Chapter 23: 90-92

Chapter 23: 90-92

The New Normal – 5-7 – INTERLUDE - Whitney

Whitney and Sabrina, fully rested from their long trek from Celadon City, made their way to the Fuschia Gym. They had arrived at Fuschia City the evening before and had managed to reserve an appointment for their 5th badge Gym Challenge for the next morning, which was where they were heading to now.

Fuschia City was quite far away from all the other cities, especially compared to how close Vermillion and Celadon City were to each other. But speaking of the 3rd and 4th Gyms, Whitney was pleased to at least found them relatively challenging, at least compared to the first 2 Gyms.

However, for one reason or another, Whitney actually found them a little easier than she was expecting. And ironically, despite how different Surge and Erika were, they had surprisingly similar styles of fighting.

During her battle against Surge, Surge had apparently looked down on her and tried to force a quick knockout with his Jolteon, using a quick Thunder Wave to paralyze and shut down her Loudred. As soon as the Thunder Wave hit, he followed up with a swift assault of powerful and quick electric attacks. At first, Loudred struggled to handle his faster Pokémon especially after he got paralyzed, but then Surge's Jolteon reckless attacking meant that, as soon as Loudred broke through the paralysis, she was able to land a critical Uproar against his Jolteon and knocked it out of the battle.

It was a different story with his Raichu. This time, she wore it down using her Jigglypuff with a quick Sing to shut down his Raichu. Surge's Raichu was certainly fast and hard hitting, but just like Karen's Pokémon, it wasn't very tough and couldn't take hits. Thus, as soon as it was put to sleep by a Sing, her Jigglypuff was able to spam it down with repeated Echoed Voices.

Then, against Erika, Whitney actually found it to be the easier fight compared to Surge. Not because Erika was a bad trainer, but that her tactics to stall out her opponent wasn't very good against her Loudred. Her standard strategy involved putting your Pokémon to sleep with Spore before wearing them down slowly with various Grass type moves like Giga Drain and Leech seed.

If you weren't able to find a way to either remove her inflicted status conditions from your Pokémon or couldn't overwhelm her defensive Grass types as they slowly drained you, then Whitney could see how it would be a hard fight.

However, for Whitney, Loudred seemed to be the perfect counter to Erika's team. Loudred refused to be put to sleep by using Uproar, which gave her the freedom to bash down her Pokémon without needing to be worried about being affected by status conditions. Unlike Surge, her Pokémon weren't particularly fast or able to hit hard either, preferring to wear your Pokémon over time with a mixture of restorative moves, so Loudred alone single-handily won her the battle with the Flamethrower TM that she bought for him in preparation for the fight.

Still, now with both battles successfully won, that meant that she and Sabrina had secured her 3rd and 4th Gym Badges. Now, they sat down in the stands of the Fuschia Gym, preparing for their upcoming battle against Koga.

As they waited, Sabrina began whispering to her.

"I am wary of Koga." Sabrina said as they watched a trainer step up to fight against Koga. "I believe him to be the hardest challenge we've faced so far."

"Why'd you think that?" Whitney asked curiouslys, "Surely your Kadabra would be enough to overcome any challenges. I mean, you hardly struggled against Erika as well."

Sabrina shook her head, "Erika and Koga are on very different levels. My parents have great respect for Koga, and him and Giovanni have always been regarded to be the strongest of the Kanto Gym Leaders."

"Oh. Well, John never said anything about Koga." Whitney admitted, "But, then again, he did say that I would find things challenging in the future, so maybe this is what he meant?"

"Just watch." Sabrina said, gesturing to the trainer fighting against Koga. Whitney nodded and turned her attention to the match.

The trainer currently matching up against Koga was, to put it politely, not doing so well. The trainer's Marowak was being blinded by a cloud of poisonous smog from Koga's Weezing. And despite being resistant to Poison attacks, that resistance proved futile when the Marowak was utterly incapable of landing a hit on the extremely agile Weezing, a Pokémon that was not normally known for its speed.

And to make matters worse, as Marowak was slowly brought down by the overwhelming onslaught of Poison, Koga began setting up the battlefield for whatever the trainer sent out next by scattering a minefield of Toxic Spikes everywhere.

In a last-ditch effort before it succumbed to the Poison, Marowak threw out a Bonemerang that broke through the poisonous clouds. But Koga ordered Weezing to use Double Team to avoid the Bonemerang, dodging the final attack from the Marowak before it fell to the effects of Poison.

