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The New Normal - 7-4
🕑 Added 2023-12-04 12:23:17 +0000 UTCThe New Normal – 7-4 – Putting on a show!
To the public, and to even most high-ranking individual within the League, the next few days were one that were filled with the usual normality of life. To them, everything was the same. There were no threats to Indigo, and there certainly was not the possibility of a world-ending threat around the corner.
Naturally, as a member of the Elite Four, I knew things were very different. Lance had kept us informed about how he spent the last few days running around speaking to his counterparts in Hoenn and Sinnoh about the dangers that these evil teams truly posed to the world. He told us that he had spoken to Wallace, Sidney, and Bertha respectively about everything they had learnt and the true goal of the what these criminals were planning.
I was not there when the discussions were held, but Lance said that both Wallace and Sidney took the news with grave and serious expressions. But the results were evident. Immediately after being read in on the situation, Wallace swiftly pushed to establish their own branch of the International Police, where the groundworks would be established by Sidney.
They both, thankfully, stressed the need for international cooperation to combat such a threat. Regional interests mattered less at the moment, and dealing with the evil teams was going to be considered the highest priority. However, due to the fact that the public COULD NOT be informed about such a situation, for fear of mass panic, they had to work behind the scenes and be as prepared as possible for stopping whatever future insane plans they had.
On the other hand, Bertha, while sympathetic to our cause, could not offer a blanket search throughout Sinnoh to hunt down the remnants. Not that she didn’t want to, of course, but doing such a thing with foreign police members would be an act that trampled all over the regional sovereignty of Sinnoh. Thus, just employing the International Police there would not be a viable option, and any operations there would have to rely solely on the Sinnoh Police.
It was painful, but Bertha simply could not justify that to the committee. Especially if they still had to keep the true reason why a secret. Furthermore, with how well-funded as these criminals were, there was no telling the true extent of the backer’s infiltration of the Sinnoh League. Any kind of information could be easily leaked to them. She promised to at least speak with the other members of the Elite Four and their Champion, but she couldn’t promise anything else.
To make matters worse, Bertha regretfully added that the Committee were still digging their heels and delaying the opening of their border for whatever reason. The public were in outrage about it, but the Committee remained stubborn for whatever reason. Bertha suspected either idiocy, or some foul play was involved, but either way had no evidence. Thus, with the other regions not allowed to enter Sinnoh yet, that just frustratingly gave the criminals more time to continue building up their resources.
It was a bitter fact of life, but we were all forced to accept the situation. Lance mentioned how there was a lot of grumbling from everyone involved due to the need for secrecy and the fact that they could not really be proactive. Still, at least the parties all agreed to cooperate and that they were on the same page. Overall, it could have been much worse.
In the meanwhile, I spent my time over the last few days on something that I had nearly forgotten about if not for a timely reminder. Since I had been so busy over the past week or so dealing with the evil teams, I had neglected my promise to participate in the opening act for the grand opening of the Cerulean Contest Hall with the Waterflower sisters.
And so, with the Contest Hall opening very soon, I had rushed over to the Waterflower sisters, apologized profusely for forgetting, and spent the last few days hard at work with practicing. Karen had teased me incessantly about my participation, constantly asking if I would be part of the performance myself. Fortunately, I wouldn’t be, if only because I thought I had no intention of being on stage like that.
Only Klaus would be participating, as he was the most interested out of my Pokémon in doing something like this. He was always a bit of a show-off, even if he tried to hide it.
Hence, I practically spent most of the afternoon’s training with the sisters whenever they were free. It was a very enlightening experience; the type of moves they practiced with were very different from regular training for battles. There was a much greater emphasis on timing, coordination, and teamwork.
In a normal training scenario, you often didn’t care about timing beyond how fast an attack could be delivered. But here, attacking too quickly can put you out of sync with your teammates. Then, there was a matter of creativity, which had some overlap with regular training, but it was unusual to think of ways to make your moves less efficient just to show off a particular effect.
I actually struggled quite a bit with this, but luckily the Waterflower sisters were very patient with both me and Klaus. It helps that Klaus was already very well-trained, so it didn’t take him too long to pick up the new moves.
