Whitney's Team

Miltank

Loudred

Jigglypuff

Noctowl

The New Normal – 6-8 – INTERLUDE – Whitney

If there was one thing that Whitney was smugly superior about, it was the fact that she didn't get seasick. Nor did Janine, for that matter. And yet, their resident 'genius' psychic, who had recently gotten a little too big for her boots, had barely survived their short journey by boat from Vermillion to Olivine.

She had to suppress her laugh as she watched Sabrina pull herself off the boat before almost collapsing to the ground, dry heaving as she did so. She allowed Sabrina to suffer for a few moments before reaching out to pull her up.

"You okay?" She said as she stifled a chuckle, only to receive a weak glare from Sabrina that promised retribution and suffering. She ignored that and simply escorted Sabrina to a nearby bench near the lighthouse to sit down and recover.

"This is why physical training is just as important!" Janine lectured with a blank expression, although her eyes were lit up with amusement, "You can't just rely on your psychic powers for everything. It isn't able to stop seasickness, now was it?"

Instead of responding, Sabrina simply let out another groan as she leaned her head back onto the bench, causing both Whitney and Janine to break out in laughter. Still, not wanting to make fun of their friend's suffering for much longer, Whitney asked Janine to look after Sabrina while she went to a nearby vending machine to buy some water for Sabrina.

Eventually, Sabrina recovered from her malaise and the trio proceeded with their plan of heading to Goldenrod City. Whitney had wanted to check out their family's new farm, and her parents had contacted ahead and told uncle Milton to expect her. She was excited to see her uncle; it had been some time since his last visit.

But besides a quick visit to the farm, they didn't really have any further plans beyond that. They had come to Johto mainly to continue training up their Pokémon while also capturing anything else that caught their fancy. Sabrina did mention that she wanted to see if she could catch herself a Slowpoke from Azalea Town, and they didn't have a problem with that.

Honestly, Whitney was hoping to find a Stantler like her brother did. Klaus had always been one of her favourites. Speaking of her brother, he seemed to have been a big hero in Hoenn after helping to clear out those criminals. She hadn't had time to speak to him yet, but she was proud of his actions. Not that she expected anything less from him; he was always like that.

Anyways, fortunately for them, their Flying licenses were also applicable in Johto, and so they were able to fly their rented Pokémon from Olivine to Goldenrod. As they flew around the outskirts, Whitney spotted a small clearing with a few fence posts that they landed nearby. A few farmhands had spotted them, but one in particular stood out, a man with greying hair wearing a distinct brown cowboy hat waved to them. Whitney immediately brightened as she recognized him.

"Little Whitney!" Her uncle Milton called out, "It's been a while! And you've grown so much! What has my sister been feeding you?"

She didn't respond, instead running up to her uncle and wrapping him in a tight hug. Her uncle chuckled as he returned her embrace, "Oof. You're a strong one. Must be all that travelling that you're doin'."

"Uh huh." Whitney nodded into his stomach, before remembering about her companions, "Oh, uncle, please meet my friends, Sabrina and Janine!" She gestured towards them, who responded with small waves of their own.

"Oh? These're the nice people that you made friends with?" Her uncle smiled as he glanced at her friends, "Well it's a great to meet you two lasses as well. Now, let's not stand in the sun. Come inside, we have some fresh milk for you three."

Whitney and her friends accompanied her uncle as they walked towards the red-tiled house. Along the way, she took the time to look around the new farm and admired the many Miltank lazing about. Even the farmhands, while hard at work, weren't running around in a rush. Instead, they were careful and made sure to pamper the Miltank while they fed them. But more importantly, everyone seemed content with their jobs.

It was very peaceful and idyllic, and served as a contrast to what she remembered from her childhood.

She remembered how her parents and her brother used to have only a few Miltank on hand to raise. And how desperate they were to ensure that they could milk them on time. If anything went wrong, it would spell disaster for them as they were entirely reliant on the small supply of Moomoo milk to support their livelihood. She remembered resenting the life of a farmhand, and wanted to do anything else but that when she grew up.

But as she grew older, and with money becoming increasingly less of a problem, she found herself recognizing the many benefits of living a peaceful life in the countryside. Even though she spent some time as a trainer living in the hustle and bustle of city life, she never really got used to it. Whitney found that she much preferred her home in the countryside, where the only noises were from the occasional mooing of their Miltank.

