Chapter 59: 226-229

Chapter 59: 226-229

The New Normal – 10-18 – Meeting the Family

I stood up with the rest of my family as we clapped for the Champions' victory. The rest of the crowd were doing the same as they cheered and applauded for the fantastic fight that we had just witnessed.

Wallace surprised me. I knew he was formidable, but it was interesting to see just how durable and enduring his Milotic could really be. It dragged out the inner trainer from within me, and I unconsciously started to pick it apart as I tried to piece together how I would defeat it.

In the end, it came down to using Tyrant to overwhelm Milotic's self-regeneration with an unrelenting offense, assisted with a few Taunts. Drake was close to doing so, and he might have been successful in a pure 1v1, but Garchomp proved a worthy distraction that prevented Salamence from unleashing his full uninterrupted strength against Milotic.

"You're staring hard at that Milotic. You figuring out if you could beat it?" Karen asked me knowingly, having perfectly read my thoughts. "You don't have to think that hard. I'm sure you'd win with your starter. Maybe even Ursaluna, if you set up properly."

"I'd like to think so too – though it would be a much harder task for my Ursaluna due to his Water weakness." I agreed, "What about you? Think you have some way of beating Milotic?"

She tapped a finger on her chin, "I doubt I'd have any problems shutting down Milotic's self-regeneration with my Taunts, but I'm not exactly sure if I could muscle through Milotic's high endurance afterwards."

"My Houndoom would be a poor match for it, same for Tyranitar." She continued, "I'd say I would have a chance to beat it, but my chances aren't very high...if only it wasn't a Water type."

I nodded; it was a fair assessment. Even though she had trained up her Tyranitar to be a walking powerhouse, it might not be enough to be able to bring down Wallace's Milotic, as Drake had just shown. And Karen's Weavile and Houndoom were just too frail to be able to withstand against Milotic for long enough to bring it down.

"I wonder when my Miltank can get strong enough to beat it?" My sister wondered aloud, and I turned to her with a smile.

"One day." I patted her on the head, "I heard you've been training well as a Gym Trainer. Keep up your training and I'm sure your Miltank will be a match for even the strongest of opponents."

"That's all well and good dear, but I think you have an award and closing ceremony to get to." My dad reminded, "Let's not keep your peers waiting."

"And make sure to ask Cynthia if she has time to meet us." My mom smiled, "It'd be good to be formally introduced to her."

In the corner of my eye, I saw Karen flinch for a moment before she forced herself to relax. Her thoughts were easy enough to read, but there was nothing I really could do about it. Instead, I chose that discretion was the better part of valour and made my way out of the VIP area.

Which meant that I was immediately approached by a League official that hurried me over back to the arena. Apparently I should have been gathered there over 10 minutes ago, and that they'd been trying to find me to call me over.

Whoops.

I arrived to where I was supposed to be, where I found the rest of the Top 3 and all the Champions staring at me, many of them with amused looks on their faces.

I raised my hands, "In my defence, Lance said I could go sit with my family." I shamelessly placed the blame on our Champion.

He just responded with another shameless shrug, "I forgot that you needed to come here earlier."

Pryce scoffed, "It's not like a Blackthorn to forget about a moment to show off. You must be losing your touch – and your strength." He taunted.

Lance's eyes narrowed, "I don't want to hear that from you, Gym Leader. Or did I imagine it when I saw your Mamoswine get run around in circles by Cynthia's Garchomp? A Dragon beating your Ice type, no less."

"I think we can table this discussion at a later date." Wallace smiled genially as he interrupted Pryce before he could fire back, "We're about to be on stage – it's no good if we look grumpy when we're on it."

"But I always look grumpy, especially since we lost." Drake muttered, getting a consoling pat on the back from Daisy as the rest of us chuckled. It helped ease the tension.

At that point, the big doors opened, revealing the hastily repaired arena and exposing us to the shouts of the crowd once again. There was also a newly setup podium set up as well. One League official tried to order us to walk onstage in neat lines, but practically everyone ignored him as we walked forwards at our own pace in one big group.

We weren't children.

I took this opportunity to walk next to Cynthia, "It's time for the announcement." I whispered to her.

"Yes, I already told Wallace that we had something to announce. He's okay with it." She whispered back. "And I've already run everything past my Elite Four. They're happy with it too."

That was good, "So no further troubles?" I asked.

She shook her head.

That reassured me, "Also, my family wants to meet you after this." I said to her.

"I was just thinking the same." She nodded, "Is Karen going to be there too?"

"She's here as well." I confirmed, hoping that this wouldn't cause issues.

"Then I'll be happy to meet her as well." Cynthia replied, "Let's talk about that later. We have an announcement to make."

I agreed and carefully distanced myself from her as we arrived at the podium. The Champions stood on the higher step, while the rest of us stayed one step behind.

There was only one microphone, but apparently the Champions had already decided that, as the host, Wallace was going to be one making the speech today.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT THAT YOU HAVE SHOWN TO OUR PARTICIPANTS THROUGHOUT THIS TRI-REGIONAL TOURNAMENT! WE HOPE YOU WERE SUFFICIENTLY ENTERTAINED!"

"AS THIS TOURNAMENT WAS MY BRAINCHILD, I WAS ECSTATIC TO SEE JUST HOW MUCH PEOPLE SEEMED TO HAVE ENJOYED THIS EVENT! AND SO I ASK THIS OF YOU – WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE ANOTHER TOURNAMENT LIKE THIS HOSTED SOMETIME NEXT YEAR?!"

The crowd SCREAMED their approval. They wanted a redo of this event next year as much as I did.

Wallace smiled as he spread his arms wide, "THEN SO BE IT! I WILL BE DISCUSSING THIS MATTER WITH MY FELLOW CHAMPIONS TO SEE IF WE CAN HOST ANOTHER TOURNAMNET JUST LIKE THIS IN THE COMING YEAR! I CAN ALSO PROMISE THAT IT WON'T JUST BE THE SAME REHASH OF THIS TOURNAMENT, BUT WE WILL BE LOOKING TO SHAPE THINGS UP SO THAT YOU MAY ALL GET A NEW AND EXCITING EXPERIENCE EVERY TIME!"

