The New Normal – 15-1 – Interlude – Alder & Iris
(Alder POV)
He let out a content sigh as he reclined on the luxurious armchair that had been generously provided to him in his new accommodations in Hoenn. Unlike Unova, it was immediately obvious that the Hoenn League were very used to receiving foreign guests, for why else would they construct such magnificent rooms for them to rest in?
And they even had the forethought to install air conditioners in the room to keep it cool – a very nice gesture considering he wasn't used to the hot and humid climate of Hoenn. These were all ideas that they had to implement back at home too for any future foreign delegates that came over to visit, when he got around to it.
But speaking of Hoenn, it was good to confirm that their strength was no lesser than their counterparts in Sinnoh and Indigo. It wasn't hard to recognise that Wallace gave off the same aura of strength and power as he had observed in both Lance and Cynthia.
Furthermore, from what he saw of the rest of Hoenn, they didn't seem to be economically any worse off than the other two regions – at least by not any noticeable margin. That meant that the Leagues were all speaking truthfully when they described the relationship between all three regions to be 'of equals'.
None of the three regions seemed to dominate over the others. That bode well for Unova.
Nevertheless, after meeting with the Hoenn Elite Four and Champion, his instincts as a trainer were screaming at him to ask one of them for a battle – to get a measure of their strength. He was especially interested in fighting against Elite Drake, who was stated to have fought alongside John in many of his past battles.
Unfortunately, after his debacle against John, he knew that he wouldn't be able to get away with it. When he first challenged John, he really didn't think he was being arrogant when he thought that the chances of his defeat were slim. Yet he was very quickly proven wrong in that battle, and he had the self-awareness to admit that he had probably been too hasty in offering the challenge.
He had just wanted to see how much of John's many achievements were exaggerated for PR purposes. In that respect, his political instincts had told him that many were overinflated – that John was merely the poster boy of the Indigo League. After that battle, and the pummelling he received, there was no mistaking that John was far more than just that.
…Perhaps if he had been more involved with politics in the past year, then he wouldn't have made such a costly misjudgement. So while he may be shameless enough to shrug off this defeat, his advisors and other Unova League officials weren't about to do the same. Their Champion losing in his very first battle in a new region was absolutely not a good look, to say the least. He could understand – the defeat had rattled him too.
What if John's strength was considered to just be 'average' in these regions? Did that possibly mean that the quality and calibre of the trainers here were just that much better than Unova's? The very last thing Unova needed was an imbalance in strength. That would put them at a huge disadvantage politically.
Fortunately, after speaking to several other people, he at least managed to confirm that the rest of the upper level trainers of these three regions weren't as overwhelmingly strong in comparison to Unova's own trainers. John was just the one of the few outliers.
Still, after that resounding loss, his reputation had taken another big hit, and he could feel the discontent in the eyes of his own Unova officials when they stared at him. He knew what they were feeling – they looked at him like he was a disappointment and a failure. They wanted him to act more like a Champion, especially after seeing so many good examples of what a Champion should be like in Cynthia, Lance, and Wallace.
He didn't blame them.
However, that didn't change the fact that he felt like he no longer had the strength to do so. To shoulder the many responsibilities of being a Champion as he did in his youth. After the death of his starter… things had just never been the same. When his starter passed away, so did most of his passion for battle. Even thinking about it now only caused those old scars to reopen.
It was like a core part of himself had been ripped away, forever lost.
Therefore, he recognised that he spent most of his days aimlessly, trying but failing to rekindle the spark and passion that he felt in his youth. He tried to wander around, to explore new sights in hopes that he could find inspiration in his surroundings that might revitalise him. But soon that wandering just became another excuse for him to put aside his responsibilities and burdens.
He was man enough to admit his own weakness.
A familiar sigh escaped his lips, one filled with dejection and resignment. Here he was, saddled with a position that he didn't want, but couldn't pass on. Maybe he could have stepped down from the position before, but he never felt like anyone was worthy of taking the position in his place. Furthermore, now that they had discovered that there were other regions out there, that opportunity was now lost.
