Misty took a deep breath, grabbed Ash by the wrist, and without looking back, marched toward a side hallway.
She couldn't let those three sisters continue their farce.
She was shivering with indignation; how could the Cerulean Gym be entrusted to those three wastes of space?
"Follow me! The arena here... isn't suitable for a real battle!"
Misty spoke decisively, her voice carrying an unquestionable resolve as her orange ponytail swung sharply behind her.
—Mother, Father in heaven.
—I, Misty, swear to uphold the final dignity of the Cerulean Gym!
Dragged along by her, Ash stumbled slightly as he tried to keep up.
Pikachu hurriedly grabbed Ash's shoulder to steady himself, glancing back curiously at the still-noisy performance pool.
Watching the pair disappear into the shadows of the hallway, the three sisters on the floating platform exchanged glances.
"Oh my, Misty is angry~" Daisy brushed back her long blonde hair, a playful smile on her face. "But to think she's this serious... It seems this Ash boy is a bit different?"
Violet yawned lazily, leaning against the edge of the platform. "Yeah, completely different style from that Pallet Town kid who came earlier with his nose in the air and a whole cheerleading squad."
"That guy named Gary... his skills were alright, but he was just too full of himself." Violet acknowledged that Gary did indeed have talent.
But her impression of him wasn't great.
Lily gently nodded, her voice soft. "Gary's tactical discipline and Pokémon breeding are both excellent; he certainly deserves the Badge."
"I was thinking... since they're both from Pallet Town, and out of respect for Misty, it wouldn't matter if we just gave the Badge to this Ash boy directly to save the trouble."
She paused, casting her gaze in the direction Misty and Ash had left, revealing a thoughtful expression.
"But now it seems... Misty plans to 'throw the game' in a different way."
She says she doesn't plan to give it away.
But actually, it's a much more serious kind of 'giving'.
As the three sisters spoke, knowing, doting smiles began to spread across their faces.
The Cerulean Gym finally has a successor~~
But that had nothing to do with the three of them anymore.
The three of them didn't have much talent as Trainers, nor did they have much interest in it.
"We just need to look beautiful~"
"Leave the rest to Misty."
Chatting away, the three sisters decided to continue slacking off.
What else could they do?
They were quite famous now, which was good.
Those shady characters in the dark didn't dare go too far because the public attention was too high.
But if they had no fame and no one cared...
Then certain Trainers would start using unsavory methods.
The competition for the position of Gym Trainer is still very fierce.
Many powerful Trainers want to open a Gym, but suffering from the League's restrictions on Gym quotas and procedures... many get stuck.
So, these three beautiful big sisters are also protecting the Cerulean Gym in their own way.
The lighting in the hallway was dim.
The scent of moisture and disinfectant in the air grew stronger.
The low hum of a water circulation system could be heard faintly in the distance.
In stark contrast to the cheerful noise of the performance area outside, the atmosphere here appeared serious and professional.
A proper Gym battle arena certainly wouldn't be an aquarium.
Misty's pace was fast, the sound of her heels clicking against the ground echoing in the empty hallway.
She didn't look back, her voice carrying an unprecedented solemnity.
"The performance pool outside is for tourists to watch. The Cerulean Gym's true battlefield... is up ahead!"
She shoved open a heavy metal door stamped with a water droplet emblem.
Blinding light flooded out.
Behind the door was a slightly smaller, but extremely high-standard professional battle arena.
The field was a standard Water-type arena.
Several floating platforms drifted neatly on the crystal-clear water.
Surrounding the area were high-tech energy barrier generators.
Overhead floodlights illuminated the entire arena as if it were day, and the air was thick with moisture.
Clearly, the power of Water-type Pokémon would be greatly increased here.
Electric-type Pokémon would also receive a damage bonus buff.
But if one were to bring a Fire-type Pokémon here to challenge the Gym... using ten percent of their power would be considered excellent Pokémon competence.
Besides that, there are other invisible restrictions.
1. Bird-like Flying-types have limited flight range in the air.
2. Large-bodied, heavy Rock-types and Steel-types cannot move.
3. Those who cannot swim can only hop around in fixed areas.
...In short, the number of Pokémon suitable for this place is quite small.
Many Pokémon are ill-suited to fight here; one could even say sending them out is suicidal.
It is very different from the Pokémon games.
But this is a Gym challenge.
Gym challenges do not focus on fairness.
The Gym challenge is a mechanism for cultivating Trainers.
Experiencing various harsh environments during a Gym challenge is better than encountering a sudden harsh environment in the wild and dying, right?
Although it sounds cruel, this is exactly what the League had in mind when designing the Gym challenge process.
There are even many moves that simply cannot be used in certain arenas.
When raising Pokémon, a Pokémon Trainer needs to make their Pokémon versatile.
They can have specialties, but they cannot have shortcomings.
For example—the team must have a Pokémon that learns [Foresight], or possess the ability to locate Ghost-type Pokémon.
Otherwise, running into a ghost in the wild and getting played to death by a weak Ghost-type Pokémon would be ridiculous.
"Here is the place where the Cerulean Gym assesses challengers!"
Misty turned to face Ash, the previous embarrassment and awkwardness on her face completely replaced by the seriousness and pride of a Gym Trainer.
No matter what, I, Misty, am a Gym Trainer.
Even if this title was inherited from my parents.
She took a deep breath, her gaze sharp. "I won't go easy on you, Ash!"
"Let me see if you are qualified to take the Cerulean Gym's Cascade Badge!"
"Pika!" Pikachu hopped down from Ash's shoulder, landing on the command position at the entrance, his cheeks sizzling with high-spirited electric sparks.
Ash looked at Misty, whose aura was now completely different, then looked at the standard professional arena, the corners of his mouth slowly rising into an excited arc.
He raised his hand and adjusted the brim of his hat, his eyes beneath it shining with astonishing brightness.
"Just what I wanted."
"Bring it on, Misty!"
Ash was already prepared to electrocute some fish~~
The Water-type arena was simply a super buff for Pikachu.
"Wait!" Misty saw Pikachu eager to try and immediately moved to stop him.
"Pikachu is banned!" Misty turned her head away in embarrassment. "Today, you have to use Gyarados for me!"
"Huh? Do Gym challenges require fixed Pokémon now?" Ash wanted to tease Misty on purpose.
"Shut up, you jerk!" Speaking of this, Misty started to get angry. "You told me back then that you loved Water-type Pokémon! Saying you wanted to be a Water-type Pokémon Master was a lie, wasn't it?"
"You just wanted to trick me out of my fishing rod!" Misty wasn't an idiot; after all this time, she had naturally realized it.
"Haha~ Haha~" Ash turned his head awkwardly. "To become the strongest Trainer, my Water-type Pokémon skills certainly can't be lacking..."
How did this silly girl suddenly get smart?
Could it be she learned it from me? As they say, he who keeps company with the wolf will learn to howl?
"Don't play word games with me! You jerk, Ash!" Misty released the Poké Ball in her hand. "Today you must use Gyarados!"
The reason, of course, wasn't just what she said; Misty also wanted to surpass herself.
Posted November 23 at 6:03 AM
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