Chapter 17: 66-68

Chapter 17: 66-68

The New Normal – 4-10 – Burn them all

We didn't have to wait long before Lance sent out his next monster.

"Charizard, it's your turn."

Lance's Charizard emerged from its Pokéball with a terrifying roar, sending out a huge plume of searing flames towards the sky and allowing small embers to descend onto the ground like droplets of fire. It looked every bit like a fearsome Dragon that was eyeing down its prey.

The clouds of snow in the sky immediately began to recede as Charizard sent an intense ray of light into the sky, gradually being replaced by a scorching harsh sunlight that illuminated the entire arena.

Even before Charizard made its first attack, I knew that this was going to a horrible matchup for Pryce's Abomasnow. The type matchup was just too imbalanced in Lance's favour. And, just as I was thinking it, Pryce made the move to immediately swap out his Abomasnow.

"Return, Abomasnow!"

"FIRE SPIN, CHARIZARD! Don't let it escape!"

Before the red light of the Pokéball could reach the Abomasnow, Charizard reacted quickly, releasing a quick burst of flames that snaked out and wrapped up the Abomasnow in a vortex of fire, blocking it from being withdrawn from the fight.

Pryce frowned as his Pokémon was trapped. The Fire Spin tore through Abomasnow, dealing constant supereffective damage that gradually chipped at its health. It was in a really bad spot.

But, faced with no better option, Pryce's eyes narrowed and he went on the offensive, likely hoping to do as much damage as he could.

"Rock Slide, Abomasnow!"

"Into the air, Charizard! Break down those rocks with Focus Blasts!"

As Charizard flapped his massive wings and took off into the air, rocks began being ripped out from the arena from around Abomasnow before being fired off in a barrage towards Charizard. Without slowing down, Charizard sent out a volley of Focus Blasts that shattered all of the incoming boulders while using his aerial manoeuvrability to dodge the rest.

However, as Abomasnow continued firing out rocks towards Charizard, the volley of rocks started to become staggered and weak, as if the Abomasnow was unused to maintaining continuous geokinesis like it was currently doing, especially while it was burned. And unlike my fight against Drake's Salamence with Vordt, Charizard was far from being pressured from the far weaker onslaught of rocks.

This was the disadvantage of relying on a Pokémon purely for its surprise factor. Once that surprise factor was exposed and the momentum lost, you had a weaker than average Pokémon that wasn't up to your usual level of training.

And, with that gap between the barrage of rocks, Charizard was able to begin his attack.

"Incinerate everything, Charizard! Flamethrower!"

A torrent of blue flames shot out like a long spear of fire out of Charizard's gaping maw, burning with such intensity that the flames were able to melt through the volley of rocks coming its way.

"Chilling Water, Abomasnow! Match it!"

Abomasnow retaliated as it fired out its own stream of freezing water towards the incoming spear of flames, and the two attacks clashed against each other. Normally, common sense dictates that fire ought to be put out by water. Similarly, a torrent of flames should be pushed back by a stream of water. But Charizard's blue flames were no ordinary fire.

And the result only became more skewed as Charizard's flames were boosted by the harsh sunlight, while Abomasnow's stream of Water was weakened.

A horrible hissing sound emerged from where the two streams met, and the crowd and I stared with enraptured silence as we watched as the blue flames literally evaporated the stream of water where they collided, forming a huge wall of steam that increasingly concealed the fight occurring below.

And so, the rest of us watched as Pryce's attack was slowly beaten back by the realities of physics, and his powerful geyser of water was nullified and pushed back by the immense heat from Charizard's flames.

Likely recognizing that he was not about to win this exchange of attacks, Pryce went on the defensive.

"Protect! Shield yourself, Abomasnow!"

Abomasnow quickly cut off his attack as a Protect shield formed around it, before it quickly got engulfed by searing hot blue flames that began to melt the ground from underneath it. Though at least Abomasnow remained safe from within the Protect shield.

However, this focus on defense now gave Charizard free reign to make use of its more devastating attacks.

"Flare Blitz, Charizard! Annihilate it!"

With a deafening roar, Charizard surrounded itself with a ball of flames as it started its apocalyptic descent into the Abomasnow, looking every bit like a sun was about to crash into the ground of the arena.

And, surrounded by flames that as it still was, Abomasnow didn't even realize that its doom was rapidly descending from the sky. But Pryce knew that the end was coming, and so, with a determined frown, he gave his Abomasnow his final command to make its last stand.

"Outrage, Abomasnow. Fight till the last."

But Draconic energy was barely able to surge around the Abomasnow before Charizard crashed into it like a descending meteor, knocking up a huge cloud of dust. The cloud of dust blocked the spectators from seeing what was happening below, but it didn't take a genius to guess what had happened.

I heard Walker sigh from next to me before he got up and made his way to the buffet table once again, likely to pour himself another drink. Poor guy, I knew that he was likely friends with Pryce, so seeing him in this state was likely a sad affair.

I stared patiently as the dust slowly settled, revealing what I had expected. Abomasnow was lying unconscious in a center of a newly created crater, small wisps of flame still dancing across its badly charred body, while Charizard stood triumphantly over it, barely scratched and hardly winded.

