The New Normal - 16-18 - INTERLUDE - POKENET REACTIONS

The New Normal – 16-18 – INTERLUDE – POKENET REACTIONS

[A SURPRISE BATTLE?! CYNTHIA AND STEVEN BATTLE AGAINST JOHN AND ELESA!? THE CHAMPIONS FIGHT ONCE AGAIN!] By Battlecast

[Pictures of the battle. Tyrant, Metagross, and Garchomp are featured most prominently]

Despite their positions as being the strongest trainer in a region, everyone should know that it is very rare for a Champion to actually participate in a battle. There are political reasons for this, even if we here at Battlecast personally disagree with those reasonings. But because of how infrequently they battle, it is always extremely exciting when the Champions do take to the battlefield.

Hence why it was even more so when both Champion Cynthia and the newly ascended Champion Steven decided to fight against the winner of the first Pokémon World Tournament – Elesa and John. And judging by the shocked looks on both of the winners’ faces when the battle was announced, they must have been as in the dark as we were about their upcoming battle.

And what a battle it was! Even if it was only a 2v2, we ended up seeing some really cool Pokémon in action. Not only did both Champions send out their starters out onto the battlefield, but Cynthia even decided to show off her new Kleavor – the first time she’s ever used in a public battle.

Needless to say, this alternate variant of a Scizor really proved that it wasn’t only a match for Scizor’s already incredible strength, but it might even surpass it. Those stone axes that it wielded were certainly hitting really hard, and Kleavor made it look easy when it swiftly took down Elesa’s Electric types.

On that note, it was a little sad to see that Elesa wasn’t really able to have an impact on that battle. In her previous battles during the Tournament, while she had been on the backfoot before in terms of raw strength, she was generally able to overcome that gap by making use of her better speed and supporting capabilities. However, it looks like both Champions weren’t holding back at all, because they really showed just how outmatched Elesa was compared to the both of them.

This writer doesn’t blame Elesa for her quick defeat. And for those who think otherwise, do remember that she was facing off against two Champions. There is never any shame in losing to that.

Yet, in the end, the battle really came down to John trying to face off against both Steven and Cynthia simultaneously… and his Pokémon really just refused to lose.

Even though we had seen Tyrant in action before, and many are familiar with his Champion-level strength (as demonstrated when he managed to defeat Emperor in a 1v1), the very fact that he nearly took down both Metagross and Garchomp was jaw-droppingly extraordinary.

This is a battle that you really have to watch for yourself to be able to understand just how incredible that feat was. Even our veteran analysts were losing their mind – to think that a Pokémon could be so strong that it almost managed to win against two Champion-level Pokémon simultaneously. That’s not a feat that’s ever been seen before.

So while John may have ‘lost’, and he did seem a little disappointed that he did so, for the rest of us with actual common sense – we here at Battlecast are pretty sure that this should be counted as a victory.

What did you all think of the battle? Were you there to see it live? Let us know in the comments!

Comments

ANormalFan

SO CLOSE!!! ONE OR TWO LUCKY CRITICIAL HITS AND TYRANT WOULD HAVE WON!! IMAGINE THAT! A TRAINER SO STRONG HE COULD WIN AGAINST TWO CHAMPIONS AT ONCE!

TangelaThoughts

*Two Champions’ starters at once. Don’t forget that fighting 2v2s and fighting their full teams are a very different story. Let’s not overexaggerate.

Still, I’m not made of stone, I too was cheering my lungs out when I saw Tyrant fighting. With neither of his opponents holding back, this really was them going full force to try and take down Tyrant, and they nearly failed. My word. Tyrant was truly like a Legendary with that performance.

GeneralistGeneral

All hail the king.

FearTheRat

Praise be Tyrant. May his strength bless your own Normal types.

ANormalFan

Praise be. I’m already in the process of erecting a shrine of you in my own home. Please bless my Pokémon.

FutureAce

Anyone else think that this battle was slightly demotivating? I mean, no offense to the battlers, but seeing how strong their Pokémon were kinda reminded me about how weak I am in comparison. And for someone who wants to eventually join the Elite Four one day… I don’t think I’ll ever be able to reach that level of strength.

FlyingHigh

I understand where you’re coming from, but try not to be too deterred. They are Champions for a reason. Yes, I am including John in that list. I think this performance just completely cements the fact that treating him as a mere Elite Four would be doing a massive disservice to everything he’s achieved so far. So that level of strength is not the standard you should be comparing yourself to.

If I were you, I’d study people like Flint, Volkner, Bertha, Glacia, and Phoebe. Those are more ‘realistic’ levels of strength for an Elite Four.

