38-42

The New Normal – 3-5 – Catching up

As I was flying back on Port, I suddenly remembered that I had promised Smough his berries for his victory against Drake's Gyarados and almost forgot to fulfil my end of the deal. Obviously not wanting to go back on my promise, I took a quick detour away from home and landed at Celadon City so that I could hopefully bulk buy some berries at the Celadon Department Store.

Over the years, I've learnt that while Smough was certainly a big eater, he wasn't really a picky eater and would value quantity over quality. So, for his 'berry feast', I simply decided to cheap out and just bulk buy a variety of cheap berries for him to scoff down.

Besides, Smough eats like 10-20 berries per mouthful, so I wasn't exactly certain that he could actually distinguish between high quality and lower quality berries anyways. So, there was no need for me to waste money buying higher quality berries when he couldn't even taste the difference.

I landed in the middle of the busy Celadon City and immediately regretted it as Port, as a Mantine, was unique enough of a Pokémon that it drew the attention of the crowds, meaning that it took a few seconds before the several surrounding onlookers saw that I was at Celadon City. Which meant that my presence at Celadon would be quickly reported to all the relevant news stations who would then send their hordes of reporters over to ask me more mundane questions to generate more headlines.

I groaned silently at the thought of being surrounded by reporters yet again, but I hoped that I could get my shopping done before getting disturbed. Thus, I quickly dashed into the Celadon Department Store and tried to purchase everything I needed before the reporters could arrive.

Of course, it was the moment that I left the Department Store with Smough's heavy haul of berries that I found myself expectedly encircled by a crowd of overeager reporters. I visibly sighed out as I braced myself for yet another interview. I was starting to see why Drake was so irate with the media at this point.

"Elite John! Do you have any comments about Champion Pryce's recent scandal regarding his appointment of his niece as the newest Gym Leader of Mahogany City?" One reporter asked as they rudely tried to shove their microphone into my face.

"…I have no comments on the situation because I do not know enough about the situation to properly comment on it." I answered evasively, not wanting to give away the fact that I was going to be supporting Lance, but also making sure that I didn't accidentally say anything that would discredit Lance's position as well.

"Do you think that Lorelei is suitable for the position of Gym Leader?" Another asked, and I gave the same non-committal response. The next few questions went similarly, and I managed to find a bit of joy at irritating the reporters by not responding to their questions.

"Did you learn anything new during your trip to Hoenn? Was there anything interesting that you observed?" I was going to answer with the same non-response, but then I suddenly had a thought that I could actually use this impromptu interview to forward a few of my own positions as well.

"Yes, actually." And I could see many reporters' faces brighten at the fact that I actually was going to answer a question for once. "If there was one thing that inspired me throughout my trip to Hoenn, it is that my brief time in Hoenn has allowed me many opportunities to both make connections and experience new different types of Pokémon that normally could not be found in Indigo."

"In fact, I thought that it would be amazing if trainers would be allowed the freedom to travel between Hoenn, Johto, and Kanto more freely without requiring 4 badges like it does now. I currently feel like the 4-badge requirement is too stifling and prevents many trainers who would like to explore newer regions from doing so just because they lack the necessary 4 badges." I explained passionately.

This was something that I have always wanted to encourage more of for the trainers around the world. I truly believe that by allowing trainers to freely travel the regions and capture Pokémon would improve international cooperation, team diversity, as well as the average levels of trainers internationally. It would also be good for Kanto as it would bring in more foreign investment and tourism as more people visit.

Also, the fact that I had just announced my proposal to several news stations means that my idea was now out there in the open, free to be discussed by the public, and most importantly, impossible to silence. If I had brought up this topic privately with either Lance or Pryce, it ran the risk of them disagreeing with my idea and requesting concessions if I did push for it.

However, by doing it this way, it meant that they couldn't deny my proposal if they wanted to gain or keep my support. And by now I recognized just how valuable of a position I hold between Lance and Pryce, as I was the only remaining Elite Four member that could be swayed to either side, so I knew that they wouldn't fight me over this and instead would try to show their support to gain my favour.

"Does that mean you're in favour of abolishing the 4-badge rule?" A reporter questioned.

"That depends on what would be best for the future of Indigo." I replied. "The 4-badge rule was implemented during a time when Indigo was still in its infancy, and cooperation between Kanto and Johto was timid and distrustful. The 4-badge rule was created as a means of lowering competition between trainers and to protect a region's Pokémon from being captured by 'foreign' trainers." I explained informatively.

"However, the situation has changed greatly now to the point where tensions between Kanto and Johto are almost non-existent." I continued my lecturing. "This means that the 4-badge rule may be an outdated rule that is currently more harmful than it is helpful. Thus, while I am not requesting that the 4-badge rule be removed entirely, I am asking that the Indigo League should carefully examine whether the 4-badge rule should remain as it has been so far? Or should the number of badges required be reduced to allow more trainers that want to travel to new regions to be able to do so." I finished.

"Elite John, you've clearly thought about this proposal a lot. So, what do you personally think should be the requirement?" Another reporter inquired, and I immediately went back to becoming evasive again.

"I don't want to influence the opinion of others, so I really shouldn't say." I replied carefully. "I will say that I believe that 4 badges are simply too much and definitely should be lowered, but without more information I couldn't say what the new requirement should look like."

Personally, I feel that needing 2 badges is a sufficient requirement to allow trainers to capture Pokémon from other regions, but I was going to keep that to myself for the time being because I really didn't know enough about the statistics or the relevant information to give an informed opinion at this time. And I didn't want to make a fool of myself by giving an opinion without the relevant facts to back it up.

Many more reporters clamoured after me to ask more questions, but I decided that I had said what I had wanted to say and now was time for my exit. I told the reporters that I had to get home to return my shopping, then promptly ignored their cries and questions as I flew off on Port back home.

============​It was nearly dinner time when I got back, so as soon as I landed, I quickly got to work preparing Smough's feast of berries as well as dinner for my other Pokémon. I even invited both of Whitney's Pokémon to join in too as I felt that I had plenty of food to go around. They could share some of Smough's berries too.

At first, I was concerned that Whismur might still be too scared of my Pokémon to join in, but apparently spending some time around Miltank gave her the confidence to at least remain and join in the feast. I was glad to see that progress was being made.

I then happily watched Smough eagerly devoured his feast of berries, his spoils of victory. The enormous pile of berries disappearing into his gullet almost in seconds. He seemed to be in a sharing mood though, or perhaps he was just satisfied with his food, since he allowed my other Pokémon to share his berries instead of hoarding it to himself like he usually does.

I was content to leave my Pokémon to their own devices as I went back inside and had dinner with my family. They asked why I had to leave so urgently, and I explained to them that Lance had called and that he wanted to speak to me.

Whitney didn't seem to realize the implications, but my parents grilled me about my involvement with Lance and why he wanted to see me. I summarized our meeting to them, and while they were concerned at the high-level politics that I was now playing around with, they told me that I had done well for my age and that they would support my plan of action no matter what it may be.