And with the battlefield completely covered in Toxic Spikes, Whitney didn't have much hope in the trainer's victory. Indeed, the trainer's next Pokémon was a Flaffy who immediately got badly poisoned from the Toxic Spikes. With the Flaffy badly poisoned as soon as it was released, it was child's play for Weezing to simply stall out the fight with its evasiveness and a barrage of Sludge Bombs knocked it out of the fight. Finally, the trainer's last Pokémon succumbed to the same tactic, and they lost the fight.

From that fight alone, Whitney could see why Sabrina was being wary. Koga's fighting style was basically a combination of the strengths of the Surge and Erika put together. He hit hard, and had fast and nimble Pokémon, but at the same time slowly wore you down with Poison and forced you to commit to bad moves until you lost.

He applied a lot of pressure on both the trainer and their Pokémon to react quickly and decisively, which seemed to test the trainer's ability to make decisions in battle and adapt to unfavourable circumstances. It was no surprise why Sabrina said that Koga was likely one of the strongest amongst the Kanto Gym Leaders.

However, the realisation of the challenge ahead did nothing to deter or frighten Whitney. Instead, she became even more excited to finally be facing off against a truly strong and difficult opponent to test herself and her team against.

Maybe finally this was the battle where she didn't need to hold back her Miltank.

Suddenly, a young girl dressed up as a ninja descended from the ceiling in front of Sabrina, almost causing Whitney to shriek in surprise. Sabrina, however, was unaffected by the sudden intruder, probably having already sensed her with her Psychic powers.

"Challenger! Gym Leader Koga calls the two of you to the front! He has something special to say to you, so please make your way down!" The girl announced, before backflipping away from the stands and disappearing out of Whitney's sight and into the crowds.

"Do not be alarmed, she is just moving back to her hiding spot in the ceiling above." Sabrina stated calmly, but her lips were twitching in amusement at Whitney's surprise. "Come, let us make our way forward. I believe that the Gym Leader has something to say to us."

Curiously, the two of them made their way down to where Gym Leader Koga was standing. As they arrived, he greeted the two of them with a stoic nod before speaking.

"Welcome to my Gym. I have an offer for the both of you." He said, "I know that the two of you are far and beyond the toughest challengers that I will be facing off against today, and so I have a request for you."

"The two of you will not need to fight against my Gym Trainers, as I know that will not be educational for you. Instead, you will fight me directly, at a level higher than what I normally fight at for a 5th Gym Badge challenge." He explained, "Furthermore, whichever of you isn't about to fight me, please step away from the arena so you cannot witness the battle. I would like for you to go into the battle as blindly as possible, to properly test yourself and your ability to react on the spot to whatever comes your way. I will not force you to do this, but I believe that the both of you are seeking a challenge, no?"

"Yes, we are." Whitney replied for the both of them, "But what do we get if we win?"

"Nothing but the challenge that you seek." Koga answered, "And if you lose, you will not be able to gain the 5th badge that you seek until you rechallenge me and beat me. Yet, if you truly are here to test yourself and your Pokémon's limits, then I would seriously suggest taking me up on my offer."

The two of them shared a look for a moment before they replied at the same time, "We accept."

Koga nodded, "Good. Now, Sabrina, please come up first. Whitney, please make your way to the visitor's office for refreshments. It's the least I could do for you. Janine, please escort her there."

As soon as Koga finished speaking, the same little girl from before descended from above and landed next to Whitney, eliciting another squeak of surprise from her. Then, the girl patiently escorted the surprised Whitney to a small room in the side of the Gym, where they would be waiting.

As Whitney sat down, the little girl, who she now knew was called Janine, passed some hot tea to her.

"Thank you." Whitney said, receiving the tea with both hands. Janine simply nodded silently and remained silent. Whitney herself sipped her tea in silence. But as the silence stretched on, she was getting increasingly unnerved by the silent studying stares from Janine. Wanting to break the tension, she spoke up.

"So, uh, Janine, why did Gym Leader Koga make this offer to the two of us?" She asked, hoping to start a conversation.

Luckily for her, Janine was quick to respond. "I asked Fath-Gym Leader Koga the same thing. However, he simply told me that his sources informed him that the both of you were powerful up and coming trainers that easily went through the previous Gyms and was interested to seeing how far you could go when pushed."

"Oh. Hehehehe, thank you!" Whitney smiled at the compliment, "I didn't realize he was so interested in us. That makes me very happy to hear."

