The New Normal - 16-16 - Interlude - Other Participants

The New Normal – 16-16 – Interlude – Other Participants

(Iris POV)

“…Seeing this… I don’t feel so bad that we lost.” She remarked to Karen as they watched as John’s Slaking valiantly held his ground in a 2v1 against both of the Champion’s starters. And it did this without any buffs or setup moves – relying on pure tenacity alone.

“I did say that John was going to be our toughest opponent of the Tournament.” Karen said, “We would have had a solid chance to win had Koga taken him down – sadly, no luck for us. Personally, I’m just happy I was able to take down his Ursaluna. I could never consistently do that even in our spars.”

“Maybe… but this tournament has really made me think that I need to expand my Pokémon pool more.” She said, “I really need more Pokémon on my team so that I can be more flexible.”

“I’ll always be able to help out with that.” Karen remarked, “Sure, our partnership might be over, but never be afraid to drop me a call at any time. You know I’ll help out.”

She smiled, “Thanks, Karen. I’ll make sure to do that—”

“Hey, got a sec?” A unfamiliar voice interrupted her, and she turned to see their one of their previous opponents walking up to her.

“Drake?” Karen shot him a curious look, “You want something?”

“I did.” He nodded, “I’ll be blunt – Iris, do you want another Dragon mentor?”

That question caught her completely off-guard. It had come from absolutely nowhere, and she was a little too stunned to reply.

But Drake must have taken her silence as approval as he barked out a laugh and handed her a piece of paper, “Here’s my number. Just give me a call if you’re interested. That’s all I wanted to say. I hope you have a great day.” Then before she could even give a response, he turned around and left.

Leaving her to stare blankly at the scrap of paper in her hands; her face wracked with sheer confusion.

“…What was that?” She couldn’t help but ask.

Karen just let out a sigh, “…Don’t worry too much about it. Drake has never been the most socially adept person. So it’s just like him to brute force his way into becoming your mentor. I’m sorry about him.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” She replied, “It was just… unexpected.” She then inspected the string of numbers further, “Do you think I can trust that offer?”

“Drake is many things, but he isn’t a liar.” Karen stated firmly, “I’ve no idea why he decided to approach you like this, but I’m sure he was absolutely sincere in his offer. And he probably doesn’t even want anything in return either – he’s never been that kind of person. So it’s up to you if you want to accept.”

“Would you?” She asked.

Karen nodded, “In a heartbeat, but that’s just because I know Drake very well. But for you – I don’t know what your arrangement is with Drayden, and you probably should speak to him before making a decision. Still, Drake has been one of the strongest trainers in the world for decades now. His experience and wisdom would do you much good. Plus, as a Dragon specialist, he could mentor you better than I ever could.”

Iris accepted that, “…Okay then, I’ll give him a call later.”

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(Grimsley POV)

“Hah! And here I was thinking that I could have won my battle against him had things gone a little differently.” Drayden chuckled, as they watched the battle between the Champion’s starters, “Turns out I should have been glad that he didn’t choose to send that monster against my own team.”

“I am genuinely surprised that Lance is not afraid of someone like him challenging his position.” He remarked, “I could never sit still if I had a rival that was this strong. If I didn’t know any better, I would have assumed that Lance had some kind of blackmail on John.”

“Lance isn’t like that.” Shauntal shook her head, “The man has more pride than most, but he isn’t a bad person.”

“Oh, sure. I agree.” He nodded, “For all he appears to be a simple brute, he is more and smarter than that.”

“You think we could get a trainer this strong one day?” Shauntal pressed.

“Iris will be the John of tomorrow. I promise you.” Drayden replied firmly, “This Tournament has only served to refine her talents. Thanks to this, she has now seen the pinnacle of what Pokémon battling should be like. And I’m sure her nascent ambition will not allow her to stop until she can reach this level.”

“I agree.” Marshal said, “Us Unovans may not be able to match up to the strength of the Champions of the New Regions now, but we’ve also shown that the average strength of our leaders are no less than those from overseas. And we’ve proven that we do have our own talents that can one day grow to become equally as strong.”

