Sakura had finally made it to Cerulean city where she was determined to win her fourth badge for an upcoming tournament.
"Here's the Cerulean Gym. I'm excited to earn my fourth badge. What do you think Espeon?" Sakura asked
Her partner Espeon gave it out a cry in reply.
The girl and her pokemon entered the gym and looked around the building.
"Hello?! I'm here for a gym battle!" Sakura hollered
The young girl then heard some footsteps and looked over to see a very familiar orange haired girl with a side ponytail.
"Misty?" Sakura asked in surprise.
Misty was just as surprised to see her friend, Sakura here.
"Sakura, it's been a while" Misty said
The two of them then found a place to sit down.
"What brings you here to Cerulean City?" Misty asked
"Well I've been on a journey. I got 3 gym badges from Johto and I wanted to earn my fourth badge from the kanto region" Sakura said
"Ah so you're collecting gym badges here" Misty said
"That's right, I'm a much better trainer now than I was back then" Sakura said
"I'm glad to see that you've improved" Misty said
"But where are Ash and Brock? They're usually with you aren't they?" Sakura asked
"Ash is continuing his journey as a pokemon master and knowing Brock, he probably followed him. I heard he was headed to the hoenn region" Misty said
"The hoenn region? Really?! Wow!" Sakura said
Misty then asked her something else.
"So you're here to earn the cascade badge then you'll have to defeat the gym leader here" Misty said
"Right, do you know where the gym leader is?" Sakura asked
Misty just giggled and they made Sakura confused.
"What's so funny?" Sakura asked
"You're speaking to the gym leader" Misty said
Sakura was shocked by this piece of information.
"You're the gym leader?!" Sakura asked in surprise
"Right, I had to stop traveling with Ash and Brock so I could take up my duties as a gym leader" Misty said
"I guess that makes sense. Well Misty, I would like to challenge you to a gym battle" Sakura said
"Of course, we can get started now" Misty said
A female swimmer was the referee for this battle.
"The gym battle between Sakura, the challenger, and Misty, the gym leader, is about to begin. Each side can only 3 pokemon each and the battle will be over when all three pokemon on one side will be unable to continue. Only challenger will be allowed to substitute pokemon at any time during the match" Referee said
"I'll win this for sure" Sakura said
"I won't make it easy for you" Misty said
"Battle begin!" The Referee said
"Let's get started then! Politoed I choose you" Misty called out
The frog pokemon Politoed was sent out first. It started to clap as soon as it came out of its pokeball.
Sakura was surprised to see that Misty had a Politoed.
"Politoed?" Sakura asked
"Like it? My Poliwhirl evolved into Politoed" Misty said
"I know what pokemon I'm using. Beautifly I choose you" Sakura called out.
The butterfly pokemon appeared out of its pokemon and was ready to battle.
"A beautifly" Misty said
"This is a pokemon that I've been raising since I caught it as a wurmple. Don't think that you'll win easily" Sakura said
"Well then I'll give you the honor using the first move" Misty said
"All right then. Beautifly use silver wind" Sakura called out
Beautifly flapped its wings and unleashed silver crescent winds of energy at Politoed.
"Not a bad silver wind but it won't be enough. Politoed use Hyper voice" Misty called back
Politoed opened its mouth and unleased blue rings of energy. Politoed's attack managed to overpower Silver wind and was headed straight for Beautifly.
"Quick Beautifly dodge it" Sakura said
Beautifly flew up and dodged Politoed's hyper voice.
"Silver wind was overpowered just like that?" Sakura asked
"You aren't the only who had gotten stronger, Sakura" Misty said with a smirk.
"All right Beautifly string shot" Sakura called out
Beautifly then released some silk from its long nose.
"Counter with your water gun" Misty commanded
Politoed unleashed a burst of water from its mouth and string shot was completely overpowered and hit Beautifly directly.
"Oh no Beautifly!" Sakura said
Beautifly fell down on one of the platforms in the pool. Misty went with her next move.
"Alright Politoed Bounce attack" Misty commanded
Politoed then jumped and was about to land directly on Beautifly.
"Beautifly, please dodge it!" Sakura said
Hearing its trainer's voice, the butterfly pokemon managed to recover and dodge it just in time. Sakura sighed with relief.
"Politoed, bubble beam" Misty commanded
Politoed unleashed quick bubbles at the butterfly pokemon.
"Deflect it gust" Sakura commanded
Beautifly flapped its wings, creating a gust of wind and that managed to deflect Politoed bubble beam.
"Nice move!" Misty complimented
"Go Beautifly stun spore" Sakura commanded
Beautifly unleashed at golden like powder from its wings.
