We begin with Akira and Sylvia on the way to Cerulean City! What awaits them in Kanto's blue city, and the Cerulean Gym? Will they meet Misty and get along with her, or will Akira end up destroying her bicycle on accident, forcing her to shill out millions for a replacement? Let's find out!
KedharS: That's a good way to put it, yes.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: I'm pretty sure she's a spy.
Tambry96bj: It should be interesting to get our first glance at Orre, but before that we have other things to do.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 822
Akira dreamed of Dakota on the flight to Kanto. The time change was killer on him, and it was a long flight. But even though it was a dream, he was happy to see her again. Dakota's smiling face was like water to a thirsty man in a desert.
It wasn't even that special of a dream. Dakota had come over to bug him while he was trying to study, even though she knew that he had an important test he needed to take.
It was odd. Even though Akira missed Dakota so dearly in the real world, in this dream he wasn't even thinking about that. It was like he had no memory of Dakota's assault, and things were just business as usual. It wasn't normal, certainly, but that was just the way it was.
And because of that, of course, he couldn't appreciate the fact that he was spending time with Dakota. He was actually kind of annoyed, and wanted her to leave. It was a normal feeling before, but he should have been happy to just have her around.
And then, the dream version of Dakota disappeared. He was shocked and confused, but when he tried to reach out to her fading body he found he couldn't move. It was like the strength was being drained from his body. The rest of the dream world began to collapse around him, and that's when it all came flooding back.
The incident in the library, the µ Gene, Dakota's coma, he remembered all of it, and now it was too late to appreciate what he had just lost. The world was being drained of color just as he was being drained of energy, and all he could do was struggle and try to figure out what was going on.
"Dakota!" He shouted, reaching out to her desperately. But she was gone. "Dakota! Please! Come back, you can't leave me!"
The world was blurring and his head pounded a beat of agony through his brain.
"Dakota!" He cried, snapping awake.
Floating in front of him were the bright blue eyes of a Shuppet. The ghostly pokemon cackled, bobbing up and down.
"Hey there, Akira. Time to wake up."
Akira was stunned by the ghost, and didn't know what to say at first. But Sylvia's voice caught his attention, and the sleep paralysis that had struck him began to wear off. He looked up at the blonde girl hovering over his seat, and his shock wore off in place of anger.
"Sylvia! What the hell?!" He exclaimed.
Sylvia smirked. "Specter, that's enough dream eater for now. Return." Unusually, she recalled Specter to his pokeball.
Akira couldn't believe Sylvia could be so low. Well, no, he could believe it, it just pissed him off. Having her Shuppet use dream eater on him while he was dreaming about Dakota was incredibly cruel, he didn't even feel rested after what happened.
"How could you do that?" He muttered under his breath, getting up out of his seat and gathering his luggage.
Sylvia shrugged, still wearing her smirk. "What can I say? You were asleep, and we were at our destination. There are other people on the plane waiting for you, you know, and I needed to wake you up."
"There are better ways to do that," Akira growled, pushing past her, but he knew that it was pointless. Sylvia didn't care about stuff like that.
Akira stepped off the plane and entered the Cerulean City airport. Their stuff was being shipped directly to the gym, so they didn't need to stop off at baggage claim to get anything and could head right into the city itself.
Cerulean City was a very peaceful place. It wasn't that large, more of a town than a city. A long river flowed out of Mt. Moon in the distance and passed through the city, weaving around the mountains and bridges and trees before draining out into the ocean. It was a city on the coast, making it a good destination for tourists.
Akira realized that spring break would be coming soon, and that meant a lot of people would be showing up for the beaches.
Of course, he hadn't come here for the nice sights. He had two goals in mind, and one he cared about a lot more than the other. He needed to figure out what the deal with the µ Gene was, and to do that he had to find those people Sylvia had alluded to.
But he couldn't do that now.
