Chapter 44: 174-177

Chapter 44: 174-177

The New Normal – 9-1 – The Indigo Circuit

"It's so much warmer here." Will muttered to me as we stood near the railings of the boat, facing towards the docks of Vermillion City in the distance.

"I prefer the cold, but Sinnoh was a little too cold at times." I agreed, "You ready to return to your usual duties?"

"Of course!" He replied instantly, his head bobbing up and down, "Fulfilling the duties of an Elite Four is an honour!" He said pompously.

"...Though I admit that I might be a little out of practice with how long we spent in Sinnoh." He confessed sheepishly, "It's very different when you have less pressure on you."

"I get it." I responded, especially because Will must have known that he was due to be challenged sometime soon, but I didn't need to bring that up, "You got any plans for when you get back? Personal ones, I mean."

He rubbed his chin, "Not that I can recall. Most, if not all, of my plans revolve around business meetings and catching up with associates, especially with what's going on with the events at Sinnoh. I have a few friends I'd like to meet up with, but those aren't so urgent."

"You read about that Pokémon storage thing?" He asked me.

"I did." I nodded, "Very interesting stuff. I look forward to seeing it in use. What about you?"

"...I'm having a little trouble thinking about the possibilities right now, but I at least know that it opens a lot of new avenues for businesses in the future." He said, "I think I'm going to speak to a few of my associates to see what they think. Maybe we can hold a conference to discuss the implications."

I nodded, expecting nothing less from the business-minded Will. Before our chatter could continue, the blare of the ship's horn notified us of our arrival to Indigo. Now that we were closer, we could see many people had gathered along the Vermillion City pier and were waving huge banners at us, many of them congratulating us for our efforts and our safe return.

I couldn't help but smile. As nice as Sinnoh was, especially since Cynthia was there, it just couldn't replace the feeling of home.

A short moment later, the exit ramp from the ship descended, and we made our way off the ship, finally stepping on the ground of Indigo, of home, once again.

"Welcome back." Lance smiled at us, hosting the welcome ceremony once again.

But to my astonishment, there was one other person with him, "Yes, yes, enough with the sentimentality. Everyone knows how nice it is to be home blah blah blah. Let's get a move on." Agatha said sarcastically, "And John! You have visitors!"

I gave her a curious look before my eyes widened with surprise as four familiar figures walked up to me. Or, more precisely, three figures walked up to me and one immediately went and glomped me.

"WELCOME BACK BRO!" The cheery voice of my sister shouted out as she wrapped me in a tight hug. I instinctively wrapped my arms around her too as we shared a familial hug, one that we hadn't shared in quite some time.

"Whitney? What are you doing here?" I still had to ask.

But instead of Whitney answering, Sabrina replied in her stead, "Whitney knew that you were coming home, so since we were mostly in the area, she begged us to come so that she could see her beloved brother." She tried her best to maintain her usual stoic expression, but the slight twitch of her lips betrayed her smirk.

Whitney pouted, "Hey! I didn't word it like that!"

"But you don't deny begging us to let you visit your brother?" Janine challenged, joining in on making fun of my sister.

Whitney pursed her lips, but didn't respond as she instead chose to just bury her head deeper into my stomach.

"They all seem very excited to see you." Karen spoke up, chuckling over the antics of my sister and her friends, "You seem like quite the popular man."

Karen's appearance caused a complicated expression to form on my face. I owed it to her to provide an explanation, especially since I valued her as a friend, but it wasn't going to be easy.

"Indeed he is." Lance said as he walked up with Will and Agatha, unknowingly cutting off what I was about to say, "I was going to ask how you were doing, but I can see that you're quite preoccupied at the moment."

"Sorry." I said as I tried to extract myself from Whitney's grasp, "Was there anything you needed me for?"

Lance shook his head, "No, nothing so urgent. And definitely not anything we can't talk about over the phone. I'll leave you to your friends and family, we can talk later."

"Wait, Lance." I called out to him before he could walk away, "I have something to speak with you about, in private. But it's not immediately urgent and can wait for later."

He shot me a curious look, but then nodded slowly, "I see. I'll await our conversation then." Then he walked off with Will. Agatha lingered around and gave me a searching look, but otherwise just left me alone as she slowly hobbled after the two of them.

I turned to Karen, "Any idea what that was about?" I asked, but she just shrugged back.

"You think the hag tells me everything?" She asked sarcastically.

"...She is very scary." Sabrina suddenly whispered out, visibly shivering, "Her presence...how can you guys not feel it?"

"I did not feel anything out of the ordinary." Janine said, "It's not like you to be this unnerved, Sabrina."

Sabrina just shook her head, "...I envy you for not being able to sense it." All of us fell into an awkward silence at that, none of us really knowing what to say.

But fortunately Whitney decided to speak up, blatantly changing the topic. "Anyways, John! You need to hang out with us! It's been so long since we went out together! You don't have anything to right now, right?"

I shook my head, "Not right now, no–"

"Then that's great!" She quickly interrupted me, grabbing my hand and dragging me along, "Let's go then! There's this restaurant that I've always wanted to eat at. And since you're paying, I can finally go!"

"Since when was I paying?" I chuckled.

Whitney just rolled her eyes at me, "Of course you are! What kind of big brother lets their little sister pay for them?"

"She's got you there." Karen laughed, with Sabrina and Janine nodding sagely next to her. These brats – none of them even had siblings!

Obviously, I caved and just followed after my sister and her friends as they brought me to the restaurant that she mentioned. It wasn't nearly as expensive as I feared; my sister knew better than to make me treat her to something overly expensive. Even if I COULD afford it.

