...
It's been 4 months since the Spear Pillar incident with Cyrus. You didn't know how, but he managed to summon all three of the Creation trio on that mountain, and you still don't. He's disappeared since then, occasionally seen leading small groups of people to do things for him, and though it's nothing dangerous, you have a feeling in your gut that it's gonna go downhill with enough time.
Which is why you've decided to meet up with Cynthia every once in a while, and keep check of what Cyrus has been up to. You still spend a lot of time together, but those meetings are just as important. ...Well, to be honest, those meetings can be pointless, as most of the time it either ends up with the two of you doing other things together, or Cynthia getting sidetracked by getting ice cream, much to Gabite's discomfort.
Both of you still have to go through the eight gyms across Sinnoh, and it's been coming along fairly smoothly. For the most part, at least. A young girl named Gardenia gave Cynthia a small Budew, which she reluctantly accepted; With a grass type alongside Gabite, she tends to have trouble with ice types up in Snowpoint City, though there aren't any gyms here. Either way, you two have to get strong enough to protect the Sinnoh region from people like Cyrus. Through these four months, you've defeated three more leaders, earning the badges one by one alongside Cynthia, though she's admittedly more skilled in battling than you are.
You two are currently staying in a cabin near Acuity Lake, mostly to help her research the Lake Guardians, and how they could help with the Cyrus situation. You drop your head square onto the table, completely burnt out from reading what feels like literature hell. As the word 'lake' falls apart and triples before your eyes, they finally shut down in front of the lamp, gracing you with sweet relief. Cynthia, on the other hand, can still be heard flipping page after page intently, blissfully ignorant of her friend's mental overload. She doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.
"The Red Chain is a tool used by the- [Y/N]? Are you still awake? You don't look so well, should I get you some warm water?"
"Hrggh. I'm still here. Barely. And no more water, I've drunk enough of it to kill Kyogre. Can't we just stop for now? It's late, and you'll get sick if you keep this up. Everyone's already asleep in their Pokeballs, too."
"Actually, I've still got plenty of energy! It's just so fun reading about all this; besides, it's only... 2am? Huh?"
"Yep. By the way, should I just sleep on the desk? It'd be pretty awkward if we were together on the bed..."
Damn. You can already feel your face tensing up at the thought, along with the 'Shuckle' in your pants.
"Oh, r-right! But I think you need it more than I do. I'm used to falling asleep on the desk, anyway. It'll be alright. You go on and take a break, good night!"
"I can't move, Cynthia. My body gave out about two hours ago, but at least I'll keep you company."
"Ah, I see... Hehe, then you won't be able to do anything if I do this, right?"
She ruffles your hair vigorously, then jams one of her hair bead ornaments -you still don't know what they are- onto your now messy hair and proudly shows you a small mirror. You feel mildly annoyed, but decide to ignore it because you're too focused on trying to sleep. It doesn't work, because you can't wrap your head around what exactly happened four months ago, and how to prevent it the next time. After a good dose of sounds of paper folding, the page turning stops, and you feel a pair of hands right next to you.
"This is pretty fun, [Y/N]. Well, it shouldn't be. We're doing this to stop Cyrus and keep Sinnoh safe, but... I can't help feeling happy about it. I can't put my finger on why, but maybe it's thanks to you. So thank you for being here with me."
The words bounce around your head, and you let it settle in for a bit before slightly peeping beside you to see her asleep on the books, still opened wide thanks to all the reading she's done. She's done for the day too, huh? You wonder what she'll be like when she's older. As great as she is at battling, you can't let things go on this way. You have to be able to protect her too. With that on your mind, you set out to train up your party, but not in the way people would expect. You toss your now three Pokeballs onto the open floor, waiting for your partners to come out.
