The New Normal – 11-12 – Pokenet Interlude

[BIG ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SAFFRON GYM! NEW GIRAFARIG EVOLUTION ANNOUNCED – FARIGIRAF!] By Battlecast

[Pictures of Farigiraf, with Whitney and Sabrina standing proudly next to them]

We suppose that the chain of new discoveries hasn't quite ended yet, as the Saffron Gym's announcement of a completely new Normal/Psychic type took everyone by surprise. A new evolution for Girafarig, a Pokémon that has seen very little competitive use in the past, might be just the thing to bring this Normal/Psychic type into the spotlight.

And from the demonstrations provided by Gym Leader Samson, this new evolution has the potential to become an extremely versatile Psychic type that could fulfil a variety of different roles. Farigiraf has the support move pool of your typical Psychic type, but also the bulk that many of its counterparts lack. Plus, with its crucial immunity to Ghost type moves, our analysts believe that Farigiraf will be a serious contender to be one of the most sought after Psychic Pokémon for high level battles. It really has a lot going for it, and we wonder if trainers like Elite Will or Elite Lucian will be seen fielding a Farigiraf in the future.

Many comparisons were drawn between the newly discovered Farigiraf and Wyrdeer. Considering the latter's very much demonstrated power as a key staple of Elite John's team, it only reinforces our confidence that Farigiraf will be a strong choice for trainers in the future.

Of course, we would be remiss to skip out on those credited with the discovery. According to Samson's announcement, he places sole credit of this discovery on his daughter and heir, Sabrina, and her friend, Whitney, who is also John's younger sister. We don't know the specifics about how much each of them contributed to the discovery, but suffice it to say that these two young trainers must have a bright future ahead of them!

What do you all think about this new evolution? Are you planning on catching a Girafarig now? Let us know!

Comments

FutureAce

…Okay, what in Arceus are they feeding the Smith's? First you have John with his double discoveries of Wyrdeer and Ursaluna early into his Trainer career, and now you have his younger sister pulling out her own discovery out of a hat like it was nothing!

FlyingHigh

I did a little more digging, and I just realised that Whitney, Sabrina, and Janine (Koga's daughter) had all managed to collect all 8 Badges in their first circuit. That's honestly super impressive, and I can't wait to see what else they have in store for us.

SlugmaBalls

I had a friend that was there at their new Moomoo milk store that was opening in Mauville! He got their signatures and everything! And their new drinks weren't bad either, though a little pricey!

WiggleThatTuff

Ah shame. When I saw the announcement of a new discovery, I thought it would be a new Fairy type. Shame that it wasn't!

FearTheRat

Anyone think that Sabrina probably did most of the work? I mean, looking at the evolution method that they described, it looks like it requires a lot of Psychic proficiency. While I'm not doubting Whitney's ability, perhaps she was just a tagalong and Sabrina deserves a majority of the credit.

ResearchMagnet

Really? Two young girls found this out? I don't believe it. Most likely one of their Gym Trainers made the discovery, and Samson gave the credit to his daughter and friend.

TangelaThoughts

Eh, I disagree. Looking at Sabrina and Whitney's past battles, they've used their Girafarig in the past. I think it's safe to say that they made this discovery with their own two hands and observation skills.

Coming from the daughter of a Gym Leader and a sister to a powerful Elite Four, I don't know why anyone should really have cause to doubt them.

PsychicWill (Verified POG)

Absolutely magnificent! It brings a joy to my eye to see new developments with the Psychic type. Whitney, Sabrina, thank you for your hard work. I look forward to seeing your potential develop even further into the future.

[Elite John spotted visiting Gyms?! What is he planning?!] By The Indigo Post

[Pictures of John shaking hands with various Gym Leaders, including Giovanni, Clair, and Pryce]

While it isn't unusual for members of our Elite Four to be visiting our famed Gym Leaders, it does start to get interesting when one of those members could be seen practically hopping from Gym to Gym and making an obvious display of shaking hands as he leaves.

What makes this especially suspicious is the fact that Elite John could be seen visiting the likes of Gym Leader Pryce. For those somehow unaware of their turbulent past relationship, it is an open secret that John was an instrumental supporter in Lance's ascension to Champion, and he had paved the way for Lance by helping to discredit Pryce and his policies.

