Chapter 5
"Ah! It's a great day to just enjoy the sunshine!" The sun was hanging high in the sky at the tips of their heads as the two Pokémon Trainers walked down the main path leading them to Cerulean City. It was another warm, perfect day, and they were certainly blessed to have such a good string of them – rain would have only slowed them down. The sun was letting them bask in its rays, and Ash was fully enjoying it, letting out his sigh of content with his arms above his head and a wide grin on his face.
Brock, however, was quick to remind him otherwise with a smirk on his face. "And while you're enjoying the sunshine, Gary's catching more Pokémon." Ash flinched in response, the name of his Pallet Town rival hitting him like a cannonball in the stomach. "But I guess a Pokémon Trainer can capture Pokémon and enjoy the sun."
Ash quickly recovered, and gave Brock a forgiving face, and chuckled a bit bashfully. Shaking off the statement, he looked forward. "I've got to get more Trainer Badges, Brock, and since there's a Gym in Cerulean City..."
"Yeah, makes sense to me," the Pokémon Breeder agreed. Sure, Ash wasn't having very much luck catching any Pokémon, but one way to get ahead of Gary was to make sure he had more Badges than him. If he was able to beat Gary to the Regional Championships, then he wouldn't have any more leeway to make fun of him.
o 0 o
Despite trying their best to hurry along – mostly on Ash's end – the pair didn't end up in Cerulean City until afternoon the next day. A beautiful city that featured many as many bridges to pass over its many rivers as it had roads, it didn't really seem to have a lot of people walking the streets as other cities he had been to. A voice in the back of his mind wondered where all the people were, but the main thought bouncing around his head was where the Gym was.
"So, this is Cerulean City, eh Brock?" Ash asked rhetorically as they walked to the heart of the city, their shoes tapping against the concrete roads and echoing off the brick walls that sectioned off houses and their backyards.
"Pretty nice place, isn't it?"
"Yeah, pretty cool." The street emptied out into the main shopping district of Cerulean City, and they walked around for a little bit, passing a few people here and there until finally they stopped in a little park to sit on a bench. Ash's aching feet thanked him for the small rest, and he crossed his leg over the other.
"Shouldn't you head for the Cerulean City Gym?" Brock asked as he crossed his arms knowingly.
"Yeah." The thought was on Ash's mind, but he wanted to find the Pokémon Center first. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head, and he smiled as he turned to his friend. "Hey Brock, you got any inside info on the Gym Trainer there?" A look of wonderment passed Brock's face, and Ash laughed with a hand behind his head. "I just wanna find out as much as I can about him before we have our match." Closing his eyes, he pointed a finger in the air. "'Know yourself, know your adversary, and you hold the key to victory.'"
"You sure know some pretty deep stuff."
"I learned that one from Dexter," the black-haired boy admitted bashfully, pulling out his Pokédex from his pocket.
"Well, I never actually met the Trainer here, but I know his Pokémon's special move."
"Yeah? What is it?!"
"I'm sorry, Ash, but I can't give you that information."
"Why not?" he asked as his smile was slowly replaced with a frown.
"I'm a Gym Leader too, after all. I can't tell you out of respect. You understand." The frowned softened on Ash's face in understanding.
"That's cool."
Deciding their break was over, they stood up and made their way back into the residential area of the city. The streets and houses almost looked the same, making the area more maze-like. But once they reached a cross-road, Brock stopped. "Well, I have some stuff I need to check out," he told Ash.
"What stuff?" Ash questioned, an eyebrow raised, but Brock disregarded the question with a wave of his hand.
"Just... stuff," he replied mysteriously, and began to walk off. "See 'ya later." Ash didn't let it bother him, however, and he just waved back.
"Bye." The Pallet Boy native watched as Brock disappeared around the corner, and clutched the straps of his backpack as he walked in the opposite direction. While he wanted to go to the Gym, his first stop would be the Pokémon Center. He didn't want a repeat of his first match with Samurai in the Viridian Forest when his Pokémon were too tired to battle and he lost in the process.
Lucky for him, he managed to stumble across the Pokémon Center completely by accident. As with the one in Pewter City, it was a tall building with a single tower in the center that touched the sky in a dome with a large 'P' over the top. The tower branched off into two angled roofs on either side of it.
