John's Team

Tyrant - Slaking

Vordt - Ursaluna

Smough - Snorlax

Klee - Blissey

Port - Mantine

Zephyr - Pidgeot

Klaus - Wyrdeer

Luna - Clefable

Pixel - Porygon

The New Normal – 3-1 – The Return

While I was travelling in a much more luxurious boat than the one that I was in when I first came to Hoenn, I spent some time reflecting over my trip to Hoenn and the goodbyes that I had to make in the past two days before my departure. It really was as busy as I expected it to be.

To start with, I was able to speak to Drake after he apparently got annoyed and flew off midway during his interview and asked him if there were any problems that he anticipated regarding his most recent loss. Fortunately, Drake simply laughed that off and he said that he wasn't and wouldn't be bothered by any 'shit they give me' but thanked me for my consideration regardless. I was just happy that there were no hard feelings between us.

I also made my way back to Petalburg City so that I could speak with Norman. On the way though, I called Joseph Stone and informed him that I would be leaving Hoenn and returning to Indigo. He said that it wasn't a problem and thanked me for informing him, and he also praised me for fulfilling my side of the contract and promoting the Premier Ball. He predicted that the Premier Ball would become a very well-known and popular design in the future.

Joseph also let me know that the branch office was already set up in a temporary building in Viridian already, and they had a few staff members over there who were still setting up and establishing themselves. He said that, by the time I returned to Indigo, they should be free to talk to if I had anything to discuss with them. I thanked him for that and told him that I would certainly visit them in the future.

As I arrived in Petalburg, I went around to speaking with Norman before I left just to make sure everything was going well with the establishment of the facility for the joint research project. He told me that everything was fine and that things were running even smoother than he expected.

We chatted for a bit, and he asked me a few questions about the situation about the egg, to which I honestly said that we weren't making much progress at the moment but that we were being very careful, and I was sure that the egg remained unharmed, which reassured him. He asked me if or when I would be back to Hoenn, but I had to tell him that I didn't know and that it would be up to the Indigo League. He accepted that and wished me the best.

Most importantly, I met up with Karen at Fortree City since she was going to be challenging Winona for the Feather Badge. We spent a lot of time discussing what we would be doing with the egg, since I would be returning to Indigo and Karen wanted to stay in Hoenn for the time being as she challenged the remaining Gyms.

Ultimately, we decided that she would keep the egg with her and rely on the Chansey/Blissey provided by the PokéCenters to monitor the egg and make sure that it wasn't harmed by the dark infusions, since she was the only one who could infuse the egg with Dark energy. To ensure that the Nurse Joys would be cooperative, I went to them and issued a letter signed in my name requesting their cooperation and explaining the nature of the experiment.

Luckily, the Nurse Joy I spoke with was eager to accept and to help out, and she told me that she'll let the other Nurse Joys know as well if Karen would provide her travelling plans in advance. They also agreed to keep it hush-hush, which was fortunate. Karen was, of course, more than willing to do so and I let out a sigh of relief as I no longer needed to worry about delaying the experiment because of our temporary separation.

With that sorted, I spent my remaining time with Karen as we trained our Pokémon together as usual. By the time I needed to leave, I wished Karen the best of luck with her remaining Gym challenges and that I was hoping to see her again. She returned my sentiments, and that she said that she hoped she would be ready to win the Indigo Conference and challenge the Elite Four the next time we saw each other. We hugged each other for a brief moment, and as I parted ways with her on Port, I admitted to being sad about saying goodbye to her, even if it was only temporary.

The time we spent together in Hoenn wasn't really that long, looking back in hindsight, but considering that we nearly did everything together it was a bit lonely to suddenly being by myself again. Still, I comforted myself with the fact that I'd soon be seeing my family once again, and I definitely did want to spend more time with them.

Exiting from my state of reminiscence, I looked around my luxurious private room abroad a private ship and, since there was no internet access on the ship, I didn't have access to the Pokénet and really didn't have any way to kill time. I even asked Pixel if it was up for some light training while we were travelling, but Pixel said no as it was tired.

