The New Normal - A Pokémon Elite 4 SI by CartecFF

Chapter 9: 34-37

The New Normal – 3-2 – A Chilly Conversation

I sat down in the chair across from Pryce, who was continuously staring at me as if he was trying to observe my every movement. Being in someone's office like this reminded me of the time I was invited to speak with Giovanni. It was admittedly rather unnerving to be the subject of Pryce's cold stare, but I was no longer the fresh newbie member of the Elite Four who was insecure about his position.

No, after my victory over Drake and with my bolstered relations with Giovanni, I knew that my position was far more secure than it was the last time I met with Pryce before I went to Hoenn. I would remain respectful, but I was not going to be intimidated.

I held Pryce's stare for a moment, until he eventually eased up and leaned backwards, no longer trying to intimidate me.

"Firstly, before we move on to the main topic that I would like to discuss with you, I would like to give you my sincere apologies for sending you to Hoenn on such short notice and in such poor conditions." He began, although I noticed that his face had no trace of guilt or apology at all.

"John, I did not do this out of some malicious intent to move you away. You must understand that, as the newest and youngest member of the Elite Four, there were a few in the Indigo League that were worried that you would let your newfound title go to your head and cause problems for Indigo. Thus, we had to send you there as a sort of test to see if you would be suitable for the position in the long-term." He explained.

I thought about his explanation for a moment, and I eventually found them to be unsatisfactory. Whether that was because his reasoning didn't really make sense to me, or because of the lack of sincerity in his tone, I just couldn't get myself to believe in his words. My gut was screaming to me that Pryce was lying to me, but I didn't let my suspicions show on my face.

"You've changed." Seeing that I wasn't saying anything, he continued. "You seem much more confident and surer of yourself. That's good. A proper member of the Elite Four should be confident in themselves, just like you are now."

I only nodded in response and stayed silent once again. His tone of voice was as cold and as unfriendly as usual, and so even though the words itself were complimentary, it was very difficult for me to treat them as such. Also, a part of me suspected that he was just trying to flatter me so that I would react positively to his request.

Seeing my silence, he kept going, "You have also made great strides for Indigo in furthering our relations with Hoenn. I'm sure that the business opportunities that you have created for the two regions as a result of your cooperation with Devon Corp will easily prove fruitful in the future. It seems like my decision to send you to Hoenn to test out your capabilities was successful, then. I would be happy to keep you on the Elite Four for the future as well."

Okay, now I was almost certain that he was trying to flatter me. In fact, his attempts to praise and compliments me were so stiff and unnatural because of his constant monotone voice that it was almost comical to listen to. I supposed that Pryce really hadn't had the need to compliment or praise someone in a while.

...I wonder what that says of him as a person?

Deciding that I had to actually respond to Pryce's comments, I finally spoke up, "Thank you for your words, Champion Pryce." I remained respectful even though I knew his words were insincere, "I hoped to prove that I deserved to be a member of the Elite Four and that I would work hard for the benefit of Indigo. I am glad to be recognized for my efforts."

Pryce frowned slightly at my response, before he quickly pulled his face back into his usual neutral expression. I guess he was hoping that his words would have caused me to react more favourably towards him. But he was delusional if he thought that anyone would have been comforted or enthused by anyone speaking with his tone of voice.

If he truly wanted to appear like he was giving me genuine praise, he should probably stop speaking with his cold and monotonous tone of voice.

"Well, regardless, let's get on with what I wanted to speak about today." Maybe seeing that his words weren't having the affected that he was hoping for, Pryce skipped over the pleasantries and moved to what he wanted to speak about.

I sat up straight and leaned forwards as I focused on his next words; I knew that the next few moments of our conversation would be extremely important to shaping the future of Indigo.

"I'm sure that despite your recent return from Hoenn, you surely must have seen the news on the Pokénet that Lance has recently attacked me for my rightful appointment of my niece as the Gym Leader of Mahogany?" He asked rhetorically, but I nodded anyways as he continued, "Ignoring the ridiculousness of that claim, what you might not know is that my sources tell me that this is just the beginning of Lance's attempts at discrediting me in the public eye before he makes his eventual challenge against me for the position of Champion."

Of course, I already knew all of this, but I still tried my best to look surprised at this revelation. Luckily, Pryce didn't seem to have caught on to my fake surprise and kept speaking.

"I hope you can understand the severity of the situation which I am describing, John." He continued, "The fact that Lance is seeking to make himself the Champion already shows that he is far too ambitious for his own good. As if a Dragon type trainer could ever defeat the likes of me. It only adds to his arrogance to think that his Dragons could ever defeat my team of Ice types." I hid my disbelief at his confidence that Lance had no chance of defeating him. Despite Lance's type disadvantage, I KNEW that Lance was far stronger than Pryce perceived.

Pryce fixed a serious look towards me, "You understand that this cannot be allowed to happen, right John? For the good of Indigo, Lance must not take my place as Champion. I will not allow him to take it away from me."

Before I could even nod in response, Pryce carried on, his speech turning more and more passionate until it almost turned into a rant. "I have been Champion for a very long time, John, and Indigo has prospered under my leadership. There have been no wars, no big protests, and no big issues that have managed to threaten the peace of Indigo. That is all due to my leadership, and because I remained as Champion. John, if I were to lose my position as Champion to a militant like Lance, what do you think would happen? I couldn't imagine how Lance's short-sightedness will doom the many achievements that I have accomplished."

Pryce kept on going and I actually ended up tuning Pryce out as he continued with his ranting and self-praising, to the extent that I wasn't even sure if he was talking to me or talking AT me.

But WOW. Listening to Pryce's speech was eerily familiar to me. I definitely felt like I had heard someone saying something very similar to this not too long ago. I spent a few moments trying to place that sense of familiarity before the realization finally hit me.

Pryce's current rambling speech was just like the rant that Giovanni gave when I spoke with him for the first time all that time ago!

With that realisation, I ended up comparing both of their words, and found that the two of them mirrored each other quite well with their power complexes. On the one hand, based on my memory of Giovanni's rant, I could feel in his words and demeanour that he was genuinely passionate about maintaining and furthering the prosperity of Kanto at any cost, and that he wanted and needed power in order to make sure that he could work towards improving Kanto. He was a true nationalist, to the point of obsession, but I respected him for that regardless.

On the other hand, Pryce was clearly focused on maintaining power as Champion as his first priority. Sure, he also occasionally looked out for the prosperity of Indigo, but that was just the side product of his actions in trying to maintain his title as Champion. Pryce only served Pryce. Perhaps he felt differently at first, and perhaps he had once strived to be a great Champion for Indigo's sake. But that man is now gone, leaving only the withered husk of selfish ambition that was the current Pryce. A man now so consumed and possessed by the need to maintain his power at any cost.

Ever since becoming an Elite Four, I worked hard in hopes of bettering Kanto and Indigo as a whole, and to do that I was determined to work for the better of Kanto and improve its economy so that the Kantonians wouldn't become discontent and cause problems like forming or joining Team Rocket. In that way, I could see the similarities between myself and Giovanni. We both needed power in order to be able to enact the changes we wanted. Unlike Pryce, who I was certain wanted power for the sake of being able to wield it.