Over lunch, we got to chatting about what we all had been doing. They were most interested in my adventures in Sinnoh, so I started off with that, making sure to leave out anything that I wasn't allowed to reveal just yet.

"Wow!" My sister exclaimed, "I want to do some cave exploring too! It sounds so fun!"

"It's quite dangerous." I chided, "I wouldn't recommend it until you got stronger."

"I'm plenty strong." She pouted, "Just ask Sabie and Janine! We're looking to clear out final Gym badge, if we can." She then went on an explanation about how they went through all of the Gyms, with Sabrina and Janine adding bits and pieces here and there. Karen and I just nodded silently as we listened to her journey.

I did my best to not think about my upcoming conversation with Karen.

"I'm glad you're having so much fun, Whitney." Karen smiled at her, "You seem more energetic and confident than before you left. I mean you weren't bad before, but now I really feel like you're starting to come into your own."

"Couldn't agree more." I nodded, rubbing my sister on the head and messing up her hair, "I'm very proud of you, Whitney." I told her sincerely.

She blushed and looked away from me, "Thanks, bro." She mumbled. Both Sabrina and Janine just shot her cheeky smiles, but I wasn't done yet.

"And the both of you two, thank you for taking care of my overly energetic sister." I bowed to them, ignoring the "hey!" from my sister. This time the two of them joined Whitney as they also grew a blush.

"It's no problem. We've been very happy to travel together as well." They told me, "Whitney is a natural leader, and she helped us stay focused and determined on what we want."

"Speaking of which, what DO you want?" Karen cut in, "You mentioned getting the 8th Gym Badge from Giovanni, but what are you going to do after if you're successful?"

The girls shared a look, a silent conversation passing through the trio. Eventually, Janine spoke for the three of them. "We've agreed to try our hand at the Indigo Conference. We probably won't make it very far, since we don't know if we can even get past Giovanni...but we wanted to give it our best attempt. See how far we can go right now, and how far we still need to go."

Karen's eyes widened, "That's very early of you. While it isn't extremely uncommon for trainers your age to already have cleared 8 badges and get into the Indigo Conference, it certainly is rare enough for it to be noteworthy."

"I wasn't that young when I attempted it." I added.

Whitney rolled her eyes, "Yes, but you swept past your conference and got into the Elite Four." She said dryly, "I'm not quite at your level yet, John."

"I was also sixteen." I pointed out, "You're still just 11. You have time to catch up. In fact, I think you're already doing better than me."

"I feel like you're understating your achievement there, John." Karen said wryly, "I wasn't at your level a year ago, and I'm the same age."

"Hold on." I suddenly interrupted, "Is the Indigo Conference already starting up this soon? Time must have flown by when I was in Sinnoh."

Karen nodded, "Yes, the qualifiers are starting up in like a month or something." She looked at me weirdly, "Don't you remember? We even spoke about it."

"Must have slipped my mind." I shrugged, "Is it in the same format?" I asked, to which everyone nodded.

The format of the Indigo Conference was split into the open qualifiers, where it was an open invitation for all trainers that had collected all 8 Gym Battles at any point in their trainer career to participate in. For experienced and talented trainers, this stage was more of a chore to go through than anything else, as you had to take part in multiple 1v1 battles just to pass. To use Karen as an example, she should have no problems here, but it would be just a huge waste of time.

Then the next stage was the Preliminary rounds, with 256 trainers at the start. The preliminaries consisted of 2v2 (but not double) battles, where to head onto the next stage you needed to secure 3 wins. I felt that Whitney and her friends would likely struggle here, as any trainer that reached this level would be decently competent and may have a trick or two up their sleeve.

The final stage was the Finals. This took the top 32 and pitted them randomly against each other in 3v3 battles. Up until the final round, which was a full 6v6. This was the most intense part of the tournament, and the battles that attracted the most views since this was where all the high-level battles were at. I personally didn't struggle at all with the Indigo Conference until entering this stage.

But I was fortunate that my year didn't have that many powerful trainers. And due to the luck of the draw, I never faced off against Lorelei. Shin ended up defeating her, but if I was honest, he wasn't that much of a challenge either. Though I doubted Karen would get so lucky during her run. I suspected a few powerful trainers might be making another attempt this year.

I broke myself from my thoughts, "Anyways, so what are you three doing after the Indigo Conference? Got any plans for afterwards?" I turned back towards the trio.

Sabrina answered this time, "I think Janine and I are likely going to have to return to our Gyms and work on our duties there. Both of our parents have expressed their intention to train us to be their successors."

I was about to ask about Whitney, but Whitney spoke up first, "But don't worry bro! They said they'd speak to their parents to offer me a job there! I might get to work as a Gym trainer at one of their Gyms!"

My eyes widened, "Really?"

Janine nodded, "Both of us reached out to our parents. Unfortunately, Father said that they didn't have space within the Gym to accommodate Whitney so soon, but Sabrina's parents were happy to let her join."

"That's a great opportunity." Karen exclaimed, "Running a Gym isn't easy – I would know since Agatha dumped it all on me, but you'll get to learn a lot. Working with low level Pokémon can occasionally open your mind to creative new ways of fighting. And you'll learn some important leadership skills, which I've found to be plenty useful."

"My parents said the same." Sabrina agreed, "And it will be nice training if Whitney ever wanted to be a Gym Leader in the future too."

"That's not very likely." My sister said with a smile, though I could see that it was a brittle one. Maybe she was feeling left out because she wasn't a successor of a Gym like her friends?

