The New Normal - 16-13

The New Normal – 16-13 – Interviews

With our victory over Lorelei and the psychic twins secured, we had secured our final place in the Top 4, and it didn’t take long for the remaining pairs to be decided.

Besides us, Karen and Iris, Flannery and Koga, and Crasher Wake and Marshal had also made it to the Top 4.

Incredibly, that meant that amongst the remaining teams, only Indigo and Unova had members of their Elite Four remaining in the Tournament. All of the Elite Four members from Hoenn and Sinnoh had been knocked out of the fight. In fact, the only remaining Sinnoh member was Crasher Wake, while the only remaining Hoenn member was Flannery.

Furthermore, three Elite Four members from Indigo were somehow still in the fight. I didn’t think that had anything to do with the other regions being weak, or that this was somehow a sign that Indigo was the most powerful region amongst everyone. I personally just felt that there was a whole lot of luck involved, mostly due to the matchups that were randomly assigned.

Of course, I knew that this likely wasn’t going to be what the public would think. They would probably try to make this out as some kind of sign that Indigo was superior to the other regions. It wasn’t.

Speaking of the previous battles, I had been heavily rooting for Brock (and I’m sure Karen had been doing the same) for him to win against Crasher Wake and Marshal. However, he was unfortunately unable to clinch the victory, as Marshal’s Pokémon were just a little too strong. Not only that, but Marshal and Wake didn’t fall into any of the traps that Brock and Bertha had tried to set up.

Bertha made a valiant attempt to salvage the fight by utilising the raw defensive prowess of her Pokémon – to the point even Crasher Wake, with his type advantage, still struggled to break through her team – but it wasn’t enough in the end. Brock had gone down quite early in the fight, and Bertha had slowly been overwhelmed by the combination of both Marshal and Wake’s Pokémon.

Still, it had been a honourable defeat, and I felt that Brock seemed quite pleased even though he had lost. That made sense; he did make it into the Top 8 after all, and so he had more than proved himself already.

On the other hand, while I definitely had the most emotional connection to Brock’s battle, and the battle between Janine and Koga was tense and exciting, I couldn’t help but think that the battle between Karen and Iris against Drake and Burgh had been the most interesting to watch.

I obviously knew that Iris had the potential to grow into becoming the Champion of Unova, and that she was already immensely talented, but I never really had a clear idea on just where she stood in comparison to other Dragon specialists.

Therefore, her duel against Drake was eye-opening. It was clear from the beginning that Drake still outmatched her in almost every respect, but that was to be expected. Drake was the far more experienced trainer, after all.

Admittedly, Karen was the one who carried the fight. Her Dark types had rapidly taken Burgh out of the fight, while also managing to neutralise and cripple Drake’s powerful Dragons. But even then, her starter Haxorus being able to briefly hold its own against Drake’s Outraging Salamence without immediately breaking was already an insanely impressive feat given her young age.

Browsing the Pokénet, I could see that many, especially those who were very familiar with just how strong Drake was, were stunned at the fact that Iris’s Pokémon were able to buy any amount of time against Drake’s.

From the subsequent discussions, many saw this as a sign that she was already on her way to surpassing even the likes of Drake in strength. And that she would only need a few more years before she would become as strong as someone like Lance.

Not only that, her performance in this battle had caused Iris’ popularity to skyrocket, garnering her an enormous online following from people all around the world.

Before, her popularity was mostly limited to Unova, given hat she was the youngest Gym Leader there to be appointed. However, now people from all around the world were cheering for her success due to her outstanding achievements and performance in the Tournament thus far.

Many were even hoping that she would win the whole thing – that the Pokémon World Tournament would serve as the foundation for her ascension into the Elite Four, or even beyond.

And considering that Iris and Karen were about to face off against Crasher Wake and Marshal, we were about to determine who will be the last remaining Unovan representative in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Elesa and I would be facing off against Koga and Flannery.

The moment I saw that, an errant thought had sprung to mind as I realised that there was potentially an incredible opportunity laid out in front of me.

I had just defeated Lorelei, a member of the Indigo Elite Four. I was now about to face off against Koga, another member. And assuming that Karen won her fight alongside us, which I had full faith in her that she would, then our final opponent for this tournament would be her – the last and final member of the Indigo Elite Four.

So if I won against all of them, that meant that I would have defeated every single member of the Indigo Elite Four on my way to the top.

