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The New Normal - 10-18
🕑 Added 2024-07-22 11:00:14 +0000 UTCThe New Normal – 10-18 – Meeting the Family
I stood up with the rest of my family as we clapped for the Champions’ victory. The rest of the crowd were doing the same as they cheered and applauded for the fantastic fight that we had just witnessed.
Wallace surprised me. I knew he was formidable, but it was interesting to see just how durable and enduring his Milotic could really be. It dragged out the inner trainer from within me, and I unconsciously started to pick it apart as I tried to piece together how I would defeat it.
In the end, it came down to using Tyrant to overwhelm Milotic’s self-regeneration with an unrelenting offense, assisted with a few Taunts. Drake was close to doing so, and he might have been successful in a pure 1v1, but Garchomp proved a worthy distraction that prevented Salamence from unleashing his full uninterrupted strength against Milotic.
“You’re staring hard at that Milotic. You figuring out if you could beat it?” Karen asked me knowingly, having perfectly read my thoughts. “You don’t have to think that hard. I’m sure you’d win with your starter. Maybe even Ursaluna.”
“I’d like to think so too – though it would be a much harder task for my Ursaluna due to his Water weakness.” I agreed, “What about you? Think you have some way of beating Milotic?”
She tapped a finger on her chin, “I doubt I’d have any problems shutting down Milotic’s self-regeneration with my Taunts, but I’m not exactly sure if I could muscle through Milotic’s high endurance afterwards.”
“My Houndoom would be a poor match for it, same for Tyranitar.” She continued, “I’d say I would have a chance to beat it, but my chances aren’t very high.”
I nodded; it was a fair assessment. Even though she had trained up her Tyranitar to be a walking powerhouse, it might not be enough to be able to bring down Wallace’s Milotic, as Drake had just shown. And Karen’s Weavile and Houndoom were just too frail to be able to withstand against Milotic for long enough to bring it down.
“I wonder when my Miltank can get strong enough to beat it?” My sister wondered aloud, and I turned to her with a smile.
“One day.” I pat her on the head, “I heard you’ve been training well as a Gym Trainer. Keep up your training and I’m sure your Miltank will be a match for even the strongest of opponents.”
“That’s all well and good dear, but I think you have an award and closing ceremony to get to.” My dad reminded, “Let’s not keep your peers waiting.”
“And make sure to ask Cynthia if she has time to meet us.” My mom smiled, “It’d be good to be formally introduced to her.”
In the corner of my eye, I saw Karen flinch for a moment before she forced herself to relax. Her thoughts were easy enough to read, but there was nothing I really could do about it. Instead, I chose that discretion was the better part of valour and made my way out of the VIP area.
Which meant that I was immediately approached by a League official that hurried me over back to the arena. Apparently I should have been gathered there over 10 minutes ago, and that they’d been trying to find me to call me over.
Whoops.
I arrived to where I was supposed to be, where I found the rest of the Top 3 and all the Champions staring at me, many of them with amused looks on their faces.
I raised my hands, “In my defence, Lance said I could go sit with my family.” I shamelessly placed the blame on our Champion.
He just responded with another shameless shrug, “I forgot that you needed to come here earlier.”
Pryce scoffed, “It’s not like a Blackthorn to forget about a moment to show off. You must be losing your touch – and your strength.” He taunted.
Lance’s eyes narrowed, “I don’t want to hear that from you, Gym Leader. Or did I imagine it when I saw your Mamoswine get run around in circles by Cynthia’s Garchomp? A Dragon beating your Ice type, no less.”
“I think we can table this discussion at a later date.” Wallace smiled genially as he interrupted Pryce before he could fire back, “We’re about to be on stage – it’s no good if we look grumpy when we’re on it.”
“But I always look grumpy, especially since we lost.” Drake muttered, getting a consoling pat on the back from Daisy as the rest of us chuckled. It helped ease the tension.
At that point, the big doors opened, revealing the hastily repaired arena and exposing us to the shouts of the crowd once again. There was also a newly setup podium set up as well. One League official tried to order us to walk onstage in neat lines, but practically everyone ignored him as we walked forwards at our own pace in one big group.
We weren’t children.
I took this opportunity to walk next to Cynthia, “It’s time for the announcement.” I whispered to her.
