The New Normal - 16-2

The New Normal – 16-2 – Confrontation

Steven’s victory and subsequent ascension to become the new Champion caused many waves, as was to be expected. For one thing, I had asked Lance if it was necessary for us to head over to Hoenn to participate in his ascension ceremony, but was told that it wasn’t needed. I only had to go if I wanted to congratulate him in private.

I did, but not enough for me to leave Elesa behind to do so. So I settled for a congratulatory text.

Meanwhile, many were still gushing over his victory over Wallace, to which he gave off a formidable showing. Elesa especially had been particularly excited at seeing his Magnezone in action, and was now very interested in getting her hands on one of them herself. So I simply taught her how to use the PSS and she quickly managed to get herself a Magneton.

Of course, with Steven now becoming Champion, it meant that we could heavily accelerate our political plans. The first thing that he had announced was that he was going to make having Gym Leaders or Elite Four be appointable from any region to be a priority in Hoenn, and something that he was going to do his best to incorporate into the Regional Union.

As a result, while the idea had quite a bit of support before, now with Steven at the helm throwing his full influence into making this a reality, things really accelerated from there. After his convincing victory over Wallace, who had also given his support to his successor, Steven’s political momentum was unstoppable. Therefore, a formal vote was already arranged to be held in Hoenn to determine once in for all whether Hoenn was ready to step into this new age of internationalism.

If and when this got approved, then everyone knew it was only a matter of time before Bruno would be made a Gym Leader in truth – only to use it as a stepping stone to enter into the Hoenn Elite Four. That was still some time away, but everyone could see it coming.

Cynthia and I were both glad that things seem to all be coming together.

Of course, I didn’t forget to catch up with Drake and ask him about his opinion on the battle.

“Wallace could have won that.” He had said to me, “The news might all be praising Steven for his strength, but anyone with eyes could see that his victory was far from guaranteed.”

“It was a pretty close battle.” I agreed, “But Steven was smart about it.”

“His Claydol did a lot of heavy lifting. Fuck, I wasn’t expecting that either.” Drake nodded.

“Have you spoken to Steven after he became Champion?” I asked.

“’Course I did. The first thing the fucker did after he sat down in his new chair was call all of us up for a video call. Never mind that it was in already fucking dark out and I was in the middle of my dinner.” He grumbled, “Do you know how fucking weird it is to be greeting a new Champion when you’ve got food in your mouth?”

I snorted, “That’s quite the image.”

“Still, got nothing to complain about him otherwise. He’s a good listener, and I already know he’s making preparations to achieve his goals.” Drake said, “The rest of the Elite Four and I have another meeting with him tonight – so at least I can’t doubt his attentiveness as a Champion.”

“You know what he plans to do with Bruno, right?” I reminded, “That means one of you four may have to step down so that Bruno can take your place.”

“Oh, we understand.” He replied, “But we can leave that for later. I don’t think Steven’s going to be making such moves until at least after the Tournament ends. He’s too fucking busy for the moment.”

“Do you want to be the one to fight him?” I asked.

“If no one else offers themselves up, then sure.” He replied, grinning, “I do hope he’ll challenge me though. Steven’s a tricky fucker, and he caught me with my pants down. But Bruno… Bruno won’t fight like an Ekans. He’ll meet me head on. And that’s what I like.”

I smiled back, “I’m sure you’ll give us a fight to remember.”

We then moved on to less serious topics, such as bantering about our respective partners in the Tournament. Drake had been paired up with Burgh, though unlike with myself and Elesa, he wasn’t able to generate as good of a rapport as we managed. Sadly, their interests and personalities were just a bit too different.

That wasn’t to say that they didn’t get along well. They were both professionals and were more than competent trainers, so their training sessions remained productive. However, he did lament about how Burgh’s Bug Types didn’t really work the best with his Dragons, though he did mention how that was starting to change in their more recent sessions together.

Overall, he remained optimistic about their chances in the tournament, and we shared a promise to try to be the ones to knock the other out.

============

Unfortunately, it was not all sunshine and rainbows. After one of our training sessions together, I had planned on spending some time with the scientists back at Celestic Town, since it’s been a while since we’d last caught up. And I wanted to remind them that I did treasure our friendship.

However, that was when Lance called me about the recent report that he had just received from Looker. In it, Looker explained that that PLASMA intended to stage a protest during the Tournament as a way of spreading their message. That wasn’t inherently a bad thing, but Looker emphasised that he greatly suspected that PLASMA had far more nefarious intentions lurking beneath the surface.

Given that Looker’s intuition was something that we trusted, his words all placed us on alert.

