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The New Normal - 3-11

The New Normal – 3-11 – Aftermath

“Elite John, thank you for your efforts here.” The Officer Jenny told me as she approached me. Even while speaking to me, she was looking around and inspecting the unconscious criminals and their Pokémon. I could tell that, despite her best efforts to conceal it, she was taken aback by the sheer number of criminals and Pokémon lying unconscious on the ship.

“It’s not a worry, Officer, thanks for coming by so quickly.” I said with a nod.

“Yes, but we defini...

The New Normal - 3-10

The New Normal – 3-10 – An Afternoon in Olivine

I found myself sitting down at the same coffee shop that I was at the first time when I was waiting to meet Karen at the lighthouse. I was wearing an outfit akin to the tourist getup that I wore in Hoenn, and I donned a fisherman’s hat to hopefully conceal my identity. So far, it seemed to be working as no one had approached me yet for my autograph or photo.

It was a few days after Karen’s exciting announcement about D-Zigzagoon’s transformation, and I got...

The New Normal - 3-9 - Interlude - Agatha

The New Normal – 3-9 – Interlude – Agatha

She gazed upon her wrinkled and frail hands with a solemn grimace. For all of her achievements as a trainer, age was not something that she could stop. Time continues to pass, unheeding of your wishes.

If she was honest, her age was one of the main reasons she was so bitter and spiteful. She hated feeling powerless to stop the steady march of time; and she detested and, admittedly, feared being weakened by her growing age.

As each day passed, she knew her time...

The New Normal - 3-9

The New Normal – 3-9 – A New Horizon

I sat down curiously with the rest of my family as we all silently watched the news. Apparently, Sinnoh was currently in the process of being brought into the fold and the Indigo League is looking to see if they will be opening their borders for Indigo trainers and citizens.

Though the report said that the opening of Sinnoh’s borders was not going to happen anytime soon, both for trainers and Pokémon. However, the Indigo League proudly announced that they have already c...

The New Normal - 3-8

The New Normal – 3-8 – Scientific Discussions

It’s been two weeks ever since my tumultuous meeting with Giovanni, and a fire seems to have been lit under the Indigo political scene. Of course, despite the turmoil, I was pleased with the way things were going.

For one, my idea to get Giovanni to publicly fight against Team Rocket was paying off with greater dividends than I expected. After all, my main intention was to just force Giovanni into becoming enemies with Team Rocket so he couldn’t sit on the fen...

The New Normal - 3-7 - Interlude - Lorelei

The New Normal – 3-7 – Interlude – Lorelei

Her uncle may have thought of her as an incompetent fool who is unable to even run the Gym that he gifted to her, but even this ‘incompetent fool’ could read the writing on the wall.

Pryce was in trouble, and his hold on the title of Champion was slipping away from his grasp.

Oh, when she was on the telephone with him the other day and expressed her concern about his ability to stay as Champion, he scoffed at her and denounced her for fearmongering and be...

The New Normal - 3-7 - INTERLUDE - Pokenet Reactions

A.N. As I stated on my discord, as I won’t be here on Monday, the chapter is instead coming up today. No future chapters will be affected.

The New Normal – 3-7 – INTERLUDE: Pokénet Reactions

[GYM LEADER GIOVANNI SEEN FIGHTING AGAINST CRIMINALS! FULFILLS HIS PREVIOUS PROMISES!] by the Indigo Post

[Image of Giovanni patrolling the streets of Viridian City and arresting criminals]

A few days ago, Gym Leader Giovanni held a press conference where he denounced the recent crime wave ...

The New Normal - 3-6

The New Normal – 3-6 – Confrontations

It was afternoon the next day that I found myself on the phone looking for Giovanni once again; I had spent the morning distractedly training with my Pokémon. I slept restlessly the night before as I tossed and turned in my bed worrying about what was going on with Team Rocket and Giovanni.

Petrel said that Giovanni would be here today, and if he didn’t pick up this time, I would personally make my way to Viridian and forcefully try to find out what’s going on.

The New Normal - OMAKE - The Mother

The New Normal – OMAKE – The Mother

Everything was burning.

She grabbed onto her child and carefully made her way through the forest, moving slowly and carefully, making sure that none of the burning trees would accidentally fall onto them.

In the distance, the screams and anguished shouts of the dying men and women reverberated around the forest before they were cut short by another breath of fire. The humane part of herself wanted to run in and help them, to drag whoever she could find out of the burn...