Eventually, after many hard days of training, we had come up with a basic routine. It was short, and honestly rather run of the mill, but that was because I was only going to be a small part of the overall routine. The entire performance would not only be done with the Waterflower sisters, but also a few famed contest performances that would join in as well.
My participation was really only for the name recognition and the uniqueness, as it was explained to me by Daisy.
“Everyone knows you’re an amateur, so they’ll have lower expectations.” She lectured, “That’s why your part is so short. You’ll do a few moves, dazzle them with the fact that you’re new and unique, and then back out before they realize you aren’t up to their usual standards. Trust me, you’ll be fine.”
It was a little disheartening, but I accepted that I couldn’t be the best at everything. I had always known that contest performers made use of an entirely different skillset to common trainers, but now I really appreciated the level of work and dedication that they had to put into this rather niche activity.
For their sakes, I really hoped that Contest Halls and performances could really take off here in Indigo. They deserved the recognition.
Besides all of the training for the performance though, the Waterflower sisters did ask if I could throw in a few tips on how to get better at battling. THAT was something I was eager to help out with.
More specifically, they needed help training up a Gyarados. It was far and wide their most powerful Pokémon; it just didn’t obey them. After listening to their explanation, I felt that their issue mostly stemmed from the fact that none of the sisters had very firm or authoritative personalities; instead, they were friendly, kind, and personable.
Unfortunately, that meant that it was difficult to reign in their Gyarados. My suggestion to them was to challenge their Gyarados to a battle with their other Pokémon and beat it until Gyarados learns to at least respect your strength as trainers. Getting rid of any lingering arrogance was an important step to getting it to obey you. They had listened, but progress was naturally slow-going. Though I wished them all the best; a Gyarados was an unbelievably formidable opponent when it was well-trained.
Just look at Drake and Lance. There was a reason they both fielded one.
And now, it was finally the day of the performance. A huge crowd was beginning to gather outside the Cerulean Contest Hall, now named the ‘Grand Fountain Theatre’. As part of the performance, I was there early just to make sure there were no problems and to welcome the more prominent figures that would arrive.
Karen was there, of course, since she said she’d never miss out on something like this. Naturally, I had spoken to her privately about my experiences training up for this performance, and now she was excited to see what had come up with.
“It’s a shame that you’re not in it yourself.” She said to me, egging me on once again, “If the Waterflower sisters are participating personally, why can’t you?”
I sighed, “I’ll leave the performance to the ones actually good at this. No one wants me ruining their entire performance because I flubbed on stage.”
She looked at me with an incredulous expression, “You’re kidding, right? If you mess up, people will DEFINITELY be talking about it. Of course, you’ll be the laughingstock of Indigo, but think of the attention you’ll get!” She laughed.
I ignored her. Fortunately, before she could continue her ribbing, two very opposite-looking individuals arrived side-by-side, deep in conversation. That conversation ended as soon as they spotted me.
“John, pleasure to see you again.” Sidney waved, “Still can’t you’re going to be participating in this. I’m excited to see what you can bring to the table.”
“Indeed! This is a most wondrous opportunity.” Will agreed, “I admit to being slightly envious; I wish I had my own opportunity to show off my Pokémon on such a large stage as well!”
I gave Will a wry smile, “Seems like you’d be a great fit as a Contest performer.” I remarked a little sarcastically.
Surprisingly, he nodded. “Yes, I did consider it. But unfortunately, Contest performers were not as prestigious or popular as they are now. That was why I am excited to see this activity grow and spread throughout Indigo. Who knows? I might take it up as a hobby in my free time. Reignite some of my old passions.” He said enthusiastically, with a look in his eye that suggested that he was legitimately considering this.
I could really see it. Will was a showboat, but it was like he was trying to put on a performance. I felt that he would be an excellent fit as a Contest performer if he really put his mind to it.
I put that thought aside for now, turning to Sidney, “What were you two talking about? If I could ask? It’s not always that you see two Elite Four members from different regions talking together like this.”
