The New Normal - A Pokémon Elite 4 SI by CartecFF

Chapter 34: 134-138

The New Normal – 7-8 – Interlude – Clair

Clair stormed into Lance's office, ignoring the concerned looks of the security guards that let her through. She had visited Lance's office enough that they didn't need to verify who she was any more.

Although this time she was considerably more aggravated.

"Did you see this?!" She demanded at her cousin as she threw a newspaper in front of him. But as she did so, she saw the many bags that rested heavily below her cousin's tired eyes. The man looked exhausted.

"What now?!" He asked irritably, causing Clair to feel bad about simply barging in. He must have been busier than he expected.

She softened her tone considerably, "The claims that the Fairy type is immune and supereffective against Dragons. It's making us look weak." Clair had been completely taken aback by the revelation of the Fairy type, and it took her quite a while to actually accept what was happening.

A type that supposedly shut down Dragons? Her pride as a Blackthorn didn't allow it.

"And what do you want me to do about it?" Lance asked, annoyance leaking out of his voice, "If you haven't noticed – I've got paperwork stacked as high as Mt. Silver on my desk. I really DO NOT need to be bothered right now."

Well, Clair felt even worse now, but she had a message to deliver. She took a letter out of her pocket and handed it over to him.

She watched as Lance's tired eyes roamed sleepily across the letter, only for him to grow angrier as he continued to read. By the time he finished, he had already shot up from his desk, his tiredness long forgotten.

"What. The fuck. Is this?!" He demanded to Clair, fury blazing in his eyes.

"It's the official word from the Blackthorn elders. They want us to challenge the research." She explained hesitantly, realizing that this wasn't going to go well.

As expected, her words only served to further infuriate Lance as he slammed a fist on his desk, nearly knocking over the pile of paperwork. "Those fucking idiots. This is not something that can be disproved like that! What the fuck are they even thinking!?"

"You don't think that Oak was overplaying this?" She voiced, before wincing as soon as Lance's furious eyes were turned to her.

"Are you insane?! Or did you not see who was on that list of researchers for this? Practically every big name in Indigo was involved, and you want the Blackthorns to be OPPOSED to this!?" Lance shook his head, "Absolutely not. I'm not going to join them in their idiotic death pact."

Clair knew that wasn't to go over well with the rest of the clan, but she knew she wasn't going to be able to change Lance's mind at the moment. "Then what are you going to do?" She instead asked.

"Nothing. I'm not going to do anything." Lance said as he sat down again, "I'm not some junior for the elders of the clan to order around anymore." He raised the letter to her face, "Do you realize how bad it'd look if the Champion questioned something like this, only to be proven wrong later? It'd be a huge scandal, ESPECIALLY trying to go against someone like Champion Oak."

"I'm not going to do something so stupid, so if the elders want to continue on this course of action, I'll have nothing to do with it." He said with finality.

Clair frowned, "Why aren't you angrier at this? I thought the existence of a type that counters Dragons would infuriate you."

Lance looked at her oddly, "Why would it? I mean I was shocked, sure, but I wouldn't be angry about it. It's just something else that our Dragons need to overcome."

"But wouldn't we look weak?!" Clair demanded, but Lance only snorted.

"If you really think that some newbie Fairy trainer is going to be able to defeat my team – then you really don't know me as well as you think you do." Lance shook his head, "No, a simple immunity against Dragon types is not going to be enough to defeat me. I'll make sure of it." He said the last part with utter certainty and conviction, as if daring the world to contradict him.

"They may not be able to beat YOU, but they could beat ME!" Clair shouted, voicing her true concerns all along. She was not particularly worried for her cousin, she knew he was more than strong enough, but she was worried that her position as the 'strongest' amongst the Johto Gym Leaders would be at risk because of this new revelation.

But if she was expecting sympathy from Lance, then she guessed wrongly. "So? Did you just come to my office to whine about it and to deliver a message that could have been done by literally any other messenger? If you're going to waste your time on something like this, then you could get use that time to train."

Clair winced and frowned at his words, her pride warring with her rational mind. She knew he was correct, but her pride was struggling to adapt to the fact that the Dragon type might not be the most powerful type in the world anymore.

Luckily, perhaps taking pity on her, Lance softened his tone, "There's no point preparing against something that you don't know about. Do research about the Fairy type, see what they're strong and weak against, and plan around that. The new Fairy type is notably weak to Steel and Poison. Why not focus on that?"

"Besides, it's not like the Fairy type is something new – it had always existed, but we just never knew about it. Nothing has changed now that the Type is now properly revealed and documented." Lance added.

"Don't let your pride blind you. Right now, everyone's frantically trying to discover the secrets and strengths of the Fairy type. We're all in the same boat." He explained calmly, "And now, everyone's thinking that Fairy types are going to be the big counter to Dragon types. So do everything you can to prove them wrong. Crush all that would dare challenge your supremacy. THAT is what you should be doing."

"A Dragon does not whine. It roars and destroys all in its path." Lance reminded her.

Clair nodded, suitably chastised yet enlightened, before getting out of her seat. He was right. Getting angry about hurt pride wouldn't accomplish anything. With the new Fairy reveal, there would be many an ambitious trainer looking to smash through her Gym using the new and powerful Fairy types.

But she vowed to not be an easy wall for them to break through.

As she left, she shot Lance one final look of gratitude, only to find him glaring down at the letter that she had given him as if he was trying to burn a hole into it.

Clair held back the urge to gulp. A reckoning was coming.

The New Normal – 7-9 – INTERLUDE – Pokenet Reactions

[THE FAIRY TYPE IS HERE?! AN INTRODUCTION OF A ONCE UNDISCOVERED TYPE BY PROFESSOR OAK!!] By The Indigo Post.

[Picture of Oak, Blaine, John, Elm, Shelly, and Carolina at the press conference] [Picture of Dragonite v Sylveon]

Ladies and Gentlemen, unless you've somehow not been following the news from yesterday, Professor Oak has just recently announced his discovery of the previously unknown Fairy type to the world!!

Oak and his team, which all consist of huge names including Elite John, Gym Leader Blaine, Professor Elm of New Bark Town, Professor Carolina from the Sinnoh Celestic Town Research Centre, and Director Shelly of the Kanto branch of Devon Corp. As per Professor Oak's words, he insisted that credit was to be shared equally amongst his team, and he was only nominated as the leader out of convenience.

Working together, they have managed to not only discover the ins and outs of this new Type, but also managed to discover a completely new Eevelution called Sylveon as well! Those of you who had managed to watch the initial press interview must have saw the demonstration of the Fairy type and its strengths, as it was able to completely tank through a Dragon Pulse from Oak's DRAGONITE almost completely unaffected! This writer is truly starting to believe that this might be the beginning of the end of the Dragon's type dominance over the battling scene.

And of course, those fortunate enough to own a Pokédex should have received a notification about an update that now includes the changes made to Pokémon who have now been discovered as a Fairy type. Oak has similarly revealed that you can update your Pokédex for free at any local Pokémon center. A full list of details and changes have also been published online, as well as the Fairy's type Type matchup, which can be found here.

With so many changes made in lieu of this discovery, this writer is curious about how the battling scene of the world will be affected. Will we be seeing more of the Pokémon that are now proven to be Fairy types, such as Gardevoir and Clefable? Or is this a new fad that would die out in time? Personally, this writer is a great believer in the potential in Fairy types and is eagerly waiting to see how it performs in high-level battles.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

Comments

ResearchMagnet

What a discovery! I cannot believe that something like this flew under the radar for so long! And what a prestigious team that worked on this too! So many big names are there from the scientific community are on that participation list, and John. I could only wish I was a part of it.

ANormalFan

Hey why did you single out John! He's as good of a scientist as the rest of them!

EDIT: And I can't believe so many of my old Normal types are now Fairy types! But I still love them anyways!

ResearchMagnet

Oak deserves most of the credit, as he should. To John's credit, I trust Oak's words about him making the observations, which he must have done due to his long career as a battler. I will praise him for his keen observation skills.

Other than that, I don't see John as anything more than a battler. He does not have the education or qualifications necessary to be anything more than that.

ANormalFan

@ResearchMagnet And what have YOU achieved? Being dismissive on the Pokénet doesn't count.

FearTheRat

Gonna say that's a little unfair to John, but I'm not going to stick my head any further into that argument. Like the article said, I can't wait to see the potential of these Fairy types! Especially since they're Dragon killers.

