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

Winston - Lickitung (Shiny)

The New Normal – 12-6 – Thinking of the Future

With my newly caught Winston, the brave little shiny Lickitung, I returned back to the surface and headed straight home.

I wanted to rest, but I felt that it was better to properly introduce the latest addition to the rest of the team before doing anything else. While I knew my veterans wouldn't have any issues adapting to a new team member, I was less certain about how my newer members would react.

I made sure to release Winston out first to prepare him.

"Okay Winston, how are you feeling? Do you need any healing?" I asked him, and he shook his head and raised an arm in a 'thumbs-up' gesture.

Then he licked my face. It was…gooey, and a little unpleasant.

But I made sure the smile didn't drop from my expression, "That's good. I'm going to introduce you around to the rest of the team. Most of them should be friendly, but I'm just warning you to be prepared for anything. You may have to demonstrate your strength again if you want to gain the other's respect."

"Lickitung." He replied, and while I wasn't able to understand him quite yet, I still got the gist of what he was saying.

I nodded back to him and threw out the rest of my team, most of whom immediately swarmed onto the Lickitung. Some were shooting him curious looks, some were questioning, and one was nearly hostile.

"Wraith, calm yourself." I ordered.

"Zor…" He growled, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Yes, yes, he'll prove his strength to you in time." I said, "But give him a moment to adjust to his new team first."

"Zoroark…" He continued being stubborn, but Klee whacked him across the head on my behalf.

"Bliss!" She reprimanded, getting a scowl from Wraith.

"There's no need to beat him down." I said amusedly, "The only reason we had to do that to you was because you tried to attack me." I pointed to Lickitung, "Look at him – compared to you, he's very well behaved."

Wraith growled again, but he ultimately acquiesced and temporarily backed off from Winston. In the meanwhile, the rest of the Pokémon were continuing their inspection of him.

"Bliss! Bliss!" Of course, both Klee and Luna were already mothering him, to Winston's discomfort. Klee was patting him all over as if to inspect for injuries, and Winston looked unused to this level of care. As a wild Pokémon, he was likely used to fending for himself.

Instead, as Klee looked him over, he licked her, slathering her with his long and sticky tongue. Klee squawked in surprise while Luna giggled at her companion's now saliva-covered state. Still smiling, Klee carefully wiped herself clean while gently admonishing the Lickitung – warning him that he couldn't just lick others out of the blue like that.

With the mothering out of the way, it was now Winston's turn to be inspected by the more battle-focused members of my team.

"Snorlax…" Smough asked if Winston was up for a battle, and Winston instantly replied that he was, stepping forwards in front of Smough as he readied himself for a battle. However, Smough just shook his head and gestured towards Ornstein.

"Obsta…" Ornstein let out a predatory smile, and without any warning, leapt towards the Lickitung with his paws extended. Winston barely stepped out of the way in time as a huge swipe tore into the ground where he was just standing.

Thinking that he had the chance to strike, Winston charged forwards and slammed into Ornstein's side with a Body Slam – only to be blocked by an Obstruct. His instincts must have been screaming, as Winston instantly backpedalled before a backhanded Brick Break from Ornstein narrowly missed his face.

However, instead of following through, Ornstein simply hung back as he patiently observed what Winston was going to do next. Seeing that his opponent wasn't about to attack, and realising that he didn't hit nearly hard enough to break through Ornstein's incredible defence, Winston began to set up.

My eyes widened as I watched as Winston began pounding on his belly, letting out a determined growl as he did so.

I nodded approvingly; that Belly Drum was pretty quick. He had clearly trained it well.

Now with his Attack boosted to the max, Winston stepped forwards with a glowing arm as he prepared to strike Ornstein with a Hammer Arm. But Ornstein went first, snaking a fist forwards like a viper and striking hard with a Sucker Punch, interrupting Winston's attack. Then a Brick Break slammed down onto his head, forcing the Lickitung to eat dirt as he faceplanted into the ground.

Yet with a determined growl, Winston rolled out of the second incoming Brick Break and shot his tongue out like it was another arm. The wet tongue caught Ornstein by surprise, having not expected this angle of attack, and he actually staggered backwards from the impact due to maxed out Attack that Winston had.

Making use of this opportunity, Winston pulled himself off the ground and tried to Wrap his tongue around the staggered Ornstein in hopes of binding him for long enough to allow Winston to slam into him with a devastating Body Slam.

