20-2.12.-23-2.14

Whitney took another look through her notes as she allowed her Miltank to rest for a moment from her training. She wanted to make sure that she was training Miltank properly and that she was focusing on the things John told her to focus on.

Speaking of John, she knew that he was doing some cool things in Hoenn. She watched on the news that he won a big battle against the Normal Type Gym leader of Hoenn. She couldn't remember his name, but he had a Slaking too! Of course, John's Slaking was much stronger, but it was still a cool battle to watch. She hoped that John was doing well there.

Although she didn't know why John had to go to Hoenn so soon, but she saw that daddy and mommy weren't that happy that John had to leave for Hoenn. She wanted to know why, but when she asked if there was anything wrong, they all denied it and said was that there was nothing wrong and that they're happy that John is doing so well over there.

Maybe this is one of those things that John keeps saying that she'll understand when she grows older; he said that it was something called 'politics'. She didn't like that explanation, but no matter how much she weaponized her pouts John refused to explain further, so she was forced to let it go. She had tried to think about it and figure it out by herself, but she just didn't understand.

She returned to focusing on her notes, her head hurt if she did too much thinking on 'politics', and she was still supposed to be training her Miltank. Whitney had set a strict schedule everyday for training her Miltank; she really wanted to impress John when he got back home! John had always told her that she'd be a powerful trainer like him one day, and while she didn't know where he got his confidence in her from, she promised him that she would live up to it.

Looking back at her Miltank, she could see that her Miltank was far more muscular than the other ones that were on the farm. Compared to the ones that the family used for Moomoo milk, her Miltank was larger, her muscles more obvious, and her posture was far less lazy. She was proud of how much progress Miltank and her have made together, and John has told her multiple times that she was way too strong for a trainer with no badges.

She hoped he was telling the truth; she couldn't wait until she got 4 badges and could explore and catch Pokémon from other regions.

Yet, she still remembers his repeated saying that there are always stronger opponents, and while she did find it annoying to hear that phrase over and over again, she understands that he's only saying it for her own good. She knew that, as strong as her Miltank was, she would stand no chance against any of John's Elite Pokémon, so she shouldn't get comfortable with her training.

"Mil, miltank?" Miltank suddenly called out questioningly and brought Whitney back from her distracting thoughts once again. She inwardly shook her head as she forced herself to refocus, she really shouldn't let her mind wander like this.

"Sorry Miltank, I was just thinking about a few things." She muttered out, "Anyways, we still have a bit of time in today's training session, so why not practice on your….Rollout!" She exclaimed and Miltank gave out an affirmative moo before curling up into a ball and rolling around the fields and practiced slamming into rocks.

As Whitney watched Miltank practicing her use of Rollout, she remembered that John had told her that it would be great if her Miltank got really good at using Rollout. She could still remember his teachings as she had made sure to write them down.

'Rollout is a very important and versatile skill for your Miltank to learn. It has both offensive and defensive uses, you can use Rollout to dodge out of the way of attacks, and also use it as a means of closing the distance between yourself and your opponent and get in range to land other attacks on them.'

'You can also use Rollout to quickly transition into another move. The most common example is going from a Rollout into a Defense Curl so you can dodge an attack and then boost Miltank's defenses. Similarly, you can go from a Rollout and use the momentum from the Rollout to transition into a powerful Body Slam. Be creative with it!'

With John's words in mind, Whitney tailored and adjusted her training with Miltank so that, instead of making Miltank constantly smash into rocks with Rollout to train its power, she got Miltank to practice transitioning from her Rollouts into her other moves.

She discovered quickly that Miltank found it difficult to transition from a Rollout into a Body Slam or a Headbutt, and she frequently lost her balance as she attempted to do so. Despite the difficulties, Whitney was actually somewhat glad that she found out that Miltank was struggling with this now, because at least she found out the problem now and could try to improve on it so that it wouldn't remain a problem when she actually started her journey.

Nearly an hour passed as Whitney and Miltank continued focusing on her Rollout. The more she watched Miltank use Rollout, the more she understood what John was trying to tell her. On paper, Rollout seemed very simplistic and wasn't a move that needed a lot of practicing, but it had so many different uses that Whitney was now more determined than ever to train Miltank into mastering Rollout.

She saw it clearly now; she would make Rollout to be her Miltank's signature move.

-----------------------------------------------

Eventually, Whitney had to stop training with her Miltank because it was time for lunch. Normally, she would have made a fuss about needing to stop training with her Miltank, but she knew that today John had promised to call because he had something important to tell the family.

It was probably something to do with the family business, and while Whitney didn't really understand what they were talking about or why it was important, her parents and John always encouraged her to sit in and listen to their discussions so that she could learn more about it. She liked that; she really hated feeling left out.

She arrived back home and saw that daddy and mommy were already seated at the table and that everything had already been set up. She dutifully washed her hands before she sat down and enjoyed a nice lunch with the two of them.

It was a simple fare, some rice with meat and veggies, but although it felt like forever ago, she still remembered how difficult even such a simple meal was for them to eat when she was younger and before John went on his journey. That's why although the meal was simple, she never complained about it because she knew how much better it was then what she had previously.

As they ate their meal, someone switched on the television, and they were all idly listening to the news. Suddenly, a piece of news caught their attention.

'…and there has been reports of an increase in crime throughout Indigo as a group of thugs have been seen terrorising the public and stealing Pokémon. But, onto happier news, the Hoenn League has just made a very exciting announcement declaring that they are going to be hosting a show match next week in Ever Grande City between the Hoenn Elite Four Drake and the Indigo Elite Four John! They have announced that this will be a full 6v6 fight between the two Elite Four members. Officials from Hoenn have stated that they would hope that this show match would be able to demonstrate the strengths of both regions and that it would also foster better relations between them.'

'As always, tickets can be bought online or in person at the Hoenn League headquarters at Ever Grande City, and they're first come first serve. Of course, the show match will also be broadcasted live on this channel, so feel free to turn up and watch it live on our channel on the day.'

Whitney's eyes widened in her surprise as she listened to the newscaster. Is this what John was going to call them about? A battle between him and a member of the Hoenn Elite Four?! Whitney was both shaking in glee and excitement while also being worried for John.

Would John be strong enough to beat a member of the Hoenn Elite Four? She knew that he had never actually fought against an Elite Four member before, so is his team strong enough? She thought so, but she knew that there were plenty of strong trainers out there as well. She looked to her parents, who also had similar expressions of surprise and shock, though it was far more muted than hers, and asked them.

"Do you think John can win?" She must have looked very worried because her dad was giving her one of those comforting smiles that he always did whenever she was upset.

"He'll be fine. John's been training for a very long time, and I'm sure he will at least put up a good fight against Drake." Her dad said gently.

"Your father is right, dear, we're worried about John too, but I choose to believe that he'll be fine." Her mom added, "Besides, he did make it into the Elite Four, and he did recently win that battle against the other Normal type Gym Leader, so I'm sure John knows what he's getting into."