Well that wouldn't do at all, "Hey, if you work hard, Whitney, then maybe you can end up being a Gym Leader too! I didn't expect to become an Elite Four when I started my journey, and look where I ended up!" I tried to reassure her.

Fortunately, it looks like my efforts had succeeded as my sister's smile turned more genuine, "Thanks, bro. I'll try my best."

"It'll be so nice if you three all became Gym Leaders." Karen chuckled, "What a power bloc you three would be." I laughed at that.

We continued to chat some more, returning to our forgotten lunches and quickly chowing through them. But eventually I had enough of beating around the bush.

"Karen, can we talk?" I suddenly asked, and Karen shot me a look of surprise at my tone.

"Something wrong, bro?" My sister turned to me, realising the serious look I had on my face.

"It's just between me and Karen." I tried to smile back, patting her reassuringly on the head. "Don't worry, I'll make sure it doesn't affect you."

Whitney stared at me uncertainly, but I ignored that and stood up from the table, walking a small distance away with Karen until I was sure no one was able to eavesdrop on our conversation.

"...So, what is it you want to talk about?" She asked, trying but failing to hide her nervousness, "It's not like you to interrupt your sister when she's in a good mood."

"Because I felt like I owed it our friendship to tell you in person as soon as possible." I responded.

I looked her dead in the eye, "I'm seeing Cynthia. Romantically, that is."

Karen physically took a step back as if I had hit her. "Wha–what?!"

The shock had hit her intensely. Her eyes widened and her mouth gaped open like a Magikarp. I didn't say anything as I allowed her to process my words.

It took a moment for her to steady herself, but she managed a response, "...And how long ago did you two become a thing?"

"Very recently." I admitted, "We had a conversation just before I left Sinnoh. I wanted to tell you then, but I felt like it was better if I did it in person."

"I see..." She mumbled out as she closed her eyes. She didn't look very happy about this, not that I was surprised about that.

It hurt to see her like this, especially since I still thought of Karen as a very close friend. But I had made my choice.

"Despite that, I still really value our friendship." I added, hopefully trying to reassure her. "I understand that things might be...awkward for a while, but I would really regret losing out on our friendship."

"...No, I understand." She sighed out, and I purposely ignored the tears that threatened to leak out of her eyes, "I...I'm sorry, John. But would you mind...if you gave me a moment to process all this? I'm...I'm not sure on what to say at the moment."

"You can have all the time you need." I said gently, "And to make things clear, this doesn't change my open invitation for you to visit my house or Whitney at any time. You are always welcome to spend time with my family."

The smile she shot me was brittle, but sincere, "...Thank you, John. I...I'll speak to you later, I guess?"

"Of course." I tried to smile reassuringly, "Let's talk soon."

I watched as Karen walked away, before she released her Honchkrow and flew off into the distance. As soon as she left, I let out a big sigh.

That didn't go as badly as I feared, but I still didn't like doing it. I didn't like seeing Karen upset.

I stood there for a moment, simply staring out at the open skies for a moment before I finally decided to return to Whitney and her friends with a complicated expression on my face. One that they instantly picked up on.

"Where's Karen?" Whitney immediately asked me.

"...She had to go." I began evasively, before letting out a sigh. There was no point hiding the truth. "Whitney, the truth is – I've began dating Cynthia."

"...Oh." Whitney exclaimed, and the looks I got from Sabrina and Janine were no less surprising, "Do you regret it?"

"...Not at all." I shook my head, "I'm just sad Karen was going to be hurt by it."

I thought Whitney was going to berate me for making her 'sister' upset, but instead Whitney just reached out and pulled me into a hug, "Then you don't need to feel sad. I know Karen. She's strong. She'll get over it."

Whitney turned to me with a brilliant smile, "Besides, I know that you both will stay friends. So don't worry about it, bro, everything will be okay."

This time I felt my own tears forming in my eyes. How in Arceus did I get such a lovely sister?

Unfortunately, our moment was interrupted as my phone started to ring. I gave my phone a look of annoyance that quickly turned to surprise as I saw who was calling.

"John here." I picked up.

"John, it's me." Professor Oak greeted, causing me to stand up straight, "It's nothing urgent, but would you mind coming over to my place in Pallet Town? It's the house next to the lab. I've got someone to introduce to you, following on from what we talked about before about you building up a team of assistants for you."

Oh yes! I nearly forgot about that, "Sure, I'll head there right away. Thanks for the reminder."

He chuckled, "Not a problem. See you there!"

I put away my phone and saw the questioning looks on everyone's face, "Professor Oak just wanted me to meet his granddaughter." I explained, "I've been thinking about finally putting a team of assistants together, and he asked me for a favour to recruit his granddaughter as an intern just so she could learn the ropes."

"Oooh! How old is she?" My sister asked excitedly, "Is she nice? Is she a good trainer? If she's the granddaughter of Professor Oak, then she must be strong!"

"In order, I don't know, I don't know, and that doesn't mean she has to be strong." I responded dryly, getting a pout from my sister, "But that's why I'm meeting her now."

"Aww....we wanted to ask you to battle us..." My sister whined.

I patted her on the head, "Maybe next time. I definitely won't be sent off on any overseas trips anytime soon, barring any emergencies. So I'll definitely be around."

"You promised!" My sister pointed a finger at me, though she quickly lowered it as she rubbed her chin, "Maybe we can get Karen to join? Make it a 2v3?"

I shot her a complicated look, "...Depends if Karen wants to. Maybe we should give her some time to herself for now."

"That's fine." Whitney nodded, "And don't worry bro, I'll talk to her and make sure she's okay. Leave it to me."

