The beautiful water city—Cerulean City.
Tianlin had finally arrived.
Without stopping, he headed straight for the Cerulean Gym.
This Badge shouldn’t be difficult for him to obtain, but…
“It’s not open?
Why?” Tianlin asked, stunned after finally arriving at the Gym.
“There’s nothing we can do,” a staff member replied.
“The three beautiful Cerulean Gym sisters have a water ballet performance today, so the Gym is closed.”
With no other option, Tianlin decided to go find them directly.
After asking for directions, he made his way to the performance venue.
By the time he arrived, the show had reached its climax.
Three beautiful girls danced gracefully in the water like mermaids.
The eldest, Sakura, was charming and seductive; the second sister, Daisy, was gentle and elegant; and the youngest, Violet, was lively and cheerful.
No wonder such a large crowd had gathered.
Even if he couldn’t get a Badge today, witnessing such a mesmerizing performance made the trip worthwhile.
After the performance ended, Tianlin went to wait at the backstage exit.
Soon, the three sisters walked out.
“Oh?
There’s a handsome guy waiting here.
Are you here for an autograph?” Violet teased playfully.
“Uh… I’m Tianlin from Pallet Town.
I’m here to challenge the Cerulean Gym!” Tianlin said, slightly embarrassed.
“Pallet Town again?
You’re already the fourth one!
Are Trainers from Pallet Town all this aggressive?
One came yesterday, and now another today?” Daisy said helplessly.
“Alright then, we’ll accept your challenge the day after tomorrow,” Sakura said, stepping forward.
“The day after tomorrow?
Can’t we do it today—or at least tomorrow?” Tianlin asked anxiously.
“No.
First, we’re exhausted and need rest.
Second, we already have a match scheduled for tomorrow—also a Trainer from Pallet Town.
What was his name… A-Huo?
We’ll battle him tomorrow.
You’ll have to wait,” Daisy explained.
A-Huo… so it was the Trainer who chose Charmander.
He had arrived a day earlier.
“Alright then, the day after tomorrow it is,” Tianlin agreed.
“But I do have one request.
Even a single-use one is fine—I’m willing to buy it.”
“Of course we have them,” Sakura replied, “but not many.
They’re part of our Gym’s collection—we can’t just give them away.”
Tianlin understood.
These were likely single-use TMs and not easily parted with.
“I’m willing to trade something more valuable,” Tianlin said, taking out one of the finest Moon Stones he had received from Clefable.
“Wow!
What a beautiful Moon Stone!
I’ve never seen such a high-quality Evolution Stone!” Violet exclaimed.
“Take it back,” Sakura said calmly.
“Even though it’s valuable, it’s useless to us—we don’t have any Pokémon that evolve with a Moon Stone.”
“Exactly,” Violet added.
“Even if we did, we wouldn’t care much.
If our parents hadn’t suddenly left us to manage the Gym, we wouldn’t even be here.
We’re just filling in temporarily.
Our younger sister is actually the strongest—once she grows up, we’ll hand the Gym over to her and go perform water ballet full-time.
Just thinking about it is exciting!”
Tianlin sighed internally.
No wonder the Cerulean Gym is considered the weakest during this period…
“We’re saving those TMs for Misty,” Daisy added.
“In that case, forget it,” Tianlin said, disappointed.
“I’ll come back the day after tomorrow to challenge the Gym.”
“Wait,” Sakura suddenly called out.
“If you agree to one condition, we can give you a TM.”
Tianlin immediately turned back.
“What condition?”
“Do you remember the Trainer from Pallet Town who came yesterday?” Sakura asked her sisters.
“Of course!” Violet said angrily.
“He said we’re the weakest Gym in Kanto, that our Badge is embarrassing, and that focusing on water ballet instead of battling is disgraceful!”
“I have an idea,” Sakura said.
“Since Tianlin is also from Pallet Town—and seems strong—why not have him battle that A-Huo?
Teach him a lesson for us.”
“Agreed!” Daisy and Violet nodded.
“You heard us,” Sakura said.
“Are you willing to fight on our behalf?
“Alright, no problem.
I accept,” Tianlin replied seriously.
Internally, though, he couldn’t help but think: So venting anger is more important than a top-tier Moon Stone… I really don’t understand how girls think.
The battle was set for the next day.
After leaving the sisters, Tianlin went to the Pokémon Center.
“Tomorrow’s battle is for Feebas—we have to win,” Tianlin said, encouraging Grovyle and Scyther.
For the sake of teaching Feebas new moves, he had no choice but to defeat A-Huo.
Besides, A-Huo had gone too far—it wasn’t unreasonable to teach him a lesson.
“Standing up for beautiful ladies… guess that’s a guy’s duty,” Tianlin muttered before falling asleep, half convincing himself.
Early the next morning, Tianlin arrived at the Cerulean Gym.
The three sisters were already waiting.
“You’d better be ready,” Violet said fiercely.
“We’ve put all our hopes on you.
If you lose, not only will we be humiliated, but you won’t get any TMs—and we won’t accept your challenge either.”
“Don’t worry.
I’ll give it everything—I won’t lose,” Tianlin said confidently.
His Scyther and Grovyle were already at high Elite-level strength.
A-Huo, who had only been traveling for about a month, was unlikely to surpass him.
“Is the rookie Trainer from Cerulean Gym here?
I’ve come for our battle!” A-Huo’s arrogant voice echoed.
“Hmph, we’re here—but we’re not your opponent today,” Sakura said coldly.
“It’s him.
He’s also from Pallet Town—you should know him.
Defeat him, and you’ll earn the Badge.”
“Oh?
Tianlin?
Since when did you become the Gym’s hired muscle?” A-Huo mocked.
“I’m just helping out.
This will be a 3-on-3 battle.
As the challenger, you can switch freely.
The first side to lose all three Pokémon loses.
Any objections?” Tianlin said calmly.
“No problem.
I’ve heard plenty about you—some ‘research prodigy’ from Pallet Town.
I’ve never bought into that.
Today, I’ll prove it by defeating you,” A-Huo declared arrogantly.
“Then let’s begin,” Tianlin said.
The two Trainers took their positions.
The battle was about to begin.