ElesaFan

Boooo!! Why did the Champions target down Elesa?! Did they not want an Unovan to show off a good performance?! They really didn’t give her any chance to shine!

Luckily John managed to make up for that humiliation! I really like what he’s done in this tournament overall – he’s gained a new fan!

UnovaNo1

Obviously because they wouldn’t dare to allow us ‘newcomers’ to show them up. If Elesa had actually managed to do well against their Champions, then it’d make them look bad. And they would never allow that.

GeneralistGeneral

Let’s not be so cynical. I think Elesa did as well as could be expected. After all those battles she had already fought in during the Tournament, it isn’t really hard to identify her glaring weakness – her Pokémon’s frailty. And trainers like Cynthia and Steven aren’t about to ignore such an obvious flaw.

Amoogus

Welp. I guess we can at least say that Alder didn’t lose against some weak, random trainer. Clearly, he just lost to another Champion, which is nothing to be ashamed about.

DetectivePikachu

You idiots. John obviously threw the match to allow his ‘girlfriend’ and Steven to win. Could you imagine how bad it would be if the two Champions lost like that? So John was clearly ordered to lose the fight to make them look better! And you fools are too blind to see it! AS ALWAYS!

ILoveGoldenRod

Ignoring that guy as usual… But how is Lance not sweating his ass off after that kind of performance? Not only did John beat him in a 1v1 against Emperor all that time ago, but now he’s gone and done this? And his girlfriend’s a Champion too. Isn’t the man scared that John will try to make a challenge against him?

TangelaThoughts

If it was anyone else, then he probably would be. But by this point it’s pretty clear that John has no intention of making a challenge. I think he’s comfortable where he is right now.

FightClub

AND THAT LOSER MENTALITY IS WHY HE LOST! NORMAL SCRUB. NO SUCH THING AS A ‘CLOSE WIN’. THE NOOB LOST. NOTHING ELSE TO SAY.

SlugmaBalls

I bet you that Steven joined this battle because he wanted to show off his strength, but he ended up nearly losing to John. LOL! Imagine if he did lose though; that would be so embarrassing.

FearTheRat

Nah not really. He proved that his Metagross was of equal strength to Cynthia’s Garchomp, which shows that he’s no lesser than his Sinnoh counterpart. I think that’s more than enough.

And if you remember Steven’s battle against Wallace, Metagross already failed in a 1v1 against Milotic anyways. His true strength was always lied within the flexibility of his full team, not just a singular Pokémon. Same for Cynthia, actually.

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[JOHN AND ELESA WIN THE POKÉMON WORLD TOURNAMENT! AN ANALYSIS OF THEIR FULL RUN!] By Battlecast

[Edited highlight reel of their best moments during the Tournament]

The favourites have done it! After an intense battle against both Karen and Iris, and ignoring the battle against Cynthia and Steven as that will be the subject of a separate article, John and Elesa successfully proved that their strategy of utilising a fast supporter and a strong attacker can really dominate a battle.

Even though many thought that their victory would solely rely on John’s own actions, anyone with eyes could see that Elesa managed to play an integral part of their shared victory. And in the final battle against Karen and Iris, she really proved herself to be an effective supporter as her Pokémon both served as an annoying distraction and also sacrificed themselves in order to boost up the stats of John’s Pokémon – allowing them to carry the fight.

Furthermore, it was really nice to see just how much Elesa had improved over the course of the Tournament, as she visibly became more and more comfortable with fighting alongside her partner and holding her own ground.

However, fun fact, our viewers may be interested to know that over the course of the entire Tournament, John has actually ended up facing off against all of the other Indigo Elite Four, and has managed to beat and surpass them all. In fact, and those who were paying close attention would have spotted this, he actually faced off against Lorelei, Koga, and then Karen in order.

While this isn’t proof of anything, since the battles were 2v2s and not full 6v6s, it could be a useful data point for an evaluation of John’s relative strength compared to his colleagues… if you for some reason don’t count the battle against the Champions. Honestly, this writer believes that the latter should be proof enough of where John stands in the pecking order.

At the very top.

But in celebration of their victory, we will go over some of our personal favourite moments during their full run of the Tournament…[Click here to continue reading]

Comments

FearTheRat

I swear, the League better host more of these big world-wide tournaments in the future as well. They can’t just give us this and then tell us that it’d never be hosted again. This was so hype! I didn’t think they would be able to surpass the previous Tri-Regional Tournament, but I was so wrong. MORE PLEASE!

