Chapter 51: 202-205

Chapter 51: 202-205

The New Normal – 10-2 – The New Elites

"Did you really call me here because you wanted to have someone to spar against?" Karen asked jokingly as we walked to the training fields, "Surely with all the people you know you could have called someone else to fight against. And I would have thought you would have wanted to spend more time with Cynthia."

"You're right, but Cynthia's busy, and I can't exactly train with her in person. Besides, I also wanted to spend some time with you as well." I smiled, waving idly as I greeted a few farmhands, "Plus, my parents wanted to see you again, so it works out."

"Oh – well, uh, thanks for not forgetting about me." She said a little embarrassedly, "I admit I was a little scared that our friendship would slowly fade away over time, so I'm glad that hasn't happened. You really held to your word."

"Well I was never going to let that happen." I chuckled, "And my parents would never forgive me. They're always very happy to spend time with you and hear about what you've been doing. They're very excited about how you're handling the Preliminary rounds."

She turned to me, "And I'll always welcome the opportunity to speak to them. You know I already treat them as a second family to me."

"I never thought you'd have any issues getting along with them." I said, "I was honestly more worried about how Agatha would treat me when Cynthia and I started dating."

Karen snorted, "The old hag said I brought it on myself, which I agree with. If she truly thought you wronged me, she'd be a real Bannett to deal with."

Then she shook her head, "That being said, I fear that you might have ruined her expectations. If I ever brought home a guy in the future, I doubt that she's going to be satisfied. The old hag already had high expectations, and now it's only going to be even higher."

"How is she anyways?" I asked, "Is her health doing any better?"

Karen nodded, "Thankfully, she seems to be holding strong." She casually kicked a small pebble off the path, "I wouldn't say she's in the greatest of health, but I'm just relieved that her health doesn't seem to be getting worse."

"Well I hope so as well." I replied. Just like Karen, I had no desire to see Agatha wither away with old age, so I hoped she proved stubborn enough to even hold that back as well.

A slight sombre mood fell on the two of us, and we continued our walk to the training fields in silence. But as soon as we arrived, I moved to dispel the fog of melancholy.

"Right. I wanted to get some proper tests done with Pixel. Out of all of my newer Pokémon, I think it is the one that is closest to being able to join my Elite team." I told her.

There was no real need to wait for Devon Corp to finalize their not-so Dubious Disk research. I felt that Pixel was just strong enough to deserve a spot on the Elite team with its incredible flexibility of moves and with the use of Conversion. It was still not as strong compared to even the likes of Klaus or Zephyr, but I already foresaw situations where it would be able to use its unique niche to win fights that my other Pokémon might struggle with.

Therefore, I wanted to challenge Karen to make sure that my gut feeling wasn't wrong. Plus, I wanted to stress test Pixel to see just how much it could push itself.

"Thought it was about time for it to join." Karen nodded, "I already have Crawdaunt on my team."

"Then let's do this. Your Crawdaunt vs Pixel. Just like old times." I suggested.

"You're on." She grinned, drawing Crawdaunt's Pokéball. "We'll do this just like a real duel."

I nodded back, drawing Pixel's Premier Ball from my belt. A short silence stretched between us before we both released our Pokémon simultaneously.

"Pixel."

"Crawdaunt!"

The battle began as Crawdaunt rushed forwards with a burst of speed; jets of water shooting out behind him. Not only that, but the signature Dark aura from a Taunt was also moving forwards alongside Crawdaunt, ready to deny Pixel the ability to make use of any status shenanigans.

However, Pixel neatly dodged out of the way of the Aqua Jet and formed a Protect shield to block the Taunt, before retaliating with a bolt of Lightning that shot forwards like a spear.

One of Crawdaunt's claws instantly turned to Steel as he stabbed it into the ground, allowing most of the damaging current of electricity to dissipate harmlessly into the ground. Since he was only slightly shocked, that gave Crawdaunt the ability to press forwards and stay on the offensive.

A brutal Clawhammer painfully battered Pixel aside, but before Crawdaunt could follow up on his attack, the Gravity suddenly intensified and Crawdaunt came crashing down onto his knees.

A Thunderbolt was immediately shot his way, but Crawdaunt powered through the Gravity and managed to block it just in time with a Protect. Then, having been very used to dealing with Gravity thanks to our shared training, it didn't take long for Crawdaunt to adapt to the sudden shift in Gravity as he shot backwards with an Aqua Jet, dodging out of the way of another Thunderbolt.

Yet, Crawdaunt's choice to retreat was not punished. Now that it had space, Pixel was able to quickly heal itself with Recover, bringing it back to full health.

"Tsk. That's really annoying to fight against." Karen muttered. "Then I guess I have to hit harder."

"Swords Dance, Crawdaunt!"

"Grass Conversion, Pixel!"

Crawdaunt slammed his claws together as they began glowing with a powerful white. At the same time, Pixel's form shimmered green as it used Conversion to change itself into a Grass type. Besides the resistances that this new type would provide, it also put Pixel in a perfect position to increase its own firepower while also crippling Crawdaunt's.

Thanks to all its training, Pixel's Conversion finished at the same time as Crawdaunt's Swords Dance. And while Crawdaunt rushed back into the fray with another Taunt + Aqua Jet combo, I knew I had one opportunity to make use of a utility move before Karen would shut them down permanently.

Luckily, I had just the thing in mind.

"Sunny Day, Pixel!"

"Crunch down on it, Crawdaunt! This is your chance!"