Taking a tray and placing his two Poké Balls inside it, he brought it up to the front counter, and pushed it across the polished wood. "Please, revitalize my Pokémon," he requested, and was surprised to see Nurse Joy, the nurse with pink hair wrapped into two circular pigtails underneath her nurse's cap, smiling up at him as she placed her delicate hands on either side of the tray.
"Sure, right away," she said, and Ash blinked in surprise.
"Uh... Nurse Joy?"
"Yes, I'm Nurse Joy," she answered, and the tip of his index finger scratched his temple lightly.
"Uhh, but this isn't Pewter City, this is Cerulean City," he murmured, and he wasn't sure himself if he was saying it to her or to himself to make sure he was in the right spot.
"The Joy in Pewter City is my little sister," she explained. "I'm the older Joy." She picked up the tray and went to turn around, but stopped and smiled at him. "You're all signed in, Ash. It will just be a few moments, but please feel free to wait."
"O-oh! Nurse Joy! Do you know the way to the Cerulean City Gym?" The pink-haired nurse was just about to go through the back doors when she heard Ash's question, and she handed the tray off to a large pink Pokémon wearing a nurse's cap similar to hers with an egg in a front pouch.
"Chansey, Chanse!" the Pokémon said to her, and then disappeared again.
"I'm sorry, but I'm quite busy at the moment. But there are maps of the city in the waiting area that you're welcome to take with you," she responded as kindly as she could before following the Chansey into the double doors, leaving Ash in the lobby by himself.
o 0 o
Boredom and impatience was starting to brew in the pit of his stomach. While he did understand that Nurse Joy was busy that day, he wanted to get out of the Pokémon Center and start looking for the Pokémon Gym. Between the brochure of the map for Cerulean City burning a hole in his pocket, and the weight of the Boulder Badge pinned to his jacket tapping against his chest almost asking for a friend, it was hard to not feel impatient.
He had already done the essentials – he had eaten and showered, and even called his mom. But he hadn't seen Nurse Joy even appear since he had dropped off his Pokémon. He wondered why she was so busy, when there didn't even seem to be that many Trainers here.
He was staring out the large glass window out into the beautiful day, watching life go by ignorant to his watch when the Pokémon Center phone started to ring. At first he paid no mind to it, but after a couple more rings and the Pokémon Nurse didn't come out to answer it, he looked to the door to the recovery room and couldn't see movement. Did she not hear it?
Hesitantly, he walked around the counter, and walking up to the computer, hit the answer key on the keyboard. "Uh, this is Ash. Who's calling?"
"Ash! It's Professor Oak! Don't you recognize me?" the person on the other line asked, and the screen lit up, and a man sitting in a chair looking at the video of Ash appeared on the screen, but his back was to the camera.
"No Professor, I didn't recognize the back of your head," Ash replied. The Pokémon Professor quickly whipped his head around, and quickly typed a few codes into his keyboard.
"Oops! Wrong camera!" The screen went black for a moment, and finally, when it switched back on, he was looking at Professor Oak's face. "There," he said, and cleared his throat to pass the awkward moment, and then grew a smile on his face. "I just spoke with your mother, and she tells me you've made it to the Pokémon Center in Cerulean City. Is that correct?"
"I couldn't be talking to you if I wasn't here," Ash responded blankly.
"You couldn't be talking to me if you..." Professor Oak repeated, and his eyes lit up and he pointed at the camera. "Oh, I see! I dialed the Pokémon Center in Cerulean City and you were able to answer!"
"Yeah, because that's where I am."
Professor Oak crossed his arms and nodded. "Mhmm, I suppose that proves it! The other new Pokémon Trainers made it there with no problem, and I'm pleasantly surprised you got there so soon. I admit, when you left, I had my doubts you could handle being a Pokémon Trainer, but when my grandson Gary said that you wouldn't have a full team of Pokémon by the time you got to Cerulean City, I bet him a million Poké that he'd be wrong!" As the older man spoke, Ash visibly seemed to deflate from disappointment, but the last words that came out of the Professor's mouth made him jump, and he gave him a bashful laugh.
"Ah! Well, money isn't everything, right?" he admitted, and this time, it was Professor Oak's turn to hang his head in disappointment.
