"Excuse me, I'm Ash...what's wrong?"
Ash asked tentatively.
"Did you publish an article about Ducklett and Swanna's dance before?!"
Although this is a question, the eldest sister Sakura used it in an affirmative tone.
Even before Ash could answer, he said with shining eyes: "We came across your article by chance, and it really inspired us!"
"I have learned a lot about water ballet from this! I really have to thank you for this!!"
Uh-huh!!
The second sister Violet and the third sister Lily, who were standing behind, were also nodding their heads with fangirl looks in their eyes.
Ash:"..."
It seems that this is indeed the case. A few months ago, a professor from the Unova Region asked Professor Oak to study a Swanna.
Ash, who often stayed in the Laboratory, accidentally discovered through the light screen that Swanna was very talented in dancing and was very suitable to develop into a coordinator of Trainer performances.
In order to respond to the trend of the Contest Conference to be held at that time, he followed the content given on the light screen and wrote an article to train Swanna to dance.
I didn't expect that Sakura and the others would see it, and that it would have such a big impact on them.
"And I remember that when this article was first published, it did receive some attention, but..."
Ash rubbed his brows, "It didn't cause much of a stir afterwards. After all, Swanna is a Pokémon from the Unova Region and barely exists in the Kanto Region."
"Except for some places that study water Pokémon or like contest performances, basically no one pays attention to it."
"Therefore, apart from a few people who claimed to be fans and seemed to be Trainer, who often sent letters to inquire about it, not many people paid attention to it."
"But instead of calling her a Trainer, it would be more appropriate to call her a Dancer... more appropriate..."
Ash's action of rubbing his brow suddenly stopped.
Wait, a place that studies water Pokémon, likes contest performances, is more like a dancer than a trainer, and has a few fans...
He suddenly raised his head and looked at the three Cerulean gym sisters in front of him who were eager to pounce on him and strip him clean~~~
So, if you put it this way~~~
"It seems Mr. Ash has remembered it!!"
The eldest sister Sakura couldn't help but smile: "Yes, we are Mr. Ash's most loyal fans!!"
"That's right, that's right!!"
The second sister, Violet, was also very excited when she saw Ash's face gradually coming to light:
"It seems that Mr. Ash also remembers us fans. We are so happy!!"
"Happy~Happy!!"
The third sister Lily also had shining eyes as she looked Ash up and down, her eyes almost growing on him.
Ash: "Hmm~~~"
Let's talk about gym challenges.
Such enthusiasm was really a bit overwhelming for him.
"If it's Mr. Ash, we can definitely give you the Badge even without challenging the gym!!"
Arriving at the edge of the water battle field, the eldest sister Sakura smiled and clapped her hands towards the pool.
Then, a Seel was seen emerging from the pool and swimming towards this side.
"Yes, Mr. Ash has helped us so much. Most of the water ballet we are practicing now is thanks to the inspiration given by Mr. Ash. Otherwise, we would never be so successful!!"
The second sister Violet echoed.
The third sister, Lily, nodded and said, "So, we believe that even if Mr. Ash challenges the gym, there will be no problem and he will definitely succeed."
"If that's the case, there's no need for us to do anything unnecessary~!"
"That's right!! Besides, as fans of Mr. Ash, it's rare for us to have something like this to do for him."
"So let's consider this as a thank you gift to Mr. Ash~!!"
The three sisters looked at each other and talked to each other, as if the matter had been finalized.
Ash:"~~~"
Well, it was the first time that he experienced the enthusiasm from fans.
Moreover, these fans include three particularly attractive beautiful gym trainers, and one of them is Misty's sister.
By the way, when we entered Cerulean City, Misty disappeared. I guess...
"Okay, this blue water drop badge will be given to Mr. Ash~!"
The eldest sister Sakura took out the Normal Badge that looked like a blue water drop from Seel's mouth and handed it to Ash.
And just when the latter was about to take it.
"Wait a minute!!"
Suddenly, a loud female voice came from the stands nearby.
Immediately afterwards, Misty's beautiful body was seen jumping down from the stands and landing in front of everyone nimbly.
"Badge, you guys are just going to give it away like this? Do you still have the dignity of being a gym trainer?!"
As soon as Misty showed up, she started scolding the three older sisters, and then turned around and directed her criticism at Ash.
"And you, you got the Badge so easily, shouldn't you fight? As a Pokémon Trainer, don't you feel uneasy if you don't get the Badge through fighting?"
Ash: "…Hmm~"
He thought about it seriously, and then said very sincerely: "Not at all."
"Isn't it great to get a badge without playing any games and gain something for nothing?"
Misty:"...?"
What you said seems to make some sense, and I can't refute it.
~~~