The New Normal - A Pokémon Elite 4 SI by CartecFF

Chapter 54: 213-215

The New Normal – 10-9 – The First Match

As soon as the announcements were over and we were allowed to leave the arena, Roxanne and I broke off from the rest of the group to get some more training in.

I was happy to see her determination. It was clear that she was putting a lot of effort into winning this Tournament, and she recognised what an opportunity these battles served for her.

Not only did it allow her to show off her talents on what was likely the largest stage that she would ever set foot on, but it also allowed her to hone her strength against opponents that she would rarely, if ever, be able to fight against. And while I didn't want to praise myself too hard, I also felt that I was a good mentor that was able to spot out her weaknesses and guide her on how best to improve herself.

All in all, this week promised her the potential to grow explosively, so long as she was willing to reach out with both hands and seize the opportunity before her. And she seemed like she was.

We trained hard into the night, though we allowed our Pokémon to rest early as our preparations were mostly focused on making plans for the upcoming battle, and she spent much of it asking good questions about how we could improve our teamwork and how best to catch our opponents off guard. I ended up sleeping on some random couch in the Gym to maximize our training time.

Which was why, come our battle against Will, I was feeling confident. Not just in my own strength, but also in the strength of my partner. We were going to win this battle.

However, come the very next morning, it seemed like my partner did not share my confidence.

"...This is what I get for giggling at my students when they get nervous for a class presentation, isn't it?" She mumbled anxiously to herself as she tried to take deep breaths to calm herself down. It wasn't working.

"I think this is very different from a simple class presentation." I deadpanned. The two of us were in the waiting room as we waited for the stage to be fixed as the last battle came to a conclusion. Since our match was just before lunch, a few teams had already been eliminated.

Single eliminations were pretty scary.

"Hahaha...yeah..." She laughed uncertainly, "It's just that I've never fought on a public stage like this for some time and now I'm getting all anxious about it. How did you even manage to fight Drake last year without getting nervous?"

"Oh I was definitely nervous, don't be mistaken about that." I replied, "But once the battle began, I just lost all that nervousness simply because I couldn't focus on it. I had to focus on the battle in front of me. I didn't have time to be distracted by other feelings."

I patted her on the shoulder, "So don't worry, I'm sure it'll be the same for you too. And hey, if you screw up, you can be reassured that I'll step up and help you. So make sure you stay the same for me!" I shot her a bright smile.

She returned it, "I'm sure you wouldn't ever need my help. Besides, would your Pokémon even listen to me?"

"Some might not." I admitted, thinking of Wraith and Ornstein. They were my more rowdier Pokémon and would not randomly obey another trainer in the middle of battle, "But my more senior Pokémon definitely will – so long as your orders aren't blatantly idiotic."

She let out a small chuckle, "That's good to know."

I clapped my hands, "Okay, enough of the self-deprecation and anxiousness. We have a battle to win. We've trained plenty; surely we couldn't have spent all that effort just to lose at the first hurdle. So chin up, Roxanne. Let's win this."

She nodded, "You're right." The determination reigniting in her eyes, "We have a fight to win."

And so the two of us fell into a comfortable silence as we patiently waited for the battle to begin. Our plans had already been made, and the strengths and weaknesses of both Will and Flannery were already thoroughly discussed, so it was only a matter of executing our plans.

Of course, the plan was deliberately flexible so that we wouldn't become too tunnel-visioned trying to stick to it. But after sharing what we knew about them, both Roxanne and I agreed that their teamwork was likely to be their biggest weakness. Not because they were rude to each other, but simply because they were both TOO passionate, which influenced their fighting styles.

The call from the League official snapped us out of our thoughts. It was time.

I gave Roxanne one last reassuring nod before we entered the stadium. I saw Roxanne falter slightly as the crowd roared to life at our appearance, but she steadied herself and followed after me, swallowing her fear.

Giving a quick wave towards the crowd, my eyes snapped to my opponents. Will and Flannery almost swaggered onto the stage; even at this distance it was easy to spot the enthusiasm brimming in their eyes.

We didn't exchange anything beyond a mere nod. There was no need for banter. It was time for a fight.

"Just as we planned." I whispered once more to Roxanne, and she nodded as she grabbed a Pokéball from her belt. I did the same.

"AND NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE MATCH BETWEEN WILL AND FLANNERY VS JOHN AND ROXANNE IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! GIVE IT UP FOR YOUR FOUR TRAINERS!" The crowd screamed their approval at the announcer's words.

"NO TIME TO WASTE! LET'S GET RIGHT TO IT! TRAINERS, ARE YOU READY?!" We all nodded.

"THEN THREE...TWO...ONE...FIGHT!!"

"Go! Ornstein!" "Get them! Golem!"

"Time to shine, Camerupt!" "Dazzle them, Gardevoir!"

Our Pokémon emerged onto the field, staring down at each other. Yet Ornstein was the first to break the peace, breaking out into a dash and rushing down Will's Gardevoir while immediately firing off a Taunt.

But Gardevoir Teleported out of the way, creating distance between herself and Ornstein and avoiding the Taunt. However, we had predicted Gardevoir's movements correctly, and Golem let out a roar and unleashed a wide-area Stone Edge that targeted a location far away from itself – which was exactly where Gardevoir had Teleported to.

Gardevoir let out a pained cry as the jagged rocks ripped into her, but she had the mental willpower to Teleport out before any further follow attacks came.

In the meanwhile, Camerupt reminded the world of its presence by launching a devastating Eruption towards the charging Ornstein. Molten rocks rained down around him, crashing into the ground and melting the ground with their searing heat.

But Ornstein had been training for these kinds of scenarios. With his speed, he leapt, dodged, and rolled out of the way of the incoming Eruption as he continued rushing down Gardevoir. Despite having his eyes locked onto Gardevoir, he had the presence of mind to dexterously evade the falling molten rocks.

Golem also moved to intercept, firing off a barrage of rocks at Camerupt with a Rock Blast. Camerupt grunted, and retaliated with its own volley of rocks that smashed against each other.

Neither were able to use Earthquake for fear of tripping up and hurting their own teammates.

"Keep Taunting it, Ornstein."

The Taunts kept coming Gardevoir's way, with Ornstein always in pursuit of Gardevoir as she continued to Teleport around. Ornstein was simply waiting for a single opportunity for Gardevoir to be caught with a Taunt, and he had seemingly limitless energy as he picked up speed.

They were playing a game of Persian and Rattata.

The fight ended up stalling. Gardevoir was not at all lacking for Psychic power and managed to maintain her steady stream of Teleports, keeping her distance as Ornstein continued his dogged pursuit after her. Yet Gardevoir was keeping pace, and even had the time to retaliate with a few Moonblasts, but Ornstein was too fast for Gardevoir to hit with her slow-moving Moonblasts.

At the same time, Camerupt and Golem continued to exchange blows, with Fire and Rocks being slung at each other, but neither were able to do more than superficial damage against each other. Especially since Gardevoir managed to get both Reflect and Light Screens up, blocking even more of the incoming damage.

