Summary: Before Cynthia was the cool, collected Champion, she was an aspiring trainer.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

Status: On Hiatus. Needs a beta-reader badly and incentive to keep writing. Plus my writing style has changed completely, and even I wouldn't read this at my own leisure. Unless I'm back in this fandom. Sorry. —rayningnight [12/08/2013]

Battle 1: Blue, the Colour of Destiny
Every trainer has a choice, to listen to that voice inside.

Daybreak finally startled the last of blues and greys, and sunshine flooded over the quaint house. Bright dawn peeked through white, yellow-striped drapes of a bottom-floor window, streaming warm sunlight and reflecting off spilled golden hair. As a brilliant sunbeam suddenly streaked itself through the gap, it managed to dart right into half opening eyes, instantly making them widen and squeeze shut with something between a gurgle and a cry.

"Nnnngh!..." Immediately, the blonde pulled the thick comforter over herself and curled into a Silcoon-shape under the warm covers. But, damn it to Arceus, the damage was done.

Cynthia was awake.

Cynthia was awake at the crack of dawn.

And Cynthia was not, by any means, a morning person.

With a muffled huff under the soft pink blanket, Cynthia sat up just a bit grumpily. A scowl stretched her features as she recalled a blurrily pleasant dream from the night, and when compared to the ones as of last week, she had the urge to weep. They'd been getting from bad to worse, but today, for once, it was a nice dream!

She sniffed and, feeling something twist with a wince, she leaned her head to the side, barring her neck to loosen a tight knot from her probably awkward sleeping posture and unintentionally locking gazes with herself from the mirror. High cheekbones, heart-shaped jawline and pert nose — Cynthia was not an exception to her distinguished Old Family traits; Cynthia frowned and ran a hand through her long blonde hair. Well, almost. Unlike her baby angel sister with those oh-so-cute blue eyes and golden spun sunlight hair, Cynthia only received half the deal with their parents.

Gray eyes. No, not quicksilver pools, or stormy rains or lightning skies — she had single-hue gray eyes like a rock.

It was so unfair.

On that note, it was even more unfair that she'd the great misfortune to be spirited away from Grandmother Carolina – right on her sixteenth birthday – to go digging for even more rockswith Professor Rowan.

Don't get her wrong, she loved the old relics, ancient fossils and the ragtag objects the wizened man found; but, honestly, she'd have much preferred to have stayed behind in Celestic Town, now that Grandfather Kenshin had finally permitted her to enter the sacred Celestic Ruins. She had asked (pestered) Grandfather ceaselessly to go explore the enigmatic sanctuary when she had turned ten, since that was the 'proper-age' for nearly anything in and around the Pokémon world, but of course Grandfather would have none of it. He had instead lectured her (countless times) that back in the old days the 'proper-age' had been sixteen – sixteen! – and that no blooded descendant of his would stray from the traditional ways.

Psssshhh. A knowing voice in her sniffed. Mother already broke that rule.

Cynthia frowned, realizing she'd gone way off tangent, and quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts. While doing so, she maneuvered the pink bedding away from herself and swung her legs over the edge of the twin-sized mattress and onto the smooth wooden floor. Cynthia stifled a yawn and stretched her arms up from the sleep-induced knots and kinks like a tired cat. The bed-headed blonde tilted her head sleepily and silently scanned her room under half-lidded eyesight.

The small bedroom around her was, supposedly, going to be Lucas's once he turned six and began schooling. With bright blue, white-striped wallpaper, lemon-yellow striped curtains framing the windows, baby pink sheets and bedding, a forest green-trimmed dresser — the rainbow-puked room was obviously meant for the kid. Really, the Diamond family was quite generous for borrowing her the room in the first place; she'd have declined for imposing the too-nice family if the fact that she didn't actually have another place to stay wasn't a pretty significant fact.

It was all Grandfather's fault for asking (bullying) Professor Rowan that she had wanted to become a Pokémon Master or Coordinator or whatever they called them these days.

Cynthia hadn't had an interest in Pokémon when she was ten, and she sure as Ho-oh didn't have an interest now.

