Paragon

Origin Child [7]

Now that the main cast has been fully introduced and we've gotten a time skip, here are the current ages for all the characters—

Ash : 19

Cynthia : 31

Sylvester : 34

Sabrina : 18

N : 25

Zinnia : 19

Anabel : 20

PARAGON

Origin Child Arc [7]

Chapter 7 : Two Years Later

Cynthia basked in the gentle sunlight that caressed Paragon Island, a mug of tea in hand. Warmth washed over the balcony she lay upon, and no thoughts occupied her mind while she relaxed. Taking one last breath of the crisp outside air, she brushed the crumbs off her lap and stepped back inside. She was a practical woman, and no ostentacity decorated her office, but she was thankful for what she had here. Her sanctum was hardly any different in appearance or size from the offices provided to her by the League, on both Lily of the Valley Island and Indigo Plateau, but here, at least she had somewhere she could steal simple moments of tranquility before the weight of her positions bore back down on her.

She sat back in her leather chair and shook her mouse to wake her computer back up. The three screens arrayed in front of her brightened and she quickly scanned them to refamiliarize herself with what she'd been doing before taking a break for breakfast. Right... a pack of Azumarill running wild in the Great Marsh, a blackout in Sunyshore again, and more ownership disputes between Canalave City and the Iron Islands for control of the mines. She sighed and rubbed her face, though it did nothing to alleviate her stress. This is a job for the government. Why are they sending this shit to me?

In recent years, the League had become more and more responsible for the general goings-on within their respective region's borders, which meant more work for Cynthia. She offloaded as much as she could on anyone who would shoulder it, be it the regional government or her Elite Four, but at least the latter were nice to enough dash the hopes and dreams of any conference winner who dared attempt to usurp her throne, so she tried to repay the favor by not distracting them with this nonsense. It was the Sinnohan government that was truly to blame, though even then, the world wasn't so simple that the blame fell on one, single institution

Above the incessant messaging about how utopic the life of a trainer could be were the cold, iron hands and cogs that kept that whole system running smoothly enough that said trainers would never have to bother themselves with how the sausage was made. For one, the regional governments which most were so blissfully ignorant of anyway, were nearly toothless. At one point they may have acted like the sovereigns that they were, but now, they were little more than middle men between the powers that be and the League.

A blessing and a curse to be fair. When things needed to change, they changed. But oftentimes, things changed so fast that the populace never got a word in edgewise one way or another, merely left to get used to the new normal after all was said and done. Not at all an ideal system.

Unless you live in Galar, Cynthia mused. Unlike the other regions, they were still ruled by a monarchy, and two years ago, Leon had doubled as both World Champion of the Pokémon League and a prince of Galar. For its citizens, his double-edged crown meant the ascendancy of the Galar as a whole, and indeed, the region had improved exponentially under his reign. More than any other, the League had suffused itself into Galar's very culture, turning the once medieval region into an entertainment paradise, and they were now nearly a peer competitor with the likes of the naval titan Hoenn, or even the financial capital of the world, Unova.