The arena ended up being split in half by Camerupt's and Golem's exchange of attacks as a solid trench of burning rocks and molten flame tore through the centre of the arena; the fiery aftermath of their respective attacks creating a no-man's land of hostile terrain.

It seemed like neither side was able to gain an advantage against the other. We were on the offense, but we weren't able to apply enough pressure.

However, this situation was what we wanted. Unbeknownst to Will and Flannery, Golem had been repeatedly setting up with Rock Polishes between its attacks, secretly boosting up its speed so that it was no longer the slow and lumbering Rock type everyone thought it was. With its speed boosted to the max, it was able to briefly match Ornstein's base speed.

Then, Roxanne subtly tapped my arm, signalling to me that the trap was set. Now it was only a matter of waiting for the right opportunity.

Ornstein had been continuously pursuing after the Teleporting Gardevoir, never letting his prey escape him as he stubbornly matched her mobility with his incredible speed. And then it happened – Gardevoir Teleported near Golem, thinking that Roxanne's Rock type was still busy trading attacks with Camerupt.

We sprung our trap.

"NOW, GOLEM!"

Golem spun around like a ball, ignoring the flaming rocks crashing against its back as it shot off like a rocket, leaping into the air and rapidly closing the distance between itself and Gardevoir with its eyes blazing with vicious determination.

The burst of speed took Gardevoir completely by surprise, and the Psychic type couldn't react in time before Golem caught her in its powerful arms.

"GO GO GOLEM!!" It roared, crashing their heads together in a brutal Iron Head that caused Gardevoir to reel backwards. The Reflect barrier rippled, blocking some but not all of the attack. Thinking that its surprise attack had succeeded, Golem's fist crackled as it readied a follow-up Thunder Punch.

"Flash Cannon, Camerupt! Stop it!"

Unfortunately for us, Gardevoir was spared from Golem's follow-up as it was interrupted by a Flash Cannon from Camerupt that detonated harshly against Golem's back. The Rock types tumbled forwards, grunting in pain as its own Thunder Punch dissipated, which gave Gardevoir just enough space to recover and Teleport out of Golem's reach.

But in her haste, Gardevoir forgot about Ornstein. Appearing from behind, Ornstein finally caught Gardevoir with a Taunt, cutting off her ability to Teleport around.

"Night Slash, Ornstein! Bring it down!"

"Dazzling Gleam, Gardevoir!"

However, Will proved he wasn't out of options despite the Taunt. As soon as its usual Teleport shenanigans were cut off, Will moved to take control of the fight once again.

Ornstein's attempts to eviscerate Gardevoir with a Night Slash was interrupted as Gardevoir moved with decisive agility, unleashing a powerful wave of Fairy energy that threw him backwards.

"ENERGY BALL, BEHIND YOU!"

Proving herself to be an Elite Pokémon for a reason, Gardevoir wasted no time spinning around like a ballerina and firing off a barrage of Energy Balls straight towards the charging Golem, blasting it just in time before the Rock type could reach its target and sending it crashing backwards into the psychic barriers. As Golem fell, Camerupt let out a roar as an Earth Power violently erupted from the ground.

For all its famed defenses, Golem was not able to withstand against the double punch of powerful Special Attacks, succumbing to its injuries as it fell unconscious.

I let out a small frown as I watched Golem fall. That wasn't what we had planned to happen – we had expected that our surprise trap for Gardevoir would have instantly brought down the Psychic type, but Gardevoir reacted with more power and speed than we gave her credit for. Plus, with Golem out of the fight, Roxanne was only left one Pokémon. And Ornstein wasn't in a very good condition either.

I felt the worry radiating from Roxanne, but I was quick to calm myself. We weren't out of options yet.

I realized what I had to do.

"Ornstein, Parting Shot the Gardevoir! Get out of there!"

"Sudowoodo! Time to step up!"

Ornstein let out a mocking snarl at Gardevoir, releasing a cloud of mocking darkness that was nullified by a quick Dazzling Gleam from the Psychic type, though it did nothing to block Ornstein's return to his Premier Ball.

"WRAITH! YOUR TURN!"

Not wasting any time, I had him instantly replaced with Wraith. I had to take full advantage of the fact that Gardevoir was still Taunted to bring her down. If she could recover from the Taunt, it would be painfully difficult to catch her again.

I could have had Wraith disguise himself as another one of my Pokémon, but that wasn't necessary at the moment. The priority now was to get close to Gardevoir as quickly as possible.

Just as Wraith was about to reach his target, a powerful bolt of Psychic came his way, and Wraith was sent flying backwards like a ragdoll flying through the air, before collapsing to the ground in a pile of his own limbs like a puppet that had its strings cut.

In the heat of battle, Gardevoir instinctively turned to refocus her attention on the new Sudowoodo, not thinking too much about the strange 'frailty' of Wraith.

It was a terrible mistake.

"ZOR!" Dropping the illusion, Wraith appeared right in front of his opponent as he unleashed a savage Shadow Claw that ripped into Gardevoir's exposed side, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from the Fairy type. While both trainer and Pokémon were equally surprised, Wraith showed no mercy – having trained himself for this exact moment, and tore into the fallen Gardevoir with a flurry of ferocious Shadow Claws.

The frail Gardevoir proved unable to withstand against Wraith's ruthless assault and had her health ripped to shreds.

"Lava Plume, Camerupt! Save your partner!"

"Rock Slide, Sudowoodo! Protect him!"

Camerupt tried desperately to intervene, but Sudowoodo was quick to stop any attempts from interfering as it blocked the incoming plume of molten rocks with a thick wall of stone. Trying to switch tactics, Camerupt desperately attempted to charge up a Solar Beam but that too was swiftly interrupted as a decisive Rock Slide caused the Fire type to flinch.

In the end, Sudowoodo accomplished what it set out to do. With Camerupt unable to interfere, Gardevoir could do little more than fire off a few futile Psychics that Wraith easily shrugged off as he continued eviscerating the helpless Psychic type with his razor sharp claws. At this range, Gardevoir was little more than prey for Wraith, and Wraith was never one to let his quarry escape.

Gardevoir didn't stand a chance, and was promptly knocked out.

Will looked like he wanted to say something as he withdrew his unconscious Gardevoir, but seeing the battle rage out between Camerupt and Sudowoodo may have caused him to hold back his words. Instead, he just sent out his final Pokémon.

"Hypno! Hypnosis!"

A dizzying ray of circular pink lights chimed forth from its ever-swinging pendulum of the newly emerged Hypno. Wraith ignored this, charging towards the new Hypno as he Snarled, sending out a bolt of Dark energies that crashed against the incoming Hypnosis.

Both attacks nullified each other out. Therefore, thinking that Hypno was now vulnerable, Wraith leapt forwards – only to rush headfirst into a trap as Future Sights detonated right in his face, sending him staggering backwards.

Hypno took the opportunity to Teleport next to Camerupt, before its eyes flashed blue as it clapped its hands together with a Helping Hand.

"ERUPTION, NOW! AS WE PLANNED!"