That got the audience hyped up even further, with many of them cheering in support for Wallace as he worked up the crowd. Wallace allowed himself to bask in the attention for a moment before he continued.

"BUT BEFORE THAT, WE MUST CLOSE OUT THIS ONE AND HONOUR THOSE WHO HAVE MANAGED TO CLIMB TO THE VERY TOP OF THEIR PEERS TO FACE THE CHAMPIONS IN BATTLE! PLEASE GIVE A HUGE ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO THE TOP 3 PAIRS THAT MADE IT HERE!"

And then came the moment for pictures as we were shown off to the crowd. For the lesser known Gym Leaders with non-established reputations, this was a big moment for them to get their faces out there and for them to build up their reputation. The trio of Roxanne, Daisy and her Gym Leader sisters, and Candice were all waving cheerfully to the crowd as they made the most of this opportunity.

Even the oldies were playing nice, since anyone valued the opportunity to remind the public that their strength hadn't been slipping. While Drake and Pryce all had storied histories with a series of established victories, it was still nice to demonstrate to the public that they were still as strong as their reputations might suggest.

Especially for Pryce. The man proved that he even though he dropped to becoming a Gym Leader, his strength was still worthy to be a match for a Champion. Or at least an Elite Four.

With that done, the 'prizes' were awarded. Wallace had to scrap the idea of the smaller, category-based prize awards this year due to a lack of time, so the overall reward was just money and a trophy for each of the pairs.

For what it's worth, the trophies were well-made, embossed in gold, and were individually customised. Mine and Roxanne's had the symbol of a Rock Type and Normal Type paired together, just like the rest of the Top 3 did with their own respective Typing. I didn't see a reason to keep it, so I generously allowed Roxanne to keep it displayed at her Gym. Better that than for it to be placed in my home where no one would really see it.

The money was...less remarkable, especially after it was split 6 ways. I was pretty sure the whole point was for them to give us one big cheque for each pair and have our picture taken while holding it, which was what happened. None of us would actually be keeping the money after all – it was common practice to donate such monetary rewards to charity at events like these.

However, that didn't stop Drake from calling Wallace a cheapskate under his breath.

With the prizes dished out and relevant photos taken, Wallace gave one final reminder that the Finals for the regions' respective Conferences were due to begin tomorrow and that the public had more to look out for. But before the Tournament could wrap up, Wallace had one last thing to announce.

"BUT BEFORE WE CAN FULLY WRAP UP THIS TOURNAMENT, I BELIEVE THAT OUR OTHER TWO VICTORS TODAY HAVE SOMETHING TO ANNOUNCE TO YOU ALL!" He gestured with his hand as Cynthia and I stepped to the podium.

The rest of the Top 3, who were uninformed of our plans, looked at us questioningly, but we ignored them. This was it.

"Thank you, Wallace." Cynthia began, "But John and I have something to announce to the public. Something that neither of us expected to happen, but were very glad that it did." The crowd looked confused, but her next words quickly silenced that confusion.

"John and I have recently started a relationship together." The crowd audibly gasped, but Cynthia pressed on before they could interrupt, "It is one built on mutual admiration, respect, and love, and was wholly independent of politics. And in the interests of transparency, we have decided that now was the most appropriate time to reveal it to the public."

I quickly followed up, "As we acknowledge the potential conflicts of interest at play here, we have both taken steps to minimize the possibility of bias from the two of us. On my end, I have already discussed this and came to an agreement with Champion Lance, and I have limited my own participation in any votes regarding any dealings with Sinnoh. Of course, this does not affect any deals that are for our mutual benefit or cooperation, and I will continue to work towards bringing our two regions closer together for the benefit of all."

"Likewise, I will be doing the same." Cynthia continued, "I have agreed with my Elite Four to reduce my voting power on any proposals directly involving Indigo to match those of my Elite Four. That way there can still be a fair vote on the benefits and disadvantages of such policies, while limiting the amount of personal bias that may influence our decisions."

"And therefore, these measures will help to ensure that we may continue our duties as we normally would, but we hope that we have your support and encouragement for our relationship moving forwards. Our relationship may not have been borne out of political considerations, but we do hope that this can serve as one of the many foundations for our respective regions to form a tighter bond between each other. We understand that a relationship between two high ranking figures have never happened before, but we hope to be able to set the standard and prove that a relationship like ours can and will work; both for us and for the benefit of our regions." I finished.

This was the same as what we had discussed beforehand, and we both were making full use of the momentum of our victories, and our individual reputations, to bring the public onto our side.

For me, I was very confident that my colleagues would likely stay neutral to this announcement and would not cause a fuss about it. More importantly, I knew that Lance had promised neutrality, which was good enough for me. Plus, on top of my victory just now, I had my strength and reputation to rely upon to generate goodwill. And my push for internationalism also helped significantly in this respect, since it was something I had championed even before I met Cynthia.

In the meanwhile, Cynthia told me that she had garnered a lot of trust and support within her Elite Four. Lucian apparently was especially supportive because he thought that this was an excellent opportunity to pull Sinnoh even closer to Indigo and thus would help Sinnoh settle in as being part of the international community. That, and her personal strength was more than proven, especially after this victory. Her position as Champion was easily considered to be stable.

As always, this society favoured strength, and having sufficient strength could stave off many a critic.

However, just as we both finished with our statements, Wallace unexpectedly took to the stage once again.

"...When the two of them told me they wanted to make an announcement, THIS was certainly not what I expected. I thought we were about to have another fight on our hands from our two victors." He chuckled at his own joke.

"However, let me the first to congratulate this new couple." He smiled at us, "I have always encouraged bringing our regions together – indeed, the main purpose of the Tri-Regional Tournament was to foster and encourage more international cooperation and to have the public cheering for members of different regions."

"So I see this relationship between two of our most prominent members of the two Leagues to be a remarkable step forwards in helping to build a prosperous and functional international community – full of cooperation and unity."

