The New Normal - 17-14 - INTERLUDE - POKENET REACTIONS

The New Normal – 17-14 – INTERLUDE – POKENET REACTIONS

[SINNOH WELCOMES IN THEIR FIRST EVER PROTECTOR-GUARDIAN! CONGRATULATIONS TO JOHN, FORMERLY OF THE INDIGO ELITE FOUR, FOR HIS ASCENSION!] by Sinnoh News

[Pictures of John at his ascension ceremony. He can be seen wearing his new outfit]

For those of you who were keeping an eye out on the local news, it should come as no surprise that John was eventually selected to become the first ever Protector-Guardian of Sinnoh. And a foreign one at that!

This makes him the second trainer in the world to receive a position as a high-ranking League official as a foreigner. The first, of course, being the recently ascended Elite Bruno of the Hoenn Elite Four.

For those somehow unaware, the position of being the Protector of Sinnoh was newly created, and was meant to be a position of equal prestige (if not more) than that of the Elite Four. Their main duties include looking over and being an advisor/representative of the Legendary Titan itself. Needless to say, the role is incredibly prestigious and very important, which is why it came to no surprise that John was appointed for the position – considering he easily has the strongest ties to Regigigas itself.

And that could not have been any more clear than when the Legendary Titan actually gave its own approval to John’s ascension. During the ceremony, it was reported that when John swore his vows in front of the Titan, it had momentarily awakened in a show of support for John – it even spoke! Fortunately, one quick-thinking reporter managed to record the entire interaction, or else we wouldn’t have believed it!

[Short recording of Regigigas’s momentary awakening]

Furthermore, if the Legendary Titan’s approval for John’s new position wasn’t enough, we also went around and spoke to Sinnoh’s greatest trainers to see what they also thought about John’s ascension.

“It couldn’t have been anyone else.” Gym Leader Volkner said, “Literally, his appointment was uncontested. It didn’t matter how prestigious or attractive the title was, no one wanted to be the person opposing John here – not when his appointment was all but confirmed. Everyone knows that he was the one that the Legendary Titan approved of.”

“Foreigner or not, I don’t think anyone’s going to care about John’s origins after all that he’s done for us.” Gym Leader Candice had answered, “Not when he’s credited for being one of the main people that managed to save all of Sinnoh during the Day of Calamity. I’m pretty sure this position could only really be filled by him, which is why I’m greatly looking forward to working together in the future.”

So what are all your thoughts about this new position? Are you happy that such a role now exists? Do you think John will do a good job here? Do you think someone else could do a better job? Let us know in the comments below!

Comments

TangelaThoughts

Easily the most obvious and uncontested appointment ever made. Like the others said, it could have been no one else.

For those who think otherwise – don’t forget that this position technically requires Regigigas’ approval as well. Do you really think there could be anyone else other than John who would be earn more of its approval than he did? The answer is no.

LoveIsEterna

I know that the people of Indgo will probably burn me at the stake for this – but I’m really happy to see a trainer as strong and as reputable as John take up a leadership role here. Especially since his new role is basically asking him to serve as our last line of defence – it just seems very fitting, considering what he’s already done for us.

KantoRepresent

And as I’ve said before – JOHN IS TOO GOOD FOR YOU SINNOHNIANS. HOW COULD YOU SWINDLE HIM AWAY FROM HIS RIGHTFUL PLACE IN INDIGO?!

We need our own Legendary guardian, now. We cannot fall behind in this respect. And it better be from Kanto. I will not accept a so-called ‘Johto’ Legendary looking over us, for all I could never trust it.

ILoveGoldenRod

Give it a rest already. You’ve been going on and on about this in other posts ever since John’s ‘retirement’ ceremony. I bet that guy protesting in front of the League building was you too. Just let John make his own decisions and live his own life.

KantoRepresent

[Temporary banned: Going into personal attacks is too far.]

GodBidoof

Wait, does that mean that John basically has Regigigas under his control now? Wtf?

FlyingHigh

Not exactly. While this is probably as close as anyone will realistically get to having ‘control’ over a Legendary, he can’t exactly command it like he would his own Pokémon (or at least, that’s what we would assume).

As far as I can tell, John’s new position and duties are technically identical to what he used to do as an Elite Four member. However, now he’s just got the added on responsibility of awakening Regigigas when the time calls for it. Otherwise, for 99% of the time, he would be no different to how he was in the past.