"CAMERUPTTT!!" Camerupt released a deafening roar as its entire body glowed with power – a clear demonstration of the sudden surge of power that it just received from Hypno – as the flames around its body exploded out with power. Then, an enormous ball of flame launched upwards from its back, soaring into the air before breaking apart into a rain of molten rocks that came raining down like a volcanic apocalypse.

I quickly dismissed my shock at witnessing the sheer power from Hypno's Helping Hand as I turned to Roxanne, the both of us acknowledging the incoming doom heading our way. We shared a brief look before we both nodded, knowing what we had to do.

"Rock Throw to form a shield, Sudowoodo! Block it!"

"Use Sudowoodo as cover, Wraith! Protect and ambush!"

A huge wall of rocks formed around our two Pokémon, forming a protective shelter just in time for the eruption of molten rocks to impact the ground, causing a huge wave of flames to rush out in all directions, drowning out the arena. Thick smoke quickly covered the battlefield, obscuring all vision.

It took a moment for the flames to clear, but once it did, it revealed an arena that had been completely scorched black by the flames, and there were even some lingering embers scattered across the battlefield. With one attack, the battlefield had been turned into a wasteland.

It spoke volumes of the sheer boost that Hypno was able to provide to Camerupt. Will had improved.

What was more important was the lone figure of Sudowoodo, still standing tall despite the overwhelming display of power. Its' defenses were not for nothing, even if it was now Burned. Yet, next to it was a knocked out Wraith, his entire body covered in painful burn marks as he twitched helplessly on the ground.

In the meanwhile, Camerupt collapsed in exhaustion as it expended most of its energy with that devastating attack, having used up all of its borrowed power. But now that it was a 2v1, our opponents were all too happy to maintain their distance, moving conservatively as they blasted Sudowoodo with a Psychic and Flash Cannon respectively.

...That was, until Wraith came leaping out of the ground with a Dig, ambushing the surprised Hypno and slashing downwards with a ruthless Shadow Call.

Like I had hoped, Wraith had used Sudowoodo as a rock shield to keep itself mostly safe while he tricked his foes with another illusion. He was injured, but not badly enough to hinder his aggression.

While Hypno was considered the second strongest of Will's team, I knew from research that it was more due to its supportive and disruptive capabilities, which meant nothing against the brutal assault of attacks from Wraith – who specialised in close range takedowns like this.

"Shadow Claw, Wraith! Take it down!"

"Get away, Hypno!"

Now desperate, Hypno instinctively fired off another Hypnosis, but the hypnotising beam of light was slashed in half by a Shadow Claw before Wraith unleashed his full vengeful wrath against his target, overwhelming Hypno's flimsy defences just like he did with Gardevoir.

In just a few seconds, the fight had been completely reversed. From what looked like our team being on the verge of defeat, to Hypno crumbling in the face of Wraith's overwhelmingly violent assault – once again proving that a simple illusion was a huge trump card against those who didn't know to expect it.

I sincerely doubted Hypno would have been so easily taken out otherwise.

However, Wraith's victory was very short lived. The moment Hypno was brought down, Wraith was smashed face-first by a fist of scorching rocks, sending the already-injured Wraith flying through the air.

This time, Camerupt didn't hit an illusion.

Knowing this, Camerupt roared and fired off an Earth Power, just as Sudowoodo came exploding out from the ground with a Dig of its own, but it came too late. While Sudowoodo managed to land a devastating Head Smash against the distracted Camerupt, it wasn't in time to stop the Earth Power from ripping through the health of the fallen Wraith, knocking him out of the fight.

And now, as Will and I both urgently recalled our Pokémon, the fight momentarily continued with two very injured Pokémon. Both badly injured, and one even burnt.

"Iron Head, Camerupt!"

"Wood Hammer, Sudowoodo!"

The two Pokémon charged forwards, looking to exchange what was likely their final moves against each other. Coincidentally, the two of them crashed their heads together – with Sudowoodo using another Head Smash while Camerupt went for the Iron Head.

The attacks caused both Pokémon to crumble and collapse against each other in a picturesque double knockout.

And now, the battle was down to me and Flannery, with each only having one Pokémon remaining.

Furthermore, on paper, I was at a disadvantage. Ornstein had already been revealed and was injured, giving Flannery the opportunity to choose a Pokémon that could counter my own, while also having it be completely fresh for battle.

However, I did not let my disadvantage show on my face, instead choosing to stare down Flannery with a blank and calm expression – as if daring her to fight me. My intimidation worked, and I saw a minute flinch from the less experienced Flannery.

But nervous or not, she still sent out her final Pokémon.

"Blaziken! Beat them up!"

"Ornstein, back into the fight! Rush in!"

Hoping to take full advantage of her nervousness, I immediately ordered Ornstein to go on the assault. Yet, Flannery didn't allow her nerves to dictate her actions. Despite the obvious nervousness and slight hesitation on her face, she kept her calm and gave orders to her Blaziken as it readied itself as Ornstein charged its way.

Ornstein crashed into Blaziken with a fully powered Double Edge, only to be blocked by a Protect shield from Blaziken before it counterattacked with a Low Sweep that almost tripped up Ornstein. He stepped to the side and rushed forwards with another Slash, but Blaziken raised its arm to block it before retaliating with a Fire Punch that narrowly missed – only lightly burning Ornstein's fur. Another attempted Shadow Claw was interrupted as a Blaze Kick whipped through the air in front of him, forcing Ornstein to retreat as the strike missed.

The two continued to exchange blows, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that Ornstein just wasn't able to land a good hit on Blaziken.

I grimaced as I realised what the issue was. Due to his size and strength, I had trained Ornstein to be an evasive and mobile fighter, fully relying on his strong ambushing potential and speed to secure knockouts. However, Ornstein never really had any way of blocking attacks, as relying on his flimsy Protect shields was too much of a risk, and was why I tried to avoid sending out Ornstein against close range attackers. He couldn't block with his small arms and legs – that was never going to be practical.

Even against his rival Smough, Ornstein never was able to trade hits with him. He was always forced to dodge. Against a much slower Smough, this wasn't a huge issue, as Smough's slow speed still afforded opportunities for Ornstein to land hits. However, against the faster Blaziken, this wasn't the case.

While Blaziken was able to block and counterattack simultaneously, Ornstein's superior speed still allowed it to land a few blows, but that was nowhere near decisive enough to secure a knockout.

What was worse was that even I could see that there were many openings for Ornstein to exploit. Blaziken was nowhere at the level of the many other close-range fighters I had been up against, and I knew that Ornstein was far more skilled than it.

However, Ornstein was not able to take advantage of those openings, even if he was faster. The simple fact that he wasn't able to properly block attacks due to his size was a humiliating reality check for my Dark type.

I clenched my fists instinctively. However, despite this setback, I knew that there was a way to win – I had trained up Ornstein in stall tactics as well, and I was confident that his stamina was sufficient to outlast even a fresh Blaziken while it continued to evade. So I changed tactics accordingly.

"Keep your distance and wear it down, Ornstein!"

"Make use of your reach, Blaziken!"

