Chapter 12: 47-49

Chapter 12: 47-49

The New Normal – 3-10 – An Afternoon in Olivine

I found myself sitting down at the same coffee shop that I was at the first time when I was waiting to meet Karen at the lighthouse. I was wearing an outfit akin to the tourist getup that I wore in Hoenn, and I donned a fisherman's hat to hopefully conceal my identity. So far, it seemed to be working as no one had approached me yet for my autograph or photo.

It was a few days after Karen's exciting announcement about D-Zigzagoon's transformation, and I got a message from her yesterday that told me that she was coming home to Indigo on the next ship back from Hoenn.

As she predicted, she easily defeated the Dewford Gym for the final Knuckle Badge; the Fighting Types falling for the exact same tricks that Karen used against Roy for the Stone Badge. I had watched the fight over the Pokénet, and it was a huge and embarrassing stomp for Julian, the Gym Leader of Dewford.

Although I didn't think Julian was that great of a trainer, and that I felt that he squandered the fact that he had a significant type advantage over Karen, I nonetheless congratulated for her impressive win.

Now, with her string of victories, Karen was gaining notoriety for her unusual methods of defeating her opponents. BattleCast were also highlighting a few of her more impressive showings, and I thought that she was starting to appear on the radars of the more serious trainers.

So, this was how I found myself idly waiting about until Karen's ship would arrive back at Olivine. I was excited and happy about finally getting to see her again; talking to her through texts just wasn't the same as talking to her in person. Obviously, I was equally glad to see the egg and my soon-to-be newest addition to my team. Having an actual Dark type joining my team would prove invaluable for dealing with the frustrating Ghost types that my team is relatively weak to.

Of course, the past few days haven't been quiet. With the reveal of Sinnoh, there was an expected explosion of theories and innovation that engulfed almost everyone in Indigo and Hoenn. The newly discovered evolutions of Gallade, Togekiss, Roserade, and Froslass were unsurprisingly causing a lot of uproar from the populace, as many were now either desperately trying to acquire their own Dawn or Shiny Stones to evolve their own Pokémon, though the supply of which was very limited in the current regions.

And with all of the public's attention on the new evolutions, the public were thoroughly distracted from the slew of bad headlines that were targeting Pryce, and even the news agencies seemed to temporarily avoid politics for the moment as they continued to discuss and analyse the new Pokémon from Sinnoh. I suspected that Pryce was pleased about this turn of events.

Similarly, my brief foray into the scientific forums revealed that many were discussing what the Dawn and Shiny Stone evolutions meant for other Pokémon. Many theorized that there were other evolution stones that could be used that just haven't been discovered yet. Understandably, the news reported an increase in funding for many research projects as scientists around the world were now inspired to try and discover new evolution stones and where they could be used.

I personally wasn't optimistic about their chances. From my meta-knowledge, I was fairly certain that there weren't any undiscovered evolution stones just availably lying about at the moment. Yet I wished those scientists all the best. Who knows, perhaps they'll make a miraculous discovery that proves me wrong.

Besides the scientific boom, I participated in my first patrols around the nearby Cerulean City. Admittedly, I didn't really do much and was mostly doing so just to show the newspapers that I was active and doing something. I did make a few arrests, but only one of those were Team Rocket and they immediately surrendered when I appeared on the back of Klaus. And that Team Rocket member was likely at the bottom of the Grunt totem pole because he knew nothing and was just some mook.

All in all, while my patrols didn't suddenly uncover some massive conspiracy, I knew that a few reporters took pictures of me, so I believed that I had done my civic duty in keeping the streets safe. At least I also managed to speak to a few members of the Cerulean Police, and they seemed to be big fans of mine and we exchanged promises to help each other when necessary.

I had sent them a crate or two of our family's Moomoo milk as thanks for helping to keep the reporters away from the house, which they seemed to really appreciate.

It felt nice to have fans and to be respected like that.

I was brought back from my thoughts as I heard the alarm that I had previously set on my phone going off. I quickly disabled it before I disturbed the other patrons and finished up my coffee before I made my way to the port. Karen was arriving!

As I left the shop, I noticed just how crowded the Olivine Ports were. The ports seemed to be packed full of people to the point where it was difficult to walk through. It got to the point where it was going to be impossible to spot out Karen in the midst of this maze of people.