Pupitar, Kirlia, and a Golbat you caught in mt. Coronet unbeknownst to Cynthia, since she might try to rip it apart with Gabite's Dragon Claw. You start off by giving all three of them one Rare Candy each. You've been keeping those things in your pocket ever since the Amity Square trip since the stalls gave out some free samples. While Kirlia and Golbat happily chowed down on their Rare Candies, Pupitar stubbornly refused to get a single bite in. He probably wants to get better off his own effort. Fair enough, you think. You grab some pillows and strap them onto your body, forming an improvised armor that makes you look like an obese Sandshrew. Now then...
"I want you three to practice your best attacks on me, as hard as you can. Don't worry, I got these pillows on, see? Take turns and try out different moves each time you rotate in line. Now go. Pupitar, use Rock Slide!"
You whisper your commands to keep Cynthia from waking up. Pupitar hurls several large rocks at you, which hurts more than you expected. But you can tell his throws are more accurate than it was last time with Gabite. Proud of you, buddy. Next is Kirlia, who uses Draining Kiss on your cheek. It feels like a welcoming peck at first, but your vision starts to get strangely hazy after she steps back into line. You're starting to think this is a bad idea, after all. As the night went on, they repeatedly used their moves on you and your pillow armor, slowly tearing it apart into rags filled with feathers. Sorry to all the Pidgeotto's out there. By the end of it, sunrise came, and you've been beaten head to toe by all the Psychics, Paybacks and Wing Attacks. At least you can tell all three of them got better at what they do.
"That's... *cough* enough... For now... Back in your Pokeballs, everyone... Great work."
They return inside, and you take off your pillow casings to put some medicine on your wounds. Whew, you've never felt more tired in your life. Stumbling onto the bed, you slam your head onto the mattress, groaning in pain and waking up Cynthia. She rolls around to the other side of the bed, accidentally hitting one of your wounds with her hand.
"Ouch. Ow, dammit!"
"Huh...? [Y/N]? What's going o- what!? What happened to you? You look like a mess. And why are you on the bed... next to me? Wait, what were you doing?"
"Yep, I was just about to get to that part. See, I wanted to train my Pokemon for a bit, and since you were asleep, I decided to have them practice their moves on me. Stupid, I know. Now I have these bruises and cuts all over. Looks good on me, don't you think?"
"What? No! Come on, why would you do that? Couldn't you just give them a Rare Candy or something-"
"I did."
"And still went ahead with it? [Y/N], it's 6am! You've been doing this for hours, haven't you? Idiot. This stuff can get dangerous, don't even try finding out what a Blizzard would do to you. We didn't even bring a first-aid kit with us this time. Please take care of yourself, I'm worried about you."
"Thanks. I'll be fine, just need a bit of rest, that's all. That, and I wanted to catch up to you when it comes to battling. I won't let you outpace me, and neither will Pupitar."
"Just don't beat yourself up over it. Lay down here, I'll warm up some water for you."
"Beggars can't be choosers, but can you try making something aside from water? I've had enough last night already. Plus, aren't we supposed to figure out and maybe stop Cyrus? We've been keeping tabs on him for the past four months, but we still can't do much about it. He technically hasn't done anything illegal."
"Technically, yes. But the Trio went berserk and almost wiped all three of us from existence; quite literally, as I recall, so I'm choosing to keep a close eye on him. Here, drink up."
She holds up to you a glass of tea, which you gladly accept. You try to move your arm, but it won't budge. Must've been all those Rock Slides from Pupitar. You're glad to have had him bury the rocks back under the cabin, but right now, you effectively have neither of your arms.
"Uh, Cynthia? I can't move my arm. Must've dislocated them during the training. Oops."
"You dislocated your-? [Y/N], Gabite takes better care of herself, and she picks off her scales for fun. Fine then, I guess... I'll h-hold it up to you."
She gently holds up your chin and tilts the glass for you to drink. The tea is bitter, and you'd really rather not be treated like this, yet you can't help but like it, coming from Cynthia. Hopefully, the trip to the other Lake Guardians will go as smoothly as this one. Except for the part where you get beaten up by your 'Mons again.