Paper rustled lightly as Cynthia's fingers flipped the pages of her book. Colorful images decorated the paper, depicting mighty Legendary Pokémon captured in as much glory as they could be without the use of a Poké Ball.

A breeze lifted and tousled her waves of blonde hair. She tucked a few loose strands behind her ear, freeing her sight. The silence of Celestic Town was a blessing compared to the usual noise Sinnoh's cities brought. Such peace was why the Ex-Champion loved coming to the town, aside from the ruins and her grandmother, of course.

Well, "silence" wasn't the right word to use here. Happy shouts and exclamations from both people and Pokémon rung out from the nearby town square. The few children in Celestic Town had recently gotten their first Pokémon despite not being the allowed journeying age of twelve.

Cynthia could remember the day she received her first Pokémon. Her ferocious Garchomp had been but a Gible, a brave, callous little thing that tried to nip at her fingers at every chance she got.

But there had also been a second Pokémon, a Bagon. But it wasn't to be given to her. No, it was given to her sister Cia.

~*~*~*~

Cynthia's bare footfalls fell lightly on the hardwood as she traversed down the hallway of her grandmother's home. She tread carefully, careful not to trip.

In her arms she held a quintet of thick books, hundreds of pages long. Although their contents seemed to be too complicated for the average eleven year-old to comprehend, what they contained drove Cynthia to learn the vernacular.

Since she could first read, Cynthia had loved mythology. No matter the region, no matter the obscurity, Cynthia loved it all. She devoured a book of myths like Cia would devour chocolate: constantly and unabashedly.

The thought of her sister slowed Cynthia's pace. She had been mysteriously absent since Cynthia had returned from the Eterna Library with their grandmother. When the older sister questioned her grandfather about Cia, all the girl received was a shrug paired with a mysterious little smile.

"Boo!" Cia cried, leaping out from the doorway of Cynthia's room. The latter let out a shriek and dropped her books. She launched into a frenzied impromptu dance, trying to prevent the falling books from smashing her toes.

"Cia..!" Cynthia gasped in shock, stumbling back. Luckily her toes had been spared.

"Oops, sorry, Cyn," Cia apologized, wincing. "Didn't think you'd be holding all known copies of the dictionary."

Cynthia had recovered and was now fuming from embarrassment. "Th-they're not dictionaries!" she rebuked Cia. "They're books about the Eon Twins and the ancient Hoenn Titans!" She began stacking them on the floor. "Eterna's library just got them, and I couldn't pass any of them up."

"You should just become a librarian, Cyn," Cia laughed as crouched down to help Cynthia. "You could read those books every day, then." She picked up two of the books and carried them into Cynthia's room, thumping them down hard on her desk. "By the way, grandpa said he has a surprise for us," she said.

Cynthia's eyebrows raised. "A surprise?" she echoed.

"Cynthia! Cia! Can you come here, please?" the voice of their grandfather echoed down the hall.

Cia grinned. "Told ya so."

The girls rushed into the living room where their grandparents were waiting. Their grandmother was standing next to their grandfather, who had both hands held behind his back.

"We have something for you two," their grandmother said. "Who would like to pick first?"

Although giddiness filled her, Cynthia knew Cia was more excited than her. "Cia can," Cynthia said.

"Thanks, Cyn!" Cia cried. She chose left, and their grandfather's left hand moved to reveal a shiny, red and white Poké Ball. Both Cia and Cynthia's jaws dropped at the sight. "No way, we're getting Pokémon?!" Cia squealed. She snatched the ball from their grandfather.

"Time passes rather quickly, and we'd like you both to already know how to take care of a Pokémon before you leave on your journeys," their grandfather said sagely as he handed a second ball to Cynthia. The metal sphere was cold in her hand as the girl stared at it in amazement. She couldn't believe this was happening.

A bright flash of light snapped her from her stupor, and she looked to see Cia holding a now-open Poké Ball. Before her stood a short blue and gray Pokémon with a yellow jaw. A Bagon.

"Woah, so cool!" Cia gushed. "Cyn, let yours out!"

Cynthia turned her gaze back to her own Poké Ball. Replicating what she'd seen on television, she deftly mashed a finger against the sphere's center button. The device responded, opening up and releasing a flash of white light. Before the spots faded from her vision, Cia was already cheering.

~*~*~*~

Cynthia smiled as she reminisced. How long ago had that been? Twelve, thirteen years? The time frame was muddled, and yet the memory was fresh in her mind. Cia had been more excited than me, Cynthia thought. She always was more excited than me. Excited, full of energy, and as Cia had once put it, "a big freakin' ball of sunshine!"

Imagining Cia's description of herself made Cynthia laugh a little. If she were here right now, Cia would be making some remark about how "rare" it was to see Cynthia laugh. In truth, in these past few years Cynthia had laughed more than she ever had before. She just wished Cia were around to see it.

Cynthia's smile grew somber. How she missed Cia. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen her little sister. She was finally supposed to come home from her journey after two years of traveling, but then one day out of the blue she called Cynthia and their grandmother, saying that she'd left Sinnoh with the proclamation that she was embarking on a self-worded "battling pilgrimage" and that she would be back in three months.

"I'll see you in three months, Cyn!"

Cia's last spoken words in-person bounced about Cynthia's mind as clearly as they had when they had last spoken... over three years ago.

Those three months had turned into six, then nine, then a year, then more. Time had passed with barely a word from Cia. What little Cynthia heard were small explanations about Cia's latest adventures, all spoken quickly through a mouth that never seemed to stop grinning. But even then, the calls stopped after the first year.

"I'll see you in three months, Cyn..." Cynthia morosely echoed Cia's words aloud. What had Cia been doing that warranted such disconnect?

"Cynthia?"

The sound of her grandmother's voice brought her back from her memories. Cynthia looked up, meeting the soft amber gaze of her grandmother. She smiled warmly at the elder, greeting her.

"I have some good news to share," her grandmother said cheerily. "Your sister is coming to visit in a couple of weeks."

Cynthia's face fell blank, her heart skipping a beat. "She is?" she questioned rhetorically. "Why?"

"Well, it has been three years, and she wanted to visit her grandmother and her favorite older sister," Cynthia's grandmother said.

Her emotionless expression quickly turned to happiness and excitement as Cynthia smiled. "I can't wait to see her, then," Cynthia said.