DragonPower

[This user has been banned from this thread. Excessive swearing and insults are not permitted on this forum, especially to someone who is merely expressing their own opinion. You are not allowed to insult someone's family and ancestry just because they do not share your opinion]

FutureAce

Wait...so you're telling me that those weak Jigglypuff and Clefairy are actually able to tank through some of the most powerful attack from Pokémon?

...WHERE CAN I GET ONE?!!? Definitely including one in my team now!

EDIT: @DragonPower typical Dragon fanboy LOL!

Gardevoir34

!!! GARDEVOIR IS A FAIRY TYPE TOO!!! Clear evidence that they are the best Pokémon in the world. And since Gardevoir are immune to Dragons – does that mean we can have a scenario where a Gardevoir dominates a Dragon?!?!?

OOOOOOH yesssssssss

GeneralistGeneral

@Gardevoir34 Please calm down.

Also, feels like this is just more proof that a team with more variety in types will end up becoming stronger. I mean, how is a team of Dragon types supposed to beat Fairy types? It would be like a team of Electric type against a Ground type!

FearTheRat

I mean, Electric types have been defeating Ground types for some time now, just look at Surge! I'm fairly certain that he often has to deal with trainers that think that a simple Ground type would be sufficient at defeating his team, only to be proven wrong.

I'm sure the same applies here too. The Dragon trainers will find a way to adapt.

WiggleThatTuff

HAHAHAH I KNEW IT! My team of cuties will finally have the time to shine! Just you wait! Pink is power! Cute is justice!

==================

?[PUBLIC SAFETY ANNOUNCEMENT: DO NOT TRESPASS INTO RESTRICTED AREAS TO CATCH POKEMON! BE RESPECTFUL AND MINDFUL OF THE JENNYS!] By the Indigo Post

This morning the Indigo and Hoenn League have made a joint announcement to remind all trainers to please refrain from trespassing into restricted areas just to capture Pokémon. The League spokesperson expresses their understanding towards the enthusiasm of the trainers, especially in light of the recent reveal of the Fairy type, but that is no excuse for trespassing.

The League spokesperson reported that there has been a surge of attempts to breach into many protected locations of Indigo, including Mt. Moon and other protected areas for where Togepi are being kept. The League would like to remind all trainers that the Jennys and rangers have been deployed en-masse to catch any who attempt to do so, and so far, many of the attempts have been caught and the perpetrators are now awaiting prosecution. Don't let this be you.

Please be respectful of the rules of the League and follow them whenever possible. Thank you.

================

?[A RE-EXAMINATION OF JOHN V BRUNO! DID JOHN ONLY WIN BECAUSE OF THE FAIRY TYPE?] By Battlecast

The discovery of the Fairy type a few days ago has seen a huge resurgence of eager trainers trying to get their hands on this new type.

However, we here at Battlecast would like to remind trainers to not let yourselves be consumed by this enthusiasm. There have been many incidents of overeager trainers recklessly trespassing into restricted areas in hopes of obtaining a Fairy type, and we here at Battlecast heavily discourage such actions.

It is okay, and even admirable, to be excited, but it is not okay to break the law. Please do not make any further troubles for our hard working Jennys and rangers - they already have enough on their plate as is.

With that out of the way, the revelations of the Fairy type has made some of our analysts here question the outcome of John's match vs Bruno. With the discovery that Clefable's hidden Fairy typing was actually RESISTANT and SUPEREFFECTIVE against Fighting types, it explains why John's Clefable was able to hang on for so long and deal so much damage to Bruno's pure Fighting types.

But then this begs the question: if Bruno had known beforehand about Clefable's true typing, how would it have affected the final outcome of the battle?

Fortunately, instead of having to speculate about this, we had the opportunity to speak to Bruno directly, who we had luckily found during one of his resupply trips in the city, had this to say:

"...A dumb question. Fighting smart is a staple tactic of any competent fighter. Making use of surprise is no different. John used this with great effect. There is nothing else that needs to be said."

When the Fighting specialist was asked about his thoughts on the Fairy type, he had this to say:

"I welcome it. A new Type that my Pokémon are weak against means more challenge. More challenge means more growth. I await the moment my Pokémon will be able to shatter the new Fairy types with their fists."

We tried to ask Bruno a few more questions regarding his thoughts on the new type, but he had already turned away from us and unfortunately refused to answer any more questions.

But his words sparked a new perspective to take hold amongst our analysts. For a type that was still unknown and unheard of, John made very effective use of it to surprise and secure a key advantage against Bruno. In fact, the majority of our analysts have found themselves in agreement with Bruno's words, and have decided that condemning John's actions as 'cheap' and 'unfair' is to do him a great injustice.

If someone as mighty of a trainer as Bruno does not care to complain about it, then this writer believes there should be no more debate on this matter. The victory was fair and earned, as it should be. Moreover, would John be considered to be the first Elite Four member to make use of the Fairy type in an actual battle?

We hope to see more people using and exploring the potential of this new type in their battles in the future!

But what do our readers think of this? Comment down below and let us know about your thoughts on the Fairy type so far!

Comments

ANormalFan

What nonsense! John won fair and square! And it's not like he knew about the Fairy type was really a thing before the match! He just made some observations and capitalized on it! That takes skill!

FutureAce

??? Who are the people saying that the fight was unfair? Taking advantage of type advantages like this is only natural. Haters do be hating. Everyone thought Bruno had the type advantage going into the match in the first place. So what's the big deal?

FearTheRat

I didn't think Bruno would be the type to care either, to be honest. He seems like quite the stoic guy who is able to easily let things slide.

Surprised you managed to catch him in an interview. I've heard he's quite the elusive man to find. But I do hope we see more of him – he is probably one of the greatest Fighting type trainers we've seen.

DragonPower

Apparently people can't handle the truth, and I got banned on the other form. But I'll say it again! Fairy types AREN'T going to beat Dragon types. Dragons have reign dominant for YEARS! That isn't about to change all because of a new typing.

Mark my words. You Fairy type enjoyers are about to be humbled by TRUE power.

TangelaThoughts

I think people are overlooking something. If John's Clefable was actually RESISTANT against Fighting types, then the fact that Bruno managed to knock it out even despite not knowing about the type disadvantage means that his Pokémon are just that strong.

Bruno is certainly a trainer to look out for.

FearTheRat

@TangelaThoughts I didn't even consider that, but you're so right! Gotta give Bruno credit for that.

FutureAce

Man...we're talking about the Fighting type and FightClub's not here to yell about how much the type would destroy everything. Kinda miss the guy. At least we still have @DragonPower.

DragonPower

Of course you have me! The power of the Dragon type is eternal!

===============

?[BLACKTHORN CLAN PUSHES BACK AGAINST FAIRY REVEAL!? CLAIMS THE IMMUNITY TO DRAGON TYPES IS PLAYED UP FOR DRAMATICS!] By The Indigo Post.

To very little surprise, the Blackthorn clan has spoken out against the reveal of the Fairy type, in particular to the Fairy type's immunity and supereffective nature against Dragons.

The Blackthorns claim that the initial demonstration by Professor Oak was done purely for theatrical purposes and that the 'supposed immunity' of Fairy types was 'severely overestimated'. They further add that the Dragon Pulse being fired off by Oak's Dragonite was intentionally weakened so that the display could be more impressive, to be used as a mere 'show for the crowd'.

A spokesperson on behalf of the Blackthorn clan said this in a recent interview:

"Dragons have always been known to be the ultimate type in the world. This is fact. Everyone knows that the Dragon types have always been linked to power and strength. And anyone who has seen a Dragon up close would have witnessed the true power and ferocity that each and every Dragon radiates from their mighty statures."

"To suddenly claim that the Dragons could be humbled by a type as ridiculously named as the 'Fairy' type is impossible. Dragons are strong. They are the kings of Pokémon. They would never be brought low by Pokémon many have deemed weaklings and were doomed to mediocrity."

"Professor Oak, despite his reputation, has clearly tried to play up the strengths of the Fairy type at the cost of the reputation of the Dragons. And we here at Blackthorn are willing to demonstrate that Fairy types simply aren't the counter to Dragons that Professor Oak has claimed they are."

Fighting words from the Blackthorn clan, although the counterstatement by Professor Oak was even more so.

"It's strange...I had never thought I would find myself in a position where I would have to humble the Blackthorns once again. But here we are. If the Blackthorns are so convinced of their Dragon types superiority over Fairy types, then there is an easy way to prove it."

"Fight me."

"Bring your best trainer and show off the power of your Dragon type moves. My Fairy type will be ready and waiting. After all, it's not the first time I've had to hand you Blackthorns a defeat."

