Chapter 36: Not to say life didn't need other things

Cynthia had a problem.

Or, well, maybe calling it a problem was a bit of a misnomer. That made it sound trivial, like an overcooked dinner. This was… not that. She stole a glance to her side, eyes flicking briefly toward Myst. And, as if on cue, heat crept up her neck.

Again.

She forced herself to look away, fixing her gaze on the uneven tunnel floor. The stone beneath their feet was slick with mountain condensation, cold enough to soak through even sturdy hiking boots. Like yesterday, they'd walked mostly in silence, with Johanna and Myst both seemingly content to focus on making progress. Even so, while silence meant she didn’t have to talk, it also meant she was left alone with her thoughts.

And her thoughts? They just wouldn’t shut up.

“If he asks, you should sabotage him.”

She cringed, remembering her own words.

Why had she said that?

There was no reason to say that.

Like, she had literally made up her mind just a second earlier. She wanted to focus on the circuit, on her Pokémon. She didn’t have time for a relationship. She wasn’t interested… well, maybe she was interested, but not in a relationship.

That was the truth.

Myst brushed past her slightly, and Cynthia flinched, almost stepping to the side.

He gave her a curious glance, and she quickly looked away before he could ask anything.

Absolutely, unequivocally, the truth.

She stared at the ground like it held the answers to every question she wasn’t ready to ask.

…And, well, even if she was interested in a relationship, that didn’t really matter now did it? She could want it all she wanted, but Myst also had to be interested. Sure, they were friends, but that didn’t really mean anything. Honestly, just the idea of asking him, only to get rejected?

A cold shiver crept up her spine.

What would she even do after that? They were supposed to travel together. Her only real option would be to fake her death, change her identity, and continue the gym circuit under a new name.

...But that would take way too much time.

So a relationship was clearly out of the question

She flicked her eyes toward him again. He was watching the path ahead, feet careful on the slick stone, both Navi and Rei resting in their Poké Balls.

But what if he said yes.

Then they’d be together. That would mean… what? Holding hands? Going on dates? Kissing? She’d never been interested in any of that. Not really. Not until—

Her gaze lingered, just for a moment, on his lips.

Then she wrenched it away. With effort, she exhaled sharply and glared at the ground like it had just insulted her.

Focus.

There were far more important things to worry about.

They had maybe four days left in Mount Coronet, and once they crossed the range, Hearthome City would be just a week away. Week and a half, tops, if they took it slow.

And Hearthome meant a Gym. Which meant preparation. Tactics.

Easier said than done.

There was a reason most trainers waited until their fifth or sixth badge before taking on Hearthome. Ghost-types were a nightmare. Not just strong, weird. The way they moved, the way they fought—it was completely different from every other type. They could fly, vanish into thin air, phase through Normal and Fighting-type moves. Hell, even solid objects.

Cynthia had beaten Ghost-types before, but only because Queenie had the tools. Long-range elemental attacks. Dark-type coverage. Raw power. Queenie was basically ready right now.

But Riolu and Roselia?

Not a chance.

If she wanted them to fight against Ghost-types at a fifth badge level, they needed training. Specialized training. Especially Riolu. He barely had any moves that could even hit a Ghost-type, let alone hurt one. Ice Punch and Metal Claw couldn’t just be side options anymore. They had to become reliable, core parts of his strategy. On par with Force Palm.

She had drills planned already of course. They’d start with Metal Claw, since it was more tied into Leaf Defense than a move on its own. That meant it would take longer to get it up to spe—

“Have you thought about it anymore, come up with any questions?” Myst asked suddenly.

Cynthia's foot struck something solid.

“Ah—!”

She stumbled forward with a yelp, arms flailing. Her hand shot toward the wall, missed, and she pitched forward. Cold, jagged stone rushed up to meet her—

—until something yanked her back.

A muffled oof escaped her as she collided straight into Myst’s chest, knocking the wind out of both of them as he staggered under her weight. They swayed for a beat, off-balance, until he steadied them both, one arm wrapping awkwardly around her waist, the other still gripping her wrist.

