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However, even after Ash's apology, the three sisters remained motionless in their corner of despair. Misty couldn't stand watching this pathetic display any longer.
"Alright, alright! I'll do it!" she finally announced with an exasperated sigh.
"Fantastic!" The moment Misty agreed, the three sisters' attitudes changed completely. Their previous gloom vanished instantly, replaced by bright smiles and energetic enthusiasm.
"See? I told you this approach would work on Misty!" Violet whispered to Lily.
"Of course it would!" Lily whispered back, both of them talking as if Misty weren't standing right there.
Ash watched this scene unfold and felt utterly speechless. As expected, women were natural-born actors. Having sisters like these, he wondered whether it was Misty's good fortune or her curse.
"Anyway, thank you so much, Misty! I truly believe you can save the Cerulean Gym!" Daisy said, taking Misty's hands in hers with genuine emotion. She was clearly the most responsible of the three sisters.
"Fine, I understand. When does this performance start?" Misty asked, even though she knew she had fallen right into their trap.
This was her home, after all. If the Cerulean Gym really did shut down, they wouldn't even be able to care for the Pokemon living here anymore.
"Well... tomorrow!" Daisy replied with an embarrassed expression.
"What?! Tomorrow?! I'm not ready for anything!" Misty's eyes widened in shock, and she instinctively wanted to take back her promise.
This had to be a joke! She had no performance experience whatsoever, and now she had to start so soon? There was absolutely no time to prepare properly!
"That's exactly why we can't waste any more time! We need to start practicing right now!" Violet and Lily had already moved to Misty's sides, ready to drag her off for immediate training.
The performance wouldn't just be water ballet. The main attraction of tomorrow's show was a dramatic underwater performance featuring Pokemon, where villains capture a mermaid princess and a brave prince comes to rescue her.
Violet and Lily would play the villains, while Daisy would take the role of the heroic prince. It was a fairly standard storyline for this type of show.
Misty had no choice but to cooperate with her sisters' performance plans. Even though she was reluctant, she was doing this for the good of the Cerulean Gym.
Brock watched the proceedings with obvious interest, though his eyes kept drifting toward Misty's three sisters with his typical dreamy expression.
Ash, however, found the whole thing rather boring. This was just the same old fairy tale plot that had been used countless times before.
"You all practice slowly. I'm going to make a phone call," he announced.
He decided not to stay and watch the rehearsal. After saying goodbye, he left the pool area. Even Pikachu and Jigglypuff chose to stay behind and watch the training. Only Ash walked away by himself.
He made his way to the phone in the gym's main hall and placed a call to Professor Oak.
"Long time no see, Professor!" Ash said cheerfully when the video call connected.
"Ash! It has been quite a while. I heard about what happened in Celadon City! Are you alright?" Professor Oak's concerned face appeared on the screen, clearly worried about Ash's wellbeing.
He had already learned about the Celadon City incident from Gary and knew how dangerous the situation had been.
"Yeah, I'm fine. A lot of things happened, and I didn't have time to contact you until now. Professor, how is my Electivire doing?"
Ash shook his head, not wanting to dwell on the Celadon City events since they were behind him now. Instead, he asked about his Pokemon's condition.
After Electivire had been transferred through the PC system, this was his first opportunity to check on how it was adjusting.
"Electivire is doing wonderfully! It's in excellent condition and gets along very well with all the other Pokemon here," Professor Oak assured him with a warm smile.
"Actually, this Pokemon's personality is quite similar to your former Ivysaur. I was worried that without Ivysaur around, the other Pokemon would be harder to manage. But once Electivire arrived, it took over Ivysaur's leadership role perfectly!"
Professor Oak didn't know yet that Ash's Ivysaur had evolved into Venusaur. Ash wasn't surprised by the Professor's observation, though.
From what had happened back in Gringey City, it was clear that Electivire had a responsible and righteous personality, which was indeed very similar to Venusaur's nature.
"Really? Then please let it stay with you for a while longer, Professor. I know you'll take good care of it and the other Pokemon."
If Ash were to challenge Viridian Gym next, Electivire wouldn't have much of an advantage anyway. Most of the Pokemon at Viridian Gym were Ground-type, so Ash planned to use the Pokemon currently in his party for that battle.
"No problem at all! Don't worry about anything here. Just make sure you stay safe on your journey," Professor Oak reminded him with fatherly concern.
A little later, Professor Oak brought Electivire over to the video phone so it could see Ash. From Electivire's bright smile, it was obvious that the Pokemon had adapted well to life at the lab.
After Ash told Electivire to stay safe and continue getting along with everyone, he said goodbye to Professor Oak and ended the call.
Instead of returning to watch Misty and the others practice, Ash walked out of the gym by himself. There was a large, grassy area outside the building. Once he reached a good spot on the lawn, Ash took out a green Poke Ball from his belt.
"Come on out!" he called, throwing the Poke Ball high into the air.
FLASH!
After the ball opened, a green figure materialized in front of him - it was Scyther.
Upon emerging, Scyther immediately looked around alertly, assuming that Ash had called it out for a battle. When it realized there was no opponent nearby, Ash could sense the Pokemon's natural fighting instincts and couldn't help but smile.
"We're not here to battle today," Ash explained gently.
Hearing this, Scyther relaxed its combat stance, but it still seemed somewhat troubled. Ash could feel the Pokemon's inner turmoil.
"Don't think too much about what happened last time. Winning and losing are both part of battling. Next time, we'll just have to win it back," Ash said encouragingly.
Scyther was extremely competitive and hated losing. The defeat against Giovanni's Nidoqueen still weighed heavily on its mind.
"Scy!" Scyther responded with determination.
Although it was eager for victory, Scyther listened carefully to Ash's words and nodded slightly. The look in its eyes showed firm resolve and a desire to prove itself in their next encounter.
"But if you want to win, you'll need to continue getting stronger," Ash said, reaching into his backpack to pull out a gleaming Metal Coat.
"After evolving, your power will increase significantly. But the choice is entirely yours," Ash said, holding the Metal Coat in his hand and presenting it to Scyther.
Pokemon that required evolution stones or special items to evolve always had the right to choose whether or not they wanted to undergo the transformation.
With all the training and experience that Scyther had gained, there would be no problem with evolution now. There was no risk of advancing too quickly without a proper foundation.