The New Normal - EXTRA - League Government

The New Normal – League Government

Champion

· Directs policy and sets overall direction of Indigo by making proposals that need to be accepted by a committee of high ranked League officials.

· Can sit on the committee and have a large, but not majority, vote to select and appoint Gym Leaders and Elite Four members.

            o The committee is ultimately the one that decides who to appoint and can
     &nbs...

Custom Abilities?

In 3-5, John mentioned beginning to start training his Pokemon on custom abilities, specifically Reckless on Zephyr (Pidgeot), and Guts on Tyrant (Slaking). What are your thoughts on this?

To clarify: Custom abilities are abilities that still exist in the Pokemon canon, but are not normally available to that pokemon in the games. For example, Reckless on Pidgeot. Or Guts on Slaking. Both are abilities that exist, but normally cannot be found on those specific pokemon.

The New Normal - 3-5

The New Normal – 3-5 – Catching up

As I was flying back on Port, I suddenly remembered that I had promised Smough his berries for his victory against Drake’s Gyarados and almost forgot to fulfil my end of the deal. Obviously not wanting to go back on my promise, I took a quick detour away from home and landed at Celadon City so that I could hopefully bulk buy some berries at the Celadon Department Store.

Over the years, I’ve learnt that while Smough was certainly a big eater, he wasn’t really a picky ea...

The New Normal - 3-4

The New Normal – 3-4 – Lance

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

However, I let that thought pass and breathed in and out to stabilize myself. I understood and accepted that this was the burdens of responsibility for being an Elite Four member, and that there would be hectic periods like this that I would have to deal with in the future as well. 2023-05-05 12:11:07 +0000 UTC View Post

The New Normal - 3-3 - Interlude - Giovanni

The New Normal – 3-3 – Interlude – Giovanni

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

The New Normal - 3-3

The New Normal – 3-3 – Unpleasant Discoveries

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

After our family hug was over, I was almost immediately pestered by questions about how I was doing from my parents and demands for training from Whitney. I begged off the both of them and told them, since it was getting late and I hadn’t actually...

The New Normal - 3-2

The New Normal – 3-2 – A Chilly Conversation

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

No, after my victory over Drake and with my bolstered relations ...

The New Normal - 2-19 - Interlude - Lorelei

The New Normal – 2-19 – Interlude – Lorelei

Lorelei knew accepting the title of Gym Leader of Mahogany was a mistake, even before all of the backlash occurred towards her uncle, Pryce. She knew that she was certainly unqualified for this prestigious role, but she was going to do her best running the Gym anyways. It’s just too bad that the public, justifiably, weren’t willing to put their trust in her just yet. Or ever.

She supposed she could redeem and prove herself over the next circui...

The New Normal - 3-1

The New Normal – 3-1 – The Return

While I was travelling in a much more luxurious boat than the one that I was in when I first came to Hoenn, I spent some time reflecting over my trip to Hoenn and the goodbyes that I had to make in the past two days before my departure. It really was as busy as I expected it to be.

To start with, I was able to speak to Drake after he apparently got annoyed and flew off midway during his interview and asked him if there were any problems that he anticipated regarding his most ...

The New Normal - 2-19 - INTERLUDE - Pokenet Reactions

The New Normal – 2-19 – INTERLUDE: Pokénet Reactions

[DEVON CORP TO SET UP NEW INDIGO BRANCH IN VIRIDIAN CITY! Is this the start of something special?] by The Indigo Post

Dear readers, just moments ago, Devon Corp and Gym Leader Giovanni of Viridian City have made joint announcements announcing the establishment of a new Devon Corp branch office that will be set up in Viridian City! Interesting enough, they both openly thanked our newest Elite Four member, Elite John, for being a vital intermediary to facili...

The New Normal - 2-18 - Interlude - Giovanni

The New Normal – 2-18 – Interlude – Giovanni

Giovanni sat back and watched the re-run of John’s winner interview against Drake. He was being truly genuine when he gave his congratulations to John about his victory, and he was very pleased to see that John wasn’t someone who let their anger guide them into making bad decisions. He wasn’t lying when he said that John’s decision to not announce Pryce’s failings at the moment was the correct one.

Also, he was very shocked and surprised to see that Joh...

The New Normal - 2-18

The New Normal – 2-18 – Victory Ceremony

After the conclusion of our battle, I was barely allowed to bask in my victory and give Vordt a nice tight hug before I was quickly escorted away from the arena and asked to make my way onto the stage.

I had wanted to speak to Drake and thank him for a battle well fought, but the League officials insisted that there would be time to mingle later and that it was more important for me to give a winner’s interview. At least they allowed me to heal my Pokémon before the...