Whitney could only nod at that, not fully reassured but understanding that worrying about it wouldn't accomplish anything. Almost on cue, the family phone started ringing. It was John. They set up the phone on the table so that they could all see John's face on the video camera and vice versa.

"Hello?" John greeted normally with a wave, as if he didn't have a huge battle against another Elite 4 member to prepare for tomorrow.

"JOHN! How could you not tell us that you were going to fight Drake?!" She shouted into the phone, "Are you going to be okay? I mean Drake's pretty strong and although I know you're strong too I'm not sure that you can beat him and I don't want to see you lose like that and…" She couldn't help but start rambling and venting her worries at John.

John allowed her to continue for a few moments before he interrupted, "It's okay, Whitney, calm down." He paused to allow her to take a deep breath and calm herself. Her parents just stared at her silently with knowing smiles, "Don't worry too much Whitney. I can't tell you that I'll win for certain, but I do think that I have a solid chance. So, while I appreciate your worry, don't stress yourself too badly about this, sis." He gave her a smile as he said this.

"Whitney was just worried for you." Mom cut in, "After all, we did just find out a few moments before you called."

John scratched his head at that, "Sorry, I forgot to mention it to you. I've been pretty busy ever since coming to Hoenn, especially now that I have to also prepare for my battle against Drake. It definitely hasn't been a vacation."

"Has everything been okay there?" Dad asked, glancing at Whitney briefly for some reason before continuing, "I know that you were sent there to be side-lined, but have you been managing? No problems so far?"

"Well, I wouldn't say there had been no problems at all." John grumbled, and she knew that he was referring to the fact that he was sent there by himself and that there was no ceremony to greet him. She didn't really understand why that was so important, but she knew that her parents and John were upset about it.

"But besides that, things have been going well here." John continued more happily, "I actually managed to talk with Devon Corp about a few things and they want me to advertise their new Pokéball design." He showed off a white and red coloured Pokéball, "It's called a Premier Ball, and I've been asked to sponsor it in return for 5% of all sales on it for the next three months."

"That's great, John!" Mom congratulated, "It's always nice to earn a bit more money and having connections with Devon Corp would definitely prove useful for the future. Good job!"

"Yeah…actually, since we're on the topic of business, I wanted to talk to you about a few ideas that I had regarding how we should develop our business in the future." John said seriously as he took out a notepad. Whitney looked around and saw that her parents had also turned serious and had also taken out some paper.

"Go ahead, John, we're listening." Her father said after they prepared themselves.

"So, I had a few ideas for our short-term development. I had an idea for a marketing campaign for our Moomoo milk. What we could do is that we could start putting small pictures of Pokémon or important trainers on our bottle caps that wouldn't be visible until you opened the bottle. Then, we could advertise that you could trade in a certain amount of bottle caps for a full scaled poster of said trainer or Pokémon." John explained.

"That way, it'll allow us to tap into my popularity as a member of the Elite Four, and people can be incentivised to buy our Moomoo milk so that they can start collecting bottle caps for posters that they want of my Pokémon. If this idea proves successful, we can also expand it later on to include other important trainers like the other members of the Elite Four or even Gym Leaders and their Pokémon. As long as we give them a cut, they should go for it, especially since it also boosts their own popularity."

Mom and Dad took a few moments to write a few things down on a piece of paper before they tapped their pens in thought. She didn't really understand what John was saying, but it sounded smart.

"I think that can be a pretty good idea, John, and I don't think it'll be super expensive to do either." Mom commented with a thoughtful expression, "If we start with only photos and posters of you and your team, that'll definitely bring down costs. The only major expenses would be producing those large posters, but even then, our business is doing well enough that we can afford such an investment. What do you think, Jack?" My mom turned to my dad.

"I like the idea, John. It's definitely a new take on things. I agree with Angela that it wouldn't be too expensive to set up." Dad paused for a moment as he thought about it some more, "I think I'm going to agree to it. We can definitely get started on finding a company to produce our posters for us, while also discussing with the Pokémarts about allowing people to exchange their bottle caps for posters."

I could see John smiling as our parents accepted his proposal. "That's great! I'm glad you like it and I do hope it works out. Once I get back from Hoenn, which I suspect would be pretty soon, we can sort out the posters for me and my Pokémon then. We'll start small, with just me and my team, and if customers are receptive to our new marketing strategy, then we can discuss expanding it to include more trainers and Pokémon after that."

"Why do you su- suspect that you'll be coming back pretty soon, John?" Whitney interrupted with a curious expression. "Did the Champion say something to you?"

John shook his head, "No, no, he hasn't said anything to me. But if I stay around in Hoenn for too long after my show match against Drake, people will start asking questions about what I'm still doing there. It'll make sense if Pryce decides to recall me after the show match to avoid those kinds of questions from being asked…not that I'm going to let him sweep everything under the rug."

Whitney tilted her head in confusion at that; even with John's explanation she still didn't really understand, but when she turned to her parents, they were all nodding in agreement, so maybe it's just a grown-up thing.

"Oh yea, and I had another idea that I thought of during my time in Mauville City." John continued, addressing our parents once again. "Mom, dad, have you taken a look at the potential of the new Mauville City?"

Our parents looked at each other questioningly before shaking their heads. Mom spoke up, "No, we haven't, John. Could you tell us what you were thinking about doing with Mauville City?"

"Well, it's still under construction at the moment, but it's going to a very big building once it's finished." John explained, gesturing with his hands to try to show how big it was. "It's a very deluxe and modern building, and I'm almost certain that it's going to be turned into a huge shopping mall once it's done. It's definitely going to popular with both locals and tourists alike once it's finished."

"I think that we could definitely consider setting up a shop here for our Moomoo milk business, but this time focusing on creating drinks and more novelty drinks that use our Moomoo milk. I think that setting up such a shop in such a busy and popular location for tourists will be very profitable." John finished.

"Do you have any idea of the rent and construction costs for setting up a shop there?" Dad immediately asked.

"No, I don't." John denied with a shake of his head, "As I said, Mauville City is still under construction for the time being, with only the Gym and food hall being currently finished. But, in the future, I can guarantee you that it'll be a popular place to have a shop in. That's why I'm suggesting that we should keep an eye on it and get in early while it's still cheap so that we can maximize our profits there. It's not something that we need to be immediately concerned about, but something to consider for the long-term."

"I agree with John." Mom declared after a moment to think, "Listening to what John has said, I think that, considering how confident he sounds about how popular Mauville City is going to be, setting up a shop there would certainly be profitable, and it would also allow us to have a foothold in Hoenn that we can eventually expand from."

Dad clearly was still a bit uncertain about this idea, but a considering look from Mom eventually got him to concede. "Fine, I do think it's a bit of a risk expanding to Hoenn so soon, but I guess you did say that this was something to consider for the future. I'm just not too sure that we have enough supply of Moomoo milk to sustain this."

