The New Normal - 19-1

The New Normal – 19-1 – Mega Evolution

A.N. Please read the A.N at the end. Thank you.

I had thought that with Zekrom, and by extension Team Plasma, dealt with, I would be free from any heart-pounding surprises for a good period of time.

I was completely wrong about that. Because only after a few days after I had gone home, I received a call from Blaine asking me to head over to Hoenn for a meetup. He insisted that it was urgent, and that it was well worth my time since it was related to the Mega Stone project.

He didn’t need to say anymore than that. After making sure with Cynthia that I wasn’t needed for anything else, I quickly took a day-trip to Hoenn so that I could meet up with the other Professors.

I was told to arrive early in the afternoon at Birch’s Research Lab at Littleroot Town. Thankfully, it was pretty quiet at this time of day, so no one had even recognised me as I walked into the lab.

Heading inside, I found out that I was the last person to arrive – everyone else was already there. All of the Professors were there, as well as both Colress and Joseph Stone. Steven had even participated virtually through a video call.

“Welcome, John. Glad you could make it.” Blaine greeted me as we shook hands, “Sorry if I pulled you away from anything, but I really thought you’d want to see this in person.”

“Not a problem. I would have dropped many things to come over anyways.” I replied, “I know how important this project is, so I’d obviously want to be here in person.”

“I’m in the same position.” Steven chuckled through the microphone, “While I couldn’t extract myself from my office, not when I’m still dealing with the aftermath of everything that went down in Unova, I still felt the need to at least attend virtually.”

After a quick round of greetings, we got to the heart of the matter as the Professors moved to show me what they had discovered. On a projector, they threw up images of a very familiar form of Pidgeot – its Mega form.

I had suspected they had succeeded with something like this, though I didn’t know that Pidgeot would be the first Pokémon they were successful with. Pidgeot was not their only success, of course, as they tested on other Pokémon to make sure that their first attempt wasn’t just a fluke.

Therefore, there were also pictures of a Mega Camerupt, Mega Heracross, and a Mega Manetric, with their new forms proudly on display next to a very detailed sheets of documentation filled with complex scientific jargon that I didn’t quite understand.

But I sat there and looked appropriately fascinated as the Professors all went on to describe the new forms and how much more powerful they were. They also went on to explain that the Mega Evolution wasn’t something that was permanent, and could only last as long as the Mega Evolving Pokémon was able to fuel its Mega Evolution with its own energy.

That last part caught my attention, because it meant that a Mega Evolution might not necessarily last for an entire battle, as it had with the games. Because the Mega Evolution was dependent on the Pokémon’s own energy, it was very likely that exhaustion could cut the evolution short in the middle of the battle.

Blaine explained that if this happened, then the Pokémon would basically be out of the fight. The reverse transformation of the Mega Evolution due to a lack of energy would mean that the Pokémon had no more left to give, and would soon be knocked out.

I had a question I had to ask, “So would you say that a Mega Evolved Pokémon would generally run out of stamina faster than a non-Mega evolved Pokémon?”

“Yes. That’s what the readings suggest so far.” Birch nodded, “You can imagine Mega Evolution to be a more extreme version of something like Outrage. Tons of raw power, and sometimes new abilities, but the trade-off is a more rapid consumption of a Pokémon’s stamina and energy. Furthermore, we’ve discovered that, for some reason, a Pokémon’s bond with their trainer also affects how efficient they are able to make use of this energy. A Pokémon with a stronger bond can Mega-Evolve for longer than those without.”

That was similar to what I remembered. In other words, you could technically Mega Evolve any Pokémon, but only Pokémon that you shared a strong bond with would be able to effectively make use of Mega Evolution.

“I actually like it that way.” Samuel cut in, “It means that Mega Evolution isn’t going to be a direct upgrade in all situations. You’ll have to think about whether its worth mega evolving during a fight, or when it is the best time to do so. Considering the rapid drain in stamina, it might not be the best idea to Mega evolve at a start of the fight. On the flip side, evolving in the midst of a fight might not be a good idea either, as though the Mega Evolution process is pretty quick, that’s still a second or two that your opponent could use to punish you.”

I nodded understandingly; this was yet another difference from the main games. But I also agreed with Samuel here – it meant that Mega Evolution wasn’t an instant ‘I win’ button that you should use in every scenario.

Considering the consequences, a poorly timed Mega Evolution might actually doom your fight rather than save it. For example, Mega Evolving too early in a fight of attrition would mean your Pokémon would be the one to tire out first – assuming the additional increase in power still wasn’t enough to break through your opponent.

Therefore, there was a level of strategy involved, which was always good.