Really, the creatures were freaking terrifying by themselves. They spat fire — which, might she add, could really cause a first-degree burn on you — they radiated electricity — and no, not small static, but actual high voltage thunderbolts — and they could even stir up a vicious hailstorm!

A hailstorm!

Why would anyone want to cause a freaking hailstorm?!

The blonde sighed, slumping over on the pink bed covers. And now I actually have to choose one of those not-animals as a partner for life – choosing either that blue bird with a head bigger than its body, that bouncing monkey with a fire in place of a tail, or that green turtle with a plant growing on its head.

Life was just fantastic for Cynthia.

Cynthia stood up and a blur of bright blue caught her eye among the pink hibiscus garden outside her window. With interest piqued, she treaded over to the slightly opened window with stealthy curiosity. Cynthia slowly raised her fingers and abruptly forced the yellow-striped curtains open and let the fresh air and morning sunlight pour into the stuffy room. A faint smile tugged her lip as she saw a dewdrop trickle from a blue rose petal to a pink-hued one and finally to the small puddle bellow, setting off echoing, clear-blue ripples. Somehow, the simplicity of the small happening and the sweet fragrance from the flowers was rather, and strangely, relaxing.

Wait.

Why were there two oddly coloured roses in a pink hibiscus garden in the first place?

She blinked, quickly shook her head to dispel the insanity of it all before turning quickly back to the hibiscus garden to catch sight of the blue and pink roses – which were no longer there.

She blinked fitfully.

Pause.

Pause.

Pause.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she promised to go to bed earlier tomorrow. Hallucinations were quite the warning signs, and she briefly wondered if lack of sleep was a cause of insanity.

Breaking from her thoughts as faint footsteps made her turn towards the bedroom door, a moment later, she caught sight of an over-excited pajama clad boy with a ridiculous red cap two sizes too big flopped on his head. With eyes bright under black bangs (that really did need a good trimming), Lucas Diamond piped a greeting as he caught sight of her before bolting back out, hollering down the hall with a child's cry.

"Cynthia's uuuup!"

"Oh, is she?" A softer voice responded from somewhere in the house. Probably the kitchen.

"Yep! Now, can I pretty please go to Barry's house?" There was a suspicious stomp sound. "Dawn's already there!"

A sigh or laugh later, "Alright, but finish up your toast first, and change into some street clothes."

"Got it!"

Cynthia smiled as she heard the small exchange and saw Lucas promptly dashing into the kitchen before seeing him suddenly sprint out of the dining room with brand new clothes on and a piece of burnt toast in his smiling mouth, and childishly jumping out of the door – all in a minute. How he did it that fast, or how he had changed for that matter, was way beyond Cynthia.

The five-year-old had been slightly annoying at first (with all his pestering about playing Pokémon cards and action figures with her), but she had grown close to the little guy, and it seemed he had too for the past week, despite her generally polite and aloof mannerisms at the start. After about a day wholly dedicated to him – since Johanna had went across the town for groceries and errands – the two bonded well, and Lucas was actually able to crack a smile out of Cynthia.

Cynthia went over to the wooden dresser, side-stepped, and crouched down to grab her black suitcase of belongings. For the past week, she'd been borrowing Lucas's mother's hand-me-downs because she had left her bag in Celestic Town, but fortunately, a Pelipper had dropped off her suitcase just yesterday. Cynthia tilted her head. Let's see, maybe I'll try on that new black tank-top I had packed. It's getting a little warmer now that spring's in the air. She unlocked the metal clasp, and was immediately horrified.

Pink.

Frills. Lace.

Short.

Cynthia instantly slammed (what she thought was) her suitcase shut, and shuddered with horrified revulsion.

What happened to her stuff? Cynthia knew she would never pack this… this… pink. She was a proper girl, who wore black, white, and mainly darker colours with the appropriate clothing. Maybe here and there, she would splash a bit of brighter colour, but not ever, not in her life would she wear something so – girly.

It was like trying to get a Magicarp to learn a move other than Splash, Tackle and Flail.

It wasn't going to happen.

Cynthia moaned in despair, flicking her gray eyes out of the corner of her eye, hoping against hope that she was just being delusional, like those pair of roses today. It wasn't every day that she would misinterpret something – she was a bright girl, and no, she wasn't being egoistic – and already two misconceptions in a row would mean she was either sick or losing sanity.