Not wanting to fight my way through the crowd, I decided to wait at the beach, which still gave me a good view of the arriving ships and it was also far enough that I wasn't caught up in the mob of people. In case she didn't spot me, I also made sure to text Karen that I would be waiting at the beach.

I paced back and forth around the beach with a smile on my face as I eagerly waited for Karen's ship to dock. When I returned to Indigo, it was not uncommon for me to reminiscence over the time I spent with Karen in Hoenn. It wasn't even out of a desire for romance, but I simply just enjoyed the companionship that she provided me. I wanted to see how our friendship dynamic would be like when we were both in Indigo; I hoped that we would stay close in Indigo like we were in Hoenn.

I was distracted enough with my thoughts that I failed to notice the growing commotion from the mass of people waiting around the docks.

Not long later, I spotted an arriving ship that I believed was the one that Karen was on. It was just one of those commercial ones that did frequent trips between Indigo and Hoenn. And sure enough, I was quickly proven correct as it got closer.

I made my way closer to the port, still mindful to keep my distance from the crowd so I wouldn't be jostled aside by them. Still, I could barely see anything over the huge gathering of people that were waiting around the port today. It wasn't a holiday or anything, so why were there so many people waiting to take a ship to Hoenn?

It was very odd.

I put that out of my mind for now as I struggled to watch the people alighting from the ship. And then I saw her, Karen's distinct hair and typical yellow outfit was just about visible even through the crowd of people. I tried to wave my hand to get her attention, but I don't think she was able to see anything as surrounded as she currently was by the crowd.

I continued waving my hands in the air to grab her attention as she carefully pushed her way out of the crowds, until eventually her eyes snapped to mine, and she broke out into a small smile as she made her way towards me.

The moment she got close I embraced her into a hug, which she happily returned. I was careful to make sure to not accidentally knock over or crush the egg that I knew was carefully stored in her rucksack.

"It's weird seeing you in person rather than over a phone screen." I welcomed her with a grin. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, don't you think I look better in person? I heard that the camera adds a few pounds." She responded in kind before she looked around Olivine as if to admire it. "I did miss this place you know. I think I've spent enough time in Hoenn for the time being. There's just a bit too much water there for my tastes."

I laughed at her comment, which received a raised eyebrow from her. I waved her off before gesturing to her rucksack. "Okay, I can't wait any longer, can I see the D-Zigzagoon egg, pleaseeeee." I begged.

She smirked before carefully dropping her rucksack onto the sand and slowly and dramatically took out the incubated D-Zigzagoon egg and presented it to me. Just like on the video, it was no longer brown and white like it was initially but was now sporting very dark black spots across its white surface. Without thinking about it, I immediately released Klee from her Pokéball to inspect it.

"Klee, can you make sure that the Pokémon inside is unharmed? It should have transformed into a Dark type." Klee nodded happily and quickly went about with my request. It wasn't like I didn't trust the Nurse Joys, but I just wanted to make sure. Karen was content to just wait silently as we watched Klee finish up her inspection.

"Blissey! Bliss, Bliss." Klee informed me, and I broke out into a wide smile as I thanked Klee for her efforts. Klee accepted my thanks with a smile, then she looked around before deciding to run towards the sea to play around with a few of the Pokémon casually hanging about there. I was happy to let her do so.

I turned back to Karen with a large and excited smile on my face. "Everything's safe and it's worked!" I confirmed, which elicited a big smile from her as well. "Thanks for all your hard work!" I high fived her.

Unfortunately, our moment of celebration was cut short by the sounds of someone shouting. My head snapped towards the cry, and I found myself staring at a nearby ship. That cry rapidly multiplied as the entire horde of people began to start shouting and running away.

I watched with mounting horror as the crowd of people turned into a chaotic stampede that began trampling over each other.

Recognizing the severity of the situation, I quickly gave the egg back to Karen before I released Klaus and Luna; it was too crowded to make use of my larger and physically oriented Pokémon.

"Karen, come with me. Store the egg safely." I commanded, instantly putting her in high alert. I snapped my fingers and called out towards Klee and ordered her to return to me. As soon as she did so, I ran over to the stampeding crowd, using my Pokémon to push past them while being careful not to tread on the fallen civilians. Karen followed a few paces behind me after she safely stored the egg away.

Injured people tainted the once clean streets and ports, but I couldn't afford to stop and help them. I had to keep going. At least nothing was on fire just yet.

