As reality falls apart, one girl must fix the mistakes of the past to save the world . . . But doing what's right might just cost her everything she loves.
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Joss Anchora was never allowed to take on the gym challenge when she was ten. Growin...
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Joss's heart was pounding out of her chest and her lungs ached for more oxygen. A cramp was beginning to form in her left abdomen and her legs had gone uncomfortably numb from being overworked. Sweat from the scorching July heat drenched her hair and the tee-shirt she was wearing. Everything hurt. She didn't know how much longer she could go on . . . and from the looks of it, Maple was exhausted as well. Her small tongue hung out of her mouth as she panted and her pace had slowed considerably from when they first started to run.
"Cynthia, why do I have to run? This is Maple's training, not mine." Joss whined, slowing from a half-hearted sprint to a walk, hunching over to try and catch her breath. Cynthia had been running alongside the new trainer, long blonde hair tied into a ponytail, wearing a very expensive-looking black sports bra with matching leggings, her Lucario jogging beside her. She slowed down to match her niece's pace.
"You can't expect your Pokemon to do all of your work for you. You two are partners. Equals." Cynthia stated, "Teammates on sports teams train together to build trust and learn how to support each other; it's the same thing here."
Joss hated how much sense that made. Ever since she started training with Cynthia, her aunt had become the ultimate hardass. The international police had given her a solid chunk of time off and no trainers had issued an official challenge through the Sinnoh Pokémon league, so all of her time the past few months was spent training her niece . . . And boy did she take it seriously.
Between the strict diet, rigorous exercise, and long days, the past few months felt like boot camp. It was paying off though. Joss could see the improvement not only in Maple, but also in herself.
Her once scrawny frame had become much more muscular, albeit covered in scrapes and bruises, and Maple was growing more powerful and learning new moves and skills almost every day. It was tough work, but it made Joss respect her aunt so much more. She really lived up to her title of Sinnoh Champion.
"We'll sprint to the far edge of the ranch and then you can stop for a water break at the well over there." Cynthia said and then sped up again, her Lucario following closely beside her.
Joss let out a groan of reluctance, but Maple seemed to have a second wind. She gave her trainer a determined look and took off after Cynthia, panting more and more with each step. This, along with the idea of a water break, gave Joss enough motivation to quicken her pace and make it to the far edge of the ranch with her Eevee.
"Not bad. You two are getting a little bit better with your endurance training." Cynthia stated coolly, pulling a bucket of water from the well and setting it on the ground.
"A little?" Joss scoffed and then lifted the bucket over her face, pouring some into her mouth, and then set it on the ground for Maple to drink, "We just ran three laps around the entire ranch . . . And the ranch is huge."
Cynthia shrugged, "And the Sinnoh Region is a whole lot bigger. You want to be the best Pokémon trainer, right? You want to beat me one day?"
