John's Team

Tyrant - Slaking

Vordt - Ursaluna

Smough - Snorlax

Klee - Blissey

Port - Mantine

Zephyr - Pidgeot

Klaus - Wyrdeer

Luna - Clefable

Pixel - Porygon2

Euphie - Sylveon

Ornstein - Obstagoon

Wraith - H-Zoroark

The New Normal – 11-2 – Grand Opening

"You seem to be chatting up a storm, I hope I'm not being left out." Cynthia joked as she approached us, having finally managed to temporarily extract herself from my family's questions.

"Not at all." Karen replied, "I was just talking about my Elite Four run."

"That's good. I have—" Unfortunately whatever she was about to say was cut off as a few League officials approached Cynthia.

"Champion Cynthia, apologies for the interruption, but there's an urgent matter that requires your attention." The official informed her.

"I see." Her face immediately turned serious, the mask of a Champion being slipped on, "Then lead the way."

She turned to me before she left, "John, let's talk again later."

I nodded as I watched her leave.

As she left, Whitney stepped up to me with a look of concern in her eye, "That sounds serious."

"It probably is." I murmured, though I think I knew what Cynthia was called away for. If my timing was correct, then Archer would have just launched his plans to ambush Team Galactic and bring them into the spotlight.

But I needed to know how things were going. "One sec," I told my family, "I need to make a call."

I stepped away from them and dashed out of the arena, making sure I was somewhere far away from any eavesdroppers or cameras before I rang up Giovanni.

"Giovanni, do you have any updates on what's going on?" I cut to the chase.

"I was just about to call you – but Archer succeeded." He was quick to tell me, "Everyone got out, and the criminals were all arrested by the Sinnoh police. I assume your girlfriend was just informed. Congratulations, by the way."

"Thank you." I said, but I focused on what was important, "Is Archer going to be stepping up his efforts? Trying to expose more of these criminals?"

"Yes, he tells me he's planning to do more ambushes in the future." Giovanni confirmed, "It serves two purposes. One, it'll diminish the terrorists' numbers even further, which will be especially useful since Archer reported that they aren't recruiting as much as we would have expected. And two, the controlled chaos that we'll spread will make it impossible for the Sinnoh League to ignore. If your girlfriend is smart, then she'll make full use of this opportunity to push for more drastic actions." Or you could advise her to do so, was what he implied but left unsaid.

"I'm sure she'll have things well in hand." I replied, remaining confident in Cynthia.

Like Giovanni said, now was the golden opportunity for us to strike and expose Team Galactic. But Cynthia, as the Champion of Sinnoh, needed to be the one calling the shots and making the right orders.

I trusted her to do so, "Anyways, thanks for the update. Is there anything else I should know about?"

"No, that's it from my end." He responded, "Archer and I have done what we can. But now it's time for the authorities to step in and clean up the mess that we've uncovered. I can't help you on that front, it's mostly going to be up to you."

"Understood. I won't waste this opportunity." I said firmly, "Let's talk again soon. I'll update you if I need you for anything."

I wrapped up my phone call with Giovanni and met up with my parents once again. They were all giving me questioning looks at my sudden departure, but Karen saw the look on my face and told them that it was best not to push me for answers.

I gave her a slight nod in appreciation, and I temporarily shelved any thoughts about what was happening in Sinnoh for the time being. Ultimately, I WASN'T supposed to know anything, so my hands were tied until I was officially 'told' about what was going on there.

So shaking my thoughts away from that, I refocused on my parents' conversation, "…You know you don't have to accompany us to Mauville, Karen. You don't have to be there for the grand opening." My mom told her.

"Especially since you have your fights in the Finals soon." My dad pointed out, "You could use this time to train if you need to."

"It's fine, it's just the afternoon." Karen waved them off, "And I want to be there too. I know this is a big thing for your family, and I want to be there to celebrate it with you."

That got a beaming smile to form on my mom's face as she pulled Karen into a hug, one that my sister decided she needed to be a part of. While that was happening, my dad turned to me.

"Are you able to call up Steven to be here for the grand opening?" He asked me, "It's okay if he's not available, but if he's promised to come then it would most effective if he came now."

"I'll give him a call." I nodded, before doing exactly that.

"Steven here." He picked up.

"Steven, it's John." I greeted.

"Oh! John! What a surprise!" He exclaimed cheerfully, "You know Bruno and I were both very surprised by what happened today. Both with your victory over Lance and with your announcement. Congratulations on both!"

