The New Normal - A Pokémon Elite 4 SI by CartecFF

Chapter 63: 244-247

The New Normal – 11-12 – Pokenet Interlude

[BIG ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SAFFRON GYM! NEW GIRAFARIG EVOLUTION ANNOUNCED – FARIGIRAF!] By Battlecast

[Pictures of Farigiraf, with Whitney and Sabrina standing proudly next to them]

We suppose that the chain of new discoveries hasn't quite ended yet, as the Saffron Gym's announcement of a completely new Normal/Psychic type took everyone by surprise. A new evolution for Girafarig, a Pokémon that has seen very little competitive use in the past, might be just the thing to bring this Normal/Psychic type into the spotlight.

And from the demonstrations provided by Gym Leader Samson, this new evolution has the potential to become an extremely versatile Psychic type that could fulfil a variety of different roles. Farigiraf has the support move pool of your typical Psychic type, but also the bulk that many of its counterparts lack. Plus, with its crucial immunity to Ghost type moves, our analysts believe that Farigiraf will be a serious contender to be one of the most sought after Psychic Pokémon for high level battles. It really has a lot going for it, and we wonder if trainers like Elite Will or Elite Lucian will be seen fielding a Farigiraf in the future.

Many comparisons were drawn between the newly discovered Farigiraf and Wyrdeer. Considering the latter's very much demonstrated power as a key staple of Elite John's team, it only reinforces our confidence that Farigiraf will be a strong choice for trainers in the future.

Of course, we would be remiss to skip out on those credited with the discovery. According to Samson's announcement, he places sole credit of this discovery on his daughter and heir, Sabrina, and her friend, Whitney, who is also John's younger sister. We don't know the specifics about how much each of them contributed to the discovery, but suffice it to say that these two young trainers must have a bright future ahead of them!

What do you all think about this new evolution? Are you planning on catching a Girafarig now? Let us know!

Comments

FutureAce

...Okay, what in Arceus are they feeding the Smith's?? First you have John with his double discoveries of Wyrdeer and Ursaluna early into his Trainer career, and now you have his younger sister pulling out her own discovery out of a hat like it was nothing!

FlyingHigh

I did a little more digging, and I just realised that Whitney, Sabrina, and Janine (Koga's daughter) had all managed to collect all 8 Badges in their first circuit. That's honestly super impressive, and I can't wait to see what else they have in store for us.

SlugmaBalls

I had a friend that was there at their new Moomoo milk store that was opening in Mauville! He got their signatures and everything! And their new drinks weren't bad either, though a little pricey!

WiggleThatTuff

Ah shame. When I saw the announcement of a new discovery, I thought it would be a new Fairy type. Shame that it wasn't!

FearTheRat

Anyone think that Sabrina probably did most of the work? I mean, looking at the evolution method that they described, it looks like it requires a lot of Psychic proficiency. While I'm not doubting Whitney's ability, perhaps she was just a tagalong and Sabrina deserves a majority of the credit.

ResearchMagnet

Really? Two young girls found this out? I don't believe it. Most likely one of their Gym Trainers made the discovery, and Samson gave the credit to his daughter and friend.

TangelaThoughts

Eh, I disagree. Looking at Sabrina and Whitney's past battles, they've used their Girafarig in the past. I think it's safe to say that they made this discovery with their own two hands and observation skills.

Coming from the daughter of a Gym Leader and a sister to a powerful Elite Four, I don't know why anyone should really have cause to doubt them.

PsychicWill (Verified POG)

Absolutely magnificent! It brings a joy to my eye to see new developments with the Psychic type. Whitney, Sabrina, thank you for your hard work. I look forward to seeing your potential develop even further into the future.

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

?[Elite John spotted visiting Gyms?! What is he planning?!] By The Indigo Post

[Pictures of John shaking hands with various Gym Leaders, including Giovanni, Clair, and Pryce]

While it isn't unusual for members of our Elite Four to be visiting our famed Gym Leaders, it does start to get interesting when one of those members could be seen practically hopping from Gym to Gym and making an obvious display of shaking hands as he leaves.

What makes this especially suspicious is the fact that Elite John could be seen visiting the likes of Gym Leader Pryce. For those somehow unaware of their turbulent past relationship, it is an open secret that John was an instrumental supporter in Lance's ascension to Champion, and he had paved the way for Lance by helping to discredit Pryce and his policies.

We aren't presuming that someone as prestigious as our ex-Champion would be one to host grudges...but it wouldn't be surprising to this writer if there were some unpleasant feelings between the two.

So it was surprising, and relieving, to see that the two have apparently reconciled whatever differences that they may have had in the past, shaking hands with smiles on their faces as they agreed on whatever they had discussed behind closed doors.

This writer is supremely curious to know about what the two had discussed, especially as this was hardly his only visit. Tracing back John's movements over the past few days, it becomes immediately obvious that he intends to visit every Gym Leader to talk to them about this 'secret' topic, and indeed has already visited many already.

After having a thorough discussion with our analysts here at The Indigo Post, we are firmly of the belief that whatever is being discussed is going to be some large proposal by John that involves and affects all of the Gym Leaders in some way. With his tendency to promote internationalism and unity of Indigo, we believe that John's discussions must involve something that he hopes would bring our region closer together. Or perhaps this is some joint policy that he has with his girlfriend and Champion of Sinnoh?

Nevertheless, by the looks and gestures of support that he seems to be receiving, it appears that he has found support in many of the Gym Leaders that he has visited.

So what is John looking to accomplish? What is he planning to do by laying the foundation like this? This writer is extremely eager to see what John is about to announce next.

John has never failed to be ambitious with the kinds of policies that he proposes in the Committee, and we sincerely believe that this would be no different. In fact, considering the amount of preparation work that he seems to be putting in, this might turn out to be his ambitious proposal yet. It looks like we'll just have to wait and see!

Let us know what you think about this in the comments! What do you think our ambitious Elite Four is up to?!

Comments

FutureAce

Perhaps he's just visiting the Gyms to reaffirm his connections with them? It doesn't necessarily mean planning anything. But knowing him, he probably is.

Not that I would be able to know. I only care about battles.

TangelaThoughts

Well we can make several inferences from his actions. One, the fact that he's visiting all of the Gym Leaders implies he needs their consent for something. Something involving the Gyms. But I'm going to hold on the speculation for now until we hear more.

I'm more interested in the connections that John seems to have built. We all knew he was connected, but this is really showing just how much respect that he has garnered among the Gym Leaders. And if this policy is as successful as John likely hopes it would be, then he's likely gained another point of connection with many influential people.

FearTheRat

I'm not the only one who noticed the order that he visited the Gyms in right? Looks like he started with Giovanni, then went to Pryce, then Clair. So while I'm not too familiar with the dynamics of the Gyms, doesn't it look like he's going down in order of importance?

Is this an implied admission from John about which Gyms he deems to be more influential?

ILoveGoldenRod

Definitely seems like it. If that was true, then that's a little bit of insight to his thought process. I wonder why he thinks that those Gyms were more influential than the others?

KantoRepresent

It's obvious because Giovanni's Gym is the most influential Gym in Indigo, as befits the strongest Gym of Kanto.

ILoveGoldenRod

...Or because he's friends with Giovanni and wanted to visit him first. Not everything needs to fit into your image of Kanto superiority.

TangelaThoughts

I personally don't find it at all surprising that John believes that those 3 Gyms are the most important in Indigo. He might be personal friends with the likes of Blaine and the Waterflower sisters, but their influence can't be compared to the likes of Giovanni, Clair, and Pryce.

FutureAce

I'm stupid, can you explain why? Is it because they're strong?

TangelaThoughts

That's certainly a factor. Pryce's strength doesn't need to be emphasized – he was Champion until very recently. Next, Clair lives up to the name of Blackthorn, and has the strength to prove it.

That leaves Giovanni. His strength is less dominating than the other two, but he's one of the most politically connected Gym Leaders in Indigo. He's highly credited with the prosperity of Viridian City, transforming it from a middling city to the success that is today. And that's not even including his role as a director of Silph Co. The man is the Gym Leader of Kanto.

FlyingHigh

I think we've veered off topic a bit. I'm just excited to see what John comes up with. Maybe it'd involve something to do with Sinnoh.

Can't forget that he's dating their Champion. Still struggling to wrap my brain around that part.