Another Blaze Kick from Blaziken missed Ornstein, who retaliated with Snarl and Screech, looking to slowly cripple Blaziken and set up for a decisive blow. Knowing that this was the safest way to secure victory, I readied myself for a long fight of attrition.

Yet, as he continued to circle around the Fire type, I could see the frustration beginning to set in for Ornstein. This was a battle that he should be winning. He had the speed. He had the technique. He had the agility.

If only he was bigger. If only he was just stronger. If only he could just EVOLVE!

And then it happened. As Blaziken dove forwards with his fists alight with flames, a blinding white light suddenly flooded the battlefield.

It was finally happening.

Blaziken wasn't able to cancel his own attack in time, and instead of punching down on a small and tiny Linoone, it found its fist ensnared by Ornstein, now evolved into an Obstagoon, with a malicious grin on his face that promised pain and retribution. As Blaziken slowly realized the terrible situation it was in, Ornstein even had the audacity to extend his tongue, taunting it with an evil smile.

A shocked gasp of surprise came from the crowd as they took in Ornstein's new form. Even the current battlers, except me, were no exception to this. No one knew that Linoone had a hidden evolution.

But that was for later. We had a battle to win.

Blaziken immediately tried to break free from Ornstein's iron grasp by unleashing a Blaze Kick that hammered in from the side. But rather than smashing into Ornstein's side, Ornstein cleanly blocked it with a raised arm, forming a barrier of Dark energy that seeped into Blaziken's body upon contact.

I grinned. Ornstein had instinctively known how to use Obstruct. It was another excellent move in his arsenal.

And now was the time to end this fight.

"FINISH IT, ORNSTEIN! BRICK BREAK!"

Blaziken's eyes flashed with panic as it realized that its defences were harshly dropped, but it didn't have time to process that as a painful Brick Break smashed into its face. Seeing his opponent stumble backwards, Ornstein lunged forwards, releasing all of its frustrations in a single blow as he brutally Body Slammed the Fire type straight into the ground, using all of his newfound strength and weight.

A critical hit!

Yet Ornstein wasn't done yet, and proving that his bigger frame didn't mean that it was any slower than before, he immediately pounced over Blaziken's fallen body. Slamming down a knee as he pinned the Fire type beneath him, his smile widened sadistically as his fist began crackling with lightning, and a merciless rain of Thunder Punches came pummelling down on the fallen Blaziken.

Ornstein was determined to end the fight here and now.

"BREAK FREE, BLAZIKEN! YOU NEED TO GET UP!"

However, despite its trainer's words, the harsh defence drops from the earlier Obstruct and Screech had truly crippled Blaziken, and now each punch it took was another dangerously crippling blow to its health. If it was more disciplined, perhaps it could fight through the pain, but Blaziken unfortunately did not possess the mental willpower to power through Ornstein's merciless pummelling.

Ultimately, its desperate struggles proved futile, and it was unable to throw off Ornstein before a final Thunder Punch cracked the ground and bashed the Fire type into unconsciousness.

The battle was won. Victory was ours.

The crowd roared at our victory, but I ignored them as I shot Ornstein a proud smile. He just stuck out his tongue at me, but I knew he was equally as pleased as I was. He flexed his new and powerful muscles to me, and I laughed as I saw how much he enjoyed his new form.

However, now was not the time to inspect his new body. I turned to Roxanne, who was had an ecstatic smile on her face, "We did it!"

"That we did." I grinned, "But we should speak to our opponents first. We can celebrate later."

"Of course, of course." Roxanne quickly nodded, and immediately rushed off to comfort the sullen Flannery. As she did so, I approached Will, who was staring at the ground with a complicated smile on his face.

"Thank you for the battle." I said as I approached, "It was well fought."

He sighed, covering his face with a hand, "I was hoping for a better performance than this in the Tournament. To think I would be knocked out in the first round."

Realizing what his words might have sounded like, he quickly corrected himself, "Not that I'm unhappy with Flannery's performance or anything; some might say she did even better than me as I was knocked out first."

"That's because you were the bigger threat." I reassured, "You took us by surprise with your Gardevoir; I honestly didn't expect her to be able to handle the Taunt nearly as effectively as she did. And don't get me started on your Hypno and its ridiculous Helping Hand boost. That was the strongest Eruption I'd ever seen, and I doubt Flannery could achieve that without your help."

I knew for a fact that I had gotten lucky with Hypno; having been spared from dealing with its usual arsenal of moves. Wraith's quick takedown likely saved our fight.

Admittedly, the fight had been a little too close for my liking. I seriously considered using some of my stronger Pokémon for the next battle to avoid such a close-call from happening again.

He let out a bitter chuckle, "And I wasn't expecting your Linoone to evolve. Seriously, what in Arceus is that?"

I just shrugged and stayed silent, causing him to snort, "Nevertheless, I appreciate your words, even if it's cold comfort. It doesn't look good for a member of the Elite Four to be knocked out in the first round, even if I know I won't be the only one." He sighed again, "I'm already on shaky ground for not having won a battle since I entered into the Elite Four. This will only put more fuel on the fire."

He was right. Will's strength as an Elite Four was under some scrutiny due to his lack of official battles, which only would be made worse due to this loss. His early knockout from the Tournament – in the first round even, would all but guarantee that he received an official challenge from someone soon.

"That's a problem for the future. It's good that you know about it. So now you can work hard to prepare to secure your support." I tried to reassure him, "But you've grown stronger. This battle has more than proved that. Besides, even if you lose, you can always try for a rechallenge."

He took a calming breath, "...You're right. I haven't lost yet. I still have time – I doubt any official challenge will come until the Indigo Conference is concluded."

He stood up a little straighter, "I guess I'll just be using my extra free time to train up."

I patted him on the shoulder, "That's the spirit. And I wasn't kidding about you taking us by surprise. You're strong, Will. I wouldn't lie about that."

He smiled back and made a show of shaking my hand. It was mainly for the crowd, who couldn't overhear our conversation, to know that there were no bad feelings between us. I just smiled - he was ever the showman.

But this was one fight down. There were still many more to go.

The New Normal – 10-10 – The Beach Episode

Winning against Will meant that we had successfully managed to clear through the first round of the Tournament. And since we were one of the earlier fights to take place, it meant that we had some time off before our next battle. Plus, since we didn't even know who our next opponent would be yet, there was no point in doing any specialised training until then.

After the match ended, I did invite Roxanne for a celebratory meal to congratulate us passing through the first round, but Roxanne apologetically declined.

"I'm sorry, John, but I think I should spend some time with Flannery." She bowed her head, "She seemed upset at her loss–"

"Say no more." I cut her off, "I won't stop you from helping out a friend. Feel free to spend as much time with her as needed. Take your time. I'm sure I can find something else to do."

"Thank you John. Then I'll see you later." She gave me one last farewell wave before she ran off to find Flannery. I watched her slowly fade away into the distance before I also decided to make my way out of Ever Grande City.

Seeing that I had some free time, I thought I might as well make a call to a certain someone that I was dying to spend time with. But just before I could ring her up, I spotted a familiar pair of people chatting idly near the rushing waterfall of Ever Grande City, simply enjoying the early rays of the evening.

