The New Normal - A Pokémon Elite 4 SI by CartecFF

Chapter 4: 13-15

The New Normal – 2-6 – Interlude: Pokénet reactions

[NEWCOMER JOHN SMITH IS THE WINNER OF THIS YEAR'S INDIGO CONFERENCE! NEWEST ELITE FOUR?!] by BattleCast

As any BattleCast reader should know, the Kanto newcomer John Smith has become the winner of this year's Indigo Conference, beating out the Johto favourite Shin in a decisive victory. Though many supporters from Johto may have been unhappy with John's victory, it is undeniable that John's unusual Normal type team was able to demolish Shin in the final battle.

John's starter, a Slaking of all things, was nigh unstoppable on the battlefield, taking out THREE of Shin's Pokémon and looking none worse for wear! An unbelievable performance from a Pokémon with such a young trainer; how did John manage to train the normally lazy Slaking into such a powerhouse? Even Shin's Ace Pokémon, Scizor, responsible for knocking out the other Johto's favourite, and niece of Champion Pryce, Lorelei, fell to Slaking's immense strength and surprising proficiency with the use of Fire Punch and Flamethrower.

Through careful study of the battle, our experts at BattleCast are certain that John's Slaking's possesses a diverse move pool consisting of all three elemental punches; an unbelievably strong variety of moves that our experts say was one of the major factors that allowed John to become this year's Indigo Conference winner.

Let us not forget about John's other Pokémon, as they are all very formidable in their own right. His Ursaluna, a completely new evolution of Ursaring discovered by John himself, is a very powerful Ground/Normal type that John relied on heavily to smash through the many Fire, Steel, and Electric types that were a common sight in this year's Indigo Conference. Although his Ursaluna was overshadowed by his Slaking's incredibly dominant performance, this writer is going to keep an interested eye on Ursaluna and its future battles.

With John's victory at the Indigo Conference coinciding with Elite Blaine's recent retirement from the position to take up Gym Leader duties at the Cinnabar Gym, some are beginning to speculate if this mean that John will become the next trainer to join the prestigious ranks of the Elite Four? This writer certainly hopes so. #John4Elite4

[Comments]

FutureAce

John's Slaking was a fucking beast! Holy shit! Shin stood absolutely no chance in that last match. Did you see Shin's Scizor getting pulverised into the ground by that thing? Absolute monster. I have no idea how you would actually fight that thing, but I really do hope John gets into the Elite Four, he absolutely deserves it. #John4Elite4

ANormalFan

Hell yes! I've been following John's progress ever since he was in the news for his discovery of Ursaluna and Wyrdeer. John's proving to the world that Normal type Pokémon aren't just 'safe' Pokémon for children to practice with! They're powerhouses in their own right and John's going to prove that to the world! Let's GOOOOO! #John4Elite4

FightClub

Bah! You Normal type fanboys always get so excited when someone wins using their Normal types. Everyone knows that all it takes to beat a Normal type is a strong Fighting type Pokémon. John just got lucky that Fighting types were so rare in this year's Indigo Conference. One Machamp and John's entire team is done.

ANormalFan

What kind of crack are you spouting?! Did you even watch the match? John's Slaking took a Superpower from Shin's Scizor and shrugged it off if it was nothing. You must be high on those revival herbs if you think that John's team will lose to a Machamp. #John4Elite4

FightClub

Yeah okay pal so his Slaking took one Superpower and didn't fall over, big deal. We'll see what happens when he's up against a real Fighting Type move.

IceColdSimp

HAH! Get fucked Shin! That's what you fucking get for knocking out Lorelei! Lorelei would've whooped your ass if not for you abusing your type advantages like that. Fucking loser.

FlyingHigh

Why are you blaming Shin for making use of type advantages??? That's like, the first thing you're taught at trainer school. Don't blame Shin for doing what he's supposed to.

IceColdSimp

Shut up hater! Shin should've fought Lorelei like a real man! Lorelei would've easily beaten John if only Shin didn't cheat!

FlyingHigh

Okay buddy, whatever you say. The next time you get into a Pokémon battle, don't make use of type advantages, and see how that goes. I'm rooting for you.

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?[FROM RAGS TO ELITE FOUR! JOHN SMITH OFFICIALLY SWORN IN AS THE YOUNGEST MEMBER OF THE ELITE FOUR! A HISTORICAL OCCASION!] by The Indigo Post

Yes, you read that right dear readers! Just after a day since newcomer John Smith won this year's Indigo Conference, he has been sworn in as a member of the Elite Four! Not only that, but John is the youngest trainer in history to join the Elite Four, at only 16-years-old! What a magnificent feat that really highlights his strengths and achievements as a trainer.

At his swearing in ceremony, John made a speech about forming closer ties between Kanto and Johto and hopes to solve some of the issues that plagues both nations. Does this mean that the now Elite John will be active in the political sphere with his newfound influence as a member of the Elite Four? What does this mean for the future of Indigo? What part will Elite John play in shaping it?

Nevertheless, Elite John's story and journey to become a member of the Elite Four is equal parts inspiring and depressing. From his poverty-ridden youth as a son of poor farmers, it was reported that he had no chance of getting a sponsor and that he was barely even able to afford a Pokéball to catch his now infamous starter, to a successful trainer and researcher with two new Pokémon discovered and has now managed to get himself chosen to join the Elite Four at such a young age.

And now that John has made it into the Elite Four; what new wonders will he bring to the table? This reporter is eagerly watching John's story and wishes him all the best.

Comments

ANormalFan

LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOO! JOHN DID IT! HOLY SHIT HE'S MADE HISTORY! NORMAL TYPES FTW!!!

KantoRepresent

Very happy about seeing a Kantonian replace Blaine, especially one that takes an interest in helping out Kanto. Arceus knows that we don't need the divide between Kanto and Johto to become worse!

ILoveGoldenRod

*sigh* another paranoid fool that once again overdramatises the divide between Kanto and Johto. Relax, dude, it's not that bad.

KantoRepresent

Not that bad?!? Have you even taken a look at the two regions' economies? Kanto is consistently lagging behind Johto and it gets worse every year! The gap is REAL!

ILoveGoldenRod

...there's no arguing with idiots.

IceColdSimp

OMG they chose John over Lorelei to become the next Elite Four member?? Do the selection committee have eyes?!? Why would they choose that simpleton over our QUEEN!??!?!?!?

FlyingHigh

Um, you realize that Pryce was involved in choosing John right??? You know, Lorelei's own UNCLE chose John over her???

FearTheRat

Okay okay enough with the politics. Where do you think John ranks in terms of strength within the Elite Four?

FutureAce

Definitely stronger than Walker, but then again that's not a high bar to clear. How is he even still in the Elite Four?

KantoRepresent

Obviously because Pryce still needs a loyal Johto lapdog to remain in the Elite Four! Why else would he still be there? Walker is weaker than Giovanni!

FearTheRat

Ignoring the politics once again, I do agree that Walker is easily the weakest of the Elite Four. So, what about Lance or Agatha? Do you think that John is stronger than them?

DragonPower

LMAO are you serious?! Do you think John's Normal types even have a chance to win against Lance's DRAGONS?! Lance would demolish John if they ever fought, just you wait.