Sidney smiled, “Just some discussion over extra cooperation with businesses between our two regions. Will here was very knowledgeable, and we felt that something could be done together.” He explained.
Then he turned to address Karen, who had been standing next to me, “And it’s great to see you again Karen, I do look forward to our match.”
“Likewise. I have been training hard for it.” Karen bantered back. “Has Steven gotten back to you yet?”
“Not yet.” He shook his head, “But he promises the arrangements will be done soon enough. Turns out there’s some red tape to cut through, even with his position.”
Karen and I nodded simultaneously. Red tape was the bane of urgency. In the meanwhile, Will was looking at the both of them with a surprised look. He was about to speak up before someone else cut in.
“Oh? This is quite the unusual group. Any luck I can join in on this?” A smooth voice interrupted our conversation, and we all turned to see Giovanni walking up to us. But what was more surprising was that Giovanni was accompanied by a familiar red head that I knew was Ariana, as well as a small kid that I was EXTREMELY astonished to see.
Silver was here. And he looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but here. In truth, he looked like a brat. At least he didn’t have the signature arrogant sneer on his face that he had in the games.
I managed to hold in my surprise from showing on my face as I faced Giovanni and co., very glad to get away from our previous conversation, “Giovanni, it’s nice to see you. And you must be Ariana?”
“I am. And it’s a pleasure to meet you too, John. Gio has said wonderful things about you, so forgive me for taking an interest.” She smiled while I was caught off-guard by the pet name that she used for Giovanni. Since when was this a thing?
She ignored my surprise before rubbing her son on the head, “And this here is Silver. Our son. Come on, say hello.”
Silver grumbled a bit and tried to shake off her hand, but a stern glare from her forced him to submit. “…Hello.” He said shyly, like the young kid that he was.
“Hello Silver.” I said kindly, which was echoed by Will and Sidney, “How are you finding Cerulean?”
“…It’s nice.” He said softly after a small pause, “But Viridian is better.”
I chuckled, “Maybe so, but I hope that Cerulean will eventually be Viridian’s equal.”
“And you’re making good progress thus far.” Sidney added, “The city feels very much for the arts, which I’m sure it’s something you tried to cultivate. And with this new Contest Hall, that feeling is amplified even more so.”
“Which is why we’re here today.” Giovanni stated, putting a hand on Silver’s shoulder, “We thought that it might time for a family outing for once. And what better than to witness Kanto’s finest perform on their latest stage?”
“Too true! Contests are all about exploring the beauty of Pokémon.” Will agreed, “I myself am very looking forward to witnessing today’s performances. I am confident that they will be most inspired.”
“…I prefer battles.” Silver spoke up suddenly. Giovanni immediately turned to berate Silver for his rudeness, but I waved him off.
“So do I. And I’m sure most people do as well. But Contests have an appeal of their own. Who knows, you might like it.” I remarked.
“Especially because he’s the one going to be in it.” Karen chucked, not missing the opportunity to poke fun at me. “He’ll be the opening act, so make sure to cheer for him.”
That got me a good-natured ribbing from everyone. The conversation flowed smoothly after that, with all of us just making acquaintances with everyone and just making some small talk. In particular, Will was especially excited to meet ‘such an esteemed businessman as Giovanni’ and was almost bending over backwards to learn his ways.
Giovanni seemed amused by the situation; Will technically outranked him as a member of the Elite Four, and yet he was treating Giovanni as if he was his superior. Considering the pleased smile on his face, that must have been good for his ego.
In the meanwhile, Sidney, Karen, and Ariana seemed to have hit it off somehow. They were mostly discussing about Dark types, and Ariana, as an experienced scientist, seemed to be able to follow the conversation and pitch in on a few topics as well.
Which was just left me and Silver, who was staring at me with a curious expression on his face. He seemed to want to say something, so I made sure to stay silent while giving him an encouraging smile.
After a moment, he finally spoke up. “Father says you’re strong.”
I nodded, “I am.”
“Then will you fight me?” He asked with all the seriousness of a young child. That seemed to catch the attention of Giovanni, who now had turned to listen in on the conversation.
