Calls with an Ex-Champion (G)
Feb 12, 2018 0:55:55 GMT
Post by Dtmahanen on Feb 12, 2018 0:55:55 GMT
Man, this one brings back memories. I wrote this story in 2015 as a gift for another writer, and I'm still very fond of it. I hope you all enjoy...
Calls with an Ex-Champion
“Garchomp, hit him with an Earthquake!”
“Crap, that’s not good. Tux, move out of the way with Aqua Jet!”
“Don’t let him get away! Slow that empoleon down with a Flamethrower!”
“Keep using Aqua Jet, buddy! Aim for her dorsal fin, knock her off balance!”
“Shoot, that looked like it hurt. Listen, I know you’re getting tired, little miss, but you have to stay focused! We need to end this now. Rush him with a Giga Impact!”
“Stand your ground Tux! Blast her with an Ice Beam, point blank!”
“No! Garchomp, get out of the way!”
“That’s our opening! Daze her with a Flash Cannon! Don’t let her escape!”
“Dodge her, quickly!”
“We have ‘em on the ropes! Finish it off with a Hydro Pump!”
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The large purple land shark, having no more fuel left in the tank, couldn’t avoid the powerful jet of water released from her opponent’s crown-like beak. The overwhelming force of the blast lifted the 200 pound beast right off of her feet, slamming it into the far wall. As the jet of water subsided, the garchomp slumped to the ground in a heap. Even before her head hit the ground, everyone in the stadium knew that the battle was over.
“Cynthia’s garchomp is unable to battle,” the referee announced as he looked on from a pedestal on the side of the battle arena. “The winner is Lucas’s empoleon, and the match goes to Lucas Albright! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new Sinnoh League Champion!”
At that, the crowd erupted in applause. Not because they didn’t like the current (or perhaps former) champion, Cynthia. Far from it, in fact. Most of Sinnoh loved Cynthia. But her opponent had recently become a legend for his hand in the destruction of the nefarious Team Galactic. Even before obtaining all of the badges and challenging the Elite Four, the people adored him. So it stands to reason that the crowd would be rooting for the boy already crowned “The Twinleaf Master.”
At least he was a good sport about the whole thing.
After running into the arena to give his empoleon a big ursaring hug, both Lucas and Tux joined Cynthia by her garchomp’s side, and the blue*-haired boy even fished a bottle of Hyper Potion out from his backpack to help restore the dragon to health.
“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Cynthia said while producing a pink bottle of her own. “We’ll be fine. Enjoy the moment.”
Lucas let out a laugh. “I know. And believe me, I am. But to be honest, I kinda want to get out of here. I want to celebrate with my friends, not a stadium of strangers.”
Cynthia gave the boy a weird look, but it passed quickly. In fact, Lucas didn’t even notice. “Alright then, Champion,” she responded with her classic sly grin. “Help me patch Garchomp up and then we can head to the Hall of Fame room. Unfortunately, there are still some formalities that we need to accomplish before I can let you go.”
“Fair enough,” Lucas replied, spraying some of the Potion on a cut on the dragon’s arm wing.
About a minute later, the garchomp was all healed up, and the four were ready to go. Cynthia gestured for the announcer to bring her the mic. “We’ll be back in a few minutes, everyone!” she said. “We need some time to prepare the new Champion for his coronation! Stay patient!”
With that, Lucas, Cynthia, and their pokémon walked toward the door on the far end of the stadium, quickly going through to escape the noise of the crowd.
Lucas was surprised at how spartan the room was. Other than a few light fixtures on the ceiling and the small machine at the end of the hall, there was nothing in the entire room.
“Is this really the Hall of Fame room?” he asked.
“What, is it not enough for you?” Cynthia chuckled. “In all seriousness, though, we don’t need much decoration in here. No cameras allowed, you know. The real show happens out in the stadium. In all honesty, you being immortalized in the Hall of Fame is actually the easy part.”
“Arceus, you can say that again,” Lucas replied. “So, what, do I need to place my pokéballs in the machine, and it registers my team?”
“Actually, no. This is a bit of a new design. We’ve already registered your team in the system. Didn’t you see the JumboTron?”
In fact, he had seen. He remembered placing his pokéballs in a larger machine after he’d won the Sinnoh League tournament. I guess that’s how they know, he thought.
“All you have to do,” Cynthia continued, “is place your Trainer ID card in the slot. It should only take a minute.”
As Lucas approached the machine, he noticed that Cynthia was starting to look uncharacteristically nervous. She was fidgeting with the pink Pokétch wrapped around her wrist, as if looking for something.
“Is something the matter?” Lucas asked.
