John's Team
Tyrant - Slaking
Vordt - Ursaluna
Smough - Snorlax
Klee - Blissey
Port - Mantine
Zephyr - Pidgeot
Klaus - Wyrdeer
Luna - Clefable
Pixel - Porygon-Z
Euphie - Sylveon
Ornstein - Obstagoon
Wraith - H-Zoroark
Winston - Lickitung (Shiny)
The New Normal – 12-15 – Mending Bridges
Spending time around the orphanage was both eye-opening and a little melancholic. However, I could tell that Karen had managed to achieve what she hoped to accomplish – and that was bringing the rest of the Elite Four onto her side for her future proposals.
Like her, I too wished that things would improve for these unfortunate orphans. After what we had seen and been told, it was impossible not to.
But back to the present, with all of her political goals for coming to Indigo accomplished, it meant that Cynthia's time in Indigo was coming to an end. She had come here for the express purpose of waving the flag and pushing forwards the Regional Union proposal, and now that she had done so, it was time for her to leave.
I wasn't bitter about it. Knowing what I did about her upcoming plans to deal with Team Galactic, I knew that I would probably be requested to head over there soon. So I would see her shortly.
Still, I had wanted to spend my last day with her in Indigo, and we still had that battle with our starters that I wanted to do, but Cynthia surprisingly turned me down.
"I actually had someone I wanted to spend time with." She told me apologetically, "I know you wanted to spend time together, but I really think there's someone I should speak more with now that I'm here."
"Oh?" I was curious, but not offended, "Sure. Who are you meeting?"
"I wanted to spend time with Karen." She admitted, "Not for the reasons you're thinking of." She quickly corrected, "But since she's one of your closest friends, I'd actually like to spend some time with her instead of the short conversations we usually have every once in a while over the phone."
"That would be nice." I agreed, though still a little curious about what she wanted to talk with her about, "Okay, enjoy your time together then."
I hoped their conversation would go well. In the meanwhile, I would be paying a visit to mayor Henry to discuss a few things about the current state of the Cerulean's orphanages. Karen had really opened my eyes to the problem that I had been unconsciously overlooking, and I absolutely wanted to rectify that as soon as possible.
(Cynthia POV)
"Sorry, I hope you didn't have to wait long!" She called out to Karen, who had been waiting for her at the busy city of Celadon.
"It's not a problem, I just got here too." Karen replied, "I'm still surprised you would rather spend your last day with me instead of with John. Did he do something to piss you off?"
"Nothing of the sort." She denied with a shake of the head, "Consider this just me congratulating you for your victory."
Karen smiled slightly, "Well, thank you, then. It's appreciated, though a tad bit unnecessary. You really didn't have to force yourself to do this. I know you and I have been…politely distant with each other."
She could admit that. Most of the time her 'conversations' with Karen, if it could be called that, were limited to the occasional chat over the phone, and generally only revolved around battling. They both avoided John as a topic to prevent awkwardness. Though she did feel it was less so now, and that the two had been slowly getting more comfortable – hence why she went ahead with this outing with Karen.
"That might be the case, but I've realised that it doesn't have to be this way." She replied, "Whatever your past and history with John, I'm not so insecure as to be jealous of that. You've been a dear and close friend to John, and likewise I trust John to not be the type to have wandering eyes. Our friendship might be distant before, but I don't see why we can't turn that around."
Karen looked at her weirdly for a moment before letting out a chuckle, "And here I thought you wanted to talk to me to give me another warning to stay away from John – guess I underestimated you."
"No, that's the last thing I'd do." She shook her head, "John and I are both our own people. I would never forbid him from talking to a friend, even if I felt threatened by them, and I would expect the same from him. However, if those 'talks' lead to consequences – then that would be on him to bear."
She knew she had no right, even as his girlfriend, to bar John from talking to whoever he liked. That would be a huge overstep, and that would be going against their promise to be equal partners in their relationship. She could be wary and express her concerns, but no further than that.
"I can tell you're being genuine about that." Karen observed, "But…if you're happy with it, then I'm not going to turn down your offer of friendship." Karen then proceeded to link their hands together, "Come, let me show you around the Celadon Department Store."
She did not refuse this obvious show of friendship, and allowed Karen to drag her around the huge shopping mall. It was a location that she had chosen for a reason, as she felt that the idea of going clothes shopping would be a nice bonding activity that would at least help stimulate their conversation.
As they were heading up the escalator, Karen made a surprising admission, "…If it's any consolation, I think I've moved on from John in my mind anyways. You have nothing to worry about."
"You don't have to say that for my sake." She tried to say, before being interrupted.