"But most importantly of all, I APPLAUD their bravery for making an announcement as momentous as this. I APPLAUD their integrity for choosing to voluntarily sacrifice some of their political power to ensure that there is as little bias as possible. And last, but certainly not least, I APPLAUD their love! For is it not the dream of every man and woman to find a partner that would fight to keep your relationship intact?"

Wallace stepped behind both of us and raised our arms into the air, clasping them together, "SO I SAY WE SHOULD CHEER FOR THIS NEW COUPLE! WE SHOULD CHEER FOR THIS NEW BRIDGE OF FRIENDSHIP THAT HAS BEEN BUILT BETWEEN THEIR REGIONS! AND WE SHOULD CHEER FOR THE PROSPERITY THAT IS SURE TO COME FROM THE UNITY AND HARMONY THAT THEY BUILD!"

THAT got the crowd worked up into a frenzy of approval. Wallace had said everything Cynthia and I had wanted to say but couldn't – because it wouldn't be right for those words to have come out from our mouths.

I immediately pulled Wallace into a hug, "Thank you." I whispered to him. He had done us a huge favour.

"You don't have to thank me." He replied with a smile as he patted me on the back, "I meant every word I said. I admire your bravery, and I truly think that if you can overcome the barriers between you two, then it will do wonders for our shared goal of creating a truly international community. Besides, it was only a matter of time before a relationship like yours popped up. I want it to go well, to set an example for the future."

"You sound like you knew about our relationship beforehand." Cynthia replied, though the gratitude and relief in her voice was unmistakable.

He chuckled, "I'm very good at spotting those. I figured there was something between you two as soon as I saw you watching his battle against Lance."

With that said, Wallace returned to the podium and finally wrapped up the closing ceremony, officially ending the Tournament. But at this point I doubted anyone was paying attention. They were likely buzzing about discussing my relationship with Cynthia.

Luckily, with huge thanks to Wallace, this appeared to be as good of a start as I was hoping for.

All of us exited the stage together, and the responses from my peers were mixed, though all positive. Drake slapped me across the back again with a cheeky grin, and Lance joined in and nearly toppled me over. While Candice was fussing all over Cynthia and asking for as many details as possible.

Roxanne and the Waterflower sisters were a mixture of curious and supportive, while Pryce ignored everything and grumbled. He was allergic to happiness.

But as we re-entered the waiting room, I realised that this also marked the end of my partnership with Roxanne.

"Thank you for being a wonderful and cooperative partner." I told her, "It made the Tournament a whole lot more interesting for me. And I hope it was for you as well."

She snorted, "I should be the one thanking you for bringing me this far." But then a small smile formed on her lips, "But I agree. This whole event was truly magnificent, and it wouldn't have been the same without you. We should really keep in touch. Oh, and congratulations once again, John. Both for your victory in battle and otherwise. You must be very happy." She tilted her head at Cynthia.

I chuckled, "Thank you. I'm as happy as you think I am. It went better than expected, both the Tournament and the announcement. And of course, I'll make sure to tell you if I'm ever in Hoenn again. I'll visit you at your Gym." We exchange similar promises together before the group split up from each other. Though Cynthia and I both thanked Wallace once more before leaving.

Cynthia and I made our way to where my family was waiting, but as we were heading over we were both suddenly stopped by Karen, who had been waiting for us just outside the staff-only zone.

I could feel the moment that Cynthia and Karen locked eyes together, but sparks had yet to fly. Instead, they appeared to be eyeing the other up, as if to take each other's measure now that they had finally met in person.

I knew this was the moment to stay silent. This wasn't for me to interfere with.

"It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Cynthia." Karen began, and I couldn't detect any sarcasm in her words, "That was quite the announcement. But I'm glad things went well and that you're taking care of John for us."

She chuckled, "He hardly needs baby-sitting. His victory against Emperor proved that well enough. Still, I'm always happy to accompany him as his partner."

"...It seems like your relationship has a lot of challenges that it has to overcome." Karen said slowly, "It sounds like things might be a little difficult."

"We're making it work. It probably won't be easy, but we're going to handle things on step at a time." Cynthia responded as she clasped her hand in mine. "We expected such challenges, and we will do what we can to overcome them. I'm not about to give up, and neither is he."

Cynthia smiled at Karen, "I'm just glad that he has good friends like you at home as well. I should have said so earlier, but thank you for being there for him in my absence. John told me how much time you guys spend together. You're practically family, I heard."

"I'm very thankful that his sister has taken a liking to me." Karen said, her voice taking a slight edge, "I'm very protective of her, you see."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Cynthia said. "From what John has told me, little Whitney is a very sweet girl. I won't do anything to make her unhappy."

"Anyways, from what I've read up on you, and from what John has told me – you seem to be looking to join the Elite Four soon?" Cynthia asked rhetorically, "I assume you'll be making a challenge if and when you win this Conference."

"I have plans to that effect, yes." Karen confirmed, "I hope to become peers with John."

"That's a good goal to have." Cynthia praised, "It'd be good for John to have more friends around his level."

Cynthia took a step forwards, "I look forward to welcoming you into the Elite Four, Karen. Having another friend in the Elite Four will be very useful to John in his fight for internationalism. I do hope you help him to bring Sinnoh and Indigo even closer together. It'll make our relationship a lot smoother."

From the way Karen's lips flattened slightly, there was definitely something I was missing here. The two of them exchanged nothing but friendliness with each other, but my gut was telling me that there was a little more subtext behind their exchanges than I could catch.

It wasn't exactly sarcasm, but more like...posturing? It was hard to tell.

Either way, I thought this had gone on for long enough, and I coughed to grab their attention, "Right, I think that's enough for the introductions. I think we should stop wasting time and introduce Cynthia to the rest of my family as well."

The two of them nodded and followed after me to where our family had been patiently waiting. As soon as Cynthia caught sight of my parents, she quickly made a beeline to them and introduced herself to them with a friendly smile on her face.