"WHAT A CONVINCING VICTORY FOR LANCE'S CHARIZARD! MANAGING TO BLOCK OFF PRYCE'S ATTEMPTS TO SWITCH OUT HIS ABOMASNOW JUST TO FINISH IT OFF WITH AN EXPLOSIVE FLARE BLITZ! LANCE REGAINS THE LEAD WITH 2-1!" The announcer called out over the excitement of the crowd, "HOW WILL PRYCE RESPOND TO THIS DEFEAT? HE HAS THIRTY SECONDS TO DO SO!"

Pryce withdrew his Abomasnow and gave Lance an angry glare, no longer maintaining the indifferent stoicism that he had previously. Perhaps he was starting to realize how big of a threat Lance truly was at his ability to maintain his title as Champion, something I'm sure literally everyone else had realized by now.

He fidgeted with a few of his Pokéballs before eventually deciding to send out his chosen challenger against Lance's monstrous Charizard.

"Dewgong, you're up."

Pryce's Dewgong slammed onto the wrecked arena as the sheer weight of its body cracked the ground. Its normally friendly expression at odds with its size and heft. Even more importantly, a thick layer of fat could be seen wrapped around its body, which only serves to improve its distinct bulky appearance.

"AND PRYCE HAS BROUGHT OUT HIS FEARSOME DEWGONG! THE FAMED ICE-TYPE DRAGON SLAYER HAS BROUGHT DOWN MANY A BEAST BEFORE, BUT WOULD IT BE ENOUGH TO BRING DOWN THE FIERY CHARIZARD?!" The announcer hyped up for the crowds.

Dewgong was an excellent choice for Pryce. Lance had no good swaps; Charizard was his only Pokémon left that wasn't weak to Ice. But with Dewgong's ability Thick Fat, Charizard wasn't the best Pokémon to fight with either. It was a dilemma between choosing between two bad decisions, and I wondered which choice Lance was going to make.

"Aqua Ring, Dewgong. Prepare yourself."

"Flare Blitz, Charizard. Start out strong and pummel it!"

With a reverberating roar, Charizard burst forwards as it engulfed himself in flames once again, leaving a trail of scorch marks in the wake of its attack, before the two Pokémon slammed together.

Fire met Ice, but the Ice refused to melt. The Thick Fat surrounding the Dewgong insulated it from the sunlight-boosted scorching flames of the attack, leaving Dewgong mostly unharmed and healthy. As if to take its endurance as a personal insult to its pride, Charizard roared out and unleashed a stream of blue flames point-blank straight towards Dewgong.

"Ice Slam, Dewgong."

Making use of its inherent bulk and resistance to fire, Dewgong elected to simply tank through the meltingly hot blue flames and shielded itself with an aura of ice and charged through it to land a powerful Ice-infused Body Slam against Charizard.

Charizard stumbled back as the impact cut off its own stream of fire as he was forced to take a breath. Pryce was unwilling to allow Charizard room to breathe and pressed on.

"Again!"

Dewgong pulled its weight to the front and remorselessly slammed into Charizard once again, this time able to land a direct hit into the center of the Charizard as it couldn't raise its arms in time to block the attack. Charizard roared out in pain and indignation, enraged at the fact that this oversized slug was able to hurt a Dragon like it was.

Thinking that Charizard was on the backfoot and not really able to harm his Dewgong, Pryce used this moment to hopefully secure his lead.

"Set up the Snow, Dewgong!"

Dewgong seemed content to ignore the raging Charizard before it as it began to release a gust of cold air around it, causing thick clouds dripping with snow to descend from the sky and shield against the once harsh sunlight.

Being ignored only seemed to infuriate the Charizard even further, and Lance seemed to share in his Pokémon's frustration.

"Dragon Claw, Charizard! Overwhelm and crush that thing before you!"

"Aqua Tail, Dewgong! Hit it hard!"

No longer being weakened by the harsh sunlight, Dewgong followed up with a powerful swipe of its tail that was blocked by one of Charizard's arms. However, fuelled by its pride, the Charizard ignored the pain of the supereffective move as it charged forwards and raked its claws violently across Dewgong's fatty body; Dewgong tanked through the attack with barely a reaction.

The lack of effective damage from its attack only further incensed Charizard, who, unprompted, recklessly slashed again with another Dragon Claw, but it failed to do much damage to the Dewgong. Worse, by attacking recklessly like this, Charizard had unintentionally overextended and exposed itself to being counterattacked, which Dewgong quickly capitalized on with another hefty Aqua Tail to the chest.

To add insult to injury, this kind of meagre damage from Charizard was quickly healed up by the Aqua Ring that Dewgong had deployed at the beginning of the fight. Realizing that the Dewgong proved resistant to its Dragon Claw, Lance took command of his Charizard before it could lose itself in its rage once again.

"Brick Break instead, Charizard! Smash it!"

"Waterfall, Dewgong! Put your weight behind it!"

Its rage now tempered by its trainer's command, Charizard refocused itself on the fight and was no longer lashing out. This renewed discipline allowed it to brace itself for Dewgong's incoming Waterfall and partially blocked the attack with a defensively raised arm before its other arm descended from above and chopped supereffectively into Dewgong.

Dewgong stumbled backwards with pained surprise; this was the first attack that managed to actually hurt it throughout the entire battle. Lance immediately pounced on the sudden distance between the two Pokémon.

"Focus Blast, Charizard!"

A volley of Focus Blasts almost instantaneously shot out from Charizard's claws, detonating savagely as they impacted on Dewgong before it could even form a Protect shield to block the damage.

"Again!"

"Hydro Pump, Dewgong!"

