The New Normal - 16-17

The New Normal – 16-17 – Tournament’s End

Ah. So in the end, even with Tyrant’s best efforts, it hadn’t been enough.

Faced off against the might of two Champions’ greatest Pokémon, he had lost. But it had been a valiant attempt nonetheless.

In hindsight, it should have been an expected outcome. Tyrant, at the end of the day, no matter how strong and determined he was, was not so overwhelmingly powerful that he could have been realistically expected to take on a 2v1 against Pokémon of such calibre and win. I did hope that Elesa would be around to even out the odds a little bit, but I should have known that was likely asking too much of her.

I didn’t blame her for her early defeat. I knew how strong Cynthia’s and Steven’s Pokémon were. There was no shame to be had for losing against them.

Despite that, I couldn’t help but be disappointed by the fact that I had lost.

But just as I was thinking that, my partner ran up to me with a wide smile on her face, “John! That was… what the fuck was that!?” She uncharacteristically swore, “Was your starter really that strong?!”

What? I thought she would be more upset. “I mean, he still wasn’t strong enough in the end, though.” I replied.

She shook her head incredulously, “You can’t seriously be thinking that – oh, you actually are.” She let out a chuckle, “John. I don’t know what your expectations were going into that fight, but I had absolutely no confidence that we would win. Not because I didn’t trust in your strength – but I knew that I would only be a liability. This was your fight, and the fact that you nearly won in a 2v1 is pure insanity. How do you not see that?!”

I got her point, but emotionally it was a different story. So I shrugged, “I don’t know. I just thought I could win. I guess you could say I got used to it.”

“Well you were very close to doing so.” Steven said as he approached alongside Cynthia, “And personally, I am very glad you didn’t end up winning. No offense, but could you imagine how bad it’d look for us two Champions if we couldn’t defeat your own Slaking in a 2v1 with our best Pokémon? We’d be laughing stocks!”

“Speak for yourself, Steven. I had faith that he could pull off an upset.” Cynthia said.

I raised an eyebrow, “And yet you did everything you could to stop me.”

She smiled, “I told you I wouldn’t be holding back. If you wanted to pull something like that off – then you’d need to earn it like everyone else. I’m not just going to hand you a freebie.”

Then she gently placed her hand in mine, “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t have done anything to deliberately sabotage your reputation. You may have lost, but I guarantee no one’s going to pay much attention to that. They’ll be just staring at your Tyrant – thinking about how he nearly managed to beat up both of our starters.”

That got me smiling. I trusted her, so I was certain she wouldn’t do anything that would hurt me.

“Anyways, you can continue thinking about your battle later.” She continued while gesturing to the podium, “You still have an award ceremony to get to, don’t you remember? You may have lost to us, but we weren’t part of the World Tournament. You and Elesa are still the winners.”

I chuckled, “Would you believe me if I said I forgot?”

“That’s just like you.” Elesa smirked, “But wipe that frown from your face. You’ve got to look your best for the cameras.”

And that was what happened. Elesa and I went to the stage amidst the ravenous cheers of the crowd. Just like everyone had told me, the crowd seemed to cheer for me even louder than before, despite my loss.

That finally brought me out of my, in hindsight frankly ridiculous, funk. And before I walked onto the stage, there was something I had to say to my partner.

“Elesa. I should have said this earlier, but congratulations on the win.” I said to her, “I would likely not be standing on this stage if you were not a competent and effective partner. So thank you for your hard work and diligence over the past few weeks.”

“Oh, there’s really no need to thank me, John. But I appreciate the words all the same.” She replied, “And likewise, of course. I won’t deny that the past few weeks have been tough, especially once I realised just how big the strength gap was between us, but it’s been a good kind of tough. The kind of hard work that makes you feel good after you do it. And I really feel like I’ve gotten a lot stronger thanks to working alongside you. So, if anything, you have my sincerest gratitude as well.” She then performed a short bow towards me.