Cynthia’s eyes snapped open.

And locked with his.

She froze.

They were so close. Too close.

Way, way too close.

For a second, she became hyper-aware of everything. Her chest pressed against his. Her breath caught somewhere between lungs and throat. His jacket smelling faintly of charcoal and dried berries. The way her breasts squished against his chest, how solid it was.

But most importantly?

The way he was looking at her.

“Sorry,” Myst said, his voice quiet, a guilty smile tugging at his lips. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

She didn’t answer.

She couldn’t. Her brain had short-circuited.

Her heart was pounding, too loud, too fast, and she knew, in some surreal way, that her face was probably red enough to outshine a Magcargo. And she was still holding him. He hadn’t let go. Neither had she.

And yet—

He didn’t tease her. Didn’t smirk. Didn’t say anything clever.

He just smiled, face somewhat red as he took an awkward step back, giving her just enough space to breath. Then, the next moment, he gently reached up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, before opening his mouth.

He said something about Johanna. About the match. About questions.

She didn’t register a word.

Even after stepping back, he was still too close. Close enough that she had to tilt her face up to meet his eyes. Close enough that the first thing she ended up watching... was his lips.

Myst paused, realizing she was staring, and for a second, he stared back.

Then his lips parted—

And Cynthia’s eyes finally flicked past him.

Queenie watching them with slit eyes. That was fine. She could handle that. It was the other person standing there who was the real problem. Johanna’s grin had spread so wide it looked like it might split her face in two. Her eyes were practically glittering with glee as she raised a hand to her mouth, only to end up nearly biting her finger to keep from laughing.

Cynthia took a careful step back.

“What did you say, Myst? Didn’t catch that,” she said. Her voice came out flat and stiff. Distant, even to her own ears.

Myst hesitated, then tried again.

“Just… asking if you’d thought of anything. Like, questions I should know or stuff I might’ve missed. You know, the things we discussed…”

He trailed off, suddenly aware that Cynthia’s eyes weren’t on him anymore. With a raised eyebrow he turned, and—

His face turned red instantly.

Johanna raised an eyebrow beneath their combined stare, still smiling like she'd just discovered something very juicy.

“Hey, I didn’t do anything…” she said innocently, then quickly changed the subject when no one responded. “Anyway, weren’t we just talking about the stuff Myst should know, right?” She shot Cynthia a smile. “I mean, we tried, but it’s hard separating common knowledge from, well, common knowledge.”

Myst paused, looking like he wanted to glare before letting out a sigh.

Myst let out a tired sigh. “I know. That’s why I shot it down to begin with. I’m not stupid, but most of what I struggle with is stuff you only learn through experience. Training. Situational stuff. I mean, I’ve got a good example right—”

He patted her head.

“—here. So it’s not like I’ve got gaping holes.”

Cynthia’s brain rebooted. She brushed his hand off with a huff.

“First—don’t.”

Myst smirked. “I thought your grandmother said—”

“Myst.” Her glare cut sharp. “Finish that sentence and I will bury you in this cave.”

He raised his hands in surrender, grinning all the while.

Cynthia shook her head and turned to Johanna. “Anyway, you had a couple of points, right? One about the clans, and one about... shoes?”

Johanna nodded.

Johanna nodded. “Right. Honestly, I mostly came up with things by thinking about what I’d tell someone from Hoenn about Sinnoh. And, well, I’m pretty sure a lot of it applies to you too.” She looked at Myst. “So—clans. How much do you actually know about them?”

Myst pursed his lips. “I mean, I know Cynthia’s part of one—the Shirona clan, right? And from what I’ve picked up, a lot of people think clan members have an advantage over regular trainers.”

“You’re basically dead on,” Johanna said. “Though people don’t think clan trainers have an advantage—they do. That’s kind of the whole point.”

Cynthia frowned slightly but couldn’t deny it. In the end, trainers from clans did have an easier starting point.