And now, as she gazed fondly upon their new farm, she realized that this was something that she wanted to do when she grew up. Oh, she wouldn't give up her dreams of becoming an Ace or even Elite Trainer, but she wouldn't be giving up on the family business. In fact, when she got home after securing all 8 badges, she promised to ask her parents if she could become more involved in helping out.

Actually, why didn't she start now? As the three of them entered the house and were seated at the small dining table while her uncle served them some fresh Moomoo milk, she spoke up.

"Uncle, how's the new farm going? Are there any problems?" She asked him.

Her uncle set down three glasses of Moomoo milk as he responded with a thoughtful expression, "Things are going well here, don't you worry about that, oh niece of mine. Why do you ask?"

Whitney took a delicious sip of the Moomoo milk before answering, "Because…I want to work here. I want to help. After I get all 8 badges, I want to spend some time working in the farm and learning how to manage it."

Her uncle raised an eyebrow, "You do? Are you sure about that Whitney? Runnin' a farm is quite different from handlin' things as a trainer."

"Well…I want to do it eventually." She said, a little hesitantly, "I'm not sure if I want to do it immediately after I get all 8 badges, but I definitely want to learn."

Milton chuckled, "Sure, you don't have to decide anything now." He patted her on the shoulder, "In fact, I'm happy for your interest, as I'm sure your parents will be too. I'll speak with'em and see if we can arrange something. No need to decide now though, we can be flexible."

Whitney gave him a thankful nod, and Milton continued, "Actually, why don't you three stay the night. We have some spare rooms for y'all. And we can give you the full tour of the farm while we're at it. Unless you have someplace to be?"

The three of them shared a look before Sabrina shrugged, "Up to you, Whitney. We aren't in a rush. And we can still fit in a training session tonight if you want."

"Indeed. It'll be good to spend some time with your uncle." Janine added. "And truthfully, I would love to see more of the farm. It's very different to what I'm used to."

Whitney smiled at her friends before agreeing to her uncle's suggestion. "Then let's not waste any more time. Finish up your milk and let's head out right now. Time's a wastin'." He said.

It turns out the tour was more of a one-day crash course about the inner workings of running a farm. Whitney was more familiar with it than her friends, as she had some experience as the daughter of two farmers. Still, everything proved very interesting, and she knew that her earlier wish wasn't wrong. Working as a farmer WAS hard work, but it was a good kind of hard work that made you feel fulfilled and accomplished afterwards.

Plus, she would never say no to spending more time around Miltank. She had always found them too cute. And she knew that her friends did too, even if Janine tried to play it cool. But she saw how her hands were always inching closer to pet the Miltank, so she wasn't fooling anyone.

She chuckled as she remembered the one funny moment when she spotted a wild Dunsparce just randomly drilling holes on the outskirts of the farm, as if that was all that it wanted to do. When she asked her uncle about it, he just laughed and said that it was practically a resident of the farm at this point, and since it was doing no damage and got along well with the Miltank, they just let it be.

Overall, it had been a productive day that reminded Whitney of what she wanted to do in the future, and Whitney was a little sad to leave her uncle behind. But Milton gave her a hearty chuckle and left an open invitation for Whitney and her friends to visit at any time, which she promised she would.

Now, as she promised Sabrina, they had made their way to Azalea Town. She was really excited to pay a visit to the Slowpoke well, and Whitney knew that Sabrina was hoping to get lucky and acquire a Slowpoke.

It had been a suggestion from Whitney. Before they came over to Johto, the three of them had tried to brainstorm what would make great additions to their team if they could catch them. Here, Whitney had suggested to Sabrina that instead of catching yet another fast, hard-hitting, yet fragile Psychic type, why not catch one that would be far sturdier and could actually take a hit or two?

Sabrina agreed. Apparently, she was inspired after seeing her brother's Wyrdeer and recognized that Psychic types could be more than just your standard glass cannon. And thus, she eventually realized that a Slowpoke would be a great addition, especially after it evolved.

Therefore, a relatively short flight later, they found themselves landing at Azalea Town. The first thing that immediately came to Whitney's mind was just the sheer number of Slowpoke that could be found just idly hanging around the town. Despite how many there were, the local town folk were completely unbothered by their presence, treating them like regular citizens of the town, which really demonstrated just how integrated the Slowpoke were towards the identity and culture of Azalea Town.

Similarly, there seemed to be warning signs scattered aplenty on practically every wall – each of them reminding visitors that you were forbidden from freely catching Slowpoke. According to the sign, you could only catch a Slowpoke that voluntarily approached you and agreed to travel with you. She supposed that this was to protect the local population and prevent overeager trainers from disrupting their numbers.

