All My Gratitude [Pokémon Short Story]

02| Change

Upon hearing the news of Cia's eventual arrival, Cynthia was flooded with emotion and memories, all of which were overwhelmingly positive. Cia was coming back, she actually was!

   Even though Cia was three years younger than Cynthia, she had acted like the older of the two. Cia made the decisions, Cia gave the advice, Cia left home first. And for all the times Cia's brashness clashed with Cynthia's tranquility, the former had gifted the latter with something she could never lose: her love for battling.

   ~*~*~*~

"Cyn! Cyn, look at this!"

   Cynthia glanced up from her book at her sister. Cia was standing out in the open and away from the shade of the tree Cynthia sat beneath. Her Bagon stood in front of her, head comically tilted back to observe her Trainer.

   "Are you watching, Cyn?" Cia asked excitedly. "Okay Bagon, Dragon Dance!"

   Nodding, the little Dragon-type began to spin in a circle, lifting his arms up like a ballerina. Purple flames laced with gold streaks sparked to life from thin air and wreathed around Bagon. When the last flame died, Bagon struck a battle pose.

   "Wasn't that awesome?!" Cia exclaimed. Cynthia swore she could see the sparkles in her sister's eyes even from where she was. "Grandma said Dragon Dance is this thing called an Egg Move, which means it's a kinda rare move for other Bagon to have."

   "That's interesting. I'm sure that'll give Bagon an advantage," Cynthia said before looking back at her book.

   "Ugh, you gotta be kidding me, Cyn!" Cia sighed dramatically. "Grandma and Grandpa give you a Pokémon, and you still bury your nose in those books. Reading's fun and stuff, but you have a Pokémon! At least try to read books about battling if you aren't gonna battle yourself."

   "I don't know. It looks fun, but..." Cynthia frowned. "It all seems to go so fast, and... I don't know, I'd just rather read."

   "That's such a lame excuse! Think about how Gible feels. She might wanna battle, and you're stopping her." Cia walked over to Cynthia and snatched the book from her lap. "C'mon, let's have a battle." She began pulling Cynthia to her feet.

   "R-right now?" Cynthia stuttered, reluctantly standing.

   "Right now!" Cia echoed confidently with a grin. "You wanna battle, Gible?" The blue land-shark looked back and forth from Cynthia to Cia before giving them a toothy grin to match Cia's. "Told ya!" Cia said triumphantly.

   "If you want to battle, I guess we could try it out," Cynthia said a little hesitantly.

   Cia seemed oblivious to her sister's uncertainty. "That's the spirit," she said.

   Cia moved back a little ways away from Cynthia. When she stopped, she had Bagon stand in front of her. Puzzled, Cynthia copied their actions. Once they were in place, Cia called out to Cynthia.

   "Okay, you can start, Cyn! Just tell Gible to use a move."

   Moves? Cynthia struggled to remember what her grandfather had told her. "Um... Gible, use Tackle?" she said, her voice staggered with uncertainty. Gible obeyed, throwing herself into a wobbly run towards Bagon.

   "Bagon, dodge it and use Dragon Dance!" Cia called. Bagon tensed, but he didn't have the chance to dodge as Gible tripped and fell flat on her face.

   "Gible, are you okay?" Cynthia asked. The shark got to her feet, during which Bagon preformed the fiery purple dance he displayed earlier. "You're not too good at running, so maybe use Sand Attack this time," Cynthia decided.

   "Bagon, use Rage!"

   Before Gible could move, Bagon threw himself at Gible, smashing into her and knocking her down again.

   Cynthia panicked. "D-Dragon Rage!" she squeaked.

   "Dodge it and Raaagee!!" Cia exclaimed joyfully, thrusting her arms forwards. Bagon easily slipped past the blast of purple fire Gible emitted and slammed into her again. She went rolling across the ground.

   Cynthia knew she couldn't keep throwing out moves like this. Cia clearly had some strategy, so Cynthia had to try and use some too. She waited until Bagon came running at Gible again before crying, "Sand Attack!" Gible struck the dirt, sending some flying into Bagon's face. Gible scrambled to her feet, and Cynthia told her to Tackle Bagon.

   Gible flung herself into Bagon, and the lighter blue Dragon was now the one laying on the ground. Seeing this, Cynthia's heart leapt with a sudden, unknown excitement. She felt herself partially copying Cia's movements, flinging one of her arms out. "Now use Twister!"

   Gible let out as mighty a roar as she could, a tornado of purple wind forming around her and launching itself at Bagon. The Dragon was swept up in the wind and violently tossed about.

   "Oh wow, Gible has an Egg Move, too!" Cia exclaimed in awe. "But that's not gonna stop us. Use Ember!"

   Flames erupted from the Twister and struck the ground randomly like bullets. Gible tried to dodge them but was caught up in the firestorm. She was driven to the ground, continuously bombarded by flames.

   Both attacks ceased, and Bagon tumbled to the dirt. He remained on the ground before staggering to his feet, breathing heavily, a wisp of smoke trailing from his mouth. But unlike Bagon, Gible didn't move. She'd fainted.

   "Yay, I won!" Cia cheered, running over to Bagon and scooping him up. "Wasn't that fun, Cyn?" she then asked her sister.

   Cynthia didn't answer at first. She was too preoccupied with staring down at her fainted Pokémon. Her heart was racing, and she shook a bit. Disappoint and worry for Gible filled her, but either did little to waver the excitement that remained. While myths and legends sometimes made her heart race, it had never been to this degree. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced... and she wanted more of it.

   Cynthia numbly recalled Gible to her ball and looked at Cia. "Th-that was fun," she breathed.

~*~*~*~

You'll never forget your first battle, Cynthia thought. She never had. Although it hadn't turned out ideally, Cia's insistence on her battling was what had sparked Cynthia's love for the art, and she really meant art. Battling wasn't just two Pokémon throwing themselves at each other. It was almost like a dance, frenzied at times but also graceful and slow, well thought-out. If it weren't for Cia, she'd never have wanted to put the books down and watch that odd dance.

   It was then and there that Cynthia decided she had to do something for Cia. She had no idea what, but she had to do something. She had to repay Cia for the amazing gift she had given her.