ANormalFan

Did you even watch John's past matches??? His Pokémon have destroyed Dragon type Pokémon before, how would Lance be any different?

DragonPower

'How would Lance be any different' LMAO OK buddy. You can't compare those baby ass dragons to Lance's monsters. Lance is on a different level from all you posers. He'll be Champion one day, just watch. #ChampionLance

IceColdSimp

HAH! Like that's ever going to happen. Pryce's Ice Types will destroy Lance. Don't you know Dragons are weak to Ice? Fucking idiot.

FlyingHigh

...What was that about not abusing type weaknesses that you were saying before?

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

?[AD: Why use potions when you can use the Smith's family MooMoo Milk? Used by Elite Four John!]

The MooMoo milk produced by the Smith family is an inexpensive alternative to potions that is both capable of healing your Pokémon as well as developing their muscles and strength. Our MooMoo milk also provides important nutrients so that your Pokémon is able to grow strong and healthy.

One MooMoo Milk a day keeps the Nurse Joy away!

Don't believe us? Just ask Elite Four John!

"I'm John Smith, and this is my favourite MooMoo milk brand in Indigo." – Now Elite Four John.

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?Topic: [NEWEST ELITE FOUR ALREADY BUSY WITH THE GILRS? ELITE FOUR JOHN SEEN FLIRTING WITH AGATHA'S APPRENTICE!!] by Baby Doll Eyes

[Image attached]

Look what I saw at Elite John's swearing in ceremony!!! He's already talking up Agatha's apprentice while Agatha's standing right there! Is Agatha already trying to get her hooks in John by seducing him with her apprentice? Or is John already using his newfound title as a way of getting girls?? OMA the DRAMA!!!

Comments

AttractIsNotConsent

Typical powerful male using his power to get a girl just because he can't get one normally. I bet if John wasn't a member of the Elite Four, Agatha's apprentice wouldn't even give him the time of day!

BeautyIsFree

@AttractIsNotConsent ...but they look cute together.

Gardevoir34

Honestly, I wouldn't mind getting to know that girl a bit better if you know what I'm saying?? How does she even get her hair to stay like that?? I'm jealous!!

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?[OPINION: ELITE FOUR JOHN TOO YOUNG FOR POSITION? ELITE FOUR MORE THAN JUST A MEASURE OF STRENGTH!] by Exploud Reviews

In the wake of Elite Four John's swearing in ceremony as the newest member of the Elite Four, I have read many articles praising how young Elite John is and how amazing he must be to earn the title of Elite Four at such a young age. And yet, the people who mindlessly praise him have yet to consider the consequences of entrusting such an important political system in the hands of someone so young.

To be clear, I am not doubting his strength as a trainer. I believe that his match record is clear evidence to demonstrate that he is deserving of the position from his efforts as a trainer. However, a member of the Elite Four NEEDS to be more than just a trainer, they must have the political wit, intelligence, and skills to be able to represent Indigo in a multitude of matters....(Click Here to continue reading)

Comments

IceColdSimp

Hell yes! Replace John with Lorelei! She'll be good enough to handle all the political thingies! And if not, she can ask her uncle, literally CHAMPION Pryce, to do it for her! Win-Win!

FlyingHigh

Bro...just no. That would be so bad on so many different levels that I can't even explain it to you.

KantoRepresent

Yea, what he said. Also, having 3 members of the Elite Four being from Johto is going to make things even worse for Kanto! We're already behind Johto! We don't need to give them more fuel!

ILoveGoldenRod

Ignoring your obsession with the 'divide' between Kanto and Johto, I think the author is right that John might be too young for the position. Maybe he's only a member of the Elite Four temporarily? Until they can find someone better?

TangelaThoughts

Kinda agree tbh. I mean, I like John as a trainer, and he has proven himself to have a clever mind with his new Pokémon discoveries. But I think someone more experienced and older would be more suitable.

ANormalFan

WTF?! You want to kick out Elite John because you think he's 'too young'? That's such a dumb reason he hasn't had time to prove himself yet! And come on, someone who can train his Pokémon to be that strong can't be a bad member of the Elite Four.

FlyingHigh

Eh, that's true. Blaine was more focused on being a scientist than he was as a member of the Elite Four. Not surprised he quit tbh.

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?[ELITE JOHN SPOTTED IN HOENN! What is he doing there?] by The Indigo Post

[Video clip of Drake yelling at everyone to leave them alone]

The newest and youngest ever member of the Elite Four, John Smith, has recently been spotted in Hoenn just a few days after his swearing in ceremony! What is he doing there? And why was he spotted talking to a member of the Hoenn Elite Four, Drake?

This reporter was attempting to interview John before being rudely told to leave by Elite Drake. He even threatened this reporter with his Flygon! This reporter thinks that the behaviour shown by the Hoenn Elite Four has been completely unacceptable and utterly barbaric and should be reprimanded harshly for his poor behaviour.

So, what is Elite John doing talking to such a rude individual? Why has he made his way to Hoenn so soon? This reporter leaves the speculation to the readers!

Comments

ANormalFan

Obviously, he's there to catch more Normal types. I mean, now that he's won the Indigo Conference, why wouldn't he go to Hoenn to catch more Pokémon? Seems like a reasonable thing to me!

DragonPower

Hell yeah look at that Flygon! That's such a cool Dragon type – wish I had one.

ILoveGoldenRod

WTF?! Is nobody going to comment about how atrocious that Hoenn Elite Four member was acting? Who the fuck gets a Flygon to yell at people just because they were trying to talk to you? And he was openly swearing in public too! Disgraceful!

NotTooMuchWater

Yeah but, it's DRAKE. Shouting at people and threatening people with his Flygon is like, his thing.

ILoveGoldenRod

?!???!?!? How are you not ashamed about his behaviour??? He literally told that reporter to fuck off!

NotTooMuchWater

Yeah, but we like him anyways. He's DRAKE for Arceus sake, the dude's way too cool not to be a member of the Elite Four. And besides, us Hoenn folks are all used to it by now. Him telling you to fuck off is basically his standard greeting.

SlugmaBalls

Drake is a boss! He's not even that scary! If you just look past his swearing, he's actually a nice guy!

NotTooMuchWater

^Exactly! Besides, Glacia is way scarier. Those eyes man, those eyes.

DragonPower

Do you think John is there to fight Drake? To show off the power of Kanto or something? If so, my money's on Drake. Those Dragon types will crush John.

FearTheRat

Dude, aren't you from Indigo? Shouldn't you be supporting OUR Elite Four Member??

DragonPower

My loyalty is only to DRAGONS!!!!!!

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

?[ELITE JOHN TAKES ON NORMAN AT THE PETALBURG GYM! A STUNNING 3V3 MATCH BETWEEN TWO NORMAL SPECIALISTS!] by BattleCast

[Edited video of the fight]

We had an amazing surprise match today from our very own Elite Four John against the Petalburg City Gym Leader, Norman. Both Normal specialists, the two had apparently met up and decided on a friendly 3v3 match between them, and what a spectacle it was!

Thanks to the many video clips that were sent by our dear readers to us at BattleCast, we were able to compile a complete showing of the fight between Elite John and Gym Leader Norman! Gym Leader Norman really put up a fight with his Swellow, almost knocking out Elite John's Snorlax with a devastating Brave Bird that managed to break the psychic shields around the arena!

