John's Team

Tyrant - Slaking

Vordt - Ursaluna

Smough - Snorlax

Klee - Blissey

Port - Mantine

Zephyr - Pidgeot

Klaus - Wyrdeer

Luna - Clefable

Pixel - Porygon2

Euphie - Sylveon

Ornstein - Obstagoon

Wraith - H-Zoroark

The New Normal – 11-7 – The Lake Guardians

I knew from everyone's reaction that the discovery of the Icicle Plate would be a very big deal. But even then, I had still underestimated just how important these Plates were to the traditional Sinnoh people, and the amount of interest that its discovery was about to garner from the public once the announcement was made.

Now it made sense for why the entire research centre had been rushing around in preparation for its announcement, with the most important item to sort out being the safe containment of the Icicle Plate. I didn't understand the inner workings of it, but last I saw there was a huge, specially made, reinforced glass container with a lot of tubes sticking out of it that would serve as the storage capsule for the Icicle Plate. That finally stopped the ever-present frost from radiating out.

However, I noticed that I was unconsciously lingering around the Icicle Plate more than I thought I would. For some reason, I felt a slight tingle of a connection between myself and the Plate. I didn't know why I thought this, but it reminded me of the time where I was face to face with the Regigigas statue.

Every time my gaze would linger on the plate, images of the Regigigas statue would flash in my mind. But never for very long.

Strangeness aside, I had also overheard that a new gallery was already being rapidly constructed in order to display the Icicle Plate, with tons of security measures being discussed to prevent its theft. Of course, while the Icicle Plate was going to be the shining star of this new gallery, there would be many other items on display too like rare fossils, shiny gems, and other unique rock formations.

It was going to be a huge expense, but Cynthia was confident that it would pay itself back very soon from all the attention it would inevitably get.

Overall, it was a pretty substantial expansion for not only the Research Centre, but for Celestic Town as a whole. Once the new gallery was built, it would serve as a newfound tourist attraction for the once sleepy town.

Maybe this was the start of something special for the small town?

Outside of all the developments in Celestic Town, Drake and I took a break from any cave diving and returned to helping out where we could with exposing the criminals. But now was not the time for action, as the raids had mostly died down due to lack of info, but rather careful research and analysis – things that we were not helpful with.

Yet since we still wanted to make ourselves useful while we were here, we did the next best thing. We patrolled aggressively, making sure that everyone know where we were at all times. We followed after the Jennys as they hunted down every lead, making it very clear and obvious that we were actively hunting down the criminals.

The reason we were doing so was to force all of the attention onto us. We knew that the true work in uncovering the criminal's schemes were actually being handled by Lorelei and Lucian, but they needed time for their analysis to come through.

That was why we were doing what we were doing, in the hopes that we could serve as the smokescreen to distract the criminals to the real threat to their plans. If they were frightened off by our presence and chose to cowardly hide in the shadows, then that just bought more and more time for them to be eventually exposed by our analysts. The last thing we wanted to happen was for a sudden and chaotic outbreak of crime.

We were here to deter that.

Not only that, but our visible and obvious presence would also help reassure the public that things were being handled, and that the peace and stability that Cynthia had earned was not about to fall apart anytime soon. It also helped put a face to the international support that Sinnoh was receiving, helping to prove that Cynthia's choice to invite us in was indeed the right decision.

Plus, having the public's trust was going to be essential for the times to come. I knew for certain that as soon as we publish any kind of allegations against Galactic Company that it was going to cause a PR war to break out. Without a doubt, Cyrus would do everything he could to deflect blame and challenge our findings, and he would use the public and the long-established reputation of his company as a shield to prevent us from taking any decisive action.

It would be down to the public to decide who they believed.

But if Team Galactic were so insistent on using the public as a shield, then I would make sure that that shield is turned against them. As long as we found the right evidence, the right argument, then the public support that they once relied on would end up being their downfall.

Nevertheless, that was why Drake and I were once again on a patrol with the Jennys, though this time we were also accompanied by Flint in a show of cooperation between the regions. But we weren't going to be exploring the same cities or towns, but rather we would be going somewhere very special.

The Lakes.

Thanks to Archer's 'work', the authorities had a suspicion that the criminals were scouting around the Lakes for whatever reason. So that was why the three of us were sent there today, both to make sure that the security around the Lakes would hold or at least buy time against any intrusions, and as a deterrent and a firm reminder that Sinnoh would respond to whatever criminal designs that they had for the Lakes.