"That's true enough." John said with a frown, "I was also worried about having insufficient supply to meet our demand levels, especially if my suggested marketing campaign takes off. I did have a solution though beyond just buying more Miltank and expanding the farm."

"Oh?" Dad asked curiously, "Do tell."

"Well, did you know that my Slaking is able to breed with Miltanks?" John announced, and Whitney's eyebrows shot up in shock as she heard this.

Of course, she knew all about Pokémon breeding and the different egg groups, it was pretty much compulsory for her to learn as the daughter of a pair of Miltank farmers, but she never thought that John's Slaking would be capable of breeding with Miltanks. She must have overlooked this when she studied the tables for the egg groups.

She looked towards her parents but found them to be calm and completely lacking the shock that she felt. Huh, maybe it wasn't that weird.

"No, but I see your point." Dad mumbled while rubbing his chin, "I can't believe I overlooked this when considering the breeding of new Miltank. I always imagined that our Miltank would be breeding with the Tauros that we have, but I can totally see the advantages of having our Miltank breed with your Slaking."

"Yes, exactly. In fact, my Wyrdeer and Ursaluna are also capable of breeding with our Miltanks. So, and I've already checked with my Pokémon and they're happy to do so, we could easily have my eligible Pokémon breed with the Miltank and advertise the next batch of milk as from a 'Elite-level stock' of Miltank. That way, we can kill two Pidgeys with one stone and both increase our supply of Miltank in the long-run while also bolstering sales." John explained.

"A fine idea." Mom complimented, "I also didn't think about using anything other than our Tauros to breed with our Miltank. I guess that it's just been so commonplace to pair Tauros with Miltank that I didn't even consider any other options. Good catch, John."

Whitney stayed silent as she happily listened to her parents and John continuing talking about the family business and ironing out the details. She dreamed about being able to participate one day and help out like John was doing. She knew how much her parents had struggled to provide for her, and so she wanted to make sure that she could pay them back somehow.

After a short while, John had finished talking to their parents and they knowingly passed the phone to Whitney so that she could talk with John about how she's been training her Miltank.

She spent the next few minutes gushing to John about the progress that she had made with her Miltank. She saw John nodding appreciatively as she talked about how she's focusing on using Rollout as a way of transitioning her moves. He praised her for remembering what he's said and not focusing too much on brute strength. She liked it when he praised her; she felt that she was making him proud.

Before John had to leave to continue preparing against Drake though, he reminded her once again that 'Psychic beats Fighting' and that training your mind and being creative is more important than just focusing on brute strength. Whitney could understand that, and she told John that she'd keep it in mind before John eventually had to go.

After hanging up, she asked her parents if she could continue training with her Miltank now that lunch was over. She'd thought they'd say no, but they were either too distracted or busy with John's new ideas that they let her continue training until dinner.

What luck! Whitney did a little hop as she quickly made her way back to the fields to continue training her Miltank. After all, they still had to practice Rollout until they mastered it.

It was a day or two after Drake told John that they were going to be fighting each other. John had unsurprisingly become hyper-focused in his training for the battle. He only had the week, but he was very busy trying to figure out what was the most likely Pokémon that Drake would send out and how best to deal with them. She knew that he had scoured through many of Drake's old battles in order to do so.

Karen wasn't privy to most of his inner thoughts, and she didn't want to disturb him while he was doing some serious thinking either. She understood how important this upcoming match was to his reputation, and if he could either win or get close to a win, then she knew that he would finally be acknowledged by the public as a worthy member of the Elite Four.

They even toned down their training together since John wanted to focus on his specialized training for a bit. Which she was more than fine with.

She had read through the Pokénet and saw that many were less than optimistic about his chances against Drake, but Karen begged to differ. Sure, Drake was more experienced, but John had that instinct where he was able to recognize exactly how he should train his Pokémon to maximize their potential. Coupled that with his frequent use of Gravity training, and Karen was now confident that John had a good chance of winning outright.

…or maybe she was just biased? Who knows.

Still, she did manage to overhear John planning his strategy one day. John didn't realize she was listening to him as he was probably deep in thought trying to create a possible plan for Drake, but he did mutter something in frustration about his Blissey and 'unreliable stall tactics', and 'can't cheese'. Karen didn't know exactly what that meant and what food had to do with it, but she assumed that it was something about John's battle plans.

Karen was able to guess what Pokémon John would be bringing in though. She noticed that John was training especially hard with all three of his brawlers, and they spent much of their time in uncontrolled brawls where John didn't issue a single command and allowed his Pokémon to fight instinctively. Perhaps John realized that close-ranged fighting was likely going to occur during his match against Drake? Considering Drake's potential line-up of Pokémon, that was a very reasonable assumption to make.

His Pidgeot, Wyrdeer, and Clefable were also getting a lot of attention from John, so perhaps he'd be bringing them in as well? She thought that his Pidgeot was on the weaker side of John's team, but she saw previously how it was capable of flying laps around her slower Honchkrow, so perhaps it fulfilled a niche? He did spend some time with his Blissey but stopped after a while and returned to practicing with his Wyrdeer. Perhaps whatever he was doing wasn't working out.

Karen also spent a bit of time pondering about how she would beat Drake herself. Unfortunately, any good trainer like Drake would likely do a lot of research on her team, and they'd be quick to realize that Karen favoured the use of tricks and surprises to win. And her Confuse Ray strategy didn't really work if her opponent was ready and waiting for it, since Confuse Ray was a slow-moving attack that was easy to avoid and exploit.

Sure, she still had a few extra tricks up her sleeve, but that wasn't going to be sufficient to beat all 6 of Drake's Pokémon. Perhaps she could knock out 3 or 4 of them? If she was being optimistic about her own chances.

Karen recognized that she really needed a tanky Pokémon of her own that could take and dish out hits. Or barring that, just a Pokémon that could really brawl with another and be the victor.

She hoped that her Pupitar would be able to fulfil this role when it eventually evolved into a Tyranitar. As she idly watched John's Slaking jump up high into the air and try to grab onto his Pidgeot, she knew that she needed to get stronger and stronger, and it felt like, some days, that John was getting further away from her in strength.

If John, Drake, and Agatha were the level that she needed to reach to make it into the Elite Four, then she was worried that she would never catch up to them.

The New Normal – 2-13 – The Hoenn Elite

The next few days flew past as I spent most of the time talking with my family, celebrating Karen's victory against Wattson with another light training session with her uninjured Pokémon, and planning and training for my battle against Drake. Overall, it was a rather enjoyable and productive week of just training and preparation, with some moments of relaxation scattered about and just enjoying Hoenn like an actual tourist should. Sadly, we made little progress with the egg, but I was going to worry about that later.

We spent most of the time hanging around the outskirts of Mauville, with the occasional trek into Route 119 to train with our Porygon and Corphish. Speaking of Pixel, after it watched and recorded Karen's match against Wattson, it seemed to be very enthusiastic about training and practicing its Electric type attacks. Apparently, it had gotten very inspired by the fight and wanted to replicate some of the Electric type moves that it saw. Of course, I encouraged its practicing.