BUT, Elite John's Slaking continues its dominating streak as it pummelled Norman's own Slaking to the ground, tanking Norman's final Giga Impact without breaking a sweat. An absolutely incredible showing once again, and we at BattleCast are very lucky to have it all on tape for your viewing pleasure.

Comments

ANormalFan

HELLL YEAH! Two Normal Type specialists duking it out??? It's like my dream come true!

KantoRepresent

Glad to see that Elite John isn't embarrassing us over there in Hoenn. Keep up the victories John! Show Hoenn what us Kantonians can do!

NotTooMuchWater

Despite losing, I was pretty happy with Norman's performance against a member of the Elite Four. His Swellow and Slaking really managed to stand up against John's stronger Pokémon. Sure, it was a pretty decisive loss, but it's not like anyone was expecting a Gym Leader to beat a member of the Elite Four, even if it is from another region. 7.8/10 great job from Norman.

FutureAce

Did you see that explosion from Swellow's Brave Bird and Snorlax's Giga Impact?!?!? That was BEAST. Destroying the psychic barriers like that? Crazy shit. I love it. Wish I was there. Must've been COOOOL!!

FearTheRat

...you know that the people that were at the fight were at risk of getting injured or worse right? The psychic barriers BROKE. You know?? The barriers meant to protect you from getting hurt??? And you wanted to be THERE???

AreYouSlowBro

I was there at the fight, and yes, I was momentarily deafened. Yes, I was almost hit by a flying rock. Yes, I had to go to the Pokémon center afterwards because dust got into my mouth and nose. BUT IT WAS WORTH IT. THAT SHIT WAS SO COOL!!!

SlugmaBalls

Norman really put up a fight!! Fucking awesome battle. The Slaking v Slaking fight was amazing to watch. It was so brutal, and I love it. Hope we can see more battles like this in the future!!

FightClub

Y'all are making a big fuss about nothing once again. Two so called 'elite' trainers fighting each other when they both lose to a single Fighting type. Get real. Wake me up when something interesting actually happens.

Gardevoir34

OMA did you see Agatha's apprentice appear in that one second where the camera was knocked over from the impact? Is she there to watch John battle???? OMA that's so cute!!!!!!!!!

FearTheRat

...So instead of paying attention to the big explosion from two powerful Pokémon slamming into each other with their most powerful attacks...you focus on a girl that you don't even know the name of that appears for less than a second?

...I don't get some people.

The New Normal – 2-7 – Devon Corp

I woke up the next day feeling refreshed and excited for the day ahead; today was the day that I was going to head to Devon Corp to discuss the joint research plan with them. I texted Giovanni to let him know that I was in Rustboro and that I was going to visit Devon Corp before noon. I got a quick 'okay.' back from him.

I also texted Karen and let her know that I was leaving and that, unfortunately, she couldn't accompany me to this meeting. I didn't wait for a response from her as I figured that she was probably still asleep and not going to visit Devon Corp was probably a good thing for her as it allowed her to sleep more. Sometimes, I could relate to that.

With breakfast eaten and my new egg appropriately secured and stored away safely in my room, I made my way to the Devon Corp building. I had expected to need to wait at the reception for a few moments before anyone would come and see me, but apparently Giovanni had called ahead and told them to expect me, which meant that I was promptly escorted by a nice lady at the reception to the CEO's office. It was moments like these which made me appreciate my connections with Giovanni...if only I could trust him.

After experiencing one of the smoothest elevator rides ever, I was standing in front of the door with the sign 'Joseph Stone, CEO' hanging ceremoniously on it. I knocked softly on the door and after receiving a 'come in' I opened the door and was greeted by Joseph Stone.

"Ah, Elite John, it's a pleasure to meet you. Giovanni told me all about you." Joseph greeted kindly.

"Mr. Stone, it's an honour to meet you too." I replied politely. Suddenly, my nervousness came back to me, and I started to become worried that Joseph would refuse my proposal or that I would blunder my speech. I ruthlessly quashed that nervousness though; I was a member of the Elite Four, and I forced myself to act like one.

"No, it really should be me saying that to you, Elite John. My son, Steven Stone, is a huge fan of yours." He responded back.

"Oh?" That name certainly piqued my curiosity. I knew that Steven hadn't become the Champion of Hoenn yet, so I had been wondering when he would make his challenge for the position. "Is your son a trainer?" I asked as I pretended not to know.

"Oh yes, he's an amazing trainer, especially for how young he is. I actually think he's of similar age to you. Very talented, much better than I was at his age." Joseph gushed fondly, "I might be biased as a parent, but I think he has real potential at making it into the Elite Four! Maybe he'll become the greatest Steel type specialist in Hoenn!"

"Steven is a Steel Type specialist?" I asked, pretending to be curious.

"Yes, he is. And his team is very strong! Oh, you know his starter, well it's now a Metagross, and he also has a...." Joseph began listing Steven's team and how strong they all were.

I gave an exasperated smile as I listened to Joseph ramble and gush for minutes about Steven's talents as a trainer and how proud he was of him. Although I didn't really care too much about his praise for Steven, his very obvious love for his son was a good indicator that he was a good person deep down and that I could trust him and work with him in the future. It was very difficult to fake love like that.

After a few minutes, Joseph suddenly widened his eyes and coughed embarrassingly.

"Uh, sorry about that. I can get quite passionate when talking about Steven." He said awkwardly.

"No, it's fine." I allowed, "And, honestly, your praise for your son has made me interested to meet him one day. Especially since you said that he was a fan of mine and that we're of similar ages. Maybe after our discussion, we can arrange for a time for us to meet?"

"Absolutely! Yes, I think he would love that." Joseph agreed immediately with a bright smile, "I'll be sure to let him know after our discussion."

Joseph's face then lost all of his earlier cheerfulness as it became serious. "Alright, I think we've wasted enough time with the pleasantries." I nodded, straightening up as I listened carefully. "From what Giovanni has told me, you wanted to set up a joint research project with scientists provided by myself and Giovanni to see if we can discover how we can mass produce this 'Porygon' and if we can find out how to evolve it, amongst other things, is that right?"

"Yes, that's correct." I confirmed, "And Gym Leader Norman of Petalburg City has already given preliminary permission for us to make use of a currently unused plot of land in Petalburg to build the research facility."

"That's good, finding the land for these projects is often one of the hardest and most expensive steps." Joseph commented with a thoughtful look on his face, "do you know how we will discuss the division of costs? Who is going to pay for what?"

"Uh, no I don't know anything about that." I admitted with some embarrassment, "But, Gym Leader Giovanni did want me to call him when I met with you, Mr. Stone. So, with your permission, I'd like to video call him and add him to this discussion. I'm sure he'll be able to answer the more logistical questions."

"Yes, that's fine. Please call him now." Joseph said, and I grabbed my phone and dialled Giovanni.

"Hello?" Giovanni answered through my phone.

"This is John. I'm currently meeting with Mr. Stone, and I will be switching to video call so that you can join in on the conversation." I told him.

"Yes, do that." He replied, and I swapped to video. I balanced my phone on a small cigar box on Joseph's desk so that we both could see Giovanni and he could see us via the camera.