We aren't presuming that someone as prestigious as our ex-Champion would be one to host grudges…but it wouldn't be surprising to this writer if there were some unpleasant feelings between the two.

So it was surprising, and relieving, to see that the two have apparently reconciled whatever differences that they may have had in the past, shaking hands with smiles on their faces as they agreed on whatever they had discussed behind closed doors.

This writer is supremely curious to know about what the two had discussed, especially as this was hardly his only visit. Tracing back John's movements over the past few days, it becomes immediately obvious that he intends to visit every Gym Leader to talk to them about this 'secret' topic, and indeed has already visited many already.

After having a thorough discussion with our analysts here at The Indigo Post, we are firmly of the belief that whatever is being discussed is going to be some large proposal by John that involves and affects all of the Gym Leaders in some way. With his tendency to promote internationalism and unity of Indigo, we believe that John's discussions must involve something that he hopes would bring our region closer together. Or perhaps this is some joint policy that he has with his girlfriend and Champion of Sinnoh?

Nevertheless, by the looks and gestures of support that he seems to be receiving, it appears that he has found support in many of the Gym Leaders that he has visited.

So what is John looking to accomplish? What is he planning to do by laying the foundation like this? This writer is extremely eager to see what John is about to announce next.

John has never failed to be ambitious with the kinds of policies that he proposes in the Committee, and we sincerely believe that this would be no different. In fact, considering the amount of preparation work that he seems to be putting in, this might turn out to be his ambitious proposal yet. It looks like we'll just have to wait and see!

Let us know what you think about this in the comments! What do you think our ambitious Elite Four is up to?!

Comments

FutureAce

Perhaps he's just visiting the Gyms to reaffirm his connections with them? It doesn't necessarily mean planning anything. But knowing him, he probably is.

Not that I would be able to know. I only care about battles.

TangelaThoughts

Well we can make several inferences from his actions. One, the fact that he's visiting all of the Gym Leaders implies he needs their consent for something. Something involving the Gyms. But I'm going to hold on the speculation for now until we hear more.

I'm more interested in the connections that John seems to have built. We all knew he was connected, but this is really showing just how much respect that he has garnered among the Gym Leaders. And if this policy is as successful as John likely hopes it would be, then he's likely gained another point of connection with many influential people.

FearTheRat

I'm not the only one who noticed the order that he visited the Gyms in right? Looks like he started with Giovanni, then went to Pryce, then Clair. So while I'm not too familiar with the dynamics of the Gyms, doesn't it look like he's going down in order of importance?

Is this an implied admission from John about which Gyms he deems to be more influential?

ILoveGoldenRod

Definitely seems like it. If that was true, then that's a little bit of insight to his thought process. I wonder why he thinks that those Gyms were more influential than the others?

KantoRepresent

It's obvious because Giovanni's Gym is the most influential Gym in Indigo, as befits the strongest Gym of Kanto.

ILoveGoldenRod

…Or because he's friends with Giovanni and wanted to visit him first. Not everything needs to fit into your image of Kanto superiority.

TangelaThoughts

I personally don't find it at all surprising that John believes that those 3 Gyms are the most important in Indigo. He might be personal friends with the likes of Blaine and the Waterflower sisters, but their influence can't be compared to the likes of Giovanni, Clair, and Pryce.

FutureAce

I'm stupid, can you explain why? Is it because they're strong?

TangelaThoughts

That's certainly a factor. Pryce's strength doesn't need to be emphasized – he was Champion until very recently. Next, Clair lives up to the name of Blackthorn, and has the strength to prove it.

That leaves Giovanni. His strength is less dominating than the other two, but he's one of the most politically connected Gym Leaders in Indigo. He's highly credited with the prosperity of Viridian City, transforming it from a middling city to the success that is today. And that's not even including his role as a director of Silph Co. The man is the Gym Leader of Kanto.

FlyingHigh

I think we've veered off topic a bit. I'm just excited to see what John comes up with. Maybe it'd involve something to do with Sinnoh.

Can't forget that he's dating their Champion. Still struggling to wrap my brain around that part.

