Okay. So, it's been like, over half a year, and I feel awful about that. But worry not, this story isn't dead! There was quite a long hiatus because of a crappy first semester of college, and as a result I lost a lot of motivation to write. Also experienced my first anxiety attack during that time so that was fun.

As an apology for such a long break, I'm going to attempt to get a chapter out every day until I go back for my second semester this Monday. I don't know If I'll be able to pull through on this, but I'll try my hardest.

As always, here are my responses to reviews!

Northstar Pokeshipper: Yeah... sorry for the massively long wait. Like I said above, IRL things happened, and I was/am a lot busier now. I'm still gonna try to keep this story and my others going though!

storyreader21: Apart from canon ships, I'm not big on shipping tbh. I do have a plan or two, but they won't be for a while. As for the cosplay idea, it's something to consider. Definitely wouldn't be a permanent thing though.

The Shining Fury: Not a bad idea! I'll keep it in mind and see If I want to use it sometime in the future.

Sheaon13: Thanks for reminding me of that! Honestly don't know how I forgot, but I have a plan to rectify it.

xavex: Gyms are a little harder to beat than they are in the canon anime, but still not a crazy challenge. I want to find a way to utilize victory road and the tournaments, but I'm still working that one out.

To everyone who reviewed asking for an update, here you go! Cerulean City is going to be a three chapter stop. This one, an intermission, and the gym battle.

"We're finally here, Cerulean City!"

Ash, Storm and their travelling companions were standing at the peak of a hill overlooking a large city sitting by a river.

"If I remember right, the Cerulean gym specializes in water types, so that means Storm and I should have the type advantage!"

Brock crossed his arms. "Don't let that make you cocky though. Gym leaders usually come up with clever strategies to overcome their weaknesses. A gym battle isn't just about raw power, but also how well you and your Pokémon work together."

"Thanks for the advice Brock! Of course you'd know what to expect of a gym leader, given you are one and all!"

Lily looked behind her to find Misty trailing behind the group. "Hey Misty, is something the matter?"

"Huh?! Oh, um, it's just that... nevermind. Let's just get this over with."

Lily gave Misty another worried glance but didn't press her. "Is she afraid of Cerulean for some reason? She doesn't seem awful happy to be here."

The others didn't seem to notice Misty's discomfort, so Lily tucked it in the back of her mind for later. She figured Misty's reason for not wanting to be here would become apparent eventually.

After checking in to the local Pokémon center, Ash, Storm and co headed for the gym.

"Well, it is a water type gym. Should we both fight in this one, or let some of our other team members get some experience?"

Storm crossed his arms in thought. "Well, I know that type advantage isn't everything, but it still feels a little cheap to have us both battle here."

"So, who should we have battle?"

"Well one of us is fine, we'll flip a coin later. Apart from that, I think Fang and Clefairy are the best options we have right now. Emerald needs more training before he can be used in a gym battle."

As Ash and Storm bounced battle plans off of each other, the gym finally came into view.

Misty sighed. "Oh great, I was hoping I wouldn't come back here so soon."

Lily gave Misty a curious look. "Why is that? Do you know the leader?"

Misty rolled her eyes as they entered the arena stands. "Oh yeah, I know the gym leaders alright."

Ash and Storm looked down into the arena in confusion. "Huh? This... is the gym right?"

Down in the pool, there were three girls preforming a synchronized swimming routine to the applause of the crowd.

Misty scoffed, leaning against the wall. "Yeah, it is. Except the leaders here consider running the gym a side gig compared to their swimming routines."

Brock raised an eyebrow. "Huh. I know that some gym leaders have jobs besides running their gym, but they usually consider their role as a leader more important."

"Yeah, well these three are a special case."

Storm watched as the girls finished their routine. "Wow. That was actually pretty cool! They were totally in sync with their movements!"

Lily giggled. "Well, that's why it's called 'Synchronized swimming' silly!"

Ash started to head out of the stands. "Well, since it looks like they're done, I'm gonna go see if I can find them and ask for a battle!"

Misty raced to catch up with energetic Pikachu. "Ash! Wait! Do you mind if I talk with them first? I don't want them to see me and get the wrong idea."

Ash looked back at his companion, confused. "Huh? Uh, sure? What's the deal with them anyway? Are you rivals or something? I know you're a water type trainer too."

Misty rubbed her shoulder nervously. "Well... no, not exactly. Look, it'll make sense once we meet them, okay?"

Misty walked off, not waiting for a response. "Wow. She seems pretty out of it. I wonder why meeting the Cerulean leaders is making her so nervous?"

Lily began walking after their red-haired companion. "Well, we're not going to find out by standing around here, are we? Come on!"

The group followed Misty down a flight of stairs and into a hallway lined with fish tanks. "Wow! It's like an aquarium in here!"

Misty rolled her eyes. "It is. The Cerulean gym has quite a few attractions apart from being a place for trainers to get a badge."