GodBidoof

Okay, but what about the other Regis then? Like Regice, Regirock, and Registeel? Does he command those?

FlyingHigh

No clue. But I’d imagine the only way to find out is if you ask John himself.

ANormalFan

I didn’t want him to leave Indigo… but I’m also happy for John now that he’s in such a powerful position in Sinnoh. I’ve always said that he was meant to be more than just an Elite Four. And while at the time I was thinking that he deserved to be Champion, this is a perfectly fine alternative too.

Also, that new outfit is COOOOL! Very fitting!

PianoLover

Don’t forget that he’s currently dating our Champion as well. They are literally the power couple of all time.

Gardevoir34

nods head That’s the most important part.

StoneCollector (Verified POGChamp)

John, you have my apologies for not being able to make it to your ascension ceremony. However, as much as I would prefer if there would never be a crisis that requires you to fulfil the full extent of your new duties, I at least can rest assured in the fact that we will always have the Legendary Titan to fight by our side in our time of need.

DragonKnight (Verified POGChamp)

I know I said this to you in person, but as much as it has been a loss for Indigo to see you go, I know it has been a boon for the world at large for you to be entrusted with this responsibility. The world is blessed that it can have you and Regigigas serving as its defenders.

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[CHAMPION CYNTHIA SPORTING A NEW RING? IS OUR CHAMPION OF SINNOH NOW ENGAGED?!] By Baby Doll Eyes

[Pictures of Cynthia, mostly consisting of zoomed in photos of her ring. Most shots seemed to be taken in secret]

GUYS! HAS IT FINALLY HAPPENED!? ARE JOHN AND CYNTHIA NOW FINALLY ENGAGED?!

OMA!! DOES ANYONE KNOW MORE?! WHO DROPPED THE QUESTION FIRST?! WHY DIDN’T THEY MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT IT AHHHHHHH!!!

Comments

Gardevoir34

LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! WOOOOOO BABY THAT’S WHAT I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR!! LITERALLY BEEN BLOGGING ABOUT THIS FOR SO LONG!!

BeautyIsFree

About time. Feels like these two were teasing us with how much they showed off their ‘lovey dovey’ stuff in public. Can’t believe they didn’t announce this though – surely as two public figures we deserve to know about their relationship.

TangelaThoughts

Can’t believe I’m learning about something as important as this from a source like this. But anyways, I’m definitely happy for them. I had a suspicion that something like this would happen now that they’re actually living in the same region together, though I didn’t think it would happen so soon.

Methinks that John got impatient. I wonder when the wedding would be. Would it even be a public event?

Gardevoir34

Actually so true!! I guess even someone like John gets worried that someone will ‘steal away’ Cynthia from him. So I’m willing to bet that he’s the one to make a move first.

EDIT: ALSO, can we talk about that ring? It’s hard to see in those photographs, but it looks expensive.

LoveIsEterna

Found a better picture of the ring: [Link]. Looks like it’s a black gemstone surrounded by 4 small diamonds. And I think I see small fossil engravings too! Looks good!

Honestly, considering both of their statuses, I thought the ring would be a little pricier and more luxurious. However, I can also see the appeal of keeping it minimalistic. Neither of them seem the type to flaunt their wealth like that.

BeautyIsFree

Wait, are John and Cynthia that wealthy? I never hear anything about their financial situation.

Gardevoir34

The short answer is yes, they are. The long answer is that they’re not as rich as a few others in a similar position to them, but that’s just because they haven’t really focused on earning money for themselves. It really wouldn’t be hard for them to do so if they wanted to.

I mean, have you SEEN their new house?!

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[A SUDDEN COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE UNOVA LEAGUE AND THE INTERNATIONAL POLICE?! RAIDS ON PLASMA TAKE PLACE!] By Unova Today

[Pictures of the aftermath of the raids. Many PLASMA members can be seen in cuffs in the background]

Taking everyone by surprise, our Unova League suddenly announced that they would be collaborating with the International Police to perform a full investigation into PLASMA’s actions, with the explicit intention of placing the leadership of PLASMA under arrest.

While we cannot ascertain what triggered this sudden investigation, there have been reliable rumours spreading around the Unova League that new evidence had been uncovered about PLASMA that led to this joint raid against the organisation. Trainers like Lorelei, Lucian, and Bruno could be seen arriving in Unova to participate in offensive operations, which clearly demonstrates just how seriously they are taking the situation.

This is the first time that the International Police could be seen operating on Unova soil. Could this be the beginning of a future of mutual cooperation?

