Something I came up with while looking through MizuhikiShipping pictures. Hope you enjoy!
Somewhat MizuhikiShipping/CyrusxCynthia?
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Cyrus sat at the ocean’s edge, one hand leisurely on his fishing rod, staring out into the sunset horizon. He often sat on the rocks on days when school had been bad, finding solace in his fishing rod. Rarely did he catch anything, but it was more about the solitude than anything else. Today in particular had been another one of those “let’s bully Cyrus because he actually studies” days, headed up by that idiot Flint and his sidekick Volkner. Cyrus hated them both, hated them because they hated him and made most schooldays a living hell for him. They hated him for scoring ninety-fives on his tests because he was better than them; sort of like his parents, though they hated him more for not scoring hundreds. His parents…He couldn’t talk to them about the bullying. They’d probably think he deserved it for not studying enough, not getting every cursed answer right on every cursed test. Everywhere he turned everyone was against him, which was the true reason Cyrus went fishing on bad days; the ocean wasn’t, couldn’t be against him.
He sighed, closing his eyes. He still had three and half years of high school left in this goddamn hellhole called Sunyshore. Already he looked towards college, looked to it as an escape, a blessing to get him away from his classmates, from his parents. He decided he was attending college as far away as possible: perhaps Canalave, or Snowpoint. Sometimes he comforted himself with the fact that, maybe, if he was smart enough, he could skip a year of high school. That was what truly motivated him to do well, study hard; that, and the fact that he wasn’t allowed dinner if he scored below a ninety. “I’ll be out of here eventually,” he muttered to himself, to the ocean, to the sky. He hated the sadness, the misery bubbling inside him. If only he could do something to make that sadness disappear, to make all his emotions disappear…maybe then things wouldn’t be so bad.
Cyrus moved the fishing rod back and forth a little, not expecting to get a bite. He watched the Wingull fly above him, cawing to their mates as they soared across the sky. Out on the horizon, he swore he could see a Wailord breaking the waves as it came up for air. Krabby skittered around him on the rocks. He attempted to absorb himself in nature, make his petty, meaningless life vanish into the cries of the Pokémon around him. He breathed in and out with the movement of the waves, sat perfectly still, let the cool sea air wrap around him like a blanket. He’d almost let himself completely dissipate into the world when the fishing rod in his hand began to shake.
Cyrus jolted into reality, then quickly tightened his hold on the fishing rod and started to reel in his catch. It was a strong pull; in fact, he almost fell off the rocks attempting to catch it. He put as much power into his arms as he could muster. What Pokémon could this be? he asked himself as he tugged. What could have this much power? A Seaking? A Gastrodon? A Sharpedo? He envisioned himself with a gigantic Sharpedo in his arms and grinned, suddenly filled with determination. The Pokémon kept pulling, but Cyrus pulled harder, and eventually the Pokémon broke through the water, sending Cyrus flying onto his back. The Pokémon hit the rocks beside him and flopped about, thoroughly shocked that it was no longer in the water. Cyrus sat up, rubbing his head. He turned to look at his amazing, glorious catch.
It was a Feebas.
Cyrus narrowed his eyes, having expected something a bit more grandiose. The Feebas flopped pitifully, spluttering a bit. Cyrus had half a mind to toss the thing right back into the ocean. He poked it; it kept flopping. “What kind of Pokémon are you, then?” he muttered. “You seem pretty useless to me.” The Feebas coughed. Such an ugly Pokémon, he thought to himself. Certainly it was one that, if he used it, would earn him multiple insults from his peers. “Alright,” he said, picking the Feebas up, “back into the ocean. I have no use for something as shabby as you.” The Feebas looked at him sadly, and Cyrus almost felt a twinge of regret for throwing it back; but he shook it away and readied himself to throw it.
“Hey, wait!”