“But what about the device used to Mega Evolve our Pokémon?” Steven asked, “First, does it have a name? And second, does it have a limit of Mega Evolutions it can induce before it needs to recharge? Do the Mega Stones themselves need recharging?”

Colress held up the small, marble-looking object for all to see, “For now, we’re calling it the Key Stone. As for your other questions, let me explain the process of Mega Evolution so you can understand what’s going on…”

He proceeded to do so. He explained that Mega Evolution was possible by making use of the replicated ‘Life’ and ‘Death’ energy that they had been able to artificially recreate from their own experiments. This energy was crystallised into a Key Stone, which could be used to activate Mega Evolutions.

However, since this false energy was produced by repurposing the lingering energies from the Legendary battle that took place in Unova, there was a very limited supply of this.

Everything had already been extracted from the aftermath of the battle, which admittedly was a solid amount, but any more of this energy could only be created if another Legendary battle took place – which obviously, no one wanted.

Fortunately, the process of Mega Evolution itself did not actually require any external energy – since it was all fuelled by the Pokémon themselves, so the ‘Life’ or ‘Death’ energy were merely used to ‘activate’ the evolution in the first place.

Because of this, despite the limited supply of ‘Life’ or ‘Death’ energy, none of it was actually consumed in the Mega Evolution process. Meaning that with just a small amount of it, assuming that things were stored properly, the Mega Evolution process could be repeated indefinitely with a single Key Stone.

That explained why, in the games, the Mega Rings or Mega Bracelets seem to be powered from nowhere. It made complete sense that their source of energy was renewable.

“Got it, so how many Mega Stones do we have now? I know we found a couple more since the last time I checked in.” Steven asked.

“…Give me a second, let me check that for you.” Birch muttered as he dug through a few files on his computer, “Ah, here it is. Right, so far we have a total of 12 Mega Stones, consisting of Altarianite, Sharpedonite, Cameruptite, Manectite, Pidgoetite, Metagrossite, Beedrillite, Alakazamite, Scizorite, Heracronite, Garchompite, and Houndoominite.”

I whistled; that was a very good variety. There were also several Mega Stones among that list that definitely caught my attention. Obviously, the Garchompite, Pidgeotite, Houndoominite were the most interesting for me, given my closeness with Cynthia and Karen. And of course for myself.

Sad that a Tyranitarite hadn’t popped up, but the current selection that we did have was still very impressive.

“Before you ask, Devon Corp does not take ownership of the entire lot. We will only have ownership of the ones that we have directly found.” Joseph said, “That being the Pidgeotite, Cameruptite, Manectite, Metagrossite, Garchompite, and Sharpedonite. The rest are under the joint property of the Professors, who can decide on what they will do with the Mega Stones they have.”

“…This does pose another problem though.” Sam spoke up, “Right now, even with 12 Mega Stones here – this really isn’t enough for the entire world. And since we still haven’t found a way of replicating these Mega Stones yet, it is very likely that for the foreseeable future, only a few dozen people around the world will get their hands on a Mega Stone.”

“And that’s a problem, because the Mega Stones are able to potentially change the course of the fight by themselves, but only a handful of people will be able to make use of it.” He continued, “Which means that these Stones are going to be in extremely high demand. So much so that I’m willing to bet that people are going to want to steal them and sell it on the black market for exorbitant amount of money.”

“I can see that.” Steven agreed, “I’m sure when we announce the Mega Stone research to the wider world, there’ll be plenty of people reaching out to all of us asking to get their hands on one of these Mega Stones. They’ll probably offer their entire fortunes to try to get it.”

“The bigger issue is that one of the core tenets of Pokémon battling is that, during a battle, both trainers are on the same playing field – all preparation should have already been done before the battle had begun.” Blaine pointed out, “Therefore, use of external items, berries, and the like are all banned. However, the Mega Stone is something that needs to be activated during a battle, which breaches this core rule. And I can already tell you, people will not be happy with that, as it gives those with the Mega Stone an enormous advantage that cannot be replicated without your own Mega Stone.”

These were all points that I had thought up a long time ago when I first realised that Mega Evolution was going to be a thing, but I was glad to see that the Professors had also mirrored my own thoughts. So I agreed; this was a problem that needed solving.

“…What about banning the use of Mega Stones in official battles?” Elm asked.

“That would be a rather draconian measure.” Steven replied with a shake of his head, “After all, most of the appeal of having these Mega Stones is to be able to show off and make use of the powerful Mega Evolutions in a fight. So if you just ban their use, then what’s the point of having them when you can’t even use it in a battle?”

