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The New Normal - 4-16 - Interlude - Lorelei

The New Normal – 4-16 – Interlude – Lorelei

To say that announcing her challenge to Walker for his position in the Elite Four was poorly received would be an understatement.

She knew that her reputation was poor, but she didn’t realize just how tarnished it was until she popped open the Pokénet one night after her announcement and saw the tide of criticism ...

The New Normal - 4-16 - INTERLUDE - Whitney

The New Normal – 4-16 – INTERLUDE: WHITNEY

“Use Rollout, Miltank! Win this for me!” She yelled out. Her Miltank mooed and obeyed as she dodged under a swipe of Tyrant’s arms and crashed into him with her Rollout.

“Transition it into a Brick Break, Miltank!” She directed.

“PROTECT!” Her brother yelled out in panic. 2023-07-31 14:20:07 +0000 UTC View Post

The New Normal - 4-15

The New Normal – 4-15 – Political Kindergarten

I awoke early the next morning as I quickly made my way to the Indigo Plateau on Port to attend the rushed committee meeting; I didn’t even have time to test out my new Porygon2, which I apologized to Pixel profusely for. While Lorelei’s announcement was not as momentous as Lance’s declaration to challenge Pryce and...

The New Normal - 4-14 - Interlude - Giovanni

The New Normal – 4-14 – Interlude – Giovanni

As he teleported away from John’s house, Giovanni’s mind was unable to focus on the politics that they discussed. John likely noticed that he had been fairly distracted during their talks on politics but was polite to not point it out, which Giovanni appreciated.

He settled down on his desk and poured himself an...

The New Normal - 4-14

The New Normal – 4-14 – An Upgrade

Ultimately, after a back-and-forth discussion between myself and Giovanni, we both decided on a potential course of action. With my limited influence in the committee, we both understood that I would not be the deciding vote here. Instead, we would rely on our influence with Lance, and his likely desire to try to appeal to his new El...

The New Normal - 4-13

The New Normal – 4-13 – A Lunch Date?

I arrived home after the match and found my parents were already eating dinner. Seeing that they had cooked a little extra, I joined them since I was still feeling a bit hungry. They had been watching the match on the TV, and they were appropriately excited about the whole thing and asked me a bunch of questions.

“The way ...

The New Normal - 4-12 - Interlude - Pokenet Reactions

The New Normal – 4-12 – Interlude – Pokenet Reactions

[LANCE WINS! WE HAVE A NEW INDIGO CHAMPION!] By the Indigo Post

In a stunning match between now ex-Champion Pryce and Lance, Lance came out on top and secured his new title as Champion with a convincing 6-3 win against Pryce! An unbelievably exciting match between the two trainers at the pinnacle of skill, ...

The New Normal - 4-12

The New Normal – 4-12 – A New Champion

I watched as Lance posed proudly as the announcer finally declared his victory. His expression was one of proud triumph, but there was still a hint of arrogance in there as if he thought that his victory was an inevitability.

Though, anyone who had just watched the match would probably think that his arrogance was well-dese...

The New Normal - 4-11

The New Normal – 4-11 – A Fight to the Finish

“ANND WITH THE ARENA FULLY REPAIRED, WE CAN GET BACK TO THE BATTLE!” The announcer declared to the sounds of cheers from the audience. “TRAINERS, ARE YOU READY?!”

Both trainers nodded. “BEGIN!”

“Dragonite, win.”

“Weavile, you have the advantage.”

Both Pokémon couldn’t be more ...

The New Normal - 4-10

The New Normal – 4-10 – Burn them all

We didn’t have to wait long before Lance sent out his next monster.

“Charizard, it’s your turn.”

Lance’s Charizard emerged from its Pokéball with a terrifying roar, sending out a huge plume of searing flames towards the sky and allowing small embers to descend onto the ground like droplets of fire. It looked...

The New Normal - 4-9

The New Normal – 4-9 - The Showdown

I sat down in the VIP viewing room for the Elite Four, overseeing the upcoming match between Lance and Pryce. Agatha sat down on my right, accompanied by Karen, who Agatha had invited into the normally exclusive room; the security guards hardly even batting an eye at her intrusion.

Even Walker, who I would have thought would hav...

The New Normal - OMAKE - The Hero

The New Normal – OMAKE – The Hero

As the young man finished placing his saddle onto his Dragonite, he turned to look over the cliff. In the distance, a large tribal city was located just below, as if it was being protected by a nest of cliffs and mountains. This seemingly innocent city was actually the powerbase of one of the most powerful factions of Johto, and one o...

The New Normal - 4-8 - INTERLUDE - Whitney

The New Normal – 4-8 - INTERLUDE – Whitney

Whitney finally arrived from Pewter City after she practically sprinted from her home, only to despair as she witnessed just how long the queue was to reserve a match for the Gym Battle. She cursed inwardly; John had warned her about this and even offered her to ride on his Mantine so that she could arrive earlier, but she wa...

The New Normal - 4-7

The New Normal – 4-7 – A New Journey

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the charity match against Giovanni was very well received by both the public and by the other leaders of Indigo. I was obviously very pleased by the outcome of the match, both with the victory and with the positive feedback that we got from it. We had raised more money than both of us expected, and we made a...

The New Normal - OMAKE - Ingame Snippets v2

The New Normal – OMAKE – Ingame Conversation Snippets v2

When speaking to John at Seafoam Island:

[“Blaine is an…impressive Gym Leader. I mean, what kind of guy watches his life’s work and Gym get destroyed by a volcano, and relocates everything to some cave in the middle of nowhere?”]

[“I’m not sure how 11-year-old kids like you are s...