Karen also decided to take a break from the Gym battles for the moment, in order to 'build up hype'. She explained to me that she had a plan to maximize her popularity.

Now, a week later, I found myself at Ever Grande City once again, trying my best to not be nervous and maintain some level of respectability as a member of the Elite Four.

"You doing okay? You look nervous." Karen asked with some concern, which meant that I clearly wasn't hiding my nervousness well at all.

"Of course, I am." I admitted, no longer trying to conceal how I felt. "No matter how many times I do this, I always get nervous when I'm about to face up against strong trainers. And Drake is no mere 'strong trainer'."

"I get that." Karen replied, "When I get nervous, I tend to get a bit silent and focus on my plans for the battle. I find that helps settle my nerves a bit."

I nodded distractedly and didn't offer a response. Karen sighed slightly and patted me on the shoulder.

"Look, you'll be fine, John." She comforted, "It's just a show match, and so what if you lose? Drake is a well-respected and powerful trainer, losing to him would not be that damaging to your reputation if you're worried about that."

I turned to her and gave her a small smile in reply. "Thanks for that, Karen. But I'm going to be okay. Like I told Norman, I can't afford to be nervous in the battle itself or else I might hinder my own performance and give bad orders, and I owe it to my Pokémon to not let them down like that."

I took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm only being nervous now because I know I will force myself not to be nervous later. So, in a way, I'm just venting out my nervousness now, so it doesn't affect me during the battle later."

"That's good." Karen remarked and we fell back into silence once more as we walked towards the Hoenn League building. I had already called ahead and told them that I was arriving shortly with a friend, and I had also requested that Karen be provided some VIP seating for the upcoming match. They easily agreed and said that they would be handing those out when we arrived.

Shortly later we could see the entrance hall of the Hoenn League, and unlike the first time I was here there was an actual reception to greet me, consisting of all of the Hoenn Elite Four and a few League officials. There was a line of Machamp on either side of them that were blocking the screeching fans from swarming them like a hive of Beedrill.

Overall, this was a much grander affair than the complete silence and indifference that I got when I arrived here, though they were not at fault for that. And I could see many photographers started taking photos of Karen and I as we walked forwards towards them. Fortunately, I had anticipated having my photo taken so I had changed into a slightly more formal and photogenic outfit before arriving.

As we walked, I noticed in the corner of my eye that Karen took a step back to allow me to walk forwards, signifying that I was the important one here, and so she wouldn't be stealing my spotlight.

Personally, I thought that it was way too late as I was certain that there would be photos circulating of my arrival with Karen and what that meant for the two of us. I looked back and asked a silent question with my eyes to Karen to make sure she was okay with this, and she gave me a subtle nod to tell me that it was fine, so I let it go.

I felt that the two of us have come far ever since my mistaken kiss, and now we understood how to read each other and remain comfortable.

Looking forwards again, I wanted to greet the Hoenn Elite Four and ignore the League officials, but they quickly approached me and physically blocked me from moving forward until I addressed them. With an inward sigh, I turned and greeted them politely.

"Thank you very much for hosting such a grand entrance for me." I politely stated as if I was giving an interview. But considering how many people could overhear my words at the moment, I'm sure someone was recording my every word. "I'm very much looking forward for my match against Elite Drake, and I hope that it will be a memorable battle for those watching here or at home."

"Thank you for coming, Elite John. It's an honour for us to host you for this show match." An official simpered, "Of course, before your match, we would hope that you could allow us to take a few photographs of you and the other members of our Elite Four. I'm sure you understand how important these photos are for the unity of our two regions."

I had to hold back yet another sigh at his words before I nodded and allowed him to finally escort me to greet the Hoenn Elite Four. And, once again, before I could say anything, I was cut off by another League official that insisted on doing the greetings.

"Elite John, may I have the pleasure of formally introducing the Hoenn-" And to my utter relief, he was interrupted by what I now believe was the typical bluntness of Drake.

"Arceus you're boring us to fucking death here." Drake snapped in frustration, "Shut your fucking trap and let us do the talking. We're not statues for you to parade around. We all agreed to your fucking photoshoot, so shut up and let us talk."

The League official was about to retort to Drake's words before an icy glare from Glacia caused him to reconsider. He endured Glacia's stares for a short moment before he bowed politely and backed off with the other League officials, finally giving us the peace and quiet to talk. Before they left though, I noticed one of them passing a ticket to Karen and escorting her to the viewing area.

"Finally, the parasites are all gone." Drake spat out. "Worst part of the job is to deal with those snivelling little shits. All puffed up with unearned importance and yet when they talk, they act like they're just asking to be punched in the face."

"Ok, ok, we get it gramps. Chill out." Sidney interrupted, before turning to me with a surprisingly kind smile that was very unlike the cruel and mocking expression that he adopted in the games, "It's nice to meet you, Elite John. And on behalf of the remaining Elite Four we are deeply sorry for not being there when you arrived in Hoenn. We were foolishly led to believe that you were here on holiday, but Drake has since corrected us on our mistaken assumptions."

"Yeah, sorry about that, Elite John." Phoebe spoke up, "We didn't know that you were getting screwed over like that, I totally would have met up with you if I had known better!"

Glacia didn't say anything but simply nodded silently and gave me a small smile, which I thought was supposed to be supportive but only managed to look creepy.

"Well, thank you all for your apology, though I think that it's not needed." I told them with a polite smile, "After all, you were not the ones who sent me here in the first place, so I'm not going to hold anything against you."

Then I looked around and realized that someone was missing.

"Hey, um, where's Champion Wallace?" I asked, "I don't mean to be rude, but for such a big show event like this wouldn't it be normal if he was here?"

"Ahahaha, yeah sorry about that." Phoebe answered sheepishly, "He'd normally love to participate in these big events, and he can't normally stay away from the spotlight. But, today he's busy with something in the cave of-" Phoebe suddenly slapped a hand over her mouth as if she said something she shouldn't have.

"What Phoebe meant to say was that Champion Wallace is very sorry that he can't be here, but he is currently doing something very important that requires his attention." Sidney interjected a bit forcefully.

"Ah, well that's fine. I can understand if he's too busy." I replied. I felt that I should be concerned about what Phoebe was leaving out, but for some reason I couldn't place my finger on why that was.

"Aight, enough talk." Drake stated, "It's nice to see you again, John, but I want to get this stupid photoshoot over with so that we can get to battling." He stared at me with an excited gleam in his eyes, and I gave him a grin of my own in reply.

"You still owe me for allowing you to battle, Drake." Glacia suddenly spoke up, as she stared serenely at Drake with a painted smile that was a little too calm that greatly unsettled me. Arceus this woman was scary. Drake clearly agreed with my own thoughts as he coughed slightly and looked away, refusing to meet her eyes.

We then all walked together towards where they were going to host the photoshoot. It was in a large studio with an enormous green screen that was easily bigger than even my Tyrant. I supposed that having such a large green screen was a necessity when working with larger Pokémon.