They were all very surprised at the suddenness of the public announcement, but were ultimately encouraging of our efforts. They appreciated the fact that we didn't need to hide our relationship anymore.

Especially my mom. But I suspected mothers' were always like that.

Of course, as soon as my sister started asking her questions, it was already too late for Cynthia. She was trapped to be subjected to an endless onslaught of questions from my family, where they began inquiring about every little thing they could think of.

I shook my head with a smirk. I was just thankful that Cynthia had the patience to deal with my well-meaning, if overly curious, family.

Seeing that my family's attention was firmly focused on Cynthia, I turned to Karen, who had been standing a small distance away with a blank look on her face.

"Something wrong?" I asked her. "You don't look happy."

"I'm wary, not unhappy." She clarified, "But I know that it's just my self-doubt acting up again. I know that you and your family won't replace me with Cynthia."

"She wouldn't do that. Cynthia knows how much I still value your friendship." I said to her. "And Whitney would never replace you."

"I know, she said as much." She replied, then she smirked at the look of confusion that had appeared on my face, "Or did you not realise from our conversation just now? She was marking her territory, though she wasn't rude about it."

"I think I must have missed that." I admitted, "Still, are you upset about it?"

"Not really." She shrugged, "I definitely expected this. Someone as headstrong and determined as her would do no less."

Then she smiled, "If anything, seeing how far the two of you are willing to go to make sure your relationship works out was just another reminder that I have my own dream to accomplish. A goal that I must achieve. So there's no time to wallow in self-doubt or what-ifs. I made that mistake once, and I'm not about to let it happen again."

She turned to stare at the arena, which was now being cleaned up, "...With the Tournament over, it means that the Finals are going to be starting soon. That means my break will be over and I'll be back into the fight."

I nodded, "Good luck with that."

"Thank you, but I shouldn't need your luck." She replied with conviction, "The old hag finally deserves to rest, you know? And it's my job to make sure that her retirement can happen in peace. She deserves no less."

Her eyes blazed with certainty, "So watch me, John. You've been my mentor and friend for long enough. Now will be the time that I finally become your peer."

The New Normal – 10-18 – INTERLUDE – POKENET REACTIONS

[The Top 3 pairs have finally been decided! The next battle for them will be against the Champions! Who will win?! Will the Champions live up to their title?!] By Battlecast

Us battle lovers are eating good today! For anyone who missed out on the previous battles, the Top 3 pairs that have found themselves to be facing the trio of Champions are John and Roxanne, Pryce and Candice, and Drake and Daisy, representing the Waterflower sisters. I don't think these were the pairings that people expected!

Not just the public, but I know many of our analysts as well expected the pair of Agatha and Tate and Liza to be within the Top 3. This Tournament has been an excellent reminder of just WHY Agatha has managed to stay in the Elite Four for so long, and her Ghost types certainly proved her strength for all to see. This writer believes that many of her doubters would have been silenced after seeing her dominant performance throughout this Tournament.

Yet John and Roxanne managed to put an end to their run, using a cunning trick by John's newest Zoroark to swiftly remove Tate and Liza from the fight, turning it to a 2v1. In the end, despite her best efforts, Agatha wasn't able to overpower John's Ursaluna, and they were knocked out just before making it to the Top 3. Yet the old Ghost specialist was more than able to put up a good fight, even in such unfavourable circumstances.

Unfortunately, Agatha and Tate and Liza were not the only fan favourite pair to be knocked out. Volkner and Jasmine, who have had a remarkable run through the Tournament, surprising many of our analysts with their clean victories, finally met their match in Candice and Pryce. The war for the weather was won by the Ice pair, and Pryce reminded everyone that he's not a washed up has-been by living up to his 'Master of Ice' title. He even managed to overpower a never before seen evolution in Volkner's new Electivire, an evolved form of Electabuzz, with his Weavile!

Pryce and Candice actually were the only duo Gym Leader pair to make it to the Top 3, as Giovanni and Norman were soundly defeated by Drake and Daisy. Their duo Water types, like they had demonstrated throughout their Tournament run, proved unstoppable. The two Gym Leaders put up a valiant showing, but were ultimately unable to overpower the dominant Water duo. It looks like a strong offense beats out on a strong defense after all!

So with that, we move on to our predictions on who we think will end up beating the Champions. This writer believes that...[Click here to continue reading]

Comments

FutureAce

Obviously the Champions are going to win. Yes, the six of them have done very well to get this far, and I acknowledge that they're all very capable trainers, but these are the CHAMPIONS. They are the best of the best. There's no way they'd lose. Even if they're outnumbered like this.

DragonPower

Clearly the Champions will win. Drake's not really a Dragon specialist, but Lance and Cynthia, if they're smart, will both deploy their Dragons as well. 2 Dragons > 1 Dragon. The outcome is obvious.

I'm only watching this match just to see how easily the Champions win with their Dragons.

PunchingBag

How are there no Fighting type specialists in the Top 3? Or in the Champions? How can this be a fight between the strongest trainers when they're not even using the strongest type?!?

What are these trainers doing?!!!

ANormalFan

John has this in the bag!! Not only is he strong enough to match any trainer 1v1, but he also has 5 other teammates to help him out? This is going to be an easy win for him.

GeneralistGeneral

I think people are overlooking how difficult it is to coordinate in a 3v6 like this. My bet is that things are going to devolve into chaos very soon.

I mean, it's possible to plan out and make strategies for 2v2s. But when you put together trainers like this who haven't worked together before, strategies and tactics become impossible. It's just going to be one big brawl. And I think the bigger numbers will end up victorious.

TangelaThoughts

That's a good point, but I take the opposite view. I think having so many Pokémon trying to work together is actually going to make things harder for the non-Champions to win, because their Pokémon are going to get in each other's way and mess up each other's attacks.

In comparison, the more well-trained and disciplined Pokémon of the Champions will have an advantage when trying to work together. I think the Champions will win this.

NotTooMuchWater

Lance – the Champion known for his raw strength. Wallace – the Champion known for his unbreakable defense. Cynthia – the Champion known for her versatility.

