The New Normal - 7-16 - Interlude - Cynthia

The New Normal – 7-16 – Interlude – Cynthia

When she had received a call one afternoon that she was to be the tour guide for Elite John when he came to Sinnoh, to say that she was surprised was an understatement. Ever since Sinnoh had become aware of their foreign neighbours, Cynthia had instantly hopped off of her piano and had done everything she can to find out more about the greatest trainers from each region.

She found many of them fascinating, and Elite John was one of the few that initially caught her eye. At first glance, the trainers that she was most impressed by from each region were Lance, John, and Wallace respectively.

Lance, for his incredible strength that seemed to have no limit. John, for his underdog story and his achievements relative to his youth. And Wallace, for being able to mix in both spectacle and strength into one magnificent package.

And now, she was given the incredible opportunity to finally spend time around one of them, as their designated tour guide no less. However, despite what would normally seem like a daunting task to others, she bore this responsibility with eager anticipation. She spent weeks going through the necessary preparations, and now she was determined to make an impression on the visiting Elite Four member.

She knew she was strong. This was not some kind of arrogance borne out of pride, but from cold logical fact. She had spent her teenage years training hard with her team, figuring how best to unlock their greatest potential until they were the best they could be.

As time passed, and she had become a young adult, her Pokémon only continued to grow until they became the powerhouses that they were today.

When she had decided to train up her Pokémon, many of her peers and teachers taught her that it was best to train up a single type and to specialize in it. At first, she could see the logic, realizing that training Pokémon all of a single type allowed you to master the type and pass down special moves and training throughout your entire team.

Generalist teams, she was taught, could never work on a high-level, because a trainer simply could not master all those types at once while training all your Pokémon to a high level. It would take too much time, they said, and that the different requirements and demands of the individual Pokémon would clash and conflict.

They were all wrong. And her team and their constant strings of victories were the proof.

Then they labelled her a ‘genius’ for being able to do so. Claiming that what she did was something that only she could do because of her ‘special talent’. It disgusted her that they would undermine her effort like that with a simple label, as if to brush aside all of the time and effort that she put in.

They overlooked all that reading and studying that she did when she tried to figure out how to train up all these different types. They overlooked the copious piles of notes that she had scattered around her room as she scrambled to create a working training strategy. They overlooked all of the sleepless nights she spent brainstorming and planning out her team. And it was all to achieve one thing.

To create a team that was the strongest that the world had ever seen. Only time would tell if she had succeeded.

But she knew that she still had a long way to go. Despite all of her training, there was always going to be more that could be done, more improvements that could made. Champion Lance was the trainer she acknowledged had the strongest team in terms of raw strength, and she frequently studied his battles to see what how she could learn from his strength.

She disliked his focus on pure force, but there was a beauty in its simplicity that she intended to build upon, just like she did with the many trainers that she studied up on.

And that was why she intended to make full use of the opportunity of being able to interact with Elite John, someone that the world recognized had incredible insight into the secrets behind Pokémon. She had great respect for John and his knowledge, and she would do her best to make all that knowledge hers.

Just like every other great trainer before him.

She realized that it was only a matter of time before she could not hold back her desire to ask John out for a battle – to test herself against him. Would his team of tested Elites be able to withstand the team that she had built up to defeat the many brilliant trainers that she had learnt from?

Either way, it would be another learning moment, another chance to improve.

And she knew that in the current political climate Sinnoh was in, she was going to need every ounce of strength she could muster.

Sinnoh was in shambles. Its government was still reeling from the disastrous management of the traditionalists, and the resulting power vacuum from their removal only dropped Sinnoh into more chaos.

It hurt her to see her beloved region be consumed in turmoil like this, and while she had participated in bringing about the end of the traditionalists by being supportive and even joining in on the protests, she and most of the population felt that there needed to be a new leader in place.

She did not think that leader was going to be her. But after the recent announcement of Champion Hayato having stepped down from his position, leaving the position of Champion temporarily empty, she suddenly felt that she had an opportunity.

The Elite Four were strong. But after some very careful studies and analysis of the strength in their recent battles, she came to the surprising conclusion that she found herself to be a match for them. Then, she spoke to her long-time friend and current Elite Four member Lucian, and he said that they were not about to elect a Champion from within their own ranks unless it was absolutely necessary.

This presented an unexpected opportunity for her.

She never imagined that this was where her life would lead, but Sinnoh NEEDED a leader. It needed someone to be able to guide them into a new era away from the stagnancy of the traditionalists. She didn’t know if that leader would be her, but the opportunity was now in front of her.

Whether this was her destiny or not, she was going to seize this chance with her own two hands. She was not afraid of the challenge. She was more afraid of losing out on the opportunity.

But she wouldn’t jump into this recklessly. Though she had won the Sinnoh Conference 2 years prior, her Pokémon and strategies could still be refined, and discussions must be had with the current leadership to ensure that she had a strong political backing and to help with a smooth transition. The last thing Sinnoh needed was a sudden Champion that no one supported.

So, she was going to be patient. She would continue to grow her strength until it was time to finally prove herself on the big stage. And she was determined to win it all.

Champion Cynthia. Now that sounded good to her.

A.N. CYNTHIA IS HERE! This was a challenge to write. As you might be able to tell, Cynthia is one of my favourite characters in the series, and I really wanted to show that off here with this story. I really hope I have gotten the gist of her character correct; I would love to be able to do her character justice.