"Oh, why do I even bother...?"
Ash laughed nervously, trying to brush off the feelings of incompetence that always seemed to show up whenever Gary was mentioned. His mind went to his first day of his journey however, and that seemed like so long ago, but he could never forget the Pokémon that flew high over his head that not even Dexter knew what it was. "Oh! But I did see a flying Pokémon! It was the color of the sun, and it flew right over the rainbow!" But Oak disregarded his comments with a wave of his hand.
"Don't talk such nonsense. You couldn't have seen a Pokémon like that. Trainers have searched their whole lives and never seen it."
"I know what I saw," Ash said childishly, his cheeks puffing out slightly.
"You must have been mistaken. It was probably a Pidgeotto or something," he responded, but before Ash could argue further, Professor Oak's doorbell rang in the background, and his head whipped to the side. "Aah! That's my pizza. Coming!" And he dashed off camera, but only for a second before peeking around the side and giving a wave. "It was very nice talking to you, Ash. And good luck." And with that, the screen shut off, leaving Ash somewhat annoyed, but shrugged it off.
At that time, Nurse Joy came out of the back, carrying a tray of Poké Balls, and a look of confusion passed through her eyes as she saw Ash behind the counter. "O-oh! The phone was ringing, so I answered it in case it was an emergency, but it was for me anyway!" he stuttered, but she didn't seem angry and only gave him a smile.
"I see. Okay. Well, it's good timing anyway. Your Pokémon are all fighting fit," she said to him, and held forward the tray so he could take the Poké Balls. "I'm going to be busy for just a bit longer, so I apologize for the inconvenience. I hope you've been enjoying your stay."
"Thank you," Ash thanked, a warm smile curling the corners of his mouth as he looked down at the two Poké Balls in his hands. And as Nurse Joy disappeared into the back once again, Ash grabbed his backpack, and headed out the front door with his Pokémon now safely back on his belt.
o 0 o
Equipped with the map that was unfolded in his hands, his brown eyes bounced back and forth between it and the view in front of him in order to know where he was going. Cerulean was by far the biggest city he had been in so far, and it would be really easy to get lost.
"Cerulean City Gym... Cerulean City Gym..." he muttered to himself. He could read from the map that it was very close by. Coming up to a crossroad, he took the right path upon checking over the brochure that it was the right way. "Should be right around here someplace." But what he saw ahead made him stop in place. The cement under his feet stopped at the end of the road, and turned into a dirt path that wound like a serpent to the front door of a most strange building. It resembled a circus tent, with its two-toned spiral pillars circling around it holding up its dome-like roof that was pink and yellow. On the front of it, a huge cutout of a white manatee Pokémon with a long mermaid-like tail sat over a sign that read 'CERULEAN GYM'.
"There it is!" Ash said with elation upon finally finding it. With his destination in sight, he folded up the map he no longer needed and put it in his backpack, and headed towards the double glass doors. Immediately, the smell of chlorine and pool chemicals hit his nose, and the air was heavy with moisture, even this far in the lobby. Strangely enough, it looked like a gift shop more than a Gym, with a counter and a cash register first catching Ash's eyes. But there wasn't a single person in sight. "Hello!" the Pokémon Trainer called, and he even rang the silver bell sitting on the front counter. But after a few moments of waiting, he could hear a crowd of people cheering, and speakers in the lobby echoed a voice.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the stars of our show!" The intercom told him something was going on elsewhere, so he hesitantly walked through a door, leading into a huge dark stadium. The bleachers on either side were filled with people – mostly males, Ash noticed – and they were all cheering loudly. The only lights in the room were shining down on a huge in-ground swimming pool with a huge diving board on one side. "The Sensational Cerulean City Synchronized Swimming Sisters!" Ash gasped in surprise as three young women, all about the same age but with different colored hair, all climbed on top of the diving board and waved out to the crowd. The audience cheered even louder upon their arrival, and as the cymbals crashed in the music pumping through the speakers, the audience all went silence at once.