But Ornstein had been faking. He wasn't actually as vulnerable as he seemed, and he suddenly parried the tongue away before darting forwards and sending a powerful Mega Kick crashing straight into Winston's side.

Winston was sending flying through the air before tumbling onto the ground; his injured face covered in grass and dirt.

"I think that's enough." I declared, cutting the battle here before Winston took any more damage, "I believe my Pokémon have seen enough. Good job, Winston."

Klee rushed over and began administering some healing onto the wounded Lickitung, who continued to look unused to the treatment. In the meanwhile, I gave a questioning glance to Vordt and Smough, who had both been observing Winston's performance.

"So, what did you think? Satisfied?" I asked.

"Ursa…" Vordt let out a soft growl, but he wasn't disappointed by what he saw.

"Snorlax. Snorlax." Smough agreed, stating that while Winston still weak, he had the determination to grow strong. I agreed; having the right mindset was more valuable than skills. It was far easier to train the latter than the former.

"Zor…." Wraith was less impressed, but another growl from Vordt reminded him that he wasn't so strong until recently.

"Sylveon!" In the meanwhile, Euphie was just happy that she had another playmate. She always liked having more friends. And Pixel and Klaus were both pretty indifferent.

With their approval obtained, I approached Winston as he was being healed up.

"So, how did you think of my team? Was this everything you were hoping for?" I questioned.

He nodded excitedly, "Lick! Lickitung!"

"Snor…" Smough helpfully translated for me, informing me that Winston was happy about the level of strength of my Pokémon. It had been the reason why he decided to join us, and he was pleased he didn't make the wrong decision.

"That's good, that's good." I nodded, and patted him gently on the head, "Well if you're hoping to get stronger, then I can tell you that I already have a few ideas on how I can train you up. But we won't get started today, because you need to rest up. It's been a long day for the both of us; we can get started some other day. Okay?"

Winston nodded happily, but that look quickly turned to confusion as he saw another Lickitung staring at us. Of course, I knew it was just Wraith playing pranks by disguising himself as a Lickitung, but Winston didn't know that.

He immediately rushed off to inspect this copycat on our team, with his tongue waggling wildly as he ran. He had probably never seen another shiny Lickitung like himself, and was now supremely curious. I simply chuckled and left him to it; he'll learn soon enough about the various quirks of our team.

He was now a part of the team, after all.

We retired to bed not long after that. And on the next day, after a lazy breakfast where I slowly munched away at some toast, I received some news that instantly perked me up.

"John, are you free for lunch? I have some time in the afternoon." Cynthia had suddenly called to ask me.

"I am." I nodded, "But I thought you were busy with your interviews?"

"One of our meetings got cancelled for the afternoon." She explained, "A few members got sick, so we decided to push back the meeting for later. I could move up on of my other interviews, but I think I'd much rather have the hour or two free."

"Well, I'm not going to complain about that decision." I grinned, "Why not come over to my house, like I promised? We can have lunch together."

My parents could apparently overhear my conversation, because they quickly joined in as well.

"I'll be happy to cook you something!" My mom called out.

"And we're always happy to host you." My dad added, "Maybe we can even invite Whitney as well."

"Thank you." My girlfriend replied kindly, "I appreciate you hosting me."

"And feel free to invite Professor Carolina if she's available." I also said, "I'll call and ask if Karen's coming, but I think she might be preoccupied."

"Oh? Didn't I tell you? My grandmother has already returned to Sinnoh." She explained, "She couldn't spend that long away from the lab."

"Ah, didn't know that." I replied, "Shame, we would have loved to have her as well."

"I'm sure my presence will be enough for you." She joked.

And with that, the lunch was scheduled.

"You need to wipe that dumb grin of your face, dear. You'll scare her off." My mom admonished me. The two of us were standing by the door to our house as we waited for Cynthia to arrive.

"I was hardly grinning." I denied, "It was more of a small smile."

She rolled her eyes, "I'll get you a mirror next time so you can see it for yourself. At least you dressed up properly; I won't have you dressed like a slob when your girlfriend's come all the way to visit."

A flash of light cut off my response as Cynthia walked out of the Teleport, a bright smile on her face.

"Mrs. Smith, it's a pleasure to see you again." She greeted, "Thank you for having me."