Janine nodded, "Of course. Gym Leader Koga has always been prudent in checking up on promising trainers. I was...curious to see why he was so interested."

"But how did you find out about us?" Whitney asked, "We haven't really been on the news or anything."

"We are ninja. We have our ways." Janine said, trying to be mysterious, but the slight smile that she had made her seem like she was childishly bragging more than anything. "We know that Sabrina is the daughter of the Saffron Gym Leader, while you are the sister of Elite John. That explains your strength, which may be why Gym Leader Koga wanted to test you."

Whitney nodded at her words, then remained silent as she started formulating a plan in her head. If Koga wanted to test her, then she would be sure to bring her best.

The minutes silently ticked by, with Whitney almost unaware of the passage of time as she concentrated on coming up with a plan based on how little of the fight she saw and from her previous research. Yet, she had seen many of her brother's battles, and she was going to copy how he had dealt with evasive fighters that were reliant on status conditions.

And moments before Janine tapped her shoulder to let her know that it was her turn, she successfully formed a plan.

With a silent nod towards Janine for the tea and the silence, she made her way to the arena where Koga was waiting with crossed arms. She briefly looked around the stands to see if she could spot Sabrina but failed to find her.

"Your friend has been taking somewhere else." Koga stated, understanding who she was trying to search for. "I did not want to spoil the outcome of her battle, so you will find out after our fight."

She gave an understanding nod, and he continued, "Good. Now, take your positions. Get ready."

Whitney slowly made her way to her side of the arena while forcefully clamping down on her nerves and excitement. This was it. Her time to shine.

"Trainers, this will be a 3v3 5-badge match between challenger Whitney and Gym Leader Koga! There will be one switch available!" The referee announced, and Whitney grabbed hold of her chosen Pokémon.

"Trainers, are you ready?!" Both trainers nodded. "BEGIN!"

"Muk, you're up first."

"LOUDRED, COME OUT AND UPROAR!"

Her Loudred emerged with a deafening roar, immediately unleashing a powerful sonic wave that caused Muk's mucous form to vibrate uncontrollably. She knew that she couldn't afford to give Koga any time to set up his stall strategies and needed to constantly pressure his Pokémon so that they didn't have space to do so.

Here, offense was the best defense. And hesitation was defeat.

"Keep up the Uproar and get closer, Loudred! Don't let up!"

"Toxic! And fall backwards, Muk!"

Tanking past constant barrage of sonic waves, Muk spat out a huge globule of poisonous sludge, drenching the approaching Loudred as it continued blasting the Muk with its incessant Uproar. She could see her Loudred wince as her skin took on a sickly purple complexion, a tell-tale sign that Loudred had become badly poisoned.

But that was fine; she didn't have any intention of allowing the battle to go on for much longer. And now that Loudred had gotten close to the Muk, she went for the kill.

"Bulldoze, Loudred!"

"Interrupt it with a Brick Break, Muk!"

Loudred cut off its Uproar and began stomping up and down, causing powerful tremors to spill out towards Muk as the ground shook violently. In response, one of Muk's arms transformed into a solid hand that viciously chopped down on the stomping Loudred.

Both Pokémon winced in pain as they endured through each other's attacks. She had hoped that the supereffective Bulldoze would have finished off Muk, but it seems like she had underestimated Muk's endurance. From appearance alone, Whitney felt like the Muk was more injured, but her Loudred was still on a ticking clock as she slowly succumbed to the powerful poisons coursing through her.

She didn't have any time to waste. There was only one correct move for her if she wanted her Loudred to come out on top. It was all or nothing.

"Loudred, TAKE DOWN! GIVE IT YOUR ALL!"

"Brick Break, Muk! Bring it down."

With a defiant roar, her Loudred determinedly ignored her injuries and rushed straight towards the Muk, who was preparing to deliver another brutal chop to the head of its own. The two attacks savagely slammed against each other as the two struck each other with whatever power they had remaining.

There was no victor. Both Pokémon almost instantly collapsed against each other as their attacks landed, succumbing to the injuries that they had accumulated throughout their quick fight.

"And both trainer's Pokémon are unable to continue battling! Putting the score at 1-1!" The referee announced, "Each trainer has 30 seconds to send out their next Pokémon!"

Whitney withdrew her Loudred with a complex expression. On one hand, she had hoped to achieve more with Loudred before she fainted. On the other hand, taking out Koga's powerful Muk was still an acceptable outcome. For some reason, a part of her felt like the Muk could have achieved more than that, but she didn't want to think about that now.