Johanna glanced toward Cynthia. “I could keep going, but honestly? A lot of it’s historical, and I never really paid that much attention to that stuff. More than that, I actually don’t know that much about it myself, so Cynthia can probably explain it better.”

Myst turned toward her, and Cynthia composed herself.

“Right…” Cynthia hesitated, before continued, “Well, she’s right. The important thing to know is that there are generally two kinds of clans in Sinnoh: old clans and new clans. The old clans, like the Shirona, Suzuna, and Diamond clans, are mostly remnants of Sinnoh’s original inhabitants. They can trace their roots back to before settlers from Kanto and Johto arrived in what people then called Hisui.”

She continued, voice calm and practiced.

“The new clans are the ones that formed during the colonization period. Bekara’s clan, the Natane, is an example. But the most influential one today is the Kamodo clan. They control pretty much all the industry on the western side of Coronet. Even the mayors of Oreburgh and Jubilife are from that clan.”

Cynthia paused for a moment, then added, “Honestly, if you’d come here a couple hundred years ago, you could probably differentiate them just based on their names. The Shirona clan was called the Celestic clan back then. The Suzuna were the Pearl clan. But after a political mess, a bunch of clans adopted Johto-style names. It blurred the lines.”

She shook her head slightly. “Anyway, that part doesn’t matter much now. What does matter is how they operate. The new clans, like in Johto, tend to be type-based. They’ve passed down knowledge through generations and are pretty strict about sharing it. There are rules. Secrets. Rituals. Outsiders aren’t supposed to know much.”

She glanced at Johanna, then back at Myst. “The old clans, by comparison, are looser. They don’t generally focus on a single type, instead having a little knowledge of all of them. You can say that they are broader in what they teach, with fewer restrictions on what can be shared, but that they have less in depth knowledge.”

Johanna blinked. “Wait, aren’t all clans, like, ‘you leak our knowledge and you die’?”

Cynthia shrugged. “Maybe if you go back far enough. But at least in the Shirona or Suzuna clans, there aren’t any rules like that anymore. And honestly? Even the new clans have eased up. The gap between what a clan knows and what the scientific community has figured out is getting smaller every year.”

She gave a dry smile. “Maybe they’re still holding onto a few secrets. But that’s just a matter of time. In ten years? I don’t think there’ll be much difference at all , at least for anyone who’s actually trying to learn. Even now, Oak’s Pokédex is starting to spread through Kanto, and from what my grandmother says, it won’t be long before it’s more accurate than anything in her own library.”

For a moment, they just walked in silence, with only the sound of Myst’s hmm being heard.

Then he tilted his head. “Is ‘being a clan trainer’ actually a thing people say? I’ve never heard it before.”

Cynthia blinked, caught slightly off guard. “Ehm... not really? I kind of made it up. I don’t think it’s an actual term. Usually, people say the opposite, if you’re self-made, you get called a grassroots trainer. That’s about it.”

Myst nodded, a smirk forming on his lips. “Alright, got it. Clans are a big deal. Hoard secret knowledge like dragons. Understood. Anything else you two came up with?”

Cynthia rolled her eyes at his tone but couldn’t help the small smile tugging at her lips. She opened her mouth.

“Well, you do know you’re supposed to take your shoes off before walking inside someone’s hom—”

…

“Holy shit… like I know you said the place would open up, but holy shit.”

Myst’s voice echoed faintly as he looked up at the impossibly high ceiling above them. Cynthia followed his gaze, feeling a ripple of awe shiver down her spine. She’d been inside parts of Coronet before, but this?

Never.

This wasn’t like the Cornet caves near Celestic. This was something else entirely, vast, almost sacred. The cavern stretched wide and deep, bathed in a faint glow from scattered lightbulbs bolted into the rock. The light danced across the stone, casting everything in a soft, ethereal gleam.

Johanna grinned beside them.

“I know, right? When I started my journey, I imagined Mount Coronet would be cramped, damp, and miserable. But instead...” She swept her arm toward the open cavern. “It looks like this.”