All of a sudden, three voices could be heard coming from around the corner.

"Wow, you did great out there today Daisy!"

"I know, all that practice really paid..."

The three girls looked in front of them to see Misty staring back.

"Misty? Back so soon? I knew you'd give it up and come back eventually but I thought you'd at least last more than a couple weeks."

The blue haired one of the trio laughed. "Guess that means I win the bet! Pay up, Lily!"

Misty huffed annoyedly. "For your information, I'm still on my journey! I'm just passing through with some friends!"

The yellow haired one, Daisy smirked. "Come on, little sis. You don't have to go on this silly little journey just to prove something! With enough practice you might actually become good enough to be the side event to our shows!"

Misty's friends widened their eyes. "Wait, they're your sisters?!"

Upon hearing Storm speak, the three girls gasped. "O.M.G. A talking Pikachu?! You're so adorable!"

The three supposed gym leaders picked Storm up and started snuggling him. "You're just the cutest little thing! We don't see many Pikachu, given how rare they are. Awww! He's even got a little hat!"

Storm struggled to get out of their grasp. "Ack! A-Ash, help!"

Ash backed away nervously. "You're on your own, I don't want to deal with that!"

The three girls swiveled their heads over to the slowly retreating Ash. "There's two of you?!"

Ash gulped. "M-Misty, do something!"

Misty sighed and pulled her sisters away from the two. "Can you three please stop harassing my friends?"

The trio at least had the dignity to look a little ashamed. "Sorry. I guess we, like, got a little carried away."

Misty sighed. "Whatever. Now can you please let me say my piece? I didn't leave because I didn't think I was good enough to become one of the sensational sisters, I don't care about any of that! I left because I wanted to become a better trainer! I was tired of the cerulean gym being considered laughably easy. I mean, you three aren't good at battling at all!"

Violet, the blue haired one, put her hands on her hips. "Don't be so rude! We are so good at battling!"

Misty rolled her eyes. "How many trainers have you beaten since I left?"

The pink haired one, Lily, darted her eyes to the side. "Well... we did kinda lose to like five challengers in a row. We haven't really been up for battling after all those losses, so we've just been saying the gym is closed."

Misty's eye twitched. "You've been turning challengers away?! Do you realize what will happen if the league finds out about this?!"

"Um... no? It's not that big a-"

"YES, IT IS A BIG DEAL! If a gym closes down for too long, the Indigo League will take away the gym's certification, and it won't be able to reopen!"

Daisy gulped. "Uh, we, like, didn't know that."

"Of course you didn't! I was the only one who read the guidelines when we opened the gym!"

Ash, Storm and the others looked on nervously, afraid to speak lest they turn Misty's fury onto them.

"Now I'll tell you what! My friends came here to challenge the gym, and since you three won't be able to give them a challenge, I'm going to do it for you!"

Ash finally found the courage to use his vocal cords. "Wait, Misty, you're a Cerulean gym leader too?"

"Of course! I was the one who battled most of the challengers before I left to get stronger!"

"Awesome! Does this mean we can have a battle?"

"It sure does. But not right now."

Ash and Storm immediately lost almost all of their enthusiasm. "What?! Why not?"

"Well, I've heard rumors that there have been sightings of water type Pokémon that aren't usually found in Kanto right off Cerulean Bay! I plan to catch one for our battle! I'm sure you can get some good training in with your team while you're waiting."

The two Pikachu grumbled about having their battle postponed but figured that the Pokémon Misty wanted to catch might make it more interesting.

"Okay. I guess that's fine. Hey Brock, do you know a good place we could go to train?"

"Hmmm, I'm pretty sure I saw a decently large field when we were coming into the city."

"Okay, that should do fine! Maybe we can help Emerald get a little stronger and get to know Clefairy better too!"

Ash and Storm hopped up on to Brock's shoulders. "Lead the way!"

"Oh, I see. Too lazy to walk yourselves, are you?"

Misty watched them go with a little amusement. "Lily, are you coming with me?"

Misty's pink haired sister blinked in confusion. "What? But, like, I thought you were angry with me."

"I am! I was asking the other Lily, the one in the witch getup!"

Lily, the one not related to Misty, gave a nervous smile. "Yeah, sure Misty."

"Alright. We'll go rent a boat then. You three! If I find out you've closed the gym again once I leave, I'll get on the first bus back here and beat you senseless! You got that?!"

The three sisters nodded nervously. "Good. Then I'm off!"

The sensational sisters watched as the redhead left with Lily. "I forgot how scary little sis can be sometimes."

"Oh yeah, definitely. But did you see those Pikachu?! Their cute little hats, and they even talked!"

"Yeah. And they said they were gonna challenge the gym! I wonder how Misty's planning on dealing with electric types."

"I'm sure she'll come up with something. She may not be as good as we are at swimming, but she always did do well in battles."

The sensational sisters were left to wonder about what the coming battle would be like, as the two parties headed off to prepare.