The Blackthorns immediately accepted this invitation, and this writer is super excited such a battle to take place. Besides the implications of the battle, Professor Oak has not been seen participating in a battle ever since his retirement, so while this writer is not sure how much he can replicate of his old strength, it will be amazing to finally see his return to form. Let's hope he still has that battle prowess that he's so known for.

Also, a noticeable oddity is the complete lack of comments from Champion Lance and Gym Leader Clair, both also of the Blackthorn Clan. Could their unusual silence perhaps suggest that their loyalties are conflicted? And that they are unwilling or unable to support either side? Hopefully we'll get some answers about their strange behaviour soon.

Maybe our readers will have a better idea for their silence. But let us know what you think of the battle ahead!

Comments

DragonPower

THAT'S RIGHT! NO KIND OF WEAK PINK BLOB CAN STOP THE UNENDING MARCH OF DRAGONS! DRAGON SUPREMACY ALL THE WAY!

TangelaThoughts

The silence from Champion Lance and Gym Leader Clair is deafening. And telling. I suspect that the Blackthorns are about to have a lot of egg on their faces.

KantoRepresent

Don't you love it when the Blackthorns voluntarily make a fool of themselves? Can't wait for their humiliation!

ResearchMagnet

Only a backwards barbarian could ever doubt science. Science is never wrong. These cavemen think more with their pride than anything else. They deserve to be humbled.

====================

?[A NEW CHARITY MATCH!? Elite Sidney squares up against Karen in a showdown between Dark specialists!? Who will win?!] By Battlecast

[Image of Sidney and an image of Karen edited so that they're staring each other down]

Battle enthusiasts everywhere have just received a surprising treat from the heir to Devon Corp as he has just announced that he will be playing host to a charity match between Karen and Elite Sidney from Hoenn! All proceeds from the charity match will be donated directly to aiding those who have been affected by the criminals in Hoenn!

When asked about why he was playing host to this event, Steven had this to say in his recent press conference:

"The opportunity kind of came around by luck. I had always intended to host something like this, and so it was a stroke of luck for me to arrange it on behalf of Karen and Sidney. Plus, I'm trying something new for this event. Instead of having the number of Pokémon used by Karen and Sidney to be set before the match, we're going to setting milestones for the donations. Each time we reach a milestone, Karen and Sidney will include an additional Pokémon to our battle up to a maximum of 6. If we manage to go beyond that, then I'm sure that we'll come up with more interesting things to do as thank you for all of your generous donations."

Yes indeed! It appears that Steven is attempting to create an incentive for people to donate more by increasing the number of Pokémon used in the battle. Will this set a new standard for how charity matches are run in the future? We shall see!

Also, to silence the rumour mill before it can get started, Steven also reiterated that this is a friendly match between the two out of a desire to improve, not some grudge match or to prove who is the more superior Dark specialist.

But onto the more important topic – what are the Pokémon that the two are going to use?! Fortunately, we have plenty of data to look at.

[Graphic of Karen's Team, consisting of a Crawdaunt, Spiritomb, Honchkrow, Umbreon, Pupitar, Weavile, and Houndoom]

[Graphic of Sidney's Team, consisting of Mightyena, Cacturne, Shiftry, Sableye, Sharpedo, and Absol]

Please do note that these team lists are not necessarily up to date and may contain incorrect information as the trainers may have hidden trump cards from the public eye.

Looking at the graphic above, we can see that both teams are extremely formidable. Despite both of them being Dark type specialists, we can see that their teams are almost completely different. Which mostly comes down to the regional availability of Dark types in their respective regions. We here at Battlecast are very curious to see their differences in fighting styles!

And to introduce the trainers, Karen's been on the public radar mostly due to her strong connections to both Elite Agatha, as her apprentice, and Elite John, as someone who she has been seen to be with close with. But don't let those connections fool you, Karen's star has been on the rise with her recent stunt as the temporary regent (alongside Agatha) of Pewter City.

Furthermore, though somewhat overlooked, Karen is a very formidable trainer in her own right. As someone who managed to sweep through the Gyms of Hoenn with a flawless record months ago, she has likely only gotten stronger since then. While there has been a lack of public records of her battles, this writer is not going to underestimate her abilities as a trainer.

And Elite Sidney needs no introduction to readers from Hoenn. But for those unfamiliar with him, he has been within the Elite Four for many years now as a seasoned member. Although some may consider him to be the 'weakest' of the Hoenn Elite Four, and there are the occasional rumour that his strength has since stagnated, one only needs to look at the other members to realize what a misrepresentation that is.

His ability to remain in his position despite all these years is a testament to his strength. And proof that he is more than capable of being a member of the Hoenn Elite Four.

What do you guys think? This writer is personally very excited to see this match, regardless of who wins? But whatever the case, this is certainly going to be THE match to watch for any aspiring Dark type specialists out there. You cannot afford to miss it!

Comments

NotTooMuchWater

You know, as soon as I heard that there was a powerful Dark type specialist in Indigo and that Sidney was going to be visiting there, I had expected them to battle. But I HADN'T expected this to be such a public event. Must be Steven being business-minded as usual.

Still, I'm not complaining. I welcome the opportunity to watch such an event live. It's going to be incredible! Also Sidney FTW!

TangelaThoughts

@NotTooMuchWater Speaking cynically for a moment, a very likely reason for Steven doing this is for PR. It's easy PR for him, and it makes Devon look good. But that doesn't mean he's not doing a good thing. I still appreciate his efforts.

Also, I'm seriously interested in this match. I've been keeping a close eye on Karen's career ever since she popped into the public's eye, and I'm curious to see how she fares against a tested and experienced trainer like Sidney.

I think some of us are going to be very pleasantly surprised with this fight.

ANormalFan

Karen can't be weak if she trains with John and Agatha. And did you see her roster of Pokémon!? Those are some powerful Pokémon! My vote is on her!

FutureAce

YOOOOO I didn't expect a match like this, but I'm happy to see it! I don't really know much about the Dark type, but they have some cool Pokémon!

Can't wait to see these specialists use them in battle! It's going to be so cool!

SlugmaBalls

Sidney fighting another Dark type specialist? Huh. In hindsight, I don't know why I didn't expect this. Besides Sidney himself, there hasn't been a Dark type specialist here in Hoenn, so I'm not surprised he's gone out seeking for another one to test himself against.

I'm voting for Sidney though. He's too cool to lose!

BeautyIsFree

!?!?! A SCANDAL?!?! SIDNEY AND KAREN FIGHTING AGAINST EACH OTHER AS RIVALS BEFORE THEY SUDDENLY REALIZE THAT THEY'RE RIVALRY IS MORE THAN JUST THAT?!?!? ARE WE ABOUT TO SEE SOME JUICY DRAMA?!

FlyingHigh

...Please calm down.

===============

?[REPORTS OF MASS PROTESTS TAKING PLACE IN SINNOH! PUBLIC DISASTISFACTION AGAINST THE COMMITTEE AT AN ALL TIME HIGH!] by The Indigo Post.

Confirmed reports have come out from Sinnoh that paint a grim picture. Protests have broken out across the region as the public have been increasingly dissatisfied with the inaction of the Sinnoh committee. Understandable, considering that the borders to Sinnoh still have yet to be opened after such a long time since their initial promise to do so.

According to the reports we've received, the protestors are outraged about how out of touch those in the committee are, and the recent refusal to open up borders is only the most recent concern. They claim that the committee members, many of whom are within the traditionalist faction, are intentionally stalling proceedings out of some misplaced sense of 'national pride' and 'desire for isolationism'.

Whatever the case, it is clear that the public of Sinnoh are unwilling to put up with the Committee members and are expressing their displeasure. Fortunately, the protest has yet to become violent, but we here at the Indigo Post do sincerely hope that the events do not escalate any further.

Rampaging Pokémon are never a good thing. For anyone.

Thus, we here at the Indigo Post do wish that everyone in Sinnoh can stay safe and hope that the situation will be resolved quickly and peacefully.

Comments

TangelaThoughts

Hope everyone stays safe in Sinnoh. Seems like this was a powder keg that's been waiting to explode for some time, and now it finally has. From what I've read, this wasn't an overly surprising outcome.

It really did feel like the traditionalists were out of touch with what the greater public wanted. Hopefully this all gets resolved soon.

NotTooMuchWater

And now I'm reminded that Sinnoh isn't just some foreign region full of adventure and new Pokémon, but it also has its own struggles that it has to endure through.