"No I do mean that – I'm not saying that just to placate you or to lower your guard." Karen insisted, "When your relationship was first announced, I told John early on that I wasn't the type of woman to try to force her way into a relationship that she didn't belong in. I refused to be that kind of homewrecker."
That was understandable – considering everything John had told her about Karen's past as an orphan. Getting in the way of someone else's family was probably anathema for Karen.
"That day, I saw in John's eyes the genuine feelings he had for you – and I knew that there was no point holding onto hope that you would separate anytime soon. Yet deep within my mind, a part of me futilely still did so." She admitted, "I'm ashamed to say that I held on to that stupid hope for longer than I should have."
"However, when I was doing all that preparation for my fight against the old hag, I had a moment of realisation – I realised that John no longer occupied my mind like he did before." She explained, "The lingering melancholy at my lost opportunities with him were completely shoved aside as I was so dedicated to making sure I was ready for the fight – to ensure that I was a worthy successor to Agatha."
A small wistful smile grew on Karen's face, "It was then that I understood that my goals in life had long grown beyond John. Of course, I still saw him as a close friend and trusted ally, but I realised that there were so many other things that I wanted to achieve that I was just wasting my time trying to cling on to something I knew would never fall into my hands."
"…And now that I've accomplished one of big goals and made it to the Elite Four, I don't have the time to waste on uselessly pining after someone that has already been taking, waiting in the wings like some kind of stalker waiting to pounce on the opportunity." Karen continued after a brief pause, "I have bigger goals than that now. I have a legacy to uphold, and I have a future that I want to craft and forge with my own hands."
As she listened to Karen's admission, she inwardly let out a cheer as someone who had just beaten a rival would. Yet at the same time, she felt a sense of gratitude and warmth towards Karen for having the maturity and empathy to move on and not hold anything against her.
She nodded gratefully to Karen, visibly moved by her admission, "…Thank you for telling me this. I can't deny I was wary about you for a while, and what kind of person would I be if I didn't try to keep my rivals in check?" She chuckled at her own joke, "But I'm really glad you said that you had your own goals to accomplish – because John and I have our own. I don't know if John filled you in on our plans for the future, but we have plans to make it so that we can be together without being hindered by distance, and we're both working hard to make that a reality."
Her face fell into a brief scowl, "So long as the headache that is Galactic Company gets cleared out of the way, then I think the two of us will be dedicating all of our time to making sure our relationship can and will work out."
The threat of those terrorists were the last major problem that she had to deal with in Sinnoh for the foreseeable future, so she couldn't wait to clear them out and dedicate her time to something actually productive.
Karen smiled at her, "That sounds like a good goal to have. I hope it goes well for the both of you. From what I've seen from the both of you, I'm certain that your future will be very happy together. Almost disgustingly so." They both shared a laugh at that.
Their conversation ended perfectly in sync with their arrival to the clothes shops, and they quickly moved on to much more womanly topics as they began the very familiar activity of clothes shopping.
To her embarrassment, it became quickly apparent that Karen was much more familiar with this than she was. In her mind, she blamed her upbringing as an academic and an archaeologist for her lack of knowledge about the current popular fashion trends, though she knew those were all just excuses.
She just wasn't as trendy.
Luckily, that was something that Karen was more than willing to help rectify, and the two of them proceeded to spend the early hours of the afternoon shuffling through clothing item after clothing item as Karen helped her pick out several new outfits. The Celadon Department Store really had so many options for them to choose from – there was even a nice boutique store where she picked out a few extra dresses for formal occasions.
…Or if John had done something particularly nice, then it could be reserved for a special reward.
"Have you ever felt like settling down?" Karen asked her as they were picking out a few clothes, "I mean, dropping your responsibilities as Champion and simply living a quiet life with John. With your strength and reputation, you hardly need to continue if you wanted. You're already set for life."
"That wouldn't feel right, though." She replied, "Yes, it would make things much simpler, but in a way doing so would be abandoning the person that I know John fell in love with. Working on our shared ambitions together is something that we greatly enjoy doing, and it's what connects us despite the physical distance between us. Furthermore, there's still so much I want to do – so much that I want to achieve – and I want to do all those things with John by my side, and vice versa. I feel like that would be the most fulfilling for the both of us. It's probably only after some of my larger goals have been achieved that I'll start thinking about slowing things down and start living a more 'domestic' life, and all that entails."
"What about you?" She returned the question to Karen, "I know you have things you'd like to work on now, but you ever think of settling down and starting a family in the future? John's told me how much you like working with children."