[A HUGE NEW POLICY! GYM LEADERS MADE APPOINTABLE FROM ANYWHERE WITHIN INDIGO?! REMOVING THE REGIONAL RESTRICTION OF GYM LEADERS?!] by The Indigo Post

[Picture of Lance making the announcement, with John in the background smiling in approval]

[Pictures of Gym Leaders debating the topic, and pictures of the vote]

For those of you who have been following the political developments of Indigo, and our last post about the momentous announcement itself, then you would be equally as shocked as we were to find out how fast that this new proposal seemed to move through the League administration. Especially given how large of a scope that this proposal seemed to cover.

Yes, we here at The Indigo Post have still yet to recover from the shock of the initial announcement. We always knew that John was planning something ambitious, but who would have thought that he and Champion Lance would have worked together to propose something like this? Something that would radically change the way that Gyms are viewed?!

There were a lot of politics involved in this meeting, and we will be covering them in more detail in a later article, including our observations about the interpersonal relations between each Gym Leader and their respective levels of influence amongst their peers.

For now, to summarise all that has happened, Giovanni came up with a new proposal on top of John's current one to allow for Gym Leaders to be given voting rights to vote out one of their peers, should there be no reasonable veto from the Champion, if 5 out of 7 of them deemed them unworthy of the position.

This is a massive step forwards for Gym Leaders and their ability to police themselves, and it says a lot about Lance that he did not vote against it and was willing to share his power with them.

And of course, the big event of the day was the vote to determine whether the Gym Leaders were in approval of the proposal. Yet, to the visible happiness from John, the vote passed almost unanimously amongst the Gym Leaders, with only Surge, Morty, and Lewis voting against it. The proposal was then subsequently passed by the Committee with a comfortable majority.

With the passing of this new policy, the next question on everyone's mind must be this – who is going to be the first foreign Gym Leader that is going to be appointed? And how well will they do? Will they be able to meet the high hopes and expectations set out by John? Or will his naysayers be proven correct – that a foreign Gym Leader simply does not have the same attachment and sense of duty that a local Gym Leader would have?

Only time will tell on that front. But for now, we're keeping a close eye on the public's reaction to this huge policy. While it has not been received with universal acceptance, from the interviews that we have done, many have expressed their cautious approval towards such a policy, and are looking forward to seeing if future foreign Gym Leaders would be able to live up to their title.

Despite there being some pushback, what is undoubtedly true is that Indigo as a whole has never been more united. A proposal like this could never conceivably be passed if it was only a few years ago! It really goes to show just how much the new leadership of Indigo have worked to pave a road of change for the whole region. And we won't forget that a lot of that was spearheaded by the efforts of John and Lance.

What are your thoughts on this new change?! Do you like the direction that the leadership of Indigo seems to be taking? Do you have any concerns? This is an important matter, so we'll be excited to hear what you put down in the comments!

Comments

GeneralistGeneral

Definitely didn't see this coming – but I'm really happy that this happened! This is going to open the doors to more allow for a more diverse pool of Gym Leaders!

Wonder if they'll be allowing Hoenn or Sinnoh trainers to become Indigo Gym Leaders next or vice versa?

NotTooMuchWater

I'm not from Indigo, but I think that's probably taking it a step too far. As much as I'm pleased with our cooperation with Indigo, I'd be a little more than wary about having a complete foreigner be one of our Gym Leaders. I know Norman is the exception, but he naturalised a long time ago even before his marriage. He's basically from Hoenn, even if he might not have been birthed here.

That being said, I think it'll be a possibility in the future. But we're not ready for it now.

SlugmaBalls

Honestly I struggled to understand why you guys even had this policy in the first place. If you were united as 'Indigo' then why did you insist on keeping the Gym Leaders separate and split between Kanto and Johto?

Maybe because I'm not from there, but it's just confusing to me.

TangelaThoughts

Okay, this was within my expectations. I figured that John's politicking would bear fruit, and it really showed in the meeting. I was more surprised about Giovanni's sudden proposal for the Gym Leaders to have the right to vote out one of their own – judging by the facial expressions there, I think even John was surprised by it.

Goes to show that there's always more politicking going on behind the scenes.

KantoRepresent

I don't trust these Johtonian bastards to handle our Gyms. They're just going to be waiting for an opportunity to stab us in the back. Just you wait.

