John's Team

Tyrant - Slaking

Vordt - Ursaluna

Smough - Snorlax

Klee - Blissey

Port - Mantine

Zephyr - Pidgeot

Klaus - Wyrdeer

Luna - Clefable

Pixel - Porygon2

Euphie - Sylveon

Ornstein - D-Linoone

Wraith - H-Zoroark

The New Normal – 10-1 – A New Tournament

Turns out that just because Cynthia wasn't going to 'officially' style herself as Champion of Sinnoh until the Open Challenges were done doesn't mean that she couldn't get a head-start in pushing through the policies she wanted to pass through.

And the first thing she did was to reach out to Lance and Wallace, as well as some of our Elite Four, to try to create a proposal that would tie our regions closer together.

It was hosted as a conference call, with Lance bringing me, Wallace bringing Sidney, and Cynthia bringing Bertha.

Cynthia started off the meeting, "Our regions have gotten far closer over the past year. As the region that was newest to be introduced, we are deeply appreciative of your efforts to bring us closer to the international community. But now is time to do more. We should change our bonds of friendship into something more solid; something more tangible. We ought to solidify our friendship in actions while public support for internationalism is still as high as it is."

"How prudent of you." Wallace said, "Well, this is something that I have discussed with the Hoenn Elite Four, so we see no reason to decline such a proposal. What about you, Lance?"

"Same here." Lance replied, "But what would your idea look like?"

"I had an idea that should accomplish two objectives; the furtherance of our friendship as well as clamping down on the criminals that are hiding in our borders." Cynthia described, her eyes gaining a steely look, "From what I've been read in on since yesterday, I understand that Sinnoh has been inadvertently become the hiding place of a notorious group of terrorists – the same group that escaped from Hoenn."

"They are." I responded, "We were tempted to pursue them into Sinnoh, but we knew we didn't have the authority to order the International Police to run around Sinnoh without express permission from the Sinnoh League."

"Consider it granted." Cynthia said firmly, "On top of that, we'll be funding our own branch of the International Police as well as construct an official base of operations. We can decide on the details on that later."

"However, I have no intention on letting these criminals continue running free for much longer." Cynthia bit out, "John, I know you're the most familiar with the actions. What can we do to help your efforts?"

This was the moment. I had to take this opportunity to put the hurt on Team Galactic as much as possible and slowly force them into the light. Their time of hiding and recovery was over.

"Run a full sweep of the finances of the big businesses in Sinnoh." I replied, "We have mountains of evidence to suggest that these terrorists are well-funded, to the point where they ALMOST seem to have access to limitless resources. But we know that there is no such thing as unlimited funding. They must be getting it from somewhere, and our suspicions all point towards their backer being a reputable business in Sinnoh."

"Understood. I will look into that." Cynthia said unflinchingly, not even reacting as I condemned the businesses of Sinnoh. After all the evidence we had collected and presented to Sinnoh, she knew what must be done, "I will carry out the investigation, but Iwill be determining if there are suspicions we should act on. This must be a decision of Sinnoh, but I will forward you the results as soon as we get them."

Though she was addressing everyone, I knew her words were directed at me. I nodded back, understanding what she was telling me. With something as delicate as this, Sinnoh couldn't afford to give off the impression that policy was being dictated from a foreign region. That would be trespassing far too much into Sinnoh's autonomy, and Cynthia knew it.

She knew she couldn't allow our relationship to interfere with her authority.

"Let me be clear on something." Cynthia addressed the call with steel in her voice, "As soon as I learnt about just how big of a threat that these terrorists were, with their insane ambitions to awaken and control a Legendary, I have made them my utmost priority as Champion to have them dealt with as swiftly and as efficiently as possible."

"Therefore, I will freely accept any help, information, or advice that could be used to help us crack down on these criminals." Cynthia continued, "Do not hesitate to reach out to me if you think you have something that could help us, and I will consider everything on behalf of Sinnoh to make the best moves forwards."

We all nodded solemnly, though inwardly I was relieved. As soon as she heard about the danger that the criminals could bring, Cynthia was already preparing to march to war. Exactly what I hoped she would do.

"Your decisiveness is commendable, Champion Cynthia." Wallace smiled, "You will have Hoenn's full support in this matter."

"Same with Indigo." Lance added, "Just call when you need us, and we will be there to help."