She sneaked her peek at the suitcase.

Nope. She wasn't losing it, nor was she sick.

Phoebe strikes again. Cynthia sighed wearily and face-planted into her cupped hands, knowing all too well who the guilty culprit was. Cynthia's little nine-year-old sister always pestered her to dress stylishly in something, 'While you're still I you're prime!' before she became a 'stuck-up adult.' Of course, no one cared to mention that a person's typical 'prime-age' was actually when they were in their twenties, and Cynthia thought the little blue-eyed blonde had finished the fashionista phase.

Guess not.

Cynthia frowned in thought, lifting a finger to her chin. I suppose I'll have to wear one of the hand-me-downs from the dresser. Cynthia resolutely stood up, a determined light in her eyes to find something suitable. The blonde pulled out the wooden drawer and considerably brightened. It may not have been appropriate to sport something so warm in the beginnings of spring, and it may not have been exactly right to wear something so formal, but no matter – it was much better than the… pink.

The platinum blonde let out a small smile as she pulled on the black dress pants. They were a tad too wide at the ends, almost boot-cut size, but they fit snuggly on her long, thin legs. I'm so glad that I have the height of a late-twenty-year-old right now. Cynthia leaned over the open drawer once more, scanning for a top that could have been more appropriate in the warmer weather, and grinned as she slipped on the ivory-white, sweetheart neckline tank-top over herself. Hmmm, but what if it did get colder? Rayquaza, master of the weather trio Pokémon, seemed to be quite fickle at times, so Cynthia decided to snatch up a thin, black sweater from the drawer as well. It was a bit big, much so that it was billowing past her waistline like a short cape, and oddly, it did not have buttons or a zipper. Cynthia frowned as she pulled up the long, jet-black sleeves to her elbows, and she absently pondered on a side note. I wonder if Auntie has any sneakers to spare, since I think today's the day –

Cynthia straightened realization dawned, and quickly glanced over at the circular, analogue clock hanging from the wall. Six o' clock already! Cynthia regretfully shook her head once, casted an irate glare at the bag, before twisting on her heel into the hallway, flipping her irritatingly wavy, waist-length blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Ah! So you really did wake up!

Cynthia bashfully peeked past the entrance door from the foyer that lead into the kitchen and instantly caught sight of Lucas's mother, Kokiko Diamond, and another twenty-something or so woman. The beautiful lady had rounded, midnight blue hair that reached her neck, a set of ocean-blue eyes on peach-like skin, and an elegant apple-shaped jawline. An Umbreon sat at her side while she had chatted animatedly with 'Aunt' Koki, and its striking crimson eyes had suddenly turned and stared at her – as if into her soul – which had immediately stolen the attention of the mysterious woman, ceasing her endless prattle.

Once the blue-haired woman turned, Cynthia gasped audibly, and instantly realized exactly who the lady was.

"Johanna Platinum!" Cynthia's cheeks coloured at her outburst, and she quickly lowered her gaze somewhat. "I apologize. I've seen you're Contest battles a-and well, I've been a sort of f-fan since my father forced me to watch the live S-Super Contests…"

Oh why did she have to stutter in front of the Johanna?

Much to everyone's surprise, Johanna beamed genuinely at Cynthia, and suddenly rushed forward to embrace the wide-eyed blonde, surprising everyone furthermore. "Oh you're so adorable! I can't believe you've been babysitting Dawn and the kids for so long, when you're still a youngster yourself! What are you, thirteen? Fourteen? You're quite tall and skinny for a young'un but you have such baby-like features!"

Was Cynthia supposed to take that as a compliment?

Fortunately, before Cynthia could muster up a response, Aunt Koki calmly stepped forward to save her from further embarrassment.

"Cynthia, darling, why are you wearing my clothing?"

Or not.

Cynthia forced on a polite smile, stifling the instinctive blush that was forming from the previous comment. "Well, Aunt Koki, you see… I think Phoebe messed around with my clothes, because none of them seem to be… mine."

"Is that so? Hmm, well it doesn't really matter. You can keep those."

