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
The New Normal – 7-8 – The Fairy Reveal
It was the week after the grand reveal of the Grand Fountain Hall when I had received the good news from Oak; it was finally time to reveal the Fairy type to the world.
I had finished up the necessary preparations for to get ready for the reveal. I personally attended many meetings with Mayor Henry to ensure that Mt. Moon would be properly secured. That proved to be far harder than expected; organizing the movements and patrol schedules of an entire city's worth of Jennys and rangers was no easy task.
At least I had my personal authority to make use of to ensure that they actually listened to me.
In the end, I left it to the hands of the professionals, since they were the ones who actually knew what they were doing. They didn't need me interfering and trying to micromanage everyone and screw everything up. Thus, I simply stayed back and asked questions to make sure that, as far as possible, Mt. Moon would be impenetrable to the large majority of the public.
Lance helped out a lot here as well. He finally got back to me a day or two ago with confirmation that he would be able to mobilize additional Jennys and rangers for the security of Mt. Moon. Those were vital in shoring up the weaker areas and also to give the current rotation of Jennys and rangers a chance to take a break every once in a while.
It wasn't the only place that gained additional security, of course, as other known areas with a higher density of Fairy types were similarly protected.
He also, prudently, began drafting up a new law to be implemented as soon as the Fairy type was revealed. The new law was a temporary order to severely increase the financial punishment for trespassing into restricted areas, in hopes of further discouraging the populace from their reckless attempts to catch Pokémon of the new type.
He also informed me that he had already contacted Wallace about the impending reveal so that he wouldn't get blindsided. Wallace had apparently copied Lance's actions, choosing to mobilise the Hoenn police to secure key areas to ensure that the any Fairy ecosystems wouldn't be irrevocably damaged.
But it wasn't all good news, as Lance also delivered a warning to us. He mentioned that the reveal of a type that strongly countered Dragons would be VERY poorly received in Blackthorn, to no one's surprise. He told us that it was fortunate that Oak would be the one doing the reveal, as the elders of the Blackthorn clan probably still respected him too much to publicly gainsay him.
If the reveal had come from a lesser source, like me, there would have been a ton of pushback from the Blackthorn clan and their associated interest groups. Lance himself disapproved of this, but his loyalties were too conflicted to do anything about it.
However, right now, with Oak taking the lead on this, and with a huge number of big names from the scientific community attached to this, Lance expected any pushbacks from the Blackthorns should be far more subtle and less intense than usual. He didn't know what the Blackthorns would do as a result of the reveal, but he told us to expect that there will be many people looking to downplay the power of Fairy types in the future.
After all, for a clan that built its name, reputation, and legacy on the power of Dragon types, the reveal of the Fairy type was a big smack in the face for them. Thus, it was in their interest to maintain the powerful reputation that the Dragon type currently had. At least, that's how Lance justified it.
I was comforted by the fact that looked like Lance had no intention of joining in on their opposition. That saved me a lot of potential headache.
Regardless of the plotting of the salty, the Fairy reveal pushed on. And finally, today was the day that it was going to be revealed to the world.
Professor Oak had done most of the heavy lifting for today. He had reused his previous actions for when he revealed the creation of the Pokédex. So, instead of just publishing everything onto as a scientific article, we were ALSO going to do a simultaneous press statement to properly announce the event to the whole world. He had already made all the arrangements for the press to come to his lab for the interview.
Everyone who had participated in the project would be in attendance, and Oak had ensured that everyone would get a speaking role where we would all get to list our contributions. This was going to be a big thing, and Oak wanted to ensure that everyone got the credit they deserved.
There was also going to be a demonstration, something to visually wow the audience and to showcase the power of Fairy types. The entire reveal was going to be one big spectacle, with all the nitty gritty scientific details relegated to the science forums for more in-depth discussion. Disproving the naysayers came later; today was all about making a big splash.
I wrapped up breakfast and headed off to Professor Oak's lab. The interview was scheduled to be at noon, so we had an hour or two to go through any last-minute preparations. Not that we really had any, everything important had already been pre-discussed over the past week.
As soon as I arrived there, I noticed that the entire lab was empty. In fact, there was even a sign on the door that said that the lab was temporarily closed today and that all workers could enjoy a free day off. How nice of him.
Entering the building, I made my way to Oak's lab where I could hear the distinct sound of chatter leaking through the door. True enough, as soon as I walked in I could see that everyone was already there and that I was last to arrive.
"Oh? Am I late?" I asked as I greeted them, making sure to emphasize my nod to Elm. It was my first time meeting him in person.