Pixel shot out a bright ray of light into the sky, turning the already bright sunlight to become even more harsh. The harsh sunlight would nullify the effectiveness of Crawdaunt's Water moves, while giving Pixel access to blast the Water type down with devastating Solar Beams. Of course, that left Pixel vulnerable to the incoming Taunt and the barrage of attacks from Crawdaunt. It was a calculated risk.

We both knew that Pixel was about to receive a punishing pummelling from Crawdaunt, but if Pixel could separate itself from Crawdaunt without fainting, then it would have an overwhelming advantage in the fight as it could just heal itself up.

But Crawdaunt wasn't making it easy. A powerful Crunch snapped down on Pixel's smaller frame that ripped through its Defense, and a flurry of Night Slashes was quick to follow that up as Crawdaunt eviscerated my Pokémon with a series of critical hits. Pixel was given no opportunity to counterattack as Crawdaunt pummelled it with blow after blow.

Yet despite what appeared to be a terrible situation for Pixel to be in, it had been in worse. We had trained for this, knowing that Pixel's mobility would never be enough for its faster opponents. Smough and Vordt had been its practice partner, who hit FAR harder than Karen's Crawdaunt despite the Swords Dance.

If Pixel could break free from their brutal onslaught, then pushing through Crawdaunt's would be far less challenging.

Therefore, it only took a single moment where Crawdaunt landed a weak attack for Pixel to make use of the escape plan that we had trained with.

"NOW!"

Gravity shifted once again. However, instead of growing heavier, Gravity suddenly became far, far lighter. At the same time, Pixel made use of Magnet Rise to propel itself into the air. Therefore, once Crawdaunt's next Night Slash came crashing into it, Pixel was sent flying into the air like a weightless balloon.

It was far from a clean escape, and Pixel's aerial trajectory was not entirely controllable, but this gave it the distance it needed to Recover away some of its injuries.

More importantly, it now gave it the space it needed to go on the offensive.

"Solar Beam! Blast that Crawdaunt away!"

"DIG AWAY, CRAWDAUNT!"

Crawdaunt hurriedly dug into the ground, not wanting to face the full might of a STAB Solar Beam. But it would be a fool's hope. An orb of golden light formed on top of Pixel's head for a brief moment, before an annihilating ray of blinding golden light came tearing through the training fields, blasting straight into the tunnel where Crawdaunt had tried to hide away in.

With its Grass Conversion giving Pixel STAB on its Solar Beam, it was able to match the power of the Solar Beams coming out from Klaus.

And Crawdaunt wasn't nearly proficient enough with Dig to get out of the way. Nor was he durable enough to be able to withstand against such a powerful supereffective attack. The Solar Beam caught him right in the chest, and a pained cry was all that Crawdaunt could do before he rapidly succumbed to his injuries.

Or at least he appeared to do so. I took no chances with Karen.

"Thunderbolt, Pixel." I ordered, making sure that Crawdaunt was ACTUALLY fainted and not just pretending to be.

And as I expected, a Protect shield suddenly appeared and blocked the incoming Thunderbolt. At the same time, Crawdaunt rapidly shot into the air with an Aqua Jet, using the water and lessened gravity to propel himself into the air.

"Gravity again."

But before Crawdaunt could reach Pixel, gravity shifted and intensified once again, sending the Water type crashing straight into the ground as he fell out of the air. In the meanwhile, Pixel barely stayed afloat with Magnet Rise, and before Crawdaunt could recover, another Thunderbolt came slamming down from above – pinning the Water type to the ground.

A pained groan was forced out of the Crawdaunt as a terrible amount of electricity painfully surged into him; his body twitched randomly on the ground from the overload of electricity.

"Thunderbolt and finish it off, Pixel."

"Okay, STOP! That's not needed." Karen quickly shouted out, withdrawing her no-longer-faking injured Crawdaunt, "I knew it wouldn't work, but I still had to try."

I shrugged, "I think I'm a little too used to your tricks to fall for that. Nice try though, you might have caught Pixel if you were a little faster."

"The same tricks don't really work when you've seen them dozens of times." She shook her head, "Still, that was a good fight. I could see why you thought Pixel was ready to join your Elite roster. It's one thing to know about its versatility, its another to really face it in battle. You only made use of its Grass typing, but I suspect that it's going to be doubly or even triply more annoying to deal with once you switch between several Types during a fight."

"Thank you, I thought the same as well." I replied, "I just wanted to make sure with one final duel against Pixel's old sparring buddy." I patted Pixel on the head as I said so, and it buzzed cheerfully at its victory.

"Well it did a number on my Crawdaunt, that's for sure." She said, "I thought Crawdaunt might have a chance when he began his onslaught of attacks, but I guess even with Swords Dance he doesn't quite hit hard enough. Not against the Pokémon you must have had Pixel train against."

She tapped her chin, "Still...I'm surprised you said that only Pixel was ready to join your Elite team. I would have thought your other Pokémon might be ready as well. Especially your newest Pokémon, the one you caught in the wild. What was the Pokémon's name again?"

"Zoroark." I answered as I withdrew Pixel back into its ball.

"Ah yes. That." She muttered, "But as I was saying, why do you think that those Pokémon aren't ready yet?"

"I hope to train them up more before I start to consider them." I responded, "Pixel is in a unique situation because it fulfils an extremely rare niche with its ability to change Types at will and with its incredible utility moves."

"My Zoroark technically also falls under a similar niche with his Illusion ability, but he's still a little lacking in self-discipline and I fear he might still be prone to losing himself in battle." I added, "That being said, I think he's nearly there since he was already quite strong when I caught him, so I hope to get him battle-ready soon."