Cynthia blinked. Did I just hear that right? She crooked over to Johanna perplexedly, but the blue-haired woman was happily smiling benevolently at her, not exactly answering any of her silent questions, and the long-haired blonde was simply at a loss.

To clear herself from even more embarrassment, not that it really mattered anymore, Cynthia purposefully cleared her throat, mustering up another, brighter smile. "Err – pardon me?"

Kokiko smiled mischievously, "Well, Professor Rowan explained to me yesterday evening that he was going to give you your first Pokémon today!" she squealed uncharacteristically like a schoolgirl, "Isn't that wonderful? I recommend a Turtwig, their breed is the cutest grass-type out there!"

"No, no, no! You simply must get a Piplup. Out of the three starter Pokémon Professor Rowan provides, the cute little 'Penguin-Pokémon' is definitely the best choice, especially if you're going to be going on this great Pokémon journey!" Johanna bubbly butted in.

Presently, Cynthia's already forced on smile was really hard to keep a hold on. Simply put, the idle talk about her 'great Pokémon journey!' was tremendously daunting in itself. How would – no – how could she pull it off? Professor Rowan wanted her, out of all first-timing Pokémon trainers and/or coordinators out there, to try and complete his Sinnoh Pokédex.

All 151 Sinnoh Pokémon – and later, including the ones from other regions.

That included more than 649 Pokémon.

That included those Legendries.

All Cynthia wanted to do in her life was become an archaeologist, but nooooo, now she basically had to follow her mother's footsteps –

Okay, she was getting way off track here. Cynthia knew where her thoughts were leading, and no way was she going down that road again.

"Err, Aunt Koki, maybe I should get going soon." May as well get this over with, Cynthia thought grudgingly, but for some reason, a small voice in her head snickered. You know you want to do this. Mama wasn't wrong. Don't deny it. Cynthia ignored it, and mustered up a sweet smile, "I don't want to be late, right?"

"Oh yes, of course! You'll be starting your journey today!" she paused, and widened her eyes as if suddenly realizing something. "And I won't be seeing you for… for… a long time!" Her smile was immediately washed away. "Oh how I'll miss you!" she rushed forward, embracing Cynthia without hesitation. "You've been like the daughter I've never had!"

Cynthia couldn't help but smile genuinely, and the blonde automatically patted the back of the woman in front of her, as if in a slightly awkward consolation. "Yes, I'll miss you too Aunt Koki." And Cynthia meant it.

Kokiko sniffled once, before she took a step back with her hands still holding onto Cynthia's shoulders, and Cynthia noticed as the woman in front of her forced on a smile that she truly would miss Cynthia, and that all of this wasn't one of her daily melodramatic routines.

"You take care of yourself, you hear?" Kokiko lectured affectionately, her once bright smile waning, before something again appeared to occur to her. "Oh! You'll need some travel money – Here," she seemed to have magically conjured up the wad of pokédollars and stuffed them into a medium-sized black shoulder bag that had been hanging from a chair. "Take this…"

"Oh I can't!" Cynthia argued instantly. How could she take that generous amount and expensive-looking travelling bag when she had already leeched off them for the past week?

"No, no. I insist! You see, the money here –"

"– was saved from Koki and I when we were younger!" Johanna suddenly cut in, smile bright as ever. "This money was earned with blood and sweat, sweetheart, when battling against tough opponents. Contests and battles are heard, you know. Oh! In fact, I also have a gift!" She went to her lilac-hued plump purse that had been sitting next to her Umbreon for the last minutes or so.

Cynthia furrowed her brows. Why would the Johanna want to gift a stranger something?

Johanna brightened as it seemed she found what she was looking for, and she pulled out two decorated hair elastics. Cynthia blinked as she drank in the sight of them. There were two black elastics, both with two enormous black dewdrop-like decorations with yellow stripes attached to each of them. Surprisingly, they were strikingly similar to the ears of the impassive Umbreon next to Johanna.

The blue-haired woman grinned, "I bought these elastics to match Umbreon for a contest years back, but I only realized after I bought them that I can't wear any hair adornments other than hairclips with this hairstyle," she flipped her rounded hair over her shoulder as if justifying her case. "So I would like you to have them!"

