John's Team
Tyrant - Slaking
Vordt - Ursaluna
Smough - Snorlax
Klee - Blissey
Port - Mantine
Zephyr - Pidgeot
Klaus - Wyrdeer
Luna - Clefable
Pixel - Porygon-Z
Euphie - Sylveon
Ornstein - Obstagoon
Wraith - H-Zoroark
Winston - Lickilicky (Shiny)
The New Normal – 13-9 – The Response
We had all gathered around one of the meeting rooms in the Indigo League building. All of us were in attendance for this meeting, whether that be in person or virtually. Every Gym Leader, Elite Four, and Champion.
We were all here to discuss the ongoings in Sinnoh and the capture of the three Lake Guardians.
The latter had yet to be leaked to the public – Cynthia had ordered complete silence on that front, and the other Champions easily agreed to that decision. The last thing we wanted to do was to create further panic amidst the public by informing them that Team Galactic had successfully managed to capture three Legendaries and whisk them away for an unknown purpose. It was why this meeting was done under the strictest of confidence – no one amongst our ranks were allowed to leak any part of this conversation to the outside world.
Fortunately, we weren't operating in the dark. Thanks to the psychic interrogations that were quickly performed on the many grunts and leaders that we captured, we now had an understanding of what they wanted to achieve.
The psychic interrogations revealed much – including the plan and intentions for the attack at the Lake, their members, and even the structure of their leadership. More importantly, strike teams were immediately launched to take down bases that were exposed as a result, and we started to paint a picture of what Team Galactic's remaining manpower looked like after yesterday's operation.
In summary, their capture of the three Lake Guardians came at an extremely heavy price for Team Galactic. In order to ensure the operation's success, Cyrus had thrown away a huge majority of his manpower to distract the Sinnoh League and to capture and escape with the Guardians. Most of the additional manpower he received from absorbing the remnants of Team Rocket, Team Aqua, and Team Magma were nearly all burned through in order to launch this high risk operation.
On my end, I was very surprised to see just who Cyrus had been willing to sacrifice in order to capture the Lake Guardians. So far, the following leaders of Team Galactic had been captured – Archie, Matt, Tabitha, Courtney, Maxie, and Proton.
I didn't care about most of them, but it was interesting to see that both Archie and Maxie had taken part in the operation and were subsequently captured. I thought that Cyrus would have kept them around till the very end, considering they were previously the leaders of Team Aqua and Magma respectively, but maybe they had lost all of their power once they fell under Cyrus' umbrella. Then again, maybe it was just that Cyrus didn't care about who he had to sacrifice in order to reach his goals.
Though, I did make a note about the fact none of the Team Galactic admins had been captured. Maybe he did have favourites.
Nevertheless, his goal was exactly what I hoped it wouldn't be, but stoically expected and accepted nonetheless. Despite the many changes that occurred, my actions had not changed Cyrus' ultimate objective – he wanted to remake the world using the power of Legendaries, ostensibly to create a utopia for all. At least, that was the captured grunts' interpretation of their leader's vision, but with our less fanatical minds, we were a lot more suspect of that goal.
Lucian had put it best, "Legendaries are many things, but aside from Arceus itself, they are not able to create genuine miracles. Everything they create has to be, in some way, related to their aspect that they rule over. Even if you were to somehow combine the powers of all three of the creation trio, you would not be able to create a 'perfect' world like Cyrus proclaims that he can."
"You will certainly be able to make a world, or even multiple, if you had the Legendaries' power in your hands. But that world will never be perfect, because you will still have to shape it in some way; it is a world limited by your own perception of perfection. You cannot simply will a perfect world into being." Cynthia agreed, "Although, for our purposes, the fact that Cyrus might be able to reshape this world is frankly frightening enough."
"…So what happens if that does occur?" Lorelei asked quietly, "What if Cyrus somehow manages to wrest control of a Legendary like the grunts believe he can?"
Well the simple answer was that everyone was going to die, because Cyrus reshaping our world in any way was going to cause disastrous consequences for everyone. However, I didn't voice that thought, because pretty much everyone knew that already and there was no need to bring down the mood even further.
"Then we pray that does not happen. We fight to ensure that it never happens." Wallace said firmly, with his eyes hardened and his mouth sporting a stern frown. It was so unlike his usual aura of serenity, "But there's no point thinking about what-ifs. No matter what happens, no matter if Cyrus is successful in controlling a Legendary or not, every one of us here has a duty to fight to ensure that his plans to do not come into fruition. No matter what."