It was Giovanni and Norman.

"Hey there!" I greeted, turning their attention towards me, "Long time no see, Norman!"

He looked as stoic as usual, but I could see that his eyes were smiling, "John! It has been a while. And congratulations on your win." We quickly shook hands, "How have you been? I only really hear second hand accounts from your sister."

I rubbed my head sheepishly, "Sorry for not keeping in contact. I don't have any good excuses other than I was busy."

"It's fine, I understand. We all have our own lives to live." He said easily, "Anyways, what a coincidence it is to see you. Giovanni and I were just talking about you."

"Really?" I asked, staring at Giovanni with surprise, "What about me?"

"To be precise, we weren't talking about you specifically. We were actually just talking about, well...actually I was asking Norman about some parenting stuff." Giovanni explained. He tried to maintain his usual calm demeanour, but I could tell that he was a little embarrassed.

"Parenting stuff?" I asked, holding myself back from teasing him. "Are you asking about Silver?"

"He was, but as a fellow father myself I shouldn't say anymore than that." Norman interrupted, though I could tell that he was smiling under that stoic fa?ade of his.

"No, it's fine, it's nothing that John doesn't know already." Giovanni allowed, "Norman just introduced me to his kids the other day since we were partnered up for the Tournament, and I couldn't help but compare them to Silver."

"I'm sure Silver has his own strengths." Norman reassured.

"He does, but he's also much more prone to rowdy behaviour. Your kids are extremely well behaved in comparison." Giovanni said, "And I'm not afraid to admit that Norman is the far better parent between the two of us."

"Whitney thinks your son is polite and well-mannered though." I added comfortingly, "And I don't think he's a troublemaker." Nowhere near his canon self, at least.

He rolled his eyes, "That's your sister's natural charm at work. I don't know how Whitney does it, but Silver is practically as docile as a Slakoth when she's around. Then when she's not there he's back to being a Mankey."

"Well surely he must be putting that energy to good use." I pointed out, "How's his training going?"

"He's really set on becoming a generalist, even though I've warned him how difficult it is." Giovanni said, "I think he got a little too inspired by Cynthia."

"Oh, same here!" Norman spoke up, "Both May and Max, those are my kids by the way, are also looking to become generalist trainers as well. They don't have the interest on being a Normal type trainer like their dad." He frowned playfully.

I grinned, "Well I'm sure Cynthia would be flattered to hear that." Because I was definitely going to tell her.

"I can't say it's a bad thing." Giovanni admitted, "I just hope that I can instil a proper sense of responsibility into Silver before he goes out on his journey. I don't want for him to assume that his father's success means he'll be able to do whatever he wants."

"Ah, that's something I've been drilling into my kids at a young age." Norman nodded, "I didn't really care if they were great trainers or not, though I would certainly hope they could be, but the most important thing for me was that my kids were humble and respectful. Everything else is far harder to teach."

"Mhm. That is very important." I agreed, "Being overly arrogant is a common reason why 'successful' trainers fail."

Giovanni snorted, "I don't think the Blackthorns got that message." Then he sighed, "But I can see what you mean. I think I'll have to talk to Ariana and really start talking to Silver about this."

Norman patted Giovanni on the shoulder, "Chin up, Giovanni. I'm sure many people will be able to help you with Silver if you need it. And, in my eyes, you're already becoming a great parent. You care about Silver, and you want to help him be the best he could be. That's all that's necessary. If you need any more advice, even after this Tournament ends, feel free to call me. My wife and I will be happy to give you some tips."

I nodded, "He's right. And I'm you can always call for help if you need it, even if I'm not a parent myself. Or just call Whitney. She might be more useful." I grinned.

Giovanni smiled, "No offense, but when it comes to calming down my son I'll take your sister over you any day." I chuckled as he turned to Norman and gave off a slight bow, "Nonetheless, I appreciate the offer, and for your kind words. It gladdens me to hear that I'm not failing as a parent."

"It's something every parent worries about. I was no different when my kids were first born. It took my wife giving me a slap on the back for me to steady my nerves." Norman waved off, "Don't stress too much about it. You can always speak to your partner for advice. From my experience, they're always willing to give it."

Then he checked his watch, "Ah, seems like we've idled about for too long."

"Oh right, your match is soon isn't it?" I realised, and they both nodded, "Then I'll leave you to it. I have a call to make too."

"Thanks for coming over for a chat, John." Norman said as we exchanged our goodbyes, "Maybe we can talk more soon!"

I watched the two of them leave for a moment with a pleased smile on my face. Who knew that Giovanni would be talking to Norman about fatherhood of all things? It never failed to surprise me how much he's mellowed out since I first met him.

But now with Norman and Giovanni leaving, I returned to my original purpose and rang up Cynthia.

"Oh my, have you finally remembered me?" Her teasing voice came through the phone.

"Like I would ever forget you." I shot back, smiling as I heard the slight giggle from her, "How have you been? I hope I haven't caught you at a bad time."

"No, just got out of a meeting with the other Champions. It wasn't anything important." She told me, "So are you calling to arrange a date? I saw you won with Roxanne. Good job on that."

"Thank you, and I am." I replied, "...It's no fun when you can predict me like this."

"If you had free time and DIDN'T arrange a date with me when we haven't seen each other in some time then I would have been seriously doubting your commitment to this relationship." She said dryly, "Luckily, you're meeting expectations right now."

"Only 'meeting expectations'?" I remarked amusedly with a raised eyebrow, "Surely I'm doing better than that."

"Well we'll have to see what you plan for tomorrow, don't we?" She chuckled, "Where would you like to take me?"

"Dewford Beach." I said immediately, "You snow-loving Sinnohnians need to appreciate something OTHER than the freezing climates you all somehow enjoy so much."

"...Are you sure you're inviting me there with such pure intentions?" She questioned playfully, "Methinks someone is getting a little too excited."

I didn't let her teasing get to me, "I'm not sure what kind of boyfriend I would be if I didn't want to take my girlfriend to the beach." I said boldly, "I might not have been attracted to you purely for your looks, but I'm still a guy. And you are very beautiful."

She broke out laughing, "Flatterer. Okay, you win this round. I thought you'd be more embarrassed."

"You're going to have to do a bit better than that." I grinned, "Anyways, I wasn't lying about wanting you to experience the beaches of Hoenn. I'm sure you will come to love it."

"I think so too." She agreed, "Then let's meet each other at noon tomorrow? I have some stuff to do in the mornings."

"That's fine." I nodded, "And make sure you try to disguise yourself a little. Not because I care about the rumours, but because we won't able to enjoy a private moment together if we get swarmed by reporters. Though, with everyone busy watching the Tournament, I'm confident there will be barely any people there. We'll probably be able to slip by unnoticed, and I'll go double check tomorrow to make sure that's the case."

"Urgh. I hope you're right about that." She grimaced, "Okay, I'll think of something appropriate. It's hard to balance out something inconspicuous while also looking good."

"I'm sure you'll be beautiful no matter what you wear." I slid in smoothly.

"Since when were you such a charmer?" She laughed again, "You must be really looking forward to seeing me."