Myst turned slightly, as if about to respond, when another voice chimed in.

“So big!”

Navi’s telepathic voice echoed lightly in their minds, the Kirlia spinning in place with wide, sparkling eyes. Her blue hair, always stuck as twin ponytails, flared out with each twirl as she took in the enormous space.

Cynthia couldn’t help but smile. “It really is.”

Navi turned to her, eyes swirling with iridescent color as she beamed. For one vivid moment, Cynthia could feel the raw emotion radiating off her, joy, curiosity, a sense of wonder that matched her own.

Myst let out a soft sigh. “Well… I guess this is as far as we’re going today, right?”

Cynthia nodded. “Yeah. Or well, Johanna?”

Johanna shook her head, her smile fading just slightly. “The halfway house is still way further in. First time I came through here, I thought we’d get there in a few hours. But the path’s a mess, twists, bridges, really stupidly designed stairs. It’ll probably take us two days. Maybe more if we’re unlucky.”

She paused, tapping her belt, while flashing grin “Unless, of course, one of us has had a Water-type that knows Surf, all along!”

She slowly moved her hand toward her belt, as if about to bring one out.

Myst raised the world’s most sceptical eyebrow.

Johanna childishly stuck out her tongue in response. “Hey, you still haven’t met my entire team. For all you know, you could have a Floatzel hidden away.”

Myst opened his mouth, then paused. “Wait. You’ve got more Pokémon than Sassy and Midna?”

Johanna blinked. “Well, yeah. I’ve got six badges. Not everyone’s wild enough to challenge Gyms while one Pokémon down. The sixth badge is where battles upgrade to four-on-four, so I still have two more Pokémon.”

Myst looked baffled. “You mean… you keep them in their Poké Balls the whole time? You can do that?”

Johanna laughed. “Oh, that’s what you meant? Of course not. Both Jumpy and Wings are back home, taking a break this season. After all, you can only keep a Pokémon in a Poké Ball for…” She paused, glancing toward Cynthia. “Actually, what’s the recommended amount of days again? Two or three…”

Cynthia didn’t answer, even as she kept one ear on the conversation her mind had drifted away, eyes following the slow-moving stream cutting through the stone floor.

“You okay?” Johanna asked gently.

Cynthia paused, turned to her, and tried to smile. It didn’t take.

Still, before Johanna could press, she shook her head. “Really, it’s nothing. I’m fine. Just ended up thinking about some stuff.”

Johanna didn’t look convinced.

Cynthia exhaled softly. “That talk about Water-types… your team staying behind… It reminded me of my second Pokémon. She didn’t want to come with me when I left. So she stayed with my little sister.”

Silence followed. Navi stepped quietly to her side and gave her a clumsy, heartfelt pat.

Cynthia gave her a small, grateful smile, then straightened with a breath.

“Never mind that. Camp. That’s what we were talking about, right?”

That snapped both Myst and Johanna back to the present.

“Yeah,” Johanna said quickly. “We just need a flat spot for three tents. Shouldn’t be too hard. Queenie can soften the ground, right?”

A low rumble rolled through the air in reply, and Cynthia glanced over at her partner. The dragon-type had been shadowing them the entire time, her presence alone having scared off any wild Pokémon they might’ve run into.

That was par for the course though. After all, usually, Queenie was a steady wall of confidence. A source of quiet strength and sound judgment.

Usually.

But this? This was different.

It might’ve been impossible to notice if you didn’t know her. But Cynthia saw it, the faint twitch of muscle under her scales. The sharp, frustrated flicker behind her slitted eyes. The way her jaw flexed like she was resisting the urge to smash something.

Cynthia gave her a quiet smile and stepped forward, stroking the dragon-type’s neck. She could feel the tension running through her, tight and unrelenting.

As Myst and Johanna moved ahead toward a rocky outpost, Navi and a half-released Midna trailing behind, Cynthia lowered her voice.

“Beauty staying behind… it was her choice. As much as both of us wanted her to come, she didn’t. We have to respect that.”