"Oh, you don't need to be so formal." My mother chuckled, "Just call me Angela."

Then my mom made a show of looking my girlfriend up and down, "Oh, and you're just the most beautiful girl in the world, aren't you? No wonder my son was so excited for your arrival."

I groaned, but my mom was unrepentant, "Now, I'm going to head inside to check up on the cooking. I'll leave the two of you together." She then promptly walked away after giving me a knowing look.

I ignored that and focused my attention back on my girlfriend, doing my best to throw out my mom's teasing, "…Did I ever tell you that I caught a new Pokémon?"

Cynthia's eyes widened, "No, you did not. When was this? What did you catch?"

"I'll show you later." I smirked, "Let's have some food first."

She pouted, "Show me now. You can't just drop that on me and then tell me to wait."

"Patience, patience, we'll get to that later." I tutted, "I'm sure you want to show off your Kleavor too."

"Fine…" She sighed dramatically, "Also, is there something else you're forgetting? I thought you were excited to see me again—"

I cut her off as I gave her a quick peck on the lips, "I didn't forget." I smiled.

A grin broke out on her face, "Oh fine, that'll do for now."

"And it'll have to do, because I think my parents are waiting, and I don't want to get teased by them if they caught us with our lips locked together." I gestured for her to come inside as I instinctively took and hung her coat for her, "Come, Whitney told us to get started first."

Cynthia nodded and made her way inside, where she exchanged another round of greetings with my dad. Lunch began soon after that, though Cynthia was mostly the focus of attention as my parents began peppering her with questions.

"Hope you don't mind the food and the house." My mother said, "We don't usually have guests over."

"You say that, mom, but we've had FOUR Gym Leaders here." I counted off my fingers, "Koga, Samson, Blaine, and Giovanni. And now we're hosting a Champion. Admit it, we've quite the guest list."

Cynthia chuckled, "You've nothing to be ashamed of, Angela. I was never one for indulging in luxuries anyways. My room in Celestic Town is quite empty, as John could attest."

"Well, 'empty' isn't the word I'd use. More like a mess." I smirked.

"And how about your room?" She shot back, "I doubt it's much cleaner."

"Oh, don't let my son get to you. I still remember having to tell him off to clean his room when he was younger." My mom stabbed me in the back as she took Cynthia's side.

Realising I was outnumbered, I tried switching the topic to something else. Luckily, my dad came in clutch as he asked about her usual duties as a Champion and what that entailed.

"It's busy work, but very rewarding." She told us, "And having a core group of trusted Elite Four members really does ease the workload a lot. The paperwork is the biggest nuisance, but I already got into the habit of dealing with that when I was an administrator at our research lab. The responsibilities and scope of work might be a lot wider, but its not too much extra reading. There's just more nagging from people who are supposed to be 'advising' you."

"And how are things going with that investigation into that company?" My dad asked, "From the news reports I heard that it was still ongoing."

"It is." She confirmed, "While I can't explain too much, please be reassured that we are handling it; your son has been read in as well and knows of our strategy."

"Good." My dad nodded, "Because if everything they are accused of are true, then they deserve to be behind bars. Formerly good reputation or not, if they've done some serious wrongdoing then they ought to be punished for it!"

"I'm home!" Suddenly the familiar cute shouting of my sister echoed throughout the house as she dashed through the door. Her eyes immediately locked onto my girlfriend, "Cynthia! You're here!"

She quickly ran over and gave Cynthia a hug, "Hope my bro has been treating you right!"

"I'm sitting right here you know." I deadpanned, only for my sister to extend her tongue at me.

Cynthia chuckled, "You don't need to worry about him; I can stand up for myself as well." Then she smiled and patted Whitney on the head, "Say, have you and your friends got any plans to come visit Sinnoh anytime in the future? We'd be happy to host you at Celestic Town just like we did for your brother."

My sister tilted her head thoughtfully, "Hmm…well with Koga joining the Elite Four, Janine's going to be busier than ever. Especially since the circuit is starting up soon. I don't think we'll have time to visit Sinnoh anytime soon."

"That's a shame, you could really bolster your team with some new captures if you did." Cynthia gestured towards me, "Your brother recently caught another Pokémon too."

"REALLY?!" My sister's sparkling eyes instantly whirled onto me, "What did you catch!?"

