The New Normal

Table of Contents

 

Chapter 1

The New Normal 1-1 – Returning Home Flying home from winning the Indigo Conference definitely felt different. A lot of stress and anticipation had gone away, and I felt far more relaxed than I ever was before. Sure, I still had things to worry about, especially from my latest victory, but I can at least tell myself that I had not wasted this second life in the Pokémon world. From my view up above on Port, I could already see the family home on the outskirts of Cerulean City, which the farm seemed to have grown larger since the last time I visited, and my parents holding up a large red banner that said, "Congratulations John!" and little Whitney was holding up her own small banner of "Best Elite 4 Member!" I smiled despite myself; it was always nice to see the support and encouragement that my family unhesitatingly provided to me. Port landed safely on the edge of the farmhouse, and I was quickly glomped by my sister. Whitney had a beaming smile on her face and was babbling her congratulations to me. My parents also joined in the hug with their own smiles and I had to hold back tears at our joyful reunion. "I'm home." I managed to eek out, eliciting small smiles from my family. "Welcome back, John. We're so proud of you." My mother said while hugging me ever so tightly. My father also nodded and patted me on the shoulder in agreement. "Mantine! Mantine!" exclaimed Port in happiness, making Whitney giggle as she ran over to pat my Mantine on the head. After the moment of reunion passed, I was invited back home to have dinner with my family. As I saw the great piles of food that my mother had prepared for dinner, I smiled again at the newfound prosperity that my family had finally achieved through my own success. No more vegetable and rice dinners. Whitney spent the entire dinner being super excited about my final battle against Shin, with my parents failing to try to curb her enthusiasm. She went on and on about how cool my Normal types were, and wanted to know everything that I knew. I happily doted on Whitney's enthusiasm as usual and answered as many of her questions as I could. She also talked about her new Miltank, which our parents had finally allowed her to begin training, and she asked for as many training tips as I could provide. I promised that before I left, I would oversee her training process and give her advice as needed. "John, your swearing in ceremony is tomorrow, right?" My father cut in. I gave a hum to that as I shovelled more rice into my mouth. "I don't mean to overly worry you John, but those Johto Elite 4 members might not be very welcoming to a Kantonian like you. Especially with your age." I frowned slightly at that, but it was not something that was unexpected, and I said as much to my father. "You're right dad, but they will respect my strength if nothing else. Walker is on the way out anyways, and I wouldn't be surprised if he was replaced soon." "And Agatha is from Kanto anyways, Jack." My mother said to my father before patting his hand with hers to reassure him, "John's already done so much and has gone so far, I believe he can handle a bit of politicking." "Yeah!" my sister chimed in, "And brother's Slaking will beat them up if they're mean!" We all chuckled at that. Whitney always had a way of bringing up the mood. She was such an innocent ball of boundless enthusiasm and positivity. As a reward, I patted her on the head while giving her a piece of meat from my plate that I knew she liked. She gave me a cheeky smile in response. The remainder of dinner passed by uneventfully, though happily. As my parents somehow managed to coax Whitney to bed, my parents and I settled down in the living room to discuss the family business. "Your mother has told me that the family business has been doing very well ever since you advertised it in your matches," father started, "She ran the numbers, and we agreed on purchasing more Miltank so that we can increase Moomoo milk production." "The new Miltank have been doing well," my mother continued while looking down at the paperwork, "and honestly our profits from our Moomoo milk business are much larger than what Jack and I have initially predicted." She passed the paperwork to me. I looked through the numbers on the account. It was clear that the small family business was small no longer. With me acting as free advertisement, the Smith's Moomoo milk was becoming a staple amongst trainers and its popularity was booming. We were selling our Moomoo milk directly to Pokéshops around Kanto, which was always a sign that something was in high demand and becoming mainstream. Unfortunately, that meant that the demand for the Moomoo milk was much higher than what we could produce with our farm. I pointed this out to my parents and suggested that we buy more land. "Yes, that's what Angela and I thought as well." My father said. "We've already filled in the paperwork to apply for the purchase of more land, but we want you to sign it before we send it in." I was confused for a moment, and my mom caught on to that confusion. "You see, John, many in the Cerulean council still know us as those poor country-hicks running a run-down farm. Those in the council look down on the Smith name, as it is both a common name and does not have an affluent reputation." My mother said with a slight grimace, as if remembering our poorly past, "However, if you sign it and make it clear who you are and the title you hold, that will make things much easier for us." I unconsciously grit my teeth as I heard that and fought to prevent a scowl from showing. I knew how hard my parents struggled to raise myself and Whitney with their mediocre income, and I saw time and time again how many in Cerulean shunned and mocked us for our miserly lifestyle. 'No, you don't have to worry about it anymore.' I assured myself, 'I made it to the Elite 4. They won't look down on us anymore. I'll make sure my parents business thrives even more.' I gave my parents a nod of agreement as I reached over to sign the paperwork. As I did so, I reaffirmed my vows to make sure that my family will be able to live prosperous lives and not have to worry about money ever again. I had already achieved great personal success, and now I had to make sure that I could share my personal success with my family. After signing the paperwork, I asked what the plan was for the new land. "Well, Jack was saying how we should wait until the new Miltank have adapted to the new land." My mother said, "We wanted to see how much space the Miltank have to roam and if we can manage the feeding and maintenance of so many Miltank with just us 2 in the long-term." "Have you considered hiring a couple of employees to help with the Miltank?" I asked. "Of course," my dad remarked, "But we didn't want to hire any before we needed them. We will see how many Miltank we can manage ourselves, and if we need more hands or if we want to purchase more Miltank than yes, we'll be getting a few employees." I smiled at that, "It looks like we'll be becoming more than just a simple family business." I joked. My father gave a small laugh at that, "yes, we're becoming successful businessmen." My mother leaned into my father as he said this, and they rested their heads on each other. I knew that my dad had always wanted to run a successful business, and my mom was always supportive. I gazed upon my parents embracing with a solemn, yet happy, mien and I captured this image of happiness and stored it deep within my heart. This happiness was what I worked so hard to achieve. But this was just the beginning. I would ensure my parents would want for nothing. I would ensure that Whitney would never have to worry about doing odd jobs just to bolster the family income. I would ensure that none would look down at my family with scorn and disgust ever again. This I do swear. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With the business discussion out of the way, my parents retired to bed for the night. I told them I would join them after releasing my Pokémon in the farm, as they were too big to fit in the house. As I walked into the stables, I could see that the Miltanks were already asleep in various spots and positions around the stable. However, one Miltank that was far muscular than its counterparts was still awake, and it mooed at me when it saw me. I immediately recognised that this was Whitney's starter. I gave a wave in response as I walked slowly towards it. I patted it on the head as it mooed quietly in appreciation. "It's good to see you again Miltank," I started, "I can see that Whitney has already begun your training." "Moo, mooooo, mil." I smiled in response to Miltank's bragging. Although humans were unable to understand precisely what a Pokémon was saying, those who spend enough time around a specific Pokémon will eventually unconsciously be able to understand and interpret what that Pokémon is saying. "Yes, I can see that you're very strong now Miltank," I praised, "But don't get too cocky. There will always be Pokémon stronger than you. Always keep training and never give up." I admonished slightly with a waggle of my finger. Miltank nodded at this, and I gave it another pat on the head in return. Then I grabbed the Pokéballs on my belt and released my Pokémon into the field. Eight pokemon of varied sizes emerged onto the field with a white glow. I looked around with a proud nod as I watched my Pokémon all having their own prideful satisfactions on their faces. They were still cheerful about our recent victory, and deservingly so. "Blissey! Blissey, Bliss!" Klee wrapped me in a careful hug of her own that I returned. Despite her rotund appearance, Klee was more than capable of crushing every bone in my body if she wished. Not that she would, she was always the most motherly of my Pokémon and often gave the most hugs. Our hug was rudely interrupted with a loud groaning noise from Smough's stomach. Despite feeding him less than 3 hours ago, Smough unsurprisingly had an insatiable appetite. Snorlax in general were often prohibitively expensive to raise and maintain due to their eating habits, and if it were not for my successes, I would not have been able to raise him. "Ok Smough I got it." I broke away from Klee's hug as I reached into my backpack for the giant Pokéblocks that I had specifically for Smough. I grabbed a few blocks that were half a square meter each and fed them to Smough, who ate them with relish. Smough groaned happily at the food, which made me smile and I patted him softly on the belly. Seeing Smough's snack, Vordt also lumbered forward on all fours for a snack. It tried to persuade me by giving me its Baby Doll Eyes, but they aren't as effective as they were when he was a small Teddiursa. An Ursuluna looking at you with baby doll eyes just looks scary and unsettling, not cute. Still, I thought about his request for a brief moment, before deciding to allow it as we were all in a celebratory mood. I fed him a few smaller Pokéblocks with some berries as a snack for Vordt. As I gazed away from Smough and Vordt's happy eating, I watched Zephyr flying around as Pidgeots are wont to do with Port with Klaus galloping after them on the ground as usual. Despite its non-avian appearance and lack of wings, Klaus was actually able to chase after the two Flying Pokémon in the air through the creative use of Psychic shields that he leaped on to gain and maintain height. The three of them always had far too much energy to expend and loved racing each other, but I happily allowed it as it was good training for them. In complete contrast to this, my starter, Tyrant, was predictably already asleep on the ground. While that was extremely common for Slaking, Tyrant was always an Early Bird, so he was much less lazy than his other Slaking counterparts. He was also a complete battle lover, and that offset much of his laziness as he actually often preferred to train and battle instead. I looked around again to see Luna in a group with Klee and Miltank, gesturing happily with each other. They seemed to have become fast friends and were quick to share stories of their training with each other. I laughed softly to myself as I watched them communicate, imagining my two greatest defensive Pokémon training Miltank to be another unstoppable wall. I sat down on the grass as I continued watching my Pokémon with content and pride. No matter what anyone tells me, I will always attribute my victories and successes to my Pokémon. Sure, I had an advantage with my past life meta-knowledge, but it was only through my Pokémon's strength and determination that carried me through both Kanto's and Johto's gyms to become the victor of this year's Indigo Conference and the youngest member of the Elite 4. Before I headed off for bed though, I reached for my notepad as I went over my personal notes again. Everything in my notes was written in English, which differed from the standard Pokémon language that they used in this world. This meant that anyone who secretly read my notes would be unable to understand anything. Contemplating my notes for a moment, I thought about my next steps in gaining more personal success. My rebirth into the world of Pokémon was an unexplained blessing that I would forever treasure and be thankful for, and I promised myself that I would make the most of it. To that end, I have been making great use of my meta-knowledge to deliberately put myself in the spotlight and to generate popularity. So far, I have used my meta-knowledge to 'find' two new evolutions for Pokémon. Looking through the Pokénet, my victory in the Indigo Conference and my discovery of the new evolutions have brought me international recognition across all three regions, with many acknowledging both my strength as a trainer and my scientific mind. In the future, I planned to release my 'discovery' of the Fairy type, using Luna as a shining example of the 'new' type. Of course, I had already informed my Pokémon about Luna's pure Fairy typing, as a few of my more observant Pokémon like Vordt and Tyrant have already sensed that Luna's typing differed from the rest. Luckily, my Pokémon had no problems with this and they also promised to keep it secret from other Pokémon. However, I reminded myself to make sure that I stagger my discoveries, both because I only have a limited amount of meta-knowledge and because too many discoveries within a short period lessens the impact. Through careful planning, I should be able to stretch out my discoveries to maximize my own popularity. Though it may seem overly calculating for me to do this, I inwardly justify my desire for popularity as I intend to use that popularity to both improve my family's business, and also prevent some of the disasters that the evil teams are always scheming with in the Pokémon world. No matter how strong my Pokémon may be, they would be crushed all the same by a Legendary. And I highly doubt that I have the power of anime or protagonist power necessary to befriend and calm them, so I won't be taking my chances with them. It would be better for me to stop the evil teams before they awaken their Legendaries, rather than after. And in order to stop the evil teams, especially the ones outside of Indigo, I would need to be a popular and respected public figure that people can trust. Thus, my selfish desire for popularity is actually a selfless desire to save the world from rampaging Legendaries! At least that's what I tell myself. I ended up putting down my notepad before browsing the Pokénet for a while. Already there were plenty of articles and comments about my latest battle and I could see that a couple of articles were spreading about my family's business, meaning that attaching the family's Moomoo badge on my jacket during the battle had paid off. Hopefully, that's going to lead to more sales in the future. There was a ton of speculation about whether I would challenge Pryce for the title of Champion, but that was never in my plans. I was cautiously confident in my ability to beat Pryce, but even if I were to attain the title, many would see a 16-year-old champion to be unsuitable for the position and there would be much opposition. It would be safer to remain as an Elite 4 member for some time to both prove myself as a trainer and as a pillar of Indigo before making any future plans about becoming Champion. Besides, being Champion was overkill anyway. Being the youngest Elite 4 member was sufficient enough for my purposes. I ended up yawning, checked the time, and found that it was almost midnight. I looked around and saw that my Pokémon had dispersed into familiar groups, where they were either chatting quietly or sleeping. I said my goodbyes to them and went back into the house. Before I went to into my room though, I quietly entered Whitney's room to make sure she was safe and asleep. I smiled as I found her snuggling her Teddiursa plushie that I bought for her years ago and sleeping soundly. I patted her softly on the head, making sure not to wake her, before heading back to my old room. I performed a quick check to make sure that I had a good suit and tie for my swearing in ceremony tomorrow, and then went to bed. My old bed creaked loudly at my weight, and the mattress was clearly old and needed to be replaced. Despite the fact that it wasn't the comfiest of beds, it was still good to be home The New Normal – 1-2 – The Ceremony I was jolted awake the next day by Whitney, who pestered me incessantly to watch and help her train her Miltank. Her enthusiasm eventually won over my sleepiness, and I dragged myself out of bed to handle my morning ablutions. A very quick breakfast later, I joined my sister in the fields to oversee her training. My parents were already out taking care of the other Miltanks, and they said they didn't need my help. "Ok Miltank, we're going to be continuing your strength training so keep breaking those boulders!" Whitney had already told me in advance what she wanted me to help with, so I sent out Vordt to create rocks for Miltank to smash. "Miltank! Miltank! MILLLLTANK!" With each thrust of her deceptively stubby arms, Miltank managed to smash a rock into pieces. I looked carefully at Miltank as she continued smashing rocks, and noticed that though she was breathing heavily, it impressively still had plenty of energy left. I was amazed at Whitney's and Miltank's progress. Despite just being 11-years-old, Whitney's determination and persistence in training her Pokémon in a healthy and efficient manner was extremely eye-opening and remarkable. Admittedly, I did the same thing. But I had the benefit of my past-life to rely on. Whitney was just that naturally determined even as a child. And I couldn't be prouder. "Good job Whitney," I said as I patted her head with pride, "you've made incredible progress with Miltank's training. I believe you'll be one of the strongest starting trainers next season." Whitney turned to me with a bright smile on her face, "Thanks John!" she hugged me, "I just followed the tips you gave me in your letters. So you helped a lot too!" "Mil, Miltank!" Miltank clearly overheard our conversation and gave me a thumbs up with a smile on her face. I couldn't help but laugh at that. "Ursa, Urs, Luna" Vordt cut in. I nodded in agreement to Vordt's observations and looked at Whitney again. "Vordt's right Whitney. You and Miltank are definitely strong, but that's only for starter trainers." I tried to put a serious expression on my face as I said this, "Never let yourself become overconfident and rest on your laurels too much. There are –" "Always stronger opponents, yeah yeah I get it brother." Whitney snarked, "But I get it John, I really do. I'll never stop training my Pokémon." Miltank nodded alongside her. "Good. I know I say it a lot but it's the most common failing of an aspiring trainer to become arrogant and rush into things without proper preparation and training." I then gave her another pat on the head, "Besides, it's my duty as a brother to make sure you're going to be successful in whatever you do." Whitney turned red at this and punched me in the stomach in embarrassment, which I barely felt but pretended that it hurt, before turning away from me and telling Miltank to start with dodge training. I nodded to Vordt as he began throwing rocks at Miltank, who dodged the rocks with various degrees of success. "Miltank's dodging still needs work," I noted to Whitney, who didn't react to my comments, "But her endurance is quite good. She got hit by several rocks and shows no sign of injury." I was clearly talking to myself because Whitney ignored me as she continued watching Miltank struggle to dodge the incoming rocks. Whitney then cupped her hands and shouted, "Miltank! Use your fists to break the rocks that you can't dodge!" I smiled as I heard this. This was the exact conclusion I hoped Whitney would bring up herself without me telling her. With her added rock smashing, Miltank managed to avoid far more rocks than she did previously. Whitney allowed Miltank to persist for a few more minutes before ordering a break. Klee, who was watching carefully on the sidelines, went up to Miltank to heal her up. "Blissey, Blissey." Klee seemed to lecture Miltank about not training too hard and harming himself. "Mil, Mil." Miltank sighed and nodded at Klee, probably too tired at the moment to argue anyway. After seeing Miltank in action, I thought that, overall, it was well-balanced in its areas of training and the training regime didn't need any major changes. I told Whitney as such and she smiled and pumped her fists in the air. "Ok gang!" I shouted at my own Pokémon, "Miltank's already working hard, so let's start our own Gravity training now!" My training-obsessed team all cheered at this, which honestly sounded more like a battle roar than a cheer, before Klee and Luna quickly used Gravity on them. Though I can't say for certain if I 'discovered' Gravity training, but I was sure that it wasn't a widespread method of training Pokémon despite how effective it is at building strength. Of course, I had already explained in great detail to Whitney in my letters about the benefits of Gravity training. "Do you want to join in with your Miltank?" I asked Whitney, "We can start at a lower intensity of Gravity to start with, then increase or decrease it as necessary." Miltank excitedly agreed before Whitney could and got up and called out to Klee to use Gravity on him too. Miltank's excited expression quickly warped into one of intense concentration as she struggled with the newfound weight of his body. The morning and early afternoon passed like this as Whitney and I continued training our respective Pokémon. Overall, it was very productive and helped take my mind off of this evening's ceremony. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was late afternoon when the family gathered in the living room again, this time all formally dressed. My parents seemed to be a mix of excitement and nervousness, while Whitney was so excited that she could barely sit still in her pink frilly dress. We would be splitting up to travel to Indigo Plateau. Sadly, I was the only person to have a Flying License, so I could ride on Port with Whitney, as she was the lightest, while my parents would have to teleport there with Wyrdeer and Luna. While my mother fussed over everyone's appearance, I double checked my planned speech was still in my pocket. I was nervous about my upcoming speech as I knew that this speech would serve as a first impression for many, especially the Gym Leaders. There were some Gym Leaders that I desperately wanted to make a good impression with, as they would help greatly with my plans. "Ok lets go lets go!" Whitney complained, "We're going to be late! Gogogogogoo!" And she was already out the door and saddling herself onto Port. My parents shook their heads in exasperation while I just gave them a grin of my own before following Whitney and climbing onto Port and fastening myself in. I looked back and made sure that Whitney was securely fastened before waving to my parents, "See you there!" and flying off into the air with Port. Once in the air, Whitney gave whoops of excitement as she looked down at the many bright lights of Kanto. As we continued to fly over Kanto, Whitney asked me a question. "Hey John, when do you think I can get my own Flying License?! This is so cool!" I chuckled at her question before responding, "Honestly getting a Flying License is very similar to getting a driving license for a car. First, you need at least 5 Gym Badgers from any region to qualify. Then, for each region, you need to pass a practical and written test to show that you and your Pokémon are capable of flying safely in that specific region." "Aww poo. That sucks" Whitney whined, "that's gonna take so longggggg." I chuckled again at her complaining, "Just be patient Whitney. Don't worry, if you train hard, you'll get those badges in no time!" I encouraged. Whitney adopted a thoughtful look at that, and the rest of the flight passed in comfortable silence. Not long after, we landed at the League Headquarters, where the ceremony would take place. I was busy readjusting my own wind-battered appearance when a flash of light signified my parents' arrival via Teleport. I allowed myself to be given another once over by my mother before gently escorting my family past security and into the ballroom. Fortunately, we had chosen to arrive early, ahead of the photographers and media, so we weren't immediately mobbed by a crowd of frantic reporters. I made sure that my family managed to settle down at our designated table before making my way backstage as instructed in my invitation letter. I was immediately greeted by Mr Charles Goodshow, the President of Indigo League. Charles serves as effectively the permanent secretary to the Champion and handles much of the mundane paperwork of the League. Essentially, the Champion choses the direction and the big picture, while Charles handles the minutiae. "John! Good to see you! Your journey to the Elite 4 was remarkable, and so young too! I was in awe!" Charles simpered while reaching to shake my hand. I immediately disliked him but returned a false smile. "Thank you, Mr President. I hope to be of service." But not to you. "Excellent! Well, why don't you go meet your other colleagues in the Elite 4? I'm sure you'll be the best of friends soon." He patted me on the shoulders condescendingly as he said this, obviously judging me by my young age. I grit my teeth at that, but merely gave him a terse nod in response. No need to antagonize him so soon. Quickly separating myself from his odious presence, I made my way into the private lounge for the Champion and the Elite 4. Entering it, I could see that it was luxuriously decorated in red and gold with a giant carpet, so much so that it was gaudy and excessive, and I thought that it was a huge waste of wealth. More importantly than the décor though, were the individuals sat around the room. Champion Pryce, Elite 4 Agatha, Elite 4 Lance, and Elite 4 Walker. They all looked much younger than what was portrayed in the games, but by now I was used to people having different appearances as I recognized early that I was a few years before 'canon'. Funnily enough to Charles statement that we'd all be friends, the current members of the Elite 4 could not be seated any further apart from each other. Pryce was seated and reading the news, and studiously ignoring the stares that Lance was shooting at him from across the room. Which was hardly surprising, it was almost an open secret that Lance was eyeing Pryce's title as Champion. Agatha was speaking to a Gengar, but she was speaking quietly enough that I couldn't overhear their conversation. Lastly, Walker was looking through a journal about bird Pokémon. Agatha was the first to spot me, and she hobbled over with her cane tapping across the carpet as she inspected my appearance. "Ah, the newest and youngest of our prized Elite. To replace poor old Blaine. Hah!" She cackled, "Well at least you're from Kanto, we have enough of those Johto scoundrels here already." "Hey, hey, be nice to the newbie Agatha." Walker gently reproached before approaching me with a smile on his face, "I'm Walker, the older brother of the Violet City Gym Leader. My brother said some great things about you John, so it's nice to meet you." We shared a smile at that before shaking hands. Agatha snorted at that, "Bah! You and your brother think everyone is talented compared to you louts. You're all so past your prime that it's embarrassing that you even hold the titles that you do." She taunted. Walker's smile quickly disappeared, and he glared at Agatha with an angry expression on his face. "Now listen here you bit-" "Enough." Pryce interrupted from his seat, "Sit down and stop making a scene." He then turned his attention to me, still remaining seated. "I've seen your battles, John, and I approved your appointment despite your age, as we needed someone urgently to replace Blaine. Don't make me regret it." He then turned back to his book without acknowledging me any further. My fists clenched at his rude dismissal, but I held my tongue. I was still unproven, and so I didn't want to rock the boat until I had solidified my position. "John." Lance suddenly called out, gesturing with his hand for me to sit opposite him. He waited for me to sit down before continuing, "I've seen your Pokémon and your battles. How did you discover those evolutions for your Ursaring and Stantler?" Obviously, it was because of my past life meta-knowledge, but I couldn't say that. Luckily, I had some bullshit prepared for these types of questions. "Some timely observations, mostly luck. For Ursaring, I noticed that he enjoyed playing around with peat blocks, and I thought that teaching him to manipulate it would be a useful surprise attack. Instead, he actually evolved from it. For Stantler, I found that its species possesses many psychic type moves, which I thought to enhance. Eventually, I had enhanced it enough to trigger its evolution." "Fascinating. And to discover it as such a young age too." Lance praised. "You have a fascinating mind, John. No wonder you became the youngest member of the Elite 4." "Thank you, Lance. But that most of that credit goes to my Pokémon. They did the hard work." Agatha cackled once again at my statement, making it clear that she had overheard our conversation. Lance ignored Agatha, "A good sentiment. I can see from your words and actions that you care greatly for your Pokémon and are determined to make them the strongest they can be. Good. I look forward to working with you." We shook hands at that, and I couldn't help but smile as I took in Lance's approval. Despite Pryce's position as Champion, I saw Lance as the most important figure in the room. I knew that Pryce's days as Champion was numbered, even without relying on my knowledge of canon, as I believed that Lance was stronger than Pryce and would make an official challenge soon. With almost perfect timing, Charles popped into the room and announced that it was time for the ceremony to begin and that we should make our way onstage. As I followed my new colleagues onto the stage, I was hit by another bout of nervousness which I failed to shake off. Walker took notice though, and he patted me reassuringly on the shoulder. "Come on, your family is cheering for you." He said as he gestured to my family's table. I looked over at them and saw my family all waving at me with bright smiles, which caused one to quickly spread across my own face. Feeling much less nervous now, I thanked Walker and took my place to the right of Lance on the stage as the second member of the Elite 4, with the first being Walker. The order of the Elite 4 has nothing to do with strength, though it typically is seen as such. And to be fair, I thought Walker was the weakest of the Elite 4 by far. I was broken away by my thoughts as cameras started to flash wildly as Charles approached the microphone. "Thank you! Thank you! Today, I have the honour of introducing the latest, and youngest, member to the Elite 4. Please welcome, John Smith." He gestured to me as the cameras rapidly turned towards me and began their onslaught of flashes again. "Would you like to say a few words, John?" Charles stepped away from the microphone as I replaced him, prepared speech in hand. Honestly, I thought I would be feeling more nervous, but all I could feel was calm acceptance and pride as I realized that I had achieved one of my long-time goals. I took a deep breath to settle myself before beginning. "Thank you everyone. I am very honoured and humbled to accept the position of being the newest Elite 4. Of course, I would not have been able to do this without the unconditional support of my family and Pokémon, both of which I relied on heavily to push myself to where I am today. I hope that I will prove to be a pillar and icon of strength and safety for the people and Pokémon of Indigo for many years to come." I paused slightly at that before continuing. "Despite my young age, I am not blind to the many problems that plague our young union of Kanto and Johto. Thus, though it may be outside the normal purview of an Elite 4, one of my long-term goals as a member of the Elite 4 will be to aid both nations and create shared prosperity for all." As I said this, I could feel Pryce glaring at the back of my head, "Thank you. I will be taking questions." A sea of hands were raised at that, and I picked one out at random. "Sir, can you explain what you meant by bringing prosperity? How does being an Elite 4 allow you to do that?" Thank Arceus I actually anticipated these questions. "You're right, being an Elite 4 member doesn't allow me to do anything directly. But I hope to facilitate connections with individuals that share my goals to help me improve both nations' economies and integrate them together. I may be young, but that doesn't mean I should sit still and do nothing." I got a loud applause in response, before I fielded another question, "Are you going to challenge Champion Pryce for the title? You'd be the youngest Champion ever!" Wow, I could feel the hole Pryce was drilling into the back of my head widen even further at that question. Worse, I could feel Lance doing the same. "No, I don't." I responded with as much seriousness as I could muster, wanting to shut down this line of questioning as soon as possible. "I am happy enough with being in the Elite 4. I don't have any ambitions for being Champion anytime soon, and I feel that I should definitely settle into the role of Elite 4 first before making any future plans at becoming Champion." Fortunately, the next topic veered widely away from any talk of me being Champion, "Sir, do you have a girlfriend?" I couldn't help but laugh at that, "No, I don't. And on that note, that's all the questions I will be answering today. Thank you all for coming." With that, I walked away from the stand despite the vocal protest of reporters desperately trying to ask more inane questions to fill their headlines. I took my place solemnly opposite of Pryce, who didn't look happy but at least wasn't glaring at me anymore. He recited, "Do you, John Smith, solemnly swear on Arceus that you will serve the interests of Indigo as the newest member of the Elite 4?" "I do." "Then with my position as Champion, I grant you the honour of joining the Elite 4." I was almost blinded and deafened by the bright and frantic camera flashes and the loud cheers that erupted from the audience. From then on, the ceremony was over, and everyone proceeded to the party itself. After being swarmed with congratulations by strangers that I never spoke to, I re-joined my family at our table. "You did well, dear." My mom said as she palmed my hand and fought back the tears welling up in her eyes, "You've made us all very proud." My father rubbed my shoulders at that. He didn't say anything, but I could tell that his eyes were moist too. "That was so cool bro!" My sister broke in, blissfully shattering the moment, "I want to be on stage with all those cameras too! Do you think I can do that one day?" "Of course, Whitney. If you keep training hard, I'm sure one day you'll be on that same stage too." I responded with confidence. What I didn't say was that I believed her capable of being the Goldenrod Gym Leader like she was in canon. "Ah, I'm sorry to bother you and disturb your family time, Elite John." A deep voice caught my attention as I turned around and saw a familiar-looking black-haired man wearing what looked like an expensive suit. He looked middle-aged but was clearly aging well. "Ah, yes. Gym Leader Giovanni." I stood up and greeted him with a handshake, "How may I help you?" "Well, as the 8th Gym, I work very closely with members of the Elite 4. I wanted to discuss with you about your ideas of helping Kanto prosper a bit further." He looked me directly in the eyes as he said this, likely taking my measure. "Of course, I'd love to." I responded. I had intended to initiate contact with Giovanni myself but seeing him approach me first was both a blessing and a curse. Throughout my journeys in Kanto and Johto, I remained wary and alert about rumours about Team Rocket's activities but found nothing. Thus, I believed that Team Rocket had either not formed yet, or they were still in the early stages. That was crucial, as I hoped to influence Team Rocket away from traditional villainy. And to do that, I needed to speak with Giovanni. "I also had a few things I wanted to talk about with you as well." I continued, "But I don't believe that this is a very suitable environment to speak in. Maybe we can speak in private later?" "Of course," said Giovanni, "I admit to being intrigued to listen to what you wanted to speak about, so perhaps we could talk in my office in Viridian afterwards." "Sure, and thanks for coming when you didn't have to." I said, since attendance was optional for Gym Leaders. Though the entire ceremony was open to the public. We parted ways with that after exchanging contact details, and I turned around to return to my family's table. However, before I could sit down, Agatha approached me with a very familiar and beautiful teenage girl at her side. "John, getting a big head from all the congratulations you're getting?" Agatha mocked, and she continued before I could reply. "Well, that doesn't matter. Come, I wanted to introduce you to my apprentice, Karen." She gestured to the tall teenage girl standing next to her. 