I idly thought about Cynthia's Kleavor that I knew she must be training up. I wondered how strong was it now? Would I expect to see it on her team anytime soon?

I also made a mental note to ask Cynthia the next time we spoke if she was going to do another big expedition to find that Sneasler we missed. But maybe she was too busy at the moment to do so with her Open Challenge and her recent ascension to Champion.

I dismissed that thought before Karen could accuse me of being distracted and went to check the time. "Oh, it's almost lunch. Want to head back and get some lunch?"

"Did your parents cook?" She asked.

"No, not today. I think we're just putting together some sandwiches." I said, "You okay with that?"

"Duh. Let's go." She shoved me gently as she pushed me towards the house.

Needless to say, we had an enjoyable lunch together. As a family.

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

?Unfortunately, my time with Karen was cut short in the afternoon. She had to prepare for her next match for the Preliminary Rounds, and I had received a call from Blaine asking me to meet him at the power plant. He said he had something to discuss with me quite urgently regarding the Electirizer.

Considering that he sounded a little frustrated on the phone, I already knew it probably wasn't going to be the best of news.

Flying over to the power plant, my suspicions were confirmed as I was greeted with a frowning Shelly and an annoyed-looking Blaine.

"John, sorry to call you here on such short notice, but thanks for coming." Shelly greeted.

"It's no problem, but what did you call me here for? I don't presume it's anything good." I asked as I looked around, "And wow, they really tidied up the place. This place is looking far more like a proper production facility than some run down power plant."

Whoever was in charge of fixing the place up had worked well, and fast. Not only had everything been polished and fixed up, with new machinery put in place that looked a lot more modern and advanced than what I had previously saw, but the many swarms of Electric Pokémon that had I had last seen around the place had been heavily cut down on.

I wondered how they got rid of them. Did they just relocate them?

"Hmph, you're right about that." Blaine grumbled, bringing my attention back, "Sadly, it appears that the two of us have severely underestimated the difficulty of creating an Electirizer. Turns out building the parts that we need to condense that amount of Electric energy is going to require some specialist knowledge. Unfortunately, despite out best efforts, recent results have proven that neither Shelly or I possess that kind of ability. We may have overestimated ourselves at the start."

"I see...but I'm afraid I'm not going to have that expertise either. I'm certainly not an Electric specialist." I replied with a helpless shrug of my own.

Blaine waved me off, "That's not what we were asking for. Once again, we were hoping if you knew any Electric specialists that might be interested in helping with this. Or if you think you can find a way to persuade Surge to help us."

I turned to Shelly, "Couldn't you ask Gym Leader Wattson? I'm sure he'd have the expertise to help out."

"I already tried that. But he said he was too busy to help out at the moment since he's currently still overseeing the construction of New Mauville. He also said he's not the most familiar with machinery and the like – though I'm not sure I believe him." Shelly responded.

I frowned, "That's frustrating. Wattson was my first go-to as well. Let me have a think..." I tapped my chin as I ran through all of the Electric specialists that I knew that could help with this.

It took me some time, but my brain eventually landed on someone that I felt would be the PERFECT fit for this project.

"Does anyone know Gym Leader Volkner, from Sinnoh?" I asked.

The two of them shot me puzzled looks, "I'm afraid I haven't had the time to become familiarized with the new Gym Leaders from Sinnoh." Blaine said.

"Me neither." Shelly agreed, "I've heard of him, but that's all. Why? Do you think he's suitable?"

I nodded, "I think he'll be very suitable – and interested. I've heard that he's frequently bored and always working on improving that lighthouse of his, and he's very interested in technology and machinery."

"Well if you're so confident, then it sounds like he'd be a great fit then." Blaine replied, "I'd still like to talk to him first before we decide if we bring him on board, but are you able to contact him?"

"...I think so, give me a moment." I walked away and dialled up Flint's number.

"John! Glad to hear from you!" His cheerful voice filtered through the speakers, "Hope you're doing well! What'd you need me for?"

"Hey Flint, hope you're doing good." I greeted, "Listen, could you pass me Volkner's contact details? I have a project that I hope he'd be interested in–"

"A project? Say no more!" Flint interrupted, "You called at a great time, actually. Volkner JUST lost to Cynthia, so this'd be a great way to distract him from his woes. I'll pass on his number to you."

My phone dinged, and I saw that his details had arrived, "Thanks, Flint. We can speak more soon." We exchanged a few more words before I went to call Volkner.

"Hello?" Unlike Flint, Volkner's voice sounded tired and bored. He couldn't be more opposite from Flint if he tried.

"Is this Gym Leader Volkner? This is John, from the Indigo Elite Four." I stated.

"Oh? It's a pleasure to meet you." His voice became more enthusiastic, "Did Flint give you my number?"

"He did – because I had a proposal for you." I replied, "Have you heard of the Magmarizer?"

"Yes, I have. Very interesting invention." He responded, "What about it?"

"Currently, the team that made the Magmarizer – that is Gym Leader Blaine, Director Shelly of Devon Corp, and I – have been trying to take what we've learnt and have been working to create an Electric variant of it. But we've run into some roadblocks, and we hoped that we could bring in your expertise as an Electric specialist to help out. Especially since you seem very interested in working with technology and machinery."

Though I could not see him, I could feel the grin splitting across his face, "Now, now, THIS is something I've wanted to hear." The excitement in his voice was palpable, "I would love to join in on this project."