"Alright Politoed underwater" Misty commanded
Politoed dove into the water, avoiding stun spore.
"Beautifly be careful Politoed could pop from any where so keep you eye for it" Sakura said
Beautifly looked at the pool for any signs of the frog pokemon surfacing.
"Hyper voice go!" Misty commanded
Blue rings came out of the pool and headed towards beautifly.
"Dodge it!" Sakura called out
The butterfly pokemon barely managed to dodge hyper voice.
"Now Politoed, swagger" Misty commanded
Politoed glowed red and Beautifly started to get a bit shaky.
"Hang on Beautifly and use silver wind" Sakura commanded
The butterfly pokemon unleashed a silver wind but it aimed it downwards towards the water. it wasn't even aiming at Politoed.
"Beautifly! What wrong?!" Sakura asked
"Swagger has made it confused" Misty explained
"Confused? Oh no Beautifly!" Sakura called out
"Politoed hyper voice" Misty commanded.
Politoed unleashed a powerful hyper voice and Beautifly was unable to dodge it this time and it was hit by it.
"No Beautifly!" Sakura said
"Water gun go!" Misty commanded
Beautifly was hit a powerful water gun and hit the wall behind it.
"Beautifly! No!" Sakura said
The butterfly pokemon had swirly eyes, signaling that it was unable to battle.
"Beautifly is unable to battle, Politoed is winner" The referee said
"Nicely done Politoed!" Misty said
Politoed clapped to celebrate its victory.
Sakura returned Beautifly to its pokemon to give it some rest.
"Thanks Beautifly, take nice long rest" Sakura said
Sakura knew what her next pokemon was going to be.
"Bellossom I choose you" Sakura said
Bellossom appeared out of its pokeball ready to fight.
"I'm surprised you didn't use a grass type sooner" Misty said
"Bellossom was my secret weapon against your water types but I wanted to save it for later" Sakura said
"Well I hope you secret weapon is ready for Politoed. Use your water gun" Misty commanded
Politoed unleashed its water gun attack at Bellossom.
"Bellossom, use magical leaf" Sakura said
Bellossom unleashed glowing green leaves to counter again Politoed's water gun. Magical leaf overpowered water gun and hit Politoed with a critical hit.
"Oh no Politoed!" Misty said
"Bellossom magical leaf again" Sakura said
Bellossom unleashed another powerful magical leaf towards the frog pokemon.
"Use your hyper voice" Misty commanded
Politoed countered magical leaf with a powerful hyper voice. The two attacks canceled each other out.
"Swagger go!" Misty said
"Not this time, Misty! Bellossom petal dance" Sakura commanded
Bellossom started to spin and unleashed pink petals that managed to hit the frog pokemon before it could even used swagger.
"Politoed!" Misty called with worry.
"Magical leaf go!" Sakura said
Bellossom unleased another powerful magical leaf and the frog pokemon was hit once more and knocked into the water.
Politoed resurfaced with swirly eyes.
"Politoed is unable to battle, Bellossom is the winner" The referee said
"Way to go Bellossom!" Sakura said with joy.
Bellossom danced to celebrate its victory.
"Thanks Politoed, take a long rest" Misty said
"We're tied now" Sakura said
"That might be true for now. But this battle is just getting started" Misty said
Misty then brought out another pokeball.
"Staryu I choose you" Misty said
Staryu let out a cry as it came out of its pokeball.
"Lets keep going, Bellossom, use magical leaf" Sakura commanded
Bellossom unleashed magical leaf again, this time it was aimed at Staryu.
"Staryu, counter with your swift attack" Misty said
Staryu unleashed some yellow stars as a counterattack. Swift and magical leaf were evenly matched in power and caused an explosion.
"Bellossom use your stun spore" Sakura commanded
Bellossom released some golden powder from the flowers on its head.
"Staryu rapid spin go!" Misty called out
Staryu started to spin really fast and charged at Bellossom. It spun so fast that it caused a small gust of wind to blow around itself and stun spore was deflected and Bellossom was hit by its powerful rapid spin.
"Hang in there and use petal dance" Sakura commanded
Bellossom unleashed a powerful petal dance attack to hit Staryu.
"Rapid spin once more" Misty commanded
Staryu's rapid spin broke through petal dance with ease which shocked both Sakura and Bellossom.
"No way!" Sakura yelled
"Bubble beam now" Misty commanded
Staryu unleashed a power stream of speedy bubbles and Bellossom was hit by them. it didn't as much damage since Bellossom was a grass type.
"We've got to stop that rapid spin. We've only got one attack left but we need to wait for the right time to use it" Sakura said
Sakura then ordered another attack.
