Scene 33: The Sensational Sisters of Cerulean City
Leaving Route 9 Lyrik arrives in Cerulean City before lunchtime. She goes to the Pokémon Center to heal up her Pokémon. It turns out Nurse Joy has been waiting for her. Lyrik is thrilled to finally receive her Trainer's License for the Indigo League!
"Congratulations on starting your journey, Lyrik. Good luck!" Lyrik waves to Nurse Joy and heads off to find the Cerulean City Gym. She passes a baseball stadium and a couple of parks and houses until she notices a large house in the distance. The closer she gets to it the more it reminds her of the castles she used to read about in her fairytales as a little girl. A woman passing by stops. She tells Lyrik about the mansion and how it belongs to the Gym Leader and her family. Lyrik jumps onto this tidbit of information, asking for directions. The old lady laughs. The gym is just around the corner, of course.
Lyrik takes off with her Pokémon at her heels. She's finally arrived at a large building with a sign reading "Cerulean Gym." She clenches her fists and steadies her breathing- this is the first gym she'll be challenging as an official Trainer..!
Lyrik enters through the large sliding doors and enters what looks to be an aquarium. They walk around admiring the tanks, "Maybe they like Water-Type Pokémon..?" She notices music playing from somewhere and many voices. Down the hall Lyrik sees an opening to another room. She enters hesitantly into the loud room. There are people stacked in the stands, cheering and hollering. What was happening? Squirrrr~! Lyrik follows his gaze to the center of the room.
There's a large tank with Pokémon swimming all about. They did jumps and flips and everything they could to entertain the audience. A spotlight hit the other side where three older girls were standing. One with curled blue hair, one with long blonde hair, and the last with short pink hair. They were all very pretty and were smiling up at the crowd. Timed properly with the music the girls jumped into the tank and began dancing with the Pokémon. It was pretty, sure, but… "Is this really… the Cerulean Gym..?"
An hour later the show was over. Older guys and girls were leaving the building with bright smiles on their faces, discussing the show. Lyrik waited, her arms crossed and a frown plastered on her face. She saw over the heads of the crowd the three girls from the show. They were hounded by fans all asking for photos and autographs. The girls happily obliged. Lyrik approached the crowd. She stood on the edge, not wanting to be apart of it, but that didn't seem to translate well. The pretty girl with blue hair saw her and smiled. She grabbed Lyrik's arm, "Hi there, Sweetie! You want a picture, too?"
Lyrik tried to answer with a "no" but nothing came out of her mouth. She was pulled in front of everyone and smooshed in-between all the older men around them. A flash blinded her for a moment. Someone had taken their photo. Someone passed her something, "Here you are! We can sign that if you'd like, too!" It was the girl with pink hair who was handing her the photograph. Lyrik stumbled with her words, "Uhm… actually…" The other sister snatched the photo and started writing without even waiting for an answer. She was taller than the other two and had beautiful blonde hair. She stopped for a moment to take another photo before turning back to Lyrik, "Here you go, Hun. Free of charge." She winked at Lyrik.
And as if her audience with the three celebrities was complete, Lyrik was being shoved to the side. Her Pokémon were standing far off to the side, unsure exactly what to do. But the farther she got pushed the more she realized how annoyed she was. Wasn't this supposed to be a Pokémon Gym? What the heck was going on here!? She stood her ground, suddenly coming back to herself. Lyrik pushed her way back to the very front. Everyone that was in her way were confused and surprised to see a small girl shoving at them. Lyrik didn't stop until she was standing before the three sisters again. The girl with blonde hair looked at her, "Sorry, Hun, only one photo per fan." But Lyrik wasn't leaving, "I didn't come here for a photo or an autograph, I came here for a Pokémon Battle! What kind of gym is this anyway? And where's the Gym Leader!?"
The girls all looked at each other, their faces unchanging. The girl with the pink hair giggled a little. Lyrik glared at her, "What's so funny?" The girl looked at her, "No, no, nothing. But, like, we totally get it." She looked at the others. The sister with the blue hair continued, "We can tell you for sure you're in the right place. This is the Cerulean Gym." The blonde girl finished, "And as for the Gym Leader?" She smirked, "You're, like, looking at them." Lyrik didn't get it. She looked around at them all wondering if this was some kind of joke. All the people standing around as the three girls pose together, "We're the Sensational Sisters of the Cerulean City Gym!"
…
Once the crowd had gone and things had settled down, Lyrik is shown back to the pool. The girls introduce themselves properly as Daisy, Lilly, and Violet. The three of them are world famous for their Synchronized Pokémon Swimming Performances, but they also run the Cerulean Gym as the Gym Leaders. Lyrik is a little annoyed to hear that they're happy Trainers haven't been stopping by recently, "Because it give us more time to, like, do what we actually love!" Lilly looks to Violet, "Yeah, totally! We get to swim and put on more performances every day!" Daisy sits forward, shrugging, "But I know what you came here for. And if you'd like we can have a battle." Lyrik jumps to her feet, "Really!? You will?"
