The New Normal - 15-9

The New Normal – 15-9 – Controversies

As we hoped, the opening of the Battle Frontier was a great success, with trainers from all three regions flocking to the newly opened Battle Area to check out the new facilities and experience the three Battle stages for themselves.

From the statistics that Cynthia told me after the first three days of opening, Palmer and his Battle Tower was unsurprisingly the most popular, as his was the most traditional of the currently available options. Also, there were apparently many Ace Trainers who thought they could ‘best’ Palmer, especially since he didn’t get a ‘public demonstration’ battle like Archer and Dahlia did, thinking that his veteran Ace Trainer experience was merely for show.

It was not. Palmer was a very formidable trainer, and he proved himself worthy of being in the position of a Frontier Brain. For those who managed to challenge him, none won.

Behind him in popularity were Dahlia and then Archer, as was expected given how unusual Archer’s facility was. However, it was good to see that even Archer’s more unorthodox battle facility was getting more attention than predicted. We weren’t exactly friends, but I still hoped for his success.

But events of the Battle Frontier aside, Unova had came out with a big announcement – due to the unanimous agreement of the Elite Four and Champion, they were strongarming the Unova Committee and successfully proposed for the opening of their borders to businesses from the New Regions.

Though the transmission towers hadn’t all been fully built up yet, from the reports that we received back, Grimsley had apparently stepped up to the plate and had taken up a more active role in politics. He rallied the Unova Elite Four around the idea that they had to grow closer to our regions and not allow themselves to reject the hand of friendship that we offered them.

That had been a pretty amusing titbit to find out; to know that we had made such a strong impression on him and the others.

However, it wasn’t all good news. Given that the Leagues were paying particular attention to PLASMA ever since Drake and I reported our suspicions on them, we had also received reports about how PLASMA were recently becoming more active – as they had been busy running around Unova and doing all that they could to spread their foul message to as many people as would listen to them.

They were obviously setting the stage for when Indigo, Hoenn, and Sinnoh were finally connected to Unova. They were preparing to take advantage of that large surge of attention during that initial period where most of the public’s attention would be on Unova to get their message out there and into the public’s minds.

And while I hate to give them credit for anything, on the surface level, their message seemed sound. Their calls for ensuring the happiness of Pokémon and not subjecting them to what they deemed as ‘cruel treatment’ wasn’t something completely radical or hard to accept. Furthermore, they also had a pretty clean reputation and a proven history of helping out Pokémon in need, given that they were a ‘proven’ philanthropic organisation, which had been taking care of Pokémon that had been abandoned by trainers and ensuring that they lived a healthy and happy life.

Of course, just because their message was ‘easy to understand’ didn’t mean that it was agreed upon by everyone. There were a very healthy share of critics who were sceptical about the claims that PLASMA were making, which was heartening to see. And they were nowhere near as entrenched or as trusted in the public’s psyche as Galactic Company were. That was probably why they were keeping their statements pretty tame for the time being.

They weren’t spewing any of their more radical nonsense like forcing trainers to release their Pokémon or what not – even though it was certainly implied in their statements. Right now, they were mostly just putting forwards questions such as whether the way we interacted with Pokémon was truly for the betterment of their happiness.

Still, I very much preferred if their message wasn’t at all being spread, but for now all I could really do was grit my teeth and bear it. Again, they hadn’t actually proven to have done anything wrong so far, and Unova would never allow us to interfere without any good reason.

Therefore, I knew that one day, I would have to head over there and crush them like we did with Team Galactic. I just hoped that they would make a mistake soon so that we could capitalise on that and get started on breaking them.

But that was a problem for later. Right now, I had been staying with Cynthia since I wasn’t formally called home, so I wanted to spend a bit of time with my girlfriend now that I was here. And we had been simply spending some time together in her room when we suddenly received a call from Steven asking us to watch the news.

We quickly moved to do so, the both of us sitting in front of the television as we listened to the newscaster report about an ongoing development in Hoenn.