'Wow she's hot.' Was my first thought when looking at Karen. I mean I knew that her sprite was attractive back in the games but looking at the real deal in front of me really put that to shame. Shaking off my inner thoughts about her appearance for a moment, I shook Karen's extended hand, "Nice to meet you Karen, I'm John." "Wow, not even using your new title huh? Did you forget about it already?" Karen teased, but not maliciously. I grinned in response, "Of course not, but I'm not someone who waves their title around in search of validation. I know my Pokémon are strong, and that's all I need." Karen's eyebrows raised in approval, "That's good. Glad to see you're not one of those boys who see a pretty face and feel the need to show off." "A pretty face? Where?" I pretended to look around and she lightly slapped me on the arm in response which brought grins on both of our faces. Agatha coughed loudly and tapped the floor with her cane, "Well, I'm pleased to see you two young'uns are getting on so well." Agatha interrupted, turning serious for a moment, "John, Pryce is going to tell you later that you'll be sent to Hoenn on some diplomatic mission to improve relations between them and Indigo. I want you to bring Karen along. After all, you seem to be getting on quite well." I blushed slightly at her final comment, causing Agatha to cackle again as she saw it. But then I became focused again and asked Agatha. "Why is Pryce sending me to Hoenn so soon? I've just been sworn in as the newest Elite 4!" I asked with some confusion. Agatha gave me a pitying look, "Pryce never liked you, boy." She said bluntly with a shake of her head, "He thought you were too young to handle the responsibilities of your position but chose you anyways because you won the Indigo Conference. And now with your speech about wanting to help with the politics of Indigo? Pryce hates you even more now." I took in her words and paused to consider them. I knew from the news articles that Pryce was considered a stable leader, which in other words meant that he liked doing nothing and maintaining the status quo. I guess that's why he's sending me away so that I don't upset anything. I frowned at my realisation. I was annoyed that I was being side-lined for wanting to help, but I knew protesting against this was useless. "Well, I can't say that I'm not frustrated about this, but thank you anyways for the warning, Agatha." I said to her, before turning my attention to Karen who had been standing there silently, "And yes, Karen, I'd love to bring you along with me to Hoenn. Can I get your contact details so that we can meet up later?" Karen gave me a sultry smile at that, before taking out a pen and paper from her pockets and writing down her phone address on it. "Call me anytime." She smirked. I gave her a smile of my own before turning back to Agatha, who had been eyeing my interactions with Karen with a sharp look, "Is there anything else?" I asked. "No," she said with a shake of her head, "But I think introducing you to Karen is going to go better than I thought it would." She said with a grin and a gleam in her eyes. Agatha then turned and ordered Karen to escort her away. I stopped to watch them leave momentarily before returning to my family. Both my mom and Whitney gave me cheeky smiles when they saw me talking to Karen, but I ignored their teasing looks as I tried to absorb everything that just happened. Of course, that was when Pryce approached me with a blank expression on his face. "John, I'm sending you to Hoenn tomorrow evening by ship. You'll be communicating with the Hoenn League to show off the strength of Indigo and to ensure that we can work closely with each other. While in Hoenn, you will act and behave as a member of the Elite 4 should. Understood?" Pryce said sternly with a curt tone that warranted no response. I held in my annoyance and managed to give off a "Yes, Sir." Where he merely nodded in response and walked away. I clenched my fists as I watched him leave. "Problems?" Asked my mother with a worried look. I held her hand in reassurance and shook my head, "No, it's ok. I can handle it." "The Champion looked unhappy to see you." Whitney mumbled with a frown, "He looks so mean." "Don't worry sis. That's just how he is." I comforted my sister with a pat on the head, making sure not to mess up her carefully crafted hairstyle. I then took out my phone and texted Giovanni, I wanted to meet him tonight. The New Normal – 1-3 – An Important Meeting I was too caught up in my own thoughts to mingle any further at the ceremony, so I left and made my way to Viridian by flying on Port after making sure that my family were able to be Teleported home. As I was flying to meet with Giovanni, my thoughts lingered on Pryce's attitude towards me. Although I had assured my parents that there were no issues, I knew that I was lying. I was upset at Pryce but couldn't say anything due to my juniority. I could only hope that Lance would replace Pryce soon. I had a better first impression of Lance, and he seemed to genuinely respect me. I hoped to foster good relations with Lance; he and the Blackthorn clan would be valuable allies to have. Speaking of plans, I refocused my attention to the upcoming meeting with Giovanni. When I first met Giovanni during my match against him for the Earth Badge, I saw him as someone who deeply cared for his Pokémon. I don't believe someone like that would resort to stealing other people's Pokémon for money unless he had no other choice or was doing so to serve a larger goal. Therefore, for our meeting, I had two goals going in. One, I wanted to ascertain the status of Team Rocket. Ideally, I hope to steer Giovanni away from Team Rocket if that was possible. To do that, I would need to know more about Giovanni's aims and persuade him that the use of Team Rocket was unnecessary. Secondly, if he proves to be receptive, then I wanted his help in integrating Kanto with Johto on a greater level. I managed to go through my plan once more before I landed just outside the Viridian Gym. It was very late at night, so the streets were empty. The lights at the Gym were all turned off, and I wondered how I would get to Giovanni's office by myself. Just as I thought that a lone security guard waved at me at the unlocked back entrance and gestured for me to head inside. I gave him my thanks as I followed him into the building. As I walked with the security guard, I noticed that he had a familiar purple goatee that I swore I recognised somewhere. However, as it was dark, I couldn't properly make out his identity. Neither of us said a word to each other as we walked to Giovanni's office. Once we arrived, he simply knocked on the door and left us alone. "Ah, come in John, good to see that you're someone who honours their promises." Giovanni greeted, "please, have a seat. Do you want something to drink?" He gestured to the many, likely expensive, bottles of alcohol stored in his wine cabinet. "Um, no, that's fine. I'm too young anyways." I responded as I sat, and I really didn't want to get drunk for this conversation. I waited as he poured himself a drink. "So, John, I hope you don't mind if we skip the pleasantries." I nodded at that, "What did you think of Champion Pryce?" I carefully considered my response before I said anything. I knew that any potential friendship or alliance with Giovanni would be made or broken by my next few sentences. "Well...I think that he could be doing a lot more with his position than what he is currently doing." I stated diplomatically, thinking carefully before I continued, "I think that his inaction blatantly favours Johto, and us Kantonians are suffering from it." I saw that Giovanni agreed with my statements, as he leaned forward slightly, and his eyes gleamed with interest. "I think that, while Pryce has provided stability to Indigo, that stability came at a cost of Kanto's economy as Johto's stronger economy encroaches more and more on Kanto's for every passing year." I continued, now speaking with a bit more confidence and passion in my voice, "The Indigo League sits around and does nothing about it...if anything, they're the ones benefiting from this. I'm wary that if this continues, Kanto will be subordinated to Johto and we will no longer be equals." I saw a smile spread across Giovanni's face as he nodded to this, unconsciously tapping a finger on the table, "Yes, you're right," he replied, "It's surprising how someone as young as you can see the exact problems facing Kanto that I saw." Giovanni got up and started pacing around the room, "Continuing with the administration's current course would be disastrous for Kanto in the long-term. They would use their economic advantage to create a military advantage against us." He stopped and turned to me, his face now adopting a furious expression and his tone becoming increasingly enraged, "and I will not allow Kanto to be subordinated to Johto." Giovanni exhaled and took a deep breath to calm himself before questioning, "Tell me, John, what do you think we should do about this?" "We should find ways to improve Kanto's economy and circumvent the League." I responded immediately, "Encouraging more private businesses and trade to be based in Kanto will help bolster the economy and hopefully allow Kanto's economy to catch up with Johto's. Currently, many businesses and industries are based in Johto due to their better economic situation, but if we could persuade them to move to Kanto, then our economies would be more balanced and we wouldn't suffer from such a large trade deficit as we do now." Giovanni gave a hum of approval at that, "Yes, that's what I thought of too, but that isn't enough." "It isn't." I replied, "Therefore I believe that we should also work to integrate the two nations closer together. After all, we already share many similarities in our culture, so we would just need to change the way people think. If everyone didn't think of 'Johto' or 'Kanto', but rather the combined 'Indigo', then Kanto will never be subordinated to Johto because both will be one in the same." Giovanni listened to this with a stoic expression as he locked eyes with me. A part of me wanted to look away, but I reminded myself that I had stared down greater threats than Giovanni, so I refused to break eye contact. "Hmmm, I must admit that your ideas are novel and are something I hadn't previously considered." Giovanni allowed, "You know, my late mother was convinced that the only way for Kanto to maintain its position in the world was to create a paramilitary group of trainers that operated in the shadows to prevent and undermine a Johto invasion." "That seems like an incredibly terrible idea," I quickly cut in, understanding that this was Team Rocket's true purpose, "not to mention very short-sighted. Hoenn wouldn't stand for that either and they'd quickly ally against such an organisation." "Perhaps," Giovanni permitted, though he clearly didn't agree with what I said, "But I did think that doing so would be a last-ditch resort." He paused to take a sip of whiskey before giving me a look, "You know, Pryce was planning on directly appointing his niece, Lorelei, to replace Blaine as the newest member of the Elite 4. He felt that having another member of the Elite 4 that was supportive to him would let him stay as Champion for longer. Luckily, the fact that you won the Indigo Conference and discovered two new evolutions made you the far better appointment than Lorelei, so Pryce was practically forced to appoint you. He hated doing that and has been trying to find a reason to get you removed." I blinked at that, since I didn't know that was how Lorelei got appointed. Giovanni chuckled at my surprise, before his expression darkened. "If Lorelei had been appointed instead of you, we would have had no representation within the upper echelons of the League." Giovanni scowled as he began to rant, "Kanto would have been side-lined! Those Johto parasites would make us poorer and poorer until we were nothing more than their servants! I would do ANYTHING to prevent that from happening. You understand, don't you, John? You came from poverty too, didn't you?" "Of course I understand." I bit out before I could stop myself, my fists clenching beneath the table reflexively. A thought suddenly came up, "What about Agatha? She's from Kanto." I pointed out. Giovanni shook his head at that, "No. Agatha may be from Kanto, but she is entirely unconcerned about anything that isn't related to Lavender Town." He took another sip of whiskey, "She has Lavender Town under her iron grip. It is her legacy. She would ensure that Lavender Town, and only Lavender Town, remains strong, regardless of what happens to Kanto. No, we can only rely on my-...ourselves to protect Kanto." Giovanni then checked the time on his expensive wristwatch, "Ah, it's getting late." He noted, "Regardless, I was very pleased to see you and to discuss things with you, John. You have some interesting ideas, and I think you and I will be able to work well together." He extended a hand towards me. "Yes, I agree." I said, shaking his hand, "This was an enlightening conversation." I said, surprisingly honestly. I learnt a lot more than I thought I would about the politics of Indigo from this conversation. Then again, considering how involved and passionate Giovanni seems to be about it, maybe it isn't so surprising. "Oh, and before you leave, John, did Pryce give you a task to do as a member of the Elite 4?" Giovanni ventured. "Ah, yes, he did actually." I said, which caused Giovanni to raise an inquisitive eyebrow, "I'm being sent to Hoenn on a 'diplomatic' mission and to show off the strength of Indigo. It's all a lie though, they bought me an economy class seat on a standard ship and are sending me by myself!" I said the last part with more bitterness than I was expecting. Giovanni rubbed his mouth with a considering expression, "Hmm, he's clearly trying to move you out of the way, so you don't do anything he doesn't like. That, or he's trying to trip you up." I nodded at that, "That's disappointing, but not surprising." He thought about it for a bit, before snapping his fingers and a cunning smile spread across his face, "But that gives us an opportunity." He turned towards the closed door, "PETREL, get in here!" I had to fight to prevent the look of surprise and recognition from appearing from my face. I knew that name. So, it seems that the Team Rocket admins were founded from Giovanni's close friends. Interesting. I wonder if I would be able to identify the other executives through this way of thinking. I dismissed my errant thoughts as Petrel walked into the room, looking exactly like his in-game sprite, though he wasn't slouching and instead stood ramrod straight. Giovanni nodded at Petrel as he arrived and said, "Petrel, go to the lab and fetch a Porygon for John here. I want to present it to him as a gift." My eyes widened at that. I obviously knew that Team Rocket had produced Porygons, and obtaining one was one of my goals, but I never thought I would just be given one. From Giovanni no less. I barely even noticed Petrel leaving the room before I saw Giovanni turning to me again, "Porygon was a Pokémon that my scientists created out of computer code," he explained, "We all thought it was an Electric type at first, but it's proven to be a Normal type. I thought that it would be a suitable gift for you, considering your type specialty, and you could bring it to Hoenn and show it off. Just don't forget to mention my name." He chuckled. "Oh, um, yes, of course." I babbled in surprise, "Thank you, Giovanni, I do really appreciate this." "Don't worry about it," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "After all, we're friends, right?" He smiled at me as he said this, but I noticed that his smile didn't reach his eyes and that he was staring deeply at me. I gulped involuntarily, realizing that I may have just accepted a gift from Giratina. "Yes, friends, of course," I agreed, hopefully without any nervousness in my voice, "was the discovery of Porygon your idea?" I said, hoping to change the topic. "Hmmm, no. I didn't think of it." Giovanni stated, "I don't have your talent for discovering new Pokémon. My talents lie more in delegation and leadership." He boasted. "Maybe you can teach me more about delegation one day." I joked but realized that Giovanni had a considering expression on his face. "Maybe." Was all he said in response, which made me nervous once again. Luckily, Petrel re-entered the room carrying a Pokéball, breaking me from my thoughts. He passed the Pokéball to Giovanni, who grabbed my hand and placed it carefully on my palm. "Here you go, John. Make sure you treat it well." He said with a weird look in his eyes that I couldn't quite place. "I will." I promised, before releasing my newest Pokémon into his office. The Porygon was so small, and despite its blocky appearance I found it to be very cute. I smiled as I thought about how Whitney would react to it. Giovanni saw my smile and gave one of his own, "I can see that you like it already." He chuckled slightly before donning a more neutral smile, "Sadly, we still aren't able to mass produce Porygon at this time. We also haven't figured out if it can evolve yet. But who knows, maybe you'll be able to figure out if it can evolve!" 'Oh, I'm sure it can.' I thought to myself, 'Just need to figure out how to create an Up-Grade and a Dubious Disc.' I returned my new Porygon back into the Pokéball and bowed slightly to Giovanni. "Thank you again, Gym Leader Giovanni. I promise to treat Porygon well and train it to be the best it can be." Giovanni simply nodded in acceptance before glancing at his watch once again. "Hmm, it's really late. And you have a long journey ahead of you to Hoenn tomorrow, so I better let you go." He snapped his fingers at Petrel and gestured towards the door, "It was nice meeting you, John. Let's talk again soon." "Yes, it was nice talking to you. Have a good night, Giovanni." I followed Petrel out the door and was once again escorted by him back the way we came. As we walked, I engrossed myself in my own thoughts and pondered the meeting I just had. Overall, I considered the meeting a great success. I believe that I may have managed to avert Giovanni from forming Team Rocket, not with my smart and intelligent arguments, but with the sheer coincidence that my appointment to the Elite 4 managed to prevent the worst-case scenario. Not that I'm complaining of course, preventing Giovanni from creating Team Rocket was one of my biggest goals, after all. Though I knew that it didn't mean that Team Rocket was gone forever. Circumstances may change that would cause Giovanni to resort to using Team Rocket. Or perhaps Team Rocket would be formed under another leader. But I couldn't do anything about that now, so I forced myself not to worry about it. My friendship with Giovanni was definitely a welcome surprise though, especially with him gifting a Porygon to me. I was hesitant to admit it, but I could relate to Giovanni. If something or someone threatened to return my family back into poverty, I believe I would also do anything and everything to ensure my family's prosperity, no matter the cost. The thought that I was similar to Giovanni scared me, but I assured myself that I wouldn't allow such a scenario from occurring in the first place. "You have my thanks, Elite John." Petrel suddenly said with a surprisingly refined voice, breaking me away from my dark thoughts as I turned to him with a curious expression. "Giovanni had been overly stressed that Lorelei would be the new member of the Elite 4 to replace Blaine. I doubt you did it on purpose, but your appointment really alleviated a lot of the worries on Giovanni's shoulders." I wasn't too sure how to respond to that, so I simply said, "Well, you're welcome, I think?" Petrel chuckled at that, "Yes, I'm also glad that you saw past Giovanni's unflattering reputation and agreed to work with him." He said loyally, "Giovanni may act unscrupulously at times, but he does so for the good of Kanto. I hope you'll be able to understand his motivations and continue your friendship with him in the future." I only nodded at that, and we walked the rest of the way in silence until we arrived back outside the Viridian Gym. I released Port from his Pokéball and began saddling myself up. Petrel spoke up one last time before I flew off, "Good luck in Hoenn, Elite John. Please call Giovanni if you need any help or if you have any news that he'd might want to hear." "I will." I said honestly, as I did intend to foster my newfound friendship with Giovanni, "Have a good night, Petrel." And I flew off back towards the farmhouse, deep in my thoughts once more. 'On the whole, being friends with Giovanni could only be a good thing, right?' I convinced myself. Not long after, I arrived back at home and noticed that all the lights were off, meaning that my family was most likely already asleep. I walked to an empty space in the fields, being careful not to wake any of the sleeping Miltank that were scattered around, before releasing all my Pokémon except for my new Porygon. "Ok gang," I called out, "We have a new team member," I was cut off by the cheers and roars of my Pokémon, "Yes, yes, quiet down, I know it's very exciting but please don't wake everyone up." I said, trying to calm my Pokémon's excitement. "Bliss, Blissey!" Klee said excitedly, before running over and grabbing Porygon's Pokéball from my belt and releasing my new Porygon. "Porygon? Gon?" My small Porygon only had a small window of relief before it was immediately mobbed by my Pokémon. Klee was holding it in her arms, patting it down and checking it over. My larger Pokémon, Smough, Vordt, and Tyrant, were looming over it at a distance.

 I wasn't sure yet if Porygon's had emotions, but if they did then the looming presence of my three largest Pokémon must have made an intimidating sight. My remaining Pokémon all took turns with Klee inspecting or holding my new Pokémon, and my poor Porygon was subjected to a mixture of hugs, soft pecks, and antler rubs. I stood back and happily watched my Pokémon play with my new Porygon as I struggled to think of a good name for it. Not only that, but I had to think of a plan on how to train it. Most importantly, I needed to find out if my Porygon could feel or could learn to feel emotions. My training methods would vary heavily if it couldn't. I took out my notepad and started scribbling some notes as I drowned out the sounds of my Pokémon playing around in the background. Though it was late, apparently for my Pokémon the excitement of greeting a new teammate was more important than sleep. To this day, I am still surprised, and proud, by the fact that Smough, Vordt, and Tyrant were so active and energetic. That was very unlike their lazy counterparts. "Clef! Clefable." Luna suddenly called out to attract my attention as she lifted Porygon in her arms and carried it over to me. Apparently, she wanted me to name it as soon as possible as she didn't want it to feel left out by not having a nickname. As I looked down at the tiny Porygon being cradled by Luna, I had a sudden urge to take a picture of this scene and show it to Whitney. As I thought that, a name suddenly sprang to mind. "Pixel. I'm going to name you Pixel, Porygon." I declared and patted its blocky head. Honestly, its blocky frame was a bit awkward to stroke, but I'm sure I'd adapt soon enough. It was too cute to resist anyways. "Porygon? Pory. Gon! Gon!" Pixel cheered. I could tell that it liked its new name as I saw its eyes turning into small crescents as it brightened. It was very subtle, but it proved that Pixel was capable of feeling emotions, though its appearance made expressing that emotion to be very subtle. "Clefable! Clefable!" Luna was obviously equally as delighted as Pixel and carried it back over her head back to my other Pokémon, who all joined in on the enthusiasm. Amusingly, I watched as Tyrant bent over more than ninety degrees as he carefully picked up Pixel in his giant hands, which seemed to make Pixel look even smaller, and placed it on Smough's belly, who was lying down on the grass. Pixel looked down and inspected the new 'ground' that it was on, before bouncing slightly on Smough's belly, eliciting cheers from Klee and Luna and a disgruntled groan from Smough. Soon after, Klaus levitated Pixel on his back before galloping quickly around the fields, Pidgeot and Port flying after them. Although I wanted to join in on the fun, I was feeling too tired to do so after the long and exhausting day that I had. Seeing that most of my Pokémon didn't seem like sleeping anytime soon, I allowed them to continue their fun before I made my way back to my room and promptly fell asleep.

Chapter 2

The New Normal - INTERLUDE – Giovanni Giovanni watched as John left the room with Petrel. He leaned back heavily against his chair as he pondered about the newest member of the Elite 4. John was clearly very intelligent; after all, it took a very creative and inventive mind to discover two new evolutions at such a young age. Not only that, but John also was very passionate about influencing the geopolitics of Indigo. Would that be something to nurture further as another person to bounce ideas off of? Nurturing John's intelligence and passion for politics further would make him another valuable tool for ensuring Kanto's prosperity. However, could John be trusted to always work for the benefits of Kanto, like Giovanni was? Giovanni noticed that John was an ambitious individual, and so would such ambition cause John to sell out Kanto for his own selfish desires? Could he trust John to share his burden of ensuring a prosperous Kanto? Or would he be more effective as a figurehead for Giovanni's own ideals? No, John was much too opinionated and strong for him to effectively puppet. Giovanni noted that John clearly had his own goals that he was stubbornly fixated on, which would make him a poor puppet. Giovanni supposed that he could employ some forceful persuasion to encourage John's cooperation. He knew blackmail was an extreme option and would certainly sour the relationship forever. But if it was for the greater good for Kanto, then it might be worth it. With that in mind, Giovanni reached over and opened his laptop, browsing his files until he found the one the new one that he created for John. Said file contained almost everything Giovanni could find out about John through the Pokénet and through his own private investigations. The file listed John's entire family, where he lived, their business interests, John's Pokémon, and a summary of his employed experts' observations about his Pokémon's battles. Clearly, John greatly loved his family and took nearly opportunity to ensure that his family's would remain prosperous, which was something Giovanni could respect. Giovanni's psychologists all stated that John was heavily affected by the poverty he and his family endured during his childhood, which was the main event driving John's current ambitions and something Giovanni himself could relate to. Giovanni drummed his fingers across the table as he thought about his options. He supposed that he currently had made a positive first impression on John, so there was no need to tarnish it by resorting to blackmail or threats so soon. He mentally filed it as a last resort option if John no longer chose to work for the good of Kanto. As always, it fell to him to ensure the future of Kanto, as he knew it would be. As Giovanni reminded himself of his destiny once again, a familiar pattern knocked on his door briefly before Petrel walked into the room. Petrel gave a subtle hand gesture to indicate that there were no problems and that the room was not being monitored, Giovanni nodded at that. "Petrel." Giovanni started, "Did you listen to my conversation with John?" "Yes Boss, heard every last word." Petrel stated. "Do you want the recording of your meeting?" He gestured to a small voice recorder that he had hidden in his jacket pocket that was connected to a tiny microphone hidden in Giovanni's office. The recorder itself was also disguised to look like a normal walkie-talkie. "No need," Giovanni said with a nonchalant wave of his hand, "just store it under John's file. Make a new tab." Petrel merely nodded at that before falling silent once more as he loyally waited for Giovanni to provide further instructions and a few moments passed in silence between the two before Giovanni spoke up once more. "What did you think of John? Is he receptive to our goals?" Giovanni asked. "I think he would prove useful to you, Boss." Petrel remarked, "His ideas about encouraging and relocating more private businesses into Kanto are very similar to our own ideas, Boss. He may have some unusual ideas about integrating Kanto and Johto together, but I believe his ideas come from an honest desire to better Kanto." Giovanni nodded at that; it was what he thought too but it was always useful to have a second opinion. Giovanni noticed that Petrel had more to say so he gestured for him to continue. "I don't think blackmailing or threatening him would be a good idea, Boss." Petrel had clearly predicted Giovanni's line of thinking, "If he reacts negatively to it, we could be in for a bad time." Petrel hesitated slightly as he said this. "Speak freely, Petrel, I want to hear your true thoughts about what would happen if I chose to blackmail John." Giovanni encouraged. "Yes Boss. I think we should avoid becoming antagonistic with John. In a direct fight, I definitely couldn't beat him. And I'm not very confident in your chances either, Boss." Petrel declared, "And John's family is the only thing holding his leash. If we go after them, we have more to lose than he does." Giovanni agreed with his analysis. He knew that his talents laid more towards leadership and strategy than it did as a trainer. Giovanni thought that he was a great trainer, but he could admit that he wasn't the best. Additionally, he knew that a public fight between himself and John would destroy what remains of Kanto's already meagre political influence. "Do you think he could be manipulated? Perhaps we could use him as a figurehead?" Giovanni suggested. "Unlikely, Boss, I think he'd eventually notice that he was being manipulated and would not react well to it. It would only really work in the short term." Petrel replied, "I think it best to work with him rather than try to force him to work with us." Giovanni accepted that; it was his preferred way to work with others rather than with forcing them to work for you. The latter often ended messily, he learned. "How did he react to my gift?" Giovanni asked, "Did he think of it as a gift or a bribe?" "The latter, Boss." Petrel responded, "He was clearly taken aback and was surprised by it, though it was obvious that he was very happy to receive it. As I escorted him out, he was thinking very deeply about something. I believe he was thinking about your gift, and how he would pay you back for it." "Good, then my actions paid off." Giovanni declared, though he inwardly confessed that he would be fine if John saw it as a gift too. Giovanni really wasn't as mercenary as others were made to believe. He could tell instinctively that John would greatly care for Porygon, and Giovanni still sought for his Pokémon's happiness. He would never voluntarily give a Pokémon away to someone that would abuse them, not again. Returning back to the topic at hand, Giovanni resumed his questioning, "How do you think we should proceed with our relationship with John, going forward?" Petrel considered this for a moment before replying, "I think John thinks of you as a friend, Boss. I believe he would be willing to help you if you asked him to, so long as he sees your request is reasonable." Petrel paused momentarily, "However, as with all new relationships, I recommend proceeding with caution and to continue observing him. We shouldn't make any big requests to John based on our perceived assumptions before we can get a better measure of him. Maybe he could surprise us." Giovanni contemplated Petrel's words. He supposed that there was no harm in maintaining a positive relationship with John for the moment. John currently provided little reason to force Giovanni to make use of his more extreme options. Giovanni gave a simple nod at Petrel to signify that he agreed, before moving on to the next topic. "For the past few weeks, I have been considering reforming my mother's project. But John's statement that it would be a terrible and overly short-sighted idea has caused me to hesitate. I want your opinion, Petrel." Giovanni was pleased to see that Petrel showed no sign of confusion or hesitation at the change in topic. He always appreciated intelligent subordinates, just so long as they weren't more intelligent than himself. "I think that...with John's appointment to the Elite 4 and his newfound friendship with you, Boss, that it might be overly hasty to reform Team Rocket at this point." Petrel cautiously stated, stopping for an instant to observe Giovanni's expression before continuing "I believe that there are too many unforeseen consequences with being associated with Team Rocket, Boss, and it would be disastrous if the public found out. You would be deemed persona non grata." Giovanni grimaced at that but kept his silence. So far, he had, at worst, made use of legally questionable acts in his quest to restore Kanto to its proper place, nothing that couldn't be denied with the right bribes or blackmail. However, employing Team Rocket would be a shift towards violently ignoring the laws of the League and it would bring unwanted attention towards himself. If his connection to Team Rocket was disclosed to the public, it would undermine everything that he worked so tirelessly to build up. "That was in-line with my own thoughts as well," Giovanni conceded, grimacing slightly at the thought of losing everything. He shuddered at the thought of Kanto's future without his guiding hand, "We shouldn't allow Kanto's reputation to be sullied with her association to brutes and thugs. She must be better than that." Though he may change his mind on that if the situation got took a turn for the worse. Petrel gave a respectful nod to his statement before continuing to maintain his silence, waiting to see if Giovanni had any further questions to ask. Giovanni took a few minutes to go over his meeting with John once more just in case he missed something. After thinking through it and finding nothing and seeing that nothing else needed to be discussed, Giovanni dismissed Petrel with a wave of his hand. Petrel gave him a deep bow and left without another word. Alone in his office again, Giovanni took a quick glance at his watch and groaned as he saw how late it was. Nevertheless, he still had a few calls to make before he could end the day. He called his second-in-command, figuring that Archer wouldn't be asleep yet until he heard back from Giovanni regarding the meeting. He was proven correct as Archer answered after a few short rings. "Boss? Is there something you need?" Archer greeted with a tired voice. "I will be sending you the recording of the meeting I had with John. Go over it carefully and call me if you spot any glaring problems that I should be informed about." Giovanni stated with a tone that demanded compliance, "I also want you to contact Proton and make sure that his grunts remain on a tight leash. I do not want to hear anything about the crimes committed by Team Rocket. No fighting, no stealing, nothing. Do you understand?" "Yes Boss, understood." Archer affirmed, before continuing with a hint of uncertainty, "But Boss, I think that Proton and his subordinates are...displeased...with their lack of action. I think that-" "I do not care if Proton and his grunts are displeased, Archer." Giovanni interrupted, "I am ordering you, and him, to sit still and not create more problems for me. There will come a time where his expertise might be required, but now is not the time. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes Boss, but I still think it would be better if you were the one to tell him." Archer tried. "No." Giovanni denied firmly, "There must not be any evidence that directly links myself to Proton, and by extension, Team Rocket. I must maintain a degree of separation from any of their actions." And Archer would prove to be a convenient fall-guy if Team Rocket proved to be uncontrollable. "Yes Boss, understood. I'll inform them right away." Archer replied warily. "Good." Giovanni ended the call. He could tell that Archer didn't believe he could persuade Proton to back down, but Giovanni was far too tired at the moment to care. Besides, Giovanni thought that Proton and Team Rocket remained too dependent on his financial backing to go against him. Reassuring himself, he then quickly dialled another number. "Boss? Everything okay?" A female voice asked. "Yes, Ariana, everything is fine." Giovanni responded, "I will be sending you the recording of the meeting with John. Go over it and tell me what you think." "Of course, Boss, I'll get on that right away." Ariana remarked. They then proceeded to talk about how the various science projects were undergoing and if they needed to change anything. "Oh, and before I forget," Giovanni cut in, "I gave John a Porygon as a gift. I will let you know if he makes any discoveries regarding it." "Wonderful," Ariana cheered, "Arceus knows that my scientists aren't making any progress. Perhaps a new perspective would be useful." "Oh, and the Masterball project with Silph Co. is progressing smoothly, Boss." Ariana continued, "We should be able to manufacture a prototype within the next few months." "That's good," said Giovanni, "Have we found a way to make the Masterball able to capture other trainer's Pokémon?" "Unfortunately not, Boss." Ariana replied regretfully, "Both my scientists and the scientists working for Silph Co. agree that finding such a method would take too much time or is outright impossible. I am sorry that we are unable to meet your expectations, Boss." "No, that's fine," Giovanni conceded, "I have decided against making use of Team Rocket at this time anyways, so such a function would be wasted on the Masterball." "Oh? I see. Thank you for your understanding, Boss." Ariana remarked with mild surprise, as if she wanted to say more but held her tongue, "That's all I have to report, is there anything else that you need?" "No, that's all. Have a good night." Giovanni hung up. Giovanni looked at the time and groaned again at how late it was. He could already anticipate the tiredness that is bound to plague him tomorrow. Ah, well. He had already endured many sleepless nights on the road to achieving his destiny. It was just another price to pay to ensure Kanto's greatness. The New Normal – 1-5 – Leaving for Hoenn I groaned as I was awoken by the tell-tale noises of a Pokémon battle. I had slept poorly the night before, undoubtedly because I had gone to sleep still full of thoughts regarding the yesterday night's events. From Pryce, Lance, and Giovanni, I still had not managed to process everything that happened. I forced myself out of bed and looked out the window, seeing Whitney train with her Miltank while my Pokémon were either watching on or undergoing their own training in the distance. After rubbing the sleepiness out of my eyes, I noticed a small extra addition to Whitney's normal training routine. My new tiny Porygon, Pixel, was training alongside Miltank, seemingly attacking with weak Tackles as it tried to imitate Miltank. I could see my Blissey, Klee, cheering Pixel on, doing a little hop everytime Pixel attacked. Seeing my new Porygon reminded me that I still hadn't even begun to pack for my trip to Hoenn later this evening. The resulting scramble around my room as I haphazardly packed my luggage in mild panic was more effective than any coffee at waking me up. The result of my scramble was one questionably packed luggage that would never pass my mother's standards, but she wasn't home at the moment and what she doesn't know won't hurt her. "JOHN! WAKE UP ALREADY! GET DOWN HERE AND HELP ME TRAIN!" Whitney shouted from the fields, catching me by surprise and almost causing me to trip. Hearing her shouts led me to hurry down the stairs into the fields as soon as possible, knowing that any more delays would cause Whitney to go with the Legendary option of telling mom and dad that I overslept. Elite 4 I may be, but at home, your parents' always rules supreme. I managed to rush to the field with a light sprint, just in time to see Whitney 'coincidentally' turning around to face me just as I arrived with her hands on her hips. She mustered up the most serious expression I believed possible before laying into me. "John! I can't have you be sleeping in when you're about to go to Hoenn! I need you to help me train for as long as possible!" Whitney complained while pointing a finger at my stomach. "And one more thing!" Whitney continued, before crouching down and picking up Pixel, "How could you come home yesterday and not tell me that you got a new Pokémon?! I was so surprised when I saw it today! I mean I thought it was a wild Pokémon so I tried to catch it but I couldn't catch it and was so sad until Klee told me that it was your new Pokémon and I hate you for not telling me." She rambled without pause. In this situation, there's only one thing I could say. Sometimes, appeasement is the only option. "I'm sorry." I bowed my head. "Good." Whitney nodded, which she probably thought was her being magnanimous, "Now, what's he? She? Its? nickname?" Whitney questioned while stroking Pixel. "Its name is Pixel, and yes, it has no gender." I explained, "It's a new Pokémon that Giovanni and his team of scientists discovered and created out of data." "Wow! That's so cool!" Whitney gushed like the 11-year-old she was, "Giovanni must be so smart!" I had mixed feelings about that statement. I didn't want to badmouth Giovanni, especially because I wasn't sure if Whitney had loose lips or not, but I definitely didn't want Whitney idolizing Giovanni or spending any amount of time around him. I might be friendly with him now, but I definitely didn't trust him. "Yes, he is a great Gym Leader." I said diplomatically, before trying to change the topic, "But anyways, speaking of new Pokémon, Whitney, I had a question to ask you." Whitney stared at me expectantly as she waited for my question. "I know you're starting your journey in a few months. Do you want me to catch you some new Pokémon in Hoenn while I'm there? Or would you rather catch them all yourself?" I questioned seriously. On the one hand, I wanted to help Whitney make the strongest team she could. On the other, I didn't want to take away the experience of going on a journey and catching her own Pokémon. It was a tough balance. "Hmmmm..." Whitney mumbled to herself, closing her eyes, and tilting her head in thought, "I think I want to mostly catch my own Pokémon, bro, but I won't be able to catch anything from Hoenn until I get at least four badges, right?" Whitney asked. "Yes, that's right." I confirmed. The current rule set by the League was that you needed at least four badges from your birth region to catch Pokémon or challenge Gyms from other regions. This rule caused me a few problems when I first started out too, as a Slakoth was not a native Kanto Pokémon. I had to explain many times that it had stumbled across my farm and that I hadn't caught it in Hoenn. "Then can you catch me a cool Pokémon from Hoenn bro?!" She asked, hopping with excitement, "I want a Normal type Pokémon from Hoenn!" "Of course." I promised, knowing of her unspoken desire to also become a Normal type specialist, "I'll catch you a 'cool' Normal type for Hoenn and have it sent to you before your journey. That way, you can train it with Miltank and allow them to get used to each other." "YAYY! Thanks John!" She cheered and gave me a hug, which I returned. My hug became more serious as I realized that I was already leaving my family again for Hoenn after just having arrived back for a few days. Not that this was unexpected; I knew being a member of the Elite 4 would require me to travel a lot, but it still sucked regardless. Breaking up the hug, I kneeled down and patted Pixel on the head before picking it up. I walked over to where my other Pokémon were training, and I noticed that my Snorlax, Smough, was on break from his gravity training. Perfect. I called out to Smough to get his attention as he sat upright. I gestured to Pixel that I was still cradling in my arms. "Smough, I need your help to train Pixel here." Smough tilted his head in response, "You see, I want Pixel training its Tackle move, and you'd be the perfect target for it to train with." "Snor, lax?" Smough doubted, gesturing to the sheer size and strength difference between himself and Pixel. "No, no, no Smough I didn't mean it like that," I shook my head, "I don't actually need you to do anything honestly. I just need you to meditate like you're practicing using your Slack Off while Pixel here tries to disrupt it with its Tackle." Smough nodded at that before slumping back onto the ground and closed its eyes as it began its meditation. I looked down at Pixel, who was now squirming in my arms. "You got that?" Pixel nodded before jumping free from me and Tackled against Smough with much enthusiasm. Sadly for Pixel, that enthusiasm didn't translate into strength as it merely rebounded off Smough's big belly and was knocked into the dirt. Seeing that happen was such a funny sight that I had to hold back my own laughter. I didn't want to laugh at Pixel's attempts and ruin his enthusiasm. With any new Pokémon, encouraging good training attitudes at an early stage is crucial for their development. "Good job Pixel! That was a great first attempt!" I praised. Pixel gave me an odd look with its eyes that was tinged with some sadness. Clearly, it was upset at the pitiful damage that it dealt with its Tackle. Or at least I thought so, it was sometimes difficult to understand what a new Pokémon was saying because you haven't 'bonded' sufficiently with it yet. I kneeled down as much as possible so that I was eye-level with Pixel, "No need to feel sad, Pixel," I said gently, "Smough is a really strong Pokémon that I spent years training. I wouldn't expect you to do much to him right now. But it would be REALLY impressive if you managed to hurt him. So keep trying! Never give up!" Luckily, my motivation seemed to have hit the mark as I saw a fire ignite in Pixel's eyes as it Tackled against Smough's belly once again, with similar results. But Pixel filled me with pride as it merely got up and did it again, and again, and again. Before long, we had an entire audience consisting of my entire team and Whitney's as we all watched and cheered as Pixel slam repeatedly into Smough, getting up and trying again after every failure to the sounds of praise and encouragement. After several attempts, Klee approached Pixel and checked it over for any injuries, before commanding it to rest for a while. Pixel protested this and tried to wriggle free, so I had to step in. "Hey, Pixel, it's okay. A good training routine must have rests to allow yourself to recover and recharge." I lectured, before I switched to a lighter tone, "I know you want to get strong immediately, but if you don't take rests and train yourself too hard, you'll hurt yourself in the long run." "Pory? Porygon?" Pixel seemed confused as my latest words contrasted with what I said previously. "Yes, you can do both together." I clarified, "You can and should train as hard as possible, but you should also take rests to make sure you don't hurt yourself. There's no point in training so hard if you'll hurt yourself too badly to make use of training. Do you understand that Pixel?" Pixel nodded a bit sullenly at that but allowed itself to be mothered by Klee. "Don't worry Pixel!" Whitney encouraged, "All Pokémon are like this in the beginning. You'll be strong in no time, just like my Miltank!" Miltank mooed in support of Whitney's declaration as she began to flex her arms. With Pixel now resting, the crowd scattered as the Pokémon returned to their training, except for Klee, who stayed to monitor Pixel. Whitney and I stepped back a bit and just watched our Pokémon train. They didn't need our instructions for this very general training. "Hey, John, I was just thinking...if Pixel is a new Pokémon, does it mean it's not in the Pokédex?" Whitney suddenly asked. "Yes, it isn't. Porygon are too new and there are too few of them, so their data have yet to be entered into the Pokédex." I confirmed, "Why do you ask?" "Then, how do you know what basic moves it can learn?" Whitney questioned with a confused expression. Ah, I understood what she was asking. Basically, every Pokémon had a list of basic moves that it could learn, even as a 'baby'. Advanced moves, like Thunderbolt, would have to be trained, taught via TM, or discovered through the Pokémon's trainer's efforts. The list of basic moves serves as a starting point for what moves you could train with to begin to develop those advanced moves. However, if a Pokémon wasn't entered into the Pokédex like Porygon was, then a trainer would have to use trial and error to figure out what its' basic moves were so that they may develop them further into the corresponding advanced moves. For example, trying to teach a Porygon to use Water Gun wouldn't work, but Thunder Shock would. And later, you could teach it Thunderbolt by first mastering Thunder Shock. Then again, you could always tell your Pokémon to attack and then try to figure out what attack it was using to figure out what its basic moves were. Of course, I knew Porygon's basic moves because I had meta-knowledge, but Whitney doesn't know that. "Well, consider it a lucky guess." I said with a cheeky smile, which Whitney scowled at and started poking my sides. I decided to placate her, "Okay, to give a serious answer. It was an educated guess based on the fact that most Pokémon either start with Tackle, Pound, or Scratch as one of their basic moves. So, you could always start with those if you don't know what a Pokémon's basic moves are." Whitney nodded at this and took out her pink notepad before jotting it down, causing me to smile as I saw it. My pride as a role-model was growing! I let Pixel continue practicing its Tackle against Smough for a little while longer before I could see it becoming almost too fatigued to continue. I ordered it to stop. "Pixel, I want you to see how far you've come since this morning." I told it, while waving at Klee to come over. I pointed to Klee, "Before resting, I want you to use Tackle against Klee." Pixel gave me a worried look that I chuckled at, "Don't worry Pixel, Klee is more than able to take it. You won't hurt her." I reassured. Klee chirped in agreement as she stood straight and gestured at Pixel to come at her. Seeing this, Pixel threw off the last of its' hesitation as it Tackled into Klee with as much determination and force as it could muster. The damage was still miniscule, but Klee visibly recoiled slightly at Pixel's attack. Pixel cheered at its success, before quickly turning towards Klee in concern that it may have hurt her. Klee giggled at that, patting Pixel on the head to reassure it that she was unharmed. Pixel's eyes visibly brightened at the praise it was receiving and it buzzed happily. I was also happy to see that Pixel was already growing to care about my Pokémon and vice versa. Maintaining a good team dynamic was a necessity for any competent trainer, which was why many were so hesitant to catch new Pokémon in case they ruined said dynamic. Also, unless you had a really large stable, you couldn't really catch that many Pokémon because Pokémon needed to occasionally spend some time outside of a Pokéball. We didn't have a suitable stable as our family farm wasn't that suitable, despite the spaciousness, because foreign Pokémon may interfere with the Miltank and Tauros and disrupt the farm's productivity. Thus, despite literally being a member of the Elite 4, I wasn't actually able to catch that many Pokémon for the time being until I could afford to rent out or buy a stable to store more Pokémon. This wasn't that big of a problem for the time being, as I didn't really foresee myself expanding my team that much, but it was something to consider for the future. Unfortunately, my musings were ruined by the sound of a stomach groaning. I instinctively turned to Smough, but then realized that the sounds were coming from my own stomach as my body reminded me that I hadn't had any food ever since I had woken up. Fortunately, I checked the time and saw that it was lunch time anyways and that my parents should have been back in time to eat with us. I called out to Whitney to tell her that it was lunch time, and we walked back together to the house to see my mom, alone, setting up the table. "Where's daddy?" Whitney asked, as we both moved to help my mother set up the table. "Your father is still stuck at a meeting with the distributors that has overrun." My mother replied, "He'll be back later but told me to send you his well-wishes, John, since he can't see you off to Hoenn." I nodded sadly at that but understood that it was the price to pay for the increase in popularity that our family business was blessed with. Besides, I preferred my parents being busy dealing with these kinds of problems rather than dealing with the struggles of poverty. Shaking away my negative thoughts, I returned to having a calm but happy lunch with my family that was slightly marred by the fact that it was my going to be my last meal with them for a while, again. Once we finished, my mom ordered me to my room and to 'make sure I packed everything' as she handled the washing up with Whitney. I double checked my luggage and made sure that I had everything I thought I needed for my trip and convinced myself that anything I forgot could be purchased in Hoenn. I headed back downstairs and said my goodbyes to my mom and Whitney, all of us trying not to tear up at my departure, before heading back into the fields and rounding up all my Pokémon and setting off on Port to Olivine City, where I had arranged to meet Karen at, for our ship to Hoenn. Unfortunately, the frequency of volcanic ash being spewed by Mt. Chimney made travelling by plane to Hoenn unsafe. Thus, you were forced to go by ship, which was much slower and tedious. I sent a quick text to Karen as I flew on Port, reminding her of our meetup. It was only a few minutes later that I received a garbled reply from Karen. 'hmMM?' she texted unintelligently. 'Did u forget?' I replied 'we have meetup at Olivine for Hoenn.' 'Oh fk shit ok I wake up now' she texted back. I chuckled at her text, her disorganisation seemingly so at odds with her more refined and sculpted appearance at the ceremony. 'Meet you there.' I texted dryly. Not long later, I landed in the busy Olivine City. Fortunately, the lack of ceremony at my arrival and my unassuming clothes meant that no one recognised me as the newest Elite 4 member. Otherwise, I fear that I may have been swarmed with those seeking a picture and/or autograph. I made my way to the Olivine Café and sat myself down with a cup of coffee as I waited for Karen to arrive. My luck held as none of the many sailors in the Café seemed to recognise me, so I remained undisturbed. A few minutes passed before my phone vibrated as I received a text. 'where r u? im at lighthouse now.' Karen's text read. 'Coming now' I replied as I got up and left the Café and walked towards the lighthouse. As I approached the lighthouse, I could see Karen's distinct figure leaning over the rails with a small luggage placed next to her, her yellow top and light blue hair separated her from the many sailors loitering about. Despite her windswept hair, her appearance had no sign of her rushed awakening. Karen turned to me with her arms crossed as I neared her with a fake scowl on her face. "You're late." She had the audacity to say to me. "When did you go to bed?" I shot back. "I'm not good with mornings." She confessed, averting her eyes away from me. "I texted you at noon." I said dryly with a raised eyebrow. "Afternoon is morning for me." She replied confidently, as if what she said wasn't completely outrageous. Before I could respond with sarcasm, she grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the pier where our ship awaited. "Come on, we're going to be late." She declared, despite us actually being over half an hour early. Nevertheless, I decided not to point that out and walked with her towards the pier. I thought that getting onboard early could only be a good thing anyways, less risk of being swarmed by fans that acted like starving Carvanha. We showed our tickets to the bored guard waiting near our ship, which he barely glanced at before letting us in. As we went abroad the crowded ship with our luggage, Karen started to complain. "Why is this ship so crowded?" Karen growled, "Couldn't the League have privately chartered a ship just for you?" "Well, yes they could have." I admitted, "But I think they did this because they want to embarrass me and make me cause an incident. I think they were hoping I would cause a scene or prove myself incompetent, and that way, they can use that as a reason to kick me out of the Elite 4." I explained with a nonchalant shrug, though inwardly I was still as mad as Karen was. "What?! But they've only just appointed you!" Karen nearly shouted, "Why do they want you to kick you out already?" "Again, you're right." I replied, "But you need to realize that some of the upper administration of the League, and especially Pryce, favour the current status quo. My appointment and speech probably upset them, and thus they want me out." "That sounds dumb. Don't they realize that embarrassing you in Hoenn might be damaging for Indigo's future?" Karen asked with a dumbfounded expression. I shrugged again. "Politicians." I said simply. Though inwardly I didn't think many of them cared about Indigo at all. They were probably more concerned with their own positions. "Hey, no need to swear." Karen snarked, before we both chuckled. "Waittt a minute," Karen suddenly said with narrowed eyes, "I just realized you're also a politician now. Gonna start jockeying for favours and influence? Is that why you wanted to go with me? To find dirt on Agatha?" I gave her a bewildered look at that before her serious expression broke and she started to laugh even harder, and I found myself quickly joining in. We had to split up shortly after that though, because of course her room was in the first-class area whereas mine was in economy with everyone else. At least I didn't have to share my room, small mercies. I looked around the small room that I would be staying in for the next couple of hours and sighed as I realized it was too small to release any of my Pokémon in besides Pixel. Then I saw a sign that said that Pokémon weren't allowed to be released inside of rooms and I sighed even harder. So, before the ship set off and I lost connection to the Pokénet, I sent a few messages to my family and one to Karen asking her for her room number and giving her mine so that we could meet up. Putting down my phone, I fell back onto the hard bed as I stared at the ceiling, my mind roiling with thoughts at my upcoming journey. 'At least Karen is coming with me', I thought with a smile. The New Normal – 1-6 – Shipping with Karen I quickly got a text back from Karen giving me her room number. Deciding that hanging out in her room was leagues better than staying alone in my own cramped room, I went to sought her out. But before leaving, I quickly changed my clothes into something more suitable for the temperate and sunny Hoenn weather. I replaced my jacket with a thinner vest and donned a bucket hat. I also changed my shirt and trousers to their short variants. I went to check my appearance using the standing mirror, and a young, tall, teenager with black hair and brown eyes with a hint of baby face stared back at me. Over the years, I've accepted the fact that I basically look like a generic background character, fitting, considering my generic name. Combined with my new clothes, I looked like your standard Hoenn NPC tourist. I felt that my new outfit was working rather well at disguising my identity as I wasn't accosted once as I walked past the many crowds on my way to Karen's room. Soon after, I had arrived at her room and was allowed to enter after a brief knock on her door. I was immediately jealous that Karen's room was over twice the size of mine, and I also failed to hide that jealousy as I saw Karen giving me a smug smirk. "Like what you see?" Karen grinned, and I wasn't sure if she was referring to herself or her room. Either way though, my answer was the same. "Yes." I replied wryly, managing to somehow not blush at that. Karen gave me a nice smile at my reply, before flicking her hair over her shoulder and gesturing for me to sit down on the cushioned chair near the table. She sat down opposite me on the edge of her bed. "Say, Karen, why are you coming to Hoenn in the first place?" I asked, "I know Agatha wanted you to accompany me, but surely she couldn't have forced you to go to Hoenn against your will, right?" "Yes, you're right that it was my own decision to come to Hoenn." Karen nodded, "You see, I'm a Dark type specialist, which I've never regretted, but I admit that finding new Dark type Pokémon to catch has been challenging." Karen admitted as she shuffled herself backwards so that she was leaning against the headboard. She continued, "But, I did my research and found that there were plenty of Dark types in Hoenn that I've yet to catch. And so, I wanted to head over there and see if they'd be suitable for my team." "Yeah I can relate to that," I agreed, "My typing doesn't have a lot of Pokémon suitable for high-level battling either." She hummed appreciatively at that before asking a question of her own. "How are you finding your new responsibilities as an Elite 4?" She inquired in a tone that was more serious than I was expecting, "Is it tough?" Her eyes suddenly widened as she facepalmed herself, "Wait, no, I'm being stupid. You've only been in the Elite 4 for less than a day. That was a dumb question." Hearing how serious she was, I decided against mocking her and instead giving her an honest answer, "Mhm...as you say I've only been an Elite 4 for a day but, I can tell you that there's a lot more politicking involved than what the public might think." I answered while scratching my head. Karen frowned at me, "What do you mean? You mean the stuff with Pryce that I overheard? And with you being sent to Hoenn?" She asked. I shook my hand in the so-so gesture, "Well, yes, but there's more than just that. Once you enter the ranks of the Elite 4, you are forced to enter the world of politics whether you like it or not. People WILL try to use you for their own benefit and likely to your detriment. The stuff that you overheard between Pryce and I is just one element of that." Karen listened and scowled with a serious expression on her face, and I wondered why she was so curious about this. Then I remembered that she would eventually join the Elite 4 and probably wanted to know more about it so that she could prepare for it. "Hold on," I suddenly thought aloud, "Surely you could've asked Agatha about this? She's definitely more experienced than I am at being a member of the Elite 4." Karen shook her head at that, "No, asking Agatha would've been pointless." She bit out with slight annoyance in her tone, "I may be her apprentice, but Agatha really just does her own thing and damns everyone else. She has her own way of dealing with things that I could never replicate, so asking her would not be useful." I frowned at that, though considering my own interactions with Agatha I couldn't say that I found that overly surprising. She really was a prickly and ornery person. "Besides, Agatha has the entirety of Lavender Town backing her up," Karen continued with a bitter tone, "So does Pryce, Lance, and Walker. They all come from important backgrounds that give them influence beyond their own as a member of the Elite 4. It's why I wanted to ask you, John, since you also come from nothing. I wanted to know about your experiences because I felt like I could relate to you the most." I had to restrain my grimace at the reminder of my poorly past but acknowledged that she didn't mean it as an insult and instead found it relatable. Admittedly, it was weird to have someone sympathize with the fact that you used to be poor. Perhaps it was because of that sympathy that led me to open up to her. "Yes, you're right. During the Indigo League, when I was close to reaching the finals, I realized that even if I won and was selected to join the Elite 4, I would still be a relatively unknown name with no influence beyond what being an Elite 4 gave me. The public still didn't really recognise me from my discoveries of Ursaluna and Wyrdeer. Thus, I feared that I would be side-lined as an Elite 4 or simply become a puppet for others to use." "Then what did you do-" "Therefore, I decided to meet with Giovanni after the ceremony." I continued past her interruption, "I won't announce exactly what we discussed, but I have tentatively gained his support and friendship, meaning that I at least have some political influence to make use of." Karen got a thoughtful look in her eyes, "And you intend to make use of that relationship to grow your influence even further by making use of Giovanni's own connections." "Exactly." I confirmed with a nod. "Hopefully, I would be able to build enough personal influence to solidify my position in the Elite 4 for the future. I know many hate politicians for how they act, but as a member of the Elite 4 you HAVE to act like one in order to be successful." I got a considering look from Karen as she took in my words and plan. I could tell that she was out of her element; many Pokémon trainers are unfamiliar with politicking. Admittedly, I would be as lost as she was if not for my past life's knowledge. Honestly, joining the Indigo Elite 4 was like making a job application. You needed to have at least 8 badges, and you needed to win the Indigo Conference. Then, you were allowed to challenge a specific Elite 4 of your choice, and if you won, you would replace them and join the Elite 4. However, if there is a free spot in the Elite 4 available like I had with Blaine's retirement, then a selection committee consisting of the Champion and other senior League officials would have the discretion to choose the next Elite 4. They could select anyone they like, but an unpopular choice would spark public outrage, so they often chose the Indigo Conference winner or someone with equal achievements. We both sat there in silence as I allowed her to contemplate and think about what I just told her. A few minutes passed before she turned to me and gave me a small smile. "Thank you, John." She said gratefully, "You have given me much to think about...I assume you've probably guessed by now that I also want to join the Elite 4, probably after Walker inevitably gets kicked out. Would you mind if I asked you more questions like this in the future?" "Of course." I answered immediately, "Feel free to ask whatever you'd like. I'll be happy to answer." I gave her a goofy thumbs up to lighten the mood. She chuckled at my gesture before checking the time. I copied her and not only noticed that it was lunch, but that the ship had already begun its journey to Hoenn without me noticing. I asked Karen if she wanted to have lunch, since I was starting to feel hungry, and we both made our way to the crowded dining area to pick up some food. Nearly half an hour later pushing past the many passengers, we both managed to abscond with a sandwich and a bottle of water each and made our way back to her room to eat. As we munched on our sandwiches, I noticed that Karen was eating with a slight scowl and that she was thinking deeply about something. For some reason, I instinctively felt like I should cheer her up, so I decided to ask her a question to distract her. "So, Karen, how did you and your starter meet? What is your starter anyways?" "Hmm?" She mumbled distractedly, before visibly brightening as she processed my question. "Oh! Yes, my sweet little Murkrow." She instinctively reached for her Pokéball but then frowned and stopped herself as she remembered that she wasn't allowed to release Pokémon on the ship. She turned back to me before continuing, "I found Murkrow badly hurt on the outskirts of Saffron City, around Route 7, and I rushed her back to the Pokémon Center to be healed. I stayed while she was being healed and I fed her after it was done being healed and made sure she was nice and full. Then, I carried her to release her back into the wild. But she wouldn't leave and kept following me around!" Karen exclaimed with a fond smile as her eyes glazed over in reminiscence. She shook her head to snap herself out of her memories, "Eventually, I understood what she wanted and went to the Pokémart and spent all of my pocket money to buy a Pokéball to capture her in. We've been partners ever since." Karen sat there with a fond smile as she finished her recollection, and I couldn't help but find her smile mesmerizing. "What about you?" She asked back, "How did you meet your starter? Isn't it your Slakoth?" "Yes, my Slakoth." I affirmed, "I'll be honest. My family barely had any money, and we definitely had no influence to get sponsorships, so for the longest time I thought I would likely have to settle for one of the common Kanto Pokémon like Pidgey, Rattata, or Caterpie for a starter. I thought that, maybe if I was lucky, I would be allowed to capture one of the Miltank or Tauros that we had around the farm. But my family probably couldn't afford for me to do so." I could still distinctly remember the despair and anger I felt at that time. I remembered raging about the unfairness of being reborn into the world of Pokémon, yet not having the money necessary to go on a journey or even capture a starter. Karen was giving me a look of sympathy as she heard this, and I gave her a smile in return before continuing, "One day our distributor came by with his cart that unknowingly had a Slakoth that had climbed onboard his cart sometime during his trip in Hoenn. The distributor didn't realize he had picked up another passenger as he ignorantly ferried the Slakoth all the way to our farm. I only noticed him when I was helping my dad pack things onto the cart that I saw the lazy thing sleeping in the corner. The moment I saw it, I knew that this was a gift from Arceus. And as luck would have it, Slakoth also seemed to react well to my presence and allowed me to carry it off the cart. When the distributor saw it, he laughed and said that I could keep him if I wanted to. Despite not having enough money for a Pokéball, Slakoth was willing to hang around me until I was able to afford one. And I'll always be grateful for his dedication." I patted Tyrant's Pokéball affectionately with a smile as I ended my story. My journey to the Elite 4 had not always been smooth sailing, but Tyrant stood by me as we overcame the many challenges together. I turned that smile to Karen as I saw her watching me with a smile of her own. "You know, John, I think you've done very well for yourself." Karen complimented, "Hearing about your struggles in your youth, I'm honestly amazed that you managed to become as successful as you were. It's rare for those without sponsors to make it to anywhere close to the Elite 4, let alone joining it." I blushed heavily at that, but still managed to mumble out a "Thank you." Wanting to avoid further embarrassment, I quickly changed the topic. "Say, why do you want to become an Elite 4 anyways? Do you just want to follow in Agatha's footsteps, or do you have something to prove?" Karen grinned mischievously as I changed the topic but didn't comment on it. Instead, she pondered for a bit before replying. "It's a bit of both," she admitted, "I do want to make Agatha proud. I do find her to be a pain sometimes, but I do still care about her and want to prove to her that her efforts haven't been wasted. But more importantly, I want to show the world the power of Dark type Pokémon." I nodded with sympathy, I also found that people tended to underestimate and looked down upon Normal types during my own journey. "So, if I make it to the Elite 4 with my Dark types, I'd prove to Indigo that this 'new' type isn't as weak as people believe. I want to prove that Dark types are more useful than just to counter Psychic and Ghosts types! They have such a varied move-set that allows for unusual styles of fighting that can be extremely effective! The haters are just using it wrong!" Karen passionately declared. I stared entranced by Karen as she passionately began to list out the many strengths of Dark type Pokémon. I felt increasingly that, more than her appearance, it was her personality that I found the most attractive. I quickly refocused my attention back onto what Karen was saying before she could catch me staring; I didn't want to be teased by her if she had noticed. "...Don't you agree, John? Don't you think Dark types are cool?!" Karen excitedly asked with an intense gleam in her eyes. "Yes, of course." I immediately agreed without thinking, though luckily, I said the right thing. "Although my team often relies on brute strength and simple fighting styles to achieve victory, I have members like my Blissey and Clefable that use more 'intelligent' ways to win. So, I can understand that brute strength isn't everything." Although my Pokémon were definitely very good at it, especially my three big boys. "Mhm, you get it!" Karen nodded sagely, "Isn't it satisfying when you beat a trainer who relies entirely on brute strength alone? Watching them seethe as their much stronger Pokémon is slowly worn down without them being able to do anything about it? It's amazing." She cackled in a familiar way that reminded me that she was undoubtedly Agatha's apprentice. They even had the same cadence. "Although, I do admit that Dark types aren't very good in a straight up fight." Karen admitted sadly, "I currently don't have anyone on my team that can actually win a straight fight against another Elite level Pokémon with no tricks involved. I do have a Pupitar, but I feel like it's a while away from becoming a Tyranitar, and I'm not confident in my training methods to help it with its raw strength." I almost choked when I heard that she had a Pupitar, though in hindsight that wasn't very surprising as Tyranitar was the only currently discovered Dark types that actually had brute strength and good durability. "...Maybe