I also let them know that I had secured, showing my written agreement from Lance, to allow our family to sell Moomoo milk in Blackthorn. My parents were surprised, but ecstatic since the markets of Blackthorn City are notoriously difficult to break into, and they said that they'll begin setting that up tomorrow.

We then turned on the news, and sure enough, my most recent interview was being broadcasted. My parents praised how handsome I looked and gushed over how their son was now 'becoming an adult and how mature I looked. I blushed bright red in embarrassment as Whitney joined in on the teasing. I told them to enjoy my time in the limelight while it lasted, as I was sure that my ideas would be buried as soon as the news had something else to report on.

We then moved onto more serious topics, and my parents asked when I could arrange for the photos of my Pokémon to be taken for the planned posters. They told me that they already had a photographer selected, and now they were just waiting on the photos themselves. I thought about it and told them that tomorrow should be fine, barring any emergencies, so my mom briefly left to contact the photographer and to get them to come tomorrow.

Whitney then piped up and asked if she could be in a poster, but my parents and I all said no in unison. She was disappointed and tried to persuade us with a pout, but we explained to her that appearing in a poster as a newbie trainer would place unreasonable expectations on her future performance, and we didn't want to add that level of stress onto her. She gave us a sad nod of acceptance and went back to her room as it was about time for her to go to bed anyways.

My parents and I remained in the living room and continued our discussions on the family business. Apparently, the newfound confidence in my ability to remain as an Elite Four member in the long-term has boosted the reputation of our family's business and led to an increase in sales around the board.

Shops were becoming increasingly eager to stock our products, as there was a sizeable demand of trainers purchasing our Moomoo milk in bulk in the belief that it makes their Pokémon stronger. No wonder my parents were so eager to get our new poster strategy in play; it was the perfect time to capitalize on the recent boom in demand for our Moomoo milk.

I did ask about whether our supply could meet the new demand, and they answered that their new supply of Miltank is currently able to match the heightened demand, and they saw no problems for the foreseeable future. However, with the sudden entrance into Blackthorn City, my parents said that they would probably like to have more supply just in case. It was also why they were hesitant to invest into my proposal to set up a shop at Mauville City, since that might be stretching our business too far.

To that end, they also delicately asked if my Pokémon were happy to breed with the Miltank soon so they could start raising a 'higher-quality' line of Moomoo milk to sell. I chuckled at the question and told them I would talk to my relevant Pokémon soon to see if they were still amicable.

With that, we wrapped up our conversation and we all headed to bed. I didn't sleep just yet though, as I scoured through the Pokénet to see if there was any new information either regarding Team Rocket or my latest interview.

Sadly, there was no new information regarding Team Rocket, but my interview seemed to have been well-received by the public. There were numerous comments praising how well I articulated myself and that I seemed genuinely passionate about the subject – which I thought helped with showing off my more mature and responsible side to the public.

It was then that I realized that I had a few unread texts from Karen.

'How was ur return to Indigo? Saw ur interview. U spoke nicely.' she texted me.

'Enjoyed seeing my family, but there was a lot more politics to deal with than expected.' I replied.

'?? What do u mean?' She quickly responded. 'Pryce giving u shit?'

'Not exactly…' then I summed up to her what I had been dealing with ever since my return to Indigo.

'Wow. Seems painful. Would hate to be in ur position.' She said sympathetically. 'Is being in the Elite4 that busy? R u going to be ok?'

'Yeah, I'm doing fine for now. Better than expected actually.' I told her and then I moved away from the talk of politics to discussing about the egg.

Karen told me that the egg was doing well, but there was no progress being made in terms of the Dark infusions. She said that the Nurse Joys were all very accommodating and that they were eager to see if the experiment would succeed, but Karen told me that she was getting anxious about the lack of progress.

I frowned slightly when she said that there was still no progress being made yet, but I convinced myself that it was just because it was still very early and that perhaps progress would be visible later. I repeated my thoughts to Karen, and even over text I could tell that she wasn't reassured by my words, but there was nothing either of us could do about it at the moment.

I thought that perhaps we were doing something wrong, or that we were missing a crucial element of the puzzle that we had yet to realize, but I came up blank. But my gut was telling me that I was missing something – I just didn't know what it was.

Eventually I gave up on thinking about it and went to bed.

===============​The next morning was hectic for me. I had to wake up early and tidy myself and my Pokémon up for the poster's photoshoot. Luckily, my parents had hired a professional who was very efficient with his work, so the whole event didn't take as long as I was expecting. They even said that I came out better than expected, which I chose to accept as a compliment.

The photographer then told us that the photos should be ready to turn into posters shortly, and that they'll visit us with the final product when it's done. The shops had already agreed to trade the posters for the bottle caps when they are released, for a small fee of course.

With the photoshoot over, I quickly rung up Giovanni to see if I could reach him, but Petrel once again picked up the phone and apologized to me for Giovanni's absence. I was frustrated, and demanded to know when he would be available, and Petrel finally coughed out that Giovanni should return tomorrow so I could probably meet up with him then. I told him that I would before I hung up on him.

With nothing better to do for the rest of the day, I decided that it was about time that I honoured my promise to Whitney and oversee her training regime once again. Of course, I used the opportunity while Whitney was distracted to discretely go up to where my Pokémon were training and ask Tyrant, Vordt, and Klaus if they were still happy to breed with a few of our Miltank.

Amusingly, they were all more than eager to and I let them go about on their business. There were things I didn't want to know about – and this was one of them.

Shaking myself free from those disturbing thoughts, I quickly found Whitney training with her Miltank while her Whismur simply watched for the time being. I was hit with a mixture of shock and pride as I saw that her Miltank was repeatedly practicing her Rollout, and now was easily able to transition from the Rollout into a Body Slam or another offensive move. Likewise, it could also quickly Rollout for a short burst of speed to quickly dodge away from attacks.

I had to actually hold in my laughter as I witnessed her Miltank's proficiency and skill. She really was an unreasonable monster of a Pokémon for a trainer with no badges yet. Even with my meta-knowledge, my Slakoth wasn't nearly as strong when I first started my journey, though Whitney had plenty more time to train with her Miltank compared to me.

Whitney eventually noticed that I was looking, and quickly ran up to me.

"John! How was the photoshoot? Mom and Dad didn't want me to be there because they were scared that I would mess things up for them…" She pouted, before she shook her head and pointed towards her Miltank. "Also, John! Did you see my Miltank and her Rollouts? I told you that I listened to you – and look! She's so good at it now! I totally understand what you mean now about Rollout being a useful move; it's now one of my favourite moves to use!" She rambled happily and I listened to her with a smile.

"You've done really well by your Miltank, Whitney. Good job." I praised her honestly, eliciting a wide smile from her. "If you train up your other Pokémon as enthusiastically, I'm sure that you'll be able to catch up with me very quickly."