“Yes, I already told Wallace that we had something to announce. He’s okay with it.” She whispered back. “And I’ve already run everything past my Elite Four. They’re happy with it too.”
That was good, “So no further troubles?” I asked.
She shook her head.
That reassured me, “Also, my family wants to meet you after this.” I said to her.
“I was just thinking the same.” She nodded, “Is Karen going to be there too?”
“She’s here as well.” I confirmed, hoping that this wouldn’t cause issues.
“Then I’ll be happy to meet her as well.” Cynthia replied, “Let’s talk about that later. We have an announcement to make.”
I agreed and carefully distanced myself from her as we arrived at the podium. The Champions stood on the higher step, while the rest of us stayed one step behind.
There was only one microphone, but apparently the Champions had already decided that, as the host, Wallace was going to be one making the speech today.
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT THAT YOU HAVE SHOWN TO OUR PARTICIPANTS THROUGHOUT THIS TRI-REGIONAL TOURNAMENT! WE HOPE YOU WERE SUFFICIENTLY ENTERTAINED!”
“AS THIS TOURNAMENT WAS MY BRAINCHILD, I WAS ECSTATIC TO SEE JUST HOW MUCH PEOPLE SEEMED TO HAVE ENJOYED THIS EVENT! AND SO I ASK THIS OF YOU – WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE ANOTHER TOURNAMENT LIKE THIS HOSTED SOMETIME NEXT YEAR?!”
The crowd SCREAMED their approval. They wanted a redo of this event next year as much as I did.
Wallace smiled as he spread his arms wide, “THEN SO BE IT! I WILL BE DISCUSSING THIS MATTER WITH MY FELLOW CHAMPIONS TO SEE IF WE CAN HOST ANOTHER TOURNAMNET JUST LIKE THIS IN THE COMING YEAR! I CAN ALSO PROMISE THAT IT WON’T JUST BE THE SAME REHASH OF THIS TOURNAMENT, BUT WE WILL BE LOOKING TO SHAPE THINGS UP SO THAT YOU MAY ALL GET A NEW AND EXCITING EXPERIENCE EVERY TIME!”
That got the audience hyped up even further, with many of them cheering in support for Wallace as he worked up the crowd. Wallace allowed himself to bask in the attention for a moment before he continued.
“BUT BEFORE THAT, WE MUST CLOSE OUT THIS ONE AND HONOUR THOSE WHO HAVE MANAGED TO CLIMB TO THE VERY TOP OF THEIR PEERS TO FACE THE CHAMPIONS IN BATTLE! PLEASE GIVE A HUGE ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO THE TOP 3 PAIRS THAT MADE IT HERE!”
And then came the moment for pictures as we were shown off to the crowd. For the lesser known Gym Leaders with non-established reputations, this was a big moment for them to get their faces out there and for them to build up their reputation. The trio of Roxanne, Daisy, and Candice were all waving cheerfully to the crowd as they made the most of this opportunity.
Even the oldies were playing nice, since anyone valued the opportunity to remind the public that their strength hadn’t been slipping. While Drake, Pryce, and myself, all had storied histories with a series of established victories, it was still nice to demonstrate to the public that we were still as strong as our reputations might suggest.
Especially for Pryce. The man proved that he even though he dropped to becoming a Gym Leader, his strength was still worthy to be a match for a Champion. Or at least an Elite Four.
With that done, the ‘prizes’ were awarded. Wallace had to scrap the idea of the smaller, category-based, prize awards this year due to a lack of time, so the overall reward was just money and a trophy for each of the pairs.
For what it’s worth, the trophies were well-made, embossed in gold, and were individually customised. Mine and Roxanne’s had the symbol of a Rock Type and Normal Type paired together, just like the rest of the Top 3 did with their own respective Typing. I didn’t see a reason to keep it, so I generously allowed Roxanne to keep it displayed at her Gym. Better that than for it to be placed in my home where no one would really see it.
The money was…less remarkable, especially after it was split 6 ways. I was pretty sure the whole point was for them to give us one big cheque for each pair and have our picture taken while holding it, which was what happened. None of us would actually be keeping the money after all – it was common practice to donate such monetary rewards to charity at events like these.
However, that didn’t stop Drake from calling Wallace a cheapskate under his breath.
