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The New Normal - 4-19
🕑 Added 2023-08-11 11:01:54 +0000 UTCThe New Normal – 4-19 – Déjà vu
I was dressed to the nines the following evening, wearing a proper suit and tie as was expected for any grand ceremony like this. I had spent the entire day training with my Pokémon, so I made sure to take a thorough shower before I attended Will’s swearing-in ceremony.
Admittedly, I was fairly nervous about the ceremony. Not because of Will, though, but because my mind was filled with thoughts about my conversation with Karen. How would she react? Did she think I was pushing things too fast again? Was I about to make the same mistake?
My worry was clearly visible on my face because my mom looked me over with a questioning frown.
“What’s wrong John? I didn’t think you would be nervous about this.” She asked me. “Surely you aren’t intimidated by that Will person. I bet you’re much stronger than him!”
I smiled wryly at my mom’s praise, “Thanks, mom. But no, I’m not worried about that.” I replied, before deciding to come clean with what was bothering me.
“I’ve just been thinking about my relationship with Karen.” I admitted, and my mom remained silent, listening intently, “We’ve been hanging out a lot, training and spending time together, but we’ve never actually clarified what we are. We danced around the topic a lot, but now I really want to know what we are to each other.”
My mom just chuckled at that and gave me a soft smile, “Oh, John, that’s a very normal to be worried about. In fact, I can bet you that there isn’t a 16-year-old boy out there who haven’t agonized over such a thing.”
She brushed my hair with her fingers, “There’s no need to stress over such a thing, John. From what I’ve seen with how you interact with Karen, there’s no way she would misunderstand your intentions at this point. But it’s always good to openly communicate with each other.”
I coughed to conceal a blush, “…Thanks, mom.” Then I quickly checked the time, “Oh, I think it’s almost time to pick up Karen, so I’m going to head out now.”
My mom gave me a knowing grin and patted me twice on the shoulder before she set me free. I quickly made my way out of the house and released Klaus to Teleport me to Lavender Town, where I would pick up Karen.
Normally, I would fly straight to the ceremony, but I think Karen would neuter me if I suggested that. Thus, I slowly Teleported my way to Lavender Town, having to wait in-between jumps to allow Klaus to regain his energy.
After a while, I eventually found myself outside a non-descript house near the edges of Lavender Town. I took a breath and knocked on the door.
“About time you got here.” I heard a very familiar voice come through the door as it opened, revealing Agatha in her usual violet dress. Behind her stood Karen, wrapped in a black dress that I had felt was at odds with her usual casual appearance, yet suited her magnificently all the same. It was as if it was almost painted to her frame, and I-
I forcefully held those thoughts back; my breath caught in my throat, stunned as I was by her appearance. But a cough from Agatha tore my gaze away from Karen.
“You can ogle my apprentice all you want later.” She said mockingly, “But don’t get too distracted with her. Make sure you at least take Will’s measure before you go fooling about.”
Karen sighed and whacked Agatha over the head softly with her hand, causing Agatha to chuckle, “Oh please, you can torment poor old John later. I would have appreciated the compliments.”
Agatha interrupted me before I could speak up and waved her hand dismissively, “Yes, yes, rely on your looks while you still have them. All youth dries up eventually.” She said bitingly. Karen just rolled her eyes and grabbed onto my arm.
“Come, John, let’s leave this old lady to her grumblings. We have a ceremony to arrive at.” Then she pushed me along with her as we left the house.
“…you look great, by the way.” I whispered to her as Klaus got ready to Teleport us. She responded just by leaning in closer on my arm.
The two of us were quickly Teleported to the Indigo Plateau, where the ceremony was being hosted. Shortly after our arrival, a large shadow appeared on the ground as Agatha seemingly spawned in next to us.
“Should we make an entrance?” Karen whispered with a teasing grin, her eyes gleaming with mischief. And I felt myself smile as I escorted her into the building, Agatha trailing slightly behind us.
As soon as we entered the hall, heads were turned our way as cameras flashed wildly as reporters frantically tried to take our picture.
My friendship and connection with Karen were an open secret at this point, but now walking in like this, arm in arm with Karen with Agatha following behind us; it was a statement. We were telling the world that Karen and I were allied, and that Agatha supported this relationship.