This writer wonders what sort of crime has PLASMA committed that would warrant this level of response? Previously, while PLASMA’s reputation was never the best, they were mostly known for their fiery and passioned speeches. And as a philanthropic group that purportedly works to spread true happiness for all Pokémon, it used to be hard to imagine them being the perpetrators of serious crime.

However, this image has changed in recent times with the recent arrest of Zinzolin in Sinnoh. And now with these new raids and arrests, could there be something darker lurking beneath the surface?

Fortunately, we managed to snag an interview with our very own Elite Marshal as he explained the situation.

“We have recently come into a concerning amount of evidence against PLASMA that warranted such an investigation. Both ourselves and the International Police were in joint agreement that this could not go unanswered, and that a full raid against them was justified so that we can properly question those involved.”

We tried to ask for more information, but Marshal stonewalled us, “I’m afraid I can’t give you any more than that. After all, this is an ongoing investigation, and certain elements must be kept a secret in order to sustain future operations. Yet I can assure you that we have not acted for no reason – the evidence that we have received absolutely warrants such a large and decisive response.”

Those were some ominous words coming from our very own Elite Four. PLASMA have yet to give a proper response to this situation, but the large number of arrests and the confiscation of most of their resources suggests that something bad has indeed happened.

So what do you all think of this sudden raid? Do you think the actions of the League and the International Police were justified? Or do you think they were too heavy-handed? Let us know!

Comments

ElesaFan

Always thought that this raid was a long time coming. PLASMA never sat right with me – I never really felt that they truly believed what they preached. However, what kind of heinous crime have they done to get the International Police involved as well?? It almost seems excessive.

UnovaNo1

To think that we would invite foreigners to help out with a purely domestic matter. Disgusting and treasonous. Are the other regions implying that Unova isn’t able to handle our own matters? They look down on us too much.

DetectivePikachu

Here we go, another League trying to silence those that dare question the false status quo! Wake up people! The League are not your friends!

Amoogus

Hmm… the fact that even prominent members from each region have come over is certainly concerning. Plus the fact that the cooperation with the International Police seems very hastily done. Like the article mentions, this implies that the situation of PLASMA is probably pretty serious if so many important people are involved. I wonder what kind of shit they got up to?

TangelaThoughts

Agreed. If the International Police is involved, then the situation is critical enough to warrant their assistance. Don’t forget that Lorelei is the head of the International Police. I know that John has traditionally overshadowed her importance, but Lorelei is an incredibly influential person in her own right too. She’d only come along like this if she knew the matter was important.

As an aside, now that John’s gone from Indigo, this might be her moment to cement herself as Lance’s no.2.

SlugmaBalls

Anyone else sad to see Drake not being there? Feels like this would be the exact situation where we would see him in, cursing at literally everybody he sees. Sad that he’s now absent.

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[WIDE-SCALE AND SYSTEMATIC ABUSE CARRIED OUT BY PLASMA?! CORRUPTION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL?! WHAT IS GOING ON!?] by Unova Today

[Picture of the abused Pokémon that was taken next to a police station. Although the picture is partially censored, it is still very easy to see the signs of abuse on the Pokémon]

For those wondering why the Unova League recently decided to take action against PLASMA – you needn’t look any further. As the recent reports from the investigation revealed, PLASMA were absolutely not just your benevolent philanthropic organisation.

Instead, they have been revealed to be horrible hypocrites of the highest level as the authorities have found levels of Pokémon abuse perpetrated by them that have never been replicated before.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, PLASMA were also found to have a significant amount of funds that were illegally acquired. As of the time of writing, the Unova League have not disclosed how those funds were obtained or what they were spent on, but given what has already been unveiled this writer highly doubts that it could be anything good.

However, not all is bad news. Notably, the Unova League have made an announcement stating that, for the most part, the ordinary members of PLASMA were unaware of such evil being undertaken by their own organisation. Therefore, it seems that the rot has been confined to only the upper leadership of PLASMA. This is a small silver lining, though unfortunately ruined by the fact that most of said upper leadership has yet to be taken into custody as of the time of writing.

This writer was personally speechless and utterly disgusted by the sheer hypocrisy that was revealed. But what are all your thoughts on the situation?

Comments

GeneralistGeneral

Anyone who isn’t disgusted by this that owns Pokémon doesn’t deserve them. As a trainer, there is no possible way that you could brush off such extreme levels of Pokémon abuse. It is truly, truly, horrid and disgusting. And the whole situation is even more vile when you remember that PLASMA was committing these acts of abuse while also pretending to be advocating for Pokémon’s happiness!

