a/n:
Welcome, readers new and old!
This is a story I've been thinking of for quite some time, and I think it'll be fun for everyone.
This will be a long term project of mine just FWI, it won't be done as quickly as poke verse.
Without further ado, enjoy!
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Cynthia.....what's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear that name?
A Garchomp and menacing piano music? A graceful champion?
Some academics would insist her real talents are in the realm of archeology.
But really, at the end of the day....who was Cynthia?
Cynthia looked at her hands, they were sweaty. Correction, SHE was sweaty.
She was currently in the ready room, waiting for the stewards to clean up the battlefield.
It was halftime of a title challenge she received from the champion of Kanto, and he was good.
He was really good, she should know because she's known him for years.
Ash was somewhat of a friend of hers, but his happy personality almost evaporated on the battlefield.
Cynthia looked up at the TV, which was displaying highlights from the first half alongside analysis from experts.
Half her team was down, and two others were damaged
Ash had only lost one pokemon.
Lucario, Roserade, and Spiritomb were out for the count. Togekiss was frozen and Garchomp was beaten up.
She watched the replay of Ash's Greninja firing an ice beam, freezing Togekiss's wings.
Cynthia sighed, this wasn't like her. She hadn't ever cared about pundits and analysis of her battles, so why should she care now?
She had trust in her team... after all, they had been with her for ages now.
Cynthia reached inside her coat pocket and pulled out her phone. She scrolled to her camera roll and tapped on an album of her favorite images.
There was a picture a great friend had taken after she won her first gym badge.
Just a smiling girl, a Gible, and a Togepi, not a care in the world.
Cynthia let her mind wander as she reflected on her initial adventure
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14 years ago.........................
A girl smashed a pillow over her head, she really didn't want to wake up today.
"Cynthia, time to get up!" A voice yelled from downstairs
"Coming grandma!" Cynthia shouted as she rolled out of bed.
Cynthia opened her eyes and adjusted her hair before throwing on some clothes and going downstairs. Her grandmother was already waiting for her
"Cynthia, did you hear anything last night?"
"Uhhhh no?" Cynthia was confused
Cynthia's Grandma shook her head, "How you managed to sleep through that horrible storm is beyond me,"
Cynthia just shrugged while she dug through the pantry looking for food, "So....uhh what are you doing today grandma?"
"The town council has a meeting this evening, but until then I have nothing, well besides one minor task,"
"What's that?"
"Oh, you'll find out soon,"
Cynthia was confused, this was either a really good thing or a really bad thing depending on what mood her grandmother was in.
"Well, I'm planning on just relaxing at home, spending some more time with the egg, I could have sworn it was moving the other day,"
Her grandmother smiled, "Perhaps, remember our promise,"
"Yes yes, when the egg hatches I can leave on my journey," Cynthia said with a hint of annoyance in her voice
"It's the offspring of your father's oldest partner," Her Grandmother reminded her
Cynthia sighed, her parents had died of a plague when she was just a little girl so it was just her and her grandmother. Her father's partner pokemon had left an egg behind before it went back to the wild, and her grandmother insisted it would be her starter and she couldn't leave the house until then.
Cynthia had mixed feelings about this, on one hand, she really wanted to honor her parents by using that pokemon. On the other hand, all of her friends had left years ago leaving her alone in town. Some days she swore the egg would never hatch and she'd be stuck here forever.
Despite that, Cynthia faithfully attended to that egg every morning.
And little did she know....today would be the day her life would be turned upside down.
After she had finished eating, her grandmother said she'd be leaving the house to fetch something so she'd be home alone for twenty minutes or so.
Cynthia nodded, not really paying attention to whatever drable her grandmother was saying.
Not like it mattered all too much, Cynthia was basically independent at this stage of her life. She was one of three students in her class at school, everyone her age had already left for a journey and she was in a very small town, to begin with.
Sometimes she resented Celestic Town, it was a very small and close-knit community, and her family had been running it for a long time now. Her grandmother was the village elder, someone who was looked up to by the general community.
And EVERYONE knew her, she couldn't go anywhere without someone talking about or mentioning her grandmother to Cynthia's face.
She didn't exactly resent her grandmother, but Cynthia would be lying if she didn't say that she longed to establish her own reputation, away from her grandmother, and stand in the spotlight for herself.