Personally, I really do hope that their borders can actually be opened soon. They have so much to offer!

ILoveGoldenRod

Feels like the Sinnoh Committee really should have listened and just opened their borders already. No idea why they've been ignoring the cries of their citizens.

AlluteNinja

Just goes to show that corrupt and inefficient committees are everywhere. Not something that's limited to Indigo.

Maybe these old traditionalists in Sinnoh will get replaced soon.

The New Normal – 7-10 – A Fairy New Reality

The week after the Fairy reveal was a barely contained mess, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. While the excitement and fervour of the trainers were at an all-time high, good policing turned out be an effective deterrent to prevent would-be trespassers from trying their luck and disturbing the delicate ecosystems that Fairy Types lived in.

Turns out that a large snarling Arcanine was quite the effective deterrent for most overeager trainers.

I knew that Lance had also made use of the opportunity to push through a vote to channel more funds into the Indigo Police. He was riding off the success of both the International Police project, which I've heard from Lorelei and Lance had been handling themselves well in Hoenn, as well as the recent successes in keeping the peace when the Fairy type got revealed.

A few reports that I got from Lance suggested that the trust in the Indigo Police was at a very high level; a dramatic turnaround from when they were hardly trusted during Pryce's regime. Many were singing Lance's praises on that front.

However, not all was sunshine and roses for the Champion of Indigo. Because it seemed like the Blackthorn clan were determined to sink him through being a complete political embarrassment like an anchor tied around his waist.

Ever since the Fairy reveal, those prideful Dragon fanatics decided to wage a war of opinion against anyone who was celebrating the downfall of the Dragon types. They stubbornly insisted that the Fairy type would and could not crush a Dragon type and that the entire thing was overblown for the sake of dramatics.

In their stupidity, the Blackthorns threatened to make use of their huge connections to stamp down on this 'conspiracy' and to 'reinstate the proper place of the Dragons'. But they pushed too hard, and they ended up awakening the REAL sleeping Dragon. Professor Oak.

And the man was on a mission to make sure that this 'misinformation' couldn't be spread around. I wasn't there to see it, but I heard second-hand accounts from Blaine that the old Oak was back.

The Blackthorns might have had their collective years of connections to rely on, but Professor Oak had himself.

And the fight for influence wasn't even close.

Before he even challenged the Blackthorns to a fight, Oak had proved once again why he was a force to be reckoned within the sphere of politics. With a single statement from him in the news, and all those that might have joined the Blackthorns on their idiotic crusade instantly reconsidered.

And then Oak dared the Blackthorns into a battle, knowing full well that they would be too prideful to decline it. And accept it they did, running headlong into the trap that everyone knew Oak had prepared.

At this point, everyone with a rational mind knew that the Blackthorns were about to have a lot of egg on their face; it was just a matter of how much. To be fair, not every Blackthorn was as stupid as this, but a good majority of them definitely were.

Personally, so long as the Blackthorns weren't actually going to be causing a fuss, I didn't really care about their upcoming embarrassment, but it WAS funny reading the messages that I was receiving from Lance and Giovanni, as they couldn't be any more different.

Lance had been avoiding any and all public appearances during this fiasco. And so was Clair. They both wanted absolutely nothing to do with this and were determined to just hide away until it was all over. Lance even complained to me incessantly about how angry and frustrated he was about all this stupidity. He held out for hope that the damage to the Blackthorn's reputation wouldn't be too bad, but we all knew that was a fool's dream.

I'm pretty sure if this went on for much longer then Lance might start picking up a drinking habit.

In the meanwhile, Giovanni was laughing his head off at the fact that the Blackthorns were about to eat some humble pie. He only regretted that Professor Oak hadn't tried to make the whole thing a bigger event. He wanted the Blackthorns to be so thoroughly humiliated that they wouldn't dare raise their heads in public again. Alas, he'd settle for he could get.

The single bright spot for Lance during this whole affair was that his show of neutrality seemed to be paying off. His complete lack of support for the Blackthorn's actions seemed to provide some degree of separation between himself and the rest of the clan, even if he WAS a Blackthorn himself. At least many in the public understood that he was tacitly disapproving of their actions by not backing them up.

His sterling reputation still took a hit. But it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.

Aside from all this stupidity, the other big headline that was spreading throughout Indigo was about the protests happening throughout Sinnoh. No one really knew what was going on there; but it seemed serious enough that many political analysts were expecting some major upheaval.

I was pretty confident that Lance knew more about what was going on, but that was because I saw him in frequent communications with his Sinnoh counterpart. The rest of us didn't know squat. Until now.

Today, Lance had finally decided to bring the rest of the Elite Four into the loop. It was going to be a private meeting held at the Indigo League, and we were all to attend alongside Bertha. Thus, I made my way to the Indigo Plateau once more, brimming with curiosity, as I pondered about what was happening over in Sinnoh.

As soon as I arrived, I was escorted by a waiting League official to a private meeting room near Lance's office, which was the room that he usually used to greet foreign dignitaries.

As soon as I opened the door, I realized I was one of the last to arrive. Lance, Bertha, and Will were already seated, deep in discussion. They only paused as they saw me enter.

"Hey John, welcome. Have a seat." Lance greeted as from the head of the table as he motioned for me to sit down. I picked a seat at random and sat down next to Will, who in turn was sitting opposite of Bertha.

As I sat, Lance gestured to Bertha, "Have you two met formally? If not, then this is Elite Bertha, from Sinnoh." He introduced me to her, but Bertha waved him off.

"Oh don't worry about it, we've met." She replied, "John and I spoke last time when he met up with Professor Carolina." I nodded my head in agreement, before I threw out an idle question.

"So, what were you talking about before I got here? Something serious?" I asked.

"We were just discussing the opportunities presented by Sinnoh." Will answered as he leaned forwards, "Sinnoh has many untapped markets for us to explore and I was just helping Champion Lance with my opinions. We want to see if there's any chance of any financial cooperation between our two regions. Or at least, we hope to at least encourage foreign investment from them."

"That's right." Bertha confirmed, "Sinnoh has been traditionally very isolationist. We've not had much opportunity to trade beyond our borders. Certainly not recently with our current administration. But many of the less narrow-minded people realize the potential that opening our borders to Indigo and Hoenn present, and we want to see how we could turn that opportunity into actual economic growth for the region."

"Which is why I planned to send Will over to Sinnoh along with you when you both head to Sinnoh." Lance added, "He'll have the opportunity to mingle with a few of their businessmen while you do your thing with their science and exploration people. Different roles for different people."

I nodded in understanding. It made sense. To my left, I could see that Will had a pleased grin on his face for being chosen for such a position. But again, it only made sense. Will, to his credit, was the most business-minded person out of the Elite Four. Lorelei and I weren't really trained for it, and while I'm sure Agatha could handle talking to businessmen, I highly doubted she'd even WANT to.

Plus, she was more likely to drive them off than to actually welcome them. She could not be trusted with such a role.

So, Will was the best and only choice we had. But I felt that Lance's choice was a wise one – Will was well-suited for this role.

And, truthfully, I realized that I had already gotten over my initial annoyance with Will and his frequent need to show-off. I understood that he wasn't ever malicious with it, and so I accepted that it was just a trait of his, and it wasn't done to look down on others. Showing off and loving the spotlight was just part of who he was. And frankly, it could be a lot worse.

If I could get used to Agatha's acerbic tongue, then Will's behaviour was easily tolerable.

As if summoned by my thoughts, Agatha came shambling into the room, with Lorelei following carefully after her. The latter doing her best not to accidentally bump into Agatha.

It was obvious why. It was definitely hard to tell with just a casual glance, but Agatha's steps were far more careful and deliberate. She seemed to be more reliant on her cane than ever before. This didn't bode well for her health.

Still, she let none of her weakness show on her face as she greeted us with her signature mocking tongue, "Oh? We have someone here actually my age for once. What a lucky find! You feel that weary creak in your bones yet?"

"I've still got a few years before I get there. And I'm in certainly no rush for that." Bertha shot back with her eyes locked on Agatha, surprising me with her sharp tongue. Was it a common thing about the elderly to able to whip out an insult or two?

"Bah, don't kid yourself lady, your hair is as grey as mine." Agatha retorted with a scoff, "Actually, at least mine still looks blonde. Yours is just grey. How...unfortunate." In the meanwhile, Lorelei wisely ignored the brewing argument and simply sat down next to Bertha, tactically denying the seat to Agatha so that she couldn't sit next to Bertha. A genius move.