I hope they all rot in jail. All of them. And forever.

FearTheRat

So the organisation that was purportedly trying to spread awareness of Pokémon rights were actually abusing them in secret? Who would have thought? What hypocrites!

ANormalFan

Again, John did! Did you all forget about the ‘debate’ that he had against those PLASMA members the first time they came over to Sinnoh during the World Tournament? He called them out right then and there – said that their ideology was full of shit! Looks like he was right on the money, as always!

Amoogus

What I don’t understand is what PLASMA’s plans were? Okay, I get that they were hypocrites and everything (and wasn’t that a kick in the nuts to anyone who once believed in them!), but why would they abuse their own Pokémon so heavily either? My first thought that it was just for money, but even for money you wouldn’t need to carry out such systematic and cruel abuse.

For better or worse, abused Pokémon don’t sell as well because they aren’t as responsive to commands in battle, so buyers in the ‘black market’ aren’t going to be as willing to shill out that much money for them.

TangelaThoughts

You make a good point. However, don’t forget that the reports about these abused Pokémon show that these Pokémon were so heavily abused that they actually reverted back into being completely obedient to whatever trainer gave them commands. It’s actually frightening and terrifying just how ‘thorough’ their abuse was – read the reports yourself if you can stomach it.

In my personal opinion, I suspect that PLASMA may have done this in order to gain a ‘loyal’ army of Pokémon that they could use and pass out to their members. If this is the case, then PLASMA might be resembling something like Team Galactic – and isn’t that a scary thought!

AlluteNinja

A very reasonable, and horrifying, conclusion. To think that we could have another criminal team in-the-making, and so soon after Team Galactic had been dealt with. I guess the silver lining is that we struck early.

ElesaFan

What’s so scary about these ‘criminal teams’ anyways? I’ve looked around at a few foreign news articles from Sinnoh, and they frequently make comparisons between PLASMA and Galactic. So what gives? What’s the big deal?

LoveIsEterna

Here is a relevant article that you can refer to as to why Sinnoh in particular places such emphasis on what happened with Team Galactic, even if you might already know about the Day of Calamity. Needless to say, all of that wouldn’t have happened if not for the insanity of one madman.

JohnSmith (Verified POG)

And I’m sure that all of our Leagues will do everything we can so that a similar situation will not reoccur in Unova. We have learnt many lessons from what happened with Team Galactic, and we will not hesitate to take decisive action to ensure that our regions will remain safe from similar threats.

SeaDrake (Verified POG)

So even after my retirement there still seems to be more people that need a beating, isn’t that right John? Well, anyone important should already have my number. So just hit me up if you need me to put down another madman for you. It’ll be a fucking pleasure.

DarkRebel (Verified POG)

Of course, Drake. Retired or not, who could ever forget about you?

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[NEW POKÉMON DISCOVERED IN THE OUTSKIRTS OF SINNOH!? WHAT IS KITAKAMI, AND WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT THIS ONCE-FORGOTTEN AREA?!] by Battlecast

[Pictures of Kitakami, mainly of Mossui Town, though there are some pictures taken of the nearby wilderness. There are also pictures of the new Pokémon]

Despite all of the recent talk about the crimes committed by PLASMA, for us Pokémon enthusiasts we’ve been blessed with some good news!

Three new, evolutionary lines, of Pokémon have been found – the Poltchageist line, the Dipplin line, and the Toedscruel line. Yes, you read that right. That’s three new different evolutionary lines of Pokémon, which is an incredibly huge find!

Coincidentally, all three of these new Pokémon all share the Grass typing, meaning that Grass specialists are going to be eating good tonight! What an exciting time it must be for them. Especially since all three of these Grass types share either rare, or completely unique type pairings!

Poltchageist is a Grass/Ghost type, Dipplin is a Grass/Dragon type (the first ever of its kind!), and Toedscruel is a Grass/Ground type.

And all these Pokémon were discovered in the, formerly forgotten and overlooked, area of Kitakami. For the majority of you that would likely be unaware of where Kitakami is, Kitakami is a location in Sinnoh that is deep in the countryside – far away from the main cities. It is practically located in the middle of nowhere, and as you can see from the pictures, is completely surrounded by untamed wilderness.