It was at this point that I recognized that I could never forgive myself if I chose to support a man like Pryce, a man who was willing to do everything and anything to keep his position as Champion. I didn't dare to think of all the other underhanded actions that Pryce must have taken over his long reign as Champion to maintain his position.

And I felt that it was this difference between the two that made me gravitate towards Giovanni more than Pryce, even though I knew that Giovanni was probably a worse person than Pryce and had done worse and likely more illegal things in the past.

Was it wrong of me to be more trusting and supportive of Giovanni despite his likely affiliations with Team Rocket? Probably. I didn't trust either of them, not completely, but Pryce was just so utterly repulsive to me that I really couldn't see myself supporting him.

I hadn't even spoken to Lance yet, but I could see that a future with Pryce remaining as Champion would be bad for the future of Kanto AND Johto. No, Pryce needed to be removed as soon as possible.

To explain how the Indigo system functions, basically, the Champion serves as the leader and face of the Indigo League. The Champion is mostly responsible for setting the overall direction of Indigo and can pass proposals to a committee for approval. The Elite Four and the League officials serves as the arms that supports and enforces the Champion's policies.

The Champion also doesn't have the power to directly appoint members of the Elite Four or Gym Leaders. Instead, they sit on a committee consisting of many high-ranking League officials where the Champion has a large, but not majority, vote. There, the committee decides who to appoint into the Elite Four, which sometimes also includes promoting a Gym Leader into the Elite Four. The Champion may also directly dismiss a member of the Elite Four by defeating them in a Pokémon battle with no more than 2 losses suffered by the Champion, or by sitting on a committee to vote them out through a majority vote.

However, the Champion can be removed in two ways. The most common way was through a Pokémon challenge, where a challenger who had defeated all of the current members of the Elite Four in any order may challenge the Champion and replace them if the challenger wins. If the challenger is already a member of the Elite Four, they may challenge the Champion directly without having to deal with the other members of the Elite Four. This encourages prospective Champions to join the Elite Four first to gain leadership experience before trying to become the Champion. Similarly, any Gym Leader can challenge an Elite Four member and replace them if they win.

Alternatively, and this applies to any member of the Elite Four as well, the Champion may be removed if 80% of the public votes to remove them. Thus, the Champion is incentivised to remain popular with both the Elite Four and the public, as if the Champion is hated by the Elite Four, then they can simply refuse to obey the Champion's orders with little consequences if the public or a majority of the committee doesn't vote to remove the offending Elite Four member. Likewise, and often linked with the previous scenario, if the Champion is unpopular with the public, then the public can directly vote to remove them.

With these checks and balances in place, it hopefully serves to prevent a Champion from becoming a dictator and taking full control of Indigo. That's how Pryce was held in check for the past couple of years but holding him in check doesn't mean that he wasn't going to continue causing damage to the future of Indigo through his constant enforcement of the status quo and the subsequent resulting stagnation that followed.

I knew that he still had a large support base that was still interested in keeping Pryce as Champion, mostly to serve their own interests, but that was always going to be the case with any reigning Champion. With that in mind, I recognized that, realistically, Pryce could only be removed through a direct confrontation in a Pokémon battle. But I had to be careful with the way that Pryce was removed.

Thus, I had to ensure that Lance obtained enough support for when he replaced Pryce so that there wouldn't be too much opposition against him, which would stifle his policies and heavily distract Lance during the early periods of his reign. Therefore, it would be best if Lance could prove himself to the public that his challenge for the title of Champion was done out of goodwill, to benefit both the public and the people of Indigo, and not because he was power-hungry.

He would have to prove that Pryce was unsuitable to remain as the Champion, and that he had an overall direction and goal that would suit and benefit the future of Indigo.

This meant that I had to check with Lance to make sure that he actually had the support base necessary to be a successful Champion in the long-term, but for now, I refocused myself so that I could actually respond to Pryce, who was finally wrapping up his rant.

"...And, it is because of this, Elite John, that I am seeking your support to ensure that Lance doesn't end up destroying the very pillars that make up and support Indigo." Pryce finished with a darkened expression.

I matched his stare with a blank one of my own, pretending like I had just listened to his possessed ramblings. However, since I had made my choice that to not support Pryce, keeping my true allegiance from him was paramount. This meant keeping his suspicions down for the time being and placating him with words that he would want to hear before extracting myself from this conversation before I gave anything away; I wasn't ready to fight a political battle against Pryce at the moment.

"I can certainly understand your perspective, Champion." I responded, carefully controlling the words that I used to technically avoid lying while not giving him any explicit promises for support, "I can certainly understand your motivations and where you're coming from; especially with how hard you seem to be working towards achieving your own goals. Furthermore, I understand that Lance may be untested as a Champion and may bring the instability you so fear to Indigo. While I may not have the level of political awareness required to fully understand the scope of the situation, I will happily defer to your expertise."

I tried to cover up my intentions with my flowery language and flattery, and luckily Pryce bought into it and seemed pleased by my answer.

"John, I'm glad to see that you see the truth of things." He pretended to say pleasantly, and I had to hold back from rolling my eyes. "I assume that I can count on your support for the future?"

"I will always work for the betterment and interests of Indigo, Champion Pryce, and I thank you for your words once again." I answered with a smile, while not actually giving any explicit promises of support.

I concealed a smirk as Pryce failed to see through my veiled words and nodded, his face never even breaking into anything that could resemble a genuine smile. I guess this was the other reason I disliked Pryce, he was just so cold and unfriendly that it was hard to bond or have positive feelings for. Idly, I wondered if this was the result of years of being the most powerful person in Indigo.

I then decided to take a risk and ask a few more questions towards Pryce, both so I could hopefully learn more about his support base and also to try to trick and convince Pryce into thinking that I was asking these questions because I wanted to know more about his other supporters so that I could support him better.

"Champion Pryce, may I ask about the other Elite Four members? What do they say about Lance's challenge for your position?" I questioned.

Pryce actually scowled at my question, but I could tell he wasn't scowling at me. "Among the remaining Elite Four, only you and Walker have the sense to do what's right. Agatha insists on playing as the petty ruler of Lavender Town, and she stubbornly refuses to do what's right and provide me the support that I should be receiving."

I saw Pryce's fist clench momentarily as he continued tightly. "At least she isn't supporting Lance either, but I'm suspicious of her intentions. Normally, I would ask to send you to investigate and to learn more, since you have a reason to talk to her through your connections with Agatha's apprentice, but you're too young and inexperienced and she'd see through you in an instant."

"I understand, thank you for the information, Champion Pryce." I simply said back, keeping the smile on my face despite the backhanded insult that he just gave me.

Just earlier he was praising me for having grown and matured, but now that he thought that he had my support he was back with the condescension. Sure, he probably wasn't wrong because Agatha most certainly would see through my intentions and know that I was sent by Pryce, but Pryce's two-faced attitude was just another factor that rubbed me the wrong way.

A part of me wanted to say more and ask a few more questions, but I decided that I should end the conversation here while Pryce still believed that I was on his side. Thus, seeing that we were both silent, I spoke up and asked him if there was anything else he needed for me to do as the Champion.