Lilly sits back in her chair and sighs, "Aw, man… I didn't feel like battling today. Oh well." Violet smiles at her sister, "But hey, the sooner we're done with this, like, the sooner we can get back to rehearsals." Lyrik doesn't like the way they're talking about Pokémon battles, as if they're some kind of chores.
They each take a spot on the field. Lyrik's never had to battle on a Water-Type Field before. She gulps. Lilly chooses her Pokémon first as Seaking. Lyrik goes with her Squirtle. The match quickly turns into an underwater battle as Squirtle and Seaking go after each other- Horn Drill versus Hardened shell. Seaking is thrown off-balance by a Bubble Attack, "Now! Quick use Rapid Spin!" Squirtle sends Seaking flying out of the pool, unable to battle. Lilly returns her Pokémon and sighs, "Like, I didn't want to do this battle in the first place… No fair…" Violet steps forward next.
Violet throws her Pokéball to reveal a Shellder. Lyrik looks at Squirtle, "You good to keep fighting?" He nods at her. She has to be careful against these Water-Type Pokémon, especially since she's never done something like this before. This battle proves to be a little more difficult with Shellder's hard shell. "But maybe we can get them with our speed..!" It's as if Squirtle is flying as he swims in and out of Shellder's view underwater. Violet and Shellder try to keep up, but their attacks just aren't quick enough, "Water Gun!" Shellder is thrown onto one of the platforms and her shell cracks.
Squirtle jumps out onto the opposing platform, ready for more, but Violet calls it. She returns her Pokémon, "There's just no point in battling if, like, my Pokémon is already hurt." Lyrik furrows her eyebrows… These girls are really starting to annoy her. But at least she's up against the last of the three. Daisy's choice of Pokémon is one Lyrik's never seen before. Daisy explains, "A lot of people from Kanto have never seen this Pokémon before, isn't she pretty though? It's called Luvdisc, but I call her Luverin." The little Luvdisc is wearing a tiny crown.
"Spoiled..!" Lyrik looks at Squirtle and sees how hard he's breathing. She returns him to his Pokéball, "Thanks for all your hard work, but let's let someone else have a chance. Go! Bulbasaur!" She knows that she'll have the advantage with a Grass-Type. But even so, Daisy seems to be putting up a stronger fight than her other sisters. Luverin is extremely fast in the water and Bulbasaur is stuck in one spot. Luverin continues to fly overhead, showering Bulbasaur with Bubbles. He's getting wobbly. Lyrik has an idea. They wait and watch, timing their moves. Luverin leaps out of the water, "Now!" Bulba!
Bulbasaur uses his Vine Whip to catch Luverin mid-jump. He slams her against the ground. Bulbasaur throws her into the air, "Now finish this with Razor Leaf!" The attack hits and Luverin is knocked out. Daisy gives a sigh, returning her Pokémon. Though annoyed with how easy it was to take on her first Gym, Lyrik is more than happy to accept her winnings.
Lilly claps her hands and calls out for another Pokémon. It's a Seel. She slides on over to the side of the pool where they've gathered. Lyrik watches as she waddles right up to her, opening her mouth. Sitting atop her tongue is a bright blue shining tear drop.
"Go on, take it." Lyrik looks up at Violet, "You won that Cascade Badge fair and square." Lyrik reaches out and accepts the badge. She's really starting to feel like a Trainer now! Lilly sighs, "Though I didn't feel like battling today, it was, like, kind of fun!" Daisy shrugs, "Maybe we should try battling more often, then?" Violet laughs, "Yeah, like that will ever happen." The girls all laugh. Lyrik can't help but smile.
Though they don't seem to take this as seriously as she does, at least they're aware of it. They know they're not the best of Trainers…
The Sensational Sisters go to see off Lyrik. Violet is petting her Pokémon, "At least you have some totally cute Pokémon to go with you on your journey!" Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander all start blushing. "And speaking of journeys," Daisy looks at Lyrik, "If you happen to see our other sister you should totally battle her." Lyrik's surprised to hear of a forth "Sensational Sister." "Yeeeaaahh… Thanks, but no thanks…" Lilly looks at the other two, "Misty may not have our looks and skills, and she's totally not 'Sensational' one bit, but she's still our sister." Daisy nods. "And I'm sure she'd love to battle a tough Trainer like you."
Lyrik laughs. Well, maybe if this other sister is nothing like these three, she might actually like her. "Thanks! I'll be sure to remember that." She turns to leave but Violet calls to her again. She hands her a flyer, "It's for an upcoming performance for new Trainers and, like, if you're up for it, you should totally go!" Not wanting to be rude, Lyrik takes the flyer. She stuffs it in her bag to be lost forever amongst her other items. After a final wave goodbye to the Sensational Sisters, Lyrik is off for her next challenge.