In the meanwhile, Sabrina stared at the signs attentively before making her way to the Slowpoke Well. Janine and Whitney followed after her, only to be stopped by a local Jenny guarding the Well.

"I'm sorry, but you're not allowed to approach the Slowpoke Well." The Jenny said kindly, but firmly. "Unless you have special permission from the Azalea Council, the Slowpoke well remains off limits."

"I see. Thank you for letting us know." Sabrina replied, before she eyed the nearby Slowpoke with a considering expression on her face. She silently stared at a few of the Slowpoke lazing around in the sun before turning back to the Jenny.

"Is there a nearby training ground I can use that's available to the public?" She asked. "And, if possible, can it be one that is relatively close to the Slowpoke Well?"

The Jenny shot her a knowing smile, "Ambitious, aren't you? Well, to answer your question, there is one just over there." She pointed towards a small clearing further ahead, "It's not very big, and you're forbidden from doing anything more than a light spar, but I'm sure it would suit your purposes just fine. The occasional Slowpoke do hang around that area, so please be careful not to accidentally harm them."

"I understand. Thanks again." She gave a small bow towards the Jenny before heading to the training field. Curious, Whitney and Janine moved to follow her. As they walked, Janine brought up the question that was on both of their minds.

"I know that look. What are you planning, Sabrina?" She tapped Sabrina on the shoulder as she asked.

"I want a Slowpoke." She simply replied, "And I have a plan to catch one."

"How?" Whitney asked with a tilt of her head.

Sabrina shot her a knowingly smug grin, "You'll see."

A short walk later, they arrived at the training field and Sabrina immediately released her Kadabra and Xatu.

Without giving out a verbal command, her Pokémon began cycling through their wide range of Psychic moves. The two of them showed off their rapid ability to Teleport around the training field while also maintaining a Reflect and Light Screen respectively.

Whitney quickly understood what Sabrina was trying to do as soon as she saw the enamoured expression on the nearby spectating Slowpoke. Despite their natural laziness, Slowpoke were still like every other Pokémon, in that they have the innate desire to grow stronger and to unlock their true potential.

Thus, what Sabrina was doing at the moment was a demonstration of her Pokémon's Psychic abilities, in order to awe and convince the spectating Slowpoke to join her. It was like she was showcasing how her proficient her Pokémon were at using Psychic attacks and was giving an unspoken promise to the Slowpoke that, if they joined her, they would be able to manifest the same level of power as Sabrina was currently exhibiting.

Wanting to help out her friend, Whitney whispered to Janine.

"Hey, let's help out Sabrina." She said softly.

"How?" Janine asked.

"Let's spar against her. 2v2. But don't use your strongest Pokémon. Just one that's strong enough to let Sabrina truly show off." She suggested, getting a nod from Janine.

"Thank you." Sabrina suddenly spoke into both of their minds, "That would be ideal."

Whitney grinned at her friend before she released her Pokémon alongside Janine.

"Come, Loudred!"

"Ariados, fight!"

Her Loudred and Janine's Ariados emerged on the field, facing off against the Kadabra and Xatu that took up positions opposite them. Whitney shot Sabrina a short nod, signifying the start of the fight.

"Uproar, Loudred!" "String Shot, Ariados! On the Xatu!"

Loudred began stamping on the ground as he let out an ear-shattering burst of noise, while Ariados quickly skittered forwards as it shot out a rope of strong towards the Xatu.

Of course, Sabrina stayed silent as she telepathically relayed her commands to her Pokémon.

Her Kadabra quickly retaliated by firing off a Psychic blast that halted the incoming sonic waves from Loudred but failed to break past it. It appeared that both Pokémon were evenly matched, in terms of raw power.

In the meanwhile, Ariados was having a much harder time dealing with Xatu. Xatu swiftly took to the skies and easily cut through the String Shot with a sharp Air Slash that nearly clipped the Ariados in one of its many legs.

"Dig, Ariados! Ambush them!" "Keep up the Uproar, Loudred! You got this!"

Janine's Ariados narrowly avoided an incoming Air Slash before burrowing into the ground. Whitney could guess that Janine had been hoping to coordinate with Whitney to take out the Kadabra first, because her Ariados was not going to be able to deal with Xatu alone.

In the meanwhile, Loudred and Kadabra were locked in a stalemate as they continued vying for dominance with Uproar and Psychic respectively. Kadabra was trying to outmanoeuvre Loudred by repeatedly Teleporting around the training field as it continued firing off Psychic, trying to catch Loudred off guard. But Loudred remained focused, not letting Kadabra sneak an attack past her.