===========

?[A HUGE NEW POLICY! GYM LEADERS MADE APPOINTABLE FROM ANYWHERE WITHIN INDIGO?! REMOVING THE REGIONAL RESTRICTION OF GYM LEADERS?!] by The Indigo Post

[Picture of Lance making the announcement, with John in the background smiling in approval]

[Pictures of Gym Leaders debating the topic, and pictures of the vote]

For those of you who have been following the political developments of Indigo, and our last post about the momentous announcement itself, then you would be equally as shocked as we were to find out how fast that this new proposal seemed to move through the League administration. Especially given how large of a scope that this proposal seemed to cover.

Yes, we here at The Indigo Post have still yet to recover from the shock of the initial announcement. We always knew that John was planning something ambitious, but who would have thought that he and Champion Lance would have worked together to propose something like this? Something that would radically change the way that Gyms are viewed?!

There were a lot of politics involved in this meeting, and we will be covering them in more detail in a later article, including our observations about the interpersonal relations between each Gym Leader and their respective levels of influence amongst their peers.

For now, to summarise all that has happened, Giovanni came up with a new proposal on top of John's current one to allow for Gym Leaders to be given voting rights to vote out one of their peers, should there be no reasonable veto from the Champion, if 5 out of 7 of them deemed them unworthy of the position.

This is a massive step forwards for Gym Leaders and their ability to police themselves, and it says a lot about Lance that he did not vote against it and was willing to share his power with them.

And of course, the big event of the day was the vote to determine whether the Gym Leaders were in approval of the proposal. Yet, to the visible happiness from John, the vote passed almost unanimously amongst the Gym Leaders, with only Surge, Morty, and Lewis voting against it. The proposal was then subsequently passed by the Committee with a comfortable majority.

With the passing of this new policy, the next question on everyone's mind must be this – who is going to be the first foreign Gym Leader that is going to be appointed? And how well will they do? Will they be able to meet the high hopes and expectations set out by John? Or will his naysayers be proven correct – that a foreign Gym Leader simply does not have the same attachment and sense of duty that a local Gym Leader would have?

Only time will tell on that front. But for now, we're keeping a close eye on the public's reaction to this huge policy. While it has not been received with universal acceptance, from the interviews that we have done, many have expressed their cautious approval towards such a policy, and are looking forward to seeing if future foreign Gym Leaders would be able to live up to their title.

Despite there being some pushback, what is undoubtedly true is that Indigo as a whole has never been more united. A proposal like this could never conceivably be passed if it was only a few years ago! It really goes to show just how much the new leadership of Indigo have worked to pave a road of change for the whole region. And we won't forget that a lot of that was spearheaded by the efforts of John and Lance.

What are your thoughts on this new change?! Do you like the direction that the leadership of Indigo seems to be taking? Do you have any concerns? This is an important matter, so we'll be excited to hear what you put down in the comments!

Comments

GeneralistGeneral

Definitely didn't see this coming – but I'm really happy that this happened! This is going to open the doors to more allow for a more diverse pool of Gym Leaders!

Wonder if they'll be allowing Hoenn or Sinnoh trainers to become Indigo Gym Leaders next or vice versa?

NotTooMuchWater

I'm not from Indigo, but I think that's probably taking it a step too far. As much as I'm pleased with our cooperation with Indigo, I'd be a little more than wary about having a complete foreigner be one of our Gym Leaders. I know Norman is the exception, but he naturalised a long time ago even before his marriage. He's basically from Hoenn, even if he might not have been birthed here.

That being said, I think it'll be a possibility in the future. But we're not ready for it now.

SlugmaBalls

Honestly I struggled to understand why you guys even had this policy in the first place. If you were united as 'Indigo' then why did you insist on keeping the Gym Leaders separate and split between Kanto and Johto?

Maybe because I'm not from there, but it's just confusing to me.

TangelaThoughts

Okay, this was within my expectations. I figured that John's politicking would bear fruit, and it really showed in the meeting. I was more surprised about Giovanni's sudden proposal for the Gym Leaders to have the right to vote out one of their own – judging by the facial expressions there, I think even John was surprised by it.

Goes to show that there's always more politicking going on behind the scenes.

KantoRepresent

I don't trust these Johtonian bastards to handle our Gyms. They're just going to be waiting for an opportunity to stab us in the back. Just you wait.

Absolutely disgusted with the path that the Indigo League has endorsed. And from our very own John no less. I thought he was one of us!

ILoveGoldenRod

Okay buddy, not like we were expecting any other response from you anyways. You really just need to accept that policies like these aren't aimed at harming Kanto, but looking to improve both regions together.

I know many of my friends support the League's direction to create a more unified Indigo. There's honestly little reason to be stubborn about keeping our regions separate. Their past actions have shown how useful working together as a singular region can be.

FearTheRat

Anyone surprised that Lance actually approved of giving away more of his power to the Gym Leaders? I know he did it before with the Elite Four, but I didn't expect him to continue that trend with the Gym Leaders as well.

I'm glad that he did so though – the Gym Leaders definitely deserve to hold some power over who their peers are. Honestly, I'd trust their judgment 9 times out of 10 over the League's. They actually know how to run a Gym effectively, so they'll be able to spot out an incompetent colleague much better than the League could.

FlyingHigh

Very true. I wonder if any Gym Leaders are suddenly very worried that they're about to get the boot? I personally don't think any of the Gym Leaders currently deserve it, but it's interesting to think about.

=======

?[The final battle of the Indigo Conference is fast approaching! Who do you think will be the winner!? An in-depth analysis of the remaining trainers in the Conference and their prospects!] By Battlecast

As always, the opinions stated here have been formed purely from the analysis and opinions of our analysts, and do not intend to demean, denounce, or to insult any trainer that we will be mentioning. Likewise, any support should not be taken as endorsement. This is purely done for educational and informative purposes only.

With that disclaimer out of the way, we can get onto the meat of the matter! We're sure many of our readers have been excitedly watching this year's Indigo Conference, eager as we are to see who will end up on top. However, we can safely say that unlike last year, there seems to be a clear candidate that looks to be in an excellent position to win it all.

Of course, we are talking about Karen – the apprentice to Agatha and known close friend of the incredibly strong Elite John. Considering those connections, it's no wonder that she seems to have had a dominating performance throughout the entire Conference. Or perhaps it is due to her very unique fighting style that seems extremely suited at taking down unprepared foes.

After her rampage through the ranks, taking down many hopefuls in the process, we're confident that there must be many a trainer that are now terrified by the shout of a 'Taunt!'. She really has proven that Dark type specialists aren't just an unusual niche. They are absolutely formidable in their own right, and we're certain that the public perception of Dark types are about to change thanks to her.

With her convincing string of successes, we here at Battlecast are convinced that Karen will be the most likely candidate to win the whole thing. So naturally, the next question our analysts were faced with was – who would she challenge should she win?

The most obvious choice would be for her to challenge Elite Will. Out of the current Elite Four roster, he is the only one who has not been tested in a real challenge yet. Furthermore, Karen holds an obvious and crucial Type advantage against him, boosting her chances even further. Perhaps this is why Elite Will could be seen training hard – is he wary of a potential challenge from Karen and is preparing accordingly?

However, a more interesting choice for her to choose would be for her to challenge Elite Agatha. Obviously, this is the battle that we here at Battlecast would much prefer to see. Not only would it be far more exciting, as it has been a LONG time since Elite Agatha has ever needed to fight a challenger, but it also makes for an interesting story.

Underdog battles are beloved by all for a reason. And everyone wants to root for a student to be able to surpass their teacher. Of course, Agatha would be a far more difficult battle for Karen – it would be a battle where both trainers are equally familiar with each other's tricks - but we're excited to see if she will be able to live up to the challenge.

So while we acknowledge the possibility that Karen may choose to challenge either Lorelei or John, our analysts believe that the chances of Karen challenging those two are not very high. Karen holds no distinct advantage against Lorelei, while their many training sessions together must have exposed most of her tricks to John, making him one of the worst opponents for her to fight.

Despite our focus on Karen, we must not fail to acknowledge and recognise the many powerful trainers that still remain within the Conference...[Click here to continue reading]

Comments

FearTheRat

Not surprised to see Karen doing so well. Anyone who still remembers her fight against Sidney should already know how formidable she is.

She's already proven she can beat an Elite Four 1v1. Her dominance comes at no surprise. Still hopes she wins though.

PunchingBag

Hope this Dark specialist idiot gets to make it into the Elite Four and that she ends up beating up Will. She'd be such fodder for the next true Fighting type specialist that comes around.

Bruno – you failed us once, but you can redeem your honour by flattening this shitty Dark type trainer in the next conference.