Instead, she realized that this left her Miltank as the only viable option of her team to fight against Koga; her other two Pokémon weren't strong enough to match up against Koga's threats.

That was fine. Miltank would destroy them both. That, she was sure of.

"Golbat. Take flight."

"MILTANK! ROLL THROUGH YOUR ENEMIES!"

Once again not wasting time on posturing, her Miltank rolled out from her Pokéball as she began picking up speed as she rolled around the area. Seeing that Miltank was seemingly not looking to attack, Koga made the first move.

"Air Slash, Golbat!"

But that was a mistake. As soon as Golbat slowed down to fire off an Air Slash, Whitney made her move.

"Miltank, BOUNCE INTO THE AIR!"

As they had trained, her Miltank suddenly did a small hop and slammed into the ground powerfully, creating a small dent in the arena, then used the reverse momentum of the attack to leap into the air.

Gasps of surprise were heard from the audience as her Miltank leapt into the air. Even Koga, famed for his stoic nature, had his eyes widen in stunned surprise at the feat before him.

As her Miltank bounced towards the Golbat, she ordered the coup de grace.

"Thunder Punch, Miltank! KNOCK IT OUT!"

"PROTECT! NOW!"

Her Miltank's fist crackled menacingly as lightning began to form around them. Koga's Golbat valiantly tried to dive out of the way while attempting to form a Protect shield, but it was too late.

Miltank critically smashed its lightning infused fist straight into the Golbat's large mouth. The Golbat screeched in pain as the supereffective lightning coursed through it, and it started to fall out of the sky.

"BODY SLAM, MILTANK! END IT!"

Chasing the falling Golbat, Miltank grabbed hold of Golbat, trapping in an inescapable hug underneath her, before brutally slamming the two of them into the ground. Golbat was knocked out.

Silence descended on the crowd for a moment before the crowd burst out in applause at the brutal takedown of Koga's Golbat.

"And the Gym Leader's Golbat is unable to battle! The challenger now leads 2-1!" The referee stated, "The Gym Leader now has 30 seconds to send out their next Pokémon!"

A stunned silence descended on the battlefield, but Whitney simply shot them all a pleased grin. THAT was what she was talking about!

"An impressive display." Koga admitted as he withdrew his fallen Golbat, "I can see that my eyes did not deceive me. You truly are one to look out for."

"Thank you, Gym Leader." She replied, still very pleased with herself. "But I know I still have a long way to go."

"You do." He said, as he took hold of another Pokéball, "But, first, you still have one more Pokémon to get past. And I have no intention of making it as easy as my Golbat."

"Come, Weezing."

Another Weezing appeared on the battlefield. But even with a quick look, Whitney could tell from its solemn expression that this Weezing was different than the one he sent out before against the trainer.

It had a more observant and experienced gaze in its eyes, subtly hinting to the much larger level of training that it must have had.

But no matter. Her Miltank would crush all in her path. She had no intention of hesitating and playing into Koga's hands.

"Start your Rollout, Miltank! Circle around it!"

"Poison Gas, Weezing. Flood the arena."

Inwardly, I was very pleased to hear that. It was nice to confirm that my efforts in improving the Cerulean Gym were bearing fruit. Who knows, maybe the Cerulean Gym could transform into one of the greater and more respected Gyms of Kanto?

"Oh, speaking of which, we just heard about the new Contest Hall being built here in Cerulean. We know you had something to do with it, so we just wanted to thank you for it. We're very excited to have a bigger stage to perform on." She said with a smile.

"That's not a problem." I waved her off, "I'm just glad you're so excited for it. Have you made plans?"

"We sure did." She nodded, "My sisters and I have started thinking up a new routine now that we have more free time with Petrel helping us out. It's so nice to actually be able to focus on the show for once without having to worry too much about our other duties. It really lifted a weight off our shoulders."

From then on, our conversation devolved into mostly small. I did do my duty and ask about what she felt of Lance, and she truthfully told me that the four of them didn't really have much of an opinion. Like Flint, they were too busy with the Gyms and their shows to care about what was happening outside of the Gym.

Although Daisy said that she found Lance charming enough, and far more pleasant on the eyes than Pryce. It sounded more like a teenage crush than anything else, but it was still good for Lance to have made a positive reputation on them.

Soon enough, the inspectors requested that we moved on, and I continued on my busy day as we hit every single Gym possible.

