John's Team

Tyrant - Slaking

Vordt - Ursaluna

Smough - Snorlax

Klee - Blissey

Port - Mantine

Zephyr - Pidgeot

Klaus - Wyrdeer

Luna - Clefable

Pixel - Porygon

The New Normal – 2-4 – Making new friends

We walked in and my guess proved correct as I saw Norman sat down in a simple office chair.

"Sorry for the wait." Norman began politely, "There was considerably more damage to fix for the arena than usual. Please take a seat."

"No worries," I stated, especially because I was certain that most of that damage came from Tyrant, "I hope you don't mind if Karen joins us in our discussion?"

"Oh, of course not. Please make yourself comfortable." He gestured to a seat for Karen. "Do you mind if I start?" He asked.

"Go ahead." I allowed.

"How did you get your Slaking and Snorlax to become so physically strong?" He asked politely but with an undercurrent of excitement, "I have tried to ensure that my Slaking gets all the necessary nutrients that it needs every day. I also make sure to train it very hard every day to build up its strength. And yet, your Slaking towers over mine. Could you explain why that is?"

"It's because of a technique that I created," I answered, though I most certainly did not create it but rather 'borrowed' it from my meta-knowledge, "I call it Gravity training."

"Gravity training? Fascinating." Norman exclaimed excitedly and I spent a few minutes explaining how it worked to him, "Hmm…I think I understand the gist of it. So, basically you force your Pokémon to exert themselves greatly under the influence of Gravity, which allows them to build up their strength beyond their usual limits." He asked.

"Yes, that's exactly it." I confirmed, "I found that, with the right application of Gravity training, it can be very beneficial to the Pokémon's development and strength. Just be careful to not overdo it or it may cause permanent damage to your Pokémon." I warned.

"I see. Thank you very much for your advice." Norman thanked, visibly reigning back on his excitement, "I'll be looking into experimenting with this technique. I hope it proves fruitful."

"I wish you the best of luck." I remarked, "Also, don't forget to try to keep a lid on your emotions during battle. A calm mind can think of vital solutions and answers in a battle that a panicked mind cannot."

"Yes, I will definitely remember that. I thank you once again for your advice." Norman said thoughtfully.

"Hmm, unfortunately, I do not have anything to give you in return." Norman then commented with a frown.

"No, no, that's okay." I quickly interjected, "You really don't have to give anything in return."

"Nonsense, your advice would likely prove to be incredibly valuable for my future as a trainer." Norman denied, "On my honour, there must be something that I can give you in return."

"I do have a few questions about politics that I'd like you to answer. I hope that doesn't ruin our friendship." I joked, trying to divert the topic away.

"Ah, politics. The bane of every Pokémon's trainer existence." Norman quipped with a chuckle and shook his head, "Nevertheless, I am willing to listen to your questions. Go ahead."

"Could you tell me what your thoughts are, as a Gym Leader of Hoenn, on the integration of Indigo? How has Indigo affected Hoenn?" I began.

"Hmmm, that's a tough question." Norman thought aloud, "I want to say that the integration of Indigo has been very beneficial to Hoenn in general. As a Gym Leader and trainer, I'm personally very happy about the integration because it has opened future opportunities for me to catch and train new Pokémon that were previously unavailable to us. Also, without Indigo, we wouldn't have had access to the Pokédex, at least not so soon, and many other essential technologies would have remained out of reach if we had not combined our technologies."

"Also, the opening of the Indigo markets for Hoenn has been a boon for our economy as well." Norman continued, "I know that as the Gym Leader of Petalburg City that the economy of Petalburg has noticeably increased as we began trading with Indigo. I'm honestly not the most versed in economics, but the business owners I've spoken to have all stated positive things about having access to Indigo's markets." Norman continued listing a variety of positive aspects of Hoenn's integration of Indigo for a few minutes. Occasionally, I piped up and asked for clarification in certain areas. Overall, it appears that Norman is greatly in favour of it.

I nodded thoughtfully at his comments and took my time to think of a response. "I see, thank you for your comments, Norman. That actually is a great segue to what I wanted to ask of you." I took out Pixel's Pokéball and released it in the corner of the office.