It would be a symbolic demonstration to the public, which would serve as ‘proof’ for them that I was undoubtedly the strongest trainer in Indigo, second only to the Champion. That would be a very useful reputation to have for me going forwards, especially with the ambitious plans that I have.

But I didn’t let that excitement distract me from my preparations, and for (hopefully) the second last time in the tournament, Elesa and I put our heads to the grindstone as we worked out a plan for taking down Koga and play around the many, many tricks that he undoubtedly had up his sleeve.

Last time we battled I had triumphed over him, but that was partially because the battle conditions didn’t suit his style of battling. Previously, we had fought in three separate 1v1s, which denied him much of his tactics – and that wouldn’t be the case in our upcoming 2v2.

With that in mind, I made sure to inform Elesa extensively about the different methods that Koga liked to use to take out opponents. Considering that we hadn’t faced off against a Poison specialist for the entirety of this Tournament, and coupled with the fact that Elesa wasn’t actually used to facing off against those since there were no notable Poison specialists in Unova, it meant that I really tried to be diligent with explaining everything I could about how Koga fought.

It wasn’t just enough to study their previous battles in the Tournament, I even had to show her footage of Koga’s challenge against Will for the position of Elite Four as well.

And if there was one thing I really had to drill into her mind – it was that his Crobat was not something she could beat with raw speed alone. No matter how fast her Electric types were, his starter was simply faster.

However, even before the battle could take place, the final four all had to attend a joint interview. No one really wanted to do it, since everyone would much prefer to have the extra time to focus on their preparations, but the Sinnoh League insisted that it was necessary.

We all groaned and complained, but ultimately we all acquiesced. After all, the whole point of the Pokémon World Tournament in the first place was to help bridge relations with Unova, so giving an opportunity for us to speak with the public would definitely help with that.

Cynthia explained that it would be best if we could show that the leaders from all regions were able to get along amicably.

I did understand the logic, but I just preferred to be training.

Nevertheless, we were all ushered into one gigantic press conference that had a sea of reporters attending, with many having come all the way from Unova. As the final four teams took their seats, cameras and microphones from all angles were pointed directly at us, ready to pick up on our every response.

Meanwhile, the reporters were unable to sit still, many already leaning forwards as they looked ready to bombard us with questions.

One reporter at the front was given the lucky honour of starting.

“This question is for those who come from Unova.” He began, “This is your first time spending time away from your home region. I know many were asked about your first impressions coming into Sinnoh, but now that you’ve spent more time here, have your thoughts changed?”

“I’ll answer that.” Elesa spoke up first, “I think I grew used to it, and I see why many people have come to love this place. At first, I thought the cold was annoying and uncomfortable. But once you spend enough time here, your body naturally adapts, and then it’s not so bad. Not only that, but colder weathers means people tend to wear more clothes here. And as a fashionista, that means having more material to experiment with. So I quite like it, actually.”

Another reporter got their chance to speak, “Then my next question is for Marshal – the sole remaining member of the Unova Elite Four. Now that you’ve had the opportunity to speak with and fight against many of our own leaders, what are your thoughts about the strength and capabilities of our own Gym Leaders and Elite Four? Does it compare to those back in Unova?”

“From the very beginning, I have never looked down on your strengths. In fact it was quite the opposite – after that show match in Unova, I knew better than to be dismissive after we were defeated that day. And this Tournament has only reinforced those views.” Marshal replied, “Every single Gym Leader and Elite Four member that I fought against was worthy of their position and title, and it was very interesting to explore how trainers that shared the same speciality would fight in different ways. There was not a single bad apple amongst you. And that is worthy of praise.”

“However, I am equally proud of our own Unovan participants.” He continued, “Out of the remaining top 4 teams, there are three members of Unova present. So it is pleasing to see that just because we’re the newcomers onto the international stage, our strength is no lesser than your counterparts.”

That was a bit patriotic of him for him to say, but not unexpected. Unova was definitely in a weaker position in terms of geopolitics, due to the fact that they were the newcomers and didn’t have the established connections that the rest of us had. So performing well here would really help bolster their image.

Then the next reporter asked their question, “Next question is for Gym Leader Iris. As one of the youngest participant in the Tournament, yet still managing to make it into being in the final four teams, what do you think of the opponents that you have beaten? Do you think your victories were easy?”

“Not at all.” Iris shook her head, “I know many in Unova like to put labels on me – claiming that I am some generational talent, or a ‘genius’. These same people like to overstate my strength, claiming that I am just a few good battles away from making it into the Unova Elite Four. But if you’ve actually watched my battles during this Tournament carefully, you will see why I am not deserving of such labels, and how far I still need to go if I want to achieve my full ambitions.”

