Want to read ahead. You know where
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Celestic Town was calm as always.
The air carried a faint chill, the sound of the river mixing with the chatter of the townsfolk.
For Cynthia, this place was more than a home, it was her sanctuary.
After all the battles, the responsibilities, and the constant weight of her title as Champion, here she could finally breathe.
But peace never lasted.
A ripple of unease passed through the town that afternoon.
It wasn't loud, wasn't obvious, but Cynthia noticed it immediately.
People whispered.
Children who had been playing near the square suddenly ran back to their homes.
The kind of silence that only came when someone unsettling arrived.
She didn't have to guess who.
When she stepped outside, she saw her.
Sabrina, the Saffron Gym Leader, cold and elegant in her red dress, her eyes glowing faintly with psychic energy.
She stood in the middle of Celestic Town like she didn't belong, her Alakazam beside her, its spoons crossed as if daring anyone to approach.
Cynthia's jaw tightened.
She didn't like seeing strangers here, and she especially didn't like this one.
Sabrina's gaze locked onto her immediately, as if she had come for no one else.
"Cynthia," she said flatly, her voice calm but carrying an edge.
"We need to talk."
Cynthia didn't move closer.
"You've already caused enough whispers in my town. State your business."
There was no hesitation in Sabrina's tone, no shame either.
"I came to ask for permission. Permission to be with Sam. To share him with you."
The words struck like thunder.
For a long moment, the entire town seemed to freeze.
A few bystanders gasped, retreating into the alleys, not wanting to be near whatever storm was about to break.
Cynthia's golden eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint flashing in them.
"Permission…?" she repeated slowly, as if tasting the word.
Then her lips curved into a cold smile.
"You came all this way. Into my home. To ask me to hand over the man I love."
Sabrina didn't flinch.
Her face was as unreadable as always.
"Sam is extraordinary. His mind… it resonates with mine. Our psychic connection is rare, one in a million. Together, we could achieve things no ordinary bond could. To limit him to just one path, to only you… it would waste what he and I could create. I can give him strength. Guidance."
Cynthia's voice dropped low, sharp as a blade.
"You think you know him? That just because you feel some so-called compatibility, you understand Sam?"
She stepped forward, her presence pressing down like a stormcloud, Garchomp's eyes narrowing in tandem.
"Listen well, Sabrina. Sam doesn't belong to some psychic bond. And he sure as hell doesn't belong to you."
The psychic gave a faint tilt of her head, her expression unchanging.
"I only ask for fairness. If you believe your bond is stronger, then prove it."
Her hand brushed Alakazam's shoulder.
"With battle."
The sound of the challenge rang out across the square.
The townsfolk retreated further, some peeking out from behind shutters.
Even here in Celestic Town, they had heard of Sabrina's terrifying power.
No one challenged her lightly.
But Cynthia only laughed, a low, chilling laugh that sent shivers down spines.
"You want to fight me… for Sam?"
Her hand reached for the Poké Ball at her hip.
"Fine. But understand this, when you gamble with something precious to me, you don't just lose a battle. You lose everything."
In a flash of red light, her ace appeared.
Garchomp landed on the cobblestones, claws carving into the ground, eyes glowing with primal intensity.
The Dragon's growl rattled windows, a warning to everyone present.
Across from it, Alakazam raised its spoons, psychic energy rippling like heat waves.
The stage was set.
Sabrina's voice was steady, but even then, a trace of tension slipped through.
"Then let destiny decide."
Cynthia's eyes burned with fury, her voice thunderous.
"No. This isn't destiny. This is me teaching you what happens when you covet what is mine."
She pointed forward, her command sharp as a blade's edge.
"Garchomp, tear them apart!"
The battle had begun.
The air was electric.
Garchomp's growl rumbled like thunder, while Alakazam stood unnervingly still, spoons crossed in front of its chest as psychic waves shimmered around it.
Sabrina's eyes glowed faintly, her voice calm.
"Alakazam, Psybeam."
A searing beam of psychic energy shot forward in an instant, ripping across the battlefield.
Cynthia didn't even blink.
"Dodge and Dragon Claw!"