"Thank you, Whitney." I said sincerely, "Then I'll entrust her to you."

=====

?It didn't take me long to get there. I landed just outside the lab and walked to the nearby house. It was an unassuming place, looking like every other house in the small town. It didn't even have any extra security features or any obvious luxuries that a man of his wealth and status might have invested in. It was a very humble home that wasn't at all what one would expect for someone as legendary as Professor Oak.

But I suppose that's why he chose this house in the first place. The humbleness must have been part of the appeal.

I only had to knock on the door a few times before it swung open, and I was greeted with a very diminutive little boy.

"Elite John? Grandpa is in the back." The young Gary Oak greeted me. He was a small one, and didn't dare show me any of that arrogance and pompousness that he had in the show.

Maybe because he knew this wasn't the time and place for that.

"Thank you." I nodded towards him and made my way back to the back parlour. The house was more spacious inside, and it was well-furnished with rather luxurious furniture. Yet, it still didn't give off a feeling that it was overly gaudy, weaving a fine line between luxury and humble.

Entering the back parlour, I found Professor Oak sitting there calmly sipping a cup of tea while a girl, who could only be Daisy Oak, vibrated nervously next to him. She was young – still much older than Gary, but looked like she just entered her teens.

"Ah, John! Thanks for coming on such short notice." Professor Oak stood up and greeted me.

"It's not a problem." I turned to look at Daisy, "Is this Daisy?"

Daisy squirmed a little under my gaze, but Oak just laughed, "She is. She's just being a bit shy now. She's usually better than this when meeting strangers. It must be your status."

"...He's also going to be my first employer." I heard Daisy whisper.

"You've worked jobs for me before." Oak pointed out.

"Those don't count." Daisy denied, "Working with someone else is different....Uh, no offense, Elite John."

"Please, just call me John." I smiled, trying to not seem so intimidating, "And I'll be happy to have you on the team. Speaking of which, I do actually need to get that team sorted. I still haven't actually returned home to speak to my parents yet."

"Oh! I'm so sorry for dragging you away from that." Oak apologized, "I didn't realize."

I quickly waved him off, "It's fine, I was just having lunch with my sister anyways. And I did promise to meet and talk to you about Daisy anyways."

"Well, at least I hope I haven't bothered you too much." Oak responded a little embarrassedly. "Anyways, have you a plan for what Daisy is going to be doing?"

I froze. I hadn't actually really thought about that yet, "Uh...I don't think I've really thought things through. I just thought I needed a team of assistants to help me out with things, help take calls and keep a track of things. That sort of stuff."

Oak gave me a knowing smile, "It's okay, I didn't know how to administrate and lead people at first. Doing so in battle is one thing, but doing so in an office setting is a very different story."

I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks, but Oak continued, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. But you had the right things down. So what kind of calls did you hope for your assistants to take? What kind of things would you like to check up on?"

"I guess I realized with all my political connections I need some way of easily keeping in touch with what's going on." I answered, "I'm juggling quite a few things at the moment, and I would also like a finger on the pulse of what's going on in the Indigo League just in case I need to step in."

"For example, when I was in Sinnoh, I practically lost track of everything that was going on here. If not for Lance and his updates, I would have been completely out of the loop." I explained, "So, I preferably would like to have a small team or something just monitoring the Committee at all times and reporting back to me on their actions. Nothing too complicated for now." Daisy perked up at the last part.

"That could easily be done." Oak nodded, "I'm sure your parents could find you people for that quite easily. Just tell Lance that you're hiring a small team of assistants, literally one or two people, and just get them to work alongside Lance's own secretaries or assistants. He'll get the extra hands, and you'll get your information. That's what I taught my Elite Four to do."

"And even better, you could get them to set up a PO box for you for people to reach you with. You currently don't have anything like that at the moment, right?" Oak asked, and I shook my head, "Excellent! Then that'll give you the public a way to communicate with you in a way that gives a professional amount of distance between you and them. It's a great way to expand your influence and make you more likeable."

I blinked, "That's a great idea. I'll be stealing that." I chuckled, "Though, if my assistants were to shadow Lance's, wouldn't that come into issues with confidentiality?"

"You really overestimate how many documents a Champion gets that are for his eyes only." Oak said wryly, "And even then, his assistants are trained to separate those documents away from prying eyes. You'll be fine."

"Is there anything else you wanted to ask?" Oak asked with a smile, "I might be out of the political game, but I do enjoy the occasional discussion."

"No...not at the moment." I replied after thinking it over, "Thank you for all the advice. And Daisy, sorry for that display. I should have been more prepared."

"It's fine." She told me, "It's nice to know that even the Elite Four can also make mistakes."

"Then I see no reason for changes. My plans will still work regardless." Agatha stated, then before I could say anything more Agatha disappeared into her shadow, leaving me by myself once again.

I rolled her eyes at her dramatics before I realised that it was already evening. Even after a full day of running around Indigo, I was still nowhere close to clearing out my schedule.

The grind never ends.

The New Normal – 9-2 – Interlude – Steven & Bruno

(Steven POV)

Steven took a sip of his tea as he waited for his invitee to arrive. There were a few people fluttering around the restaurant at Cianwood, but he thought reserving the entire restaurant just for this meeting would be a bit overkill.

More importantly, it would give off the wrong first impression to the person he was trying to meet. And impressions were everything.

Plus, he enjoyed his brief stopover at Cianwood City. It reminded him greatly of Dewford Town, and he always appreciated any reminder of his home. At least he was returning soon.