It showed the world that, within the Elite Four, Agatha and I were political allies. And through my connection with Lance, it meant that 3 out of 4 of the Elite Four were currently, at least on paper, in lockstep with each other. Not only was this a strong show of support for the current administration, but it also elevated my own status as the bridge to facilitate such cooperation.
Obviously, the three of us had discussed this before we arrived today. Agatha wanted to ensure that the world understood that her apprentice was developing her own political connections and making it very clear that she saw Karen as her legacy. As for me, in lieu of the inevitable turmoil within the Elite Four, I wanted to remind the world that I was a vital part of the Elite Four and that my position, at least politically, was unassailable.
After we made sure that the reporters had their fill of photographs, I escorted Karen to her seat in the ceremony, then Agatha and I made our way backstage to the private room reserved for the Elite Four.
As soon as we got there, I was greeted, just like last time, by President Charles Goodshow.
“John! It’s good to see you again! We didn’t really get a chance to speak during the Committee meeting, but I was very impressed by your ability to handle yourself there.” He praised sycophantically, and he was about to continue before Agatha interrupted him.
“Save your flattery for Will, Charles.” She remarked cuttingly, “I’m sure that John’s long seen through your simpering attempts to flatter him.”
“Haha, I was just offering my greetings, Elite Agatha, no harm done.” He lied shamelessly, but quickly removed himself from our presence. Thank Arceus for that, my blood boiled at the reminder of his condescending attitude towards me the first time I was here.
Nevertheless, I shook away those unpleasant thoughts as I entered the room with Agatha, where a very familiar vision greeted me. The room was as ostentatious as ever, filled to the brim with unnecessary luxuries that I still felt was gaudy and excessive.
The only difference this time was that the atmosphere of the room was far less frigid than when Pryce occupied it. Very fittingly so.
Lance and Walker stood up as they saw the two of us enter, “John, Agatha, glad the both of you could be here.” Lance greeted us warmly. “John, may I speak to you for a bit?”
I nodded and followed him into the corner of the room, “Just wanted to let you know that things are on schedule. The Committee will be hosted in a few days’ time, and we’ll be voting on your proposal to reduce the number of badges required for trainers to travel and capture Pokémon from Indigo from 4 to 2.” He told me.
“Ah, thanks for letting me know.” I replied, “Do you think it’s likely to be passed?”
Lance smiled, “Oh, I’m sure it’ll pass, at least the section from within Indigo. Still unsure if we’re able to lower the restrictions to Hoenn. I brought it up in private conversation with many committee members. With Pryce’s cronies either on the way out, or already switching sides, there’s much less pushback against pro-unity policies. Besides, in their eyes, these proposals of yours are real vote winners, and they’d be foolish not to support them. I hope they will maintain this attitude for when I propose to set up an International Police force.”
I nodded in understanding. Right now, with the public still focused and engaged with Pryce’s mistakes, any kind of effort to correct them are going to be widely popular. Thus, I was pleased to see that the committee understood where the wind was blowing and how to vote accordingly. I hoped that I could make use of this public consensus to push through as many pro-unity policies as I could.
I then voice out a question that I had to Lance, “Have you heard anything about Sinnoh? Does it look like they’re going to be opening their borders anytime soon?”
Lance shook his head, “Unfortunately not. It seems like Pryce really did rush out the announcement.” He grumbled, “However, they did mention that they will be sending over more Pokémon and scientists soon enough so that they could learn more about our Pokémon and society and vice versa.”
I nodded my head. Disappointing, but not unexpected. I was personally hoping for Sinnoh to be opened up as soon as possible so that I could get to explore it and its new Pokémon. More specifically, I was really hoping to see if I could find any ruins or Pokémon that survived from the Hisuian Era.
Before our conversation could continue any further, the door to the room opened up.
A mask-wearing man dressed in all purple entered the room. His entire outfit screamed ostentatious and gaudy, matching the overly luxurious décor of the room. It was like he was using his outfit as an exhibition of his wealth, flaunting it openly.
“Greetings everyone! Thank you so much for appointing me into the Elite Four! I assure you all that you will not regret your decision!” He announced pompously as he spread his arms out wide, taking off his mask with a quick flourish, as if expecting to be received with applause.