“…And now the new Gym Leader Brawly of Dewford Town is under fire for appointing an Indigo resident as his Head Gym Trainer for the Dewford Gym. The trainer in question – Bruno – is far from an unknown quantity, having just recently fought and lost in the Hoenn Conference against his friend and employer, Steven. However, it seems that Bruno has not left quietly after his defeat, and has managed to find himself employed under Brawly as the Head Gym Trainer.”

“This decision has sparked a burst of criticism from several members of the public, who denounce Bruno’s appointment as a breach of regional sovereignty. They state that as the position of Head Gym Trainer is only second to the Gym Leader themselves, it should and must only be held by a Hoenn resident in order to ensure that the Gym doesn’t ‘succumb to foreign influences’.”

The news reporter went on to talk about how people were angry at both Bruno and, by extension, Brawly for making the appointment happen in the first place. Likewise, they were demanding that Bruno be removed from the position and for a proper Hoenn resident to be appointed instead.

I was extremely confused by this development. I had thought that the public had been pretty neutral about Bruno’s appointment, since it wasn’t as radical as appointing him as a Gym Leader. So I was completely baffled about where this backlash was even coming from when Bruno had already settled into the position for almost a week already. If there was going to be outraged, it would have taken place when Bruno initially took up the position, and not now.

I asked Cynthia if she knew, but she too just shook her head. We were both blindsided and confused about the situation.

However, for the time being, we simply placed our trust in Steven. We trusted him to sort things out.

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(Steven’s POV)

Despite his upcoming battle against Sidney in under a week, he knew that this was something that was worth taking the time out of his training to attend to.

And why wouldn’t it be, when he had purposefully set up the whole situation himself? This whole controversy was his own creation.

The reason he had done so was because he had realised that this was an extremely useful opportunity for him to exploit to further his goals. Like he had expected, Bruno’s appointment was not met with much controversy, which was obviously a good thing. However, now that Bruno had already proven himself capable, he wanted more of the public’s eyes on him. He wanted to purposefully show off his competency to the public, and the best way to do that was through a controlled controversy, especially when you could already predict the outcome.

As the heir to Devon Corp, it really wasn’t all that difficult to stir something like this up. It wasn’t even the first time their company had done something like this to intentionally drum up attention over a product.

There was no better marketing tool than a controversy. And right now, Bruno was merely another product of his to market.

Therefore, as soon as the incident had been reported, he was already at the Dewford Gym, where he privately met with both Bruno and Brawly. Bruno had already been informed beforehand of his plans, but Brawly was kept in the dark.

If this was the Bruno from the past, he likely would never have gone along with such a… ‘dishonourable’ scheme. But all of their lessons in politics have borne fruit, and now Bruno had a more flexible mindset. He now could understand the necessity of such actions.

So the two’s expressions couldn’t be any more different. While Bruno was calm and stoic as he always was, Brawly had his head in his hands as he scratched his head furiously. Signs of stress were also beginning to line his eyes, and the tapping of his foot betrayed his inner anxiety.

Brawly’s head whipped over to him as he stepped into the room, “Steven. I’m glad you’re here. What should we do about this? I know I shouldn’t be panicking about it, but I’m a new Gym Leader. I can’t let the Gym be mired in such controversy when I’ve just taken up the position.”

Good. At least Brawly wasn’t blaming him for this. It saved Steven from reminding Brawly the donation of equipment and Pokémon that he received as an… ’incentive’ to take on Bruno, and why they should remain as ‘allies’.

“Don’t worry, Brawly. This is actually an opportunity.” Steven said, keeping his thoughts to himself, “The news has, as always, overly dramatized just how much people dislike the decision. Bruno has quite the beloved reputation as being the pre-eminent Fighting specialist in the world, and they greatly respect his strength. There are many more who actually support and follow Bruno’s journey than those who are against his appointment.”

“Therefore, we just have to rally that support and demonstrate it to the public – that Bruno is not only well suited to be Head Gym Trainer of Dewford Town, but that the Gym has much to gain from that appointment.”

He turned to Bruno, “I hope you’ve sharpened your public speaking skills, because we’re going to need you to address the public. They’re going to have to see just why Brawly didn’t make the wrong decision in appointing you. I’ve already scheduled the press conference in an hour – that should give us enough time to run through what to say.”