If Unova were to suddenly switch Champions so abruptly, and without a battle, that would basically be screaming that they were weak and unstable. Even if he no longer wanted to be Champion, he still loved Unova enough that he wouldn't subject his home region to something like that. At least he still had some lingering popularity from his younger days to rely on for the time being.
…He shrugged himself out of his spiralling thoughts; they'd lead nowhere. What's done is done, and all he could hope for was that a suitable successor be available to take his position soon.
(Iris POV)
She was both excited and sad to see uncle Drayden leaving for Sinnoh. Excited, because he had told her in confidence about the new region that had been discovered by their explorers, and promised to tell her all about it when he got home. And sad, because this was the first time that she would be overseeing the Gym without his 'oversight'.
Admittedly, even after Drayden left, most of the Gym was still staffed with people that they both trusted to help her with the running of the Gym, so it shouldn't be a problem. Still, she wished he could've stayed instead of leaving her to handle the Gym alone. Even though Drayden insisted she was perfect for the job, she didn't feel quite right being the Gym Leader. In her mind, the Opelucid Gym was always going to remain his, after all.
She knew that the one of the main reasons why Drayden had ascended into the Elite Four was because he was trying to nurture her potential. Therefore, he had temporarily passed on the Gym to her so that she could learn more about political management and administration. She struggled a lot at first since it was so different from just being a trainer, but she was slowly starting to get the hang of it.
Thinking about her early days as a Gym Leader, she remembered the huge outcry that broke out when Drayden named her as his successor to the Opelucid Gym. For someone as young as her to be running a Gym was unprecedented, and there were a lot of people who thought she was unsuitable for the position. There were many that also accused the two of them of nepotism.
However, strength spoke volumes, and she was very proud to say that she had that in spades. Even Drayden, who used to dominate her in their matches against each other, now found himself winning just as often as he lost. And she knew that her team of Dragons would only continue to get stronger.
Therefore, after showing off her strengths and talents in a public battle against several of her own Gym Trainers, and dominating the battles against them, the critics gradually fell silent.
She was shaken out of her thoughts as one of her Gym Trainers approached her, "Gym Leader, there's been a request to meet with you."
"Oh! Really? Is this a request for a battle?" Even though her critics were mostly gone now, there were still a few people that always seemed to have a bone to pick with her – thinking that her strength was merely exaggerated.
They always found out the truth, in the end.
But her Gym Trainer shook her head, "No, not this time. In fact, this request is a little special – it's from Elite John and Elite Karen from Indigo. They asked if you were free to escort them on a tour of Unova."
Her eyes bulged, "Wait? Me?! They want me?!" She knew that visitors from Indigo had arrived, but she didn't expect them to reach out to her when there were still so many other Gym Leaders/Elite Four to choose from. "Did they say why?"
"No, they just asked to meet." Her Gym Trainer shrugged, "So, are you going to accept?"
"Well of course I am!" She replied immediately, her excitement buzzing from the opportunity, "Did they say when they wanted to meet?"
"As soon as possible."
"Then… I don't have anything scheduled for the rest of today, right?" Her Gym Trainer shook her head again, "Good! Then tell them to come to Opelucid City. I'll meet up with them now!"
An opportunity to spend time with the new Elite Four of Indigo? Sign her right up!
She didn't know why they chose to meet with her, but she was happy for the opportunity regardless! Meeting two new trainers from an entirely new region… she wondered what they'd be like!
She really hope she wouldn't embarrass herself.
A.N. This was the Interlude chapter that was supposed to come out on Wednesday. As we get started on the new Unova arc, I felt it was only appropriate that we dove a little deeper into the thoughts of the two more important characters of Unova. Alder's trying, but he's in a rough state, while Iris is about to spread her wings. Hope you enjoyed!
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