"Thank you. I will be making an announcement after this meeting to announce the formation of our International Police branch and the creation of the new headquarters." Cynthia said, "We can leave it to the juniors to discuss who should be sent over."

Wallace clapped his hands, "Actually, since we're all here, I did have another idea that could hopefully bring our regions together." He stared at Cynthia, "It was actually something I was inspired from Cynthia's Open Challenge."

"You see, the public love a grand spectacle. It catches their interest, and ingrains itself into their memories." He explained, "And recently, we've had a lot of proud moments where our regions have come together with collective action to help restore order and stability as quickly as possible. This presents us with an opportunity to make a show of it. To dazzle the public with something that can bring them all together, and serve as a symbolic demonstration of our unity."

"And what would that be?" Lance asked.

"Why, a tournament of course!" Wallace exclaimed, extending his arms, "But not just any tournament. It will be a tournament involving the Elite Four and the Gym Leaders of every region…maybe we'll even call it the Tri-Regional Tournament."

"…Just the Gym Leaders and Elite Four? Not the Champions?" Lance asked curiously, and a little disappointedly.

Wallace shook his head, "…Better to avoid a situation where the Champion could lose. Unless you really want that to participate, consequences be damned."

Lance paused and took a moment to think it through – he seemed very tempted to participate anyways. In the meanwhile, I spoke up, "What would the format of the tournament look like? Are we just all fighting each other?"

"No. That would be against the spirit of international cooperation." Wallace replied, "Instead, it shall be a 2v2 tournament. Each trainer from a different region, working together as a team. The battles should be 4v4, two Pokémon at a time from each pairing."

I blinked. That was VERY interesting. It was also just the sort of thing that would really hype up the public since everyone loved to see a good fight. Furthermore, if the teams were based on trainers from different regions, well that just brought people together.

It was an excellent idea, and I was very impressed by Wallace's ability to come up with something like this.

Since people were in pairs, the tournament wouldn't necessary prioritise individual battling skill – but rather, there would be a larger focus on the teamwork between the trainers. After all, on a stage this grand, no one wanted to look selfish by steamrolling over their opponents without any thought given to their partner.

The public would want to see the teams working together, not just having two people fight their own individual battles.

I already felt my blood boiling in excitement.

"But how are the teams going to be balanced? Or are they going to be completely randomized?" Bertha asked, "Because there are only 12 Elite Four to 32 Gym Leaders. You're going to have teams consisting of only 2 Gym Leaders, which should notably be weaker."

"To put it nicely, we all know that not all Gym Leaders are equal." Wallace replied, "There are some that are more…suitable for the position than others. Or their talents might lie elsewhere, other than in fighting strength. The Elite Four will be paired up with those weaker Gym Leaders for a fairer fight."

"Do we know in advance who will be in our team? To give us a chance to practice working together?" Sidney asked, he must not have known about Wallace's idea beforehand.

"Yes, you'll be given some time to acclimatize to your new partner, though I suspect that it might be difficult to meet up in person since we're all from different regions. But remember, this isn't a serious tournament. The goal is to have fun and to bring everyone together." Wallace said, "The emphasis is on 'teamwork' rather than 'victory'. Feel free to goof around if you want."

"When and where would this be hosted?" Cynthia questioned.

"I was thinking after your Open Challenge is over, so in two weeks' time, and in Hoenn." Wallace replied, "We can frame this as a celebration of your rise to Championship as well as Sinnoh's efforts in joining the international community."

"…There must be SOMETHING us Champions can do." Lance whined a little bit, which amused me greatly, "I'd hate to sit out of something as grand as this."

"Same, actually." Cynthia smiled, "It's not fair if everyone else gets to have fun when we have to sit out."

Wallace fell deep into thought. "Hmm…then how about this. At the very end of the tournament, we can have a battle. It will be us three Champions, using only one Pokémon each. Then we'll face off the top 3 teams of the tournament in a 3v6 fight. This would allow us to keep our prestige as Champions even if we lose, and build on the narrative of the tournament; give something to hype the crowd up for even more. Something like this…"

Wallace then explained his idea of what the tournament would look like. There were 44 participants (with 12 Elite Four and 32 Gym Leaders), split into 22 pairs, and the format looked like this:

Round 1: Fight for Top 11 (With one losing team, as voted by the crowd, to continue fighting after this round, effectively making it Top 12)

Round 2: Fight for Top 6

Round 3: Fight for Top 3

Round 4: Top 3 vs Champions

Notably, there would be no 'winning team'. The Top 3 teams were considered the winners, regardless if they beat the Champions or not. Wallace argued that it was better that way and would avoid unnecessary conflict amongst the public.