Failing to think of anything else I could do, I finally decided that I might as well get some shut eye before I arrived in Indigo so that I would be fully rested. And being fully rested was going to be important, as I predicted that once I arrived, I'll be immediately greeted and bombarded by reporters coming along with the welcoming committee.

Though it wasn't the reporters that I was worried about, no, I was far more concerned about my inevitable conversation with Pryce. He had to have called me back for a reason, and while I suspected that it was due to Lance's badly hidden challenge for the title of Champion, I didn't know for sure what Pryce wanted from me. Though I was certain that I was about to be thrown into the deep end of Indigo's politics.

Deciding that thinking about it now was just going to add to my stress levels, I leaned back and allowed my head to rest on the soft and fluffy pillow and relaxed. I wasn't a very materialistic person, but after spending so long living between Pokécenters, it was quite nice to be able to actually sleep on a deluxe bed for once.

And, without realizing it, I ended up sleeping for the entire journey.

I woke up to the blaring of the ship's horn, signalling that we had arrived at Indigo. After fighting against the instinct to just wrap myself in the comfort of the bed, I managed to pull myself awake and started to make sure that I was presentable for the inevitable welcome committee.

At least I was getting one this time, although I still wasn't sure if that would end up being a blessing or a curse.

Once I finally thought that I looked presentable, I made my way down the walkway and into the waiting crowd of the Indigo Welcome Committee. I could see cameras had been set up along the sides and they were rapidly flashing to take my picture. I tried to ignore this as I glanced around to see if I could spot the more important figures that should be here.

And sure enough, the entirety of the Indigo Elite Four and Champion Pryce were in attendance, even Agatha! I could see that Champion Pryce was standing ahead of the others and was clearly waiting for me to approach.

Of course, the moment that I did, a circular wall of microphones instantly surrounded me as the reporters eagerly began to fight to get their microphones closer to my mouth. Luckily, I didn't have to say anything to them as Pryce was the one who greeted me.

"Elite John, welcome back to Indigo." He began with his typical cold demeanour as he extended his hand for me to shake. I observed him carefully as I reached out for his hand, cameras flashing as photos were taken, but it really did seem like he had no issues with me currently.

"Champion Pryce, thank you for welcoming me back." I answered politely, not letting any of my inner sarcasm leak out in my tone. I was very much aware of the cameras that were currently pointing at us at the moment, and I didn't want to give off a bad impression. "I very much enjoyed my time in Hoenn."

"Yes, I can see that." He noted, before he gave off a very begrudging smile that was clearly for the cameras, "I would be remiss if I did not say that you did good work in Hoenn as a representative of Indigo, so with my position as Champion, I thank you for your hard work."

Wow, that couldn't have been more forced and stiffer if he tried. Of course, I'm sure that the headlines would report on this favourably for Pryce, which I supposed was the point. I knew that Pryce was eager for some good headlines at the moment.

Regardless, I wasn't going to burst his bubble at the moment, so I just gave him a polite nod of thanks and turned to the reporters who were waiting impatiently to ask me a few questions.

"Elite John! How did you feel now that you're back?!" The nearest reporter asked me, and I inwardly hoped that all future questions would be this mundane. "What are you going to be doing first?"

"I feel great to be back." I answered truthfully, "And the first thing I'm going to do when I'm free is that I'm going to be heading home to visit my family. It has been a while and I've been longing to see them."

"How did you arrange for Devon Corp to set up a branch in Viridian and for the joint research project to be established in Petalburg?" Another reporter asked, and since that was a legitimately good question I decided to think through my answer before speaking.

"A bit of it was luck, admittedly. I had just fought Gym Leader Norman, and after our battle we both wanted to discuss a few things about our training techniques together." I replied while stroking my chin. "During that discussion, I brought up the fact that we could collaborate on a joint research project, and we started to put the details in place. However, Norman told me that I'd have to visit Devon Corp to procure the scientists on Hoenn's side, so I went there."

"And because of that, I visited Devon Corp to ask them about if they were interested in lending their scientists to participate in the project. And while I was doing so, I asked whether they were interested in setting up a branch in Indigo, and they agreed." I continued. "So, as you can see, it was quite a bit of luck and a string of coincidences. But I'm certainly happy with the results!"

