Everyone arrived at a huge swimming pool, with Trainer stands on both sides and several floats on the water for Pokémon to stand on.

“This is the Cerulean Gym’s battleground.”

Daisy, the eldest sister, put her hands on her hips very domineeringly, and the aura of a strong individual that came rushing over made Ash sweat slightly, secretly thinking that he couldn’t be careless.

“Lily, it’s decided, you’re up!”

Lily: “???”

“Big sister is tired, and my Pokémon have already been completely defeated by the previous challenger and are now recuperating,” Daisy said as a matter of course.

“But big sister, my Pokémon were also overwhelmed by another challenger…” Lily replied, looking puzzled.

Then, both of them looked together at another woman with pink hair.

“Third sister, I’ll leave it to you.” “The glory of the Cerulean Gym will always protect you!”

Violet: “???”

The problem was that her Pokémon had also been overwhelmed! The three of them, who focused on synchronized swimming performances every day, had long forgotten the daily training of a Trainer, and the rumors of the weakest Gym that were subtly spreading in the Kanto region were not just rumors.

Now it was Ash’s turn to be confused. What the hell, are they fighting or not?

“Oh, well, performance is more important after all. Gym battles are just for show, you know~”

The three came to a unanimous conclusion.

These casual words, however, angered Ash. This was the Gym challenge he had longed for, and how could he allow anyone to treat it like this? He immediately pulled Brock over, intending to let this strong man teach these three ignorant women a lesson.

“He’s the Trainer of the Pewter Gym, a man with the will of Rock, Brock! Quickly, show your Rock will!”

Brock frowned, looking at the three beautiful women in front of him, and his tone couldn’t help but soften a few points.

“Actually, I think…”

“Louder! Didn’t you eat!?” Ash roared.

Brock: “...”

After a moment of hesitation, Brock finally lifted his neck, opened his eyes wide, and said in a deep voice:

“This is wrong! You can’t be half-hearted in what you do!”

Seeing this, Ash nodded in satisfaction. As expected of the man I approve of.

“We in Pewter City still have a large undeveloped area. If the three sisters don’t mind, you can move your venue there and focus on synchronized swimming in the future. I’m sure it would be excellent.”

Ash: “???”

“And I am a man with Pewter City household registration. If the three sisters want to become Pewter City residents, you just need to add your names to my household register. As for me, I don’t mind at all.”

The three: “...”

...

After some discussion, the three sisters reluctantly released a Pokémon, stating that it was their last remaining combat power.

“Flap, flap…”

It was a pink and white Goldeen, performing Splash on the shore.

“Beep, beep. Goldeen, a common fish Pokémon. Steaming is the best option.”

The Pokédex didn’t miss any opportunity to show its presence.

“Is it this one…?”

Ash’s brows were deeply furrowed. In this situation, even if Pikachu didn’t attack, Goldeen would lose its combat ability from exhaustion due to constantly using Splash. He had wanted to follow the type advantage chart he had just memorized yesterday for this Gym challenge and send out the Electric-type Pikachu for a proper battle. But did fate just not want him to use type advantage?

Damn it!

Seeing this, Daisy, the eldest sister, also looked a bit helpless. She clapped her hands, and immediately a cute Seel popped out of the nearby pool. It opened its mouth, and on its tongue, it was holding a droplet-shaped badge.

“I see that your Pikachu has astonishing bone structure, so I suppose we are not your opponents. In that case, please accept this proof of your victory over us, the Blue Badge.”

Ash: “...”

He hesitated. Getting the badge so easily made him feel a bit uncomfortable. To be honest, if it was like this, he would rather not have this Blue Badge. After all, the Kanto region, as an old established region, has plenty of Gyms. He could just challenge another Gym.

Just as he was about to refuse, he heard a sweet shout from the other end of the pool.

“Sister Daisy, let me take your place in the Gym battle!”

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that Misty had somehow already appeared there.

“Didn’t you eat? Louder! We can’t hear you over here!”

Ash roared.

Misty: “...”

She quickly flashed and ran to everyone, snatching the Blue Badge from Daisy’s hand and holding it high in front of Ash’s face:

“The Cerulean Gym does not hand over badges without a fight. Let me complete the Gym challenge in their place.”

After some explanation, Ash finally learned that Misty was actually the youngest of the Cerulean sisters. Because she hadn’t fully matured yet, she was often selectively forgotten.

“By the way, Misty, didn’t you say you wouldn’t return to the Gym until you became a strong Trainer? How come you’re back in less than two weeks?” Daisy asked.

“Even so, we won’t let you perform synchronized swimming~”

“Who wants to perform synchronized swimming? That’s not proper work!” Misty glared fiercely at her three older sisters.

I, Misty, would rather starve to death, rather jump from here, than perform synchronized swimming!

“Small chest, but a big temper.”

Violet added a jab.

Misty: “!!!”

Just as the classic scene of squabbling sisters was about to unfold, Ash and Brock quickly separated everyone.

“It doesn’t matter, as long as someone fights me!” This was Ash’s thought.

...

Soon, Ash and Misty were standing at opposite ends of the arena.

Brock continued to try and win them over from the side:

“Three sisters, are you really not considering it? Our Pewter City has good development potential. Last year, it was one of the top ten cities in the Kanto region…”

“Does our Kanto even have an eleventh city…?”

...

At both ends of the pool.

“Pikachu, I choose you!” Ash instructed, taking the lead.

As a boy who had thoroughly studied the type advantage chart, he was confident today!

“Pika…”

However, this time, Pikachu’s expression was a bit weaker. It simply ran behind his pant leg, indicating that it was here to watch.

It doesn’t shock its own people, except Ash.

That’s love therapy.

“As expected of Pikachu, you haven’t forgotten that I usually feed you rare candies!”

Seeing this, Misty smiled triumphantly. She was very familiar with Ash’s Pokémon, but he had never seen her in action. Without Pikachu, his main force, she was confident today!

“Damn it!”

Pikachu’s usual slacking off was something Ash was used to, so he directly sent out another Pokémon.

A red light flashed, and a green Pokémon appeared on the float, unmoving and steady as a mountain.

Metapod, nicknamed Rayquaza, currently has a perfect win record, having saved Ash from danger multiple times. It is undeniably strong.

“Then I’ll send you out!” Misty said in a low voice.

A red light flashed, and another Pokémon appeared on the float. It had a strange shape, just a brown five-pointed star with a red gem embedded in the center.

“Beep, beep. Staryu, a decent Pokémon, an intersex individual, hermaphroditic, capable of creating a species by itself.”

Misty: “...”