SlugmaBalls

Haven't you heard? Bruno's hanging about in Hoenn now. There's plenty of photos with him hanging around Steven Stone.

Gardevoir34

OMA OMA OMA THE SCANDAL REALLY WRITES ITSELF DOESN'T IT!? I WONDER WHAT A HANDSOME YOUNG MAN LIKE STEVEN IS DOING WITH THE HUNKY BRUNO?!?!?!

FlyingHigh

Please calm down. There CAN be more innocent explanations.

PunchingBag

BAH! Everyone knows that Bruno's in Hoenn to re-establish the dominance of the Fighting type there. He should have been in the Tournament. He would have pummelled all those worthless trainers.

TangelaThoughts

Tangent aside, I like the speculation that's around who Karen would choose if she did win. I'm honestly confident that her win is in the bag at this point, and I really hope she does end up challenging her mentor.

And Agatha v Karen fight would be very well received.

FutureAce

I really, really, really hope we see her fighting against Agatha. That would be amazing! She'd lose, though. Agatha ain't losing to anyone.

KantoRepresent

Completely disagree. We need more Kanto representatives in the Elite Four anyways. If Karen were to replace Agatha, we'd be changing one Kantonian for another. Not worth.

DragonPower

I don't know why you were all so excited about this year's Indigo Conference anyways when there weren't any Dragon specialists there. Waste of potential.

Of course you won't get exciting matches if you're not using the most powerful Pokémon available.

ILoveGoldenRod

Honestly, this might be the only way to get Agatha to step down. Everyone knows that she'd just haunt the position for eternity otherwise.

FlyingHigh

Agatha...it's been a very long time since she's battled publicly. But for those of us with longer memories, I still remember the dominance that she demonstrated as she stomped her opponents into the ground time and time again. If not for Oak, there was a very real possibility that she would have been Champion in his place.

I sincerely hope Karen chooses to fight her. I cannot wait to see Agatha in action again.

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

?[GALACTIC COMPANY'S FINANCIAL DISCREPANCIES? THE SINNOH LEAGUE LEVELS ACCUSATIONS AGAINST CYRUS!] By The Sinnoh Times

[Side-by-side pictures of Lucian accusing Cyrus and Cyrus defending himself]

What a turbulent week it has been for us in Sinnoh, but it appears like Galactic Company has found themselves in hot water as suspicions arose regarding their submitted financial statements!

Financial investigators from both Indigo and Sinnoh have agreed that the finances of Galactic Company are unreasonable, a statement that has received further support from other prominent businessmen such as Steven Stone and even Giovanni in his capacity as a director from Silph Co.

However, as of the writing of this article, no formal charges have been pressed, and their CEO Cyrus seems to be responding to the accusations with calmness and rationality. Yet he has also denounced Cynthia and her team, calling her sense of judgment into question as he claims that she has prioritised the word of foreigners over their own due to her relationship with John.

Our analysts here at the Sinnoh Times do not find that argument holds much water, as it is clear that this investigation was done jointly and supervised by Elite Lucian as well.

Right now, the situation has entered a stalemate, but we're interested to hear your thoughts on this ongoing matter. Do you agree with the Sinnoh League? Or do you think that this was an overreaction by them?

Comments

LoveIsEterna

I'm fully backing the League here, even though I've been a fan of Galactic Company for some time. If this many people say that there's something wrong, then there's something wrong.

Of course, having strange finances isn't the worst thing in the world, but I'd still like to hold them accountable if they're cheating the public out of some taxes, for example.

PianoLover

Man, this really is the first test for Cynthia isn't it? First the criminals, then now with Cyrus? The world is really trying to make sure that she's worthy of the position.

RuinsManiac

And I think she's proven herself very capable. Look at how fast she stomped out those criminals that were causing trouble. She knew when to call for assistance to make sure that the people of Sinnoh remained safe.

It's also why I'm backing her with her accusations against Cyrus. I don't believe she would do this for no reason.

NotTooMuchWater

Some of those criminals are partially those that escaped from Hoenn, which in turn were those that escaped from Indigo.

Strange to think of these criminals and terrorists as two-time refugees. But I suppose that's what you get when you turn to a life of terrorism. I have no sympathy.

GodBidoof

Man, I don't know what to think. Galactic Company has just always been there y'know, and I can't imagine them fiddling around with their finances like that. They've just been around for so long...I have to stand by Cyrus here.

ILoveGoldenRod

Yeah, can't imagine what it'd be like if Silph Co got accused like that. Much like I'm sure Galactic Company is for you guys, Silph Co is a pillar of our economy. I'd be so conflicted if Lance accused them of being evil or something.

I mean, could you imagine Silph Co being evil? I couldn't dare imagine it!

==========

?[ICICLE PLATE DISCOVERED FROM THE CAVES BENEATH SNOWPOINT CITY?! THE CELESTIC TOWN RESEARCH CENTRE STRIKE GOLD ONCE AGAIN!] by The Sinnoh Times

[Official announcement by the Celestic Town Research Centre]

The Icicle Plate has been discovered! The discovery is so new that we've barely even had time to send our reporters down there to speak to the explorers about this new discovery!

But click on the link above to find out more! For us Sinnohnians, THIS is the find of the decade!

An ACTUAL Legendary artifact!? Found by an expedition team?! This sounds like something out of a story!

Don't bother with the comments, go see it for yourself!

=========

?[A DENOUNCEMENT OF THE GOLDENROD GYM LEADER?! LEWIS UNDER FIRE BY THE OTHER JOHTO GYM LEADERS!?] By The Indigo Post

[Pictures of Lewis and the Goldenrod Gym]

The Gym Leaders of Indigo seem quick to act! Not long after Giovanni's new proposal had been passed – granting them the power to make a formal denouncement of one of their own – they seem to be eager to use their newfound power to petition for the removal of Gym Leader Lewis, of the Goldenrod Gym.

While their haste was unexpected, their accusations come as little surprise to this writer. Lewis has struggled to maintain a grip on his Gym for some time now, owing partially to his old age, and has made his intentions clear that he intended to retire from his position as soon as he found a worthy successor.

However, it has become increasingly clear that Lewis had no actual intention of finding such a successor, and had merely been saying so as a delaying tactic to remain as a Gym Leader for longer. For years, the Goldenrod Gym had effectively been run by their Gym trainers, which the other Gym Leaders of Johto have apparently found unconscionable and deem him unworthy of his position.

They have submitted their petition to the League underlying various reasons, such as the ones mentioned above, for his removal. It will be up to Lance and the Committee to see if they have any good reason to reject it.

Yet this comes as an opportunity. If he is voted out, which seems likely that he will, who will be replacing Lewis as the new Gym Leader of Goldenrod? Will it be another Johtonian appointee? Or are we about to see our first foreign Gym Leader be appointed?

These are interesting times ahead. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

=======

?Comments

AlluteNinja

Hope we actually get a foreign Gym Leader this time. This would be a great opportunity for that.

PunchingBag

Bah, of course the Normal Type Gym Leader turned out to be a pathetic man. Unsurprised. Hope we get a second Fighting Gym.

FlyingHigh

Not that I agree, but Lewis has been so under-the-radar that I haven't heard anything about him in years. Even in the Gym Leader meeting he was so unremarkable that I forgot about him entirely.

He deserves to be replaced at this point.

ILoveGoldenRod

Good riddance that he's getting the boot. Goldenrod has been close to stagnating because of him. Hope we get someone better to replace him.

TangelaThoughts

Don't forget that he was one of only two Johto Gym Leaders that didn't side with either Clair or Pryce. Now we know why; they likely couldn't stand the man!

The Johto Gym Leaders must have been chomping at the bit to kick him out – it was an unanimous vote!

FearTheRat

Yeah...he didn't look like much of a Gym Leader. Even Flint looked better.

FutureAce

No way you just said that. Fuck Flint, absolutely worst Gym Leader we've ever had. Glad Brock's doing better without him.

The New Normal – 11-12 – Interlude – Steven

He sat down opposite his friend with a plate full of food. Except, it wasn't exactly the food he was hoping to eat.

"Are you happy now?" He spat out frustratedly.

Unperturbed by his anger, Bruno simply nodded, "It would be better for your long-term health if you ate healthier."

"I'll have you know that a dietician came up with my diet." He bluffed, but Bruno quickly saw through it.

"If that was true, then you should fire them." He snorted, "Waffles are tasty, but they are far from a balanced meal."

Steven grumbled, but kept his silence as he shoved the seaweed salad that he had into his mouth. Truth be told, it was far from horrible, but he was just annoyed at Bruno for denying him his syrupy waffles.