With the prizes dished out and relevant photos taken, Wallace gave one final reminder that the Finals for the regions’ respective Conferences were due to begin tomorrow and that the public had more to look out for. But before the Tournament could wrap up, Wallace had one last thing to announce.
“BUT BEFORE WE CAN FULLY WRAP UP THIS TOURNAMENT, I BELIEVE THAT OUR OTHER TWO VICTORS TODAY HAVE SOMETHING TO ANNOUNCE TO YOU ALL!” He gestured with his hand as Cynthia and I stepped to the podium.
The rest of the Top 3, who were uninformed of our plans, looked at us questioningly.
“Thank you, Wallace.” Cynthia began, “But John and I have something to announce to the public. Something that neither of us expected to happen, but were very glad that it did.” The crowd looked confused, but her next words quickly silenced that confusion.
“John and I have recently started a relationship together.” The crowd audibly gasped, but Cynthia pressed on before they could interrupt, “It is one built on mutual admiration, respect, and love, and was wholly independent of politics. And in the interests of transparency, we have decided that now was the most appropriate time to reveal it to the public.”
I quickly followed up, “As we acknowledge the potential conflicts of interest at play here, we have both taken steps to minimize the possibility of bias from the two of us. On my end, I have already discussed this and came to an agreement with Champion Lance, and I have limited my own participation in any votes regarding any dealings with Sinnoh. Of course, this does not affect any deals that are for our mutual benefit or cooperation, and I will continue to work towards bringing our two regions closer together for the benefit of all."
“Likewise, I will be doing the same.” Cynthia continued, “I have agreed with my Elite Four to reduce my voting power on any proposals directly involving Indigo to match those of my Elite Four. That way there can still be a fair vote on the benefits and disadvantages of such policies, while limiting the amount of personal bias that may influence our decisions.”
“And therefore, these measures will help to ensure that we may continue our duties as we normally would, but we hope that we have your support and encouragement for our relationship moving forwards. Our relationship may not have been borne out of political considerations, but we do hope that this can serve as one of the many foundations for our respective regions to form a tighter bond between each other. We understand that a relationship between two high ranking figures have never happened before, but we hope to be able to set the standard and prove that a relationship like ours can and will work; both for us and for the benefit of our regions.” I finished.
This was the same as what we had discussed beforehand, and we both were making full use of the momentum of our victories, and our individual reputations, to bring the public onto our side.
For me, I was very confident that my colleagues would likely stay neutral to this announcement and would not cause a fuss about it. More importantly, I knew that Lance had promised neutrality, which was good enough for me. Plus, on top of my victory just now, I had my strength and reputation to rely upon. And my push for internationalism also helped significantly in this respect, since it was something I had championed even before I met Cynthia.
In the meanwhile, Cynthia told me that she had garnered a lot of trust and support within her Elite Four. Lucian apparently was especially supportive because he thought that this was an excellent opportunity to pull Sinnoh even closer to Indigo and thus would help Sinnoh settle in as being part of the international community. That, and her personal strength was more than proven, especially after this victory. Her position as Champion was easily considered to be stable.
As always, this society favoured strength, and having sufficient strength could stave off many a critic.
However, just as we both finished with our statements, Wallace unexpectedly took to the stage once again.
“…When the two of them told me they wanted to make an announcement, THIS was certainly not what I expected. I thought we were about to have another fight on our hands from our two victors.” He chuckled at his own joke.
“However, let me the first to congratulate this new couple.” He smiled at us, “I have always encouraged bringing our regions together – indeed, the main purpose of the Tri-Regional Tournament was to foster and encourage more international cooperation and to have the public cheering for members of different regions.”
“So I see this relationship between two of our most prominent members of the two Leagues to be a remarkable step forwards in helping to build a prosperous and functional international community – full of cooperation and unity.”
“But most importantly of all, I APPLAUD their bravery for making an announcement as momentous as this. I APPLAUD their integrity for choosing to voluntarily sacrifice some of their political power to ensure that there is as little bias as possible. And last, but certainly not least, I APPLAUD their love! For is it not the dream of every man and woman to find a partner that would fight to keep your relationship intact?”
Wallace stepped behind both of us and raised our arms into the air, clasping them together, “SO I SAY WE SHOULD CHEER FOR THIS NEW COUPLE! WE SHOULD CHEER FOR THIS NEW BRIDGE OF FRIENDSHIP THAT HAS BEEN BUILT BETWEEN THEIR REGIONS! AND WE SHOULD CHEER FOR THE PROSPERITY THAT IS SURE TO COME FROM THE UNITY AND HARMONY THAT THEY BUILD!”