"Thank you." I replied. The fact that Bruno and Steven were such close friends was STILL throwing me for a loop. But it was pretty amusing.

"Bruno and I actually have a bet on what'd made you happier – your victory over Lance or your relationship with Cynthia." He informed me, "Please tell me it's the former."

I chuckled, what kind of question was this?

"…I'm going to avoid answering the question." I ended up saying, maybe a bit cowardly, "I'm just very happy about both. With beating Lance, it's a testament and proof to myself and my team that our training wasn't for nothing, and it's something we all collectively should celebrate – for it is a great achievement."

"On the other hand, having a girlfriend that you truly feel right with is…irreplaceable." I continued, "I don't know how I would rank one over the other."

"Hm. Guess we both lost, then." Steven faux-grumbled, "Looks like I'm going to owe Bruno a favour now…"

Steven began muttering to himself, so I coughed to interrupt him, "Anyways, Steven. I called you because I was hoping you could attend the grand opening of our new shop in Mauville. Are you free at the moment?"

"Ah! I knew I was forgetting something!" Steven snapped his fingers, "Yes, apologies. It totally slipped my mind. Don't worry, I'll head there right away with Bruno. Thank you for the reminder. It would be unseemly for me to break my promise."

Bruno was coming too? That…was a pleasant surprise. His inclusion could only be a good thing for PR. "Then I'll meet the two of you there." I told them.

The call ended soon after that, and I repeated Steven's words to my dad, who looked happy what he heard.

"If the both of them are coming, then I think our grand opening of our little shop is bound to be a success." He smiled hopefully, "Maybe it'll be more popular than we expected."

We arrived at Mauville City shortly afterwards. It had been a long time since I had been here, and I could tell that Karen and I were both reminiscing about our old memories here.

"…Did you know that I caught your Whismur here?" I told my sister.

"Really?" She asked, her eyes gleaming with interest.

"Yes, I remember that." Karen chuckled, "It was a small and shy little thing. I'm pretty sure it was attracted by the sounds of our little party and from the smell of the food."

"It was also frightened by my team." I laughed, "It's come a long way since then, hasn't it?"

It wasn't just Whismur that had come a long way, but the city of Mauville as well. Whereas before much of it was still under construction, with much of Mauville still empty, now it was a different story. Though there were still areas under construction, much of Mauville City had already been built. Many shops and stores had settled in, and I could already see crowds of people walking around the place as they enjoyed the large variety of attractions available here.

It really was starting to become the Mauville City I knew from the games.

My family and I carefully manoeuvred our way around the crowds as we headed to where our store was. Thanks to Joseph's efforts, we had gotten a prime location for our store – it was right next to the exit to Route 110, where the huge Cycling Road was.

It was the perfect location for a store that sold drinks.

Plus, the effects of my popularity had clearly made itself known right now, as the relatively small store had a crowd of people waiting around it as they took pictures of the grand opening. Our employees that we had hired to run the place looked a bit overwhelmed at seeing the huge crowd that they had gathered there, and I overheard them worrying about whether they had enough supplies to serve them all.

That only got worse when the crowd caught sight of my arrival, and I instantly became the centre of attention as I was bombarded with questions. Amidst the utter chaos that was their tide of questions, I was barely able to register that most of their questions either revolved around my victory over Lance or my relationship with Cynthia.

Fortunately, before I was completely overwhelmed, our two guests of honour had also arrived. Steven and Bruno rocked up, with the former being as eye-catching as ever in his ever-immaculate suit and pristine outfit that looked like it was worth more than the newly opened store.

And then there was Bruno.

If Steven was eye-catching because of the obvious wealth on display, then Bruno was eye-catching because of the obvious muscle mass on display. The man was, as usual, a big hulking brute that literally towered over us. I was used to seeing Bruno, but for the common people, seeing his absolutely colossal figure was jaw dropping. Even Karen and Whitney, who had been standing next to me, blinked surprisingly at Bruno.

"…He's big." My sister whispered, getting a small chuckle from me.

"John! Congratulations! Hope I made it just in time!" Steven greeted me with a handshake, casually but deliberately pushing past the crowd and freeing me from their grasp.

"No, it should be me thanking you. I appreciate you coming here." I smiled back, and then greeted Bruno with a nod that he returned. The crowd immediately began chattering as the two arrived, with cameras flashing as people hurried to take their picture. However, some tried to get even more pushy now that they were here, but a quick glare from Bruno reminded them to remain polite.

