The New Normal - A Pokémon SI

by CartecFF

For most, becoming a member of the Elite 4 would be the culmination of their Journey. A great achievement that solidified your status in the annals of history. For me, it was just the start of my journey. Hopefully, everything stays Normal. A pre-canon self-insert into the world of Pokémon. Inspired by Hard Enough. Crossposted SB/QQ. Updates every Mon/Fri. Short Interludes on Wed.

34. The New Normal - 3-2

John's Team

Tyrant - Slaking

Vordt - Ursaluna

Smough - Snorlax

Klee - Blissey

Port - Mantine

Zephyr - Pidgeot

Klaus - Wyrdeer

Luna - Clefable

Pixel - Porygon

The New Normal – 3-2 – A Chilly Conversation

I sat down in the chair across from Pryce, who was continuously staring at me as if he was trying to observe my every movement. Being in someone's office like this reminded me of the time I was invited to speak with Giovanni. It was admittedly rather unnerving to be the subject of Pryce's cold stare, but I was no longer the fresh newbie member of the Elite Four who was insecure about his position.

No, after my victory over Drake and with my bolstered relations with Giovanni, I knew that my position was far more secure than it was the last time I met with Pryce before I went to Hoenn. I would remain respectful, but I was not going to be intimidated.

I held Pryce's stare for a moment, until he eventually eased up and leaned backwards, no longer trying to intimidate me.

"Firstly, before we move on to the main topic that I would like to discuss with you, I would like to give you my sincere apologies for sending you to Hoenn on such short notice and in such poor conditions." He began, although I noticed that his face had no trace of guilt or apology at all.

"John, I did not do this out of some malicious intent to move you away. You must understand that, as the newest and youngest member of the Elite Four, there were a few in the Indigo League that were worried that you would let your newfound title go to your head and cause problems for Indigo. Thus, we had to send you there as a sort of test to see if you would be suitable for the position in the long-term." He explained.

I thought about his explanation for a moment, and I eventually found them to be unsatisfactory. Whether that was because his reasoning didn't really make sense to me, or because of the lack of sincerity in his tone, I just couldn't get myself to believe in his words. My gut was screaming to me that Pryce was lying to me, but I didn't let my suspicions show on my face.

"You've changed." Seeing that I wasn't saying anything, he continued. "You seem much more confident and surer of yourself. That's good. A proper member of the Elite Four should be confident in themselves, just like you are now."

I only nodded in response and stayed silent once again. His tone of voice was as cold and as unfriendly as usual, and so even though the words itself were complimentary, it was very difficult for me to treat them as such. Also, a part of me suspected that he was just trying to flatter me so that I would react positively to his request.

Seeing my silence, he kept going, "You have also made great strides for Indigo in furthering our relations with Hoenn. I'm sure that the business opportunities that you have created for the two regions as a result of your cooperation with Devon Corp will easily prove fruitful in the future. It seems like my decision to send you to Hoenn to test out your capabilities was successful, then. I would be happy to keep you on the Elite Four for the future as well."

Okay, now I was almost certain that he was trying to flatter me. In fact, his attempts to praise and compliments me were so stiff and unnatural because of his constant monotone voice that it was almost comical to listen to. I supposed that Pryce really hadn't had the need to compliment or praise someone in a while.

…I wonder what that says of him as a person?

Deciding that I had to actually respond to Pryce's comments, I finally spoke up, "Thank you for your words, Champion Pryce." I remained respectful even though I knew his words were insincere, "I hoped to prove that I deserved to be a member of the Elite Four and that I would work hard for the benefit of Indigo. I am glad to be recognized for my efforts."

Pryce frowned slightly at my response, before he quickly pulled his face back into his usual neutral expression. I guess he was hoping that his words would have caused me to react more favourably towards him. But he was delusional if he thought that anyone would have been comforted or enthused by anyone speaking with his tone of voice.

If he truly wanted to appear like he was giving you genuine praise, he should probably stop speaking with his cold and monotonous tone of voice.

"Well, regardless, let's get on with what I wanted to speak about today." Maybe seeing that his words weren't having the affected that he was hoping for, Pryce skipped over the pleasantries and moved to what he wanted to speak about.

I sat up straight and leaned forwards as I focused on his next words; I knew that the next few moments of our conversation would be extremely important to shaping the future of Indigo.

"I'm sure that despite your recent return from Hoenn, you surely must have seen the news on the Pokénet that Lance has recently attacked me for my rightful appointment of my niece as the Gym Leader of Mahogany?" He asked rhetorically, but I nodded anyways as he continued, "Ignoring the ridiculousness of that claim, what you might not know is that my sources tell me that this is just the beginning of Lance's attempts at discrediting me in the public eye before he makes his eventual challenge against me for the position of Champion."

Of course, I already knew all of this, but I still tried my best to look surprised at this revelation. Luckily, Pryce didn't seem to have caught on to my fake surprise and kept speaking.

"I hope you can understand the severity of the situation which I am describing, John." He continued, "The fact that Lance is seeking to make himself the Champion already shows that he is far too ambitious for his own good. As if a Dragon type trainer could ever defeat the likes of me. It only adds to his arrogance to think that his Dragons could ever defeat my team of Ice types." I hid my disbelief at his confidence that Lance had no chance of defeating him. Despite Lance's type disadvantage, I KNEW that Lance was far stronger than Pryce perceived.

Pryce fixed a serious look towards me, "You understand that this cannot be allowed to happen, right John? For the good of Indigo, Lance must not take my place as Champion. I will not allow him to take it away from me."

Before I could even nod in response, Pryce carried on, his speech turning more and more passionate until it almost turned into a rant. "I have been Champion for a very long time, John, and Indigo has prospered under my leadership. There have been no wars, no big protests, and no big issues that have managed to threaten the peace of Indigo. That is all due to my leadership, and because I remained as Champion. John, if I were to lose my position as Champion to a militant like Lance, what do you think would happen? I couldn't imagine how Lance's short-sightedness will doom the many achievements that I have accomplished."

Pryce kept on going and I actually ended up tuning Pryce out as he continued with his ranting and self-praising, to the extent that I wasn't even sure if he was talking to me or talking AT me.

But WOW. Listening to Pryce's speech was eerily familiar to me. I definitely felt like I had heard someone saying something very similar to this not too long ago. I spent a few moments trying to place that sense of familiarity before the realization finally hit me.

Pryce's current rambling speech was just like the rant that Giovanni gave when I spoke with him for the first time all that time ago!

With that realisation, I ended up comparing both of their words, and found that the two of them mirrored each other quite well with their power complexes. On the one hand, based on my memory of Giovanni's rant, I could feel in his words and demeanour that he was genuinely passionate about maintaining and furthering the prosperity of Kanto at any cost, and that he wanted and needed power in order to make sure that he could work towards improving Kanto. He was a true nationalist, to the point of obsession, but I respected him for that regardless.

On the other hand, Pryce was clearly focused on maintaining power as Champion as his first priority. Sure, he also occasionally looked out for the prosperity of Indigo, but that was just the side product of his actions in trying to maintain his title as Champion. Pryce only served Pryce. Perhaps he felt differently at first, and perhaps he had once strived to be a great Champion for Indigo's sake. But that man is now gone, leaving only the withered husk of selfish ambition that was the current Pryce. A man now so consumed and possessed by the need to maintain his power at any cost.

Ever since becoming an Elite Four, I worked hard in hopes of bettering Kanto and Indigo as a whole, and to do that I was determined to work for the better of Kanto and improve its economy so that the Kantonians wouldn't become discontent and cause problems like forming or joining Team Rocket. In that way, I could see the similarities between myself and Giovanni. We both needed power in order to be able to enact the changes we wanted. Unlike Pryce, who I was certain wanted power for the sake of being able to wield it.

It was at this point that I recognized that I could never forgive myself if I chose to support a man like Pryce, a man who was willing to do everything and anything to keep his position as Champion. I didn't dare to think of all the other underhanded actions that Pryce must have taken over his long reign as Champion to maintain his position.

And I felt that it was this difference between the two that made me gravitate towards Giovanni more than Pryce, even though I knew that Giovanni was probably a worse person than Pryce and had done worse and likely more illegal things in the past.

Was it wrong of me to be more trusting and supportive of Giovanni despite his likely affiliations with Team Rocket? Probably. I didn't trust either of them, not completely, but Pryce was just so utterly repulsive to me that I really couldn't see myself supporting him.

I hadn't even spoken to Lance yet, but I could see that a future with Pryce remaining as Champion would be bad for the future of Kanto AND Johto. No, Pryce needed to be removed as soon as possible.

To explain how the Indigo system functions, basically, the Champion serves as the leader and face of the Indigo League. The Champion is mostly responsible for setting the overall direction of Indigo and can pass proposals to a committee for approval. The Elite Four and the League officials serves as the arms that supports and enforces the Champion's policies.

The Champion also doesn't have the power to directly appoint members of the Elite Four or Gym Leaders. Instead, they sit on a committee consisting of many high-ranking League officials where the Champion has a large, but not majority, vote. There, the committee decides who to appoint into the Elite Four, which sometimes also includes promoting a Gym Leader into the Elite Four. The Champion may also directly dismiss a member of the Elite Four by defeating them in a Pokémon battle with no more than 2 losses suffered by the Champion, or by sitting on a committee to vote them out through a majority vote.

However, the Champion can be removed in two ways. The most common way was through a Pokémon challenge, where a challenger who had defeated all of the current members of the Elite Four in any order may challenge the Champion and replace them if the challenger wins. If the challenger is already a member of the Elite Four, they may challenge the Champion directly without having to deal with the other members of the Elite Four. This encourages prospective Champions to join the Elite Four first to gain leadership experience before trying to become the Champion. Similarly, any Gym Leader can challenge an Elite Four member and replace them if they win.

Alternatively, and this applies to any member of the Elite Four as well, the Champion may be removed if 80% of the public votes to remove them. Thus, the Champion is incentivised to remain popular with both the Elite Four and the public, as if the Champion is hated by the Elite Four, then they can simply refuse to obey the Champion's orders with little consequences if the public or a majority of the committee doesn't vote to remove the offending Elite Four member. Likewise, and often linked with the previous scenario, if the Champion is unpopular with the public, then the public can directly vote to remove them.

With these checks and balances in place, it hopefully serves to prevent a Champion from becoming a dictator and taking full control of Indigo. That's how Pryce was held in check for the past couple of years but holding him in check doesn't mean that he wasn't going to continue causing damage to the future of Indigo through his constant enforcement of the status quo and the subsequent resulting stagnation that followed.

I knew that he still had a large support base that was still interested in keeping Pryce as Champion, mostly to serve their own interests, but that was always going to be the case with any reigning Champion. With that in mind, I recognized that, realistically, Pryce could only be removed through a direct confrontation in a Pokémon battle. But I had to be careful with the way that Pryce was removed.

Thus, I had to ensure that Lance obtained enough support for when he replaced Pryce so that there wouldn't be too much opposition against him, which would stifle his policies and heavily distract Lance during the early periods of his reign. Therefore, it would be best if Lance could prove himself to the public that his challenge for the title of Champion was done out of goodwill, to benefit both the public and the people of Indigo, and not because he was power-hungry.

He would have to prove that Pryce was unsuitable to remain as the Champion, and that he had an overall direction and goal that would suit and benefit the future of Indigo.

This meant that I had to check with Lance to make sure that he actually had the support base necessary to be a successful Champion in the long-term, but for now, I refocused myself so that I could actually respond to Pryce, who was finally wrapping up his rant.

"…And, it is because of this, Elite John, that I am seeking your support to ensure that Lance doesn't end up destroying the very pillars that make up and support Indigo." Pryce finished with a darkened expression.

I matched his stare with a blank one of my own, pretending like I had just listened to his possessed ramblings. However, since I had made my choice that to not support Pryce, keeping my true allegiance from him was paramount. This meant keeping his suspicions down for the time being and placating him with words that he would want to hear before extracting myself from this conversation before I gave anything away; I wasn't ready to fight a political battle against Pryce at the moment.

"I can certainly understand your perspective, Champion." I responded, carefully controlling the words that I used to technically avoid lying while not giving him any explicit promises for support, "I can certainly understand your motivations and where you're coming from; especially with how hard you seem to be working towards achieving your own goals. Furthermore, I understand that Lance may be untested as a Champion and may bring the instability you so fear to Indigo. While I may not have the level of political awareness required to fully understand the scope of the situation, I will happily defer to your expertise."

I tried to cover up my intentions with my flowery language and flattery, and luckily Pryce bought into it and seemed pleased by my answer.