Queenie stood still for a few long seconds. Then, without a word or sound, she turned and stalked after the others.

Cynthia didn’t need anyone to tell her, Queenie still didn’t agree.

…

Johanna let out a wide yawn as she stretched, arms over her head. “Honestly, gotta love that you can light a fire in here. Would be ice cold without it...” She paused, then added, “Still, I think I need to head to bed soon, so remember to put it out properly. Don’t think much can catch fire in a cave, but hey, no harm in being careful, right?”

Cynthia nodded, yawning in sync, her motions slow and absent.

Myst, meanwhile, rolled his eyes.

“Of course, Mother. Want me to do the dishes and brush my teeth too?”

Johanna just grinned and shot him finger guns before zipping open her tent and slipping inside.

Cynthia sighed. “Do you ever think before speaking?”

Myst paused like he was genuinely considering it, then offered an awkward grin. “I can give you an honest answer... or the one you want to hear.”

She rolled her eyes.

He shrugged, unbothered. “Work in progress.”

Rei, curled up on Myst’s right side, let out a snorting exhale like she could sense the nonsense radiating off him. Then, on his left, Navi mumbled something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like a reprimand for anybody who dared to cross her trainer.

Cynthia stifled a laugh as Myst gave her a helpless smile, before following it up with a mock glare.

“You’re just jealous Roselia makes herself a hammock and doesn’t try to claim my lap,” he muttered across the fire.

Cynthia, maintaining her best neutral expression, reached over and patted Queenie’s head, then whispered conspiratorially, “Wouldn’t matter. Queenie would never let Riolu or Roselia sleep in my lap anyway. As long as she wants it, this spot’s hers alone.”

Myst grinned.

She grinned back.

For a few seconds, they just looked at each other. Quiet. Comfortable.

Until she realized she was staring.

And that he was staring back.

She turned quickly toward Queenie, ignoring the way Myst’s face seemed to flush ever so slightly.

What is wrong with me? she thought. She’d spent nearly two months traveling with him, eating, talking, laughing by fires just like this—and now she couldn’t even hold his gaze for ten seconds without getting flustered?

Nothing had changed.

And yet...

She glanced back and met his eyes again. Slowly opened her mouth, then hesitated. Words jamming in her throat. Myst noticed. His hands stopped mid-pat, hovering over Navi’s head.

When she didn’t speak, he did.

“You thinking about the egg?” he guessed.

Not even a little.

Cynthia nodded anyway. “Yeah. You said you didn’t want it, right?”

Myst sighed. “Honestly? Forget I said that. Just—pretend everything I said back in Oreburgh didn’t happen. I was... out of it.” He looked away, searching for the right words. “The stress from prepping for a level-jump Gym. Talking to your grandmother about my amnesia. Kael.” He spat the name like it tasted wrong, before pausing for a second to gather himself.

Then he continued, slightly softer. “All of it kind of sent me spiraling. So, sorry if I was a drama queen.”

Cynthia studied him, her expression unreadable. Then she narrowed her eyes. “You had a whole ‘I suck and need to prove myself’ moment, didn’t you? That’s why you wanted to fight Byron, to prove yourself. I even called you out on it. I was right.”

Myst winced. “Yeah, guilty as charged. I went into that fight thinking I had to win. Honestly, both my battles with Byron were like that. Took all the fun out of it. Zero out of ten experience, would not recommend for future travelers.”

She pursed her lips, wanting to be annoyed at him. Sure, she might like Myst more than she wanted to admit, but she still hated how he talked about himself. Like failing once meant he was worthless. Because if he was terrible... what did that make everyone else?

Garbage?

What did that make her, considering she was profiting off his methods?

Less than garbage?

Myst gave a lopsided smile. “You don’t need to glare at me. I know I was being stupid. But... hey, overthinking led somewhere this time. I realized something as Navi was evolving.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What mythical mid-battle revelation did you stumble into?”