I could ask Flint about how to train a defensive Rock type, I'm sure he knows-" "I can help you," I quickly interrupted. I felt oddly possessive and didn't want Karen asking others for help for some reason. I wanted her to rely on me. "I'm confident that my experiences with my Ground type Ursaluna will be useful for training your Pupitar. I'll help them train together when we get to Hoenn." Karen gave me a teasing smile at my quick interruption, and I quickly realized that I had fallen into her trap. She never intended to ask Flint; she just wanted me to offer my help. I sighed as I realized this, which only caused her to break out in laughter. "Ah you're adorable, John." She wiped her eyes, "But thank you, I do appreciate the assistance." Karen's smile was more sincere now, and I felt that I didn't mind being teased if this was my reward. We devolved into happily talking about more mundane topics as we travelled slowly to Hoenn. If this had been a proper diplomatic trip, I would have spent time tidying up my appearance and being lectured by the League officials to not embarrass Indigo and to maintain proper decorum. However, since the whole reason for the trip was to side-line me anyways and they decided to send me there alone, I decided not to worry about it. I was mostly done being annoyed, so I might as well just enjoy my time there. Who knows, maybe I'll meet some new people and get to make new discoveries? Maybe I'll find some way of getting back at Pryce while I'm there? Or, more importantly, maybe I'll be able to spend more time around Karen. As I was a teenager again, I couldn't help but think that the last point was the most important. We talked for many hours before she eventually got hungry again and decided to head down to the canteen to grab more food. I was feeling pretty tired myself, and not wanting to head down to my room again, I just decided to take a quick nap on the chair. I told myself that it was just a quick nap, and that Karen would bound to wake me up soon. Sadly, I ended up sleeping until we arrived at Hoenn. The New Normal – 2-1 – Arriving at Hoenn As I woke myself from my nap and realized that we had arrived at Hoenn, I looked around and saw Karen had also chosen to take a nap. I forced myself not to ogle her as I woke her up and, ignoring her mumbles of protest, told her that I would come back up with my luggage and we would head down together. I didn't wait for a response as I left the room. I returned shortly after a few minutes and already saw that Karen had woken up AND tidied up her appearance. It took me by surprise to see how someone so seemingly lazy and disorganized could also make herself look so put together. Of course, I didn't voice these thoughts aloud, I wasn't stupid. As we left the ship and stepped into Ever Grande City, the place where the Hoenn League was based, I was unsurprisingly not greeted by anyone. In fact, I wasn't even sure if the Indigo League had even properly informed Hoenn of my arrival. I could see that Karen was confused and annoyed at the lack of ceremony, but I patted her on the shoulder to reassure her and said more calmly than I felt, "Hey, it's ok. I expected this." "How are you okay with this?" Karen hissed, "How could they not say anything about the arrival of their own Elite Four?!" "Karen, it's okay. I'll be fine." I tried to tell her, "How about this, why don't you walk around Ever Grande City for a bit and enjoy the sights. I'll just pop into the Hoenn League for a bit and see what's going on. I'll let you know when I'm done." I said with a fake smile. Karen was evidently still unhappy about me being snubbed, but she left it with a sniff and walked away. I watched until I was sure she couldn't see me before my smile dropped and was replaced with a frown. Although I promised myself that I wouldn't be affected by it, I still felt my anger rising deep within my heart. I had to force myself to calm down before I ended up saying or doing something that would have caused a diplomatic incident, causing me to get kicked off the Elite Four. I wouldn't give Pryce or his sycophants the pleasure of seeing me kicked out. No, I'll pay them back soon enough. Apparently, I didn't reign in my emotions tight enough as I could feel Tyrant's Pokéball shaking in response to my vows of vengeance. Tyrant was always my most loyal supporter, and I cheered up at his unwavering support. Patting his Pokéball, I made my way into the Hoenn League feeling much calmer. I was going to see if I could talk to some Hoenn League official and figure out what I could do here. But as I walked through its grand entrance hall, I noticed the sheer amount of people walking about and I was almost overwhelmed with the thought of trying to ask for assistance. "OI! It's John, right?!" I was startled by someone shouting my name, and I turned towards the direction of the voice as I saw an old, grizzled, man in a sailor outfit sitting down on one of the sofa chairs. I immediately recognized him. "Yes, and it's Drake of the Elite Four, right?" I asked as I approached him. He nodded back and we both shook hands. "Aye, it's great to meet you lad. Heard about your progress and your victory in the Indigo League. Great stuff at your age. You've done well." Drake complimented, and I tried not to blush too hard at that. It was nice to actually be recognised for my hard work, though. "Thank you, Drake. I've also heard much of your own achievements. I wish I could have sailed the world as you did, it would've been so cool to explore and see all those new Pokémon." I praised back honestly and respectfully. Aside from his personal strength as a Dragon specialist, Drake was well-known for his numerous voyages around the world to many unexplored regions. From my own meta-knowledge, I believed he had managed to explore both Sinnoh and Unova, as well as all the currently discovered regions. "Aye, it was." Drake responded, "But I wasn't allowed to catch any of them or bring them back. Stupid politicians didn't want me to cause a fuss. Said that it might be 'illegal kidnapping of Pokémon'. Bah!" Drake loudly snorted with a shake of his head. "Anyways, I heard about why you're here." Drake continued, "I know that you've been sent here to be moved out of the way so you can't disturb the politicians while they're busy kissing their own arses. I can tell you that they told us that you were coming here on holiday, nothing more." I fumed at that and was about to correct him out of frustration before Drake raised a palm. "Yes, I figured it was a whole crock of shit." Drake sighed, "I believed that they hoped that we would ignore you and that you would make a fool of yourself when no one was there to greet you. I didn't want that to happen, so I looked up your ship's schedule and waited for you here for when you arrived. Sorry that the others aren't here, Champion Wallace is busy with his contests as usual, and the other Elite Four members didn't realize that you weren't coming here on holiday." Drake said with surprising sincerity that took me aback. "Oh, um, thank you, Elite Drake." I bumbled out, "What made you stay here and wait for me?" "Hah! As if you needed to ask!" Drake laughed, "Who wouldn't want to meet the youngest Elite Four ever seen?!" Drake said that so loudly that I was sure that everyone in the entrance hall heard it. Sure enough, I suddenly felt many pairs of eyes staring right at me. "Not only that, but I've seen your team, they're damn strong!" Drake continued, ignoring the stares and my embarrassment, "I'd be honoured to battle them one day!" Fortunately, my embarrassment was drowned out by the sea of people that finally realized who I was and swarmed me like Beedrills. They overwhelmed me with requests for autographs or interviews and I struggled to maintain my composure. They kept trying to push microphones into my face or pens into my hands so that I could sign something. "ALRIGHT THAT'S ENOUGH!" Drake shouted out as he shot up, suddenly looming over everyone with his over 6 feet stature, "GIVE THE NEW ELITE Four SOME SPACE YOU FUCKS! HAVE YOU NO SHAME?!" To compound his point, Drake sent out his Flygon who roared loudly at the ceiling, terrifying the crowd, and causing most to disperse. One braver individual decided to remain though as she yelled at Drake, "Who are you to tell us to leave?! We have the right to demand an autograph!" Drake gave her a furious look, "Well I have the right to tell you to FUCK OFF!" Flygon swooped in front of the complaining lady and reinforced Drake's statement by screeching in her face, causing what remains of her bravery to leave her as she promptly made her way out. "Ahhh, peace and quiet." Drake sighed contentedly while returning Flygon, as if he didn't just threaten multiple people with a fully evolved Pokémon just moments ago. He looked back towards me and patted me on the shoulder, "You okay there, lad? Sorry about the people. Price of fame, I'm afraid." "No, no, I'm okay." I said awkwardly, still a bit shocked at what just happened, "Um, thanks for helping." "No worries lad, I was annoyed with them anyways." Drake smiled, before snapping his fingers, "Right, just remembered that I wanted to get you a Flying License for Hoenn. Let me ask someone to get one for you." He walked over to the receptionist, who somehow didn't flee or looked shocked at all from Drake's Flygon like everyone else was and asked them to approve a Flying License for me. Perhaps they were already used to Drake's outbursts? I regained my wits in time and remembered that I was travelling with Karen, and I shamelessly asked if I could get another one for Karen too. Drake nodded and changed his request. "Here you go, lad." Drake returned shortly with two approved Flying Licenses, "Now you can freely explore Hoenn. Maybe you can catch some new Normal types to add to your team, eh?" Drake slapped me encouragingly on the back that nearly knocked me over. I regained my balance before I smiled gratefully back at Drake, "Thank you very much for this Elite Drake." I used his formal title, "I thought my 'mission' to Hoenn would have gone far worse than this. Thank you for your aid." I bowed to Drake, who shrugged awkwardly. "No need for that lad, when I knew you were being screwed over, I couldn't not try to help." Drake scratched his head in slight embarrassment, "I would have hated it if a talented trainer like you got kicked off of the Elite Four because of politics." He spat the last word out if it was a curse. Drake coughed and decided to change the topic, "Anyways, why don't you use your new Flying License to check out some of Hoenn's gyms? We have a new Normal Type gym at Petalburg, run by Norman, I think. Maybe you can check it out for yourself." I nodded at that, it seemed like a great idea and would give me something to do with my time. Plus, I could argue that visiting gyms was in line with my 'diplomatic mission', so the Indigo League couldn't blame me for ignoring orders. I said as much to Drake, who simply laughed and nodded at my thinking. We exchanged contact numbers, though I had to help Drake as he couldn't really figure out how to use his 'new-fangled communication thingy', before we parted ways. Before I left though, Drake told me that the Hoenn League might have something to discuss with me later, so be on the lookout for that. I accepted his warning, and I thanked him once again before leaving the building and texting Karen that I was done and to meet up at the docks where we arrived. Remarkably, I still had not received a phone call from the Indigo League inquiring about my arrival and status. I quickly met up with Karen at the docks, who was leaning over the fence like she was in Olivine, where she turned and greeted me with an expectant look on her face. "Well, how'd it go?" Karen demanded, "I heard some shouting, was everything okay?" Her concern towards me caused me to smile, and I assured her with a shake of my head. "Everything's fine." I comforted, "In fact, everything is better than fine." "What happened?" Karen asked with a puzzled frown. I joined her in leaning over the fence as I explained to her my meeting with Drake and what had happened. I told her about how surprisingly friendly Drake was to me and how he helped with the sudden onslaught of people. As I was speaking, I remembered that Drake had gotten us both Flying Licenses and passed the one that had her name listed to her. "Thanks." She said with a bit of surprise as she listened to my recounting, "I guess things went well then." "Yes, it did." I smiled as we both took in the seaside view from Ever Grande City. We enjoyed ourselves for a few minutes before Karen broke the silence. "So, what are you planning on doing now?" She asked while still admiring the view. "Well, Drake did tell me to visit the Hoenn Gyms. I might take him up on that and visit the Normal Gym at Petalburg. It just seems appropriate." I thought aloud. Also, I couldn't help but want to show off the strength of my Pokémon in Hoenn. Of course, not to the point of being a braggart, but just enough to demonstrate why I deserved to be in the Elite Four. I didn't want people forgetting that I earned the position DESPITE my youth, after all. Karen hummed thoughtfully at that before she said, "Hmm, that's a good idea actually. I came to Hoenn to catch new Dark types and heading to Petalburg might be good for that. I might also consider battling the Hoenn Gyms as well while I'm here. Wait a minute." Karen grabbed her phone out from her pocket and started browsing the Pokénet. I shamelessly looked over her shoulder to see what she was searching for. "Oh! It's perfect! Look, John!" She dragged my head down and gestured towards her screen, "You can catch Corphish in Petalburg and they evolve into the Dark/Water Crawdaunt! That's what I wanted!" Karen exclaimed excitedly before realizing that she had my head resting on her shoulder. She blushed slightly as I moved my head off of her with a grin. She tried to respond with a grin of her own, but she realized it was awkward and stiff, so she turned away and coughed lightly before putting her phone away. "A-Anyways, you could go challenge Norman while you're there and I can try to catch my Corphish. It's late in the season too so there'll probably be fewer trainers there too." She stated somewhat embarrassingly. Not wanting to tease her any longer, I simply nodded at that and summoned Port on the edge of the docks and began saddling myself up. Meanwhile, Karen released her Honchkrow and did the same. As I waited for her to saddle up, I inspected Karen's Honchkrow. I noticed that it was far more muscular than its wild counterparts, and its eyes shined with intelligence and experience. Without a doubt, this was an Elite level Pokémon. Karen noticed my inspection as she gave me a questioning look. I merely gave her a thumbs up as I gestured to Honchkrow, which Karen laughed at. Port was significantly faster at flying long distances due to him being a specialized transport Pokémon, so I allowed Karen to fly first so that I could match her speed. We were both amazed at the sight of Hoenn from above, which was only slightly marred by the ever-present volcanic fumes spouting out of Mt. Chimney. The minutes flew by as we admired the view of Hoenn from our mounts. We descended as we saw the vast forest of green that was Petalburg Forest. We circled around for a bit before landing on the outskirts of Petalburg City, near the beach. Conveniently enough, there was a Karp and Chips stand right next to where we landed, and we quickly bought a set and drink each and scarfed it down before we headed into Petalburg City. We headed to the Petalburg City Gym and luckily it wasn't too busy at the moment, probably due to it being late in the season. We walked inside the dojo-like Gym which seemed brand new, I guess that Norman had just finished getting it redecorated after taking up the new position as the new Gym Leader. I probably should've researched more into the history of Norman and his Gym before coming here, but it was too late now. We approached the brown-haired receptionist and asked if Norman was available. "I'm sorry," she said politely, "I'm afraid that Gym Leader Norman's currently battling a few trainers that had reserved a Gym Challenge against him. Maybe I could spare him a message?" "That's okay, we're in no rush." I said lightly, "But could you let him know that John Smith from the Kanto Elite Four is here to see him?" Her eyes shot up in surprise as I said that, "It's nothing serious, I just wanted to talk to a fellow Normal Type specialist." I reassured her. "Oh my." The receptionist said in shock, taking a moment to recover, "Of course, yes, I'm sure my husb- I mean the Gym Leader would be happy to see you! I'll let him know right away. Could I have your contact details?" I gave her my phone number and she quickly scribbled it down before rushing into the battle stadium. Karen and I shared an exasperated shrug before we walked out of the Gym. "So, what now?" Karen asked, looking around the streets of Petalburg as if she was finding something to do. "You said you wanted to catch a Corphish here, right?" I confirmed as she nodded, "Then let's get started on it now, surely it couldn't be that hard." As soon as I said that I winced, I should know better than to tempt fate. Fortunately, Karen seemed unaware of my challenge to fate, and we walked together back to the beaches, where we assumed would have Corphish. I asked her if she wanted to buy a Good Rod so that she could fish out a Corphish, but she shook her head. "Why waste money on a Good Rod when I can just ask your Mantine to catch me one?" She said shamelessly. I had to admire the audacity of that statement but admitted that it was a good point. It was literally the reason I decided to catch a Mantine, after all, for my surfing and underwater diving needs. So, I released Port onto the beach and instructed it to go and find a Corphish for Karen. This was probably illegal, but I was a member of the Elite Four and what's the point of power if you can't abuse it for your own convenience? "This is nice," Karen suddenly stated, "sitting on the beach like this, on your own adventure in a foreign land, it's very relaxing." I nodded in agreement, Hoenn really was a beautiful place if you enjoyed the sea. Too much water my ass. "Shame that I couldn't get changed into more beach-appropriate clothes." Karen said with false nonchalance, "I think I would look good in them, don't you think so, John?" I choked as I heard that, and she leaned over at me with a fake look of seriousness on her face. I summoned whatever dense anime protagonist power that I had within me to not blush, and I managed to eek out a "Yes, you're right." Judging by the smirk Karen gave me, I think I failed to stop my blush. Still, her putting that image of her in beachwear in my head was a good trade. I blamed puberty for this. My puberty-addled thoughts were interrupted by a cry of "Mantine! Mantine!" as Port leaped up from the sea and briefly soared through the air before he landed carefully on the beach, making sure not to splash us with any sand or water. I noticed an additional orange figure that had amusingly hitched a ride on Port's back. Without prompting, Port gestured to the Corphish and explained how and what happened. Apparently, Port was trying to find a Corphish that would voluntarily go with him, and this Corphish only consented if it was allowed to ride on Port's back and experience flying through the air. Looking back at Karen, I noticed that she had pounced on the Corphish like a Persian on a Rattata. She gazed at it with an intense look in its eyes, but to Corphish's credit, it, no, he wasn't scared off. Instead, they both seemed to have entered a stare off with each other. Karen broke first as she a smile formed on her face and she kneeled down and patted Corphish's head, which Corphish snapped his claws happily at. Karen didn't catch him right away, but rather chose to play around with him as she released her Sneasel, and they both play fought with each other, with Sneasel obviously holding himself back significantly as to not overwhelm Corphish. Seeing this, I thought that Karen was trying to 'advertise' the benefits of joining her team by showing off her Pokémon, which I felt was a smart idea. I watched the two Pokémon play around for a bit, before Port decided that he wanted to join in. Surprisingly, Port offered himself as a moving platform for the other two to spar on, and before long Karen and I shared a laugh as we watched the other two cautiously sparring while Port flew around slowly in the air. The two were sparring much more carefully as they tried to not fall off. Sadly, my entertainment was cut short by the sound of my phone ringing, but my annoyance faded when I saw that it was Norman that was calling. I informed Karen about Norman's call before picking up, "Hello, John speaking." "Hello, Elite John. I am Gym Leader Norman of the Petalburg Gym. You said you wanted to speak to me?" He introduced politely, with a much younger voice than I was expecting. "Yes, well actually I just wanted to meet you and discuss things as a fellow Normal type specialist. I've been sent to Hoenn by my Champion and Drake of your Elite Four suggested that I come here." I answered. "That would be great!" He responded excitedly, "Hmhm, I mean, yes I would like to meet you too." I held back a giggle at his attempt to put on a serious tone, "Please come to the Gym. I'll be glad to meet you there." "Sure, thank you. I'm coming over with my friend now." I snapped my fingers at Karen and gestured that I was leaving for the Gym. Karen nodded at that before she waved at our Pokémon to return. I watched as Port landed and deposited his two passengers back onto the beach and Karen kneeled down next to the Corphish before raising a Pokéball in her hand. "Corphish. Do you want to join my team?" Karen asked, and I could detect a hint of nervousness in her voice that she was trying to hide. "Corphish! Corphish, Corphish." Corphish nodded affirmatively, before reaching over with his claws and capturing himself with the Pokéball. Karen and her Sneasel both cheered at that and gave each other small high-fives. She then released Corphish briefly to pet it on the head and give him a high-five on his claws too before withdrawing him again. Humming happily, she turned and withdrew her Sneasel as well before skipping towards the Gym. She didn't even bother to wait for me! I gave out a sigh of fond exasperation before I returned Port and chased after Karen to the Gym. I was excited to meet Norman, and I was especially excited at the prospect of battling him.

Chapter 3

A New Normal – 2-2 – A Normal Battle We arrived at the Gym and were promptly greeted by Gym Leader Norman. At first glance, I noticed that he was much younger than his in-game counterpart and he lacked his stern and stoic expression that he was known for. He also wasn't balding and still had a full head of hair, which I found quite amusing. Instead, Norman's eyes were shifting around, and his posture seemed a little too forced. I saved him from any potential embarrassment by ignoring his nervousness and shook his hand, "Nice to meet you, Gym Leader Norman." I greeted and gestured towards Karen, "This is Karen, my friend and travelling companion. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to humour me." "Not a problem, Elite John." Norman said back with a mixture of nervousness and excitement, "It's an honour to meet you as a fellow Normal type specialist." I could tell that he was trying to conceal his nerves by forcing himself to act formally and stoically, with mixed success. "Agreed, it would be nice to compare our teams." I nodded, before deciding to cut to the chase, "How about we battle each other if you have the time? A 3v3 fight, no stakes. I think a battle would be better than any conversation." I asked with an excited gleam in my eyes. "Oh! Um, sure-I mean, yes, of course. I would be honoured to have a battle against you." Norman stuttered out before regaining his composure, "I will make the announcement now and have the arena cleared out in preparation." I nodded and Norman dashed off to finish the preparations. I absentmindedly fiddled with my Pokéballs as I waited in anticipation; it's been only a few days since my last proper Pokémon battle, and yet I couldn't help but feel excited. More importantly, it was a chance for Tyrant to challenge another Slaking. Throughout my journey through Kanto and Johto, we had never encountered a Slaking that was at the Elite level. That was likely due to the fact that it was a Hoenn Pokémon, and also because of how unpopular it was due to how difficult it is to overcome Slaking's inherent laziness to make it an effective fighter. Admittedly, if this was a proper match that had stakes in it, I would have researched all of Norman's Pokémon and his fighting styles instead of going into the fight blindly like I am right now. But I was confident that my Pokémon were well-trained enough that could handle anything that Norman threw at them. I thought about the differences between the games and the Pokémon world. For one thing, there were no such thing as held items. The use of berries and such were only allowed post-battle. Also, while abilities did exist, it needed to be trained up. Consequently, that meant that a Pokémon's ability could become far stronger or weaker than they were in the game, but it also allowed Pokémon to sometimes develop new abilities that weren't available in the games. Therefore, the tactics and strategies that worked for the games often didn't work in the Pokémon world. I was too distracted in my thoughts that I failed to notice that Norman had called out to me telling me that the arena was ready. Karen, seeing my lack of response, elbowed me in the side and pushed me forwards towards the arena, which caused me to stumble but it brought me back from my thoughts. With renewed focus, I kept a lid on my excitement as I followed Norman into the arena. I immediately noticed that there was a sizeable audience sitting at the sides of the arena. I guess these were the audience members from Norman's previous battles that took place today. Without prompting, Karen gave me a quick "good luck." and separated from me and made her way to join the other audience members, who were all chattering excitedly as some recognised who I was. I turned back to see that Norman had taken his place on his side of the arena on the elevated platform, so I copied him and did the same. At this distance, I couldn't make out Norman's exact expressions, but I could instinctively tell that he was as excited as I am for this battle. You couldn't call yourself a serious Pokémon trainer if your blood didn't get pumping at the prospect of a good battle. In the end, we were all battle junkies. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to this very surprising match between Gym Leader Norman and John of the Indigo Elite Four!" A loud voice yelled out with a microphone, eliciting many cheers and screams from the audience. "This will be a 3v3 battle! Each trainer is allowed 1 switch!" I was a bit surprised at the showboating, considering how solemn and serious the in-game Petalburg Gym felt, but I suppose that this was supposed to be an impromptu show-match anyways, so some degree of hype was to be expected. "Trainers, are you ready?!" Norman and I both nodded and we released our Pokémon simultaneously. The announcer paused dramatically for a moment before saying "BEGIN!" "Go! Smough!" "Come, Linoone!" Linoone landed onto the arena with a graceful huff that heavily contrasted with the loud boom coming from Smough's entrance. The sheer size and weight difference between the two Pokémon immediately informed any reasonable viewer that Linoone had to keep its distance from Smough in order to win. There could not be a contest of strength. "Linoone, dash backwards and set up a Belly Drum!" Norman evidently thought the same, as Linoone rapidly pedalled backwards as it then began to set up his Belly Drum. "Smough, disrupt it with an Earthquake!" Smough roared and the arena started shaking heavily and cracks were appearing throughout the arena. Linoone cried out in pain, but it clearly showed its training as it held its balance and maintained the Belly Drum despite the damage it was taking from the Earthquake. Seeing that the Earthquake was unable to break Linoone's Belly Drum, I kept up the offensive. "Smough! Hyper Beam! Don't let it finish!" Smough instantly fired off a powerful beam of energy that shot towards Linoone almost without any charge-up time, but Linoone had managed to finish its Belly Drum and dived out of the way, causing the Hyper Beam to only land a glancing blow. The remaining beam of energy continued and tore out huge gashes in the arena as it melted through the ground. Still, a glancing blow from Smough's devastating Hyper Beam still did noticeable damage to Linoone, as even the heat that was emitted from the Hyper Beam was intense enough to cause Linoone's fur to briefly catch fire from where the beam had glanced off Linoone. I saw it stumble slightly to put out the fire as it recovered from its hasty dive. "Now, Linoone! While it's vulnerable, Extreme Speed! Full Power!" Despite its injuries, Linoone pushed through the pain as it began glowing with a white light as it rapidly picked up speed and charged at Smough with all the force that it could muster. Now, if this was the games, then Smough would be forced to recharge from his Hyper Beam and promptly be knocked out by a Belly Drum boosted Extreme Speed from Linoone. Likewise, even in the Pokémon world, most Elite trainers would still expect a Pokémon to have to be tired after firing off a Hyper Beam and thus would be vulnerable to attack. Therefore, it was reasonable for any trainer to expect the same for my Smough, and Norman believed no different. In his eyes, the moment my Hyper Beam failed to interrupt Linoone's Belly Drum and knock it out meant that Linoone's victory was secured. No ordinary Snorlax could withstand the incoming boosted Extreme Speed from a trained Linoone. Except Smough wasn't an ordinary Snorlax. "GRAB IT SMOUGH!" To everyone's surprise but mine, Smough stood tall and barely stumbled backwards as he tanked Linoone's Extreme Speed with an audible groan. Before Linoone could respond to Smough's unexpected endurance, one of Smough's arms swooped in from above and latched onto Linoone's much smaller body in a tight grip. The audience gasped and shouted as, without pause, Smough then slammed Linoone powerfully into the ground repeatedly; each impact from Smough causing the ground to shake briefly and for loose rocks to be shot into the air. "Hammer Arm, Smough!" I ordered, taking full advantage of the trap that I had set and Norman's inaction and shock to continue the offensive. Smough let go of Linoone and clasped his hands together before he smashed them into Linoone with such strength that it cracked a hole into the arena that Linoone fell into with a howl of pain. "Linoone! Protect! And Quick Attack to get away from there!" Norman recovered from his shock and tried to separate Linoone from Smough. Linoone painfully scrambled away with a short burst of speed from the hole that it was in and threw up a Protect as it tried to create some distance. "Don't let it go! Body Slam!" Smough rushed at and shouldered through the hastily made Protect, shattering it and failing to reduce his momentum, before crashing into Linoone. The sheer weight and strength difference between the two caused Linoone to be punted across the arena, screeching painfully as it slid across the ground involuntarily, leaving large trails behind in the arena. It was undoubtedly knocked out. Smough's victory was greeted with shocked silence from the audience. The quick battle just now possessed none of the fancy manoeuvring that was commonly seen in Elite level fights. There were no fancy tricks, no surprise moves, no narrow dodges. It was just a pure, simple beatdown that made use of Smough's inherent strength and bulkiness to overwhelm and pummel Linoone. At such close range and being trapped in Smough's vice-like grip, it couldn't make use of its nimble and agile dodges that it was so well known for. As I thought at the beginning, the moment Linoone got in range of Smough, the battle was over. "Return, Linoone. Good job out there." Norman mumbled out, which broke the audience from their collective stupor as they screamed out their cheers. It may have been an unusual fighting style, but the audience didn't care so long as it looked cool. And it did. "Linoone is unable to battle!" The referee finally announced, "The Gym Leader has thirty seconds to send out his next Pokémon!" I noticed that Norman was staring at Smough thoughtfully before sending out his next Pokémon. "Go! Swellow!" Swellow emerged with a loud cry and landed on the arena accompanied by a gust of wind. I stared at Swellow with a concerned look. Nomran clearly learned his lesson from Smough's earlier showing by choosing to use Swellow. I knew Smough was injured from Linoone's attack, and I also knew that Swellow could easily keep its distance and continue hitting Smough with a mixture of long range and hit-and-run attacks that would eventually wear him down. I needed to find a way to ground Swellow so that Smough could get close enough to knock it out. Like it was with Linoone, if Smough got into grabbing range of Swellow, the battle was over. "Trainers! Are you ready?!" I shook myself out of my thoughts as I nodded with Norman. "BEGIN!" "Swellow, take to the skies! Keep your distance!" Swellow immediately swooped into the sky and stayed far out of reach of Smough. "Smough! Slack off and Amnesia!" Knowing that this might be a much longer battle of attrition, I decided to allow Smough to recover his health and bolster its defences. I watched as Smough seemingly slumped over as he rested and restored his health, seemingly unaware of his surroundings. But I had trained all my Pokémon to remain alert during their recovery moves so that they could instantly counterattack if an opposing Pokémon tried to attack them while they were vulnerable. I was hoping that Swellow would take the bait and try to hit Smough with a Brave Bird, but it didn't fall for the trap. "Swellow, Hurricane!" Swellow flapped her wings as the wings started to swirl around it, eventually forming a large tornado that quickly shot forward and devoured Smough within it. I briefly saw Smough getting battered and cut up by the howling winds before I lost sight of him within the tornado. Although I could barely see Smough or hear anything in general due to the dust and rocks that the tornado kicked up and surrounded itself with, I shouted out my order hoping that Smough could still hear it. "Disperse it and convert it into a sandstorm!" I think I made out Smough's roar of agreement through the howling wind as I noticed that the tornado was slowly dissipating and being converted into a general sandstorm that covered the entire arena. "Swellow! Air Slash while it's busy!" Taking advantage of Smough's momentary distraction as he focused on creating a sandstorm, Swellow fired multiple blades of air that gouged painfully into Smough. Smough gave off a groan of pain as he tanked the hits to finish dispersing the tornado and creating a sandstorm. "Now! Smough, Rock Slide!" Making use of the abundant rocks that were now being carried around the battlefield by the sandstorm, Smough manipulated the rocks and shot them towards Swellow. "Dodge them, Swellow and keep Air Slashing!" Showing off its aerial prowess, Swellow managed to dive, swerve, and veer past all of the incoming rocks while continuously firing Air Slashes between its dodges. I grimaced as I watched Swellow's display of skill. I knew that Smough wasn't the most talented at manipulating rocks, Vordt was far more skilled at that, and this weakness meant that Smough's ability to knock down aerial targets was poor. I had hoped that the sandstorm would force Swellow to fly slower to adapt to the unfriendly weather, but Norman had evidently trained Swellow to maintain its ability to dodge even from within the sandstorm. I was tempted to switch out to Vordt, but I realized that I wanted this match to show the world my abilities as a trainer. Withdrawing Smough could imply that my team had weaknesses, and it might be construed as me being undeserving of my new title. It was probably just paranoia, but I wanted to be stubborn and not withdraw Smough. I wanted this match to be perfect. Thus, the battle entered into a stalemate, with both sides seeing who would trip up first. If Smough could land a good hit with his Rock Slide that caused Swellow to fall out of the sky momentarily, then Smough would win. If Swellow could maintain its dodges and wear down Smough with its Air Slashes, then it would win. Luckily, I had a trick up my sleeve. "Smough, Yawn!" Smough stopped firing rocks as he let out a gaping Yawn. Swellow had been laser-focused on Smough in order to dodge the incoming rocks, so it couldn't tear its' gaze away in time to avoid the Yawn. Swellow's eyes began drooping as it was overwhelmed with a need to sleep, and it was dropping steadily out of the air as it began to fell asleep. "No! Keep yourself awake with a Boomburst, Swellow!" Norman quickly ordered with a panicked look in his eyes. "Smough, Protect!" Swellow forced itself to stay awake as it let out a piercingly loud screech, waking it up and firing out sound waves that were so powerful that it actually managed to create tears in grounds of the arena as it blasted against Smough's hastily erected shields and also caused the arena's psychic shields to flicker dangerously. Fortunately, the psychic shields held on, and the sound waves were dampened so that the Boomburst wouldn't destroy and likely cause permanent damage to the crowd's ears. While the Boomburst did manage to negate the effect of Smough's Yawn, Swellow had already lost a lot of altitude from its earlier Yawn-induced descent. In fact, Swellow was currently only a few meters off the ground, which was something that both trainers noticed. "Swellow, fly higher! Make some distance!" Norman quickly commanded with noticeable alarm. "Smough, Shock Wave! Stun it!" Smough stomped and discharged a wave of electricity that zapped Swellow as it tried to take off into the air again. Strictly speaking, the electricity that Smough emitted was far weaker than attacks coming from most electric types, but it was sufficient in making sure that Swellow couldn't take flight. Norman saw that Swellow wasn't able to fly up quick enough to avoid Smough's inevitable follow-up, so he changed tactics. "Boomburst again!" Swellow again let out a penetrating screech, the sound waves this time impacting Smough directly as he was too close to dodge or block them. Smough was blasted backwards to the edge of the arena and let out a groan of pain as his feet slid backwards from the force of the attack. "Swellow, Brave Bird! Hit and run!" Swellow squawked loudly as it did an aerial somersault to pick up momentum as it also started to become surrounded with silvery energy. It rapidly sped up and fell in a dive towards Smough as its surrounding silver energy was radiating with so much brightness that it was nearly blinding to look at. Time seemed to slow as I quickly dived into my thoughts to analyse my next move. Smough was already hurt from all of Swellow's earlier attacks, though due to the Amnesia he probably wasn't as injured as Norman was expecting, but I wasn't confident that Smough could endure a Brave Bird right after taking a Boomburst. Similarly, I couldn't just order an Iron Defence to bolster Smough's defence, because Swellow would simply use the momentum of the attack to fly into the air again and remain out of reach of Smough's attacks. Well, if playing defensive was no longer an option, then it made my next command very simple. "Smough, Giga Impact. End it." Smough gave out a bellowing roar and rapidly broke out into a sprint as his own bright orange glow started to form and spread from within him. Smough's charge was rapidly picking up speed as he continued towards the incoming Swellow, now completely surrounded with his own bright orange glow that transformed into a purple orb with streaks of orange. Norman's eyes widened in alarm as if he wasn't expecting this course of action, but there was no stepping back now. Both Pokémon were far too committed in their attacks to stop. Without any more commands that either trainer could give, we watched in solemn silence as we watched our Pokémon advance closer to each other. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the psychic shields were being reinforced in preparation. And I could feel my heart beating out of my chest in controlled anticipation as I braced myself with the railings as the two got closer. And closer. And suddenly I was nearly knocked over as a wave of force crashed into me and I had to grip tightly onto the railings to avoid getting blown back by the resulting cascade of energy. All I could hear was the ringing in my ears as my platform was engulfed by a wave of dust as they continued to spill outwards. I forced myself to keep my eyes open and remain focused on the impact. Apparently, the resulting boom from their collision caused waves of dust and energy to explode out from the point of impact. The psychic shields around the arena that had been reinforced flickered rapidly as they barely withstood the resulting impact and the blast of energy. Members of the crowd, especially those of a younger age, were knocked over as the psychic shields failed to fully dampen the outward blast of force from the collision. A part of me wanted to look over at the audience and check to make sure if everyone was okay, but the competitive part of me kept my eyes locked on to the slowly dissipating smoke cloud that marked the impact point between our two Pokémon. I wanted, no needed to know who had won. Cold-hearted as it may seem, but I owed it to Smough to not be distracted and be ready to give commands to finish the battle if necessary. Besides, I told myself that I didn't know if I could do anything to help anyone that was injured anyways. A traitorous image of Karen's face appeared in my mind briefly before I dismissed it as I remained focused on the arena. The dust slowly scattered to reveal the damage to the arena, and I saw that there were numerous cracks that seemed to spread out from their point of collision. The immediate area where they collided was completely ruined, and all that remains was a giant hole that exposed the structural foundations of the arena that was still filled with dust. Eventually, the remaining dust cleared to reveal a very badly injured Smough standing victoriously over a knocked over Swellow. When I saw him, I gave out a loud cheer and Smough responded by weakly raising his arms and letting out a roar that almost managed to disguise his very damaged state. "SNORLAXXXX! SNORLAXX!" I watched as Smough continued roaring out victoriously, but I quickly noticed that he was wobbling uncertainly from his injuries that he tried to power through as he awaited the announcer's call. "Swellow is unable to battle!" the referee declared as they recovered from the explosion and saw Swellow's fainted expression. Not wanting for Smough to feel embarrassed by fainting in front of the audience, I quickly withdrew him and informed the referee that I was retiring Smough from the match, which he announced. Norman withdrew his Swellow with a grimace, and he signalled to the other gym trainers to fix up the gym, as it was too damaged to be used for our last battle. As the arena was being fixed, he left his platform and walked up to where I was standing, gesturing with his eyes that he wanted to talk. Seeing this, I got down from my platform and waited for him. I heard the crowd muttering to each other as we approached each other. As he got close enough, he began to speak. "I wasn't expecting that." He admitted, "I thought you would have tried to make use of your Snorlax's bulk to withstand the attack before following up with a counterattack like you did with my Linoone." "You're right. It was my first instinct." I confessed, "But I realized that, with your Swellow's momentum, it would have been really hard for Smough to pin your Swellow down like I did with your Linoone. If that had failed, then you would be free to take to the skies again and continue your long-ranged attacks. Thus, I had to go on the offensive." I explained. "I see, so it wasn't actually a calculated gamble." Norman thought aloud, "But rather it was your only sensible option left in this scenario." Norman shook his head as he finished his own explanation. I remained silent as I allowed Norman to figure out his own thoughts. After a moment to think, Norman turned his attention back to me and asked. "For our final battle, would you mind if we went Slaking vs Slaking?" "Sure, that was what I was hoping for too." I said excitedly, "I've been looking forward to facing your Slaking. I wanted to see how Tyrant matches up." "Ah, well, please take it easy on me." Norman spoke uncharacteristically nervously, "I'm sure my Slaking isn't as strong as yours." "No promises," I joked, before turning serious as I saw Norman remained nervous, he really lacked his in-game stoicism. "Norman, take a deep breath and regain your calm. If you are nervous when it comes to a battle, your Pokémon will be negatively affected by that. You owe it to your Pokémon to stay calm and direct them as best you can." It was weird giving advice to someone who was nearly twice my age, especially since that person was Norman, but I instinctively maintained a mentoring tone as I tried to reassure Norman. I blame Whitney for developing my mentoring instincts. I watched as Norman took a deep breath and exhaling. After repeating this a few times, he looked back at me. "Thank you, Elite John. You're right of course, I owe it to my Pokémon to be the best that I can." He sighed and shook his head, but had a smile on his face, "I still have a lot to learn as a trainer and as a Gym Leader." "Don't worry Norman, I'm sure you'll be able to get it in the future." And I knew that because canon Norman was stoic and always appeared calm. One of the Gym Trainers approached the two of us to inform us that the arena had been fixed and that we may continue our battle. We both nodded at that, and I gave Norman a thumbs up before we separated and returned to our platforms. As I stood on my platform while fiddling with Tyrant's Pokéball, I put my recent conversation with Norman in the back of my mind. I did want to discuss things further with him later, but now wasn't the time for it. I felt my heart pumping eagerly in my chest again. It was time for Tyrant to battle. The New Normal – 2-3 – Tyrant "Trainers, are you ready?!" The referee announced once more, receiving nods from both trainers. My grip unconsciously tightened around Tyrant's Pokéball as I prepared to release him. This was it. I would show Hoenn just exactly how I earned my title. Tyrant will show them all. I barely even heard the "Begin!" as I reflexively threw Tyrant's Pokéball, releasing him onto the arena. "SLAKINGGGG!!!" Tyrant powerfully let out a roar out to the ceiling that managed to shake the very foundations of the Gym as he made his grand entrance, causing the psychic shields to flicker slightly from the power of Tyrant's roar. His scarred body landing onto the arena on all fours with an audible crack as the newly repaired arena fractured slightly at his weight and power. All eyes were on him as his presence radiated with such strength of presence that he caused lesser Pokémon to cower in fear. Tyrant was certainly living up to his name. In comparison, Norman's Slaking was a fine specimen of his species too, and definitely was well-trained by maintaining an alert and non-lazy posture. If it was not currently facing my Tyrant, it would definitely have made an impressive sight on its own, easily worthy of being a Gym Leader's Ace. However, when compared to Tyrant, it was noticeably smaller, its muscles were less defined, and it still had a hint of laziness that it failed to shrug off. Unlike the games, where Slaking was severely hampered by its Truant ability, the Pokémon world's version of Slaking was similarly hampered by its inherent laziness that could cause it to ignore its trainer's orders and laze around. If this happened in a serious battle, the results were catastrophic because if it disobeys a command and lazes around during a critical moment of the battle could cause the Slaking to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Hence, it was why Slaking was a very rare Pokémon to see in the ranks of the Elite. The trainer must have sufficiently trained the Slaking to go against its own inherent lazy nature and to develop battle instincts that would distract it from wanting to laze around during a battle. Yet, this was much easier said than done and that was why, despite Slaking's prodigious strength, many trainers skipped over Slaking in their considerations as there were other powerful Pokémon that they could use that didn't require so much training. But, if you DID manage to overcome a Slaking's inherent shortcomings, then you had a powerful, Elite level Pokémon that had a great combination of strength, endurance, and speed. And Tyrant had done more than just overcome his laziness, he had surpassed it and transformed his laziness into a raging lust for battle that made him into an unstoppable monster that could fight with such immense strength and endurance that he would break even the strongest of Pokémon. As a result, the moment Tyrant locked eyes with Norman's Slaking, without warning, Tyrant shot forward like a bullet and sprinted on two legs like an Olympic athlete straight at the opposing Slaking. I could see the surprise in the opposing Slaking's eyes as it could barely comprehend what was about to happen as Tyrant closed the distance. Speed was always something that I emphasized with my training of Tyrant. For some reason, even most elite trainers would not realize just how fast Tyrant could be. They all saw Slaking as a 'slow and lazy' Pokémon and believed the same for Tyrant. My opponent in the finals of the Indigo League Conference certainly believed so. They could not be more wrong. Thus, before Norman could issue a command, Tyrant had already closed in on the Slaking and crashed into it with a Body Slam with such force that it sent shockwaves exploding outwards. I could hear the various gasps and shouts of surprise from the audience that I ignored as I watched Tyrant transitioning his slam into a charge that carried and dragged Norman's Slaking far backwards, creating several tears in the arena that trailed behind Norman's Slaking as it was forcefully dragged along by Tyrant, before eventually Tyrant slammed into it once more as they collided with the psychic shields at the edge of the arena. The sound of glass shattering could be heard as the psychic shields creaked and flickered at the strain of the impact. I inwardly hoped that Norman had some way of reinforcing the psychic shields, as I highly doubted that it could endure more than a few more attacks like that. "Slaking! Get up! Hammer Arm!" To Norman's credit, he responded quickly to Tyrant's sudden burst of aggression, but Tyrant was not one for allowing his opponents to fight back. Tyrant easily caught Slaking's descending arm with his own, and not letting up on the offensive, Tyrant roared and, in an impressive display of his immense strength, lifted Slaking's fallen body by the arm, carried it over his head, and suplexed it back into the ground with a loud bang that shattered and shook the ground of the arena once again. Tyrant's preferred method of fighting was unbelievably aggressive; he would close the distance on his opponents before unleashing an onslaught of attacks at such close range that would disorient the opponent so that they couldn't make use of their long-ranged attacks or fancy tricks and dodges. To compliment this fighting style, I had trained Tyrant's combat instincts so that he didn't need to rely on my commands before attacking, which was beneficial at such close ranges as it allowed him to react quicker than if he needed to wait for me to give him commands. This led to Tyrant adopting an almost completely barbaric way of fighting that abused Tyrant's unbeatable strength, endurance, and his own battle lust. Against less experienced Pokémon or trainers that were not used to such a method of fighting, they could find themselves overwhelmed and too disorientated to fight back. This was why I told Norman to clear his emotions and to not allow his nervousness to affect his judgment. "Get on top of it, Tyrant!" Continuing with the aggression, Tyrant pounced on top of Slaking's prone state and ferociously Headbutted it as he pinned it down underneath him before he raised his arms and struck them down savagely with a Hammer Arm. Each blow by Tyrant caused the arena to crack more and more, until eventually, the ground separated into a large gash that both Pokémon fell into. The sudden displacement didn't deter Tyrant though, as he continued hammering into Slaking with focused rage that Slaking could barely block or fend off. Each subsequent strike by Tyrant was accompanied by a loud thud and dug them both deeper into the hole, until eventually all you could see was the top of Tyrant's head. But Norman's Slaking proved that it was a powerful and well-trained Pokémon in its own right as, despite the pummelling it was receiving, it still had plenty of vitality and spirit to keep fighting. Fortunately, as it made the match more exciting, I could see that by this point of the battle Norman's Slaking had lost all of its earlier laziness as it brought its full attention back into the battle at hand. "Slaking! Use Low Sweep on his legs!" Slaking fought back and cleverly kicked out at one of Tyrant's legs that was keeping it pinned down, causing Tyrant to stumble and miss his next attack as he fell over. "Now! Brick Break!" Taking advantage of Tyrant's stumble, Slaking sliced downwards with a powerful chop into Tyrant's shoulder that forced him down onto his knees. "Drain Punch!" Slaking roared and followed up his attack with a critical Drain Punch that crashed into Tyrant's face, knocking him back and allowing Slaking to regain some health. "Hammer Arm, Slaking! Keep going!" Pushing the offensive, Slaking brought up both of its arms and was about to smash them into Tyrant's face, as if it was trying to crack Tyrant's head in two. "Sucker Punch, Tyrant!" Much faster than you would expect from such a large Pokémon, Tyrant's fist shot out like a snake and found purchase in Slaking's stomach, interrupting its attack, and breaking its stance. "Giga Impact, Tyrant!" Norman shouted out in alarm, "Prote-" "SLAKINGGG!!!" Before Slaking could create a shield, Tyrant erupted with a shattering roar and exploded in an orange light as he rocketed forwards, tearing deep trenches in the ground in his wake as he did, and collided into Norman's Slaking with a humongous BANG. The impact blasted Slaking backwards and it completely shattered the psychic shields as it hurtled through them. It continued to fly uncontrollably past them before eventually crashing into the concrete walls of the Gym and falling to the floor. The Gym shook momentarily as the Gym's foundations worryingly wobbled from Slaking's unceremonious crash into the wall and the resulting ripple of force that Tyrant's Giga Impact generated. The audience screamed in panic, with many ducking for cover, as the energy from the Tyrant's Giga Impact caused the Gym to shake and also managed to scatter many of the benches and chairs that were not properly fastened into the ground as if a large gust of wind had blown through the stadium. Many had become momentarily deafened as the psychic shields failed to dampen the piercing BANG that Tyrant caused with his attack. To my admiration and respect, I could see that, despite the wounds that it suffered, Norman's Slaking was still determined and capable of continuing the fight as it pulled itself back into a fighting stance. There was a short lull in the action as Tyrant and I waited for Slaking to pull itself back into the arena, so that we wouldn't be fighting outside the psychic barriers when they were repaired. I could see that Tyrant was also giving Slaking a nod of respect as he watched Slaking re-enter the arena, before Tyrant roared out once more and once again charged towards Slaking, not even pretending to be winded by his use of Giga Impact. "Slaking! Slack Off and Counter!" Norman's Slaking slumped over as it rested its eyes and its wounds visibly healed at a rapid rate. However, much like how I trained my own Pokémon, an observant eye could see that Slaking was ready to fight back at a moment's notice despite its use of Slack Off. "Flamethrower, Tyrant!" Tyrant halted his charge before letting out a pillar of flame that engulfed Slaking and interrupted its healing. At this point, the psychic shields had been repaired and recharged and were put back in place. "Interrupt it with a Rock Throw!" Despite being scorched in flames, Slaking powered through the flames as it tore up a large chunk of flooring and heaved it towards Tyrant, battering him and causing him to cancel the Flamethrower. "Giga Impact, Slaking! Full power!" Norman abandoned all defence as he knew that a battle of attrition would not end in his favour. His only chance was a decisive blow. "Tyrant, BRACE!" Tyrant took on a defensive posture and crossed his arms in a 'X' shape as Slaking also started to glow with orange energy as it shot towards Tyrant with a thundering roar of its own. In that brief moment before impact, Norman's Slaking forgot about all of its injuries as it rushed forwards. It forgot about how it was slammed around and nearly knocked out by Tyrant's Giga Impact. All it cared about was that one decisive blow. That one hit that would take advantage of Tyrant's momentary distraction and crash into him with everything that it had. Slaking rammed into Tyrant with as much force and determination as it could muster and the silver glow around it detonated simultaneously as Slaking tried to will every inch of strength and power that it had against Tyrant. The psychic shields warbled once again as another wave of force crashed into it, and the arena was now scarred with huge gouges from the two Giga Impacts. Despite all this, I remained supremely confident that Tyrant would be able to withstand the blow. He was my partner, my ace, and my confidant. He had been with me since the beginning, and he grew up with me and was by my side through every battle, thick and thin. He wasn't going down, not to this, not to anything. He would rather die by my side than surrender a fight. And I loved him all the more for it. And so, Tyrant determinedly dug his heels in and endured the blow with a pained, but determined, grunt. That grunt transformed into a roar of "SLAKINGGG!!" as Tyrant grabbed on to Slaking's shoulders as the Giga Impact petered out and exhaustion began to set in for Norman's Slaking, and Tyrant Headbutted the opposing Slaking with a savage grin. "Tyrant, Suplex!" Slaking stumbled back from the Headbutt, and before it could reorient itself, Tyrant surged forwards and grabbed Slaking by the sides and threw it over himself as he slammed it again into the ground. "Slaking, Rest!" "Tyrant, throw it!" Slaking tried desperately to enter a recovery state with Rest, but before it could Tyrant grabbed it by the legs and threw him viciously into the psychic shields. The poor abused shields flickered once again as Slaking crashed into them. "Finish it Tyrant! Mega Kick!" Tyrant took off in a running start before leaping into the air and diving forward towards the Slaking. The opposing Slaking was too slow to react in time and Tyrant's feet smashed critically against Slaking's face, battering him further against the psychic shields and almost causing the latter to shatter once again. At this point, Norman's Slaking had unfortunately expended all of its energy with its all-out Giga Impact, and when that failed it could no longer sustain itself from Tyrant's onslaught and fell over unconscious. "SLAKING! SLAKINGGG!" Seeing his opponent knocked out, Tyrant roared out towards the ceiling and beat his chest in a primal show of strength at his victory. He was injured, sure, but I knew that it would take far more than a couple of hits and a Giga Impact to knock him down. The crowd soon joined in his revelry, chanting, and cheering at the magnificent battle that had just taken place, conveniently forgetting about how they were almost injured and deafened by the ferocity of the battle. "The Gym Leader's Slaking is unable to battle! Elite John is the victor!" The referee announced. As I saw Norman nodding with a satisfied smile as he withdrew his Slaking, I looked around and saw that a few people in the audience had their phones or other video recording devices out and had probably recorded most of the battle. I replayed the battle in my own mind as I thought about how others would have thought about the battle just now, and Tyrant's performance within it. I felt that Tyrant had achieved a decisive victory, and the injuries he sustained were an inevitable consequence of his primal and almost reckless fighting style. Besides, I had yet to make use of his recovery moves, meaning that Tyrant still had plenty of juice in the tank to continue fighting. Distancing myself from my thoughts, I ran up to where Tyrant was still basking in the attention of the crowd before I gave him a proud hug. "Way to go, Tyrant! You showed them all!" I praised, eliciting another roar from Tyrant as he expressed his joy. "Yes, it certainly was a good battle." Norman cut in as he approached, "Congratulations on your victory. You really are deserving of the title of the Elite 4." Norman complimented with a smile that lacked any bitterness at his recent loss, which I was happy to see. I didn't want to have soured our relationship just because of my victory. "Thank you for your kind words." I accepted, "But, as you saw, I barely had to give any commands to Tyra-my Slaking, he just reacted instinctively most of the time." I gestured to Tyrant, who flexed at my words with a goofy grin on his face. "Ah, but you were the one that trained your Slaking to be able to react instinctively, didn't you?" Norman countered, "If it wasn't for your own abilities as a trainer, your Slaking would not have become so strong, right?" "I suppose so." I said as humbly as I could, before changing the topic, "Do you still have time to discuss things further? I would like to go over the battle with you and talk about some other matters." I asked. "Of course!" Norman replied, "In fact, I was just about to ask you. Give me a few minutes to make sure all the audience members are doing okay and to make sure that there are no problems with resetting the arena; we did do a number on it. Oh, and before I leave, here's your Balance Badge." He chuckled as he handed over the Balance Badge to me and I received it with both hands and a slight bow. Then I watched as he turned away to talk to his Gym Trainers. In the meanwhile, I withdrew Tyrant as he was having a bit too much fun before I looked around to see if I could spot Karen, but she was already making her way towards me. "Good work out there." She congratulated, "Your Tyrant really is something isn't he? You really need to tell me one day how you got your Pokémon to become this strong. You're making a girl jealous." Though she said that, I could tell that Karen's words had no bite in them. "Perhaps I could do that sooner than you think." I responded with a smirk, which caused her to raise her eyebrow inquiringly, "Norman and I wanted to discuss our match and a few other topics in a few minutes. Would you like to join?" "Do you even have to ask? Of course I will." Karen replied sarcastically. "Are you alright?" I suddenly asked, and Karen looked at me with confusion at the change in topic, "I meant that when the psychic barriers failed during the fight, did you get hurt?" "Awww, you're so sweet." Karen teased, "Were you worried about me?" Determined to not let her get the better of me, I simply nodded in response as I put on my best poker face. Karen clicked her tongue at my lack of embarrassment. "Tch, you didn't even blush." Karen said with a frown before it turned into a small smile, "but thanks for looking out for me. I was fine. I'm an experienced trainer too y'know, I'm more than used to these sorts of things happening during a battle." I nodded at that. Many scientists in the Pokémon world have documented that, as a trainer spends more time with their Pokémon and their Pokémon grows stronger, the trainers themselves become quicker to heal, stronger, and more resistant to injury. No one could really understand why this was the case, so it remained unexplained. Personally, I thought that it was because of aura, and that by developing a stronger connection with your Pokémon, you yourself grew stronger because of your aura. However, that was still complete guesswork and not something I could intellectually debate about. I was brought back from my musings as Karen tapped me on the shoulder and pointed over to the corner of the Gym. I looked at where she was pointing to and could see the receptionist from earlier standing next to a doorway. She was signalling to me and gesturing for me to enter into said doorway that I assumed was Norman's office. I walked over with Karen, and as we neared Norman's office, I thought about the things I wanted to ask him about. Besides the battle, I did want to ask him a few questions about the politics of Hoenn, in case he has any good ideas that I could replicate in Kanto. I hoped Norman wouldn't get annoyed at me asking him questions about politics. The New Normal – 2-4 – Making new friends We walked in and my guess proved correct as I saw Norman sat down in a simple office chair. "Sorry for the wait." Norman began politely, "There was considerably more damage to fix for the arena than usual. Please take a seat." "No worries," I stated, especially because I was certain that most of that damage came from Tyrant, "I hope you don't mind if Karen joins us in our discussion?" "Oh, of course not. Please make yourself comfortable." He gestured to a seat for Karen. "Do you mind if I start?" He asked. "Go ahead." I allowed. "How did you get your Slaking and Snorlax to become so physically strong?" He asked politely but with an undercurrent of excitement, "I have tried to ensure that my Slaking gets all the necessary nutrients that it needs every day. I also make sure to train it very hard every day to build up its strength. And yet, your Slaking towers over mine. Could you explain why that is?" "It's because of a technique that I created," I answered, though I most certainly did not create it but rather 'borrowed' it from my meta-knowledge, "I call it Gravity training." "Gravity training? Fascinating." Norman exclaimed excitedly and I spent a few minutes explaining how it worked to him, "Hmm...I think I understand the gist of it. So, basically you force your Pokémon to exert themselves greatly under the influence of Gravity, which allows them to build up their strength beyond their usual limits." He asked. "Yes, that's exactly it." I confirmed, "I found that, with the right application of Gravity training, it can be very beneficial to the Pokémon's development and strength. Just be careful to not overdo it or it may cause permanent damage to your Pokémon." I warned. "I see. Thank you very much for your advice." Norman thanked, visibly reigning back on his excitement, "I'll be looking into experimenting with this technique. I hope it proves fruitful." "I wish you the best of luck." I remarked, "Also, don't forget to try to keep a lid on your emotions during battle. A calm mind can think of vital solutions and answers in a battle that a panicked mind cannot." "Yes, I will definitely remember that. I thank you once again for your advice." Norman said thoughtfully. "Hmm, unfortunately, I do not have anything to give you in return." Norman then commented with a frown. "No, no, that's okay." I quickly interjected, "You really don't have to give anything in return." "Nonsense, your advice would likely prove to be incredibly valuable for my future as a trainer." Norman denied, "On my honour, there must be something that I can give you in return." "I do have a few questions about politics that I'd like you to answer. I hope that doesn't ruin our friendship." I joked, trying to divert the topic away. "Ah, politics. The bane of every Pokémon's trainer existence." Norman quipped with a chuckle and shook his head, "Nevertheless, I am willing to listen to your questions. Go ahead." "Could you tell me what your thoughts are, as a Gym Leader of Hoenn, on the integration of Indigo? How has Indigo affected Hoenn?" I began. "Hmmm, that's a tough question." Norman thought aloud, "I want to say that the integration of Indigo has been very beneficial to Hoenn in general. As a Gym Leader and trainer, I'm personally very happy about the integration because it has opened future opportunities for me to catch and train new Pokémon that were previously unavailable to us. Also, without Indigo, we wouldn't have had access to the Pokédex, at least not so soon, and many other essential technologies would have remained out of reach if we had not combined our technologies." "Also, the opening of the Indigo markets for Hoenn has been a boon for our economy as well." Norman continued, "I know that as the Gym Leader of Petalburg City that the economy of Petalburg has noticeably increased as we began trading with Indigo. I'm honestly not the most versed in economics, but the business owners I've spoken to have all stated positive things about having access to Indigo's markets." Norman continued listing a variety of positive aspects of Hoenn's integration of Indigo for a few minutes. Occasionally, I piped up and asked for clarification in certain areas. Overall, it appears that Norman is greatly in favour of it. I nodded thoughtfully at his comments and took my time to think of a response. "I see, thank you for your comments, Norman. That actually is a great segue to what I wanted to ask of you." I took out Pixel's Pokéball and released it in the corner of the office. "Pory?" I could see both Norman and Karen's eyes nearly pop out of their sockets as they stared in open surprise at Pixel. I gave them a while to digest their shock before I began. "You see, this is Pixel, my Porygon." I explained as I watched Porygon waddle around as it inspected its new surroundings, "I was given it as a gift by Gym Leader Giovanni of Viridian City. It is a Normal type Pokémon that was created by a team of scientists led by Giovanni, and they created it out of data." I paused to make sure that Norman was actually listening before continuing, "I won't even pretend to tell you that I understand how it was created. However, they've been struggling to find ways of mass producing it, you see. That was why I was hoping that, with your permission, to perhaps set up a few of Giovanni's scientists here in Petalburg to allow them to work together with scientists in Hoenn to hopefully develop a new perspective on things." "That sounds like a great idea!" Norman praised with his eyes still locked onto Pixel's in some weird staring contest. I watched as Pixel tilted its head in confusion which shook Norman out of his stupor. "Sorry, I was a bit distracted there. But yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea. I'm all for supporting research into discovering new Pokémon, especially new Normal types. Unfortunately, I don't have any scientists at hand, nor do I have the authority to force scientists to work here." Norman tapped his fingers on the table in consideration as he contemplated the situation. "Okay, I have an idea. I will give you preliminary permission to make use of the unused land here in Petalburg to build a research facility for the scientists to use. However, assuming you have permission from Giovanni about your plans, I think you would have to speak with Devon Corp to obtain the scientists that you need from Hoenn. They probably have most of Hoenn's scientists under their employ." Norman explained to me. I accepted that and took out my notepad to write things down; I didn't want to forget anything. In the corner of my eye, I could see Pixel trying in vain to climb up on to Norman's desk but failing. Then, Pixel decided to vent its frustrations by trying to headbutt the table, and with that I decided to withdraw it before it could damage the table or harm itself. "You know, John, that if you accomplish this it's going to be a great achievement for you as a member of the Elite 4, right?" Karen suddenly spoke up. I gave her a confused look at that which she shook her head at it. "You silly man, did you forget that the whole reason you came here was on a 'diplomatic mission' from the Indigo League?" "What!? Elite John, you were sent here to Hoenn on a diplomatic mission?" Norman blurted out in surprise, "Why didn't any of us Gym Leaders hear about this? It wasn't even on the Pokénet or the news!" Karen nodded in my place and began explaining to Norman, "Yes, that was the official reason cited by the Indigo League to John about why they were sending him here. But the real reason was because some of the senior members of the Indigo League were dissatisfied with John's appointment in the Elite 4 and wanted him out of the way." Norman reacted with a mixture of confusion and anger, "That's ridiculous! Being the youngest member to join the Elite 4 should have been seen as a great honour! It's absurd that they tried to side-line you, John." Norman said sincerely while giving me a look of sympathy. "It makes me glad that I moved from Olivine to Petalburg; Hoenn seems to have far less political tensions." I shrugged at that, grateful for his support but not really wanting to speak anymore on the topic. "Well, that's how it is. Thanks, Karen, for bringing it up though. I didn't realize that setting up a way for the scientists to cooperate would be seen as a great diplomatic achievement, although I'll certainly milk it like a Miltank now that I know." I certainly wasn't going to complain about this revelation. If it all went well, I could see my reputation being bolstered back in Indigo for managing to set this up. That would be amazing. On that note, I should probably call Giovanni and make sure he was actually okay with this before I got too ahead of myself. "Excuse me, Norman, do you mind if I call Giovanni right now just to make sure he's okay with this. I don't want to make plans without his permission." I asked. Norman simply waved his hand in the 'go ahead' gesture, so I took out my phone and called Giovanni. "Yes?" Giovanni's smooth voice flowed through my speakers. "Giovanni, this is John. I'm currently sitting in Gym Leader Norman's office in Petalburg City. I have an idea I would like to go through with you." I announced. "Oh? Go ahead." Giovanni said with a hint of curiosity. "You see, I told Norman about the Porygon that you gifted me and how your scientists had created it. I also told him that you mentioned that you were having issues with mass producing Porygon. Thus, this led me to have an idea about having your scientists