All the kids at school would always call her "your highness" or "princess" and mock her for having a family very involved in leadership.
Cynthia also had to deal with a lack of resources in Celestic Town, its economy was struggling these days ever since the gym in the town closed down twenty years ago, courtesy of the city council claiming that the poison type gym polluted the nearby ecosystem.
Without travelers going to the gym, very few people bothered to even go to the town at all. Bad turned to worse when the mines in Mt. Cornet started to dry up on that side of the mountain, and with new deposits found near Oreburgh, people decided to move away.
Celestic Town was a shadow of its former self, no wonder none of her friends ever bothered to visit.
Sinnoh was so vast and beautiful, from the snow-covered trees near Snowpoint to the beautiful beaches of Sunyshore to the hustle and bustle of Jubilife, Sinnoh had it all.
Why would anyone bother with a town whose only claim to fame was some ruins.
As Cynthia was moping about, she heard a faint noise from the corner of the room.
It was.....
It was her egg!
Cynthia excitedly ran towards the egg, opening the incubator that she had mailed from Jubilife. Her grandmother disapproved, claiming it was "unnatural,"
Cynthia didn't care at all, if it made it hatch faster she was all for it.
The egg began to crack slightly, and some more and more as a glow consumed the room.
Cynthia smiled like she had just won the lottery, whatever hatched out of this egg would be her ticket out of Celestic Town.
She opened her eyes after the white glow had vanished, and she was....surprised by what hatched from the egg.
The egg had hardly hatched, in fact the egg had just grown arms, legs, and a tiny head.
"Togepi!" The egg exclaimed
Cynthia smiled, trying to hide her disappointment. This wasn't what she expected
She wasn't exactly expecting a Dragonite to sprout out of the egg, but this wasn't what she expected either.
The egg started chirping, "Togepi Togei"
Cynthia got the memo and picked up the tiny egg.
"Hey there, Togepi right?"
"Togei!"
Cynthia smiled
"My name is Cynthia, I'm gonna be your trainer, is that ok?"
"Togei!"
Cynthia laughed, at least this new pokemon was cute.
Cynthia peeled off a poke ball she had taped on top of the incubator.
"Togepi, I'm gonna have to capture you if I'm going to be your trainer, but I promise I'll let you right out!"
"Togei!"
Cynthia smiled and pressed the poke ball against Togepi. The ball clicked instantly and Cynthia released Togepi the moment the capture was confirmed.
"See, I told you!" Cynthia said
"Togepi!" Togepi happily exclaimed, eager to do whatever its new mother asked.
Cynthia heard some rustling near the back door and heard a voice from the backyard.
"Cynthia, come here!" It was her Grandmother
Cynthia rushed upstairs and grabbed a bag before quickly going back downstairs and into the yard, Togepi in tow, eager to show her first pokemon to her grandmother.
Her Grandma was in the yard with her Gabite
Cynthia groaned mentally, her Grandma's grumpy Gabite was one of her least favorite things in the world.
It bit her, always looked like it was mad, and carried itself like it owned the world.
It was a demon around her, and just the sweetest thing around her grandmother and Cynthia could absolutely not stand it.
Cynthia entered the yard
"Hey Grandma, guess what?"
Her Grandmother looked at her arms and smiled when she saw her holding a Togepi
"Hello little one," Her Grandmother smiled at Togepi
Togepi looked scared
Cynthia looked at her Grandmother looking for an answer which she got, "Togepi are very sensitive species, the first creature they see is a parent to them, so you're now its mother, so don't let it out of your sight,"
Cynthia looked at her Grandmother, "Oh, well that's just great,"
"You'll appreciate this experience in time," Her Grandmother lectured her
"Whatever you say,"
Her Grandmother just laughed
"I actually have another gift for you, and a confession,"
Cynthia looked at her confused, "What is it?"
"I knew when your egg would hatch, you didn't read the instructions manual on that incubator of yours so I assume you never learned how to read the days until hatch,"
Cynthia looked embarrassed, "Oh....well, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!"
Her Grandmother laughed, "Listen to yourself child,"
Cynthia looked at the ground sheepishly
"So what's the gift?" Cynthia tried to change the topic
Her Grandmother pulled out a poke ball, "Open it," She instructed
Cynthia pressed the button and a small pokemon emerged.