"…What a beautiful view." I muttered aloud as we entered the clearing around Lake Valor. Once you managed to get out of the forest of trees, all you could see was the beautiful blue and clear waters of the lake, with plenty of healthy and free wild Pokémon swimming within it.

In fact, the waters were so clear that it was almost see-through. With the bright sun shining above us, it was almost impossible to tell what was underwater and what was above water.

It truly was a beautiful sight.

"Can't disagree on that. Even the waters of Hoenn are rarely this clear." Drake nodded, but then he frowned, "…But I thought these Lakes were culturally and historically important to you Sinnoh folk. Don't you have the Lake Guardians here? I definitely remember reading about that."

"You're right, they do live here." Flint confirmed.

"Then why was there no security here before this?" Drake asked curiously, "I would've thought that some place as important as this would be heavily protected."

"That's because there's nothing to protect." Flint answered, and he gestured with a hand, "Look around you. There's nothing here for the criminals to take other than some wild Pokémon. But even then, the wild Pokémon here are not particularly rare nor valuable. You could easily find rarer Pokémon elsewhere and in a far less obvious location, so this wasn't a high priority place for patrols."

"Then what about the Lake Guardians themselves?" I asked, "Surely THEY could be a target for the criminals. Especially because we know they have their insane ambition of targeting the Legendaries for their power."

"That is a prudent concern." Flint agreed, "And hence why we decided to ramp up security just in case. However, insane ambitions or not, the Lake Guardians are known to conceal and hide away from the outside world. We know they exist, as they have revealed themselves to a few lucky visitors at times, but those moments are few and far between."

"Often times they are content to remain hidden, doing whatever Legendaries do in their time." He said, "And if they choose to remain hidden, then there's no way to find them. Many have tried, but the Lake Guardians always remained elusive enough to stay concealed unless they choose to show themselves. Even if they aren't the strongest of Pokémon, despite being a Legendary, it is commonly known that the Lake Guardians will always be safe to uphold their duties so long as they remain hidden as they always do."

"That's why there was previously no security here, because the Lake Guardians do not need to be guarded, ironic as that sounds." He chuckled, "They're perfectly safe on their own. Still, if our suspicions that the terrorists are interested in the Lakes are correct, then hopefully our extra patrols here would be able to catch them in whatever they're planning."

Drake and I nodded at that explanation, satisfied with his answer. And more importantly for me, it reassured me that the Sinnohnians were at least not being negligent with their protection of the Lake Guardians, just practical.

But that was enough wool-gathering from us, and the three of us, plus our team of Jennys and a small group of reporters that silently followed after us, quickly flew over to the cave in the centre of Lake Valor.

A sudden pressure fell on us as we stepped into the damp cave. Despite it being completely empty, devoid of any signs of life or interesting marks, there was an indescribable presence in the cave that constantly reminded you that there was indeed something here, watching over everything with its presence.

Yet the gaze was far from hostile. Instead, it reminded me the feelings of being watched over by a parent. It felt protective and loving; like you were being watched purely out of a desire to keep you safe.

Just like a Guardian would.

Despite the watchful presence that lingered around the cave, there truly was nothing here. No matter how carefully I searched, I didn't see a trace of the Lake Guardians. Even if I squinted my eyes and tried to pick out any irregularities, there were none to be found. No slight shimmers in the air, no sudden breeze, no strange reflections in the puddles of water, nothing. The Lake Guardians, at least to my eyes, were completely undetectable.

That was a slight shame, as I did want to actually see a living and 'active' guardian with my very two eyes. Seeing the unmoving statue of Regigigas was one thing, but an actual moving Legend would be another.

I was tempted to release my Pokémon to see if they had any better luck, but I stopped myself from doing so. That would've been incredibly rude to our hosts.

We left the cave shortly after that and continued our patrols around the lake, mainly for PR purposes. When that was done, with the reporters all leaving, we were about to split off when Drake spoke up.

"Hey John, did you hear about Volkner?" He suddenly asked me.

Judging from the very amused look that he had, I think I knew where this line of questioning was going, "No, I didn't hear anything. What's going on with his relationship with Jasmine?"

"And the man thought he was actually being subtle about it." Flint laughed, "You know when he told me that they were dating, he thought that I was the only one to know because he told it to me. He said that, and I quote, that 'even the scientist group I work with do not know about it'."

