John's Team

Tyrant - Slaking

Vordt - Ursaluna

Smough - Snorlax

Klee - Blissey

Port - Mantine

Zephyr - Pidgeot

Klaus - Wyrdeer

Luna - Clefable

Pixel - Porygon2

Euphie - Sylveon

Ornstein - D-Linoone

Wraith - H-Zoroark

The New Normal – 10-8 – The Gathering

We fully threw ourselves into training for as long as possible, until we realized that we couldn't train for any longer or else we'd be very late for the photoshoot. There was a difference between being fashionably late and just late. With how late we ended up setting off, we were really edging towards the latter.

Especially since Roxanne insisted that we be Teleported there.

"…I'm not sure if they are going to give us time to tidy ourselves up when we get there." She said, her hands quickly running through her hair, "And I refuse to have my photo taken after I just flew over there. My hair would be untenable!"

I realized this wasn't an argument I could win, so I requested Klaus to Teleport us to Ever Grande City. It was fortunate that his Psychic prowess had grown; he used to not be able to do back-to-back Teleports like this. At least not without some rest.

As we arrived at Ever Grande City, I noticed that there was a huge host of Jennys running around serving as security, but even then they were barely able to hold back the excited crowd. As we had just Teleported in right in front of them, the cheers grew even louder as they took in our sudden appearance. The cameras immediately began flashing.

One of the Jenny's immediately came rushing up to us, "Elite John, Gym Leader Roxanne, please follow me. We'll be heading to the waiting room."

We nodded and followed after her, with the both of us sparing the occasional wave to the crowd. As we walked, I spoke up, "Has everyone already arrived?"

"Most of them have." Jenny admitted, and Roxanne flinched with a guilty look on her face. The Jenny must have caught that as she let out a small chuckle, "But we're still waiting for the Champions and a few other members. Don't worry, you aren't last."

I nodded, and we were silently escorted to one of two large meeting rooms that looked like it was a repurposed conference room, which was being guarded by a whole host of Jennys. Wallace wasn't messing around with security, especially since he deliberately split us up so we wouldn't all be in one room.

As the two of us entered, I immediately felt the gaze of all of the many Gym Leaders and Elite Fours suddenly turn our way, though some of them quickly returned to their own conversations.

Roxanne shrunk into herself at the sudden attention, but I just gave everyone a polite wave and made my way to where the Indigo Elite Four were hanging around – since everyone seemed to have coincidentally organised themselves into their respective regions.

"Look who finally deigned to arrive." Agatha barked at me, "I almost thought you had forgotten about the photoshoot."

"I'm surprised you're even here." I shot back, grabbing a glass of water, "I would have thought you couldn't be bothered to attend a photoshoot."

"Hah! I wouldn't have come if I didn't have to." She said, "But unfortunately, when all three Champions tell you to do something, you don't have an opportunity to say no. I don't understand why anyone would want to take a picture of my wrinkly skin."

"Nonsense! You're a famous person, Agatha. I'm sure you're an inspiration for many as well." Will spoke up, "And hasn't it been a while since you've appeared in the public? I'm sure your many fans would be happy to see you."

Agatha snorted, "You don't have to flatter me, boy. Once you get to my age you'll understand my aversion for cameras. There are things that are not meant to be seen."

"Okay, can we talk about something else?" Lorelei gagged, "It's hard to enjoy the free food when you talk about this."

"I didn't even know there was free food." I replied as I filled my plate, "I'm starving. I haven't eaten."

"You shouldn't eat too much before a photoshoot, you know…" And the Will began lecturing and giving advice about what to do in preparation for a photoshoot. I just nodded idly as I continued stuffing my face in front of him. I don't think anyone was really listening. Oops.

"OI! JOHN!" A sudden voice barked out at me. And I turned my head to the speaker with a smile, "Nice to finally fucking see you after so long. Thanks again for the invite to Sinnoh – it's really reawakening my adventuring spirit."

I swallowed my food, "I said the same thing when I first went there too." I laughed to Drake, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll greatly enjoy yourself when you're there–"

"Oh? I didn't know you had plans to head to Sinnoh." Giovanni suddenly cut in as he also walked up to us, "Think of going on a vacation?"

