"She said a Trainer with a special Charmander would soon arrive at our Gym—and that must be you." The second sister, Violet, spoke.
She had long blue hair and was in her twenties, the most beautiful of the three sisters. On stage, during their water ballet performances, she was also the most popular.
The third sister, Lily, spread her hands helplessly. "She also told us your strength is formidable and that we should be cautious. But honestly, none of us are particularly skilled Trainers."
Violet nodded. "That's right. All we really know is how to perform water ballet."
Yozora: "…"
Seeing Yozora's speechless expression, the eldest sister, Daisy, giggled. "Please don't take offense. The truth is, none of us have much talent as Trainers. Long ago, we already decided that Misty would inherit this Gym. By now, you should know our relationship with her, right?"
Yozora nodded. "Mm. She's your younger sister."
The three sisters snapped their fingers in unison. "Smart boy. Then let's begin the Gym Battle at once."
Soon, Yozora and the sisters stood at the battlefield.
It was a massive rectangular pool, about fifteen meters long and six or seven meters wide. Several round platforms floated on the surface.
Clearly, this was a standard Water Field, giving tremendous advantage to Water-type Pokémon.
Non-Water types could stand on the floating platforms, but their mobility would be greatly restricted.
Of course—Some non-Water Pokémon could swim or dive beneath the water.
For example, Yozora's Charmander could swim.
But still, swimming was all it could do. Its speed and combat ability in water were nowhere near a true Water-type's.
In a Water Field, Water Pokémon were the true stars.
"The rules at Cerulean Gym are three-on-three. The three of us will each send out one Pokémon to face you. Any objections?" Daisy explained the rules in advance once everyone had taken their positions.
"No problem." Yozora nodded.
Although they were three people, together they would only be using three Pokémon. That was fair.
The first to step forward was Lily.
With refined elegance, she tossed out a Poké Ball. The ball itself was decorated with floral patterns, already hinting at the style of a future Pokémon Coordinator.
In this era, Coordinators weren't yet a popular profession, so for Lily to have such awareness was rare indeed. If Lily had it, then Daisy and Violet likely did too. While they lacked talent as battlers, perhaps their future lay in Contest stages.
"Go, Seaking!" Lily called.
Her partner emerged with a splash. Seaking—the evolved form of Goldeen—was over a meter long, a large and majestic goldfish Pokémon.
A sharp horn jutted from its head, and it was adept at delivering powerful strikes in the water.
[Pokémon]: Seaking
[Type]: Water
[Rank]: Senior Level
[Potential]: Gym Leader Level
[Notes]: A Pokémon chosen for Lily by her elders when she was young. It possesses outstanding potential, but Lily has never developed it.
…
Reading the system's analysis, Yozora sighed inwardly.
Rookie Level, Junior Level, Senior Level—these were the ordinary ranks.
Above them came Elite Level. Stronger still were Pokémon at the level of Gym Leaders, Elite Four, Champions, and even Masters.
Gym Leader Level potential represented a true powerhouse—capable of splitting boulders and commanding overwhelming strength.
In all his years, Yozora had seen countless wild Pokémon. Most possessed only ordinary potential. Even those with Elite potential were rare.
But Gym Leader potential? That was rarer still. In the wild, such Pokémon were nearly mythical, and each one was a force in its own right.
Yozora's Beedrill, back when it was still a Weedle, already had Gym Leader potential. Among all the Weedle, it was the largest and strongest. That was why Yozora had chosen it.
As for Lily's Seaking—it possessed that same rare potential, but after all these years, it was still only at the Senior Level.
That alone showed Lily truly lacked talent as a Trainer. If she had even a shred of ability, Seaking would have long since reached Elite rank.
No wonder people often whispered that Cerulean was the weakest Gym in Kanto, and that any halfway-competent Trainer could easily win its badge.
Judging by what Yozora saw, that rumor was not unfounded.
"All right, Yozora, it's your turn." Lily urged.
Yozora nodded and sent out Psyduck.
"Psy-duck!"
Psyduck strode coolly onto the field, steady on the floating platform.
But the moment it saw the three beautiful sisters, its eyes lit up. Uncharacteristically, it began flexing its stubby arms, posing to show off its "muscles."
"…Huh?"
Yozora blinked, utterly stunned. He had never expected Psyduck to reveal… this kind of personality.
But seriously—those are pretty women, not pretty ducks. Why are you showing off?!
"Wow, how adorable!"
"So amazing! A Psyduck with blue skin—that must be one of those legendary Shiny Pokémon! It's my first time seeing one!"
The three sisters clasped their hands to their cheeks, eyes sparkling with delight.
It was clear they all shared Misty's fondness for Water-types—probably something in the family bloodline. To them, just seeing a rare Water Pokémon was already a gift from the heavens.
Lily was the first to calm down. She called out firmly, "Rare doesn't mean strong! Seaking, wash that smirk off its face—use Water Gun!"
In the pool, Seaking lifted its head high and fired a narrow jet of water at Psyduck.
"Water Gun, is it? Psyduck, counter with Hydro Pump!" Yozora commanded, smiling.
Psyduck immediately unleashed a torrent of high-pressure water, far thicker and denser than Seaking's attack.
The difference was staggering. Psyduck's Hydro Pump roared forward like a bulldozer, overwhelming the flimsy Water Gun in an instant before crashing full-force into Seaking.
BOOM!
The impact sent Seaking hurtling dozens of meters, smashing into the wall before slumping unconscious.
"Wha—?!"
Not just Lily—even Daisy and Violet were left frozen in shock.
…
…
(End of Chapter)