Cyrus turned, the Feebas still flopping in his arms, to see a young blond girl whom he’d never recalled meeting before. She looked a few years younger than him and had two black bows in her hair. In her hands was a Magikarp, flopping about just as much as his Feebas was. She was wearing a black sundress, grey leggings, and black boots, looking far too dainty to be out near the ocean. Cautiously, she jumped from rock to rock, keeping the Magikarp held tight against her chest. Eventually she made her way up to him, struggling to keep her balance. “Is that your Feebas?” she asked.
He looked at her for a moment, then looked to the Feebas, then back at her. “I suppose so,” he said with a sigh.
“You weren’t going to throw it back, were you?” she asked innocently. “It really is a pretty Pokémon!”
“Pretty?” he repeated, stunned. “You think this thing is pretty? It’s the ugliest Pokémon I’ve ever seen!”
She looked at him. “…really?” she said at last. “Because I think it’s beautiful!” She walked up closer to him and removed one of her hands from around the Magikarp to pat the Feebas’s head. The Feebas spluttered happily, and the girl continued to rub its fin, smiling. Cyrus blushed a little bit, feeling awkward. “Are you a boy? Or are you a girl?” the girl asked the fish Pokémon. Cyrus rolled his eyes. Great, he’d found a crazy one. The Feebas coughed twice. “Does that mean girl?” The Feebas shook happily, causing Cyrus to almost drop it…excuse him, her in surprise. The girl smiled wider and looked up at Cyrus, whose blush grew. “She’s so sweet!” she said.
“Yeah, sure,” mumbled Cyrus. The Magikarp in the girl’s arm spluttered in protest, and the girl stopped, grinning sheepishly.
“He’s mad because I’m not giving him enough attention,” she said, rubbing the Magikarp’s fin. “But anyway, I think that Feebas is absolutely beautiful. I can’t believe you were going to throw her away. She deserves a good home with a great trainer!” She smiled at him.
“I don’t see how you can think this thing is at all attractive,” sighed Cyrus. “It’s…She’s shabby and brown and disgusting looking!” The Feebas coughed and gave him a sad look. “I think it…she is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen!”
The girl gave him a disappointed look. “Don’t be so shallow,” she said. “It’s not about the outside. It’s about the inside!” She moved closer to him and put a hand on the Feebas. “This Feebas has a beautiful heart. I can feel it! It doesn’t matter that she doesn’t look all that pretty on the outside. She’s beautiful on the inside!” The Feebas grinned as much as a Feebas could. “Take this Magikarp! On the outside, he looks weak and useless. But,” she continued, “on the inside, he’s got a warrior’s heart. He’s one of the strongest Pokémon I’ve ever seen, and I only just caught him!” Cyrus rolled his eyes. “And then there’s you,” the girl continued, voice taking a somewhat angry tone. She got even closer to him, up in his face, and he blushed madly. “You may look attractive on the outside, but on the inside you’re a big jerk, or at least that seems like the case to me!”
Cyrus got caught up on the word attractive and wasn’t able to think of a response. He looked down at the Feebas, who looked up at him with wide eyes. Sighing, he rubbed her fin, and the Feebas spluttered with glee. The girl gave him a small smile. “Better,” she said. “I think she likes you.”
“Not sure why she would. I just called her ugly.” The Magikarp began to flop about in the girl’s arm, and she motioned to Cyrus, who with a sigh pet the Magikarp as well.
“I think she can sense that you know you’re wrong,” the girl said, “even if you can’t sense it.” Cyrus looked up at her and blinked, still petting the Magikarp. The Magikarp made an odd noise, almost like a purr, but a bit more gurgled. “He likes you, too!” exclaimed the girl happily. She reached out to pet the Feebas, who also made the weird purring sound. Cyrus couldn’t help but notice how beautiful the girl’s smile was. “You know,” she said, “I think I was wrong to say you’re a big jerk. I think you’re just stupid.”
“Oh thanks,” replied Cyrus with narrowed eyes.
She smiled wider. “You’re welcome!”