"It's a pleasure to speak with you again, Mr. Stone." Giovanni began easily, "Has John brought you up on our proposal?" I could hear the emphasis that Giovanni placed on 'our', but I didn't mind. After all, his scientists were a vital component of my proposal.

"Yes, he has." Joseph responded, "He has told me that you were willing to send out your scientists to collaborate with mine in order to undergo further research about Porygon. He has also told me that Gym Leader Norman was amenable to allow us to set up a research building in Petalburg. So far, I do like what I'm hearing, but I had a few logistical questions that John told me to ask you about."

"Of course, please, go ahead." Giovanni smoothly replied. The two of them began discussing how they would handle the more administrative aspects of my proposal. They talked about how many scientists would be sent over, how they would be paid, who would pay for the rent for the building, and so on and so forth.

Listening to them hash out the details made me very glad that I didn't need to think of these things. I may be a good trainer, but these logistical matters were far out of my field of knowledge. Thank Arceus Giovanni was more than capable of handling these matters; I would have fumbled them so hard.

However, I made a mental note to myself to learn more about how to handle these administrative matters in the future; I didn't want to rely on Giovanni or others to deal with these matters for me forever. Learning how to talk logistics could prove fruitful for my future plans as a member of the Elite Four.

After several minutes where I just sat there silently and listened as Joseph and Giovanni went back and forth as they negotiated the finer details, they eventually came to an agreement about how the joint research project will go forward.

Essentially, each side will be paying the salaries of their own scientists. However, Giovanni wanted to ensure that the project would be headed by someone under his employ, and in return, he would be paying for the construction of the research facility. Joseph agreed with these terms, and they metaphorically shook on it.

Joseph said that he would forward the proposal to Norman after the meeting and asked if we had any other topics to discuss with him, since he didn't even have any other meetings for the rest of the day.

"I do, actually." I suddenly spoke up, "Mr. Stone, from my understanding, Devon Corp currently doesn't have any branch offices set up in Indigo, is that correct?"

"Ah, I see where you're going with this." Joseph replied thoughtfully, "You want me to set up a branch office in Indigo? Do you have a place where we could do this?"

"Well, I was thinking that, in light with your newfound cooperation with Giovanni, why not set up a branch office in Viridian?" Even through the video camera of my phone, I could see Giovanni's eyes light up as his mouth morphed into a feral smile as he heard my proposal. That was good, I wanted him to know that I was someone who would pay back their debts and favours.

"Yes, that's a good idea." Joseph responded, then he sighed. "I can't believe I didn't make this offer myself, it seems so obvious in hindsight. And I assume that you are okay with this, Gym Leader Giovanni?"

"Of course, John's idea is a huge gift for me." Giovanni answered with a hint of something in his voice that I couldn't quite place. "Oh, and John, you should sign off on this project too using your position as a member of the Elite Four. It'll allow you to get the credit and it'll also ensure that no one can demand Devon Corp to move their branch to Johto."

Ah, I understood where Giovanni was saying with this. He wanted to ensure that Kanto would reap the benefits of Devon Corp's move, not Johto. And to do this, he needed my influence as an Elite Four to deter the Indigo League from demanding that Devon Corp should move to Johto instead of being set up in Viridian.

"Of course, I will sign off the proposal when it comes." I told them, before something concerning sprung to mind, "However, what about Silph Co.? Wouldn't they make a fuss about having to compete with Devon Corp?"

Giovanni gave out a surprising bark of laughter when he heard this. Joseph and I turned to him in confusion before he coughed and regained his composure. "My apologies, I shouldn't have laughed at that." He said, "But I can assure you both that Silph Co. will not make a fuss about it. That is my guarantee."

Joseph nodded happily at that, thinking that Giovanni's statement was innocuous. I nodded too, but I had my suspicions that Giovanni's 'guarantee' was because he had dirt on Silph Co., or members of their board, that he would use as leverage to ensure their cooperation. If that was true, then while I wasn't super comfortable with the idea that Giovanni was blackmailing or threatening people, it really wasn't something I was going to pick a fight about.

I knew that these were the risks of working and collaborating with Giovanni, and for the most part, I can wilfully ignore these kinds of under-the-table activities. Sure, I found these kinds of actions unpleasant and would be extremely enraged if he ever tried to blackmail or threaten me or my family, but I can generally overlook it unless they escalate further into more extreme forms of crimes such as openly stealing Pokémon from others and general thuggery, like what Team Rocket was doing in the games. That would be crossing the line.

It was a bit hypocritical of me, but I justified it by thinking that the use of blackmail and bribes were all too common in politics anyways, so what Giovanni was doing was not too different from how other politicians acted behind the scenes. Admittedly, it was a flimsy justification, but it was what I was sticking to for now. I didn't want to, nor could I afford to, alienate Giovanni over a dispute of morals right now.

Focusing back on the discussion, I listened carefully as the two began discussing the details of how they would set up the branch office in Virdian, and I made sure to write down notes on their discussion. I wanted to be able to at least talk about the finer details if I was ever asked about it by a reporter so that I could present myself as a mature member of the Elite Four that was actively helping out the economy and knew what they were doing.

They finished their discussions after a few minutes, and after confirming that there was nothing else that needed to be discussed, Giovanni thanked us both for our time before hanging up the call. I was putting my phone away before Joseph spoke up.

"John, would you like to have a tour of Devon Corp?" he suggested, "I have some free time, and I wouldn't mind showing you around."

"I would love to." I replied instantly, a bit of my excitement leaking through. "I hope it isn't too much of a bother."

"Nonsense!" Joseph said happily as he stood up, "Please, come with me. I have a few projects that we are working on that I wanted to show you."

Joseph then took me to the elevator which deposited us on the second floor. As the elevator doors opened, I was faced with a horde of scientists rushing about as they some of them fiddled with a gigantic machine that had so many attached components and pipes that it looked like something out of a Steampunk novel.

"This is my personal pet project." Joseph declared eagerly, "It is what I call the Pokémon Producer. Its purpose is to be able to regenerate a Pokémon Fossil to the Pokémon that it was before it became a fossil. I intend to use it as a means of reviving long-forgotten Pokémon and make them available in our world once again."

"That's amazing!" I said honestly, "Is the machine working?" I asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately, it's still a work-in-progress." Joseph shook his head sadly, before brightening up. "But I hope that we can get the machine working within the next few years. I really wanted to be able to give Steven the first ever revived Fossil Pokémon as a gift!" He said excitedly.

Joseph then spent some time talking about science stuff with the scientists and thanking them for the hard work. After he was done, he escorted me to a different floor of the building. This time, instead of a gigantic machine, I was faced with a huge snaking conveyor belt covered in Pokéballs.

"This is where we do most of our research and development for our new Pokéball designs." Joseph told me, "I brought you here because we've just come up with a new Pokéball design that I wanted to show you." He gestured for us to move forwards towards a line of white and red Pokéballs that I recognised were the Premier Balls from the games.

"This is our latest design, what we call the Premier Ball." He picked one up to show me. "They are functionally identical to the Pokéball, and are essentially just redesigned Pokéballs, but we were hoping to market them to Ace trainers as some kind of status symbol for themselves and their Pokémon. I was hoping that, with your assistance, John, we could start marketing them right away." He explained.