"And we will be fighting alongside you." Lance added, "Because this is no longer a domestic problem. Cyrus' plans threatens the entire world, and we will do everything we can to ensure that it fails. Legendary or not, we cannot lose."
Then he let out a chuckle, "Besides, I've always wondered how Emperor would match up against a Legendary. This isn't how I'd imagine the opportunity coming my way, but it is a small silver lining."
That got a couple of grins from the group, especially from the more battle-hungry members. Even I cracked a small smile at his words; despite the very real fear of fighting a Legendary, it would be interesting to see how well Tyrant stacked up against one. He was the strongest non-Legendary fighter I knew, so if there was any Pokémon capable of dealing a blow against a Legendary (though not a knockout – that was never going to happen against a Legendary) then it would be him.
"Do we know what Legendary he intends to awaken?" Koga asked, "That may narrow down his future actions."
"We don't have confirmation, but we highly suspect that it will be one of the Creation Trio, considering that the Lake Guardians are known to possess a connection with them." Cynthia answered before I could, "And it makes the most sense considering he intends to reshape the world. The Creation Trio certainly have powers that would fit that description."
"Ah, then it looks like we have Dragons to fight." Drake smirked, "I think many here have plenty of practice against that."
That got a few more chuckles, but that quickly petered off as we continued with the serious discussion.
"So what is the plan moving forwards then?" Sidney asked, "Obviously, finding and capturing Cyrus before he can enact his plans is going to be the main priority. But what do you need us to do specifically? How may we assist?"
"Everyone will be placed on high alert and be expected to called upon to active service when the time arrives." Cynthia explained, "For those in Sinnoh, I have already ordered a reduction in Gym activities as we will call upon you to assist with the manhunt where necessary. Further instructions will be given to you after this meeting."
"Likewise, for the Elite Four, they will be immediately sent over on said rotational basis as discussed before." Lance continued, "In essence, there will be one Elite Four member sent to Sinnoh for two weeks at a time, and a new Elite Four member will be sent over every week. Therefore, there will always be 8 Elite Four members in Sinnoh at any present time, 4 locally, and 4 from Hoenn and Indigo collectively."
"As for the Gym Leaders of Hoenn and Indigo, you will put on standby for the time being." It was Wallace's turn to speak, "It isn't practical to uproot you from your duties to come all the way to a foreign region, especially since the Circuit has just started, but do note that in the case of an emergency we will be calling you to head over to Sinnoh at a moment's notice – so be prepared for that. An emergency line has been or will be set up for all of your personal devices, and if that rings, then you are to drop everything you are doing and head over to Sinnoh as quickly as possible. There are no exceptions to this."
Everyone nodded, all agreeing and understanding the severity of the situation. Even the Psychic Twins, who were by far the youngest of everyone here, didn't show any of their usual childish antics. They all knew that this was a very serious situation that needed us to work together.
"I loathe the disruptions to the Circuit that this will inevitably cause, but we have no choice. The safety of the public must be our first priority." Cynthia said, "So until Cyrus and his Team Galactic are captured, taken down, and completely neutralised, I won't be easing up on such restrictions until it's all over. Despite taking down several more of their bases, we have yet to locate Cyrus or the other leaders of Team Galactic, and so I believe in having as much firepower on hand as possible so that we are able to respond with our full might once an opportunity falls into our hands."
While everyone remained silent as we absorbed her words, I was wracking my head and digging through my meta-knowledge to identify if there was anything else that could make things easier for us. I accepted that this was the moment to finally make use of it, since there was little reason to hide what I knew now.
However, the Sinnoh League and their thorough investigations had already dug up everything I could have told them. Everyone already knew of Cyrus' plans, as well as who the other Team Galactic admins were, but the problem was not what he was going to do, but where he was currently hiding. And my meta-knowledge did not inform me of that, because in the games he just hid at Galactic Headquarters with no one the wiser. Obviously, he wasn't doing that any more.
Still, I eventually picked out one bit of information that could help.
"…If they're planning on awakening the Creation Trio, then they will probably do so at Spear Pillar." I suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone's attention onto me, "From what I remember, Spear Pillar is the one place in Sinnoh that has the most connection with the Creation Trio, as that is where the legends say was the place where they were created. Not only that, but Cyrus clearly intends to summon them using some form of power that he obtains from the captured Lake Guardians, and I truly believe that he will do so at Spear Pillar. That is where he's heading to next."
A thoughtful frown fell on everyone but the Sinnoh contingent, where Lucian was nodding at me, "Yes, you make a good point. It is something that we also suspected once we were confident that Cyrus' plans were going to involve summoning and making use of the power of the Creation Trio, and we have many experts discussing the veracity of the many legends surrounding them so that we might have a better understanding of what to expect. We've already expected him to make use of the Lake Guardians for such a purpose. Rest assured that Spear Pillar has already been marked as a priority location by, and we have set up 24/7 surveillance around the location in case of any Team Galactic intrusion. Elite Four and Gym Leaders will be bolstering said patrols as well."
I nodded, accepting that they had thought of this already. But it was good to make sure.
"Thank you for bringing this up though." Cynthia smiled at me, "If there's anything relevant that you can think of, please let us know."
"And with that, I think we can wrap the meeting up here." Lance stated, "Thank you all for coming, and may Arceus bless us in the coming days and weeks."
No matter where you were in the world, the consequences of the attack at the Lakes could still be felt. Even all the way in Indigo, far away from where Team Galactic had struck, the mood of the general populace was noticeably subdued – a far cry from the usual enthusiasm that you would expect from the many hyped up trainers at the start of any Circuit.
That was what was truly a shame; Cyrus' actions had managed to rob away the joy of a journey's start, tainting it for all these young trainers forever. It was depressing to see, but at least the public weren't overly worried or panicked about the situation yet.
For the time being, it looks like they still had enough trust in the Leagues to protect them, and so they continued on their daily lives as usual. Rather fortunately, there was actually an outcry of public support from Indigo and Hoenn when they had heard the news, and many seemed interested in donating to help those that were injured in attack, whether Pokémon or human, and wished them a safe recovery.
Actually, if there was one person that really helped prevent widespread panic, it was Professor Oak, who made a public announcement in light of the events at Sinnoh.
"The events at Sinnoh are most certainly a tragedy, and one that should and ought to be mourned. To strike and inflict such destruction is certainly a terrible act meant to instil fear within you. However, I do not wish for you to be controlled by this fear, for that is exactly what the terrorists are hoping to do to you. They play games with your mind, making them seem like this terrible, unseen threat, whereas in reality they are nothing more than criminals with delusions of power – striking at the world in a futile effort to vent their own frustrations."
"They do not deserve your fear, nor your worry. At the end of the day, their greed will catch up to them, and they will falter as they always do, time and time again. The League will be there to punish them for their avarice and lust for power. And rest assured, I too shall be joining this fight if my skills are called upon. Retirement or not, there is no world where I would sit back and allow these terrorists free reign. I will see them brought to justice."
It was a speech that had been mirrored many times by many Champions around the world, but coming from Oak, it gave it a different level of gravitas. The respect and trust that people had in Oak within Indigo was still unrivalled, and they heeded his calls for calm while also being reassured from his willingness to fight.
Similarly, back at home, Whitney and my parents were quick to ask me about what had happened, and I hated not being able to give them the full details – knowing that secrecy was paramount. I trusted them wholeheartedly, but it was the principle of the matter. Still, I reassured them as best as I could, but warned that the situation was serious enough that I was going to be sent to Sinnoh very soon.
That was already undergoing, with Lance and Wallace having picked one Elite Four each at random to be sent to Sinnoh tomorrow. For us, that was Koga. And for Hoenn, it was Phoebe. Apparently, a specialised, extra-fast ship was being used to transport important individuals to and from Sinnoh, so that the day's journey from Indigo could be cut down to slightly over half a day.
Drake and I had also asked to be partnered to each other during our 'shift' in Sinnoh, due to our previous working relationship, and the Champions were more than willing to accommodate that. It was determined that we would be going over on the second week, with Karen and Glacia coming after us.
Still, even with everything going on at Sinnoh, that didn't mean my duties in Indigo stopped there. Lance had other meetings to attend to with the Gym Leaders and the Indigo Police to create measures for if and when the Gym Leaders were called away to assist at Sinnoh, in order to cover their Gym Leader duties while they were gone.
But while he had that meeting to go to, us Elite Four had our own meeting to attend to – and that was to get the Sinnoh Police acclimatised to our Pokémon and fighting style. Because we were likely going to have to work with the Sinnoh Police in the future, Cynthia thought it prudent that we make sure that they would at least have a general understanding on how we fought so that they can better support us in battles, and if we had any unique fighting styles that they would have to work around.