Instead, he was greeted by a very unamused silence from the four of us.
I watched as his eyes flickered between us, the realisation of the awkwardness slowly building in his eyes. The silence was almost painful. Fortunately for Will, he was saved by Walker as he coughed and finally broke the silence.
“It’s nice to meet you, Will. Welcome to the Elite Four.” Walker greeted him, standing up and shaking his hand.
That immediately brought back the flamboyant smile on Will’s face, “Ah, it’s a pleasure to meet such an esteemed member of the Elite Four! I am greatly pleased to join your fine institution! In fact, I hope you could give me the opportunity to show off my new acquisitions! I’m sure you will find them interesting!”
Walker’s smile turned strange as he visibly hesitated on how to respond, but he was ‘saved’ by Agatha bursting out in laughter.
All heads turned to her as she continued laughing, eventually devolving into hacking coughs as she ran out of breath. Eventually, she got control of herself and wiped a tear from her eye.
“…Arceus, I thought we had just gotten rid of the guy with the stick up his ass, but it seems we just replaced him with a younger version!” She cackled amusingly, but her eyes were intensely focused on Will.
Will looked visibly taken aback by the insult, and he spluttered incomprehensibly with an offended expression on his face. Will clearly had a retort at the tip of his mouth but forced himself to stay quiet, possibly out of respect for Agatha. Fortunately, Walker took mercy on him.
“Will, let me give you some advice.” Will turned his head to Walker, “You’re in the big leagues now. You might have been important before, but that doesn’t matter anymore. Not to us. You have may have hundreds or thousands of overly excited and swooning fans outside of the Elite Four, but so do we. You may have had plenty of powerful connections to important individuals, but so do we. You may be wealthy, but so are we. There’s very little that would impress us, outside of raw strength, so your attempts to flaunt yourself only looks juvenile to us. You were a Big Magikarp in a small pond, but now you’ve entered the ocean where the Gyarados swims.” Walker advised seriously.
I found myself nodding unconsciously to Walker’s words, fully agreeing with him. Once you were in the Elite Four, the connections and influence you were able to forge far exceeded anything that you could possibly do before, and that just brought you onto a whole different level compared to ordinary trainers.
Even for a relative nobody like me, within just a few months and some good decisions, I was able to transform myself to becoming a political powerhouse in Indigo. As Walker said, someone of Will’s status, while impressive on paper, was nothing compared to the rest of us.
Will stared silently at Walker as he slowly digested his words, and I looked around and saw that Lance and Agatha were both staring intently at Will. The three of us just continued to observe Will, waiting to see how he would react.
Would he be humbled by Walker’s words? Or would he lash out with indignation as he refused to accept the new reality he was thrust into?
The seconds ticked by as Will visibly swallowed his anger and silently nodded his head, eliciting a smile and a nod from Walker. Before Walker could say anything else though, Lance spoke up for the first time since Will’s arrival.
“Will, please sit.” He said commandingly, gesturing to a seat in front of him. Will obediently obeyed and sat across from Lance, looking around anxiously as all eyes were focused on him. He may have been older than me, but currently everyone seemed to treat him like a young kid.
I could instantly tell that Lance was sizing Will up, taking a measure of him and his strength. Will met his stares for a moment before eventually looking away; Lance never broke his stare.
Nevertheless, Lance continued, “As you may have heard in the news, I have been trying to improve the transparency of the League’s actions for the public, and I’ve also been trying to allow the Elite Four to get more involved with the decision-making process. Thus, at the next Committee meeting, I will be expecting your attendance and for you to give your opinion, if any, during those meetings. I do hope you are ready for this.”
Will looked surprised for a moment, but firmly nodded his head with a smile. “Yes, Champion. Handling politics is something I am very much experienced in, and I will endeavour to prove myself to you.” He said formally.
Lance just nodded, “Good. Now, I hope you have been training up your team properly. I would not let you disgrace your honourable position by being too weak to hold your title.”
This time, Will’s smile widened with a hint of arrogance, “I assure you, Champion Lance, that any who would challenge me on the field of battle would find themselves very much humbled by my Pokémon. You will find no greater trainer than I…except for the few in this room, of course.” He added the last part quickly as soon as he realized the dirty looks that he was getting from the room from his boasting.