“Oh, no, nothing!” she exclaimed, slightly startled. Composing herself, she asked, “Did I, by chance, give you my number?”
Lucas was confused. “Um, yeah, you did after we got out of the Distortion World. Why do you ask?”
Breathing a quick sigh of relief, Cynthia responded, “I just wanted to make sure that you would be able to call me if you needed anything. Help with figuring out the duties of a Champion, things like that. That’s all.”
“Oh, uh...thanks, I guess,” he mumbled. “I-I think I’ll be okay though. I’ve handled myself pretty well so far.”
The scanner began to beep, signaling that the process was complete. However, it was not Lucas who retrieved the card, but Cynthia.
“Look at me, Lucas,” she stated, putting her arm on his shoulder while holding the card close to his face. Lucas was alarmed by how grave her gaze was. It was as if she was staring into his very soul, analyzing it for any cracks or weak points. “These next few months will most likely be the most stressful of your entire life. Believe me, I’ve been through it before. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to call me.” Taking a deep breath, she continued; “Once I give you this card and you step out that door, I am no longer Champion. You will be. Do you understand what that means?”
Lucas solemnly took the card from Cynthia’s hand. “I do. I’ll call if I need anything. And besides, if I can handle a team of apocalyptic gangsters and the three legendary dragons-"
He flashed his signature toothy grin.
“I can definitely handle this.”
He pocketed the card and then began to run towards the doors leading into the arena, excited to finally see his dream fulfilled. As he burst out of the doors and the crowd began to cheer again, Cynthia turned back to her Pokétch and looked at the article that was showing on her screen.
“Brendan Cardenas Steps Down As Champion?!”...
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She got her first call a few days later. By then, she and her team had returned home to Celestic Town where, after saying hello to her grandmother for the first time in a long while, she was finally able to plop down on her sofa and crack open the new book she had received. It was Lenora Maven’s new work on the legendary dragons of Unova. Seeing as that region had recently experienced the wrath of those same dragons first hand, Cynthia was curious as to how the findings expressed in the book related to her actual experience. Her garchomp occasionally peered over her shoulder, pretending to read with Cynthia like she often did before they became too busy to relax like this. Cynthia chuckled to herself. She knew it was all a ploy to get her attention. She may have been tough in battle, but out of the arena, her garchomp was a real softie.
“Alright, little miss, lean over,” Cynthia said, gesturing for the dragon to rest her head on the sofa. Cynthia began stroking along the top of her head, making sure not to cut herself on the land shark’s sharp denticles that substituted for skin. The garchomp let out a low growl that could almost be mistaken for a persian’s purr, clearly happy to finally get some alone time with her trainer. And for about half an hour or so, they were content.
At least, until Cynthia’s Pokétch began to buzz.
Hm, maybe it’s from Byron, she thought. She had received an email from him yesterday about an offer to go on an archeological dig along to coastline of Route 222. She had responded to his message yesterday, and was waiting to hear back. It had been so long since she had gone on a dig, and she wanted desperately to go. She looked at the number displayed on her wristwatch.
Lucas Albright.
Cynthia felt her stomach drop. So soon? she thought. It’s only been three days. I didn’t expect him to call until much later. Oh Arceus, are they hounding him already? Nervously, she tapped her Pokétch to respond.
“Hello?”
“Hey Cynthia! Told you I’d call. Haha! Don't look so nervous, I just wanted to say hi.”
When she heard the same happy tone of voice that she’d constantly heard throughout Lucas’s journey, and saw his face, fresh and happy as always, Cynthia felt a weight being lifted off of her shoulders. Well that’s a relief. He’s okay.
“You can’t exactly blame me for thinking the worst, though,” she responded, as if nothing was the matter. “It’s only been three days.”
“Oh I know. I finally got away from the paparazzi for a bit, they’ve been following me like crazy.”
“They always do. How are you holding up? Are they being intrusive?”
Lucas looked away, as if thinking about the right response. “Uh, no, they’ve been pretty good about it. Y-you know, for reporters.”
“Well, as I said, let me know if you need anything. Generally speaking, I’m always free to talk, seeing as I’m not Champion anymore.”
“S-speaking of being free," he said, trying to reorient the conversation, "my friend Dawn wants to throw a huge party for me back at Sandgem, and seeing as you’re a friend of Professor Rowan’s, I was wondering if you wanted to come.”
“Wait, how are your friend and Professor Rowan in any way related?”
“Rowan’s her boss. He’s letting her take some time off to prepare.”
Cynthia couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “That’s awfully nice of him. A little out of character, if I may.” She checked her Pokétch, and noticed a new message on the side. It was from Byron. “I’d love to come, but I think that I’ll be occupied for the next few days. It’s a history-related matter. Might not be that interesting to you.”