"Definitely. I'm practically counting down the moments." I replied.

"Then you'll just have to keep counting, because I have meetings tonight that I can't get out of." She told me, "But don't worry. You won't have to count for long; I'll definitely be there tomorrow."

"See you there!" I said to her as we hung up the call. As the call ended, all I could see was the reflection of me sporting a goofy smile staring back at me.

I had a date!

==========

?It very quickly turned to the afternoon of the next day and I was already at the beaches of Dewford, waiting for Cynthia to arrive. I had spent some effort on my own appearance, wearing a (what I hoped was) more stylish version of my old tourist getup that I had previously worn on my first trip to Hoenn, with a sleeveless blue jacket with a shirt, long but thin trousers, and a bucket hat.

I waited underneath one of the many umbrellas that the stores around the beach had set up, my eyes darting around as I tried to spot Cynthia. As I had hoped, the beaches of Dewford were practically empty. There was hardly anyone here, and many stores weren't even open today, which gave me confidence that we would be able to enjoy the afternoon sun on the beach in peace.

Looking back at my thoughts from last night in anticipation for this date, I couldn't help but chuckle at my own excitement. Man, I've really fallen for her, haven't I?

"...Aw, it's nice to hear you say that out loud." A beautiful voice came out from behind me, and I turned around to see the exact person I was thinking about standing behind me in a pretty light blue sundress and a large white sunhat with sunglasses perched on top of them. As if that wasn't enough, she was also carrying a yellow umbrella to block out more of the sun.

"I didn't mean to say that out loud, but now I'm glad I did." I smiled, "Also, is it me or does it seem like you've dressed up in a way that makes it look like you're allergic to the sun?"

"It's all part of the disguise; the umbrella helps block out unwanted looks. Or were you hoping to see me wearing a bit less? Sorry, but that isn't what I like to wear." She giggled, and while the thought DID tempt me, I managed to shake my head.

"No, I prefer it this way." I replied firmly and honestly, "Sometimes revealing too much makes you look crass. What you're doing right now is a perfect balance between the two."

I leaned forwards, kissing her briefly on the forehead as I whispered to her, "You look beautiful, Cynthia."

"...You say all the right things." She said, but I could see the slight tinge of red on her cheeks, "Anyways, enough of that. You were right, there really isn't anyone here. Let's walk around this beach that you've hyped up so much."

Her arm wrapped around mine as she pulled me along the beach. I happily let her drag me around.

"You don't have to be coy. We got lucky today – it's a beautiful day." I said as we left footprints in the sand, "Also, hope you're not overwhelmed by the heat. It must be very different from what you're used to."

"The heat can be a bit much. I definitely brought the wrong kind of pyjamas when I packed for Hoenn; that first night here nearly cooked me." She admitted, "But now, in this place? I can see why you like it so much. The bright sun, the beautiful waves, and the slight hint of the light breeze – all of it is just so relaxing."

"Much better than the biting cold of Snowpoint, don't you think?" I smirked, "You can admit to being wrong, you know. I won't hold it against you."

"Haha, very funny." She said dryly, "I admit that the cold is an acquired taste, but there's very much a natural beauty to it that never seems to get old."

"Oh I don't deny that." I replied, "But the inviting warmth of the sun is much easier to find appealing. You can't tell me shivering in the cold is better than this." I gestured to the picturesque scenery around us.

"Too much time in the sun gets you burnt though." Cynthia pointed out, "You don't have that problem with the cold – assuming you dress properly."

"Is that why you've put on as much shade as you can?" I asked, making a show of looking over her sunglasses, hat, and umbrella.

"I don't think being tan suits me." She smiled, "Unless you think otherwise?"

I shook my head, "No, I agree. I prefer how you look now."

"Aw, thanks." She covered her mouth with a hand as she laughed softly, "And likewise, please don't get tanned like those surfer dudes. I was never into that look."

"I'll do my best." I grinned, inwardly glad I put on sunscreen. But then I smelled something really good, "Hey, have you eaten yet? Should we get something to eat – unless you feel like playing around in the water?"

"I'm not dressed appropriately to get wet." She shook her head, "But yes, let's get some food. I'm pretty hungry too."

Since I was the less recognisable one between us, as Cynthia had a far more distinct look than I did, I went to order us both some food from the nearby store – who's delicious cooking had caught my nose. Turns out, it was one of the only few stores that were open today, and the single person running the store told me that many of the storeowners had rushed over to Ever Grande City to try their luck selling food there for the massive crowd of spectators. He was practically the only one left behind.

Once we got our food, which was a rather generous portion of grilled meats meant for sharing, we sat down at one of the empty tables near the waves, just far enough to be out of reach. There was no one around us.

Or at least...there were no humans around us. As a Psyduck waddled up to us with its head in its hands. It leaned forwards, looking like it was begging for food.

Cynthia immediately began cooing over it.

"Looks like a wild Psyduck to me." I said amusedly as Cynthia happily handed over some food. The Psyduck smiled wildly as it nibbled on its snack, "Wow, it really likes you."

The smile never left her mouth, "It's been like this since I was young. I have no idea why, but Psyduck seem to love me." She sniffed herself, "Is it the way I smell? But whatever it is – I seem to attract Psyduck like a magnet."

"Could be worse. At least the Psyduck are friendly to you. Better friendly than hostile." I said as I watched her continue to pet the Psyduck on the head. It seemed to love the attention.

"True, but I'm still curious as to why I seem to be so favoured by them." She sighed softly, "But I guess that's one of the many mysteries of life that will remain unanswered."

Then her eyes whirled onto mine, "Speaking of Pokémon, don't think I'm about to overlook the fact that your D-Linoone just evolved into a new form yesterday. What was that?!"

I chuckled, raising both arms in surrender. "It was a surprise for me too! I definitely didn't expect that to happen."

"Have you had an opportunity to test out its new capabilities?" She asked, returning to the academic that I knew she was. "Or at least, what's the name of your new evolution?"

"Not yet, my mind was on this date. But his new form is called an Obstagoon." I replied. "I already promised that I'll do more testing later on."

"Hmm...'Obstagoon'...another mystery to figure out." She hummed, "Let me know if you need my help with that. I always love examining new Pokémon."

I nodded, "Speaking of mysteries, you really have to join me and Drake down once we go cave diving in Sinnoh again." I said, "It wouldn't be the same without you."

She smiled, "I'll try, but I'm really not sure if I can make time for it." That was what she said, but her eyes told a different story. She was just as eager as I was.

"Then make time for it." I replied simply, pushing her just a little more, "Pass on the work to Lucian or something. He can handle it for a day or two."

The grin that appeared on her face told me that my persuasion worked, "What a wonderful suggestion. I forgot I could do that."

I chuckled, "What's the point of being Champion if you can't abuse your power for petty things like this from time to time?"

"Well I'd feel bad for Lucian if I did this too often, but I guess the slacking occasionally can't be that bad..." Then she gasped dramatically, "John! Are you corrupting me?!"

I raised my hands, "I'm just offering reasonable suggestions. It's up to you if you want to follow through with it."