Two instances of damage were hardly enough to fell a tanky beast like Dewgong, and it reared its head backwards and unleashed a powerful torrent of water that collided against the barrage of Focus Blasts. A series of detonations followed as the Focus Blasts repeatedly detonated against the stream of water, the two attacks constantly pushing back and forth against each other.

However, the deciding factor revealed itself to be the energy reserves of the two Pokémon. While Charizard was an extremely well-trained and all-round terrifying Pokémon, it ultimately wasn't a Fighting type. Sure, it was more than proficient at using Focus Blasts, but Dewgong simply had more energy in reserve to use its same type Hydro Pump compared to Charizard.

Thus, as the two Pokémon continued to give their all with their two attacks, Charizard slowly wavered as it gradually bottomed out its Fighting type energy reserves. Its attacks were starting to get pushed back.

I wasn't sure if Lance had realized this, or if his pride stayed in the way of him ordering Charizard to switch attacks, which would effectively be conceding defeat in this exchange, but he made no move to change tactics.

Of course, the result was that Charizard inevitably ran out of energy and was blasted backwards as the torrent of water slammed it unceremoniously into the psychic shields.

"Typical Blackthorn pride." Agatha scoffed as she watched Charizard remained pinned, "Any idiot can see that it was about to lose that exchange, and yet Lance insists on continuing because his Pokémon would never forgive him if he didn't allow them to give it their all and TRY to win."

That was very interesting to hear, but Karen spoke up before I could. "You mean that Lance had raised all of his Pokémon like this?"

"Of course." Agatha answered as she rolled her eyes. "Were you blind when his Gyarados refused to stay down? That's the famed Blackthorn pride at work. All of his Pokémon think they're some mighty Dragon that can never be defeated. Oh sure, it has its upsides, as you saw, but then you get stupidity like this because they're so unwilling to bend or concede." She scoffed once again.

"That's ridiculous. A Pokémon should use every little inch to their advantage." Karen said, like the Dark-type specialist she was.

I agreed with Agatha about the drawbacks. I could never see myself encouraging my Pokémon's pride to such an extent that they would literally refuse to back down from an engagement due to their pride. Despite the advantages and obvious power that such a training method allowed for, I thought that this way of fighting was far too restricting and prone to being exploited by crafty opponents.

Pride was important for a Pokémon to have, but never to such an extent that it consumes your every action. Perhaps it was suitable for a team as strong as Lance's, but since Normal types weren't traditionally powerhouses like Dragons were, this method of fighting was entirely unsuitable for me. Even Tyrant, with all his battle lust, can still reign himself in when necessary, such as when he allowed me to withdraw him against Drake's Salamence because he knew that was what we had planned for.

Although, the tenacity shown by Lance's Pokémon was truly impressive.

Despite being blasted with a supereffective torrent of water that kept it pinned against the psychic barriers of the arena, Charizard's eyes remained alight with rage and defiance. Its eyes told the world that it would not be defeated so disgracefully, and Lance understood that.

"Rock Slide, Charizard! Fight back and interrupt it!"

Impressively, Charizard was able to push past the pain of being endlessly blasted by a stream of water as it still managed to focus itself and start levitating the many surrounding rocks around it. I knew just how difficult it was for a Pokémon to be able to concentrate on their attack like that WHILE it was still being pinned by a supereffective attack, so it was remarkable that Charizard had the willpower to push through the pain.

With intense concentration fuelled entirely by its unyielding pride, the rocks shot forward like bullets that crashed into Dewgong's side, eliciting a moan of pain, and cutting off its Hydro Pump. As Charizard was finally free from being pinned by the Hydro Pump, Lance went back on the offensive.

"Flare Blitz, Charizard! Show your strength to the world!"

With a defiant roar, Charizard surrounded itself with a pulsating flames as it blitzed towards the Dewgong.

"Glacial Impact, Dewgong! Crush this usurper!"

Dewgong let out a powerful bellow of its own, ignoring its many injuries that had gradually built up over the course of the battle, before it rapidly charged up its own Ice-infused Giga Impact and burst forwards like a rocket.

A deafening BANG exploded across the arena as Fire met Ice once again and the two Pokémon collided with their most devastating attacks. An unstoppable force meeting an immovable object as a cataclysm of opposing energies crashed against each other, causing a veritable eruption of power.

And then, there was nothing left. Not even steam. Even the clouds of Snow above were dispersed by the attack.

The arena shattered instantly at the impact, ripped entirely apart. The first layer of psychic barriers utterly failed at containing the blast, almost as if it they didn't exist entirely. The second layer, held in reserve to protect the audience for destructive attacks like this, flickered widely as it strained to maintain itself.

The VIP room was far more protected, the reinforced glass and stronger psychic barriers managing to protect us from feeling most of the impact, but glass and plates shattered as the force of the impact still managed to send tremors through the room. Though the trainers in the room all remained unfazed as we were more than used to enduring through these kinds of attacks. You didn't make it this far without being able to do so.

As the tremors ended and the aftershocks of the impact went away, we were all able to observe the results of that attack.

Unsurprisingly, the arena was devastated. Cracks spread out from the center of a massive crater that was almost artistic in appearance. In the middle of the crater, both Charizard and Dewgong laid unconscious at the center of the crater, almost looking like an entire portion of the arena had just collapsed on itself from the attack. From my high-up viewing point, it was almost like a reverse pedestal for the two Pokémon. A very fitting result for an attack of that calibre.