“Damn. I wish you could be there.”
“Me too.” Looking over at her garchomp, she was staring at her trainer expectantly, her mouth beginning to salivate. “I think I need to go, Lucas,” Cynthia continued. “I need to feed Little Miss Bottomless Pit, here.”
“That sounds fine. I’ll be sure to call if I need anything.”
“Sounds good. Goodbye.”
“See ya later!”
She signed off the call, then looked over to her garchomp. “Shall I make you some dinner?”
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Over the next month or so, Cynthia received a few calls from Lucas. And over that span of time, several interesting events occurred. Her archaeological dig went splendidly, and she even recovered a few artifacts of her own related to the legend of the Gratitude pokémon, shaymin, including a petrified Gracidea flower. She had no idea that the species was so ancient, and Byron speculated that this may point to his theory that not only was shaymin real, but that the species was ancient as well.
She also learned from her contact in Johto, Lance Draconis, that Ethan Davidson, another recently appointed Champion that had “stepped down,” had reclaimed his title from Lance without a battle. Lance assured her that this was completely legal, mentioning a new clause in the Pokémon League rules that allowed for this to happen.
And as the calls kept coming in, Cynthia started to feel that this revelation was much more relevant than he realized.
Lucas wasn’t handling the pressure of being a Champion well. Sure, he put on a brave face when he spoke with Cynthia, and he hadn’t been acting out publicly, at least not yet. But Cynthia couldn’t help but notice that every time Lucas called, their conversation was shorter, and he seemed to be growing more and more tired. He kept assuring her that he didn’t need help, that he could handle himself, but every time their conversations ended, Cynthia grew more and more worried.
"Are you sure you don't need anything?" she asked on the fourth call, about three weeks after the dig. "Because if you do, Garchomp and I would be more than happy to drop by and-"
"I told you, I'm fine," Lucas snapped. "Like you said, I just need some time to adjust." He visibly forced a smile. "Just you wait. It'll all be over soon, I can feel it."
Cynthia didn't share in his confidence. At this rate, the boy’s going to lose it before he's old enough to shave, she thought.
And a month and a half after his victory, even though he didn’t snap, he finally did ask for help.
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It was a brisk fall evening, and Cynthia was walking with her garchomp near the cave in Celestic. She’d called Professor Rowan earlier that day under the pretense of checking up on him, when in reality she wanted to discuss Lucas and the new clause she’d heard about from Lance. Rowan liked the idea, but didn’t want to break the idea on Lucas himself. “I just gave him his first pokémon,” he gruffly explained. “You have more experience with the boy.”
Just as she was about to dial Lucas’s number, her garchomp suddenly perked up.
“What is it, little miss?” she inquired. The dragon gave a quiet hiss, pointing her head toward a point in the sky. Trying to find out what she was seeing, Cynthia looked to the sky, and saw a bit of a strange sight. A large black bird was flying in their direction.
“It seems he had the same idea,” Cynthia muttered, having deduced that the bird was actually Lucas’s honchkrow. As the large bird approached, Cynthia gave a wave to let them know it was okay to land. She noticed Lucas poking his head out of the scruff of feathers on the honchkrow’s neck, scanning the horizon. Oh dear, she realized. Has it really gotten that bad?
“It’s alright!” Cynthia yelled. “There are no reporters here! You won’t be swarmed, I promise!”
She saw Lucas say something to the massive raven, who proceeded to gently lower itself to the ground. Turning to her garchomp, she whispered, “There is no one here, right? Did you check?” The dragon nodded, tapping her claw to her bright yellow nose and giving a quick, staccato grunt. Cynthia was relieved. She’d learned to trust the land shark’s nose and electrical detection sense many years ago. If anyone would know if there were any unsavory characters about, it would be her garchomp.
“Thanks for the heads up, Cynthia,” Lucas said while dismounting the honchkrow. “You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting some quiet.” His empoleon, having ridden the honchkrow along with Lucas, slid off of the raven’s back. It had always amused Cynthia how both she and Lucas never returned their first pokémon into their balls, perhaps as a sign of affection or respect for their first non-human bond. She hadn’t seen any other trainer do this sort of thing. It helped the two bond.
“Well, Celestic is known for its quiet,” she hesitantly replied. “I take it that’s why you’re here."
“Yeah.”