Lance hardly reacted to his boasting though, and once again nodded and thanked him for his coming and to get ready to answer some questions when he was sworn in.
In the meanwhile, I felt like I had a good idea of Will’s personality based on how he interacted with the members of the Elite Four. He definitely felt like someone who was used to being praised and relished being in the spotlight, likely due to his capabilities as a trainer. He’s certainly not unintelligent, as proven through his business connections, but I felt that he liked showing off his abilities as much as he could.
In a way, he was similar to Lance. Lance was prideful, but he didn’t feel the need to show off his strength because he was so secure in his power and exuded such confidence that such displays of strength and influence was unnecessary to him. In contrast, Will was ‘new money’, and likely wanted everyone to remember his importance and status. But he wasn’t too big of an ass with it.
Still, that kind of flaunting rubbed me the wrong way, but I was going to mostly reserve my judgment until I got to know him better. For better or worse, I was stuck with Will as a colleague for at least a month, so I better learn to deal with him.
The sounds of footsteps caused me to look up, and I saw that Will was approaching me before the door to the room suddenly opened as Charles Goodshow entered the room and announced that it was time for the swearing-in ceremony.
I gave a quick acknowledging nod to Will before we all slowly made our way to the stage, where we stood at our places. Unlike last time, this time I was the second member from the left of the Elite Four, standing on the right of Agatha. Again, though the positioning of the Elite Four wasn’t a display of strength, it was commonly acknowledged as such.
And, idly, I wondered if I could beat Agatha in a straight up fight. Her battling style was far trickier than my usual opponents, but I pondered if my team’s versatility could overcome her tricks.
I shook away those thoughts as Charles started speaking on the microphone.
“Thank you! Thank you! Today, I have the honour of introducing our latest Elite Four member! Please welcome, Elite Will!” The cameras began flashing as Will slowly made his way to the front, basking heavily in the attention. He looked every bit the showman that he was dressed up as, acting like he was born to be in the spotlight.
Then, he pompously began as he thanked everyone for his newfound position while remarking about how he hopes to serve the region for many years to come. Pretty generic stuff, but he had a natural charisma to him that made his words seem more intelligent and deeper than they actually were. Of course, like before, questions were immediately raised to him afterwards questioning him about this and that.
Mostly, the questions revolved around what Will’s political aspirations were. To my surprise, he answered that he hoped to increase the number of businesses that can be established in Indigo and hoped to attract more foreign investment by reducing business taxes. Otherwise, he didn’t seem to have an opinion one way outside of financial policy.
…That was interesting to know. Considering his background and connections with several prominent businessmen, his political leanings weren’t all that surprising. But, more importantly to me, they weren’t incompatible with what I wanted. So long as he didn’t interfere with my own plans for increased unity and economic parity within Indigo, I would leave him to his own agenda.
Regardless, that was for the future, and Will had finally gotten through all of the questions and was now being sworn in as he stood opposite of Lance.
Lance recited, “Do you solemnly swear on Arceus that you will serve the interest of Indigo as the newest member of the Elite Four?”
“I do.” Will responded with a pleased grin.
“Then with my position as Champion, I grant you the honour of joining the Elite Four.” The surrounding cameras went into a frenzy to capture the moment, and loud cheers erupted from the audience.
Then, the ceremony was finally over, and the afterparty began. I quickly found my way back to where Karen was seated.
“You’re finally back.” She said as I sat opposite her, “How was the newest Elite Four member? I saw him preening like a Ninetales out there.”
“Well, he’s pretty much exactly as you saw.” I replied, “Pretty full of himself, and loves the spotlight. But not so much so that he’s blinded by it.” Unlike Pryce, I didn’t need to say.
“You know anything about his team?” Karen asked, likely the topic she was most concerned about since Will was planned to be her designated target for when she challenged the Elite Four.
I shook my head, “No, nothing. Though he seemed eager to show off his team when he made his entrance.” I chuckled at the memory of his boasting, “He seemed strong and competent enough from the research that I’ve done, but nothing overwhelmingly so for a member of the Elite Four. Above Walker, obviously, but below myself and Agatha.”