=========

?"Well, son, I'm not the biggest fan of having another Johto Champion, but at least he's doing a better job than Pryce so far!" Surge answered boisterously as he rubbed his chin, "Still, I'll be keeping an eye on him. I don't trust those Johtonians!"

"You should be careful too, John." He said to me seriously, "Those Johtonians might stab you in the back if you aren't careful!"

"Thanks, Gym Lea- Lieutenant Surge. I'll be sure to keep an eye out." I replied placatingly, remembering to call him by his 'proper' title. "Anyways, I hope the Gym inspection goes well."

"HAH! Any good soldier knows the importance of logistics! I wouldn't slack on something like this." He boasted proudly, "Let those eggheads bury themselves in paperwork. And my Gym Trainers know better than go against the command of their superior officer! They'll find nothing to complain about!"

"Anyways, kiddo, you've done a good job showing up Johto already." Surge continued, "You're practically Kanto's golden boy, so keep up the good work!"

Surge was very enthusiastic, and was a bit too much at times, but I didn't sense a single malicious bone in him. He might be vocal in his distrust of Johtonians, but he didn't feel like a rabble rouser to me.

===========

?"Oh...I hope the inspectors don't find anything to complain about...I'm worried that I've upset them somehow." Erika said to me worriedly as we walked around the beautiful gardens of the Gym. Honestly her Gym easily had the best aesthetic so far, and felt more like a place of peace and comfort rather than a stadium.

"I'm sure that you have nothing to worry about. Even minor infractions could be easily forgiven." I reassured her, "Besides, I don't think I've seen a more beautiful Gym than this one in Celadon. It's a testament to your hard work that you've managed to maintain the Gym to such a high standard despite your relatively young age."

"Well, if you want to get into ages, then should I comment on how much you've done despite being the 'youngest of the Elite Four'?" Erika chuckled with a serene smile. "You've done far more than I have with a single Gym, and I'm very happy to see the brighter faces of the residents of Celadon as things start to improve here in Kanto."

"Could you tell me more about it?" I asked, "It's sometimes hard to see the effects of the policies that I'm having without being able to see it in action."

"Well, I can tell you that Celadon City, as one of the larger commercial cities in Kanto, has been seeing an uprising of foreign business." She answered as she gently brushed her hand across a few flowers, "I'm not sure whether that's a direct result of the new policies, or just from a general increase in confidence amongst businesses, but things are looking good for Celadon. I hope things keep improving as they are."

She began going into more detail about the improvements occurring around her city. I was impressed with her knowledge; even as one of the younger Gym Leaders, her competence could easily be seen. She might look like a dainty flower, but she possessed great intelligence.

Still, I nodded to myself, pleased to hear that things WERE actually looking better for Kanto.

"In your opinion, do you think Champion Lance will allow Kanto to continue prospering?" I inquired.

"Hmm...well, I think he's doing a better job than Pryce. At least he doesn't seem to be acting against us." Erika replied thoughtfully as she began watering a few flowers with a watering can, "From the impression that I get from Lance...I think he's a good guy. Proud, but good. And I hope he stays that way in the future too."

======

?"...your sister was here recently." Koga said to me as we stared idly at the League Inspectors taking pictures of the paperwork.

"Oh? I hope she did well." I replied. Whitney hadn't given me an update yet on what she was doing, but I guessed that if she was already past Koga then she was doing well.

"She won, even after I raised the challenge for her." He told me, and I raised an inquisitive eyebrow at his words, prompting him to continue, "I knew she was a trainer far above the 5th Gym Badge level before I battled her, and I wanted to test her limits. See what she could accomplish."

"And how did she do?" I asked curiously, accidentally interrupting him.

"She did well, and so did her Psychic friend." He said, ignoring my interruption, "They both won despite me using higher-level Pokémon. Your sister is one to watch. I suspect that she will grow into a very capable trainer."

I felt a surge of pride go through me on behalf of Whitney, and I smiled despite myself. "Thank you for keeping me in the loop, Gym Leader Koga. I'm very glad to hear that she's doing so well on her journey."

"It's a brother's prerogative to worry." He nodded, "Besides, I am sympathetic to your feelings. My daughter Janine seems to have befriended your sister and has joined her on her journey."

"Oh! Uh, wow. That's...quite the surprise." I replied bafflingly, not really able to comprehend that Whitney was somehow able to befriend and travel with two future Gym Leaders. "...I hope that they can get along together."