"Just one more thing." Pryce requested sharply. "What will you be doing next after you leave here?"

I told him truthfully that I was feeling tired and wanted to go home to see my family as soon as possible. As he heard that, he simply shook his head and told me that the conversation was over and asked for me to make my way out.

I gave him a polite goodbye and left his office. Of course, since Pryce's offices were located in a private area that for security reasons was inaccessible to the common people without a Kadabra to Teleport you, I had to then request to be teleported to the entrance of the Indigo League building.

As I left the building, I was texting my family saying that I was coming home before I was spotted by a few members of the public that recognized me and politely if they could have an autograph and a photo. Seeing that they were being polite, I indulged a few of them before I told the rest of them that I was tired and needed to go and left before I was overwhelmed by the growing swarm of people who all wanted the same.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I soon found myself in the air riding on Port, away from the crowd of people and slowly making my way home. As I flew on Port, I went over the entire conversation I had with Pryce and reaffirmed my choice in not supporting him. I wasn't certain that I made the choice entirely rationally, but I knew that I could not endure working for Pryce in the long-term.

It was a short flight, but I quickly found myself circling over my family farm. They had clearly received my text as I saw the entirety of my family standing out in the open waiting patiently for my return.

A smile broke out on my face and a familiar warmth spread throughout me. The familiar atmosphere and scenery served as a reminder of my true allegiances, and why I worked so hard to strive for a better Kanto and Indigo. It was this image of peace, filled with freely given familial love, that formed the foundation for all of my actions.

I landed on Port and the moment I stepped down from Port, I was immediately hugged by a pink blur that revealed itself as Whitney.

"Welcome home, John!!" Whitney beamed excitedly, and I quickly gave her a one-armed hug while my other hand rubbed her head. Soon enough, my parents joined in on the hug while saying similar sentiments.

"Thanks, sis. I'm happy to be home." I told her.

The New Normal – 3-3 – Unpleasant Discoveries

Home was always a place where I thought I could sit back and relax and allow all of the accumulated stress that I had built up over the past few weeks to fade away. Initially, my return home this time was no different.

After our family hug was over, I was almost immediately pestered by questions about how I was doing from my parents and demands for training from Whitney. I begged off the both of them and told them, since it was getting late and I hadn't actually eaten anything, that I would address a few questions at dinner, but I wanted to go to bed earlier because I was awfully tired.

Whitney pouted at that. Clearly, she had wanted me to help her with her training as soon as possible. Normally, I would be more than happy to, but I really did just want to rest for the moment.

Thus, after a quick dinner where my parents and I had a short, but pleasant conversation where we both caught each other up on what was going on with our respective lives, I quickly found myself laying down in my bed and fast asleep.

In hindsight, I wished I had at least skimmed through the Pokénet before I went to bed last night. That way, I wouldn't have been caught by surprise during lunch the next day while we all sat together and watched the news.

I nearly choked on my rice as I heard what the news was reporting.

'There has been no new information about the new gang of criminals that have been terrorising the streets of Indigo as of late. Our hard-working Jennys have reported that they have arrested several members from this 'R' gang, but they have yet to unearth the true leadership that are behind this slew of criminal activity. However, at this point the Indigo Police is certain that these criminals are a part of an organized crime group and have announced a monetary award for any relevant information regarding this group.'

"What's wrong, John? You look like you just saw a Ghost." My mom commented with concern as she watched as my eyes nearly shot out of their sockets. I wasn't able to answer her at the moment as alarm bells were ringing loudly through my head.

What the fuck was this? Why is Team Rocket on the news and stealing Pokémon already? Didn't Giovanni say that he was cancelling the project? Did he lie to me? Questions were running through my brain at a mile a minute, and I was tempted to rush to my room in a panic.

I forced my panic down, "Just...something came up." I answered unconvincingly, before trying to fish for some information. "Do anyone of you know anything about this recent crime wave? Has it been on the news for a while?"

"I think so..." My father responded, "We've been quite busy the last few days, but yes, I think it came up in a couple of headlines. Why?"

"Just something on my mind." I answered evasively, my mind a mixture of confusion and anger towards Giovanni. I didn't understand what he was doing, and my mind screamed for answers.

"Sorry, I'm not hungry." I said quickly as I stood up, ignoring their questions of concern before I dashed back to my room, locking the door behind me.

A part of me felt bad for brushing off my parents like that, but I was way too distracted at the moment to care. I hastily fetched my phone and dug through the Pokénet to see if there were any previous news reports that I missed when I was travelling back from Hoenn.

Sure enough, there had been a few reports regarding Team Rocket and their acts of Pokémon thievery. That seemed to be all they were doing now, which was a cold comfort, but at least that probably meant that they were still in the beginning stages of their criminal activities.

Still, that didn't explain why they existed in the first place. I had hoped, and I certainly had reason to believe, that my first meeting with Giovanni and my subsequent actions managed to persuade Giovanni away from forming Team Rocket. He even told me himself that he was abandoning it!

I paced around my room uncertainly, contemplating on what I could do, before eventually just damning the consequences and making the call anyways. I needed answers and standing around idly was never going to achieve anything.

Curiously enough, it was not Giovanni who picked up the phone.

"Hello, John, this is Petrel." A familiar refined voice answered, and I was taken aback with the fact that it was Petrel on the line instead of Giovanni.

"Hello, Petrel." I said, my surprise helping to temper my anger at hearing about Team Rocket. "It's a surprise hearing you on the phone instead of Giovanni. Why are you the one on the line right now? And may I please speak to Giovanni as soon as possible."

"I'm sorry, John, but Giovanni is currently unavailable at the moment, which is why I am the one currently in charge of handling his calls." Petrel replied apologetically, and was it me or did I hear a hint of nervousness in his voice?

Also, the fact that Giovanni was unavailable was certainly even more alarming. What in Arceus was going on?

"I see." I responded more calmly than I felt. "Petrel, I've just heard a very concerning report on the news about this crime wave, and I need to ask Giovanni some questions. May I ask what Giovanni is currently doing? It is certainly unusual for him to be away from his personal phone." I asked suspiciously, trying to extract whatever information I could from Petrel.

Petrel noticeably paused for a moment before he responded to my question, which only confirmed to me that Giovanni was currently dealing with something urgently. I suspected that it might have to do with Team Rocket, but I didn't know what his involvement with the latest iteration of Team Rocket was. As the leader? Or as something else?

"...Gym Leader Giovanni is currently dealing with the latest group of criminals that have been seen throughout Indigo." Petrel answered evasively. But I pushed him for more.

"Petrel, that's not good enough for me." I insisted more forcefully, losing my previous politeness. "You can probably guess why I am looking to speak to Giovanni so urgently, especially with what Giovanni revealed to me when we spoke together that night all those weeks ago. So, for the peace of my mind and for Giovanni's sake, I. Need. To. Know. What's. Going. On." I ordered.

I could hear Petrel hesitating over the phone. I guess my line of questioning was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, but I wouldn't let him go without at least having a few of my questions answered.