They stood there, each petting the other’s Pokémon for a while, neither really moving. The girl closed her eyes, her somewhat short hair waving gently in the breeze. Cyrus couldn’t help but look at her with an odd sort of fascination; she really was incredibly beautiful, the outside kind, and probably the inside kind, too. He looked to the Feebas, whose eyes were also closed in happiness. “…hey,” he said softly. The girl’s eyes opened, and she looked to him expectantly. “…The Feebas,” he said, “she, uh…I think she fits you better. Uh, being beautiful and all.” He immediately regretted saying that, but the girl simply laughed. “I, uh, think you should have her,” he mumbled, feeling thoroughly embarrassed.
“Really?” she said, looking at the Feebas. “You’d really give her to me?”
“O-of course,” Cyrus stuttered. “I’m sure you’d make a much better trainer for her than me…”
The girl tilted her head slightly. “I can’t just take her from you,” she said softly. “She’s your Feebas.”
“Oh, I’ve had her for all of two minutes. She likes you better anyway.” With that, he held out the Feebas to her. She looked down at the Pokémon, then looked back up at him.
“…how about we trade?” she suggested. “My Magikarp really likes you, I can tell!” The Magikarp wiggled happily. “So we’ll switch!” She smiled brightly. “Then maybe I can be as beautiful as your Feebas, and you can be as strong as my Magikarp!”
It was cheesy, yes, but somehow it made Cyrus feel a little warm inside. “Alright,” he said, “we’ll trade.”
The girl was all smiles. “Okay!” she exclaimed happily. “My Magikarp’s name is NightSlayer. You’d better take good care of him!” She took a Pokéball from her side and returned the Magikarp, then held the Pokéball out to Cyrus. Cyrus suddenly realized he didn’t ever technically catch the Feebas, so he quickly used a Pokéball as nonchalantly as possible; thankfully, the Feebas didn’t put up a fight. He took NightSlayer’s Pokéball, secretly thinking to himself how the name sounded pretty cool, if not a little unfitting. “What’s your Feebas’s name?” asked the girl as they exchanged Pokéballs.
Cyrus looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “I didn’t name her,” he said. “You can.”
“No I can’t!” the girl retorted suddenly, making Cyrus jump. “She was yours originally! You should name her!”
“Uh, well…” Cyrus looked up at the sky, feeling put on the spot. His mind raced for something that sounded cool, or pretty, or both. His eyes fell on the setting sun. “How about…Sunburst?” he said, hoping the spur-of-the-moment name worked for the girl.
She smiled. “Sunburst! That’s a beautiful name! Quite fitting!” she laughed, looking at the Pokéball. “I’ll take good care of her, I promise!” she said. Cyrus nodded.
“And I’ll take care of NightSlayer,” he replied, running his fingers over the Magikarp’s Pokéball. “You can count on it.”
“Thank you!” And the girl suddenly hugged him, almost causing him to drop NightSlayer’s Pokéball in shock. After the initial moment of what-the-hell-is-going-on, he hesitantly hugged her back. They stayed there for around a minute; then the girl broke away, still smiling her beautiful smile. “I should go,” she said. “My grandmother’s going to be looking for me. We’re visiting someone and going home tomorrow, so I need to hurry back!” For some reason, it disappointed Cyrus that the girl didn’t live in Sunyshore. “Maybe I’ll see you around?”
“Yeah, I’ll see you around,” Cyrus replied, smiling at her. In turn, she smiled wider.
“Well, goodbye!” she said with a wave, dashing to and fro on the rocks and speeding down the beach.
Cyrus waved back for half a minute; then suddenly, he called out, “Wait!” But the girl was too far away to hear him. He sighed, sitting back down on the rocks. He hadn’t gotten her name. He sat NightSlayer’s Pokéball in his lap, staring at it for a little bit. He hoped he’d see her again someday. The girl had singlehandedly made him feel a little better about his day, about himself. He picked up the Pokéball and gripped it tightly. “Well, NightSlayer, I guess it’s you and me now,” he said. Then he stood up, picked up his fishing rod, and walked back down the rocks, heading home with only his Magikarp and the image of the girl still lingering in his mind.
~~~
Just a little headcanon on how Cyrus and Cynthia got their Gyarados and Milotic respectively. Inspired by this picture:
Hope you enjoyed!
--UM