"But I can still run up a flight of stairs if needs be." Bertha responded with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, like steel hidden in silk. "You seem to have trouble with even getting to your seat."

Agatha snorted and was about to let out another insult, but Lance cut in before things could devolve even further.

"Ladies, PLEASE settle down." He said forcefully, silencing the both of them. "While I'm sure your topic of discussion is fascinating, we have other topics at hand. Table that discussion for later, while you aren't wasting everyone's time."

"Feh." Agatha spat but sat down anyways. Finally, with everyone settled down, Lance could finally get to the heart of the matter.

"Now that we're all gathered here, I'm going to pass the floor to Bertha so that she may discuss the current ongoings in Sinnoh and how we can get involved." Lance stated before gesturing to Bertha.

"Thank you, Champion. Unfortunately, the political situation in Sinnoh has been...fractious over the past week or so. Tensions have been building up for quite a while now, and things seem to have finally reached a boiling point if you've been seen on the news, with rampant protests spreading across the region." She explained.

"Now, while I understand that the domestic politics of a foreign region is normally of little interest to the Indigo Elite Four, you need to realize that the underlying reason that the people are protesting is because they believe that the traditionalists, who have long held power in the Sinnoh Committee, have all lost touch with the needs and wants of the public." She continued.

"With that in mind, the rest of the Sinnoh Elite Four and I are all confident that the traditionalists are going to be losing their hold on their positions of power, and we're likely to be ushering in a new generation of Committee members very soon. And these new members are very likely going to be favourable to joining up with the international community." She explained.

"Why is why I've come here to speak to all of you now, and it's been what I've been discussing with your Champion for the past few days." She glanced at all of us, "Because we NEED to prove to the public of Sinnoh that opening our borders to the wider international community was a good idea. This visit HAS to be an enormous PR win." She finished.

"Indeed. I can corroborate what Bertha said with the things that I've been hearing from my Sinnoh counterpart, Champion Hayato." Lance commented, "A few trusted sources told me that he's in rather hot water because of all the protests. I'm not sure if I'll be dealing with him for much longer, honestly."

"Good riddance." Bertha scoffed, "He's no friend of mine. And I've known for him quite some time already. He was part of the reason the traditionalists were able to hold onto power for so long, so I'll be happy to see him leave."

"Hold on, so who would succeed Hayato if he were to step down?" Will asked, "Or do you already have plans for that?"

Bertha shook her head, "None, unfortunately, which is admittedly quite worrying. We floated the idea of getting one of the other Elite Four to step up to the position, but we couldn't agree on who that'd be. Without getting into too much details, but none of us would be very suitable as Champions. We don't really possess the influence or the overwhelming strength that is expected of a Champion, and the public would know that we were just a compromise candidate. They wouldn't really give us the respect and authority that a new Champion would need to steer Sinnoh through all of this chaos."

"In that case, would the committee decide?" Lorelei questioned curiously. "Seems like that would be the only option left."

"None of the Elite Four want THEM to be making the decision." Bertha shook her head, "But fortunately, with the current roster of committee members imploding any moment now, the committee should be heavily neutered for the most part, and I'm confident that us Elite Four can hold down the fort during this period until we can find a suitable Champion. Especially if this international cooperation thing becomes a huge PR success."

"We might still end up electing one of our own in the end." She added, "But I think Lucian did mention that he had someone in mind that he thought had the potential to take up the position. I haven't met them personally, but I hope his words come true. It's definitely going to be an unusual time for us."

Her words caused an image of a very popular character from canon to flash through my head, and I had to hold back a grin. Would she be able to claim her infamous title even with all the changes I've made? I certainly hoped so. She was far too iconic in her role to imagine her otherwise. Though that did bring around another question.

"Are any of the other Elite Four supporting the Champion?" I brought up, "Things could get really messy if they were." And it would bring the situation uncomfortably close to a civil war, was what I didn't voice.

"Fortunately, that's not the case." Bertha reassured with a smile, "I'm the oldest amongst the Elite Four, and the rest of them are considerably younger than me. The ideals of the traditionalists have never really appealed to them. Nor have they gotten along well with Hayato outside of a general respect for his strength. But they certainly don't get along politically and have frequently stalled or pushed back against many of his proposals."

"It also helps that our Elite Four have been slowly growing in strength, whereas Hayato has long since stagnated." Bertha added, "The strength difference is no longer as apparent as it once was."

"HAH!" Agatha barked out a harsh laugh, "The Elite Four not liking their Champion? Now THAT sounds like a familiar story to me!"

"Do you have a timeframe on when the borders are likely to open?" Lorelei asked with a raised hand as she changed the topic, "We've been 'told' that the borders were about to open for quite a while now."

"Yes, and I do apologize for that." Bertha replied with a frown, "Even I underestimated just how much of a stubborn arse some of those traditionalists could be. But while I can't give you an exact timeframe, I suspect that that as soon as the traditionalists end up falling from power, you'll get your open borders."

"Then John and I will be sent over soon then." Will spoke up, looking excited about the trip. "Do we have an itinerary planned? Because I can draft one up if need be."

"We'll have one drafted as soon as we can confirm that the trip is happening." Bertha answered with a smile, "But yes, feel free to suggest any ideas. We're more than welcoming of them."

"Well, I think the two-pronged approach that Lance brought up earlier is a great idea." Will said, gesturing with his hands, "It lets us cooperate in two vastly different areas, but both are of vital importance to the region. Business and scientific cooperation is always going to look good in the papers. And John has always gotten along well in the public eye." I shot him a nod for the compliment.

Bertha nodded, agreeing with Will's words. "I think we could use that as a baseline then. It'll make a good puff piece that we can use as a foundation for future cooperation."

Suddenly, another question settled into my head. "What about Hoenn? We've not discussed their participation yet." It would be awkward if we were trying to show off 'international cooperation' WITHOUT Hoenn being there.

"I will be bringing it up with them after this meeting." Bertha responded, "Sidney and I have already arranged to talk. He's going to pass my message on to Wallace who will make the final decision on that front. But I'm confident they'll look to tagalong to whatever plans you have."

After that, the discussion ended up being mostly between Will and Bertha. The former seemed to be an endless font of ideas and suggestions, while the latter seemed to have infinite patience to be able to listen Will's constant stream of thoughts.

Eventually, Lance put a stop to it because the meeting was starting to run on a little too long for his liking, and he allowed us to leave. But just before he allowed to us to leave, he gave off one final reminder.

"Will, John." He addressed the two of us, "Don't forget to keep on the lookout for any suspicious activities that you might be able to link to those lunatics. I don't expect you to engage in active investigation, but make sure you report anything suspicious to me. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir." We both replied, getting a nod from him and Bertha. She had clearly been read into the situation.

After that, I saw Will move to resume his conversation with Bertha, but the rest of us made our way out. Except, Lorelei decided to approach me.

"John, do you have some time?" She asked while we were standing just outside the League's headquarters. Curious, I turned to look at her.

"Yeah, sure, what's the matter?" I asked.

"I have a proposal I would like to push through the next committee meeting. But I'm trying to shore up support to ensure it passes through." She explains confidently, none of her old hesitation hidden in her voice. It seemed like her time in Hoenn in a proper leadership role really changed her for the better. Just like it did for me.

I nodded at Lorelei for her to go ahead, "I'm looking to establish a new organisation that aims to focus and crack down on financial crimes." She explained, "The creation of the International Police is a good start in combating crime, but we need to make sure white collar crime cannot be allowed to run free either."

I blinked, taken slightly aback. "Wow, you don't think things in halves do you?" I replied rhetorically, "When did you think of this?"

"...It's been in the back of my mind for some time now – ever since the inspections with the Gyms actually, but I got distracted with all the other events happening over the past few weeks." She admitted, "I just saw that we already had such a robust team of inspectors that we hardly use, so why not put them to work and make them more active in their efforts against financial abuse?"

"...That's...not going to be something people are going to like." I replied, "Most people would prefer for others NOT to stick their heads into their business. It's going to be a tough sell. It certainly wouldn't pass without Lance's approval."

"I know, but this is something I want to get passed." She nodded, her eyes brimming with determination, "I've fallen slightly to the wayside in the public's eye after my victory, and I've seen that there are some that still expect me to be replaced soon enough when another strong challenger shows up. But I've been training rigorously for the past few weeks, hoping to secure my position martially. And if I can just get this proposal passed through, then I'm sure that I can finally demonstrate with more than just words that I am MORE than just my uncle's niece – and that I have my own goals and ideas that are separate from his."