Bruno nodded sharply, since he already knew that he was going to do this anyways. Meanwhile, Brawly looked shocked at having such a fast timetable, but he proved he wasn’t a Gym Leader for nothing as he quickly pulled himself together and started preparing his speech as well.

He helped out with that, having pulled out a list of ‘talking points’ that he had ‘prepared on the way here’. In reality, he had already prepared this well in advance.

Almost an hour later, he could hear the reporters arriving at the Gym, eagerly awaiting for their press conference to begin. Having already fully prepared, Bruno and Brawly stepped out and met the horde of microphones waiting for them while Steven remained inside – it was better for the public to not know about his involvement.

He watched out of the one-way window as Bruno stepped forwards, looking unbothered by the sea of cameras pointing this way. His eyes flicked downwards to the first reporter in front of him, causing the man to flinch backwards as he felt the full weight of Bruno’s stare.

“Ask your question.” He stated, no, demanded from the poor reporter in front of him.

The man nervously gulped as he was struck with fear, causing the reporter next to him to ask the question instead, “What are your thoughts about the recent scandal pointed your way? Do you think such comments are valid?”

“Of course not.” Bruno replied instantly, “The only thing that concerns whether someone should be hired upon as a Head Gym Trainer is their competence in administration and battling skills. What does my heritage or whatever else my critics are saying, have anything to do with that?”

“But some are saying that your foreign heritage would naturally make you ineligible to hold the position.” The reporter pressed, “Just as it would be for a Gym Leader—”

“Then whoever claims that is a fool.” Bruno interrupted harshly, “And such sentiments should be dismissed. Does a dojo decline an aspiring applicant just because they were born from the wrong region? No, it does not. It accepts any and all comers that proves themselves to be worthy of the position. Nothing else matters, and the same standard should apply to the Gym as well.”

“And Bruno is certainly worthy of the position.” Brawly cut in, “Despite only having served in this position for a short while, he has gone above and beyond what you would expect from a typical Head Gym Trainer. He has quickly been able to instil a strong sense of discipline into both trainers and Pokémon alike, and many of the other Gym Trainers already look up to him for guidance and as a role model and as a martial artist.”

“Are you saying that he could be more competent than you?” A different reporter challenged, “You’re saying that he is more worthy of the position of Gym Leader as you are.”

From where he was watching, Steven just rolled his eyes at this blatant attempt of trying to start drama. However, Brawly handled it well with his response.

“If I, for whatever reason, needed to temporarily step down from the position, I would feel comfortable leaving the Gym in Bruno’s hands.” Brawly responded, “And I do not believe that this sentiment would be opposed by any of my other Gym Trainers. Like I said, I am greatly honoured to be able to work alongside him, and there are things about training and discipline that even I am learning from him too. So I can say without a shred of doubt that he has already done much for the Dewford Gym, and has been vital in helping us set up our roots.”

“Therefore, I believe that to want to dismiss Bruno from his position merely because of his foreign background is the height of foolishness.” Brawly said firmly, “Bruno would be a valued asset for any Gym Leader to have. In fact, I could see him running a Gym by himself if need be. I would be greatly pleased to have him as a peer. I’m sure those who are familiar with Bruno’s talents would easily agree with me.”

Steven had instructed Brawly to add that last bit in on purpose; to explicitly highlight the Bruno and plant the idea into the public’s minds that he would be a viable and competent candidate as a potential Gym Leader.

The press conference continued on for a while, with more questions (though usually revolving around a similar topic) thrown their way as they tried to scrounge up something ‘juicy’ they could use for tomorrow’s headline. But overall, both Bruno and Brawly remained unfazed, and Brawly continued to list out Bruno’s great qualities for the public to listen to. As he hoped.

To wrap everything up, Bruno even offered to fight anyone who dared to question his competency, because there was nothing better to prove someone wrong than to beat them in a Pokémon battle. Of course, the battles would take place in the Gym, and it also served a double purpose in helping the Gym gain more prestige for each victory that Bruno would inevitably achieve.