"Nah, I just came earlier to speak to Sam about a few things." Blaine replied. "You ready for today?"
I shrugged, "Not much I can do about the preparations now, I just hope I've done enough. The last thing we need is for Mt. Moon and other key locations being overwhelmed by overeager trainers."
"We've done our best. It's now up to the capable hands of the Indigo Police and the rangers. I'm sure they'll have a handle on this." Oak reassured, "Also, John, we really need to get you in a lab coat. It'll be weird if you aren't wearing one."
True enough, I looked around and saw that everyone else but me was donning a lab coat. So yes, it would be very strange if I was the only one not wearing one.
"Mind if I borrow one?" I asked, getting a nod from him as he began to rummage through a spare closet for one my size. Thank Arceus he found one that fit me; I wouldn't want to be showing up to a press conference that would be televised to the whole world with a poor fitting lab coat. That'd just be embarrassing.
"Well glad you boys are busy - I don't really have anything to do on my end." Carolina remarked with a shrug. "Who knew Sinnoh really didn't have a single unique Fairy type?"
"At least you have the Togepi line there." Shelly pointed out, "And who knows? Maybe you'll find one later."
"Does Joseph know about what's going to happen?" I suddenly asked, remembering that Shelly actually had to answer to someone.
Shelly wiggled her hand, "He knows bits and pieces of what we're doing. He knows it's big, but I told him for confidential reasons I wasn't allowed to reveal the full picture to him. But he understands and hasn't been pushing me for anything, which I'm glad for. Although…he's been pretty distracted recently on one of his own projects, so maybe that's why he didn't question me further. He's normally more curious than this."
I gave Shelly an inspecting look. I think I knew what she was referring to for the project that Joseph was working on. Before I left Hoenn, he had told me he was close to finishing off the Fossil machine, so maybe that was close to being done? If so, then it was a very fortuitous timing for such big reveals to be happening back-to-back.
Without any more pressing issues to concern ourselves with, we naturally fell into making comfortable small talk, mostly just catching up with each other and talking about our lives. It was nice that, despite all of us having high positions in society, we were still able to converse about our lives like regular people.
Though considering who I was with, it should have been obvious that the conversation would devolve back into science once again.
"…Think an electric version would work?" I heard Shelly ask Blaine as they both stared at his phone. They were obviously referring to the Magmarizer and their ongoing attempts to create an alternate version.
"Maybe. It wouldn't be easy to harness that much electricity into a small object though…" Blaine muttered. "Damn. If only we had an Electric type specialist that WASN'T Surge. We won't be able to persuade that musclehead to anything for us."
"Would a water version be easier then?" Shelly suggested, but that only caused Blaine to frown.
"Condescending water energy like that is no easy feat either. It took me ages to be able to manipulate that much magma energy into such a small container…" I stepped away from their conversation after that.
"…The Sinnoh League would likely extend an invitation to you if you asked, you know." I heard Carolina speaking to Oak. "Your reputation precedes you even there."
But Oak simply waved her off, "I'm afraid I don't really have the energy to move around so much anymore. My bones just aren't as strong as they used to."
Elm snorted, "You can at least try to think of a better excuse than that. You were always more energetic than I could ever be."
Carolina nodded, "Too right. Or did you forget that we are of similar ages? And yet I can tell that your bones don't even make a sound when you get up. Mine creaks and pops like mad!"
"You're starting to sound like Agatha." He chuckled before their conversation got side-tracked into the discussing struggles of the elderly, which both Elm and I wisely backed away from.
There were somethings I didn't need to know about.
Carolina had actually kindly brought in some lunch for the five of us, so we dug in as we waited for the interview to begin. Cynthia was a really lucky girl if THIS was the quality of food she got to eat on a daily basis.
No offence mom, but you're being outclassed.
Before long, it was finally noon. With lunch happily consumed and digested, we made sure that we were all presentable before we headed towards the entrance of the lab, where the interview was being hosted.
As soon as we appeared we were bombarded by the signature flashes of cameras as the reporters rushed to take our photo. They didn't know what this was about yet; but considering the people participating they assumed that it must be a big deal. They would soon find out just how big of a deal it was.
Oak took to the stage first, as it should be. He was clearly very experienced in making public statements like this, and his presence dominated over the sea of reporters, causing them to quickly quieten down in anticipation as they waited with baited breath for what Oak was about to say.
"Welcome, one and all, to what I believe will be a historic announcement." He started, speaking slowly to emphasize the gravitas of the situation, "Today, me, and the many fine scientists behind me, have managed to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, a new Type of Pokémon that we have yet to explore."