Hearing the passion and determination in her voice caused a small smile to unconsciously form on my face, "I see, that's a nice goal that you're working towards."

But, unfortunately, there was no such thing as a free lunch in politics, so I asked the inevitable question.

"And what would you offer me in exchange for my support?" I asked ruthlessly, crushing my sympathy. "That's assuming you can even get Lance on board, of course."

"Why don't you give me your price, and I'll see if I can agree to it." She suggested, "I don't know what your plans are, but I believe that there must be something I can offer you to help push those along."

I rubbed my chin thoughtfully; it was a decent idea. Unfortunately, Lorelei wasn't a political powerhouse just yet. Amongst the Elite Four, she still had the least influence to make use of. But that could very quickly change.

After a moment, I came to a decision. "I want your support for my plans to pass a proposal to allow Gym Leaders to be appointed from either region within Indigo. So therefore, you could have a Johto native running a Kanto Gym and vice versa."

This time, it was Lorelei's turn to be surprised, "...That was certainly not what I was expecting." She mumbled, "And you said MY plans were big."

I shrugged, "Like you said, I've been planning this for some time as well. But I think this would be the next big step into ensuring the unity of Indigo."

"I doubt such a thing would pass right now, though." She replied.

"That's okay, I wasn't planning for it to. And, like you, I need Lance to be onboard for such a thing too." I said, "Still, I do plan on announcing it sometime in the future. And when I do, I expect your political support for it. Do we have a deal?" I extended a hand towards her.

She hesitated, but only briefly. "Yes, we do."

Our hands clasped together, and a deal was struck.

The New Normal – 7-10 – Interlude – Oak

Oak let out a jaunty whistle as he walked into the middle of the arena, ignoring the many cheers of the crowd. He didn't think it was deserved anyways; they were merely cheering on a man far past his prime. He hadn't even been in a battle like this in many, many years. Their adorations were wasted on him.

Still, misplaced or not, he made sure to give his fans a large sweeping wave to acknowledge them. He wasn't ungrateful for their support, after all.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS IS QUITE THE OCCASION, BUT WE'RE HERE TODAY TO WITNESS PROFESSOR OAK'S RETURN TO THE ARENA! THE CHALLENGER HERE TODAY HAS CHALLENGED PROFESSOR OAK'S CLAIMS ABOUT THE NEW FAIRY TYPE, AND THE GREAT PROFESSOR IS NOW HERE TO PROVE HIS POINT!"

It had been a long time since he had last stared down a Blackthorn in battle. So long, that they seemed to have forgotten about him and became foolish enough to challenge his word. He might have retired, but he thought he had made a strong enough impression the first time round when he brought them to their knees.

But it seemed like they needed another reminder.

Standing opposite him, a young man stood with flames burning in his eyes as he stared daggers at Oak. The young man raised a finger and pointed threateningly at him. All Oak could do was raise an eyebrow; was this really the best that the Blackthorns could offer at the moment?

"You're going to see the error of your ways, Professor Oak!" The young man taunted, "NONE challenges the might of Dragons."

The whistling stopped. The look of joviality on his face faded away. And the young man faltered.

Words were unnecessary here. He had no need to shout back with fighting words. He didn't even need to glare – a simple stare at the young man had him flinching back as if physically struck.

Oak frowned despite himself. The old Blackthorns – the ones he used to face, were built of sterner stuff than this. They wouldn't have been cowed, instead they would have lashed out in an attempt to regain any lost pride. It was what made them predictable, both in battle and in politics.

The current generation lacked that primal anger. They lacked the raw rage of the past. They had the roar of a Dragon, but not their bite.

They had grown weak and afraid.

"TRAINERS, ARE YOU READY?!" The announcer finally called out, which caused his opponent to snap out of his instinctive fear. They drew out their Pokéball, clutching on it tightly as the young man's anger returned. But the slight redness of his cheeks told Oak that all he needed to know; the young man was just trying to compensate for their embarrassment.

As Oak casually drew out his own Pokéball out of his coat pocket, a small reminiscent smile appeared on his face as he thought about how long it had been since his last battle on a stage like this. And while he knew this was a 3v3, he had only brought the one Pokéball.

It was all he needed.

"BEGIN!" Both trainers released their Pokémon, with one hurling their Pokéball with all of their pent up fury and the other with an almost lazy toss.

"DRAGONITE, COME!"

"Clefable."

The opposing Dragonite let out a roar as he emerged onto the field, its draconic presence sweeping over the crowd. Oak thought he could hear a few impressed gasps at the pressure radiating out of the Dragonite, though he didn't really understand what the big deal was. He had seen bigger. He HAD bigger.

Almost by instinct, his eyes scanned over the Dragonite. It looked well cared of, clearly strong, and it was a very healthy yellow. Good, it must have been trained well. Could be better, of course, but decent enough.

"DRAGON RUSH!" Oh, he probably should actually focus on the battle itself. Whoops, he was really getting rusty if he let himself lose concentration like that. But that's what happens when you go into a battle you knew you couldn't lose.

The enemy Dragonite exploded forwards in a burst of draconic rage, leaving a deep trench in his wake, before slamming mightily into his Clefable.

His Clefable stumbled backwards, but otherwise looked unaffected by the attack. That was as expected; he had tested out with his own Dragonite beforehand.

"DRAGON CLAW!" The Dragonite roared out and raked its claws savagely across his Clefable, who instinctively shielded herself with her arms. The ferocious claws slashed through Clefable's arms, but despite all of the power in that attack, its claws merely brushed off harmlessly against his Clefable.

Hmm...that reaction from his Clefable was slower than he expected. He might need to train it more with handling close range threats like that. A stronger opponent could have taken advantage of that slow reaction time.

"DRAGON TAIL! FINISH IT OFF!" Dragonite's tail came sweeping up from the sides, kicking up a small cloud of dust and sand, before it crashed into his Clefable with a hammering blow. His Clefable let out a surprised cry and was thrown aside, but he knew that it was still barely hurt.

Okay, that was likely sufficient for a simple endurance test. It was probably time to fight back.

"Moonblast." He ordered casually, and his Clefable instantly formed a large glowing orb of Fairy energy that floated above it. This was a move that he copied off of John by studying his battles. It was surprisingly simple to understand, and he imagined that this would be a staple move of the Fairy type for the years to come.

"DRAGON PULSE! SHOW THAT FAIRY WHO'S BOSS!" The Dragonite let out another primal roar as it went prone on all fours as a large torrent of energy shot out of its maw. The Dragon Pulse blasted forwards, pulsating with blinding light that radiated with power.

...Before detonating harmlessly against his own Moonblast.

Slowly but surely, the Moonblast moved forwards, almost dismissively tanking through the incoming Dragon Pulse. But instead of ordering a retreat, his opponent doubled down.

"KEEP IT UP! UPHOLD THE PRIDE OF A DRAGON!" As soon as he heard those words, he had to hold back the chuckle that threatened to leak out of him. It's been a very long time since he heard someone utter those very words.

Even though the current generation seemed to be a little more timid, it seemed that the underlying stubborn pride of being a Blackthorn had yet to change over the years. It made him wonder if his old enemies had changed, or were they still the same people that he had fought against before?

The ones that survived, that was.

However, returning his gaze back to the fight, he realized that, as always, the signature stubbornness of the Blackthorns would prove to be their downfall.

Despite the Dragonite's best efforts and all of the training that it had gone through, the powerful Dragon Pulse was easily swept aside by the incoming Moonblast. The type advantage of the Fairy type was just too strong against it. Power alone could not overcome such a weakness.

And so, just like Oak had expected, the Moonblast ended up crashing and detonating directly on the Dragonite's face, blasting it backwards as it clutched its face in pain.

The young man gritted his teeth, "PUSH THROUGH THE PAIN AND CHARGE FORWARDS! DRAGON RUSH AGAIN!"

Oak had to hold back a sigh. Honestly, he had hoped for a bit more creative thinking from the young man. But he supposed that he shouldn't have expected so much from the Blackthorns.

After all, despite facing down so many 'different' Blackthorns over the years, he could write down all of their tactics on the small sticky notes that he attached to his fridge. The elders should really switch up their training methods.

Oh well, may as well start wrapping this up.

"Dazzling Gleam." As the Dragonite rushed closer, his Clefable began glowing a mystical pink before it blasting its surroundings with a wave of Fairy energy. The Dragonite stumbled backwards, its charge interrupted as it could not withstand the flood of Fairy energy that slammed and ripped through its health.

