The New Normal – 9-10 – Interlude – Shin
"…CERTAINLY ONE TO BE REMEMBERED!" No matter what he tried, Shin could still hear the damning last words from the announcer echoing constantly in his head.
Those accursed words. The humiliation. The despair when he realized that everything he worked for was for nothing. Nothing at all. All that time and effort obsessing over how to defeat John, and he couldn't even make it past the starting line.
He could already hear the mockery that was pointed his way – to be the first ever trainer to lose 6-0 to an Elite Four member, who he had challenged. They laughed at him, wondering where had all that confidence gone, and why he thought he had a chance at defeating John in the first place.
But they never understood. He NEEDED to beat John. He NEEDED to reclaim what was lost to him. He NEEDED to knock John down a peg for having stolen his rightful position. Then he could throw it against those who doubted him and prove that he was MORE successful than they could ever be.
Yet…that goal seemed to be even further out of reach now.
On the wake of his humiliating defeat, he had tried reaching out to a few former contacts. He wasn't giving up on gaining back what he was owed, so he needed to come up with a different plan to defeat John. Clearly the plan of training up a completely new team that countered John's didn't work; he needed to try something else.
But, strangely enough, it seemed that no one wanted to business with him anymore. All of his former business contacts, those of whom used to be eager to shower him in favours for being the Johto hopeful…they all disappeared; refusing all communication with him. He even tried to meet some of them in person, only to be refused and shown the door.
It was like he had suddenly become persona-non-grata out of nowhere. And he didn't understand how it happened; yes, his defeat was humiliating, but surely that wasn't enough for everyone to flip on him like this? To abandon him and his goals?
After all, weren't they the ones that had been so enthusiastic about getting another Johto member into the Elite Four? So why would they give up on him when he was their best chance to do so – recent defeat or not?
It was when he reached out to a long-time business contact that he finally got some answers, "I don't know who you pissed off, Shin, but no one's going to sponsoring you or doing business with you at the moment. Not in Indigo."
"What? Why?!" Shin exclaimed confusedly.
His 'friend' shook his head, "I'm not high up enough to know, but the orders from above were very clear. Unless a business wants to make an enemy of someone REALLY important, they are not to engage with you in anyway whatsoever."
"But…But they can't do that!" Shin shouted, rising from his seat.
"It's already been done." His 'friend' said, "Look, Shin, I don't know what you did. But even now I'm taking a huge risk just talking to you. I only did this as a courtesy for what you helped me with before. I'm sorry, but you're on your own." And with that his 'friend' got up, leaving Shin to his thoughts once more.
He didn't know how long he spent just sitting there, his mind wracked with confusion and despair as he realized the hopelessness of the situation. Of COURSE John would have business allies to look out for him. Because there were ALWAYS going to be those that sucked up to those in power.
And it could have been HIM in that position, having powerful allies watching for his back. If only he had WON!
Gritting his teeth, Shin ended up walking around aimlessly, stewing in his hate. As if his legs were moving on their own, he found himself staring at the memorial that they built at Olivine, honouring John's successes against Team Rocket.
He rolled his eyes. There was nothing impressive about this. Any good trainer could have defended Olivine.
The 'Hero at Olivine', what a joke.
He was glad that it was the dead of night, and that the streets were empty of people. It meant that there was no one to see as he paced around in a mixture of anger and panic at what to do next.
It couldn't end here. IT COULD NOT!
"…Are you okay, sir?" A voice suddenly echoed through the silence of the night, and Shin's head whipped towards the voice, surprised and startled by it. A man stared back at him, a look of concern on his face.
"I'm not in the mood to talk." He growled out, "Don't you have somewhere else to be than to bother someone in the dead of the night?"
"Woah, no need to be hostile." The man raised his hands, "I just thought you needed some help. You looked like you needed someone to vent to. There's nothing more to it. If you want me to leave you to alone, then I shall."
Shin was taken aback by the sheer sincerity and concern in his voice, but his anger and frustration still won out, "You don't know who I am? And why I'm angry?"
The man tilted his oddly, "Should I? I'm sorry, I'm not someone that follows the news. Are you famous for something?"
'Yes, for losing a battle 6-0.' A part of his mind whispered treacherously in his head, but he quickly silenced that voice. Instead, his rage grew at the fact that this person didn't recognise him. HE was meant to be an ELITE FOUR! He deserved the fame that John had! No one would dare say to John that they didn't recognise him!
Unknown to his thoughts, the man continued in a calm tone, "You seem troubled by something. I don't really feel like heading to bed yet – so I'm happy to lend an ear."
The man took out a can out of his coat, "Actually, I meant to save this for later, but would you like something to drink? You look parched. And it's really the least I could do."
Shin hesitated, his pride warring with the friendliness that this man radiated. Eventually, he sighed and silently reached out and grabbed the drink; he could use the extra alcohol.
The man smiled, "Let's take a seat at that bench there." He pointed and sat down on the bench, extending a silent invitation to Shin. His rage settled slightly, and he reluctantly accepted.
"So, ready to air out your troubles?" The man asked softly as they sat, "Maybe it'll help you feel better."
"Has anyone told you that you're a nosy bastard?" Shin spat, casually opening his drink and taking a swig before wincing. That was some strong alcohol.
But the man just chuckled, "Yes, I've heard that quite a lot. But I like to listen and make friends with people. You could say that it's my job."
"Hmph. I could tell." He took another swig, "So what, you expect me to spit out my life story now?"
"Whatever you want to do." The man continued to smile serenely, "If you just want to have some silent company for the next few minutes, then I don't mind either. I'm here for you."
Perhaps it was the alcohol, or maybe it was just how friendly that this man was to him. But the floodgates finally broke for Shin, and the words came pouring out.
"You wouldn't understand." He hissed, "To have something stolen from you because of some lucky incident. To have a life of fame and fortune ripped away from you because some bastard got a lucky break. And then when you work hard, plan for every possibility, to make a perfect comeback to reclaim what was rightfully yours – all that shatters apart because of that same luck once again."
"WHY?! Why do I NOT deserve the fame?! When I've already put in all the hard work necessary to earn it?! And now I'm forced to wallow in this shit! I'm a GOOD trainer. I'm one of the best! I was to be the top of the world! All his achievements would have been MINE!"
Before he could stop himself, Shin had gripped the man's shoulders and was almost shouting at his face, "EVERYTHING! I LOST EVERYTHING TO HIM! I ALMOST HAD EVERYTHING! DO YOU GET THAT?!" His rage must have overcome him, because he began stuttering over his words, "DO YOU…YOU KNOW WHAT THAT'S…LIKE?! I…COULD HAVE BEEN…THE HERO! THE…GREATEST…GREAT…"
His vision suddenly turned blurry, and he collapsed back on the bench as the world began to spin around him. He tried to pull himself up, but his legs weren't responding, and his arms fell limply to his side.
He tried to call for help, but nothing came out of his mouth. His eyelids grew heavy, and his panic grew. What was happening?!
The last thing he saw was the calm smile of the man who had sat next to him, who reached for the drink that he just drank.
As Shin fell unconscious, the man pulled out a phone.
"It's done." He said, "Relocating him now."
"Excellent." His boss responded, "Good job, Petrel. I don't want to hear from him ever again."
A.N. And that's probably the end of Shin – I didn't want to put too much attention on him after his battle. I think his character has served its course, and outside of minor cameos, I don't plan on writing more on him for the future. I'll leave it up to your own personal interpretation about what his fate is.
And yes, this chapter is a kind reminder that Giovanni is absolutely still capable of being a mob boss.
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!