I was somewhat surprised at Charizard's defeat, thinking that it would be like Lance's Gyarados and fight to the end. However, I suppose that its pride may have been sated by going out in a 'blaze of glory' like this, or possibly because it had just suffered from too much damage throughout the fight that it could fight no longer.

"AND BOTH TRAINER'S POKEMON LIE DEFEATED AFTER A DEVESTATING FINAL ATTACK FROM THE BOTH OF THEM, PUTTING THE SCORE AT 3-2!" The announcer cut through the silence with his booming voice. "HOWEVER, THE REFEREES HAVE JUDGED THAT THE ARENA IS NO LONGER SUITABLE FOR FIGHTING AND THAT THE BARRIERS NEED TO BE RECHARGED, SO THERE WILL BE A SHORT BREAK TO FIX EVERYTHING!"

Then a few commercials started playing on the big screen as the repair crew went and tried to fix up the arena. I was almost amused by the fact that they had saved commercials in advance just to be played during situations like these even when they had previously announced that there wouldn't be commercial breaks. The consumerism was almost impressive.

"Any thoughts on the battle so far, John? Put that brain of yours to good use." Karen said as she poked me in the face before she stood up and stretched from her seat. My eyes lingered slightly too long before I responded.

"...Despite his recent showing, Pryce threw away a big advantage early on." I remarked, trying to avoid her gaze. "He wasn't utilizing his Pokémon properly up to now, but I fear it might be too late."

"Oh? Now that's a very interesting thing to say." Agatha suddenly interrupted us. "Go on, explain why you think Pryce is using his Pokémon badly."

I was slightly surprised by the question, but I mulled it over in my head before responding. "...Well, like you said before, Pryce should have tried to make use of his freeze strategies that he so favoured using in the past. He underutilized his Glalie and Abomasnow against Gyarados by trying to brute force his way to winning." I replied and then continued when I saw Agatha give me a 'keep going' look.

"He could have focused on maintaining the Snow and made use of Snow-based weather strategies, or just used it to boost his Ice type attacks and make it easier to freeze his opponents. He had a huge advantage with Abomasnow's ability to instantly set the Snow, and with careful switches could have maintained the Snow for the entire fight and set up powerful support moves like Aurora Veil. But he was careless and utilized and got it knocked out far earlier than I would have anticipated, losing a very useful Pokémon. He's doing better now with his Dewgong, but it might be too late." I explained thoughtfully, digging into some of my meta-knowledge. Though, to be fair to Pryce, that was all on paper. Everything could go wrong in an actual fight.

"...Good, well explained." Agatha said after she gave me a considering look that flicked between Karen and I. "Glad you're using your brain of yours to do proper research against your enemies. Don't let yourself get caught off-guard. And don't let yourself get ruined by pride like the two fools battling right now. You're on a hot streak, boy, don't let it get to your head."

I nodded while trying to keep the surprise off my face. That was probably the friendliest interaction that I had ever had with Agatha, and she even gave me advice!

"Why are you staring at me like that, boy. Go on, they've almost finished repairing the arena." She said with a visible smirk, and I felt like I was missing something. Still, I turned back to the now repaired arena and tried to put it out of my mind.

I would think about Agatha's sudden friendliness another time. For now, I had a match to watch.

The New Normal – 4-11 – A Fight to the Finish

"ANND WITH THE ARENA FULLY REPAIRED, WE CAN GET BACK TO THE BATTLE!" The announcer declared to the sounds of cheers from the audience. "TRAINERS, ARE YOU READY?!"

Both trainers nodded. "BEGIN!"

"Dragonite, win."

"Weavile, you have the advantage."

The battle certainly wasn't over yet, but I knew that we were in its final moments.

With the dust finally settled, the announcer made himself known once again.

"ANOTHER POWERFUL ATTACK FROM LANCE'S STARTER, CHOOSING TO FORCE MAMOSWINE INTO AN UNFAVOURABLE BRAWL JUST SO THAT IT COULDN'T SET UP ITS DEFENSES! A RISKY PLAY, BUT HAS IT PAID OFF?!"

And sure enough, the scene laid out before us was one of familiar destruction. Just like most of Lance's devastating attacks, the arena was once again a complete ruin, and had basically transformed into one gigantic crater, with many smaller craters dotted around it.

But more importantly were the states of the two Pokémon. Mamoswine's once pristine fur was now cut up and lightly singed in various places, its magnificent tusk was chipped and covered with dirt, and one of its eyes were sealed shut due to its injuries. It was clearly on its last legs.

In comparison, Emperor initially looked hardly winded even though it also took the brunt of its own supereffective attack. However, a closer inspection using the cameras revealed that it was panting harder than it was before, and that its wings hung weakly on its back. It looked like it was holding itself together to stop it from collapsing, but it was doing an admirable job not allowing these injuries to slow it down and maintained a fa?ade of indifference and strength.

Pryce grimaced as he saw the state of his Mamoswine, but Lance reacted before he could do anything.

"Emperor! This is the final moment! Overwhelm it with a Dragon Pulse!"

"Mamoswine! Do NOT fall! Blast it back with an Ice Beam!"

Both Pokémon roared out and unleashed a powerful beam of Draconic and Ice energy respectively that both collided in the center of the field in a blinding burst of light. This was it, the final exchange of match.