My eyes swept through the crowd as I tried to figure out what was going on amidst the panicking horde of people. Eventually, I caught sight of a Pokémon fight breaking out between the security guard of the ship and a few gruff looking adults near the ramp of the ship. The guard's lone Machoke was getting overwhelmed by the trio of Raticate and Golbats while an Eevee cowered behind the security guard.

I understood exactly what was going on as soon as I saw the Raticate and Golbat. Even without my meta-knowledge, it was now widely known that these Pokémon were frequently employed by members of Team Rocket.

I had no idea what Team Rocket was doing here, but I wasn't going to allow them to succeed in whatever they were plotting.

I rushed forwards and quickly ordered a Thunderbolt from Klee and Luna that instantly knocked out their Golbats, and a swift Psyshield Bash from Klaus knocked out the remaining Raticate. Without letting them react, I commanded for Klee and Luna to quickly knock out the Team Rocket grunts with small blasts of Psychic.

I heard a few more shouts from above, and I glanced up at the docked ship and saw that a few equally gruff looking individuals were peering down at me from above. A few of them were shouting something at the others that I couldn't make out, but then they suddenly released a flood of Raticate, Golbats, and Arboks at me.

I remained unfazed as I faced down the approaching Pokémon and positioned myself on the ramp in front of the security guard as I gestured for him to get away. The grunts' Pokémon instantly began their staggered assault as they charged at me randomly, often stumbling over each other as they tried to make their way towards me. Some were charging far ahead of the others, while others tried to hang near the back. Their assault was uncoordinated, but no less threatening considering the sheer number making their way down towards me.

Klee and Luna stood by my side as if to serve as my bodyguards, while the Eevee hid behind me. I contemplated sending out the rest of my team, but there just wasn't space for my bigger Pokémon. I made up my mind and sent forward Klaus to charge into the incoming Pokémon, using his psychic shields as platforms for additional range of movement, hopefully disrupting them and preventing them from ever attacking as one cohesive whole. Simultaneously, I sent out Zephyr and directed him to harass the approaching wave of Pokémon at a distance and to pick off any stragglers.

Klaus slammed powerfully into an Arbok, knocking it out just as a translucent screen of light shimmered into existence in front of me as Luna deployed a Light Screen to protect me. A loud screech from above drew my attention as I turned to find a screeching Golbat diving straight towards me, but a precise Ice Beam from Klee sniped it out of the air.

Despite the two quick knockouts, that was just a small droplet in the veritable tide of remaining Pokémon that were looking to trample me and my team. But I knew I could not run since I was currently positioned at the ramp where you would typically alight from the ship, so my Pokémon and I were serving as the main and only roadblock preventing Team Rocket's Pokémon from running rampant around the docks.

They shall not pass.

A part of me should have been afraid to be facing so many Pokémon like this, but my faith in my team was absolute. We had been through so much together, facing off against far stronger threats than this tide of vermin. I knew they would not falter. Thus, I stood strong as I continued directing my Pokémon where necessary. I had no idea where Karen was, but I couldn't stop to think about it at the moment.

The battle rapidly devolved into a chaotic mess. There was barely any time to give individual commands, as the battle was so chaotic that I had to mostly rely on my Pokémon own battling instincts to carry the fight.

A swarm of Golbats and Raticates were all simultaneously shot down by a burst of Ice Beams and Thunderbolts from Klee and Luna, while a nest of Arboks were all blasted into unconsciousness by Klaus' Psychic. Klaus then pivoted on the spot and charged forward once again, cleaving through the opposing Pokémon with his Psyshield Bashes and managed to break up the enemy's formation.

We were knocking out Pokémon left and right, but despite this, I must have underestimated the sheer number of Team Rocket grunts on that ship, as it appeared like no matter how many Pokémon that I was knocking out, more were endlessly streaming off the ship in a never-ending tide of Raticates, Golbats, and Arboks. There must have been north of twenty Team Rocket members on that ship, all packed to the brim with Pokémon!

Suddenly, Eevee grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled me down, just as a fainted Raticate soared past my head. I didn't have time to thank it as I quickly looked around and saw that a fight had broken out behind me. Apparently, there were more Team Rocket members hiding about in the crowd, and a few members of the crowd had also decided to join the brawl. A loud screech filled the air as someone's Ampharos took down another Golbat with a surprisingly powerful Thunderbolt.

