"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Pikachu, use Thunder Tail!"
"Pikachu, use Million Volt Thunder Fist!"
Because Cerulean Gym is known as the weakest gym in Kanto, people from all walks of life come here to challenge it. As a result, Silas, who'd become the temporary gym leader, barely had a moment to breathe—challenger after challenger streamed in, leaving him no time to even take a sip of water.
Cerulean Gym.
Once Charizard had finished off the latest challenger, Silas finally managed to catch his breath.
As for why it was Charizard handling things instead of Pikachu—that was because Pikachu, exhausted from all the battles, had been taken by Suzie to the Pokémon Center to recover.
"Eat up."
With no new challengers approaching, Silas immediately set out an extra-large meal for Charizard. After all, Charizard was his only fighting Pokémon at the moment—if Charizard ended up overexerted like Pikachu, he'd have nothing left to face the next wave of challengers. Sure, the Sensational Sisters never mentioned a rule about refusing badges, but there was no way Silas would let the gym he was guarding get steamrolled on his watch.
"Charizard."
At those words, Charizard dove in—not bothering to savor his food the way he usually did, but snarling it down, clearly beyond hungry.
Watching Charizard devour the food, Silas let out a faint smile, then brought up the Elemental System to check on today's haul—wondering if his rewards matched all the effort.
He hadn't expected the sight that greeted him!
He'd earned a huge amount of crystals today. Thunder Crystals weren't anything out of the ordinary—he'd gained 325 of them, from 675 up to a clean 1,000. Fire Crystals, though, had jumped from 285 to 1,450—a fivefold increase!
But thinking it over, Silas understood. There'd just been so many challengers this afternoon. Maybe not a hundred, but dozens for sure—each challenger battled twice, so that was well over a hundred matches. Most of them were handled by Charizard, meaning the flood of Fire Crystals made perfect sense.
Maybe I should just become a gym trainer in the future...
Watching those numbers rack up in the system, Silas couldn't help but feel an itch of greedy desire.
He was still weighing the idea when a haughty voice cut through his thoughts.
"Anyone here? The great Gary has come to challenge the gym!"
Along with that voice, Silas heard a chorus of chattering girls. He frowned, glancing over at the newcomers—and his frown only deepened. The challenger had a face nearly identical to his own. It was his brother, Gary, and right behind Gary trailed several girls all dressed as cheerleaders!
The sight of those cheerleaders made Silas's blood boil.
He'd warned Gary before he ever left Pallet Town—not to bring a cheer squad, and definitely not to show up in a sports car. But clearly, Gary treated his words like a summer breeze, in one ear and out the other!
As Silas looked at Gary, Gary finally noticed Silas—his sulky expression didn't go unnoticed either. Gary's own face changed at once, and he hurriedly called to the girls just entering behind him: "Girls, why don't you wait for me outside, okay?"
"Huh? Why? We want to see you in action, Gary!"
"That's right, Gary! Why can't we cheer you on? We're dying to root for you in person!"
"Yeah, Gary, isn't it better for us to cheer for you here? Plus, this gym's supposed to be the weakest in Kanto—you'll wipe the floor with them, easy!"
"Enough!" With the girls going on and on, Gary's face darkened. "I said—wait outside!"
Gary's stern look startled the cheerleaders so much that not another word was said—they quickly filed out of the hallway.
As soon as they'd left, Gary dropped his frown, offering a sheepish grin. "Big bro, what are you doing here?"
"Just helping out, guarding Cerulean Gym for a day," Silas replied flatly.
Hearing Silas's calm, emotionless tone, Gary knew he was in trouble. His only chance to save face was to do well in the gym match, so he braced himself and said, "Then I want to request an official gym challenge!"
"Fine." Silas nodded, a dangerous glint in his eyes. He pointed at Charizard and held out the Cascade Badge. "Defeat my Charizard, and the badge is yours!"
"Charizard!"
Clearly sensing Silas's foul mood, Charizard marched forward, glaring at Gary with a growl, the black flames on his tail suddenly flaring higher.
Defeat Charizard?!!
What happened to brotherly love?!!
Silas's words left Gary speechless. He'd figured that no matter how mad Silas was, he'd set aside family pride and use a newly caught Pokémon to test him. As long as he did well, he might earn the badge and even escape a lecture. But the sight of Charizard completely shattered any hope of that plan.
Charizard's attitude made Gary fume—he remembered well how, back when Charizard was still a Charmander, it frequently skipped out on Silas's training and got punished by going hungry, and it was Gary who sneaked food to him late at night. So why was Charizard so riled up to clobber him now? Some gratitude!
"Bro..." Gary stared helplessly at the imposing Charizard. "Can I just...forfeit?"
"Hmm?" Silas arched an eyebrow, "What was that?"
"Nothing!" Gary shook his head at once, steeling himself. He tossed out a Poké Ball. "Go! Wartortle!"