Myst looked at her, eyes catching the glow of the fire, shining like. Then he blinked, slower this time.

“You’ve got goals,” he said. “Champion. Archeology. History.”

Cynthia nodded slowly, furrowing her eyebrows. “Yeah?”

Myst flicked a stone into the fire.

“Well... I realized I don’t.”

He let out a breath.

“In Eterna Forest, I was chasing answers, trying to figure out who I am. Then I wanted to get out. But after that? I didn’t have anything. So I just... started following you.”

Myst let his eyes lock onto hers.

They blazed a wonderous crystal blue under the firelight.

“But that’s not fair to you.”

A small grin tugged at the corners of his mouth, familiar and boyish.

“So I figured, maybe it’s time I did have goals. Try to move forward a little for once, instead of just letting myself be dragged along.” He took a breath. “Make some friends. Finish the circuit. Understand how Type Energy actually works.” He hesitated, then added more softly, “More than that… I want to feel like I can have—”

He stopped.

Just looked at her.

Cynthia felt her cheeks flush again, heat rising before she could even begin to untangle what that was supposed to mean.

Myst chuckled, not mocking, but almost embarrassed.

“Anyway. I want to stop living in the past. That’s the real point of all this. So... I changed my mind about the egg. I want to take care of it.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Though I’ll probably need some help.”

His words hung between them, suspended in the warmth of the fire. Crackling embers filled the silence.

Cynthia breathed in through her nose.

“So does this mean I can start asking you questions again?”

Myst raised an eyebrow. “As long as you stop asking about history I obviously know nothing about, I’ve always been fine with it.”

“What? No you haven’t. After Kael, you got super annoyed when—”

“When you asked who built the Snowpoint Ruins for the sixth time. Yeah. That one broke me. Now name one time I got mad when you asked about Pokémon.”

She pouted. “It happened.”

“Uh-uh.”

“Really.”

“Sure.”

She glared.

He grinned.

With a huff, Cynthia gently pushed Queenie off her lap, stood, and stomped—quietly—toward her tent. She paused at the flap, then turned.

“After training tomorrow, I’m going to ask you every single question I can think of about Pokémon.”

Myst shivered dramatically. “Whoa. Scary. You might even make me theorize about Type Energy. Or worse, make me help plan for the next Gym.”

He finished with a final, exaggerated shiver.

Cynthia shot him one last glare, then ducked inside her tent.

She didn’t see the way his eyes lingered on her.

And he didn’t see the small smile she wore as she zipped the flap shut.

……

AN:

Another very character focused chapter. Hopefully you guys can enjoy it.

Also, a (not so) small reflection on the Oreburgh arc (feel free to skip this if you're not into behind-the-scenes reflection from your truly):

One of the things I experimented with this arc was showing the fallout of Kael’s attack on Myst without ever actually mentioning Kael. With Cynthia, I think (or hope) it’s easy to follow her emotional arc after that event. But with Myst, his issues during Oreburgh, his self-worth struggles, his frustration with his amnesia, they were all things he already dealt with. On the surface, none of them seem to come from Kael.

This chapter is meant to show that wasn’t really true.

While Myst references other factors, my intention has always been that Kael was the true turning point for both him and Cynthia. Before that, Myst could coast. Not being strong enough was annoying, but tolerable. His self-esteem problems were mostly limited to social contexts. They existed in training and battling, but weren’t as sharp.

After Kael, though? Well, Myst didn’t become obsessed with weaknes, but he didn’t really process what happened, either. And so it festered. Pulling all his worst traits. His defensiveness, his harshness with himself, and his imposter syndrome, straight to the surface.

I’m honestly not sure how well that came across. So I feel a bit mixed about the Oreburgh arc. After all, I always try to write in a way where you don’t need to perfectly understand what I wanted to show, to understand what is going on in story. Welp.

That said, we’re finally starting to move past Kael’s impact… nearly ten chapters later. (The egg’s emotional weight is another story entirely, lol.)

But hey, if nothing else, no one can say I’m afraid to explore something.