I even spotted Karen's Honchkrow, Sneasel, and Houndoom participating in the fight as well. But I didn't have time to study what was happening before my attention was pulled back to the fight in front of me. The Light Screen that was protecting me suddenly shimmered as it blocked an incoming Sludge Bomb from a lone Arbok before it was swiftly picked off by a Wing Attack from Zephyr.

Then, Klee suddenly shoved me aside as a stray Rock Throw crashed into where I was just standing. At this point, so many different attacks were being thrown and fired from our two battlefields in all directions that, at the rate things were going, there was going to be a serious risk of friendly fire. I needed to take control of the battle somehow.

Thus, as another Golbat was sniped mid-dive by Klee's Ice Beam, I began shouting out to grab everyone's attention. As soon as I did, I started to direct the friendly Pokémon from the crowd to stay near the sides and focus on preventing Team Rocket's Pokémon from running loose. Then I turned to Karen and ordered her to focus on hunting down the larger groups of Pokémon since her Pokémon were stronger than the others. I got a few shouts of confirmation as people began to relay and spread my orders.

The Team Rocket grunts tried to adapt to my new orders, but they lacked the leadership and discipline to do so.

Slowly, the battle behind me was steadily becoming less chaotic as people began following my orders and working together. The risk of friendly fire was heavily reduced, and as time went on, it was becoming increasingly obvious that the Team Rocket members were being penned in and systematically knocked out.

In the meanwhile, my Pokémon were also fighting admirably and were unleashing an array of attacks into the enemy lines, continuing to defend the ramp from the grunts' Pokémon as a growing mound of unconscious Pokémon littered the area. Of course, I still had to keep an eye out for stray attacks that were heading my way from the other battle, but Klee and Luna were doing an excellent job protecting me.

Eventually, the flood of Pokémon charging recklessly down the ramp had slowed down. With the pressure lessening, I made use of this opening and decided to push forwards onto the main deck of the ship. Surprisingly, the Eevee joined me.

As soon as I boarded the fortunately large ship, I sighted a man in the distance that was seemingly giving orders to the others. He was clearly the leader of this group, but he wasn't anyone that I recognized. More concerningly, it appeared that the Team Rocket had taken a few hostages onboard as well, who were fortunately unharmed. For now.

I made use of the newfound space on the ship's deck to release Smough as well. I didn't trust Vordt and Tyrant to not accidentally tear up the ship when they fought, which was a problem because I couldn't risk accidentally harming the hostages.

The leader grimaced as he saw me before he snapped his fingers and a wall of plain clothed Team Rocket grunts formed in front of him, who all immediately sent out a new horde of Pokémon similar to the one that I had just faced.

"Give it up, John!" He yelled out angrily, while sending out his own Crobat. "We have you surrounded on all sides!!"

I laughed out loud, infuriating him even more. As if these grunts were going to frighten me.

"All I'm surrounded by IS FEAR! AND COWARDICE!" I declared provocatively, immediately commanding Smough to charge forward into the group of enemies. I remained hesitant to use any large area moves, because I didn't want to damage the ship and potentially accidentally injure someone from any falling debris, so I was forced to limit myself to more precise attacks.

Even with that limitation and the overwhelming numbers, my Pokémon still utterly dominated the Team Rocket grunts. Smough slammed into a Raticate with a Body Slam and sent it flying like a bowling ball, knocking over many other opposing Pokémon before it crashed into the railings. Another Raticate tried to pounce onto Smough and bite into him with a Super Fang, but it was blasted aside by a Psychic from Klaus.

With Smough properly distracting everyone, Klee then warped the gravity on the ship, easily grounding all of the Flying Golbats before Luna came up and cleaned them all up with a casual sweep of her Ice Beam.

While the leader's Crobat was outside of Klee's Gravity field, it found itself in an aerial duel against Zephyr. But it found itself quickly unmatched as Zephyr easily swooped past and dodged all of its attacks while slamming into it repeatedly with Brave Birds and flying away before it could counterattack. Before long, Zephyr dodged past a Cross Poison and smashed into the Crobat with a final Brave Bird and knocked it out.

As my team continued knocking out more Pokémon, one of the Team Rocket grunts, either out of rage or just genuine stupidity, actually charged me in person and tried to punch me in the face, but Luna got in front of me and folded him in half with a Rock Smash to the stomach and knocked him out.

