When morning came, Alex kept her word as she told Chase and later Benedict and his wife of her intentions. The adults offered to not only have them driven back but informed them that would be ready to drive to Vermilion City in a couple of days if they didn't mind the wait.

Thanking them, they were driven back, dropped off near the Pokémon Center should Alex need to pick anything up.

Once they were alone, the limo driving away, Alex decided to make one last trip to the store to stock up on supplies. Afterward, they quickly found themselves standing outside the gym, the girl feeling nervous going inside.

"You'll do fine," Chase reassured.

"I really hope so," Alex whispered. With gentle nudging, they walked in.

Looking around, they could see different water Pokémon swimming in the aquariums they passed. They all had friendly faces, watching some playfully chasing one another or having friendly spars.

"This place looks so cool!" the girl nearly squealed, her fear disappearing as she looked at the Pokémon. "There's so many!"

"Tell me about it," the boy laughed as they watched a couple of Krabby skuttling on the ground, clipping their claws in what looked like a friendly manner. "They're really friendly. Guess it shows how they're treated."

The girl nodded, listening to some of the muffled conversations the Pokémon had in the aquariums, the glass blocking out most of the sound.

She would have had some of her Pokemon out but decided to keep them in their balls. It would make it easier to explore without one of them getting distracted and end up lost in the gym or running into trouble.

"Hi there," Kasumi greeted when spotting the pair. "Are you're finally ready, Alex?"

"Yeah, is Roku around?"

"He's finishing up with a class. He should be ready in another ten minutes."

"That's okay, I don't mind waiting."

The woman nodded as she pulled out a walkie-talkie. "Honey, Alex is here for her battle whenever you're set."

"That's great to hear. I'll let you know when I'm set," her husband's voice answered from the device.

"Alright," the woman answered as she put it in her pocket. "I can show you two around a bit while we wait."

"That would be nice," Alex smiled.

"You've got a lot of water Pokémon here. Guess that shouldn't be a surprise, huh?" Chase laughed.

"It helps whenever we get a lot of trainers coming to challenge Roku. With the city's location, he often gets challengers from all directions, so he wants to keep plenty of Pokémon at the ready. Any that don't fight have other jobs."

"They do?"

Kasumi nodded, "Some act as security for potential break-ins or those that can safely come out of the water will come get us if there was a problem with one of the Pokémon."

"That explains how they seem to get along so well," Alex beamed.

"They need to if they're living here," the woman giggled. "Many have lived here when they're young, so they know the gym really well and will show anyone new around."

She showed them some of the Pokémon they took care of, some being new and will need training before participating in official gym battles. Others were retired from battles due to age or are currently nursing young. The mothers would return to battling once their young were old enough.

She also explained how some will help in the swimming classes, cuter and friendlier ones paired with children. For older swimmers, they would get whatever may work for them, usually to help them train for competitions.

"Hey, I have an idea," Kasumi chirped happily. "How about we have a practice battle?"

"Practice battle?"

Nodding, the older woman continued, "Sure, it would help your Pokémon loosen up before facing Roku's team. It might help relax you as well."

Alex felt her face heat up, knowing despite enjoying herself exploring the gym, she was still really nervous.

"Okay," she agreed, wanting to be at her best facing the gym leader.

Beaming, Kasumi led them to a small battle arena, mentioning it was where gym battles are held. It was a large pool with white, disk-like platforms floating on the surface.

"Some gyms utilize aspects of their Pokémon's type to not only work in their favor but teach challengers to think on their feet. There may be times you might face a Pokémon while crossing large bodies of water, so you'll need to think of a strategy to safely battle them without endangering yourself or your Pokémon."

"That's really cool," Alex awed as she decided who to use.

Chase sat in on a bench, holding her backpack.

After a moment's thought, she threw a ball, Ken finding himself standing on one of the platforms. He looked around, puzzled by what was happening.

"This is a practice battle," the girl called out.

~Okay!~ he responded as Kasumi called out a Horsea.

"Going for type advantage? Just know it may not always help," the young woman stated.