The sounds of a chair scraping across the floor dragged him from his thoughts, and he looked up to see his that the person he was hoping to meet had finally arrived. Bruno plopped himself down in the chair, his large muscles making both the chair and table look comically tiny in comparison to him.

Wow, he really was a wall of muscle, wasn't he?

"Thank you for joining me, Bruno. As you know, I'm Steven Stone." He greeted and extended a hand to shake.

"I was surprised at the invitation." Bruno admitted while giving him a firm handshake. "But I am here, so speak."

Someone of his status might have been offended by the lack of politeness in his tone, but Steven had expected such bluntness. And he knew that everyone interacted differently with others.

To secure a working relationship, you had to be able to understand how the other person preferred to communicate and adapt yourself to match it. That was how you avoided stepping on any toes.

So he immediately dropped any intention of using his more 'fanciful' language, "Frankly speaking, I wish to challenge you."

"Done." Bruno said immediately, as he knew he would. It was why he started off with this, after all. "When and where?"

Steven chuckled, knowing he had his attention, "It could be now if you like."

Bruno let out a grunt and almost stood up from his chair, but Steven waved him down, "Just a second, if you please. I do have other topics I wanted to discuss with you outside of this battle."

Bruno shot him a quizzical look, but there was no impatience there. "Go on."

"I would like you to join me in my return to Hoenn." Steven stated directly, not bothering to sugarcoat his words, "I believe I have many opportunities available to you that would help both of us progress our mutual goals."

Bruno didn't react at his words, but he did say, "Explain."

"I would like to hire you as my personal trainer." Steven revealed, "I understand that your ambition is to pursue martial excellence, and I seek to be the strongest trainer in Hoenn. I believe we can help each other."

If Steven were a lesser person, then he would have missed how Bruno had been constantly watching him. Bruno's eyes were sharp; almost like they didn't miss anything. The man was seeing if Steven was worth his time. Just like Steven was judging Bruno.

Steven never understood how anyone could see Bruno and think of him as a mere dumb brute. This man was far more intelligent than his brutish appearance let on.

"Why me?" He asked.

"You are strong. But more importantly, you are one of the worst matchups for me to fight against." Steven explained, "My Pokémon are built on defense and wearing the enemy down, but I believe you will be able to overcome such tactics. If I am to defeat the Elite Four and the Champion in a clean sweep, then I must make myself as strong as possible."

The idea of a challenge must have resonated in Bruno's eyes, because Steven saw a faint of approval reach his eyes, "When is your challenge?"

"Before the end of the next circuit." Steven answered, "I must become strong enough to overcome them by then."

Bruno fell into thought, but Steven continued, "In return, you will have my full backing and resources to pursue whatever you require. I will fund all of your activities during your employ-"

"I want to fight strong trainers." Bruno cut him off, and Steven was about to respond before Bruno elaborated, "Indigo has become stale for me. I have exhausted the list of trainers that I am able to fight and learn from. I wish to expand my horizons and challenge new foes. Acquire them for me."

"...What kind of foes are you seeking?" Steven wished to clarify.

"Everyone. For the journey to better myself is without end." Bruno declared with utter conviction.

And in that moment, all Steven could see was the look of a man that had worked himself to achieve a singular goal, and demanded nothing less than perfection from himself as he sought to achieve it.

It reminded him of himself.

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

?(Bruno POV)

The businessman was an interesting man. Even though Bruno was intentionally being difficult with his demands and his bluntness, Steven didn't seem bothered at all by his relatively rude way of speaking. Many of the richer scions that he had battled against would have already lost their temper and walked out of the meeting after Bruno failed to address them with the 'appropriate' respect.

The fact that Steven seemed different bought him his politeness. The fact that Steven seemed to understand to not waste his time bought him his attention. The fact that Steven had an curious offer bought his interest.

And Steven's offer did intrigue him. He knew about Steven's battling ability, and to be able to repeatedly test himself against a strong opponent like Steven was not something he would quickly turn down. But the ability to test himself against any and all trainers in Hoenn, within reason, was something he was quite interested in.

Sure, he could have made the challenges without Steven's help, but it would take considerably more time. He recognized that his reputation was still not at the point where trainers would come running for a battle against him just because he asked.

And he wasn't stupid. Money talked. While he wasn't a materialistic person, he appreciated the conveniences money could bring for him. Money that Steven had in boatloads.

Though it didn't show on his face, he inwardly chuckled at the image of all of Steven's net worth being gathered in one place. Would he be able to lift all that money?

The sounds of Steven's fingers tapping on the table drew his attention back. Steven was thinking hard about this, carefully weighing the pros and cons of his proposal.

It only took a moment though, and Bruno saw the flash of decisiveness appear in Steven's eyes. He approved – you needed to be confident in your decisions.

"I accept." Steven agreed. "We can get something more formal drafted soon."

"Let us hope this is the start of a fruitful friendship." Steven added, and a familiar glint of cunning flashed through the businessman's eyes. Most would have missed it.

He did not.

"Agreed." He replied as their eyes met and their hands shook.

As he stared into Steven's eyes, he imagined himself shaking his hands with a snake. But a snake with a steel spine, and one that understood the value of integrity. Steven had not once tried to manipulate him in this meeting, and the respect was obvious in his eyes.

Even in this brief meeting, Bruno knew what kind of man Steven was. A cunning and ruthless businessman, but tempered by his sense of responsibility and his genuine respect for integrity. Ambitious, but not obsessively so.

An interesting fellow. Maybe he'll learn more in their upcoming fight.

