The match was simply impossible to win. The environment offered nothing but disadvantages, and the elemental typing was completely countered. Seadra's straight-line dashing speed in the water was akin to a speedboat.
Furthermore, whenever the trainer from Cinnabar Island commanded his Flareon to counterattack with Flamethrower, that cunning little chubby kid, Choji, would slyly have his Seadra dive beneath the surface.
There was no way to deal with such a cheap strategy utilizing the terrain. Of course, if the Pokémon were powerful enough, a few blasts of Flamethrower could have scorched the pool to a boil, and any Seadra hiding in the water would have been finished. In an even more extreme case, a Fire-type ultimate move could have evaporated the entire pool, resulting in an instant kill.
Unfortunately, this Flareon's strength was far from that level. After a dozen or so Flamethrowers, it had managed to evaporate some of the water, but for a pool over two hundred square meters, it was merely a drop in the bucket. Instead, the Flareon ended up panting for breath, its stamina plunging to a dangerous low.
Choji then had Seadra use Twister to drag Flareon into the water before finishing it off with a Hydro Pump that sent the Fire-type flying out of the pool. Between the double damage of the impact and the environment, Flareon bit the dust!
"Did I hear that right? You're forfeiting the next match?" The eldest sister, Daisy, looked at the little chubby kid in disbelief. "You need to understand, you've made it to the final round. If you win against that handsome black-haired guy,
you can be a temporary Gym Leader at our Cerulean Gym for three days. Not only would you earn a daily salary of thirty thousand, but if you hold the gym for three days and prevent any challengers from earning a Cascade Badge, you'll receive a Surf TM worth over six hundred and fifty thousand!"
"I understand!" Choji nodded. "But Brother Hisoka is definitely stronger than me. I have that much self-awareness. Besides, I hate trouble more than anything. Why should I fight a match I'm clearly going to lose?"
Daisy was left somewhere between laughter and tears by the boy's words. He had made it all the way to the finals; shouldn't he at least try regardless of the outcome? What if he actually won?
Daisy shook her head helplessly and said, "Fine, since that is your decision, the final winner today is the handsome one named Hisoka. As for you, you annoying little fatty, go back to wherever you came from. Understand?"
"Understood, understood," Choji nodded repeatedly. "There's nothing much to do in Cerulean City anyway. I've already gotten the badge for the Cerulean Gym. To be honest, this was the easiest badge I've ever earned. The reputation of the weakest gym in the Kanto Region certainly precedes it."
"You little..." Daisy was instantly enraged.
Before Daisy could rush forward to take action, Choji bolted toward the gym entrance with a speed that defied his body type. As he ran, he shouted, "Brother Hisoka, I'm heading off! I'm going to Pewter City to get my next badge. I have your contact info anyway, so I'll call you for a meal when I have time! Bye-bye..."
"Speak! Who was the one who lost the gym badge to that damn little fatty?" Daisy stood with her hands on her hips, turning back to glare at her two fidgeting sisters. "Was it Violet or Lily?"
"It was me..." Violet raised her hand sheepishly. "You and our second sister were out shopping, and the kid just showed up. His Seadra was too fast; my Poliwhirl was no match for it."
"Big sister, it's not like this is the first time," Lily rushed up to soothe her. "The Cascade Badge of the Cerulean Gym is widely recognized as the easiest badge to get, after all."
"You girls..." Daisy's face flushed red with anger. "Can't you have some ambition? Our Cerulean Gym might not be the strongest in Kanto, but it shouldn't be the weakest either!"
"Look!" Daisy grabbed Hisoka's arm and pulled him forward. "I've found such a powerful and handsome trainer for us. I want him to make a name for the Cerulean Gym within these three days. I want every trainer who comes here to challenge us to get more than they bargained for!"
"Agreed! Agreed!"
Violet and Lily looked at each other and nodded in unison.
Is this what they call 'the fox borrowing the tiger's authority'? Standing to the side, Hisoka could only look away awkwardly. How were these three sisters wired? Instead of thinking about how to increase their own strength, they resorted to hiring a temporary Gym Leader to fill in for them. They might be excellent synchronized swimmers, but they were certainly not good trainers.
Fortunately, the three of them had a youngest sister with great potential who could support the Cerulean Gym in the future and completely shed the title of the weakest gym in Kanto.
Walking along the transparent glass tile walkway of the Cerulean Gym, Daisy introduced Hisoka to his upcoming duties. Since he was taking their money to solve their problems, Hisoka knew he had to maintain a good reputation as a professional Bounty Hunter. A solid word of mouth would lead to repeat customers and referrals.
"The rules of our Cerulean Gym are three-on-three, and you must use at least one Water-type Pokémon," Daisy explained, stopping before a large pool and pointing to the many Water-type Pokémon playing inside.
"However, since you don't have a Water-type on hand, you can pick any of the unowned ones in there. If the child is willing to follow you, you can take it with you after the mission ends. But the premise is..."
"I won't let any challenger get a Cascade Badge!" Hisoka finished her sentence with a smile. "You can rest easy on that. Not a single person will take a Cascade Badge within these three days. That is my promise as a Bounty Hunter and as a man."
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