She looked shocked to hear that, but that shock quickly transformed into an eager nod as she started to ramble about how she planned to train her Whismur. She told me how she realized that Whismur was still shy, so she intended to instil Whismur with some confidence before she got into the serious training that she did with Miltank.

It was a remarkable and well thought out plan for a 11-year-old, and I nodded in agreement while patting her on the head. I also suggested that perhaps she could focus on having Miltank master the elemental punches soon to give her more Type coverage, which she eagerly nodded at and made a note.

As I watched Whitney remain concentrated on her notes and planning for Miltank's future training, I could see how she could become the Gym Leader of Goldenrod at such a comparatively young age. Speaking of which…

"Say, Whitney, what are your plans for becoming a trainer in the future?" She looked confused at my question, so I clarified myself. "What do you want to be in the future? What are your goals? You can just say you don't know if you're not sure."

Whitney's face scrunched up cutely as she pondered my question. I made sure that I wasn't staring at her while I let her think, since I didn't want to seem like I was pressuring her into giving an answer.

After almost a minute of silence, my sister spoke up hesitatingly.

"I know I want to be a great trainer like you are, John." She said uncertainly. "I'm not sure what I would want to be after that though…" She seemed upset that she didn't know, but I was quick to reassure her. Besides, I didn't need to know immediately if Whitney wanted to be a Gym Leader or not.

"Hey, hey, you don't need to feel bad if you don't know yet." I comforted gently, as I crouched down to match her height. "You're still very young, and you haven't even started your journey yet! There's no need to decide now, but I was just asking to see if you have any ideas. But it's totally okay if you don't – you have plenty of time to decide later."

Apparently, I had said the right thing because she brightened and gave me a nod. I gave her a gentle pat on the head once more before I gestured for her to go back to training with her Pokémon.

I watched her train for a few more moments before I returned to where my own Pokémon were training. Although they were training rather autonomously, I had tailored their recent training sessions to fix some of their shortcomings that I noticed from the battle against Drake.

More specifically, Smough was temporarily working with Klee and Luna and even Pixel, since three of my Pokémon were currently 'unavailable', to manipulate the elements and learn how to infuse them into his attacks. I hoped that since Smough knew Shock Wave that he would be able to quickly learn Thunder Punch since they shared an element.

To my pleasant surprise, Pixel was mastering its Electric type attacks very quickly. It seems that, by being able to refer to Wattson's battles as a guide, Pixel was learning even faster than I had expected. I hoped he reached proficiency in that attack soon so I could get him training on higher level battles.

As for Zephyr, I did feel that he was reaching the limits of his ability as a Pokémon. The unfortunate truth was that Pidgeot just wasn't that strong of a Pokémon to begin with, and it was only because of my relentless training was he able to catch up with my other team members. But, outside of his specialized role as an anti-Flying type attacker, Zephyr was easily the weakest of my Elite team. And we both knew it.

However, Zephyr was never one to give up on training and was always eager to get stronger, and I would strive to honour his determination by doing my best to think of new and improved training regimes that would allow him to catch up with the rest of my team. For now, I felt that his strength still needed to be improved as I noticed that against Drake's Altaria, Zephyr's Brave Birds weren't hitting as hard as I hoped for.

As a result, I had Zephyr work on a balance between Gravity-induced strength training and general speed training with Port so that his Brave Birds were able to hit as hard as possible. It was what he was doing previously anyways, but this was his niche, so I wanted to ensure that he could perform that niche as best as he could.

I also had a few more ideas about trying to train a few of my Pokémon to learn different abilities, namely Zephyr and Tyrant, both of whom had poor abilities in Keen Eye and Truant respectively. In Tyrant's case, even though he had overcome the weaknesses of Truant, it would be even better if he could actually adopt an ability that was actually helpful. I salivated at the thought. It would make him even stronger than he already was!

For now, I jotted down that I should aim to train Pidgeot to develop the Reckless ability, if possible, and for Tyrant to try to train the Guts ability. I thought those would be excellent abilities for them and would suit their needs the best. It certainly wasn't going to be easy, but I had the time right now to invest into these long-term training endeavours.

To clarify, it wasn't as if I was actually training my Pokémon to develop a new ability. Technically, all I was doing was trying to bring my Pokémon to a level of training in a certain aspect so that it could mimic the ability's effect.

Thus, the rest of my day was spent just watching over my Pokémon's training as I got in a few rounds of exercise myself, and the remainder of the day passed without any issues.

As I scrolled through the Pokénet while I was in bed, I smiled as I saw that Lance was quick to jump onto my interview and announce his support for my proposal to potentially lower the 4-badge requirement; I was pleased to see him honouring our agreement. It seemed that the public was generally receptive to my idea, and I hoped that there would be sufficient support for the Indigo League, or Pryce, to approve of my ideas.

Seeing that there was nothing else of import going on, I briefly texted Karen to make sure everything was ok before I tossed my phone away and tried to get some sleep. I knew that, with Giovanni's supposed return, tomorrow was going to be the day where my future relationship with Giovanni will be decided.

The New Normal – 3-6 – Confrontations

It was afternoon the next day that I found myself on the phone looking for Giovanni once again; I had spent the morning distractedly training with my Pokémon. I slept restlessly the night before as I tossed and turned in my bed worrying about what was going on with Team Rocket and Giovanni.

Petrel said that Giovanni would be here today, and if he didn't pick up this time, I would personally make my way to Viridian and forcefully try to find out what's going on.

Fortunately, after a few rings, I had finally gotten through to Giovanni.

"Hello? This is Giovanni." His smooth voice was finally on the phone.

"Giovanni. This is John." I said shortly, no longer concerned about being polite for the moment. "I'm not sure if Petrel has told you, but I've been looking for you for the past few days to discuss some things." I didn't let him respond as I continued. "Since I finally got you on the line, I'm letting you know that I'll be visiting your offices shortly, so be prepared to meet me."

I could hear Giovanni spluttering at my demand before his confusion morphed into rage. "John, do not forget who you are speaking to-"

"Oh no, I definitely remember who I am speaking to, Giovanni." I cut him off warningly. "Did you think I was trying to reach you for the past few days because I was desperate for your help?! No. I was trying to talk to you because I wanted to know if you had FUCKED EVERYTHING UP!!" I shouted, letting out my stored frustration over the past few days.

Giovanni was uncharacteristically at a loss for words, and I took a moment to breathe in and out to calm myself down.

"Giovanni, I'll speak to you further when I get there. See you soon." I hung up the call without letting him reply.

Was it wrong for me to have shouted at him and taken out my anger at him before I knew any better? Perhaps. It was possible that Giovanni had absolutely nothing to do with the recent resurgence of Team Rocket, but I highly doubted it. I knew that some way or another, Giovanni was involved with the mess and thus I was justified in letting out a bit of my anger.