That got the reporters whispering again, before they all quickly quieted down as Oak silenced them with a wave of his hand.
"To give a little background on the discovery, and how we got here, many weeks ago I was approached by John as he pointed out an observation of his to me. He was fresh off his battle against Bruno, and he had informed me that he had noticed a strange oddity regarding his Clefable." He paused dramatically, as if to build up the tension of the crowd.
It seemed to have worked, as the reporters were all listening intently to his next words, utterly fixated on what he was about to say, "I, of course, eagerly accepted the challenge to discover what caused this unusual interaction. But I did not go about this alone. Besides me, John had brought in the many other brilliant scientific minds that you see behind me to jointly research this unique phenomenon to see what we could learn from it."
"Those of you who have kept a close eye on my activities for the past few weeks know that I have made many acquisitions of a huge variety of Pokémon throughout this time. And that is because the scope of the discovery was so large, the changes it brought so wide spanning, that I had to check through each and every Pokémon to verify what we had found." He explained, his voice rising as the tension built even further.
"But now, with all of our research done and our verifications complete, we can finally announce what the team has been working to prove for the past few weeks. And that is…" He paused once again, as his eyes swept over the audience to make sure that he had their full attention. "…that we have discovered a new Type for Pokémon! What we call…the Fairy type!"
Shocked gasps erupted from the crowd as the Oak's declaration reverberated through them. As soon as they got over their collective shocks, there was a unanimous demand for an explanation of the specific details of the type.
But once again, Oak demonstrated his ability to control the crowd as a quick wave of his hand immediately silenced them all. It was as if he was wrangling them like a shepherd to his flock. Only when silence descended did Oak continue with his explanation.
"I can assure you that everything I say to that has been extensively verified, further details of which can be found in the publication of the article that will be done as soon as this press interview is over." He stated, "However, I think showing off the power of the new Fairy type would be better with a more practical demonstration."
As planned, Oak stepped back from the podium into as he withdrew a Pokéball. Similarly, I stepped to the side as I held out a Premier Ball, waiting to release my Pokémon as planned. The audience instinctively moved backwards as they realized what was about to happen.
"Watch and observe the power of the new type! And this new Eevelution!" Before the crowd could react to that sudden announcement, Oak released his Dragonite as I released Euphie.
His Dragonite emerged onto the scene with an audible thump. Up close like this, I could see the numerous scars that were scattered across its body. Despite not radiating as much raw power as Lance's Emperor, it gave off a very different aura of danger. A danger that was refined and sculpted with years of experience on real battlefields.
This was no celebrity battler, but a real war veteran that had fought for its life in real engagements. Its presence, as it stood there, was both terrifying and awe-inspiring. Lance's Emperor might be the stronger Pokémon, but the experience in this Dragonite's eyes made him the deadlier of the two. Who knew how many fell to its claws?
This was the Pokémon I heard the legends talked about. What this Dragonite managed to accomplish with Oak could be seen as no less than Legendary.
Yet, the audience was more shocked with the unexpected reveal of this new Pokémon. I felt their gaze locking on to Euphie unwaveringly, as if to study every little minor detail of her appearance and movements. Especially since Sylveon was an Eeveelution. All Eeveelutions have been powerful Pokémon that are frequently sought out by competitive battlers looking to dd another strong addition to their team, and this was no different.
"THIS! Is Sylveon!" He declared dramatically, this time shouting over the top of the crowd, "And we will be showing off the Fairy's type most distinctive feature. WATCH!"
"Dragonite, Dragon Pulse."
Unlike Emperor, who made a big show of charging up the beam with a deafening roar, there was hardly a sound that came out from Oak's Dragonite. The beam of draconic energy simply came rushing out, with no posturing or warning whatsoever. If Euphie hadn't been ready for it, she would have easily been taken by surprise.
Not that it would have mattered, considering her typing. With a smile, she simply stood firm to not get pushed back by the inherent force of the attack, but otherwise was practically unaffected by the powerful Draconic beam.
The audience's shock grew as the implications of the performance began to set in. This was no weakling, but a powerful Dragon Pulse from a veteran Dragonite. Trained by the famed Samuel Oak. And this new Fairy type Pokémon was so easily able to shrug it off with ease.
Of course, we were playing it up a bit. Even with Euphie's Fairy typing, getting blasted by a Dragon Pulse by such a powerful Pokémon would still stagger her. But Dragonite had enough control over its Dragon Pulse to make it look like Euphie was simply tanking through it with ease.