"So do I." Koga concurred, a hint of fatherly pride leaking into his voice that he tried to hide. "Even though I was the one to encourage her to set of for her journey, I worry as a father that she may get into danger." He shook his head, "Regardless, I will not coddle her. And I hope that she gets along with her sister and her friend."

"I have every faith that your daughter will get along with Whitney; I've never known my sister to be anything less than friendly." I said reassuringly, "Anyways, speaking of getting along, how are you finding our new Champion?"

"I have no opinions. I like him more than Pryce, but I felt that Pryce was a blind fool." Koga grunted, "So long as the security of Indigo is not neglected, then I have no other concerns."

=======

?"Oh? You're the brother of our daughter's best friend, aren't you?" Samson, the Gym Leader of Saffron and Sabrina's father asked with a jolly smile. "We were ecstatic when we heard that our daughter finally made a friend. Please, make sure to pass on our thanks to your sister. We're very thankful that someone her age is finally able to look past her Psychic abilities."

"Yes indeed. We were over the moon when we found out that our daughter had made a friend." Katrina, the personal secretary, and Sabrina's mom added, "We were so concerned that her Psychic gift would isolate her. I'm so glad that's not the case."

"Well, she's been a great friend to Whitney, so there's really no need for thanks I'm sure." I replied slightly embarrassedly, "Though I definitely will pass them on."

"Please do." Samson said as he patted me on the shoulder, "We'd love to meet her one day in person. Though I think that day might come sooner rather than later as Sabrina told us that she would be coming to Saffron soon."

"Then I'll entrust you to look after my sister when she's in Saffron. But don't make things too easy on her for her Gym Challenge!" I joked, before switching to a more serious topic.

"Anyways, any thoughts about how this inspection is going to turn out?" I inquired, looking around as the League inspectors somehow still had the energy to continue working even after going through 5 Gyms at this point.

"There shouldn't be any issues." Samson replied, sharing a confirming look with his wife, "We've been very careful to make sure things are up to scratch so that Sabrina will have no problems inheriting the position. Arceus knows that she'd do a better job at it then I am."

Something shined in his eyes then, a hint of latent Psychic power that showed itself for a moment then. The pitcher of water on the table levitated in the air and filled up a glass before she moved the glass into his hands and took a sip of water.

"I'm sure you're doing a fine job as it is." I praised, tearing my eyes away from that display. "But I'm glad to hear your confidence. Oh, and while I'm here, can I ask if you two have any thoughts about Champion Lance and his new leadership?"

"I like him." Katrina answered instantly, "We had problems before with Kanto's failing economy, as Saffron would be similarly hurt by the growing unemployment. That Karate lunatic Kiyo over at the Fighting Gym used to be crowing to the skies every day about our incompetent leadership, even though NONE of this was our fault." She spat angrily, and I felt a wave of psychic energy wash over me, causing the nearby bookshelves to shake. Realizing she was losing control, she took a quick breath to calm herself down.

"But with Pryce out of the way, things have been looking better. I'm not sure if Lance is responsible for our recent good fortune, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now. I do hope thing continue in a similar manner in the future." Her husband gave similar nods of acknowledgement.

Unfortunately, our conversation was cut short as the League inspectors requested that we move on. I could have forced them to stay for longer while I finish up my conversation, but I felt bad for these poor and tired individuals, so I ended our conversation there and moved on to our next destination.

========

?"You're a scientist, John!" Blaine loudly praised as he clapped me on the back, ignoring the weird looks he was getting from the inspectors, "I don't know why you're mucking about with those Arbok in politics. You should do what I did and retire to be a scientist."

"I'm still a teenager, Blaine." I replied wryly, "I think it's a bit early for retirement."

"Nonsense! I spent a few years in that pit and I lost all my hair!" He exclaimed, before bending down and showing off his shiny head. "LOOK! MY HAIR! I USED TO HAVE HAIR! AND NOW ITS ALL GONE! You could say that the stress burnt it all off!"

I choked out a laugh at that terrible pun, causing him to grin at his 'successful' joke. Then he turned serious.

"Listen, John, joking aside, I wasn't kidding when I said you should become a scientist." He looked me in the eye, "You clearly have the potential for it with all your discoveries. And I will tell you that it's likely more fulfilling that being in the Elite Four. Arceus, I'm balancing two responsibilities as a Gym Leader and a scientist, and yet I still enjoy it more than I did when I was in the Elite Four."