“Hmm.” Karen muttered, eyes shining with determination. Along with the black dress that she was wearing, I couldn’t help but find her supremely attractive. Before I found myself lost in those eyes of her, I pulled myself together and finally voiced the question that I had been waiting to ask for the entire day.
“Say, Karen, what are we?” I suddenly asked, causing her to look at me questioningly. I clarified myself, “We’ve been hanging around each other for quite some time now. I want to say that we’re each other closest friend, and while I know that you previously said that you wanted to stay as friends, do you still think so now?”
She stared at me silently for a few moments, before her lips turned upwards into a small smile, “I was wondering if you would ever ask, John.” She replied kindly, “What made you ask me such a thing right now?”
I scratched my head in embarrassment, “Well, you know Agatha hinted the other day that she was waiting for the two of us to get married? I know she was probably teasing me like she usually does, but I have a feeling that she’s betting a lot of her political ambitions on us starting a lasting relationship, and it caused me to realize exactly how close we must seem to the general public. If even they think we’re a couple, then...”
Karen rolled her eyes and cut me off, “Bah. That old crone always wants to meddle with other people’s lives. I’m pretty sure it’s just what old people do. Don’t take her words seriously.”
I nodded, “Well, yeah, but I also wanted to clarify what we are. I don’t want to accidentally overstep any boundaries of yours like I did before.” I admitted.
She shot me a soft smile, and she took one of my hands in hers. “That’s very kind of you, John. You don’t know how happy I was to see that your newfound status hasn’t gone to your head. You’re still pretty much the same person that I knew from our time in Hoenn, and I’m very thankful for that. I know some that wouldn’t have asked at all and would have just taken what they wanted.” She grumbled bitterly.
But then her expression quickly returned to one of gentle fondness, “As to answer your question. We’re friends.” I had to clamp down on the bitterness that rose up to her words, but apparently, I did a bad job as she immediately chuckled. “I’m sorry if that isn’t the response that you wanted, John. It’s nothing to do with you, but I refuse to enter into a relationship with you until I’m sure that I’ve secured a future for myself.”
She said that firmly, as if she was making a statement that she would never be dissuaded from. I gave her a questioning look.
“May I ask why? You’re already an excellent trainer.” I asked gently, causing her to return a brittle smile.
“You know how I’m an orphan right?” She replied after a slight pause, and I nodded. “Before Agatha took me in, I’ve seen plenty of times how parents have abandoned their children to an orphanage because they are unwilling or unable to take care of them. And when I spoke to those children, they all had similar stories.”
“In so many of those cases, the parents got into a relationship before they were able to take care of themselves and before they were able to ensure a safe and secure future for their future child.” She continued, her eyes lost in thought, “Often, these were parents that got together in the throes of passion during their journey. Getting together too quickly before reality sets in and they realize just how big of a mistake they have just made.”
“…And in all those cases, they almost always abandon their child to an orphanage as they are unwilling to accept responsibility for their mistakes. And I refuse to follow in their footsteps.” She stated as if she was uttering a vow, “I promised myself that, until I was sure that my future was secured, I would not enter into a relationship till then. I could not condemn any future children to what I went through.”
She turned back to me, staring me down with eyes filled with sorrow, “…That’s why, John, I cannot be what you want me to be. I know that deep in my heart, that I’m delaying things for no good reason other than pure paranoia, but I…”
I cut her off as I put my other hand on top of hers, “It’s okay, you don’t have to explain yourself any further. I understand where you’re coming from.” I told her softly.
I leaned forwards, “As I’m sure you know, before I went on my journey, my family was dirt poor. We had almost nothing to our name, and I even started out on my journey late because we couldn’t afford a Pokéball or the lost labour. Whitney and I never went to school, so everything we learnt was self-taught. During my journey, I was so single-mindedly focused on pulling my family out of the pit of poverty that I isolated myself in my drive for success. I made little friends, choosing instead to push myself further and further for my family.”
“And, during those moments of hardship, I made a vow to myself that I would never allow my family to fall back into those times of poverty. This singular vow has driven all of my actions since then and has been the source of my determination for my success. So, while our experiences were different, I can understand your troubled history.” I explained, opening my heart to her.