As we entered the studio, we were once again set upon by a few League officials and photographers that wanted to greet us but luckily Drake shooed them away with his typical impatience. Before long, I was then seated in a chair in the makeup room and being fussed over by a few makeup artists that tried their best to make something of my generic face. They even had a set of fashionable clothes that they wanted me to wear.

Despite their pleading, I stuck to the clothes that I was currently wearing as I thought that a white suit and tie with white pants was far too unnatural for me to actually wear. What kind of entitled rich boy did they think I was?

I gave myself a once over in the mirror when they were done, and I literally couldn't tell the difference in how I looked before and after they applied the makeup. I shrugged to myself since I didn't really care that much, but as I was about to get up and leave the makeup room, they asked me if they wanted me to add any makeup or decorations to my Pokémon as they had a wide variety of Pokémon-friendly makeup products that they commonly used.

I gave them a wide look of surprise as they told me this. I didn't know they even had makeup for Pokémon, though I guess it would make sense considering the Pokémon contests that they held. After a short moment of consideration, where I made myself laugh as I imagined Tyrant wearing a silly pink bow on his head, I told them that my Pokémon didn't need any decoration and that they were fine.

Finally done with the makeup, I was allowed back into the studio where I saw that the other members of the Elite Four were standing, besides Sidney. They literally all looked the same. Maybe someone with a better eye for fashion could have pointed out the differences, but with the exasperated and impatient look that Drake had I could tell that we both thought that it was a huge waste of time.

Besides, why does Glacia even need makeup anyways? She's already so pale that any makeup would ruin her appearance.

Almost a minute later, Sidney came out of his own makeup room and I, once again, couldn't tell the difference. With that waste of time out of the way, Drake and I were instructed to stand together for a few photos for the upcoming show match.

The photographers instructed us to stand in all these different poses, some back-to-back, some while holding out our Pokéballs, and with my request some with a closeup of me holding my Premier Ball.

The other Elite Four members did notice and question me about my Premier Ball, and I explained to them that it was just a new Pokéball design created by Devon Corp and that they've asked me to market it for them. Sidney was the most interested, and he asked if I could get him some for his own team. I told him that sadly I had already given away the extras that I had but that I was sure that he could simply ask Devon Corp to give him a few.

I finished off my set with Drake with a few photos of us posing with our starters. The moment we released our starters, Tyrant and his Salamence immediately locked eyes and gave out powerful roars that nearly knocked over the cameras as they attempted to exert their dominance on the other. We had to reign them both in to prevent the destruction of the studio.

To our amusement, and to the dismay of the photographers, they couldn't get Tyrant and Salamence in the same shot as if they tried to move the two Pokémon together, they would almost instinctively lock heads and a fight would almost break out. So, they had to settle with taking individual shots of our Pokémon and then putting them together in the edit.

Once they had finally taken enough photos of Drake and I, they then moved on to photos with the other members of the Hoenn Elite Four. The entire shoot was so mind-numbingly boring that whenever it wasn't my turn I just daydreamed and went through my plan once again for my battle against Drake.

Luckily, the Hoenn Elite Four seemed to share my boredom, and I found them to be surprisingly friendly and personable as we chatted about mundane topics as we struggled through the photoshoot. Eventually, and nearing afternoon, they said that there would be a break and lunch would be provided.

I was graciously invited to join the rest of them for lunch, and we ate together contentedly while continuing our discussion on whatever topics came to mind. I asked them a few questions about what it was like to be a long-standing member of the Elite Four, and they all unanimously said that they all hated doing publicity events after a while.

I could see why, just this one photoshoot was enough to bore me to death. I couldn't imagine going through another one of these on a frequent basis.

Then, we moved on to more serious topics as they asked me about my journey to the Elite Four and what I thought about the political situation there and why I got side-lined. I decided to indulge them, since the truth would eventually be revealed anyways, and I explained what I thought were the reasons for sending me to Hoenn and why they wanted me out of the way.

They all listened attentively and were all sympathetic to my plight, which was nice.

"If your reasonings are correct, John, and I suspect that they are, then I have to say that I'm quite disappointed with the actions of your Champion." Sidney remarked seriously, "I may not have a full understanding of the situation in Indigo, but it seems to me that Champion Pryce may have been corrupted from staying as Champion for too long if he is now resorting to using such distasteful and underhanded methods to stay in power."

I was taken aback at just how intelligent Sidney sounded. It really was at odds with his rebel and punk appearance. I think my face showed my surprise as he chuckled.

"Ah, were you surprised by how different I am to how I look?" I nodded sheepishly but fortunately he only chuckled again and didn't seem offended. "Ah, don't worry about it. I intentionally play up the punk aesthetic for the crowds, because that's what people 'think' Dark type specialists should look like."

"Do you mind playing into the stereotype?" I asked, now seeing Sidney in a new light.

"Not really." He shrugged, "I mean, it does wonders for my popularity and I honestly quite like the punk look. I also love it when people are taken aback at how different I truly am from how I look. Always good for a quick laugh."

"Yeah, like, Sidney's a really kind guy." Phoebe giggled, "He just looks scary, but he's a real softie."

Sidney gave Phoebe a kind smile as he rubbed the top of her head affectionately. I looked at this and thought that the two of them had a nice, almost familial, dynamic. But looking at how happy and friendly the Hoenn Elite Four were too each other really emphasized the difference between them and the Indigo Elite Four. I remember how distant and almost hostile they were, and how they had been sitting in the room in near silence before I arrived.

A frown must have appeared on my face as Glacia addressed me with a touch of concern.

"What's wrong, John? You look unhappy about something." She asked softly and slightly worriedly. Truthfully, I thought that she no longer looked so scary when she didn't have a blank smile on her face. Now, she just looked like a concerned mother, which was a huge improvement.

"Ah, there's nothing wrong exactly." I claimed as I rubbed the back of my head, "it's just that you guys are all so friendly with each other. And I really admire that dynamic. I just wished that the Indigo Elite Four were as friendly with each other as you guys are."

I then began to explain what I saw when I was first introduced to the Indigo Elite Four, and how hostile and distant they were to each other. Except for Walker, but even his friendliness was unable to shine through the mire of hostility that radiated between the rest of them.

"That's terrible!" Phoebe blurted out, with a shake of her head. "I would hate it if my fellow members of the Elite Four were so rude and hostile to each other. It would be such a nightmare to work with." She wrapped her arms around herself as if she was hugging herself.

"Aye. That sounds horrible, lad." Drake spoke up, "I might not be the friendliest of peoples, and I do let my temper go sometimes, but I'd like to think that I'm not a horrible person to work with."

"Awww, don't worry, Drake, we all like you." Phoebe interjected with a smile that got a chuckle out of Drake.

"Thanks, lass, but as I was saying, even I wouldn't like it if I had to work with people that I couldn't stand. Not only would that be a pain in the ass to do, but sometimes us Elite Four are required to attend to big emergencies that require us to work together. And I'm not sure I could work well with someone that I hated no matter how professional I am." Drake stated seriously.

The other members shared similar thoughts of sympathy towards me and how they hoped that the situation would improve soon. I was grateful for their kindness and understanding, and it gave me hope that one day that the Indigo Elite Four could be more like the people that I was spending time with now.

Then I remembered that, in canon, the future of the Indigo Elite Four consisted of Will the psychic, Bruno the musclehead, Koga the stoic ninja, and Karen. While I obviously had no problems with Karen and would be happy to see her join me in the Elite Four, I had serious doubts that any two of the other three members of the Elite Four from canon would be 'nice' to hang around. That really killed my optimism.

Though I hoped that some of them were similar to Sidney and Drake, as in their gruff or unfriendly appearance didn't reflect on their inner kindness. I desperately hoped so, as I didn't want to spend the rest of my time in the Elite Four mired in hostility and competition.

Eventually, our lunch break was over, and we were dragged back into finishing the photoshoot. Luckily, our earlier discussions had revitalized me, and I managed to get through the remainder of the shoot without feeling too bored.

Finally, after almost another half hour of photos, we were all done. The other members of the Elite Four gave Drake and I their well-wishes and hoped that we would have a great battle. They also informed me that if I wanted to make a fuss about my side-lining to Hoenn, they would say something in my support if I wanted them to. I thanked them before I turned to Drake and gave him a respectful nod before we parted and went to register our Pokémon with the officials.

I still had another 20 minutes before the battle. I texted my parents and asked them if they were going to be watching it live, and they quickly replied back that they had their snacks ready and waiting. Karen replied similarly and told me that she was already seated and that most of the audience had also arrived.

She then asked me about the photoshoot and if I was doing okay. I told her honestly that the photoshoot was boring and that I was surprisingly not nervous at this moment. Instead of nervousness, I was nearly shaking with excitement for the battle.

I knew that win-or-lose, it was going to be my greatest and hardest challenge to date. But I had prepared for it. Studied for it. And now, my Pokémon were all ready and willing to show the world their strength.

Dragon types were commonly seen as the most powerful type, and for good reason. However, I was going to show the world that there were always exceptions to every rule. And that my Normal types were not going down without a fight.

The New Normal – 2-14 – The Man Who Sailed The World

I barely felt the twenty minutes pass by as I sat there in the waiting room fiddling with my Pokémon's Premier Balls. And I almost didn't hear the voice of the League official telling me that it was time to go.

I wasn't nervous, no, I had gotten over my nervousness a few hours ago. Now, I just wanted to prove to the world that I deserved to be here, that I deserved to be a member of the Elite Four alongside the rest of them. I wanted to use this battle, and my victory, to get back at Pryce and all those who side-lined me here.

Drake was certainly one of the stronger Elite Four members, and this was the time to show the world that I deserved to stand alongside him. As equals.

But more importantly than my own status, I wanted to show off my Pokémon's strength and training to the world. I knew that my Pokémon were strong enough; I just needed to make sure that I did my job and direct them properly so they can show off their full potential. That was what consumed my entire focus. I wished for them to be engraved into the annals of history, just like THE Samuel Oak's Pokémon were.

This was just the first step into making my Pokémon a household name, and I wouldn't squander this opportunity by messing up.

I stepped out of the waiting room and was escorted through a small tunnel until I was greeted by the bright sunlight of Hoenn. I could see on the opposite side of the arena that they had synced up my entrance and Drake's, probably for dramatic effect. I looked up and saw a massive television screen that was currently showing some dude with a microphone in his hands which I assumed was the announcer.

Sure enough, the moment we made our entrance, the announcer's voice boomed out through the speakers.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO THE SPECIAL SHOW MATCH BETWEEN THE ELITE FOUR OF TWO REGIONS!" The entire stadium erupted with deafening cheers and shouts from the audience. "TODAY, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE THESE TWO POWERHOUSES FIGHT WITH THEIR BEST POKEMON IN AN EPIC BATTLE TO SHOW OFF THE BEST OF BOTH REGIONS!!"

I looked around and, unsurprisingly, I could see a few banners with "GO DRAKE!" and similar ones that were all supportive of Drake. But what was a pleasant surprise was that I spotted a few banners and signs that were cheering me on.

That made me smile. I was happy to see that even in a foreign region I was still popular enough to have fans. The announcer allowed the audience to go wild for a moment before he continued.

"AND, YOU MAY HAVE SEEN HIM ON THE NEWS RECENTLY, BUT COMING ALL THE WAY FROM KANTO, PLEASE WELCOME, THE NEWEST AND YOUNGEST EVER ELITE FOUR MEMBER, ELITE JOHN!!!" The crowd once again exploded with excitement and cheers as the cameras focused on me and my face was shown on the large screen.

With some quick thinking, I took this opportunity to fulfil my promises to Devon Corp, I waved around to the audience while I held a Premier Ball in my hand, making sure that the Premier Ball clearly visible on the large screen. I hoped that this would certainly fulfil my portion of the contract.

"AND HIS OPPONENT, PLEASE WELCOME OUR FAMILIAR ELITE FOUR MEMBER, THE GRUFF AND TOUGH, THE MAN WHO SAILED THE WORLD, MASTER OF DRAGONS, ELITE DRAKE!!!" The support from the crowd was considerably louder from what they gave me, but I wasn't offended since obviously Drake would be more popular in his home region than some foreign Elite Four member. Also, unlike me, Drake didn't even react to the cheers of the crowd and stood stoically with his arms crossed. Typical Drake.

At this moment, I felt his stares on me and I matched it with a stare of my own. I could barely hear the announcer listing the rules of our upcoming match, which was fine because I already knew them. They were just the typical show match rules of a 6v6 with 3 switches allowed.

"GENTLEMEN! ARE YOU READY?!" That broke through my staring contest against Drake, and I forced myself to focus on the battle and my plan. I gripped my Premier Ball tightly in my hand and I nodded to the announcer. "THEN LET'S COUNT DOWN TOGETHER! RELEASE YOUR POKEMON ON ONE!"

I could feel Drake's eyes lock onto me once again as the countdown began, but I didn't bother meeting his gaze. I didn't feel like there was a need for posturing or intimidation at this moment. I had studied him, looked through many of his previous battles, and noted down his strategies. I knew his strengths, and what Pokémon he was likely to be sending out. I kept going over what I knew one more time in my head in some ritualistic routine to maintain my calm. And so, I just stared at my Premier Ball as the crowd slowly and dramatically counted down around us.

"TWO!" This was it, no more time for idle thoughts. I reflexively put a foot forward as I prepared to release my first Pokémon. I was tempted to send out Luna first, but I knew she was best saved as a reserve surprise factor to knock out an unsuspecting Dragon. She wasn't strong enough to fight against Drake's non-Dragon Water types.

"ONE!" I didn't even realize that I had released my Pokémon until I saw the distinctive white glow spread out and Klaus, my Wyrdeer, landed majestically in front of me. Although Klaus lacked the intimidation and size that my other Pokémon had, he had a natural grace and a distinct sharpness that subtly revealed his offensive capabilities and relentless training.

I looked up and saw that Drake had released his bulky Blastoise. That wasn't the Pokémon I was hoping for as I eyed the two cannons on its back warily, but at least it wasn't his Flygon or Salamence. Nevertheless, I still had contingencies planned for such events, and I immediately started to enact my plan.

"To the air and Sunny Day, Klaus!" Klaus started off the battle by showing off his Psychic mastery and creating panels of pure psychic power that he could leap off and effectively gallop through the air. All the while, he fired off a white beam of light into the sky and made the already bright sunlight of Hoenn even harsher. I needed to lower the power of Blastoise's Hydro Pumps.

"OH, WHAT'S THIS?!" The announcer shouted out in surprise, "IT LOOKS LIKE JOHN'S WYRDEER IS ABLE TO STAY IN THE AIR USING ITS OWN PLATFORMS! WHAT A DISPLAY OF SKILL!"

"Cannon Mode, Blastoise. Double Dark Pulse." Drake said calmly. Blastoise firmly planted its feet into the ground before rapidly firing orbs of darkness towards Klaus like it was trying to replicate an anti-aircraft gun. I forced myself not to be overly worried about Blastoise's sheer rate of fire.

"Light Screen, Klaus! And Solarbeam!" A faint screen of light shimmered into existence in front of Klaus as he continued leaping from one platform to another to dodge the incoming barrage of Dark Pulses that were being launched by Blastoise.

Then, Klaus paused momentarily and began to quickly gather energy into his horns causing them to glow brightly, as he allowed the Light Screen to block a few of the incoming Dark Pulses that he didn't manage to dodge, before unleashing a wide gold beam of light that shot towards Drake's Blastoise, disintegrating any Dark Pulses in the way.

"Shell form, Protect!" Blastoise stopped firing off his Dark Pulses and immediately withdrew itself into its shell while surrounding itself with a shield. The Solar Beam bounced off the Protect shield harmlessly and Blastoise remained unscathed.

That was fine though, as while he was avoiding the Dark Pulses, Klaus had intentionally dodged in a manner that allowed him to get progressively closer to the Blastoise. The Solar Beam was also just another distraction to force Blastoise into going defensive so that Klaus could land safely on the ground close to the Blastoise without being bombarded by Dark Pulses.

"Psyshield Bash, Klaus!" Taking advantage of Blastoise's lack of firing, Klaus surrounded his head with a pink glow as he charged towards Blastoise. Drake clearly noticed the approaching danger as he reacted.

"Dragon Pulse, Blastoise! 6 o'clock!" Without withdrawing from its shell, Blastoise spun around so that its cannons were now facing my charging Wyrdeer and fired off a continuous geyser of draconic energy. However, Klaus used his psychically reinforced horns to cleave through the Dragon Pulse and deflect it off to the sides as he maintained his charge.

Because Blastoise's view was limited when it was hiding in its shell, it couldn't see that its Dragon Pulse failed to deter Klaus' charge and couldn't set up any defensive measures before Klaus rammed into its shell with his horns, blasting Blastoise with psychic energy that knocked it high into the air and forcing Blastoise out of its shell.

However, Drake remained calm and continued giving orders. "Cannon Mode, Double Dark Pulse." Showing off its discipline and training, Blastoise spun itself while still mid-air and began firing off a storm of Dark Pulses once again towards Klaus.

I debated using Protect to keep Klaus safe from the attacks, but I decided to take a risk and hope that Klaus' Light Screen could mitigate most of the incoming damage so that I could continue the offense.

"Thunderbolt, Klaus!" Klaus pointed his antlers towards the sky, thrumming yellow with electricity, and sent out bolts of thunder that struck Blastoise while it was in the air and unable to dodge out of the way. I could see that the Thunderbolt struck true as Blastoise momentarily stopped firing as the Thunderbolt painfully coursed through its body.

However, Klaus also didn't come out of the exchange undamaged either. To my slight surprise, Blastoise had quickly managed to break through Klaus' Light Screen with just a few of Dark Pulses and the remaining Dark Pulses pummelled painfully into Klaus and caused him to slide back and buckle slightly from the force of the impacts.

I knew that Klaus' Light Screen was far from weak or fragile, so the strength of Blastoise's attacks really took me by surprise at how powerful since they were to be able to rip through Klaus' Light Screen with such ease. From that exchange, I immediately realized that trading attacks with Blastoise would not end in my favour, so I had to find and make use of other methods to win.

"WHAT A POWERFUL EXCHANGE OF ATTACKS!" The announcer hyped up, "THAT MUST HAVE BEEN PAINFUL! BUT IT LOOKS LIKE BOTH POKEMON STILL HAVE QUITE A BIT OF FIGHT LEFT IN THEM!"

I looked towards where Blastoise had landed and noticed that our Pokémon were once again rather far apart. Using the newfound distance between Blastoise and Klaus, Drake decided that he wanted to get rid of the debilitating weather so that Blastoise's Water attacks wouldn't be hindered.

"Rain Dance, Blastoise!" Blastoise started summoning dark rain clouds that threatened to block off the sun, and I immediately shouted out my next command that I had planned just for this situation.

"Imprison it, Klaus! And charge forward!" I could see Drake's eyebrows rise in surprise as Klaus' eyes glowed briefly before he created a force field that surrounded the Blastoise and imprisoned it within, preventing it from moving. However, more importantly than restricting Blastoise's movement, Imprison also had the benefit of temporarily preventing the opposing Pokémon from using moves that the caster knows so long as the victim remained caged.

It was for this reason that I had trained Klaus learn Rain Dance in the past, just so that he could prevent others like Drake's Blastoise from cancelling out his Sunny Day through denying its use through using Imprison. This was a crucial element of my plan, as if Blastoise was able to change the weather into Rain, its' attacks would become so powerful that Klaus would not be able to withstand them.

"That's a nice little trick, John." Drake complimented before pointing forwards and directing his Blastoise, "Cannon Mode. Double Dark Pulse."

Despite the fact that Blastoise was now immovable, it didn't mean that its firepower had lessened at all. And as Klaus closed the distance between them, it would only make it harder for Klaus to dodge the incoming barrage of Dark Pulses as he had less time to react. I couldn't just rely on dodging.

"Solar Beam, Klaus! Blast through them!" Once again, Klaus' horns started to glow as he charged up and energy gathered into them before he fired off another gold beam that overwhelmed and cut through all of Blastoise's incoming Dark Pulses. However, this time, instead of going on the defensive like he ordered previously, Drake instead tried to match the Solar Beam.

"Double Dragon Pulse." Blastoise braced itself once more and stomped its feet into the ground to steady itself before firing off Dragon Pulses from both of its cannons. Unlike the time when it was firing from within its shell, now that Blastoise could properly brace itself, it didn't have to worry about managing the recoil of its attacks and could devote more strength into the Dragon Pulse.