I was about to return it, but then that was cut short as we were called up onto the stage.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE GIVE IT UP FOR YOUR WINNERS OF THE FIRST EVER POKÉMON WORLD TOURNAMENT – YOUR FIRST EVER POKÉMON WORLD CHAMPIONS – ELITE JOHN AND GYM LEADER ELESA!”

The cheers of the crowd grew even louder, and a shower of golden confetti suddenly shot out from all around us. Not only that, but fireworks were being set off, cheerfully exploding into the air in the shape of a crown and a Pokéball.

Then both Cynthia and Steven made their way onto the stage, both of them holding onto identical golden trophies. At the top of the trophy was a Pokéball embossed in gold, but more importantly, also had a crown sculpted on top of it. And at the bottom, in large, visible text, were the following words:

‘John and Elesa – Champions of the 1st Pokémon World Tournament’

They both handed us the trophies with big smiles on their faces, which we both gratefully accepted. The cameras came swinging around as we posed together for the photos. Then came the questions.

“John, Elesa, how are the two of you feeling right now given that you’ve just won the biggest international tournament ever hosted?”

I let Elesa answer first, “Ecstatic and happy, of course. And somewhat overwhelmed. I really didn’t expect to be standing here when the Tournament had first been announced. Even when I found out who my partner was going to be – I still didn’t think I had the skills necessary to make it this far. I was never considered to be all that strong of a trainer by the public, and I must have allowed those words to affect my own judgement of myself as well. But I’m grateful to be standing here, and I’m very proud of what we’ve both managed to accomplish since I know full well the sheer effort that it took to achieve this grand victory.”

Then it was my turn, “I’ll admit that I was more confident than my partner going into this Tournament. I wasn’t sure if I could win the whole thing, of course, but I couldn’t deny that I was one of the favourites – given that I was one of the winners of the previous one. Though that doesn’t lessen what I feel right now, and just like Elesa said, I’m glad our hard work has been acknowledged.”

“Would you have been happier if you had won your final battle against the two Champions?” I was asked.

“Definitely.” I replied instantly, “Perhaps this might sound a bit arrogant for me to say, but even when facing off against two Champions, I still would have liked to have won. Before and even during the battle, I held onto the hope that I had a realistic chance of winning. So because of that, I can’t deny that I was a little disappointed that I didn’t end up winning.”

That reporter stared at me incredulously, “Are you serious? Most people would be elated to have done so well against two Champions. Especially when it was apparent that you did most of the heavy lifting – no offense intended, Gym Leader Elesa.”

“None taken.” She replied with a casual shrug, “It’s the truth anyways. Winner of this tournament I might be, but there’s still very clearly a massive gap between me and the Champions. That fight against those two was all on John.”

“I am serious.” I said, “I don’t want my strength to be ‘conditional’. If I am to prove myself to be the strongest trainer in the world, that can’t just mean that I’m a strongest in a 1v1. I want to be strong enough to be able to beat any opponent, no matter the odds. Therefore, this loss just proves that I still have a ways to go before I can be satisfied. I still need to get stronger than this. Call it greed, but I’m still not satisfied with where I am right now.”

“And neither should he be.” Cynthia added, “For anyone in our positions, the grind to reach the top is never-ending. Even as a Champion, I know that my position is always precarious – that one day there might come a trainer that would be strong enough to topple me from my title. Therefore, I know that the moment I lose the drive to become stronger, the moment where I feel content and comfortable with my own strength, is the moment that marks the beginning of the end of my reign as Champion.”

“Besides,” My girlfriend made a show of grabbing my hand, “with how that battle went – even if it was against my own boyfriend – I can’t accept that state of affairs. The battle just told me that we Champions need to get stronger too if we are to continue to serve as the symbol of strength for our region.”

The reporter nodded before turning her attention to Elesa, “Elesa, what are your thoughts on all this?”