"…We definitely know." I replied dryly, my lips slowly forming into a smirk, "I remember we were trying not to tease him about it. He's not very good at hiding it. Good to know that they're dating, though. They seem like a happy match."

Drake elbowed me, "I guess you and Cynthia aren't the only ones forming international relationships."

"Well technically John and Cynthia are the only 'public' relationship right now." Flint corrected, "Although with how bad these two are at hiding their feelings, I'm sure the rumours will spread soon enough."

He then let out another chuckle, "What an event this Tournament was. I might have done worse than I hoped, but having Volkner get into a relationship was worth it. All the teasing opportunities aside, he deserves it – he needs someone else other than me that he talks to."

That last part cemented the fact that, despite how much they ribbed each other, Flint and Volkner were inseparably close.

"Speaking of the Tournament, I don't think I ever congratulated you for beating down Emperor, John." Drake said to me, "Arceus was that the greatest fucking duel I have ever seen. Man, I really need to get Wallace to host another Tournament next year. That fight was fucking exciting. Even though we lost. Fucking Wallace and his annoying Milotic."

"No offense to your girlfriend, John, but that Milotic was a huge pain in the ass." Drake grumbled, "It's a very good reminder why I don't bother challenging Wallace for his position as Champion. Not that I'd ever want to – I'd fucking end myself before being subjected to all that fucking paperwork. I am MORE than happy with my current position, thank you very much."

""Totally agree."" Flint and I nodded sagely, and the three of us shared a common moment of agreement where we all thought that the position of Champion was far more trouble than it was worth.

The discovery of Avalugg and Bergmite were officially released to the world not too much later, just as soon as their stats were properly identified and their Typing were confirmed. As Pokémon known to have existed in the Hisuian times, their existence was a big deal for many historians and archaeologists.

And, while the two Ice Types didn't garner the same level of explosive popularity in the trainer scene, their discovery still made a big splash.

Ice Types had always been popular, thanks to it being supereffective against many strong Types like Dragon, Ground, and Flying. Plus, with Pryce only recently no longer being Champion, many trainers had still been inspired by his past prowess and had become Ice type specialists as well. So having another strong Ice type, especially when Avalugg looked strong, was always going to garner interest.

Sadly, I knew that Avalugg was going to be a very expensive trap for a lot of people, if they somehow managed to acquire one in the first place. While on paper it looked incredibly bulky, that was severely undermined by its plethora of weaknesses that its Ice/Rock typing plagued it with. Sure, a clever trainer could definitely make use of its high attack and absurd physical bulk, but it was going to require a lot of specialised training to reach that level.

Off the top of my head, I could think of a few powerful strategies to make use of Avalugg. For one, there was always Trick Room, which would reverse its extremely slow speed and turn it into a powerful advantage. That had a lot of potential in double battles, especially with how hard it could hit.

Still, for most normal trainers, Avalugg was not going to be a good fit for their team.

Of course, with the proper reveal of Avalugg, it meant that I could finally honour my promise to Pryce and deliver the new Ice type to Lorelei.

I also made sure to come clean with Lorelei about why I was gifting her this new Pokémon.

"…So you made a deal with my uncle." She muttered, though she didn't seem annoyed, "Are the details of said deal a secret?"

"Not particularly, he never said I had to hide it from you." I replied with a shrug, "In return for his support for one of my future policies, I had to give you a 'rare' Ice type Pokémon and also make sure that if you were ever to be leave the Elite Four, willingly or not, then I would petition to reinstate you as the Gym Leader of Mahogany Town. The last thing was to silently support you with your current position with the Indigo Revenue Service, and to not deliberately try to have you replaced until the end of the next circuit."

Speaking of which, that reminded me to check up on my team in Indigo about how the public of Indigo were reacting to the news of my relationship with Cynthia, now that enough time had passed for them to fully digest the matter.

I sincerely hoped that they were and would remain happy about it. Some discontent was fine, but I really would prefer if the public didn't barge into my personal life. That was a headache the both of us would rather not deal with.

A snort from Lorelei brought me back from my thoughts, "Is this the way of my uncle showing that he cares for me?"

I shrugged again, "Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue. A part of me thinks that Pryce has mellowed out slightly, yet another part of me thinks he's still the same cranky asshole he's always been. It's very hard to tell."

"Oh he's still a cranky asshole. I'm pretty sure that part is engraved into his very being." She grumbled, "Well, I can at least appreciate the gift that he asked you to get for me. I'm always thankful about having another Pokémon to train up."