Seeing that Petrel was still unwilling to speak up, I decided to push him a bit harder.

"Petrel, I'm sure that you are more than just some random security guard for Giovanni and that you know more than you let on." I persisted, deciding to reveal just a little bit of what I knew. "So, you must know just how important Giovanni values my friendship, and vice versa. And, at this very moment, I am considering severing my relations with Giovanni if I do not get a satisfactory answer of what his involvement is regarding the latest crime spree. I do not want to become enemies with Giovanni, but I will if I have to. So, TELL ME, Petrel, What. Is. Giovanni. Doing?"

I injected as much force as I could into that last sentence to show Petrel just how serious I was taking this situation, and how important his next few sentences were going to be for the future of my friendship with Giovanni. It was a reminder to him that I was more than just some random teenager, but that he was speaking with a member of the Elite Four with all the power and influence behind said title.

I also convinced myself that it wasn't a bluff. As useful as Giovanni has been for me, if it was revealed that he was the leader of Team Rocket, I told myself that I would immediately cut off any connections with him. I saw it as too much of a risk to be associated with Team Rocket.

I heard Petrel audibly exhale at the other end of the phone, and after a brief moment of hesitation he decided to give me a few answers.

"Giovanni...is not directly involved with the situation at hand." Petrel said cautiously, his voice no longer as refined and taking on a hint of fear and worry. "I suspect that...he is as worried as you are about this whole affair...and is trying to handle the situation before things get any worse for him."

I hummed thoughtfully at Petrel's reply. He could have been lying to placate me, but my gut told me that he was telling the truth. Nevertheless, I continued pressing Petrel for more information.

"So, and answer me plainly, Petrel. Is Giovanni responsible for the latest wave of criminals?" I demanded.

"...No. He isn't." Petrel answered after a moment, and he paused a bit before he elaborated. "...Giovanni initially had much different intentions for these individuals, but they have decided to disobey Giovanni's orders and have gone off on their own."

Ah, now the picture was becoming clearer. From what Petrel was saying, it appears that a group of individuals under Giovanni had gone rogue and decided to form Team Rocket without Giovanni's consent. But who was the leader? And what were their goals if they were no longer following Giovanni? What about the other admins? What were they doing?

I mentally gauged if I could demand more information from Petrel, and I decided that he was currently sufficiently pliable and that there was no harm in continuing my questioning.

"Petrel, tell me everything you know about these criminals. What are their goals? And who's leading them?" I demanded again.

"I truly don't know anything about them, Elite John." He responded quickly, and he could clearly feel my disbelief even over the phone as he explained. "Giovanni really didn't tell me anything regarding this. As soon as he heard about it, he quickly rushed out of the room after telling me to handle his calls without explaining anything else to me. I figured all this out myself and I'm still not sure when he'll return."

That was a reasonable explanation, and my gut was telling me that he was being honest with me, so I decided to believe him. But even though a few of my worries were assuaged by Petrel's answers, namely that I truly didn't think that Giovanni was in charge of the new Team Rocket since it didn't make sense with his own actions, I still needed to speak with Giovanni urgently.

I asked Petrel when Giovanni was available because I had many questions that have yet to be addressed, and Petrel promised that he would get back to me as soon and arrange a meeting as soon as Giovanni was available.

Before I hung up the call, I went through my list of questions in my head to see if there was anything else I could extract from Petrel, but then quickly realized that Petrel wouldn't be of help and that it was very likely that only Giovanni had the answers I sought.

Thus, with a terse 'goodbye', I hung up the call with Petrel and grabbed my notepad as I started scribbling down notes from our recent conversation. I definitely needed to write all this down, so I didn't forget anything, especially for something this important. Not that I'd trust everything that Petrel told me, and much of what I learnt today would have to be verified and compared with Giovanni's responses.

I was almost done writing everything down when I heard a knock at my door.

"John, are you okay in there?" My mom's voice came through, "We're all worried because you just suddenly got up from your seat and left. Is everything okay?"

"Um, just give me a second." I responded lamely while I finished off my notes. Finally satisfied, I stored my notepad back in my pocket before I went to open the door and found my mother standing outside with a worried expression.

"Hey, sorry about that, mum. But I had something very important to do and had to try to sort it out straight away." I told her apologetically.

"No, that's okay, son." My mom replied softly, "We know that you have your own matters to deal with now that you're in the Elite Four. We were just concerned and worried because you looked like you were almost about to panic."

Well, I didn't realize that my expression was so panicky back then, but then I supposed that I may have looked like that due to just how surprised I was. As I hesitated about how I would explain myself, my mom just patted me on the head and looked me over.

"It's okay, John." My mom comforted, "You don't have to explain everything to us now. Your father and I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

I gave my mom a small smile and tried my best to reassure her. "Everything should be okay, mum. I just called someone I knew, and they've sort of reassured me that things aren't as bad as I initially thought they'd be."

"But things are bad, aren't they, John?" My mom asked perceptively, and I poorly hid a wince that she immediately caught and sighed. "Well, whatever it is you're dealing with, your father and I hope that you'll be able to resolve it quickly. We don't like seeing you stressed out like that."

"Thanks mum, I'll definitely try. And sorry for worrying you all." I apologized.

"It's okay, John, we understand." She responded kindly, before she gestured towards the fields. "But Whitney really wanted you to train with her today. Why don't you go to train with her?"

I nodded at her suggestion and made my way to the fields where Whitney was; it was a good way of keeping my mind off things. Despite the reassurance I received from my mum, I still felt uncomfortable about not knowing the full situation regarding Team Rocket. A part of me wanted to dash off to Viridian City and demand more information from Petrel in person, but I felt that was a step too far for the time being and would ultimately be a fruitless effort.

Admittedly, my more calculating side reminded me that Team Rocket going rogue was not the worst-case scenario. Team Rocket was far from the evilest of the villainous teams, nor were they the most problematic. At least for the Team Rocket under Giovanni in canon, they were mostly focused on stealing Pokémon and experimenting on them.

Sure, it was definitely evil for them to engage in Pokémon thievery and experimentation, but from my understanding of canon, beyond the creation of Mewtwo, they didn't and wouldn't do anything that was likely to end the world and only strived for profit. And I felt confident that, so long as they didn't create Mewtwo, the Indigo League would be sufficient at stopping whatever plans they have.

Though that was only in canon, and I couldn't be sure that the current Team Rocket would follow the same actions as canon, especially because their leader may not be Giovanni according to Petrel. The thought of a more extremist Team Rocket filled me with worry, and I was itching to get out there and try to stop them. After all, their actions were still repulsive and immoral.

But without knowing more about their leadership and infrastructure, my hands were tied. I couldn't just break down every door in a futile manhunt for them.

"John, you've finally stopped thinking so hard!" Whitney's voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and I found myself staring at my sister with her arms crossed. "You promised yesterday that you would show me my new Pokémon! And yet you woke up so late and then you suddenly ran to your room without explaining and then you made me wait here by myself did you know how excited I was to see my new Pokémon-"

"Okay, okay. I get it" I stopped her rambling before it could go on any further. "I'm sorry for not showing you your new Pokémon until now, it's just that I was dealing with a lot of stuff and was busy." I apologized with a slight bow to Whitney. Inwardly, I held back a sigh as I was still really distracted and didn't really feel like dealing with Whitney at the moment, but I would never forgive myself if I ignored Whitney and dismissed her, so I forced myself to pay attention to her.