Although I did want us to continue our friendship into the future, this was not something that I was willing to shove under the rug to preserve it. Plus, I wasn't even sure if our friendship would even have a 'future'; it would all depend on this meeting.

I told my mom that I was off to another meeting; dad had left earlier to handle the new posters, and my mom said to be careful and asked if I would be back for dinner. I said that I would be, as I figured that the meeting shouldn't extend that long even if it devolved into the worst-case scenario.

I quickly collected up my Pokémon and made my way to Viridian to confront Giovanni.

=========​I landed in Viridian City in record time, and I found Petrel waiting for me patiently at the entrance of the Viridian Gym. I greeted him a terse nod, and he silently escorted me to Giovanni's office.

I tried to read Petrel's body language to gauge what he was feeling right now, but his posture was rigidly stiff and didn't give anything away aside from the fact that he was wound up really tightly. Perhaps he was nervous about the outcome of this meeting as well?

Nevertheless, he deposited me outside Giovanni's office, and I quickly made my inside. I was quickly greeted by Giovanni, who I noted looked a bit more harried and uncomfortable than when I had met him last, and he gestured to the glass of water that he had already prepared for me. I didn't touch it as I skipped over the pleasantries and went straight into the main topic of discussion.

"Giovanni, it is good to meet you after so long." I began, but my face had no trace of humour in it. "It's a shame that we had to meet again under such unpleasant circumstances, but I will not apologize for my words or for my demands for this meeting." I told him strictly, letting him know that I was being entirely serious.

"I need to know what your involvement is with the recent crime wave. And don't try to deny responsibility either. You previously told me that you and your late mother had plans to make use of a paramilitary group to fight for the future of Kanto, and I can see MANY uncomfortable similarities between your ideas and this wave of criminals." I locked eyes with him. "Gym Leader Giovanni. I need to know, as a member of the Elite Four, if you are involved with these criminals."

We locked eyes for a moment, before Giovanni's eyes eventually shifted away slightly as he failed to meet my gaze. He looked far more rattled than I had ever seen before, and I could see that he really didn't want to talk about this topic. But I remained silent as pressured him with my eyes until he eventually broke and let out a sigh.

"You're right, John." Giovanni finally admitted with a sigh as he rubbed his face. "These criminals were supposed to be under my control as a last-ditch emergency option in case the Indigo League continued to side-line Kanto for Johto. But, like I told you, I abandoned those plans when you were appointed as a member of the Elite Four. And from what I could see, you've been doing quite well there too!"

I ignored his attempts at humour, my face as still as stone as I silently pressured him to continue. Giovanni coughed as his joke failed to land. "Anyways, yes, that was the plan, at least. However, some members of the group decided to spit on my generosity, and they decided that they would be split off from my control and begin doing their own thing." He explained.

I frowned at his explanation; it wasn't detailed enough and there were definitely things that Giovanni was still withholding from me. Unfortunately for him, my patience was at its limits, and I wasn't about to let him off so easily.

"Giovanni. We both know that that isn't the end of the story. You definitely know more. So, spill it. What have you found out in the past few days when you were absent?" I demanded irritably, and I saw that Giovanni was wavering, so I decided to continue the offense. "Let me remind you that you are speaking to a member of the Elite Four, who is currently trying to decide if he should continue maintaining his friendship with you. So, before you decide to withhold more information from me, do remember that I could make things very difficult for you if I do not receive the full picture. Now." I leaned forward to punctuate my point.

I could see a hint of rage flash past Giovanni's eyes as I hurt his pride, but it quickly faded away. Sure, Giovanni could also make problems for me considering that I had previously worked with him, but it would hurt him a lot more than it would hurt me since I hadn't actually done anything illegal so far whereas Giovanni certainly had. And I'm sure he had also realized this.

He fidgeted with his sleeve for a moment before I noticed that a level of calm descended upon his face and his whole body relaxed.

"Alright, John. The truth then. As soon as I realized that the organisation, which is called Team Rocket, had gone rogue, I immediately set out to confront their leader, Proton, but couldn't find him. He used to be one of my subordinates, but I saw him as more of an attack dog than an assistant or a thinker." He carefully explained to me, deciding to come clean with me.

"Since I couldn't find where Proton was, I contacted my second-in-command, Archer, who was previously in charge of communicating with Proton and leading Team Rocket in my stead to ask if he knew where Proton was and what had happened to cause the split. Archer informed me that Proton was missing and had taken many of the more violent members away and that they were looking for a new financial backer. Fortunately, Archer said that a few members of Team Rocket who were generally more intellectually minded decided to stay loyal to him, and me in turn, and not join in on the violence."

I nodded slowly as I took in his explanation and allowed him to carry on.

"I had no intention of joining in on their doomed crusade, nor do I endorse their current actions, and I spent the last few days tidying up a few loose ends that could have linked back to me. Now, I am rather confident in the fact that, barring yourself and a few other trusted individuals, no one knows who founded Team Rocket, not even Proton, since I never revealed my identity to him. As far as he was concerned, Archer was the original founder." He told me and I watched him carefully as I listened to see if he was lying to me. But my gut told me he wasn't. However, a thought did come up.

"But do you trust Archer to not reveal who you are if he gets captured by those who believe that he founded Team Rocket?" I asked him concerningly, and Giovanni waved it off.

"I appreciate your concern, John, but I assure you that Archer would not dare betray me." He said confidently, and I couldn't tell whether he was being overconfident or not. After all, it was more than possible that Giovanni had something on Archer to ensure his loyalty.

"I see…And I think I've heard enough from you, Giovanni." I told him thoughtfully as I went over what he had just told me. From my memory, it matched what Petrel had told me. I contemplated deeply on whether I should continue my connection with Giovanni in light of this revelation. I could choose to not believe him, but then that would be an implicit severing of our friendly relations. Did I need to continue being Giovanni's friend in the future?

On the one hand, I realized that I was growing into being an influential figure on my own, even without Giovanni's help. I managed to secure my position in the Elite Four with my achievements in Hoenn and with my support of Lance, so I didn't strictly need to rely on Giovanni's support to maintain a degree of personal influence. It would also be less risky as I wouldn't get involved in any future evil schemes that Giovanni might have.

On the other hand, beyond the advantages that Giovanni's network could provide me, severing my ties to Giovanni would mean that I wouldn't be able to influence and provide oversight to what Giovanni was doing. I believed myself to be a good influence to temper Giovanni's more extremist actions, and I feared that breaking off relations with him would cause him to lean further into extremism. I didn't think sending him to prison would neuter his influence either.

Ultimately, after a moment to think things through carefully, I decided that I would continue my 'friendship' with Giovanni so that I could remain in contact and ostensibly monitor his activities. Thus, I accepted his explanation, and I could rationally believe in the events that he presented.

"I'm choosing to believe your words, as I've detected no lies in your words, and this leads me to my most important question, Giovanni." I finally said seriously, but then I returned to my questioning. "What are you going to do now that your previous 'employees' have gone rogue on you?"