My answer glossed over a lot of the finer details, and I made the decision to deliberately keep Giovanni's name and his actions out of my answer. I didn't want to seem like I was just a puppet of Giovanni that was doing his bidding, that would be bad for both of our reputation's. I feared that, if I had told the truth about Giovanni's involvement, many would see him as being far too powerful for a Gym Leader and it might bring unwanted suspicions to him.

At the moment, I didn't think either of us wanted that to happen, so I downplayed his involvement. I'm sure he would understand.

The rest of the questions asked very similar things, and fortunately most of them revolved around my match with Drake. I gave them similarly inane and inoffensive answers, mostly repeating what I had said in the winner's interview, and before they could ask me another round of dumb questions, I was rescued from them by an unexpected saviour.

"Alright, that's enough attention for you, young man." Agatha's cackling voice cut in and I could feel her surprisingly strong grip on my arm. "I need this young man for something, so shoo, shoo, go away." She shooed away the reporters with repeated waves of her walking cane. A few of the braver reporters almost wanted to protest against this, but then I felt a wave of pressure suddenly emerge from Agatha that finally drove away the reporters.

Agatha seemed satisfied at finally having some peace and quiet, but her face turned into a frown as she addressed the remaining Elite Four members that were standing there impatiently. "Off you go, gents, I have something to speak to with young John here. You can bother him about your problems later." She mocked.

I saw that Walker simply shrugged and walked away, but both Lance and Pryce both scowled at Agatha. Ignoring both of their stares, she forcefully gripped my arm and pulled me aside.

"So, tell me about Karen." She began once we were out of earshot. "Did you fuck her?"

I coughed and spluttered at just how blunt Agatha was. I gave her a questioning look to see if she was simply mocking me, but I could see that she was fully serious. Seeing that she was actually asking a serious question, I decided to match her gaze.

"No, I didn't." I replied uncomfortably, and she stared at me with discerning eyes that felt like they were seeing through me. "I'm telling the truth. I won't deny that there's probably something between us, but we never acted on it yet. We both thought it was too soon."

Agatha stared at me for a few more moments, as if trying to determine whether I was lying or not before she nodded and gave me a devilish smile. "Good, glad to see the both of you aren't as controlled by your hormones as I feared."

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I kept silent. Agatha saw my silence and continued her questioning.

"What do you think of her skills as a trainer? She told me you trained together frequently."

"Yes, we did." I confirmed, happy to be talking about anything else besides our relationship status. I took on a more wistful tone as I spoke about our time together. "I could see that her Pokémon were all very well-trained, and even her non-Dark type Pokémon were all extremely proficient in their use of Dark type moves. She certainly lives up to the title of a Dark type specialist."

"Yes, yes, I know how good she is with her Dark types." Agatha waved her hands dismissively, "But is she ready for the Elite Four?"

I frowned and thought about it for a moment. A part of me wanted to tell Agatha that Karen was ready, and that I believed her capable of being in the Elite Four right now. But the more rational part of myself realized that Karen's team was too lacking in heavy hitters to really secure her position in the Elite Four in the long run. She needed to win decisively and unquestionably to deter any future challengers, and I wasn't sure she could do that at the moment.

Sure, she had a bunch of tricks and tactics that could make up for that deficiency, but sometimes as an Elite Four there are situations where raw strength is all that's needed, and Karen currently doesn't really have that and was overly reliant on her tricks. Even her Houndoom was more of a jack-of-all-trades Pokémon than an actual heavy hitter.

With that realization, I decided to stick to the truth while still painting Karen in as positive of a light as I could. "Karen could most certainly take on Walker. And, she just needs to add a heavy hitter into her team, and I would be confident in her chances of making it into the Elite Four for the long-term." I told Agatha.

But Agatha just snorted, and gave me a mocking smile, "You think I can't see through what you're saying?" She cackled to herself, "Almost half of the Gym Leaders in Indigo can take on Walker, it's no hard feat. I can see what you're trying to do, but don't think I can't see through it."

I shrugged shamelessly at that, and I stayed silent as I watched Agatha ponder something. A few moments passed by before she spoke up again.