Therefore, we were once again faced with a situation where an organisation that was seemingly benign on the surface was actually being used as a façade for the evil lurking underneath. Fortunately, we had learnt from our previous mistakes, and knew that we had to take control of the narrative and rip away that façade as quickly as possible.

Right now, PLASMA was still gathering its strength, being nowhere near as strong or as influential as Team Galactic were. That meant dismantling it should be all the more easier.

As a result, Jennys were ordered to patrol around the Fight Area and look out for signs of PLASMA presence. By midday the next day, it didn’t take long for a few PLASMA members to be spotted, and they looked like they were just setting things up and trying to attract more people to join in on the upcoming protest by holding a few speeches.

We couldn’t just arrest them on the spot – doing so would be far too heavy-handed and would be simply gifting PLASMA a PR win – but there were other things we could do. Instead, we had to attack their reputation.

So after I offered myself up as the one to do so, I made my way to the Fight Area to where the PLASMA members had been spotted. However, I didn’t expect for Elesa to be joining me.

“You know you don’t have to come with, right?” I said to her as we flew towards the Fight Area, “I just couldn’t stop myself from stopping these people from misguiding others with their falsehoods.”

At least, that was my made-up reason for crashing the speeches. Elesa wasn’t in the know about our operations with Looker.

“Oh, I know that. You always seemed like someone who would always try to step in and do the right thing.” She replied, “But I’m the same. PLASMA and I have history. So I highly disapprove with the message that they’re trying to spread.”

“You very familiar with them?” I asked.

“As a Gym Leader, I have to be.” She nodded, “PLASMA may not have gotten a lot of traction back at home, but their message is inflammatory and radical enough for us to take notice. As much as the Unova League would rather they not make a ruckus, they do have the right to their freedom of speech. We can’t infringe on that, no matter how we feel about it. So the official word from the Unova League is to just let things play out for now. As long as their actions remain within the law, then we are to maintain our hands-off approach.”

That explains quite a lot about how Ghetsis was about to get away with recruiting so openly like this in Unova. At the same time, it just reinforced what I planned to do. Just like we had done with Galactic Company, undermining their message and revealing the falsehoods before they could take control of the narrative would cripple their recruitment efforts.

We could not let them grab a foothold here in Sinnoh.

With that serving as a firm reminder, I refocused my attention on the confrontation to come as the two of us arrived at the Fight Area. Thanks to the help of the Jennys, it didn’t take long for us to stumble into one of PLASMA’s public speeches.

For the time being, I watched silently from a safe distance as one of PLASMA’s grunts was busy trying to convince his listeners about why capturing Pokémon was evil. It was nothing special, he went through the usual points about how Pokémon were not supposed to fight on behalf of trainers and that it was a mindset that we had conditioned them into after years and years of slavery.

What I found far more interesting was the Sage standing off to the side, staring at the crowd with a barely hidden look of disinterest and disdain. Despite supposedly being a ‘passionate advocate’ of Pokémon’s happiness, the Sage that I recognised as Zinzolin looked like anything but.

…It was also amusing to see Looker standing just a small distance away from Zinzolin. He had done a good job with his disguise – if I hadn’t known in advance what his disguised self would look like, I would have had no idea that it was him. He looked nothing like the serious and slightly overworked analyst that I had spoken with. Instead, he looked every bit like your typical gullible idiot, with his too-wide smile and his bubbly enthusiasm. All while proudly presenting the PLASMA logo on his uniform.

No one would dare suspect that the man was actually an undercover agent. The very thought of it was absurd. He blended right in.

However, after a moment had passed, I found the right the right moment to step in.

“…And on what basis do you make such claims?” I asked, stepping forwards into the crowd. The small gathering of listeners all turned to me, shock and surprise evident on their faces as they took in my sudden appearance. “Because from where I’m standing, you all seem to be making a lot of bold claims for which you have nothing to back it up with.”

To the man’s credit, he didn’t look affected by my sudden interruption. He probably was used to such opposition, “The evidence is right in front of you. Pokémon have always lived in the wild – it is only comparatively recently that humans have interfered with their lifestyles by being their so-called ‘trainers’. History proves it.”

“History does not prove it. If anything, it does the reverse.” I countered, “During Hisuian times, Pokémon and humans lived separately, but after the first Pokéballs were created, the wild Pokémon began to see the benefits of training under humans in order to get stronger. There was no time for us to ‘condition’ them, as you claim they were. They simply saw the difference in strength that trained Pokémon were able to obtain compared to wild Pokémon, and their instincts yearned for the same. It was a natural process, caused by the acknowledgement of the synergistic bond between Pokémon and trainer. We would never need to ‘condition’ them.”