Dragon and Ice clashed against each other. The beam of Ice normally had a significant advantage piercing through the draconic beam, but both attacks were hindered by the wounded and damage state of their source. It was now a battle of pure determination, a manifestation of each challenger's respective ambitions.

Was Pryce's desire to stay in power stronger? Or would Lance overcome him with his own ambitions to become Champion?

The battle of wills extended for some time, each Pokémon putting their all into the attacks, acting as a physical manifestation of their trainer's spirit. But, in the end, Mamoswine was the first to fall.

It slowly started to slump over, succumbing to the weakness of its injuries. Its beam of frost gradually getting weaker as exhaustion and tiredness rapidly built, until eventually Mamoswine was blasted backwards by the victorious Dragon Pulse.

Not having any more energy left, Pryce's final Pokémon, his last hope, collapsed to the floor. And with it, so did his chance of holding on to his title as Champion.

On the other side, Emperor wobbled uncertainly on its feet, swaying slightly as it looked about to fall over. Its victory came at a cost, and it looked like it was moments away from collapsing as well. However, in one final display of its pride, it let out a triumphant roar to the skies as it forcefully held itself together until the end. And with that, the battle was over.

"ANDDD PRYCE'S FINAL POKEMON GOES DOWN! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE A NEW CHAMPION! GIVE A HUGE ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO THE NEW CHAMPION OF INDIGO, CHAMPION LANCE!!"

And a new Champion was finally here.

The New Normal – 4-12 – A New Champion

I watched as Lance posed proudly as the announcer finally declared his victory. His expression was one of proud triumph, but there was still a hint of arrogance in there as if he thought that his victory was an inevitability.

Though, anyone who had just watched the match would probably think that his arrogance was well-deserved.

Pryce looked the exact opposite. There was no sign of anger in his expression at his defeat, nor was there any bitterness. Rather, he had stood there blankly, looking like he was unable to comprehend the fact that he had lost both the battle and the title of Champion. Although, unlike with Walker, I didn't feel any pity for him.

He was a thoroughly self-absorbed man who could not even see beyond his own ego. He was generally unpleasant and condescending to everyone he spoke to and showed little regard for those he thought were beneath him, which was practically everyone. While I was not about to rub his loss in his face, the more vicious side of me was pleased with his defeat and that he was finally humbled.

Suddenly, the door to the VIP room opened and a League Official made his way inside. He briefly made a questioning glance to Karen's surprising presence before he addressed the other Elite Four members.

"Members of the Elite Four, would you please accompany me to the stage for the ceremony of our latest Champion?" He asked politely, but formally. It was kind of a rhetorical question since we didn't exactly have a choice.

"Oh, right, almost forgot about the pageantry." Agatha scoffed, before she carefully pulled herself up from the chair, bones creaking slightly. Karen went to help her, but Agatha waved her off and said that she was fine.

"Karen, you stay here for now while we handle this. Meet with me afterwards once we're done." Agatha said to her, and she nodded. The League Official wanted to protest having a non-VIP remain in a VIP area, but a sharp look from Agatha silenced him. The official turned to Walker and I for support, but Walker was likely too distracted to notice the implied question, and I simply shook my head at the official.

He sighed, realizing he would get no support, and simply began to escort the three of us out of the room as we made our way very slowly to the victor's podium. We walked as slowly as we did so that Agatha could catch up, but I was almost certain she was deliberately walking even slower than she had to just to mess with us.

Either way, we eventually made our way to the stage, where a grinning Lance welcomed us with wide arms. In the corner, Pryce seemed to have gotten out of his shock and was now glaring at everyone with open hatred. We of course, ignored Pryce.

"Welcome, everyone!" Lance greeted us with a smile, with the cameras pointed towards our group. "I hope you enjoyed the battle."

"Congratulations, Lance, it was a well fought battle." I praised, making sure that I tended to his ego. "You'll make a great Champion."

"Of course, of course, and I thank you for your words, Elite John." Lance easily replied, "We both know how much you have helped to get me where I am now, so you deserve some of the credit too." He said for the benefit of the cameras.

I realized that he was saying this to tell the world about our political ties, both to give me credit for aiding his victory, and to also make use of my currently excellent reputation to solidify the early days of his rule. That was fine, I expected it anyways.

Then the other two members of the Elite Four similarly gave their congratulations, though theirs were far more lukewarm than mine. Nonetheless, Lance was happy to accept them.

Afterwards, he was escorted onto the stage where he would be sworn in as Champion. A very senior looking League Official made his way on stage. He made a few choice, but ultimately meaningless, words about the importance of the title of Champion, and their responsibilities towards the continued protection and safety of Indigo.

Then, in something that I had completely forgotten about, he proceeded to invite both Lance and Pryce to the front so that Pryce may pass the title of Champion to Lance. That must have really been rubbing salt on the wound for Pryce.

In fact, when Pryce made his way to the front with a smug Lance, I had to hold in my laughter. His face screamed to the world that he wanted to be anywhere else but here, and his gait was no longer as steady as they used to be. In contrast, Lance just took it all with a smugly satisfied smile.

"Champion Pryce, as the leaving Champion, do you agree to pass down the position of Champion, and all of its associated responsibilities and power, to your successor, Lance?" The League Official began.

"...I agree." Pryce bit out reluctantly, but there was something else in his tone that I couldn't quite place.

"Lance, do you accept the position of Champion, understanding the necessary responsibilities and duties that comes along with the position?" The official asked Lance.

