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The New Normal - 9-4
🕑 Added 2024-04-01 11:37:24 +0000 UTCThe New Normal – 9-4 – An afternoon in Lavender Town
My press conference made the headlines the very next day, as I expected it to. The news, as they were wont to do, were all busy discussing the implications of this discovery, trying to play up this ‘revelation’ of my connections and what that meant for my ability to influence politics in the future.
The news had unofficially labelled me as the ‘foreign representative’ of Indigo, stemming from my myriad of foreign connections and my pursuit of internationalism. By the same token, thanks to all the news coverage, I realised that the public perception of me in Indigo had changed.
Previously, I was seen and praised for being a popular Elite Four member with a strong influence in Kanto. But now the public saw that my reach and influence went further than that.
In actuality, my influence and power didn’t actually change. However, by stepping into the spotlight like this, the fact that people THOUGHT I was suddenly this very powerful and connected figure was useful for me and my ambitions.
Long gone were the times where I was looked down upon and questioned because of my young age. My draw against Cynthia was almost irrelevant. Now the media were saying that I was the secondary power in Indigo, just behind Lance. They claimed that while Lance still had the edge politically, I was his ‘right arm’ when it came to international politics.
I didn’t mind the analogy. Although I didn’t deliberately plan to angle myself this way, I found that I was satisfied with the reputation that I had built up. Plus, if that position and reputation allowed me a better opportunity to combat the plans of Team Galactic when they finally slipped up? Well, then all the better.
Besides all of the political stuff, I finally found myself cleared of my backlog of appointments at last. The last meeting with the interviews was my last immediate task that I had to go through, and now I was finally able to have a bit of free time. At least until my future commitments reared their head once again.
It was well-timed too, because I finally received a text back from Karen asking if she could meet up with me and ‘talk’.
…It was a conversation that was bound to happen, so I figured it was best if we got it out of the way as soon as possible and clear the air between us.
That’s why I found myself waiting around Lavender Town, where we had decided to meet up. Apparently Karen had wanted to show me something there.
It didn’t take me long to spot her, as she was hanging about just outside the Pokémon center. At least she didn’t possess the sad smile that she had before.
“Hey, how’ve you been?” I asked gently, trying to gauge her current mood.
“I’m okay.” She replied, and I could tell it was mostly the truth, “Come – this isn’t the right place to talk. Let me show you a great place to eat. I haven’t had breakfast and am starving.”
I nodded and followed after her. She brought us to this nice hole-in-the-wall restaurant, which was clearly family-owned, and looking like it had been in business for quite some time.
“The old hag used to bring me here all the time.” She told me, “The food’s great, even if it is a bit out of the way.”
I couldn’t disagree. The food was indeed excellent, and the two of us just spent a bit of time just enjoying the food. I could see that the chef and waiter, who were obviously family, giving Karen a familiar look. She must have been a regular here.
They even deliberately distanced themselves from our table so we could discuss things worrying about them overhearing it. I was definitely going to leave a big tip. Who knew that small restaurants like these could have service this excellent?
Eventually, the two of us finished with our food, and the conversation began to flow as we digested the food.
Karen kicked it off, “So…I’ve had time to think things through…and I admit that I made a mistake turning you down all that time ago. I…was led by my fears, and I foolishly allowed those fears to dictate my actions.”
She bowed her head at me, “I’m sorry if my rejection hurt you.”
“There’s no need for that.” I said softly, “I understood your reasoning, nor have I ever blamed you for it.”
“It was still immature for me to do so. And now…” She sighed, “I can see the consequence of my actions. I should have grabbed onto the opportunity when I had the chance.”
A frown formed on her face, “…So I lost.”
I stayed respectfully silent, simply giving Karen the space to process her emotions. There was nothing I could say to comfort her.
After a small moment of silence, Karen spoke up again, “Are you happy with Cynthia?”
“I am.” I responded immediately, “She makes me happy. Very happy.”