Steven had full confidence in Bruno’s ability to win. After all, Bruno was only allowed to lose to him.

Therefore, after nearly an hour later, the press conference was finally wrapped up. But he knew that was just the beginning. Once the other Gym Leaders and Elite Four got involved with this conversation, as they inevitably would be, then he was very confident that the public would swing onto Bruno’s side.

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(John’s POV)

It was only after the press conference took place that Steven informed us that this had been his very own scheme from the very beginning. To say that we were shocked when he told us was an understatement.

...What a cunning guy. To think he could pull off something like this. In hindsight, maybe I should have expected it too.

Anyways, just like Steven had hoped, the press conference led to a big surge of support for Bruno and his appointment. And it got even better when the other Gym Leaders got involved as well. Not just in Hoenn, but also in Indigo and Sinnoh too.

We helped out there, as both Cynthia and I reached out to our connections and kindly requested for them to add their own input to the situation.

All of them were happy to do so, and as a result, there was an absolute flood of support from many prominent Gym Leaders from all across the three regions that all agreed that Bruno would easily make for a great Gym Leader.

I felt that Norman’s statement was the most powerful, “I have always said that the origins of a trainer matters not, even when they are being considered for something as prestigious as the position of a Gym Leader. And I will remain firm on that stance, as I too was not born in Hoenn – and yet have been given the position of Gym Leader of Petalburg regardless. A position which many agree that I have held competently and honourably for over a decade.”

“Of course, some may argue that my circumstances were different, as I had been a long-time resident of Hoenn and chose to live here after marrying my wife.” He continued, “Those are valid points, yet they already undermine the argument that this whole controversy has stemmed from. If the person has been judged to be of good character, ability, and standing, just like I was, then there is no reasonable argument to deny them the position of Gym Leader or otherwise.”

His statement found the most purchase in the public’s psyche, as many didn’t even realise that Norman wasn’t originally born in Hoenn. There were a few that suddenly turned on Norman after this realisation, stating that he should be removed from his position because of this, but they were ruthlessly shut down by the much larger horde of supporters that very much agreed with the point he was making.

This really helped Bruno’s case, as Norman was a clear example of a foreigner that ended up being an effective and competent Gym Leader.

Naturally, with Steven serving us up with such an amazing opportunity like this, it was only natural for us to capitalise on this. Therefore, not long after the press conference had finished, Cynthia had moved quickly to open up a discussion in the Sinnoh Committee to discuss whether Gym Leaders could be appointed from foreign regions as well. Normally, opening up such a discussion was just asking to get slammed down by all of the nationalists and traditionalists, but thanks to Bruno and Steven’s manufactured controversy, we had momentum on our side.

If that wasn’t enough, Steven also made his own declaration – stating that one of his main goals once he became Champion was to ensure that people like Bruno would be able to be appointed into leadership positions regardless of their regional affiliations. Some saw this announcement as very premature, given that he had still yet to win his first battle against Sidney, but others saw this as confidence.

I suspected that once his victories did start rolling in, his declaration would be met with much more sincerity and attention.

Because of this, the rest of the world was very interested to see the results of such a discussion. Lance and Wallace had also both expressed their interest to see what the outcome of this would be. And, at least internally, there were also talks about whether this kind of proposal could potentially become an Article in the Regional Union as well.

If it was, then it would be an enormous win for us.

Overall, it looked like the world was in for a large change – one that looked like it was going to reshape how politics would look like in the future.

A.N. It’s been some time since we had a fully political chapter, and I’ve been wanting to write something like this for a while now. Sometimes, big change can happen rather spontaneously, and this is one such opportunity. And I thought that it was only fitting to show off more of another aspect of Steven’s character (which isn’t directly related to his martial strength) that proves why he should be Champion.

And of course, between Bruno, Steven, John, and Cynthia and their respective connections, they’re able to muster up a lot of support on demand and are all incredibly influential people in the political world. Therefore, they’re able to really push this small controversy into something far larger and beneficial for them. Hope you enjoyed!