After a few moments, the three sisters dove off the diving board, flipping once in the air all at the same time before breaking into the surface of the water that hardly gave a splash. The audience cheered again, and they all came up with their arms up. Despite how deep the pool was, the girls all moved in perfect synchronicity, a performed routine along with the music playing overhead, both with their arms and diving underwater and moving their legs straight up and back and forth. The crowd in front of Ash seemed to be enjoying themselves, but a look of confusion was etched on Ash's face as he scratched the back of his head.
"I... I thought this was the Pokémon Gym..." he wondered aloud. Had he maybe gotten it mixed up somehow? The sign outside definitely said Cerulean Gym, he knew. But still, he watched until the end until the girls pulled themselves out of the water and waved to the crowd. The receptive audience gave an echoing cheer as the Pokémon Trainer blinked in confusion and turned on his heel.
Going to the lobby once again, he turned and saw another door that led downstairs. Maybe that's where the Gym is, and this portion was just for those synchronized swimmer shows, Ash thought, and pushed past the door. The stairwell was wide enough for three of him and painted yellow, along with framed paintings of various Water Pokémon, but Ash paid no mind as he walked downstairs with his arms crossed and his eyes looking down while deep in thought. "I can't understand it," he said aloud, and when he finally got to the bottom of the staircase, he gave a gasp at the curved hallway ahead. On either side of it was clear reinforced glass, and inside was water, but it looked like the bottom of an ocean. "It's like... an aquarium!" He couldn't believe his eyes, and pressed his face and gloved hands against the glass, feeling the cold react to his skin. "How can this be a Pokémon Gym?"
"The crowd was totally awesome," he heard a female voice drone from further down the hallway.
"I know, that was so great!"
"Daisy, the dive you did was super."
"The practice really paid off."
"Totally!"
As they all laughed, Ash turned his head to see the three girls who had been swimming in the water. They each had towels around their necks and were talking amongst themselves, so they hadn't yet noticed Ash. Nevertheless, he approached them and spoke up. "Uh, excuse me." The three girls looked upon him with confusion, not expecting someone to be down here with them.
"I'm sorry, but if you want an interview you have to, like, call our manager," the girl with the pink hair that curled at her shoulders said to him.
"No, it's not that-" Ash replied, raising his hands to disregard her words, but the young woman cut him off.
"We don't do autographs."
"I don't want one," he told them, and then shrugged. "I really just want to know if this is a Pokémon Gym."
"It sure is," the girl with the blonde hair answered, and Ash's face lit up now that he knew he was definitely in the right place.
"Well, I'm looking for the Gym Trainer."
"You're looking at them," the young lady with the blue hair in the middle replied, and Ash's mouth fell open slightly as they smiled at him.
"The three of us are the Gym Trainers here," the blonde elaborated.
"We're the Sensational Sisters."
"We're world-famous!" the blue-haired girl added.
"Huh?! Then what's with all that swimming?" Ash questioned, flinching back in surprise.
"It's, like, our hobby, and our fans love to watch us perform."
"We pool our talents to make a big splash!" the blue-haired girl joked, and the three laughed while Ash cringed at the pun.
"C'mon, we'll show you the pool!" the blonde said as if she were a child showing off her new toy. The three discarded their towels on the floor and led the way down the hallway they had come from, with Ash following being. "I'm Daisy, by the way."
"I'm Lily," the girl on the other side with the pink hair piped up.
"And I'm Violet," said the final one.
"Oh, I'm Ash..." the Pallet Town boy introduced. Now he was wondering how this Gym Battle was going to go. Would he have to battle all three of them at once? Or would he have to battle one at a time? Either way, he didn't have much time to think as they opened a gymnasium door, and stepped out into the tiled floor, the pool now calm now that there wasn't anyone in there. The stadium had also emptied out as well with the show being over, and there was a few spots of trash here and there from the concession stand as the only remnants of the show.
As they turned around, Ash's eyebrows came together, and confident brewed in his chest. "Come on! I challenge all of you!" His voice seemed to magnify in the large stadium, giving himself a more powerful aura. Whether it was because of this or not, the three girls all seemed to turn away, their smiles quickly fading and they fidgeted nervously while not making eye contact with him. This made his face melt into one of confusion. "Um... what...?"
"We don't feel much like battling anymore," Daisy admitted, her fingers folded between themselves behind her head.
"What do you mean?"