“Then how about having it so that you must Mega Evolve your Pokémon the moment they are sent out into the fight.” Birch suggested, “If the issue is that the Mega Stone is an ‘item’ that can be used in the middle of a battle, then just have it so that you have to use it at the start. Therefore, you will know from the moment that the Pokémon is sent out whether you are fighting against the Mega Evolved version or the standard version. That way, Mega Evolution can be treated as something like a Rotom form change, which means that it won’t be in breach of the core tenets of Pokémon battling.”

…After thinking it over, I found it to be an acceptable compromise and agreed with Birch’s suggestion. By doing it this way, the Mega Stone becomes just another thing you have to prepare for before a battle begins, much like you would do with any other Pokémon or strategy.

Understandably, there were still going to be people upset about this. And there will be people saying that Mega Evolutions should be allowed to be used whenever. But since outright banning of the Mega Stone was not possible, and allowing the Mega Stones to be used whenever was in breach of battling traditions, I found this to be a reasonable solution.

The others clearly felt the same, as there were a round of nods from everyone in the room.

“I like it.” Steven said, “I think it’s a fair compromise. I’ll be looking to see if we can implement this as a new rule once Mega Evolution is released to the wider world. Though, in all honesty, with how rare these Mega Stones are, we’ll probably only see this rule in effect once in a blue moon. Professors, are we sure that these Mega Stones aren’t able to be replicated?”

“No, we are not certain. And admittedly we have not dedicated much of our efforts to trying to reproduce a Mega Stone.” Colress replied, “Our focus thus far was on unlocking its secrets first and foremost.”

“We can change our focus if that’s what is preferred.” Rowan offered, “I’m pretty sure we’ve discovered all that we could regarding how these Mega Stones are used.”

“That would be appreciated.” Joseph responded before Steven could, “If this is the research path you will be going down, then we’ll continue our collaboration for a bit longer. You’ll continue to receive your funding, but we can discuss further finances at a later date.”

“Sounds good to us.” Sam nodded, before turning to Steven and I, “So, Steven, John, are there any other questions you guys have for us? Were there any other concepts you needed clarification on?”

Steven and I shared a look before we shook our heads, with myself answering on our behalf, “No. You’ve explained things very clearly. Thank you again for inviting me here.”

“Oh, John.” Steven suddenly interrupted me, “If you have the time, come over to my office. Let’s continue our previous discussions on the Pidgeotite.”

“Sure.” I nodded, “I’ll head over right away.”

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

I quickly made my way to Steven’s office, with no one really bothering me as I stepped through the Hoenn League building.

“Thanks for coming.” Steven greeted me as I arrived, “I do apologise for rushing into this so quickly – but I feel like it would be better for the both of us if we negotiate this as soon as possible.”

“No problem, I agree as well.” I replied, “Speaking of which, do you actually have any plans on selling these Mega Stones to others? Or am I the first and only person you’re considering?”

“No, you’re the first I’ve spoken to about a sale like this.” He said, “I intend to use our trade as a benchmark for the others to come. So, is it just the Pidgeotite that you want?”

“…I would be remiss if I did not ask for the Garchompite too.” I said, “Cynthia would be most disappointed with me if she found out I didn’t even try to negotiate for it too.”

“Fair enough; I would probably have done the same in your place.” He replied easily, “But this actually segues very well into the point I wanted to make regarding the price. I know you previously said that you were willing to offer me a favour in exchange for the Pidgeotite, but I have a different offer in mind.”

“Instead of doing all of that, how about I offer both the Garchompite and Pidgeotite for the both of you as a diplomatic gesture. Meanwhile, I will be establishing a new office as an a subordinate institution of the Regional Union – the Mega Stone Foundation. Simply put, it will be an organisation tasked with the supervision and monitoring of all currently known Mega Stones, including who are the trainers that currently possess a Mega Stone. That way, all current owners will be properly catalogued.”

“…Will that really be necessary?” I asked slowly, not entirely sure why he was suggesting this.

“Of course it will be.” He replied firmly, “Once the Mega Evolution research is released to the world, I can guarantee you that having a Mega Stone will be seen as a status symbol across the entire world. Even if the Mega Stones can be replicated, each one will be exorbitantly expensive because of how impactful they will be in a battle. Therefore, making sure that all known holders of a Mega Stone are properly catalogued and registered is going to be incredibly important, not only for trainers, but also to crack down on the inevitable rise in Mega Stone-related theft. The Mega Stone Foundation will be incredibly important for the future.”

I nodded, now understanding why he had brought this up, “And I assume you’ll want this stationed in Hoenn.”