If it hadn't been renowned Johanna, Cynthia would have declined the odd-looking hair décors. Instead, she mustered up a smile, and took the large items from the earnest-looking woman. "Yes – err, I'll be sure to wear them."

"Why don't you try them on now?" Johanna batted her big blue eyes.

Cynthia bit the inside of her cheek, but she couldn't say no to that puppy-eyed look. "Err…" she sighed in defeat, "Okay."

She held the two hair decorations by the elastic in her teeth as she pulled up her hair into a tight, high Ponyta-tail. She hated Tepigtails – it made her look even more kiddy – but she was slightly annoyed when she lost hold of her long bangs, which fell over one of her gray eyes, and when the curling fringes of her blonde hair loosened from the ponytail to frame her face. Cynthia mentally sighed before using one hand to take an elastic from her mouth to tie up her hair, and finally taking the other elastic to hold in place the first one.

Johanna clapped childishly, "Now you look like a real performer!"

Again, was Cynthia supposed to take that as a compliment?

Kokiko nodded encouragingly, a smile playing at her lips. "Alright," she flicked her gaze at Cynthia's feet, "let's get you some shoes before you head over to Professor Rowan's in socks!"

The trio headed to the entryway, and Kokiko pulled open the closet at the end before gasping. "Oh no!" the other two rushed to her side, Cynthia being confused and Johanna being curious, as Kokiko turned to Cynthia apologetically, "it's seems I don't have any shoes to spare, darling. Only these two inch heeled boots," Kokiko positioned the black, upper calf length court shoes onto the entrance's tiling, "and these plastic flip-flops," and placed the neon-orange and white sandals next to the heels.

Cynthia frowned at the sight of both of them. I can't go trudging around Sinnoh in two-inch heels but I'll get sore blisters with plastic flip-flops…

"Take the boots," Johanna interrupted Cynthia's thoughts, and the blue-haired woman smiled. "And show the world how tough a girl can be!"

…in two inch heels? Cynthia thought incredulously, giving Johanna an odd look. I can sort of understand the elastics, but the heels…?

It was probably the most girlish thing Cynthia would ever wear.

Cynthia sighed dolefully, glanced over at the two women to check if they changed their minds, and miserably slipped on the tactless footwear. She wasn't sure if it had been fortunate that the dress pants were boot-cut or not.

Kokiko smiled guiltily at the sight, "Sorry darling for this parting gift, but I had already given away my only pair of sneakers to my visiting cousin, a week back, and I had been content with wearing flats for the weeks thereafter. I didn't think I would need any runners these days and…" She trailed off despondently.

Cynthia instantly felt bad for her gloominess. It wasn't Aunt Koki's fault, and in fact, Cynthia should have been grateful for getting shoes in the first place!

"Oh it's all right Aunt Koki! See," Cynthia stood up, if a bit wobbly, as she tried her best to stay balanced in the boots, "I can do this just fine!"

The two women smiled at Cynthia's effort, and suddenly rushed forward into an embrace, nearly toppling the poor blonde. Kokiko began tearfully, "I'll miss you darling! It's been fun for the last four days!"

"Even though I just met you, I'll miss you sweetheart!" Johanna added kindly.

Cynthia grinned radiantly, tightened her ponytail, swung her new bag over her head and onto her shoulder, and waved goodbye as she exited the house, "I'll visit when I can!"

~oOo~

Cynthia was lost.

Yes, even with a tiny geological map of a route she had taken several times, and probably the smallest road between two settlements – Twinleaf and Sandgem Town – Cynthia was completely lost.

The caring Twinleaf villagers who had been seeing her off had firmly told her to continue on through the naturally trampled trail to get to Sandgem Town, or else she'd be confronted by the wild Pokémon. Cynthia did not have any Pokémon to protect her, nor did she have any pokéballs in her bag to catch any, so she knew she wouldn't stand a chance against the wild Pokémon around the trail, no matter how weak they were.