I think, whatever happens, this is going to be an incredible battle. I can't wait to see the Champions in action like this.

=========

?[LIVE: LANCE'S SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT? WANTS TO DUEL JOHN IN A 1V1 WITH STARTERS ONLY? WHAT?!?!] by Battlecast

For those that missed the announcement, Wallace has recently announced that Lance and John will be battling with their starters instead of joining into the originally planned 3v6. So that means that we are about to see Lance's Emperor in action once again as he faces off against John's Slaking! Who will win?! Join us to watch this live!

Comments

FearTheRat : We haven't seen Lance in action since his victory over Pryce all that time ago. I can't wait to see him fight once again. ESPECIALLY since he's going to be using his famed Emperor. The last time he sent it out he pummelled Pryce's Mamoswine into the dirt like it was nothing – despite the Type advantage.

FearTheRat : Can't wait to see how strong he's become now.

FutureAce : OMA I can't believe this is happening! I thought we'd be getting the 3v6 fight like we were promised, but this is even better!

FutureAce : How strong is John's Slaking anyways? I know we've seen him beat up Bruno's Machamp before, but that really isn't much, right? At least not when you compare it to Lance's Emperor and the way he beat up Pryce's Mamoswine.

From a relationship announcement to this?! Man, Cynthia really has a lot on her plate.

LoveIsEterna

Glad to hear that the criminals are at least fighting themselves rather than terrorising the innocent public. Forgive me for saying that I don't quite care if they continue fighting each other – in fact I encourage it!

Better themselves than us!

RockGetGrunt

Things weren't supposed to turn out like this...

The New Normal – 11-1 – Interlude – Archer

The plan was set.

Following his discussions with his boss, Archer had gotten everything ready. His team had been briefed, as far as possible while keeping the grand scheme of things still confidential, and preparations were made to strike at the Sinnoh terrorists when they next made their move.

Of course, Archer had to be very careful about it. Any kind of plan that involved intentionally drawing the attention of the authorities always had great risks attached, and the threat of psychic interrogations meant that he had to play things extra safe.

While Archer personally doubted that the Sinnoh Police would jump to psychic interrogations right off the bat – as such practices for obtaining information were, rightfully, deemed as the last-resort option only. And minor skirmishes that didn't involve civilians certainly weren't at that level.

Still, that was why Archer had hired on disposable mooks to be used for this exact situation. It was surprisingly easy to find criminals desperate enough for a quick and substantial paycheque; it seems like whoever was running things for the terrorists haven't been recruiting as much as they could have been.

Archer supposed it was difficult convincing a rational person to join a group dedicated to reshaping the world. It took a certain level of extremism to be okay with that.

So, Archer's mooks were paid well, given the right resources, and they were taught what to say if they were ever caught to point the fingers at the Sinnoh terrorists and deliver the right information to the authorities. But should they be captured and subjected to psychic interrogations, they wouldn't know enough to expose his plans since they didn't know anything about him or most of his team.

They had been very careful with how they corresponded with the well-paid cannon fodder.

The rest of his team, meanwhile, were to hang back and direct orders. They would be safely out of the way to retreat in time before the authorities could catch up.

And now was finally the time to strike.

He had split his team into two, both of them following a different group of grunts as they went about their dastardly business. Just like they had done before, the grunts were loitering around Lake Valor, likely scouting it out for some reason or the other.

Archer knew that the Jennys had been temporarily moved away from the Lakes and prioritised towards patrolling the city centres, since the latter were of far higher priority to keep safe in normal circumstances with the absence of the Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and Champion.

But that was perfect for Archer's purposes. It gave him time to smack these grunts around before the authorities could respond.

There would be no escape for them.

He brought his radio to his lips, "Go."

Instantly, flashes of light popped out around the forests surrounding the lake. Shouts of surprise could be heard as his ambush begun, and attacks were quickly thrown around as panic spread rapidly from the attacks that were flying in from all directions.

It was loud, it was chaotic, and it was a complete mess.

Archer knew that his mooks were disposable for a reason, and they did not live up to the discipline that he usually demanded of his subordinates.

But for today's purposes? That was good enough. He had brought in enough numbers to completely overwhelm his foe. A lack of discipline wouldn't matter at the moment. Not when the grunts were also taken by complete surprise – many of them hadn't even managed to throw out their Pokémon before they were swiftly taken out.

In fact, the generalised chaos of all of this would help sell the idea that this was an internal conflict. And something done for revenge rather than as part of a wider plan.

Archer watched the ambush unfold with a critical eye. Another purpose for this plan was to evaluate the level of training and the resources that these grunts had access to. But watching them fight today, he found that there was nothing remarkable about them.

They were decently well-trained, and were definitely better than the mooks he had hired, but were still nothing impressive. Nor were their Pokémon anything out of the ordinary – they weren't fielding anything notable or exceptional. Clearly, the lack of funding had hurt them.

Seeing that the battle was going well, Archer turned his attention to his watch and radio. He had teams monitoring the nearby cities for any reactions from the Jennys, and to report to him as soon as they set out for Lake Valor. The loud fighting was bound to attract attention.

Then his radio buzzed to life, "Team 1 has taken out all targets, over."

"Understood, start the clean up but keep making noise to attract attention, and be ready to get out of there when I say so, over." He replied. That was good. That meant that the Jennys were about to have plenty of evidence.

Then his radio buzzed again, "–this is Lookout. The Jennys are moving out from Pastoria City and are on the way, over."

"Copy that, over." He nodded. It was time to leave.

He quickly ordered his team for a full orderly retreat, making sure to recover as much evidence as they could that pointed to their involvement. Any of his own mooks that were knocked out in the fighting were quickly recovered and extracted, while they deliberately left the terrorists there to be captured before they scorched the area in flames to muddle up any evidence that could point his way.

Just as the Jennys arrived in full force, he had radio confirmation that his teams had all successfully evacuated. Archer himself decided to stick around while remaining concealed with his binoculars to make sure that the Jennys found what he wanted to them to find, and they did.