Garchomp blurred, its speed unbelievable for a creature its size.
The Psybeam sliced past harmlessly, smashing into a stone wall and scattering debris.
In the same instant, Garchomp's glowing claws slashed downward, a strike that would have split a weaker Pokémon in half.
Alakazam teleported at the last second, reappearing behind Garchomp, spoons already raised.
"Psyshock!" Sabrina commanded.
A wave of condensed psychic force exploded into Garchomp's back, staggering the dragon for half a step.
But when it turned its head, baring its fangs, it was smiling.
Cynthia's golden hair whipped in the wind, her voice sharp.
"Pathetic. Garchomp, show them your true power. Mega Evolve!"
The Keystone on her bracelet flared to life, brilliant light bursting out and linking with the stone embedded in Garchomp's chest.
The entire town square glowed white as Garchomp's form shifted, claws sharpening, wings jagged and menacing, its roar shaking the earth.
Mega Garchomp stood towering, radiating raw destruction.
The psychic aura surrounding Alakazam wavered.
Even Sabrina's expression tightened for the first time.
"Now," Cynthia's voice cut like ice.
"Earthquake!"
Garchomp leapt high and slammed into the ground with terrifying force.
The cobblestones split, shockwaves tearing through the battlefield.
Buildings rattled, windows shattered, and the ground buckled beneath Alakazam, knocking it off balance.
"Teleport!" Sabrina snapped.
But Garchomp was faster than thought itself.
Before Alakazam could vanish, a colossal claw swept through the psychic's defenses, hurling it across the plaza like a ragdoll.
It slammed into a wall with a sickening crack, dust exploding around the impact.
Gasps erupted from the hidden townsfolk.
This wasn't a normal Pokémon battle, this was carnage.
Sabrina grit her teeth.
"Recover!"
Alakazam glowed faintly, wounds stitching back together, but Cynthia's fury didn't let up.
"You dare come to me, in my home, and ask to take Sam from me?"
Her voice thundered like a goddess's wrath.
"You don't get to heal. Garchomp, Crunch!"
Mega Garchomp lunged, jaws glowing with dark energy.
It clamped down on Alakazam before the psychic could blink, lifting it off the ground in its serrated teeth.
The scream that tore from Alakazam's throat chilled even the air.
"Focus Blast!" Sabrina shouted desperately.
A sphere of fighting energy detonated point-blank, blasting into Garchomp's jaw.
Smoke erupted, forcing Garchomp back a step, releasing Alakazam.
The psychic collapsed onto the cracked stone, struggling to stand.
Sabrina's breathing quickened.
For the first time, her calm mask cracked.
Cynthia's eyes were merciless.
"Dragon Rush. End it."
Garchomp launched forward, its entire body cloaked in a violent blue aura shaped like a dragon.
The charge struck Alakazam with unstoppable force, driving it through two stone pillars and pinning it against the wall of a house.
The structure crumbled, dust clouding the square.
When the smoke cleared, Alakazam lay barely conscious, body twitching, spoons bent and broken.
The sight was brutal.
Sabrina's lips parted, trembling.
"Alakazam…"
Cynthia raised her hand, pointing down at the broken psychic.
Her voice dripped with venom.
"Do you see it now? Even with all your vaunted power, you're nothing compared to me. Compared to us."
Her eyes burned with rage, not just at Sabrina, but at the very idea of losing Sam to anyone.
"You thought you could ask to share him? That you could put yourself beside me?"
Her voice broke into a roar.
"I'll show you what happens when you covet what is mine!"
"Garchomp!" Cynthia's voice cracked the air.
"Finish it. Outrage!"
Garchomp's eyes gleamed crimson as it surged forward again, claws glowing with draconic fury.
It slashed across Alakazam in a whirlwind of strikes, each one heavier than the last.
By the end, the psychic was lying limp, its body battered and broken, its aura flickering weakly like a dying flame.
Sabrina stood frozen, her breath ragged, her psychic glow faltering.
She had never been crushed like this, not by a wild Pokémon, not by a Trainer.
And Cynthia wasn't done.
She stepped forward, her heels clicking against the cracked stone, her aura as heavy as Garchomp's. She stopped just a foot away from Sabrina.