"Think Avalugg would see any use on your Elite team in the future?" I asked.

"…Perhaps. It would be very good with Trick Room, and I do have a Jynx and Slowbro to set it up." Ah, she thought along the same lines as me, "And my team does lack a hard hitting physical attacker. Avalugg would fit that niche quite nicely, even despite its weaknesses. It's also about time I got a new Pokémon."

"I'm sure you can think of something." I said, "Just…good luck dealing with its abysmal Special Defenses. That's quite a big weakness to overcome."

She just nodded, staying silent as she fell deep in thought.

"…Anyways, enough about the events of Indigo, how has the exposing of Cyrus been going?" I asked, breaking her out of her thoughts, "I remember hearing from a few of your teammates that you were looking into something?"

"Yes, we haven't been idle on that front." She nodded, "Actually, if you hadn't come over, I was going to inform you that we were about to publish our findings against Cyrus and Galactic Company."

She sighed, "It's going to be a shitshow once we do."

I knew that already. "What did you find?" I questioned.

"Enough evidence that the amount of funds that they are dedicating to their research department doesn't make sense." She replied, "There's far too much allocated there for it to make rational business sense, and all of our analysts are in agreement that they have to be hiding something."

"But the evidence we have collected isn't foolproof." She continued, "For one, the fact that their research projects are inherently confidential means that they could argue that the funding amount was accurate, because their research projects just demanded that much resources. That argument might not hold up logically, but we believe it would still sow enough doubt amongst the general populace to earn their support."

"The second issue is that this does not provide a clear link to the criminal events that took place across our regions." She said, "It would be a massive jump in logic to assume that just because their finances don't make sense that they're suddenly the sponsor behind such large-scale criminal activities."

I frowned, but didn't disagree with her logic. "If that's the case, it seems like this isn't the ace in the hole that we were looking for."

She nodded, "Even some of our analysts and investigators remain doubtful. However, we brought our findings to the Champion, and she backed our conclusion to the hilt and insisted that we publish it anyways, which temporarily silenced any doubts."

"And she did so because she deemed it worth the risk." Another voice said behind me, and I turned around to see Lucian walking up, "According to her, she felt that overlooking corruption just because of political difficulties was a compromise that she refused to make. We have reasonable suspicion that Galactic Company are concealing their funds, for whatever reason. And largest company in Sinnoh or not, it is the right thing to question their actions for any criminal intentions."

"…Of course, it also helps that Cynthia is as eager as anyone to expose the true sponsors of these criminals." His voice lowered to a whisper, "So she's acting quite decisively to ensure that all leads are thoroughly explored."

He smirked at me, "I'm not sure if you said anything to her, but she's taking this matter very seriously."

"Then I'm glad." I smiled, very much happy about my girlfriend's choice of action, "These terrorists have escaped from the grasp of the authorities from long enough, and their ringleaders have continued to scheme all this time. It's about time that they be punished for their wrongdoing. There's nothing I would want more than that."

"Well then you don't have to wait much longer, because we're going to be publishing our results tomorrow to the public." Lucian informed me.

"And we'll get to see how much of an outcry that Galactic Company is about to make when we do." Lorelei frowned. "It'll be a war of public opinion."

Lucian's smile turned predatory, "Oh I'm sure it will be. But we just need to make sure that this is going to be as costly as possible for Cyrus to maintain. We'll make him burn every resource he has, every favour and connection that he is owed, until he is left with nothing. We have the evidence – the onus is on him to somehow disprove it, and we can always find more to bury him with. A cornered Pokémon may lash out, but a patient hunter has already laid their trap."

Lorelei turned to Lucian, "I thought you liked Cyrus. What happened?"

"He's proven unworthy of my support." He stated firmly, "With what we've found, I've become disillusioned with him…and I suspect I won't be the only one, in the future."

"The public will soon know that Cyrus is not worthy of their admiration."

A.N. A more of a catch-up chapter as we begin to round off John's time in Sinnoh, and some worldbuilding into the Lakes themselves. Also, I think the mistake I made before was that I lingered too long in Sinnoh, so don't worry, the next chapter will be the last full chapter that John will remain in Sinnoh.

And of course, the battle between the public and Team Galactic is about to begin! It won't be an easy fight, but like Lucian states, the Sinnoh League's plan is to slowly ramp up the pressure and deprive Cyrus of his resources. It's going to be a slow burn, but not every problem can be broken through with brute force. Hope you enjoyed!

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!