"About damn time he took some time off!" Drake patted me on the shoulder, "Being in the Elite Four isn't easy work!"

"You're just saying that to make yourself feel better!" Wattson hollered jokingly from the back of the room, "Try being a Gym Leader for a week! Wahahahah!"

The Gym Leaders all cheered in support, and Drake scowled playfully.

"Ungrateful bastards. The lot of them." He grumbled aloud, causing me to chuckle, "They're only so cheerful now because we're in the off-circuit. They'll be moaning when it comes time for the circuit to open up again."

"Aren't you just proving their point, Drake?" Sidney asked, and Drake's glare turned his way, getting another playful laugh from Sidney.

As expected, gathering so many different personalities into one room together was a recipe for chaos. But currently it was a nice type of chaos, where a whole bunch of old friends and acquaintances mingled together after what might have been a long time since they had last spoken.

We were all accomplished people, and we had our fair share of mutual respect with each other. Everyone here was someone that 'made it'. Even those who weren't very well liked, like Pryce, still had people who respected him for what he managed to accomplish, at least in his earlier years.

As we waited for everyone else to arrive, the conversation in the room only continued to pick up. There were just too many people for me to greet, and I noticed that people were all settling into their comfortable groups.

Many of the 'old guard', such as Giovanni, Blaine, Drake, Bertha, and Agatha, had started chatting together. Even if they weren't exactly friends, their shared experiences of being long-time Elite Four or Gym Leaders gave them a common topic to talk about.

Then there was another group consisting of mostly Gym Leaders. The groups mainly formed based on how similar their personalities were. So Pryce was chatting in a group with Byron and Juan, then you had the Waterflower sisters chatting with Brock, Roxanne, and Flannery, and so on and so forth.

There was a lull in their conversation, so I took the opportunity to approach Brock and the Waterflower sisters, "Hey there! How's everything going?"

"John! How are you not nervous?" Daisy Waterflower said to me, "I'm shaking just being here!"

""Me too!"" The other sisters added, nervous energy obvious in their eyes.

"Oh I'm a little intimidated too, but it helps that I know a lot of the people here and are friends with them." I replied, smiling, "What about you, Brock? You've gotten a great partner."

"I was very happy with Sidney being my partner." He nodded, "It's as close as I'll ever be to fighting alongside Karen. He was also very kind and patient with me."

"He'll take good care of you." I said, "Don't be scared by his looks. He's a very nice guy. You'll learn lots from him."

"Drake was nice too." The sisters agreed, "A bit crass…but in a good way!"

Then the doors swung open again, and two miniature figures dashed into the room, catching everyone's attention.

"Agatha—!" Tate and Lisa cried out, rushing over to Agatha with excited smiles on their face. The whole room turned to look as Agatha was suddenly ambushed by the two Psychic twins, "Why didn't you say you had arrived! We could have gone together!"

I had to hold back my laughter at Agatha's pinched expression. I knew she was tempted to unleash her harsh tongue, but she had enough kindness to not lash out at two young children, "…It must have slipped my mind, you know how it gets with old age."

Unfortunately for Agatha, Blaine had no such inhibitions as he roared out in laughter, "If you're going to play the age card – you better take good care of these two young'uns. You really look like their grandma when you stand side-by-side like that! HAH!"

Agatha frowned, and was about to retort before the twins spoke up first, "She's very patient and nice to us." They said, unaware of the sarcasm in Blaine's words, "She really helped out a lot with our Psychic Pokémon and how to counter other Ghost types! She's really smart! And a really great trainer!"

Their innocent words unintentionally drove another knife into Agatha's heart, and only caused Blaine to laugh even harder. I couldn't hold back my snickers either, as did others. I saw Agatha seething indignantly, but she was forced to hold her tongue in front of the twins.

I gave her a sympathetic look, which she merely scowled at before turning her attention back to the twins as she began whispering something in their ear. The twins giggled mischievously, which didn't bode well.

Then my eyes widened as, suddenly, a whole handful of spaghetti levitated into the air. Before I could say anything, the spaghetti dropped onto Blaine's head with an audible squelch.

There was a moment of silence as everyone contemplated what just happened. Agatha was just laughing with her eyes.