The New Normal – 9-3 – Interviews and Meetings

Even though I still had a several more meetings to go through, I didn't let that stop me from getting up late the next day. I was tired and exhausted, so I believed that I deserved to be able to lie-in for once.

That was why I found myself slowly chowing down my breakfast alone in the living room, idly listening to the news; my parents had already long gone to work by then.

"...With Elite Bertha now confirmed to be on her way back to Sinnoh, it's almost time for the first showdown between challenger Cynthia and Elite Four Aaron! After her momentous announcement earlier this week, stunning all of Sinnoh at her declaration to become Champion, our new challenger has been making the waves as she participated in interview after interview explaining her political objectives to the people of Sinnoh!

But now we're about to see if Cynthia can put her money where her mouth is. Elite Four Aaron has been a member of the Elite Four for some time, despite being the youngest and most junior member of the roster. His Bug type speciality, while often seen as weak by the uninitiated, has been able to tear through many a foe during his many battles to hold his position in the Elite Four. Pokémon like his Scizor and Heracross have proven time and time again why challenging him is a foolish idea, will Cynthia prove any different?

Of course, we've seen her draw over Elite John of Indigo in a friendly match, but that was all it was. Friendly. She has yet to prove her strength, beyond her 8 badges and her Conference win, in any recent official setting. So I believe I can say that Sinnoh is watching with growing excitement and anticipation to see what this challenger can really pull off."

I smiled as I listened to what the reporter was saying, glad to see that Cynthia was doing well. The news was doing their best to hype up Aaron, but I knew from my earlier research that he was going to be steamrolled by Cynthia.

That didn't mean he was weak – he had more than earned his position in the Elite Four. He fought like a powerful mix of Koga and Walker, with fast and agile Pokémon that relied heavily on speed and dodging to make up for their poor defenses while also hitting hard enough to harshly punish an opponent for overextending.

It was a good mix of a burst offense and evasive manoeuvrability.

...But that wouldn't be enough. I could see him putting up a good fight, but I was all but certain that Cynthia would come up on top. No, she wouldn't just win, she would dominate the fight. And the people of Sinnoh might actually lose their minds when they saw just how strong Cynthia actually was.

I couldn't wait to see that. She deserved every bit of attention that she got.

With that in mind, I made sure to send over some encouraging messages to Cynthia, wishing her all the best and telling her that I would watch her match when it happened. I had informed her about my conversation with Lance from yesterday regarding our relationship, and she was happy with the outcome.

She said that if it was only about getting the public on our side, then it was still manageable. She said she'd be brainstorming about a possible plan to win over the public and make this no longer a problem that we would have to worry about.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any more time to just idle about, and I had to quickly scoff down the rest of my breakfast that I had previously been slowly eating as I realized that I was about to be late for my next item on my schedule. I had to head to my family's offices to host the interviews to find the assistants that would be part of my team.

But more importantly than that, I had to meet Daisy early and explain to her the role I wanted her to play.

If I was lucky, then after this meeting, my new team of assistants should hopefully aid to alleviate my schedule a bit and free up more time. I didn't mind running around like this every once in a while, but doing so constantly would definitely wear me down.

So I flew over to where our offices were, not even bothering to conceal myself as I did so. The fact that I was hiring was practically an open secret in the news, and I had seen some of the less reputable 'news agencies' trying to speculate what the REAL reason I was recruiting them for.

They were really trying to play up the conspiracy angle, but no one with any common sense actually read that tripe.

I landed outside our company's offices, and quickly stepped in before I could get mobbed. Even though the office was still relatively new, the effort that my parents put in to expand the company was evident. Instead of the empty offices that I had seen before during my tour, this time the office was not only filled with proper equipment, but also employees. Many of whom gave me a nice wave and a nod as I made my way to the meeting room that was reserved for the interviews.

I made a mental note to show myself around the offices a bit more. I didn't want to be known as the heir to a family business that didn't actually do anything but reap the profits. That was a reputation that I DEFINITELY didn't want.

As I entered the meeting room, I spied a small figure that quickly shot up from where she had been sitting and run up to me, falling into a hurried bow.

"Elite – I mean, John! Welcome!" Daisy Oak greeted me.

"Thank you, Daisy. I hope you haven't been waiting too long." I said.

Her head swung from side to side, "Nope! I've just been talking to grandfather while I waited. He told me to make sure all my notes were in order and that I had read through a summary of the interviewees' files before you arrived. But I've already double checked that all of your interviewees should be arriving today."

I blinked, that was way more than I expected, "That's...quite diligent of you. Good job." I praised as I took a seat at the front of the table. "Have you memorised all of their info?"

"Mostly." She nodded as she took a seat instinctively to my right, "Grandfather always made me do memory exercises in my spare time, so this is quite easy for me."

"Huh." I guess Oak wasn't kidding when he said his granddaughter could handle it – maybe she would be far more of an asset than I realized.

"Well, anyways, let me run through what I hope you can help me with today." I began, but slowed down as I watched her take out a notebook to write down what I was saying. Very prudent.

"First of, let me just reassure you – you won't be expected to speak much to them. I'll handle the questions. But I do want you to observe." I explained, going through the plan I had already made in my head. "Given my reputation, it's expected that they'll focus their attention on me. They'll do their utmost to impress me, but I want to see how they interact with you."

"Don't reveal your surname to them, just introduce yourself as 'Daisy' and just say that you are just helping me out. Reveal nothing else." I told Daisy, "Before they come to meet me, I'll have them sit outside in the waiting room for a few minutes. You'll accompany them, but your role will be to observe them and see how they treat you."