“Karen might deny it, but I fully believe that she deserves a majority of the credit for our victories.” She stated firmly, “If it wasn’t for her, I definitely wouldn’t have made it to the top 4. So I’m very glad that she was one of my first foreign friends. Even after this Tournament is over, I definitely hope that our friendship can be maintained into the future.”

“Do you think that such a friendship can really last even over such long distances?” The same person prodded her.

“Of course; why wouldn’t it?” Iris tilted her head, “Distance is no obstacle to friendship, especially not with someone as kind-hearted as I’ve known Karen to be. We may be from different regions, but I will ensure that this will not be a hinderance for our friendship. I’ve already given her an open invitation to come over to Unova whenever she wants.”

That got a nice and friendly reaction from everyone, with many nodding in approval with how well Iris had articulated herself. Even when faced against such a large group of strangers, she didn’t stutter at all and seemed to be her usual self – which said a lot about her confidence.

The reporter nodded, “Do the others feel the same way about your own partners?”

“Definitely.” This time it was my turn to speak up, “I’ve had this conversation with Elesa before, but I’m very thankful for the opportunity that this tournament has provided to allow me to connect more with my peers from Unova. My time in Unova had been brief and very hectic, so I had sadly not had much of an opportunity to forge many strong connections while I was there.”

“However, this tournament has allowed me to rectify those errors.” I continued, “After working and fighting alongside Elesa for the last few weeks, she has proven to be a highly competent and interesting partner. And given that she has a very distinct and unique fighting style, it was a very interesting task to try and adapt my own Pokémon to best supplement her strategies.”

“Honestly, that’s what I found most fun about this Tournament too.” Elesa added, “Most of the Tournaments that we used to hold back in Unova usually had their participants fighting alone. So being paired up here was an unique experience, but also one that made me broaden my own horizons with my Pokémon and their moves. For example, thanks to John’s advice, I was able to really drill my Pokémon into learning support moves – something that I had neglected to do in the past because I didn’t think it was necessary.”

“So would you hope that another such Tournament is hosted again in the future?” Another reporter asked.

“Yes, definitely.” Elesa nodded firmly, “Even though this Tournament can be pretty stressful at times, it is undeniably the most fun I’ve had in a long time. Fighting powerful trainers equal to your strength is always a pleasure. So I would love for there to be another Tournament like this in the future. Maybe one could be hosted in Unova too.”

“So do you think that this Pokémon World Tournament has been a success so far?” The same person asked.

“Are you kidding me? Of course it was a success.” Elesa replied, “In fact, I’m willing to bet that every person here would easily agree with me that fighting together like this has helped us understand that people from Unova, Sinnoh, Hoenn, or Indigo – we’re really no different from each other. I know that many from Unova were understandably wary about the introduction of an entire new set of regions. But I can wholeheartedly say that there is nothing to worry about. All of the leaders I have met and spoken with in this Tournament are people that I know I can trust. That they are people who will not undermine Unova purely for their own interests. They are better people than that.”

“And I can say the same for those from Unova.” I quickly followed up, “We might have had to deal with a few bad apples, but I can confidently say that those people are not indicative of the people of Unova. The Unovan leaders I have met have been nothing less than friendly and welcoming, and are people that I would be more than happy to be friends with.”

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(Burgh POV)

At first, he had been admittedly worried about his partnership with Drake. Drake had a known reputation for being crass and rude, and was clearly not someone that was interested in the arts. Therefore, he had been worried that their partnership was doomed to fail from the very beginning.

However, it turned out that he had judged Drake way too harshly.

The very first thing the man had said to him was this, “You’re an art guy, right?”

“Yes…” He said slowly, not knowing where this conversation was going.

“Fine. I don’t understand fucking shit about art, so I can’t pretend to like it if you ever start talking about it.” Drake said gruffly, “But we’re partners now. And I intend to win this whole tournament. And I know I can’t do that if you and I aren’t working well together. So even though you and I like different things, let’s put all of that aside for now and just focus on fucking winning. I don’t care about what your reputation is or was like back in Unova – this is a chance for you to show off yourself to the wider world. I assume you’d want to do your best, so let’s skip over any fake small talk and let’s get right into it.”

In all honesty, it was just the thing he wanted to hear. There were many times back in Unova where people that wanted to suck up to him would try and feign their interest in the arts just to get on his good side.

He hated that. He hated their fake smiles and their false interests. But with Drake? There was no falsity.