"We just got beaten three times in a row by kids from this nowhere place called Pallet Town," Violet elaborated, and Ash's head hung as if a weight had suddenly been tied around his neck.
"Not again..."
"It was just one defeat after another," Violet went on, spinning her fingers around and around on either side of her before pulling at the corners of her eyes. "My eyes were spinning from all the losses."
"We had to, like, practically rush all our Pokémon to the Pokémon Center."
"This is the only one left," Lily told him, retrieving a shrunken Poké Ball from her bathing suit and pressing the button in the center before letting it go in front of her with a flick of her wrist. The Poké Ball bounced on the tile before bursting open with a flash of light, and as it ricocheted back into the triplet's hand, the light faded and a white and orange fish Pokémon with a horn on its forehead flopped uselessly on the tile.
"Goldeen, goldeen goldeen goldeen..."
"You mean all you have is a Goldeen?" Ash moaned as Lily recalled the Pokémon back into its Poké Ball.
"If it would evolve into Seaking we could use it," Violet told him with her arms folded over her head. "But all it can do now is its Horn Attack."
"Sooo, like, there's no point in battling," Daisy said.
"Now, instead of having matches, we have time to make ourselves look more beautiful than ever!" Lily stated, smiling now and placing a hand upon her cheek. Ash gasped, but he wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"I know what you want," Daisy spoke up, closing her eyes in understanding. Turning to the pool, she clapped her hands and called out. "Seel!" Upon being called, a small white Pokémon with a little horn on its head stuck its head out of the water, and it swam to the pool's edge before jumping out and sliding up to the girl. Looking up at her, it stuck its tongue out further than it already was, revealing a bright blue Badge in the shape of a water droplet.
"Seel!" the Pokémon brayed, and Daisy plucked the Badge from its tongue and held it out to Ash.
"The Cascade Badge. This is what you want, right? You can have it."
"Thanks..." Ash murmured, his eyebrows falling as a frown curled his lips down. "I-I'd rather earn my Badges."
"Take it. A Badge is a Badge," she urged. Seeing no other choice, Ash sighed in defeat, and with his eyes to the ground, he closed the distance between them. "Here." As Ash hesitantly held his hand out, she placed her delicate hands in his, cradling it before placing the Badge in his palm and closing his fingers. "There, that wasn't so hard, now. Was it?"
"I guess not..." Ash muttered, wracked with guilt still despite his words. Looking down at the shiny blue Badge, he frowned and gave one last look at the three sisters before turning his back to them. "Thanks, I guess."
"You're welcome, Ash," Daisy replied with a smile.
"And if you ever want to come to a show, our tickets are always available Mondays through Thursdays!" Lily added loudly, her voice echoing as Ash disappeared through the door they had come out of.
o 0 o
For the rest of the day, Ash sat on the top bunk of the bunk bed in his rented room in the Pokémon Center. With his hat's brim shadowing his eyes from the light, he stared at the Cascade Badge he had received between his fingers, occasionally moving the blue badge so it reflected the light. Normally, he would have been elated that he won a Badge, as he had when Brock gave him the Boulder Badge. But he didn't even have to battle a single Pokémon to get it, and that didn't sit right with him.
It was sunset outside; Ash could tell from the light peeking out through the closed shade, and it was then that the door handle rattled and Brock came in, finally back from his errands. Seeing that Ash was on the bed, he walked up and peered at him with a smile. "Hey, Ash," he greeted.
"Yo, Brock-o," Ash replied solemnly, not even looking back at him.
"How'd it go?"
"See for yourself," the younger boy responded, and held the Cascade Badge forward.
"Great," Brock replied, but his frown lingered. "Then what's wrong?"
Sitting up and burying the Gym Badge in his palm, Ash told Brock about his day at the Cerulean Gym. He told him about the three Gym Leaders, and how they weren't interested in battling anymore after losing to the other Pallet Town Trainers, and how they were instead focusing on their water ballet shows, and just gave him the badge without a battle. When he was done, Brock seemed disturbed – almost appalled.
"That is unacceptable," Brock said finally, letting his blue backpack slide off his shoulders and crash onto the ground. "I can see why you're bummed out. Tomorrow, let's head over to the Gym and see what we can do." Ash nodded, and let out a sigh. There wasn't a whole lot that Brock could say that would make him feel better anyways. "In the meantime, how about we go down and have dinner. This one will be on me."