FutureAce

SO TRUE! The fight just ended and I’m already sad that we’re not going to get any more! This really has been the best week or so for any Pokémon fan like me! PLEASE GIVE US ANOTHER WORLD TOURNAMENT!!!

ANormalFan

THERE WE GO! THE INEVITABLE HAPPENED! THE VICTORS WERE LOCKED IN FROM THE VERY START! THIS IS WHY YOU NEED TO BE A FAN OF JOHN!

KantoRepresent

Excellent victory. As befits an Indigo Elite Four. We could never allow anyone to show us up.

UnovaNo1

Good job Elesa. Unova deserved to win. Let none dare say that Unova is any weaker than the others. In fact, this proves that we’re stronger!

ILoveGoldenRod

The fact that you the two of you are partially in sync with each other is concerning.

ElesaFan

So so so so PROUD of Elesa! Let this silence her critics! Just because she’s a supermodel and a Gym Leader at the same time doesn’t mean she’s any lesser of a trainer! Her doubters have just been proven wrong! Hope to see more of this from her in the future!!

Iris4Champion

So close for Iris! She really deserved that trophy – can’t believe it was ripped away from her at the last moment like that…

Hasn’t John won enough already?! Why did he need to deprive the most worthy trainer of her deserved trophy!?

GeneralistGeneral

Yeah I was rooting for Iris too, but I wouldn’t say she was the most ‘deserving’ candidate. I think she was the fan favourite by far, and seeing her defeat trainers that are supposed to be so much more experienced than her has been super exciting, but John and Elesa deserve that trophy as much as she does.

GroundedForLife

But wait, what do the winners get for winning again? Is it just the trophy?

FlyingHigh

There’s a monetary reward as well. But… it really isn’t a lot. I guess they spent most of the budget on hosting the Tournament itself.

Not that the winners should mind all that much. Neither Elesa nor John are going to be strapped for cash anytime soon. Especially when you consider their other careers.

DarkManager (Verified POG)

Boo! Shame on you for winning! That trophy was ours!

Jokes aside, congratulations. I had a feeling from the very beginning that you would be the one to beat us.

RaisingDragons (Verified POG)

Yeah! Congrats to you both! It was really exciting battling against the both of you! Even though Karen and I didn’t end up winning in the end, this has still been really fun! Not only that, I’ve learnt a lot from everyone too!

Thanks to everyone for the good competition! I really hope we do this again!

DragonKnight (Verified POGChamp)

As expected. Well done, John. Now the rest of the world will realise that you’re a ‘Champion’ alongside me.

Personally, I felt like this was something they should have acknowledged a long time ago. But better late than never, I suppose.

SeaDrake (Verified POG)

Bah. I’m mad at myself for losing and missing out on the finals. The both of our teams in a showdown for the trophy would have been fucking amazing!

But that’s just me being an old grump. I’m happy for Iris. Always nice to see an up-and-coming Dragon trainer with so much potential.

SpiritedWriter (Verified POG)

Congratulations on behalf of the Unova Elite Four. Elesa, seriously, well done. I think all of Unova will be looking at you with a new light now. I look forward to seeing how you’ll capitalise on your victory.

And John… keep up the good work. Being at the top can be a burden in it of itself.

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[THOUGHTS ON THE NEW REGIONS?! What do the public of Unova say about their new neighbours?] By Unova Today

Now that some time has passed since the introduction of the New Regions to us citizens of Unova, and given that we’ve all had time to experience the new inventions, cultures, and people that the New Regions have brought along, we here at Unova Today felt like it was a good time to host an opinion poll about our citizens’ thoughts on these newcomers.

Originally, many of the civilians we interviewed were leaning between a mix of ‘cautiously optimistic’ and ‘wary concern’ in regards to the newcomers. However, now that the World Tournament has come and gone, our recent round of questioning has revealed that there has been a shift in public perception.

Amongst the trainers that we interviewed, Ace Trainers especially were particularly happy with the discovery of the New Regions. They state that the inclusion of all the many new Pokémon, the Pokédex, and the recently implemented PSS system, were all big quality of life improvements for them. Furthermore, for those who have spent time overseas, those trainers all state that there was very little, almost none, of the discrimination or disdain that they initially expected. At least for trainers, nobody cares about where your place of origin was.

They mostly credited the success of the Pokémon World Tournament for this positive attitude.

We also managed to speak to a few Gym Leaders and Elite Four too, who said the following:

“I think that the New Regions have done their hardest to show us their sincerity.” Gym Leader Burgh said, “They’ve clearly tried to demonstrate that they do value us, and want to include us into their ‘group’. Otherwise they wouldn’t have hosted the World Tournament in the way that they did. And I can say for certain that this attitude is reflected in the Gym Leaders and Elite Four. At least with those that I had interacted with, we can see they consider us no different from anyone else.”