“…Then there’s nothing more I need to say.” She replied, but even as she tried to hide it I could tell that she was still a little bitter about it. “Though, if I could ask, what made you attracted to her?”
“Her determination and her drive. The fact that she wanted to achieve something.” I answered, “I couldn’t help but fall for her because of that.”
“I’m sure her looks helped.” Karen added dryly.
I smirked, “Well…I have nothing to complain about on that front.”
Karen then paused for a moment, staring at me with a scrutinising look in her eyes before letting out another sigh, “You know, before we met up today, a part of me thought that I could win you over again. That your relationship with Cynthia was born on a shallow foundation, because you might have only fallen for her looks. That perhaps, given the distance between the two of you, that you would fall out of love with each other.”
She shook her head, “But after speaking with you now…I can see that I was wrong. You really do care about her, don’t you?”
“I do.” I said sincerely, “New as our relationship might be, I don’t see it breaking apart anytime soon.”
“I agree.” Karen said with only a hint of reluctance, “But…I’m happy for you, John. I’m glad you found someone that makes you happy.”
She swallowed, “And…And…I’m not vile enough to forcefully step between you and her. Even if a part of me wants to. I know the consequences of doing so – that it would cost me more than just your friendship.”
“I’ve seen the effects when a third party gets in the way of a loving couple. I saw it all too often when I was younger.” She sighed, “I wouldn’t let myself repeat those actions.”
I smiled comfortingly, “Thank you, Karen. Your kindness is why I still very much value you as a friend, Karen. You’re a good person, and I sincerely don’t want anything to change between us.”
“I know, and I’m very thankful for it.” She said, “…Thank you for clearing the air, John. I feel a little better now that we’ve talked things through.”
I had a feeling that things weren’t as peachy as what she was saying, but that wasn’t anything I could call her out on. She would be a saint if she could move on so quickly.
“Anytime.” Was how I replied instead, “I’m just glad we could repair things with each other.”
Then I remembered something, “Before I forget, I actually got you something from Sinnoh.” I took out the bracelet that I bought and handed it over to her.
It was a relatively simple thing, but it was decorated with small black pearls that gleamed in the light. It also had a small little etching of a Honchkrow, which I thought was perfect for Karen.
Karen held the bracelet gently, “Thank you John. I like it a lot.” She smiled as she carefully put on the bracelet, rotating her wrists to get a better look at it.
Then she smiled at me, “Let’s take this conversation somewhere else. I think we’ve loitered around long enough – and I still have something to show you.” I nodded.
The two of us stood up from her chair, where she insisted to pay for me. I protested this, of course, but she said that since she was the one to invite me, she was to pay. I reluctantly accepted her argument.
Then we both stepped out of the restaurant. Small talk dominated the conversation as we stepped away from the previous heavy and serious topics. The initial awkwardness at our reunion had disappeared, with only the friendly familiarity of two close friends remaining.
After a bit of walking, we had finally arrived at our destination. In front of us was the beginnings of a construction site, and I blinked repeatedly in confusion. At first, I was confused, unsure what Karen was trying to show me.
“What in the world am I looking at here?” I asked, blinking my eyes.
Karen must have seen the confusion on my face, because she broke into a small laughter, “This is my latest project. Or more specifically, this is what I finally persuaded the old hag to approve. It’s the building of a radio tower.”
That only ramped up my confusion, “A radio tower?”
Karen nodded, “Yep. The old hag refused to see sense at first – kept saying stuff like the radio tower didn’t fit the ‘aesthetic’ of the town. But I convinced her that in order to keep Lavender Town to be more than just a sleepy old town that would be eventually forgotten, we had to modernize and start adapting to the new age.”
“Wait, back it up a bit. Since when were YOU able to make decisions like this?” I questioned.
“Oh, well…I guess for some time now?” She tilted her head, “You know the influence Agatha has on this town. She’d always told me that she’d do her best to allow me to inherit some of that influence. So she likes to float ideas to me from time to time – but she recently has involved me far more than she used to. Hence the radio tower.”
“But if I’m really going to fill in her shoes, then I’m going to have to actually fight my way into the Elite Four.” She said, “Currently, my position in Lavender Town is solely due to Agatha’s influence. But after I make it into the Elite Four, then I’ll have some actual political power to back up me up.”
“But would you try to follow in Agatha’s footsteps regarding the development of the town?” I asked.
“Eh. I think the fact that I’ve decided to build a radio tower is a good enough answer for that.” She replied, “Agatha was focused on protecting the town, and was content with the status quo. But I’ve seen what you’ve accomplished with Cerulean. I KNOW how far a city can be developed when you really put your mind to it. So I’m aiming for bigger things.”
“That’s going to be a personal project of mine after I make it into the Elite Four.” She said, her eyes blazing with conviction, “I’ve got a few plans that I really want to implement, but yes, I’m going to make sure that Lavender Town will be one of the major cities of Kanto in the future. THAT is my goal.”
I couldn’t help but smile, “I like it. I think you’ll do great with that.”
She returned it, “You know, Cerulean City isn’t that far away from Lavender Town. Maybe something to consider…?”
“Make it into the Elite Four first, and then we’ll talk.” I gently rebuked, “Don’t get too ahead of yourself.”
She nodded, “You’re right. Can’t put the cart before the Ponyta.” Then she swivelled her head towards me, “Say…now that you’re back, we should restart our training sessions. I want to get back into our own habits. I’ve already lost the once, but I don’t intend to lose again.”
THAT was the ambition that I wanted to hear.
“Of course. Feel free to come over anytime. I’m sure my parents and sister would be happy to see you over once again.” I replied, then I remembered something, “…Actually, I did tell Cynthia I intended to have her join in virtually with my training sessions. Would you be comfortable with that?”
Karen hesitated, but then a look of resolve came over her, “Yes, I’m okay with that. I think I’d like to meet her, even if it’s over the phone. And I don’t want to be seen as avoiding her.”
“I appreciate the effort. Especially since Cynthia said she wanted to meet with you too.” I told her, “Oh! And I nearly forgot Whitney said she wanted to battle against the two of us. Her and her friends.”
“Sure, I don’t mind. Do you mean right now?” I nodded, “Then sure, we can call her up. You know I could never turn down little Whitney.”
I chuckled and called up Whitney, where we quickly arranged to meet for our battle. Hearing that Karen was with me, Whitney asked again if we could have that 2v3 battle, and I easily agreed.
We then flew to Viridian City, where the trio had been training hard for their upcoming battle against Giovanni. They wanted to clear through Giovanni on their first try, but with the time gradually ticking down before the end of the circuit, they didn’t have much time left.
That was why I hoped that they could learn something from our battle – or at the very least, put them in the right mindset to face Giovanni.
We spotted the trio waving at us soon after we landed near the Pokémon Center. My sister was the first to rush up to me.
“John! You’re finally free! Let’s go lets go!!” She practically pushed me to the training fields. I allowed myself to be pushed along as Karen giggled and followed suit, before starting a conversation with Sabrina and Janine about something related to their Gyms.
“So, are how we doing this, sis?” I asked Whitney, “How many Pokémon for each side?”
“2 for you, 3 for us!” My sister replied, “We want up to train up our secondary Pokémon – so I think that’s fair.”
“Are you sure? You know our Pokémon are going to be stronger than yours, right?” I sought to confirm.
My sister patted me on the arm, “We have to challenge ourselves somehow – so don’t hold back! Just don’t use Tyrant or Vordt please; we won’t learn anything from that.” I nodded reassuringly, I wouldn’t turn this battle into a stomp.
Not long later, the five of us took positions on the training fields. We had luckily not yet drawn a crowd, but I was sure that once our Pokémon started battling, our disguises would easily be seen through. I could only hope there were no interruptions.
We didn’t have a referee, but it didn’t really matter. “ARE YOU READY?!” I shouted out to the other side. They gave us an affirmative shout back, and I traded knowing looks with Karen; we already knew what Pokémon we would employ.