I thought Blaine was about to erupt like a volcano, but he seemed to calm down as he saw the giggling expressions on the twins.

However, that didn't stop others from reacting, and the silence was broken as Pryce let out a laugh, "Since when did your hair grow back, Blaine?! I never knew you were blonde!"

Blaine whirled onto Pryce, ignoring the pasta sauce dripping down his clothes and the spaghetti partially covering his eyes, "You can't talk, Pryce! Or do you think nobody can see your receding hairline?!"

"He's got you there, uncle!" Lorelei hollered.

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with being bald!" Crasher Wake exclaimed.

"Shut up, Wake! You CHOSE to shave your head!" Bryon shot back.

"Ugh…this is all too noisy." Volkner shook his head, turning to the silent Koga who had been calmly observing in the corner, "Why can't you be all like this guy?"

"Blaine, would you like some help cleaning up?" Erika asked gently as she approached Blaine, "You can't go to a photoshoot with a head full of spaghetti." Even as she said that, she couldn't stop a small smirk appearing on her face as well.

"It's fine, I can do it." He politely refused, giving the twins a playful glare. "But thank you for offering."

As Blaine left the room to likely get changed and clean up, the conversations all restarted since the Champions had still yet to arrive. I ended up going around the room, chatting with everyone I knew and making my introductions to those who didn't. I even went to the other room, just to make sure I spoke with everyone.

I focused on catching up with the folks at Sinnoh, wanting to know more about how they were dealing with Cynthia's new leadership. I had been worried that there might be some backlash due to the sudden shift in Champion, but from what they were saying, I had absolutely nothing to worry about.

"Sinnoh is in good hands with her in charge." Lucian said to me, "She was the missing ingredient that Sinnoh needed. She has the charisma and raw strength to prove herself to the public, and that means that they're willing to march to her tune."

"What about the Committee? They always cause problems." I asked.

"The Committee are a bunch of neutered Meowth right now." Lucian explained, "They know better than to challenge Cynthia when her popularity is as high as it is. Plus, the exodus of all the old traditionalists means that the new members are all quite junior and new to the role. We're taking advantage of that to push through what we want while they're still settling into their new positions."

"No need to worry about us, John." Flint grinned, "Everything's going swimmingly here. And you know I don't lie."

"YES YOU DO!" Volkner shouted out from behind Flint, causing Flint to scowl and turn to his long-time friend as they began to bicker.

Lucian, Aaron, and I watched amusedly as Flint began another argument with Volkner, "Leave them be, they'll cool down after a while." Aaron smirked, "And speaking of our Champion, what's taking them so long–"

"I think my ears are burning." The door swung open again, and everyone fell silent as the both Lance and Cynthia walked into the room, "Sorry for the wait, but the three of us were caught up in something." Cynthia addressed the room.

"Now, I think we're already running late for the photoshoot. So let's get a move on before the staff get even more impatient." As she said that, she turned to leave the room.

"Please organise yourselves back into your regions. We'll do those photos first." Lance said.

Following that, we all funnelled out and separated into our own studios – one for each region. Fortunately for the more appearance-conscious amongst us, and Blaine, there was a makeup room to make sure everyone looked their best for the shoot. Or in the latter's case, less covered by pasta.

I saw the twins apologising to him, but he just waved it off and said it was fine, just not to do it again. They immediately ratted on Agatha, which Blaine laughed at and jokingly told them to not listen to her as she was a bad influence.

When everyone was appropriately 'touched up', we finally started taking some photos. Indigo was up first, so we started off with the photos of all the Gym Leaders together, and then all of the Elite Four. Then we took a picture of all of us together, including Lance.

It was framed so that the Gym Leaders were all standing around in the middle, while the Elite Four and Champion were standing on elevated positions behind them. We all looked properly serious and formal.

Then it came for the other regions' photos and the individual photos. Since most of that time was spent waiting around for my turn, I took the time to speak to Samson.

"How's Whitney doing at the Gym?" I asked him as we idled about near the corner. In the distance, I idly saw Will chatting with one of the photographers about something, probably about his own shot.