"I accept this duty." Lance said solemnly, though his eyes gleamed with pride and eagerness. To Lance's credit, he was doing a good job not acknowledging whatever look that Pryce was giving him.

"Then, congratulations, Champion Lance! You are the newest Champion of Indigo!" The official declared, and crowd went wild with applause and cheers. Some had even unrolled banners that said "CHAMPION LANCE!" to show their support; I casually wondered if they were members of the Blackthorn Clan.

The official allowed the crowd to cheer for a little while before he interrupted them. "Normally, we would move straight into the interview, but a surprise guest wanted to speak a few words to you, Champion Lance, if you were to allow it."

Lance looked surprised for a brief moment, but then recomposed himself. "Oh? Well, certainly. I would love to speak to whoever this is."

The official nodded, looking a little bit relieved that Lance didn't decline, which only stoked my curiosity further about who this individual was. Especially one that was influential enough to disrupt such a momentous occasion. Soon enough, I realized what the fuss was about when a very familiar looking person made his way on stage. The cameras flashed rapidly as they took pictures of the newcomer.

My jaw nearly dropped when I saw who it was.

"Hello, Champion Lance, it's a pleasure to meet you like this. Congratulations on your win." said a smiling Professor Oak, walking onto the stage donning his usual lab coat. He looked like he had just come down straight from his laboratory, and he certainly wasn't dressed for such a formal occasion. But seeing the sheer surprise in everyone's faces, including mine, I didn't think anyone cared to mention it.

"...oh, uh, yes, it's an honour, Champion Oak." Lance stuttered out, genuinely surprised at Oak's appearance. "And thank you very much for your words. I am undeserving of the honour." He said as he bowed in deference, which caused my eyes to nearly pop out.

I never knew that Lance had the ability to be deferential.

But then I noticed that the other members of the Elite Four, including Pryce, were all bowing slightly in respect to Oak, and I quickly followed suit despite not fully understanding why.

"Ah, you don't need to use that title anymore. I retired from that position a long time ago." Oak said humbly while scratching his head, "I'm just here to congratulate you on your successes and to say a few words of advice, to the both of you, if you want to hear them."

"Of course, Champion, I mean, sir. Please, go ahead. I'm honoured to listen." Lance said respectfully.

"I'm sure you are very excited to be the newest Champion of Indigo, but remember that all power corrupts eventually, and it is an eternal struggle for those in power to fend off the darker temptations that are inherent to all positions of power." Oak advised with a calm smile, "If you don't, you may find yourself lost to that obsession." He glanced towards a surprised Pryce, who seemed to have been shocked out of his anger.

"Of course, sir. Thank you for your advice." Lance replied, understanding the warning that Oak had given.

"Good...good. I would hate to see the latest generation repeat the mistakes of the past." He said pointedly, before turning his full attention towards Pryce.

"Pryce, do you still remember what you were like when you were chosen to be my successor?" He asked, and Pryce seemed taken aback for a moment before he gave a small nod. "Do you remember how bright-eyed you were, how excited and honoured you were to continue my actions as Champion?" Another hesitant nod, one that had a mixture of bitterness and nostalgia. "Well, you may have lost your way in the past few years, but I believe that you will be able to return to that bright-eyed successor that I had personally chosen. Do not hold on to your bitterness, and I'm sure you'll be able to return to being the great man that you once were."

The two of them shared a meaningful look for a moment, one that must have held a plethora of different emotions for Pryce. The silence extended for some time, with none daring to break it.

Eventually, Pryce nodded, concluding whatever silent conversation took place between the two of them. Oak smiled, and patted Pryce on the shoulder. Then he began to address the rest of the Elite Four.

"And to the rest of the Elite Four, I look forward to seeing all of you continue your good works. You have the potential to do great things! And I wish you the best in all your endeavours. And Agatha, good to see that you're still doing so well in your advanced age." He said jokingly, and to my further surprise, Agatha didn't even respond with her signature cutting tongue.

"Thank you, Champion Oak. Your words do me a great kindness." She bowed deeply, and I had to force myself not to react. Oak just smiled in response.

"Please, Agatha, you don't need to do this. But I think I've wasted enough of everyone's time. Thank you very much for allowing this washed-up old man to say a few words." He turned to Lance. "Champion Lance, I hope you do your new position proud, and that you continue to uphold the oaths that you once gave." He said that friendly, but in his tone was a forceful reminder of his newfound responsibilities. Lance nodded firmly.

"Then I'll be off. Thanks for having me!" Before anyone could stop him, he released an Alakazam onto the field. And then, with a quick explosion of powerful Psychic power, he was swiftly teleported out of the arena.

Oak's abrupt exit left us all still in various states of confusion and awe, though as Elite trainers, we all recovered very quickly. The League Official coughed to grab our attention.

"Champion Lance, if you could please make your way onto the interview podium right now. I'm sure you would appreciate the opportunity to answer some questions." The official gestured to a lectern with multiple attached microphones, and Lance made his way there. The rest of the Elite Four stood to the side just in case any reporters wanted to ask us any questions. I sincerely hoped not.

"...Thank you all very much for bestowing the honour of becoming the newest Champion of Indigo. As I have previously vowed, I swear to work hard for the continued prosperity and safety of our two regions, and to work hard to bolster the unity and friendship between us. Also, I would like to thank Champion Oak for his kind words and wish him the best in his retirement. I will now open the floor to questions." As soon as he finished speaking the reporters were finally let in and they surged in like they had just bypassed an open dam, hungry to question the new Champion.