This was a man who would tell him to shut the fuck up if he ever started going on one of his artistic tangents – but in an oddly respectful way, as if he wasn’t dismissing his interest, but telling him to stop being distracted and focus on the training.

That was why he had come to respect Drake quite a lot. He doubted they would be friends – their interests were still too different – but they were certainly friendly acquaintances.

Hence why he was genuinely disappointed in himself when he ended up losing that battle against Karen and Iris. He knew that their loss was mostly his fault; it was his Pokémon that Karen brought down first.

So he had apologised to Drake, knowing that the man could have gone further – or even win the whole tournament – if not for his failure.

But Drake didn’t let him brood for too long, “No need to apologise, lad. We all make mistakes.”

“But aren’t you upset that we lost?” He asked.

“’Course I am. I promised John that we’d be facing off against each other, and I broke that fucking promise.” Drake frowned, “But don’t get it twisted. I’m not mad at you. Because I saw that you tried; because I saw that you made a mistake, not out of negligence, but during the heat of battle. And I can’t and won’t fault you for that.”

“Don’t forget. I’ve spent weeks with you now. I know that you’ve been itching to run around and explore Sinnoh and search out more artistic inspiration for yourself.” Drake continued, “But you didn’t do that, even though I saw that you were almost fucking twitching to do so. Instead, you forced yourself to train with me, because you understood that you would be throwing me overboard if you ran off and did things by yourself. So I know how much effort you’ve been putting into the training. I’ve seen you work your ass off for the past few weeks. So no, I’m not mad at you for losing, for I’ve seen that you’ve put in the fucking effort. Just like everyone else.”

“…Thanks, Drake.” He had eventually said, feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, “…Say, me and the other Unova Gym Leaders might be meeting up soon. Would you like to join?”

“Heh. Are you sure you want an old man like me messing up your party?” Drake chuckled, “I don’t think you’d want a grouchy old man like me ruining things.”

“I assure you that you will be most welcome.” He insisted, “I’ve spoken about you a lot to them. They’ll be happy to speak more with you.”

Drake had pretended to grumble and complain, but he eventually accepted the invitation. That was why, a day later, they had all gathered together in a private room at a restaurant while watching the press conference being broadcasted on the television.

“It’s good to see Elesa doing so well for herself.” Lenora said, “I always thought that she was one of the more influential Gym Leaders among us. It’s good to see that she’s able to spread that influence overseas as well.”

“It seems like both Elesa and Iris had much to gain from this tournament.” Skyla agreed, “Any thoughts about who you think will win it all? Or do you think Marshal will?” She turned to the sole Elite Four member from Sinnoh that had joined them, “What do you think, Lucian? Do you think any member of Unova will be able to make it to the finals?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think Marshal will be able to win against Karen and Iris.” Lucian said, “On paper, it might seem like Marshal’s Fighting types will have the advantage over Karen’s Dark types, but those who are familiar with Karen know just how untrue that statement really is. Karen’s been training and sparring against John for a long time now, so her Pokémon have trained against bruisers that hit just as hard, if not harder, than what Marshal’s Pokémon are capable of. She’ll be ready for whatever he brings.”

“Hah! You got that right!” Drake barked out, “Marshal’s strong, but he ain’t stronger than me. If Karen managed to beat me and my Dragons, then I think Marshal’s out of luck too.”

“The Pokénet will lose their minds if Iris ends up beating Marshal, though.” He pointed out, “It’ll just add more fuel to the rumours that Iris is looking to enter into the Elite Four.”

“I’d reckon the little girl deserves it.” Clay chuckled, “About time the wider world recognises and acknowledges her talents.”

“You know, no one’s pointed out who will win between John and Koga.” Lenora said, “Any thoughts on that?”

“If Koga wins, it’ll be an enormous upset.” Lucian replied instantly, “Though… I suspect that has always been the case with Koga. He is almost never the favourite to win, but he pulls off upset victories regardless.”

“No, John won’t lose.” Drake shook his head, his voice filled with complete certainty, “And those who think otherwise just don’t know John well enough. He’ll make it to the finals, one way or another.”

A.N. One more ‘Intermission’ chapter before we get right back into the battles next chapter. As I was writing these chapters, I was still feeling that there could have been more opportunities for Gym Leaders and E4 from the different regions to interact with each other. And so I rewrote this entire chapter to include a lot more of the interactions, and also to show just how much the relations between Unova and the rest of the world has progressed. Hope you enjoyed!