Then he let out a sigh, "...But I'm all the way here in Sinnoh, and I unfortunately can't just drop my responsibilities as Gym Leader of Sunyshore to just head over to Indigo to help out." He said.

"Not to worry, I'm sure we can sort something out so that you'll be able to help out from where you are in Sinnoh." I reassured, "Blaine and Shelly told me that they were just having trouble with building something that could condense that much Electric energy into a small enough space. I'm sure that's something you could help with even while you remain in Sinnoh."

"...That might potentially be possible, but I would have to know more about the project first." He replied.

"That's no problem." I said, "Like I said, that's something I'm sure we'll all be able to figure out together. I was just calling to check if you were interested."

"Definitely." He said instantly, "If you'd have me, count me in."

"Great!" I grinned, "I'll pass your details to Blaine and Shelly. I'm sure they'll have a few questions to ask you in the future to see if you can be brought on board, though they shouldn't be anything to worry about."

"I'll be happily waiting for that call then." He stated, "Thank you for reaching out to me."

Then he snorted, "And I thought I would be spending the next few weeks in boredom; then two things just happened to me back-to-back to make me motivated once more."

"Well I'm happy to hear that as well." I replied, not exactly knowing what he was referring to but happy to hear that he was in a good mood, "We can speak again soon."

We ended the call soon after that, and I returned and relayed what I said to Volkner to Blaine and Shelly, along with passing his contact details to them.

"I'll give him a ring later today to check if he's suitable to be brought onto the team." Shelly told me, "Though I trust that you would never recommend someone unsuitable – especially since he's a Gym Leader."

"I really have to spend some time and study up on the new Gym Leaders." Blaine muttered, "As a Gym Leader myself, it's embarrassing that I don't know them."

My mind flashed to the Tri-Regional Tournament that Wallace was probably currently planning. Blaine's research would prove more useful than he expected.

"In that case...anything else I can help with now that I'm here?" I asked, "Besides that particular roadblock, how has the project been doing in general?"

"Things are running smoothly. As you can see, the place has really been built up, even if it's not finished yet." Shelly gestured around us, "Plus, our cooperation with Lavender Town has been moving a lot smoother than we expected."

"What she means to say is that we thought Agatha would be a right bitch to deal with; and I have the history to prove it." Blaine grumbled, "However, it seems like Karen is much more cooperative. Thank Arceus for that – I would have ripped my hair out if I had to deal with Agatha for more than is necessary."

I very wisely did not point out the fact that Blaine was bald, though I agreed with his point about Karen being easier to work with.

"She's trying to open up Lavender Town to be more appealing to the public." I said, remembering what Karen had told me about her plans with Lavender Town, "But the first step to that is proving that she isn't as...difficult to work with as Agatha was. Forging friendly connections helps with that."

"I suspect that the fact that you're good friends with her also helped a lot." Blaine smirked, getting a chuckle out of Shelly.

"Wow. You almost sounded just like Agatha." I shot back, and the look of horrified confusion and rage from Blaine's face was instantly worth it.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" He shouted out, causing Shelly and I to break out in laughter.

Even though we all came from different backgrounds and occupations, I felt that the three of us made for a great trio to work together with. Not because we all had similar strengths, but because we were able to be genuinely friendly around each other. As friends would be.

I knew that if Volkner wanted to join us for more than just working on the Electirizer, then he would have to prove more than his wit. He would have to prove his friendliness to us as well.

Because it was always easier and better to work alongside your friends.

The New Normal – 10-2 – Interlude – Volkner

Despite being on the backfoot, he could feel his heart pumping in excitement as he stared down the newest Champion of Sinnoh.

Flint was always generous with his praises, so he had his doubts about how strong Cynthia truly was. Oh, he wasn't blind; he knew well enough how strong someone needed to be if she managed to clear through all of the Elite Four the way she did.

However, he was not someone who liked to compare himself to others. He would only be able to know how strong someone was if he faced off against them personally. And now he was truly able to get Cynthia's full measure.

Sufficed to say, she was kicking his ass.

Now that he was actually in a battle against her, he had a newfound respect for the Elite Four if they managed to hold on as well as they did against the monster that he was up currently up against. Cynthia had torn through his team; his Jolteon, Rotom, and Electabuzz had all already fallen in exchange for her Spiritomb and Lucario.

However, the 3-2 score in her favour was not indicative of the dominance that she had displayed. Nor did he feel that she was upset by her losses.

He really should have listened a little harder to Flint's descriptions of battling against Cynthia, because his favoured tactic of setting up the Rain and blasting his foes down with powerful and speedy Electric Type moves was not working. Any attempt by him to set up the Rain was heavily punished, and her Pokémon was able to weather the storm.

Her Spiritomb had proven just a little too defensive to be taken out with his initial burst of attacks, and continued to be a supreme annoyance as it drained his team with Pain Splits and burned them with Will-O-Wisps. It was also surprisingly evasive for a haunted rock, and a slight mistake on his end costed him his Rotom as it fell to a Shadow Claw.

Lucario also managed to outspeed even his Jolteon with its Extreme Speeds, a feat that he didn't think was possible, but a very lucky paralysis had allowed him to use his Electabuzz to return the favour and knockout the Fighting Type – only for his own Electabuzz to fall to an Earthquake from Garchomp.

"A good choice." I nodded, turning back to Silver with an indulgent smile, "There's a lot of potential with Azumarill. They are strong Pokémon. However...I thought you'd wanted to be a Ground specialist like your father."

"That's boring." Silver replied, "Ground types are strong, sure, but I think I could get stronger by making use of different types. That new Champion in Sinnoh is a generalist too! And she's strong!"