Absolutely disgusted with the path that the Indigo League has endorsed. And from our very own John no less. I thought he was one of us!

ILoveGoldenRod

Okay buddy, not like we were expecting any other response from you anyways. You really just need to accept that policies like these aren't aimed at harming Kanto, but looking to improve both regions together.

I know many of my friends support the League's direction to create a more unified Indigo. There's honestly little reason to be stubborn about keeping our regions separate. Their past actions have shown how useful working together as a singular region can be.

FearTheRat

Anyone surprised that Lance actually approved of giving away more of his power to the Gym Leaders? I know he did it before with the Elite Four, but I didn't expect him to continue that trend with the Gym Leaders as well.

I'm glad that he did so though – the Gym Leaders definitely deserve to hold some power over who their peers are. Honestly, I'd trust their judgment 9 times out of 10 over the League's. They actually know how to run a Gym effectively, so they'll be able to spot out an incompetent colleague much better than the League could.

FlyingHigh

Very true. I wonder if any Gym Leaders are suddenly very worried that they're about to get the boot? I personally don't think any of the Gym Leaders currently deserve it, but it's interesting to think about.

[The final battle of the Indigo Conference is fast approaching! Who do you think will be the winner!? An in-depth analysis of the remaining trainers in the Conference and their prospects!] By Battlecast

As always, the opinions stated here have been formed purely from the analysis and opinions of our analysts, and do not intend to demean, denounce, or to insult any trainer that we will be mentioning. Likewise, any support should not be taken as endorsement. This is purely done for educational and informative purposes only.

With that disclaimer out of the way, we can get onto the meat of the matter! We're sure many of our readers have been excitedly watching this year's Indigo Conference, eager as we are to see who will end up on top. However, we can safely say that unlike last year, there seems to be a clear candidate that looks to be in an excellent position to win it all.

Of course, we are talking about Karen – the apprentice to Agatha and known close friend of the incredibly strong Elite John. Considering those connections, it's no wonder that she seems to have had a dominating performance throughout the entire Conference. Or perhaps it is due to her very unique fighting style that seems extremely suited at taking down unprepared foes.

After her rampage through the ranks, taking down many hopefuls in the process, we're confident that there must be many a trainer that are now terrified by the shout of a 'Taunt!'. She really has proven that Dark type specialists aren't just an unusual niche. They are absolutely formidable in their own right, and we're certain that the public perception of Dark types are about to change thanks to her.

With her convincing string of successes, we here at Battlecast are convinced that Karen will be the most likely candidate to win the whole thing. So naturally, the next question our analysts were faced with was – who would she challenge should she win?

The most obvious choice would be for her to challenge Elite Will. Out of the current Elite Four roster, he is the only one who has not been tested in a real challenge yet. Furthermore, Karen holds an obvious and crucial Type advantage against him, boosting her chances even further. Perhaps this is why Elite Will could be seen training hard – is he wary of a potential challenge from Karen and is preparing accordingly?

However, a more interesting choice for her to choose would be for her to challenge Elite Agatha. Obviously, this is the battle that we here at Battlecast would much prefer to see. Not only would it be far more exciting, as it has been a LONG time since Elite Agatha has ever needed to fight a challenger, but it also makes for an interesting story.

Underdog battles are beloved by all for a reason. And everyone wants to root for a student to be able to surpass their teacher. Of course, Agatha would be a far more difficult battle for Karen – it would be a battle where both trainers are equally familiar with each other's tricks - but we're excited to see if she will be able to live up to the challenge.

So while we acknowledge the possibility that Karen may choose to challenge either Lorelei or John, our analysts believe that the chances of Karen challenging those two are not very high. Karen holds no distinct advantage against Lorelei, while their many training sessions together must have exposed most of her tricks to John, making him one of the worst opponents for her to fight.

Despite our focus on Karen, we must not fail to acknowledge and recognise the many powerful trainers that still remain within the Conference…[Click here to continue reading]

Comments

FearTheRat

Not surprised to see Karen doing so well. Anyone who still remembers her fight against Sidney should already know how formidable she is.

She's already proven she can beat an Elite Four 1v1. Her dominance comes at no surprise. Still hopes she wins though.