Suddenly, a screech emerged from below as Ariados burst forwards from underneath Kadabra, its mandibles posed threateningly as it was about to land a supereffective Leech Life. However, just before the attack could land, a sudden explosion of Psychic energy detonated just where Ariados had emerged from, completely taking it unaware and blasting it backwards.

"What!?" Janine shouted in surprise. "What was…no…Future Sight…" She murmured in frustration as she pieced together what just happened. It really was an incredible prediction made by Sabrina to counteract Ariados' ambush, and if Whitney wasn't currently distracted, she would have praised Sabrina for her forethought.

And yet, the sudden attack might have just doomed their chances to win.

Xatu was quick to pounce on the exposed Ariados, slamming into it hard with a strong Aerial Ace that slashed through it supereffectively. Ariados tried to fight back by expelling a globule of Toxic at Xatu, but its Magic Bounce simply allowed it to harmlessly reflect the attack back to Ariados before it finished Ariados off with another Aerial Ace.

And with that, the battle devolved into a 2v1. Whitney let out a sigh as she knew that it was just a matter of time before Loudred lost. And soon enough, as Xatu joined the fight against Loudred, her Pokémon quickly found herself overwhelmed as she was attacked from two different angles.

Loudred was quickly bombarded by an onslaught of Psychics and Air Slashes. Despite how much Whitney had trained her Loudred in order to maximize her raw power, she wasn't the bulkiest of Pokémon. And when she found herself facing off against an onslaught of attacks from various different angles, her Loudred unfortunately fell soon after to a surprise Air Slash from behind.

"Slow…Slow…" One of the spectating Slowpoke seemed to cheer at Sabrina's victory as it slowly crawled closer to the grinning Sabrina.

"Did you like what you see? The power on display?" Sabrina asked as she stared knowingly at the Slowpoke, flanked by both of her victorious Pokémon.

"Poke…" The Slowpoke nodded slowly and continued its slow crawl towards her. Despite how slow it was, Sabrina made no move to assist it and allowed the Slowpoke to slowly make their way to Sabrina in a show of its determination.

"Slow? Poke…?" It seemed to say as it looked upwards and met Sabrina's eyes with a determined stare of its own. Then, Sabrina's eyes flashed a brilliant blue, causing Slowpoke to do the same as the two began to communicate telepathically.

Whitney didn't know what they were saying to each other, but she and Janine remained silent as they simply watched Sabrina work her magic. In the distance, she could see the Jenny that had been guarding the Slowpoke Well walk over, observing Sabrina with a small smile. After what felt like a good minute of silent conversation, Slowpoke let out a cheerful cry.

"Slow! Slow! Slow!" It raised its small stubby arms into the air as its tail slapped the ground repeatedly in excitement. Apparently, whatever they said had thoroughly convinced the Slowpoke.

With a slight smile, Sabrina took out a free Pokéball from her belt and tapped the Slowpoke with it, causing it to instantly disappear into motes of light as it got absorbed into the Pokéball. The ball didn't even shake as the Slowpoke voluntarily captured itself.

"Well done!" The Jenny congratulated, approaching the trio while clapping her hands. "I knew you had it in you to secure the friendship of a Slowpoke. It was a smart plan of yours. I hope you treat it well."

"Thank you, and I will." Sabrina said firmly as she released her newly captured Slowpoke.

"Poke!" It said happily, and Sabrina shot it a happy smile as she shared in her Pokémon's enthusiasm, lifting the pink blob of a Pokémon into her arms.

Whitney and Janine quickly approached Sabrina and exchanged their own round of congratulations; both of them were truly happy for their friend for being able to capture a Slowpoke.

But, since it was starting to turn dark, Whitney suggested that they head back to her farm at Goldenrod to rest up for the night before they continued their journey. The other two agreed, and Janine even asked if they could visit the Safari Zone, since that should be a great location for them to catch some of the more rarer Pokémon available in Johto.

They all nodded; it was a plan!

A.N. Slowpoke get! Definitely more slice of life this time, but I hope that I'm showing that Sabrina's team is slowly being rounded out, and that she's really turning to a formidable trainer and rival to Whitney. And while Janine's performance this time wasn't the best, that's mainly because Sabrina is aware of Janine's strategies and has already adapted to them. I hope to show Janine in her element in the future.

This chapter has been BETAed by Allute! Big thanks! 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!