Oak let out a pleased smile at the attack's effectiveness. This was a move that he had thought up while he was brainstorming about how to train up his Clefable. John had probably realized the same. It just seemed like the natural progression to him because – Oh wait, did the Dragonite just collapse?

Damn, he had hoped it would put up a greater fight than that. He had plenty of other moves to test.

"AND THE CHALLENGER'S DRAGONITE GOES DOWN! BUT HE STILL HAS TWO MORE POKEMON TO MAKE USE OF! CAN THE CHALLENGER REVERSE HIS FORTUNES?!"

Oh well, at least he still had two other test subjects to experiment with.

The New Normal – 7-11 – Getting down to business

The TV blared as I sat with my parents to eat breakfast.

"...AND what a crushing victory from Professor Oak, once again proving to the world why his battling skills are still held in such high esteem! Just yesterday, he utterly dominated the Blackthorn representative with a crushing 3-0 victory, fully backing up his scientific discoveries! Proving once and for all that the Fairy type is truly the Dragon killer that we all thought it'd be!"

"Wonder if the Blackthorns will finally shut up now that they've lost." My mom commented as she scooped up some egg.

"Knowing those prideful fools? Might take a little longer than that, dear." My dad muttered as he took a bite out of his toast, "They might have just suffered a crushing defeat, but their pride is much larger than their capacity for shame. They might give it another shot."

"That would be pretty funny." I smirked, thinking that Giovanni and probably Blaine had the entire fight recorded and saved so that they could view it again whenever they wanted. They must have loved it.

"Funny or not, at least the Champion didn't join in on this nonsense." My dad grumbled, "I would have lost all respect for him."

I thought it was more like Lance knew a losing battle when he saw one. The Blackthorns all had egg on their faces after the debacle, with most of the world laughing at them. Lance was smart to separate himself from that whole mess.

"Yeah, he was pretty upset about the whole thing in general." I replied, and the recent humiliation wasn't helping Lance either, "But at least it's mostly over now. All but the most diehard of supporters have gone quiet."

But I knew it couldn't be so simple. I suspected that Lance was likely doing something behind the scenes.

"Good riddance. It was a waste of everyone's time." My mom commented, "Can't believe they'd doubt YOUR work."

"I think there were many other names on that list more important than me, mom, but I'll take the compliment." I said wryly.

"Oh speaking of which, are you free for the rest of the day, John?" My dad asked, "We have something to discuss with you about regarding the business."

"Uh...sure, I'm free." I replied after thinking over my schedule. Aside from whatever planning I had to do for my upcoming trip to Sinnoh, and my attendance to the match between Karen and Sidney, I was rather free.

"Good." My dad nodded, "I know you're busy, but this is fairly important, and we've accidentally put it off for some time."

I was curious about what they wanted to talk about, but I let it lie for now as we all finished our breakfast. We continued making some small talk as we chowed down on our morning sustenance, and we ended up discussing about what we had heard Whitney was up to in Johto.

My parents expressed their slight concern for their 'baby girl' travelling so far from home, but I reassured them that she had good friends who were looking out for her. Besides, considering that all 3 of them had family within either the Elite Four or as Gym Leaders, I was confident that none would dare harm them.

Or if they did, that they would be very quickly brought to justice. Especially from me.

With breakfast over, we transitioned away from the dining table and to the couch, where my mom had brought down a couple of folders that she laid out on the table. I recognized some of them as being related to the family business.

"So, John, first things first, we wanted to discuss with you the future of the business. Or, more precisely, we're finally looking into buying some office space as a centralized location for our operations." My dad began. "We've previously been running things from the house, because the business used to be a fairly small one. However, now that things have expanded as much as they have; we're going to need some actual office space."

"You know that we've rented out a few warehouses and used some of the farmhouses as office space and storage, but that's not going to cut it in the future." My dad continued, "So your mom and I have been looking to buy a building for the business since we have the funds for it. After some searching, I think we finally landed a good deal."

"It's going to be in Cerulean, obviously, and our connections in the mayor helped us secure this." My mom joined us, "We were in a pretty unusual spot because of how fast our business grew, and we're currently playing catch-up. But we know that a majority of our success was due to us relying on your reputation."

"Don't belittle your efforts like that, mom." I cut in, "You and dad both put in a lot of work."

My dad patted me on the head, "Maybe, yet you cannot deny the positive effect that you've had on the business. The Smith Moomoo milk is only as popular as it is because of you, son."

I let out a sigh as I ultimately conceded the point. As much as I didn't want to deny my parents' efforts, they were undeniably right that my reputation went far in boosting the business.

Seeing my acceptance, my dad continued, "And this brings me to the second part. As soon as we've moved everything into our new office building, your mom and I want you to start getting a handle of how to run the business."

"We actually initially intended to wait a bit before we did this, but you've done so well for yourself in the Elite Four that we could push things ahead of schedule a bit." He explained.

My eyebrows rose slightly, though I had expected something like this for some time.

"What would that look like?" I asked, very curious. And a little excited.

"It won't be anything too drastic to start off with." My mom reassured, "But we would at least want you to get involved with the other employees at the company and introduce yourself. That includes any employees helping us right now, and also helping us a little bit with the hiring process since we're looking to increase our staff. Most importantly, we want you to show your face around and get comfortable with our employees."

"We might also have you help out a bit with managing the finances, how to meet with suppliers and so on. Consider it something like work experience." She stated.

"Not that we think you'd have any trouble with this; I'm sure the stuff you put up with in the Elite Four has already granted you plenty of experience handling difficult personalities." My dad chuckled, "After all, I highly doubt anyone that you'll be meeting in the business field will be intimidating to you at all. Not with what you've been through."

I nodded. After dealing with the likes of Lance, Oak, Giovanni, Pryce and so many others, I REALLY doubted anyone that I would meet helping out with the family business could possibly intimidate me.

"Better yet, you'll at least have a level of respect that many other heirs to companies don't have." My dad added, "Ignoring that Steven boy, while it's not uncommon for teenagers to get involved with the family business, it IS rare for said teenager to be an Elite Four member. You won't be looked down upon, I assure you of that."

"Fair enough." I remarked, "So what should I get started on first?"

My dad shook his head, "Nothing at the moment, though we had a few ideas we were going to discuss in a later meeting that you could start thinking about now." He said, shuffling over a few of the papers on the coffee table. "You remember the 'Elite' line of Miltank that your Pokémon mated with before? They've hatched now, and I reckon they're a few weeks away from producing their first batch of Moomoo milk."

"I know this is a lot of information to suddenly drop on you." My mom said apologetically, "But I hope this isn't too overwhelming for you. We just want you to have a better understanding about the inner workings of our business."

"Nah, I think I can handle it." I remarked confidently, before I raised up another question, "Any chance Whitney is going to get in on this?"

"Not so soon." My dad shook his head, "She's still figuring out her path for the future, unlike you. Once her future career becomes a little clearer, then we'll decide on whether to include her. But don't worry, she'll always be a part of the family business. It's just a matter of when."

I smiled, accepting my dad's words. Whitney really didn't any of these distractions for not – not when she still had so much growing to do, both as a trainer and as a person. These matters were better pushed aside for the time being.

Besides, my parents were still quite young, so it's not like there was any rush to take over the business anytime soon anyways.

"Are you planning on buying the building now?" I asked.

"Maybe. But that's up to the other side to stop playing around and actually give us a reasonable price." My dad grumbled, "As soon as they stop playing games with us, then yes, most likely."

"Okay, let me know if you need me to help you move in. It's the least I can do." I replied.

=======

?With all of the business talk over, I made my way back to the training fields, making sure to wave and greet the nearby farmhands that were working hard. Over the past week, with the extra spare time that I had, I went back into training hard with my Pokémon. I especially focused on Ornstein and Pixel in particular, because now was the best time to mould them into future Elite Pokémon on my team.

"Come on out!" I shouted as I released all of my Pokémon. And, as I expected, Ornstein emerged from his Premier Ball and rushed straight towards the emerging Smough.

"LINOONE!" He cried as he smashed headfirst into Smough, only to slam into the wall that was Smough's belly ineffectively. At least he didn't bounce off this time.

I sighed amusingly at the sight. Despite his newfound evolution, some old habits, like his one-sided rivalry against Smough, hadn't changed.

I clapped my hands to get everyone's attention, "Okay, that's enough of that. Unless I've given you specific instructions, just continue on with your general training." My Pokémon all nodded or grunted their assertions. "Good, now Ornstein, Smough, Vordt, come over here."