“John has always gone on and on about his future plans and how he wants to better integrate Unova with the rest of the New Regions.” Gym Leader Elesa, and winner of the Pokémon World Tournament, stated, “He’s told me many times about how hard everyone worked to spread the idea of internationalism in order to create the international community that now exists today. And he wasn’t the only person that I spoke to – others shared his view too. Because of that, it’s impossible for me to see their intentions as anything less than genuine.”

“Amongst my colleagues, I believe I was the most wary of the New Regions’ intentions to us, considering that we were the newcomers. However, while I still insist on remaining cautious, my stance has shifted.” Elite Grimsley said, “Now, I believe that our new neighbours’ desire for friendship should be welcomed as a boon, for it will help us to integrate quicker and more effectively with them. In that respect, I welcome further collaboration between our regions.”

How about the rest of you? What do you all think about the New Regions, now that enough time has passed to form a solid opinion? Are many of you still wary, or are you more accommodating of them now? Let us know in the comments below!

Comments

Amoogus

While there are still some sore spots, I’m happy with how our regions have interacted thus far. Like many others, I was cautiously optimistic, so I’m very glad to see that they’ve surpassed my expectations.

UnovaNo1

I have always said that the discovery of the so-called ‘New Regions’ has been nothing less than a disaster for Unova. The fact that we now have enemies proves that our time of peace has come to an end. We should not be welcoming them with open arms, and certainly not as friends. Instead, we should be more alert than ever.

Mark my words. Their friendly intentions are merely disguising the knives they hide behind their backs.

ElesaFan

Because of John’s partnership with Elesa, I’ve done a lot of digging on John’s past so that I could learn more about him. Initially, I was only interested in his history as a trainer, but I’ve come to appreciate just how much he’s done to shape the current geopolitical landscape of our world. Literally, so many things have happened because of his ambitions. And with the benefit of hindsight, I’m kind of glad that he was the one to take charge.

Therefore, I trust John and his intentions for Unova. I know he’ll be a major political factor for us going forwards, but I’m confident we’re in safe hands. He wouldn’t mistreat us.

Iris4Champion

Champions often serve as reflections for the region that they represent. That’s why it was so concerning for me that Alder was, and continues to be, Champion of Unova. For many years now, I know I’m not alone in my opinion when I say that Alder’s reign as Champion has been mixed, to say the least.

And contrast that to the Champions of the New Regions. All of them filled with young blood, and each of them burning with ambition. Even Lance, who has come from a clan that is historically known for its pride and arrogance, seems to have tempered that significantly and not allow such historical ‘traditions’ to taint his rule. Their response to the recent crisis during the Day of Calamity should tell you enough about their convictions and sense of responsibilities.

Furthermore, I’ve paid careful attention to how these Champions have interacted with those from Unova in the past, especially when in person. They’ve never looked at us with anything less than sincerity, and there is certainly no disdain. I highly doubt they harbour any malicious intent towards us.

TangelaThoughts

I know I’m not able to speak for the majority, but it heartens me to see this kind of positive reaction to our regions. Personally, I know many of us are hoping to see our regions form strong bonds of friendship between us, so it’s good to see that some bridges have already been built.

I look forward to our regions working closer together in the future as well!

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[NEW ARTICLE ADDED TO THE REGIONAL UNION: LEAGUE OFFICIALS ARE NOW APPOINTABLE FROM ANY REGION!] By The Indigo Post

[Picture of the signing ceremony. Lance and Lorelei are in attendance]

For those who have not been following the political scene in recent times, the implementation of this Article into the Regional Union, likely buoyed by the massive success of the Pokémon World Tournament, serves as a demonstration of the shift in geopolitics. It cements the recent push for internationalism, opening up all of our three regions for even closer integration and cooperation.

For clarification, the new Article allows for any League Official position in Indigo, Hoenn, and Sinnoh, to be taken up by any person from any of the regions, assuming that they have sufficient qualifications for that position. And a ‘League Official’ consists of any official public position within the respective League, which also includes Gym Leaders and Elite Four. Notably, the position of Champion is an exception to this, meaning that you will have to be a native of the region if you want to ascend to become Champion.

Of course, those from Unova will notice that your region is absent from all of these discussions. And while we are not privy to the internal conversations between the higher level League officials, we see no reason why Unova would not eventually be able to join in on the Regional Union as well. The League’s recent actions have all shown that they are more than willing to extend a welcoming hand to Unova as well.