"What would you need me to do?" I asked non-committedly; I wanted to know more about this before committing anything.

"Nothing much, but I was hoping you would allow us to transfer your Pokémon from their current Pokéballs into these Premier Balls and then use them in a battle. That way, we can begin an advertisement campaign that would suggest that these Premier Balls were for ace trainers that wanted to let others know how strong they were." He detailed, and to me it sounded like a pretty standard marketing campaign for a 'luxurious' product.

"I'll do it." I accepted after thinking about it for a bit, "But I want 5% on all sales of the Premier Ball for the next three months."

Joseph stared at me tightly as he thought about it. I met his stare unflinchingly and after a few seconds he extended his hand, which I shook. "Deal, I accept. But you must give an interview or a public speech talking about the new Premier Balls and how you like them." He countered.

"That's perfectly fine, I accept." I responded.

"Good, I'll have someone draft up the contract for you to sign later." He told me. He then reached for his phone and texted someone briefly before turning back to me.

"Ok, with business out of the way, I do actually want you to meet someone." He said, "She's going to be the one that I plan to appoint to run the branch that will be set up in Viridian. I felt like you should meet her as I assume that you'll be in contact with her the most when you return to Indigo."

I nodded at his words as they made sense. Joseph escorted me to a small office in the corner of the Pokéball production line and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" a female voice shouted out.

Joseph opened the door and as I stepped into the office my eyes nearly shot out of their sockets as I saw the person sitting inside. She was wearing a blue shirt that remained visible under her lab coat and had wavy black hair with blue highlights that looked purposely untamed. Alarm bells started ringing in my head as I immediately recognised who she was.

"John, this is Shelly. She'll be the new branch manager for the branch that will be set up in Viridian. It'll be announced formally later." Joseph introduced.

"Uh, I am?" Shelly asked confusedly.

"Yes, sorry for the short notice Shelly. Don't worry, you'll be mostly doing the same things there." Joseph apologised, "But you told me at the recent senior meeting that you had wanted to 'spread your wings' a bit and travel, so when John here made the proposal, I thought you were an appropriate pick for this."

"Oh, yes, I remember saying that. And sure, I don't mind going." Shelly shrugged casually, "So, who is this, Sir?" She gestured to me.

"Ah, this is Elite John of the Indigo Elite Four. I presume you'll be seeing a lot more of him as you take up your duties in Indigo." Joseph responded and I waved politely at Shelly, who had a look of surprise as she was introduced to me.

"It's nice to meet you, Shelly. I hope we can work well together in the future." I politely told her, concealing my surprise and shock deep within me. I didn't want to alert her to my suspicions anytime soon.

"Oh? You're very interesting, Elite John. It's nice to meet you." She said with what I thought was a friendly tone, "Though, I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing in Indigo at the moment, so if you have any questions for me at the moment then I'm afraid I can't help you."

"No, it's alright." I replied, "I don't have any questions for you right now either, but I expect that I'll be speaking to you more in the future if I have any proposals for Devon Corp."

"Exactly, so don't worry about it, Shelly." Joseph chuckled, "I'll be sending you the details later so that you'll have an idea about what you're working on. I just wanted you to introduce the two of you together because you'll likely be working together on something in the future." He explained kindly.

"I see, well thank you Sir for the heads up." She told Joseph formally and gave him a slight bow, before turning back to me. "In that case, I look forward to working with you more in the future, Elite John. I know from your reputation that you have an intelligent mind, especially at such a young age, so I would be glad to listen and discuss any ideas that you have." She extended her hand for me to shake.

I shook her hand and stepped back to allow Joseph and Shelly to discuss a few things about her upcoming move to Indigo. All the while, I started to pick my mind as I tried to remember what in Arceus was Shelly doing in Devon Corp? Wasn't she supposed to be a Team Aqua Admin? What was Team Aqua doing right now? Had they even formed yet?

Going through my memories, I recalled that Shelly was a scientist working at Devon Corp before she eventually left to join Team Aqua. Does that mean that Team Aqua hadn't formed yet? Did Shelly currently believe in Team Aqua's vision of flooding the world with the power of Kyogre in their idiotic quest to wipe out humanity? What about Team Magma? What were they doing?

There were too many questions going through my head that I didn't have the answers for, so I forcefully shelved them away for the time being as to not leave myself distracted.

Soon enough, Joseph and Shelly had finished their discussion and we left Shelly's office. Joseph then asked if I wanted to have my Pokémon transferred from my Pokéballs to the new Premier Balls right away. I accepted and he brought me over to this machine that would do the transferring.

As we waited for my Pokémon to be transferred, he told me that, sadly, Steven was not in Rustboro at the moment and that he would be unable to meet me. However, he said that, perhaps in the future, we could meet up. I told him that I'd love to meet him one day and talk to him about our experiences as a trainer.

With a small 'Ding' that signified the completion of the transfer, I picked up my new Premier Balls and released each of my Pokémon one by one just to make sure that it was working properly. Luckily, the floor had high ceilings so that my larger Pokémon wouldn't accidentally smash their way through the ceiling as they were released.

After testing each of my new Premier Balls, I thanked Joseph for the tour and for considering my proposals and he told me that he would send over the Premier Ball contract shortly via email.

Suddenly remembering about Whitney and Karen, I asked if I could have a few Premier Ball to spare so that I could give them to my friends and family. Joseph happily agreed and gave me a case of 10 Premier balls. I thanked him once again and, seeing that nothing else needed to be discussed, I said my goodbyes and made my way back down the elevator and eventually left Devon Corp

I sent out a text to Karen telling her that I had finished my business and that I'd be waiting for her at the Pokécenter. Luckily, she was actually awake and responded affirmatively so I made my way there.

Overall, I was very happy with the discussions that took place with Joseph. I managed to pay back Giovanni for gifting Pixel to me, and I was also able to hopefully improve my credentials as a member of the Elite Four. Also, with the establishment of the joint research project and the future branch offices, I hoped that this will improve relations between Hoenn and Kanto as the two nations become more economically linked to each other.

However, the issue of Shelly was still unresolved. What in Arceus was I going to do with her? Did I even need to do anything?

The New Normal – 2-8 – INTERLUDE: Karen

Karen felt great as she made her way down for breakfast. After several days of being forcefully dragged out of bed by John at times that should be considered far too early for a person to be awake at, she was finally afforded the luxury of actually being able to sleep in and wake up on her own terms.

Not that she was annoyed at John for waking her up early; she knew that he had a schedule to stick to and had legitimately important things to do, so she didn't begrudge him on that. Still, some people just aren't made for mornings, like herself.

As she took her time to enjoy her breakfast, she got a text from John telling her that he was finished with his business at Devon Corp and that he was making his way back to the Pokécenter. Truthfully, she had wanted to accompany him to Devon Corp; after all, she wanted to get herself more involved in the more political and business side of things as preparation for if and when she became a member of the Elite Four.

But she understood why she couldn't go as some of the discussions were definitely private and not meant for her to overhear. She was satisfied and excited enough with being able to participate with John on their experiment with the Zigzagoon egg; she really hoped that the experiment would be successful as she thought that it would be such an important breakthrough in the world of science about alternate Pokémon forms. It would also do wonders for her own reputation too.