I let out a chuckle, "She sure is. I'm sure you can follow in her footsteps. You have the potential for it."

"I know." Silver nodded proudly, "So do you want to fight me in a battle? Like I said – I'll win this time."

I scratched my head, "I'm sorry, but I'm not really free at the moment. Maybe next time." More importantly, none of my Pokémon could really give a fair fight to Silver. Sure, I could repeat the lesson that I had with Whitney and scare the shit out of him with Tyrant, but that would be far overstepping my boundaries.

Such a lesson ought to be given by his actual parents, not some outsider like me.

Silver frowned, "Okay. I understand, grownups are always so busy. That's what my dad always says."

I laughed, "They really are. So enjoy the time while you still can." I ran my hand through his hair, "Make sure to train up your Pokémon well before the start of your circuit. It'll give you a huge advantage over all the other new trainers if you do."

"I know. Whitney said the same thing." He nodded, "Just watch, John, I'll also be getting all 8 Gym Badges in my first circuit like she did."

"And you'll also be doing your homework like you're supposed to." A voice suddenly came from the door, and I turned to see a frowning Ariana looming over a suddenly frightened Silver. "I thought you were just going to ask your father a question, but instead you're here bothering John instead of doing your homework like you were supposed to."

"Eek! Save me, John–!" But his protests fell on deaf ears as Ariana dragged Silver out of the room by his shirt, his cries for help slowly fading away into the distance.

"Are you upset that he's not following in your path as a Ground specialist?" I asked Giovanni as soon as Silver's cries for help faded away.

"Not at all." Giovanni said, "In fact, I'm glad that he's taking his own steps to becoming his own person. Better that then someone who blindly looks up to me. I'm not the role model that he thinks I am."

I patted him on the shoulder, "You're doing fine. He seemed much livelier than he was before."

Giovanni said nothing, instead staring at where Silver disappeared to with a proud smile on his face. I smiled proudly as well, though it was not because of Silver. But rather, it was because I could finally see that Giovanni had well and truly become a doting father, who looked out for his son's wellbeing and was nurturing of Silver's potential as a trainer.

It was this change in character which allowed me to feel comfortable to trust him; to believe that he had opened his heart to new possibilities instead of holding on to his old stubbornness. I would have never dared to approach the old Giovanni with a proposal like this, knowing I would be immediately shown the door, nor would I ever trust the advice he gave me.

Idly, as I stared at Giovanni looking like a proud father, I chuckled inwardly to myself. I wondered how much different Silver would become?

The New Normal – 10-4 – A Frosty(?) Reunion

I was reluctant to go see Pryce, as all I anticipated was getting a major headache from our conversation. But there was no real good reason to put it off, and so I eventually decided that pushing forwards my plan was worth any potential frustration that I might have with dealing with Pryce. It was best to get this out of the way first before I got distracted by the upcoming Tournament.

Therefore, with a resigned breath, I rang up Lorelei.

"You want to speak to my uncle?!" She asked with undisguised shock, "What made you want to do that? I thought you hated him?"

"Hate is a strong word...we just had our political disagreements." I said unconvincingly, "Regardless, I do have something I want to speak to him about. But I don't know how to contact him – nor can I just drop into Mahogany uninvited. Could you please set up a meeting with him?"

"...Okay, I'll try, but I can't promise you that he'll say yes." Lorelei replied.

"Thanks, that's all I ask." I said, "Speaking of which, has he really mellowed out since his time as Champion? Or were those all just false rumours?"

"I...I'm not sure." Lorelei responded uncertainly, "I've spoken to him a few times, and he was as harsh and as cold as I remembered him to be."

I sighed, "Oh...well, that sucks–"

"But his words weren't as cutting as usual." She interrupted, "I didn't get that he was actively looking down on me anymore. I can't tell if that's because he's no longer Champion of Indigo, or because of some other reason. Honestly, I'm still really conflicted on how to speak to him. He is still family."

I blinked, that sounded complicated, "Ah, that's true. Though thanks for the info. I'll let you know how it goes then."

"Is this about your proposal to have Gym Leaders be appointable from either Kanto or Johto?" Lorelei suddenly asked.

"Yes, it is." I confirmed, "I didn't realize my intentions were so obvious."

I could tell Lorelei was smirking, "I think it's pretty obvious considering what's being planned. Lance filled the rest of us Elite Four in about the Tri-Regional Tournament, and I hadn't forgotten about how you told me before that this was something you wanted to get passed. If I were you, I too would have tried to take this opportunity to push this if you saw the Tournament was a massive PR win."

"And not to worry – I fully intend to honour our agreement. You'll have my support on this if and when you put it in front of the Committee." She added.

"Even if I fail to persuade your uncle?" I asked.

"I'm not tied to him." She snorted, "I can make my own decisions too. If he wanted to be part of the decision-making process, he should have fought his way back into the Elite Four."

I chuckled, "Well I appreciate you sticking to the agreement. I'll let you know how my meeting with your uncle goes." The call ended there.

Later on in the day, I was just about to start another training session with my Pokémon when my phone buzzed and I received a text from Lorelei saying that Pryce was available to meet. So, understanding that Pryce was not a person who liked to be kept waiting, I set off for Mahogany Town.

As I neared the town, I realized that it really had been some time since I was last here. Mahogany Town was never a very attractive town to visit, not for any nefarious reasons, but simply because there just wasn't really anything to do here.