Making use of the space created, Klaus was able to finish channelling his Teleport and successfully warped all of the hostages off the ship. I breathed a sigh of relief as Klaus and the hostages disappeared into small motes of light.

With the hostages hopefully safely out of the way, I unleashed Vordt and Tyrant as well. Moments later, Klaus also Teleported himself back onto the ship and charged back into the fray as well.

The instant Tyrant was released from his Premier Ball, he charged forwards straight towards the leader and ploughed through everything in his way. A pair of Arbok tried to stop him, but he simply grabbed one of the Arboks and used it to smash the other one aside as he continued his unstoppable dash towards the enemy leader.

Vordt went and joined Smough and the two of them were now deep in the middle of the fight, drawing almost all of the attention onto themselves. Not that it mattered, as each swing of their arms crushed another one of the grunts' Pokémon into unconsciousness. They continued fighting back-to-back, supported by the occasional bolt of Thunder that crashed down from above and instantly took out a few Arbok, before another Psychic blasted a group of Raticates off the ship.

A bark from the Eevee alerted me to a Golbat that had sneaked up behind me before it was promptly slammed into sea by Zephyr's Wing Attack.

"Before I answer any questions, I would like to thank each and every one of the civilians who had assisted me in the fight today. Whether out of a sense of duty or confidence in themselves or their teams, they have all chosen to step up and fight against these criminals terrorising our home, when none would have blamed them for choosing to hide away. From the depths of my heart, I am truly grateful for your aid today, and you have my sincerest thanks. If it were not for your bravery, we may not have managed to capture as many of these criminals and they would have likely caused far more damage to the city of Olivine. Thank you for your efforts." I bowed my head deeply towards the cameras.

I continued bowing for a few seconds before eventually raising my head and continuing. "As for what happened today, the members of Team Rocket here were attempting to sneak away to Hoenn to continue their criminal operations in a region not actively hunting for them." Gasps could be heard amongst the crowd, and I paused to allow the crowd to digest what I had just said.

Many were making noises of concern that I eventually silenced with a sweep of my hand as I continued. "This was not the first time they have done this, and after questioning the leader of this group, they have revealed that other Team Rocket members have already made their way to Hoenn with similar methods. Thus, I am afraid to say that Team Rocket may have already established themselves in Hoenn at this very moment." This elicited more gasps of shock and alarm from the reporters and the other audience members.

Was I fearmongering? Yes. But I figured that since the news was going to get out eventually, warning Hoenn as soon as possible using my position as an Elite Four was for the better. Besides, I felt like causing a bit of fear was justified if it meant that Hoenn was going to take the threat seriously. I knew how much harm Team Rocket could cause if left to their own devices for too long, especially when they had access to an 'unknown' backer.

"Elite John!" One of the reporters spoke up. "Who do you think is to blame for this incident? And for letting Team Rocket escape to Hoenn?"

Ah, here comes the expected blame game. "It is far too early to say if negligence was the reason why Team Rocket was able to go through with their plans." I said evasively.

"However, I would like to emphasize that, under no circumstances, should the Indigo Police be blamed for this incident. As we've seen from their actions today, the Indigo Police responded swiftly and efficiently as soon as the incident occurred, and even if I was not there today to help assist in the arrest of this group's leader, I express my utmost confidence that the Indigo Police would have been sufficient at apprehending these criminals." I stated clearly to the wall of reporters.

I wanted to make it clear that I did not want the public to be blaming the Indigo Police, as I didn't need that kind of anti-police sentiment being spread across Indigo. That would only benefit Team Rocket.

"But, sir, don't you think that the Indigo Police deserve some of the blame for not being able to detect Team Rocket's movements?" Another reporter added snidely, looking like he was trying to stir up some controversy. Well, I was going to put a stop to it.

"With all due respect, I do not believe that asking such questions is conducive for the continued safety of the public." I asserted while looking that reporter in the eye. "Attempting to place the blame on the Indigo Police for this incident, when they have done nothing wrong, is both foolish and detrimental to society. After all, aren't our fine members of the Indigo Police simply acting on the evidence that is available to them? Aren't they just using the resources they have been provided by the Indigo League?" The reporter looked like he wanted to say something, but I kept going and cut him off.