"Hmph!" Apparently, my sister wasn't in a quite so forgiving mood as she turned her head away in an attempt to look angry, but she just looked cute to me. "Well, hurry up then! Show me my new Pokémon!" She demanded impatiently.

I gave her a wry smile before I found and released the newest addition to Whitney's team. Whismur emerged with a soft yet cute cry that immediately landed a critical hit in Whitney's heart.

"ARCEUS THAT'S SO CUTE!!" Whitney squealed, her earlier annoyance completely forgotten, before she immediately embracing the new female Whismur in a tight hug. "YOU'RE SO SMALL AND SO ROUND AND CHUBBY AND I LOVE YOU ALREADY!!!"

I watched as Whitney continued smothering the Whismur, who panicked at the sudden contact and was trying, but failing, to wriggle free. I let Whitney have her fun for a few moments before I coughed to grab her attention.

"Um, sis, you know that you're making the Whismur uncomfortable, right?" I told her, and Whitney let out a gasp and instantly released the Whismur while apologizing profusely. "Maybe give her some space so that she can get use to you first?" I suggested.

Whitney complied and backed off slightly, admiring her new Pokémon for a moment before turning to me. "John, I'm not familiar with her kind. You called her a Whismur, but what is she like?" She asked and I inwardly slapped myself on the forehead for forgetting that Whitney wasn't as knowledgeable as I was with Hoenn Pokémon.

I quickly gave Whitney an explanation of Whismur and her evolutions, as well as some general ideas of how they are normally used in battle. Whitney studiously noted everything down, and even Whismur was listening to me intently. I thought that the two of them made a great pair.

Soon enough, Whitney's Miltank wandered over and waved casually to me before her eyes snapped to the new Whismur.

"Miltank? Mil. Tank?" Miltank asked Whitney, and she gave her a nod and a bright smile.

"Yes Miltank, Whismur is the newest addition to our team that I told you about before!" Whitney said excitedly, before her expression turned worried. "I hope that you don't think I'm replacing you, Miltank, you'll always be my starter and I'll never leave you behind! I hope you know that." She said anxiously.

Luckily, Miltank was more than understanding as she patted Whitney on the head with a smile of her own, reassuring Whitney that she understood and that things were fine. Maintaining that cheerfulness, Miltank carefully crouched down and approached the shy Whismur.

"Miltank? Miltank." Miltank greeted softly.

"Whis...Whismur." Whismur replied nervously, but I noticed that the Whismur wasn't as intimidated as she was when dealing with my Pokémon.

"Mil...mil, tank." Miltank nodded, and I watched as Miltank slowly extended an arm and delicately patted Whismur on the head, which Whismur seemed to enjoy.

I looked over at Whitney and saw that she was looking at all this with a proud and bright smile. I guess she was happy that all her Pokémon were getting along well. Whitney noticed my stare and turned to me questioningly, but I shook my head and gave her a thumbs up, which she smiled at.

I then stayed there as I peacefully watched Whitney start to bond her with her newest team member for almost an hour. We were supposed to be training but interacting with your newest Pokémon was definitely more important.

Unfortunately, my idle spectating was cut short by the sound of my phone ringing. As I reached for my phone, all sense of relaxation and peacefulness rapidly fled from my body as I saw who was calling.

It was Lance.

The New Normal – 3-3 – Interlude – Giovanni

Giovanni hung up the call from Petrel and frowned deeply. The news that he had heard from Petrel was concerning, as he had just been informed that John was seemingly on the warpath and trying to reach him. Giovanni cursed his unluckiness once again. His friendship with John was finally on the rise after the recent events, and now this whole debacle with Team Rocket was threatening to bring this all down. He remembered, and now regretted, previously mentioning to John that he had such a team in storage for such purposes, and John must have remembered that admission from him and probably blamed him for the current incident.

Giovanni was willing to shoulder any blame for the greater good of Kanto, but this incident wasn't even his fault to begin with! That was what was the truly enraging part about it. He didn't form Team Rocket, his late mother did, he just kept them around as an emergency plan in case Johto needed to be dealt with through other means. They were often just a drain on his resources, though they were occasionally useful when dumb muscle was all that was needed.

And now they dare to bite the hand that fed them before they ran off and abandoned their given duties?! It was disgraceful that these supposed 'warriors' of Kanto would abandon their obligations like this. Giovanni vowed to himself that he would put the Poison that was Proton into the Ground for leading his men astray if he ever got his hands on him.

His Pokémon would make sure that there was nothing left to bury but dust and ash.

Giovanni had spent the last day or two with Archer, going through all their files on Team Rocket to try and figure out where Proton was. Giovanni initially hoped that he could remove Team Rocket before they ever became a threat to his plans and Kanto, but now that seemed like an impossible dream.

Despite Archer and his subordinates' due diligence, Proton had managed to sneak away with an unknown number of resources and issued Pokémon, though at least Giovanni had some idea of the members that left with them. It was more than he expected, but less than he feared. Archer predicted that, if left unchecked, Team Rocket would be able to run rampant throughout Indigo unless they were forcefully stopped. And, to make matters worse, even with all the intelligence available to him, he still had no idea where Proton had run off to.

Giovanni wasn't that concerned about the crimes they would commit, so long as that didn't affect his interests in Kanto or risk the exposure of his underground activities, but he WAS more troubled about whether Proton could link anything back to himself. Archer assured him that they didn't know about him, but Giovanni wasn't satisfied and had demanded that everything be checked to ensure that there was no plausible connection between him and the now rogue Team Rocket.

Fortunately, their intense search found nothing that could be used to link back to him, and, as the only person who knew about the connection between Giovanni and Team Rocket, Archer swore himself to secrecy once again. He trusted Archer, just like he trusted Ariana and Petrel. They were his trio of loyal subordinates that answered directly to him, and he's known them all for the longest time. They've all pledged their lives to him, to Kanto, and he knew that it was impossible for them to consider betraying him.

At times like these, he was grateful for their loyalty.

But now he had wasted enough time trying in vain to curtail Team Rocket before they exposed themselves to the public, and it was too late to stop them. Team Rocket was out and running around like idiots as they led a chaotic mess of attacks across Indigo and bringing way too much attention onto themselves. Their attacks were disorganized, inefficient, and reckless. Proton was making a complete mess of his once honourable organisation!

Within days, the media was already made aware, and now more importantly, John was certainly wary of them and calling for Giovanni to demand some answers from him. And Giovanni knew that if he answered incorrectly, then this may be the end of their friendship.

Giovanni wasn't confident that he was able to provide the answers that John sought.

The New Normal – 3-4 – Lance

A part of me was tempted to just ignore the call from Lance. I was already dealing with enough things and juggling many plates all at once; I really didn't want to deal with any more of this stuff.