This all started when, one day, he had the bright idea to finally ask Bruno if he wanted to learn more about politics and business. Bruno was reluctant, but he managed to convince the martial artist by stating that he would listen to one favour from Bruno in return.

He REALLY regretted making that trade, because of course the taskmaster that was his friend demanded that he eat healthier foods and have a more balanced diet.

It wasn't his fault that he had a more refined palate than most. His rich upbringing practically demanded that he had a taste for the more delicate and refined foods that the world had to offer.

Yet Bruno did not care. All he saw was that Steven was eating unhealthily, and he was determined to correct this.

So gone were syrup-glazed waffles. Gone were the sweets. Gone were the rich and creamy desserts. Instead greens of all kinds replaced his diet, alongside a healthy amount of meats. He wasn't even allowed to put sugar into his coffee!

Of course, he had gotten his revenge when it was time for him to tutor Bruno about the complexities and subtleties of politics and business. Admittedly, it was clear from the start that Bruno was not at all suited for intrigue. He wasn't dumb, far from it, but he was just too honest and straightforward a person to really be able to deceive his opponents.

But that was fine. That was what Steven was hoping for, in fact. He never wanted Bruno to become like him; he wanted to maintain Bruno's bluntness and honesty. All he wanted was to make sure that Bruno would be able to recognise when he was being played, which Bruno was already good at since he was very good at spotting lies and deceit.

Bruno would never be a master politician. But he was invaluable to those who were.

Thinking about Bruno's improvements in politics reminded him of the topic that he wanted to bring up today. "I assume you've heard of John's success in Indigo?"

And what a success it was. Even though Steven knew of John's intentions in advance, he was still awed by the level of his ambition – and the fact that he managed to pull it off. It was making him start to think about his own plans when he became Champion, and he began to question whether they were really ambitious enough.

John's proposal was impossible to be overlooked. The passing of the proposal and its effects were still being discussed on practically every radio station and news channel. Even his father had called him up to discuss what he thought of it.

Bruno nodded, "I have. I caught it on the radio this morning."

"Then you know what I'm about to ask – if I could turn it into a reality as Champion, following in John's footsteps, would you join the Hoenn Elite Four? Now that there is a very real chance of you being able to?" He asked his friend.

There were several reasons that made him so insistent on getting Bruno to join the Elite Four once he became Champion. For one, every Champion wanted an Elite Four member that they could trust to not challenge their position, and he knew that Bruno would rather give up training entirely than willingly take on the position of Champion. The man despised paperwork as much as he despised laziness.

Second, Bruno was ridiculously strong, even for a member of the Elite Four, and would serve as an excellent shield to prevent would-be challengers from running the gauntlet and challenging the Champion like Cynthia had done.

But ultimately, he wanted Bruno in the Elite Four because Bruno was his friend, and he wanted his friend to gain the recognition and fame that he rightfully deserved. Even amongst the Gym Leaders, Steven knew it in his heart that there was no one comparable to Bruno. Not in strength, nor in mentality.

Bruno may not care very much for the fame, but Steven wanted him to be acknowledged regardless.

He was shaken from his thoughts as Bruno responded, "...I am not as against it as I was once. I fear that if I remain merely a wandering trainer, I would eventually find myself stagnating due to a lack of appropriate foes. Perhaps joining the Elite Four may give me access to more capable trainers than I otherwise would have, or perhaps it will unlock new opportunities for me to train up my Pokémon and explore the heights of being a martial artist. And...I think I would like to see the world you intend to craft with your two hands."

"However, you are thinking too far ahead again, Steven." Bruno reminded him, "You have not even become Champion yet, nor will Wallace be an easy foe for you to beat. Let alone the rest of the Elite Four. I suggest you focus on achieving your current ambitions before planning further ahead."

Steven sighed, "I know, I know. You know how I get."

He admitted he might be getting a little overconfident about his chances, but that was solely due to all the training that he had done with Bruno. He had witnessed and analysed Wallace's performance in the Tournament, and he really felt that, thanks to all the sparring, his Metagross would be able to cleanly overwhelm and break through his Milotic's defences.

Thus, by the time the Hoenn Conference rolled around, he knew he was going to be in a prime position to crush any who faced him. Sidney, Phoebe, Glacia, Drake, or Wallace – it didn't matter. Bruno had helped him harden his Steel types into unbreakable walls, ready to face off even against a Champion.

"I do." Bruno nodded, unaware of his thoughts, "Which is why my duty is to keep you grounded. You are prone to arrogance, and I must do my best to rid you of it."

Steven chuckled, "That's true, but I could at least speak to Wallace about this sometime in the future and get the foundations set up in advance. I don't think he'd be against this."

"That would be prudent." Bruno agreed, "Though I have not confirmed my decision to join the Elite Four yet. Perhaps I may spend some more time wandering around the lands first."

"Speaking of wandering, have you ever thought about heading to Sinnoh?" Steven asked, "Father said that he might be sending me there soon for business. I wouldn't mind your company, if you want to join."

Bruno tapped a finger on his arm, "I think I will join. It will be interesting to experience new things with my Pokémon, and perhaps visiting a new region will inspire me to train my Pokémon in new ways."

Steven facepalmed, "Of course that's what you're concerned about. Next thing you're going to tell me is that you intend to climb to the top of Mt. Coronet with your bare hands."

"I do not think I will have the time to do so, but perhaps in the future. It would make for a great challenge." Bruno responded, missing his sarcasm, "Also, I have read reports about the strange 'otherworldly' presence that can be found on Spear Pillar. Perhaps such unusual conditions would make for a great training ground."

...He shouldn't be surprised that this was what he thinks of first.

"Spear Pillar is also an important historical and religious site." Steven pointed out, "I don't think they'd take it kindly if you used it as a gym."

"Ah. True." Bruno nodded, "Best not."

"Are you considering catching any of the Fighting types there? I know they aren't pure Fighting, but Sinnoh does have some powerful Fighting types that you could consider training." Steven asked, changing the topic, "Perhaps a Lucario? That's a Pokémon I want too."

"...Let me think on that." Bruno replied after a moment, "It will be different than the Pokémon I have trained with so far, but you have convinced me that I would enjoy and relish the additional challenge of training a dual type Pokémon. If I join the Elite Four as a proper trainer, it would be better for me to have a more varied team."

"I hope you do. You'll be so much stronger for it." Steven nodded back.

Bruno didn't respond, instead falling deeper into thought. But Steven knew he would be convinced; he was growing less stubborn about maintaining a pure Fighting type team thanks to all of their spars together. Bruno's biggest weakness was his Pokémon's lack of any versatility, and after Steven had adapted to Bruno's strengths, it was obvious to the both of them that this lack of versatility was really starting to hurt him.

Therefore, he had done his best to persuade Bruno that training up a dual type did not make him any lesser of a martial artist.

And once Bruno did start training up more Pokémon, then he truly would be a monster to be reckoned with. Which only further cemented his resolve of getting Bruno into the Hoenn Elite Four.

No one that strong deserved to remain outside of it.

The New Normal – 11-13 – A New Challenger Approaches

Right after my proposal was officially passed, I received many congratulatory messages from my friends such as from Steven, Wallace, and Lucian.

Cynthia was obviously included in that list, but she also had more words for me.

"So what are you planning on doing next, now that one of your longer term goals have been achieved?" She had asked me, "I don't see you as someone sitting idle. Are you going to try to make it so that Gym Leaders can be appointed from and to any region? Not just their own?"

I shook my head, "I've thought about it, but that's probably going a little too far. I don't think it would be suitable for now. Instead, I was thinking about slowing down my developments in Indigo in favour of focusing on more international pursuits once again. And I'd be looking for your help."

"Oh? And what do you want me to help you with as Champion of Sinnoh?" She grinned, "Do remember that just because we're dating doesn't mean I have to agree to everything."

I laughed, "Don't worry, I didn't forget. I was just thinking of formalising our cooperation with each other, perhaps by creating a joint organisation or political entity that could foster and formalise the cooperation between all the regions."

I knew that things were looking up for the joint collaboration between our regions, but I really wanted to solidify that mutual aid into something formal. Creating an organisation that would guarantee open borders, trade, and provide a promise of support and aid, would help to prevent any backslide to the age of isolationism that we were once in.