While she sat back and waited for John to arrive, she thought over the time that she spent with John. Spending time and journeying with John was very different to her relationship with Agatha. She found him to be remarkably friendlier and easier to be around than Agatha; she was allowed to be far more open and less guarded around John, and she enjoyed it. Their newfound friendship almost went too far for a moment, but she was glad they got control of themselves and explained and understood each other's limits.

Agatha was strict and demanding, and she had little to no patience for idiocy or incompetence. She was harsh and exacting, and her presence loomed over you wherever you went. Honestly, although she still loved and respected Agatha for taking her in as her apprentice and teaching her many things, she didn't really like spending more time with her than was strictly necessary.

Most people would feel bad about admitting such a thing, but Agatha would've probably shrugged such a comment off with her typical nonchalance and say that there's no value in having people like you, only that they fear and respect you. Despite being exposed to that statement hundreds of times over the years, Karen never could adopt it as her own.

She could admit that, whether out of vanity or a desire to be adored, on some level she wanted to be admired by the public for her abilities as a trainer. Of course, she wanted respect too, but she wanted to have a mixture of love and fear, rather than just the latter like Agatha does. Karen also didn't like how guarded Agatha had taught her to be, and she didn't really enjoy being as manipulative as Agatha wanted her to be. She much preferred gaining reputation and status through her own actions instead.

On that note, she decided that she wanted to challenge the Hoenn Gyms while she was here. She had already considered it before when she first arrived at Hoenn but initially dismissed it as a waste of time and because she had already beaten all of the Gyms in Indigo as per Agatha's instructions.

However, watching John's incredible battle against Norman had inspired her to challenge the Hoenn Gyms as well. Besides, she had already decided to spend a bit of time here in Hoenn to catch more Dark types, so she might as well use that time productively and challenge the Gyms now that she was already here.

Furthermore, Karen knew that defeating all of the Gyms in Indigo was an unofficial requirement for being selected to join the Indigo Elite Four if there is a vacant spot, which was why she went around Johto defeating all of the Gyms there in the first place. Yet, if she could continue her winning streak against the Hoenn Gyms as well, it would hopefully serve to increase her chances of being selected as the next member of the Elite Four in the event of a vacancy and it would also be useful as a means to continue training her Pokémon.

She knew that her team was strong, but especially after seeing John's Pokémon in action, she was starting to get worried that they might not be strong enough for her to challenge and win against a member of the Elite Four. But perhaps by integrating John's new training methods and fighting against the Hoenn Gyms would allow her Pokémon to improve and become strong enough that they'd fit in with the rest of the Elite Four.

"Hey, you okay there, Karen?" John's voice surprised her and shocked her out of thoughts. She turned to look at John who was looking down at her with a face of concern. She didn't realize he had already returned.

"Oh, yeah, it's nothing, I was just thinking deeply to myself." She replied, shelving her thoughts for later.

"Oh, okay then. I'm sorry you couldn't come with me to Devon Corp, but the conversation we had was pretty private." He apologized.

"No, it's fine." She said with a shake of her head, "I knew that I wasn't allowed to come anyways, and I'm not upset about it. Besides, I could finally sleep in for once instead of being dragged awake by the taskmaster that you are." She quipped and gave him a smirk.

"It's not my fault that you don't wake up at normal times like a normal person." He said as he let out an exaggerated sigh, "I dread to think what your journey to Hoenn might've been if I wasn't accompanying you. You'd probably spend more time out at night than during the day."

Karen shrugged at that; he probably wasn't wrong. She did prefer walking around at night than during the day, it was just more refreshing and atmospheric.

"Oh, John, I've decided that I'm going to be challenging all of the Hoenn Gyms now that I'm here." She announced, "I hope you don't mind accompanying me as I do so."

"Not a problem." John replied easily, "I don't have anything specific to do while I'm here anyways, so I don't mind accompanying you."

Karen could hear the slight bitterness at the reminder that John was here because he was being side-lined by the Indigo League. Honestly, Karen was amazed that John remained as calm as he was. She was positive that she would've reacted far more harshly if she was in his place.

Regardless, she told John that she had already scheduled a match against the Rustboro Rock-type Gym Leader, Roy, in about 30 minutes, so they started to make their way there.

Karen had already looked into Roy's previous battles the night before, and she knew that he favoured a defensive battling style that made use of his Pokémon's inherent defensiveness to allow them to set up and buff themselves before going on the offensive. If everything goes to plan, then she would have the perfect counter for his battling style.

The two of them arrived at Rustboro Gym shortly after, and the receptionist told the both of them to wait for their turn. It amused Karen that the receptionist didn't seem to recognise who John was in what he called his 'Hoenn tourist getup', but if he didn't want to be recognised then she wouldn't draw attention to him either.

Soon, it was her turn, and she was directed to the arena where she stood on the platform while John got seated at the audience section. She could tell that the battle section of the Gym was vastly different to the museum-like exhibit that constituted the waiting area, and that the arena was decorated with many scattered rock formations.

"Trainers, this will be a 3v3 8-badge match between challenger Karen and Gym Leader Roy! Each trainer is allowed 1 switch!" The referee announced, and Karen refocused herself for the upcoming match. She had her plan, she just needed to stick to it.

"Trainers, are you ready?!" Karen nodded and she could see Roy doing the same before they both released their Pokémon. "BEGIN!"

"Sneasel, you know what to do!"

"Golem, do what you're best at!"

Having already been told what her plan was, her Sneasel hit the ground running as he dashed rapidly towards the Golem with swiftness that demonstrated the effort that Karen put in to training her Sneasel and improving his speed.

"Stone Edge, Golem!" Golem started tearing up the battleground as it began launching large chunks of rocks at the speeding Sneasel. Each rock almost matched Sneasel in size and, coupled with Sneasel's inherent frailness and type weakness, would have led to a quick knockout if Sneasel was hit by them.

Karen had more than enough confidence in her Sneasel, though, and Sneasel affirmed her belief in him as he nimbly dodged past the storm of rocks with such ease that it barely seemed like Sneasel was in any danger.

Seeing that Sneasel was rapidly closing the distance, Roy switched tactics.

"Earthquake, Golem!" Golem stopped firing rocks before it started stomping on the ground, causing the arena to begin shaking widely.

"Into the air, Sneasel!" Sneasel nimbly leapt into the air, keeping its momentum, and avoided getting caught in the Earthquake. Now in striking range, Sneasel's hands glowed a bright orange as he clapped his hands right in front of Golem's face with a Fake Out, creating shockwaves that caused the Golem to flinch and interrupted its Earthquake.

"Sneasel, Low Sweep!" Sneasel landed and quickly dived for Golem's legs and struck one of them with a powerful sweep of his legs, tripping and knocking Golem over onto its back. Normally, being knocked over was a disastrous position for most Pokémon to be in, but Golem was one of the few exceptions.

"Gyro Ball on your back, Golem!" "Fall back, Sneasel!" Using its round shaped back, Golem started spinning quickly on its back and spun towards Sneasel, who had jumped backwards to avoid getting caught in the spin.