"Meet Gible," Her Grandmother introduced the small dragon
"Gible!" Gible looked at Gabite for reassurance
Gabite just growled at Cynthia, warning her to not mess up
"Gible over here is Gabites child, and I want you to have it as a gift from me, I know it's unusual for a trainer to have two starters but I have firm faith that you'll make the most of it," Her Grandmother said with a smile
Cynthia laughed, "Alright Gible, nice to meet you, I'm Cynthia and this is Togepi,"
"Togepi!" Togepi looked happy to be in the company of another pokemon its own age
"Gible Gib!" Gible reciprocate those feelings
"Well, is this it?" Cynthia asked her grandmother
"Don't you need to pack for an adventure?"
"I....sorta have that done already," Cynthia motioned to a bag she was holding.
Cynthia had a bag ready 24/7 in case her egg hatched, or just in case she needed to leave town on a minute's notice.
She had probably watched way too many crime movies as of late.
"Nah, I have a bag packed in my room,"
"Well, this is strangely anticlimactic for when my granddaughter leaves home,"
Cynthia laughed, "I know, I expected sunshine on a beautiful summer morning,"
Her grandmother smiled, "Well I expected a dark and rainy day,"
The two shared a laugh
"I'll miss you, Cynthia, call home occasionally, will you?" Her Grandmother said, slightly sad
"Of course grandmother," Cynthia replied
Her grandmother handed her a brick-looking device, "Oh! One more thing! Your teacher asked for me to give this to you, it's called a pokedex. It contains information on all species of pokemon in Sinnoh, it's been worked on by researchers for years. I was told you could find good use out of it,"
Cynthia smiled, "Thank you so much grandmother, and tell my teacher I said thank you!"
"Of course honey, now go get out there! You're burning daylight and I assume you want to leave town and go see Sinnoh as fast as you can! Just one last thing before you go,"
"Yeah, what?"
"Take time and enjoy Sinnoh, so often people like to rush through life. If you are constantly rushing through life, it's not as good of an experience as just appreciating the moments. Appreciate it while it lasts, but don't dwell on good memories. Don't let bad memories consume you, yet don't forget them as they serve as a reminder," Cynthia's grandmother gave some solid advice
"That was....oddly specific," Cynthia said
"It's advice from a wise man," Cynthia's grandmother said
"Well, see you soon grandma, I'm going to the pokemon center to sign up for the gym challenge,"
"Why the gym challenge?"
"I want to be strong grandma, dad was a pretty good battler and I've seen his badges. I want that also!"
Her Grandma nodded with understanding and just replied with a command, "Be the best there is Cynthia, and make Celestic Town proud,"
"I will grandma, I promise," Cynthia said
"Go see the world!" Her Grandma motioned for her to leave
Cynthia opened the gate to her yard and ran out onto the gravel path, thus taking the very first steps of her journey as a trainer.
—----------
Cynthia burst into the Pokemon Center.
She had been running nonstop for the better part of a half hour, and was pretty wiped by this point as a result.
"Are you ok?" Nurse Joy asked with worry in her voice
Cynthia smiled, "Never better,"
She meant that emphatically
"What can I do for you today?" Nurse Joy asked, as friendly as ever
"I'd like to sign up for the gym challenge,"
"Of course!" Nurse Joy said with a smile as she typed away on a computer
"Name please?" Nurse Joy asked
Cynthia was surprised Nurse Joy didn't recognize her, but smiled after a moment. This independence was exactly what she wanted
"Cynthia, C-y-n-t-h-i-a" Cynthia spelled out her name for extra dramatic effect
"Alright, let me take a quick picture, so step right here,"
Cynthia did as instructed
Nurse Joy pressed a button, and took a picture of Cynthia
Nurse Joy typed some more on her computer and pressed a button and went to the back room. After a few minutes, she emerged with two items in her hands.
"Alright Cynthia, you're all set! Here's your trainer card, and a badge case, best of luck!" Nurse Joy said
Cynthia looked at her trainer card.
It was so bland, just a picture and ID number at this point, and her badge case was light as a feather. But it felt so inspiring, a breath of fresh air from the mundane life in Celestic.
This was it, she really was a trainer now.
Cynthia looked outside as the sun finally started to set
"Get ready world, because I'm coming for you!" Cynthia declared