cooperate with scientists from Hoenn to see if you can all get a fresh perspective on things." I described. "Hmmm, that is a very interesting idea." Giovanni declared, "And what has Gym Leader Norman said about your idea?" "He liked the idea a lot, Giovanni, and has allowed us to make use of some of the unused land in Petalburg for the research facility. However, he doesn't have any scientists that could work with yours and suggested that we could go to Devon Corp and make a request that way." I explained. "Ah, yes, I know about Devon Corp." Giovanni stated, "I had the idea of working with them in the past, but the opportunity hadn't come up. This might be a great way of establishing a connection with them. Great idea, John." He complimented. "Thank you, Giovanni. So, should I take it that I have your approval to negotiate the establishment of a research facility in Petalburg for undergoing joint research between your scientists and theirs with Devon Corp.?" I asked politely. "Yes, you may." Giovanni confirmed, "Please let me know once you've arrived at Devon Corp, I would like to discuss a few things with Joseph. I may have a few other ideas that I would like to bring up with them." Giovanni having 'other ideas' seemed to stoke my paranoia and made me feel a tad worried; I still didn't fully trust him, after all. But I didn't let my doubt show in my voice and gave him a polite 'of course, is there anything else?' before hanging up the call. I put away my phone before turning back to Norman, "Thank you very much for going along with my ideas, Gym Leader Norman." I said formally and with a slight bow of my head, "I hope that this project will turn out fruitfully." Norman accepted my thanks with as much dignity as he could muster, but it still looked a bit stiff to me. Don't worry Norman, you'll become the stoic and cool Gym Leader eventually! "It is not a problem, Elite John." Norman said, "After all, this project will be beneficial to Petalburg anyways if it does turn out successfully. Please do not feel that you may need to owe me, I was just doing my duties as the Gym Leader of Petalburg." "In fact, I feel like I still owe YOU for your advice about the Gravity training, John." Norman suddenly stated, and before I could deny it Norman continued, "Please do not deny me this, John. Your advice about Gravity training could prove to be a huge boon to my abilities as a trainer and Gym Leader. On my honour as a Gym Leader, I will give you something in return for this." Norman sank back in his chair deep in thought as he pondered about what he should give me in return. I mostly stayed silent and glanced at Karen as a silent plea for help. Karen considered things for a moment. "How about an egg for a Normal type Hoenn Pokémon?" Karen unexpectedly asked, "Besides your Slaking, you don't have a Hoenn-based Normal type, right John?" "That's a great idea!" Norman quickly replied before I could, "In fact, I just had an egg be born from my Linoone a few days before our battle. I would be delighted to fetch it for you." Before I could say anything else, Norman had already dashed out of the room. I sighed, giving Karen a false look of annoyance which she simply grinned at. With just Karen and I remaining in the room, I turned to her and told her that she didn't need to ask Norman to give me an egg in return. Karen shook her head at that. "You're wrong, John." She stated, "You may not have wanted anything for your advice about Gravity training, but Norman would have felt awful if he didn't give you something in return. He's a very nice man, and nice people really don't like not being able to return the kindness that has been given to them." Karen noted sagely. I could only shrug at that. Truthfully, I wouldn't have rejected an egg, but I still didn't want my interactions with Norman to be so mercenary. I told him about the Gravity training because I liked Norman, and from our battle I thought him to be a worthy trainer that could make good use from practicing Gravity training with his Pokémon. As we waited for Norman to return, I chatted with Karen about what she thought about my recent battle. "I was surprised at how vicious your Slaking was." She commented, "I thought you said that you didn't rely on a Pokémon's brute strength to win your battles." "That's not what I said." I replied, "I said that I knew how to make use of other methods aside from just relying on a Pokémon's strength, but not that I didn't make use of it. With Pokémon like Ursaluna, Snorlax, and Slaking, I would be a fool to ignore their inherent talents in their great strength and endurance." "Well, yes, you certainly showed that off really well." She snarked, "I don't think anyone who watched that match would ever underestimate your Snorlax or Slaking again. And that's not even mentioning how fast your Slaking was! I can't even begin to imagine how you trained your Slaking to become so fast." She complimented. "Well Slaking are naturally pretty fast Pokémon." I stated, leading her to give me a look of disbelief. "It's true. If you can get over a Slaking's inherent laziness, they are remarkably fast Pokémon. Many just don't notice it because of how lazy they are. Thus, once I got over my Slaking's laziness, it was much easier than you'd think to train his speed to the level that you saw." "I see." Karen said and took on a thoughtful expression, "Do you think that Gravity training would work on my Pokémon?" She asked. "Hmm, I'd think so." I remarked, "Gravity training is meant to improve on your Pokémon's strength by forcing them to exert themselves in harsh scenarios. Maybe aside from Ghost type Pokémon, I don't see why Gravity training wouldn't work for you." "Oh, well, that's great!" Karen exclaimed with a smile, "Could you teach me how to make use of Gravity training then? I want to make sure I'm doing it correctly and not hurting my Pokémon." "Of course," I responded, "Once we finish up my talks with Norman, I'll help you with your training." "Thanks, John." Karen replied with a sincere smile that I couldn't get enough of, "You've been a great help." We both gazed into each other's eyes as something seemed to pass between us. Unfortunately, Norman's return to the room broke whatever spell had occurred between us. "Sorry for the wait!" Norman apologized, as he walked in carrying an egg, "I had to make sure that my Linoone was willing to part with its' egg. Fortunately, when I told it that you were the recipient, it became quite eager to give this to you. Apparently, your Snorlax has proven you worthy to take care of this egg." He carefully handed the egg to me, which I received slowly with both hands. "Thank you very much for this gift, Gym Leader Norman." I said politely, "May I assume that your Linoone is the mother?" "Yes, she is." Norman confirmed, "She recently found a mate with one of my Gym Trainer's Mightyena and produced the egg that you are carrying now. Please take care of it." "Of course, I promise you that I will raise it well." Suddenly, a thought sprang to mind, and I thought that I could make another 'discovery'. It was about the right time for it, anyways. "Say, Norman, did you look into how I discovered that Stantler could evolve into Wyrdeer?" I asked, causing Norman and Karen to blink confusedly at my non-sequitur. "No? Sorry, I'm afraid I haven't." He responded guiltily, "Why do you ask?" "Well, it's because of the criteria for Stantler to evolve into Wyrdeer involves it mastering many Psychic type moves." I explained, "Once a Stantler possesses a certain level of mastery in its Psychic moves, it evolves into a Wyrdeer and gains the Psychic typing." I rubbed the egg affectionately as I said this. "It was the same for Ursaluna. If an Ursaring masters several Ground type moves, it becomes eligible to evolve into an Ursaluna." I continued, "And, with these discoveries, I have a theory that other Pokémon could also have undiscovered evolutions that we have yet to discover." Karen's eyes shot up in realization as she understood what I was getting at. Norman still looked a bit confused as if he didn't realize why this was relevant. "You see, if my theory proves true, then what better way of testing it then with an egg?" I said, to which Norman finally gained a look of realization as he pointed questioningly towards the egg that he had just given me. "Yes, that's right, I did my research and found that Linoone had plenty of Dark types moves that it can learn. Similarly, Stantler has plenty of Psychic type moves that it could learn. Do you see what I'm getting at?" Karen nodded excitedly, "You mean to say that Linoone may have an undiscovered evolution that may be found if we trained it to master Dark type moves?!" Norman frowned at that, "That can't be the case. I can see how you would think so, John, but I believe that my Linoone has mastered many Dark type moves already. Mine even knows Night Slash. If your theory was true, then shouldn't my Linoone have already evolved?" I adopted a thoughtful expression as I started to think. I already knew about Linoone's 'undiscovered' evolution, after all. What I didn't know was how I could evolve a Linoone into an Obstagoon. I didn't even know how to create a Galarian Zigzagoon! "Hmm, you make a good point." I conceded after a bit of thinking, "Then perhaps I should alter my theory. For some reason, my gut is telling me that the Linoone line has more to it than what we currently know, likely to do with some kind of Dark type evolution. That's my hypothesis for why it has so many Dark type moves." Again, I tilted my head as I absent-mindedly rubbed the egg and thought about how I would evolve a Linoone into an Obstagoon. "What about infusing the egg with Dark type energy?" Karen suddenly suggested, and I shot out of my seat at her comment. "Yes! That's it!" I shouted with excitement as I gave Karen a kiss on the cheek. I was so thrilled about the possibilities that I didn't even notice that I had done so. "Yes, that's brilliant, Karen! Perhaps if we could carefully infuse the egg with Dark type energy, then we could perhaps create an alternate form of Zigzagoon that might be Dark type!" I really hoped this worked, though I was confident that it would. If you could create the alternate forms of Pokémon by infusing them with the correct energy while they're in an egg, then we could have access to many new Pokémon that were normally limited to the other regions! "Hmm, that could work." Norman said consideringly, breaking me out of my enthusiasm. I began to blush deeply as I turned to Karen, remembering what I had done. Fortunately, she only seemed shocked and not disgusted. We needed to talk about this later. "...but you would have to be careful not to harm the Pokémon in the egg." Norman finished after a minute or so; I didn't catch most of what he said but only nodded in response. My mind was too distracted and was awhirl with thoughts. I took a deep breath to calm myself down before I returned my attention to Norman. "Yes, I'll be sure not to harm the egg." I replied, "In fact, I'll ensure that my Blissey is always monitoring the egg to make sure that we aren't harming it." I then turned to Karen, ignoring the awkwardness between us, "Karen, this was your idea as well, so I'd like your help." She gave me a look of confusion, "I don't have any Dark type Pokémon, but you're a Dark type specialist. I think it would be safer, and more effective, if you would help me to infuse the egg and monitor it. This will be a joint project, what do you think?" Karen brightened and nodded at my question. That was a good sign that I didn't ruin things with my impromptu kiss. With that revelation out of the way, I continued giving a worried Norman a few more reassurances that I would do my best not to harm the egg. I couldn't guarantee that the process would be 100% safe, as no one had ever attempted it before, but I did promise him that I would be careful and would halt the experiment if I noticed that the Pokémon was at risk. After he was appropriately reassured, we discussed a few more things together about the training of Normal types before eventually saying our goodbyes and leaving. I found that we had a lot of similarities in what we focused on for our training, mainly maintaining the discipline of our Pokémon and working to cover our areas of weaknesses. Before we left, Norman asked if we had any accommodations for the night, which we didn't. He then booked us in at the Pokémon Center and told us we can stay there on him. We both thanked Norman for that, and we left the Petalburg Gym. Overall, I felt like my trip to Hoenn was going to turn out far better than I expected, especially if my theory about infusing an egg was correct. I considered letting Giovanni know about what I was experimenting but decided against it as I didn't want him to interfere unnecessarily with the experiment. I forcefully reminded myself that Giovanni and I weren't friends. Besides, the experiment could fail, and I didn't want more people knowing about the project if it did. Seeing that I still needed to heal my Pokémon, I started walking to the Pokémon center, with Karen following distractedly behind me. Noticing that she was being uncharacteristically silent, I asked her if there was anything wrong, and received no response. As I was about to ask her again, she turned to me and finally spoke up. "Hey, John, can we talk about that kiss?" She said with a carefully blank expression. Ah, shit. The New Normal – 2-5 – Thoughts and Discussions We made our way silently to the Pokémon Center, my new Zigzagoon egg still in my hands, but my head was roiling with thoughts. I had kissed Karen as a spur of the moment kind of thing out of pure excitement at her comment, and I immediately realised that it was a mistake to have done so. But the fact that I even kissed her did bring up questions in my mind. Was it a kiss that was done out of excitement? Or was it the beginning of something more? Was I ready to accept that it might be the latter case? Upon reflecting on my actions throughout the previous days, I admitted to myself that I did enjoy spending time with Karen, and maybe I even enjoyed it too much. However, we've only known each other for a short while, and I really didn't want to rush into things. I realized that I was probably acting on my hormones too much, leading to my mistaken actions, and that I wasn't thinking over things rationally like I usually do. I was too excited, too eager, and I ended up kissing her because I didn't keep a lid on that excitement. A part of me wanted to blame my hormones, but I knew that I was as much at fault for letting my impulses run free and unchecked. And I felt horrible for doing so. We kept our silence as we entered the PokeCenter, and I distractedly greeted the Nurse Joy before depositing my Pokéballs for Smough and Tyrant to be healed up. Technically, Klee could've taken up the healing duties instead of bringing them to a Pokécenter but doing Pokécenter style healing took a lot out of her, so I found that just making use of a Pokécenter was easier. After that, we went to the nearby vending machines to grab some dinner and we made our way to our reserved rooms, courtesy of Norman. We quickly settled into my room and made sure the egg was placed safely before we sat down to eat our meals. After a moment of quiet eating, Karen spoke up. "Ok, this honestly shouldn't be that awkward." She began with a false bluntness that I felt was a fa?ade to hide her nervousness, "It was just a kiss on the cheek, and I'm probably overreacting, but I need to ask what that kiss meant and why it happened." "Well honestly I wasn't thinking that hard when I did it." I admitted guiltily while scratching my head, greatly hoping that she wasn't mad at me. "I was just so excited at your comment that I kissed you, I didn't really mean anything by it." I shrugged. My tone shifted to become more serious and nervous, "I can only apologize if that kiss made you uncomfortable. I certainly shouldn't have done it, and I feel terrible for having done so. I can understand if you are angry or upset at my actions. However, I am willing to say that I still value you as a friend, Karen, but I'm not ready for anything more yet." I bowed my head deeply in apology. Karen let out a big sigh in relief, which I wasn't sure if I should be offended by or not, "That's good...Oh, shit, sorry I didn't mean it that way." She quickly backtracked as she saw the hurt spread across my face, "Look, John, I've only known you for a short while. And I'm not mad, just mostly surprised really." She sighed out again. "I realize that I probably share some of the blame as I can be a bit of a flirt thanks to Agatha's teachings, but I do only see you as a friend, and I would rather keep it that way for the time being. So please, no more of that." She looked away and couldn't meet my eyes. "That's understandable, and I was thinking the same thing too." I told Karen honestly, who turned to look back at me, "Honestly, I think you're a great friend and I really enjoy your company, Karen, despite only knowing you for a few days. And I will take the blame and apologize once again for making this situation as awkward as it is and am genuinely sorry that I did it. But I'd like to spend some more time with you in Hoenn getting to know you better for the time being." I admitted with a slight blush. "It's alright, John. Just make sure to not do that again, I'm definitely not ready for it. And sure, I'd like that to get to know you better too." Karen said and gave me another one of her sincere smiles. Damn, she really needs to stop doing that. We held each other's gazes for a bit before we both simultaneously broke into relieved laughter. "I'm glad that's over with." Karen laughed out. "Yes, I wouldn't want to be confronted on something like that again." I responded with a smile as I was filled with relief at her acceptance. Inwardly, I hated how my teenage hormones made me act like this. I was very fortunate that Karen was understanding, otherwise I would have been in the shit. I vowed to myself that I would try harder to keep a lid on them so that I wouldn't act up like this again. Oh, the horror of going through puberty a second time. With that little bit of relationship drama out of the way, we both settled in and finished our dinners while returning to our regular small talk. We had a few discussions on how we wanted to infuse the egg with Dark type energy and how we were going to document our experiment. Though, with both of us airing how we wanted our relationship to move forward for the future, I felt that a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was happy to be friends and spend time with Karen, but anything more needed to wait until much later. With dinner done, I split up with Karen as she returned to her own room to start preparing to go to sleep while I headed down to the reception to pick up my healed Pokémon. Pokécenters in this world healed quickly like the games, unless the Pokémon was severely injured to the point where its life was threatened, then they took more time to heal. "Here you go, sir." The Nurse Joy greeted me as she returned my now healed Pokémon to me. "Thank you very much." I said in response and returned Smough and Tyrant's Pokéballs to their rightful place on my belt. "I hope you don't mind me saying this but thank you for having that battle with Gym Leader Norman." The Nurse Joy suddenly said to me, which caused me to adopt a look of confusion. "Uhhh, you're welcome?" I said confusedly, "I didn't think it was such a big deal." "Well, you might not know this as someone who isn't from Hoenn, but Gym Leader Norman was not actually born here in Hoenn. He's actually from Olivine City in Johto but married his wife who is from Hoenn." She explained, "Which meant that when he was made Gym Leader at Petalburg, there were some that looked down on him because he was a foreigner." I frowned when I heard that, I had forgotten that bit of trivia from canon. After my talks and battle with Norman, I considered him a friend, and I was mad for him on his behalf. "But I watched your battle with him today on the Pokénet, and I'm sure many others have done so as well." The Nurse Joy continued, "He might have lost, but he did really well today and really showed why he deserves to be the Petalburg Gym Leader. Hopefully, with his good showing from today, he'll have more respect from the people of Petalburg." I nodded as I understood what she was saying. Basically, the situation that Norman was facing was very similar to what I was currently facing as the newest member of the Elite 4. We both had to prove to the public that we deserved our positions through a display of strength and ability. Although, the fact that Norman was a foreigner and was still able to become a Gym Leader of Hoenn did make me consider a few things that I could apply in Indigo for the future. I thought about how, in canon, Whitney became the Gym Leader of Goldenrod. Could I encourage her to do the same here? If so, it would prove to be a great boon for my goal of achieving unity between Kanto and Johto. It was a very far off goal, but I hoped it would work out. Of course, I would actually ask her if she wanted to do it; I wouldn't force her into anything. I broke myself from my thoughts and thanked the Nurse Joy for her explanation but said that she didn't need to thank me because it really wasn't a big deal and that I was happy for Norman. After that, I made my way back to my room, got myself cleaned up, and collapsed on my bed. It's been a long day. Just before I fell asleep though, I texted my parents to make sure everything was okay and let them that I was doing fine and double checked to make sure the egg was in a safe position. I quickly got a text back that everything was fine, but Whitney had seen my battle against Norman, and she really wants to talk about it soon. I told her I would do so later, then I put my phone away and quickly fell asleep. ======================================================= I found out quickly the next morning that the disadvantage of travelling with Karen was that she absolutely refused to be woken up in the mornings. I had already gotten ready and bought breakfast, and yet she still hadn't left her room yet. I was pretty certain that she hadn't even woken up yet. She remained absent even until I finished my breakfast, so eventually I lost my patience and decided to knock on her door and force her awake. After a full minute of knocking on her door, I was finally greeted with the sight of a newly awake, and utterly dishevelled Karen. "Let me die." She told me dramatically with barely opened eyes. "Well, good morning to you too." I said dryly and she merely groaned unintelligently in response. She really was acting like a zombie, hell, she even looked like one too at the moment. "Come on, I want to start making our way to Rustboro City today so that I can discuss things with Devon Corp." I nudged her, but seeing that she remained unwilling I changed tactics, "Come on, didn't you catch a new Corphish yesterday? Wouldn't he be excited to come out and play? If you go back to sleep like that, he'll be very sad in his Pokéball." "Ughhhh, fine, let me go get ready." She finally conceded as she rubbed her eyes sleepily and closed the door on me. Admittedly, I was worried that she would just close the door and immediately go back to sleep, but not too long later she made her way down and somehow didn't look like a freshly revived zombie. She had a quick breakfast and then we left for Rustboro City, but we decided to go the scenic route and walk through Petalburg Woods rather than just fly straight to Rustboro. I still felt bad about kissing her like that, but she seemed to not really have any problems with it after our conversation yesterday, or at least she wasn't bringing it up, so I decided to let it go. We quickly bought a few more supplies at the nearby Pokémart before we head off for Petalburg Woods, our luggage transferred into big rucksacks that were far easier to carry. I had also bought an incubator for the egg so that it could hopefully remain undamaged and stored it safely in my rucksack as we travelled. Karen considered releasing her new Corphish as we walked, but I told her that it might be better to save Corphish's energy for some potential battles and training in Petalburg Woods, since I was planning to do the same with Pixel, and she agreed. By noon, we had already made it to the entrance of Petalburg Woods, and we both decided to have a quick lunch before we made our way in. If we had stopped to eat within the woods, we might have attracted a few too many Pokémon with the smell. With lunch wrapped up, Karen and I released our Corphish and Porygon respectively. From my memory and the research that I did on Petalburg Woods, it was mainly inhabited my weak, 'lower-level' Pokémon and it was a suitable area for new trainers to go and train in. Thus, the wild Pokémon there should be at a suitable level for our new captures to battle and train with. Sure enough, we had only just ventured into Petalburg Woods for a few minutes when a lone Shroomish approached Corphish with a challenging expression. I saw Karen give it a quick glance before nodding and gesturing for Corphish to step up. "Corphish! Cor!" Corphish snapped his claws in what he thought was a show of aggressiveness, but to me it only looked cute. "Shroom! Shroomish." Shroomish growled back, and both Pokémon started circling each other as they continued their posturing. Deciding that the two had done enough posturing, Karen gave her first order. "Okay Corphish, show me what you can do. Hit it with a Slash!" Corphish charged forward and sliced Shroomish with one of his claws, eliciting a cry of pain from the wild Pokémon. However, Shroomish countered and slammed into Corphish with a Tackle of its own. "Keep Slashing, Corphish!" Corphish surprisingly didn't wince at the Tackle from the Shroomish and continued Slashing at it until eventually the Shroomish fainted. "Good job, Corphish!" Karen praised, "That was a great first battle!" Corphish raised his claws in the air as he cheered and puffed out slightly at his victory. "Pory?" Pixel suddenly called out, "Pory. Pory pory." With Pixel being so new to my team, I still struggled with understanding what it was saying. Pixel evidently caught on to my confusion as it began to gesture with its head towards the fainted Shroomish. "You want to fight that Shroomish?" I guessed, but Pixel shook its head at that, "OH, uh, you want to fight a Shroomish?" Pixel nodded excitedly and I had to think about it. Not to look down on Pixel, but I really didn't feel like it was ready to fight a Shroomish yet. It was still very new to battling, and I really didn't think it was ready until it got more training in with my own Pokémon. Still, I saw the value in getting some hands-on experience for it, so I made a compromise. "Hmm, Pixel, I don't think you're ready to take on a Shroomish just yet." I said carefully and I saw Pixel predictably wiggle in frustration, "But, I think I'll let you battle a Wurmple if we find one. I think you can handle that." Pixel's frustration was quickly replaced by excitement and joy as it cheered out with a mechanical whine. With Pixel's sudden request sorted out, I nodded to Karen who had been waiting patiently and we headed deeper into the woods. I hung back with Pixel as we watched Corphish take on a few other wild Pokémon, such as Poochyena, Taillow, and Zigzagoon. Sadly, we didn't come across any Slakoth's, which I suppose wasn't that surprising considering that it was supposed to be rare. Luckily for Pixel, though, we soon ran into a Wurmple and Silcoon pair that was just minding their own business. Sadly, Pixel was too excited to battle and decided that them 'minding their own business' was an insufficient excuse to avoid battling, and so quickly approached them and challenged them to fight. I could tell from the Wurmple's expression that it was clearly reluctant to battle, but Corphish had joined in on Pixel's enthusiasm and wanted to continue his winning streak. Thus, the two wild Pokémon had no choice but to fight. I let Corphish deal with the Silcoon as I focused on aiding Pixel in its battle against Wurmple. "Okay Pixel let's go. You can do this. Tackle it!" Pixel beeped in response and charged at Wurmple like it had practiced so many times against Smough and rammed into the small Bug type, landing a good blow and knocking the Wurmple back a few paces. "Keep using Tackle, Pixel, you got this!" Wurmple fired back a String Shot to trip up Pixel but Pixel powered through it with another Tackle that, this time, managed to knock out the Wurmple. Overall, it really wasn't that exciting of a battle for a trainer at my skill level, but Pixel definitely saw it as the most exciting thing to ever happen to it and was cheering happily as its victory. "Congratulations Pixel, you won your first battle!" I patted Pixel on the head over its epic victory against a wild Pokémon that really just wanted to be left alone, and I saw that in the corner of my eye Corphish had already wrapped up his battle with the Silcoon. Despite how simple the battle was, I felt that it helped Pixel get into the right mindset for future training and ensured that it saw that it was making progress and steadily getting stronger. With the battle wrapped up, we continued making our way through Petalburg Woods mostly uneventfully. Any wild Pokémon that we encountered would either be handled by Corphish or Pixel, and both Karen and I were ready to release our much stronger Pokémon just in case we ran into anything that our two newer captures couldn't handle. Sadly, we didn't encounter any Slakoth's. If we did, I'd definitely catch another one to send to Whitney. It was late in the evening when we managed to make our way out of Petalburg Woods and into the outskirts of Rustboro City. I asked Karen if she wanted to slow down and camp out for a night or speed up so that we could make our way to Rustboro and hopefully find a room in the Pokécenter. She decided on the latter, so we withdrew our now tired and battered Pokémon and quickened our pace as we walked to Rustboro City. We arrived just as it started to turn dark, and luckily, we were both able to find rooms for the night at the Pokécenter. We were both pretty tired from today's walk, but I told Karen that I wanted to get started on our experiment with the egg. She agreed, and we both had a quick shower and scarfed down our dinners before we both went back to my room to check on the egg. "Okay, how are we doing this?" Karen asked as she carefully inspected the egg. I could tell that she was both equal parts excited and nervous about the experiment. "Well, it's not like I've ever done this before." I replied, to which she frowned at. I guess she was hoping that I had a more confident plan or something. "Wait, let me release my Blissey so that she can make sure what we're doing is safe." I released Klee into the room, and she immediately hugged me as she always did. But, this time, she had a look of surprise as she saw Karen sitting next to me. After a short pause for Klee to inspect Karen, she immediately let go of me and glomped Karen with a hug of her own. Karen was briefly surprised at the hug, but eventually returned a hug of her own to Klee. "Wow, she's a real hugger, isn't she?" Karen remarked. "Yeah, she is. She's almost a second mother to me." I said fondly. I watched the two hug for a while before I coughed to regain their attention. "Okay, Klee, sorry to disturb you but I need you to make sure that we aren't going to be damaging the egg." Klee turned back to me with a questioning look, as if asking why we would even consider hurting a Pokémon egg. "No, we're not going to be harming the egg on purpose, Klee." I said placatingly, "But, Karen and I came up with an idea on how we could discover a new evolution line for a Zigzagoon. We think that if we can infuse the egg with Dark type energy, then we can create an alternate form of Zigzagoon that would be a Dark type. But we need you to make sure that we aren't harming the egg while doing so." I told her. I could tell that most of what I said flew over Klee's head, but she understood the 'not damaging the egg' part and so nodded and proceeded to carefully inspect the egg and started monitoring it. "Ok, Karen, I want you to use your most skilled Pokémon at manipulating Dark type energy." I told her, and she nodded and thought for a bit before releasing her Umbreon. With two Pokémon and two people sharing one room at once, it was starting to get a little crammed. "Umbreon?" The Umbreon barked out confusedly. Karen began explaining to the Umbreon what they were doing with the egg as I turned my attention back to Klee. "Any problems?" I asked Klee, and fortunately she shook her head. I looked back at Karen, and she gave me a nod to show that Umbreon understood its, no, his assignment. "Ok, are we ready?" I asked the Umbreon, and I got a nod in return as he began to release a very faint and weak burst of Dark type energy that slowly seeped into the egg. I saw that Klee's eyes were narrowed in focus as she continued staring at the egg, making sure that there was nothing going wrong and that the Zigzagoon inside remained healthy and unharmed. "Should we send another pulse of Dark energy?" Karen asked Klee. Klee went over the egg once more before giving a careful nod. With that, Umbreon sent out another weak pulse of Dark energy towards the egg that was also quickly absorbed. We repeated this process a few more times, each time double checking with Klee to make sure that things remained safe. Although we had allowed a few pulses of Dark energy to be absorbed by the egg, we noticed no noticeable change in the egg's outer appearance, nor did Klee or Umbreon notice any changes happening to the Zigzagoon inside the egg. We decided to stop it there for the night, both because we didn't want to accidentally damage the egg by sending too much Dark type energy in a short period of time, and also because it was getting late. I was about to return Klee to her Pokéball but she waved her hands as if she wanted to say something. "Bliss...Blissey Blissey?" My eyes widened as I listened to Klee's suggestion. Of course! I totally forgot that I could use Klee's Fairy type moves to disperse any excess Dark type energy in case the egg absorbed too much of it. "Thank you, Klee, that was a great suggestion. I can't believe I didn't think of that." I praised Klee, giving her a thankful hug that she returned before I withdrew her back into her Pokéball. Karen gave me questioning look, but I just shook my head at that. She let it go but instead asked me a question of her own. "So, what do you think of the today's process with the egg?" She asked with a bit of disappointment. I guess she was hoping that we would make noticeable progress today. "Well, I wasn't that surprised that nothing occurred honestly." I told her, "I didn't think that a night's work of infusing Dark type energy would be enough to change a Pokémon's typing while they are still in an egg. It probably takes a lot more work than that." I answered honestly. "That's true." She nodded her head in acceptance before letting out a sigh. "I guess I was just really hoping that this experiment would work out. Not just because we'd be able to discover a new Pokémon if it really works, but also because it'd give me the fame that I need to prepare for a run for the Elite 4." Karen admitted. I rubbed my mouth thoughtfully at that. I hadn't previously considered how Karen would run for the Elite 4, but now that she had explained it makes sense why she wants this experiment to work out. But I remembered how, despite my discoveries of two new evolutions, I still didn't have much personal influence so when I was made an Elite 4, so they were able to side-line me to Hoenn. I told her my thoughts and I got a solemn nod in return. "I know that. But your discoveries still gave you a measure of personal influence for when you eventually became an Elite 4. If I also made a big discovery, then if Walker does retire or gets kicked out and a spot becomes open on the Elite 4, then having this discovery would make me a better candidate to be chosen. I would show another aspect of myself that isn't just my ability at battling...and I would be known as something more than just being Agatha's apprentice." She said seriously. I could tell that she was a bit bitter and nervous about her chances of joining the Elite 4, and I could certainly empathize with her. I gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulders, careful to remain platonic not go any further than that, and she gave me small smile as thanks. "I believe you can do it, Karen." I told her sincerely, "Regardless of whether this experiment is a success, I truly believe you can make it to the Elite Four on your merits alone, and not just because you are Agatha's apprentice." "Thank you, John." She said with a slight frailness that I hadn't seen on her before, "I hope that one day I can join you in the Elite Four." "Yes, that would be great." I replied with a slight chuckle. Inwardly, I hoped that she had forgiven me for my previous kiss. I was tempted to hug her, to reassure her, but I stopped myself as I didn't want to make the same mistake as I did the day before. We then wrapped up our conversation with some mundane topics before she eventually calmed herself and thanked me for my reassurance before heading back to her room to sleep. I stared briefly at her retreating back before I got up and showered and prepared to go to bed. With a quick check on the egg and a few texts to my parents, I fell onto my bed as all the exhaustion seemed to hit me all at once and promptly fell asleep.