"…I think I'd like to, one day." Karen admitted, "But not anytime soon. I have to look after Agatha, and my duties in the Elite Four notwithstanding, I don't think I'd want to take on too many responsibilities that would distract from that. Besides, I see Brock and his siblings as my family anyways. They'll do for now."
Their conversation continued to flow like that throughout the rest of their shopping trip, and even when they were all done with the shopping the two of them moved to a nearby restaurant to grab lunch and to continue on with their discussions.
Inwardly, she was really happy that everything turned out this well. She was confident that Karen wasn't the type of person to hold a grudge over John, but they were actually getting along so well as friends. Her only other female friend that she could talk with like this was Candice, and even then she felt like she could easily talk more with Karen – they just had more similar topics to talk about.
She was glad that they were getting along so well.
"You ever think of taking on an apprentice of your own?" She asked another question to Karen as they took a seat, "Just like Agatha did with you?"
"Technically, Brock is my unofficial apprentice, even if we don't share the same Type." Karen replied, "Whenever I have some free time, I go help him and his siblings with their training. But otherwise, no. I don't have any plans on taking on an official apprentice anytime soon. How about you?"
"I've been thinking about it." She said, "At the end of the day, I'd like to change the perception of generalists to be more than something that only the naturally gifted are able to accomplish. Generalist teams aren't as difficult as everyone makes them out to be to train up, and I want to be able to pass on my methods to others in the future. If I find the right trainer, maybe that's something I can work on after we deal with Galactic Company—"
"Oi! I know you!" A sudden voice snapped at the two of them, and they both turned to see a young man strutting up to them, "You're the Champion of Sinnoh, aren't you? The one who's dating Elite John?"
"…I am." She said carefully, not liking just how aggressive the man had chosen to approach them. "How can I help you?"
The man grinned, "What a great coincidence then, because I challenge you to a Pokémon battle! And don't you dare say no, because I'm live right now!" He deliberately pointed towards the camera that he had mounted on his shoulder, "I think the world deserves to see just how strong the girlfriend of someone like John really is against someone not from Sinnoh!"
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at this blatant display of provocation – she had known that it would bite them in the ass when the two of them shed their disguises while they were trying on all those new clothes.
She really did not want to entertain this person right now. Not only was she not finished with her meal, but this was her last day in Indigo for the foreseeable future. She did not want to waste time on a meaningless battle like this. Yet if she were to refuse, she suspected that it would undoubtedly be misconstrued and dramatized by the news as her being 'ungrateful' to the public of Indigo – or whatever nonsense that they might create for their next big headline.
However, before she could say anything, Karen spoke first in her defence. "I'm sorry, but the two of us are about to have certain private political discussions right after this meal. Maybe some other time."
…It wasn't the best excuse, considering the large shopping bags filled with new clothes that were scattered around them.
And as expected, the man didn't buy it, "Bah! You Elite Four and Champions simply think that you're too important for the common folk. You know the common trainer never gets an opportunity to challenge those with lofty titles like yourself. Or what? Are you so unwilling to debase yourself to fight?"
He then turned towards his camera, "Do you see this folks? This is the true faces of your leaders. They are refusing to entertain even a simple battle, even when battling is all they're supposed to be good at. Do you see this!? What a disgrace this is—"
"No. The only disgrace here is you." Another voice spoke up from behind the young man as they approached – revealing themselves to be none other than Blaine.
Blaine took advantage of the surprise on the young man's face as he grabbed onto his shoulders, "Look at me, sonny. What makes you think you're in the right to bother people like this?"
The young man was momentarily flustered, but managed to pull himself back, "…People? They're our leaders. They're supposed to be the example of what a trainer should be! So why are declining to battle people when it's their duty to fight!?"
"Wrong. Their duty is not to fight. Their duty is to protect." Blaine replied, "It might be similar, but there's a big distinction. Fighting is easy. You fight by being strong. But protecting people? That comes in many different ways. Let me explain it so even you can understand."
"Sometimes, protecting people means taking a step back and being patient – waiting for the right moment to strike, even though the public is demanding you to take action, so that you can make sure that there's as little collateral damage as possible. Sometimes, protecting people means taking a stand, throwing yourself into danger to make sure that just one more person can be evacuated out. Sometimes, protecting people means making connections with the right people so that the right kinds of change can be made to ensure that your people get to live a better life. At the end of the day, fighting other trainers is only a small part of what makes a leader."
"And you got another thing wrong too." At this point, she realised that Blaine wasn't actually speaking to the young man. Rather, he was speaking straight at the camera, directly addressing whoever was watching the livestream, "Our leaders are just like you and I – they're people too. In the same way you can't just demand and force a random person off the street to fight you in a Pokémon battle, the same applies to your Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and Champion. They have their own lives too, and you don't have the right to disrupt that."