Ah. No wonder Steven kept Bruno around. The man was a walking reporter repellent.

Then, my sister eagerly ran up to the two of them, "It's nice to meet you! I'm Whitney! John's sister! I've heard about you, Bruno, I saw your match against John! You're very strong!"

Apparently my sister's enthusiasm was too much for Bruno's stoic demeanour, and he broke into a slight smile, "Thank you. He was a worthy opponent, one that I would like to fight again in some time."

"What were you thinking about when fighting John?" My sister continued to ask more questions, "You actually took out his Ursaluna! I want to know how you did it!"

That started an animated discussion between the two of them as my sister pestered Bruno with her questions, though he seemed happy to entertain her. My sister's charm proving overwhelming once again.

"They get along surprisingly well." Steven commented with an amused look on his face, then he turned to Karen, "And you have my apologies for not greeting you earlier, Karen. It is nice to meet you again. I heard you were fighting your way through the Conference?"

"I am." She confirmed, "That's something you're going to be attempting next year, isn't it?"

"You have that right." Steven nodded as he patted Bruno on the shoulder, "That's why I hired this big lug to train with me. Having a training partner really helped."

Karen chuckled, "Tell me about it. Training with John was more useful than weeks of self-study."

"…You know, I've always been curious about something, Steven." Karen continued, "Everyone knows you're rich, but does that actually translate into benefits for training your Pokémon? Surely with your level of wealth you must have access to certain resources that make things easier."

I also listened intently. This was something I wanted to know too.

"That's a good question." Steven approved, "And yes, there are plenty of resources out there that are available to those who can afford it that can actually give you a leg up. But it's not nearly as useful as you think beyond the earlier stages of training."

"For example, there are always private teachers out there that specialise in training Pokémon. If you can afford their high rates, then they'll help train your Pokémon FOR you. Not only that, but so long as you have the money, it isn't difficult to just buy yourself a powerful Pokémon to start with. Many of my peers with similar levels of wealth to mine make use of these tools." He explained to us.

"However, it is my opinion that relying on such methods end up being detrimental to your development as a trainer." He said, "Let's use Bruno as an example. There is no way that he could replicate his level of training and discipline in his Pokémon if he relied on using cash to substitute his own hard work."

"Your Pokémon need to see the hard work that you put in for them. And ultimately, they are your Pokémon, and only you can accurately tell what they need to work on to better fit your preferred method of fighting. No amount of money can fix that."

"That being said, I won't be denying that money is not useful. Of course it is. Having money means that you can throw it at a bunch of smaller problems and make them non-issues. And it really helps out when you're first getting started, since you'd be able to buy as many Pokéballs, healing items, etc. as you want. However, to get to the level of strength shown in your match against Lance, you could never get there by just relying on wealth alone."

Karen and I both nodded at that, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a few people had been recording our conversation. There was no way Steven didn't notice them - did he say all this intentionally?

Either way, I fully agreed with his words. Having money helped, but it wasn't enough to rely on it.

Then my dad's voice cut through the crowd, "Okay! Thank you to all of you for being here for our humble little opening! I am greatly honoured and proud to finally introduce what will hopefully be the first of many of our shops in Hoenn!"

"Of course we couldn't be here today without the help of our son – who you all will know as the famed Elite Four of Indigo." My dad smiled as he pulled me close, "Therefore, we have a special treat for everyone today! For the first hour after our grand opening, anyone who makes a purchase will receive a complementary autograph from John!"

"And me too!" My sister chimed in, "I mean, if anyone wants mine, I'll be happy to sign!"

That got the crowd excited. This was something that we agreed upon as a family. Although they were reluctant to rely fully on my popularity, it was undeniable how effective of a marketing opportunity this was for the business, and I was happy to help out.

Therefore, for the next hour, that was what I was doing. I spent some time manning the counter alongside our other employees, giving out autographs to anyone who wanted one. There were many that also asked Whitney for her own autograph, though most of them didn't know who she was outside of 'being John's sister'.

Still, there were some that recognised her for her achievements as a trainer – and that recognition caused a beaming smile to form on my sister's face that never really went away. I was just glad to see that I didn't completely overshadow her.

Steven, Bruno, and Karen actually left shortly after the grand opening, after the necessary pictures were taken. Apparently they had agreed to spar with each other.

I couldn't help but wonder who would come out on top. I didn't know enough about Steven to give an accurate prediction of his strength, and I felt that Karen and Bruno were very evenly matched to the point where I couldn't guess who would win.