Chapter 4

The New Normal – 2-6 – Interlude: Pokénet reactions [NEWCOMER JOHN SMITH IS THE WINNER OF THIS YEAR'S INDIGO CONFERENCE! NEWEST ELITE FOUR?!] by BattleCast As any BattleCast reader should know, the Kanto newcomer John Smith has become the winner of this year's Indigo Conference, beating out the Johto favourite Shin in a decisive victory. Though many supporters from Johto may have been unhappy with John's victory, it is undeniable that John's unusual Normal type team was able to demolish Shin in the final battle. John's starter, a Slaking of all things, was nigh unstoppable on the battlefield, taking out THREE of Shin's Pokémon and looking none worse for wear! An unbelievable performance from a Pokémon with such a young trainer; how did John manage to train the normally lazy Slaking into such a powerhouse? Even Shin's Ace Pokémon, Scizor, responsible for knocking out the other Johto's favourite, and niece of Champion Pryce, Lorelei, fell to Slaking's immense strength and surprising proficiency with the use of Fire Punch and Flamethrower. Through careful study of the battle, our experts at BattleCast are certain that John's Slaking's possesses a diverse move pool consisting of all three elemental punches; an unbelievably strong variety of moves that our experts say was one of the major factors that allowed John to become this year's Indigo Conference winner. Let us not forget about John's other Pokémon, as they are all very formidable in their own right. His Ursaluna, a completely new evolution of Ursaring discovered by John himself, is a very powerful Ground/Normal type that John relied on heavily to smash through the many Fire, Steel, and Electric types that were a common sight in this year's Indigo Conference. Although his Ursaluna was overshadowed by his Slaking's incredibly dominant performance, this writer is going to keep an interested eye on Ursaluna and its future battles. With John's victory at the Indigo Conference coinciding with Elite Blaine's recent retirement from the position to take up Gym Leader duties at the Cinnabar Gym, some are beginning to speculate if this mean that John will become the next trainer to join the prestigious ranks of the Elite Four? This writer certainly hopes so. #John4Elite4 [Comments] FutureAce John's Slaking was a fucking beast! Holy shit! Shin stood absolutely no chance in that last match. Did you see Shin's Scizor getting pulverised into the ground by that thing? Absolute monster. I have no idea how you would actually fight that thing, but I really do hope John gets into the Elite Four, he absolutely deserves it. #John4Elite4 ANormalFan Hell yes! I've been following John's progress ever since he was in the news for his discovery of Ursaluna and Wyrdeer. John's proving to the world that Normal type Pokémon aren't just 'safe' Pokémon for children to practice with! They're powerhouses in their own right and John's going to prove that to the world! Let's GOOOOO! #John4Elite4 FightClub Bah! You Normal type fanboys always get so excited when someone wins using their Normal types. Everyone knows that all it takes to beat a Normal type is a strong Fighting type Pokémon. John just got lucky that Fighting types were so rare in this year's Indigo Conference. One Machamp and John's entire team is done. ANormalFan What kind of crack are you spouting?! Did you even watch the match? John's Slaking took a Superpower from Shin's Scizor and shrugged it off if it was nothing. You must be high on those revival herbs if you think that John's team will lose to a Machamp. #John4Elite4 FightClub Yeah okay pal so his Slaking took one Superpower and didn't fall over, big deal. We'll see what happens when he's up against a real Fighting Type move. IceColdSimp HAH! Get fucked Shin! That's what you fucking get for knocking out Lorelei! Lorelei would've whooped your ass if not for you abusing your type advantages like that. Fucking loser. FlyingHigh Why are you blaming Shin for making use of type advantages??? That's like, the first thing you're taught at trainer school. Don't blame Shin for doing what he's supposed to. IceColdSimp Shut up hater! Shin should've fought Lorelei like a real man! Lorelei would've easily beaten John if only Shin didn't cheat! FlyingHigh Okay buddy, whatever you say. The next time you get into a Pokémon battle, don't make use of type advantages, and see how that goes. I'm rooting for you. ====================================== ?[FROM RAGS TO ELITE FOUR! JOHN SMITH OFFICIALLY SWORN IN AS THE YOUNGEST MEMBER OF THE ELITE FOUR! A HISTORICAL OCCASION!] by The Indigo Post Yes, you read that right dear readers! Just after a day since newcomer John Smith won this year's Indigo Conference, he has been sworn in as a member of the Elite Four! Not only that, but John is the youngest trainer in history to join the Elite Four, at only 16-years-old! What a magnificent feat that really highlights his strengths and achievements as a trainer. At his swearing in ceremony, John made a speech about forming closer ties between Kanto and Johto and hopes to solve some of the issues that plagues both nations. Does this mean that the now Elite John will be active in the political sphere with his newfound influence as a member of the Elite Four? What does this mean for the future of Indigo? What part will Elite John play in shaping it? Nevertheless, Elite John's story and journey to become a member of the Elite Four is equal parts inspiring and depressing. From his poverty-ridden youth as a son of poor farmers, it was reported that he had no chance of getting a sponsor and that he was barely even able to afford a Pokéball to catch his now infamous starter, to a successful trainer and researcher with two new Pokémon discovered and has now managed to get himself chosen to join the Elite Four at such a young age. And now that John has made it into the Elite Four; what new wonders will he bring to the table? This reporter is eagerly watching John's story and wishes him all the best. Comments ANormalFan LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOO! JOHN DID IT! HOLY SHIT HE'S MADE HISTORY! NORMAL TYPES FTW!!! KantoRepresent Very happy about seeing a Kantonian replace Blaine, especially one that takes an interest in helping out Kanto. Arceus knows that we don't need the divide between Kanto and Johto to become worse! ILoveGoldenRod *sigh* another paranoid fool that once again overdramatises the divide between Kanto and Johto. Relax, dude, it's not that bad. KantoRepresent Not that bad?!? Have you even taken a look at the two regions' economies? Kanto is consistently lagging behind Johto and it gets worse every year! The gap is REAL! ILoveGoldenRod ...there's no arguing with idiots. IceColdSimp OMG they chose John over Lorelei to become the next Elite Four member?? Do the selection committee have eyes?!? Why would they choose that simpleton over our QUEEN!??!?!?!? FlyingHigh Um, you realize that Pryce was involved in choosing John right??? You know, Lorelei's own UNCLE chose John over her??? FearTheRat Okay okay enough with the politics. Where do you think John ranks in terms of strength within the Elite Four? FutureAce Definitely stronger than Walker, but then again that's not a high bar to clear. How is he even still in the Elite Four? KantoRepresent Obviously because Pryce still needs a loyal Johto lapdog to remain in the Elite Four! Why else would he still be there? Walker is weaker than Giovanni! FearTheRat Ignoring the politics once again, I do agree that Walker is easily the weakest of the Elite Four. So, what about Lance or Agatha? Do you think that John is stronger than them? DragonPower LMAO are you serious?! Do you think John's Normal types even have a chance to win against Lance's DRAGONS?! Lance would demolish John if they ever fought, just you wait. ANormalFan Did you even watch John's past matches??? His Pokémon have destroyed Dragon type Pokémon before, how would Lance be any different? DragonPower 'How would Lance be any different' LMAO OK buddy. You can't compare those baby ass dragons to Lance's monsters. Lance is on a different level from all you posers. He'll be Champion one day, just watch. #ChampionLance IceColdSimp HAH! Like that's ever going to happen. Pryce's Ice Types will destroy Lance. Don't you know Dragons are weak to Ice? Fucking idiot. FlyingHigh ...What was that about not abusing type weaknesses that you were saying before? ============================ ?[AD: Why use potions when you can use the Smith's family MooMoo Milk? Used by Elite Four John!] The MooMoo milk produced by the Smith family is an inexpensive alternative to potions that is both capable of healing your Pokémon as well as developing their muscles and strength. Our MooMoo milk also provides important nutrients so that your Pokémon is able to grow strong and healthy. One MooMoo Milk a day keeps the Nurse Joy away! Don't believe us? Just ask Elite Four John! "I'm John Smith, and this is my favourite MooMoo milk brand in Indigo." – Now Elite Four John. ============================= ?Topic: [NEWEST ELITE FOUR ALREADY BUSY WITH THE GILRS? ELITE FOUR JOHN SEEN FLIRTING WITH AGATHA'S APPRENTICE!!] by Baby Doll Eyes [Image attached] Look what I saw at Elite John's swearing in ceremony!!! He's already talking up Agatha's apprentice while Agatha's standing right there! Is Agatha already trying to get her hooks in John by seducing him with her apprentice? Or is John already using his newfound title as a way of getting girls?? OMA the DRAMA!!! Comments AttractIsNotConsent Typical powerful male using his power to get a girl just because he can't get one normally. I bet if John wasn't a member of the Elite Four, Agatha's apprentice wouldn't even give him the time of day! BeautyIsFree @AttractIsNotConsent ...but they look cute together. Gardevoir34 Honestly, I wouldn't mind getting to know that girl a bit better if you know what I'm saying?? How does she even get her hair to stay like that?? I'm jealous!! ============================= ?[OPINION: ELITE FOUR JOHN TOO YOUNG FOR POSITION? ELITE FOUR MORE THAN JUST A MEASURE OF STRENGTH!] by Exploud Reviews In the wake of Elite Four John's swearing in ceremony as the newest member of the Elite Four, I have read many articles praising how young Elite John is and how amazing he must be to earn the title of Elite Four at such a young age. And yet, the people who mindlessly praise him have yet to consider the consequences of entrusting such an important political system in the hands of someone so young. To be clear, I am not doubting his strength as a trainer. I believe that his match record is clear evidence to demonstrate that he is deserving of the position from his efforts as a trainer. However, a member of the Elite Four NEEDS to be more than just a trainer, they must have the political wit, intelligence, and skills to be able to represent Indigo in a multitude of matters....(Click Here to continue reading) Comments IceColdSimp Hell yes! Replace John with Lorelei! She'll be good enough to handle all the political thingies! And if not, she can ask her uncle, literally CHAMPION Pryce, to do it for her! Win-Win! FlyingHigh Bro...just no. That would be so bad on so many different levels that I can't even explain it to you. KantoRepresent Yea, what he said. Also, having 3 members of the Elite Four being from Johto is going to make things even worse for Kanto! We're already behind Johto! We don't need to give them more fuel! ILoveGoldenRod Ignoring your obsession with the 'divide' between Kanto and Johto, I think the author is right that John might be too young for the position. Maybe he's only a member of the Elite Four temporarily? Until they can find someone better? TangelaThoughts Kinda agree tbh. I mean, I like John as a trainer, and he has proven himself to have a clever mind with his new Pokémon discoveries. But I think someone more experienced and older would be more suitable. ANormalFan WTF?! You want to kick out Elite John because you think he's 'too young'? That's such a dumb reason he hasn't had time to prove himself yet! And come on, someone who can train his Pokémon to be that strong can't be a bad member of the Elite Four. FlyingHigh Eh, that's true. Blaine was more focused on being a scientist than he was as a member of the Elite Four. Not surprised he quit tbh. ========================= ?[ELITE JOHN SPOTTED IN HOENN! What is he doing there?] by The Indigo Post [Video clip of Drake yelling at everyone to leave them alone] The newest and youngest ever member of the Elite Four, John Smith, has recently been spotted in Hoenn just a few days after his swearing in ceremony! What is he doing there? And why was he spotted talking to a member of the Hoenn Elite Four, Drake? This reporter was attempting to interview John before being rudely told to leave by Elite Drake. He even threatened this reporter with his Flygon! This reporter thinks that the behaviour shown by the Hoenn Elite Four has been completely unacceptable and utterly barbaric and should be reprimanded harshly for his poor behaviour. So, what is Elite John doing talking to such a rude individual? Why has he made his way to Hoenn so soon? This reporter leaves the speculation to the readers! Comments ANormalFan Obviously, he's there to catch more Normal types. I mean, now that he's won the Indigo Conference, why wouldn't he go to Hoenn to catch more Pokémon? Seems like a reasonable thing to me! DragonPower Hell yeah look at that Flygon! That's such a cool Dragon type – wish I had one. ILoveGoldenRod WTF?! Is nobody going to comment about how atrocious that Hoenn Elite Four member was acting? Who the fuck gets a Flygon to yell at people just because they were trying to talk to you? And he was openly swearing in public too! Disgraceful! NotTooMuchWater Yeah but, it's DRAKE. Shouting at people and threatening people with his Flygon is like, his thing. ILoveGoldenRod ?!???!?!? How are you not ashamed about his behaviour??? He literally told that reporter to fuck off! NotTooMuchWater Yeah, but we like him anyways. He's DRAKE for Arceus sake, the dude's way too cool not to be a member of the Elite Four. And besides, us Hoenn folks are all used to it by now. Him telling you to fuck off is basically his standard greeting. SlugmaBalls Drake is a boss! He's not even that scary! If you just look past his swearing, he's actually a nice guy! NotTooMuchWater ^Exactly! Besides, Glacia is way scarier. Those eyes man, those eyes. DragonPower Do you think John is there to fight Drake? To show off the power of Kanto or something? If so, my money's on Drake. Those Dragon types will crush John. FearTheRat Dude, aren't you from Indigo? Shouldn't you be supporting OUR Elite Four Member?? DragonPower My loyalty is only to DRAGONS!!!!!! =========================== ?[ELITE JOHN TAKES ON NORMAN AT THE PETALBURG GYM! A STUNNING 3V3 MATCH BETWEEN TWO NORMAL SPECIALISTS!] by BattleCast [Edited video of the fight] We had an amazing surprise match today from our very own Elite Four John against the Petalburg City Gym Leader, Norman. Both Normal specialists, the two had apparently met up and decided on a friendly 3v3 match between them, and what a spectacle it was! Thanks to the many video clips that were sent by our dear readers to us at BattleCast, we were able to compile a complete showing of the fight between Elite John and Gym Leader Norman! Gym Leader Norman really put up a fight with his Swellow, almost knocking out Elite John's Snorlax with a devastating Brave Bird that managed to break the psychic shields around the arena! BUT, Elite John's Slaking continues its dominating streak as it pummelled Norman's own Slaking to the ground, tanking Norman's final Giga Impact without breaking a sweat. An absolutely incredible showing once again, and we at BattleCast are very lucky to have it all on tape for your viewing pleasure. Comments ANormalFan HELLL YEAH! Two Normal Type specialists duking it out??? It's like my dream come true! KantoRepresent Glad to see that Elite John isn't embarrassing us over there in Hoenn. Keep up the victories John! Show Hoenn what us Kantonians can do! NotTooMuchWater Despite losing, I was pretty happy with Norman's performance against a member of the Elite Four. His Swellow and Slaking really managed to stand up against John's stronger Pokémon. Sure, it was a pretty decisive loss, but it's not like anyone was expecting a Gym Leader to beat a member of the Elite Four, even if it is from another region. 7.8/10 great job from Norman. FutureAce Did you see that explosion from Swellow's Brave Bird and Snorlax's Giga Impact?!?!? That was BEAST. Destroying the psychic barriers like that? Crazy shit. I love it. Wish I was there. Must've been COOOOL!! FearTheRat ...you know that the people that were at the fight were at risk of getting injured or worse right? The psychic barriers BROKE. You know?? The barriers meant to protect you from getting hurt??? And you wanted to be THERE??? AreYouSlowBro I was there at the fight, and yes, I was momentarily deafened. Yes, I was almost hit by a flying rock. Yes, I had to go to the Pokémon center afterwards because dust got into my mouth and nose. BUT IT WAS WORTH IT. THAT SHIT WAS SO COOL!!! SlugmaBalls Norman really put up a fight!! Fucking awesome battle. The Slaking v Slaking fight was amazing to watch. It was so brutal, and I love it. Hope we can see more battles like this in the future!! FightClub Y'all are making a big fuss about nothing once again. Two so called 'elite' trainers fighting each other when they both lose to a single Fighting type. Get real. Wake me up when something interesting actually happens. Gardevoir34 OMA did you see Agatha's apprentice appear in that one second where the camera was knocked over from the impact? Is she there to watch John battle???? OMA that's so cute!!!!!!!!! FearTheRat ...So instead of paying attention to the big explosion from two powerful Pokémon slamming into each other with their most powerful attacks...you focus on a girl that you don't even know the name of that appears for less than a second? ...I don't get some people. The New Normal – 2-7 – Devon Corp I woke up the next day feeling refreshed and excited for the day ahead; today was the day that I was going to head to Devon Corp to discuss the joint research plan with them. I texted Giovanni to let him know that I was in Rustboro and that I was going to visit Devon Corp before noon. I got a quick 'okay.' back from him. I also texted Karen and let her know that I was leaving and that, unfortunately, she couldn't accompany me to this meeting. I didn't wait for a response from her as I figured that she was probably still asleep and not going to visit Devon Corp was probably a good thing for her as it allowed her to sleep more. Sometimes, I could relate to that. With breakfast eaten and my new egg appropriately secured and stored away safely in my room, I made my way to the Devon Corp building. I had expected to need to wait at the reception for a few moments before anyone would come and see me, but apparently Giovanni had called ahead and told them to expect me, which meant that I was promptly escorted by a nice lady at the reception to the CEO's office. It was moments like these which made me appreciate my connections with Giovanni...if only I could trust him. After experiencing one of the smoothest elevator rides ever, I was standing in front of the door with the sign 'Joseph Stone, CEO' hanging ceremoniously on it. I knocked softly on the door and after receiving a 'come in' I opened the door and was greeted by Joseph Stone. "Ah, Elite John, it's a pleasure to meet you. Giovanni told me all about you." Joseph greeted kindly. "Mr. Stone, it's an honour to meet you too." I replied politely. Suddenly, my nervousness came back to me, and I started to become worried that Joseph would refuse my proposal or that I would blunder my speech. I ruthlessly quashed that nervousness though; I was a member of the Elite Four, and I forced myself to act like one. "No, it really should be me saying that to you, Elite John. My son, Steven Stone, is a huge fan of yours." He responded back. "Oh?" That name certainly piqued my curiosity. I knew that Steven hadn't become the Champion of Hoenn yet, so I had been wondering when he would make his challenge for the position. "Is your son a trainer?" I asked as I pretended not to know. "Oh yes, he's an amazing trainer, especially for how young he is. I actually think he's of similar age to you. Very talented, much better than I was at his age." Joseph gushed fondly, "I might be biased as a parent, but I think he has real potential at making it into the Elite Four! Maybe he'll become the greatest Steel type specialist in Hoenn!" "Steven is a Steel Type specialist?" I asked, pretending to be curious. "Yes, he is. And his team is very strong! Oh, you know his starter, well it's now a Metagross, and he also has a...." Joseph began listing Steven's team and how strong they all were. I gave an exasperated smile as I listened to Joseph ramble and gush for minutes about Steven's talents as a trainer and how proud he was of him. Although I didn't really care too much about his praise for Steven, his very obvious love for his son was a good indicator that he was a good person deep down and that I could trust him and work with him in the future. It was very difficult to fake love like that. After a few minutes, Joseph suddenly widened his eyes and coughed embarrassingly. "Uh, sorry about that. I can get quite passionate when talking about Steven." He said awkwardly. "No, it's fine." I allowed, "And, honestly, your praise for your son has made me interested to meet him one day. Especially since you said that he was a fan of mine and that we're of similar ages. Maybe after our discussion, we can arrange for a time for us to meet?" "Absolutely! Yes, I think he would love that." Joseph agreed immediately with a bright smile, "I'll be sure to let him know after our discussion." Joseph's face then lost all of his earlier cheerfulness as it became serious. "Alright, I think we've wasted enough time with the pleasantries." I nodded, straightening up as I listened carefully. "From what Giovanni has told me, you wanted to set up a joint research project with scientists provided by myself and Giovanni to see if we can discover how we can mass produce this 'Porygon' and if we can find out how to evolve it, amongst other things, is that right?" "Yes, that's correct." I confirmed, "And Gym Leader Norman of Petalburg City has already given preliminary permission for us to make use of a currently unused plot of land in Petalburg to build the research facility." "That's good, finding the land for these projects is often one of the hardest and most expensive steps." Joseph commented with a thoughtful look on his face, "do you know how we will discuss the division of costs? Who is going to pay for what?" "Uh, no I don't know anything about that." I admitted with some embarrassment, "But, Gym Leader Giovanni did want me to call him when I met with you, Mr. Stone. So, with your permission, I'd like to video call him and add him to this discussion. I'm sure he'll be able to answer the more logistical questions." "Yes, that's fine. Please call him now." Joseph said, and I grabbed my phone and dialled Giovanni. "Hello?" Giovanni answered through my phone. "This is John. I'm currently meeting with Mr. Stone, and I will be switching to video call so that you can join in on the conversation." I told him. "Yes, do that." He replied, and I swapped to video. I balanced my phone on a small cigar box on Joseph's desk so that we both could see Giovanni and he could see us via the camera. "It's a pleasure to speak with you again, Mr. Stone." Giovanni began easily, "Has John brought you up on our proposal?" I could hear the emphasis that Giovanni placed on 'our', but I didn't mind. After all, his scientists were a vital component of my proposal. "Yes, he has." Joseph responded, "He has told me that you were willing to send out your scientists to collaborate with mine in order to undergo further research about Porygon. He has also told me that Gym Leader Norman was amenable to allow us to set up a research building in Petalburg. So far, I do like what I'm hearing, but I had a few logistical questions that John told me to ask you about." "Of course, please, go ahead." Giovanni smoothly replied. The two of them began discussing how they would handle the more administrative aspects of my proposal. They talked about how many scientists would be sent over, how they would be paid, who would pay for the rent for the building, and so on and so forth. Listening to them hash out the details made me very glad that I didn't need to think of these things. I may be a good trainer, but these logistical matters were far out of my field of knowledge. Thank Arceus Giovanni was more than capable of handling these matters; I would have fumbled them so hard. However, I made a mental note to myself to learn more about how to handle these administrative matters in the future; I didn't want to rely on Giovanni or others to deal with these matters for me forever. Learning how to talk logistics could prove fruitful for my future plans as a member of the Elite Four. After several minutes where I just sat there silently and listened as Joseph and Giovanni went back and forth as they negotiated the finer details, they eventually came to an agreement about how the joint research project will go forward. Essentially, each side will be paying the salaries of their own scientists. However, Giovanni wanted to ensure that the project would be headed by someone under his employ, and in return, he would be paying for the construction of the research facility. Joseph agreed with these terms, and they metaphorically shook on it. Joseph said that he would forward the proposal to Norman after the meeting and asked if we had any other topics to discuss with him, since he didn't even have any other meetings for the rest of the day. "I do, actually." I suddenly spoke up, "Mr. Stone, from my understanding, Devon Corp currently doesn't have any branch offices set up in Indigo, is that correct?" "Ah, I see where you're going with this." Joseph replied thoughtfully, "You want me to set up a branch office in Indigo? Do you have a place where we could do this?" "Well, I was thinking that, in light with your newfound cooperation with Giovanni, why not set up a branch office in Viridian?" Even through the video camera of my phone, I could see Giovanni's eyes light up as his mouth morphed into a feral smile as he heard my proposal. That was good, I wanted him to know that I was someone who would pay back their debts and favours. "Yes, that's a good idea." Joseph responded, then he sighed. "I can't believe I didn't make this offer myself, it seems so obvious in hindsight. And I assume that you are okay with this, Gym Leader Giovanni?" "Of course, John's idea is a huge gift for me." Giovanni answered with a hint of something in his voice that I couldn't quite place. "Oh, and John, you should sign off on this project too using your position as a member of the Elite Four. It'll allow you to get the credit and it'll also ensure that no one can demand Devon Corp to move their branch to Johto." Ah, I understood where Giovanni was saying with this. He wanted to ensure that Kanto would reap the benefits of Devon Corp's move, not Johto. And to do this, he needed my influence as an Elite Four to deter the Indigo League from demanding that Devon Corp should move to Johto instead of being set up in Viridian. "Of course, I will sign off the proposal when it comes." I told them, before something concerning sprung to mind, "However, what about Silph Co.? Wouldn't they make a fuss about having to compete with Devon Corp?" Giovanni gave out a surprising bark of laughter when he heard this. Joseph and I turned to him in confusion before he coughed and regained his composure. "My apologies, I shouldn't have laughed at that." He said, "But I can assure you both that Silph Co. will not make a fuss about it. That is my guarantee." Joseph nodded happily at that, thinking that Giovanni's statement was innocuous. I nodded too, but I had my suspicions that Giovanni's 'guarantee' was because he had dirt on Silph Co., or members of their board, that he would use as leverage to ensure their cooperation. If that was true, then while I wasn't super comfortable with the idea that Giovanni was blackmailing or threatening people, it really wasn't something I was going to pick a fight about. I knew that these were the risks of working and collaborating with Giovanni, and for the most part, I can wilfully ignore these kinds of under-the-table activities. Sure, I found these kinds of actions unpleasant and would be extremely enraged if he ever tried to blackmail or threaten me or my family, but I can generally overlook it unless they escalate further into more extreme forms of crimes such as openly stealing Pokémon from others and general thuggery, like what Team Rocket was doing in the games. That would be crossing the line. It was a bit hypocritical of me, but I justified it by thinking that the use of blackmail and bribes were all too common in politics anyways, so what Giovanni was doing was not too different from how other politicians acted behind the scenes. Admittedly, it was a flimsy justification, but it was what I was sticking to for now. I didn't want to, nor could I afford to, alienate Giovanni over a dispute of morals right now. Focusing back on the discussion, I listened carefully as the two began discussing the details of how they would set up the branch office in Virdian, and I made sure to write down notes on their discussion. I wanted to be able to at least talk about the finer details if I was ever asked about it by a reporter so that I could present myself as a mature member of the Elite Four that was actively helping out the economy and knew what they were doing. They finished their discussions after a few minutes, and after confirming that there was nothing else that needed to be discussed, Giovanni thanked us both for our time before hanging up the call. I was putting my phone away before Joseph spoke up. "John, would you like to have a tour of Devon Corp?" he suggested, "I have some free time, and I wouldn't mind showing you around." "I would love to." I replied instantly, a bit of my excitement leaking through. "I hope it isn't too much of a bother." "Nonsense!" Joseph said happily as he stood up, "Please, come with me. I have a few projects that we are working on that I wanted to show you." Joseph then took me to the elevator which deposited us on the second floor. As the elevator doors opened, I was faced with a horde of scientists rushing about as they some of them fiddled with a gigantic machine that had so many attached components and pipes that it looked like something out of a Steampunk novel. "This is my personal pet project." Joseph declared eagerly, "It is what I call the Pokémon Producer. Its purpose is to be able to regenerate a Pokémon Fossil to the Pokémon that it was before it became a fossil. I intend to use it as a means of reviving long-forgotten Pokémon and make them available in our world once again." "That's amazing!" I said honestly, "Is the machine working?" I asked hopefully. "Unfortunately, it's still a work-in-progress." Joseph shook his head sadly, before brightening up. "But I hope that we can get the machine working within the next few years. I really wanted to be able to give Steven the first ever revived Fossil Pokémon as a gift!" He said excitedly. Joseph then spent some time talking about science stuff with the scientists and thanking them for the hard work. After he was done, he escorted me to a different floor of the building. This time, instead of a gigantic machine, I was faced with a huge snaking conveyor belt covered in Pokéballs. "This is where we do most of our research and development for our new Pokéball designs." Joseph told me, "I brought you here because we've just come up with a new Pokéball design that I wanted to show you." He gestured for us to move forwards towards a line of white and red Pokéballs that I recognised were the Premier Balls from the games. "This is our latest design, what we call the Premier Ball." He picked one up to show me. "They are functionally identical to the Pokéball, and are essentially just redesigned Pokéballs, but we were hoping to market them to Ace trainers as some kind of status symbol for themselves and their Pokémon. I was hoping that, with your assistance, John, we could start marketing them right away." He explained. "What would you need me to do?" I asked non-committedly; I wanted to know more about this before committing anything. "Nothing much, but I was hoping you would allow us to transfer your Pokémon from their current Pokéballs into these Premier Balls and then use them in a battle. That way, we can begin an