"He wouldn't tell me." Cynthia smirked, "He said that he would show us after lunch."

"Boooo." Whitney pouted.

"Okay, I think that's enough of that." My mom cut in, "Come on and sit down, Whitney, or else the food will get cold."

With the matriarch of the family uttering her commands, the rest of the lunch continued in relative peace. Well, in a manner of speaking, as my sister bombarded Cynthia with all sorts of questions about her team, her life in Sinnoh, and where should she and her friends visit if they ever do go there.

I was happy to chip in from time to time as well as Cynthia and I both described the beautiful and unique sights that were available in her home region. Even my mom and dad got pulled into the conversation, saying that they might consider heading there for a vacation sometime in the future. Of course, Cynthia extended the offer to stay at Celestic Town if they ever came, but my parents both declined stating that it wouldn't be right for them to accept as purely tourists.

Lunch didn't take too long to wrap up after that, and this time Cynthia, Whitney, and I all headed to the training fields. They were eager to see my new Pokémon, so with a rueful smile, I sent him out.

"Winston, you're on stage today."

My Lickitung emerged from his Pokéball with a curious look, before his eyes widened as Whitney immediately glomped him. I also released Klee just in case Lickitung got ornery for whatever reason.

"He's SOOO cute! And huggable!" She squealed, "Wait! He's shiny too! Where did you find him?"

"I headed down to Cerulean Cave yesterday for training and found him there. Actually, it's more accurate to say that he was the one who approached me." I explained, "I really wasn't expecting to catch anything new at the time, but he impressed me with his bravery and curiosity."

"I know the feeling." Cynthia nodded as she gave Winston an inspecting look, though she couldn't hide the surprise in her eyes at the fact that she was staring at a shiny Lickitung, "It was the same for me and Roserade."

Lickitung was a little wary at all the sudden eyes on him, but he eventually relaxed after Klee reassured him that they meant no harm. After that initial wariness disappeared, he comfortably allowed Whitney to continue playing around with him.

I smiled; despite being a Pokémon that had lived in the wild and likely had to fend for himself for most of his life, he was surprisingly friendly.

That, or Klee's monitoring gaze kept him in line.

Unfortunately, or perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, Whitney had to leave shortly after that to return to her duties as a Gym Trainer. She had already overran her usual lunch hour, so she couldn't stay for much longer. Before she left, she did extract a promise from Cynthia to come visit and maybe battle against her while the latter was in Indigo if she had time to do so.

With Whitney gone, that just left Cynthia and I together.

"So – you mentioned before you wanted to have a practice battle or something between our Pokémon, right?" I asked, "Want to get to that now?"

"Sorry, I would – but I need to leave pretty soon." She shook her head, but then a teasing smile quickly formed on her face, "But…I think we can spend the time on something a little more important than that."

"And what would that be—"

I didn't get to say anything more as my lips were sealed shut as she pressed her lips against mine. My hands instinctively moved to pull her closer to me, pressing our bodies against each other and extending the kiss for longer.

I missed the soft feeling of her lips, the pleasant scent of our body, and the way she felt when I held her against me. Even if we weren't truly separated for that long, I was just happy that I could hold her like this once again.

Eventually, the two of us pulled away from each other, though our heads remained touching as we both sported a grin.

"That was for earlier." She said, "And to make up for lost time."

"You won't hear me complaining." I chuckled.

"I would be mad if you did." She shot back, and I leaned in for another quick kiss.

We exchanged a few more romantic gestures until we both refilled our intimacy needs, and then the two of us just sat down idly next to one of the fenceposts, our hands locked together as we both stared at the bright clear skies in the afternoon sun – simply enjoying our time together once again.

"Have you given any thought for how we would be together for the future?" She suddenly asked me.

"What do you mean?" I replied.

"This." She gestured to the two of us, "I want to be able to sit and bask in the sun with you whenever I want. I want to be able to be with you whenever I want, and spend time with you whenever I want. I don't want to have to wait weeks or months before either you or I decide to visit the other."

"…Are you unhappy with the distance?" I asked carefully.

Fortunately, she shook her head, "No, that's not what I meant. As I said to you before, I knew that the long distance would be a barrier in our relationship. I've accepted that, knowing that we both can't just run away from the responsibilities entrusted to us. I'm not upset by the distance, nor am I complaining about anything. I'm happy where we are right now."