"Take a note of their behaviours – if they're dismissive, nervous, haughty, arrogant etc. I want to know how they act when they're not face to face with me. You'll also join me in the meetings to do the same. I'll have you sit on that table further away from me so you can observe them in peace."

"Should I try to talk to them?" She asked while she continued to make notes of what I just said.

"You can try, but don't push yourself if you're not comfortable." I said, "Overall, just try to get an impression on them. Personality is harder to change than competence."

That was the plan that I came up with when I realized I had Daisy to help me. I needed assistants that I would be able to work well with – competence alone wasn't enough. And when they were effectively representing me on a day-to-day basis while they worked around the League, I needed to be confident that who I had chosen would not tarnish my reputation with their poor behaviour.

Hence why Daisy was so useful. Like I said, I was certain that they would all try to put their best foot forward when it came to meeting me, but would they do the same to an unknown girl? That was what I was looking for. You revealed a lot about your true personality when you dealt with people you thought were unimportant.

"Grandfather said the same before." Daisy nodded, "I can do this for you."

"Thank you, Daisy, you're a real help." I smiled, before turning to check my watch, "We still have a bit of time before the first appointment – so tell me about yourself, Daisy. What made you want to do something like this instead of becoming a trainer like most kids your age?"

Daisy tapped a finger on her chin, "I never really was interested in becoming a great trainer – not like my little brother. I know grandfather used to be Champion, but I never really got interested in becoming strong."

"I'm still going to go get my 8 badges sometime – since getting them opens many doors for me. But I probably won't go beyond that." She stated with surprising maturity.

"Nothing wrong with that." I replied approvingly, "So what is it that you want to do?"

She frowned, "I'm not sure yet. I'm kinda torn between being a Pokémon coordinator, Pokémon groomer, or just a doctor. But grandfather tells me not to worry and that I have plenty of time to decide. That's why he suggested that I should go explore a few different options and see what I liked doing."

"It's a good idea, and I'm thankful for your help." I nodded to her, "And there's no rush about deciding what to do. I never expected to make it into the Elite Four, for example, it just happened to me. So don't think your life needs to be decided at such a young age – there's still plenty of time to change course in the future. Even my sister, Whitney, doesn't know what she really wants to do yet. And that's fine!"

Daisy nodded, and I was glad that my words had gotten through to her. "You have any Pokémon that you're currently training up?" I asked.

She nodded again, but this time more excitedly. "I have a Clefairy! I think grandfather said it was part of the same group that helped evolve your Eevee!"

"Oh wow!" I remarked surprisingly, "That's quite the coincidence. Have you been training with her?"

"Sometimes, but I also like to practice my performing moves with her too!" Daisy replied, "We split time training for both."

The small talk continued for a while longer, as the two of us exchanged questions and got to learn a little more about each other. I thought that, out of everything that Daisy found out about me, she was most surprised by the fact that my sister had already gotten her 7th Gym Badge. Her reaction had been very amusing.

But the time for conversation was finally over as I checked my watch once again, "I think it's time that we get ready. The first interviewees should be arriving any minute now." Daisy nodded obediently and made her way out of the room, ready to welcome them in as per our plan.

I made sure to straighten out my clothes and blank out my face. Time to be a boss.

========

?I let out a tired groan as the last interviewee finally stepped out of the room with Daisy. Turns out hosting back-to-back-to-back interviews was a tiring and boring affair. It wasn't fun. Not for the interviewer. There were only so many carefully prepared and rehearsed answers I could listen to before they all seemed to blend together in my memory.

Fortunately, Daisy seemed to have picked up the slack. She was a very diligent worker, obviously inheriting many of her grandfather's positive traits, and was an able and efficient helper despite her young age.

She was a little nervous at first, but quickly learned to pipe in and ask the occasional question that would almost certainly throw the interviewee off-guard. They never seemed to be ready to deal with Daisy and her questions, and many of them kept shooting me confused looks as if they were puzzled by the interruption.

The ruder ones would visibly scowl or glare at Daisy, trying to intimidate her into silence. But Daisy was made from sterner stuff than that – and I was proud of her for not backing down in the face of their hostility.

Those who glared at Daisy weren't going to be selected. I had no need for those who would treat those they deemed below them with such disdain and hostility.

Admittedly, I had already decided on who I was going to select before the last interviewee even walked out. But I purposely waited for Daisy to return so that I could ask her about her thoughts. I wanted to test her judgment.

"Who do you think I should choose?" I asked her directly as she returned to her seat.

She furrowed her eyebrows in thought. I gave her a few moments to process her thought before she finally spoke up.

"I think I like Andrew, but...we can drop Michael. I didn't think he had the motivation." She concluded, "He seemed a bit too laid back."

I gave her an encouraging look to keep going, so she did, "...Maybe just keep Andrew and Emily for now? You mentioned you didn't need a huge team to start with, so maybe you can just see if they can work with you?"

I nodded, "Yes, I agree with that. Those were the options I had picked as well. Do you think you can work with them? It's going to be a very small team – so you might have more responsibility than you expected."

A brief look of uncertainty flashed over her face before it quickly disappeared into one of firm confidence, "I can deal with it. I won't disappoint you or grandfather."

"I'm glad for it." I smiled at her, before starting to wrap up my stuff, "Right, I'll get back to those two and will give them the good news. I'll also be sure to introduce you to them formally, if that's alright with you."

She nodded so I continued, "Try to get along with them. I'll be sending over a brief of my expectations and what I hope you guys can help with. Please study it and cooperate with them as best you can."