This was the first time Cynthia had seen Lucas in person since their match, and she was taken aback by just how much worse he appeared in the flesh. Lucas was hunched over, struggling to hold himself upright. His skin had paled somewhat, and enormous black bags had grown under his dark blue eyes. His blue hair was unkempt, at least more than usual, which she could see because his beret was placed unevenly on his head. His clothes were wrinkled, his scarf was looser than normal around his neck, and his shoes had attracted dirt, which she guessed was due to him dragging his feet. Even Tux, his faithful companion, was looking at him worriedly.
Lucas was dead tired.
“Tell it to me straight, Lucas,” Cynthia bluntly demanded. “Don’t act tough, you can’t fool me. How bad has it been?”
Lucas looked down at his shoes. He was visibly shaking, as if trying to hold in tears while giving a brave face. “It’s been bad.”
“Any particular reason?”
“All of them.”
“That’s not enough, Lucas. I need to know what’s wrong so I can try to help.”
“Where do I start?” Attempting to center himself, he continued, his voice progressively becoming louder and more wild as he went on, slowly dropping his courageous façade. “Everywhere I go, it’s like everyone’s eyes are following me. They look at me like I’m some sort of god among men because not only did I beat you, but according to the news, I also beat Team Galactic single-handedly. Which I didn’t. You did most of the heavy lifting, not me. But no, I get all the praise and attention because I’m apparently some kind of wunderkind." He began to flail his arms about as his voice rose in pitch. "Oh, and let’s talk about that attention for a second. The reporters and news media won’t leave me alone. If I want to go to the movies with Barry, it’s a story. If someone comes to me asking for a battle – which is a lot, by the way – it’s an event. And if, Arceus help me, I’m doing some fieldwork for the Prof with Dawn, oh baby, it’s a freaking headline for the tabloids! Ever since I first called you, I’ve barely had any space to breathe. I can’t handle all of this pressure, all the attention! I don’t want all of this publicity, I want some time to be alone! WHY WON’T THEY JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?!”
Lucas ran over to Cynthia and began to cry uncontrollably, burying his face in his her cape. Cynthia’s expression changed from one of shock from Lucas’s embrace, to one of steely determination and anger. Turning to her garchomp, she proceeded to give her some orders.
“Garchomp, I need you to patrol the perimeter of the town. If you see anyone with a camera or any truck with a news logo, do whatever you can to drive them away. I want no disturbances, you understand?” Nodding in agreement, the dragon darted off toward the edge of town.
Lucas turned to Cynthia confused. “What are you doing?”
“Walk with me to my house for a bit. I have some things to tell you. Things I should have told you weeks ago. Believe me, you’ll want to hear what I have to say.”
---------------------------------------------
A few minutes later, Lucas was resting on Cynthia’s sofa, a cup of tea in his hand. Cynthia, having made a cup for herself as well, sat down in a chair across from him. After setting her cup down, she took out her Pokétch and pulled up an article. The same one she had found the day of her defeat, in fact.
“Have you seen this?” she asked, showing the link to Lucas.
“Yeah, I heard about this a few months ago,” he softly replied. “It was a huge deal, Brendan stepping down like that. It was all the Hoenn news people could talk about for weeks.”
“I spoke to the former Champion, Steven, about this. Believe it or not, Brendan's resignation is not the first time this has happened.” She pulled up a few other links on her watch.
“First, Red Takeda of Kanto. Then Ethan Davidson of Johto, three years later. Hilda Washington of Unova. Serena Bordeaux, Kalos. And now Brendan. What do they all have in common, Lucas?”
“They all quit?”
“Well, yes, but they also all became Champion at around your age, Lucas.” Pulling the Pokétch back towards her, she continued, choosing her words carefully. “I’ll be the first to admit it, your generation of Pokémon Trainers may be the best there has ever been. More children aged 10 and above are going on journeys and becoming successful trainers than ever before. But because of that, more kids your age are being shoved into the spotlight too early. Frankly, it’s been hard for them to handle.”
“Not to mention the whole Team Galactic business,” Lucas muttered. "That's a little much for an 11-year-old."
“You’re not the only Champion who’s had gang-related problems,” Cynthia responded. “Every single one of those kids I mentioned had their own crises to deal with. Brendan had the Aqua/Magma Weather Wars. Hilda, the Plasma Cult. And don’t get me started on Red.”
Lucas knew all about that one. According to the news, he single-handedly took down an entire criminal organization, exposing not only their multiple secret bases, but even taking on a mutated legendary pokémon and living. He didn’t believe everything that the news said about him, but either way, he was a legend. And then, a year later, he disappeared without a trace. Some say that Ethan Davidson found him on the peak of the local Silver Mountain range, but others deny it, saying that if Red had really been found, those who spotted him would have brought the boy home.
That was almost ten years ago.
“What does any of this have to do with me?" Lucas inquired.