PunchingBag

Hope this Dark specialist idiot gets to make it into the Elite Four and that she ends up beating up Will. She'd be such fodder for the next true Fighting type specialist that comes around.

Bruno – you failed us once, but you can redeem your honour by flattening this shitty Dark type trainer in the next conference.

SlugmaBalls

Haven't you heard? Bruno's hanging about in Hoenn now. There's plenty of photos with him hanging around Steven Stone.

Gardevoir34

OMA OMA OMA THE SCANDAL REALLY WRITES ITSELF DOESN'T IT!? I WONDER WHAT A HANDSOME YOUNG MAN LIKE STEVEN IS DOING WITH THE HUNKY BRUNO?!

FlyingHigh

Please calm down. There CAN be more innocent explanations.

PunchingBag

BAH! Everyone knows that Bruno's in Hoenn to re-establish the dominance of the Fighting type there. He should have been in the Tournament. He would have pummelled all those worthless trainers.

TangelaThoughts

Tangent aside, I like the speculation that's around who Karen would choose if she did win. I'm honestly confident that her win is in the bag at this point, and I really hope she does end up challenging her mentor.

And Agatha v Karen fight would be very well received.

FutureAce

I really, really, really hope we see her fighting against Agatha. That would be amazing! She'd lose, though. Agatha ain't losing to anyone.

KantoRepresent

Completely disagree. We need more Kanto representatives in the Elite Four anyways. If Karen were to replace Agatha, we'd be changing one Kantonian for another. Not worth.

DragonPower

I don't know why you were all so excited about this year's Indigo Conference anyways when there weren't any Dragon specialists there. Waste of potential.

Of course you won't get exciting matches if you're not using the most powerful Pokémon available.

ILoveGoldenRod

Honestly, this might be the only way to get Agatha to step down. Everyone knows that she'd just haunt the position for eternity otherwise.

FlyingHigh

Agatha…it's been a very long time since she's battled publicly. But for those of us with longer memories, I still remember the dominance that she demonstrated as she stomped her opponents into the ground time and time again. If not for Oak, there was a very real possibility that she would have been Champion in his place.

I sincerely hope Karen chooses to fight her. I cannot wait to see Agatha in action again.

[GALACTIC COMPANY'S FINANCIAL DISCREPANCIES? THE SINNOH LEAGUE LEVELS ACCUSATIONS AGAINST CYRUS!] By The Sinnoh Times

[Side-by-side pictures of Lucian accusing Cyrus and Cyrus defending himself]

What a turbulent week it has been for us in Sinnoh, but it appears like Galactic Company has found themselves in hot water as suspicions arose regarding their submitted financial statements!

Financial investigators from both Indigo and Sinnoh have agreed that the finances of Galactic Company are unreasonable, a statement that has received further support from other prominent businessmen such as Steven Stone and even Giovanni in his capacity as a director from Silph Co.

However, as of the writing of this article, no formal charges have been pressed, and their CEO Cyrus seems to be responding to the accusations with calmness and rationality. Yet he has also denounced Cynthia and her team, calling her sense of judgment into question as he claims that she has prioritised the word of foreigners over their own due to her relationship with John.

Our analysts here at the Sinnoh Times do not find that argument holds much water, as it is clear that this investigation was done jointly and supervised by Elite Lucian as well.

Right now, the situation has entered a stalemate, but we're interested to hear your thoughts on this ongoing matter. Do you agree with the Sinnoh League? Or do you think that this was an overreaction by them?

Comments

LoveIsEterna

I'm fully backing the League here, even though I've been a fan of Galactic Company for some time. If this many people say that there's something wrong, then there's something wrong.

Of course, having strange finances isn't the worst thing in the world, but I'd still like to hold them accountable if they're cheating the public out of some taxes, for example.

PianoLover

Man, this really is the first test for Cynthia isn't it? First the criminals, then now with Cyrus? The world is really trying to make sure that she's worthy of the position.

RuinsManiac

And I think she's proven herself very capable. Look at how fast she stomped out those criminals that were causing trouble. She knew when to call for assistance to make sure that the people of Sinnoh remained safe.

It's also why I'm backing her with her accusations against Cyrus. I don't believe she would do this for no reason.

NotTooMuchWater

Some of those criminals are partially those that escaped from Hoenn, which in turn were those that escaped from Indigo.