The only real thing of interest was the Gym and Lake of Rage, but the latter was barred to the majority of the public anyways. Otherwise, it was a very sleepy town that was only really famous because of Pryce's prestige as Champion.

Not that such a thing was bad. It had its own charm.

I landed a small distance away from the Gym, but I was already met with a pair of Gym Trainers that had wandered over to greet me.

"Elite John, Gym Leader Pryce is waiting for you." One of them informed me, "Please allow us to escort you."

I nodded and followed after them. Honestly, I was half-expecting Pryce to have me make my way inside myself out of spite. Perhaps the old him would have done so.

But as soon as I entered his office, I could feel the air surrounding me tense as the two of us locked eyes. A pool of complex emotions swirled in his eyes as he continued to stare at me, and I could see that his fists were clenching and unclenching reflexively.

Neither of us spoke, content to continue our staring contest.

However, since I was here to ask for something, I decided to extend a hand of courtesy, "Would you mind if I sat?"

Pryce blinked, before he let out a huff, "Do as you please. I can't just order you around anymore."

I took a seat opposite him as he spoke, "So, what does the young 'prodigy' want with me? Here to ask for something? If you're asking on behalf of the Blackthorn, then the answer is no."

I sighed, "Lance didn't send me. I'm here on my own volition because I have a proposal that I wanted passed."

"Something else to 'further unite Indigo'?" Pryce scoffed, "Previously, I would have called you na?ve and dismissed you on the spot for wasting my time."

I bristled, but Pryce wasn't done, "However, I can see that the politics of the times have changed. I do not know whether for good or ill, but the policies that I once championed have fallen out of favour. Furthermore, you would not have volunteered to speak to me unless it would be a big proposal. So go on, speak your piece."

Man, Pryce was difficult to deal with. But I swallowed those feelings for now. At least he said he would hear me out.

"My new proposal primarily concerns the Gym Leaders, as I want to implement a new rule that allows future Gym Leaders to be appointable from anywhere in Indigo. That means that you can have a Johto-born trainer running a Kanto Gym, and vice versa. Of course, we'll be implementing this as a test run first, so you and the other Gym Leaders will be given a chance to evaluate the new appointee to see if they meet your standards."

As I finished my explanation, I had half-expected Pryce to react by giving me a verbal-tongue lashing, before the entire conversation devolved from there. But that never came.

He just stared at me with an unknowable look in his eyes, studying my every expression. Unlike what I had expected, he didn't look angry or even annoyed at my suggestion.

Instead, his eyes locked onto mine as he developed a thoughtful expression, as if he was analysing me and thinking over my proposal at the same time. I couldn't help but notice that his gaze no longer had the dismissive arrogance that he once had as Champion; it was more focused now.

It took some time before Pryce spoke up again, "Tell me, John. Do you think your proposal is likely to succeed – ignoring whether I agree to it or not?"

"I'm confident that it would, assuming that the Tournament will be the success that I predict it to be." I nodded firmly, though I was bluffing a little. "As you said, times have changed, and public sentiment is visibly leaning towards openness and cooperation. I'm confident that a proposal like this, if properly worded, could pass. Especially since I intend for this to be a test run."

"Knowing the scope of the proposal, the Gym Leaders will be invited to vote on it, right?" He pointed out accurately, and I nodded to his question, "Then how do you think the other Gym Leaders will vote?"

"While I haven't spoken to them directly yet, I have been advised that the Kanto Gym Leaders will mostly vote on my side." I stated truthfully, "And Clair will not disagree with me either."

"I do not believe for a second that Surge will support you, the musclehead that he is." Pryce scoffed dismissively, "Still, I am more than aware of your friendship with Giovanni, seeing how expertly you both cooperated with Lance to dispose me."

I shrugged shamelessly, not rising to his bait, "You deserved it, in my eyes."

He snorted, "I see that you've only grown more bold since we last spoke. But nevertheless, I am not unaware of your growing connections. With Giovanni supporting you, I believe that you would be able to obtain sufficient support from the Kanto Gym Leaders."

He ran his fingers across his desk, "Which is why you came crawling to me – because I'm one of the key figures that you want to sway to your side so that the Johto Gym Leaders will follow suit." He grinned knowingly.

"Don't oversell yourself, Pryce." I cut off whatever he might be thinking, "I don't NEED your support. It would just make things easier."

That being said, I was fully aware of the hassle that Pryce could create if he truly wanted to oppose me. The proposal wouldn't be impossible to pass through if he did fight against it, but his neutrality or support would make things much easier.

But I was sure he was aware that fighting me in politics would also be equally bad for him. His political influence had been declining, and him engaging in a war of public opinion against me would only damage that further.

Still, instead of being offended, he barked out a laugh, "Oh I'm fully aware of that. I just found it amusing how much you've grown since you deposed me. You used to be far more nervous when you spoke to me, betraying your young age. But that hesitation is all gone now, hasn't it?"

"I've had to deal with a lot of things since then." I replied, nodding, "But enough side-tracking. I'm sure you don't want me wasting more of your time, so tell me what you want for your support."

"Before I answer that, has my niece already agreed to your idea?" He asked.

"She has." I confirmed, "We already made a deal a long time ago."

He gave off a thoughtful nod, and he fell silent once again. The only sounds in his office was the periodic tapping of his fingers on his wooden desk.

"...I have three requests if you want my support." He began, finally voicing out his thoughts, "The first, I want you to ensure that, should Lorelei fall out of the Elite Four, she will be able to inherit her old position of Gym Leader of Mahogany once again and that you will reasonably support her while doing so."