Really, it was too bad that no one in Sandgem Town had an empty room to spare her. If someone did, she wouldn't have had to leech off of the kind Diamond household, Professor Rowan's family as it turned out (Lucas's father if Cynthia remember correctly was Professor Rowan's son). If someone did, she wouldn't have had the need to foolishly trek (in wobbly high heels) through the untamed Pokémon habit just to get to Professor Rowan's laboratory. If someone did, she wouldn't have caught sight of a flock of Starly, Staravia and Staraptor feeding off a small razzberry bush in the middle of the trail.

If someone did, she wouldn't have gotten miserably lost.

Cynthia anxiously looked up as she faintly heard a light rustle in the thick undergrowth, behind the dauntingly large trees surrounding her. Cynthia quickly recoiled as she saw a small Bidoof pop its head up, frankly staring at her with curious petite eyes. The little Pokémon cocked its head to the side, as if looking past her, before it nodded giddily and dashed off in the opposite direction like no tomorrow.

Cynthia released a breath that she hadn't known she was holding, and immediately felt guilty.

It wasn't that she was disgusted with Pokémon – in fact, she had sort of befriended a little Budew when it had stumbled into the sandbox during one of the babysitting sessions with Lucas, freaking Cynthia out. Surprisingly, it turned out that Budew had sprained one of its stubby little legs, so caring, five-year-old Lucas took the initiative to take care of it – by making Cynthia take care of it.

Somehow, Cynthia had grown used to the little guy after the first two days – despite being completely terrified of the Bud Pokémon at first – and she had actually been relatively sentimental when Lucas and she had waved it goodbye as it frolicked back towards its family on the third, and final, day of care. Cynthia had known that the green Pokémon hadn't liked her very much at first, only tolerating her for the cheery smiles of Lucas, but she assumed Budew had grown used to her as well once she saw its determined demeanor whenever she needed help on the second day – like sweeping the house.

It hadn't, because it also left her.

Cynthia tightly gripped her bag strap, and backtracked in her mind's eye, deciding to distract her obviously dead-ended contemplations.

Okay, I had walked out of Twinleaf town, walked around the tall grasses, passed Lake Verity – though I really wished I could have stayed and checked out the mysterious area. I mean, I heard about a small myth that had originated from the Lake and I think I saw a bluish glow emanating from the – okay, I'm getting sidetracked. Cynthia shook her head restlessly, as if it could clear her distracted contemplations, and thought determinedly. Then I backtracked my sightseeing and took the road to Sandgem Town and saw a flock of bird Pokémon in the middle of the road and quickly ran… east (?) into the thick forest… and… now… I'm here.

Cynthia sighed dejectedly, slumping over from her usual perfect posture as she kept walked forward. Well that helped.

Suddenly she saw a sunlit break in the woodland trees, and brightened considerably once she heard a male – a human male – voice. Cynthia promptly sprinted with a grateful and open-mouthed smile.

"You're such an imprudent, ungrateful monster."

Well that's a nice way to greet someone. Cynthia thought dryly, before her gray eyes finally adjusted to the bright sunlight.

As it turned out, beyond the shady forest was a tranquil beach, with calm salt-smelling waves rushing onto the beautiful sandy shores – it was almost the perfect picture of tranquility. But, a young man stood rigidly with narrowed brows and a crow-like Pokémon at his wide-set shoulder, three or four feet in front of a small, badly battered up, shark-like Pokémon in the middle of the setting. The impassive man seemed to be in his early twenties, perhaps twenty-one or twenty-two, with cold, calculative black eyes and spikey slate-blue hair. Cynthia felt a sudden chill run up her spine as the seemingly emotionless man turned his serious dark eyes from the blue-skinned, yellow-bellied, mini-shark Pokémon at his feet to her.

"And who are you?" his husky voice was alluring, a seductive tone that could easily have made many fall at his feet, but Cynthia only felt goose bumps riding up her sweater-clad arms.

"No, who are you? And what are you doing?" Cynthia narrowed her eyes and instinctively evaded his question, firing two of her own. She did not trust the blue-haired stranger.

The man smirked humorlessly and cocked his head to get a better look at her. "I came to Sandgem Beach, what I thought was the most unvisited place closest to my destination, to teach Gible here a lesson as to what happens when he loses a battle." He swept his bottomless ebony gaze to the Pokémon before him.