However, I let that thought pass and breathed in and out to stabilize myself. I understood and accepted that this was the burdens of responsibility for being an Elite Four member, and that there would be hectic periods like this that I would have to deal with in the future as well.

I let out a big exhale before I decided to answer his call.

"Hello, this is John."

"Elite John, this is Lance." His strong voice sounded out. "Are you free to talk right now?"

"Yes, just give me a moment." I signalled to Whitney that I would be busy, and I walked away slightly so that I wouldn't be disturbed by the sounds of Whitney's training. "Okay, yes, I'm here. How may I help you, Lance?"

"I understand that you have spoken to our Champion Pryce recently." Lance began, "I assume that you both spoke about my attempts at becoming the Champion?"

"Yes, we did." I answered easily, not seeing any reason to deny it.

"And I also assume that he has requested for your assistance to stop me from becoming Champion?" Lance asked.

"Yes, but I wasn't entirely certain that supporting him was something that I wanted to do." I risked, since I thought that it was the quickest way of getting Lance's attention.

"Ah, yes, I'd thought so." I could feel the smirk on Lance's face. "I saw how you looked at Pryce when you got off that ship from Hoenn. You were almost glaring at him at times. So, I didn't think you'd be supportive of him."

Huh. Lance seems more observant than I first thought, though I didn't let my surprise show in my voice. "Well, maybe I'm just being cautious about the whole thing, but I wanted to know your perspective as well." I replied with false meekness, "I only want to do the best for Indigo, so I want to be making an informed decision before I do anything." I added.

"That's an excellent mindset, John." Lance chuckled, "And, on that note, would you care to meet up with me at the Blackthorn Gym as soon as possible, if you're free now. I would like to discuss things with you in person."

I groaned inwardly at the fact that I would have to be travelling again, but I quickly sucked up my complaints and told Lance that I was free and would meet him there as soon as possible. He thanked me for being able to come over so soon, and informed me that his cousin, and Gym Leader, Clair would be there in the meeting with him.

Since being accompanied by his cousin wasn't that weird for such a meeting, I easily accepted and told him that I would be there as soon as possible.

I hung up the call with him and immediately went to tell Whitney that I had to be go and meet someone soon. She was upset that I had to leave, but she showed off her maturity by saying that she understood that I was a busy brother and that she'll forgive me if I help her out tomorrow as well.

I chuckled and told her that I would certainly try my best and thanked her for understanding. I also got her to relay to our parents that I was heading off to meet up with Elite Lance.

Then I strapped myself to Port before we took off for the Blackthorn Gym, using the flight time there to ponder about what I would be saying to Lance. Obviously, I had hoped to go through the possibilities and plan things out with Giovanni first, but after the Team Rocket incident I was starting to become increasingly wary about my overreliance on him.

I may have been too dazzled by the benefits he brought me and forgot about the dark underbelly and consequences of working with a man like Giovanni. The resurgence of Team Rocket was a timely reminder that I had to ensure that I was independent from Giovanni, regardless of our friendship together.

With that in mind and lacking any other information about my upcoming meeting with Lance, I ultimately decided to wing it and go in blind. I would just hope that I could react to whatever requests and situations he would throw at me. After all, I could just not agree to anything if I really wanted to play safe.

Strictly speaking, Lance didn't actually need the support of the Blackthorns or myself to become the Champion. Technically, any prospective Champion could earn the title so long as they defeated the Champion and the rest of the Elite Four, and the latter was only a requirement if they weren't already in the Elite Four. With all the research that I had done on Lance and Pryce, and from what I knew of canon, I was confident that Lance would have no issues defeating Pryce in a Pokémon battle.

However, the public are evidently wary of being led by someone who doesn't know what they're doing, and so gaining the support of the Elite Four, Gym Leaders, and other important groups are important to make sure you don't get voted out by the public or get stonewalled by the committee.

Likewise, gaining the support of the Elite Four is especially important as the Champion and the Elite Four often work closely together on a lot of matters, so getting their public endorsement is a good sign for the public that the candidate actually knows what they're doing and is suitable to be the Champion.

Just over an hour later, I found myself flying over the outskirts of Blackthorn City. In the far distance, I spotted a few moving dots of what I suspected were flying Dragon types that were just casually flying about. It was a sharp reminder that this was the powerbase of the powerful Blackthorns, the clan of Dragon masters that have built up their power here for hundreds of years, and who were the greatest supporters of Lance's possible ascension to Champion.

It was humbling to see that, regardless of my achievements in Hoenn, they were a tiny speck compared to the support that Lance had as a representative of the Blackthorns. Even Giovanni's underground network likely was dwarfed by the influence of the Blackthorns. It made me slightly jealous, but I had long accepted that even the world of Pokémon was unfair and that some were just luckier than others.

However, I pushed away those feelings of jealousy as I finally landed at the entrance of the Blackthorn Gym. As the 8th Gym and the final gate for the Indigo Conference, it was undoubtedly a popular Gym for trainers to either challenge directly or to loiter around to challenge others to improve themselves.

Also, with the abundance of Dragon types in the area, many trainers hoped that they would be lucky enough to catch one if they just stayed around for long enough. It was normally a fruitless effort, and heavily frowned upon by the local Blackthorns, but that didn't stop those who were more fanatical for a Dragon type of their own.

I made my way into the Blackthorn Gym, and I was quickly spotted and escorted by one of the Gym trainers that had been evidently told of my arrival. They greeted me politely and escorted me to a large conference room which I assumed were for the Gym Trainers to use.

As soon as we arrived, the Gym Trainer informed me that the two Blackthorns were inside and that the room was completely soundproof. I thanked them and they bowed deeply before leaving.

I stood in front of the door and tidied up my appearance slightly before I finally walked in. As soon as I walked in, both Lance and Clair stood up and greeted me politely with handshakes and we exchanged the usual pleasantries before we seated ourselves in the very expensive leather chairs.

"Thank you for coming over so quickly, John." Lance started while Clair remained silent, "I didn't want to waste any more of your time, so let's just get right to the point of our meeting."

I nodded and Lance continued, "We Blackthorns have always sought the title of Champion, and with our power and influence, we felt that it was the only title worthy of our status in Johto. However, with Oak and even initially with Pryce, we acquiesced to their leadership because we saw that they had a good handle on Indigo, and our interests were not harmed."

"However, with Pryce's complete mishandling of the situation, coupled with his passivity over the last few years, the Blackthorn clan has finally decided that it can tolerate no more and have sought me out to become their representative as the Champion of Indigo since I was already well-positioned to do so. Thus, I ask you, John, what would it take for me to gain your support for my bid to become Champion? Please, do not hold back." He asked directly, and I felt his intense gaze lock directly onto me.

It was like a Dragon sizing up his potential prey, looking for any signs of weakness or hesitation. But I was no meek prey to be devoured.

I kept my calm and thought about it for a moment before deciding to just say what I felt in my heart. "Before we begin Lance, I want to make something very clear. I will not suffer that indignity again where I was unceremoniously sent to Hoenn. That is not a request. You should know that it was because of my lack of personal influence that allowed Pryce to send me over to Hoenn, and I want your guarantee that such an event would not occur again under your reign as Champion."