"No, as I have mentioned before, the Indigo Police is not to blame for today's events. After all, they do not dictate the policy of the League. They did not inadvertently cause many disenfranchised individuals to turn to crime because of the economy's stagnation. They did not choose to allow a system of corruption to exist to allow these criminals to thrive in. No, they did none of these things. Instead, when it mattered, the Indigo Police and the brave Jennys stepped up to the plate and efficiently cracked down on all criminal activities throughout Indigo until Team Rocket was forced to flee the region to avoid being caught. If anything, that just demonstrates how hard the Indigo Police have been working over the past few weeks, and they should most certainly be commended for their hard work and efforts." I declared confidently.

A loud applause broke out behind me, and I turned around and saw there were many spectators applauding my sentiments. Apparently, my speech had drew in many of the surrounding civilians into listening to what I had to say.

Of course, an astute listener would have realized that my speech was a roundabout denunciation of the Indigo League, and Pryce. I hinted at the fact that Team Rocket's existence was created due to the League's mishandling of their domestic policies, which was Pryce's responsibility.

I hoped that a few of the more cunning and observant listeners would become enlightened at my words and see for themselves how Pryce was an incompetent Champion who was very much not deserving of his position.

"Elite John!" A reporter asked as the applause died down. "Do you have anything to say to those listening in Hoenn at the very moment? Since you said that Team Rocket may have set up a base there?"

I carefully worded my answer as to not accidentally step on anyone's toes in Hoenn, "I would not presume to make any statements that may influence the decisions of the Hoenn League, as that would be a grave overreach. Instead, I would just like to say, not as a representative of the League but as a private citizen, I apologize for not being able to stop the Team Rocket menace from spreading past our borders to yours." I said solemnly.

I knew that the Indigo League was about to be in some deep trouble in the future with Hoenn. Both with their exposed side-lining of me to Hoenn without informing them, and now with Team Rocket spreading to their borders due to our mismanagement. Thus, I wanted to directly separate myself from the actions of the Indigo League to show that I was not connected to their incompetence.

It was the same idea as what Giovanni did with Team Rocket, as soon as he realized that they had become a liability, he quickly acted to separate himself from them. I was just copying him. It seems that I did learn a thing or two from Giovanni after all.

Suddenly one of the reporters recognized Karen, who had been standing behind me chatting with the injured civilians and rushed forwards to ask her a few questions. Seeing the sudden interest of one of their colleagues, the other reporters realized the untapped goldmine that Karen represented and joined in to extract everything they could from Karen.

I could see Karen being briefly surprised by all of the sudden attention, but then her posture suddenly changed, and she stood up straight and proud as if a switch had been flicked as she confidently fielded the reporters' questions. I guess Agatha must have tutored her about how to handle the press. Or perhaps she was just naturally inclined to being in the spotlight. I thought both were reasonable assumptions.

Although I was finally free from the reporters, I couldn't just leave because I had to stick around to wait for Karen, which was the whole point of why I came to Olivine in the first place. I decided to spend a bit of time mingling with some of the less busy looking Jennys, just to see their thoughts.

When I approached, they were all very happy and thankful for my speech. Evidently, the Jennys were all very worried that they would have been bashed and attacked on the news for not doing more, even though there was nothing more they could really do. I replied that I was just doing the right thing to ensure that they weren't wrongly blamed, which seemed to have been the right thing to say as they all expressed their thanks once again.

With that, I left them to their duties and was about to reach for my phone to contact Giovanni and Drake about today's events when I spotted a VERY familiar girl with light brown hair standing next to an equally recognisable Ampharos. I contemplated for a moment whether to approach them, but I made my decision after I saw that Karen was still bogged down and dealing with the reporters.

The pair of them looked up as I approached, and the girl gave me a shy smile as she recognized me.

"Thank you, Elite John, for helping out today at Olivine." She told me, and her Ampharos joined in with a small noise of agreement. I waved off her thanks.

"No, it should be me expressing my thanks to YOU." I replied. "I was just doing my duty as a member of the Elite Four. However, as I said to the press, you could have easily just left and ensured your own safety. Instead, you chose to be brave and help out with the battle. To me, that is far more impressive and shows off your strength of character."

She blushed embarrassingly and couldn't meet my eyes, only giving me a whispered murmur of thanks. Deciding that I didn't want to embarrass her any further, I simply shook her Ampharos' hand, since she seemed too shy at the moment, and walked away to finally call Giovanni. I didn't think we'd meet again, but I was glad to have met her.

Once I walked a short distance away from everyone to prevent eavesdroppers, I called Giovanni, who promptly picked up.