"Well, it's not like I didn't know this already. After all, I did watch all of her matches in Hoenn." She told me, and I gave her an annoyed look. Why did she ask me all that if she already knew about it anyways?

Agatha clearly read my thoughts from the annoyance that was on my face, and she cackled once again. "I asked you those questions because I wanted to know how you would react to my questions." She admitted with a sardonic grin, "It's not like I would have trusted your judgment on her strength anyways."

Her mocking response only served to further frustrate me. I felt played with and used, and I was about to walk away from her word games towards where the remaining Elite Four were before Agatha interrupted my thoughts once again.

"John, a word of advice." She said uncharacteristically seriously and without a trace of mockery in her voice. I turned back to her and gave her a look that told her to get on with it. She continued with an enigmatic smile, "Pryce is distracted right now, and he's more worried than he's letting on about Lance. The recent scandal against him has really unnerved Pryce, and he'll be looking for support from various important people to secure his position as Champion."

My eyes widened with astonishment at the information. Why was she telling me this? Before I could think about it, Agatha resumed her explanation, "I also know that Lance is looking to seek support from those same people against Pryce. And while I personally do not give a whit which egotistical person remains or becomes Champion, I just thought I'd let you know as a favour of sorts and as thanks for helping out with Karen."

Before I could even respond, Agatha suddenly snapped her fingers and a Gengar revealed itself out of nowhere and the two of them were abruptly covered with a large shadow before they both disappeared.

I stared blankly at where Agatha disappeared from, both mildly confused and impressed by that display. I then quickly shrugged off those distracting thoughts and focused on what Agatha had just told me. I didn't know why she had chosen to tell me this, but it was undoubtedly useful.

I went over her words a couple of times before I realized that the rest of the Elite Four and the Champion were still waiting for me. It was definitely unusual that they were just waiting there and, considering their personalities, I fully expected them to have tried to interrupt our conversation. Yet the fact that they didn't only gave credence to what Agatha had told me; that they wanted my favour and were trying to play nice with me.

Not wanting to keep them waiting any longer, I turned around and started making my way back. I could see that Walker was off to the side just standing there idly, he was obviously uninvolved with the matter but didn't want to leave while the others were still there, and Lance and Pryce were visibly glaring at each other. I supposed that it was no secret that they both knew what the other was planning.

Like I told Giovanni, I wanted to support Lance over Pryce. I knew that he would end up being Champion as per canon, but I couldn't be certain that I hadn't accidentally butterflied canon away through my actions. Also, I definitely wanted to hear from the both of them before I decided on who to support.

Lance was the first to see me approach, and I could tell that he was about to say something before Pryce rudely cut him off and spoke first.

"Elite John, I would like to speak with you about some important matters regarding the safety of Indigo and her future." He said while ignoring the hole that Lance was glaring into the back of his head. "Let us make our way to my office and discuss this further. Come."

I hated the fact that he made it sound like a command, but I gave Lance a quick glance and he subtly shook his head to signal that he wasn't willing to speak up now. Having no other choice, since refusing Pryce at this moment would be basically saying that I was going to be Pryce's enemy, I followed Pryce as he summoned one of the League provided Kadabra's to Teleport us back to his office.

Just before we were Teleported to Pryce's offices, I briefly saw Lance giving me a considering look. I didn't have time to realize what that meant before Pryce and I appeared in his immaculate office.

Pryce casually made his way and seated himself on his fancy and very expensive chair before he gestured for me to sit down opposite him.

"Please sit, John." He said as if it was a command rather than an offer. "We have much to talk about."

A.N The first chapter of the Indigo Politics Arc! As you can probably tell, this Arc is going to have a lot more politics than the Hoenn Arc. But don't worry, there'll be battles too…eventually.

Thank you for sticking with me all this way and continuing to read my work. As always, I am thankful for your support.

Oh, and about John's and Agatha's analysis of Karen, you have to realize that they're both unconsciously comparing Karen to the current members of the Indigo Elite Four. Excluding Walker, that would consist of John, Lance, Agatha. A very strong lineup.

And to anyone who wants to support me, please check out my p atreon at CartecTNN where you can read 8 advanced chapters! Thanks to those who have supported me already.