. Anne, Lance had created the next generation of the Ryoto Brigade almost overnight, ready to challenge the uprising threat that was Team Rocket. While it was true that Mewtwo alone had been able to defeat them without batting an eye, it also should be taken into account that the brigade (and Lance himself) were battling an entity they had no idea about. The next time it happened, he would ensure that Mewtwo got a taste of his own medicine.
He owed Charizard that much.
Strangely enough, Team Rocket hadn't behaved like the way he had expected. Executive Pierce had managed to get away, as had the other Executives. From the official report, it seemed like Executive Proton had been… exterminated on the cruise's deck, though not much was clear about the rest of them. A certain Executive Cassidy had lost her right arm, while battling Lorelei, but that was all he knew about it. It seemed, that with the intervention of the mythical Dragonite, Team Rocket had decided to step back and watch for a while before trying another attempt at taking over the League. Even Mewtwo… Lance thought with disdain, had yet to make another presence in public.
He sent another glance at the ring on his right hand, the tetrahedral stone on it glowing brightly, even though it might never be used, ever again, as far as Lance himself was concerned.
I will avenge you, my friend.
His thoughts turned towards the newest addition to his team. The Hydreigon. Mewtwo had, in a grand display of his magnanimity, Lance thought with a snarl, had gifted him the dark dragon as a replacement for his Charizard. Team Rocket's pokémon or not, the Hydreigon was damn powerful, though untrained, and was currently being trained by the rest of Lance's team, so that it could turn out to be a fitting battler in the future.
A proper addition to his team of dragons.
The phone on his desk rang loudly, as he held up the receiver, only to ask. "Have they arrived yet?"
"Yes, sir."
Lance paused for a moment. "Good. Please send them in."
He pushed his chair a little backward, trying to get himself a little more comfortable. He would need all of his patience to get through the meeting—a meeting on which a lot of things were depending on.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in." He replied, in a loud, clear tone.
The door opened as the two foremost researchers of Kanto region stepped in, as Lance himself stood up in acknowledgement. After all, in the current scheme of things, it was extremely vital that he had these two working alongside him, not against his machinations.
He stared squarely at the faces of the two men who now stood in front of him.
Samuel Oak, and Bill Montgomery.
Back on Sulphur Island.
The two trainers were walking along the sea shore, enjoying the cool evening breeze as it kissed their faces. After the events all day, the idea of a nice evening walk had sounded like a good option.
"I was thinking of releasing Dusclops tomorrow, and see what it turns out. I don't want to use up all my luck for the day." Ash declared, kicking a sandstone on the path, as it fell into the water.
"Right. Who knows, what it would turn out?" Cynthia rolled her eyes. "Maybe it would just go for the kill."
"Nah, not so easy. My team would be there, and you would be there. I don't really fear anything to happen to me."
Cynthia smiled at his admission of his faith in her, but didn't comment.
"Besides, I'm thinking it is time that after we are done with your training, I'll start training them in some of the ways I thought of over the past week. About those weaknesses that need to be addressed." He continued. "Also I need to talk to Bill again, asking if he managed to do something about Magnus."
"Hmm?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you about that. I called up on Bill Montgomery last night, about Magnus."
"And?"
"He said that he would file in appropriate documentation to register him as a special kind of shiny pokémon, at least as far as official reports go."
"Unofficially?"
Ash mumbled something under his breath.
"What was that?"
"He said that he'd drive some sense into Lance."
Cynthia chortled at that.
"Hey!"
Cynthia held her hands up in surrender. "Don't worry. It's not like every other trainer out there has a pokedex like yours that would start throwing out concerns for everybody to hear. Besides, you are an honorary associate of the Indigo League, remember? Did you tell him about our suspicion over the raid on the Forest?"
Ash nodded.
"Good, it will ease things along. Don't worry about Magnus. Lance is a little headstrong, I've heard, but he has his heart in the right place."
Ash raised an eyebrow.
"Um… I've heard that as well." She confessed. "From Steven."
Ash let out a breath. At least, he could trust the silver-haired former Champion, if no one else, as far as the Indigo league was concerned.
"Don't be so paranoid." She reached out for his hand. "Everything will work out for the best."
"If you say so." Ash muttered darkly.
The two continued walking, though for some reason, Cynthia hadn't left his hand.
"Ash?"
"Huh?"