“It has everything to do with you.” Cynthia began typing into her Pokétch. “When Red disappeared, and then another 11-year-old, Ethan, became Champion only a year later, the Pokémon League realized that the same thing that happened with Red could easily happen again. The media has certainly gotten more vicious since I started my career." Her eyes darted back and for from her watch to Lucas, making sure he wasn't lost. "I only learned about this a few weeks ago, but after the media began hounding Ethan after his Championship win, the League secretly decided to take action.”
Finding what she was looking for, she handed Lucas her Pokétch. Confused, Lucas began to read the article displayed on the screen.
“Addendum 67B: The Media Blackout Clause. If a newly instituted Champion is under the age of 18 and finds it difficult to impossible to effectively continue their duties due to fatigue, overexposure, etc., they may submit a request to both the former Champion and regional Pokémon League for an immediate media blackout.”
Lucas looked up, shocked at what he was seeing. “Go on,” Cynthia said. “There’s more to it.” His eyes starting to well up, Lucas continued.
“While they may continue to serve in their duties as Champion, no news outlet - *sniff* - whether it be television, newspaper, or otherwise, w-will be allowed to cover the personal life of said Champion until such time that they either turn 18, request that this clause be redacted, or they resign. T-t-the last acting Champion will...function in their stead.” Lucas looked up, tears streaming down his face. “You’d d-do that for me?”
“M-hm. I’ve already made a few calls. The Pokémon League is aware of the situation, and I’ve already done my part in approving it. All you have to do is call them up and say the word.”
“I’ll have my life back?”
“M-hm. You’ll still be recognized as a Champion by everyone that matters, but you’ll get your personal life back. You’ll have time to prepare for the media blitz, and by then you won’t be a minor. You’ll have lived a full childhood.”
It was her turn to look down at her shoes. “I’ll readily admit it, my experience with becoming Champion wasn’t nearly this bad. The media wasn’t as story-hungry as it is now, and I wasn’t involved with a world-threatening crisis. And even then, it was hard to adjust.” Cynthia stared into Lucas’s eyes. “I am so sorry I couldn’t do anything sooner. I completely underestimated how voracious the news media has become these days, and I didn’t want to interfere, as you kept reassuring me you were okay." She let out a deep sigh. "Frankly, I shouldn’t have listened to you, I SAW how bad it was getting.”
She pressed a button on her Pokétch, and a few seconds later, Lucas’s Pokétch, painted in a black and blue pattern and fastened to his light blue jacket, beeped in response.
“I just sent you the Pokémon League’s number. If you want, call them and ask for Ronald Parsons. He’ll help you initiate the blackout. At least, if that's what you want to do.”
Lucas glanced down at his Pokétch. “You don’t have to do this,” he muttered, his eyes red and puffy. “I mean, you just started to have a break, do you really want to-"
“Lucas.” Cynthia stared him straight in the eyes. “I’m not doing this for my sake. I want to help you. You’re the greatest trainer I’ve possibly ever seen, but you’re still a child. You shouldn’t be swarmed by news people every waking moment of every day. You should be living your life.” Seeing something in the doorway, she leaned back on her chair and chuckled. “And besides, Garchomp and I have started to get bored. We’d almost gotten used to having all of the attention in the world. We wouldn’t want you to hog all of it for yourself, now would we?”
Hearing a quick hiss, Lucas did a double take when he realized that Cynthia’s garchomp had returned. How did it return so quietly for such a huge creature, he wondered. He couldn’t help but laugh.
“How do you always know exactly what to say?” he asked instead.
“Years of practice. I was Champion for 17 years before you beat me, remember?”
“Oh yeah, almost forgot about that.”
The two shared one more quick laugh, and then were quiet for a minute or two.
Lucas got up from the sofa and head toward the door.
“I’d totally stay over to make the call,” he said quietly, “but I need to head home. My mom’s been worried sick about me, and I think she’ll be happy to hear that there’s a solution.”
“Of course, I understand,” Cynthia replied. “Do what you think is best.”
“Yeah.”
He placed one hand on the doorknob, but stopped just short of opening it.
“Hey Cynthia?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you. With all of the craziness going on right now, it feels good to know that someone has my back, and that I don’t have to act tough all of the time.”
“You never had to,” Cynthia responded. “It’s what friends do.”
Lucas couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Heh. Friends with the great Cynthia. Who would’ve thought?”
He opened the door to leave. Cynthia could see the honchkrow and Tux waiting for him outside, ready to begin their journey home.
“Oh, and Lucas?”
“Yeah?”
“If you ever need anything, don’t be afraid to call.”
“...I will.”