"I can say she's very happy here. And even speaking as a Gym Leader, I'm very satisfied with her performance as a Gym Trainer so far." He replied with a smile, "She hasn't fallen into the trap of being too tunnel-visioned about winning her fight. She understands that her job is to test and get a measure of her opponent."

"She's actually more empathetic than my daughter, and she's a psychic!" He smiled, "My Head Gym Trainer told me that she'd be good at comforting trainers in the future. Even though I knew that her time with the Gym is limited, I would be happy to keep her on if she was willing. I could see her making Head Gym Trainer with a few years if she kept to it."

"I'm glad to hear it." I nodded, "She had nothing but praise when she was talking about it too."

"I'm jealous that Koga's getting her next." He laughed, "She'll be a very handy addition to his Gym."

"I will make sure that she is treated well." Koga said as he suddenly appeared in front of us, "But I am glad that she has maintained her friendship with Janine. I was concerned as a father for a moment that my daughter would be left alone, but I see I worried for nothing." We all nodded at that.

"Speaking of which, how do you think you all will fare in this Tournament?" I switched topics, "Do you think you'll work well with your partners?"

"I have spoken with Maylene. She is enthusiastic, if inexperienced." Koga said, "But she has a determined and hard-working mindset. So while she may be comparatively weaker than her peers right now, I am confident she will be a formidable trainer in time."

"Winona and I have no issues working with each other." Samson added, "We've both been at this for a while, so we can work together professionally. What about you, John? Getting along with Roxanne?"

"Sure, she's a quick study and easy to work with." I replied, "We plan on winning the whole thing."

Samson chuckled, "Who doesn't?"

Unfortunately the conversation was cut short as it became their turn for photos. When all our individual photos were done, they shuffled everyone around again so that they could try out different combinations.

We had photos of all the Elite Four together from all the regions. And Flint, not liking how serious everyone was, decided to pull off a goofy face and pull at Lucian's cheek just as the photo was taken. His silliness was contagious, and everyone joined in on the goofiness – making silly faces and generally just faffing about.

There were too many silly shots to describe, like with Volkner and Flint swapping outfits for one shot. From Indigo's end, Will ended up wearing Lance's cape for one shot, while Lance tried on Will's mask. Then we ended up piling everything onto Will for one shot, so that he was wearing Lance's cape, my cardigan (which clashed horribly with his usual outfit), his own mask, Lorelei's high heels, and was holding onto Agatha's cane. It was a fun mess.

Then there was the one shot where Agatha outright tripped me with her cane just as the shot was taken. I hoped that shot wouldn't be used.

Despite our silliness, I thought that the pictures all came out really well. Many of us agreed that the silly photos were more personable than the serious ones. As Flint said, it humanised us to the general public, and it was sometimes better than to just have stoic and serious photos of us. The photographers agreed, and we ended up keeping those photos.

I idly wondered how well they'd sell.

It took some more time to finish off with all the photos that needed taken, and it was almost evening before we were finally done with everything. Unfortunately, we still had to sit through the speeches and opening ceremony for the Tournament, which was also where our first round of opponents would be decided.

The crowd exploded with an approving roar as we all made our way into the stage. We weren't in any kind of order, since all of us refused to line up again, so we just walked in as one massive group. I felt it was better this way – it felt more natural for us to do so.

"I wonder who the news is going to focus on." Will whispered to me as we walked.

"Don't do anything stupid and they won't focus on you." Lorelei muttered back.

"But what if I want them to take photos of me? I even wore my best costume!" He joked.

"It looks the same as your other costumes, Will. I don't think anyone but you would be able to notice." She fired back.

"I just hope the Champions don't prattle on for too long." Agatha grumbled, "All this standing around is really killing me. Standing around for our photos to be taken was bad enough. Do these organisers have no respect for the elderly?"

"I'm doing just fine though." Drake cut in, "So maybe it's just you."

Agatha scowled.

"That being said, at least we're going to get to the fun part after this." I spoke up, not wanting Agatha to start bickering again, "I look forward to seeing some of you in the Top 3."

"You're on kid." Drake grinned, "We'll be fighting the Champions with you."

As if on cue, the applause finally died down and the Champions stepped up onto the stage, ready to give their speech.