"Pory?" I could see both Norman and Karen's eyes nearly pop out of their sockets as they stared in open surprise at Pixel. I gave them a while to digest their shock before I began.

"You see, this is Pixel, my Porygon." I explained as I watched Porygon waddle around as it inspected its new surroundings, "I was given it as a gift by Gym Leader Giovanni of Viridian City. It is a Normal type Pokémon that was created by a team of scientists led by Giovanni, and they created it out of data."

I paused to make sure that Norman was actually listening before continuing, "I won't even pretend to tell you that I understand how it was created. However, they've been struggling to find ways of mass producing it, you see. That was why I was hoping that, with your permission, to perhaps set up a few of Giovanni's scientists here in Petalburg to allow them to work together with scientists in Hoenn to hopefully develop a new perspective on things."

"That sounds like a great idea!" Norman praised with his eyes still locked onto Pixel's in some weird staring contest. I watched as Pixel tilted its head in confusion which shook Norman out of his stupor. "Sorry, I was a bit distracted there. But yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea. I'm all for supporting research into discovering new Pokémon, especially new Normal types. Unfortunately, I don't have any scientists at hand, nor do I have the authority to force scientists to work here."

Norman tapped his fingers on the table in consideration as he contemplated the situation. "Okay, I have an idea. I will give you preliminary permission to make use of the unused land here in Petalburg to build a research facility for the scientists to use. However, assuming you have permission from Giovanni about your plans, I think you would have to speak with Devon Corp to obtain the scientists that you need from Hoenn. They probably have most of Hoenn's scientists under their employ." Norman explained to me.

I accepted that and took out my notepad to write things down; I didn't want to forget anything. In the corner of my eye, I could see Pixel trying in vain to climb up on to Norman's desk but failing. Then, Pixel decided to vent its frustrations by trying to headbutt the table, and with that I decided to withdraw it before it could damage the table or harm itself.

"You know, John, that if you accomplish this it's going to be a great achievement for you as a member of the Elite 4, right?" Karen suddenly spoke up. I gave her a confused look at that which she shook her head at it. "You silly man, did you forget that the whole reason you came here was on a 'diplomatic mission' from the Indigo League?"

"What!? Elite John, you were sent here to Hoenn on a diplomatic mission?" Norman blurted out in surprise, "Why didn't any of us Gym Leaders hear about this? It wasn't even on the Pokénet or the news!"

Karen nodded in my place and began explaining to Norman, "Yes, that was the official reason cited by the Indigo League to John about why they were sending him here. But the real reason was because some of the senior members of the Indigo League were dissatisfied with John's appointment in the Elite 4 and wanted him out of the way."

Norman reacted with a mixture of confusion and anger, "That's ridiculous! Being the youngest member to join the Elite 4 should have been seen as a great honour! It's absurd that they tried to side-line you, John." Norman said sincerely while giving me a look of sympathy. "It makes me glad that I moved from Olivine to Petalburg; Hoenn seems to have far less political tensions."

I shrugged at that, grateful for his support but not really wanting to speak anymore on the topic. "Well, that's how it is. Thanks, Karen, for bringing it up though. I didn't realize that setting up a way for the scientists to cooperate would be seen as a great diplomatic achievement, although I'll certainly milk it like a Miltank now that I know."

I certainly wasn't going to complain about this revelation. If it all went well, I could see my reputation being bolstered back in Indigo for managing to set this up. That would be amazing. On that note, I should probably call Giovanni and make sure he was actually okay with this before I got too ahead of myself.

"Excuse me, Norman, do you mind if I call Giovanni right now just to make sure he's okay with this. I don't want to make plans without his permission." I asked. Norman simply waved his hand in the 'go ahead' gesture, so I took out my phone and called Giovanni.

"Yes?" Giovanni's smooth voice flowed through my speakers.

"Giovanni, this is John. I'm currently sitting in Gym Leader Norman's office in Petalburg City. I have an idea I would like to go through with you." I announced.

"Oh? Go ahead." Giovanni said with a hint of curiosity.

"You see, I told Norman about the Porygon that you gifted me and how your scientists had created it. I also told him that you mentioned that you were having issues with mass producing Porygon. Thus, this led me to have an idea about having your scientists cooperate with scientists from Hoenn to see if you can all get a fresh perspective on things." I described.

"Hmmm, that is a very interesting idea." Giovanni declared, "And what has Gym Leader Norman said about your idea?"

"He liked the idea a lot, Giovanni, and has allowed us to make use of some of the unused land in Petalburg for the research facility. However, he doesn't have any scientists that could work with yours and suggested that we could go to Devon Corp and make a request that way." I explained.

"Ah, yes, I know about Devon Corp." Giovanni stated, "I had the idea of working with them in the past, but the opportunity hadn't come up. This might be a great way of establishing a connection with them. Great idea, John." He complimented.

"Thank you, Giovanni. So, should I take it that I have your approval to negotiate the establishment of a research facility in Petalburg for undergoing joint research between your scientists and theirs with Devon Corp.?" I asked politely.

"Yes, you may." Giovanni confirmed, "Please let me know once you've arrived at Devon Corp, I would like to discuss a few things with Joseph. I may have a few other ideas that I would like to bring up with them."

Giovanni having 'other ideas' seemed to stoke my paranoia and made me feel a tad worried; I still didn't fully trust him, after all. But I didn't let my doubt show in my voice and gave him a polite 'of course, is there anything else?' before hanging up the call.

I put away my phone before turning back to Norman, "Thank you very much for going along with my ideas, Gym Leader Norman." I said formally and with a slight bow of my head, "I hope that this project will turn out fruitfully."

Norman accepted my thanks with as much dignity as he could muster, but it still looked a bit stiff to me. Don't worry Norman, you'll become the stoic and cool Gym Leader eventually!

"It is not a problem, Elite John." Norman said, "After all, this project will be beneficial to Petalburg anyways if it does turn out successfully. Please do not feel that you may need to owe me, I was just doing my duties as the Gym Leader of Petalburg."

"In fact, I feel like I still owe YOU for your advice about the Gravity training, John." Norman suddenly stated, and before I could deny it Norman continued, "Please do not deny me this, John. Your advice about Gravity training could prove to be a huge boon to my abilities as a trainer and Gym Leader. On my honour as a Gym Leader, I will give you something in return for this."

Norman sank back in his chair deep in thought as he pondered about what he should give me in return. I mostly stayed silent and glanced at Karen as a silent plea for help. Karen considered things for a moment.

"How about an egg for a Normal type Hoenn Pokémon?" Karen unexpectedly asked, "Besides your Slaking, you don't have a Hoenn-based Normal type, right John?"

"That's a great idea!" Norman quickly replied before I could, "In fact, I just had an egg be born from my Linoone a few days before our battle. I would be delighted to fetch it for you." Before I could say anything else, Norman had already dashed out of the room.

I sighed, giving Karen a false look of annoyance which she simply grinned at. With just Karen and I remaining in the room, I turned to her and told her that she didn't need to ask Norman to give me an egg in return. Karen shook her head at that.

"You're wrong, John." She stated, "You may not have wanted anything for your advice about Gravity training, but Norman would have felt awful if he didn't give you something in return. He's a very nice man, and nice people really don't like not being able to return the kindness that has been given to them." Karen noted sagely.

I could only shrug at that. Truthfully, I wouldn't have rejected an egg, but I still didn't want my interactions with Norman to be so mercenary. I told him about the Gravity training because I liked Norman, and from our battle I thought him to be a worthy trainer that could make good use from practicing Gravity training with his Pokémon.

As we waited for Norman to return, I chatted with Karen about what she thought about my recent battle.

"I was surprised at how vicious your Slaking was." She commented, "I thought you said that you didn't rely on a Pokémon's brute strength to win your battles."

"That's not what I said." I replied, "I said that I knew how to make use of other methods aside from just relying on a Pokémon's strength, but not that I didn't make use of it. With Pokémon like Ursaluna, Snorlax, and Slaking, I would be a fool to ignore their inherent talents in their great strength and endurance."

"Well, yes, you certainly showed that off really well." She snarked, "I don't think anyone who watched that match would ever underestimate your Snorlax or Slaking again. And that's not even mentioning how fast your Slaking was! I can't even begin to imagine how you trained your Slaking to become so fast." She complimented.

"Well Slaking are naturally pretty fast Pokémon." I stated, leading her to give me a look of disbelief. "It's true. If you can get over a Slaking's inherent laziness, they are remarkably fast Pokémon. Many just don't notice it because of how lazy they are. Thus, once I got over my Slaking's laziness, it was much easier than you'd think to train his speed to the level that you saw."

"I see." Karen said and took on a thoughtful expression, "Do you think that Gravity training would work on my Pokémon?" She asked.

"Hmm, I'd think so." I remarked, "Gravity training is meant to improve on your Pokémon's strength by forcing them to exert themselves in harsh scenarios. Maybe aside from Ghost type Pokémon, I don't see why Gravity training wouldn't work for you."

"Oh, well, that's great!" Karen exclaimed with a smile, "Could you teach me how to make use of Gravity training then? I want to make sure I'm doing it correctly and not hurting my Pokémon."

"Of course," I responded, "Once we finish up my talks with Norman, I'll help you with your training."

"Thanks, John." Karen replied with a sincere smile that I couldn't get enough of, "You've been a great help."

We both gazed into each other's eyes as something seemed to pass between us. Unfortunately, Norman's return to the room broke whatever spell had occurred between us.

"Sorry for the wait!" Norman apologized, as he walked in carrying an egg, "I had to make sure that my Linoone was willing to part with its' egg. Fortunately, when I told it that you were the recipient, it became quite eager to give this to you. Apparently, your Snorlax has proven you worthy to take care of this egg." He carefully handed the egg to me, which I received slowly with both hands.

"Thank you very much for this gift, Gym Leader Norman." I said politely, "May I assume that your Linoone is the mother?"

"Yes, she is." Norman confirmed, "She recently found a mate with one of my Gym Trainer's Mightyena and produced the egg that you are carrying now. Please take care of it."

"Of course, I promise you that I will raise it well." Suddenly, a thought sprang to mind, and I thought that I could make another 'discovery'. It was about the right time for it, anyways.

"Say, Norman, did you look into how I discovered that Stantler could evolve into Wyrdeer?" I asked, causing Norman and Karen to blink confusedly at my non-sequitur.

"No? Sorry, I'm afraid I haven't." He responded guiltily, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's because of the criteria for Stantler to evolve into Wyrdeer involves it mastering many Psychic type moves." I explained, "Once a Stantler possesses a certain level of mastery in its Psychic moves, it evolves into a Wyrdeer and gains the Psychic typing." I rubbed the egg affectionately as I said this.

"It was the same for Ursaluna. If an Ursaring masters several Ground type moves, it becomes eligible to evolve into an Ursaluna." I continued, "And, with these discoveries, I have a theory that other Pokémon could also have undiscovered evolutions that we have yet to discover."

Karen's eyes shot up in realization as she understood what I was getting at. Norman still looked a bit confused as if he didn't realize why this was relevant.

"You see, if my theory proves true, then what better way of testing it then with an egg?" I said, to which Norman finally gained a look of realization as he pointed questioningly towards the egg that he had just given me. "Yes, that's right, I did my research and found that Linoone had plenty of Dark types moves that it can learn. Similarly, Stantler has plenty of Psychic type moves that it could learn. Do you see what I'm getting at?"

Karen nodded excitedly, "You mean to say that Linoone may have an undiscovered evolution that may be found if we trained it to master Dark type moves?!"

Norman frowned at that, "That can't be the case. I can see how you would think so, John, but I believe that my Linoone has mastered many Dark type moves already. Mine even knows Night Slash. If your theory was true, then shouldn't my Linoone have already evolved?"