What do you think the consequences of this new Article will be? Do you approve of its implementation, or do you lament it? Let us know in the comments!

Comments

TangelaThoughts

Not surprised that such an Article was enacted into the Regional Union. Given how things were heading, it was really only a matter of time.

But overall I’m in favour. Right now, I think the political climate and leadership is suited for such a radical change. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that the public trust in their leaders is at an all-time high. So I really doubt there could have been a better time for this.

FlyingHigh

^Big agree. I know some might try to fearmonger and say ‘what if there’s a war’ – but the whole point of implementing these policies is to greatly reduce that a regional conflict would ever break out in the first place. After all, when your regions are so closely integrated, why would there be regional tensions to begin with?

So I can’t wait to see our first few foreign appointments!

NotTooMuchWater

Well, Steven is definitely going to be happy about this one. It’s an open secret that he’s been waiting to appoint Bruno to the Elite Four. Now with this Article in place, I can feel that the announcement is going to come any minute now that Bruno will be appointed as a Gym Leader or something before he makes a direct challenge to the Elite Four.

Wonder who he’s going to challenge? Probably Sidney or Glacia, given that he has a positive Type matchup against them.

SlugmaBalls

Nah. Bruno isn’t some coward. He’s not going to be satisfied if he doesn’t challenge himself to the fullest. If and when he does make that challenge, he’ll either target Phoebe or Drake. Phoebe, because her Ghosts ‘supposedly’ counter his own, or Drake’s, because he’s Drake.

PunchingBag

AND BRUNO WILL WIN NO MATTER WHO HE FIGHTS! FIGHTING TYPES HAVE NO WEAKNESSES!

KantoRepresent

What a disaster this was. I can’t believe something as shortsighted as this could be approved. You can’t trust any of these foreigners to lead us. They will just stab us in the back in the end, just watch!

ILoveGoldenRod

Okay, Bruno might be looking like the first foreign Elite Four member to be appointed, but who do you guys think will be the first foreign Gym Leader to be appointed? We’ve had that policy in place for a while in Indigo, and yet we’ve still not gotten one.

Amoogus

Will be looking at the developments in your regions with keen interest. I’m really curious to see how this new policy turns out for you guys, and if it goes well, then maybe Unova could join in on it in the future too.

SlugmaBalls

Oh shit, did anyone see what Drake just said?! Link

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[DRAKE MAKES A CHALLENGE! BRUNO ACCEPTS!] By Battlecast

[A video clip plays. Steven was just finishing up with a press conference regarding the implementation of the newest Regional Union Article when Drake suddenly pushes his way onto the stage and takes over the microphone.

“Bruno. I know you’re there watching this. So let me keep it simple. If you want to earn your place into the Hoenn Elite Four, to prove yourself worthy of being the first foreign Elite Four member ever appointed, then you shall have to go through me. I will test your strength, your determination, and your resolve – to see whether you deserve to be the first foreign Elite Four member to be appointed. Prove to the world that you have what it takes to best me. I shall be waiting.”

And then he walked off the stage without any further elaboration. Steven looks completely flabbergasted, and the video clip ends there.]

We immediately went over to interview Bruno about his response, and all he had to say was this:

“I accept.”

Comments

NotTooMuchWater

…The gauntlet has been thrown down.

TangelaThoughts

Wow. Didn’t think Drake would go and do something like that. But then again, he is Drake, so I probably should have expected it.

Notably, Bruno isn’t actually eligible to challenge the Elite Four yet, though I doubt that would be a problem for long. I expect some political shenanigans to happen in the very near future so that Bruno can meet Drake’s challenge. I really wonder who wins here.

DragonPower

An easy victory for Drake. Bruno was a fool to accept the challenge.

PunchingBag

An easy victory for Bruno. Drake was a fool to challenge him.

FlyingHigh

Wow. The two of you posted at the exact same time. That’s actually incredible.

StageChampion (Verified POG)

Whoever wins, I approve! This is the kind of flair and posturing that I like!

SeaDrake (Verified POG)

That’s right! No matter who wins or loses, let’s give the public a fight to fucking remember, Bruno!

OnePunchMan

Indeed we shall.

A.N. This marks the end of Arc 16 – ‘Unity’. And now there’s been a short timeskip since the Pokémon World Tournament is over, as you can tell by the discussions in the chapter. This chapter also serves to set up the events for the next arc, so I hope you enjoyed!

As always, massive thanks to those who have stuck with me so far in the story, even with the recent delays in uploads. Your support is always appreciated, and encourages me to keep on writing despite my busy-ness. So cheers!