“Then let’s go! Come, Zephyr!”
“Go! Crawdaunt!”
“Fight! Loudred!”
“Your turn, Starmie!”
“Ambush them, Ariados!”
On our side of the battlefield saw my Zephyr and Karen’s Crawdaunt facing off against a trio of Loudred, Starmie, and Ariados.
Recognizing the need to remove their numbers advantage, both Karen and I burst into action.
“Aqua Jet into Starmie, Crawdaunt! Smash it down!”
“Into the air and Tailwind, Pidgeot! Boost our speed!”
With a rapid flap of his wings, Zephyr formed a gust of wind that trailed behind both of our Pokémon, allowing Crawdaunt to burst forwards with an even greater rush of speed as he slammed into the Starmie, smashing a powerful Knock Off before Starmine could react with a Thunderbolt.
Loudred immediately tried to blast Crawdaunt away with a deafening Uproar, but a quick Air Slash from Zephyr managed to flinch it and draw its attention away. Unfortunately for us, Ariados moved too quick for Zephyr to catch it, and Ariados managed to prevent Crawdaunt from following up with a Night Slash by pouncing onto Crawdaunt and slashing down on his back with a critical X-Scissor.
Starmie tried to take this opportunity to free itself from Crawdaunt’s claws and retaliate with a Thunderbolt, but Crawdaunt recovered far quicker than it expected and surprised Starmie with a quick Dark Pulse from one its claws. Then Crawdaunt spun around and threw his entire weight into a devastating Crabhammer that hammered into Ariados’ side with, smashing the Bug away.
But not before the Bug managed to return a Toxic gift, badly poisoning the Crawdaunt.
“Commit to Starmie, Crawdaunt!” Karen ordered, recognizing the threat that Starmie posed to both of our Pokémon with its powerful Thunderbolts. The Tailwind came into good use once again as Crawdaunt rapidly closed the distance, slashing through an attempted Confuse Ray from the Starmie before snapping the Starmie within its dark-infused claws in a supereffective Crunch.
In the meanwhile, Loudred was continuing its long-range duel against Zephyr. But this was where the difference in speed came into play. Zephyr’s superior speed meant that, even if Loudred could hit hard, it greatly struggled to even land a glancing blow on Zephyr. All the while Zephyr continuously managed to chip away at Loudred’s health with his barrage of Air Slashes.
Now, I could have taken the risk to bring down Loudred by having Zephyr commit to a Brave Bird, relying on his aerial mobility to dodge out of the way of Loudred’s powerful sonic attacks. But I had a partner in this fight – so there was no need to take the risk.
Instead, I was going to have Zephyr practice fighting in a more supportive capacity – and to cause further chaos.
“Hurricane, Zephyr! Break up the battlefield!”
Zephyr let out an affirmative squawk and two large tornadoes began forming in the air, before they started to tear through the battlefield, splitting into halves. Loudred easily dodged out of the way, but the tornadoes kept going – and I saw the moment that Whitney’s eyes widened with alarm as she realized what I was aiming for.
“SABRINA, INCOMING!”
Sabrina’s head snapped to the incoming attack – but knowing what was coming and being able to do anything about it were two different things. With Starmie already in a terrible position trying its best to fend off an extremely aggressive Crawdaunt, it had absolutely no time to avoid the Hurricane that was tearing its way towards them.
Every attack Starmie tried was either fended off or interrupted by a swift attack from Crawdaunt. Its attempts to try to trip up Crawdaunt with a Grass Knot were disrupted as Crawdaunt easily punished the attempt with a flinching Dark Pulse. The only reason Starmie was still in the fight was because of the assistance from Ariados, where Janine made full use of Ariados’ mobility and range of disruption attacks to distract the Crawdaunt and prevent him from landing the finishing blow.
A String Shot here and there, followed up by the occasional surprise X-Scissor or Cross Poison prevented Crawdaunt from fully committing to bringing down Starmie. But Ariados was always forced to rely on hit-and-run attacks.
It was an ambush attacker, used to attacking rapidly in short bursts before scurrying away to safety. However, this was a fighting style that Karen had mastered, and with an almost instinctive level of understanding, she seemed to always know when Ariados was going to attack and retreat, and would always order Crawdaunt to respond accordingly.
Janine was visibly frustrated at this. But no more than Sabrina, who had a pinched expression on her face as her usual Psychic strategies utterly failed her at dealing with Crawdaunt. Especially because her powerful telepathy was being disrupted by Karen’s repeated use of Dark type moves.
And the situation for them was about to get worse as the two tornadoes suddenly cut through their fight, forming a deadly wall of wind that briefly isolated Starmie with Crawdaunt. It was only for a moment, but that was all the time Crawdaunt needed. Without Ariados to assist it, Starmie was completely unable to stand up to the ruthless pursuit of Crawdaunt.
“Night Slash, Crawdaunt! Finish it!”
“Recover, Starmie! BUY TIME!”
But with the Tailwind continuing to boost its speed, Crawdaunt never gave Starmie a moment to breath as it chased after the retreating Starmie and landed a flurry of Night Slashes that slashed and ripped through what remained of Starmie’s health, and a final Crunch clamped down powerfully into Starmie’s side, finally knocking it out of the fight.
But Crawdaunt had no opportunity to celebrate his victory as Araidos suddenly erupted out from the ground below, ambushing him with a critical Dig that threw Crawdaunt off-guard. Ariados capitalized on this by following up with a merciless X-Scissor, landing a deep cut that was a direct critical hit on Crawdaunt.
“PAYBACK, CRAWDAUNT!” Karen tried.
“UPROAR, LOUDRED!”
Dark energy rapidly gathered within Crawdaunt, but just as it reoriented itself to retaliate with a brutal Payback, a sudden blast of sonic energy came crashing in from the side, launching the badly damaged Crawdaunt spinning through the air, before collapsing limply into the ground, knocked out.
Whitney had realized that Crawdaunt was currently the bigger threat to her team, and chose to take an opportunity where Zephyr needed to circle around to support her friends and take out the rampaging Crawdaunt.
That left the fight in 2v1. With my fresh Zephyr against a wounded Loudred and Ariados. Despite their numbers advantage, their greatest counter to Zephyr, Starmie, had already been knocked out of the fight. And neither of their remaining Pokémon were very suited to dealing with a fast and nimble Special Attacker that was Zephyr.
If this was a real fight, I would have continued to pepper them both down with Air Slashes, making full use of Zephyr’s mobility to just wear both Pokémon down. Ariados had no good ranged options available, and Zephyr had already proven that he was easily able to dodge Loudred’s sonic attacks.
But I wanted to see just how far I could push the trio. So I committed.
“Set up, Zephyr! Boost yourself up and get ready to dive!”
I saw Whitney’s eyes narrowed at me as she understood what I was going for. In reply, I raised a single finger, indicating that I would give her once chance to fight back. She nodded and ordered the attacks from Loudred to stop and instead to brace itself for what was to come.
The three of us waited patiently as we all stared at Zephyr, waiting for his Agility and Work Up boosts to finish up. As soon as he did, I made the order.
“DIVE! BRAVE BIRD!”
Zephyr let out a screech and shot down like a missile, blitzing through the air with such speeds that my eyes had trouble following him. I had rarely been able to witness Zephyr at his fastest like this, since most opponents would not dare allow Zephyr to set up to the max like this. At such a state, I believed he could easily have reached the level of my more powerful Pokémon.
But for now I focused on what Whitney and Janine were going to do. Interestingly, I saw Sabrina step in close to them as well, her eyes flashing a shining blue as her Psychic powers went into overdrive. Was she tracking Zephyr using her Psychic senses?