It was basically dying in front of him. Cynthia could make out the black-and-blue bruises and small lumps that swam up the cyan striped, royal blue-skinned Pokémon's hunched back and tangled limbs. Its black eyes were squeezed tightly into a painful squint, glaring defiantly and almost hatefully at the man standing uncaringly above it. Cynthia had always been a great observer, and at the moment, she knew her eyes weren't tricking her when she saw the trusting emotion deep in the Pokémon's black orbs slowly breaking down to nothingness. Trust that was barely there in the first place.

The blue-haired man blinked impassively.

"Murkrow – Drill Peck."

The blue-black bird on his broad shoulder swiftly swooped, arching upwards to gain velocity with its hooked-beak glowing white, before the Pokémon began spinning downwards directly at the mini-shark. Before Cynthia could muster out a shout to stop, the black bird Pokémon – now identified as Murkrow – drilled right into the blue-skinned Pokémon. The small shark flinched responsively, and strained desperately to hoist itself up on short, stubby knees.

But the little Pokémon clumsily tripped before it could take its first step away.

"Gi-giiii!" the shark Pokémon howled in gruesome agony, seconds after the sharp-edged beak drilled into it, and Cynthia visibly winced at the tormented sound. However, she couldn't draw her disgusted gaze away nor could she move her seemingly immobile legs, no matter how cruel the episode in front of her became. From Cynthia's frozen standing point, she witnessed helplessly the silent tears the baby shark fought against in its defiantly determined black eyes.

Move your feet Cynthia! That Pokémon needs help! Her mind seemingly screamed at her.

The Land Shark Pokémon was finally forced into the air – hit surprisingly effectively once the Murkrow drilled a second time before it smugly returned to its master – and landed painfully onto the sandy floor on its red stomach with flailing limbs. Newly formed bumps and bruises could be seen from its yellow torso and lower abdomen, and Cynthia's eyes welled up as she was finally pushed to her limit.

"What in Arceus's name are you doing!?" Cynthia angrily shrieked at the man disbelievingly, her dead-weight legs finally mobile and sprinting as quickly as she could towards the gravely hurt Pokémon.

Sure, Cynthia may not have liked Pokémon very much – in fact, she was quite afraid of the majority of them – but, really, the poor little guy was hurt even beyond a normal battle experience. The mini-shark was bleeding – even high-leveled Pokémon battles didn't attack until one was bleeding – bruised, bumped and its little left arm didn't seem to be bent the right way! (Cynthia noticed that he had a small Focus Sash tied on its abnormally-bent arm, woven in blue to match its skin instead of the typical red and yellow, which was probably the reason why the Land Shark couldn't faint.) Why would anyone want to hurt a Pokémon this badly – or at all even? This wasn't even a battle between aspiring trainers! The man was purposefully harming his own Pokémon!

"No, the question is, what are you doing," the blue-haired man stated monotonously, slashing Cynthia's shocked contemplation in half. "I can treat my Pokémon however I want. I'm only teaching Gible a lesson, not giving her a punishment. Pokémon recover quicker and better than us humans girl, it's not like the damage will be permanent." He patronizingly emphasized each word, as if talking to a small child.

Cynthia glared heatedly and gaped incredulously at him. "A lesson? How in Arceus's name is this a lesson!? You're basically torturing the little – Gible!" Cynthia automatically stitched on supposedly what the shark Pokémon's name was to emphasize her point, pulling the suffering creature into her safe arms protectively.

The blue-haired man sighed, rubbing his temples as if this situation was vexing him. "This is such a waste of my precious time," he glanced over at Cynthia with exaggeratedly tired eyes. "Girl, you need to learn to butt out of other trainers' business."

A surge of anger engulfed Cynthia and she furiously rolled up her black-sweater sleeves. "Butt out? Butt out? How could I butt out when I see some spikey blue-haired, wannabe rock-star torturing –"

"Cyrus."

Cynthia whirled onto him, face colouring in anger. "What?"

"I'm not some 'spikey blue-haired wannabe rock-star,'" he stated while he slipped his hands into his pockets, his dark eyes bored as he stared at Cynthia. "The name's Cyrus."