"Recall your Alakazam," she said coldly.
"Before Garchomp forgets it's a battle and tears it apart for real."
With shaking hands, Sabrina lifted her Poké Ball, withdrawing the unconscious Alakazam.
Her hand lingered on the capsule, trembling.
But Cynthia's eyes weren't on the Poké Ball.
They were locked onto Sabrina herself.
The plaza was silent.
Only the faint crackle of shattered stone and the heavy breathing of Mega Garchomp filled the air.
Dust lingered, curling around the ruins of Celestic Town's once-peaceful square.
Sabrina stood frozen, her hands trembling around Alakazam's Poké Ball.
For a woman known for her unshakable calm, she looked nothing short of shattered.
Cynthia walked toward her slowly, each step echoing with the weight of judgment.
Her golden eyes glowed with fury, her voice low but sharp as a blade.
"You dared to walk into my home… to look me in the eye… and claim you wanted Sam?"
Sabrina's lips parted, but no words came out.
Cynthia didn't wait. Her hand shot forward, seizing Sabrina by the collar of her dress.
The sudden force yanked the Psychic-type Gym Leader off her feet, slamming her back into the cracked wall behind her.
"You thought this was some game?" Cynthia hissed, her face inches from Sabrina's.
"That you could whisper about destiny, wave your Pokémon around, and I'd… share him with you?"
Her grip tightened, lifting Sabrina higher until her toes barely touched the ground.
Sabrina gasped, her psychic aura flickering weakly around her body.
"I… I only, "
The words died as Cynthia's fist struck her across the face.
The sound cracked through the square.
Blood welled from Sabrina's lip as her head snapped to the side.
The people watching from the shadows recoiled.
They weren't seeing Sinnoh's graceful Champion.
They were seeing the side of her no one dared to imagine: a predator protecting its mate.
"You don't get to speak about Sam," Cynthia snarled.
She slammed Sabrina down onto the cobblestones, the psychic's body hitting the ground hard.
"You don't get to think about him. And you will never stand beside him."
Sabrina tried to rise, weak psychic energy flickering in her eyes, but Cynthia's heel pressed firmly against her chest, pinning her down.
Mega Garchomp loomed behind her, growling low, as if daring Sabrina to even try resisting.
Cynthia leaned down, her golden hair falling like a curtain as her voice dropped to a whisper sharp enough to cut.
"Listen closely, because I won't repeat myself."
Her heel pressed harder into Sabrina's chest until the psychic choked for breath.
"If I ever find your shadow near him again, if I so much as sense your aura brushing against his, I will erase you. Not just from this town, not just from Kanto. From the world."
Her eyes burned with terrifying conviction.
"They will never find you. Not your body. Not even a whisper of your soul. Do you understand?"
Tears welled in Sabrina's eyes, not from pain, but from the crushing humiliation.
The proud psychic who ruled Saffron City reduced to prey under another woman's heel.
"I… understand…" she whispered, her voice broken.
Cynthia studied her for a long, chilling moment before stepping back.
She turned to Garchomp.
"Enough. Stand down."
The dragon gave a guttural growl but obeyed, its crimson eyes fading as the Mega Evolution dissolved.
The monstrous form faded, leaving her ace panting but victorious.
Cynthia looked back at Sabrina one last time, her voice steady now, but colder than ice.
"Take your Alakazam. Leave Celestic Town. And remember what I said."
She turned, her cape brushing against the broken stones, and walked back toward her home without a glance behind her.
The Champion didn't need to check. Sabrina wouldn't dare move.
Only after Cynthia disappeared from sight did Sabrina drag herself to her knees.
She clutched her Poké Ball to her chest, her face bloodied, her pride shattered.
Alakazam's capsule trembled faintly in her hand, as if the Pokémon itself shared its Trainer's shame.
Sabrina's eyes lowered. For the first time in her life, she had been completely and utterly dominated, not by fate, but by a woman who would burn the world rather than give up the man she loved.
The message was clear.
Sam belonged to Cynthia.
And anyone who tried to change that… would not survive.
"Guess I have to pay Sam a visit." said Cynthia.