I really had to fight the urge to grin at Silver’s words. Somehow, I managed to not laugh as I nodded back seriously, “I will, if your father approves.”
Silver broke out into a wide smile as he failed to contain his excitement, “Then let’s fight now!” He almost reached for his Pokéball before a sharp cough from Giovanni stopped him.
“Silver.” His voice echoed, “There is a time and place for everything, but not now.” He said sagely.
But Silver was clearly in no mood to heed his words of wisdom, “WHAT?! BUT I WANT TO FIGHT NOW!”
“SILVER!” Ariana scolded, “Apologize right now! You’re making a scene!”
“NO!” Silver refused, “He said yes! I want to fight!”
I realized that was entirely the wrong thing to say, and Giovanni looked like he was about to blow up on his son. I quickly moved to try to defuse the situation.
“Silver, your father is right, I’m not able to fight with you now.” Silver shot me an angry look, but I continued forwards before he could say anything, “But I promise you I will give you the fight you want later. But can you promise me that you’ll be a good boy till then?” I kneeled down as I said this so that I reached his eye-level, doing my best to make myself as non-threatening as possible.
My words seem to have struck a chord with Silver, as he quickly calmed down and was giving me a thoughtful expression. After a moment to think, he acquiesced.
“Fine. But you promise!” He said, trying to sound authoritative. But to me, and likely everyone else, he only sounded cute.
“And I’ll make sure he remembers.” Karen said from the side as she walked up to Silver, “Don’t worry, Silver, you will have your fight. I won’t let him forget.”
That seemed to satisfy Silver, as he quieted down with a big smile on his face. Ariana shot me a grateful look, while Giovanni just let out a huge sigh.
“Parenting is much harder than I thought it’d be.” He whispered quietly to me so that Silver couldn’t hear him. “But you have my thanks once again for indulging him.”
I waved him off, “It was nothing. After all, I’ve plenty of experience with this when I had to help raise Whitney. She was not always the kind girl that you know.”
“If Silver could be half as well-behaved as Whitney then I’ll be most thankful.” He said exhaustedly.
“At least you’re trying to be a good father. That’s better than what most others would do.” Karen added with a hint of bitterness in her voice. Almost unconsciously, I patted her on the shoulder comfortingly.
“…Thank you, Karen. I suppose you are right.” Giovanni replied with a small, complicated smile.
The conversation once again turned away from more serious topics after that. Unfortunately, Silver’s earlier outburst seemed to have drawn in a crowd, who had now realized just WHO was in our small group talking to each other. Almost immediately, many people started to crowd around us as they clambered to try to get our attention.
Not wanting to deal with them, I offered them a way out by escorting them into the yet unopened Grand Fountain Hall. Technically, we weren’t supposed to be allowed inside, but no one was going to stop us. Not when our group consisted of 3 Elite Four members and a Gym Leader.
Was it an abuse of power? Definitely. Did I care? Nope.
Not long after our relocation, I had to leave the conversation to get ready for the opening ceremony. I had to release Klaus backstage so that he could start preparing for his performance, while I had to head to the front to participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony.
That was a fairly standard affair. Mayor Henry and I made some short ‘inspiring’ speech to the crowd, saying a few meaningless platitudes, before we both cut the big red ribbon together while the cameras flashed rapidly.
With the necessary ceremony completed, everyone made their way to the large amphitheatre which was purpose built for hosting water shows like this one. The seats, while minimalistic, were built of high quality and fast-drying material that could accommodate the occasional splashes of water from the performance.
And yes, the audience were expected to get wet occasionally. But that was part of the fun of sitting at the front!
Despite being part of the performance itself, I wasn’t actually needed there. So, I joined back up with the earlier small group in the VIP section, where they had coincidentally all booked seats in.
We made some small talk for a moment before a large gong rang through the speakers surrounding around the amphitheatre. The audience quickly fell silent as the show began.
However, as if teasing the audience, the silence seemed to extend out for some time. Until suddenly, a few Pokémon burst out from the waters.
Two Seaking leapt out of the water, the water trailing behind them flowing in a perfectly crescent arc. Then Klaus dashed out into the crowd, staying in the air evenly with the use of psychic barriers, with a Solar Beam charging up in his horns, lighting up the trail of water into a perfect rainbow that framed his entrance.