As Zephyr dove down like a meteor, Loudred stepped forwards, its legs apart to steady itself, and it closed its eyes and took a deep breath. Then, its eyes snapped open, and its opened its mouth as wide as it could as it unleashed an ear-shattering Uproar that caused the air to physically vibrate and distort around the sheer power of its sonic waves.
But it must have known that the attack wouldn’t be enough, even after it dedicated every last scrap of energy into it. Its eyes and fists clenched as it began to bellow out even louder, turning up the intensity of its attack even further as it demanded even more power from itself.
And this seemed to be a catalyst for Whitney’s Pokémon. Its desire to grow stronger was so overwhelming that Loudred’s entire body began to glow white. Its figure morphed and grew as the signature light of evolution surrounded it.
A second later, and an Exploud appeared on the scene. Its earlier Uproar had transformed into an overpowering Boomburst, and the raw explosive power of its sonic attack even managed to cause the trees surrounding us to sway and their leaves to be ripped off their branches.
But Zephyr was unstoppable. Even with Exploud dedicating everything into turning its Boomburst into the most powerful attack possible, Zephyr had endured past stronger attacks than that.
He had trained up against the likes of Vordt and his supereffective barrage of Rocks, and had to endure against the likes of Drake’s Kingdra. For all of Exploud’s dedication, it was not at the level that could bring Zephyr low.
And so Zephyr came crashing down, smashing through Exploud with his unstoppable Brave Bird and silencing the explosive Boomburst once and for all.
But Zephyr had not come out unscathed. The recoil damage and the devastating sonic attack had left him disoriented and reeling – and I was pretty sure he was now deaf. Yet he still had the presence of mind to take off into the skies again, narrowly dodging out of the way as Ariados failed its Ambush with a Dig.
Without needing me to command it, Zephyr then spun around in the air and smashed Ariados with a supereffective Wing Attack before it could scurry away, putting the bug in the ground and ending the fight.
It was our victory.
However, before I could speak up and congratulate Whitney on her evolution, my eyes snapped towards the sound of someone clapping.
“What a fight!” Giovanni walked up to us with a small smile on his face, politely ignoring the shocked expressions on ours. “I came out here wondering who was causing such a ruckus with their battle, and here I find a few familiar faces.”
“Ehehehe…Sorry, I might have gotten a bit carried away.” Whitney apologised sheepishly as she rubbed her head.
“There’s no need to apologize, I wanted a break away from my work anyways.” Giovanni replied with a shake of his head, “You must be training up for our battle, aren’t you?”
The trio all nodded their heads, “Well I think that’s excellent. And if I could be honest-” Giovanni was about to say more before he realized the growing crowd that were starting to gather around us.
His face turned into a grimace, “On second thought, let’s move this conversation indoors. I have a meeting area in the Gym, if you all don’t mind following me?”
The trio shook their heads and walked after Giovanni. I joined in after them after sharing a look with Karen to make sure that she didn’t have something urgent she needed to go to. She didn’t, so the two of us followed up after them.
It was only after we entered the break area did Giovanni speak up again, “Sorry for not saying this earlier, but I really wanted to introduce someone to you.”
Sabrina must have detected who Giovanni was referring to, because her eyes snapped towards one of the doors. On cue, the door opened, and in came a very nervous looking Silver.
“Um…hello?” He mumbled, looking nervous and completely overwhelmed by all these strangers.
But Whitney seemed to have taken an immediate liking to Silver as she broke out into a friendly smile, and started patting the empty spot next to her on the couch. Giovanni, Karen, and I all shared a knowing look as we saw this.
Oh boy. Here we go.
A.N. AND the reunion between Karen and John finally happens. Fortunately, both parties are mature to understand what was happening and resolve things in a mutual manner. They will be staying as close friends. Of course, their relationship has now changed slightly, but that might be for the better.
And yes, Whitney gets an Exploud! At last! Unfortunately, they weren’t going to win against John’s Elite-level Zephyr and Karen’s almost-Elite level Crawdaunt. Hope you liked the battle.
Comments
The Tallest Tree
Good training for Whitney and friends