The two beams smashed against each other, but it became clear almost immediately that Klaus' Solar Beam couldn't match up against Blastoise's double Dragon Pulse and was quickly pushed back. But that was fine, I just needed to use the Solar Beam to buy time for Klaus to get even closer to Drake's Blastoise.

And so, just seconds before the Dragon Pulse would break through Klaus' Solar Beam and blast him, I changed tactics.

"Partial Dig, Klaus!" Just before the Dragon Pulse broke through, Klaus stopped firing off his Solar Beam and burrowed rapidly into the ground by surrounding his hoofs with a psychic aura to increase how fast he could burrow, and Klaus did so just in time so that the Dragon Pulse only managed to graze past the top of his head for minimal damage.

"Earthquake, Blastoise!" Unsurprisingly, Drake tried to capitalize on Klaus' dig by trying to land a double damage Earthquake against him. This was why I had Klaus only dig slightly into the ground so that it could quickly get out again.

"Get out and stay in the air!" Klaus fortunately was able to quickly leap out of the small pit in the ground moments before the Earthquake hit, and quickly created more psychic platforms in the air to leap from to stay off the ground and avoid the Earthquake.

Seeing that the Earthquake wasn't accomplishing anything, Drake cut it off with a flick of his arm. I chose that exact moment to continue my assault.

"NOW! WILD CHARGE!"

"Double Focus Blast!"

With the Earthquake stopping, Klaus was freely able to land on to the ground once again as he surrounded itself with a barrier of electricity and continued his assault towards Blastoise. By now, the two of them were getting so close that it was impossible for Klaus to dodge the incoming barrage of Focus Blasts.

Klaus continued to charge towards the Blastoise despite the veritable tide of devastating fire coming his way, making a valiant attempt of deflecting continuously with his antlers, but many were still able to slam into him. Still, in an inspiring display of determination, Klaus pushed through his injuries as he continued with his attack despite being hammered by Blastoise's Focus Blasts and continued closing the distance.

"Shell form! Iron Defense!"

"Thunder Wave! Interrupt it!"

Seeing that Klaus was nearing striking distance, Drake tried to get Blastoise to protect itself from most of the damage by withdrawing into its shell once more before boosting its' defences. However, just before it could do so, Klaus emitted a faint spark of electricity that managed to interrupt and briefly paralyze the Blastoise as it was trying to withdraw into its shell.

Even worse for Drake, Blastoise was no longer attacking and was now paralyzed with his soft underbelly exposed to Klaus. Taking advantage of this perfect opportunity, Klaus rammed into Blastoise's exposed stomach and landed a critical hit with his Wild Charge, discharging all of his accumulated electrical energy and causing a miniature explosion that blasted Blastoise backwards as he broke through the Imprison and spun uncontrollably through the air.

I could hear the announcer shout something that elicited a loud cheer from the audience, but I ignored it as I focused on Klaus' condition. I could tell that Klaus was tired and reaching his limit after being battered during his relentless Wild Charge, but I could see that Blastoise still wasn't out of the fight yet. So, I clenched my fists and clamped down on my instinct to withdraw Klaus in order to prevent any more harm from coming to him and commanded him to continue the assault.

"Psychic it while it's vulnerable!" Even though Klaus was now panting heavily as he was wracked with injuries, Klaus still managed to lift his horns once more and fire off a burst of Psychic energy that crashed into Blastoise while it was still defenseless in the air, propelling the Blastoise backwards and causing it to slam painfully into one of the psychic barriers of the arena.

I paused briefly and waited to see if Blastoise was knocked out, since I didn't want to injure it any further if it was already unconscious. However, I saw that the Blastoise was slowly getting up from where it had landed, and so I waved my arm once more to gesture Klaus to attack.

"Thunderbolt, Klaus! Finish it off!" Klaus bellowed out and forced through the pain as his horns glowed a bright yellow as he fired off another Thunderbolt. However, just before the bolt of lightning crashed into Blastoise from above, I saw a faint Protect shield shimmer into existence just above the Blastoise and protected it from the Thunderbolt.

Apparently, Drake's Blastoise still had some fight left in it. I could tell that Drake's eyes sharpened as he saw this unexpected second wind.

"Cannon Mode and double Dark Pulse! Show'em what you've got!" Blastoise groaned as it managed to slowly push itself upright. I ordered another Thunderbolt in hopes of knocking it out before it could fire, but Klaus' injuries and exhaustion meant that he took longer to charge up the energy needed for another Thunderbolt.

And with that delay, Blastoise was able to force itself into its natural firing position as it fired off a short burst of dark orbs that shot towards Klaus.

I stared dispassionately at the dark orbs that were rapidly speeding their way towards Klaus. I knew that Klaus had already gone beyond his breaking point, and that he was only running off pure determination. In such a state, I didn't think that Klaus would be able to dodge or block the incoming Dark Pulses, even if they were weaker than usual due to Blastoise's own drained state.

With this realization, I knew that the best outcome of this fight would be a double knockout. So, I closed my eyes briefly and reopened them with newfound determination. It was slightly cruel, but I needed Klaus to focus all of his attention into landing the supereffective Thunderbolt that he was currently charging up, even if meant getting knocked out by the Dark Pulses as a result.

"Keep charging that Thunderbolt, Klaus! Full power!" Klaus sounded out his agreement as his horns started to glow brighter and brighter before he eventually lifted them into the air and shot off a huge Thunderbolt that smote down on the Blastoise like the wrath of Arceus.

Second wind or not, the Blastoise failed to create another Protect shield as the final bolt of Thunder finally descended from the sky like a spear from Arceus and struck Blastoise down, utterly knocked out. At the same time, Blastoise's Dark Pulses detonated viciously into Klaus and blasted him into unconsciousness as well. Silence seemed to descend momentarily on the arena as both Pokémon were knocked out.

"OH! WHAT AN EXCITING FINISH! BOTH TRAINER'S POKEMON MANAGED TO KNOCK EACH OTHER OUT WITH THEIR FINAL ATTACK! IT'S A DOUBLE KNOCKOUT!!" The announcer's loud voice cut through the silence. That led to the crowd joining in as they started shouting and applauding the battle that just occurred. Amusingly, I could hear some people were starting to chant our names in support.

"CRUSH HIM NEXT TIME DRAKE!"

"LET'S GO JOHN! YOU GOT THIS!"

I didn't let myself get distracted for too long though, as I took out Klaus' Premier Ball and withdrew him. As I held his Premier Ball in my hand, I muttered softly to him that I was proud of him and that he had done a great job. And I wasn't lying, Drake's Blastoise was one of the greatest threats on his team despite not even being a Dragon type and managing to achieve a double knockout against it was a great accomplishment.

I patted Klaus' Premier Ball affectionately for a short moment before I placed it back on my belt and refocused myself on the battle.

Knocking out Drake's Blastoise was a great start, now I just had to make sure that I could continue it.