Right now, he needed to take care of his other duties, and check in with the gym leader, Misty, at the Cerulean City Gym. And the quickest way to get to the gym, according to the tour guide at the airport, was to follow Cerulean River across the border of town. So that's how the two of them found themselves walking along the outskirts of Cerulean and the river's bank.
Akira was all business. He was alternating between checking the map and scanning the shore, wondering when they'd get to the gym. He had no interest in the scenic views of the Sea Blue City of Kanto.
Sylvia, on the other hand, was happy to sightsee.
"Wow, Akira! Look at that!" She gushed, wrapping her arm around his and pointing at a large bridge in the distance. "That must be Nugget Bridge!"
"Let go of me!" Akira shook himself free. The thought of Sylvia touching him like that made him want to throw up. She knew what she was doing, too, which made it even worse. He didn't like the way she was messing with him like this.
Sylvia smirked. "Come on, Akira, you just took your first steps into Kanto! You can at least be a little excited, don't you think? There are all sorts of places we can go see while we're having a break from our gym duties."
Akira glowered at her. "You know what I'm here for, Sylvia, and it isn't the sightseeing or authentic cuisine. So stop bothering me with stuff like that. We need to check in with the gym, and when we're done with that-"
Sylvia wasn't listening.
"Wow, look at that cave!" She said, pointing. Across the river was a rock face that stretched down from Mt. Moon. A large gash was carved into the side of the ledge, a thick chain strung up across with a sign that read KEEP OUT.
Akira didn't particularly care.
"Come on, Akira, this is boring," Sylvia groaned. She had no interest in sightseeing, of course, but the fact that Akira was against it made it the thing to do. The problem was, he wasn't giving her any play, which was a disappointment. "I know! Let's go explore in Cerulean Cave! We might be able to get some fun in before getting to the gym, what do you say?"
"There's a sign there for a reason," Akira coldly rebuffed her.
Sylvia rolled her eyes. Well, obviously there was a sign. That didn't mean they had to listen. Akira really was boring when she wasn't using his attachment to Dakota against him.
Luckily enough for both of them, they reached the Cerulean City Gym a few minutes later, as the river curved and rejoined the main part of town.
The gym was built right into the river, and seemed to be drawing power from a tiny hydroelectric system. It was a massive building, about three or four stories tall, and built in an odd square shape large enough to fit a whole city block iinside. The walls were large panes of glass on the second story and up, keeping people from looking in but providing ample sunlight.
Sylvia was going to just walk in, but Akira had a bit more manners than that, even if he was impatient. He knocked on the door.
"Hello there!" A tall leggy blonde with a curvaceous body and a skimpy swimsuit stepped out to greet them, startling Akira for a second. It wasn't what he expected, that was for sure.
Sylvia smirked with amusement at Akira's surprise.
"Hey there!" The blonde swimmer greeted them with a wink. "You must be our two practicum students, Akira Saroyan and Sylvia Driscoll! Nice to meet you two! I'm Diana, I'm one of the trainers working here in the gym!"
"Yeah, that's us," Akira said, regaining his composure. "I'm Akira, and that's Sylvia."
Diana giggled. "Yeah, I could have guessed that! Now, come on you two, no sense staying out here, Misty's just dying to meet you!"
"Wow, way to stick your foot in your mouth, mister smooth," Sylvia chuckled. "What, Dakota's coma ruin your skills with talking to girls or something?"
Akira shot her a dirty look as he followed the swimmer into the gym.
The Cerulean City Gym was amazing. It was like an indoor water park! The high glass ceiling was even higher that Akira had initially guessed, at least four stories tall instead of three. No, wait, it was even higher than that.
There were countless pools of all kinds across the gym, with folding chairs set up for people to lounge around in. There was a canteen and a wave pool, and even a water slide! Akira had no idea what the purpose of THAT was.
