Shortened Summary: Although she's one of the Champions of Sinnoh now, it wasn't always this way. Once there was just a girl in her place, an older sister and granddaughter. Adulthood has changed many things, but Cynthia's priorities remain the same. Her family will always come first. Focused on this, Cynthia searches for a way to repay the younger sister who encouraged her Trainer journey- and who quite possibly made the well-known Champion who she is today.

Review: I loved the characterization, world-building and addition to Cynthia's personality by the complexity of her relationship with her sister and the overall tone of the story. The grammar was above average and the presentation was wonderful. Having just finished a college grammar class I was probably too critical of this aspect this year, but I tried not to be too picky. There were only found a few errors I found, but ended up commenting more on the emotional impact it had on me. My favorite aspect of the story has to be the relationship between Cynthia and her sister Cia. As an older sister myself I could really relate to Cynthia, whereas in other tales with her I can't as much. I loved her journey and the effort she put into loving her sister. Conversations between them felt very realistic and reminded me of similar ones I've had with my older sister, so I'm really glad to have found a Pokémon story with realism in the sibling relationships. The girls' ones is not perfect, unlike how some I've seen in Pokémon fanfics, or had such animosity that I wondered why they were near each other at all, but what's even more surprising is that Imber has no siblings herself. Goes to show what a little research can do.

The flashbacks, another commonly used trope in fiction, were only used as needed and drew me into the characters more, unlike other stories I've read. I loved the historical feel of them. They kept the tone of Cynthia's love and gratitude for her sister while adding to her characterization and gaining insight on her sister and their relationship even before we actually see her. We also gain the much desired backstory of her and her Garchomp. While I won't spoil how they meet and how Cynthia's sister inspires her battling style, it's clearly a well thought out history with the many intricacies that makes us human. Cynthia also isn't proved to be capable of everything as is seen in the anime. Unlike the show, she faces trials she may or may not be able to overcome. This adds an increased sense of realism to her story. My only real complaint however is that we didn't get to see the end to the final battle between the two or get a story on Cia on her own journey as those would be awesome to see. Overall, one of my favorite short story reads and deserves more attention.