"You've really got some nerve saying that..."
With just a single sentence, Itsuki had left a deep impression on the three beautiful sisters of Cerulean City!
Sakura smiled slightly.
"Whether it's being Pokémon Trainers or performing aquatic ballet, both are our main jobs. Now then, please follow us."
Led by the three sisters, Itsuki followed them through a passageway until they reached the edge of the swimming pool.
By now, all the spectators who had come to watch the performance had already left.
Fortunately, that meant there was no one around to disturb them.
Just then, the other two sisters began tossing several floating platforms into the pool.
And with that simple action, the battlefield was ready.
'Seriously... Isn't that a little too halfhearted?'
But then again...
Itsuki's gaze swept across the floating platforms several times, and he didn't dare let his guard down.
After all, this was a Water-type Gym.
The entire battlefield was surrounded by water, and he didn't have any Water-type Pokémon of his own.
That meant the space available for his Pokémon to move around was extremely limited.
Therefore, every move would have to be made with caution.
"All right!"
Violet clapped her hands and smiled.
"Now we're ready to battle!"
Without saying anything else, Itsuki walked toward the Trainer's command area on the opposite side of the pool.
He stood facing the three sisters across the water.
Sakura looked at him from a distance before calling out.
"The battle rules here are very simple! Each of us will use one Pokémon. If you manage to defeat all three of us, you'll successfully clear the Gym challenge!"
Violet crossed her arms, a teasing smile appearing on her face.
"So then, which one of us would you like to challenge first?"
It seemed Itsuki's earlier remark had actually stirred up a little fighting spirit in the three sisters!
Itsuki's gaze moved across their faces one by one.
However, he couldn't really tell anything from their expressions.
"Anyone is fine. I'll leave the decision to you."
"Well, aren't you confident?"
As the youngest of the three sisters, Lily volunteered immediately.
She stepped forward and took a Poké Ball from her pocket.
"In that case, I'll be your first opponent! Come on out, Goldeen!"
With a flash of blue light, a white fish-like Pokémon with a single horn on its head appeared in the swimming pool.
Information about the Pokémon immediately surfaced in Itsuki's mind.
If he remembered correctly, Goldeen was a pure Water-type Pokémon.
Its dorsal and tail fins were extremely well-developed, allowing it to swim through water at speeds of five knots.
And because its tail fin fluttered as elegantly as a dress, it was also known as the Water Queen!
Glancing down at his feet, Itsuki chose his first Pokémon.
"Eevee, I choose you!"
Hearing Itsuki's command, Eevee let out an excited cry.
Then, with a powerful leap, it jumped directly from the poolside onto one of the floating platforms!
In terms of type matchups, neither Pokémon had an advantage over the other.
Therefore, victory would depend on which one was stronger.
However, because Goldeen had the advantage of fighting in its natural environment, defeating it wouldn't be easy for Eevee.
'Now it all depends on Eevee's performance and my commands!'
Sakura, the eldest sister, temporarily took the role of referee.
Seeing that both Pokémon were ready, she raised her voice.
"The Cerulean Gym Challenge Match... Begin!"
The moment her voice fell, Lily immediately issued her first command.
"Goldeen, use Peck!"
With Lily's order, the battle officially began!
Goldeen immediately dove underwater, disappearing from sight.
A few moments later, ripples suddenly spread across the water's surface.
Goldeen burst out of the pool!
Its body shot toward Eevee as though it were flying!
'That's pretty fast!'
Itsuki narrowed his eyes slightly before calmly giving an order.
"Eevee, dodge it!"
Thanks to its excellent agility, Eevee swiftly shifted its body aside just before Goldeen could strike.
It avoided the attack with ease!
Seeing this, Itsuki immediately followed up.
"Use Tackle!"
At the very moment the two Pokémon passed each other, Eevee leaped into the air and slammed toward Goldeen's body!
Unfortunately, just as Eevee was about to make contact, Goldeen twisted its body as well.
It narrowly avoided the attack!
Splash!
Goldeen plunged back into the water and disappeared from sight.
However, the brief confrontation had already made Lily realize something.
'This guy isn't going to be as easy to deal with as I thought!'
Eevee landed steadily on another floating platform.
However, when Goldeen had splashed back into the pool, some of the water had sprayed onto Eevee.
Its fur was now soaking wet.
Eevee shook its body vigorously, trying to fling off the water.
Unfortunately, it couldn't completely dry itself.
Lily noticed everything.
A smile appeared on her face.
"Very good! Goldeen, keep it up! Force Eevee into the water!"
Goldeen repeated its previous tactic, launching another Horn Attack toward Eevee!
This time, however, things were different.
Because its fur had absorbed water, Eevee was carrying extra weight.
Its speed had been significantly affected!
Facing Goldeen's second attack, Eevee barely managed to dodge at the last possible moment.
The horn passed so close that it almost grazed its body!
Seeing this, Itsuki breathed a sigh of relief.
At the same time, he couldn't help feeling a little nervous for Eevee.
After all, considering Eevee's current strength, if it took a direct hit and accidentally fell into the water...
The situation would become extremely unfavorable.
'Looks like I need to figure something out...'
With that thought, Itsuki's eyes moved across the floating platforms.
When he noticed that two of them had drifted together and were now touching, an idea gradually formed in his mind.
"Eevee, jump onto that platform over there!"
Eevee turned its head and glanced at Itsuki.
Although it didn't understand his intentions, it still followed his command and jumped across.
Seeing this, Lily naturally had no idea what Itsuki was planning.
However, she simply smiled.
"No matter what you try now, it's useless! Goldeen, use Horn Attack!"
Goldeen leaped out of the water once again!
With its sharp horn pointed forward, it charged straight toward Eevee!
"Eevee, move backward!"
Itsuki's voice rang out at that exact moment.