I adopted a thoughtful expression as I started to think. I already knew about Linoone's 'undiscovered' evolution, after all. What I didn't know was how I could evolve a Linoone into an Obstagoon. I didn't even know how to create a Galarian Zigzagoon!

"Hmm, you make a good point." I conceded after a bit of thinking, "Then perhaps I should alter my theory. For some reason, my gut is telling me that the Linoone line has more to it than what we currently know, likely to do with some kind of Dark type evolution. That's my hypothesis for why it has so many Dark type moves."

Again, I tilted my head as I absent-mindedly rubbed the egg and thought about how I would evolve a Linoone into an Obstagoon.

"What about infusing the egg with Dark type energy?" Karen suddenly suggested, and I shot out of my seat at her comment.

"Yes! That's it!" I shouted with excitement as I gave Karen a kiss on the cheek. I was so thrilled about the possibilities that I didn't even notice that I had done so. "Yes, that's brilliant, Karen! Perhaps if we could carefully infuse the egg with Dark type energy, then we could perhaps create an alternate form of Zigzagoon that might be Dark type!"

I really hoped this worked, though I was confident that it would. If you could create the alternate forms of Pokémon by infusing them with the correct energy while they're in an egg, then we could have access to many new Pokémon that were normally limited to the other regions!

"Hmm, that could work." Norman said consideringly, breaking me out of my enthusiasm. I began to blush deeply as I turned to Karen, remembering what I had done. Fortunately, she only seemed shocked and not disgusted. We needed to talk about this later.

"…but you would have to be careful not to harm the Pokémon in the egg." Norman finished after a minute or so; I didn't catch most of what he said but only nodded in response. My mind was too distracted and was awhirl with thoughts. I took a deep breath to calm myself down before I returned my attention to Norman.

"Yes, I'll be sure not to harm the egg." I replied, "In fact, I'll ensure that my Blissey is always monitoring the egg to make sure that we aren't harming it."

I then turned to Karen, ignoring the awkwardness between us, "Karen, this was your idea as well, so I'd like your help." She gave me a look of confusion, "I don't have any Dark type Pokémon, but you're a Dark type specialist. I think it would be safer, and more effective, if you would help me to infuse the egg and monitor it. This will be a joint project, what do you think?"

Karen brightened and nodded at my question. That was a good sign that I didn't ruin things with my impromptu kiss.

With that revelation out of the way, I continued giving a worried Norman a few more reassurances that I would do my best not to harm the egg. I couldn't guarantee that the process would be 100% safe, as no one had ever attempted it before, but I did promise him that I would be careful and would halt the experiment if I noticed that the Pokémon was at risk.

After he was appropriately reassured, we discussed a few more things together about the training of Normal types before eventually saying our goodbyes and leaving. I found that we had a lot of similarities in what we focused on for our training, mainly maintaining the discipline of our Pokémon and working to cover our areas of weaknesses.

Before we left, Norman asked if we had any accommodations for the night, which we didn't. He then booked us in at the Pokémon Center and told us we can stay there on him. We both thanked Norman for that, and we left the Petalburg Gym. Overall, I felt like my trip to Hoenn was going to turn out far better than I expected, especially if my theory about infusing an egg was correct.

I considered letting Giovanni know about what I was experimenting but decided against it as I didn't want him to interfere unnecessarily with the experiment. I forcefully reminded myself that Giovanni and I weren't friends. Besides, the experiment could fail, and I didn't want more people knowing about the project if it did.

Seeing that I still needed to heal my Pokémon, I started walking to the Pokémon center, with Karen following distractedly behind me. Noticing that she was being uncharacteristically silent, I asked her if there was anything wrong, and received no response.

As I was about to ask her again, she turned to me and finally spoke up.

"Hey, John, can we talk about that kiss?" She said with a carefully blank expression.

Ah, shit.

A.N I would just like to reassure people that there will not be any relationship drama and teenage angst. That's not what I like to write about, so I promise that this will be resolved very soon. I really debated hard with myself with including this, but I thought that this 'confrontation' was necessary to establish their relationship going forward since the two of them were beginning to act on their hormones too much.

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!