Lance grinned, "An excellent idea. While I don't know about you two, I don't intend to lose such a battle."

"Neither do I." Cynthia's smile turned more challenging, "So long as you don't hold me back, I don't intend to lose either."

Wallace laughed, "Come on, no need to take it so seriously. It's just a battle for fun."

Sidney snorted, "You're not fooling anyone with that look you have in your eyes, Wallace. We all know you like winning as much as those two."

"Of course I do." Wallace smiled unashamedly, "I did not become Champion by losing."

I elbowed Lance, "I look forward to facing off against you then."

"You're so confident that you'll make it to the end?" Lance smirked, "You have to work together with someone that you might not get along with, you know."

"Then I'll just have to make sure that we can work together." I shot back, "After all, I AM good at working together with others."

Bertha coughed, breaking through the growing excitement as she changed the topic, "I assume we can leave it to Hoenn to sort all these details out? Do you require any funding to help set this up?"

"No, we'll be fine, but thank you for the offer." Wallace nodded, "Just make sure the event is sufficiently advertised and hyped up in your regions. Ideally we want every person in the world to be watching this event."

"Are we going to need to sort out ticketing or…?" Sidney asked.

"Of course. An event to see a full tournament between every Gym Leader and Elite Four in our regions? We're going to charge them through the nose!" Wallace laughed, "Though online viewing will be free. But I know those with money to throw around won't miss out on an opportunity to splurge to watch something like this in person. We can get away with higher prices."

"So is there going to be a cash prize for us if we win?" I spoke up.

"I'm sure we can come up with something." Wallace said, "We can even have smaller prize categories for novelty's sake. Again, give me some time to come up with the full proposal and I'll let you all know."

We all nodded, but Cynthia spoke next, "Right, sorry to cut this short, but I have a battle to go to."

"Ah yes, I did hear that the challenges were pouring in." Lance chuckled, "Are you confident you can beat them all?"

"I wouldn't have made the announcement if I wasn't confident." Cynthia smiled confidently, "It's going to be rough fighting against so many of them, but individually, I won't lose."

The conversation continued on for a little longer after that, but Cynthia eventually had to make her departure. Wallace promised to provide full details of the tournament in the future, and asked us to make a joint announcement about its existence when it was ready.

With the call ended, Lance and I couldn't help but continue talking for a little longer about the upcoming tournament.

"Any idea who you'd be paired with?" Lance asked, "You won't be paired with any of the traditionally strong Gym Leaders. Not with your strength."

I nodded, "It'll probably be someone quite junior or new to their position." A few figures flashed through my mind, but I truly didn't know for sure who I would be paired up with.

Either way, I was sure it would be an interesting pairing.

Finishing off with that exciting conversation, I got a call from one of my assistants telling me that mayor Henry was trying to get a hold of me, stating that the construction work around Cerulean Cave was almost done and he wanted my input on something. With nothing else on my schedule, I decided to head there straight away.

I found the mayor standing alone, staring at the final bits of construction that still needed to be finished up before the cave's grand opening. It was looking good, far more visually appealing than the unassuming hole in the wall that the cave's entrance used to be.

He brightened up as soon as he saw me, "Ah, John. I'm glad you got my message."

"Of course, what can I help with?" I asked as we both stared at the opening to the cave.

"As you can see, the cave's nearly ready to be opened to the public. But there are still a lot of things that need to be sorted out before it can officially open, and I wanted to give you a rundown about what the current status of our renovation efforts." He said.

"Firstly, we've already sent some explorers and trainers down in advance to examine what's truly inside these caves, and you were right." He smiled at me, "The cave is a treasure trove of items. Not as rich as Mt. Moon, but it has been a nice influx of cash. And, with our plans, the cave should serve as a nice source of income for the years to come."

"Plenty of fossils as well I hope?" I asked.

"I think so." He nodded, "Though again, not as much as Mt. Moon, but still quite a substantial amount I'd reckon."

"That's good. I meant to tell you about this earlier, but Joseph Stone was trying to strike a deal with our city to buy the fossils that we uncover so that he can bring them back to life again with his new machine." I said.