He watched from his hiding place as they arrested all those grunts, many of the Jennys frowning as they carefully inspected the carnage that they had wrought in their ambush. Archer hoped that the capture of over a dozen grunts would be enough of a wake-up call to alert the Sinnoh League to the presence of these terrorists once again.

But if that wasn't enough, then this was only going to be first of many ambushes that would take place. Archer was going to control the chaos so that it would be impossible for the Sinnoh League to ignore that they had an infestation problem that they had to sort out. The politicians could no longer sweep things under the rug any further.

Satisfied that the Jennys had got what he wanted them to, he left the area while thinking of his next steps.

After a few more ambushes like this, one of which was scheduled for tomorrow assuming everything stuck to plan, it would be impossible for these terrorists to hide their activities in the shadows. Whether they wanted to or not, the Sinnoh League would be forced to act, and Archer and his team would make sure that they had plenty of evidence to act upon.

And his boss was only too happy to ramp up the pressure

The New Normal – 11-2 – Grand Opening

"You seem to be chatting up a storm, I hope I'm not being left out." Cynthia joked as she approached us, having finally managed to temporarily extract herself from my family's questions.

"Not at all." Karen replied, "I was just talking about my Elite Four run."

"That's good. I have—" Unfortunately whatever she was about to say was cut off as a few League officials approached Cynthia.

"Champion Cynthia, apologies for the interruption, but there's an urgent matter that requires your attention." The official informed her.

"I see." Her face immediately turned serious, the mask of a Champion being slipped on, "Then lead the way."

She turned to me before she left, "John, let's talk again later."

I nodded as I watched her leave.

As she left, Whitney stepped up to me with a look of concern in her eye, "That sounds serious."

"It probably is." I murmured, though I think I knew what Cynthia was called away for. If my timing was correct, then Archer would have just launched his plans to ambush Team Galactic and bring them into the spotlight.

But I needed to know how things were going. "One sec," I told my family, "I need to make a call."

I stepped away from them and dashed out of the arena, making sure I was somewhere far away from any eavesdroppers or cameras before I rang up Giovanni.

"Giovanni, do you have any updates on what's going on?" I cut to the chase.

"I was just about to call you – but Archer succeeded." He was quick to tell me, "Everyone got out, and the criminals were all arrested by the Sinnoh police. I assume your girlfriend was just informed. Congratulations, by the way."

"Thank you." I said, but I focused on what was important, "Is Archer going to be stepping up his efforts? Trying to expose more of these criminals?"

"Yes, he tells me he's planning to do more ambushes in the future." Giovanni confirmed, "It serves two purposes. One, it'll diminish the terrorists' numbers even further, which will be especially useful since Archer reported that they aren't recruiting as much as we would have expected. And two, the controlled chaos that we'll spread will make it impossible for the Sinnoh League to ignore. If your girlfriend is smart, then she'll make full use of this opportunity to push for more drastic actions." Or you could advise her to do so, was what he implied but left unsaid.

"I'm sure she'll have things well in hand." I replied, remaining confident in Cynthia.

Like Giovanni said, now was the golden opportunity for us to strike and expose Team Galactic. But Cynthia, as the Champion of Sinnoh, needed to be the one calling the shots and making the right orders.

I trusted her to do so, "Anyways, thanks for the update. Is there anything else I should know about?"

"No, that's it from my end." He responded, "Archer and I have done what we can. But now it's time for the authorities to step in and clean up the mess that we've uncovered. I can't help you on that front, it's mostly going to be up to you."

"Understood. I won't waste this opportunity." I said firmly, "Let's talk again soon. I'll update you if I need you for anything."

I wrapped up my phone call with Giovanni and met up with my parents once again. They were all giving me questioning looks at my sudden departure, but Karen saw the look on my face and told them that it was best not to push me for answers.

I gave her a slight nod in appreciation, and I temporarily shelved any thoughts about what was happening in Sinnoh for the time being. Ultimately, I WASN'T supposed to know anything, so my hands were tied until I was officially 'told' about what was going on there.

So shaking my thoughts away from that, I refocused on my parents' conversation, "...You know you don't have to accompany us to Mauville, Karen. You don't have to be there for the grand opening." My mom told her.

"Especially since you have your fights in the Finals soon." My dad pointed out, "You could use this time to train if you need to."

"It's fine, it's just the afternoon." Karen waved them off, "And I want to be there too. I know this is a big thing for your family, and I want to be there to celebrate it with you."

That got a beaming smile to form on my mom's face as she pulled Karen into a hug, one that my sister decided she needed to be a part of. While that was happening, my dad turned to me.

"Are you able to call up Steven to be here for the grand opening?" He asked me, "It's okay if he's not available, but if he's promised to come then it would most effective if he came now."

"I'll give him a call." I nodded, before doing exactly that.

"Steven here." He picked up.

"Steven, it's John." I greeted.

"Oh! John! What a surprise!" He exclaimed cheerfully, "You know Bruno and I were both very surprised by what happened today. Both with your victory over Lance and with your announcement. Congratulations on both!"

"Thank you." I replied. The fact that Bruno and Steven were such close friends was STILL throwing me for a loop. But it was pretty amusing.

"Bruno and I actually have a bet on what'd made you happier – your victory over Lance or your relationship with Cynthia." He informed me, "Please tell me it's the former."

I chuckled, what kind of question was this?

"...I'm going to avoid answering the question." I ended up saying, maybe a bit cowardly, "I'm just very happy about both. With beating Lance, it's a testament and proof to myself and my team that our training wasn't for nothing, and it's something we all collectively should celebrate – for it is a great achievement."

"On the other hand, having a girlfriend that you truly feel right with is...irreplaceable." I continued, "I don't know how I would rank one over the other."

"Hm. Guess we both lost, then." Steven faux-grumbled, "Looks like I'm going to owe Bruno a favour now..."

Steven began muttering to himself, so I coughed to interrupt him, "Anyways, Steven. I called you because I was hoping you could attend the grand opening of our new shop in Mauville. Are you free at the moment?"

