Morning.
The four of them woke up inside the Clefairy Boutique, as if nothing unusual had happened the night before.
The meteorite that had once rested on the ritual altar was already gone—cleared out completely.
Blue yawned and stretched lazily, subconsciously rubbing her shoulder.
"Huh? Why does my shoulder feel kind of sore…?"
"Hahaha! That's just because you're weak," Ash said proudly from the side, already bursting with energy first thing in the morning.
"I was on night watch yesterday—I'm the undefeated champion of staying up late!"
He threw both arms into the air, radiating vitality like a man who never withers.
In the end, Blue still failed to notice that there was now an extra Clefairy quietly sleeping inside one of her Poké Balls.
Once she finally shook off her drowsiness, she immediately began cursing Gary Oak along with Ash.
No Clefairy.
Not a single one.
She was obsessed.
After packing up, the group set off again. This time, they quickly passed through Mt. Moon and arrived at a fork in the road on the outskirts.
A signpost stood there.
One arrow pointed toward Cerulean City, the other back toward Mt. Moon.
Below the sign, there was a line of small text.
Blue, still in her "Clefairy-possessed" state, instinctively leaned in to read it.
"Left behind by Handsome Commander Gary Oak:"
"Pig is dumb, read this backwards."
"…What does that mean?"
She read it slowly, word by word.
"Backwards… read… it…?"
Suddenly, her sharp eyes caught the very first character again. Her expression changed instantly as she slapped a hand over her mouth.
That bastard really is dangerous.
Thankfully, she was smart enough not to fall for such a childish trap!
Heh.
Blue smiled smugly, completely dismissing Gary as an idiot.
Then she noticed something else.
Below that line… was another line of even smaller text.
"No way there's actually an idiot who reads it halfway backward and then stops. Don't tell me you even felt smart doing that. Please, don't make me laugh. Heehee."
Blue: "!!!"
Utter.
Absolute.
Humiliation.
A faint, ominous black aura began rising from the ground, wrapping itself around her.
She suddenly turned around and slapped Ash on the shoulder. Her normally bright, delicate face looked slightly twisted now.
Her large eyes trembled. She clenched her lower lip, fighting hard to keep the tears from falling.
"Ash," she said slowly, word by word.
"I'm leaving ahead of you."
Ash blinked, confused.
"Huh? You're not traveling with us anymore?"
"No. There's a flea dancing on a grave right now," Blue replied coldly.
"And I'm going to stuff it back where it belongs."
She turned to the Pokémon beside her and gave a sharp command.
"Bulbasaur—get your Vine Whip ready!"
"Bulba! Bulba!"
One girl and one Pokémon took off in the direction of Cerulean City in a full sprint, vanishing from sight in moments.
Ash, Brock, and Misty stood there in silence.
"…She's really full of energy," Ash finally said.
Very different from the sheer resentment Blue had just radiated.
Truthfully, aside from wanting to pin Gary down and punch him a few times, Ash didn't harbor any real malice.
So the three of them continued on at a leisurely pace toward Cerulean City.
Hearing that this was Misty's hometown, Ash figured this was the perfect chance to scout out the Cerulean Gym in advance.
Know yourself, know your enemy—victory is assured.
But when he turned around, there was only one person behind him: a tan, squint-eyed muscular man.
"…Huh? Where did Misty go?"
Ash scratched his head.
Brock patted him on the shoulder and urged him forward.
"Probably went to visit family. Don't worry about it. Let's go—hurry up and challenge the Gym."
"As expected of a man with rock-solid willpower," Ash said solemnly.
"You really understand."
The two of them ran off eagerly.
After wandering around for a bit, they arrived at a building that looked suspiciously like an aquarium.
Hanging above the entrance was a large Dewgong sign holding a water balloon, surrounded by colorful streamers.
"This is the Cerulean Gym?" Ash frowned.
"Why does it look so flashy?"
In his mind, a Gym should look tough and rugged—like the Pewter Gym.
"Hurry up, hurry up!" Brock said impatiently, licking his lips as he pushed Ash inside.
The moment they entered, they found themselves in a long hallway. On both sides were massive water tanks built into the walls, filled with all kinds of aquatic Pokémon.
Ash flicked open his Pokédex.
"Beep.Feebas, the Fish Pokémon. Known for its shabby appearance, but capable of evolving into a beautiful Pokémon under the right conditions."
"Beep.Magikarp, the Fish Pokémon. Very weak and pathetic, but capable of evolving into an extremely powerful Pokémon."
Ash stared at the screen.
"…Yeah. This Pokédex is definitely acting weird."
One Pokémon was infamous for being weak, the other wasn't exactly good-looking either—yet the descriptions felt oddly off.
Deciding not to dwell on it, the two pushed open the next door.
Inside was a large arena resembling a spectator hall, packed with people—mostly men.
At the center of everyone's attention was a massive pool.
Three women were performing water ballet in it, their movements elegant and graceful. Thin fabric clung to their figures, and the splashing water sent the audience into constant cheers.
"Ooooh—!!"
Brock shouted along with the crowd.
His eyes were wider than they had ever been before.
"…What's so interesting about this?" Ash asked, genuinely confused.
In terms of muscles, those women looked fragile—he could probably knock them over with one punch.
In terms of strength, they swam so slowly that Ash was confident he could outspeed all three of them combined.
"You don't have rock-solid willpower," Brock said gravely, patting his shoulder.
"You wouldn't understand."
"Rock-solid willpower is about perseverance," Brock continued seriously.
"And only when you view the world from the perspective of a rock can you uncover its true mysteries."
Ash nodded slowly, not fully understanding—but feeling like he had just gained a deeper appreciation of Brock.
"So… this is rock-solid willpower…"
He looked around at the cheering crowd and couldn't help but inhale sharply.
"Cerulean City is terrifying," he muttered.
"Everyone here has rock-solid willpower."
The two found empty seats and watched the performance. Ash tried his best to learn this powerful "rock-solid willpower" from Brock.
Later—
It was… underwhelming.
The audience noisily filed out of the Cerulean Gym.
Ash and Brock slipped into the backstage area just as the three women finished their performance, still wearing their swimsuits, hair dripping wet as they walked toward them.
"Today's show was a huge success~" they said cheerfully.
They quickly noticed the two unfamiliar faces.
"Oh? Are you here for autographs?" one of them asked with a smile.
"Sorry, you'll have to talk to our manager first."
Ash straightened immediately.
"No. My name is Ash, and I'm here to challenge the Gym."
Brock somehow produced a bouquet of flowers from nowhere, his teeth flashing brightly.
"My name is Brock, and I am a man with—"
Before he could finish, a woman with blonde hair interrupted him.
"Oh! A Gym challenge?" she said.
"Then let me introduce myself. I'm Daisy, the eldest of the Cerulean Sisters."
"—rock-solid willpower," Brock muttered.
A blue-haired woman cut in next.
"I'm Violet, the second sister."
"I could invite you out to dinner—"
A pink-haired woman interrupted again.
"And I'm Lily, the youngest. Since you're here to challenge the Gym, come with us."
Then she turned her head and looked curiously at Brock.
"Is this dark-skinned guy looking for a restaurant? If you turn right and walk 300 meters, there's a Cerulean Gym–themed restaurant~"
Brock: "…"
"…Never mind."
"…Sorry to bother you."
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