"I know, but I think Ken would be the best choice. We trained really hard as did everyone else so we'll be able to win."

Kasumi smiled before focusing on her Pokémon. "Horsea, dive underwater!"

"Horsea!"

The seahorse Pokémon obeyed, diving deep enough so its silhouette couldn't be seen by its opponent or his trainer.

"Use Skull Bash!"

"Dodge it!"

The yellow mouse did so as the other leaped out of the water, attempting to make its attack. Before it could dive back in, Alex gave the order for Thunder Shock, the mouse happy to do so as he released a good jolt of electricity. Surprisingly, the water type kept going when landing back in the water, albeit panted.

"Try to keep your distance and lower its defense with Leer!"

"Ken, don't let it affect you!"

Alex had to think of a way to bring it closer. While she could have Ken use his Thunder Shock on the water, she couldn't be certain if it would be strong enough to knock it out. There was a lot of water, so the voltage could weaken or worse, become too strong and do more damage than intended.

"Ken, use Quick Attack to get closer when you see it, then use Thunder Shock!"

~Right!~ the Pokémon nodded as he jumped from platform to platform.

He kept his eyes peeled on the water, looking for signs of the other, making sure he didn't lose momentum without exerting himself.

"Now!"

Ken unleashed another jolt of electricity when the water type poked its head out of the water before its trainer could warn it. The attack struck, knocking the seahorse out cold.

"Wow, that was an interesting strategy," Kasumi laughed nervously as she recalled her Pokémon. "Using Quick Attack to build up speed than wasting time using Agility was certainly a different approach."

"To be honest, he doesn't know it. If he had, I might have used that for the same result," Alex laughed as Ken ran back, hopping into her arms.

"That's fine, it still works and shows you can think on your feet," she laughed. "But be sure to keep it in mind in case you do encounter future opponents with similar Pokémon like mine or Roku's. They may even try similar strategies like I did and whatever strategy he's got planned as well. And not all may be water types; they could similarly speedy and evasive Pokémon like Abra and Gastly."

"R-right…" Alex nodded. Her mind flashed back to Nate when Abra was mentioned, Kasumi paling when realizing what she said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"I-it's fine… It's going to take me some time to get used to Nate not being around."

"Alex…" Chase whispered, watching as she hugged Ken close.

"Are you sure you'll be okay? I can call Roku to give you a little more time."

"I think I'll be fine… I don't want to put this off anymore. Roku's been really patient and so have my Pokémon," she said, giving her Pikachu a smile. "Isn't that right?"

~I don't mind waiting more, but Ansen might have issues,~ the electric mouse half-joked, causing his trainer to giggle.

"Yeah," she smiled, hugging him. "How do you feel though?"

~I'm good, the battle was really fun,~ he answered, nuzzling his trainer's cheek.

Kasumi gave the girl a concerned look, but seeing how she began to relax, she let herself relax. It pained her to see someone so young suffer, but it did look like she had good Pokémon supporting her. Plus she had that boy, Chase, to support her as well when they aren't enough.

A few minutes later, the woman heard her walkie-talkie crackle, her husband informing her he was on his way to the arena. She told him they were already there waiting for him.

Within the next couple minutes, the gym leader came in, a large grin on his face when seeing Alex.

"I'm happy that you came."

"You can thank my Pokémon. They wanted to keep going. They helped me decide what I wanted to do," Alex smiled.

"Pokémon are smart creatures, so I'm not surprised," Roku laughed. "Do you need a chance to get ready?"

"Kasumi and I had a battle not long ago, but we're ready."

"Pika!"

"Alright then, then let's get ourselves in place."

Both trainers went to their respective places, Kasumi standing on the side to act as referee for the battle.

"Let's go, Marina!" Roku shouted as he threw a ball.

A Vaporeon was released, the aquatic Pokémon landing perfectly onto the platform, tail swishing in anticipation.

"Whoa…" Alex awed at the beautiful Pokémon. She turned to Ken, seeing him nod as he hopped onto the platform. Their opponent was already jumping into the water. "Just because it's pretty doesn't mean we'll hold back!"