I blinked; I had not expected him to ask for something like this. I thought his requests would be more selfish, based on what he was like in the past.

Uncaring of my thoughts, he continued, "The second, I want you to reasonably support Lorelei's position in her new organisation. That means no making power plays to have her replaced with your own lackey, or deliberately weakening her influence. Of course, this is also within reason, so I will overlook any unintentional harm you may cause or if your support is not feasible for whatever reason. This shall last until the end of the next circuit, which should give my niece enough time to properly solidify her position."

"Lastly, I want you to acquire a powerful Ice type, either from Sinnoh or something that you and your team of scientists newly discover, and gift it to Lorelei. It should be something she would actively include into her Elite team."

"Should you fulfil and agree to all of the above, you will have my support for your 'test run'." He stated, then fell silent once again as he allowed me to process his words.

I was surprised, all three of his requests were specifically to improve Lorelei's political position. Did he have a change of heart to support his niece?

None of his three requests were particularly difficult for me to fulfil, nor did they harm my interests. His first request was simple enough – I would have supported Lorelei as a friend anyways, and it shouldn't be overly difficult for me to support her re-ascension to Gym Leader.

Plus, I didn't see any difficulty with fulfilling his second request either – Lorelei and I weren't at odds with each other, and allowing her to maintain her power over the organisation SHE created wasn't against my interests. Although, it would mean that I would have to reasonably support any expansion of this organisation as well. Likewise, his third request wasn't problematic either.

No, after thinking it through, his requests were all reasonable enough in exchange for his support.

"Fine, I agree." I said, "Lorelei will have my support as you stated."

"Good, then I agree to your test run as well." He nodded in return, "Since my niece will be supporting it, I hope your idea doesn't crash and burn for her sake."

I rolled my eyes, "Sure, I hope so as well. Then can I have your number so that I can let you know when and what I got for her?" I asked.

He snorted, "No need for that. Lorelei will let me know by herself. I'm sure you don't want to give me any chance of contacting you out of the blue."

I nodded despite myself, I did not want Pryce on my contact list. He might have mellowed out, but I still found him unpleasant.

Since there was nothing else we had to say, I gave Pryce a polite, but quick goodbye, and began walking out of his office. I wasn't going to question this surprising burst of (for his standards) pleasantness. I really thought he would be more difficult than he was.

Did he really want me to support his niece like that? Or did he really have a change of heart since he stepped down from being the Champion?

Well, either way, it didn't matter. I got the support I wanted.

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

?With that conversation with Pryce wrapped up (which went better than expected), I left the Mahogany Gym and headed on home.

As I flew home, I kept thinking back on our conversation. I had a gut feeling that he wasn't as distant and as cold to his niece than I first expected, since he seemed like he wanted to be supportive of her, but it was really hard to tell with Pryce. Or perhaps this was just my own bias talking.

However, I put that thought out of my mind once I arrived. Pryce's proposal to catch an Ice type for Lorelei actually reminded me that I needed to follow up with Cynthia on whether she was going to continue those underground expeditions to where we found Wraith and Kleavor.

While I could have just asked Cynthia to just catch the first Ice type she saw and send it over, that was a little too disrespectful for Lorelei. I inwardly promised that she was going to get something unique and/or strong from me.

So I ended up calling my girlfriend, hoping that she wasn't too swamped with her work and her battles to speak.

Luckily, it seemed like she wasn't. "You caught me at a good time, I just beat my old friend." She said.

"Is that really something to be happy about?" I joked, "Anyways, who was it?" I thought through her the friends I knew she had, "Was it Candice?"

"Yep, and it's a good moment because I realized that she's really grown quite a bit. She's far more lively now that she's taken up the position as Gym Leader; I always knew that the position was good for her." She said.

"Anyways, you usually don't call until nighttime, so what can I help you with? If it's about the financial investigations, then I've already got everything running through the preparation stage. It should be ready soon."

"No I didn't call about that, though that's good news to hear." I said, "I was actually going to ask about the cave explorations. Have you found any other new Pokémon or discoveries since we last headed down there?"

"Ah, well unfortunately not. From the reports I received, even though we've done a few more runs, they weren't able to find that long Sneasel we saw; it must have snuck off somewhere." She explained, "It's disappointing, but it must have hidden itself away; perhaps we spooked it last time.

"Admittedly we don't explore the lower levels that often." She said, "The Research Centre is unsurprisingly comprised of scientists and explorers rather than trainers, so our focus has often shifted away from just rare Pokémon. I know a lot of effort has been done to study the changes in geology, for example."

"No, that's fine, I was just checking up on that." I responded. "I understand that the explorers may have other priorities. Actually, the reason I asked about this is because..." I then gave her a summary of Pryce's requests and my desire to personally catch an Ice type for Lorelei, which would mean heading over to Sinnoh.

"Mhm, I see...well, now that you mention it, you know that you have an open invitation to come to Sinnoh to go exploring once again, right?" She told me, "We would be happy to host you again, especially with your added strength you could greatly assist the teams in getting as far, or even farther, than we did before. You could catch a strong Ice type while you're down there, and maybe even find that unusual Sneasel we lost track of."

Her words instantly sent me into a reminiscent mood, as I remembered about all that we accomplished during our cave explorations together. It was a fun time, and I would have loved to experience it again. Likewise, I could also visit Volkner in Sinnoh and get to know him better, especially since we might be working together in the future. Despite all that though...

"I know, and while that sounds great and all, I don't think I'll be able to visit Sinnoh again until at least AFTER the Tournament." I replied, "I think I'll be preoccupied before then."