"John, I've just been watching the interview you gave at Olivine. Great work." He praised, and I gave him my thanks. Our friendship seems to have repaired itself after the exposing of Team Rocket, which I was thankful for.

Then he sighed, "I cannot believe that this incident would happen in the first place. Never did I think that these scoundrels would try to escape to Hoenn." He grumbled, "I do apologize for this oversight, but they must have concealed their actions better than I anticipated when they began making their move to Hoenn."

A part of me wanted to get angry at Giovanni, but I didn't really think that this was his fault. Sure, he may have previously funded Team Rocket, but I didn't consider him responsible for the attack. Besides, I didn't want to harm our newly repaired friendship. Seeing that I wasn't saying anything, Giovanni continued in a friendlier tone.

"I was very pleased that you tried to divert the blame from the Indigo Police to the Indigo League, hopefully that would provide some fuel for Pryce's critics." I could hear his smirk through the phone. "I'm not sure if the public is going to heed your words and not blame the Indigo Police, but I'm sure that the Indigo Police will be very grateful for your efforts for trying. They are a valuable ally to have, and you definitely don't want to get on their wrong side." He advised, and I hummed to show that I understood before I started talking.

"Thanks, Giovanni. I'm also about to jump on a call with Drake after I finish speaking with you. Is there anything you want me to say to them?" I asked.

"Hmmm...not particularly. Just try to make sure that you can direct any anger or indignation that they may have towards the CURRENT Indigo League government. Try to reassure them that all of the recent troubles can be laid solely on the current administration's heads. We don't want to risk them breaking off relations with Indigo just because of these incidents." He stated seriously.

"I understand." I replied. "Is there anything else?" Giovanni said no so I hung up on him and dialled up Drake, who quickly accepted the call.

"John, I thought I would be getting a call from you." Drake's gruff voice spoke up, "I just saw the news. Terrible stuff. Glad you were there to help."

"Thanks Drake." I said before asking, "Listen, do you know what the sentiment is like over there in Hoenn at the moment? How are the people reacting to this revelation?"

"Well, I had just spoken to the other members of the Elite Four as soon as your interview was over, lad, and it's safe to say that we're pretty mad." He explained. "Not that we blame you of course, and we're glad that you 'fessed up, but those fuckin' idiots running your League have been cocking up massively over the past few weeks, and this is just another shit in the already big pile of steaming shit stinking up our garden." He grumbled.

"I see..." I replied slowly, thinking through my words. "Well, like I said in the interview, I do apologize for pushing all this onto you-"

"Ah, no need to apologize lad." Drake interrupted. "Everyone in Hoenn knows you're not to blame, and if they don't, I'll set them straight." He remarked gruffly. "And don't you worry yourself about Team Rocket. You might have beat me in a battle, but I bet you my fucking stash that these chumps aren't nearly as strong as the news make them out to be."

"...Well, alright, but please don't them lightly. I suspect that they have a backer in Hoenn who are funding them." I finally said, revealing a little of my suspicions about Team Magma and Aqua. "Just remember that if you ever need my help, I'll be there as soon as I can. I truly hope that we can repair any damaged relations between our regions as soon as possible."

"Aye, and we thank you for your offer." He said approvingly. "But we can take care of them."

There wasn't much else to say after that, so the two of us just made some small chat before Drake told me that he had to go, and we hung up. I felt like that our conversation went well, and hopefully when Lance becomes Champion, he'll able to repair any damage that has occurred between our two regions.

Just as that thought rolled through my head, I felt my phone ringing once again. My parents were calling.

"JOHN, ARE YOU OKAY?" My mom's worried voice came through, "We saw that you were in Olivine and your interview, but are you unhurt?"

"It's fine, mom." I replied, trying to ease her worries. "I probably took no more than a few scratches. You know my team will always be there to protect me."

"I know, I know, but it's a mother's prerogative to worry." She said, fortunately sounding far less worried. "Are you coming home soon?"

"Yes, I think I'm done with all the interviews, so I'll be coming back." I spoke.

"Good, good...Oh, and John? We're very proud of what you did there. Your dad and I are glad you were there to help out." My mom remarked, her words turning my cheeks red as I blushed.

"...Thanks mom. And thank dad for me too. I'll be coming back soon." I simply said, trying but likely failing to keep the embarrassment out of my voice. Then we hung up.

Before I could put my phone away, it rang again as I received another call.

It was Lance.