"Done." Lance agreed easily. "I thought that it was foolish and overly paranoid for Pryce to have sent you to Hoenn in the first place. In fact, the whole incident disgusted me. A trainer of your strength should not be subjected to such humiliation, and so it is an easy promise for me to not subject you to the same thing. Please be assured that, even if you did not make me promise this, I would not side-line you the way that Pryce did." Lance stated, and I was starting to see why Lance became Champion in the future; I could tell just from his voice alone that he certainly had the charisma needed to win over the public.

Regardless, I was thankful for his words, but before I could keep going, I was interrupted by Clair.

"But why did you choose to support Lance over Pryce?" She interrupted curiously. "Surely you could have made the same demands of Pryce and he would have easily agreed." She narrowed her eyes at me. "So why are you supporting Lance over the man who has been Champion for the past decade?"

I took a quick look at Lance and saw that he appeared unbothered by Clair's questioning, and instead continued to observe me intensely, so I suspected that this was the tactic they agreed upon to fish out more information from me. Though it was a fair question; I could technically ignore it, but I saw no reason to be rude at the moment.

"That's simple, Gym Leader Clair." I addressed her evenly, "I found Champion Pryce to be generally unpleasant to be around. When he spoke to me, I noticed that he was utterly unconcerned about working towards the benefit of Indigo and was solely interested in maintaining his position. His act of sending me to Hoenn is just one of the many examples of this. So yes, while Pryce would have offered similar things for my support, I told myself that I couldn't work with someone that would doom Indigo just to keep himself in power." I explained.

Clair didn't seem to react at my explanation, but I could see that Lance was nodding in agreement. I had to hide a wry smile when I saw it; it appears that Lance shared my distaste for Pryce. Perhaps that was why he was aiming to be the Champion.

I waited a few moments to see if Clair was going to speak up again, but after I saw that she had no intention of doing so I returned to speaking to Lance. "Furthermore, unlike Pryce, I could tell that you were, at least, not doing this solely for your own benefit. You are not simply seeking power for the sake of power; else you would have acted long ago instead of waiting until you received orders from the Blackthorns. Not only that, but you at least aren't willing to sink to the lows that Pryce is absolutely willing to; your earlier explanation made that clear enough to me."

Neither of them responded to my remarks, though I noticed that Lance's smile became a bit less rigid. I continued. "With that in mind, if you would like my support, then I would request that, as Champion, for you to ensure that Kanto would not be left behind Johto economically. You must have seen that, under Pryce, Kanto has been allowed to fester while Johto has reaped all the benefits." I paused to allow Lance to nod. "I want there to be more balance between the two regions, and I hope that as Champion, you will work to create and maintain that balance. Furthermore, there will be also other proposals that I will be announcing towards the public in the future, and where reasonable, I will want your political backing on those areas as well."

Though his chances were high, it was not a certainty that Lance would become Champion. Thus, having the political support of the Blackthorns would still me to push forward my agenda even if Lance's bid fails.

I could see that Lance was thoughtfully mulling over my request and was carefully considering what I was asking for. He was also giving some discreet side glances to Clair, which I wouldn't have caught if I wasn't carefully observing his every movement. I also glanced at Clair, only to see her deep in thought as well. I guess that my request was more complicated than they had initially expected.

I allowed them to think things through before eventually Lance spoke up.

"What do you think that would look like, in your mind?" Lance asked, and I was glad I had at least thought things through before coming here.

"Well, under Pryce, many new businesses over the years have decided to establish themselves in Johto rather than Kanto, because the infrastructure of Johto has been more developed than Kanto thanks to Pryce. While that isn't the most alarming of issues in the short-term, I foresee that if this imbalance remains, then in the future Johto will remain economically dominant over Kanto, and Kanto's economy will suffer greatly and cause widespread unemployment. Thus, I am asking for you to ensure that, as much as possible, new businesses and investments are equally balanced between the two regions so that Kanto can catch up and not remain destitute. Most of my proposals will be aiming to correct this injustice as well." I explained carefully but strictly.

"That's a very interesting perspective." Lance spoke up, "Forgive me for my curiosity, but why are you making this one of your requests? Why is the imbalance and its potential consequences your concern?"

I paused to think things through for a bit before responding. "It's because if and when the Kanto economy suffers, it is the common people that have to endure the consequences. And when the common people are collectively going through hardship, they turn to crime when the government fails them. They start getting more radical ideas, and they start believing that perhaps Kanto would be better off separating from Johto."

I could see that both of them were grimacing at my words, so I knew that I was on the right track. "You surely must know about the recent crime wave that's spreading throughout Indigo." They both nodded. "I'm not saying that the crime wave is directly related to Kanto's neglect, but you can see how easy it is for the discontent to start rallying against the government if that's what they think is the only option available to them. THAT is what I'm trying to prevent, and that is my price for my support for your bid to be Champion." I described sincerely, speaking from my heart.

Lance looked at me thoughtfully, as if he was seeing me in a new light. Clair looked a bit more uncertain and was giving side glances towards Lance. I watched as Lance tapped his fingers on the table momentarily before responding.

"I underestimated you, John." He admitted with a pleased smile. "I never realized your love for Kanto and its citizens, it's refreshing to see someone who genuinely cares for once and isn't just looking for votes. You also managed to explain yourself very well despite being in the presence of an Elite Four and a Gym Leader."

I wasn't sure what he was getting at, so I stayed silent and nodded politely, allowing him to continue.

"I understand the point that you're making, and I agree with your evaluation. It would not be in the interests of Blackthorn to allow Kanto to continue its' current rate of deterioration. Although we may be primarily concerned with the interests of Johto, we aren't blind to fail to see that an outbreak of crime and a serious imbalance between Kanto and Johto would also be bad for our interests. In fact, a few of our elders thought that the recent crime wave was due to the misfortunes of Kanto. So yes, I can agree with your proposal, and I promise that, if I am made Champion, I would work to maintain a sense of balance between both regions." He declared authoritatively, and his voice oozed with charisma. Lance really was a natural leader, and hopefully, someone I could respect.

"Thank you for your promises, Lance." I responded politely and formally, "However, we both know that it is not a certainty that you will become Champion." Lance frowned but remained silent. "Thus, I will also request that you open up Blackthorn City to start exclusively selling my family's Moomoo milk in any Blackthorn owned Pokéshops, since Blackthorn City is notoriously stringent on what goods are sold there. If you can agree to everything I have requested today, then in return, I promise to support you in your bid for Champion." Left unsaid was the fact that this would be a great way to tie our new friendship together.

Lance took some time to consider that last part, but a nod from Clair seemed to make up his mind as he reached forwards, and we shook hands.

Of course, just because he made a promise to me right now doesn't necessarily mean that he'll be sticking to it in the future. So, while I couldn't exactly relax just yet, I at least was comforted by the fact that I managed to extract some kind of agreement from Lance.

Clair's expression seemed to ease off as we made our agreement, but she still spoke up. "Okay, considering that you have now promised to support each other, what can we expect your support to look like?" Though I was certain they already had an idea, since they had directly sought me out, but I suppose she just wanted to hear me say it verbally.