"…But they clearly aren't busy." The man tried weakly, "They were just chatting!"
"Because they were waiting for me!" Blaine shamelessly lied, "Or can people not chat to pass the time nowadays? Did you think Elite Karen was lying when she said that she had a political meeting to get to?! Of course not! As a former Elite Four myself, I know how busy our leaders are. They only get so much time to rest – and you selfishly tried to demand them to sacrifice whatever free time they had to entertain you and your offer to battle just because you want to attract people to watch your stupid livestream."
Blaine shook his head, "That is why I called you a disgrace. Now begone. You are unwanted here."
She had to hold herself back from letting out a laugh as she watched the colour drain from the young man's face. It looked like he wanted to say something, but a sharp look from Blaine finally drove him off.
She quickly stood up and pulled out another chair for Blaine, "Thank you for that." She whispered, "You said everything I wanted to say but couldn't."
"Mhm. Best you don't respond so aggressively." Blaine nodded, "I can get away with it because I'm not a leader anymore. But if a foreigner like you said something like that, even as respected as you are? It'd be instantly dramatized and you'd be portrayed as 'arrogant' and 'emotional'. Fucking politics is annoying like that."
"I didn't even know you were here – but thanks, by the way." Karen said, "I thought you'd be busy on one of your projects."
"Shelly's looking over my recent success – you'll hear about that in the news soon." He grinned, "But otherwise I was just here to buy some stuff from the department store, then felt like grabbing lunch. I spotted you two earlier, but I didn't think of approaching until I saw that young man harassing you. I couldn't let those comments stand."
"I hope you don't get too much shit for helping us." Karen said.
Blaine scoffed, "Bah. If anything, I hope they broadcast what I just said to as many people as possible. I stand by my words – too many people think of us leaders as celebrities first, and people second. They don't realise that you all deserve private lives of your own, and I think its about time that they learn. It's why I always yelled at people back at my old lab whenever they wanted gossip about you and John, since they knew I worked with him. It's none of their fucking business."
Cynthia nodded, "We were always aware that there would be a certain degree of public scrutiny once I announced my relationship with John. That's inevitable, so we kind of just accepted it as a necessary evil we had to bear. This was probably the 'worst' of the encounters so far."
"Yeah, I had to be careful with how much I visited Brock as well." Karen said, "I was worried that the public might think I'm biased towards them and overly favour them politically, even though I'm just helping him look after his siblings."
"But it shouldn't be." Blaine said, "John might not have told me this directly, but I know how many hurdles the two of you had to jump through just to make sure you guys were accepted – which I think is completely nonsensical. The private life between you two is no one else's business, even if you're Elite Four or Champion or whatnot."
They both nodded at that.
He sat forwards, "Listen. Any friend of John's is a friend of mine. I trust his judge of character, and I know you two are good people. So let me know if you run into any more problems like this. I know you probably don't need the help – as capable as you two are – but I'm always willing to speak up on your behalf. And I don't give a shit if I piss off the public by doing so. I don't need to be well-liked by the general public to become a Professor."
"…Well, thank you again, Blaine. I appreciate your support." She said, genuinely touched by Blaine's words. Karen was also nodding next to her, "Just let me know if you want anything yourself. After what you've done today, I owe you one."
Blaine proceeded to let out an exaggerated, but shameless grin, "Well…since I'm no longer bound to just Indigo anymore, if I ever think of coming over to Sinnoh for a research project or two then I'd love to be able to have access to my own lab."
"Easily done." She declared, "The Celestic Town Research Centre would always welcome a scientist of your calibre with open arms. We would have done so regardless if you asked."
"Then that's all I need." He replied, "Anyways, I won't bother you for longer. I'll just wish you the best for when you go and fight those criminals in Galactic Company – I've heard on the news that they're your current pain in the ass."
"If you ever need me, you know where to find me. I'm always up to scorch a few terrorists or so."
A.N. This was a chapter that I've wanted to write for some time, but wanted to wait until Karen made it into the Elite Four before doing so. I know I've focused quite a bit on developing Cynthia's relationship with John, but I also felt that it was equally as important to develop her relationship with other characters as well – especially Karen. The two might have had a rocky start as rivals, but I wanted to show that they both had the maturity and kindness to move on from such pettiness and actually form a strong friendship.
Likewise, Blaine's section was me showing that John's friends don't just interact with JUST John, but they also are capable of helping each other out when they see it. After all, friendships aren't just bilateral, they can branch out to others too. 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!