However, to my surprise, I hadn't been the only one to think of such an idea, as the pleased grin from Cynthia seemed to reveal, "I've been thinking of the same, actually. After all the help that both Indigo and Hoenn have provided us, I felt that Sinnoh should be at the forefront of creating a new political entity – like you suggested – to formally lay out our terms of cooperation. It's actually something that I have in the works right now."

"I even thought up a name for it." She added, "I planned to call it the Regional Union, or RU for short."

"Oh, I guess I've been one-upped." I chuckled, not at all displeased that she had already thought of this. In fact it just made it better, "Yes, I can see why it'd be better for Sinnoh to propose this. It'll be better for balance if that were the case."

Indigo couldn't be the only region proposing these policies. After all, if we wanted all the regions to work together, it wouldn't look great if the public only saw that Indigo was the only region putting in the effort and work. Other regions needed to contribute too.

Hoenn had already done so by proposing and hosting the Tri-Regional Tournament, and now it was Sinnoh's turn.

I relayed the same to Cynthia, who nodded, "Yes, those were my thoughts as well." She said, "So would you mind if you wait for me to make all the preparations to announce this?"

"I don't mind at all, so long as the organisation gets created in due time." I replied, "In fact, it might actually be better for me to step away from politics for a little bit to let things calm down. After the passing of my recent proposal, I think it's better if I laid low for a bit and let others take the spotlight for a while."

"Mhm...I wonder how well that'd go." She thought aloud, "Anyways, I have to run off now. Give Karen my good luck for me. I know she'll do well."

"Oh, have you been speaking to her?" I asked. I was unaware of this.

"Occasionally. We mostly talk about battling and trading tips. Nothing else." She said, and my gut told me that she wasn't telling the full truth, but I knew better than to call her out on it. Still, after exchanging a few more words we wrapped up our conversation.

Speaking of politics, the announcement that the current Goldenrod Gym Leader, Lewis, was being petitioned to be removed came as a slight shock to me. Even with my recent visits, I admit that I wasn't the most well-informed about the current status of all the Gyms, but this seemed like something that was premeditated by quite a few people to remove him from his position.

However, from the formal accusations laid out against Gym Leader Lewis, I was willing to believe that they were doing this because they were truly displeased by his poor leadership rather than because of any personal dislike of the man.

The fact that Clair and Pryce were both in agreement despite their animosity told me enough about Lewis' leadership, or lack thereof. It was also particularly damning that Lewis didn't seem to be bothering with defending himself, almost as if he was content to let things play out.

I frowned at his defeatist attitude.

Seeing this happen, I idly wondered how it was that my sister became the Gym Leader of Goldenrod in canon. Perhaps my existence had already changed that fate for her? I thought about it for a little while before dropping the topic entirely and instead decided to pay her a visit.

It had been some time since I had last seen my sister, and I felt like I really should catch up with her. I hadn't managed to see her when I was at the Saffron Gym the last time just because of poor timing.

That was why I had called ahead notifying her of my arrival, before I flew over on Port to Saffron City. However, I didn't fly to the Gym itself, but I instead landed somewhere on the outskirts before walking my way over to a restaurant that Whitney had already seated herself at in advance.

I was also wearing a disguise just to avoid any unnecessary attention.

The enthusiastic waving from my sister quickly caught my eye, even though it kind of ruined the point of a disguise, but I still sat down opposite her with a cheerful smile.

"You're here quick!" She giggled, "I was just about to order."

"Order whatever you want." I said, "I'll pay."

Surprisingly, she shook her head, "No can do, bro. I have a salary now – I can pay."

I was grateful, but I still insisted to pay, "Your salary can't be that high. You should save up that money and buy something nice for yourself or your team."

"No, it's fine bro. Let me pay. It's not that expensive anyways." She countered, and seeing the determination on her face I eventually acquiesced to her. Though I didn't fail to hide the proud smile on her face.

My parents would be so happy when they heard about this.

Our food arrived soon after, and we caught up with what each other had been doing as we ate. Well, in reality, I mostly just listened as my sister rambled out everything she had been doing in the Gyms and how she had been training up her new Farigiraf.

She told me she was finding a lot of success with making full use of the versatility of Farigiraf. Her newly evolved Psychic type could brawl, fight at a distance, and also set up support moves as necessary. It would never be the best at any one of them, but it still served as a powerful and flexible jack-of-all-trades that she could deploy almost at any time.

She was also now involved with Sabrina in helping the Gym to train further Girafarig so that they could evolve into Farigiraf. I guess Samson wanted Farigiraf to be the 'speciality' of their Gym for the future.

From what I was hearing, she seemed like she was more than happy with her time in the Saffron Gym, and her team was continuing to develop and grow stronger at a healthy pace. That was relieving.

And it was what led me to ask my next question, "So, Whitney, what do you plan on doing after your time in the Saffron Gym? I know you said you'll be moving onto the Fuschia Gym with Janine afterwards, but what next? What do you want to do? What do you want to work towards?"

She tilted her head cutely as she tapped a finger on her chin, "...I don't know yet, Joh – bro." She quickly corrected herself since she knew we were trying to be incognito, "I guess I just want to spend more time with my friends. I don't want to be separated from them."

"Maybe I'd be a Head Gym Trainer for one of them?" She suggested, "Not sure what else I could do."

I nodded, "That's a good goal for now. I don't want to make it seem like I was pressuring you – but I'm happy you have an idea of what you want to do in the future." However, I would do my best to help Whitney achieve her canon position as Gym Leader, whether that be at Goldenrod or not.

She deserved to share the same status as her friends.

Then I remembered a conversation I had with Will all the way back in Sinnoh that I meant to bring up earlier, "Hey, sis, have you ever thought of crafting an image for yourself?"

"An image?" She asked, "...You mean something like Koga? With how he's like a ninja?"

"Yes, that's exactly it." I nodded, "Will had actually brought this up with me – as advice to give to you. He said that it would help your reputation if you could stand out in some way with your appearance. That's going to be especially important now that you're starting to be on people's radars thanks to your discovery and Circuit success."

"Like, with what I wear?" She asked.

"Yes, something like that." I confirmed, "I'm not sure if you realised, but your friends have already been doing something similar. Sabrina has the 'genius psychic' look, and Janine has the 'ninja-in-training' appearance."

"And I'm pink." Whitney said, but then a look of inspiration passed through her eye, "I like being pink. And cute. Maybe that could be my thing?"

"If that's what you want to do, then go for it." I smiled, although I was of the belief that she was always going to be cute no matter what she tried, "I'm not going to force you to do it. It's just something I thought you might like to think about from time to time."

"...Or maybe I could even coordinate with Sabie and Jas so that we could match!" My sister perked up excitedly at the thought, "Maybe we could have a trio of matching outfits!"

I chuckled, "If you think that would work. It would be pretty cool though."

Apparently that was the right thing to say, because Whitney wouldn't stop blurting out ideas about how she'd get her friends to dress up. She even had a common colour palette thought up for the three of them.

She seemed more excited about this than when she told me her Girafarig evolved. But I was happy for her – to see that she had a direction that she wanted to take herself. The Whitney that I saw today had the potential to become more than what she achieved as her canon self.

And I would be there to support her if she ever needed it.

With the 'heavier' topics out of the way, our conversation returned to the levity that it started with. But soon she had to run off back to work, and I had intended to head to Cerulean City to check up on the construction of the cave – I had heard that the renovations were near completion.

But my plans were interrupted by a call that I wasn't expecting.

"Hello Daisy. Is there something wrong?" I greeted my junior assistant. She was an intern no longer – and was now getting a salary. Nothing much in the grand scheme of things, but it was a lot for a young girl.

Yet the seriousness in her tone caused me to stand upright, "John, there's been a development. We were just informed that Will had received a challenge."

My eyes widened, "Wait, what? Will got challenged? From whom?" It couldn't be Karen. She had seemed so firm about her choice to challenge Agatha, and she still hadn't actually won the Indigo Conference yet.

"It's from Gym Leader Koga." Daisy replied, "We don't know the reason why he's challenged him, but Andrew is trying to get the details now."

"...Okay, thank you for letting me know." I said after a moment, "Please let me know if you can get any more details."

"Will do." Daisy answered dutifully before hanging up, probably to do just that.

As the call ended, I stood still as I fell deep into thought; a finger tapping idly on my knee while my phone remained clutched in my hand.

After a moment, I ended up ringing up Will. Despite my poor first impression of him, I actually did think of him now as a friend. So I wanted to check up on him.

"Hello? John? Wasn't expecting a call from you." Will began, "I guess you must have heard the news."

"I did." I confirmed, "I was just calling to check up on you. How are you feeling? Do you feel prepared?"

