The New Normal - 19-2 - Interlude - Roxanne

The New Normal – 19-2 – Interlude – Roxanne

(Roxanne POV)

“So… how much do you know about what’s about to happen?” Her best friend, Flannery, leaned in and asked her while they were walking over to the League building where the ‘big reveal’ was going to take place, “Did anyone tell you anything more about the Mega Evolutions?”

“I don’t know what you’re expecting from me. What kind of friends in high places do you think I have?” She deadpanned.

“I mean, didn’t John visit you not too long ago?” Flannery questioned, “I saw it on the Pokénet that he came over to your Gym while he was in Hoenn. Didn’t he talk to you about Mega Evolutions then?”

“No, he didn’t. We just caught up. Neither of us talked about anything serious.” She explained, “So I only know as much as you do about this.”

Flannery’s drooped her head, “Shame. I was hoping you would know more. The information that they leaked to tell us was already so interesting. I can’t believe that there are Pokémon out there with yet another evolution waiting to be awakened. Even if it’s temporary, that’s still so cool.”

She nodded, “Yeah, I really hope I can get my hands on a Mega Stone too. But… I really doubt it. Steven did emphasise how rare they were.”

But even though it was extremely unlikely, she really wanted to get her hands on a Mega Stone for her Golem – if one existed. Given the explosive burst of power that a Mega Evolution would provide, having her Golem be able to Mega Evolve would give her team another needed ace that would really help balance out her team.

A Mega Sudowoodo would be cool too.

They chit chatted for about this and that for a bit longer until they finally arrived at where the press conference was going to take place. They made their way to the very front, to where the Gym Leaders were going to be seated, and soon found themselves surrounded by their peers.

She made sure to greet Wallace first out of respect, giving him a polite nod before she made her way over to her own seat. But to her surprise, Wallace invited both her and Flannery to sit next to him, to which they graciously accepted.

“You girls excited about what’s about to be shown off?” He asked, “I honestly can’t believe that we’re about to have another paradigm shift in the world of battling. It still feels like yesterday that the Fairy type was just revealed to the world.”

Flannery nodded, “Mhm. But did Steven tell you about how much more powerful these Mega Evolutions are going to be? Do your Pokémon really gain as much power as they would in a regular evolution?”

“From what I’ve heard, yes – that’s probably the case.” Wallace replied, “Honestly, I don’t envy being in Steven’s position right now. The public’s going to go crazy when they find out about this. I still remember how busy I was when the PSS and the Fairy type got revealed; this is going to be as bad as that.”

“Wahahaha! You must be glad that you’re no longer Champion any longer, eh Wallace?” Wattson barged in with his signature laugh, “Say, did Steven or Devon Corp reach out to you and offer to hand you a Mega Stone? That’s what they did for the other Champions, so I was wondering if you were included.”

Wallace chuckled and shook his head, “Sadly not. Guess I’m no longer important now that I’m not Champion anymore. Alas, I am no longer in my prime.” He joked.

…That couldn’t have been any less true. Even though Wallace was now just a Gym Leader, there was no denying how many important businessmen or other politicians still reached out to him for advice and/or to make use of his influence.

It was only Wallace’s own self-imposed distance from politics that stopped him from continuing to dominate local politics in Hoenn. If he so chose, Wallace would be no less influential Steven.

Nevertheless, she shook off those thoughts as Steven made his way onto the stage, being flanked by all of the other Champions and John. Amusingly, she couldn’t help but feel that John deserved to be there, even though he wasn’t a Champion.

It was almost like the title of ‘Champion’ no longer mattered to someone like John. For all that the man had done, he deserved to be standing next to these Champions, even if he wasn’t one himself.

After they stepped up, many other Professors also joined them on stage – many of them were as renowned as the Champions themselves. Professor Oak especially got an enormous round of applause when he appeared, even though he wasn’t the star of the show.

Steven waited for the applause to die down before he began, “Thank you, everyone, for making your way over here. I’m sure you are all very excited to hear about what we’re about to announce, and I can promise you all that this will not be a waste of your time. In fact, I can guarantee that what we’re about to reveal today will change the very way you look at Pokémon battles in the future.”

“But first, before I make the reveal, I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to every member of the scientific community standing behind me.” He said, gesturing to them, “This discovery would not have been possible without them. And yes, as you can see by the calibre of the Professors gathered here, this discovery was only possible due to a long-term and rigorous collaboration between some of the best minds in the world. It is proof that if we look beyond the borders of our regions, we are able to work together to discover and build something truly remarkable.”

“However, that’s enough stalling from me.” He spread his arms out wide, “Trainers! Show them your newfound power!”

All of the trainers stepped forwards and released their Pokémon onto the stage. The crowd gasped as they took in the forms of their chosen Pokémon. For some, it wasn’t anything unusual – like Cynthia’s Garchomp or Steven’s Metagross – but for others like John, Lance, and Alder, many of them shot them curious looks as they sent out their Pidgeot, Altaria, and Manectric respectively.

…Since when did Alder have a Manectric?

But then those gasps turned to shock as a blinding bright light suddenly engulfed all of the arrayed Pokémon, causing all of them to reflexively cover their eyes. But as the light cleared, she heard a massive gasp from the audience as all of the Pokémon had completely changed their forms.

Even though she knew what to expect in advance, she was just as shocked as everyone else around her. Especially since this was her first time actually seeing these Mega Evolutions in person.

They looked absolutely majestic. Every single one of their appearances just exuded with power and strength. It was likely what every child envisioned a Pokémon’s final evolution to be.

If she didn’t know better, she would automatically assume that these were all of their Ace Pokémon. But they weren’t, though they didn’t feel any less powerful.

After allowing the hype to die down a bit, Steven then explained what these ‘Mega Evolutions’ were, and how they served as a temporary evolution for these Pokémon that were powered by something called a Mega Stone and a Key Stone – basically, everything that they already knew from the information packets that they were given.

But to the public, who weren’t privy to this information beforehand, they were salivating over each and every drop of information. The row of reporters behind them had all stood up and were leaning forwards so heavily that she was afraid that some might fall over entirely.

“…But you don’t have to hear it from me, let’s get straight into the demonstration—”

Before Steven could even finish, the bombardment of questions already began.

“What are Mega Stones?! How do you even get them?!”

“Is this possible for everyone?! Are all Pokémon able to do this?!”

“Why are there only Champions on stage?! Is this a power only given to those who share that title?! But then why does John have it?!”

“How could you keep something like this from the public! We should have been told about this long ago!”

“Is this process safe?! Are you sure we aren’t hurting our Pokémon in some way?! Are we not at risk of repeating the actions of PLASMA?!”

“Why is the evolution only temporary? Did our scientists fail at making something permanent?! Should more research have been done before revealing it to the world?!”

“Why are you the ones making the announcement?! Why aren’t the Professors doing it?”

…Yeah, if the reporters were already losing their minds like this, then the public was going to go insane over this.

This was absolutely going to be a shitshow.

A.N. I wanted to have an Interlude chapter during the reveal itself so that the in-the-moment reaction doesn’t get skipped over, and I felt like Roxanne was the best POV for this as a spectator. As you can see, the public is absolutely going to lose their minds over this, as expected. The fallout will be in the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed!