John's Team

Tyrant - Slaking

Vordt - Ursaluna

Smough - Snorlax

Klee - Blissey

Port - Mantine

Zephyr - Pidgeot

Klaus - Wyrdeer

Luna - Clefable

Pixel - Porygon

Euphie - Eevee

The New Normal – 4-1 – The Road to Champion

"I can't believe that they're still discussing the attack at Olivine, haven't we caught all the stragglers anyways?" My mom spoke up at the lunch table as we all gathered to eat, "It's already been a week and a half, surely we don't to focus on all the doom and gloom."

"I was surprised they weren't talking more about Lance's announcement that he was going to be Champion." My dad muttered, "Did you know about that, John?"

I swallowed my food, "He gave me a heads-up two days before he made the announcement, though as I said before I was helping him behind the scenes."

Which was smart of him. It allowed the Team Rocket attack to gain sufficient traction in the news, and THEN made his announcement when the attack was still fresh in everyone's minds.

This way, Lance was able to capitalize on the Team Rocket attack as a means to prove Pryce's incompetency and provide a legitimate justification in the public's eyes for his challenge against Pryce. Furthermore, emotions were high days after the attack by Team Rocket, and so Lance was able to benefit from the public's outrage and funnel them into support for himself. The final showdown between Lance and Pryce would take place exactly a month after Lance's announcement, plenty of time for both of them to shore up support from the public.

It was a shrewd plan, and I truthfully didn't think Lance was capable of such political manoeuvring. That was not to say that Lance was dumb or political unaware, but I personally believed that this plan of action was probably thought of and put into play by the wiser elders of the Blackthorn Clan, and Lance was simply following their instructions.

"Hmm…" My dad frowned, "I hope you and him know what you're doing. It's a big risk to aim to replace the Champion." He said with concern. "Say, John, since you've actually spoken to Lance, is he just a puppet for the Blackthorns? Or is he his own man?"

"Definitely the latter." I replied instantly, "I'm sure he has Blackthorn's interest in mind, but he's too arrogant and strong to be anyone's puppet. That I can be certain of."

"Will you be the Champion one day, John?" My sister cut in. "Maybe one day you can challenge the Champion and beat them up with Tyrant and become the Champion."

I chuckled at Whitney's innocence, "Being a Champion is a lot more trouble than it's worth, Whitney. I'm happy with my current position, and I don't want to get too greedy. Maybe someday I'll try for it, but not now. I wouldn't even be able to gather up the support for it."

"Speaking of support, I was surprised that Gym Leader Giovanni chose to support Lance as the next Champion." My mom added, "I'm not surprised that the Johto Gyms would support Lance, but I never thought a Kanto Gym Leader would vote for a Johto Champion after all of the shenanigans with Pryce. I remember it was a pretty big deal on the news."

"True enough, dear." My dad remarked, "The Blackthorns were always very popular and influential in Johto, so gaining the support of the other Gym Leaders wouldn't have been too difficult for them. Though yes, seeing the Viridian Gym supporting Lance too was surprising. But I think Giovanni's support of Lance probably swayed a few Kantonians to Lance's side."

My mom's eyes narrowed suspiciously at me, "Did you have something to do with it, John?"

"Perhaps." I answered, refusing to say more. Though I was certain that my parents had inferred that I had advised Giovanni to do so since they knew of my friendship with him. "He'll probably be the only one to support Lance though. The other Gyms won't be as keen. But at least they won't support Pryce either!"

"Hah! Certainly not." My dad spat out, "After everything Pryce has done leading up to the attack at Olivine, there'd be riots in the streets! It's about time that fu-…rascal finally got removed as the Champion!" My dad censored himself as he realized that Whitney was still here, who just rolled her eyes at the obvious censorship.

She probably knew her swears, which was probably due to me. Whoops!

Then the phone in the living room started to ring, and my mom quickly got up to get it while the rest of us continued to eat our food. She came back hardly a minute later with a slight scowl on her face, causing us to all stare at her.

"It's another one of your fans, John." She answered our silent question, "You have more reporters looking to speak to the 'Hero of Olivine'." She said that last bit in a teasing tone, knowing how much I hated the nickname.

"Hehehehe…When I start my journey I'm going to tell everyone that my big brother is a Hero! They'll all be so jealous!" My sister joined in, twisting the knife even further as I groaned. That caused everyone to laugh.

Terrible nicknames aside, I couldn't deny the benefits of helping out at Olivine, not that I did so for such mercenary reasons. My popularity had been steadily on the rise ever since my return from Hoenn, but after my efforts to defend Olivine port and shutting down the Team Rocket attack, my popularity skyrocketed even further.

I was lauded as a hero in the news, and my reputation in the Elite Four, at least temporarily, couldn't be higher. Thus, when I announced my support of Lance and claimed that he was someone who would be able to regain control and stability against the tide of criminals, THAT brought Lance a lot of support and credibility.

Likewise, Lance was also making claims that he would enact proposals such as the International Police in order to prevent future crime waves from occurring again. This was unsurprisingly extremely popular in today's political climate, and I'm sure that Lance was very happy with the amount of support that this got from the public.

"…Anyways, changing the topic a little bit." I spoke up, trying to move away from embarrassing nicknames, "Any thoughts about the chances of Pryce getting impeached by the 80% public vote?"

My dad thought about it for a moment, "Unlikely. Not because Pryce's still popular or anything, but simply because I think the public would like to see if Lance has the strength to beat Pryce in a battle first." He said, unconsciously mirroring what Giovanni had also told me.

"I agree." My mom added, "Besides, Pryce probably still has a few loyal supporters that would save him from the 80% public impeachment vote. He's been Champion for too long to not have sycophants."

I nodded to my parents' statements. I also thought that a vote would not be held at such time, as it was far more common to allow the challenger and the Champion to battle beforehand rather than by removing existing Champion through a public vote. This way, the public would use the current Champion as a sort of test for the challenger to test and evaluate their abilities in a Pokémon battle.

In the world of Pokémon, winning a Pokémon battle was everything and would heavily influence public opinion. While there were democratic elements to our government, such as the 80% public impeachment vote that remained as an eternal threat to all sitting Champions and Elite Four members, that vote was never actually used in practice. As far as Indigo and the wider Pokémon world was concerned, the most important element to see in a leader was their ability to defeat any and all challengers.

To the public, the candidate's Pokémon team's strength was always the most important aspect of their candidacy.

Thus, all of the support that Lance has received from the Gym Leaders and from myself, while undoubtedly useful at reassuring the public that Lance was a suitable candidate to be the next Champion and deterring any future potential challengers, would all be for naught if Lance failed to defeat Pryce.

"But what if Lance loses to Pryce?" Whitney remarked, unknowingly mirroring my thoughts. "Who would be the Champion?"

"…That would be the worst-case scenario." I replied, getting nods from both my parents, "If he won, then he might get to stay as Champion since the public still respect strength, and his victory would prove that he still had sufficient strength to hold the title."

"I doubt that though. He's public enemy number one at this point. Even his own sycophants are starting to point fingers at him to avoid the blame." My dad interrupted me. "They'll probably impeach Pryce afterwards even if he wins. But Lance would also be seen as weak and be discredited for not being strong enough to beat Pryce."

"That would be really, really, bad." I said to Whitney, who still looked a bit confused. "If that happens, then the new Champion would likely be decided by the Committee, which I am certain would cause complete chaos that no one would want or benefit from."

Of course, Giovanni and I did discuss contingency plans for this extremely unlikely scenario since I had every reason to be confident in Lance's ability to defeat Pryce from my research. Obviously, due to my relative inexperience and lack of political connections, I wasn't a realistic candidate to be the next Champion in the event of a vacancy despite my temporary surge in popularity, but I hopefully should still be able to position myself to be a powerful influence on whoever that next Champion would be.

Still, there was no real need to worry about all this yet. It's only been a week and a half since the Team Rocket attack in Olivine, and there was still two and a half weeks before the final showdown between Lance and Pryce. I had mostly done my part for Lance, and so long as he could beat Pryce his ability to remain as a Champion was a shoe-in.

"That's true, Whitney." My mom continued, "If it wasn't for the foresight and leadership of Champion Oak to ensure a stable transition of power, Indigo would have likely shattered before Pryce, the chosen successor of Oak, could even take up the mantle as Champion."

My sister listened to all this with an 'O' on her face. I guessed that she probably understood most of what was being said but was finding it hard to process. Still, I was glad to she was actually putting in the effort to learn more about the politics of Indigo. It would serve her well in the future on her journey.

The thought of my sister starting her journey put a frown on my face as I remembered the still-in-hiding Team Rocket. They were still unaccounted for despite running away from Hoenn, and while they did make a few arrests, I was concerned that Proton still hadn't been located. The Hoenn news agencies were playing it up as a massive success by their police force, but I knew that they were severely exaggerating their achievements.

I wouldn't be satisfied until all of Team Rocket's facilities and funding were completely dismantled, and Proton arrested. In my eyes, that was the only way to stamp out the Team Rocket threat. Sadly, I couldn't just head over to Hoenn to do that, and I wouldn't even know where to start finding them!

Even though I suspected that more things were at play, especially with the still 'undiscovered' Team Magma and Aqua, I couldn't just go through a fruitless manhunt through Hoenn. I needed information before I could act. Still, I vowed to keep a close eye on what was happening over in Hoenn for any big incidents just in case.

Giovanni was equally unable to do anything about it as well. But at least he was thoroughly converted to my side and was fighting back hard against Team Rocket; he realized the benefits of doing so and was now seen as one of the leading figures of Kanto! He was very happy about that.

"Come, let's table the discussion for now and finish up lunch." My mom exclaimed, cutting through my thoughts. "The food's getting cold. So, eat up." And we all obeyed.

After lunch was over, Whitney and I went back to the fields to continue training with my Pokémon in preparation for the upcoming regime change. Giovanni had advised me that it was very common for Elite Four members to receive challenges whenever there is a new Champion, so I followed Giovanni's advice and began training up my Pokémon even more. Our mom also joined us to help milk the Miltanks.

Not that I felt like my Pokémon were going to lose to anyone, but I wasn't about to rest on my laurels and risk losing everything just because of my overconfidence.

As we arrived at the field, I saw Eevee being playfully chased around by Klee, who was purposely running a bit slower to give Eevee a chance. Eevee was too distracted running away from Klee and bumped into a grunting Vordt. Despite Vordt's menacing visage, he merely let out a snort and patted the smiling Eevee gently on the forehead, before turning around and continuing to train up its new combination move of Earthquake + Stone Edge. It was a move I called Seismic Eruption, where Vordt would unleash an Earthquake that would also cause rocks to erupt from below and impale the enemy.

It was still very much a work in progress, but with Vordt's proficiency with geokinesis, I was certain he could manage.

Speaking of training, I needed to focus on my new Eevee.

"Euphie! Come over here!" I shouted out, using the new nickname that I had for my Eevee. I gave it to her as I felt that it matched her kind innocence and eventual pink appearance when it evolved into a Sylveon.

Euphie heard my shouts and came dashing over, an Everstone properly secured around her neck on a nice and sturdy chain.

"Okay Euphie, I want you to continue your spars with Pixel and Whismur. Are you up for that?" Euphie's head rapidly bobbed up and down, so I chuckled and let her run off to do that.

I had ideas of evolving her into a Sylveon, though I knew that would take some time. She and Pixel were getting along very well as sparring buddies, as they were about equal in terms of their level of training, and they often included Whismur in their spars as well.

When I first showed Whitney my new Eevee, she immediately cooed and awed over my new Pokémon, and she threatened bodily harm towards me if I ever hurt Euphie. I repeatedly swore to my sister that I would never do anything of the sort, and only then did she nod to me. I suspected that a part of her wanted to ask me to get her an Eevee of her own, but she was determined to stick to her previous promise of not asking for any more Pokémon. I was proud of her for doing so.

I knew that discovering Euphie's evolution into a Sylveon would make the Fairy type impossible to hide anymore. Yet, what better way would there be to prove the existence of a Fairy type than with a new Eeveelution? Plus, I figured that it was as good of a time as ever to 'discover' the Fairy Type, as when Lance replaces Pryce as Champion, there will inevitably be a major reshuffling of all of the Elite Four positions.

Not only would having another big discovery put me back into the center of the public eye at such a critical moment, but it would also cement my scientific mind and my reputation as a researcher. That was a respected attribute in Pokémon society, which should hopefully open doors for me to build and reinforce future political connections, thus giving me a larger say in the discussing and creation of new policies.

Similarly, it will make it much more difficult for any League official to ignore me if I continue to maintain my popularity within the public eye. If I got particularly lucky, I could be the right-hand man of whoever will be the next Champion. It would also provide an additional layer of protection to prevent me from suddenly getting kicked out of the Elite Four. I just needed a good opportunity to do so.

Also, my first cheque from Devon Corp finally came in, and the amount was quite a bit higher than I was expecting. I quickly put that into my personal account for emergency use.

Likewise, as I idly watched my new Euphie spar with Pixel, I reflected on one of the surprisingly mundane changes to my life. Karen's return.

Unsurprisingly, we weren't always hanging around each other like we did in Hoenn, as she frequently had to return to her place in Lavender Town and discuss some things with Agatha. I wasn't privy to most of their conversations, nor did I expect to be.

I just presumed that Agatha was just preparing Karen for a potential run at the Elite Four, if she felt that Karen was ready for it. This did mean that we didn't get to spend much time training and just hanging out each other like we used to, though we texted often, and she did have an open invitation to my house. I obviously much preferred to actually see her in person, but nevertheless was still thankful for our continued friendship.

Traitorously, Karen told me that she wanted to meet Whitney and "show my sister the ways of Dark type Pokémon" and try to convert my sister away from being another Normal type specialist like me. I scoffed and replied that I was confident that Whitney was strong enough to resist the temptation of the dark side.

However, just as I was reminiscing about that, I received a sudden text from Karen stating that Agatha was inviting me to speak with her in Lavender Town. I frowned, but nonetheless accepted the invitation with much curiosity swirling about in my mind.

Why was Agatha inviting me there?

I hated Lavender Town. It had nothing to do with the people, but there was this presence to Lavender Town that just gives me the creeps.

I figured that it was because of all the Ghost type Pokémon living here, but it was very unsettling regardless. I also hated their speciality food, something they called 'Creepypasta', some kind of black garlic pasta with a ketchup and pumpkin sauce that tasted awful. I really didn't want to be here, but I wasn't going to turn down a rare invitation from Agatha for such a stupid reason.

I suspected that Agatha wanted to speak to me about Karen about her opportunities to join the Elite Four, but I couldn't be certain. So, it was with curious interest that I stepped into the large, yet surprisingly undescriptive, mansion where Agatha was staying at.

"Ah, you took your time getting here, didn't you boy?" Agatha's gravelly voice sounded through the entrance. "I would have thought that you would have tripped over yourself trying to see my apprentice again."

I ignored her barbs as I looked around her mansion. Despite the size, it was sparse of décor. There were no gaudy displays of wealth. Just an empty, and old, mansion that seemed to be slowly falling apart. If I had paid closer attention, I would have noticed that some of the furniture moved on its own, but I missed this as I made my way to where they were.

I found Agatha seated next to Karen on a pillow while sipping tea from a coffee table. This very mundane sight was ruined by the fact that there was literally nothing else in the room besides the two of them, three pillows, and the table, which actually made the sight rather spooky. Still, I didn't let that deter me.

"Thank you for your invitation, Elite Agatha." I greeted, ignoring her earlier comments. "I hope you're well-"

"Yes, yes, I'm well enough that I'm not just about to fall over and die if that's what you're hoping for." She interrupted me while waving her hands dismissively. "Now enough with the pleasantries. Sit down and let's talk. I don't have much time left in this world and I don't intend to waste any of it." She gestured to a spare pillow next to the table.

Despite her macabre bluntness, I was getting used to her mocking mannerisms, and found that they lacked any cutting power. Agatha wasn't trying to insult me; this was just who she was. Sort of like how Drake swore like a sailor; often times he didn't mean any offense. So, I just seated myself in the pillow silently, waiting for her to tell me what she wanted to say.

"Now, as you probably guessed, we're going to be talking about Karen here." Karen winked at me when I turned to her, but otherwise kept her hands on her legs and didn't say anything else as Agatha continued. "Since Pryce still has his head up his rear, he'll be losing to Lance, and Walker's going to be kicked out soon enough after that. Therefore, we're going to have two openings in the Elite Four since I don't plan to fall down a flight of stairs just yet and you're obviously not going to be leaving. So, I want to discuss about how Karen will make it into the Elite Four."

I nodded at her explanation; it was what I expected honestly. Lance's move to Champion meant that there will be two spots available in the Elite Four since Walker was inevitably going to be moved out of the way either by Lance or by a challenge from someone else. What Giovanni had previously explained to me when I asked was that the only reason Walker remained in the Elite Four as long as he did was that Pryce wanted a yes-man in the Elite Four and buried all potential challengers using a mixture of bribes and threats before they had an opportunity to challenge Walker.

This was all kept very hush-hush to the point where I doubt Lance knew about it, but I suppose Giovanni had alternate information sources to rely on. I wasn't even sure if Walker knew about how Pryce was keeping him in the Elite Four!

"But that's actually not as easy as it sounds." Agatha continued. "Unfortunately, many other ambitious challengers will inevitably decide to stick their noses in and try to compete for the positions as well. As you know, anyone who wins the Indigo Conference may challenge the Elite Four or Champion within three years of their victory, meaning that we'll probably have at least two challengers for Walker's spot since you're already in the Elite Four. Karen hasn't won the Indigo Conference yet, meaning that we'll have to wait until the next circuit for her to have the opportunity to join."

"What about the committee-" I tried to ask before Agatha cut me off again.

"I will not suffer the embarrassment of relying on the committee vote for Karen's entry into the Elite Four, nor would it be a reliable method for Karen to be selected." Agatha told me, "It is very likely that the committee will choose a Johtonian to join the Elite Four, since with Lance's upward promotion to Champion, the committee members will quickly realize that you and I will be the only members of the Elite Four left after Walker gets the boot. And we are both from Kanto. Thus, those busybodies will scramble to find a Johtonian to fill in the ranks."

I nodded. That was a very reasonable prediction. "Do you have any idea of who they'll choose from Johto, then?" I asked.

"Do I look like I can just Will the answer into existence like a Psychic?" Agatha replied sarcastically. "No, I do not. Knowing how incompetent the League always is, I doubt they'll know about it either until the day that the committee is held." She paused and took a sip of her tea. "Moving back to Karen. It is unfortunate that Karen has not yet won the Indigo Conference before Lance challenged Pryce, as this would have been a perfect opportunity for her. However, I didn't expect Lance to make a move so quickly, so now we have to work with what we've got."

"Well, it's not like the situation is that bad." I remarked thoughtfully. "Karen's still going to have a good opportunity to join this League season as well."

"True, and that is why I've invited you here today, John." Agatha explained. "Whatever happens, Karen MUST win next year's conference. No exceptions. I am already delaying my retirement until she can replace me, but eventually the public will catch on to my frailty and weakness and vote me out. If that happens, then the committee will have a free hand at picking my successor, and I refuse to leave the Elite Four to someone not directly picked by me."

I was shocked by the admission. I didn't think that someone as strong in spirit as Agatha was going to be voted out. She must have seen the shock on my face as she began to explain.

"Yes, I can see your surprise. But, the Indigo League and the Champion, whoever they may be, won't like an Elite Four member that is unable to act on their orders or help out in times of crisis." Agatha informed me. "I may have a strong team, but my ability to direct them wanes with each day that passes. Truthfully, I do not think I will be in the Elite Four for much longer." She admitted bitterly, and I could see that Karen was giving looks of sympathy to Agatha. I guess Karen did care for her, despite not always getting along together.

"Therefore, John, I want you to do everything that you can to ensure that Karen wins the next conference. Of course, I will also be helping out where I can. However, I am not blind to your miraculous ability to find discoveries and hidden Pokémon evolutions that others missed. I want you to use that brain of yours to train Karen to be the strongest she can be. And in return, during my remaining time in the Elite Four, or until Karen makes it into the Elite Four, I will back you in everything that you need. Karen has also agreed, written if you'd like, to not challenge you for your position in the Elite Four as well." She proposed to me.

"Not that I would fight you anyways, that would be stupid." Karen added.

"Yes, yes, I didn't raise an idiot. You don't need to let him know." Agatha fake-grumbled, "Now stop distracting your friend and let him think."

I was surprised at her proposal but didn't allow it to show on my face. Still, I wondered why Agatha was even offering me such a proposal; she must have known that Karen and I were close and that I had helped her train in the past. My parents had taught me to always question deals that were too good to be true, and I spent some time thinking about whether this was one of them.

"Do you intend for Karen to beat you in a challenge?" I asked, but Agatha shook her head.

"No, that would be unnecessary. So long as she makes it into the Elite Four through a successful challenge before I retire, then I will be satisfied. The public will know that the torch has been passed and my legacy will be safe." She replied.

"Aww, do you not have faith in me to defeat you?" Karen teased, only to get shushed by Agatha, causing her to laugh. I ignored their byplay and continued to think.

After some time to think, I ultimately decided to accept Agatha's deal anyways. I didn't think that my friendship with Karen would be cut anytime soon, and I did want to help her train and get stronger even before Agatha's proposal. Ultimately, she was still my friend. All this proposal did was solidify my decision to help Karen.

I also appreciated the line about Karen not challenging me for my title in the Elite Four, since it reduced any conflict of interests. Obviously, such an agreement would never hold up to any scrutiny, but I was close enough with Karen to know that she was not someone to go against an agreement like this even if Agatha ordered her to. Thus, I was relatively assured of the fact that training Karen wouldn't bite me in the ass down the line.

I was less certain about how much Agatha's political sway was going to help me in the Elite Four, since by her own admission she was on the way out and was unlikely going to be of much help otherwise. Additionally, Agatha already had a reputation of being an ornery and aggravating person to work with in the League, so I doubted she had many friends there.

Still, it was better than nothing, and she was still considered a wise and experienced member of the Elite Four with a lot of influence over Lavender Town. Plus, it wasn't like I was about to stop training with Karen. So, there was only one real thing I could say to her proposal.

"I agree."

A.N. AND this is the Champion Arc! Unlike the last arc, which was almost purely politics, this is probably going to a mix of politics and battles as you can imagine.

I've read your comments about toning down on the Interludes and will adjust future chapters in this arc to hopefully cut down on them. As always, thank you for sticking with me thus far, and I thank you for reading.

As a reminder, this chapter was swapped with the 4-1 Interlude, which will be on Friday. No other chapters will be affected.

This chapter has been BETAed by Allute. Huge thanks, man!