Then I lowered my voice, "But don't let Lance hear about this. The last thing I want is for him to dump his work on me."

She smirked, "We'll see about that...though, speaking of Lance, aren't you planning on fighting him after the finals?"

"IF I reach it, yes, that's the plan." I confirmed.

She rolled her eyes, "You better get to those finals. I want you to beat Lance. It's about time that you prove to the world that you are a Champion in all but name."

"I think I already have that reputation." I replied, trying not to be too smug.

She nodded, "Yes, but a victory over Lance would confirm it." She placed on of her hands gently on my cheek, "And as your partner, why wouldn't I want you to be recognized like that? Let the world see you like I do."

"And it's not just that. If you do beat Lance, that would be an excellent moment to make a formal announcement of our relationship to the public." She added, "After all, with such a decisive achievement of strength, who would doubt you? Who would challenge you?"

I placed my hand on top of the one touching my cheek as I gently caressed her smooth hands, "...I actually had a similar thought. Plus, it would be even better if we made the announcement together, after you ALSO win against the remaining candidates of the Top 3. Our double victory will serve as the momentum for the announcement."

A joint announcement on the back of convincing victories like that, and on top of Cynthia's newest ascension to Champion, was a powerful show of force to win public opinion to our side. Of course we would have to do more than just that to show the public that we weren't letting our relationship get in the way of our duties, but it would be a great start to having our relationship be accepted by the public.

After all, strength spoke volumes in our society.

"Speaking of which, this can't be something you drop on the Sinnoh Elite Four out of the blue." I pointed out, "They will have to be informed about this too."

"I will speak to Lucian first." She confirmed, "We'll hash out the details between us to 'keep things fair' regarding our relationship, so to speak. Although, I already have an idea on what to propose to him..."

Cynthia then explained her plans to me, which mirrored my own arrangement with Lance. As Champion, she would be voluntarily limiting her own voting power when it came to bilateral deals with Indigo to that of an Elite Four. Therefore, she would still have voting power, but she couldn't dominate the vote like she usually would as a Champion.

In essence, the Sinnoh Elite Four would serve as a judge of her objectiveness for any deals regarding Indigo. So if there was a situation where she was obviously biased, she couldn't force the League into going through with a deal that they didn't want as the Elite Four would cancel out her vote. However, so long as the Elite Four remained supportive of her position, then deals could still easily pass through the Committee as the Elite Four would vote alongside her.

It was a sacrifice, but one she told me she was happily willing to make for our relationship to work – echoing her previous words to me when we exchanged confessions. However, she reassured me that the sacrifice wasn't as big as it may first seem, because she was confident that she could keep the Elite Four on her side, nullifying any drawbacks of her reduced voting power for bilateral Indigo-related proposals.

I approved of her ideas, even if it wasn't a foolproof solution. Yet, since there had never been a cross-region relationship between two high-ranking members of the League, there was no precedent for what needed to be done when one happened.

I hoped that, on top of my own announcement that I wouldn't be participating in votes regarding Sinnoh, we could get the drop on any accusations of bias before they could begin.

Cynthia and I agreed that it was vital for us to set the tone for our relationship to the public. The benefit of this succeeding was that it paved the way for other cross-regional relationships between high-ranking public officials to occur, potentially leading to future relationships like ours to crop up as well.

Of course, a lot of this hinged on our abilities to keep up our reputation and our favourability in the public's eye. We needed to remain competent, strong, and effective in our positions DESPITE our relationship.

It wasn't going to be easy, but that didn't mean we wouldn't damn well try. I still held firmly onto that promise in Sinnoh that we would both do everything to make this work – and Cynthia clearly was no different.

And our double victory in the Tournament would go a long way in helping that.

"Then I guess I just have to win, don't I?" I said with a smirk, and she grinned along with me.

Her smile was stunning. And our eyes met each other's once again as the gentle, seaside winds caressed our faces.

Before I knew it, all I could see and feel were Cynthia's beautiful grey eyes staring into mine, and how beautiful her hair seemed to frame her face.

My hands moved on their own accord, grabbing her lightly by the shoulders and pulling her into me. She allowed it, leaning into me as she guided our lips together. And then I was overwhelmed with that sensually soft sensation of her lips on mine.

It was all I could feel. Not the breezy winds of Dewford, not the inviting seas, not even the sounds of the nearby squawks and cries of a few wild Pokémon. Just her lips.

Her words of encouragement and her faith in me never failed to stir up my attraction to her. This kiss was meant to be for her sake – but right now, I wasn't sure who the reward was supposed to be for.

We stayed like that for a moment with our lips clasped together. But all moments, no matter how beautiful, had to come to an end. And our lips eventually broke apart.

I stared at Cynthia, who was still smiling softly with a faint blush on her cheeks, "...Let's keep walking around before we draw too many prying eyes." The beach might be mostly empty, but I'd rather not take too many risks with our romantic displays of affection – especially now that we had a plan on how we would be publicly revealing our relationship.

Cynthia nodded and allowed me to drag her around the beach. Neither of us talked, simply enjoying the presence of the other as we walked around the beach hand-in-hand.

It was only after a moment that Cynthia spoke up again, "So do you have any plans on how to beat Lance's Emperor? Can you even plan around such a beast?"

"Tyrant isn't much of a cunning fighter, even if he can be quite versatile." I replied, "But I know our battle is going to be down to a brawl."

She nodded in agreement, "I don't see how it would play out any other way with the two of you. But..."

"Go on. I'm listening." I encouraged.

"Well...if I were you, then I would try to get in Lance's head. Everyone knows he's very reliant on outpowering his opponent, so is there a way you can use that against him? Or would it best to try to match that strength? If the fight is going to end up being a brawl, then is there any way for you to try to swing that brawl into your favour? Is there any strategy that Lance likes to use that you can turn around on him? Those are just some of the questions I'd think about."

I already thought of that, but I appreciated her words nonetheless, "Thank you. I'll definitely keep that in mind." I said to her.

"...Though, I actually thought you were about to ask me to fight you again." I smirked.

"Not today." She shook her head, "Besides, we might get the opportunity after your battle against Lance, should you win."

"Hopefully," I nodded, "Oh, now that we're on the topic, do you think you could beat Lance in a fight?"

"6v6 or ace vs ace?" Cynthia asked.

"Either or." I replied.

She took a moment to think, "...From what I've seen of him, I think I do have a chance to win in a 6v6 fight. It definitely won't be easy though." She explained, "But if it's a duel between starters, then I most likely lose."

"My Garchomp may be many things, but Lance has taken the idea of 'brute strength' to a completely different level." Cynthia muttered, "It's the same as your Slaking. I don't have any intention on pitting my Pokémon against either of your two monsters. My only chance of winning would be to wear them down slowly overtime and fight very smartly..."

"Do you think you could do it?" I asked.

"...Maybe, but it'd be a very narrow thing." She answered slowly, "Garchomp might be faster than your Slaking or Lance's Dragonite, but my Garchomp is definitely not as strong. One mistake, and I lose. And that doesn't include any other tricks you both might pull out."