"Take it from me, kid. Unless you're a ratchety old lady like Agatha is, being in the League will corrupt you eventually." He warned, "Just look at Pryce. He used to be...better than what he is now. Used to be someone you could look up to. But now he's this frozen husk that's better off dead. Thank Arceus you helped Lance knock him off." There was a lot bitterness in his voice when he said that. Was there a past connection between him and Pryce? It wouldn't surprise me if they were previously friends or something.

"...I will take that in mind. Thank you for the advice." I said after a moment, before deciding to switch topics, "Anyways, speaking of Lance, what do you think of him?"

"Oh, the young Dragon looks to the sheep for opinions? I thought they didn't care for our bleating." He chuckled sardonically, "Anyways, I don't like him, but I'll pick him over Pryce any day." He started to rub his chin thoughtfully, "Maybe he has started to mellow over the years. He was a cocky brat when he first entered the Elite Four, but if he's willing to actually ask around for opinions? Maybe he's changed for the better."

"I hope he has." I replied, "He's our Champion now, after all."

"Hmph. Champion or not, he has a long way to go before he actually earns my respect." He spat, but it lacked any real heat. "Anyways, enough of this, let's see if any of the inspectors accidentally hurt themselves in my Gym. I'm not having them give my Gym a failing grade when I wasted all this time on it because one of those bootlickers hurt themselves like the fools they are."

=========

?"Good to see you again." Giovanni said to me, in his office "Is there anything urgent you have to tell me?"

"Not really, I'm just supposed to be here on Lance's behalf to ask around about how you Gym Leaders think of him." I informed him, looking around at the new decorations, "Anything you have to say to our Champion?"

"Ah, well, tell him to keep up the good work then. Of course, try to get him more focused on Kanto." He smirked, "Arceus knows that Johto doesn't need any more of an advantage."

"Will do." I nodded, before lowering my voice to a whisper, "Have you heard anything regarding the problem at Hoenn? I'm getting concerned that the Hoenn League still haven't found anything."

"Nothing that I felt like had to be urgently brought to your attention." Giovanni whispered back, "But I have heard some rumours about funds being shuffled around in the black market. That usually means something's happening."

My fists clenched at his words, "Do you think I should find my way over there and deal with this problem?"

Giovanni looked at me like I was an idiot, "And how would you do that? Even I don't know where they are. It'll be trying to look for a needle in a haystack." He shook his head, "Look, I know you're anxious about crushing Team Rocket, I am too, but you're better off spending your efforts here to improving Kanto rather than being all worried about something you and I can unfortunately do nothing about."

"Crime will always exist, John. It's not something you can get rid of." He stated. "I'm as angry as you are about Proton's betrayal, despite it being a blessing in disguise, but I know that I can't just go looking for them without knowing more. We've been over this before. You have to stay patient."

Despite my desire to rush over to Hoenn immediately, Giovanni's words helped my rational side to win and I let out a deep breath to calm myself. He was right, I had already decided before that rushing over to Hoenn wouldn't do me any good. Sometimes, the problem with being on the side of the law was that you were almost always forced to be reactive and not proactive.

It was frustrating, but there was not much I could do until we found out more. "Fine, fine. I'll do my best to be patient." I said to him, before switching topics, "Anyways, should we look over at what the inspectors are doing to just in case they've found anything they're not supposed to find?"

Giovanni chuckled, "There will be nothing for them to find."

=========

?With all 8 Gyms finally done, we were finally released from our duties. The exhausted League Inspectors all gave me a tired nod before they were Teleported away to finish up whatever they needed to do. Fortunately for me, I wasn't on the clock, so I went straight home.

I had done enough mingling for the day, and my social battery desperately needed recharging. I had sent a quick text on my way home to Lance to say that I encountered no problems, and that I would inform him properly about my observations tomorrow.

It was around dinnertime when I got home, and I expected to find my parents chatting idly around the dinner table while watching TV.

Instead, the two of them sat with stiff silence as they mechanically ate their dinners, with a single official-looking letter sitting in the corner of the table.

"John, you're back." My mom greeted with a worried smile, "I think you have a letter."

With a careful nod, I went over to open it. And inside, was an official letter of challenge in two weeks' time for my position in the Elite Four.

From challenger Bruno.

The New Normal – 5-8 – Interlude – Bruno

Bruno rested near his newly built campfire and tent as he watched the sun slowly setting in the distance, a fitting reward for another hard day of training. He had taken the time when he had entered Viridian City, where he had issued his letter of Challenge towards John, to also restock his supplies for the next 2 weeks while he continued his training on Mt. Silver.

