"Congratulations, Trainer."
Sakura smiled as she held out the Badge.
"This is your reward for defeating us. You've earned it."
Itsuki politely thanked her before accepting the Cascade Badge.
He carefully placed it inside his Badge case.
However, looking at the solitary blue Badge resting inside the case, Violet couldn't help pouting.
"Seriously! To think we were the very first Gym Leaders you defeated!"
"That's actually pretty frustrating!"
Itsuki simply smiled without saying anything.
Compared to protecting the Gym, these three sisters were far more interested in their aquatic ballet performances.
They had already neglected training their Pokémon for quite some time.
Among the many Gym Leaders in Kanto, their overall strength was probably close to the bottom.
Still, everyone had their own ambitions.
'Hopefully, Misty will take over this Gym sooner rather than later.'
"Well then, I'll be taking my leave."
Itsuki waved goodbye before departing with his Pokémon.
And just as he left the Gym and disappeared from sight...
An orange-haired girl with a side ponytail entered the battlefield.
"Hey, Sisters! I've been looking everywhere for you!"
"So this is where you've been hiding!"
"Huh?"
The girl suddenly noticed their expressions.
"Why do all three of you look so depressed?"
Hearing her question, Violet immediately put on an exaggerated expression.
"Misty! We were just deeply hurt by a man!"
"Hurt?!"
Misty froze in surprise.
However, after listening to Sakura explain what had happened, she immediately puffed up her cheeks in irritation.
"What do you mean, 'hurt'?!"
"You just failed to defend the Gym!"
"Here I was thinking some guy had dumped you!"
"Hahaha... Well, it's practically the same thing!"
Even Sakura began seriously considering the matter.
"Now that you mention it, that young man did seem very gentle, and he was quite strong, too."
"Maybe having someone like him as a boyfriend wouldn't be such a bad idea!"
Misty pouted, looking thoroughly unimpressed.
"If I'd been here earlier, there's no way I would've let him walk away with our Cascade Badge!"
"And losing three to zero without putting up much of a fight?"
"How embarrassing!"
Hearing this, Lily raised a finger and waved it at her younger sister.
"Don't be so quick to criticize us, Misty."
"That man with Kirlia was seriously strong!"
"Even with your abilities, there's absolutely no way you could've beaten him!"
"Don't underestimate me!"
Misty bristled like an angry little hedgehog!
"Hmph!"
"I've already made up my mind!"
"The morning after tomorrow, I'm leaving on a journey!"
"And until I become a great Pokémon Trainer..."
"I'm absolutely not coming back!"
Far out at sea near Cerulean City, a fishing boat was slowly sailing across the ocean.
With the sea breeze brushing against their faces, Itsuki and his three Pokémon relaxed on the deck, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.
Warm sunlight poured down upon them, filling their bodies with a pleasant warmth that made them reluctant to move.
Of course...
If it weren't for the pungent fishy smell constantly drifting through the boat, this little excursion would probably have been even more relaxing.
But what could he do?
'Life never goes exactly the way you want it to!'
After more than an hour of sailing, the fishing boat finally stopped near the shore of a small island.
The weather-beaten captain emerged from the cabin and called out to Itsuki, who was standing on the deck.
"Hey, young man! This is the place you were looking for!"
"You can get off here. We've still got to head south into deeper waters, so we'll come back to pick you up on our way home tonight."
"Until then... Good luck!"
"Thank you for going out of your way to bring me here."
After expressing his gratitude, Itsuki jumped off the fishing boat with his Pokémon.
He watched as the vessel gradually disappeared into the distance.
Only then did he turn around and carefully examine the island.
Judging from its appearance, the entire island was surrounded by lush green trees.
At its center stood a solitary mountain.
From a distance, the mountain looked remarkably like the enormous shell of a turtle!
As for why Itsuki had come all the way out here...
The answer was simple.
'Blastoise Island!'
According to rumors, this island didn't appear on any maps.
Only the Pokémon living here and the most experienced fishermen knew its exact location.
And just as its name suggested, the island was home to a Blastoise!
Alongside it lived a large population of its pre-evolved forms—Wartortle and Squirtle!
That's right!
Itsuki had deliberately come here to catch one of these Pokémon!
Of course, reaching the island hadn't been easy.
He had spent quite some time searching around the docks, asking numerous people for information before finally finding someone willing to take him out to sea.
However...
His target wasn't the Blastoise itself.
Crossing the beach and entering the forest, Itsuki soon discovered a group of Squirtle and Wartortle playing together.
The Pokémon had gathered in a clearing, looking completely carefree as they enjoyed themselves.
They seemed incredibly comfortable and relaxed.
'As expected of Blastoise Island...'
'These guys really are everywhere!'
Itsuki took out his phone and snapped several photographs of the surrounding area.
He was just about to send them to Professor Cerise when he noticed something.
There was absolutely no signal!
With no other choice, he temporarily gave up on the idea.
'Oh well. I'll send them later.'
Itsuki moved a little closer to the group of Pokémon.
He observed them quietly for a while before slowly approaching.
Eventually, he stopped directly in front of them.
The Squirtle and Wartortle were startled by the sudden appearance of a human!
However, rather than running away, they remained where they were and stared at him curiously.
It was obvious that despite living far away from the mainland, these Pokémon weren't particularly afraid of humans.
Some of them even began examining him with interest!
"Hello, everyone!"
Itsuki greeted them with a friendly smile.