The New Normal – 6-10 – INTERLUDE – Pokenet Reactions

[IS SILPH CO RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ATTACK AT DEVON CORP!? An anonymous report states that this was an act of corporate espionage!?] By The Hoenn Times

[Picture of Silph Co, Team Rocket, and Devon Corp side by side]

[Picture of Drake and John talking in the distance]

After our report yesterday detailing the attack at Devon Corp, it has appeared that more alarming information has just been released.

According to a few unconfirmed reports, there seems to be evidence that links the large business titan of Indigo to the attacks at Devon Corp. If this proves to be true, then that gives a huge amount of evidence to the theory that Team Rocket had been contracted to perform an act of corporate espionage, where they would steal certain files from Devon Corp and sell them to Silph Co.

Unfortunately, as the reports remain unsubstantiated at the moment, we decided to reach out to our colleagues in Indigo where they managed to snag an interview with Steven Stone, the heir to Devon Corp. When asked about his thoughts on the incident, he had this to say.

"As soon as I heard about the attack, my first instinct was to rush back to check if things were okay. Then, my next thought was that I would do all that I could to punish these criminals for daring to strike out at my company. But my father managed to reassure me, and ultimately persuaded me to remain in Indigo."

"As for these 'reports' about Silph Co's involvement, I don't buy it for an instant. As one of Silph Co's greatest competitors, I naturally have had frequent correspondences with their board of directors. They would not do something like this; it is far too much of a risk for too little gain. Therefore, I am almost certain that the real culprit is trying to frame Silph Co to disguise their own actions."

When asked about who he suspected that culprit was, Steven unfortunately had no answers. However, he remained adamant in his statement of Silph Co's innocence. And now, this writer is unsure of what to think.

And an important event to point out is Elite John's arrival into Hoenn, where he was found deep in conversation with Elite Drake and Devon Corp CEO Joseph Stone. What were they discussing? And why was he called over here so quickly? Could the situation be more serious than what we expected?

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think Silph Co is as innocent as Steven claims they are? Tell us in the comments!

Comments

NotTooMuchWater

Okay, what the fuck?! I thought Team Rocket were dead in the water. Firstly, how the fuck did they suddenly resurface like this. And secondly, since when did Silph Co perform sneaky shit like this?!

What is going on!?

ANormalFan

If John's here, then the situation must be serious! I'm proud of him for helping out, but the last time he was there we had the battle at Olivine!

Well if the hero of Olivine is there, then I'm sure he'll help handle everything in Hoenn!

KantoRepresent

I have never been more furious at seeing such SLANDER on the news. Silph Co is a pillar of Kanto, and a shining example of our success! It is one of Kanto's greatest businesses. It would never lower itself to employ the likes of Team Rocket! Never!

This has 'criminal scheme' written all over it. I refuse to believe that this could ever be true!

TangelaThoughts

I'm hesitant to believe this. It really feels like something coming of left field, with little to no evidence supporting it. And if Steven Stone, the heir to Devon Corp, is denying the validity of these accusations, then I certainly won't be disagreeing with him.

SlugmaBalls

I don't know what to think. Until I can see clear evidence from a more reliable source that Silph Co is truly innocent, then I'm going to remain wary. I totally believe that big businesses would engage in corporate espionage like this.

KantoRepresent

[This user has been banned from this thread. You are not allowed to verbally harass someone just because they do not share the same views as you.]

FutureAce

Yeah…I don't really see it. But I do also want to see some evidence that Silph Co is actually innocent in this. If they are, it shouldn't be hard to prove, right?

GeneralistGeneral

Not to be THAT guy, but anyone know what kind of Pokémon that Team Rocket are fielding now? They used to use only use Pokémon like Raticate, Arbok, and Golbat, so I was wondering if they had anything new now?

TangelaThoughts

GeneralistGeneral That's actually a good question, since if we knew about the type of Pokémon they were using, we could try to prove if Silph Co was the one backing them after all.

But unfortunately, the news has been silent on this. Hopefully they'll give the public more information soon.

AlluteNinja

I don't believe it. This is way too stupid for Silph Co to attempt. They barely even covered their tracks!