Unlike what many likely thought of him, Bruno had no particular political reason why he chose John as his target for his challenge. Indeed, many might have thought that Bruno should have been patient and waited for Will's and Lorelei's grace period to expire before challenging them for their title of the Elite Four.

It would have been the smarter thing to do, which was entirely beside the point and completely undermined what Bruno really desired.

Ever since he had won his year's Indigo Conference, he was dissatisfied with himself. He had spent much time ruminating over his victory, and how narrow it was. He may have won against his final opponent, but it was a victory that had little to do with his skill and training and almost everything to do with luck.

When he appeared on the victor's podium, he felt no happiness or joy. Instead, all he felt was the burning desire to continue his training and bring his Pokémon to further heights.

And so, he disappeared into the wilderness as he and his Pokémon underwent a vigorous and extensive training regime to better himself in the best way he saw possible. With his pure Fighting type team, that meant training them in being the absolute masters of close quarters combat, to let none best them in a battle of technique.

Furthermore, Bruno was diligent and would not neglect training his Pokémon's mental discipline. He knew all too well that being a martial artist was more than just hitting hard, it was also about training your mind and body to be able to wall off most common mental intrusions. Especially with his Pokémon's weakness to Psychic types, he made sure that common status moves like Confuse Ray or Hypnosis that were frequently employed by said Psychics would not easily take hold in his Pokémon.

Now, some may find it odd, or perhaps even stupid, for him to field a team consisting entirely of pure Fighting types. These were the type of people that could often be found on the Pokénet screaming about why one trainer would win over another because their type was weak against another.

Bruno despised those kinds of people, because they failed to understand that type matchups were only the most basic level of battling. There was far more consideration to be had beyond that. Oh, Bruno admitted that it would probably be smarter to at least have Fighting types that had another type to protect against common Fighting weaknesses, but that went against his desire as a trainer.

Bruno understood that he wasn't really a conventional trainer, nor would he label himself as one, but rather as a martial artist that just made use of Pokémon. It was like running a pseudo dojo, where he and his Pokémon aimed to reform themselves into the best that they could be, both physically and spiritually.

As a result of that, Bruno prioritized very different things to most other trainers. He cared little about creating a 'balanced' team that covered each other's weaknesses. Indeed, his Pokémon were all very similar in both fighting styles, speed, and method. Rather, his goal was to mould and craft his Pokémon into the ultimate martial artists by tempering them with sufficient experience and training.

Therefore, he deliberately left in those weaknesses, such as his Pokémon's near inability to use long-range Special Attacks, so his Pokémon could strive to overcome them with their own techniques and methods. The fact that all of his Pokémon shared similar skills, techniques, and weaknesses meant that any solution created by one could be shared with all. This led to all his Pokémon often competing against each other to discover their own breakthroughs first, and Bruno was always quick to foster such cohesion to boost their motivation and teamwork.

Thus, after around two years of dedicated training, where he alternated between training in the wild and participating in every battle competition he could find, he finally wanted to test out his Pokémon, and see how much they improved.

And because of that, he challenged John not because he yearned for his position in the Elite Four, and in all honesty he wasn't very interested in the political responsibilities such a position would force on him, but solely because he saw John as a fitting test for his skills and an appropriate wall for him to overcome.

While some debated that Agatha might be the stronger of the two, Bruno had absolutely no intentions of challenging the old lady.

Not because he was afraid of losing, but rather Agatha's Ghost types wouldn't be an effective tool to measure his Pokémon's strength against. Fighting Ghosts required a very different methodology and training than fighting other types, and Bruno knew that his Pokémon weren't ready for that yet.

With that in mind, he knew that John would be a formidable opponent for him, having already solidified his standings within the Elite Four with his defeat of Drake and his subsequent defense of Olivine. He had watched the battle against Drake with restrained excitement and realized that John's way of fighting was exactly the perfect opponent for him to test his Pokémon against.

It would be even more ideal if John was a Fighting type trainer like himself, instead of using Pokémon that he had a type advantage against. However, Bruno was confident that John's Pokémon were trained to resist and overcome their inherent Fighting type weaknesses, meaning that Bruno shouldn't have an unfair advantage because of that.

He clenched his fists excitedly as he thought about the battle ahead. He looked forward to overcoming it with his Pokémon.