"But I was just thinking to the far future, and I'm talking about several years from now." She continued, "If there is going to be a two of us in the future, then we're going to have to think of a way to overcome this distance. We can't really be together if we live in different regions, not in the long term."

I nodded; this was a very valid concern from her.

"…I've actually given this some thought before." I replied, and she turned her eyes to me intently as I spoke, "I think that the solution to the distance in our relationship can be aligned with our political goals."

"Could you clarify that?" She asked.

"You know how the both of us are pushing hard for internationalism now to bring our regions closer together?" I said rhetorically, "Well – and I'm not saying this is the path I would 100% be following – but if we can achieve this, then there's little reason why I can't move to Sinnoh to accompany you."

She instantly leaned forwards, "Wait, John, I'm not comfortable with this. I don't want you to sacrifice your career just for me. I wouldn't be happy with that. I want us to be equals."

"No, you're misunderstanding me." I shook my head, "There's no reason I can't take up an equally important political posting in Sinnoh if our regions are becoming closer together. For example, we already have it so that Gym Leaders can be appointed from either region within Indigo, which already sets a precedent. In a few years' time, there's no reason why the idea of foreign appointments into important political positions couldn't be accepted and implemented."

"If that were the case, then I could easily take up an appointment in Sinnoh, even if it might not be as an Elite Four." I said, "But, and I hope I'm not being too arrogant when I say this, I think my connections have already superseded whatever power being an Elite Four has granted me. I'm sure I could retain most of my political power and influence even if I lost the title."

The public was already calling me a Champion in all but name. I was pretty sure if I ever stepped down from the Elite Four on my own accord, I significantly doubt that my reputation would really take a hit – if at all.

"I'm not saying that this is the path that I have to take – it was just an idle suggestion that I threw out." I said, "Besides, we still have plenty of time to think about it, and between the two of us I'm sure we can think of a solution that we'd both be comfortable with. We just have to work towards it."

Cynthia blinked at my response, slowly processing my words. Then she smiled, "I didn't think you would have thought through it so thoroughly already. And here I was thinking that I was the only one worrying."

"Of course I was worried about it." I replied, "Forgive me for saying this, but I believed that with your position as Champion, the onus was on me to take the initiative to make the move. It's far easier for me to give up my position and move over than it would be for you."

"Well, I don't really care for that assumption. If I can do the same thing and move over to Indigo, then I shall." Cynthia countered with a frown, "You don't necessarily have to be the one making the sacrifice."

Though that frown quickly went away as it was replaced by another fond smile, "…But you're right. We still have time to think about it; I'm not so desperate for us to be together immediately. I can wait a few years."

"Me too." I nodded.

We stayed silent for a little bit as the two of us leaned back against the fencepost. After a minute or so, she spoke up again, her voice now having taken on a wistful tone.

"…What kind of house do you think we'd live in?" She asked.

I hummed thoughtfully, "Probably not anything too big. I doubt you and I need all that space."

She nodded, "You ever think of getting a place of your own?"

"…I never saw the need to." I shrugged, "Perhaps if I had a girlfriend that I could meet up with daily, then yeah, I would probably get my own place for the privacy. But since you can only visit every once in a while, I don't really see the need, even if I could easily afford one."

"What kind of house would you want though? Or where?" She asked, "What's your preference?"

"…Probably something off to the side; definitely not in the middle of any major cities." I replied after a moment to think, "If…if it was in Sinnoh, then maybe somewhere near Sandgem would be quite nice."

"It is pretty peaceful there." She agreed, "And it's a quite close to Jubilife as well. Maybe a bit too close…"

And that's how we spent our time, just the two of us idly talking about what our future might look like together. If she was a little late for her next meeting, then she certainly didn't blame me for it.

It was nice – and something I really hoped would one day become a reality.

A.N. It's been a long time since we had a chapter between Cynthia and John together, and I thought I would make use of the opportunity to talk a little about their future and how they would overcome the challenge that is 'distance' while also giving them a nice romantic moment together. Not all romantic talks have to be serious.

As both characters stated, neither of them would want the other to throw everything away just for the relationship. Therefore, they would need to somehow maintain their power even as one of the moves over to get the best of both worlds. I wanted to show that as one of the core foundations of their relationship – that they are equal partners in it. Hope you enjoyed!

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!