Therefore, it truly was a stroke of luck that we even found out about all these new Pokémon that had been living there in the first place, as they were fortunately brought over by a trainer from Kitakami that had been visiting the mainland. Without them, we might never have realised that we had all these completely different Pokémon living next to us this whole time!

However, despite how interesting this all sounds, we have been asked by the Sinnoh League to deliver a cautionary warning. For the many of you that will likely try to head to Kitakami – please do your best to follow the instructions of the Jennys stationed there and be on your best behaviour. The inhabitants of Kitakami are few, and they are very much unused to the sudden surge of people taking an interest in their land. Please respect their boundaries.

Okay, with that over with, let’s go into what we know about the capabilities of these new Pokémon, starting with…[Click here to continue reading]

Comments

GeneralistGeneral

Okay, did anyone read the part where it states that Dipplin is actually just one alternate form among three? So that means that there are two other different versions of Dipplin that the people of Kitakami just know about, but we’ve completely overlooked for all this time? What the fuck!?

There’s Dipplin, Appletun, and Flapple. All of them sharing the same Grass/Dragon typing, but all fighting in slightly different ways. If I read it correctly, then Appletun is the slow but defensive Special Attacker. Flapple is the ‘speedier’ but more frail physical attacker. And Dipplin is somewhere in between. Very interesting!

TangelaThoughts

As cool as it might be for us to finally have our very first Grass/Dragon type, let’s not get taken in by the hype too much. Even if that type combination might sound really unique, its partial Grass typing only makes it even more susceptible to one of Dragon’s biggest weaknesses – Ice types – and it also does nothing to resist against Fairy type moves.

Therefore, as a Type combination for high level battling, it might not be all that great. Though those are just my initial thoughts on it – I wouldn’t mind if I was proven wrong!

FlyingHigh

That’s true. A Grass/Dragon type might have a quadruple resistance against Water moves, but most Water Pokémon would likely be able to make use of a few Ice moves anyways, which completely circumvents this resistance.

DragonPower

…They really aren’t that Dragon looking… are we sure we got the type right? These so-called ‘Dragons’ look pathetic!

FearTheRat

Okay, but why isn’t anyone talking about Toedscool and Toedscruel? Not only are they the alternate forms of already existing Pokémon, but just look at their Speed! Aren’t they one of the fastest Grass type Pokémon out there right now? There is so much potential there!

And that’s not even including their unique ability too. Mycelium Might allowing them to guarantee their status effects against opponents, no matter their ability, has some serious potential as well. That means no relying on abilities like Limber or Vital Spirit to avoid getting paralysed or put to sleep respectively.

FutureAce

Not only that, but these are possibly not the only new Pokémon that are living in Kitakami. There’s every chance that there are more that we just haven’t found out about yet! Sounds like a thing for our explorers to get on!

RuinsManiac

Right, I know everyone’s rightfully really excited about all of the new Pokémon and stuff – and so am I – but I’ve just headed over to Kitakami, and let’s just say that there’s a reason why the Sinnoh League put up that warning.

[Picture]

Needless to say, this place is crowded. And you don’t really get a feel for how small Mossui Town (the only settlement in Kitakami) is until you see it for yourself. This place is tiny in comparison to what we’re used to, so it’s no wonder that they’re feeling overwhelmed. If even a fifth of the people living in Jubilife were suddenly crammed into Mossui Town, the place would be completely devoid of space to live in.

FlamingAfro (Verified POG)

Thank you for saying so, and I would like to follow up on that with a few words of my own.

The Sinnoh League understands that there is a lot more excitement surrounding Kitakami; and rightfully so. We understand that many of you are excited to head over to this ‘new land’ and catch all these new Pokémon for yourself. However, please be aware that over-catching can bring some serious harm to the local Pokémon population of Kitakami, which is why the Sinnoh League have dispatched both the Sinnoh Police and the Rangers to patrol the surrounding areas to ensure that this doesn’t happen.

Please adhere to their instructions. We are only placing these restrictions in order to ensure that no harm comes to the beautiful region of Kitakami as an unintentional consequence of our actions. Thank you.

BlondeQueen (Verified POGChamp)

And this goes without saying – but any poachers found will be persecuted harshly. Take this as your only warning.

A.N. And this brings Arc 17 – ‘Big Moves’ to an end. Thank you to all those still supporting this story – it really does mean a lot to me. Your support is what motivates me to keep on writing, so thank you once again.

I know this arc was mostly focused on setup, and I can promise you that the next arc will be different. So hope you enjoyed!