Giovanni massaged his head as he pondered my question for a moment before responding, "I intend to silence Proton permanently so that I can tie up the remaining loose end, but beyond that, I don't see a need to do anything in particular. After all, we could easily take advantage of the recent crime wave to further our own and Kanto's interests and try to control them so they target areas and people that could benefit the future of Kanto, so I see no reason why we couldn't just leave it to the League to mop them up while we exploit them for our own purposes."

My anger rose at his callous answer that I missed the fact that he had just casually told me he planned to murder Proton. I might have been okay with allowing Giovanni his vices and his manipulation and bribery, but I was not okay with allowing the general public to be harmed due to his actions, intentional or not.

"Giovanni." I said with false calm, a hint of my smouldering rage leaking out at my tone. "I'll pretend that I didn't just hear that answer, and I'll tell you what I want you to do. Consider it a request for keeping up our friendship together."

Giovanni frowned at my answer, and I could tell that he wanted to protest, but he quickly caught on to my simmering rage and realized that he had likely crossed a line somewhere. I watched him hesitate slightly as he mentally debated whether to lower his pride and accept my request or not.

Eventually, he nodded.

"Fine. I will bow to you on this, only because I have found great value in continuing our friendship. But do not push me any further than this, John." He warned me with another glare that I matched. I wasn't going to let him cower me on this. His sharp eyes locked onto mine as a silent battle of wills raged on between us. I did not hesitate though, and I was determined to not let Giovanni to have his way on this.

I recognized that this was a pivotal moment in establishing how our relationship would be moving forwards, and I was determined to ensure that Giovanni would view me as an equal. We may help each other, but I was, and would never be, subordinated to him.

I had to get him to recognize that I was no puppet for him to manipulate.

Eventually, our stare down ended, and I could see Giovanni giving me a subtle nod as he recognized my status and power. Accepting his subtle gesture for what it was, I continued in a friendlier tone.

"I want you to help out in subduing the recent crime wave. I want you out in the public, working hard to pacify this threat." I told Giovanni, and I could see that he instinctively frowned at the thought of taking orders. Luckily, I had something to sweeten my request with.

"If you do so, I will be giving you my public support for your actions in helping to clean up Indigo. And I will also promise to keep silent about your involvement with Team Rocket so long as you do not do anything else like this again, since revealing your involvement would cause irrevocable and long-lasting damage to Kanto's reputation." I could see a considering look in Giovanni's eyes. "This way, you can bolster your popularity with the public as you'll be seen as one of the first Gym Leaders actively cracking down on the criminals. You can even make charitable donations or set up public work schemes to prevent such a crime wave from happening again. Feel free to milk it for your own popularity. I don't mind so long as you're actively fighting back against Team Rocket." I finished.

Of course, I concealed my true reason for having Giovanni publicly fighting against Team Rocket, which was to force him to be an enemy of Team Rocket and Proton. I didn't want him to be sitting on the fence, as that means he might be continuously tempted to re-join or support Team Rocket in the shadows. However, if he were to fight Team Rocket publicly, that would permanently cut off his ties to Team Rocket.

Eventually, Giovanni broke his silence. "Alright. You make a convincing point, John." He admitted. "I can see that there are many advantages to declaring my intentions to fight back against these criminals, so I'll play along with your scheme for now." He glared at me again. "I hope that this is the last demand you will make to me."

I nodded back this time. So long as he stuck to the promises that he just made to me, I believed we could have a functional friendship moving forwards. I eased back and switched the topic to something more friendly.

"Changing the topic now that we've agreed on our course of action, I thought I'd let you know that both Pryce and Lance have approached me about gaining my support for their battle over the title of Champion." I informed Giovanni, and he took the hint that I was looking to repair our connection.

"Oh? That's not unexpected. But what did the two of them say to you?" He asked, relaxing his posture.

"Pryce offered an apology and a list of reasons why he had to remain Champion." I scowled at the memory, and I could see Giovanni frowning as well. He hated Pryce more than I did. "But Lance was far more forthcoming. He offered me a guarantee that he would not side-line me as Pryce did, and he also gave a general promise to look out for the balance between Kanto and Indigo as well as his political support for my political endeavours towards this aim. It was a vague promise, but I could tell that he had no intention of favouring Johto so heavily like Pryce did, since it's not in his interest to do so." I explained.

"Also, I'm not sure if you saw my recent interview about re-evaluating the 4-badge restrictions." Giovanni nodded. "But Lance also gave his public support for that as well, honouring our agreement. And as a result of all of this, I decided that I found Pryce generally too distasteful to support and decided to support Lance."

Giovanni thought carefully as he listened to my explanation, and his face turned into one of serious concern. "Do you truly believe Lance will be able to defeat Pryce in a Pokémon battle? Because all of this support is moot if Lance can't beat Pryce."

I gave Giovanni a smug smirk. "Oh, I'm very confident that Lance can beat Pryce despite the type disadvantage. It would take a miracle for Pryce to win." I answered with confidence.

Giovanni stared at me for a moment before he eventually formed a pleased smile. "You did not disappoint me, John. I admit to being previously uncertain about your ability to handle high-level politics, despite your negotiations with Devon Corp and Gym Leader Norman, but if the things you tell me are true, which I suspect they are, then I'm glad to see that you have exceeded my expectations."

I accepted the compliment and thanked him politely. Giovanni continued.

"As you know, the Blackthorns have been a huge element of the politics of Johto and now Indigo, and with Lance as both their representative and the possible future Champion, it would give him an enormous amount of influence over the future of Indigo. Aligning yourself to him and being able to influence his decisions will be a huge boon for the future and ensuring the prosperity of Kanto." He explained.

"Of course, I would have preferred to have gone through a plan with you of what we would request of Lance or Pryce, but I can admit to being at fault for being absent over the past few days. However, the promises you have extracted from Lance are more than sufficient for the time being, and we can easily hash out the details later." He finished pleasantly.

We then proceeded to discuss what we knew and felt about Lance and his future proposals. I told him about Lance's idea for an international police force, which Giovanni dismissed as overly ambitious and naïve but ultimately harmless to his goals, so he let it slide. He asked several questions about Lance's personality, so I told him that my impressions of him was that he could be prone to arrogance, and respected those with strength, but my gut told me that he did have the well-being of Indigo in mind.

I also informed Giovanni about my plans with Lance and how I would stay silent for the time being as to not give away the fact that I was going to be supporting Lance so that Pryce could not discredit me. Then I told him about how Lance was planning on attacking Pryce on my side-lining to Hoenn and the recent crime wave. Giovanni approved of our proposal and told me that if he thought of anything else he would let me know as soon as possible.

Since he said that, I asked Giovanni if he would be supporting Lance as well, to which he said that he would do a bit more research first. Though he conceded that he was definitely leaning towards supporting him. I requested that, if he chose to support Lance, if Giovanni could also reach out to other Gym Leaders so that they could offer their support as well. Giovanni easily agreed.