ILoveGoldenRod

Ehhh this is the kind of scheme-y stuff that happens behind the scenes. Who knows if it's true or not. If it is, I hope Hoenn doesn't unjustly blame the entire region for the actions of one company. That would be unfair!

RocketGrunt

See! I told you all that the next time Team Rocket would attack it wouldn't be like Olivine!


[HUGE ATTACK AT MT. PYRE! DOZEN OF GRUNT CAPTURED BY A JOINT OPERATION WITH THE ELITE FOUR!] By The Hoenn Times

[A view of Mt. Pyre from the bottom. Smoke clouds can be seen rising into the air from the summit]

Today proves that those who had assumed that Team Rocket had been collared and neutered were wrong, as a huge raid had taken place by their members on Mt. Pyre. According to the reports, they were seeking to steal the Red and Blue Orbs, priceless cultural artifacts of Hoenn that they likely intended to sell for huge amounts of money.

Luckily, the Hoenn Police were either able to respond in time, or more likely, they had been aware of this attempt and had acted alongside Elite John and Elite Drake to ambush and capture these grunts before they could escape with their stolen treasures.

According to many eye-witness reports, the fighting broke out on the summit, very near where the Orbs had been located. The Jenny's were able to put up a good fight, but they were slowly overwhelmed by the grunt's greater numbers and surprising level of training. Yet the tides were quickly turned with the arrival of the two Elite Four members, who were able to round up and eliminate the threat before they could do any more damage.

Overall, it was a very successful operation, and this writer hopes to see more like it, as it has become clear that the threat of Team Rocket still remains.

Comments

NotTooMuchWater

Holy shit…this is huge. So glad they didn't get away with this, because what the fuck!? How long was this planned for?! At least it was only to steal something that, while culturally significant, isn't something else of importance.

Still, glad they were stopped in time.

ANormalFan

WOO! John at it again with crushing Team Rocket! Knew he would do it!

FutureAce

Wow! What is going on in Hoenn these days!? First the raid on Devon Corp, and now this attack at Mt. Pyre?! This is crazy!

FearTheRat

As bad as this looks, it seems that at least Team Rocket is still pretty monetary focused if they're targeting something they can probably sell. It could be worse.

GeneralistGeneral

Once again, did anyone see what kind of Pokémon they employed? Or did they really do this with a horde of Raticate, Arbok, and Golbat?

TangelaThoughts

GeneralistGeneral Nope. Everything's being kept under lock-and-key for the time being, which is understandable considering what just took place. I imagine the Hoenn Police are very keen to keep every bit of information under wraps for the time being.

Maybe we'll hear more about it after everything's been wrapped up. Hope that does happen soon. I really don't want to see Team Rocket rampaging around Hoenn like they did in Indigo.

RockGetGrunt

Oh shit. This is really going to turn into a huge mess.

UnderTheSea

As I said, they played with magma, and now they got caught. Typical scum.

FloorIsLava

Wasn't this those pirates we saw last time? I told you they were up to no good.

AreYouSlowBro

Woah…so much has happened…since when did Team Rocket become a thing again?

FlyingHigh

…Have you not been on the news?

AreYouSlowBro

…no.


[RAIDS BEGIN AGAINST TEAM ROCKET! HOENN POLICE STRIKING BACK AGAINST COMBINED TEAM OF CRIMINALS!] by The Hoenn Times

[Picture of a raid in progress, with Drake circling a building on his Flygon while John's Snorlax can be seen busting in a door]

It seems that the Hoenn Police have been very busy and active after their successful ambush at Mt. Pyre, as they have been hard at work busting in doors and raiding facilities of what appears to be criminal hideouts.

Just like their ambush at Mt. Pyre, these raids seem to be very fruitful as hordes of grunts could be seen being marched out in handcuffs after each raid. While the Hoenn Police has adamantly refused to comment about what they have learnt, this writer is confident that they have made great strides into eliminating the threat of these criminals once in for all.