THAT got the crowd worked up into a frenzy of approval. Wallace had said everything Cynthia and I had wanted to say but couldn’t – because it wouldn’t be right for those words to have come out from our mouths.
I immediately pulled Wallace into a hug, “Thank you.” I whispered to him. He had done us a huge favour.
“You don’t have to thank me.” He replied with a smile as he patted me on the back, “I meant every word I said. I admire your bravery, and I truly think that if you can overcome the barriers between you two, then it will do wonders for our shared goal of creating a truly international community.”
“You sound like you knew about our relationship beforehand.” Cynthia replied, though the gratitude and relief in her voice was unmistakable.
He chuckled, “I’m very good at spotting those. I figured there was something between you two as soon as I saw you watching his battle against Lance.”
With that said, Wallace returned to the podium and FINALLY wrapped up the closing ceremony, officially ending the Tournament. But at this point I doubted anyone was paying attention. They were likely buzzing about discussing my relationship with Cynthia.
Luckily, with huge thanks to Wallace, this appeared to be as good of a start as I was hoping for.
All of us exited the stage together, and the responses from my peers were mixed, though all positive. Drake slapped me across the back again with a cheeky grin, and Lance joined in and nearly toppled me over. While Candice was fussing all over Cynthia and asking for as many details as possible.
Roxanne and Daisy were a mixture of curious and supportive, while Pryce ignored everything and grumbled. He was allergic to happiness.
But as we re-entered the waiting room, I realised that this also marked the end of my partnership with Roxanne.
“Thank you for being a wonderful and cooperative partner.” I told her, “It made the Tournament a whole lot more interesting for me. And I hope it was for you as well.”
She snorted, “I should be the one thanking you for bringing me this far.” But then a small smile formed on her lips, “But I agree. This whole event was truly magnificent, and it wouldn’t have been the same without you. We should really keep in touch. Oh, and congratulations once again, John. Both for your victory in battle and otherwise. You must be very happy.” She tilted her head at Cynthia.
I chuckled, “Thank you. I’m as happy as you think I am. It went better than expected, both the Tournament and the announcement. And of course, I’ll make sure to tell you if I’m ever in Hoenn again. I’ll visit you at your Gym.” We exchange similar promises together before the group split up from each other. Though Cynthia and I both thanked Wallace once more before leaving.
Cynthia and I made our way to where our family’s were waiting, but as we were heading over we were both suddenly stopped by Karen, who had been waiting for us just outside the staff-only zone.
I could feel the moment that Cynthia and Karen locked eyes together, but sparks had yet to fly. Instead, they appeared to be eyeing the other up, as if to take each other’s measure now that they had finally met in person.
I stood there awkwardly, not exactly sure what to say nor what to do. I was about to speak up before Karen did so first.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, Cynthia.” She said, and I couldn’t detect any sarcasm in her words, “That was quite the announcement. But I’m glad things went well and that you’re taking care of John for us.”
She chuckled, “He hardly needs baby-sitting. His victory against Emperor proved that well enough. Still, I’m always happy to accompany him as his partner.”
“…It seems like your relationship has a lot of challenges that it has to overcome.” Karen said slowly, “It sounds things might be a little difficult.”
“We’re making it work. It probably won’t be easy, but we’re going to handle things on step at a time.” Cynthia responded as she clasped her hand in mine. “We expected such challenges, and we will do what we can to overcome them. I’m not about to give up, and neither is he.”
Cynthia smiled at Karen, “I’m just glad that he has good friends like you at home as well. I should have said so earlier, but thank you for being there for him in my absence. John told me how much time you guys spend together. You’re practically family, I heard.”
“I’m very thankful that his sister has taken a liking to me.” Karen said, her voice taking a slight edge, “I’m very protective of her, you see.”
“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” Cynthia said. “From what John has told me, little Whitney is a very sweet girl. I won’t do anything to make her unhappy.”
“Anyways, from what I’ve read up on you, and from what John has told me – you seem to be looking to join the Elite Four soon?” Cynthia asked rhetorically, “I assume you’ll be making a challenge if and when you win this Conference.”