"Champion Lance! How are you feeling right now?! Do you feel happy that you've beaten Champion Pryce?!" The first of many reporters asked.

"Of course, I am feeling very proud of my achievement. Becoming Champion is no easy feat, and I'm very thankful and proud of my Pokémon for being able to carry me to where I am today." Lance replied, "As for Pryce, any issues that I had with him was purely political and had nothing to do with my personal opinion of the man. Champion Pryce was a great man, and someone who had led Indigo for many years. Despite our recent disagreements in his choice of policy, I still remain very much honoured to follow his footsteps and to fill his shoes."

"And how do you think you will stop yourself from making the same mistakes that you claimed Champion Pryce made?" Another reporter questioned the moment Lance finish speaking.

"That's a great question. And I'm glad someone asked that." Lance commended, "Well, I initially intended to tell the other Elite Four members about this privately, however, this is as good as an opportunity as any. To ensure that I will not be repeating the same mistakes as Pryce, I will be inviting the other Elite Four members to listen in on any proposals that I may have during the early periods of my new reign as Champion. That way, I hope that by opening up discussions and increasing transparency, I will stop myself from being blinded by overconfidence until I can properly get a handle on things."

I was not particularly surprised by this announcement; truthfully, I had expected Lance to do something like this to differentiate himself from Pryce. It's no good calling someone out for being a corrupt dictator when you proceed to just do the same thing as they did. This way he gets to preach about his transparency and how he's making changes compared to what Pryce did. A smart move.

"Does that mean you'll be excluding the Elite Four from future discussions after you get a hang of being Champion?" A different reporter inquired.

"No, and do not twist my words." Lance answered firmly, glaring at the reporter. "I will always welcome any solid advice from my Elite Four. It's just that, during the earlier periods of my new reign, I will be more open to advice until I can get the hang of things. I would NEVER exclude the opinions of the Elite Four. And, who knows, if I find that the Elite Four give me prudent and reasonable advice, then I may maintain this transparency for the entirety of my time as Champion."

"Do you have any new proposals in the works that you would like to announce right now?" Someone else asked.

"Yes, but I'm not willing to announce anything right now until I've conferred with the other members of the Elite Four and the Committee. I believe it would be overly hasty do make an announcement now without checking on its feasibility. Rest assured that announcements will be made relatively shortly." Lance declared.

Of course, the fact that Lance had something in the works spawned a swarm of questions all asking about what it was, but Lance simply said he wasn't going to talk about it and to switch to a different topic. Eventually, the reporters complied.

Lance then proceeded to answer similar questions about his new Championship. I almost began to tune everything out before a reporter went up to Pryce and started asking him a few questions.

"Ex-Champion Pryce, I'm sorry for your loss." The reporter said unsympathetically, clearly not caring for Pryce. "How do you feel right now? I'm sure you must be devastated with the loss of your position."

Wow, I had to hold actually force my mouth to remain closed at the sheer disrespectfulness of that question. That was like twisting the knife that was already stabbed into Pryce. Suddenly, Walker, who had been silent and morose this entire time, spoke up to defend Pryce.

"That's a very disrespectful way of addressing the recent Champion, sir." Walker stated firmly, walking up to the reporter. "Being a reporter does not mean you get to forget your courtesies, so I demand that you apologize to Pryce for your malicious words or to leave this venue entirely."

Walker's demand seemed to draw the attention of all the reporters in the area, even Lance stopped answering his question and nodded in support of Walker's words. The reporter, suddenly the center of attention, quickly grew flustered and stammered out an apology, before fleeing the scene.

I heard Pryce mutter a very quiet "thank you" to Walker, which he accepted with a small smile and a shrug. I smiled too, mostly for Walker's sake. As much as I thought he was unsuited for the role of Elite Four, I didn't hate him, and was happy for him that a small spark of his previous friendship with Pryce still remained.

After that interruption, the questions resumed. Pryce was interviewed a few more times, this time far more politely, and one of the questions that caught my attention was that they asked where he was going to go now that he was no longer Champion.

He spoke out about returning to his hometown of Mahogany, and perhaps being an advisor to the Gym for some time. He gave no further details than that, but I thought that if he could finally get his head out of his arse then he would make a great and experienced advisor for Lorelei.

Then the reporters began to hound us three members of the Elite Four. They generally asked us the same few questions, mostly inquiring about our thoughts on Lance as a Champion, and what we thought of the battle. We mostly gave similar answers; that we thought that Lance had great potential to be a Champion and that we wished him the best, and we thought the battle was well-deserving of a challenge for the title of Champion.

However, they singled me out in particular and asked me a few more detailed questions because of my explicit support for Lance to become the next Champion.

"Elite John, what made you support Lance in the first place? How did you and Lance decide to join forces as you did?" They asked me.

"Well, I had just returned from my forced visit to Hoenn, and I was displeased with many aspects of Pryce's leadership." I explained, "I spoke to Pryce about them, but then realized that he was not able to assuage my concerns. This led me to speak with Lance, who also shared my displeasure with many elements of Pryce's time as Champion, and we both felt that the only path forwards was to replace Pryce as Champion with Lance. We got to discussing on the details after that."

"Then why did you not offer to become Champion yourself? You did defeat Drake after all, so it's not like your strength was in question. And you seem to be doing a great job at handling the politics of Indigo, despite your age, so why did you not nominate yourself?" They pushed.