In a recent public statement, a prominent and long-serving committee member had this to say:

"…I am fully confident that the Hoenn Police, with the help of Elite Drake and Elite John, have this matter fully in hand and their efforts will prevent these criminals from causing any more harm. Once again, I would like to remind the public that these criminals are no threat to the average Hoenn citizen, and that there is no need to panic. Everything is well in hand, so please carry on with your daily lives."

However, what a few members of the public have noted is the noticeable absence of the other Elite Four members. They wonder why is it that Drake is the one participating on these raids. Fortunately, we managed to reach out to Elite Phoebe, who provides a little bit of insight into what was going on behind the scenes:

"The rest of us in the Elite Four were very eager to get involved like Drake is. Even the Champion wanted to get involved. However, the Committee, after much deliberation, has decided that it would be an unsuitable use of our time since Drake and John clearly have it handled. While I'm sure that they do, I believe that our participation would have added to the safety of these raids while also allowing us to strike at more locations to capture more of these criminals."

"It is safe to say that I am disappointed in the Committee for their decision, though I will reluctantly acquiesce to their judgment. Despite this, I know for certain that we have all been hard at work, especially Wallace, in ensuring that Drake and John get the support that they need to continue their string of successes. I really do wish them the best of luck!"

So, it appears that the Committee had apparently chosen to keep the other Elite Four members back to handle other matters. A very useful insight. Personally, this writer feels that the Committee should have prioritised ensuring the elimination of Team Rocket over any other priorities. But what do our readers think? Feel free to let us know in the comments!

Comments

FrostQueen (Verified POG)

I would just like to back up Phoebe's statements here. If the Committee has chosen a course of action, it ultimately is the duty of the Elite Four to stick to the majority decision of our publicly elected servants. Regardless of their reasoning.

DarkRebel (Verified POG)

Likewise. Though it may pain us to do so, this is the decision that the Committee has come to, and we shall uphold it. And, truthfully speaking, the Committee are not wrong when they say that Drake and John have things well in hand. They have my full trust and support that they can handle such matters.

NotTooMuchWater

Well…I can't really say that the committee are fully in the wrong. The situation right now is far from what had occurred in Indigo, so I can't say that the full deployment of all the Elite Four would have been necessary.

SlugmaBalls

Glad that these criminals are getting hit and are hurting! About time we delivered some payback! Also, don't really care either way if the other Elite Four get involved, so long as the threat is handled.

If the situation doesn't require all of the Elite Four members, then it's probably not too serious.

AlluteNinja

Really do hope that this really puts a dent in whatever future plans these criminals have. I really don't want to see yet another resurgence, but I'm not holding my breath.

RockGetGrunt

Anyone else think that the Hoenn Police really ought to stop with these raids? I mean surely they got all of them by now! There's no need to continue breaking into private property, right?


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[Indigo brings their 'International Police' alongside Elite Lorelei?! New group formed by Champion Lance to combat the recent rise of terrorism!] by The Hoenn Times

[Photo of Lorelei arriving in Indigo, followed by the newly formed Interntional Police]

After the turmoil and struggles that we had just gone through this week in Hoenn, following the series of raids that took place against the recent resurgence of criminals, it's nice to see that Indigo has not left us in hanging by ourselves.

The new arrival of the International Police, the brainchild of Indigo's Champion Lance, hopes to serve as both as additional reinforcements for our undoubtedly tired Hoenn Police members, while also serving as an initial test to see if the idea would be well received by the public.

Champion Lance had this to say about his newly created project in his most recent public announcement.

"The International Police has always been an idea that had been floating around in my head for some time. I saw the devastation and horror that Team Rocket brought about in Indigo, and I recognized the need to create a new division that worked alongside the Indigo or Hoenn or Sinnoh Police that were tailor-made to combat this new threat."

"And so, the overall goal of the International Police is to specifically fight back against larger scale terrorist acts and are meant to operate in every region. Thus, members of the International Police will be experts in undergoing special investigations and covert infiltration. You can consider them the Elite of your usual standard Police."

Champion Lance also expressed his personal thanks to the efforts of Elite John and Elite Drake for their great efforts in combating the threat. We are very lucky that we have these trusted Elites to keep us safe.