"Still, that doesn't mean I will lose outright." Her eyes gleamed with that familiar sense of competitive conviction, "If you end up beating Lance, then there should be no reason why I couldn't either."

"Glad to hear it." I said with a proud smile. I always loved hearing that determination in her voice.

It was then that I realized, as we were distracted by the conversation, we ended up wandering close to the bright blue ocean. I watched as the waves extended close to our legs – without Cynthia noticing – before receding away.

A playful idea came to my head. While Cynthia remained distracted, I waited carefully for the tide to come in once again before I suddenly yanked Cynthia right into the oncoming waves.

"...H-Hey! What are you-WOAH!" Cynthia exclaimed in surprise as I dragged the two of us in the water, our feet making a splash for each step we took into the ocean.

"I'm not dressed for this!" She complained while inspecting her now soaked sundress. Her eyes whirled tome as she glared, but there was no heat in it.

I just laughed, "What kind of person doesn't enter the water when they go to the beach?" I cupped a handful of water and splashed her again, eliciting a loud shriek from her, "You should have known this from the start!" To add insult to injury I splashed her again.

"–YOU! That's it." She kneeled into the water, ignoring how that only caused her dress to become more soaked, "You asked for it!" Then she hurled a large handful of water at me.

But she didn't stop there, ignoring all sense of dignity as she her hands continued to fling more and more water at me. The water soaked me from head to toe, but I didn't mind it one bit. Cynthia's wide smile told me everything I needed to know.

And as I took a glimpse of my own reflection in the clear blue seas, as the afternoon sun shone over our heads, I could see that I was smiling too.

The New Normal – 10-10 – Interlude – Archer

The terrorists were on the move.

Just like his boss had predicted, the criminals thought that they were safe – that the whole world's attention would be focused on the Tournament, and that the security measures would be relatively lax.

Oh sure, Cynthia may have ordered the Sinnoh Police to be on high alert, but career criminals like them were bound to know how to stay away from the authorities, especially if, as Archer greatly suspected, they were also being fed information from their spies.

Therefore, it was this arrogance or impatience, or perhaps from a general dissatisfaction at being kept inside for too long, they finally decided to venture out and advance their plans, thinking that none would be the wiser.

So they got sloppy. They got careless with hiding their tracks. Less paranoid when it came to their illegal operations, which mostly focused on theft or resource acquisitions.

He suspected that they were really starting to feel the pinch of the resource problems.

Unbeknownst to the criminals, Archer and his team had been waiting for this exact moment of complacency. He continued to stalk his targets at safe distance, being under strict orders to not attack these terrorists directly, and his team continued to collect information and piece together their plans while ensuring they remained undetected as they took down notes on all of the bases that the grunts led them to.

Though Archer knew that he was merely following the grunts, and that the bases that they had discovered were likely of little importance in the grand scheme of things, revealing their location and having them raided by the authorities was sure to cause a big headache for whoever was in charge of these terrorists.

And with every base he discovered, it would only be a matter of time before he narrowed down who the true identity of these criminals were.

But as his monitoring operations continued, Archer noticed a pattern in their movements. Ignoring their more routine criminal acts, he realized that the grunts were all gravitating towards the three famous lakes of Sinnoh.

And Archer's many years of honed instincts as a criminal was screaming at him that this was important. His many years of working for Giovanni allowed him to recognize the grunts' movements to be just like his own when he was scouting out a location for a potential raid, back when he still used to plan those.

It was no coincidence that they seemed to be getting closer and closer to the three lakes, but what could they be planning on doing with them?

With that in mind, Archer dove headfirst into researching the lakes, trying to suss out whatever reason that the grunts had for scouting out the lakes like they were doing. And he eventually stumbled across the existence of the lake guardians, the trio of Legendary Pokémon that supposedly resided there, though allegedly no one was ever able to catch a glimpse of them.

...This must have been what these terrorists were aiming for. Did they have some kind of scheme for luring out the guardians and capturing them? But for what purpose? According to what he read, the Guardians were weak compared to almost every other Legendary. They did not have the overwhelming strength to achieve their so-called goals of remaking the world, and he doubted that even the most delusional of criminals would fail to notice this fact.

No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn't find the answer. But that was fine. He was not chosen for his position for his ability to think of the bigger picture. That was for his boss and for John to do. His job was to just collect the information and present it to those who really could get a grasp on the criminals' true goals.

So with that in mind, Archer proceeded to report all of this to Giovanni. He knew that his boss was currently participating in the Tournament, but he didn't think this information could wait.

"...I see, thank you for letting me know urgently." Giovanni said, "I suspect that your suspicions are correct. However they plan to 'remake the world', I don't doubt that the Lake Guardians would certainly have a place in it."

"Then what's the next step, boss?" He asked, "Should we send an anonymous tip right away?"

"No, now isn't the right time. With everyone busy and distracted with the Tournament, the impact wouldn't be as big as we want it to be." His boss shook his head, "...We need to make sure that the Sinnoh government reacts appropriately to this threat. We have this single opportunity to really bring the pain down on these scum, and I want to make sure we get it right."

Archer nodded, and stayed silent as he allowed his boss to think.

"...The financial investigations of the businesses in Sinnoh are still underway, right?" His boss asked after a moment.

"Yes, but I hear that they're concluding soon." Archer answered. "The results should be published to the Champion shortly."

"The Champion will certainly give a press conference when the results are published. Release your information then." His boss ordered, "When that happens, the attention of the authorities will naturally be focused on dealing with these criminals, so this will just be adding more fuel to the fire. A fire that the League cannot ignore."

Then his boss' eyes gleamed cunningly, "...In fact, how combat-ready is your team?"

"As ready as they'll ever be, but we won't win against their numbers." He replied dutifully.

"Good, then I have another plan for you to enact." Giovanni grinned, "Once you finish releasing your information, I want you to provoke a fight between yourself and these criminals, since you know where their grunts' bases are. Make it look like it was a disagreement within their ranks. Make your fight as loud as possible so that the authorities are attracted to it. That'll cause far more problems for them."

"And if any of your team unfortunately gets caught, then make sure they know what to say." Giovanni added, "Have them 'leak' to the authorities that the terrorists intend to target the lake guardians so that their attention is focused there. The criminals won't be able to stay out of the spotlight after that, and the League won't be able to afford ignoring this threat. They WILL be forced to respond."

"Understood, I'll make sure the team is ready." Archer nodded, "Is there anything else?"

"Keep your eyes on the lakes. I want to know immediately if the terrorists decide to throw caution to the wind and decide on enacting their plans regardless of whether they get caught." Giovanni ordered, "If that happens, stall for time as much as you can, and call John directly. He'll sort it out."

It said much about his boss' faith in John that he commanded Archer to call John first before even informing him. Having worked for Giovanni for as long as he did, Archer knew all about his boss' desire for control, so to tell Archer to inform John first was a big deal.

"Will do." He replied, and the call with his boss ended there. Immediately after the phone call ended, he began barking orders to his team. Soon, the secret base was alight with activity as everyone started rushing around, all with serious looks on their faces.

They were gearing up for a fight.