Before Cynthia could carry on her disbelieving rant, Cyrus continued uninterestedly, "You know what girl? I have already wasted enough of my time here."

With that he threw a pokéball into the air, and a bluish light radiated from the still-suffering Gible before it was swallowed by the red and white ball. Cyrus smoothly snatched the ball back from the sky, and slipped it into his pocket before turning his dark eyes onto Cynthia once more. "There, I released her. You can do what you want with it now. I've found other, stronger shiny Pokémon anyway." Cyrus clarified with boredom as he effortlessly twisted on his heel and sauntered over the sands to the sea water. He raised his arm perpendicular to his body, and Cynthia noticed the small blue pokéball with two hints of red cupped in his outstretched hand.

"Gyarados – Surf."

A crimson glowing silhouette appeared in the shallow saltwater from the opened sphere before a ginormous blue serpent-dragon-thing took form, its sharp fangs frightening Cynthia instantly once she caught sight of its large, wide-opened mouth.

Cyrus absently crooked his head to the pony-tailed, oddly formal dressed blonde as he effortlessly leaped onto the intimidating Gyarados, his dark eyes blinking blankly into her gray. "I would like to say it was a pleasure to meet you, but really – it wasn't."

With that, the Gyarados brazenly sped away, and it was only a few minutes afterwards that Cynthia was able to see a small blue speck that must have been him in the distance.

"Gi-Giii-Gi-i-ible."

Cynthia looked down curiously before horrifically realizing the painful and vulnerable sounds were being emitted from the still-suffering shark Pokémon in her arms.

"Oh my Mew! I'm so, so, so sorry. I'll get you to the clinic – I mean Pokémon Center right away, okay?" the Gible skeptically glanced up at her with unreserved suspicion, even though she was still much in need of the medical care. Cynthia quietly deduced without a second thought that the small Pokémon had been under Cyrus's cruel treatment for a long time by the almost hollow look in her dark, unblinking eyes. Cynthia looked at the blue and yellow Pokémon earnestly, "Please, at least for now, trust me?"

The Gible mutely stared at her with pain openly present in her black eyes, before she let her eyelids quietly close.

Cynthia took the gesture as approval, and swept Gible into her arms, mindful for its injuries and still-shaking body, before something dawned in her mind.

She was still lost.

Cynthia sighed in exasperated frustration, and was about to mindlessly jump back into the maze-like woodlands, before she suddenly recalled a sentence Cyrus had said.

"I came to Sandgem Beach, what I thought was the most unvisited place closest to my destination, to teach Gible here a lesson…"

Sandgem Beach!

Cynthia spun around sharply, and suddenly caught sight of the obviously well-used, sandy pathway on the shoreline. She beamed gratefully as she saw a small, wooden sign that read: Sandgem Town (an up arrow) and Sandgem Beach (and a down arrow). Cynthia promptly sprung herself into a quick sprint – somehow, after the few hours of being lost, and this worrisome predicament, she'd gotten a bit used to running in high heeled boots – down the compacted path, hopeful to find a Pokémon Center for the poor Gible in her arms.

Cynthia quickly increased her speed significantly when she felt the small Pokémon stop breathing.

Author's Notes

(18/05/2012): Cliffhanger! LOL, I've always wanted to start a story with one. I don't know exactly when I'll update (most of my stories are never updated, and I wouldn't mind if someone else took over the story thereafter) and I don't know if anyone will like this story in the first place. Oh yeah, just so you all know, Cynthia's Garchomp actually was a shiny. Look up shiny Garchomp and it'll match Cynthia's Garchomp's colours from the anime and the manga. However, in the games, for some reason it was a normal Garchomp. Anyway, should I continue? Or will this be the end of Cynthia's (mis)adventures?

(PS): This story either going to be a CynthiaXSteven or CynthiaXRiley. (I think CynthiaXSteven is Lolishotashipping, but what's the one for her and Riley?) I'm also debating over one with Lance. Oh well, the romantic stuff is going to be on later in the story anyway. I'm also going to be working with Cynthia's quest, so hold on tight. And before anyone asks, no, Cynthia will not be travelling alone. You'll soon see who her travelling company will be… later. (And no, they won't be OCs other than random trainers.)