“Exactly.” He smiled, “Right now, Hoenn doesn’t have anything going for it compared to the other two regions in our Union. Indigo has the headquarters for the Regional Union, while Sinnoh has your Legendaries and is the main point of communication between us and Unova. Through no fault of our own, we’ve been left to the lurch, and I intend to change that with the reveal of the Mega Stone. I want Hoenn to be the location for anything Mega Stone related. And this Foundation will be the start.”

“That’s why I’m offering both the Pidgeotite and Garchompite to you and Cynthia respectively, and I will be also handing one over to Lance as well once I find a suitable Mega Stone for him.” He continued, “Politically, this will be a very big win for me if I get this set up. So in return, I want both you and Cynthia’s full support for all Mega Stone related projects to be directed towards Hoenn for the foreseeable future. I want Hoenn to be known to be the capital of Mega Evolution, much like how Sinnoh is the capital of Legendaries.”

…I was impressed by the scale of Steven’s vision, but I could see why it was so appealing to him. What he intended for Hoenn was almost like he was building a ‘brand’; so that the public would from now on associate Hoenn with Mega Evolution. There would be many benefits to this, as I’m sure Steven had already calculated.

In comparison, him giving away the Mega Stones was hardly a big deal. He couldn’t use them anyways, and it wasn’t like he needed the money from selling them.

“I can’t agree on Cynthia’s behalf, but I doubt she’ll have any opposition to your proposal.” I eventually said, “In fact, would you be okay if I called her right now and fill her in on our discussions?”

“Sure.” He agreed, “I’ll have to fill her in time anyways. So you might as well save me the trouble.”

So I did just that, calling up Cynthia and explaining everything I could about Mega Evolution. Fortunately, she was very quick on the uptake, and it didn’t take long for her to understand the implications of what I’d just told her.

“Very interesting. And you say you have the Garchompite on you right now, and you have the authority to give it away?” Cynthia asked.

“Most certainly.” Steven confirmed, “We found it – and my father has given me full authority over what to do with it.”

“In that case, I can’t turn down a generous offer like that.” Cynthia said, “We need to make the reveal of a Mega Evolution a big thing though. We need to get Lance and Alder involved and have it be a joint showcase by the Regional Union and Unova. We need show that this is a joint discovery, and something worth celebrating after what happened in Unova.”

“I’ll make the arrangements with both Lance and Alder.” Steven said, “Meanwhile, I hope you don’t mind if I keep holding onto the Mega Stones for now. Don’t worry, you’ll be given them when its time for the reveal. We’ll probably do it on stage too.”

“I’ll help to bring Lance and Alder on board if you need assistance.” Cynthia added.

And with that, the stage had been set for Mega Evolution to be revealed to the public. I couldn’t wait to see what kind of interesting new tactics will be created as a result.

A.N. I hope you enjoyed my new rules for Mega Evolution and that they make sense for the worldbuilding I’ve done. I obviously tried to keep things as close to the game canon as possible, but I felt like a small adaption was necessary for the world I built for TNN.

But more importantly, Welcome to Arc 19 – The New Normal. And as much as it saddens me to announce this, in the interest of transparency, this will likely mark the beginning of the end of The New Normal, and Arc 19 will be the final main arc of this story. But let me be clear, TNN is not ending anytime soon. There are still more chapters coming, and there will be a proper Epilogue Arc and maybe other bonus arcs too, but I am going to be working to wrapping up all of the story beats into a conclusive and hopefully satisfying ending.

I have written TNN for over 2.5 years now, and it has been a big part of my life for the last few years. Anytime I would have free time, I would be planning or writing this story, because I was very passionate about it and wanted to deliver an interesting and exciting story for you all – and your continued support has been instrumental into fuelling that passion. However, as much as I know there are many other things I could write about for TNN, I originally intended this story to end with Cyrus’ defeat. Everything else since then has been extra, and now, I feel like I’m starting to come to an end with what I want to explore with this story in particular. I know this will disappoint many of you, and I do understand and apologize, but I would rather try my best to come up with a proper conclusion for TNN rather than being burnt out, run out of ideas, and then just never finishing this story.

This does not mean I am giving up on writing, or Pokémon. I have more ideas I want to explore with Pokémon, and other fandoms, and I will continue writing even after TNN has concluded. For example, without spoiling too much, I have another Pokémon story that I have been planning that will take place in the regions that I haven’t covered in TNN.

So as TNN slowly starts to come to an end, don’t be surprised if new stories get started that I will be writing out.

Nevertheless, I would just like to take this opportunity once again to thank all of you for the support, feedback, and engagement that you’ve given this story. Honestly, I really didn’t want to start planning the ending of this story, but I knew I would be doing both this story and all of you a disservice if I just kept it dragging along endlessly. So thank you, and I hope you can understand my decision. And hope you enjoyed the chapter.