The New Normal – 7-14 – Interlude – Whitney
The three of them sat huddled in her room, all of them staring intently at the TV screen as they watched the final few moments of Karen's fight against Sidney. They were still at the Safari Zone Gates at the local Pokémon Center, figuring that it would be a great place to continue training up their new captures before they eventually returned to Kanto.
And they were making good progress on that. The three of them had come up with great ways of motivating their own Pokémon to want to get stronger, and each and every one of them had been slowly but surely building up their teams to become the best versions of themselves.
It might be overly idealistic of them, but they were looking to be strong enough to directly challenge all of the remaining Gym without stopping. They wanted to ensure that once they DID return to Kanto, they would be able to collect all 8 Gym Badges before this year's circuit ended.
It was an ambitious goal, and would certainly not be an easy task, but Whitney believed they could do it. They were deliberately aiming higher as a means of pushing both themselves and their Pokémon even further. They wouldn't be disappointed if they failed, but they felt like they should at least try.
Because they all trusted in each other to be able to do it. As a trio.
Regardless, thoughts about their training progress were pushed aside as Whitney refocused herself on the fight between Karen and Sidney taking place on the screen. She had seen some of John's battles in the past and had especially studied his battle against both Drake and Bruno very carefully, but this was the first battle that she could see where both trainers were so equally matched.
"The people on the forums are commenting that Sidney had the advantage right now." Sabrina pointed out as she scrolled through the comments of the livestream on her phone, which was being held up via telekinesis. "They are now doubting Karen's chances of winning now that her Tyranitar has gone down."
"I still can't believe she had a Tyranitar." Janine mumbled, "I know it's a Dark type, but that's really not something I expected from her."
"The comments went wild when she revealed it." Sabrina nodded, "They never thought a trainer that wasn't even an official Gym Leader could have such a powerful Pokémon."
"John didn't say anything about it either." Whitney mentioned idly, her eyes not leaving the fight.
"And for a Pokémon like that to be brought down by a Sharpedo of all things…is this the level of an Elite Four? Will we ever reach that level?" Janine muttered curiously.
That snapped Whitney away from the fight, as she turned her focus onto Janine, "Of course we will! Why all the self-doubt all of a sudden, Janine? Haven't we all been training hard?" She asked her, with Sabrina nodding in support.
"Even after all this training, I know Father is much stronger than me." Janine stated as she wilted slightly, "I wish to reach his level…but I am slowly recognizing the sheer gulf between us. I fear that I will not be able to live up to his expectations." Bitterness laced her tone as she hung her head morosely.
Whitney moved to encourage her, but Sabrina spoke up first, "We are still in the stage of nurturing our potential. Do not think this is the limit; we still have plenty to grow. I was not this strong as a Psychic or as a trainer when I first started, and yet, in the span of a few months, I have grown to a level which I had not thought possible before. You will be the same."
"Yeah! And besides, your Father is much older than you. It's not fair to compare yourself like that; and you still have plenty of time to grow!" Whitney nodded in agreement, "And even Karen and John took time to get to where they are now. It might not be now, but if we just keep working hard, and keep training together, I'm sure we'll be able to become strong and proud trainers as well!
She patted Janine on the back, shooting her a beaming smile. "So cheer up, Janine! Because we're all in this together!"
Janine nodded, her posture straightening as she took in the compliment. But before she could say anything, their attention was forced back onto the battle between Karen and Sidney as a sudden explosion of flames spread across the arena; Houndoom had just unleashed a torrent of flames that caught Absol off-guard.
The three of them stared silently at the battle for a moment, enraptured at the fight. Eventually, Whitney spoke up.
"Hey…don't you think that it's strange that in a battle between Dark specialists, we're mostly seeing attacks from other types?" She asked.
"That is something I have observed as well." Sabrina agreed, "I believe that this is more of a fight to display their versatility with types OTHER than the Dark type."
"They're really putting it to good use, though." Janine commented, "They're really showing that there's more to being a specialist than just mastering your single chosen type."
"Is that what we should be doing as well?" Whitney questioned consideringly, "I mean, I know my Miltank is proficient in the elemental punches…but now I'm thinking that I should train my other Pokémon to make use of a wider variety of attack types too."
"That would be prudent." Sabrina nodded, "I think this fight is a very good demonstration of why type flexibility is important. There is much we can learn from it. My Kadabra, for example, really ought to make use of its large movepool. I will make a note of this for future training sessions. I think that–"
But whatever Sabrina was going to say next was cut off as another explosion of flames filled the screen. Whitney watched with clenched fists as she nervously awaited the result of the attack. She knew she was biased, but she really hoped Karen would win this.
As the dust settled, revealing both Karen's Houndoom and Sidney's Absol on their last legs, she had a feeling in her gut that the moment was about to arrive.
She almost forgot to breathe as she witnessed the two's final attack against each other, a final clash between two Dark Pulses that felt like the perfect ending to such a fight. And as soon as Absol finally collapsed to the ground, Whitney leapt into the air.
"WOOOO! CONGRATULATIONS KAREN!" She shouted at the screen, just as the announcer declared Karen to be the victor.
In the corner of her eye, she saw that the comments section of the livestream was going crazy. Tons of comments flooded in, both expressing their shock and surprise at Karen's victory and disdain at Sidney's performance. However, by that same token, some were calling out Karen for relying on brute force as a Dark specialist.
Yet many others expressed their support, thinking that this was the beginning of the rise of another Dark type specialist.
However, with Karen's victory, Whitney felt a sense of relief flood into her. While she knew that there was no actual correlation, she felt that if Karen were to succeed in her goals, then Whitney and her friends could too.
All of them had huge hurdles ahead of them. She was fully aware that despite all her optimism, the path to clearing all of the remaining Gyms before the end of the circuit was not going to be an easy task.
Yet Whitney knew she had many good people looking over her. She knew that they all wished her the best, and she was going to ensure that she honoured their wishes. Her brother had already paved his own path to glory, and she didn't intend to be left behind. She WOULD get her fair share of it as well.
But she wouldn't be doing it alone. Because her friends would be accompanying her every step of the way.
A.N. A small glimpse into what Whitney's and her friends have been doing back in Johto; I haven't forgotten about them! Whitney and her friends WILL be making a splash when they return, and this is just setting up for that. Hope you enjoyed it!
This chapter has been BETAed by Allute! 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!