"Magical leaf go!" Sakura said
Bellossom used its magical leaf to attack Staryu but its rapid spin deflected the attack.
"Come on Sakura, you going to need a more powerful attack than that if you want to beat Staryu" Misty said
"We've got no choice. Bellossom use solar beam" Sakura commanded
Bellossom's flowers stared to gather light.
"Solar beam might be a strong move but it'll take a while for it to charge up. Staryu swift attack" Misty called out
Staryu unleashed yellow stars and Bellossom was taking them at full force. Sakura prayed for Bellossom to hang in there.
"Water gun go!" Misty said
Staryu unleashed a powerful water gun and Bellossom took full brunt of that attack.
"Let's finish this with rapid spin" Misty commanded
Staryu started to spin and headed straight towards Bellossom. However the flower pokemon's solar beam was done charging.
"Alright! Solar beam!" Sakura commanded
Bellossom unleashed a powerful white beam and Staryu was hit by the powerful beam. Even rapid spin couldn't deflect a powerful solar beam attack.
"Oh no Staryu!" Misty said
Staryu landed on one of the platforms and the red jewel in the center of its body glowed red.
"Staryu is unable to battle. Bellossom is the winner" The referee said
"Way to go, Bellossom!" Sakura cheered
Bellossom cheered too.
"Staryu return. Take a long rest" Misty said
"Two down and one to go" Sakura said
"I wouldn't get overconfident if I were you. Because my last pokemon is my ace" Misty said
"Come at me with everything you've got" Sakura said
"Very well then. Gyarados, I choose you!" Misty called out
Gyarados appeared out of its pokeball and let out a mighty roar.
Sakura was shocked to see that Misty had a Gyarados. Misty didn't seem like to be the type of person to have a Gyarados.
"Alright Bellossom lets win this. Use petal dance" Sakura commanded
Bellossom unleashed a powerful petal dance attack on Gyarados.
"Gyarados use hydro pump" Misty commanded
Gyarados unleashed high powered stream of water from its mouth and it overpowered Bellossom's petal dance with ease and made a direct hit with Bellossom.
"Bellossom!" Sakura called out with worry
Bellossom got up slowly because of all the damage it took earlier.
"Magical leaf go!" Sakura commanded
Bellossom unleashed its magical leaf.
"Gyarados hyper beam" Misty commanded
"What?!" Sakura asked in shock
Gyarados unleashed a powerful orange beam of energy and Bellossom was hit by the powerful attack.
"Bellossom no!" Sakura called out
Bellossom had swrirls in its eyes.
"Bellossom is unable to battle, Gyarados is the winner" The referee said
Sakura returned Bellossom to its pokeball.
"Thanks, Bellossom, you were great" Sakura said
"Gyarados is my most powerful pokemon and I come up with a lot techniques when using it. I'll save those best ones for last" Misty said
Sakura gritted her teeth. Misty was a lot stronger than she was when they last met and to top it off she has a Gyarados too.
"Espeon, its up to you" Sakura said
The sun pokemon nodded and jumped on one of the platforms in the pool and was prepared for battle.
"Espeon swift attack" Sakura commanded
Espeon unleashed a powerful swift attack on Gyarados.
"Gyarados hydro pump" Misty commanded
Gyarados fought back with a powerful hydro pump attack that completely overpowered swift.
"Use quick attack" Sakura called out.
Espeon sped past hydro pump and slammed right into the atrocious pokemon.
"Wow that's fast" Misty said
"Now Espeon psybeam" Sakura called out
Espeon unleashed a rainbow colored beam from red gem on its forehead.
"Dodge it" Misty commanded
Gyarados swam leaned towards the right and dodged psybeam.
"Now use rain dance" Misty commanded
It gave out a mighty roar and the entire gym was soon cloudy and then it started to rain.
"Rain dance? Why?" Sakura asked in confusion
"You'll see. It's a little strategy that I came with a while ago" Misty said
"Espeon hidden power go" Sakura commanded
Espeon's body glowed and unleashed a white beam of energy.
"Hydro pump" Misty responded
Gyarados responded with a hydro pump and overpowered Espeon's hidden power due to the rain.
"Dive underwater and dodge it" Sakura said
Espeon dived underwater and dodged Hydro pump.
"Wow despite not being a water type Espeon can swim quite well. Psyduck could learn a thing or two from it" Misty commented
"Swift attack" Sakura commanded
Espeon jumped out of the water and unleashed its swift attack. It hit Gyarados and caused some damage.