"Mostly still recovering from the shock." He admitted, no longer trying to uphold his usual confidence, "Koga really knows how to ruin a shopping trip. And I had just found such a nice hat to try out in Celadon."

"Oh wait, you're at Celadon? I'm actually nearby." I said, "I was just having lunch with my sister at Saffron. Do you want to meet up, maybe over a drink?"

"...Yeah, sure. I could use an ear." He said, "Thanks for this, John. I'll meet you at the café on the rooftop atrium."

It didn't make me long to get there, and it actually took me a little bit to spot Will in the crowd because he wasn't wearing his usual eye-catching outfit. He was also looking far less enthusiastic and bombastic than he usually was. Instead his posture was subdued and thoughtful.

As I sat down next to him, I decided to lighten the mood, "Of course out of all the places you could choose to meet up you'd choose the overpriced as shit café that everyone knows is a tourist trap."

That got a chuckle out of him, "What can I say? I'm a man of refined tastes."

"It's more like you're a shopaholic trying to pass yourself off as a cultured person." I shot back, getting another laugh from him. The Will that I had first met would have gotten offended by that.

"No, I really do like the drinks here." He said as I gave him a weird look, "Yes, they're pricey. But I think they're worth the price."

"...If you think so." I replied uncertainly, "Anyways, you looked deep in thought when I saw you. You worried about the battle?"

"I am." He admitted, "I knew a challenge was coming, but I was expecting your friend to be the one to challenge me." He said, "I thought that was the plan for Karen. She had the Type matchup against me and everything."

"I thought you were training hard in preparation for this?" I asked.

"Yes, but now I've realised I've been training for the wrong person." He told me with a frown, "Like I said, I thought I would be facing a Dark specialist. So I had spent most my time studying her moves and the way she fought. I threw myself into trying to work around her speed and disruptive tactics – though I admit I was struggling to find a solution around her larger threats."

"Yet now I find that most of my training, while not useless, is not going to be as effective as I hoped." He continued, "Koga is a very different kind of trainer compared to Karen. And he is no less strong."

"Well I see where you're coming from..." I nodded sympathetically, "But I'd thought you'd be happier fighting against Koga instead of Karen. You have the Type advantage of him."

"First of, there's every possibility that Koga AND Karen might challenge me back-to-back, which would be the worst case scenario for me." I purposely stilled my reaction. That likely wasn't about to happen, but I didn't want to give Will false hope in case Karen changed her plans, "Secondly, even without doing research, I'm certain that Koga would have thought up of countermeasures to deal with Psychic types. Even amongst the Gym Leaders, Koga stands out for his strength."

"Our battle won't be the same as Lorelei v Surge." He added, "As much as I don't want to lessen her achievement, Lorelei had it easy fighting against Surge. I may be stronger than her, but Koga will be tough."

"I can't disagree with that." I replied, overlooking his small slip of arrogance, "Surge is...not the greatest trainer. Not when compared to the likes of Koga." He had raw power, but little else. Koga was a much tougher opponent.

The two of us stayed silent like that for a moment, and Will took a few sips of his overpriced drink before he spoke up again.

"Say, John. Would you do me a favour?" He asked softly, but with genuine sincerity.

"Of course. What do you need help with? Do you want me to help you to train?" I asked.

He shook his head, "No, nothing like that. I will face my opponent with my own strength and determination, not with the borrowed strength of others. This will be my fight, and I have no intention of losing."

I smiled at his determination, "I like the sound of that. But if you don't need help with training, then what?"

"Even if I don't intend to simply give up my position, it would still be prudent for me to have contingency plans in case I slip up on the day." He said, "Backup plans are always necessary."

I stayed silent, listening intently as I allowed him to continue, "So...if I'm forced out by my unexpected defeat, I'm looking for a method to exit in a way that allows me to remain relevant. I know my strength and worth, and I'd hate for someone like me to fall into complete obscurity."

"You'd still have a chance to challenge someone when you lose." I pointed out, "You could challenge Lorelei for your position, for example."

"That's true, although I'm not sure I want to take the risk of having two back-to-back losses." He said slowly.

"...Yet perhaps something could also be negotiated with Lorelei..." He mumbled thoughtfully, his political brain running a mile a minute, "...Yes...that's definitely something I should bring up with her."

I guessed that he was probably thinking to himself about what kind of deal he could strike with Lorelei. Perhaps it would be a deal for Will to not challenge Lorelei, in the event of his defeat, in exchange for some kind of promise. Or perhaps I was just overthinking it and that he was going to challenge Lorelei directly and just wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings between them. I couldn't really guess at the moment.

"Well you can plan that through later." I said, breaking him from his thoughts, "What kind of favour did you want from me?"

"I think I once told you that I've always wanted to be a contest performer, right?" He said.

"...Yes, I remember that." I nodded, recalling the conversation, "But you said you ended up not pursuing it cause you thought it wasn't a sustainable career path."

"Mhm, but that was before. Thanks to recent developments, that's no longer the case." He responded, "I hope I'm not asking for too much, but I wish for you to assist me into helping me transition into a career in the arts, if I was to be kicked out of the Elite Four. I think they would welcome me with open arms."

"Consider it done." I waved my hand, "And I won't even consider this me doing you a favour. Had you asked, I would have done so anyways. You're a friend." And I meant that genuinely.

That made him smile, "I'm glad you consider me one. I know I rubbed you the wrong way when we first met." He scratched his head embarrassedly, "Actually, it wasn't just you. I think I pissed off all of the Elite Four with my pompous introduction."

"You certainly didn't win yourself any friends." I chuckled fondly, thinking back on his memorable introduction. Walker was practically the only one that treated him nicely.

"I guess I've matured since then." He chuckled with me, "You know, now that I realise this could possibly be my last few weeks in the Elite Four...I've really come to treasure and cherish my time here. Being in the Elite Four has taught me a lot. It's helped me mature not just as a trainer, but as a person too. I'd like to think I've become a better person since I joined."

"You have." I nodded, "You're a lot more relaxed now, in a good way. You used to flinch and take offense at every little joke against you. But now you let those slights bounce off against you, and you're willing to laugh at yourself. It's a good change, and it makes you a much better person to be around."

"I appreciate you saying so, John." He smiled again, "But I think we've gotten a little off topic. We're counting our Pokémon before they even hatch. I won't just roll over."

"Mhm, you haven't lost yet." I agreed, "So keep your head high, Will. Win or lose, I'll still support you."

"Thank you John." He extended a hand, one that I took and shook, "I feel a lot better about this now. I won't take up any of your time any longer; I have my own training to get to. Koga might be Intimidating, but I'll ensure that I remain Defiant to the end."

"I wish you luck." I shot back, "You can always come to me if you have any problems."

Because that's what friends do.

The New Normal – 11-14 – A New Cave

Koga's unexpected challenges sent ripples throughout Indigo, as any challenge to the Elite Four always did. However, I noticed that the reactions of the public lacked the surprise that I had expected, since they likely thought that it was about time that Will received an official challenge.

Lance put it best, "Every Elite Four member will eventually receive a challenge from someone. It was only a matter of when. Therefore, with Will being the only amongst you to not be challenged, I suppose everyone didn't find it surprising when one finally happened."

"Do Champions get challenged often?" I asked curiously.

He instinctively sat up straight, but relaxed when he realised I meant nothing by it, "No, quite the opposite. It's a sign of a poor Champion if they get challenged too often. Unlike the Elite Four, Champions are expected to hold their positions for quite some time. A region that swaps their Champions too often are mostly considered unstable."

I nodded, understanding the reasoning. A Champion dictated the overall policy of the region, so having Champions be frequently swapped out and replaced spelled bad news for the decision-making ability of that region's League.

Returning back to Will, the reporters were having a field day with the news, and they set out to try and secure whatever interviews and sound bites that they could as they asked everyone about their opinions on Koga's challenge against Will.

I, obviously, wasn't excluded from their sights.

"Many within the public have observed that you and Will dislike each other. Would you be happy to see him go?" One reporter asked me while I exited the Indigo League building.

I scowled, "I have no idea where people got the idea that Will and I disliked each other. We are friends. All of us in the Elite Four are. It's why we're able to get along so well."

"Then are you going to be rooting for your Elite Four member during the upcoming fight? Does that mean you think that Koga is unsuited for the position?" That same reporter quickly backpedalled and changed tracks, although he was still trying to dramatize my answers.