"Strength isn't everything." I quickly answered. "And I certainly feel, even now, that making a play to become the next Champion at my age would be far too soon. I have only been a member of the Elite Four for a few months, which would not reassure many that I am ready to become the next Champion. Moreover, I definitely have no intention of becoming the Champion, and I'm more than content with remaining as a member of the Elite Four." I remained very careful with my words to not accidentally frighten Lance with the impression that I'd be looking to replace him soon. I wasn't and had no plans to do so.

"Does that mean you might change your mind in the future?" They kept asking, perhaps trying to generate some scandal or some gossip.

"I cannot answer that, because I could not possibly know about the thoughts of my future self." I answered dryly, resisting the temptation to be sarcastic. "I will say that I am more than happy to see Lance become the next Champion, and I look forward to working with him productively in the future."

The reporters left, seeming satisfied with my answers even if they didn't get the juicy scandal that they likely hoped for.

The interview eventually wrapped up after a final question where a reporter asked who would be replacing Lance in the Elite Four. It was a very good question, and one that Lance truthfully didn't have an answer to. He said that this would be one of those topics that he will bring up with the Elite Four and the committee, and that they'll make an announcement when a decision has been made.

Lance then ended the interview after that, refusing to answer any more questions and leaving the stage. Before we were allowed to leave though, a League Official told us to all to shake hands with Pryce as a gesture of farewell before we were all led backstage together and back to the VIP room.

As we entered the VIP room, Karen greeted all of us with a very formal bow, and introduced herself as Agatha's apprentice, while thanking her with the opportunity to stay in the room and witness the match from here.

Pryce frowned, but surprisingly kept silent. Lance gave her an inspecting look, then smiled knowingly at me and Agatha before he went and greeted Karen politely and said that he was looking forwards to seeing more of her battles in the future. Karen was momentarily flustered, but quickly recovered her composure and thanked Lance for his kind words, before congratulating him once again for becoming Champion.

Walker of course made no comment either way, content to just grab his briefcase before getting ready to leave. Agatha in the meanwhile slumped into a chair, obviously tired from all that standing around. I gave Karen a smile as well before I went to grab a bite to eat, since they had restocked some of the food and I was starving.

Pryce then spoke up, "I understand that I am unwelcome, so I'll be making my leave now." He then was about to leave before he abruptly stopped and turned around, "Walker, thanks for speaking up. I hope to see you again soon." Walker actually smiled at that, and Pryce finally left the room.

Lance waited for a few moments for Pryce to leave the room before he spoke up, "Right, Karen, I'm sorry, but I'm going to be discussing a few things with the Elite Four at the moment, and you can't be here. Remind me next time to invite Clair to these VIP rooms, I keep forgetting I could have done that now that since Pryce wasn't here." He muttered that last part to himself.

Karen understood and quickly left the room after whispering a few words to Agatha and getting a nod in return. With one last wave to me, she left the room.

"Okay, well now that the ceremony is over with and that I'm the Champion, I'll be looking for someone to take up my spot in the Elite Four." Lance explained, "I believe that the Committee is looking for a Johtonian to replace me, so that we would have a good balance within the Elite Four, so if you have any ideas, please let me know. Otherwise, like I said in the interview, I am openly inviting all of you to sit in on the discussions that the committee will be having so that you can provide input as well. You won't get any votes though."

The three of us all nodded, and Lance looked around to see if we had any suggestions.

"And who are the committee going to suggest?" Agatha asked, "Or are we going in blind?"

Lance shrugged, "I don't know either. So yes, we'll find out on the day or close to that. I'll be using my own resources to see if I can find out earlier." Agatha muttered something indecipherable but was probably rude, but Lance pretended he didn't hear anything and looked around to see if we had anything else to say.

Seeing that we all remained silent, he clapped his hands. "Well then, seeing as no one has anything else to say...then you're free to leave. We'll be discussing any future policies that I will be making in the future, but I have taken up enough of your time today with the whole challenge as well, so I'll not hold you any longer. I will be seeing you all later."

As soon as he finished speaking, Agatha released a Gengar and quickly teleported out of the room, with the chair. I shook my head at Agatha's antics and left the room with Walker, Lance staying behind for some reason.

Walker surprisingly spoke up as the two of us were leaving the building.

"John, I would like to apologize to you for your forced exile into Hoenn. It was not my idea, though I will not excuse myself for my complicity, but it was unfair of Pryce to have done so." I raised my eyebrow questioningly, and he continued. "I am not saying this as a last-ditch opportunity to win you over, but simply because I understand that my time in the Elite Four is likely rapidly coming to an end, and I would just like to make amends before that happens." He said solemnly.

I thought over his words for a moment before responding, "...well, thank you for giving an apology, Walker. For what it's worth, I never hated you either. We were just on different political sides, and I understood that whatever animosity was between us wasn't personal. So, thanks again for apologizing, and I am sorry that your time in the Elite Four might be coming to an end. Even if it does, I wish you all best in whatever you end up doing."

He nodded and we remained silent again. We both understood that while I may have forgiven him for his complicity, that doesn't mean that I was about to do anything to stop him from being kicked out. And he understood that too.

Eventually we went our separate ways, and I flew back on Port to make my way home. With Lance now replacing Pryce as Champion, I felt that we had entered a new era for Indigo.

Hopefully one for the better.