The New Normal - 2-17

The New Normal – 2-17 – Vordt’s Finale

Unfortunately, I had to wait for Drake to send out his Salamence before I was allowed to switch Pokémon. I patiently stared at Drake as he withdraws his Flygon. For once, Drake’s expression was one of genuine surprise, and he seemed to not be able to comprehend what had just happened.

He gazed intensely at Flygon’s Pokéball before he shook his head and put it away, before looking up and giving me calculating look while fiddling with a Pokéball on his waist. We b...

The New Normal - 2-16 - Interlude - Lance

A.N Seeing that it has been about a month since I set up this Patreon, I would like to thank all of you for your support for my work. It really means a lot to me.

As we have recently reached a new milestone of 50 Patrons, I would like to show my appreciation for your continued support with this Omake. I will endeavour to write more like this in the future – hopefully averaging at one bonus Omake per week. I hope you enjoy.

The New Normal – 2-16 – Interlude - Lance

Lan...

The New Normal - 2-16

The New Normal – 2-16 – Wrath vs Gluttony

Sitting through the forced commercial break was an exercise in patience, and from my booth I could see that Smough wasn’t happy with the forced break either. He was repeatedly pacing up and down and fidgeting with his hands, and since he wasn’t allowed to do anything that would be seen as suspicious, he just had to stand there idly while they fixed up the arena and until the commercial break was over.

He wasn’t even allowed to take a quick nap! Because otherwise...

The New Normal - 2-15

The New Normal – 2-15 – Here be Dragons

“AND WITH THAT DOUBLE KNOCKOUT, WHICH POKEMON WILL OUR TRAINERS BE SENDING OUT NEXT?!” The announcer boomed out, “LET’S COUNT THEM DOWN NOW!...THREE!”

As I distractedly listened to the countdown, I quickly contemplated which Pokémon I would be sending out next.

With Blastoise already knocked out, that gave me the reassurance I needed to send out my Pidgeot, Zephyr. Also, I was still fairly certain that Drake would leave his biggest threats for the latte...

The New Normal - 2-14

The New Normal – 2-14 – The Man Who Sailed The World

I barely felt the twenty minutes pass by as I sat there in the waiting room fiddling with my Pokémon’s Premier Balls. And I almost didn’t hear the voice of the League official telling me that it was time to go.

I wasn’t nervous, no, I had gotten over my nervousness a few hours ago. Now, I just wanted to prove to the world that I deserved to be here, that I deserved to be a member of the Elite Four alongside the rest of them. I wanted to use this batt...

The New Normal - 2-13

The New Normal – 2-13 – The Hoenn Elite

The next few days flew past as I spent most of the time talking with my family, celebrating Karen’s victory with another light training session with her uninjured Pokémon, and planning for my battle against Drake. Overall, it was an enjoyable week of just routine training and preparation, with some moments of relaxation scattered about and just enjoying Hoenn like an actual tourist should. Sadly, we made little progress with the egg, but I was going to worry about that lat...

The New Normal - 2-12 - INTERLUDE: Whitney

The New Normal – 2-12 – INTERLUDE: WHITNEY

Whitney took another look through her notes as she allowed her Miltank to rest for a moment from her training. She wanted to make sure that she was training Miltank properly and that she was focusing on the things John told her to focus on.

Speaking of John, she knew that he was doing some cool things in Hoenn. She watched on the news that he won a big battle against the Normal Type Gym leader of Hoenn. She couldn’t remember his name, but he had a Slaking too! Of c...

The New Normal - 2-11

The New Normal – 2-11 – Karen vs Wattson

The next day, I somehow found myself seated in the audience stands in the Mauville Gym. As I blinked away my confusion, I recalled that I had apparently overslept and nearly missed Karen’s match against Wattson. Fortunately, and slightly degradingly, I was forcibly dragged out of my room by an impatient Karen to the spectator stands.

I didn’t even realize I was so tired when I went to bed last night. Perhaps I had slept restlessly the previous night because I was t...

The New Normal - 2-10

The New Normal – 2-10 – Preparations

The next morning, I spent some time checking over the egg with Klee in my room to try to see if there were any differences that could be found with the dark energy infusions. Sadly, there still hadn’t seemed to be any progress made yet, but at least Klee informed me that the egg was still growing up healthily and that the Zigzagoon inside remained safe.

I had hoped to spend today just relaxing and training with my Pokémon and Karen’s, but those hopes of another peacef...