As I watched Ornstein grumble but nonetheless obey, I thought back to the training we had gone through the previous week where I had been exploring the potential of his new evolution. Unsurprisingly, with his newfound speed, he was actually an effective fighter able to make use of hit-and-run attacks. I used both what I remembered of Norman's Linoone and Karen's Weavile for inspiration for how to train up Ornstein.

Therefore, I had Ornstein focus on an all-out style of attacking, primarily focusing on training up moves like Night Slash and Double Edge to maximize his attacking power. Then, like any good Dark type, I had him train up his Taunt and other status moves so that he could be more than just a pure attacker. His access to moves that could cripple his opponent gave him an edge over attackers who could only rely on their high attack.

He was far from reaching his full potential, but he was getting there. As soon as he got a handle of those, I was going to train him up with the elemental punches as soon as possible. Those were going to be essential for him to master.

"Right. Ornstein, I want you training with Smough. Just like you usually do, I need you to try to hit him as hard as you can while also Taunting him at the same time." I began, and Ornstein perked up excitedly as he listened to my words, "Smough, you'll be doing the opposite. You need to learn to train your speed to catch the faster Ornstein. You can't yourself be stifled by your slow speed." Smough let out an understanding snort at my words.

I turned to Vordt, "Vordt, you're observing them while training on your own. You already have a good balance of what both these Pokémon lack – so I want you to supervise and give pointers where necessary. Help Smough with his poor speed, and let Ornstein hit harder." Vordt gave a grunt of acknowledgement.

This was I paired the trio up like this. With his mastery of moves like Headlong Rush, Vordt had the ability to burst forwards with speeds comparable to Ornstein, if only for a moment. Yet he also had the pure strength that Smough had. I hoped his supervision would grant great benefits for both Pokémon.

With those three sorted out, I moved onto my next pair, "Pixel, Tyrant, come." I ordered.

Pixel slowly floated over, buzzing excitedly, while Tyrant obediently sauntered over, patiently awaiting further instructions.

"Pixel, I know you're now proficient at using Recover, is that right?" Pixel beeped affirmatively, "Good, then I want you to focus next on using and mastering Conversion. I know I've put it off for a while, but now I think is finally the time you got good at it."

Pixel whirled enthusiastically, but I continued, "I suspect that you're going to need some help with mastering Conversion, since it'll require you to be able to switch into whatever type you choose. So if you need any help with a specific type, you can ask any member of the team to help you with them." Pixel let out an affirmative buzz.

Mastering Conversion was going to be an incredibly important step in Pixel's development as an Elite Pokémon. The ability to switch types at will, and hopefully instantaneously, was an extremely valuable tool to have in a battle. Theoretically, it would allow me to secure a type advantage against any opponent I would face. I hoped it could master it quickly, but I knew that with such a move, it was going to take some time.

Moving on, I turned to Tyrant. "Tyrant. You need to get better at Special Attacks. Expand your movepool and power even more. Mix them into your physical attacks." He snorted affirmatively and wandered off, not needing any more instructions. He sought strength more than any Pokémon on my team, so I knew he would do his best to achieve what I wanted him to.

Plus, the reason I had chosen to have Tyrant focus on his Special Attack was simple. Looking back against both my battle against Bruno and during the raids, I realized that, realistically, Tyrant was strong enough on the physical side. There was very little, if at all, that could challenge him on that front. Thus, in order to improve him even further, I had to switch my focus to work on his Special Attack side.

He was already proficient with moves like Flamethrower and Thunderbolt, but I wanted him to be able to use more than that. He already knew a whole plethora of elemental moves, so hopefully learning to master new moves, even ones beyond what a normal Slaking could learn in their inherent movepool, shouldn't prove to be too difficult.

I really wanted him to be able to use moves like Moonblast and Psychic, for example, since he already knew how to use attacks like Play Rough and Zen Headbutt. I believed that with enough hard work, he would able to utilize those attacks too. Ideally, I hoped he could mix up his a few Special Attacks into his normal beatdowns just to further disorient an opponent and frustrate any attempts to counterattack.

My goal was to have Tyrant be able to not just defeat Lance's Emperor, but to dominate him entirely. I didn't want a close win – I wanted a decisive victory. One on one. Starter vs starter.

I shook myself from my daydreaming as I returned to helping my Pokémon train up. I made sure to also give the Pokémon that I wasn't specifically training some attention too, just so that I could check on their respective progress and so they wouldn't feel left out. Not that there was any risk of that; they knew I cared for them.

Time passed as I watched my Pokémon training, sometimes stepping in to make some adjustments to what they were doing. But my team was a like a well-oiled machine; even my newer additions hardly needed my direct input. Either they would know what they did wrong, or another one of my Pokémon would correct them in my place. That was the benefit of training together like this, everyone could help everyone.

But I was broken out of my idle spectating as my phone started to ring. Seeing that Lance was calling me, I made sure to step away so that we wouldn't be disturbed.

"Hello?" I picked up.

"John. Update from Sinnoh. I just heard from Bertha that the first of their Committee members have begun to resign, and she expects more to follow suit very soon. It's the beginning of the end for the traditionalists." He explained.

"I see...so that's good news for us then?" I asked.

"Very likely." He agreed, "But Sinnoh is going to be quite politically unstable...and a fertile ground for any criminals to act." He warned, and my face twisted into a grimace.

"You're right. I hadn't considered that. Damn, I was too focused on them opening the borders." I admitted with a frown, "You think that the terrorists had something to do with the protests?"

"I asked Bertha that, and she says it was unlikely." He replied, his voice serious, "She says that the discontent had been building up for some time. It would be unlikely, almost impossible, for the criminal teams to have manipulated the public into this. Bertha firmly believes that the traditionalists brought this on themselves. BUT she does say that the evil teams might be taking advantage of it. They'd have an easier time moving around resources, for example."

"Fuck. Anything we can do about it?" I asked, a little frustrated. I did not want them getting ANY kind of opportunities.

"Unfortunately not." Lance sighed, "I dislike it as much as you do, but the political situation in Sinnoh is going to be very fragile. We can't afford to upset it. Especially not as foreigners."

My frown deepened, but I reluctantly accepted Lance's words. Unless we had a clear target, we wouldn't be able to recreate the manhunt that I did in Hoenn.

Yes, canon taught me that Team Galactic was very likely going to be one of those threats, but I couldn't simply barge into their main headquarters and start arresting everyone. Not without some serious evidence.

My connections and reputation paved the road for me in Hoenn. But I wouldn't have either of those in Sinnoh. Not to start with.

Furthermore, unlike in Hoenn, public opinion was not automatically going to be on my side. For a traditionally deeply isolationist region like Sinnoh, I feared that they might even side with the domestic criminals over a foreign Elite Four, if only because they were locals. We REALLY did not want to get into a war of public opinion with them.

"Any news on the Sinnoh Champion?" I asked, shaking away those thoughts. "Is he on the way out?"

"Same as everything else, Bertha thinks it could happen any day now." Lance replied, getting a nod from Bertha. "He's deeply unpopular for having gotten into bed with the traditionalists. It's extremely doubtful that he could survive this transition."

Which meant the political situation in Sinnoh was only going to get even worse. I hoped that whoever was still in power in the Sinnoh League could hold things together. I guess that Will and I were going to have to do a lot of careful work to bring over the Sinnoh public to the idea of opening up to foreigners.

"On the bright side, it's looking like you and Will might be heading off to Sinnoh sooner than we may have expected." Lance remarked, "I hope you're ready to go on what might be very short notice."

"I have a luggage packed and ready." I confirmed, "How long will we be there for? A fortnight?"

"It'll probably be longer than that." Lance told me, "I have no intention of returning either of you to Indigo without an emergency, as setting up good relations with Sinnoh is of paramount importance. So even if you have to stay there for a month, then so be it. Though of course I'm willing to accommodate for any personal emergencies if you need to return."

Lance hung up shortly after that. Though before we ended the call, I did question him about what was going on with the Blackthorns. He didn't give me a straight answer, but he hinted at the fact that he was currently working on something though failed to provide any details.

As the call ended, I stared down at my phone with a complicated expression on my face.

More than ever, it appears like my trip to Sinnoh was not going to just be fun and games. There was clearly a lot that was boiling just underneath the surface, but I at least hoped that things wouldn't get too bad. I did NOT want to get caught up in a political uprising.

However, on a brighter note, there was a very special person I really wanted to meet in Sinnoh. I wonder what she was doing now?