I straightened myself up again as I replied to Clair. "It depends on what you need me to do, although it must be reasonable. I could honestly tell you that if you're hoping that I could help you attract the other members of the Elite Four to your side, then I'm sorry to say that while I could try, I can almost guarantee that I won't be able to sway Walker, and even I know that Agatha is notoriously stubborn and implacable." I told them honestly.

Lance chuckled and shook his head at that. "No, and I didn't expect you to be able to do so anyways. Even I couldn't persuade Agatha, and I certainly wouldn't want the support of someone as undeserving of the title as Walker." He grumbled bitterly as he clasped his hands together. "But I do hope that you'll be publicly declaring your support for me. I have some issues that I will using to attack Pryce with, and I hope you will support me on them."

"What issues are they?" I asked curiously.

"First, I will be blaming Pryce for trying to side-line you to Hoenn and then trying to hide the information. His actions have and will damage our relations with Hoenn in the future, and hopefully we can divert most of the blame onto him alone." He raised a single finger as he started listing them off. "Rumours have already been spreading throughout the upper echelons of the Hoenn League, which I assume is your doing, so he won't be able to just sweep all of this under the rug."

He waited for my nod and raised another finger and continued. "I also intend to use the recent crime wave to demonstrate Pryce's incompetence and the consequences of his actions. As much as I find it distasteful to capitalize on the suffering of the citizens of Indigo, I believe that it is undoubtedly partially Pryce's fault that has caused these people to turn to crime, and so I will also use this to attack him. But I will be looking to clean up these scums soon enough. They will be brought to heel, one way or another." Lance let a bit of his anger leak through as he said that.

I frowned at Lance's words. However, I understood that no matter how unpleasant it was to 'exploit' this recent wave of crime for political purposes, this kind of thing was done by politicians all the time, and I shouldn't blame Lance for doing the same. Though since Lance was just pointing fingers instead of actively making the situation worse to push forwards his agenda, I was alright with it. Besides, I believed that at least this would be done for the greater good. Thus, I simply nodded in reply.

It also had the added benefit of adding more pressure towards the Indigo government to deal with and crack down harder on Team Rocket, which I saw as a benefit. At this point, I didn't really care if that would cause Giovanni problems, as neutering Team Rocket was my greater concern. I thought that since Giovanni created this mess, he could now lie in it.

I then reminded Lance that he couldn't only be seen to be attacking Pryce without offering solutions himself, but fortunately Lance was prepared and had his own proposals at hand. He said that, to counter any negative consequences from Indigo's failure to inform Hoenn about my visit, he will be looking to allow and encourage more businesses and investment to set themselves up in Indigo, just like how I did it with Devon Corp.

He predicted that Indigo's reputation in Hoenn would be damaged momentarily because of the scandal, but he thought that after he took up the position as Champion and gained enough of the public confidence, he would be able to prove that Indigo remained united, and the damage would be repaired. He also told me that he would be working closely with Hoenn shortly after he became Champion to reassure them that we were still cooperative and to dispel any ill-feelings.

Likewise, and also to deal with the crime wave, Lance said that he would propose to Hoenn that they should work together and coordinate their police forces together, which should help repair any damaged relations between our two regions. Lance said that he hoped that one day an international police force could be set up to ensure the proper policing of crime.

He told me that he envisioned this would be a separate organisation different from the current Indigo Police in that they'll be mostly working against greater threats normally beyond the scope of the rangers and the police.

I was worried that this proposal might be stepping on the toes of the current Indigo Police, but Lance reassured me that the Blackthorns would have that handled. I took that to mean that he would be leveraging the influence of the Blackthorns to ensure that it will pass through smoothly. He hinted that he would likely be looking at increasing the funding that would be given to the Indigo Police in order to secure their cooperation.

If that was the case, then I had no problems with either of his proposals as I thought they were all reasonable solutions. Honestly, I was less concerned about his ideas of creating an international police force, and was more focused on making sure that Lance would maintain the economical balance between Kanto and Johto.

We then spent some more time discussing how we would be able to help each other. Clair occasionally added a few things, but I was starting to notice that she wasn't really that interested or capable at handling these things. I could also observe that she wasn't as unfriendly as she made herself seem to be, as most of her concerns were aimed at reducing the collateral damage to the public of Lance's challenge to Pryce.

Part of our discussions involved debating over when and how I should reveal my support of Lance. I warned Lance that if I revealed my hand too early, Pryce would do everything he could to discredit me and neuter my support for him. I wasn't about to support Lance if it meant shooting myself in the foot politically. Lance said that he understood, and that he had accounted for that before he came and asked for my support.

"We will wait until I have attacked Pryce on sufficient issues so that the public realize that Pryce's credibility is no longer as sturdy as it used to be and begin questioning his legitimacy as Champion." Lance explained. "Once his credibility has been questioned by the public, then he wouldn't be able to discredit you so easily. It is at that moment when you will make your announcement of your support for me, which should both be an opportune time to drive the nail further into Pryce's coffin and also prevent you from suffering from too much backlash from Pryce and his supporters."

I agreed and accepted his plans, pleased to see that he wasn't about to make demands of me. He then asked me what I would be doing after this meeting, and I said that my main priority was just spending time with my family, but I would also look to help out to crack down on the recent surge of organized crime.

I did ask if he knew anything, but both Lance and Clair said that all they knew was that the members were a part of organized crime. They didn't know who the leaders were nor where they were based. However, the both of them did say that they wouldn't allow criminals to act with impunity and said that they would be more than happy to assist me if I found out anything, which I thanked them for.

After that, Lance asked me if I had questions for the two of them, which I said that I didn't after thinking it through. Then we wrapped up our meeting and the two of them thanked me for my support, and we exchanged a promise to honour our agreements. Lance also informed me that he will be writing to the clan shortly to allow my family's Moomoo milk to be sold in Blackthorn, and that they should contact my parents shortly.

Additionally, as a show of good faith, he wrote an initial order for their Pokeshop, authorized in his name, for an order of Moomoo milk to prove his sincerity. I thanked him.

I then managed to slip out away from the crowd from one of the Gym's side entrances, before I hopped onto Port and made my way back home again.

Overall, I was more than happy with how the meeting played out, more so that I didn't need to depend on rely on Giovanni at all to get through it. I was happy to foster good relations with Lance, and I hoped that this would be the start of a long-lasting friendship. I felt that I had earned his respect, both with my victory over Drake, and now with me being able to stand up to the two of them with my requests. Not only that, but I had gotten what I wanted. A promise to end the stagnation that was currently plaguing Kanto, as well as his political support on any of my own proposals, and a reaffirmation that I would not suddenly be kicked off the Elite Four. Sure, they were just promises, but there were no such thing as contractual agreements in politics.

After all, I had no intentions for removing Lance as Champion, so I hoped we wouldn't have any conflicts of interests in the future.

Of course, my enthusiasm was stifled by the fact that Team Rocket was still a very huge problem that I didn't currently have any solutions for, but I had to take my wins when I got them.

I just hoped I would finally have a week or so to actually relax and unwind, but I knew that, with the current political climate of Indigo, it was a fool's dream.

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