"The time is now Gyarados. Use Twister" Misty commanded
A mini twister appeared around Gyarados' tail and then a big twister came right at Espeon. The twister then changed from white to blue due to the power of the rain and from launching the attack from below the water.
"Ah! Espeon dodge it!" Sakura called out desperately
Espeon jumped to dodge but the twister then went upwards and Espeon was soon hit by the powerful twister attack.
"Espeon no!" Sakura called
"Hydro pump go!" Misty called out
The atrocious pokemon unleashed its power hydro pump and it combined with the twister. Causing massive damage to the sun pokemon.
"This is a little technique that I like to call a hydro twister. Thanks to both the water, the rain and Gyarados' hydro pump it's a lot stronger than a normal twister. This move combination gave a lot of my challengers some big trouble" Misty said
"Espeon hang in there" Sakura called out.
"Now wrap this up with hyper beam" Misty commanded
Gyarados unleashed its powerful hyper beam attack and made the twister explode.
"Espeon!" Sakura called out.
The sun pokemon was laying on one of the platforms, not moving.
The referee was about to announce that Espeon was unable to battle but stopped when she saw that the sun pokemon was moving and struggled back to its feet.
"Espeon, you're ok" Sakura said
"I suggest you come back and challenge me when you're a little stronger. Its clear that Espeon won't be able to take another attack" Misty said
Sakura thought about it but her thinking was interrupted by her pokemon's voice. It didn't want to give up and Sakura knew that.
"Espeon are you sure?" Sakura asked
The sun pokemon nodded.
"Alright, we won't give up" Sakura said
"I admire your courage of not giving up. You're just like Ash. He would never give up either" Misty said
"The effects might not be as good because of the rain but its better than nothing. Espeon morning sun" Sakura said
Espeon's body glowed yellow and it healed some of the damage from Gyarados' attack but because of the rain the effects of morning sun were weakened.
"Now use quick attack" Sakura commanded
Espeon sped towards Gyarados.
"Use Twister" Misty responded
Gyarados unleashed another powerful twister attack and the sun pokemon was caught in it once again.
"We need to do something about that twister but what?" Sakura asked herself
Sakura then got an idea.
"Espeon used swift and then follow up with hidden power" Sakura commanded
Espeon used swift and then used its hidden power as a follow up attack. Hidden power made all the stars white and the stars unleashed white beams of energy. It was like swift itself was using hidden power. Gyarados' twister was completely destroyed.
Misty was shocked to see that her twister was completely destroyed.
"No way!" Misty said
"Psybeam quick" Sakura said
Espeon unleashed its psybeam and hit the atrocious pokemon.
"Gyarados hyper beam go" Misty commanded
Gyarados unleashed its hyper beam on the sun pokemon.
"Use quick attack to dodge" Sakura commanded
Espeon sped from one platform to the other and dodged hyper beam.
"Use hydro pump" Misty commanded
Gyarados unleashed its hydro pump attack on Espeon.
"Jump and then use Quick attack" Sakura commanded
Espeon jumped and ran across the hydro pump and slammed right into Gyarados.
"Use twister then hydro pump" Misty commanded
Gyarados used its combination attack again and Espeon was caught in it again.
"Its all or nothing. Use swift then hidden power and after that use psybeam" Sakura said
Espeon used swift and hidden power again. it made the move even stronger with psybeam. Multiple rainbow beams broke through Gyarados' combination attack.
"Hyper beam" Misty commanded
"Hidden power" Sakura commanded
Two beams of energy clashed with each other. Although hyper beam was slowly overpowering hidden power.
"Use psybeam" Sakura said
Espeon merged its psybeam with its hidden power transforming hidden power into a rainbow beam of energy. It was enough power to overpower Gyarados' hyper beam and hit the atrocious pokemon with full force and caused an explosion.
"Gyarados!" Misty called out
The smoke cleared and Gyarados was still up at first but then it fell into the water and had swirls in its eyes. The referee then made the call.
"Gyarados is unable to battle, Espeon is the winner. The winner of this battle goes to Sakura the challenger!" The referee called
Sakura was shocked at first but then she cheered.
"I did it!" Sakura said
Gyarados soon woke up and Misty was by its side.
"You battled very hard Gyarados thank you. Take a good rest now" Misty said as she returned it to its pokeball.
Everyone was now outside the gym and Misty gave Sakura some words.
"That was one of the most amazing battles I've ever had" Misty said
"Thanks Misty, I wasn't sure if I would be able to beat you at first but I didn't want to give up" Sakura said
"Well as proof of your victory here at the Cerulean gym I want to give you this cascade badge" Misty said as she held out a badge in the shape of a rain drop.
Sakura took it and thanked Misty and head on her way to continue her journey.