"John, good work on the interview." He greeted me, his voice a bit more rushed than usual. "I don't have much time at the moment, but I wanted to just let you know one thing."

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"Thanks to your words today, my sources tell me that it's chaos in the League building right now. Everyone's panicking as they all realize how the public is going to react. Pryce is in big trouble, and everyone's jumping ship." He informed me, with a trace of excitement and confidence in his voice.

"Well, that's good. Isn't it?" I asked perplexedly.

"Yes, and it's why the Blackthorn Clan and I have finally decided that now is the time to strike." He took in a deep breath, "I'm going to be announcing my challenge to replace Pryce as Champion." He declared.

The New Normal – 3-11 – Interlude – Karen

They had barely managed to save the port of Olivine, though it was undoubtedly in need of repair. Despite their best efforts to stop the plans of Team Rocket, having hundreds of Pokémon on a rampage is always a recipe for disaster.

She couldn't even imagine thinking what the damage could have been if they weren't there to stop it. If John had not chosen to rush onto the boat by himself to confront the huge group of Team Rocket members and crush them before they could do any more damage.

Oh sure, she helped too. The grunts were hardly a match individually against her Pokémon, but that was where lied the problem. Against huge groups of enemies like this, even with undisciplined and relatively untrained Pokémon, her Pokémon didn't have the overwhelming power to easily dispose of them.

During the fight, she managed to take a few glimpses of John's Team, and what a sight they were. A fully coordinated team of destruction, completely and utterly dominating the fight against a flood of enemy Pokémon. There was no need for smart tactics, but John's Pokémon were just so strong that they muscled through every threat with a versatile range of attacks.

From the ranged attacks of his Clefable and Blissey, to the pure pressure exerted from his powerful bruisers and the speedy flankers of his Wyrdeer and Pidgeot, John was able to sweep through all in his way.

And Karen's Pokémon were unable to do that.

She knew that her team was lacking in versatility and relied heavily on the use of tricks, but it was one thing to know about it intellectually and another to see just how different her team performed against the grunts. Sure, her Houndoom and Honchkrow were versatile and strong enough to overwhelm most Pokémon, but her other Pokémon just weren't able to perform at that same level.

Her Sneasel hit hard, of course, but he was ultimately too fragile and too reliant on dodging to stay in the fight. One or two stray hits would have knocked him out. Likewise, her Umbreon was too passive and didn't hit hard enough to instantly knock out the grunts' Pokémon. Perhaps her Pupitar and Spiritomb would have done better, but she didn't use them in the fight.

Regardless, this incident was an eye-opener for Karen, and allowed her to truly understand why Agatha, and sometimes John, nagged her so much that she needed a true frontline Pokémon that could be able to brute force through things. So far, in her 8 badge trainer battles, her strategy to manipulate and trick opponents into exploitable positions served her well, but that was only applicable in trainer battles with rules.

In real situations like this where everything goes to shit, she couldn't rely on such tactics. Her Confuse Ray strategy would never have worked; there were far too many Pokémon to handle. Likewise, making use of status and regeneration moves to stall out the fight is useless when the goal is to defeat and capture the assailants before they could do more damage.

And not only that, but the attack also exposed something she truly never considered before, her leadership abilities during an actual attack. Or in this case, the lack thereof.

Before John stepped in and started to give commands to the civilians who had participated in the fight, the fight was utterly chaotic. She herself was so lost in the fighting that she was unable to make up who was friend or foe; nor did she think to consider friendly fire at such a moment. She was so consumed by the battle in front of her that she was blind to the events happening around her.

She recognized that she had narrowly avoided disaster with friendly fire. With all the Pokémon attacks being thrown around in such a small space, eventually one of those stray attacks would strike her Pokémon, and if she was unlucky might have actually knocked her frailer Pokémon out.

No, she understood now. If she wanted to be in the Elite Four, she needed to show more than just tricks and smarts. She needed to show raw strength.

It was...upsetting to see the gap between herself and John once again. She had thought that, during her time in Hoenn, that she had trained up her Pokémon sufficiently to legitimately catch up to John, or at least be treated as his equal in terms of strength.

But now she saw that she had been deluding herself. And wasn't that a depressing thought. At least she had discovered her mistake now, while she still had time to improve herself before her eventual run for the Elite Four.

She swore by Arceus that she would catch up to John, one way or the other. She refused to be anything less than his equal.