The Lost Master

Chapter-34

"It's been three days since 'Champion', the Pokémon Master, battled a force of legendary Pokémon after he ended his match with Tobias Takuto. As all cameras in the stadium were lost partway through the battle, the outcome is unknown; it has been announced that 'Champion' has retreated to his home in order to recover. The spokesperson for the Pokémon League, Cynthia Shirona, Ex-Pokémon Master and leader of the Sinnoh Region gave a short statement:

"All that we know is that 'Champion' survived his fight with the legendary Pokémon, although he has not revealed how. He has returned home for a while in order to allow both himself and his Pokémon to recover."

When pressed as to when he would return, Cynthia had only this to say; "Given the scale of his recent fights, he is entitled to a break."

There has also been no word on the fate of Tobias Takuto, who was last seen standing up to the legendary Pokémon at the behest of 'Champion'. Hopefully all will be revealed when 'Champion' returns to his place at the top of the Pokémon League.

The receptionist put down the newspaper and looked up to see Ash walk into the administration building at Indigo Plateau. His hat was once again firmly placed on his head, blocking any view of his face. His clothes were as normal: black trousers, a fitted black shirt and a black jacket over the top. His hands were protected by fingerless gloves, and his boots were surprisingly quiet on the floor. The receptionist smiled as she saw him enter the lobby.

"Welcome back Sir." The receptionist said. "I just wanted to say thank you."

Ash stopped walking and looked at her. "Thank you?" He asked.

"Yes sir." The receptionist said, suddenly very nervous. "You see sir, while the papers have been quiet..." The receptionist trailed off, quailing under weight of the gaze of her boss. "Just I was..." Ash waited patiently while the woman summoned up her courage before suddenly speaking very quickly.

"We work very close to the stadium where you fought sir. The others just asked me to thank you for protecting us."

The woman turned bright red and tried to hide her face behind her computer, only to shoot straight back out once again when Ash spoke.

"You're welcome. Please tell your colleagues that it means a lot to me."

"I will sir." The receptionist said, glad when he then turned and walked away, heading up to his office. She sank back behind her desk, before a grin spread across her face. She had had a conversation with the Pokémon Master, and hadn't totally embarrassed herself. Well she had, but she had still managed it. When she told her colleagues his answer, she would leave out the embarrassing parts she told herself, and potentially throw in a clever remark. The kudos she'd get from this far made up for the heart attack she'd nearly given herself.

Cynthia, Lance and Steven were already in the building waiting for Ash. Despite what Cynthia had said to the press, in the couple of days since the battle, they had only heard from 'Champion' once. He had sent a message to Cynthia explaining that he would be taking a few days off.

In the meantime, Cynthia had tried to return to her other duties, organizing the rebuild of Silver Stadium and the repairs to Indigo Stadium, while working to re-build her team of specialists for training purposes. Yet something had bugged her permanently, and distracted her. So with a heavy heart, knowing that what she was doing could endanger her job, she had placed a call. Despite the risks, she just couldn't take not knowing anymore.

"This is Cerulean Gym." The voice at the other end of the phone said. Cynthia tried to place it, but couldn't.

"This is Cynthia from the Pokémon League."