Well, this writer is certainly very excited to see more regarding this newly formed group! Will Champion's Lance be able to back up his words? Or will his ideas crash and burn around him? We will see!

Comments

IceColdSimp

Finally, some more Lorelei in action! Can't wait to see what she does in Hoenn! I hope Hoenn is prepared for her!

NotTooMuchWater

Wow…didn't expect this, but nice to see some truly good news for once. Really glad to see that Indigo is willing to help out with this, especially when Team Rocket originally originated from them.

FearTheRat

I'm personally rather optimistic about this 'International Police' thing. I thought that it was about time that the Police force of our regions got a little shake up, and this might be just the thing. Excited to see what they'll do.

TangelaThoughts

Really liking this kind of 'Elite' force being established. With the recent terrorist attacks plaguing both regions of Indigo and Hoenn, I think this is a worthwhile response to such a threat.

SlugmaBalls

Happy to see Indigo helping us out! We might not need it, but the intention is nice. Hope we can repay the favour!

TangelaThoughts

SlugmaBalls I hope they do. It'll be a great step towards forming stronger bonds between the two regions, which can only be a good thing.


[OPINION: A commentary on the state of the current Indigo circuit and how it's running!] By Exploud Reviews

With the circuit in full swing, its time for my annual blog post about this year's circuit! And man, am I excited to write about it. Especially compared to last year, I think this circuit has some real potential.

Firstly, I wanted to talk about the states of the Gyms in Indigo. To start with, I'd like to highlight just how much better the quality of the Gyms are overall in Indigo. Last year, we had some pretty obvious bad apples that I wrote about, with Pewter and Cerulean being the worst of the bunch. However, it seems like this year both of these Gyms, whether through good decision making or the forced involvement of the League, have managed to get their stuff together!

The Cerulean Gym has seen massive improvements since the last time I was there. Before, it was mostly just a glitzy and showy Gym with very little substance. It was obvious that the Cerulean Gym Leader were struggling with dealing with the myriad of responsibilities of running a Gym. But now, things seem to be running much smoothly, and from what I've heard, the sisters have hired some really competent people recommended to them by Gym Leader Giovanni that have really helped them out! Well, I'm proud to say that the Gym really has turned over a new leaf since then.

And let's not forget about Pewter City. While their improvement was forced upon them by the League, getting Elite Agatha and her apprentice, Karen, involved was not what I expected from them. Still, it was clearly a good choice, as the Gym has quickly seen rapid improvements over the past few weeks. The fights are finally at a balanced level for a 1st Gym Badge, and a sense of discipline has finally been instilled into their Gym trainers. While the Pewter Gym is still far from becoming one of the more prominent Gyms in Indigo or Kanto, it's no longer being poorly handled. I daresay that it has bright days ahead of it!

And not only that, but moving on to the developments at Johto…(Click here to continue reading)


[Mt. Moon finally falls under the authority of Cerulean City?! Years of back-and-forth finally decided in favour of Cerulean City!] By The Indigo Post.

[A picture of Mt. Moon]

For those in the know about the inter-city politics of Kanto, today comes as quite the surprise! After many private discussions between the local councils of Pewter and Cerulean, they have made an announcement that Mt. Moon will fall solely under the restriction of Cerulean City!

Mt. Moon has been in quite the awkward spot for the past several years. Located uncomfortably between the two cities of Pewter and Cerulean, there has been a long running dispute between the two cities about which city has authority over the resource-rich Mt. Moon. Understandably, each city would much rather have the lucrative mountain under their control.

However, with the fall of Pewter, and the rise in status of Cerulean, in hindsight it comes to little surprise to find that the local council of Cerulean was able to finally push their authority over this disputed territory. This writer believes that much of the credit for the rise in Cerulean's authority comes from Elite John, born from Cerulean, joining the Elite Four, as well as the rise in popularity and prestige of the once stagnant Cerulean Gym. While the Pewter Gym has recovered slightly from its recent scandals and problems, the prestige of Pewter City has really taken a hit that it could ill afford.

What are your thoughts about this sudden change? Let us know in the comments!