"No, that's very reasonable." She agreed, "Just making sure you knew. Of course, if you do come, I'll do my best to make free time to spend with you. But I can't guarantee I'll have enough time to explore the caves together like we did before. That might be a little too much of a time investment."

"I understand. That's fine, worst case is I go by myself." I replied.

Though it would be a bit strange to go cave diving by myself. I had always gone with Cynthia...just as I thought that, a wild thought sprung to mind.

"Hey, uh, is that open invitation to go exploring limited to just me?" I asked, "Or would you be okay if I had one of my friends accompany me as well?"

"Assuming that friend is strong enough to handle cave exploration? Then yes, I've no problem with it." She responded, "Why? Thinking of bringing someone along? Should I be jealous?" She teased.

I chuckled, "Not like that. I just had a thought that it might be a good idea to introduce the wonders of cave diving to a few of the more adventurous people I know. More precisely, I was thinking of asking Drake. Not only that, but knowing him, I think he'd love the opportunity to explore a new region as well since he hasn't been to Sinnoh yet."

It was a pretty wild idea from me, but I thought that I would love to be able to explore the caves with a man like Drake – he was a man that practically screamed 'adventure'. I felt that this would be something he would like doing. Plus, I really did want to spend more time with him; it'd been a while since our time fighting together in Hoenn.

"Drake? Oh, yeah, I see it." She nodded, "Sure, if you can convince him to come, then I'll be happy to host him."

"Just let me know if you have ever have the time to come over." She smiled, "I'll make sure your old room is tidied up for you."

"I'll speak to Lance when I feel like the time is right." I promised.

"Mhm. I'll look forward to it." She nodded, then she frowned as she looked at the time, "Right, sorry about this, but I need to get ready for tomorrow's match." She said apologetically, "I have an important match to win tomorrow against the Ex-Champion."

"Oh, right. I forgot that was tomorrow." I said, "Good luck on that – though I'm sure you'll win."

"Winning won't be difficult, but I want a flawless victory." She stated, "I want to repeat what you did against Shin. To send a message to the old traditionalists of Sinnoh that there time has truly come to an end. Though I don't hate the man personally, I will be crushing his team."

That actually made me laugh, "I don't know whether I'm corrupting you or if I should be honoured you're following in my footsteps."

"Well if you remember I also told you to crush Shin as well." She reminded with a grin of her own, "So I guess it evens out."

Cynthia had to end the call shortly after that, so I merely wished her all the best. I would be eagerly awaiting her battle against Hayato. I wanted to be the spectator this time round.

Putting that aside for now, I decided to also ring up the guy that I was actually planning on inviting.

"Drake, you there?" I said as he picked up the phone.

"John! Wasn't expecting a call from you!" He greeted cheerfully, "I didn't know they released the partners for the Tournament already? Are you calling because I'm partnered with you? That'd be fucking great!"

I laughed, "Unfortunately, the teams haven't been announced yet. Nor do I think they'd ever pair you and I together."

"Bah, they're just scared we'd roll over the competition if we were together." He scoffed, "We'd be unstoppable! Could you imagine? Your Slaking with my Salamence? Arceus, our opponents might as well surrender now."

I laughed even harder. I didn't disagree; Drake and I would absolutely crush everyone if we were on the same team.

"Wait, so if not for that, then why did you call? Not that I mind, just curious." He quickly said.

"I was just speaking to Cynthia. She's a good friend of mine." I added that latter bit for clarity, "You know the cave explorations that I did in Sinnoh?"

"Yeah, heard a little bit about that." He nodded, "Heard you're trying to do the same with that cave of yours in Cerulean. What about it?"

"Well – and this is just a thought for now – but how would you like to join me if the two of us both get the opportunity to visit Sinnoh?" I asked, "I know you haven't been cave diving before, so I thought about introducing it to you. Maybe you could even catch a new Water or Dragon type to add to your roster."

Drake barked out a laugh, "You fucking crazy bastard! Like fuck am I going to say no to that! You can count me in!"

Then he frowned, "...Not sure when I'd have the time though. I'd have to speak to Wallace. When were you thinking of heading there?"

"Not anytime soon; probably sometime after the Tournament when it's convenient and I have some free time." I said, "But I haven't spoken to Lance yet either, so this is just a preliminary invite for now."

"That's fine. I appreciate it anyways." He chuckled, "Arceus knows that it's been a while since anyone outside of the Hoenn Elite Four have invited me to anything. Just let me know whenever you have time or feel like heading there, and I'll see if my schedule matches up."

"Of course, I'll let you know." I agreed.

"Actually, now that I have you on call, tell me a little about the Gym Leaders of Indigo." He said, changing the topic, "I have a feeling I might be paired up with one of them, so I'd like to know a bit more about them in advance..."

And so I regaled him of whatever I knew about the Gym Leaders of Indigo, trying my best to remain objective. Knowing how strong he was and how Wallace likely wanted 'balanced' teams, it was likely that he would be paired up with one of our weaker Gym Leaders, and Drake knew it too, so I made sure to emphasise on those.

Then, it was my turn to ask about the Hoenn Gym Leaders. I wanted to check to ensure that what I knew about them matched what Drake thought of them, and just like Drake, I focused on the weaker Gym Leaders since I figured I would be paired with one of them.

So that was how we spent the evening, two battle buddies exchanging stories about their Gym Leaders and making predictions about who would be paired with who. I never expected to be gossiping with Drake of all people, but hey, I enjoyed it.

And it made me all the more excited to find out who I'd be teamed up with for the Tournament.