Strange to think of these criminals and terrorists as two-time refugees. But I suppose that's what you get when you turn to a life of terrorism. I have no sympathy.

GodBidoof

Man, I don't know what to think. Galactic Company has just always been there y'know, and I can't imagine them fiddling around with their finances like that. They've just been around for so long…I have to stand by Cyrus here.

ILoveGoldenRod

Yeah, can't imagine what it'd be like if Silph Co got accused like that. Much like I'm sure Galactic Company is for you guys, Silph Co is a pillar of our economy. I'd be so conflicted if Lance accused them of being evil or something.

I mean, could you imagine Silph Co being evil? I couldn't dare imagine it!

[ICICLE PLATE DISCOVERED FROM THE CAVES BENEATH SNOWPOINT CITY?! THE CELESTIC TOWN RESEARCH CENTRE STRIKE GOLD ONCE AGAIN!] by The Sinnoh Times

[Official announcement by the Celestic Town Research Centre]

The Icicle Plate has been discovered! The discovery is so new that we've barely even had time to send our reporters down there to speak to the explorers about this new discovery!

But click on the link above to find out more! For us Sinnohnians, THIS is the find of the decade!

An ACTUAL Legendary artifact!? Found by an expedition team?! This sounds like something out of a story!

Don't bother with the comments, go see it for yourself!

[A DENOUNCEMENT OF THE GOLDENROD GYM LEADER?! LEWIS UNDER FIRE BY THE OTHER JOHTO GYM LEADERS!?] By The Indigo Post

[Pictures of Lewis and the Goldenrod Gym]

The Gym Leaders of Indigo seem quick to act! Not long after Giovanni's new proposal had been passed – granting them the power to make a formal denouncement of one of their own – they seem to be eager to use their newfound power to petition for the removal of Gym Leader Lewis, of the Goldenrod Gym.

While their haste was unexpected, their accusations come as little surprise to this writer. Lewis has struggled to maintain a grip on his Gym for some time now, owing partially to his old age, and has made his intentions clear that he intended to retire from his position as soon as he found a worthy successor.

However, it has become increasingly clear that Lewis had no actual intention of finding such a successor, and had merely been saying so as a delaying tactic to remain as a Gym Leader for longer. For years, the Goldenrod Gym had effectively been run by their Gym trainers, which the other Gym Leaders of Johto have apparently found unconscionable and deem him unworthy of his position.

They have submitted their petition to the League underlying various reasons, such as the ones mentioned above, for his removal. It will be up to Lance and the Committee to see if they have any good reason to reject it.

Yet this comes as an opportunity. If he is voted out, which seems likely that he will, who will be replacing Lewis as the new Gym Leader of Goldenrod? Will it be another Johtonian appointee? Or are we about to see our first foreign Gym Leader be appointed?

These are interesting times ahead. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Comments

AlluteNinja

Hope we actually get a foreign Gym Leader this time. This would be a great opportunity for that.

PunchingBag

Bah, of course the Normal Type Gym Leader turned out to be a pathetic man. Unsurprised. Hope we get a second Fighting Gym.

FlyingHigh

Not that I agree, but Lewis has been so under-the-radar that I haven't heard anything about him in years. Even in the Gym Leader meeting he was so unremarkable that I forgot about him entirely.

He deserves to be replaced at this point.

ILoveGoldenRod

Good riddance that he's getting the boot. Goldenrod has been close to stagnating because of him. Hope we get someone better to replace him.

TangelaThoughts

Don't forget that he was one of only two Johto Gym Leaders that didn't side with either Clair or Pryce. Now we know why; they likely couldn't stand the man!

The Johto Gym Leaders must have been chomping at the bit to kick him out – it was an unanimous vote!

FearTheRat

Yeah…he didn't look like much of a Gym Leader. Even Flint looked better.

FutureAce

No way you just said that. Fuck Flint, absolutely worst Gym Leader we've ever had. Glad Brock's doing better without him.

A.N. This was a slightly longer Pokenet Interlude because I had more things I wanted to cover. I hope that this was still the right length for many of you.

And yes, the Gym Leader of Goldenrod is being forced to step down soon. Maybe it won't be who you expect!

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!