Giovanni then switched topics and notified me that the new Devon Corp branch had already been established in Viridian City, although it was very basic and small for time being. He thanked me for helping out with the discussions, which I accepted, and told him that I would visit the new branch soon enough. Then, I asked him about the progress of the joint-research facility, and he informed me that the scientists were still being selected and the building was still being rebuilt to be suitable for their needs.

A thought suddenly popped up in my head, and I asked Giovanni if I could have some way to contact the head of the joint-research project in case I had any insights into Porygon that I wanted to share.

"That's no problem." Giovanni said as he quickly took out a piece of paper and jotted down a number. "Here you go. I'll let Project Manager Ariana know that you'll be in touch."

I was surprised to hear the name of another future Team Rocket admin, but by this point I've accepted that the Team Rocket admins were just selected from Giovanni's closest subordinates, so I easily took it in stride. I quickly put it out my mind and just thanked Giovanni.

Eventually, we decided that we had spoken enough and started to wrap up our meeting. I reminded Giovanni that I expected him to make a public statement soon denouncing the recent crime wave but appeased him by thanking him for his work and hoping that we could work together more in the future.

I could see it in Giovanni's expression that he also hoped for our friendship to continue in the future, as this time he barely reacted to my reminder and said that I had his word that he would do so. We shook hands as a symbolic gesture of our revitalized relationship, and I was then escorted out by Petrel.

"Thank you for not breaking your friendship with Giovanni." He told me quietly as he walked me out of the Gym, "I understand that you may have been outraged by Giovanni's past actions, but like I said before, Giovanni truly does everything for the betterment of Kanto. And having your support would make things much easier for him."

"I understand, Petrel." I said politely. "Still, there are lines that I will not allow to be crossed. So long as Giovanni doesn't cross that line with his actions again, then I foresee no problems with continuing to work with him in the future."

Petrel simply nodded at my words before we continued walking in silence until we eventually exited the Gym through the side entrance. He thanked me again for my continued support and I waved back at him as I took off on Port back home.

I reflected on our meeting while I flew home. It was probably the most important and tense meeting that I've ever had in my life, but I was proud of myself for not being intimidated and asserting myself as Giovanni's equal.

I would be keeping a stricter eye out for Giovanni's actions in the future. But I personally hoped that we wouldn't need to have another one of these meetings ever again.

The New Normal – 3-7 – INTERLUDE: Pokénet Reactions

[GYM LEADER GIOVANNI SEEN FIGHTING AGAINST CRIMINALS! FULFILLS HIS PREVIOUS PROMISES!] by the Indigo Post

[Image of Giovanni patrolling the streets of Viridian City and arresting criminals]

A few days ago, Gym Leader Giovanni held a press conference where he denounced the recent crime wave and promised quick and decisive action to curb the recent outbreak of criminals. It seems like the Gym Leader is now backing up his words with actions as he has been seen patrolling the streets of Viridian City alongside the Indigo Police and assisting in the capturing of criminals.

Many have commended Giovanni's recent actions, and Elite John has declared his support of Giovanni's actions and has joined in with a speech that encourages action from all Gym Leaders across Indigo to follow Giovanni's inspiring actions and help defend the public from the terrible acts of these criminals.

Elite John is quoted to have said, "This recent wave of criminals is a plague on Indigo. These criminals are indiscriminately targeting innocent members of the public and using violence to forcefully separate them from their Pokémon. A lifetime of bonds made between trainer and Pokémon, broken in an instant because of the malicious actions of these criminals. This cannot be allowed to stand. I encourage and call upon all Gym Leaders and Elite Four members to follow the example of Gym Leader Giovanni and fight against this infection of criminals. Let's make Indigo safe again!"

This writer is in complete agreement with Elite John's words. Dear readers, please do everything you can to help out our valiant and brave Indigo Police members in fighting against this tide of crime. Don't be a spectator!

Comments

KantoRepresent

Glad to see that SOMEONE is doing something about these criminals. Proud of Gym Leader Giovanni and Elite John for taking the initiative and spreading the word that we all should be fighting against these terrorists! And shame on the Indigo Police and others for dawdling until now. Down with criminals!

ILoveGoldenRod

Yesss! About time we saw some actual action being taken against these scums. But why is it that both people that have pledged their support to fight against this scum are both from Kanto? Where are those from Johto who are supposed to fight for our protection? And, despite how I disagree with @KantoRepresent at times, shame on those who were idle and apathetic until now. Shame!

The leaders from Johto better step it up and get their shit together to fight against this threat. Utterly disgraceful at their lack of action so far.

ANormalFan

WOOO happy to see Elite John delivering the good news once again! So proud to see that he's active and advocating for action! I knew that my support for him was never unjustified and I'm glad to see that John is proving it every step of the way!

RockGetGrunt

Hey guys, chill on the bloodlust. Even if these 'criminals' are really doing bad things, we should be careful that we aren't overly violent with their arrests. They are people too, with their own lives and families. Have some sympathy.

DragonPower

Fuck that @RockGetGrunt! Didn't you see the latest report of these criminals stealing a Dragon type Pokémon! THEY STOLE A DRAGON TYPE. That poor Dragon was taken away and likely raised by some sub-par trainer where it is forever unable to reach its full potential. What a tragedy! These criminals must be punished with force for their crimes against Dragons!

FearTheRat

…they should ALSO be punished for their crime against US TRAINERS. But @DragonPower has the right spirit; these criminals need to be cleaned up!

============================

​[GYM LEADER GIOVANNI ANNOUNCES SPONSORSHIPS FOR PUBLIC WORK SCHEMES AND OTHER FINANCIAL SUPPORT! ELITE LANCE PLEDGES BLACKTHORN SUPPORT!] by the Indigo Post

It seems like Gym Leader Giovanni has been very active the past week as he has made yet another announcement detailing his plans to provide financial support for numerous public work schemes and towards the Indigo Police. Giovanni has stated that he hopes that this increase in funding towards public work schemes will encourage the poor and other more unfortunate members of society to remain productive instead of joining up with organized crime and other criminal gangs.

And now, Elite Lance has also jumped up to support his fellow Elite Four's efforts as he pledges the full support of the Blackthorn clan into repelling these criminals.

In his recent press conference, Elite Lance had this to say. "Members of the public! You have my sincerest apologies for my delayed reactions in responding to the recent crime wave that has been terrorising our population. However, I am here now to pledge the full backing of the Blackthorn clan to eradicating this threat, and I will not rest until the threat of these criminals are dealt with and utterly destroyed. To all citizens of Indigo, I promise you that every effort and resource will be used to uncover the leaders behind these criminals, and they WILL be brought to justice! This will be a war on crime, and I implore every able hand to join in to assist us in this fight! And if those leaders are listening now, then heed my words. Turn yourself in now, before my Dragonites inevitably hunt you down. You will NOT like it if that happens."