“You are merely twisting the facts to fit your narrative.” He shot back, and I had to stop myself from gaping at the audacity of such a statement coming from a PLASMA grunt. “Pokémon can get stronger by themselves. It’s why we see such strong wild Pokémon everywhere we look. There is no need for them to rely on a trainer to get stronger. In fact, that kind of logic is something that humans have conditioned both themselves and their Pokémon to believe. It is nothing more than an unnatural manipulation of a Pokémon’s instincts. They would be happier in the wild.”

“Why do you always seem to insist that just because a Pokémon has been captured by a Pokéball, that you automatically assume that they must be unhappy?” I asked, “Like everyone else here, I’ve been surrounded by Pokémon for my entire life. Hardly any looked unhappy. If anything, it’s quite the opposite. They would be absolutely distraught if they were separated from their trainer – as you seem to be demanding that they do.”

“The happiness that they feel is not true happiness.” He replied, “If your bonds with your Pokémon are that strong, then they should persist even if you release them back into the wild. It is why we are proposing that there should be a law where everyone should be releasing their Pokémon – to give them back their freedom. It is the only way to achieve happiness for all Pokémon.”

Aha. “And that’s what I have a problem with.” I responded, “Why do you want to force people to release their Pokémon? Even if you seem to prioritise a Pokémon’s happiness so highly, why do you seem to want to separate a Pokémon from their trainer? It’s hypocritical. You claim to bring true happiness to their Pokémon, but you fail to understand the huge amount of grief that your actions will cause when you forcefully separate Pokémon from trainer! If anything – that will cause far more harm than any potential good.”

“But you don’t acknowledge that reality, do you?” I continued, “I’ve read through your manifesto. You make no mention of how your Pokémon will become happy after you release them. You simply assumed that they will be. However, I guarantee you that if you take any Ace Trainer and make them release one of their Pokémon, their happiness will be far from the expected result. All you would have done is spread misery and pain. The pain of being separated from a loved one.”

“They will be happier in the long run—” He tried.

“And you are wrong to think so!” I interrupted, not letting him get a word in, “Everyone can see that there’s no possible way that your actions will lead to anything but misery! Yet all PLASMA cares about is their final goal – to have all Pokémon be released back into the wild. No matter what their trainer thinks No matter how many bonds you rip apart in your misguided and hypocritical quest for so-called happiness. No matter the tears that will inevitably come from your acts of tyranny and extremism!”

That was the point I wanted to capitalise on. For all of their rhetoric about wanting to spread happiness, the very fact that their intentions were for all trainers around the world to ultimately release their Pokémon to the wild was something I knew I could exploit. Such an idea was far too radical for most to accept, especially when they were forced into it without their consent.

Therefore, all I needed to do was to focus on that one point. To remind the public that for all the logical or emotional arguments they were making, their end goal was something that was cruel to implement.

Perhaps I was a bit too heavy-handed with my approach, but I knew I had my reputation to fall back on here.

We were in Sinnoh, not Unova. I had proven myself with my past actions time and time again, and I was greatly trusted by the public. They would be more inclined to support and trust me rather than some newcomer that they didn’t recognise.

And it looked like my words had the intended effect that I wanted. The public, who had previously been listening in attentively towards the PLASMA’s speakers words, were now giving them angry looks for their ‘deception’. Many were booing and jeering at PLASMA, demanding that they leave their region and to not waste any more of their time with their disgraceful rhetoric.

Of course, all of this was caught on camera, which I knew was going to be uploaded to the Pokénet within minutes. That was exactly what I hoped for, as it would mean that PLASMA’s first foray – and the crucial first impression that they would give off to most of the public – would be one of utter failure.

However, seeing the crowd now turn against them, the PLASMA speaker looked to Zinzolin uncertainly as if he was questioning what to do now. Zinzolin frowned, but before he could say anything, Looker (in his disguise) spoke up.

“Gym Leader Elesa!” He called out while running off the stage towards us, “What do you think of all this? As an Unovan, you surely could understand that PLASMA only acts with the best intentions in mind!”

“…You could act with the best of intentions, but your message is still as misguided as ever.” She responded, “I thought the same when I first heard of your group, and I still think the same now. Unova has always valued freedom of speech – which is why we have allowed you to preach all that you like. However, if any of PLASMA begin demanding or forcing trainers to release their Pokémon, then we will have issues. And I am saying this as the Gym Leader of Nimbasa.”

Looker looked physically hurt at Elesa’s words, almost looking like a kicked Houndour. He looked like he was about to say something, and he stared between us with a lost look on his face.