"Ah! I knew I was forgetting something!" Steven snapped his fingers, "Yes, apologies. It totally slipped my mind. Don't worry, I'll head there right away with Bruno. Thank you for the reminder. It would be unseemly for me to break my promise."

Bruno was coming too? That...was a pleasant surprise. His inclusion could only be a good thing for PR. "Then I'll meet the two of you there." I told them.

The call ended soon after that, and I repeated Steven's words to my dad, who looked happy what he heard.

"If the both of them are coming, then I think our grand opening of our little shop is bound to be a success." He smiled hopefully, "Maybe it'll be more popular than we expected."

==========

?We arrived at Mauville City shortly afterwards. It had been a long time since I had been here, and I could tell that Karen and I were both reminiscing about our old memories here.

"...Did you know that I caught your Whismur here?" I told my sister.

"Really?" She asked, her eyes gleaming with interest.

"Yes, I remember that." Karen chuckled, "It was a small and shy little thing. I'm pretty sure it was attracted by the sounds of our little party and from the smell of the food."

"It was also frightened by my team." I laughed, "It's come a long way since then, hasn't it?"

It wasn't just Whismur that had come a long way, but the city of Mauville as well. Whereas before much of it was still under construction, with much of Mauville still empty, now it was a different story. Though there were still areas under construction, much of Mauville City had already been built. Many shops and stores had settled in, and I could already see crowds of people walking around the place as they enjoyed the large variety of attractions available here.

It really was starting to become the Mauville City I knew from the games.

My family and I carefully manoeuvred our way around the crowds as we headed to where our store was. Thanks to Joseph's efforts, we had gotten a prime location for our store – it was right next to the exit to Route 110, where the huge Cycling Road was.

It was the perfect location for a store that sold drinks.

Plus, the effects of my popularity had clearly made itself known right now, as the relatively small store had a crowd of people waiting around it as they took pictures of the grand opening. Our employees that we had hired to run the place looked a bit overwhelmed at seeing the huge crowd that they had gathered there, and I overheard them worrying about whether they had enough supplies to serve them all.

That only got worse when the crowd caught sight of my arrival, and I instantly became the centre of attention as I was bombarded with questions. Amidst the utter chaos that was their tide of questions, I was barely able to register that most of their questions either revolved around my victory over Lance or my relationship with Cynthia.

Fortunately, before I was completely overwhelmed, our two guests of honour had also arrived. Steven and Bruno rocked up, with the former being as eye-catching as ever in his ever-immaculate suit and pristine outfit that looked like it was worth more than the newly opened store.

And then there was Bruno.

If Steven was eye-catching because of the obvious wealth on display, then Bruno was eye-catching because of the obvious muscle mass on display. The man was, as usual, a big hulking brute that literally towered over us. I was used to seeing Bruno, but for the common people, seeing his absolutely colossal figure was jaw dropping. Even Karen and Whitney, who had been standing next to me, blinked surprisingly at Bruno.

"...He's big." My sister whispered, getting a small chuckle from me.

"John! Congratulations! Hope I made it just in time!" Steven greeted me with a handshake, casually but deliberately pushing past the crowd and freeing me from their grasp.

"No, it should be me thanking you. I appreciate you coming here." I smiled back, and then greeted Bruno with a nod that he returned. The crowd immediately began chattering as the two arrived, with cameras flashing as people hurried to take their picture. However, some tried to get even more pushy now that they were here, but a quick glare from Bruno reminded them to remain polite.

Ah. No wonder Steven kept Bruno around. The man was a walking reporter repellent.

Then, my sister eagerly ran up to the two of them, "It's nice to meet you! I'm Whitney! John's sister! I've heard about you, Bruno, I saw your match against John! You're very strong!"

Apparently my sister's enthusiasm was too much for Bruno's stoic demeanour, and he broke into a slight smile, "Thank you. He was a worthy opponent, one that I would like to fight again in some time."

"What were you thinking about when fighting John?" My sister continued to ask more questions, "You actually took out his Ursaluna! I want to know how you did it!"

That started an animated discussion between the two of them as my sister pestered Bruno with her questions, though he seemed happy to entertain her. My sister's charm proving overwhelming once again.

"They get along surprisingly well." Steven commented with an amused look on his face, then he turned to Karen, "And you have my apologies for not greeting you earlier, Karen. It is nice to meet you again. I heard you were fighting your way through the Conference?"

"I am." She confirmed, "That's something you're going to be attempting next year, isn't it?"

"You have that right." Steven nodded as he patted Bruno on the shoulder, "That's why I hired this big lug to train with me. Having a training partner really helped."

Karen chuckled, "Tell me about it. Training with John was more useful than weeks of self-study."

"...You know, I've always been curious about something, Steven." Karen continued, "Everyone knows you're rich, but does that actually translate into benefits for training your Pokémon? Surely with your level of wealth you must have access to certain resources that make things easier."

I also listened intently. This was something I wanted to know too.

"That's a good question." Steven approved, "And yes, there are plenty of resources out there that are available to those who can afford it that can actually give you a leg up. But it's not nearly as useful as you think beyond the earlier stages of training."

"For example, there are always private teachers out there that specialise in training Pokémon. If you can afford their high rates, then they'll help train your Pokémon FOR you. Not only that, but so long as you have the money, it isn't difficult to just buy yourself a powerful Pokémon to start with. Many of my peers with similar levels of wealth to mine make use of these tools." He explained to us.

"However, it is my opinion that relying on such methods end up being detrimental to your development as a trainer." He said, "Let's use Bruno as an example. There is no way that he could replicate his level of training and discipline in his Pokémon if he relied on using cash to substitute his own hard work."

"Your Pokémon need to see the hard work that you put in for them. And ultimately, they are your Pokémon, and only you can accurately tell what they need to work on to better fit your preferred method of fighting. No amount of money can fix that."

"That being said, I won't be denying that money is not useful. Of course it is. Having money means that you can throw it at a bunch of smaller problems and make them non-issues. And it really helps out when you're first getting started, since you'd be able to buy as many Pokéballs, healing items, etc. as you want. However, to get to the level of strength shown in your match against Lance, you could never get there by just relying on wealth alone."