And in the center of it all was the main battlefield, the stadium part of the Cerulean City Gym. It was separated down the middle into two parts, with a large pool on the left for Water type pokemon and flat sand on the right for other types of pokemon. It provided the perfect terrain not just for the gym leader, but for any trainer who didn't have Water types of their own.
"It's pretty impressive, huh?" Diana asked, smiling proudly.
"It's… like a water park!" Akira said, surprised. He looked at all the water pokemon playing in the pools. This looked like an incredibly fun place, he found it hard to believe that it was an official Pokemon League gym. It looked like part of a resort.
"I imagine it must take a lot of hard work to make something like this, especially with official league money," Sylvia mused, wondering if Misty was receiving additional funds from other, less reputable sources.
Diana nodded. "Yeah, this place is definitely Misty's passion project. She's invested tons of money into renovations and maintenance. After all, it's not like she has anything else to do with her money since she's single and hasn't had a date in-"
A wave of water hit Diana from behind, causing the girl to jump in surprise.
"Sorry Diana. I tripped."
Walking up to the trio, bucket in hand, was a beautiful woman. She had fiery orange hair the framed her face, and wore a white one piece swimsuit, covering it with an unzipped blue jacket. Her legs were on full display with her outfit, and she proudly showcased them. She wore an apologetic smile, but her blue eyes were full of cold fury.
"H-Hey, boss!" Diana said, shivering a little. "Can I get a-"
Misty, because that's absolutely who she was, flung a towel into the blonde's face. Then she turned to Sylvia and Akira.
"Hey there!" She greeted. "You're Akira and Sylvia? Nice to meet you! Welcome to the Cerulean City Gym! I'm Misty, and I'll be hosting you two your stay!"
"Hi, nice to meet you," Akira said. He couldn't help himself, he was a little starstruck. His heart may have belonged to Dakota, but Misty was definitely gorgeous.
"Is it true you can't get a boyfriend to save your life?" Sylvia asked.
Sylvia was not starstruck. And she was delighted to goad the older woman.
If Misty was flustered by Sylvia's questions she did a wonderful job of not showing it. "Now then, let's get you two settled in! You must be exhausted from that flight, isn't that right?"
"I gotta say, you're actually pretty attractive, is it that your personality scares guys away?" Sylvia wasn't about to let this go. That thing with the bucket was gold. Forget Akira, she had a brand new toy to play with now.
"It's true I'm between relationships now," Misty admitted, holding her head up high like it wasn't a big deal. She winked at Akira and Sylvia. "I am a bit of a celebrity, you know, so a lot of guys can find that intimidating."
"Also she's old," Diana added. "I was just a junior trainer when I first started working here."
Misty's eye twitched and she cleared her throat. She put on a smile that was warm, but professional. "I'm Cerulean City's Tomboyish Mermaid!" She declared, making a peace sign. "I may have started working as a gym leader when I was a kid, but I'm only 20 years old!"
"Yup," Diana nodded in agreement. "And you have been for the last-"
Misty shoved Diana into one of the pools. Then she jammed her head beneath the water with a sandal-clad foot, staring coldly down at the swimmer.
She turned back to Sylvia and Akira and her cold look morphed back into a warm smile. "Sorry about that! Now, where were we?"
"Uh… we were talking about your age," Akira said, stunned to see the surprise hidden face behind Cerulean City's gym leader.
"I'm 20, yes?" Misty smiled at him. An aura of menace emanated from her.
"Y-Yeah, exactly," Akira agreed.
Sylvia opened her mouth to say something and Akira clamped his hand over it. He did NOT want to end up drowned because this garbage person couldn't keep her damn mouth shut.
"Great!" Misty said, clapping her hands together. "Then we can get started! I think the first thing we should do, is let me have a peek at those pokemon of yours!"
Akira was surprised. "Uh… our pokemon?"
"Yeah, is that weird?" Misty asked, raising her eyebrow. "You two are both Water type trainers, aren't you? So what pokemon do you have? If you're going to be training in my gym, then it's best we get started right away!"