"Ice Shard, Sneasel! Keep your distance!" Sneasel made use of his superiority speed and agility and kept his distance from the spinning Golem while firing off Ice Shards at Golem. As it was stuck in its spinning, it wasn't able to create any rocks to block the shards and was hit by the super-effective move.

"Golem, stop spinning! Bunker yourself and Flamethrower!" Golem stopped spinning and started simultaneously surrounding itself with on all sides with a wall of rocks that were able to shield itself from Sneasel's Ice Shards and firing off a stream of fire that tracked after Sneasel.

"Agility then Icy Wind, Sneasel!" Sneasel was briefly engulfed by a pink glow before he started to speed up to the point where Golem's Flamethrower was unable to follow him. Then, he summoned a gust of chilling winds that swept into Golem's makeshift bunker and transformed it from a safe haven into a prison of ice that rapidly threatened to freeze Golem within.

"Dig and get out of there, Golem!"

"Taunt it!"

"No! Just Dig Golem! Don't fall for it!" Roy shouted in a panic. But before Golem could start digging its way down, Sneasel shot a burst of Dark-type energy towards Golem that caused it to become rapidly enraged. No longer heeding Roy's commands, Golem broke through its own rock walls and charged towards the Sneasel.

Karen smirked to herself as she saw this, it was one of her favourite tactics to use against other trainers that hadn't trained their Pokémon to resist her Pokémon's Taunt. They would fall into an uncontrollable state of rage, perfect for her plans.

"Ice Punch now, Sneasel!" With the Golem no longer surrounded by its own rock walls and now charging mindlessly towards Sneasel, it was the perfect opportunity for Sneasel to dash towards as he easily dodged under a swipe of Golem's Hammer Arm and he crashed his fist into Golem's face with a critical Ice Punch.

The Golem barely held on with its Sturdy, but a swift follow-up Ice Shard to the face knocked it out.

"Golem is unable to battle!" The referee announced, "The Gym Leader has thirty seconds to decide on his next Pokémon!" The crowd burst with excitement and cheers at Sneasel's flawless victory against Roy's Golem.

Karen tuned out the crowd and started thinking through her plan once again. She thought that her plan was going smoothly as she watched Roy withdraw his Golem. Sneasel remained undamaged and was definitely able to take on another of Roy's Pokémon. As she was thinking to herself, she felt Roy staring intently at her, so she decided to match him with a stare of her own as she awaited his next Pokémon.

After a brief stare down, Roy looked away and sent out his next Pokémon.

"Come, Probopass!" Probopass whirled as it was released and floated slightly off the ground. Karen had to hide her grin, it was another defensive and slow Pokémon, just like she was hoping for.

"Trainers, are you ready?!" Both trainers nodded to the referee, "BEGIN!"

"Ice Shards, Sneasel!"

"Power Gem and match them, Probopass!"

Sneasel started circling around the Probopass while shooting out Ice Shards that were quickly matched by Probopass' Power Gem. The Power Gems fired by Probopass actually were stronger than Sneasel's Ice Shard, and Sneasel was forced to dodge several incoming gemstones that his shards failed to break.

"Iron Defense, Probopass!" Seeing that Sneasel appeared distracted by the fired gemstones, Roy mistakenly thought that he had the opportunity to buff up Probopass' Defenses.

"Now! Icy Wind, Sneasel!" Making use of his boosted speed from his previous Agility, Sneasel shot forwards and was easily able to both dodge the incoming gemstones. Taking advantage of the opening, Sneasel fired off an Icy Wind that engulfed the Probopass. The damage was minor, but chunks of ice started to form on Probopass' exterior as it began to freeze over.

"Lock on and Flash Cannon, Probopass!" Switching it up, Roy went on the offensive as Probopass began spinning around as it attempted to lock on to Sneasel and fire a Flash Cannon.

"Keep avoiding it and Icicle Crash!" Maintaining his speed, Sneasel quickly formed large chunks of Ice in his mouth and fired them into the air. However, when Sneasel slowed down slightly to fire off the icicles, Probopass had managed to Lock On to the Sneasel and it fired a powerful Flash Cannon that homed into and blasted Sneasel backwards.

In return though, the icicles that Sneasel fired fell upon Probopass like a heavy torrent of rain and caused Probopass to buckle on to the ground so that it was no longer levitating.

Karen quickly glanced at both Pokémon. Sneasel was badly injured by that Flash Cannon, but she saw that he still had some fight left in him. In comparison, Probopass remained mostly unharmed thanks to its boosted Defenses, but it was noticeably slowed down from being hit by the repeated Ice attacks.

"Again!" Roy shouted with a sweep of his hand.

"Dig to dodge!" Karen quickly ordered, and Sneasel dove into the ground to avoid the sweeping gaze of the opposing Probopass.

"Earthquake, Probopass!"

"Jump out and Icy Wind!"

Karen saw that Sneasel was still agile enough to leap out of the ground just in time to avoid the Earthquake from landing a critical hit on him and fired off another gust of freezing winds at the Probopass. At this point, Probopass' exterior was almost covered in icicles and its movements were heavily slowed. It was frozen.

"Lock On and Flash Cannon once more, Probopass!" Roy commanded worriedly, but Probopass was too frozen to respond.

"Brick Break and finish it now, Sneasel!" Sneasel rushed towards Probopass as it struggled to break free and move from its frozen state.

"Shit! PROTECT!" Roy shouted desperately, but Probopass was unable to unfreeze itself and Sneasel landed a critical Brick Break that struck Probopass' frozen exterior. Probopass whirled in pain as it was hit by the 4 times supereffective move and was quickly knocked out.

"Probopass is unable to battle! The Gym Leader must send out his final Pokémon in the next thirty seconds!" The referee announced and the crowd cheered at Sneasel's second knock out, and Karen could hear that a few members of the audience were chanting for Sneasel to do a clean sweep. Karen considered it for a moment, but once she carefully observed Sneasel's condition she decided against it. Sneasel was already too damaged and had done enough already.

"I'm withdrawing my Pokémon!" Karen declared as she withdrew Sneasel, and she could hear that a few members of the audience booing her decision. But she ignored them, her plan was going better than expected she could almost taste her impending victory.

"Trainers, are you ready?!" For what Karen felt should be the last time, she nodded with Roy and they both sent out their Pokémon. "BEGIN!"

"Umbreon, win this for me." Her Umbreon landed gracefully onto the ground as he gave off a growl.

"Aggron, show her what we're made of!" Aggron crashed on to the ground of the arena and left a sizeable dent in the ground. Karen recognised it as Roy's Ace and it was known for having a mixture of powerful attacks and a solid Defense.

"Calm Mind, Umbreon! Start setting up!" Karen started, seemingly going against her previous aggressive actions with Sneasel.

"Iron Defense and do the same, Aggron!"

Both Pokémon were beginning to boost their stats, exactly as Karen was hoping for.

"Ok, Shadow Ball." Umbreon stopped setting up and fired off a Shadow Ball.

"Protect and Iron Defense again." Roy said calmly as he allowed Aggron to raise a shield to block the incoming Shadow Ball as it continued boosting its Defense.

"Set up a Light Screen, Umbreon!" Umbreon growled and a faint wall of light shimmered into existence in front of it.