“I guess we both have had troubled pasts.” She said bitterly, and the two of us fell silent. Instead, I was content with locking my eyes with hers, silently conveying my sincerity and feelings towards her. I politely ignored how Karen’s eyes had turned momentarily wet for a brief moment, nor how she wasn’t acting like her usually confident self.
The silence extended for some time before my mouth broke into a small grin, “You know, if you want me to wait for you, I’ll do it. It’s not like I have anyone better to go for at the moment.” I said jokingly, trying to bring up the mood.
It seemed to have worked, as she let out a small chuckle, “Thank you, John.” She replied, her voice slightly tinged with humour, “And, call me selfish, but I certainly don’t hope you find anyone else. The old crone might keel over if you did.” We both broke into quiet laughter at that.
Then, I simply shot her a small smile, staring into her eyes all the while, with neither of us needing to say anything more.
The two of us avoided any more serious talk for the rest of the night, but it was clear that the two of us conveyed everything that we wanted to. No one approached the two of us for the entire night, leaving us into our own little world as we continued to make small talk until the party was over. The actual purpose of the ceremony long forgotten.
As we left, the two of us shared a ‘friendly’ kiss as we parted ways. The first one ever since that mistaken kiss all that time ago. It was brief but filled with many unspoken words. We both understood that, come tomorrow, our relationship was going to return to one of friends.
But at least now, the two of us knew that ‘staying friends’ was just a temporary state of affairs. I saw that in both of our eyes, we longed for the day that we could comfortably be together as more than just that.
A.N. So this was my first chapter with a heavy focus on romance since my mistake back in Arc 2. I hope that this time around, I’ve written things much better and that the relationship between Karen and John is more believable. I’m very much a novice at writing romance, so I hope this scene came out well.
Like in his Interlude, I’ve tried to show how the Elite Four would react to a showboater like Will. I didn’t want to make him completely dislikeable and wanted to show off some of his more positive qualities (namely, that he isn’t dumb) despite his showboating.
This is the penultimate chapter of the Champion Arc. Thanks for reading thus far!
Comments
Shawn O
While he’s rebuilding cerulean I can totally see him having something spark with Daisy but it’s just short lived and burns out. Different visions and far different goals for what they’re striving for. The eventual ship is between Karen and John obviously but letting John experience a minor relationship of sorts and the worry it potentially brings to Karen about her own standing with him after turning him down twice. (If they’re remaining close friends she’s getting a real time feed from John about his interactions and doings while he’s working on the city, his short lived relationship, etc) It allows her to do some reflection and experience some regrets, knowing she wants something but pushes him away out of fear due to her own childhood trauma. This could potentially set Karen up to do something bold herself once she wins the conference and then when she claims the title of elite 4 (which seems to be the whole thing holding her back from a relationship in general)
Vtec
Ah, yeah I see your point. I guess this my unfamiliarity in writing romance biting me in the ass. But, in my head, Karen and John are still going to be close friends, so they'll still be hanging around each other as friends do. I like your idea of having another romantic partner, but I'm not sure if I can implement that well. If a situation arises where John forms a natural relationship, then I might go for it. Thank you for the suggestion and I'll be sure to keep it in mind.
SailorOfHouseThunderBird
I like the chapter. I think you did a really good job with Will here. My only minor issue with the romance angle is the “Karen, if you want me to wait, then I’ll wait. You’re worth it.” bit. I like Karen and John as the OTP here, but she's rejected him twice now. For good reasons both times sure, but all the same, she should stand by those decisions including any consequences like her missing a shot with John. As for John, he's been turned down twice now. She's clearly not looking for romance any time soon and thats fine. But if his whole plan from here is to just try and be the guy on deck, that's kinda sad and a little creepy honestly. Let him look elsewhere for bit instead. Maybe he gets hits it off with Lorelei. Maybe John and Daisy get closer to each other while he gets involved in Cerulean politics. Maybe someone completely random we haven't seen yet that he has a passionate experience with that crashes and burns within a month. I could be wrong, but there's going to be at least 5-6 months minimum till Karen can try to win the Indigo conference next right? That's plenty of time for John to find a new romantic partner and have it end before Karen is ever even sworn in as an Elite.