The New Normal - 4-6 - Interlude - Shelly

The New Normal – 4-6 – Interlude – Shelly

Despite the hints that John gave her that he was working on a scientific experiment regarding Pokémon eggs, Shelly was still taken aback at WHAT John had truly been working on. The idea that there were still hidden, undiscovered forms of Pokémon that were just waiting to be discovered lit a fire under her, as well as almos...

The New Normal - 4-6 - INTERLUDE - Pokenet Reactions

The New Normal – 4-6 – INTERLUDE – POKENET REACTIONS

[GYM LEADER GIOVANNI OF VIRIDIAN CITY ANNOUNCES UPCOMING CHARITY SHOW MATCH AGAINST ELITE JOHN! ALL DONATIONS WILL GO TO THOSE INJURED AT OLIVINE AND THE REBUILDING OF THE PORT!] by The Indigo Post

Just moments ago, Gym Leader Giovanni made the exciting and very much welcome announcement that he will be host...

The New Normal - 4-5

The New Normal – 4-5 – Playing for the Crowd

Karen was expectedly very excited to hear about D-Zigzagoon’s successful hatching, and eagerly came over the next day to check up on him. As soon as she laid eyes on Ornstein, she immediately wanted one of her own. I promised Karen that as soon as Ornstein was able to lay eggs, we could redo the process with another Linoo...

The New Normal - 4-4 - Interlude - Lorelei

The New Normal – 4-4 – Interlude – Lorelei

Training to defeat a member of the Elite Four was much easier said than done. Especially when there was no one around to support you while you did so.

For the past week or so, her life has been an exhausting balance between maintaining her duties as a Gym Leader, while fervently training for her battle against Walker....

The New Normal - OMAKE - Ingame Snippets

The New Normal – OMAKE – Ingame Conversation Snippets

First time meeting, with John standing outside of a Pokéshop in Cerulean.

[“…Hey kiddo. Do you need some help beating the Gym Leader? Well, you can buy some of the Smith family Moomoo milk. They’re better than potions!”]

When defeated:

[“…Huh. Wow. You really do have...

The New Normal - 4-4

The New Normal – 4-4 – A New Member

If there was anything good that I could say came out of Lance’s challenge towards Pryce for the position of Champion, it is that us Elite Four members were basically on vacation until the whole thing blows over. Pryce didn’t even try to give orders towards the Elite Four, probably since he must have realized that he currently di...

The New Normal - OMAKE - GAMER POV

The New Normal – OMAKE – Pokemon Gamer POV

Eric was an 18-year-old university student who had recently bought the new Pokémon game. Normally, he would consider himself too old to play games like this, but out of nostalgia and procrastination to avoid doing any more uni work, he decided on a whim to try out the new game.

At least it got good reviews. This recent...

The New Normal - 4-3

The New Normal – 4-3 – Training and Preparations

“A show match? Between the two of us?” I repeated curiously to Giovanni.

“Yes, what do you think? I believe that it would be a great way to generate some more goodwill from the public, both towards us and towards Kanto.” Giovanni said.

“Well, yeah, sure, I’m on board.” I replied. “But why are...

The New Normal - 4-2 - Interlude - Mrs Smith

The New Normal – 4-2 – Interlude – Mrs Smith

With John out again dealing with who knows what, and Whitney in the fields preparing for her journey, Angela was alone in the living room with her husband, Jack, discussing business.

They had scoured through the numbers, and they were both very pleased with what they saw. The posters, for how little they cost, were ...

The New Normal - 4-2

The New Normal – 4-2 – Progress

I flew home after that conversation with Agatha. I did ask Karen if she wanted to accompany me so that we could get started on training immediately, but Karen had something to discuss with Agatha and wasn’t available. I accepted that and made my way out by myself.

It was already past nightfall as I got home shortly later, and I ...

The New Normal - 4-1 - Interlude - Pryce / Lance

The New Normal – 4-1 – Interlude – Pryce & Lance

Pryce sat alone in his office, staring blankly as the news droned on about Lance’s upcoming challenge against him, of all things. He didn’t understand where Lance had received all of his ill-found confidence to dare to challenge him for the position of Champion, the position that has, and will always, belong t...

The New Normal - 4-1

The New Normal – 4-1 – The Road to Champion

“I can’t believe that they’re still discussing the attack at Olivine, haven’t we caught all the stragglers anyways?” My mom spoke up at the lunch table as we all gathered to eat, “It’s already been a week and a half, surely we don’t to focus on all the doom and gloom.”

“I was surprised they weren’...

The New Normal - 3-13 - INTERLUDE - Pokenet Reactions

The New Normal – 3-13 – INTERLUDE: Pokenet Reactions

[TEAM ROCKET STRIKES AGAIN IN THE WORST ATTACK TO EVER HAPPEN TO INDIGO! MANY INJURED IN TERRIBLE ATTACK IN OLIVINE CITY! MANY TEAM ROCKET MEMBERS ESCAPED TO HOENN!] by The Indigo Post

[Collated pictures from the scene, including injuries suffered]

Unfortunately, today was almost one of significant trage...

The New Normal - 3-12 - INTERLUDE - Proton

The New Normal – 3-12 – Interlude: Proton

Proton entered the facility’s basement, which was surprisingly well-lit for a so-called ‘secret’ facility, with an unusually thoughtful expression on his face. He knew that he wasn’t one for circumspection, but even a self-proclaimed brute like himself realized that the meeting that was about to happen would require pl...

The New Normal - 3-11 - Interlude - Karen

The New Normal – 3-11 – Interlude – Karen

They had barely managed to save the port of Olivine, though it was undoubtedly in need of repair. Despite their best efforts to stop the plans of Team Rocket, having hundreds of Pokémon on a rampage is always a recipe for disaster.

She couldn’t even imagine thinking what the damage could have been if they weren’t ...