Akira sighed in relief. "Oh, good. I was afraid you were going to have us do something like clean the pools." He'd heard horror stories of gym leaders working their practicum students to the bone doing chores around the gym when they weren't training. They were free labor, after all, and gym leaders would seek to get full advantage.
"No, no, it's fine," Misty laughed, waving her hand. "After all, you two are tired! After we finish getting a look at your pokemon, let's get some training done, and I'll take you kids out to dinner, sound like a plan?"
Akira nodded. That was about as good as he could hope for. Sylvia nodded as well, mumbling something in agreement under Akira's hand.
"Great! You'll be staying in quarters on the premises, by the way, I hope that's alright," Misty added. "I already moved your stuff into some empty rooms."
"Oh, thank you, that would be very convenient," Akira sighed in relief.
"Not a problem!" Misty winked. "After all, you guys are going to be doing a lot of work around here, so it's convenient to be close by! And then when you wake up in the morning, THEN you two can get started cleaning the pools! They'll be drained by then!"
Akira went pale and his hand dropped to his side.
So close. He was so close.
Sylvia smirked.
"But enough talk about chores, that's boring!" Misty laughed. "Let's see those pokemon of yours! We just need to find an empty pool, and… here we go!"
Misty led them over to one of the swimming pools, the other Water type pokemon clearing the way for her.
Akira took out his three pokeballs. "Starla, Nami."
He tossed two of them into the air, releasing his Starmie and his Vaporeon into the water.
Misty lit up with glee. "You have a Starmie and a Vaporeon?!" She asked, nearly hugging Akira she was so excited. "That's amazing! I have those, too!"
"Oooh, look at the lady's man," Sylvia smirked.
"They're, um… they're not anything special," Akira said, feeling a little flustered. Misty was REALLY close. "I've just been training them for a long time, so… you know."
"I think they're just darling!" Misty cooed, crouching down next to the pool and gazing longingly at the water pokemon. "It's always nice to see a Vaporeon especially, it tells me you've really made the commitment to Water type pokemon."
"…Has a Slugma," Sylvia concealed with a cough.
"What about your last pokemon?" Misty asked, rising to her feet and staring curiously at the third pokeball in Akira's hand.
Akira clutched Satsuki's pokeball tightly. "It's… it's, uh…"
"She's special to him," Sylvia smirked. Akira shot her a dirty look.
"…Hey there."
Akira released his Gyarados, the gorgeous pokemon landing in the water with a large splash, rearing back her head and roaring. Fully healed, she was filled with energy, quickly swimming to Akira's side and leaning down to rub her head against him.
Misty totally lost it.
"It's a GYARADOS!" She screamed with joy. "And it's RED!"
Akira thought she was going to have a heart attack. But the gym leader's professionalism quickly won over, and she went to study the Gyarados more closely.
"Wow, she's so docile," Misty said, amazed. "I can tell at a glance how strong she is, but she's so attached to you. I have a Gyarados myself that I've been training for years and even he's not as affectionate at yours is."
She wanted to pet it so bad, but she was cautious. Akira nodded to Satsuki, and she leaned forward to urge Misty on.
"And she gets on with strangers, too? Wow, maybe I could have you teach me some things about Water type pokemon," Misty laughed.
"Satsuki's just special, that's all," Akira said, smiling fondly at his pokemon as Satsuki smiled back, though from a Gyarados it looked more like a wicked grin. "I've been with her… for a really long time, that's all."
Misty smiled, straightening up and giving Satsuki one last pat on the head. "I'm glad to see it. It's always nice to see Water types get along so well with people," she smiled.
Akira found himself smiling too. He had come to Cerulean with ulterior motives, but right now he was happy to be here.
Akira and Sylvia have arrived in Cerulean City and gotten acquainted with the gym leader, Misty! What will they learn about Water types from her? What will they learn about the µ Gene? Will we ever find out Misty's age?