With more and more public officials turning their attention to fighting against these criminals, this writer hopes that the situation will be resolved in short order and that the leaders are found and arrested. Let peace return once more!

Comments

ILoveGoldenRod

About time we saw some Johto people start doing something! Took a while, but at least Elite Lance seems very serious about fighting this threat. Might be a bit late, but I'm all for it and I wish him the best of luck!

TangelaThoughts

Wow, didn't think we'd see such a large scale action by Lance today. He's really stirring the pot if he's declaring that all of Blackthorn's resources will be used to fight against the criminals. Very serious rhetoric too since he called this a 'war on crime'. Wonder what he's going to be doing next and hope he's successful with his efforts.

AlluteNinja

About time we got something done. We here at Fuschia have been dealing with these nutjobs from Team Rocket for far too long. They've even been stealing Pokémon from even the Fuschia Clan unimpeded! Something must be done! I hope having the Blackthorn Clan finally step in is going to put a stop to this.

RockGetGrunt

Guys does no one think that Lance's speech was way too aggressive? Look at what he's calling it! A 'war on crime'!! That kind of aggression is completely unwarranted and really shows how bloodthirsty Lance is! Don't let him sway you with his words!

NotTooMuchWater

Man, what is going on over there in Indigo? Over here in Hoenn we just got reports about the recent crime wave that's been spreading rapidly across Indigo, but is it really that serious? I mean I saw the first reports and thought most of them were just exaggerated for the views. But now I'm not so certain after I've seen that all these prominent names are stepping up to do something about it. Can anyone tell me what it's like there?

FlyingHigh

It's pretty bad IMO. Well, to clarify, it's not like everyone's getting robbed or attacked. But if you've got a large group of friends or just know a lot of people, then chances are that one of them have been targeted before by these criminals. I'm certain that there has been an attack at least once per city. So, while it's not prolific as the news make it seem, Gym Leader Giovanni and Elite John and Elite Lance are absolutely in the right to take action against them. I predict that the situation was only going to get worse if nothing was done.

===========================

​[ELITE JOHN VS ELITE DRAKE: A THOROUGH ANALYSIS OF ELITE JOHN'S TEAM AND HOW THEY WON] by BattleCast

Every BattleCast reader knows that Elite John had recently pulled off a surprising win against the more veteran and experienced team of Elite Drake in a stunning 6-3 victory. Yet, why was John able to win with his team of Normal types, a typing which is not seen to be nearly as strong as Drake's mixture of Dragon and Water types.

It may just be easy to state that John's win was due to luck. And yes, there were a few situations where luck was on John's side, such as Kingdra's confusion after Pidgeot's last-ditch Hurricane, which allowed John to quickly knock it out without his Snorlax taking too much damage, allowing it to subsequently defeat Drake's Gyarados as well.

However, claiming John's victory was purely to luck ignores the many more important factors that led up to John's victory. After reviewing and going through John's previous matches, it becomes obvious that John's most favourable battling style is to force his opponents into a brawl, where he is able to make use of his Pokémon's high endurance and strength to just outlast and outfight his opponents.

And, coincidentally enough, anyone who is familiar with Drake also knows that brawling is Drake's favourite battling style as well. Thus, Drake was either intentionally or unintentionally playing straight into John's hands by choosing to fight in the manner that John's Pokémon were best at. As we've seen time and time again with John's battles, as soon as one of his heavy hitters gets in close, the battle almost always ends in his favour. It is easily visible to see that John has tailored every Pokémon on his team to revolve around and be extremely proficient at this style of fighting. Perhaps this is why it should have been unsurprising in hindsight that John was able to beat Drake this same way.

Of course, battling style aside, it is impossible to ignore the significance of John's actual Pokémon themselves. While his Pidgeot and Wyrdeer were certainly no slouches and definitely powerful Pokémon in their own rights, it is inevitable that people will focus more on his trio of Snorlax, Ursaluna, and Slaking. Those three Pokémon form the core of John's team and are easily capable of taking on an Elite level Pokémon by themselves without much difficulty. Special mention must go to his Slaking in particular, which has never been knocked out throughout John's battling career ever since its evolution into a Slaking.

Thus, it is a combination of his powerful Pokémon coupled with a synergistic battling style, and a sprinkle of luck, that allowed John to take on Drake and win his famous 6-4 victory.

Comments

ANormalFan

So TLDR – John's strong and can't be beaten?!! Sounds good to me! Can't wait to see more high levels battle from John. LET'S GOOO!!!

FutureAce

WOW!! Never really looked at John's team that way. I always knew that his Pokémon were complete BEASTS but didn't actually realize that he revolved his whole strategy around them. WAIT does that mean that John would be weaker against opponents that don't rely on brute strength?! Maybe more agile Pokémon or something like Ghost type trainers or something?

FearTheRat

Well, looking at John's battle against Shin's Scizor, which was renowned for its incredible speed and agility, it was very obvious that John had absolutely no trouble smashing it into the ground with his Slaking. Now, while I suspect that his Slaking may be anomalous, I feel that John has strategies or Pokémon who are adept at dealing with faster threats.

We've actually never seen his team go against a Ghost type specialist though, so perhaps that would be his weak point. Ghost types are normally very good against teams that rely on their physical bulk due to their abundance of evasive moves and mental attacks.

FutureAce

^Thanks man! Now you're making me hyped about John battling against Agatha? Who would win? I mean, I get what you're saying, but I'm still going to have to put my vote for John.

FearTheRat

Eh…I might have bought into the recent John hype train, but I think my vote would still be on Agatha. She's far too experienced against trainers like John, and her Pokémon are probably the most veteran and experienced of the current Elite Four, excluding Pryce. I like John, but my votes on Agatha.

DragonPower

Yeah, and Lance will crush them both. Dragons FTW!!!

==========================

​[ELITE LANCE CALLS OUT INDIGO LEAGUE FOR THEIR INACTION AGAINST THE RECENT CRIME WAVE! DEMANDS MORE ACTION AGAINST 'TEAM ROCKET'!] by The Indigo Post

Elite Lance has just denounced the Indigo League for their relative inaction against the recent crime wave that has been spreading throughout Indigo. He declares that their actions were "slow" and "apathetic" and says that if it was not for the heroic actions that have been taken by several Gym Leaders and Elite Four members ever since Elite John's call to action, the situation would be a lot worse.

Lance said this in his speech:

"I understand that the Indigo League, and Champion Pryce, have not been inactive. I acknowledge that they have announced a proposal to improve funding and support for the Indigo Police, and Champion Pryce has been seen aiding the public and patrolling the streets like many others. However, why did it take the call of an Elite Four member to mobilize the Indigo League like this? What caused the delay in the Indigo League's response? They should have acted immediately instead of waiting until now!"