I rolled my eyes, "I'm friends with Koga as well. I'll root for the both of them. I don't have a preference on who I'd want to win or who I think should win. I'm just excited to see a good fight. I'll be happy with whatever outcome."

"Are you not afraid of the changes that Koga might bring to the Elite Four?" A different reporter asked as another microphone was shoved into my face, "It's been evident that you hold a dominant position in the current hierarchy of things. Are you not upset that this might change with Koga's inclusion?"

I raised an eyebrow, "I'm not a power hungry tyrant who's looking to stay in power no matter the cost. The power granted to me was coincidental – not something I actively searched for. I'm grateful to have it, make no mistake, but if Koga's inclusion means I lose some of that power then I wouldn't mind. In fact, I'm interested to see what kind of policies he would bring to the table, if he were to win."

That led to questions being asked about what I thought those policies would be, but I quickly put an end to the interview and left. I had given them enough; there was no need to fall down the Buneary hole of speculation.

Although all this talk about Will and Koga made me think about Janine. Should Koga win, then that meant Janine was about to become Gym Leader of Fuschia. Would she be ready for that? She was competent enough for her age, but she was still very young. However, I thought that Koga was someone who only acted after carefully thinking things through. He wouldn't make a play for Gym Leader if Janine wasn't ready or be adequately supported.

Maybe Whitney was about to swap over to Fuschia earlier than she expected?

I'd just have to wait to see the result of the fight between Koga and Will. There was too much uncertainty for now. And ultimately, it wasn't any of my business to interfere with that.

Either way, the main event that I had to attend to today actually had nothing to do with battling. Instead, mayor Henry had just informed me last night that the Cerulean Cave was ready for its grand opening, and that all relevant preparations had been made for the relatively safe exploration of its depths.

I had informed Cynthia of the same, and she was just as excited for me.

"You know it means a lot to us, and me, that you're willing to go this far as to bring the tradition of cave diving to Indigo." She had said to me last night during one of our scheduled phone calls.

"It was something that I wanted to do anyways, even without you guys naming me as a honorary member." I replied humbly, "Just a shame that you couldn't come for the grand opening."

"Sorry, John. As much as I'd like to, I can't afford to head to Indigo at the moment." She said sadly, "I have to be present in Sinnoh to monitor the efforts of the Indigo and Hoenn delegation. It wouldn't be a good look for me to be sneaking off to Indigo while there are still active foreign delegates in Sinnoh."

"I understand; I just wanted to see you." I admitted.

"And I do too." She smiled, "Trust me, I'm doing my best to find another moment for us. We'll make the most of it."

"I hope you can come to Indigo one day in the near future. I want to properly introduce you to the family – have you spend some time around the house and stuff." I said to her, "It'll be nice for them to get to know you better and vice versa."

"That's a good point. And I'd love to spend some time seeing your home region with my own eyes – I'm sure I'll find many beautiful things there. Plus, I'd love to spend more time with your cute sister too and get to know her better." She chuckled, "She seems like a joy to be with."

"She is." I nodded, as if what she said was obvious.

She laughed, "Of course that's what you say. Anyways, I'll let you know as soon as I plan out when I can come over."

We made some small talk after that, but she also mentioned that even though she herself couldn't be going, instead her grandmother would actually be going in her place. That was pretty interesting.

With that in mind, I had arrived early and found myself hanging around the Cerulean Cave, inspecting the renovations as I waited for the grand opening ceremony to begin.

The entrance to the cave had been completely overhauled with a shiny new look. Instead of the old and decrepit look that it had before, the boulders and rocks had been smoothed out. A proper arch of rocks framed the entrance, with the words 'Cerulean Cave' clearly etched onto the archway. It even had small streams of water flowing down on either side of it as a symbolic representation of Cerulean City.

Plus, I knew that they had renovated far more than the entrance; the interior had also been upgraded too. Though I couldn't see inside the cave for the time being as it was still closed.

"John!" A sudden cry broke me from my thoughts, and I turned to see all FOUR Waterflower sisters running up to me, "Congratulations again for getting the proposal passed!"

"Oh hello, sisters." I smiled, "And thank you, I'm really glad my proposal succeeded. I appreciate your vote of support as well. Still, I thought you'd be coming a bit later."

"Misty here wanted to take a few photos." Daisy grinned as she elbowed the youngest of the sisters, "So we came early to accompany her."

"Caves are cool!" Misty exclaimed excitedly, "Way better than forests. I never liked Bugs." She frowned cutely.

"Caves are more dangerous though, so don't go wandering in there now." I warned gently, "Not by yourself."

"I know, but they're still better than Bugs. I really, really don't like Bugs." She repeated with a shake of the head, getting a chuckle from her sisters.

"You planning on taking a dive into the caves sometime soon?" I asked them, "There are plenty of powerful Water types in there I'm sure. Maybe some could join your team?"

"Maybe in the future." Lily replied, "We just got a new Pokémon to take care of, and I'm not sure if we can afford to divide our attention between multiple Pokémon."

"Plus, catching another powerful Pokémon might not be the best idea right now." Daisy added, "We still haven't fully disciplined our Gyarados yet, even with Drake's help. We're afraid that catching another powerful yet wild Pokémon might make the discipline problem worse."

"That's a reasonable concern." I nodded, "I struggled a bit with getting my Munchlax to obey me at first too, though that was due to laziness and not rage. But even if you decide not to catch anything, I'm confident that it'd be a good place to train."

"Mhm. We felt the same after reading the reports as well." They agreed, "We're planning on training here on a rotational basis, so two of us stay at the Gym while one of us trains our Pokémon here."

"I want to train too!" Misty piped up.

"Maybe when you're older and more experienced." Daisy said softly, "It's a little too dangerous for you right now."

"And you remember what Drake told you? He had you run through a few training methods." Lily reminded, "You should stick to that for now as he said. You don't want him to be disappointed with your Staryu's progress once you call him next."

Misty pouted, but reluctantly agreed with her sisters. Daisy saw that and leaned in to whisper to me.

"She's a big fan of Drake – thinks he's really cool and strong." She chuckled quietly in my ear, "She always wants to talk to him. I think she's his biggest fan."

I smiled, "I'm sure Drake is happy about that." She giggled at my response.

"Oh, nice to see everyone gathered here already." A voice appeared from behind us, and I turned to see Professor Carolina approaching us with a group of explorers following behind her.

"Professor Carolina." I greeted, "It's been some time."

"And yet it feels like whatever I do I still I hear all about you, either from my granddaughter or from the news." She chuckled, "Speaking of my granddaughter, did you know how surprised I was when she told me you two had gotten together? When I asked her to be your tour guide, let me tell you that a relationship was the last thing I had in mind."

"That doesn't mean I disapprove." She quickly said, "Quite the opposite really. She talks about you a lot, and she's happier for it. That's all that matters to me."

I blushed, "Well thank you for saying that – I'm glad you're supportive. You know, and it's my fault for not doing this earlier, but maybe you can join my family and I for dinner as I'm sure they'd like to meet you—"

I was cut off before I could finish my sentence as I felt someone hurriedly tapping me on the shoulder, "Elite John, could you please make your way to the front now. Mayor Henry has arrived and is waiting for you to join him on stage."

"Ah, understood." I nodded, and with a quick apologetic nod to Carolina, I joined the Waterflower sisters as walked onstage with the mayor, who greeted us all with a quick nod.

It was time for the opening ceremony.

========

?(A Civilian's POV)

In all fairness, he admitted that he initially wasn't very interested in the opening of a new cave in Cerulean. He had lived in this city for all these years, and yet he never had any interest of exploring the Cerulean Cave, especially with how notoriously dangerous that it was.

And as someone who had given up on his trainer career shortly after it began, he was absolutely not fit to deal with any of the powerful wild Pokémon that many said were down there.

Still, he had an off day today, and he was attracted by the growing crowd of people that had gathered to watch the opening of the cave – which had been radically renovated so that it actually looked like something respectable rather than just some random hole in the wall. After all the renovations, the Cave actually looked like something that was artistically inviting, and it fit in with the general aesthetic of Cerulean City.

"Oh my. They've really made it look colourful and shiny." His wife said with a little amazement, "I feel like this would look really beautiful at a distance. I quite like it."

He nodded in agreement, but he held his tongue on giving out any compliments. It was a little too soon for that, and he still needed to see for himself if this whole thing was going to be a failed tourist attraction or not.

Then Mayor Henry took to the stage and began his speech.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Thank you all for coming to this grand opening of the new and improved Cerulean Cave! But it is not merely the opening of a new cave that will serve as excellent training grounds for already powerful trainers! This is also the start of an entirely new direction for our city, one where we demonstrate that our city has more than just the arts to offer!"