“I think John’s thoughts mirror my own.” She replied, “As easy as it would be to simply excuse my loss against both Steven and Cynthia as merely a case of being outmatched because I’m just a ‘mere’ Gym Leader, it wouldn’t be the right attitude to have. Being a ‘Gym Leader’, or an ‘Elite Four’, or even a ‘Champion’ – they’re all just titles that we use. Being a Champion doesn’t automatically mean you’re stronger than the former. So to excuse my loss just because of a title would be just like admitting defeat. It’s as if I gave up on becoming stronger.”

“And I refuse to adopt such a mindset.” She continued firmly, “After what John and I accomplished in this Tournament, beating and triumphing over every opponent that we faced, it has really reignited my nascent ambition. Our victory here today proves that even as a Gym Leader, that doesn’t mean I can’t win against those in the Elite Four or higher. So if I have to say one thing to my colleagues, whether they be from Unova or otherwise, it is to not let yourself feel trapped by your title. You can be more than that.”

I clapped politely at her impromptu speech, which both Cynthia and Steven both joined in on. The rest of the crowd followed soon after, evidently approving of her rousing words.

“An excellent sentiment to have.” Another reporter said, “But what will you do now that you’ve won? Should we expect things to change back in Unova?”

“…Perhaps, but I’m not ready to make any grand announcements right now.” She said after a small pause, “Just know that a public announcement will come if I can put my plans into action.”

The reporters continued to ask us many other questions, most of which revolved around similar topics.

And as Elesa and I both stated to the reporters, we very much wanted another World Tournament to be hosted again – with a similar format to this one. I felt that making something like this to be a regular tradition could only be beneficial. Not only would it serve as an incentive for Gym Leaders and Elite Four members to get even stronger, if only so that they could perform better in this Tournament, but also because it would help forge new bonds of friendships between foreign trainers.

Considering the roar of support that I got, it was clear that the crowd agreed with me. They would never turn down the opportunity to witness a tournament like this.

Eventually, after what felt like hours of questions, we were finally released as the first Pokémon World Tournament finally came to an end. So with the Tournament now over, it was finally time for me to return to Indigo. I hadn’t been back in a few weeks, and I definitely have been longing for home.

But before I left, I wanted to spend more time with Cynthia.

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

“I had this whole plan where I would pretend to be mad at you for heading straight home instead of spending a few more moments with me before you left.” She said as she rested her head on my shoulder, “But now you’ve spoiled my fun.”

“Your ‘fun’ sounds like my headache.” I deadpanned.

“Well, I would have dropped the façade after a few minutes. I just wanted to see how you’d react.” She giggled, “But I guess I should have known better. You wouldn’t just leave without spending time with me first.”

“Of course.” I replied, “Gotta make up for all that time that I spent training with Elesa.”

“Oh? Did you not want to spend more time getting to know her better?” She asked teasingly, “Did spending all that time with her not spark something in your heart? Like it did with me when we met in Sinnoh?”

I pulled her closer to me with a fond smile, “No. It didn’t. My heart’s already made its choice. It won’t ever change. I am yours, Cynthia.”

“And I am yours, John.” She smiled back, and the two of us fell silent as we simply basked in the moment.

We could have simply laid there for the rest of the evening, just enjoying each other’s presence. But after a few minutes of this, she was the first to break the silence.

“…Did you see all those news articles that were posted online?” She suddenly asked me, “They were all praising your performance. I told you that there was nothing to worry about.”

“I know, I know. But it’s my prerogative to worry.” I said, “But you’re right. I took a quick look at the Pokénet, and I can already see that people from all around the world are now claiming that it’s beyond any doubt that I am at the same level as a Champion now. It really used to be only the people from Indigo that said that.”

“Good. That’ll help us out a lot for the things to come.” She nodded, before pecking me on the cheek, “You did well this tournament. You’ve cemented that reputation of yours of being one of the strongest trainers in the world for the near future. We can leverage that politically.”

Then she got up from her couch, pulling me up with her.

“Anyways, enough about that. Since you’re still here, why don’t we head over to Route 221 and check out that land that we bought.” She suggested, “You have my list of what I wanted our house to look like, right? So why don’t we head over there and we can finalise everything for the builders as soon as possible.”