Comments

TangelaThoughts

Not surprised in the least. After seeing John's name pop up in the news so much, as well as the noticeable improvements with the Cerulean Gym, I thought this was a matter of time. Not surprised they pushed for this at all.

Maybe we will see a far more prosperous Cerulean City in the future; perhaps it might even become one of the main landmarks of Kanto? Akin to something like Viridian or Saffron? Going to be interesting to see.

ILoveGoldenRod

I hope Pewter City isn't doing too badly. Everyone seems very focused on all the benefits to Cerulean, but what about Pewter? Why would the Indigo League allow this? The sudden loss of resources to an already declining Pewter might send it down an even more dangerous spiral!

KantoRepresent

ILoveGoldenRod Firstly, calm down. You're really exaggerating the situation. Secondly, you clearly don't know anything about Kanto if you can say something that wrong. Pewter City will always be there, and it's too culturally significant as the location of the 1st Gym to be destitute. It'll be fine.

FutureAce

Oh cool! I'll be able to buy Moon Stones at Cerulean now! Maybe the prices would have gone down?

FlyingHigh

It's not unusual for new Elite Four members to start building up their home cities. Just look at what Agatha did in Lavender Town, and obviously Lance with Blackthorn City. Considering John's friendship with Agatha, it's not surprising he's followed in her footsteps.


["This ends today!" Gym Leader Giovanni states as he announces the innocence of Silph Co. in the recent attacks against Devon Corp!] By The Indigo Post

[Picture of Giovanni standing outside the entrance to Silph Co with a few documents in his hand]

Previously, there were rumours aplenty about Silph Co's supposed involvement in the recent attack against Devon Corp, where Team Rocket had violently broken in and escaped with several important files. After this incident, there were apparently 'evidence' that had cropped up that accused Silph Co for secretly backing Team Rocket to steal files from Devon Corp, which was supposedly supported by the long-standing rivalry that these two corporate giants had against each other.

However, just early this afternoon, Gym Leader Giovanni made a public announcement on behalf of Silph Co, which he is also a director of, to clear up the air surrounding this issue. His speech can be found online here.

Beyond his speech, he has also made public the details of Silph Co's auditing reports. Anyone interested in looking through it can view it here.

This writer has been through the papers and is convinced and pleased to see that Silph Co's innocence in the attack at Devon Corp cannot be refuted. And with that rousing declaration, this writer is certainly glad that the matter is finally put to rest.

What are the rest of your thoughts about the whole incident now that the truth appears to have been finally brought to light? Let us know in the comments!

Comments

KantoRepresent

HAH! I fucking knew that Silph Co was innocent. And yet I was banned for my unshakeable faith. I hope you doubters know better than to think negatively of one of the critical economic pillars of Kanto. Let's go Giovanni!

FutureAce

Welp. I don't understand anything from those auditing reports, but I'm sure if everyone else says its okay then I guess I have to take their word for it.

Not that I really doubt Gym Leader Giovanni was going to fake something like that! He's one of the most honest people in Kanto!

GroundedForLife

Yeah! If Giovanni says so, then it must be true! After all, someone as respectable as Giovanni wouldn't dare lie!

Plus, everyone knows Silph Co is a clean company. Them having suspicious 'underworld' connections is ludicrous!

TangelaThoughts

So, this finally confirms that this was no more of a smokescreen for Team Rocket to launch their attack on the Orbs. Crazy that it nearly worked. I guess people are willing to believe anything now, huh.

EDIT: And I noticed that the news companies haven't been including Giovanni's denunciation of the news and their tendency to publish things before researching them first. Tut tut.

SlugmaBalls

So, it was nothing more than fake news?! Shame!

A.N. And this wraps up the 6th Arc. A much shorter Arc than the other ones, but I didn't want to extend the Hoenn section of the evil team plotline for too long. I felt that I had covered everything that I wanted to and stretching it any further would be reaching filler territory. Of course, we'll be seeing the evil teams once again in the future.

Hope you enjoyed the Arc AND the story thus far. You have my sincere thanks for sticking with me till now. 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!