There were a lot of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the audience. With Klaus emerging out of a rainbow-coloured arc of water; it looked like something straight out of a fantasy novel.
Then, Klaus fired off his Solar Beam into the air, just in time for another pair of Mantine to swoop down from above with a synchronized Hurricane that was so finely controlled that they managed to surround the singular beam of light with their two tornadoes. They must have infused some water into their Hurricanes as well, because what was created was a swirling beacon of light that bathed the entire amphitheatre in its warm, sparkling light.
As soon as the light faded, the action continued as 5 rings of water formed in the air. Then, Klaus took off with a running start, leaping into the air and through one of the many hoops. Before he could fall out of the air, the two Seaking from earlier reappeared and fired off a huge geyser of water into the skies, providing a makeshift platform for Klaus to leap off and through yet another hoop.
And while that was going on, the two Mantine began to fly about, forming two water trails behind them as they circled around Klaus. As Klaus continued to leap through the hoops, the two Mantine would fly as close as possible to him with flawless timing, surrounding his figure with twin trails of water that served to emphasize his movements and add a sense of gracefulness and serenity to them.
It was beautiful. It was a very different spectacle to the battles that I was used to; but that didn’t diminish what I was seeing at all. It truly was something special.
And if that wasn’t enough, two huge tidal waves suddenly formed from each side of the pool, crashing together just as Klaus leapt through the final hoop. He landed on top of the backs of both Mantine and let out a noble roar as he was carried along by the waves.
Seeing the huge tidal wave of water about to crash into them, some of the audience members began to panic. However, they would prove to be in perfectly safe hands, as just before the tidal wave threatened to slam into the audience stands, Klaus’ horns shined a magnificent pink as the entire wall of water seemed to stop in place by his power alone.
Of course, I knew that it was just for show. There many other Starmie in the background assisting Klaus; but it looked really impressive nonetheless.
Finally, in an inspiring display of hydrokinesis, the entire wall of water was levitated off the ground, before it started to transform into a huge orb of water. The orb of water split, shifted, and changed slowly, until it morphed into the signature form of the Cascade badge. It was held in the air in a way that made the light shimmer off it, giving the entire thing an aura of majesty and prestige.
And then it collapsed, forming a huge waterfall of water that covered the entire stage and blocked the audience from seeing through. Yet, even then, not a single droplet of water splashed onto the audience.
The curtain of water fell away to reveal the Waterflower sisters, with Misty riding on top of Klaus, posing on the stage next to their Pokémon. Daisy had a microphone in her hand.
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I WELCOME YOU TO THE GRAND OPENING OF THE GRAND FOUNTAIN HALL! DID YOU LIKE WHAT YOU JUST SEE?!” She hyped up the crowd.
The crowd roared back their approval, with many standing up in their seats cheering for the performance. With a happy smile, Daisy continued.
“THEN LET’S NOT KEEP YOU WAITING, BECAUSE THAT WAS JUST THE OPENING ACT!”
The cheering from the crowd was deafening.
A.N. I hope you enjoyed that last bit with the Contest performance. I’d never written anything like that before, so I hope it manages to capture your imagination sufficiently. And also, hope you enjoyed the interactions with Silver, I thought that now was about the time to properly introduce him into the story.
This chapter has been BETAed by Allute! Thanks man!
Comments
phil
i could imagine the intro of the show bravo my good sir
Vtec
Thanks for the comment! I can hopefully promise that the 'committee being annoying' wont be a thing in Sinnoh. Yes, they're stalling right now, but the public discontent with the Sinnoh Committee is about to blow over. They won't be able to stonewall things for much longer.
Cerber
Yeah, the committee being assholes in 3 regions is getting real annoying. Especially when they have examples of how those actions have caused in Hoenn and Indigo. Now they know there is something that is giving support to the 3 criminal groups yet sinnohs committee is still being stubborn. Maybe this time the Cyrus already got to many people inside? But if this turns out to be a chase from one region to another again, then im calling it retarded