Karen noticed that Roy had barely reacted at Umbreon's Light Screen, probably because he never intended to make use of Special Attacks in the first place, which made sense for an Aggron.

"Ok Aggron, Body Press and Stone Edge. Enough setting up." Roy commanded and Aggron let out a roar in agreement and began lumbering towards Umbreon, while rocks began simultaneously firing off towards Umbreon. Roy clearly intended to use the added weight from Aggron's Iron Defenses to cause its Body Press to become so powerful that it would instantly knock out Umbreon if it hits.

Each step Aggron took caused the ground to shake slightly as Aggron's heavy body charged forwards, each stomp of its legs leaving a crack in the ground and a cloud of dust trailing behind it. Umbreon showed off his mobility as he nimbly dodged past the incoming Stone Edge. All the while, Aggron continued glaring at Umbreon with its Scary Face in an attempt to unnerve the smaller Umbreon and make him freeze-up in terror.

Despite the incoming freight train of an Aggron that was about to slam into her Umbreon, Karen made no commands as she patiently waited for Aggron to approach. She could see that Roy was giving her a look of confusion and suspicion, obviously expecting her to order Umbreon to dodge or to react at all.

But no, Karen was content to wait. The trap was about to be sprung.

She waited until Aggron got closer. It was still too far away.

And it got closer, and Karen was gripping her own arm so tightly that she unknowingly left a mark on herself.

And the moment Aggron got within several meters of Umbreon, she sprung the trap.

"Confuse Ray, Umbreon!" Umbreon used a small gap in the rocks to fire off a ray of light.

"SHIT! DODGE IT AGGRON!" Roy shouted out in alarm, but it was too late. Aggron wasn't able to divert or pivot itself in time and was struck head on by a small ray of light that quickly disoriented it.

Aggron wobbled on its feet unsteadily as it became so disorientated that it could barely keep itself upright; its' previous charge long forgotten as it now stumbled around as it tried to regain its bearings. The rocks that were previously being fired off in a constant barrage now all fell to the ground, forgotten. In the distance, Karen could hear Roy shouting at Aggron to snap out of it to no avail.

With Agatha's help, Karen had meticulously trained her Umbreon to use Confuse Ray as a trump card against Pokémon that relied on brute strength. She found it to be the perfect counter against them as often times trainers would neglect to train up a Pokémon's mental strength and leave them susceptible to mental attacks like this.

And so, with Aggron thoroughly confused and unable to snap out of it, Karen moved to close out the battle.

"Guard Swap, Umbreon." Taking advantage of Aggron's confusion, Umbreon sent a pink line of psychic energy that latched on to Aggron before each Pokémon emitted a small pulse that swapped between them. Now, Umbreon had taken on Aggron's boosted Defense while Aggron lost all of it, and thanks to Agatha, Karen's Guard Swap was also unique in that it also dropped both of the target's Defenses proportional to the Defenses gained if it is successful.

"Dig into Double Kick, Umbreon." Karen watched as Umbreon quickly burrowed himself into the ground. Aggron was still stumbling around the battlefield and had no idea what was going on. In its confusion, it was randomly swiping at the ground with its tail and created huge gashes into the arena.

Suddenly, Umbreon emerged out of one of Aggron's created gashes with a growl and slammed into the Aggron with his head, knocking it back slightly and causing Aggron to react confusedly with a flurry of disoriented Dragon Claws.

Not needing further instructions from Karen, Umbreon dove to the side and kicked Aggron in the side of its head with his two hind legs, causing Aggron to fall onto its knees as it growled in pain from the boosted damage caused by its own lowered Defenses.

"Again, Umbreon! Finish this!" Karen shouted.

"Protect, Aggron! Snap out of it!" Roy responded, but Karen could hear it in his tone that he knew that the battle was lost.

Aggron did actually manage to form a shield, but it was formed in the wrong location and Umbreon slammed both of his hind legs into the back of Aggron's head once more, causing Aggron to crash its head face first into the ground, knocked out.

The crowd went wild as they witnessed Umbreon's turnaround and Karen adopted a beaming smile as her plan went off perfectly. From her research, she knew that Roy favoured using set up moves before attacking, so she led off with her Sneasel to go hyper aggressive to stop Roy's Pokémon from setting up and prevent Roy from using his preferred fighting style.

Then, when she swapped to Umbreon, she initially held back on the aggression so that Roy would be tempted to fall back on his more preferred battle style. Then, by setting up a Calm Mind and a Light Screen, that would encourage Roy to charge in with his Pokémon as any Special Attack move would be heavily reduced by Umbreon's set up.

Of course, that was exactly what Karen wanted as she could then hit them with a Confuse Ray + Guard Swap combo to quickly strip the opposing Pokémon of its defenses while making it so completely disorientated that the opponent loses all ability to fight back. Then, it was a simple matter of just knocking out the effectively defenseless Pokémon to secure the win.

Admittedly, there were many things that could've gone wrong with the plan, but Sneasel's incredible performance in managing to knock out two of Roy's Pokémon basically ensured her the win even if the plan fell apart.

As she noticed that Roy had already withdrawn his Aggron and was now approaching her side of the arena, Karen decided to stop praising herself for the plan as she went down to meet him. On the way, she kneeled down towards her Umbreon that had puffed up in pride at his victory.

Karen gave him an affectionate rub on his chin and gave him murmured words of praise before withdrawing him. Looking up, she could see that Roy was patiently waiting for Karen to finish up with her Umbreon.

"Congratulations on your victory, trainer Karen." Roy said with a smile that held no bitterness at his defeat, "That was an incredible showing from you. I felt like I was being strung along the entire time!"

Karen had to fight down the smirk that almost appeared on her face, she reminded herself that wanted to be humble in victory, unlike Agatha. "Thank you, Gym Leader Roy. I had done my research before approaching you, and I just stuck to the plan." She acknowledged.

"Well, it was a very good plan indeed, Miss." Roy replied, before giving her a scrutinizing look, "I can tell that you're here to challenge yourself, isn't that right Miss?"

"Yes, that's right." Karen confirmed, "I came to Hoenn with a friend, but I'm mostly here to catch new Pokémon and challenge myself further for when I return to Indigo."

"Ah, yes, I see that often is the case with ambitious trainers." Roy said with a friendly smile, "Truth be told, I'm getting a bit too old to be a Gym Leader, and I've been looking for someone to replace me, so I know I'm not the strongest of trainers anymore." He admitted with a hint of embarrassment.

"If you want a challenge, trainer Karen, you should keep going to challenge the other Gyms. I'm certain that you'll at least find something to improve on while you're there." Roy advised.

"That's what I'm planning on doing." Karen admitted, "Thank you for your advice though."

"No problem, and oh, before I forget, here is your Stone Badge as proof of your victory. Congratulations once again." He awarded her the Stone Badge, and they shook hands before Roy departed.

Karen looked around and saw that John was smiling at her before gesturing with his head towards the door of the Gym. She nodded at him and walked towards the entrance while giving polite smiles and thanks to a few members of the audience that congratulated her on her victory.

As she left the Rustboro Gym, she thought to herself that while this victory was a great start, Karen wouldn't rest on her laurels until she made it to the Elite Four.

Or, perhaps, maybe even further than that.

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