"BEHOLD! THE GREATEST STRENGTH OF THE FAIRY TYPE!" Oak stated with his arms outstretched as he played it up for the crowd, "It is a type completely immune to Dragons! Almost completely unaffected by its attacks! And what's more, it's also supereffective AGAINST Dragons as well, making it the ultimate type to counter one of the stronger types in the world!"
The reporters were now frantically writing all of this down, their professionalism barely able to conceal their shock. But amongst the sea of reporters, there were some of them that were visibly frowning at the discovery. I suspected that these were the ones that had tied to Blackthorns.
Well, they could cope and seethe all they liked. They weren't going to change shit.
Not wanting to overshadow the entire message with his Dragonite's presence, Oak quickly returned it to its Pokéball before stepping back from the podium entirely, allowing me to take the stage in his place.
"This was one of the phenomena that I discovered as I had been training up my Clefable, so you can see why I would bring something like this to the attention of Professor Oak." I said rhetorically, "Not only that, but the Fairy type is also resistant towards Dark, Fighting, and Bug type moves. Similarly, it is also supereffective against Dark and Fighting, on top of Dragon. Overall, it is a very versatile type, and more details regarding the Type chart can be found as always in the article that will be published."
The reporters began scribbling everything down once again, with many of them inching to raise their hands and ask us questions, but Blaine stepped up before they could. "Of course, we aren't stupid enough to just test it out on one or two Pokémon. We made sure to expand our test range and identify other Fairy types that were previously hidden amongst the three regions. For instance, in Indigo, Clefairy and its evolution line are all Fairy types, and Jigglypuff and its evolution line are all a hybrid of Normal and Fairy."
Elm went next, "The Fairy type can be trained and raised just like any other type. They don't have any special properties besides the uniqueness of the type, so they can be bred just like usual. So you don't have to try to apply the PIT technique to have the Fairy type apply to your Pokémon. They were already that type."
Shelly stepped forwards after him, "As for Hoenn, those of you may be pleased to hear that the Ralts line through to Gardevoir, which was previously thought to be a purely Psychic type, has been discovered to actually be a hybrid of Psychic and Fairy. And yes, we have tested to make sure that this Fairy typing is not something that is unique to just Indigo, but something that we have overlooked across all regions."
Carolina went up last, "Unfortunately, for those of you who may be viewing this from Sinnoh, or have a deep interest in Sinnoh Pokémon, we have not found a single Fairy type that is unique to the Sinnoh region. The only partial exception to this is Togekiss, which is a Fairy and Flying type just like Togetic. However, we are confident that this simply means that there may be more Pokémon in Sinnoh that we have yet to discover that may indeed be a Fairy type, and we're very interested into being able to look into it further."
Oak stepped up to finish things off, "Accordingly, the Pokédex will be updated to reflect these changes and discoveries. Truthfully, though my colleagues disagree with me on this, one of the things that we discussed was WHY we had missed such a momentous aspect of these Pokémon for so long."
That brought up a few questioning whispers from the audience as they began to consider the question. And it was a valid question.
Oak continued before they broke out into hushed discussions, "I believe that, part of the reason why we had missed this was because of an overreliance on the Pokédex, and the submissions provided within. Unfortunately, I must share some of the blame with this, as I may have missed out on such a type during the creation of the first addition of the Pokédex, leading to many others overlooking it as they simply assumed that the information that was provided by the Pokédex was correct."
"Yet now, I hope that mistake will be corrected." He said, heavily emphasizing the final word. "And, while this may be an arrogant statement of me to make, but if this mistake really was the case, then I can only apologize for my failure to check things through. Either way, we can now move on to the questions."
The horde of reporters immediately erupted, with many trying to shove their microphones at the patiently waiting Oak. Others, perhaps more cunningly, were trying to sneak an interview with the remaining four of us to try to get a comment on something. We were all experienced enough to refuse any of these attempts.
In the meanwhile, Oak was handling the bulk of the questions with incredible patience, despite the mundanity and drama-seeking nature of most of the questions. The reporters were all trying to find good quotes that they could use for their next big headline.
And it was undoubtedly going to be a big one.
Oak spent some time answering some questions, before eventually wrapping up the interview and thanking them all for coming. He gave another reminder that a more detailed version of everything that we mentioned here could be found in the article that we will be publishing.
And with that, the interview came to an end. The whole world suddenly knew about this new type that had been previously overlooked by everyone. And I knew what they were likely thinking about.
How would the revelation of the Fairy type affect the world?
A.N. AND THE FAIRY REVEAL IS HERE! I've worked towards this for quite some time now, so I hope this was satisfactory. You'll get to see the impact of such a revelation soon enough.
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!