"John, I'm glad to see that you see the truth of things." He pretended to say pleasantly, and I had to hold back from rolling my eyes. "I assume that I can count on your support for the future?"

"I will always work for the betterment and interests of Indigo, Champion Pryce, and I thank you for your words once again." I answered with a smile, while not actually giving any explicit promises of support.

I concealed a smirk as Pryce failed to see through my veiled words and nodded, his face never even breaking into anything that could resemble a genuine smile. I guess this was the other reason I disliked Pryce, he was just so cold and unfriendly that it was hard to bond or have positive feelings for. Idly, I wondered if this was the result of years of being the most powerful person in Indigo.

I then decided to take a risk and ask a few more questions towards Pryce, both so I could hopefully learn more about his support base and also to try to trick and convince Pryce into thinking that I was asking these questions because I wanted to know more about his other supporters so that I could support him better.

"Champion Pryce, may I ask about the other Elite Four members? What do they say about Lance's challenge for your position?" I questioned.

Pryce actually scowled at my question, but I could tell he wasn't scowling at me. "Among the remaining Elite Four, only you and Walker have the sense to do what's right. Agatha insists on playing as the petty ruler of Lavender Town, and she stubbornly refuses to do what's right and provide me the support that I should be receiving."

I saw Pryce's fist clench momentarily as he continued tightly. "At least she isn't supporting Lance either, but I'm suspicious of her intentions. Normally, I would ask to send you to investigate and to learn more, since you have a reason to talk to her through your connections with Agatha's apprentice, but you're too young and inexperienced and she'd see through you in an instant."

"I understand, thank you for the information, Champion Pryce." I simply said back, keeping the smile on my face despite the backhanded insult that he just gave me.

Just earlier he was praising me for having grown and matured, but now that he thought that he had my support he was back with the condescension. Sure, he probably wasn't wrong because Agatha most certainly would see through my intentions and know that I was sent by Pryce, but Pryce's two-faced attitude was just another factor that rubbed me the wrong way.

A part of me wanted to say more and ask a few more questions, but I decided that I should end the conversation here while Pryce still believed that I was on his side. Thus, seeing that we were both silent, I spoke up and asked him if there was anything else he needed for me to do as the Champion.

"Just one more thing." Pryce requested sharply. "What will you be doing next after you leave here?"

I told him truthfully that I was feeling tired and wanted to go home to see my family as soon as possible. As he heard that, he simply shook his head and told me that the conversation was over and asked for me to make my way out.

I gave him a polite goodbye and left his office. Of course, since Pryce's offices were located in a private area that for security reasons was inaccessible to the common people without a Kadabra to Teleport you, I had to then request to be teleported to the entrance of the Indigo League building.

As I left the building, I was texting my family saying that I was coming home before I was spotted by a few members of the public that recognized me and politely if they could have an autograph and a photo. Seeing that they were being polite, I indulged a few of them before I told the rest of them that I was tired and needed to go and left before I was overwhelmed by the growing swarm of people who all wanted the same.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I soon found myself in the air riding on Port, away from the crowd of people and slowly making my way home. As I flew on Port, I went over the entire conversation I had with Pryce and reaffirmed my choice in not supporting him. I wasn't certain that I made the choice entirely rationally, but I knew that I could not endure working for Pryce in the long-term.

It was a short flight, but I quickly found myself circling over my family farm. They had clearly received my text as I saw the entirety of my family standing out in the open waiting patiently for my return.

A smile broke out on my face and a familiar warmth spread throughout me. The familiar atmosphere and scenery served as a reminder of my true allegiances, and why I worked so hard to strive for a better Kanto and Indigo. It was this image of peace, filled with freely given familial love, that formed the foundation for all of my actions.

I landed on Port and the moment I stepped down from Port, I was immediately hugged by a pink blur that revealed itself as Whitney.

"Welcome home, John!" Whitney beamed excitedly, and I quickly gave her a one-armed hug while my other hand rubbed her head. Soon enough, my parents joined in on the hug while saying similar sentiments.

"Thanks, sis. I'm happy to be home." I told her.

A.N I hope that explanation of how the League works made sense, I spent way too long thinking about it and putting it together. I hoped that it was a marriage between the more strength-based system of the Pokémon games and a more democratic system like you'd see in our world.

There will be an info chapter about it in the future to go into more detail – I didn't want to turn this chapter into an exposition dump. 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!