Well, that was a start.
o 0 o
The next morning, Ash and Brock were up bright and early. Dressing and showering quickly – thoroughly enjoying it since they weren't sure when their next trip of having a roof over their head was going to be – the pair gathered their things and headed downstairs. Brock told him the reason he went out was for supplies. There was only so many things he could get on such short notice back in Pewter City, so he was now stocked up for a long journey. He also got ingredients for meals and for Pokémon food specifically for Water-type Pokémon, to give Squirtle. As they walked down the flights of steps, Ash couldn't help but smile; he really lucked out getting Brock as a traveling companion.
Their destination was the Gym to confront the Sensational Sisters, but when they got into the lobby, much to Ash's surprise, the Sensational Sisters were already there collecting their Pokémon from Nurse Joy. Though they weren't in their swimsuits and wearing regular clothes, their brightly-colored hair was a dead giveaway. "That's them, Brock! They're the Sensational Sisters," Ash pointed out. Hearing the voice whispering, Lily turned her head and gave a coy smile, but when she saw Ash, her eyes lit up in recognition.
"Oh, you're that kid from yesterday," Violet commented as Lily nudged her sister. The three now all looked at Ash, and before Ash could say anything, Brock jumped in between them with his back to Ash so his face was unreadable.
For a moment, Brock didn't say anything, and the three beautiful girls stared at him, unsure of what to say. Finally, Brock spoke up. "So, I hear you three girls are the Cerulean City Gym Leaders."
"Uh, yeah," Daisy answered.
"You're not looking to challenge us, are you?" Violet whined as Lily rolled her eyes. Brock was silent for a little bit longer, but then he reached into the pocket of his vest and whipped out a space Boulder Badge he had with him.
"My name is Brock, and I was the Pewter City Gym Leader. I think that since we're both Gym Leaders and you're giving away Badges, why don't we exchange Badges, and while we're at it, why don't we exchange phone numbers?" The three girls were completely thrown off, but not as much Ash, whose mouth dropped to the polished tile under his feet. What happened to Brock being so disgruntled about the way they were running the Gym last night?
Much to Brock's dismay, the three girls soon chuckled amongst themselves, exchanging looks, while Lily smirked and Violet stuck her nose in the air. "Sorry, but we're much too busy with our shows to even think about dating."
"And besides, our shows end far past your bedtime." The three girls laughed amongst themselves once again, and turned their backs on him before walking out the door.
"B-Brock! What was that?! They're leaving!"
"I know, Ash... Leaving my heart a wreck..." the former Gym Leader said with his head hung in defeat.
"Weren't you gonna confront them? What happened to all that talk last night about the Gym Leader's reputation?!"
"Ash, there's not much we can do about it," he replied. "They already gave you the Badge, and besides, they're Water-type specialists. Even if I could somehow convince them to battle me, my Rock Pokémon wouldn't stand a chance. You get it."
The blank look on Ash's face showed that he did not get it, so Brock continued.
"You already have the Badge, so there's nothing we can do about that. Instead of proving to them that you can earn the Badge, you should prove to yourself that you earned it. Until the next Gym, have as many battles as you can. Show yourself how much you can improve as a Pokémon Trainer, and wipe the floor with the next Gym Leader you challenge."
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense..." Ash muttered, his eyes lingering at the lobby doors leading outside. The Cerulean Gym Leader triplets were already gone from view. But, with a shake of his head, he smirked and finally decided to agree with Brock. "You're right! I'll prove I can earn this Badge! So look out world, here comes the next Pokémon Master!"
And finally, Ash stuck the Cascade Badge next to the Boulder Badge in the inside of his jacket.
-end-
Ash:
Party:
Squirtle (Poké Ball)
Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Water Gun
Pidgey (Poké Ball)
Moves: Gust, Sand-Attack, Whirlwind
Badges:
Boulder Badge
Cascade Badge
Brock:
Party:
Onix (Poké Ball)
Moves: Tackle, Bind, Dig
Geodude (Poké Ball)
Moves: Seismic Toss
Zubat (Poké Ball)
Moves: Whirlwind, Supersonic