advertisement campaign that would suggest that these Premier Balls were for ace trainers that wanted to let others know how strong they were." He detailed, and to me it sounded like a pretty standard marketing campaign for a 'luxurious' product. "I'll do it." I accepted after thinking about it for a bit, "But I want 5% on all sales of the Premier Ball for the next three months." Joseph stared at me tightly as he thought about it. I met his stare unflinchingly and after a few seconds he extended his hand, which I shook. "Deal, I accept. But you must give an interview or a public speech talking about the new Premier Balls and how you like them." He countered. "That's perfectly fine, I accept." I responded. "Good, I'll have someone draft up the contract for you to sign later." He told me. He then reached for his phone and texted someone briefly before turning back to me. "Ok, with business out of the way, I do actually want you to meet someone." He said, "She's going to be the one that I plan to appoint to run the branch that will be set up in Viridian. I felt like you should meet her as I assume that you'll be in contact with her the most when you return to Indigo." I nodded at his words as they made sense. Joseph escorted me to a small office in the corner of the Pokéball production line and knocked on the door. "Come in!" a female voice shouted out. Joseph opened the door and as I stepped into the office my eyes nearly shot out of their sockets as I saw the person sitting inside. She was wearing a blue shirt that remained visible under her lab coat and had wavy black hair with blue highlights that looked purposely untamed. Alarm bells started ringing in my head as I immediately recognised who she was. "John, this is Shelly. She'll be the new branch manager for the branch that will be set up in Viridian. It'll be announced formally later." Joseph introduced. "Uh, I am?" Shelly asked confusedly. "Yes, sorry for the short notice Shelly. Don't worry, you'll be mostly doing the same things there." Joseph apologised, "But you told me at the recent senior meeting that you had wanted to 'spread your wings' a bit and travel, so when John here made the proposal, I thought you were an appropriate pick for this." "Oh, yes, I remember saying that. And sure, I don't mind going." Shelly shrugged casually, "So, who is this, Sir?" She gestured to me. "Ah, this is Elite John of the Indigo Elite Four. I presume you'll be seeing a lot more of him as you take up your duties in Indigo." Joseph responded and I waved politely at Shelly, who had a look of surprise as she was introduced to me. "It's nice to meet you, Shelly. I hope we can work well together in the future." I politely told her, concealing my surprise and shock deep within me. I didn't want to alert her to my suspicions anytime soon. "Oh? You're very interesting, Elite John. It's nice to meet you." She said with what I thought was a friendly tone, "Though, I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing in Indigo at the moment, so if you have any questions for me at the moment then I'm afraid I can't help you." "No, it's alright." I replied, "I don't have any questions for you right now either, but I expect that I'll be speaking to you more in the future if I have any proposals for Devon Corp." "Exactly, so don't worry about it, Shelly." Joseph chuckled, "I'll be sending you the details later so that you'll have an idea about what you're working on. I just wanted you to introduce the two of you together because you'll likely be working together on something in the future." He explained kindly. "I see, well thank you Sir for the heads up." She told Joseph formally and gave him a slight bow, before turning back to me. "In that case, I look forward to working with you more in the future, Elite John. I know from your reputation that you have an intelligent mind, especially at such a young age, so I would be glad to listen and discuss any ideas that you have." She extended her hand for me to shake. I shook her hand and stepped back to allow Joseph and Shelly to discuss a few things about her upcoming move to Indigo. All the while, I started to pick my mind as I tried to remember what in Arceus was Shelly doing in Devon Corp? Wasn't she supposed to be a Team Aqua Admin? What was Team Aqua doing right now? Had they even formed yet? Going through my memories, I recalled that Shelly was a scientist working at Devon Corp before she eventually left to join Team Aqua. Does that mean that Team Aqua hadn't formed yet? Did Shelly currently believe in Team Aqua's vision of flooding the world with the power of Kyogre in their idiotic quest to wipe out humanity? What about Team Magma? What were they doing? There were too many questions going through my head that I didn't have the answers for, so I forcefully shelved them away for the time being as to not leave myself distracted. Soon enough, Joseph and Shelly had finished their discussion and we left Shelly's office. Joseph then asked if I wanted to have my Pokémon transferred from my Pokéballs to the new Premier Balls right away. I accepted and he brought me over to this machine that would do the transferring. As we waited for my Pokémon to be transferred, he told me that, sadly, Steven was not in Rustboro at the moment and that he would be unable to meet me. However, he said that, perhaps in the future, we could meet up. I told him that I'd love to meet him one day and talk to him about our experiences as a trainer. With a small 'Ding' that signified the completion of the transfer, I picked up my new Premier Balls and released each of my Pokémon one by one just to make sure that it was working properly. Luckily, the floor had high ceilings so that my larger Pokémon wouldn't accidentally smash their way through the ceiling as they were released. After testing each of my new Premier Balls, I thanked Joseph for the tour and for considering my proposals and he told me that he would send over the Premier Ball contract shortly via email. Suddenly remembering about Whitney and Karen, I asked if I could have a few Premier Ball to spare so that I could give them to my friends and family. Joseph happily agreed and gave me a case of 10 Premier balls. I thanked him once again and, seeing that nothing else needed to be discussed, I said my goodbyes and made my way back down the elevator and eventually left Devon Corp I sent out a text to Karen telling her that I had finished my business and that I'd be waiting for her at the Pokécenter. Luckily, she was actually awake and responded affirmatively so I made my way there. Overall, I was very happy with the discussions that took place with Joseph. I managed to pay back Giovanni for gifting Pixel to me, and I was also able to hopefully improve my credentials as a member of the Elite Four. Also, with the establishment of the joint research project and the future branch offices, I hoped that this will improve relations between Hoenn and Kanto as the two nations become more economically linked to each other. However, the issue of Shelly was still unresolved. What in Arceus was I going to do with her? Did I even need to do anything? The New Normal – 2-8 – INTERLUDE: Karen Karen felt great as she made her way down for breakfast. After several days of being forcefully dragged out of bed by John at times that should be considered far too early for a person to be awake at, she was finally afforded the luxury of actually being able to sleep in and wake up on her own terms. Not that she was annoyed at John for waking her up early; she knew that he had a schedule to stick to and had legitimately important things to do, so she didn't begrudge him on that. Still, some people just aren't made for mornings, like herself. As she took her time to enjoy her breakfast, she got a text from John telling her that he was finished with his business at Devon Corp and that he was making his way back to the Pokécenter. Truthfully, she had wanted to accompany him to Devon Corp; after all, she wanted to get herself more involved in the more political and business side of things as preparation for if and when she became a member of the Elite Four. But she understood why she couldn't go as some of the discussions were definitely private and not meant for her to overhear. She was satisfied and excited enough with being able to participate with John on their experiment with the Zigzagoon egg; she really hoped that the experiment would be successful as she thought that it would be such an important breakthrough in the world of science about alternate Pokémon forms. It would also do wonders for her own reputation too. While she sat back and waited for John to arrive, she thought over the time that she spent with John. Spending time and journeying with John was very different to her relationship with Agatha. She found him to be remarkably friendlier and easier to be around than Agatha; she was allowed to be far more open and less guarded around John, and she enjoyed it. Their newfound friendship almost went too far for a moment, but she was glad they got control of themselves and explained and understood each other's limits. Agatha was strict and demanding, and she had little to no patience for idiocy or incompetence. She was harsh and exacting, and her presence loomed over you wherever you went. Honestly, although she still loved and respected Agatha for taking her in as her apprentice and teaching her many things, she didn't really like spending more time with her than was strictly necessary. Most people would feel bad about admitting such a thing, but Agatha would've probably shrugged such a comment off with her typical nonchalance and say that there's no value in having people like you, only that they fear and respect you. Despite being exposed to that statement hundreds of times over the years, Karen never could adopt it as her own. She could admit that, whether out of vanity or a desire to be adored, on some level she wanted to be admired by the public for her abilities as a trainer. Of course, she wanted respect too, but she wanted to have a mixture of love and fear, rather than just the latter like Agatha does. Karen also didn't like how guarded Agatha had taught her to be, and she didn't really enjoy being as manipulative as Agatha wanted her to be. She much preferred gaining reputation and status through her own actions instead. On that note, she decided that she wanted to challenge the Hoenn Gyms while she was here. She had already considered it before when she first arrived at Hoenn but initially dismissed it as a waste of time and because she had already beaten all of the Gyms in Indigo as per Agatha's instructions. However, watching John's incredible battle against Norman had inspired her to challenge the Hoenn Gyms as well. Besides, she had already decided to spend a bit of time here in Hoenn to catch more Dark types, so she might as well use that time productively and challenge the Gyms now that she was already here. Furthermore, Karen knew that defeating all of the Gyms in Indigo was an unofficial requirement for being selected to join the Indigo Elite Four if there is a vacant spot, which was why she went around Johto defeating all of the Gyms there in the first place. Yet, if she could continue her winning streak against the Hoenn Gyms as well, it would hopefully serve to increase her chances of being selected as the next member of the Elite Four in the event of a vacancy and it would also be useful as a means to continue training her Pokémon. She knew that her team was strong, but especially after seeing John's Pokémon in action, she was starting to get worried that they might not be strong enough for her to challenge and win against a member of the Elite Four. But perhaps by integrating John's new training methods and fighting against the Hoenn Gyms would allow her Pokémon to improve and become strong enough that they'd fit in with the rest of the Elite Four. "Hey, you okay there, Karen?" John's voice surprised her and shocked her out of thoughts. She turned to look at John who was looking down at her with a face of concern. She didn't realize he had already returned. "Oh, yeah, it's nothing, I was just thinking deeply to myself." She replied, shelving her thoughts for later. "Oh, okay then. I'm sorry you couldn't come with me to Devon Corp, but the conversation we had was pretty private." He apologized. "No, it's fine." She said with a shake of her head, "I knew that I wasn't allowed to come anyways, and I'm not upset about it. Besides, I could finally sleep in for once instead of being dragged awake by the taskmaster that you are." She quipped and gave him a smirk. "It's not my fault that you don't wake up at normal times like a normal person." He said as he let out an exaggerated sigh, "I dread to think what your journey to Hoenn might've been if I wasn't accompanying you. You'd probably spend more time out at night than during the day." Karen shrugged at that; he probably wasn't wrong. She did prefer walking around at night than during the day, it was just more refreshing and atmospheric. "Oh, John, I've decided that I'm going to be challenging all of the Hoenn Gyms now that I'm here." She announced, "I hope you don't mind accompanying me as I do so." "Not a problem." John replied easily, "I don't have anything specific to do while I'm here anyways, so I don't mind accompanying you." Karen could hear the slight bitterness at the reminder that John was here because he was being side-lined by the Indigo League. Honestly, Karen was amazed that John remained as calm as he was. She was positive that she would've reacted far more harshly if she was in his place. Regardless, she told John that she had already scheduled a match against the Rustboro Rock-type Gym Leader, Roy, in about 30 minutes, so they started to make their way there. Karen had already looked into Roy's previous battles the night before, and she knew that he favoured a defensive battling style that made use of his Pokémon's inherent defensiveness to allow them to set up and buff themselves before going on the offensive. If everything goes to plan, then she would have the perfect counter for his battling style. The two of them arrived at Rustboro Gym shortly after, and the receptionist told the both of them to wait for their turn. It amused Karen that the receptionist didn't seem to recognise who John was in what he called his 'Hoenn tourist getup', but if he didn't want to be recognised then she wouldn't draw attention to him either. Soon, it was her turn, and she was directed to the arena where she stood on the platform while John got seated at the audience section. She could tell that the battle section of the Gym was vastly different to the museum-like exhibit that constituted the waiting area, and that the arena was decorated with many scattered rock formations. "Trainers, this will be a 3v3 8-badge match between challenger Karen and Gym Leader Roy! Each trainer is allowed 1 switch!" The referee announced, and Karen refocused herself for the upcoming match. She had her plan, she just needed to stick to it. "Trainers, are you ready?!" Karen nodded and she could see Roy doing the same before they both released their Pokémon. "BEGIN!" "Sneasel, you know what to do!" "Golem, do what you're best at!" Having already been told what her plan was, her Sneasel hit the ground running as he dashed rapidly towards the Golem with swiftness that demonstrated the effort that Karen put in to training her Sneasel and improving his speed. "Stone Edge, Golem!" Golem started tearing up the battleground as it began launching large chunks of rocks at the speeding Sneasel. Each rock almost matched Sneasel in size and, coupled with Sneasel's inherent frailness and type weakness, would have led to a quick knockout if Sneasel was hit by them. Karen had more than enough confidence in her Sneasel, though, and Sneasel affirmed her belief in him as he nimbly dodged past the storm of rocks with such ease that it barely seemed like Sneasel was in any danger. Seeing that Sneasel was rapidly closing the distance, Roy switched tactics. "Earthquake, Golem!" Golem stopped firing rocks before it started stomping on the ground, causing the arena to begin shaking widely. "Into the air, Sneasel!" Sneasel nimbly leapt into the air, keeping its momentum, and avoided getting caught in the Earthquake. Now in striking range, Sneasel's hands glowed a bright orange as he clapped his hands right in front of Golem's face with a Fake Out, creating shockwaves that caused the Golem to flinch and interrupted its Earthquake. "Sneasel, Low Sweep!" Sneasel landed and quickly dived for Golem's legs and struck one of them with a powerful sweep of his legs, tripping and knocking Golem over onto its back. Normally, being knocked over was a disastrous position for most Pokémon to be in, but Golem was one of the few exceptions. "Gyro Ball on your back, Golem!" "Fall back, Sneasel!" Using its round shaped back, Golem started spinning quickly on its back and spun towards Sneasel, who had jumped backwards to avoid getting caught in the spin. "Ice Shard, Sneasel! Keep your distance!" Sneasel made use of his superiority speed and agility and kept his distance from the spinning Golem while firing off Ice Shards at Golem. As it was stuck in its spinning, it wasn't able to create any rocks to block the shards and was hit by the super-effective move. "Golem, stop spinning! Bunker yourself and Flamethrower!" Golem stopped spinning and started simultaneously surrounding itself with on all sides with a wall of rocks that were able to shield itself from Sneasel's Ice Shards and firing off a stream of fire that tracked after Sneasel. "Agility then Icy Wind, Sneasel!" Sneasel was briefly engulfed by a pink glow before he started to speed up to the point where Golem's Flamethrower was unable to follow him. Then, he summoned a gust of chilling winds that swept into Golem's makeshift bunker and transformed it from a safe haven into a prison of ice that rapidly threatened to freeze Golem within. "Dig and get out of there, Golem!" "Taunt it!" "No! Just Dig Golem! Don't fall for it!" Roy shouted in a panic. But before Golem could start digging its way down, Sneasel shot a burst of Dark-type energy towards Golem that caused it to become rapidly enraged. No longer heeding Roy's commands, Golem broke through its own rock walls and charged towards the Sneasel. Karen smirked to herself as she saw this, it was one of her favourite tactics to use against other trainers that hadn't trained their Pokémon to resist her Pokémon's Taunt. They would fall into an uncontrollable state of rage, perfect for her plans. "Ice Punch now, Sneasel!" With the Golem no longer surrounded by its own rock walls and now charging mindlessly towards Sneasel, it was the perfect opportunity for Sneasel to dash towards as he easily dodged under a swipe of Golem's Hammer Arm and he crashed his fist into Golem's face with a critical Ice Punch. The Golem barely held on with its Sturdy, but a swift follow-up Ice Shard to the face knocked it out. "Golem is unable to battle!" The referee announced, "The Gym Leader has thirty seconds to decide on his next Pokémon!" The crowd burst with excitement and cheers at Sneasel's flawless victory against Roy's Golem. Karen tuned out the crowd and started thinking through her plan once again. She thought that her plan was going smoothly as she watched Roy withdraw his Golem. Sneasel remained undamaged and was definitely able to take on another of Roy's Pokémon. As she was thinking to herself, she felt Roy staring intently at her, so she decided to match him with a stare of her own as she awaited his next Pokémon. After a brief stare down, Roy looked away and sent out his next Pokémon. "Come, Probopass!" Probopass whirled as it was released and floated slightly off the ground. Karen had to hide her grin, it was another defensive and slow Pokémon, just like she was hoping for. "Trainers, are you ready?!" Both trainers nodded to the referee, "BEGIN!" "Ice Shards, Sneasel!" "Power Gem and match them, Probopass!" Sneasel started circling around the Probopass while shooting out Ice Shards that were quickly matched by Probopass' Power Gem. The Power Gems fired by Probopass actually were stronger than Sneasel's Ice Shard, and Sneasel was forced to dodge several incoming gemstones that his shards failed to break. "Iron Defense, Probopass!" Seeing that Sneasel appeared distracted by the fired gemstones, Roy mistakenly thought that he had the opportunity to buff up Probopass' Defenses. "Now! Icy Wind, Sneasel!" Making use of his boosted speed from his previous Agility, Sneasel shot forwards and was easily able to both dodge the incoming gemstones. Taking advantage of the opening, Sneasel fired off an Icy Wind that engulfed the Probopass. The damage was minor, but chunks of ice started to form on Probopass' exterior as it began to freeze over. "Lock on and Flash Cannon, Probopass!" Switching it up, Roy went on the offensive as Probopass began spinning around as it attempted to lock on to Sneasel and fire a Flash Cannon. "Keep avoiding it and Icicle Crash!" Maintaining his speed, Sneasel quickly formed large chunks of Ice in his mouth and fired them into the air. However, when Sneasel slowed down slightly to fire off the icicles, Probopass had managed to Lock On to the Sneasel and it fired a powerful Flash Cannon that homed into and blasted Sneasel backwards. In return though, the icicles that Sneasel fired fell upon Probopass like a heavy torrent of rain and caused Probopass to buckle on to the ground so that it was no longer levitating. Karen quickly glanced at both Pokémon. Sneasel was badly injured by that Flash Cannon, but she saw that he still had some fight left in him. In comparison, Probopass remained mostly unharmed thanks to its boosted Defenses, but it was noticeably slowed down from being hit by the repeated Ice attacks. "Again!" Roy shouted with a sweep of his hand. "Dig to dodge!" Karen quickly ordered, and Sneasel dove into the ground to avoid the sweeping gaze of the opposing Probopass. "Earthquake, Probopass!" "Jump out and Icy Wind!" Karen saw that Sneasel was still agile enough to leap out of the ground just in time to avoid the Earthquake from landing a critical hit on him and fired off another gust of freezing winds at the Probopass. At this point, Probopass' exterior was almost covered in icicles and its movements were heavily slowed. It was frozen. "Lock On and Flash Cannon once more, Probopass!" Roy commanded worriedly, but Probopass was too frozen to respond. "Brick Break and finish it now, Sneasel!" Sneasel rushed towards Probopass as it struggled to break free and move from its frozen state. "Shit! PROTECT!" Roy shouted desperately, but Probopass was unable to unfreeze itself and Sneasel landed a critical Brick Break that struck Probopass' frozen exterior. Probopass whirled in pain as it was hit by the 4 times supereffective move and was quickly knocked out. "Probopass is unable to battle! The Gym Leader must send out his final Pokémon in the next thirty seconds!" The referee announced and the crowd cheered at Sneasel's second knock out, and Karen could hear that a few members of the audience were chanting for Sneasel to do a clean sweep. Karen considered it for a moment, but once she carefully observed Sneasel's condition she decided against it. Sneasel was already too damaged and had done enough already. "I'm withdrawing my Pokémon!" Karen declared as she withdrew Sneasel, and she could hear that a few members of the audience booing her decision. But she ignored them, her plan was going better than expected she could almost taste her impending victory. "Trainers, are you ready?!" For what Karen felt should be the last time, she nodded with Roy and they both sent out their Pokémon. "BEGIN!" "Umbreon, win this for me." Her Umbreon landed gracefully onto the ground as he gave off a growl. "Aggron, show her what we're made of!" Aggron crashed on to the ground of the arena and left a sizeable dent in the ground. Karen recognised it as Roy's Ace and it was known for having a mixture of powerful attacks and a solid Defense. "Calm Mind, Umbreon! Start setting up!" Karen started, seemingly going against her previous aggressive actions with Sneasel. "Iron Defense and do the same, Aggron!" Both Pokémon were beginning to boost their stats, exactly as Karen was hoping for. "Ok, Shadow Ball." Umbreon stopped setting up and fired off a Shadow Ball. "Protect and Iron Defense again." Roy said calmly as he allowed Aggron to raise a shield to block the incoming Shadow Ball as it continued boosting its Defense. "Set up a Light Screen, Umbreon!" Umbreon growled and a faint wall of light shimmered into existence in front of it. Karen noticed that Roy had barely reacted at Umbreon's Light Screen, probably because he never intended to make use of Special Attacks in the first place, which made sense for an Aggron. "Ok Aggron, Body Press and Stone Edge. Enough setting up." Roy commanded and Aggron let out a roar in agreement and began lumbering towards Umbreon, while rocks began simultaneously firing off towards Umbreon. Roy clearly intended to use the added weight from Aggron's Iron Defenses to cause its Body Press to become so powerful that it would instantly knock out Umbreon if it hits. Each step Aggron took caused the ground to shake slightly as Aggron's heavy body charged forwards, each stomp of its legs leaving a crack in the ground and a cloud of dust trailing behind it. Umbreon showed off his mobility as he nimbly dodged past the incoming Stone Edge. All the while, Aggron continued glaring at Umbreon with its Scary Face in an attempt to unnerve the smaller Umbreon and make him freeze-up in terror. Despite the incoming freight train of an Aggron that was about to slam into her Umbreon, Karen made no commands as she patiently waited for Aggron to approach. She could see that Roy was giving her a look of confusion and suspicion, obviously expecting her to order Umbreon to dodge or to react at all. But no, Karen was content to wait. The trap was about to be sprung. She waited until Aggron got closer. It was still too far away. And it got closer, and Karen was gripping her own arm so tightly that she unknowingly left a mark on herself. And the moment Aggron got within several meters of Umbreon, she sprung the trap. "Confuse Ray, Umbreon!" Umbreon used a small gap in the rocks to fire off a ray of light. "SHIT! DODGE IT AGGRON!" Roy shouted out in alarm, but it was too late. Aggron wasn't able to divert or pivot itself in time and was struck head on by a small ray of light that quickly disoriented it. Aggron wobbled on its feet unsteadily as it became so disorientated that it could barely keep itself upright; its' previous charge long forgotten as it now stumbled around as it tried to regain its bearings. The rocks that were previously being fired off in a constant barrage now all fell to the ground, forgotten. In the distance, Karen could hear Roy shouting at Aggron to snap out of it to no avail. With Agatha's help, Karen had meticulously trained her Umbreon to use Confuse Ray as a trump card against Pokémon that relied on brute strength. She found it to be the perfect counter against them as often times trainers would neglect to train up a Pokémon's mental strength and leave them susceptible to mental attacks like this. And so, with Aggron thoroughly confused and unable to snap out of it, Karen moved to close out the battle. "Guard Swap, Umbreon." Taking advantage of Aggron's confusion, Umbreon sent a pink line of psychic energy that latched on to Aggron before each Pokémon emitted a small pulse that swapped between them. Now, Umbreon had taken on Aggron's boosted Defense while Aggron lost all of it, and thanks to Agatha, Karen's Guard Swap was also unique in that it also dropped both of the target's Defenses proportional to the Defenses gained if it is successful. "Dig into Double Kick, Umbreon." Karen watched as Umbreon quickly burrowed himself into the ground. Aggron was still stumbling around the battlefield and had no idea what was going on. In its confusion, it was randomly swiping at the ground with its tail and created huge gashes into the arena. Suddenly, Umbreon emerged out of one of Aggron's created gashes with a growl and slammed into the Aggron with his head, knocking it back slightly and causing Aggron to react confusedly with a flurry of disoriented Dragon Claws. Not needing further instructions from Karen, Umbreon dove to the side and kicked Aggron in the side of its head with his two hind legs, causing Aggron to fall onto its knees as it growled in pain from the boosted damage caused by its own lowered Defenses. "Again, Umbreon! Finish this!" Karen shouted. "Protect, Aggron! Snap out of it!" Roy responded, but Karen could hear it in his tone that he knew that the battle was lost. Aggron did actually manage to form a shield, but it was formed in the wrong location and Umbreon slammed both of his hind legs into the back of Aggron's head once more, causing Aggron to crash its head face first into the ground, knocked out. The crowd went wild as they witnessed Umbreon's turnaround and Karen adopted a beaming smile as her plan went off perfectly. From her research, she knew that Roy favoured using set up moves before attacking, so she led off with her Sneasel to go hyper aggressive to stop Roy's Pokémon from setting up and prevent Roy from using his preferred fighting style. Then, when she swapped to Umbreon, she initially held back on the aggression so that Roy would be tempted to fall back on his more preferred battle style. Then, by setting up a Calm Mind and a Light Screen, that would encourage Roy to charge in with his Pokémon as any Special Attack move would be heavily reduced by Umbreon's set up. Of course, that was exactly what Karen wanted as she could then hit them with a Confuse Ray + Guard Swap combo to quickly strip the opposing Pokémon of its defenses while making it so completely disorientated that the opponent loses all ability to fight back. Then, it was a simple matter of just knocking out the effectively defenseless Pokémon to secure the win. Admittedly, there were many things that could've gone wrong with the plan, but Sneasel's incredible performance in managing to knock out two of Roy's Pokémon basically ensured her the win even if the plan fell apart. As she noticed that Roy had already withdrawn his Aggron and was now approaching her side of the arena, Karen decided to stop praising herself for the plan as she went down to meet him. On the way, she kneeled down towards her Umbreon that had puffed up in pride at his victory. Karen gave him an affectionate rub on his chin and gave him murmured words of praise before withdrawing him. Looking up, she could see that Roy was patiently waiting for Karen to finish up with her Umbreon. "Congratulations on your victory, trainer Karen." Roy said with a smile that held no bitterness at his defeat, "That was an incredible showing from you. I felt like I was being strung along the entire time!" Karen had to fight down the smirk that almost appeared on her face, she reminded herself that wanted to be humble in victory, unlike Agatha. "Thank you, Gym Leader Roy. I had done my research before approaching you, and I just stuck to the plan." She acknowledged. "Well, it was a very good plan indeed, Miss." Roy replied, before giving her a scrutinizing look, "I can tell that you're here to challenge yourself, isn't that right Miss?" "Yes, that's right." Karen confirmed, "I came to Hoenn with a friend, but I'm mostly here to catch new Pokémon and challenge myself further for when I return to Indigo." "Ah, yes, I see that often is the case with ambitious trainers." Roy said with a friendly smile, "Truth be told, I'm getting a bit too old to be a Gym Leader, and I've been looking for someone to replace me, so I know I'm not the strongest of trainers anymore." He admitted with a hint of embarrassment. "If you want a challenge, trainer Karen, you should keep going to challenge the other Gyms. I'm certain that you'll at least find something to improve on while you're there." Roy advised. "That's what I'm planning on doing." Karen admitted, "Thank you for your advice though." "No problem, and oh, before I forget, here is your Stone Badge as proof of your victory. Congratulations once again." He awarded her the Stone Badge, and they shook hands before Roy departed. Karen looked around and saw that John was smiling at her before gesturing with his head towards the door of the Gym. She nodded at him and walked towards the entrance while giving polite smiles and thanks to a few members of the audience that congratulated her on her victory. As she left the Rustboro Gym, she thought to herself that while this victory was a great start, Karen wouldn't rest on her laurels until she made it to the Elite Four. Or, perhaps, maybe even further than that.