"But let me know if I'm putting too much on your plate and you're feeling too stressed." I reminded, "I don't want to push you too hard."

She bobbed her head once again, and we finally finished up for the day. I made sure to escort Daisy out of the front door of the office, but just before I could properly send her off, I suddenly stumbled into an ambush by a crowd of reporters that had been waiting outside our office building, waiting for me to come out.

"Elite John! What's with the sudden interviews? What are you looking to do?"

"Are you looking to build a new political team? Or are you hiring on behalf of your family's company?"

"Are you shifting your focus to politics ahead of your draw against Cynthia?"

"Are you taking a more active role in your family's company at last? Are you going to be taking direct control over the future of your company?"

They threw question after question at me, as if they were demanding me to respond. I was tempted to leave them to their questions, but then I realised what a good opportunity this was for me.

I knew that most of the reporters were here to try to stir up drama by bringing up my draw against Cynthia. They were trying to provoke a reaction from me, but I wasn't going to play their game. I had my own way to change the topic.

I stepped into the crowd of reporters, my gaze sweeping over them as I signalled for them to quiet down.

It was only after they did that I began, "Thank you for your questions. I will begin by stating that yes – I am hiring a new personal team that would help and support me with my political adventures. This was something that I should have done some time ago, so I'm grateful that I finally have taken this step. This should help me keep up-to-date and informed even when I'm out and away from Indigo."

"Are you looking to take up a bigger part in Indigo politics?" One asked.

I gave that person a weird look, "My team will help assist me with ensuring that I receive the necessary information to make the right decision." I clarified, "That should have been obvious."

"Is this an attempt to recover some of your reputation after you draw against Cynthia?" Another asked.

"This and that have nothing to do with each other." I replied firmly, being careful to make sure they couldn't dramatize anything I said, "This just seemed like the logical step for me to advance and aid my political ambitions."

"What kind of policies are you hoping to enact? Are you going to continue pushing for your international agenda?"

"I have always been aiming to improve the relationship between the regions, yes." I nodded, "I think we've seen time and time again that there are many benefits to fostering international relations, from Hoenn to Sinnoh. Indigo continues to reap the benefits of our mutual cooperation, so I fully intend to continue down this path."

"As for specific policies – I'm afraid you'll have to wait and see." I said, "Revealing them now would undermine my plans, so I won't be doing that. And don't try to push me for it."

"Who's that little girl next to you?" Someone asked a little rudely as they shoved their microphone next to Daisy, "Is she a friend of your sister that you're helping out with?"

I was about to answer for Daisy, but to my surprise, she bravely stood her ground and mustered her confidence as she spoke loudly and clearly, "My name is Daisy Oak. And I've been asked to help out with John and his new team."

Namedropping Oak seemed to have sent all of the reporters reeling for a moment, before they doubled down and ramped up their intensity of the questions towards Daisy, "What made you work with John? How did Professor Oak introduce you? Are you representing Professor Oak's interests here? Does that mean Professor Oak is planning to make a comeback into the political world—"

I cut them off before they could go down that line of questioning, and I could see that Daisy was starting to get overwhelmed, "Enough of that." I said sternly, "Have you no decency to behave yourself properly instead of like a pack of starving Carvanha in front of a young girl?"

"But to answer your questions, Daisy is here because she wants to learn. Nothing more, nothing less. She is not here to represent Professor Oak's interests, and I accepted her because I wanted to return the favour to Professor Oak for his help with the Fairy project. There are no political implications here." I answered, with Daisy nodding along in support.

I could feel the disappointment radiating off the reporters at my answer.

I had to firmly and clearly state that Daisy's involvement did not mean that Professor Oak was getting back into the political scene. THAT was not something I dared to imply. A comeback from Professor Oak would upturn the political scene in an instant. Lance – for all his current popularity as Champion -would have a very uphill battle keeping his position.

But luckily that was not something that we had to consider right now.

However, the reporters were quick to recover from their disappointment, "You've spent some time in Sinnoh speaking with the now-challenger Cynthia. You even fought and drew against her. If she does succeed in her path to becoming Champion, does that mean you would have a connection to the future Champion of Sinnoh?"

"I won't deny it." I revealed, seeing no reason not to, "After spending so much time with her in Sinnoh, I am very confident in her chances of becoming the next Champion of Sinnoh – and I believe that she is eminently suitable for the position. I believe the world will be pleasantly surprised with what she is about to show."

"Are the two of you friends?" I was also asked.

"I would say so." I replied vaguely, "We have kept in touch with each other since my return to Indigo. And I consider her to be a good friend. I do hope that our friendship will allow for an easier time for our regions to form friendly relations with each other as well. As I said, I am always eager to promote internationalism."

Well, she was far more than that. But these reporters didn't have to know.

"Wait!" A reporter suddenly shouted out, "Doesn't that mean that you'd have strong political connections between yourself, Hoenn, and Sinnoh? And with your public friendship with Lance, doesn't that mean you'd be connected to many of the leaders of the known world?! From every region!?"

The reporter's statement caused the crowd to erupt into a shocking realisation – while I just simply smiled, not saying anything else. But it was enough of an implicit admission that sent the crowd into a frenzy of additional questions. The reporters instantly stared at me with a different light.

I wasn't just some influential Elite Four member in Indigo; I was far more than that.

The realisation had hit them – that I had successfully put myself in a position where I had the friendly ear of all kinds of movers and shakers from around the known world, just by being their friend and ally. While that didn't translate to direct influence, the soft power that I held in my hands was newsworthy.

And if Cynthia became Champion, then my influence would skyrocket even further.