Karen and I both nodded at that, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a few people had been recording our conversation. There was no way Steven didn't notice them - did he say all this intentionally?

Either way, I fully agreed with his words. Having money helped, but it wasn't enough to rely on it.

Then my dad's voice cut through the crowd, "Okay! Thank you to all of you for being here for our humble little opening! I am greatly honoured and proud to finally introduce what will hopefully be the first of many of our shops in Hoenn!"

"Of course we couldn't be here today without the help of our son – who you all will know as the famed Elite Four of Indigo." My dad smiled as he pulled me close, "Therefore, we have a special treat for everyone today! For the first hour after our grand opening, anyone who makes a purchase will receive a complementary autograph from John!"

"And me too!" My sister chimed in, "I mean, if anyone wants mine, I'll be happy to sign!"

That got the crowd excited. This was something that we agreed upon as a family. Although they were reluctant to rely fully on my popularity, it was undeniable how effective of a marketing opportunity this was for the business, and I was happy to help out.

Therefore, for the next hour, that was what I was doing. I spent some time manning the counter alongside our other employees, giving out autographs to anyone who wanted one. There were many that also asked Whitney for her own autograph, though most of them didn't know who she was outside of 'being John's sister'.

Still, there were some that recognised her for her achievements as a trainer – and that recognition caused a beaming smile to form on my sister's face that never really went away. I was just glad to see that I didn't completely overshadow her.

Steven, Bruno, and Karen actually left shortly after the grand opening, after the necessary pictures were taken. Apparently they had agreed to spar with each other.

I couldn't help but wonder who would come out on top. I didn't know enough about Steven to give an accurate prediction of his strength, and I felt that Karen and Bruno were very evenly matched to the point where I couldn't guess who would win.

Bruno would destroy Karen's Pokémon if he managed to get close. Yet at the same time, Bruno might have trained up his Pokémon's mental discipline, but I strongly doubted that it would be enough to deal with Karen's specialised way of fighting.

Nevertheless, the next hour passed peacefully and enjoyably, even if my writing hand was becoming to become strained from all the signing I was doing. But it was all worth it after I saw the proud and satisfied expressions on my parents' faces.

This was proof that they had made it. That they could be more than just impoverished farmers struggling to make ends meet. It was a sign that the family business could expand and grow beyond the borders of Indigo – that it could truly become an international business and compete with the best of them.

After my duties at the grand opening was done with, I made my way out and was about to call up Karen to ask her about her match before my phone started ringing first.

I frowned as soon as I realised it was a conference call. From Lance. I tapped into the call and found myself in a room with Lance, Wallace, Drake, Lorelei, Lucian, and Cynthia.

This was serious.

"Hello, John. Thank you for joining us." Lance greeted, lacking his usual friendliness, "I hope you're in a secure area, because we have important matters to discuss."

"One second," I quickly ran over to an empty spot outside of Mauville City where there would be no eavesdroppers, "Okay, go ahead."

Cynthia started them off, "Lucian has informed me that we have recently made a handful of arrests of criminals that we suspected are related to those terrorists that caused serious damage in both Hoenn and Indigo. Upon further interrogation, we have come to realise the true extent of their infiltration within Sinnoh and the true number of resources available to them. Of course, this is something we have always suspected, but today we have finally gotten confirmation about several of their bases that they possess within our borders."

"As we speak, they have been labelled as international terrorists, with operations already underway to secure and capture these bases and return them to the hands of the authorities – and we have already made some significant findings. Namely that the amount of resources made available to these criminals prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that one of the big businesses in Sinnoh or a coalition of them have secretly been backing these terrorists."

"Unfortunately, we do not know who that is at the moment. But we know that one of them must have forged their reported numbers during the first audit that we performed for them. And I suspect that this may be because they have an insider working to help conceal their illicit activities. Considering the wealth of resources that they seem to have, this seems to be the most likely reason why we were unable to find any anomalies until now."

"As a result of possible criminal infiltration into our ranks, the Elite Four and I have collectively elected to reach out to both Hoenn and Indigo for assistance to root out these international terrorists. More specifically, we would ask that you send over teams of auditors to assist us as a neutral third party to identify where these terrorists are getting their resources from, since it is extremely unlikely that your groups will have similar spies implanted within. I know that Indigo specifically has the Indigo Revenue Service, and I am formally requesting their assistance."

"Also, do not worry about any issues about confidentiality – all audit results are made accessible to the public anyways, and the fact that we're working to uncover international terrorists should stave off any other criticisms."

Lance spoke up next, "I have already agreed. Lorelei, this will be your next big task for your new organisation. I will be sending you and your team over there posthaste. Do well."

She nodded firmly, though there was a hint of excitement that she failed to fully hide. This was a wonderful opportunity for her to prove her competence and further establish her credentials as the 'anti-corruption' expert. If she did well here, then she could use her achievements to catapult her political reputation.

Wallace was next, "Drake, John, I understand that you both are planning on heading to Sinnoh soon for a brief holiday?" We both nodded, "Well consider your holiday converted into a working holiday. Lance and I both agree that the two of you should be sent over to Sinnoh as a show of force and to help out in case of emergencies."

"We don't expect you to have to really do anything, but just the two of you being there should also add pressure and cause the terrorists to reconsider before they take part in any rash actions." He explained, "After all, after your successes in stamping them out of Hoenn, I doubt they will be so keen to face the two of you again."

We both nodded in understanding. I didn't really mind, since I got to spend time in Sinnoh.

"Then that will be all from us today." Cynthia concluded, "You all have your orders. I apologise for how abrupt this all was, but I fully intend to eradicate this criminal threat to Sinnoh before they can be allowed to fester even further."

"Thank you once again, and I will speak to all of you again soon in Sinnoh. Have a good day." With those final words, she ended the call. However, even though the contents of the call were serious and slightly concerning, I couldn't help but smile.

Because we were finally taking the fight to Team Galactic. They had slipped up, and now they were going to pay the price for it.