Chapter Text
It isn’t easy being a champion. You’d think having an elite four would turn away most of the challengers that might eat up your time, but those people are just as much arch rivals as they are your allies. Cynthia wasn’t all too worried about keeping her current position though. It was starting to feel like she had been the Sinnoh region’s very own champion longer than she hadn’t been. Winning and breathing were like synonyms at this point, but that isn’t to say that any part of her daily life had gotten dull. Just that she sometimes needed a little break.
She had decided to take just the break she needed about a week earlier. Bertha had managed to whittle Cynthia down to her last Pokémon. Cynthia had thumbed the familiar pokeball with loving confidence before throwing it on the field. The very garchomp she was now riding had emerged, along with that electric connection she always felt with it when it was time to battle together. It had been a total sweep. Bertha's gliscor might have stood a chance against garchomp’s power, but it had been knocked out earlier in the battle. For the rest of her pokemon, well, ground doesn’t resist ground. Still, she figured that battle was probably what most people would have called close. She chuckled to herself. No use in pretending it hadn’t at least made her declare a personal vacation.
There was a slight bump as garchomp touched down on Unovan soil, or sand more specifically. Cynthia had considered taking a plane, but had ultimately opted for the fresh air. It was a good bonding exercise too, not that she really could get much closer to the pokemon that doubled as both her ace and one of her oldest friends.
“Thank you,” she smiled warmly as garchomp bowed its head to her so she could caress it before returning it to its ball.
In spirit there was nothing unusual about the little interaction between trainer and Pokémon. In reality anyone who knew the common temperaments of such a proud Pokémon family knew that a garchomp did not bow easily.
“Impressive as always cousin dearest,” Caitlyn announced her presence on the scenic beach through a yawn. “I feel it prudent to implore you once again. Take the key to this villa and keep it this time. I have so many others and I know how much you treasure this one.”
“I can’t do that,” Cynthia answered with a shake of her head. “I am a fan of this villa, but it’s still yours. If I owned it I’m afraid I may never leave!”
“Oh but why impose limits on your stays cousin dearest. It’s a matter of convenience at this point.” Caitlyn pushed.
Cynthia just answered with a warm smile, “okay I’ll take the key,” Caitlyn smiled back before Cynthia continued, “if you can defeat me in a battle,” Caitlyn’s smile disappeared.
“No fair,” the Unovan elite four member pouted, her sense of decorum momentarily dropping.
“It’s as fair a shot as anyone is allowed at me,” Cynthia shrugged. Caitlyn wordlessly shook her head before she let the key float from her hand over to Cynthia, ferried along by a smidge of her psychic powers. The champion deftly caught it out of the air.
“Enjoy your stay,” Caitlyn said with a small bow, decorum returned.
“Oh, I will.” Cynthia waved.
Caitlyn left, her gothitelle making a brief appearance outside of its pokeball to teleport her away. Cynthia turned the key and entered the private little villa with a smile on her face. She was greeted with a welcoming waft of air conditioning that carried with it the clean smell of the simple dwelling. The smell was a clear sign that Caitlyn's ever loyal servant, Darach, had been by to clean recently. Cynthia would never admit it publicly, but a small service like that was a big reason she preferred the villa stay under the official ownership of Caitlyn. Put simply: Cynthia wasn’t much for cleaning. She lacked both the skill and patience. She could train for hours on end with any number of Pokémon to a near superhuman level of potency, but the one time she had tried to properly arrange the cabinets of her personal kitchen had been a day-long effort of broken ceramics. In the end Cynthia’s only accomplishment had been deciding to hire a maid.
Here however, the villa was already clean. The simple nature of the villa also meant it would be hard to mess up, even for Cynthia. The entire villa consisted of two rooms. The main room had all that one person could need. A small kitchenette, reasonably sized television, well stocked bookshelf, a plush couch, carpet, chairs at a low table, and so on. The other room was a simple bedroom consisting of a queen sized bed, flanked by the only bathroom in the house.
Cynthia had loved the little villa and its charm the moment she’d first stayed in it. Back then she had simply been in need of a place to stay that was suitably close to the underwater ruins off the coast of Undella Town. Her interests in all things ancient had led her to desire studying them first hand, and as luck would have it Caitlyn owned a villa in the perfect spot. She had spent some of the most relaxing time of her life pouring over her study of those ruins while living in this villa. Those memories, along with the villa’s innate power to let her just get away from it all, had made it her favorite relaxing vacation spot. Well, that and one more thing.
All these benefits certainly added to the draw of the villa, and without the added bonus of the ruins surely Cynthia could find or even purchase similar conditions for relaxation elsewhere. Somewhere closer to home like Hoenn perhaps? Or the famous scenic beaches of Alola? No, something more than just the perfect conditions of the villa kept Cynthia coming back to the region. That “something” was Unovan women.
Being a champion for so long had allowed Cynthia to develop her taste for the finer things in life, fine dining, fine clothing, fine accommodations, and the finer sex. Unfortunately being the champion is as much a public position as it is a testament to power. As much as Cynthia would have liked, she couldn’t simply sleep with whomever she desired. For one, she had rather high standards, and for two, the vicious media didn’t have any standards whatsoever.
Unova, however, was a different story. Not only was the region full of beautiful women, but it was also plenty far away from anyone who would care to stalk the champion of Sinnoh. Word still got around whenever Cynthia went to Unova, but only through favorable channels. It meant that once Cynthia arrived, she could be expecting certain visitors. As she reclined on the villa’s couch she felt her personal Poketch vibrating with a call from a well known Xtransever number and smiled. It seemed she could expect her first visitor rather soon...