"Oh – I did hear about this." He replied, "I figured it was only a matter of time before he reached out to us. I don't see any reason for us not to agree, so I'll get back to him and have the juniors figure out the minute details."

"To get back on topic," He continued, "The bigger attraction and concern regarding Cerulean Cave is the very strong wild Pokémon that can be found within. Even our Ace trainers reported some difficulty with handling them, at least when they headed further down. It was actually a little concerning; I'm really not too sure how safe opening the cave would be to the general public."

I tapped my finger on my chin. I knew Cerulean Cave was always going to be filled with powerful wild Pokémon, but that wasn't too different with the caves of Sinnoh. We should be able to copy their methods here…

"Once I heard this, I decided that the best thing to do would be to transform the first floor of the Cerulean Cave as a general tourist attraction, and save the lower levels for more experienced trainers to try their hand at – since they would have the strength to make it through. What are your thoughts on this?" He asked me.

"How dangerous is the first floor of Cerulean Cave?" I asked, "Would a proper team of Ace trainers be able to secure it for visitors?"

"…I'd have to ask to confirm, but I remember them mentioning that it was possible." Henry replied, "So you're agreed then? To turn the first floor into a safe haven?"

"Yes." I nodded, "The way Sinnoh did it was that they hired on a large, rotating group of trainers that would form the perimeter in a safer area. They would guard against any incursions by wild Pokémon with their overwhelming force. If we copy the way the Sinnohnians do it, then we can definitely protect at least the first floor."

"Then, like you said, the lower levels will be accessible to the stronger trainers." I added, "With how valuable having access to powerful wild Pokémon are for trainers, I'm certain they would flock to such an opportunity. We just need to make sure we're properly screening these trainers so that they have sufficient strength to explore the lower levels in relative safety. We'd need to implement something like a pseudo-Gym badge or similar."

"How strong do you think they'd need to be?" Henry asked.

"I haven't a clue, you're going to have to ask the experts on this." I shrugged.

"Fair enough, I'll bring it up at our next meeting." He replied, nodding, "Thanks again for your input."

He then let out a breath, "Like you, I am very invested in the success of this project and am eager to open it up to the public. I think the only remaining things to do are to iron out the details regarding the necessary qualifications that we should impose on those heading to the lower floors."

"I'll also have to do some calculations regarding the costs to maintain a perimeter of powerful trainers around the first floor." He continued, "That way we can have a proper idea on how much we should charge per visitor entering."

That seemed very prudent, and I made sure to say so. Though I had a follow-up question, "What kind of wild Pokémon did they find down there?"

"All kinds of fully evolved Pokémon." He answered, "There were reports of a large group of Machamp that could be found inside, also Alakazam, and even rare Pokémon like Snorlax and Lickitung. I was never a very good trainer, but even I'm not blind to how attractive that selection is to an ambitious trainer."

"That's good then. It means that we can expect large numbers of trainers to be heading our way." I said. "I wonder if we need to start limiting how many Pokémon that a person is allowed to catch per visit."

"It'd be very difficult to enforce that; we could just limit the number of trainers going in at a given time." Henry advised, "Though I've been told that the local population of Pokémon is sufficient enough for us to not have to worry about over-catching. We should also set up a gift shop – everyone loves a good gift shop. Especially us, since it's easy money!" He chuckled.

"As soon as I get back, I'll ask around to see how we can attract some trainers who would be interested in a job like this." He continued, "I'm sure that finding people won't be difficult. I still have those contact details you gave me."

"It shouldn't be." I agreed, turning back to the stare at the cave, "…This will mark a new path for Cerulean to take. We'll slowly be known for more than just being about the arts. The world will recognise us for our prosperity and success soon enough."

I felt Mayor Henry nodding besides me. The two of us just continued staring at the nearly completed entrance to the cave in comfortable and reflective silence.

Cerulean City had come so far. From a middling city that was unimportant outside of a very narrow niche, it had now grown to become one of the more prosperous and notable cities in Kanto. With the construction of Cerulean Cave, we were going to be able to diversify ourselves into being known for other fields as well.

The afternoon sun shone brightly in the sky, illuminating the city and the view in front of us.

A.N. Welcome to the start of Arc 10 – "The Tournament Arc". This has been an idea I've been hoping to implement for some time, now that I've properly introduced all of the regions and some notable trainers from each region. There are plenty of battles ahead!

That being said, the Tournament won't be the arc's sole focus. There will be other developments as well. Hope you enjoy!

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!