“Elesa really surprised you, didn’t she?” He prodded.

“She did.” He replied, “I thought she was more model than trainer; which was perfect for a Gym Leader, but no more than that. But I now see I was very mistaken in thinking this way. She’s really pleasantly surprised me with how much she’s able to contribute in her past battles, and I will make sure to apologise to her after this.”

“It’ll be a shame heading back to Unova after all this is gone.” Drayden remarked, “I can see now why the New Regions are so enthusiastic about forming international alliances. This kind of atmosphere – it can’t be replicated in Unova alone.”

Less than a year ago, he would have scoffed at such sentiments. His innate sense of cynicism would have decried such thoughts as nothing more than childish naivety.

But now… he can’t disagree.

The feeling of speaking with new people, the thrill of battle, and the sense of community that this fostered – it broke through his cynicism.

Yes, he did enjoy his time here. And what a wonderful thing that was to admit.

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(Volkner POV)

“Normally, I would be disappointed and worried if I saw my Champion unable to win a 2v1 fight against a non-Champion, but for some reason, I’m not.” Flint said from his right while they sat side-by-side in the VIP booth.

“That’s probably because this ‘non-Champion’ is a Champion in all but name.” Jasmine rolled her eyes from his left, “Or did you think you could do any better if it were you fighting in that battle.”

“Absolutely not.” Flint crossed his arms in a ‘X’, “I would’ve been flattened in an instant. Thanks but no thanks. I’d rather not subject my Magmortar to an unneeded savaging. I mean, just look at Elesa’s Pokémon. No offense to her, but she’s not exactly contributing in this fight.”

“I’m pretty sure this fight is way beyond her capabilities.” He deadpanned.

“Who’s idea was it to have this fight to begin with?” Flint asked, “I thought our dear Champion said she wouldn’t be participating.”

“Must have had a change of heart.” He shrugged, “She always was quite spontaneous.”

“Cynthia? Spontaneous?” Flint shot him an odd look, “Are you sure we’re talking about the same person?”

He looked back at his friend, “Is she not?”

Flint shook his head, “No. Cynthia’s a planner. She has grand ambitions and understands the steps needed to make them into a reality. I wouldn’t call her conniving, but she’s the kind of person to twist events into her favour. In fact, I’m pretty sure this entire tournament was thought up by her to serve a particular political purpose.”

“Are you complaining?” Jasmine asked.

“Nope.” Flint replied, grinning. “If anything, I’m proud that a person like that’s our Champion. It’s no good if we got a Champion that’s all brawns and no smarts. I think Cynthia’s a good mix of both, and it also helps that she’s charismatic – ‘charismatic’ enough to ensnare a fellow Elite Four member from a different region into her arms.”

“You make it sound like they’re already going to be together for life.” He replied.

“Oh please, if you think otherwise you haven’t seen them together. They’re even more lovey-dovey in person than you two.” Flint teased, causing Jasmine to blush lightly. He just shot his friend an irritated look, which Flint ignored.

“But anyways, you’re missing the point. I’m telling you – if Cynthia is really able to pull John onto our side, it would be the biggest win ever for Sinnoh.” Flint said, “Even if we ignore John’s strength, the very fact that we get the only person in the world to be able to communicate with the Regis is going to be an enormous boon for us.”

“Do you think Indigo will let him go just like that?” Jasmine asked.

Flint shrugged, “He’s literally in the process of beating up two Champion’s ace Pokémon with one of his own. Who in the world is going to tell him ‘no’?”

A.N. I rewrote this entire chapter based on the comments from the previous one, since a few of you said you wanted to see more POVs. Sadly, I didn’t have time to focus on more than a few perspectives, but I hope that this was a good enough mix for a short Interlude chapter.

Don’t worry, there will be a Pokenet Chapter coming at the end of this arc as usual, so there’ll be more public reactions there as well. Hope you enjoyed!