"I… got a notification from the Elite." Cynthia spoke up softly. "I am required to report back soon."
That got a reaction from him. "How soon?"
"Maybe… tomorrow morning."
Ash stopped in his tracks. "But… but this is supposed to be your vacation, right?" He asked impulsively. "What about it? Why are they, you know-?"
"I know." Cynthia frowned a little. "I know I promised you that I'd be there to help you train-"
"Screw that." Ash retorted, much to her surprise. "I'm not talking about the training. I'm talking about you. This is supposed to be a vacation for you, right? Then why are they-?"
Cynthia tried but failed to suppress a smile on her lips. "Thanks Ash, but either way, this one day is worth a lot to me. I'll cherish it forever."
"Well…" Ash breathed. "That was the plan."
Cynthia chuckled lightly. "Either way, we cannot ignore the fact that it is your birthday."
Ash just shrugged. "Not a bloody big deal, really."
"It is for me." The Sinnoh girl countered softly. "And I did think a lot about what to give you for a gift. I wanted it to be special, something to remember me by, when you are off on your own journey." Her lips parted as she took a step forward.
"Well, I have your contact number. I guess we could call up and talk sometimes." Ash replied obliviously. "Either way, I don't really care much for my birthday, since everyone just keeps asking for treats. Even Alakazam had coerced a TM out of me last night and I had a lot of potential blackmail on mmmmh".
Before he had even barely registered what had just happened, he felt her soft, pink lips on his own, Cynthia pushing herself into him, her body seemingly melting into his own, as he closed his eyes, barely registering the happiness that filled him from within. He closed his eyes, his other hand moving up to touch her back, subconsciously pulling her closer as the two engaged in a fiery and passionate kiss.
She never let go her hold on his wrist.
After what seemed like eternity, Cynthia pulled away, as even the most passionate lovers' need oxygen, revealing a completely confounded Ash Ketchum grinning like a loon, smirking as she did.
"That… was unexpected." Ash spoke after what seemed t0 be an eternally long time.
"I've been waiting to do that for a long time." Cynthia confessed, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"Yeah…?"Ash replied, still confounded. "I didn't believe Steven when he told me that you had the hots for- I didn't just say that aloud, did I?"
Cynthia smirked. "You did. Though I need to have a little talk with Steven about what he goes on blurting out in public."
Ash just raised an eyebrow.
"What?" Cynthia asked, wagging her own.
"Just wondering what this means… for us, you know. You are a-I mean, you know what you are, and I'm just a no-name no—mmm!" He felt her lips against his once again, stopping any further words from coming out.
"Does that tell you if I care?"
"Uh… a little. I might need a little more confirmation." Ash replied, half-confounded and half-cheeky.
"You are incorrigible." Cynthia replied, amused, as she pulled out of his arms. "You are going to call me up every week on that number. Is that clear, Mister?"
Ash gulped. "Sure thing."
Cynthia touched his cheek with a finger. "Good, and then… there's this." She pulled out what seemed to be a tear-drop shaped glass ornament, just like the one she always wore on the front of her shirt. Said ornament was black, crystalline and had a chain tied to it, to be worn around the neck. "This is for you."
"Matching ornaments, eh?" Ash quipped.
She rolled her eyes. "It's more than that. This ornament… it contains a wing feather given freely by Cresselia, one of the legendary lunar duo of Sinnoh. It keeps away nightmares from harming your sleep."
Ash gazed at the crystalline artefact in his fingers. "A legendary's… wing feather?"
"Yeah." Cynthia confirmed. "My grandmother gave me a pair. I have one with me," she touched the ornament on her neck, "and now you have the other."
"But… shouldn't you be-" Ash stopped his question midway, at her gaze, "all right. I accept it. Thanks." He looked away at a distance, as a sight caught his attention.
"Cynthia?"
"Huh?"
"Look at that."
The two of them looked towards their right, staring in surprise as hundreds of Wingull and Swablu, flying together in the evening sky. It was a beautiful sight. He felt Cynthia smile, move closer and hug him, as his own hands closed in on her.
For the first time in his life, Ash Ketchum felt that he wasn't alone. That he had someone to look up to, to whom he would prove himself over and over, despite never being asked to do so. Someone… who believed in him like he did in her… someone who brought alongside her, a feeling that he had searched along for a long, long time.
Purpose.