The New Normal – 4-2 – Interlude – Mrs Smith
With John out again dealing with who knows what, and Whitney in the fields preparing for her journey, Angela was alone in the living room with her husband, Jack, discussing business.
They had scoured through the numbers, and they were both very pleased with what they saw. The posters, for how little they cost, were a huge success and greatly boosted the sales of their Moomoo milk.
Who knew that her son and his Pokémon would be so popular and in such high demand that many people would want to collect posters of them? But she understood, her son looked very handsome in them. She was proud of him for being a role model for others to look up to.
"We're making a very healthy profit." Her husband spoke up, making her refocus on the documents in front of her. "I think it's best if we were to reinvest some of this and expand our business even further."
"I agree completely, and I've already thought about how to reinvest this." She said, and Jack gave her a questioning look.
"I think that now that we have an exclusive deal with the Blackthorns, we really need to increase our supply of Moomoo milk." She started, and she continued after Jack nodded in agreement, "But we can't just keep buying more Miltank and leaving them here in the family home; we're almost at capacity."
Her husband nodded again, so she kept going.
"Therefore, I propose that we should start a new branch of the business in Johto. We certainly have the popularity and brand recognition to do well there. Plus, it'll make it easier to continue supplying our Moomoo milk to Blackthorn since we'd be much closer. Also, if we ever expand to Hoenn like John previously mentioned, then a branch in Johto would also make it easier to supply stuff there as well through Olivine."
Her husband thought about it for a moment while he flipped through a few documents before saying, "That makes sense…but wouldn't we have to compete with the Moomoo farm near Olivine?"
"We're already competing with them NOW." She stated, "Setting up a new branch in Johto isn't really going to change all that much. Our distributors already work in Kanto and Johto, we're just making it easier for our product to reach them and expanding our supply."
"Besides, I think you're really underestimating our son's popularity at this point. After what our son did in Olivine, and the posters that we have, I'm sure his fans would flock to buy our family's Moomoo milk over the others." She said confidently.
"...It's weird to think of our son as a celebrity, but he truly is one, isn't he?" Her husband asked rhetorically, but she could tell that he shared her pride in him. "But you're right. I don't foresee any huge risks with setting up a new branch in Johto, so I think we should go for it. Do you have any ideas on location?"
She checked through her notes until she found the one she wanted and showed it to Jack. "Here, it's a nice place to the side of Route 34, near Goldenrod. It's nice and out of the way, with plenty of space for rearing Miltank. And it's quite cheap too."
Her husband inspected her notes for a moment, "Huh…that's interesting. I like the price, but is it exposed to wild Pokémon?"
She frowned for a moment as she tried to remember what she had researched, "…I don't think so, but there's no harm in checking it out and making inquiries before we buy it. I'm fairly certain that the wild Pokémon in the area are likely to be fairly weak and docile, so there shouldn't be much to worry about."
"Fair enough." Jack stated with a shrug, "You know that we're going to need to hire assistants at this point to help out with all the extra Miltank that we're going to be buying. There's no way we can just handle it ourselves like we had done. We're going to also need a manager to handle the new farm." He pointed out.
Angela sighed, "Yes, I agree. And it's going to be a hassle trying to find and hire suitable candidates for the farm. We could get my brother Milton to help manage it perhaps?"
Her husband took one of her hands in his, "Let's not worry about that for the moment." He reassured her, "First, we should go to the location first and scout it out and see if it's suitable and affordable. If so, THEN we can worry about hiring people to help manage it. I'm sure they can't be that hard to find."
"In fact, we could probably hire some farmhands to work here as well and have the both of us move entirely to administration and managerial positions." He suggested thoughtfully. "It'll be a much better use of our time anyways…and to be honest is something we should have done quite a while ago."
She thought about it for a moment before nodding, "Fine. It does make sense. But would the extra farmhands live here?"
"No." Her husband instantly denied, "They'll just come work in shifts and then head home. We can pay for their travel expenses, if necessary, but they won't be living here. Not when our son is an Elite Four member. That just sends a bad image."
Oh, she hadn't even considered that, but she let out a breath of relief. "That's good, I wouldn't really want them to live here anyways." She then looked over her papers once more to see if she's missed anything, but she was pretty sure she hadn't. Then she noticed the time.
"Is there anything else we needed to discuss, Jack? If not, I'm going to get started on dinner." She asked, and Jack also checked through the papers once again before shaking his head.
"Nah, think that's it." He stated, and then the two of them began tidying up the table for dinner. "Oh, what are we having for dinner?"
"Steamed Karp with rice." She replied.
"Again?! We just had that two days ago!" He mock-complained.
"Yes. And we're going to keep having it until you lose some weight, my dear." She smirked as she poked her husband's stomach, which wasn't actually as fat as she made it out to be, before she made her way to the kitchen.
She ignored her husband's grumblings as she started to prepare dinner.
A.N. A bit of insight into how the family business is developing – hope everything makes sense!
This chapter has been BETAed by Allute! Thanks again!
The New Normal – OMAKE – Ingame Conversation Snippets
First time meeting, with John standing outside of a Pokéshop in Cerulean.