For Lorelei and I, our fighting styles were pretty straightforward. We both had a good balance of offense and defense, and we both had supporting moves with Life Dew to keep us and our allies in the fight for longer – which meant they didn't need to bring in a rare Blissey to accompany us just to heal us up between fights.
Yet for Koga and Karen, it wasn't so simple. They were both trainers that heavily relied on speed and status moves, and Koga especially wasn't the greatest at dealing with multiple enemies at once. Furthermore, most of their team favoured more single-target fights compared to myself or Lorelei. This meant that they preferred not to be the centre of attention during fights, requiring the Sinnoh police to have to fight more on the frontlines than usual compared to fighting on the flanks as they usually did.
After that was sorted, Koga then spent some time discussing how to best make use of his and his Pokémon's tracking skills. It was why he was sent over first, so that he could help dig up any leads regarding where Team Galactic had run off to. He also gave everyone another run through of the self-protection lessons that he gave us last time, just to make sure that no one got sloppy when we ended up facing against Team Galactic for real.
By the time everything was done, it was already getting pretty late into the evening. But despite wanting to immediately get into doing some training with my Pokémon, I headed to the Viridian Gym and spoke with Giovanni.
I skipped the preamble entirely, moving to what was most important, "Has Archer managed to uncover anything?"
He shook his head, "The situation was far too dangerous for him. He caught the attack at Lake Valor when it was taking place, but had no way of joining in on the fighting without being caught in the crossfire. He did call me to see if he should fight on regardless of the risk, but I ordered him not to. I am not risking my men like that."
I… ultimately agreed with that decision. He was just looking out for them as their boss, "So what now? Is there anything Archer can do to help? If the situation is as hot as it is?"
"Yes, but not in the way you're thinking." He replied, "You're right in that the situation in Sinnoh is now far too hot for him to operate in with his usual underground methods. The Sinnoh police are really tightening the screws around any criminal activity, so he won't get much done like that. But that just means his time in the underbelly of Sinnoh has come to an end, and it doesn't mean he can't be repurposed. I have already come to an agreement with Sinnoh to send over a group of investigators and trainers on behalf of Silph Co. as a gesture of support and to bolster their manpower. Archer will be there to lead the group publicly, making it so that he will still be on hand to provide assistance without being accidentally labelled a criminal. Though he will no longer be able to make use of his underground methods like he did before."
I nodded in agreement; that seemed like the best use of Archer. However, hearing this made me come to a realisation.
"…Then I guess our covert partnership regarding Team Galactic is now at an end." I said, reminiscing about the moment all that time ago when our partnership first began.
I thought back on how our relationship developed from a cautious partnership to a trusted friendship. I watched as Giovanni went from a paranoid and nationalistic man one step away from committing terrorism just to get what he wanted, to a family man who cared greatly for the men under him and the family that he now swore to protect.
I would never have imagined this outcome for him when I had first met him. But I was all the more grateful that it turned out this way.
"…Yes, it has." He agreed slowly, "And I admit to be glad to clean my hands from all of this criminality. As much as I enjoyed the espionage, I made a promise to myself and Ariana that this would be the last time I engage in such illicit activities in the future. It leads to… temptation, and I no longer wish to be that kind of man anymore. Besides, I think Archer deserves a break from the stress of avoiding arrest. He's worked the hardest out of all of us."
"Maybe you could get him a stable job in the future so that he doesn't have to bounce around different locations all the time." I suggested half-jokingly, "It's not going to be fair on him when you have Petrel sitting in a cozy Gym."
He chuckled, "Maybe. I'll think about it."
A nice moment passed between the two of us as we simply sat there in comfortable silence. But after the moment passed, Giovanni let out a small sigh as a serious frown returned onto his face, "…John, I know that it's been drilled into our heads enough, but I feel like this is going to be the fight. My gut tells me that there will be no more running away for either Team Galactic or us – that our next confrontation will be our last. Cyrus is running out of options, but he's now closer to his goal than he's ever been. The next fight between us will be do or die."
"I know." I replied solemnly, "That's why everyone's preparing as best as we can to ensure that we win. No matter what happens – Team Galactic ends here."
A.N. A slower chapter focused on the aftermath of everything that has happened in Sinnoh, and a demonstration of how the three Leagues are responding to this very real threat. Needless to say, everyone's taking this extremely seriously. And yes, RIP Proton – you'll find out more about what happened to him later.
Also, hope you liked that last bit with Giovanni. He'll still be showing up of course, but it was nice to finally be able to 'end' their collaboration with John on this topic. 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!