There was a quick round of applause at that, which Henry managed to savour before he continued, "But I know that you're not here to listen to my speech, so let's cut right to the chase! Everyone, follow after me! We're going straight into the new Cerulean Cave! It is now officially open to the public!"

That was a little surprising; he didn't expect that they would be given a guided tour of the place. The crowd's cheers had gotten considerably louder, so he tried to ignore them as he followed the Ace Trainers that were assigned to take the lead. They were told early on that they would only be hanging about on the upper levels near the entrance and would not be wandering further down for the sake of everyone's safety.

He did spot that Elite John and the Waterflower sisters were also accompanying them, with looks of wonder on the latter as well. Everyone knew that this idea to open up Cerulean Cave came from John, and he knew that many wondered if this would be another success under his belt.

Because make no mistake, even he admitted that John was the centrepiece to the many positive changes that have swept through their city. He didn't know it at the time, but John's ascension into the Elite Four was the beginning of Cerulean's rise from a forgettable city of the arts to growing to become one of the most prosperous cities in Kanto.

And with the changes to the Cave, it looks like they would be continuing on that trajectory of success.

The immediate area after you stepped in was meticulously built up, almost like a campsite. There were tents, beds, and supplies aplenty. There were also a heavy patrol of Ace trainers and Nurse Joys that secured the area, ensuring that no wild Pokémon were going to breach into the safe zone. Even as a person who didn't carry any Pokémon on him, he was fully confident that he would be safe here.

The Ace Trainers that were leading them then began to talk about what the Cave itself contained. They talked about how powerful the wild Pokémon inside were and how useful that would be for a potential trainer, and they talked about a lot of interesting geology and stuff that went completely over his head.

Though he did catch the fact that they would be barring any trainer below a certain level of strength from exploring this cave unattended, and that they would have to prove themselves before being allowed in by themselves.

"But what kind of Pokémon can we expect to find in there?" Someone asked.

"The more notable Pokémon that we've come across include a Gyarados, Snorlax, and Absol." The trainer answered, getting a shocked gasp from the audience. However, as the Ace Trainer continuing describing the many rare Pokémon that could be found within, he noticed that, just by coincidence, he found himself standing near to John as he stood listening to the Ace Trainers talking.

He always had a question that he meant to ask John, and now seemed to be the perfect opportunity for it. So he gathered his courage and approached the Elite Four member.

"...Excuse me." He began a little nervously, "I have a question for you, Elite John."

He smiled, "Shoot. I'm all ears."

"As a long-time resident of Cerulean, I know how much you've done for our city to bring it to the heights it currently enjoys." He said, and that was the unexaggerated truth. Everyone knew that it was mostly John's efforts that the city was able to grow as it did.

"However, a huge part of that success was due to you being able to make use of your influence as an Elite Four." He stated, "But what happens when to the city when you lose that? Do you have any plans for our city so that it doesn't fall back into stagnancy?"

That had always been his biggest fear, to see all their current success fall away because John was unavailable to continue lifting them up as he had been doing. Just like many other residents of Cerulean, they now had their taste of glory, and they didn't want to lose it.

"That's a good question, and I appreciate you asking that." John replied, seemingly unbothered by how direct he was, "But if your concerns are regarding whether Cerulean City will stagnate without my influence – then I truly do not believe that would be the case."

John gestured to the Waterflower sisters, "Even without me, I am confident and trust that the Waterflower sisters, and Mayor Henry, will look after the city in my place. Especially with the Cerulean Gym, you must have seen how much the sisters have grown in recent times to become a respectable pillar of our city. They will only continue to grow stronger and more influential, and they will ensure that the city never backslides or stagnates."

"Plus, with the Cerulean Cave opening up, diversifying our city so that isn't just known for the arts, I fully believe that the future of our city will continue to be bright. The Cerulean Cave will bring in many an Ace trainer, and I am certain that it will become a training hotspot in the future." John said with utter confidence, "Still, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, so I will continue to fight to improve our city one step at a time. I hope that, before my time in the Elite Four comes to an end, Cerulean City will be a city you and I can be truly proud of. And will stay that way for the years to come."

...He felt the genuine conviction in John's voice, making it clear that the Elite Four member believed every single word that he had uttered. Was it this passion that allowed him to persuade the other Gym Leaders to agree to his ambitious proposal?

That proposal had been a shock to everyone, though he was personally indifferent and he didn't give it much thought. His wife, though, had been so happy to see Indigo starting to grow closer. She had always been enthusiastic about forming closer relations between Kanto and Johto, and had always been John's biggest supporter. Outside of his strength, he personally could never really see why, but now he was beginning to understand.

You could see the honest idealism in John's eyes and the drive to make things better, all while lacking the usual arrogance that you might expect from someone so strong. It was hard not to trust someone like that.

Not knowing what else to say, he simply thanked John for his answer before he refocused his attention onto the tour, ignoring the knowing looks that his wife was giving him. He had missed everything that the Ace trainers were saying thanks to being distracted with his conversation with John, but they were apparently done with showing everyone around and were now bringing them into the gift shop.

He held back the urge to roll his eyes at the obvious marketing, but at least everything in the gift shop looked unique. There were many kinds of unique rocks, gems, and even non-revivable fossil pieces that were being sold here. His wife seemed to be interested, which was probably because they would make for interesting souvenirs and gifts, so they would probably walk out of here with at least something to commemorate the Cave's opening.

While he waited for his wife to finish looking around, he turned his attention back to where John was, where he was busy conversing quietly with the Waterflower sisters. He couldn't exactly overhear what they were talking about, but what was unmistakable was the trust and bond that the Gym Leaders had with their Elite Four member.

It was obvious that the sisters looked up to John as a sort of mentor figure, and John clearly reciprocated. They felt more like a teacher-student rather than an Elite Four and Gym Leader, which bode well for their future cooperation. It was no wonder that John was so trusting in them if he was treating them like students.

Seeing this, he let out a small sigh of relief. Today, he finally saw for himself that John was indeed a good man, and that he had genuine and realistic goals for the continued prosperity of their city. Even though John had a lot of overarching and wide-reaching goals that he didn't really feel concerned him, the Elite Four member never forgot about his own city and continued to seek ways to improve it.

Therefore, from today onwards, John had another supporter in himself.

May John stay in the Elite Four for the years to come.

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

?(John's POV)

With the tour done, the Waterflower sisters and I left the cave, only to be immediately approached by a very cheerful mayor Henry.

"John! Gym Leaders! What a marvellous day it is, right?" He greeted us happily, "I hope you were as impressed as the public seemed to be with the new caves – especially you, John. Since this was your idea."

"I'm happy it seems to be a success." I nodded, "I'm confident that we'll see a steady influx of strong trainers coming here."

"Hm, it definitely seems like there will be." He agreed, "Did you see how everyone's eyes lit up when we mentioned that you could find powerful Pokémon down there? It was all that I hoped for! I'm confident that we'll be able to recoup our investment and turn a profit in a comfortable amount of time once the news spreads to all those other trainers!"

"Please let me know if you have any ideas floating around in that brain of yours. All of you." He grinned at us, "Cerulean City grows ever more prosperous with you fine individuals at the helm."

"Laying it on a bit thick there aren't you?" I chuckled, "Someone's certainly happy."

"Well I admit I'm being a little too enthusiastic – Cerulean City currently doesn't have the spare funds to accommodate another large investment like this one." He confessed, "So, actually, give it some time before you present another idea. I'll give it all the consideration it deserves."

"Awww...we wanted to ask for more budget for our contests..." The sisters whined.

"Surely your contests are successful enough already." Henry deadpanned, "I've seen the numbers. You really don't need the additional funding."

"Yeahhh....but we'd be able to pull off cooler shows if we did!" They exclaimed excitedly, only to get another tired sigh from Henry.

But before they could hassle the mayor any longer, all of our phones suddenly rang. My eyes shot up as I heard the sound.

This wasn't the usual text message or phone call. This was a region wide alert – only to be used in emergency situations.

Dread immediately set in for me, and I saw the horrified expressions slowly forming on everyone's face. I barely had the time to read the message when my phone rang.

"John, get over to Cinnabar Island." He ordered.

"Yes, coming now." I quickly replied to our Champion as I immediately released Port and hurriedly climbed on top of him as he took off. The sisters followed right after me, visible concern and panic on their faces.

The Cinnabar Volcano had erupted. And we had to evacuate everyone.

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