Lance also made sure to thank those who have helped out so far. And according to the extensive reports gathered by the Blackthorns, incidents of crime have been severely reduced throughout Indigo, and many arrests have been made of these criminals, which we now know from the police interviews that this organisation is called 'Team Rocket'.

Unfortunately, the leaders of this 'Team Rocket' remain elusive. This writer hopes that Lance's words manage to reinvigorate the Indigo League to work harder and bring these terrible leaders to justice once and for all.

Comments

KantoRepresent

Can't believe I'm actually saying this about a Johtonian but LET'S GO LANCE CALL OUT THE CORRUPT LEAGUE!! Very happy to see that Lance is willing to actually bring up what the public always knew – that the Indigo league is corrupt and slow. Maybe a League under Lance would not be so stagnant like it is now.

ILoveGoldenRod

Proud of Lance for doing his duty as a citizen of Johto and looking out for the common people. The reports produced by the Blackthorn are so helpful! Hope this leads to more arrests! We got to get rid of these criminal 'Team Rocket' scums as soon as possible! Glad to see that the tide is finally turning!

RockGetGrunt

…Uh oh.

TangelaThoughts

Anyone notice that Lance's recent statements have been overly critical of the League, and by extension, Champion Pryce? Is it just me or has Lance been throwing a lot of criticism at both the League and the Champion recently? Just look at his previous comments about Pryce's acts of nepotism, and now with the Indigo League's inaction. Methinks a plot is being hatched.

===========================

​[PRYCE IN TROUBLE FOR FORCEFULLY SENDING ELITE JOHN TO HOENN! LANCE OPENLY DENOUNCES THE CHAMPION!] by the Indigo Post

In an earth-shattering announcement made today by Elite Lance, he reveals that the recent trip of Elite John to Hoenn was ordered by Champion Pryce as a 'diplomatic mission'. While normally that isn't anything unusual, Lance demonstrated evidence showing that the Hoenn League was not informed about John's arrival to Hoenn and there were no plans to accommodate John for his supposed diplomatic mission!

Lance explains that the true reason why Champion Pryce had sent John over to Hoenn was to side-line him and to prevent John from disrupting Pryce's political plots. He provides evidence of reports showing that several anonymous members of the Indigo League had agreed with Champion Pryce's plot and decided on this course of action to protect their own interests.

We managed to reach out to several members of the Hoenn League and their testimonies matched with Lance's words. Even more damningly, Elite Drake had this to say.

"I received a very brief note one day that the recently appointed Elite John was coming to Hoenn on vacation to celebrate his victory. I was suspect of this, and I checked his arrival times and went to meet him. As soon as I met him, I realized that this whole 'holiday' thing was a whole pile of steaming shit and that John was forced to be here. I spread the news to my other colleagues in the Elite Four, and we're all in agreement that the Indigo League's reasonings for sending John here were full of shit and lies. Not that I expected any better from that tower of crap that you guys call your Indigo League..."

Very strong words coming from the veteran Elite Four member Drake! Furthermore, we also managed to reach out to Elite John, who had this to say.

"It was a great shock when I realized that I was being sent off to Hoenn so quickly after taking up my new position. Regardless of the reason, I felt greatly hurt by the lack of support given to me by the Indigo League for their act of sending me to Hoenn. However, I am very thankful for the understanding and support that I received from the members of the Hoenn League. They are great people, and I am honoured to have their friendship. I wish our two regions will continue to improve and develop our relations further for the years to come."

We have yet to hear a response from Champion Pryce yet, but this writer is eagerly awaiting Pryce's reply because he has a lot to answer for!

Comments

<Comments have been temporarily disabled in lieu of the inappropriate language that has repeatedly used within>

========================

​[PRYCE PUSHES BACK! DENIES ALL ALLEGATIONS MADE BY LANCE AND DENOUNCES LANCE AS A POWER-HUNGRY MANIPULATOR!]

Just a day later after Lance's condemning report of Pryce's actions regarding his alleged side-lining of Elite John, Pryce has finally replied and is fighting back against Lance's statements. In his recent interview, Champion Pryce commented:

"I was very saddened to hear Elite Lance's accusations against me. Not only are his words unfounded, but I can see that Lance had made a common mistake that can be found in untested and inexperienced politicians. Namely that they have chosen to interpret and warp the evidence to fit their own pre-determined conclusions. Lance chooses to see malice in areas where there isn't any to be found."

"I chose to send John to Hoenn not out of some malicious intent like Lance foolishly claims, but rather to test and train his skills so that he can grow and become an effective member of the Elite Four. As many know, the position of being in the Elite Four is one that requires someone who is careful and calm, and my colleagues and I needed to know if John would measure up by agreeing to send him to Hoenn. Lance has chosen to ignore this fact in lieu of pushing forward his own agenda and slandering me over something that was done out of a desire to see John grow into his full potential. Lance's actions were not done out of some false concern for a friend, but rather his actions are akin to a power-hungry manipulator who seeks to bring the public over to his side before seizing power. Do not allow yourselves to be tricked!"

Very powerful words from the Champion. This writer isn't sure who to believe at this point, so we'll let you decide in the comments!

Comments

KantoRepresent

I'll say it again because the last comment section got scrubbed – but this is such a typical slimy response by that condescending old fossil. Don't listen to Pryce's words guys! He's clearly trying to weasel his way out of the accusations made by Lance. He's provided no evidence to support his claims, unlike Lance, and he's just running damage control! Don't trust Pryce!

ILoveGoldenRod

Not sure who to trust at this point. On the one hand, I believe that Lance's evidence is indisputable, especially with the Hoenn Elite Four testimonies, and that Elite John had been sent to Hoenn without them being informed of his trip. However, I also believe that Pryce was just doing what he was doing because he thought it was the right thing to do to test if his newest Elite Four member was up for the job, especially considering John's young age. Either way I hate to see the two Johtonians fight it out like this! I want Johto to be united on the political stage!

ANormalFan

OMA I'M STILL SO MAD AT PRYCE! How could he just send John away to Hoenn like that!? And why didn't' John say anything?? He could've made a huge fuss about it the moment he was there!! Maybe he was bullied into saying nothing?!?! GRR gets my blood boiling just thinking about it! HOPE YOU'RE OKAY JOHN!!!

NotTooMuchWater

We're mad over here in Hoenn as well. How dare the Indigo League manipulate us like this for their own selfish purposes? Don't they realize that they could have severely damaged our relations if John had caused a diplomatic incident over here in Hoenn due to the lack of provided guidance?

Of course, nothing like that happened, and I'm glad that John acknowledged being welcomed into Hoenn regardless. But things could have gone really bad and I'm furious at the Indigo League for acting like this! Leave Hoenn out of your schemes!

TangelaThoughts

Ok, now this solidified my theories. Lance is going to make a play for being the Champion. There's no way he's doing all this without a goal in mind, and I am confident that his aim is to replace Pryce and become the new Champion. Honestly, hope it works out for him. I do feel that the Indigo League has become overly stagnant and is dire need for some change.