I had absolutely no idea what he was doing with this stunt, but his failed attempt to earn back support seemed to only embolden the public’s opposition to PLASMA even further. Which… I suppose may have been the whole point of suddenly calling out to Elesa in the first place. He may have been intentionally sabotaging PLASMA’s efforts, because what he did drove the final nail in the coffin.

Knowing that all support was lost, Zinzolin waved his hands and ordered PLASMA to pack up their things and retreat. The crowd continued to jeer at them as they left, making their displeasure heard.

I just smiled.

==============

(Looker POV)

He had been watching Elesa’s face for the entirety of John’s speech. He knew that she approved of everything that he said, and was simply keeping quiet for politeness’ sake. However, when he saw that John had the momentum on his side, and knowing that she would only mirror his words, he decided to finally bring her into the conversation so that she could truly undermine everything that PLASMA had intended to achieve today.

Looking at the sullen and despondent looks of his ‘colleagues’ around him, he knew that today had been a smashing success – for him. For the rest of PLASMA, today had been an abject failure. And the enraged look on Zinzolin’s face further attested to that.

“You are all a disgrace to the cause.” Zinzolin growled, “How could you stand there and let them embarrass us like that? Why did no one stand up in support of your comrade?”

Looker kept silent, while the other PLASMA members looked around nervously. Many muttered out half-hearted excuses, but they were all shut down by Zinzolin.

“Pathetic. Is this the limit of your passion? To be cowed by a so-called Elite Four member that you hesitated to speak up when he was defaming us in public like that?” Zinzolin sneered, “Even our latest recruit was willing to speak up. Have you all just collectively lost your tongue?”

No one responded, and eventually Zinzolin let out a tired sigh, “Forget it. I’ll be reporting your failure to the rest of the Sages. So get out.”

Looker moved to follow after the others, making sure that his head was facing down despondently.

“Not you, Hilbert.” But it seems like Zinzolin had other plans.

He turned around to face Zinzolin, waiting until the others had left before speaking up, “How can I be of assistance, Zinzolin?”

“You were at least brave enough to speak up, even if it didn’t accomplish anything at the end.” Zinzolin said, “Still, you showed more courage than the other louts. So that has to count for something. It seems like your passion for the cause really is real.”

“Yes, sir!” He saluted dramatically, deliberately playing into his persona of ‘overeager recruit’. “Achieving true happiness for Pokémon is a worthwhile goal!”

Zinzolin smirked, “Yes, I can really feel your… ‘passion’. But that is not why I asked you to stay. Since you’re a native here, tell me. What other avenues could we use to help the people of Sinnoh see the light of our cause? Only suggestions that remain within the law, of course.”

That last part implied that there were definitely plans that involved going beyond the rule of law, but Looker didn’t point that out. Instead, he adopted a slightly apologetic expression as he replied, “…I’m sorry sir, but I don’t see why we should discontinue our other planned speeches and protests just because of one failure. We might have been driven off today, but if we go at it with enough persistence and determination, I’m sure that people will start to see and be moved by our genuine conviction and actually begin to consider our words. Besides, not every speech will be interrupted like that one was.”

…He truly doubted that would be the case. You can rave and rant as much as you like, but if the public saw you as a lunatic, then they wouldn’t listen to you no matter how much you tried. But he didn’t want to give actually helpful suggestions, so he just played dumb.

“…I suppose there’s no reason to give up so quickly.” Zinzolin allowed, “Hmph, but I expected more creativity from you. No matter, your loyalty and passion makes up for that.” He seemed to be talking to himself, barely even acknowledging Looker’s presence, “Now, leave me. I have things to ponder about.”

“Yes, sir.” He bowed obediently, walking back to his room. Though inwardly, he was very happy about how today went. He felt like he had earned Zinzolin’s ‘trust’, insofar as the Sage believed that he was at least worthy of keeping around. And he let himself stand out from the others in a positive way.

Hopefully, he’ll be able to continue to earn more of Zinzolin’s trust. That way, he’ll be read in on more of their plans. And once he was…

Well, there’s a reason you shouldn’t trust a spy.

A.N. The start of the confrontation with PLASMA, but this time the League will have a much easier time dismantling the group. As much as the goals of PLASMA sound righteous, their goals are ultimately still tyrannical. Forcing trainers to release their Pokémon, no matter the reason, is still cruel and evil. Which is why John is pointing that out to the public and taking control of the narrative before PLASMA can. But this won’t be the end of PLASMA’s presence in Sinnoh – you’ll see more of them later! Hope you enjoyed!