["…Hey kiddo. Do you need some help beating the Gym Leader? Well, you can buy some of the Smith family Moomoo milk. They're better than potions!"]
When defeated:
["…Huh. Wow. You really do have talent, don't you? It's strange that you're the second 11-year-old to have defeated me today. I guess this is what happens when you're no longer the protagonist. Anyways, I think your 'rival' is up ahead. Pretty sure he already beat the Champion."]
["…oops. I wasn't supposed to spoil that, was I? Oh well. What are they gonna do, fire me?"]
When defeated, but your rival is named something ridiculous:
["…Huh. Wow. You really do have talent, don't you. It's strange that you're the second 11-year-old to have defeated me today...though at least your name isn't BUTTFACE. I swear to Arceus, please defeat your rival so that he's no longer the Champion. Indigo cannot afford to have a 11-year-old Champion named BUTTFACE. PLEASE!"]
["…Also, we should introduce a new law to ban names like that. It should be a crime."]
When battling him with a team full of Gardevoir:
["Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. That's not happening. I'm not about to let you get pass me with a team like that. Sorry, but not sorry, your journey ends here."]
When battling him with a team full of Legendaries:
["…Can I just surrender so you can move on? Saves us both the time and trouble."]
When speaking to him after you become Champion:
["You really did it huh…can't believe we here in Indigo are celebrating having a 11-year-old Champion. I can't tell if Hoenn is going to be laughing at us, or terrified that someone as young as you managed to become our Champion."]
["Why are you looking at me like I'm being a hypocrite? I was SIXTEEN when I became an Elite Four! That's very different!"]
When trying to enter John's house:
[The door is locked.]
When trying to enter John's house part 2:
[The door is locked, and will remained locked.]
When trying to enter John's house part 3:
[The door is lock…hang on, there's a note that was just slipped underneath the door.]
[It reads 'To whom it may concern, please stop knocking on the door. It is locked for a reason. If you would like to explore a fancy house for items or people to talk to, I suggest visiting the vacation house in Undella Town. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Now, please go away.']
When asking about Team Rocket:
["They are a plague on our society. I'm only glad that we were quick to act and fight back against them. Who knows what kinds of damage they could have done?"]
["Wait…why are you looking upset about that? Don't tell me that a 11-year-old like you wanted to fight against Team Rocket by yourself! That's pure lunacy!"]
["Stop looking at me like that!"]
When asking about Team Rocket, with Giovanni nearby:
["They are a plague on our society. I'm very thankful that Giovanni led the charge against them and helped Indigo push them back. I'm very proud to be his friend."]
["Wait…why are you looking suspiciously at Giovanni? He's a great man! He's the last person to be associated with Team Rocket! Just ask anyone! …What's making you so suspicious of him?"]
When speaking at the Celadon Game Corner:
["I'm not much of a gambler, but is it me or are these slots rigged AGAINST the house? It seems like I win more than I lose when I'm here."]
["Also, what are you doing snooping around like that? And why are you looking at that poster? There's nothing suspicious about it, it's just a poster. Of a lady wearing a bikini. Actually, why ARE you looking at a poster like that?"]
["In fact, how did you even get in here? I thought this was for 16+ only? Who let you in? Even I got IDed before I could come in, AND I'M IN THE ELITE FOUR!"]
When speaking to John before heading to Hoenn:
["You know…I envy you for being so free to travel around wherever you like. Though I do hope you have a good time in Hoenn, I certainly did."]
["Oh, and uh, just a word of advice. Just be careful around Drake. I'm pretty sure someone as young as you don't deserve to be assaulted by what comes out of his mouth. I'm pretty sure 80% of what he says is not for children. But otherwise, he's a pretty cool guy."]
When walking around a city with an unreasonably large 'follow' Pokémon:
["Look. I can understand that walking around with your Pokémon are one of the greatest joys of life. Trust me, I get it. But…how do I say this…your Pokémon isn't going to fit on the streets, and in fact is already tearing up the pavement as it is walking around."]
["I really hate to be THAT guy, but I'm gonna have to ask you to put that away. You're scaring the children."]
When speaking at the Moomoo Farm on Route 39:
["It's a true tragedy to see a sick Miltank, unable to produce any Moomoo milk. But hey, if you want Moomoo milk, I can assure you that the Smith family's Moomoo milk is a much better alternative!"]
["Why are you looking at me like I'm scum? It wasn't ME that made the Miltank sick. I'm just an honest businessman!"]
Before the Champion rematch challenge:
["Look…I get that you're a strong trainer. Really, I'm sure everyone knows this by now. But ever since you've become Champion, you haven't touched any of the paperwork, and you haven't attended a single committee meeting. Things are about to implode back there in the office."]
["So…no hard feelings, but I've got to get you out of there. Oh, and before we begin, I'd just like to say three words."]
["Huge. Power. Slaking"]
A.N. Just another random OMAKE that I came up with after I got so inspired by that last one. I'm glad you all enjoyed the previous one.
And yes, this is in no actual order, nor should you take anything in this OMAKE seriously. Again, it's supposed to take place in an AU pokemon game. Don't think about it too hard. If people like this too, I might write more in the future too!
BETAed by Allute. Cheers! 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!