“I have plans to that effect, yes.” Karen confirmed, “I hope to become peers with John.”
“That’s a good goal to have.” Cynthia praised, “It’d be good for John to have more friends around his level.”
Cynthia took a step forwards, “I look forward to welcoming you into the Elite Four, Karen. Having another friend in the Elite Four will be very useful to John in his fight for internationalism. I do hope you help him to bring Sinnoh and Indigo even closer together. It’ll make our relationship a lot smoother.”
From the way Karen’s lips flattened slightly, there was definitely something I was missing here. The two of them exchanged nothing but friendliness with each other, but my gut was telling me that there was a little more subtext behind their exchanges than I could catch.
It wasn’t exactly sarcasm, but more like…posturing? It was hard to tell.
Either way, I thought this had gone on for long enough, and I coughed to grab their attention, “Right, I think that’s enough for the introductions. I think we should stop wasting time and introduce Cynthia to the rest of my family as well.”
The two of them nodded and followed after me to where our family had been patiently waiting. As soon as Cynthia caught sight of my parents, she quickly made a beeline to them and introduced herself to them with a friendly smile on her face.
They were all very surprised at the suddenness of the public announcement, but were ultimately encouraging of our efforts. They appreciated the fact that we didn’t need to hide our relationship anymore.
Especially my mom. But I suspected mothers’ were always like that.
Of course, as soon as my sister started asking her questions, it was already too late for Cynthia. She was trapped to be subjected to an endless onslaught of questions from my family, where they began inquiring about every little thing they could think of.
I shook my head with a smirk. I was just thankful that Cynthia had the patience to deal with my well-meaning, if overly curious, family.
Seeing that my family’s attention was firmly focused on Cynthia, I turned to Karen, who had been standing a small distance away with a blank look on her face.
“Something wrong?” I asked her. “You don’t look happy.”
“I’m wary, not unhappy.” She clarified, “But I know that it’s just my self-doubt acting up again. I know that you and your family won’t replace me with Cynthia.”
“She wouldn’t do that. Cynthia knows how much I still value your friendship.” I said to her. “And Whitney would never replace you.”
“I know, she said as much.” She replied, then she smirked at the look of confusion that had appeared on my face, “Or did you not realise from our conversation just now? She was marking her territory, though she wasn’t rude about it.”
“I think I must have missed that.” I admitted, “Still, are you upset about it?”
“Not really.” She shrugged, “I definitely expected this. Someone as headstrong and determined as her would do no less.”
Then she smiled, “If anything, seeing how far the two of you are willing to go to make sure your relationship works out was just another reminder that I have my own dream to accomplish. A goal that I must achieve. So there’s no time to wallow in self-doubt or what-ifs. I made that mistake once, and I’m not about to let it happen again.”
She turned to stare at the arena, which was now being cleaned up, “…With the Tournament over, it means that the Finals are going to be starting soon. That means my break will be over and I’ll be back into the fight.”
I nodded, “Good luck with that.”
“Thank you, but I shouldn’t need your luck.” She replied with conviction, “The old hag finally deserves to rest, you know? And it’s my job to make sure that her retirement can happen in peace. She deserves no less. So I will prove myself to be the old hag’s successor in every way that matters and earn my spot in the Elite Four. No matter who gets in my way.”
Her eyes blazed with certainty, “So watch me, John. You’ve been my mentor and friend for long enough. Now will be the time that I finally become your peer.”
A.N. And this concludes the end of Arc 10. I hope you’ve enjoyed it thus far. I’m sorry for pushing back the Pokenet chapter by an extra chapter, but I wanted everything in the Tournament wrapped up before we had one to not break the flow.
In return, this Wednesday’s chapter will be replaced by 11-1 (the Pokenet Chapter), while Friday’s chapter will hold 10-18 (The Interlude), so that they’re swapped around and you can get the Pokenet Interlude 2 days early.
And yes, John and Cynthia finally announced their relationship. I hope the announcement was just as you hoped, with Wallace coming in with a clutch assist. They still have work to do to back up their words, but this is a good start.
Comments
Sick Meme
Ty for the chapter i just wanted to ask if someone could point out to Pryce that Garchomp ist not only a dragon but also a ground type pretty please*flashes puppy dog eyes*
LandoCali96
Gonna be a big pokenet chapter. I'm looking forward to it