I agreed, and so off we went. Flying through the evening sky, it didn’t take us long for us to arrive at Route 221, the place of our future home. On the flight over, I checked over what Cynthia had sent me before about what she wanted our house to have and look like.

I didn’t have a problem with any of her suggestions. In fact, I was kind of glad that she did most of the thinking for me – I really had been too busy with the tournament to think on this topic. I did find myself blushing slightly when I saw the note that she had about our future children, but it was a relevant concern.

Besides that, even though Cynthia didn’t see the need for one, I did feel like I wanted to do a bit of gardening in my free time. It would be nice to be able to grow my own berries that I could give to my Pokémon, or just for poffin making, so a small garden would be nice.

I said as much to Cynthia, who nodded easily, “If that’s what you want, then we can do so. I might even join you at times. Maybe I’ll come to enjoy it.”

With her agreement, it didn’t take us that much longer for us to decide on what we wanted our house to look like and have. So after finalising our plans together, Cynthia promised to submit the plans to the builders the following morning.

But for now, the two of us simply stared at the empty plot of land which would one day be the location of our future home. In my own head, I could already begin to envision what it’d look like. And with the plans submitted, it was only a matter of time before it became a reality.

“…And that’s one more step towards securing our future together.” I muttered quietly, “It almost doesn’t feel real.”

Cynthia smiled softly, “You know, I’m not sure if I ever apologised to you for making you take on this burden of having to move to a different region just for my sake. You know I would have offered to move myself, except—”

“Except it would be easier for me, so no need to apologise.” I interrupted her, “Besides, it’s not like you forced me to. This is something I want to do.”

“Mhm. And I’m always going to be grateful for that.” She said, “…Once you get back, things are going to be busy for the both of us. We need to make sure everything is set up for your move to Sinnoh.”

I nodded, “Yes, I should probably handle the preparations on my end too. Lance knows of my plans already, but I’ll give him a further heads up just in case. And my other colleagues in the Elite Four should be informed too.”

Now that the proposal where the Sinnoh League approved of appointing foreign leaders had been given some time to settle down, I knew that the proposal to make it an Article into the Regional Union was just around the corner. Once it was, then that would be around the time when my move to Sinnoh would likely be announced.

However, there was still a lot of matters to handle before that could happen. I didn’t want to cause my move to cause any problems for anyone, so I wanted the transition to be as smooth as possible. That meant possibly finding a suitable successor, or if there wasn’t one, then ensuring that the other remaining Elite Four members knew how to take on my duties in my place.

My inner thoughts must have been showing on my face, because Cynthia leaned in with a gentle touch, “You don’t have to think too hard about it. After all, I’ll be there to support you every step of the way. Just let me know if you need any help with anything.”

“I know. And you’re right,” I said, “I can think on this later. Let’s not ruin our last night together in Sinnoh.”

“That’s the spirit.” She chuckled, “Now, I know you haven’t had dinner yet, and I have this restaurant that I’ve been meaning to take you to…”

Thus, my final night in Sinnoh for the foreseeable future was as romantic and as peaceful as I hoped, with the both of us just enjoying ourselves until it was time for me to return to Indigo the following morning.

And the next time I would be back in Sinnoh, I hoped that I would finally have a permanent place to call my own – a place that I shared with the love of my life.

A.N. A slower chapter that focuses on wrapping up the First Pokémon World Tournament while also reiterating John and Cynthia’s future political goals. The time for John’s move to Sinnoh is fast approaching. His preparations for his move to Sinnoh will be a significant focus in the upcoming chapters, but many other things will be happening at the same time – especially from how momentous this move is. Ever since I planned out the relationship with Cynthia, I’ve always planned out this move to Sinnoh, so I’m excited to write about it and the new roles that John will be taking on.

As promised, the next chapter will be the Pokenet Interlude, and will be the final chapter of this arc. So I hope you enjoyed!