Bruno would destroy Karen's Pokémon if he managed to get close. Yet at the same time, Bruno might have trained up his Pokémon's mental discipline, but I strongly doubted that it would be enough to deal with Karen's specialised way of fighting.

Nevertheless, the next hour passed peacefully and enjoyably, even if my writing hand was becoming to become strained from all the signing I was doing. But it was all worth it after I saw the proud and satisfied expressions on my parents' faces.

This was proof that they had made it. That they could be more than just impoverished farmers struggling to make ends meet. It was a sign that the family business could expand and grow beyond the borders of Indigo – that it could truly become an international business and compete with the best of them.

After my duties at the grand opening was done with, I made my way out and was about to call up Karen to ask her about her match before my phone started ringing first.

I frowned as soon as I realised it was a conference call. From Lance. I tapped into the call and found myself in a room with Lance, Wallace, Drake, Lorelei, Lucian, and Cynthia.

This was serious.

"Hello, John. Thank you for joining us." Lance greeted, lacking his usual friendliness, "I hope you're in a secure area, because we have important matters to discuss."

"One second," I quickly ran over to an empty spot outside of Mauville City where there would be no eavesdroppers, "Okay, go ahead."

Cynthia started them off, "Lucian has informed me that we have recently made a handful of arrests of criminals that we suspected are related to those terrorists that caused serious damage in both Hoenn and Indigo. Upon further interrogation, we have come to realise the true extent of their infiltration within Sinnoh and the true number of resources available to them. Of course, this is something we have always suspected, but today we have finally gotten confirmation about several of their bases that they possess within our borders."

"As we speak, they have been labelled as international terrorists, with operations already underway to secure and capture these bases and return them to the hands of the authorities – and we have already made some significant findings. Namely that the amount of resources made available to these criminals prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that one of the big businesses in Sinnoh or a coalition of them have secretly been backing these terrorists."

"Unfortunately, we do not know who that is at the moment. But we know that one of them must have forged their reported numbers during the first audit that we performed for them. And I suspect that this may be because they have an insider working to help conceal their illicit activities. Considering the wealth of resources that they seem to have, this seems to be the most likely reason why we were unable to find any anomalies until now."

"As a result of possible criminal infiltration into our ranks, the Elite Four and I have collectively elected to reach out to both Hoenn and Indigo for assistance to root out these international terrorists. More specifically, we would ask that you send over teams of auditors to assist us as a neutral third party to identify where these terrorists are getting their resources from, since it is extremely unlikely that your groups will have similar spies implanted within. I know that Indigo specifically has the Indigo Revenue Service, and I am formally requesting their assistance."

"Also, do not worry about any issues about confidentiality – all audit results are made accessible to the public anyways, and the fact that we're working to uncover international terrorists should stave off any other criticisms."

Lance spoke up next, "I have already agreed. Lorelei, this will be your next big task for your new organisation. I will be sending you and your team over there posthaste. Do well."

She nodded firmly, though there was a hint of excitement that she failed to fully hide. This was a wonderful opportunity for her to prove her competence and further establish her credentials as the 'anti-corruption' expert. If she did well here, then she could use her achievements to catapult her political reputation.

Wallace was next, "Drake, John, I understand that you both are planning on heading to Sinnoh soon for a brief holiday?" We both nodded, "Well consider your holiday converted into a working holiday. Lance and I both agree that the two of you should be sent over to Sinnoh as a show of force and to help out in case of emergencies."

"We don't expect you to have to really do anything, but just the two of you being there should also add pressure and cause the terrorists to reconsider before they take part in any rash actions." He explained, "After all, after your successes in stamping them out of Hoenn, I doubt they will be so keen to face the two of you again."

We both nodded in understanding. I didn't really mind, since I got to spend time in Sinnoh.

"Then that will be all from us today." Cynthia concluded, "You all have your orders. I apologise for how abrupt this all was, but I fully intend to eradicate this criminal threat to Sinnoh before they can be allowed to fester even further."

"Thank you once again, and I will speak to all of you again soon in Sinnoh. Have a good day." With those final words, she ended the call. However, even though the contents of the call were serious and slightly concerning, I couldn't help but smile.

Because we were finally taking the fight to Team Galactic. They had slipped up, and now they were going to pay the price for it.

A.N. Mostly a set up chapter for many other things that will take place over the rest of the arc. And the time for Team Galactic to remain in the shadows is about to be over. They will be brought into the light.

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!