“Ash, now that we’ve arrived in Cerulean City, what’s the first thing you plan to do?” Brock asked Ash casually as they walked along the streets of Cerulean City.
Ash answered matter-of-factly without even thinking, “Misty went to buy a bicycle.
In that case, I’m planning to go straight to challenge the Cerulean Gym.
After all, that was one of the goals of my journey to begin with.”
Brock nodded slightly, looking thoughtful.
A somewhat lecherous light shone in his eyes, which were narrowed into slits.
He had long heard of Cerulean City’s four mermaid sisters.
Now that he had finally come to Cerulean City today, he absolutely had to satisfy his manly instincts.
The two walked together, each carrying different thoughts, yet heading toward the same destination.
Looking at the tall building before them, which resembled a stadium, the two fell silent.
A huge sign with what seemed to be a Dewgong pattern made the Cerulean Gym look like some kind of improper establishment.
However, according to the map, this place was indeed the Cerulean Gym.
The two stepped forward and were just about to enter the Cerulean Gym, but as soon as they raised their feet, someone stopped them.
“Tickets.
Eight hundred League dollars per person.”
They turned to look and saw that the one stopping them was an elderly security guard.
“What!
We even have to buy tickets?!” Ash widened his eyes.
He had never imagined that challenging a Gym would require payment.
After all, these Gyms established by the League were supposed to be free to challenge.
The old security guard rolled his eyes and answered as if it were perfectly natural, “Nonsense.
You’re going in to watch a performance.
Did you expect to freeload?”
“What performance?” Ash raised an eyebrow, deeply confused.
Brock’s eyes, however, lit up beside him.
Naturally, Brock had already done plenty of research on the Cerulean Gym’s water ballet performance.
“It’s fine, Ash.
I’ll pay.” As Brock spoke, he generously took out one thousand six hundred League dollars and handed it to the security guard.
After carefully counting the money and confirming there was no mistake, the guard let the two of them pass.
He glanced at Pikachu lying on Ash’s shoulder.
“You should be a Pokémon Trainer here to challenge the Cerulean Gym, right?”
“That’s right.”
Ash admitted it openly.
The guard nodded.
“The Cerulean Gym Leaders are four sisters.
Three of the sisters are currently performing.
You can wait until the show ends, then go find them for a challenge.”
After saying that, the guard let them through. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Ash suddenly understood.
He had not expected the Cerulean Gym Leaders to be three people, and that they would even be putting on a performance.
“I’m really curious what kind of performance Gym Leaders would put on,” Ash thought, his imagination running wild.
Brock, who already knew all about it, chuckled.
“That’s right, that’s right.
I’m curious too.
Heh heh.”
“Ash, the performance seems to have already started.
Let’s hurry inside,” Brock urged impatiently.
Under Brock’s pushing, the two entered the Cerulean Gym.
The place was packed, with no empty seats.
Looking around, all they could see was a dense crowd of heads.
Cheers continuously rang out from the venue.
Looking further ahead, a huge swimming pool came into view.
In the pool, many Water-type Pokémon were freely expressing their nature.
A beautiful Goldeen leapt out of the water, bringing up a splash.
The water jet sprayed from Dewgong’s mouth split into two streams in midair, like a living fountain.
What drew the most attention were the three women with stunning figures, dressed in swimsuits, dancing in the pool.
The three danced gracefully in the water, and the surrounding Pokémon coordinated with their every movement, making them look like beautiful mermaids.
“They look like the Cerulean Gym Leaders,” Ash said, narrowing his eyes as he stared intently at the three women in the water.
He poked Brock beside him, who was already staring in a daze, and casually asked, “What do you think of their strength?”
Since Brock was also a Gym Leader, asking for his opinion was a very good choice.
“Strong.
Their strength is super powerful!”
“This performance is absolutely incredible.
Right now, my whole chest is full of eyes.”
Brock’s answer left Ash completely confused.
“What are you even talking about?
I’m asking about their strength as Gym Leaders.”
This time, Brock did not pay attention to Ash at all.
Instead, he focused wholeheartedly on the three sisters’ performance in the pool.
His pair of narrow eyes seemed like they were about to turn into pink heart shapes.
Seeing Brock like this, Ash, whose intelligence had improved, naturally understood what he was thinking.
In the end, he sighed helplessly.
“Forget it.
I’ll know how strong they are once we battle.”
The Cerulean Gym’s performance soon ended.
The three sisters changed back into clean clothes and wiped their wet hair with towels backstage.
The eldest sister, Daisy, suddenly said, “I wonder how our little sister is doing now.”
The third sister, Lily, shook her head.
“Who knows?
That girl ran away from home in a fit of anger, and even said something foolish about not coming back until she became a Water-type Pokémon Master.”
The second sister, Violet, moved gracefully and looked extremely quiet and refined.
“The three of us were never good at battling to begin with.
Without our little sister here, we’re no match for the Trainers who come to challenge the Gym.
The Gym’s reputation has been declining more and more.
We’re only maintaining it through our performances.”
The three sisters chatted idly.
After drying their hair, the three sisters got up and left the room, beginning to clean the pool.
However, two boys had already been waiting here for quite some time.
When he saw the three sisters appear, Brock could not help wanting to step forward and strike up a conversation.
However, Ash spoke first and interrupted him.
“I’m Ash from Pallet Town.
Which of you is the Cerulean Gym Leader?
Accept my challenge!” Ash said, waving his fist with a look full of fighting spirit.
“Pika, Pikachu!”
Pikachu had already been itching for a fight for a long time.
During the previous battle against Brock, because it had not mastered moves of other types, Ash had not let it battle.
Now, one look at this Cerulean Gym was enough to tell that it was a Water-type Gym.
Today, I, Pikachu, am going to enjoy shocking fish to my heart’s content!
“Another Trainer here to challenge the Gym,” Violet said, sighing somewhat helplessly.
Without their little sister around, the Cerulean Gym facing these challenging Trainers could basically be described as giving things away for free.
Even the eldest sister, Daisy, could not help feeling somewhat helpless.
The third sister, Lily, stepped forward and said, “You really came at a bad time.
All of our Pokémon that can battle are being treated at the Pokémon Center.”
Hearing Lily say this, Ash was instantly dumbfounded.
“But if you want the Badge, we can just give it to you.
Our strength is pretty weak anyway.” As Lily spoke, she took out a blue Badge shaped like a water droplet.
The Badge was placed in Ash’s hand.
This made Ash feel that everything was a little unreal, almost like a dream.
“Then does this count as me passing the Cerulean Gym?” Ash said blankly.
Just then, a voice rang out from the Gym entrance.
“Hold it!”