Wallace went first, "WELCOME EVERYONE! It is with great pleasure that I am able to announce the beginning of the Tri-Regional Tournament! Thank you all so much for coming to Hoenn on such short notice! We are very grateful for your support for this surprising event!"

"As you can see behind me, EVERY single Gym Leader, Elite Four, and even us Champions will be participating in the Tournament. So please, give a loud cheer for your favourite trainers!"

The crowd shouted out a cacophony of different names. With how chaotic their shouts were, it was impossible to tell who they were shouting in support for. As I looked around, I saw that there were many in the audience waving banners with their favourite trainer's name on it, loudly cheering their support for their favourites.

"No surprise that the Hoenn trainers are more popular here." I muttered casually.

"I can see your name being waved around quite a bit, so you have nothing to worry about." Will said to me, gesturing to a big banner that had a drawing of me and Roxanne on it. That was a nice gesture.

"…Wait a fucking moment, is that Steven Stone?" Drake suddenly whispered out loud, and my head snapped to where he was looking at. Sure enough, there he was, sitting in the VIP booth. But he wasn't alone.

"…Is that Bruno sitting next to him?" Lorelei asked, "What is he doing there? Were they friends? Does anyone know?"

"I did not." I shook my head, "I'm just as surprised as you are."

What was Bruno doing hanging around Steven? I thought he'd be up in a mountain somewhere training as he usually did. I squinted to get a better look, and I could barely see the two of them talking casually with each other – but I couldn't be certain how much of that was a genuinely friendly interaction; though the two of them didn't look uncomfortable around each other.

That was…unique. But I could look into that later. Besides, a friendship between those two wouldn't be a bad thing at all.

Ignoring our whisperings, Wallace continued, "But enough babbling from me, this is the time that all of you, and the many trainers behind me, have been waiting for! We will finally be announcing the first round of battles! These battles have been arranged through a random draw done by our staff, and I can assure you that they were done without bias or prejudice."

"NOW! LET US SEE THE BATTLES!" He declared with his arms spread wide, and the large projectors facing the audience flashed to life, revealing who would be battling whom.

My eyes ran down the list until I saw myself and Roxanne.

An eager smile split my face as I saw who we drew up against; we would be facing off against Will and Flannery. Inwardly, I admitted that it was a good matchup for us; I didn't peg them to be one of the stronger pairs.

Will was strong, undoubtedly. But I also knew that it took some time to warm up to him. So while I wasn't doubting Flannery's abilities, I was confident that their teamwork wasn't quite there yet. At least, not to the level that Roxanne and I accomplished. And, to put it bluntly, Flannery was as inexperienced as Roxanne was.

"May the best pair win." Will walked up with a hand extended, obviously having seen the pairings too. There was little else for us to say to each other.

"Indeed. I look forward to our battle." I replied, smiling. We exchanged a look of mutual respect.

As Will walked away, I glanced around until I spotted Roxanne. But she was busy talking with Flannery, who was gesturing wildly towards her. They seemed like old friends, so I left them to it.

"EXCITED ABOUT THE BATTLES AHEAD?!" Wallace hyped up, getting a loud cheer from the crowd, "Well am I glad to hear that! The first battles will take place early tomorrow, as indicated by the time slots shown on the board, so make sure you don't miss out the match that you want to watch!"

Oops. I had overlooked that. I turned to the board again and saw that our match was in the afternoon, the last fight before lunch. That was good; it gave Roxanne and I more time to train. I was going to grill her on everything that Flannery could do and refresh my memory about Will.

We were going into this battle as prepared as possible. I was not losing at the first hurdle.

A.N. THE TOURNAMENT IS HERE AT LAST! I know this chapter was filled with dialogue, but I didn't want to pass an opportunity where all the Gym Leaders and Elite Four had gathered into one place. I really wanted to focus on humanising all of the Gym Leaders/Elite Four, and while they are often portrayed as serious, I wanted to highlight the silliness that would inevitably occur when there are so many friends and colleagues in one location together.

There was too much I wanted to write about.

I do apologise if there were any interactions you were hoping to see that I missed out on; ultimately I do have to pick and choose. I can't cover everything! Hope you enjoyed though!

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!