"Good to hear," the man chuckled. "Marina, get underwater and start with Acid Armor!"

"Vay!" it shouted. With a glow from its body, it began to melt, camouflaging itself in the water. While the attack was different, the strategy looked the same as the battle with Kasumi.

"Use Quick Attack like before!"

"Pi!"

Roku watched with interest as the golden mouse quickly hopped from one platform to another, dodging several attacks when Marina came to the surface. However, when it tried using Thunder Shock, they missed due to the Pokémon's speed.

Alex was surprised but quickly began to think of what to do now. Thinking of something, she knew it was a risk. "Ken! Get as close as you can!"

The electric type nodded as he waited for the water type to pop back out, making a run for it when it came up to the surface. Once close enough, getting hit with Tackle, he released a good jolt of electricity. It let out a cry as it leaped away, both falling into the water.

"Ken!"

~I'm okay!~

The Pikachu swam out of the water in time to avoid another Tackle from his opponent, surprising it with another Thunder Shock. However, instead of firing it from the front, he used his tail, letting it get grazed by the speedy Pokémon than using his whole body.

"Marina's out!" Kasumi called out.

"Great work," Roku smiled as he recalled his partner. Putting it away, he grabbed his next Pokémon. "Come out, Atlas!"

The next one looked like a Starmie, but it was a different color. It's normally violet body a sapphire blue, the gem blue as well.

"Ken, are you up for this?" Alex asked, ready to recall him if needed.

~Yeah, I'm doing good,~ he responded, giving her a reassuring look.

Trusting her partner, she gave her first order, "Ken, use Thunder Wave!"

"Smart girl," Roku grinned, "Atlas, use Tackle!"

The non-damaging move would hit regardless, so if he can weaken the mouse some, it may give them an edge. Given how quickly Marina fell, he had a feeling Atlas will lose if not against the Pikachu, another of Alex's Pokémon. But that doesn't mean he'll give up that easily!

"Cha!" Ken grunted when the larger Pokémon crashed into him.

He barely held onto the edge of the platform, not wanting to fall back into the water. He used the attack to his advantage, blue electricity shooting out of his body, leaving the other with some paralysis. It'll slow it down, seeing the effects already.

"Great job, Ken! Use Thunder Shock before Atlas can retaliate!" Alex ordered.

The mouse nodded as he unleashed a strong electric attack, the Pokémon let out a startled cry as it tried to move. But it couldn't due to the paralysis.

"Atlas, try to loosen up in the water!" Roku ordered.

The Pokémon did so as another Thunder Shock was ordered, shocking it again. Realizing his Pokémon won't win at this point, he recalled it, surprising Alex.

"I know when I'm beaten. Ken's a tough Pikachu. Tougher than most I've seen. You took a lot of effort to train him than relying solely on his type advantage."

"R-really?" the girl blinked as the gym leader gestured they meet on the side. Ken hopped back to his trainer, climbing to her arms to warm up.

"That's right. Most trainers who come to challenge me early on usually rely on type advantage than taking time to train. So any electric or grass types they bring in would get beaten by my Pokémon. Their attacks aren't strong enough to cause enough damage to beat one, let alone two of my Pokémon."

Alex listened, relieved to hear that their efforts training for this had paid off.

Fishing through his pockets, the gym leader pulled out a blue, tear-shaped badge and a TM, handing both over.

"This is the Cascade Badge, you earned it along with this," Roku grinned. "It's called Bubble Beam. I was going to use it in our battle, but thanks to that Thunder Wave, it threw a wrench in that plan."

Alex barely held back a giggle, reminding her of her battle with Flint not having had time to let his Onix use its signature attack.

"Thank you."

"You earned these and I'm sure you'll find a good Pokémon to teach Bubble Beam to. I suggest a water type, but others could work. Just know that the attack may not be as strong if you decide to go that route."

"I'll keep it in mind. Again, thank you."

"You did great, Alex. I'm sure you'll continue to excel with the other gyms," Roku reassured. "Bet you'll do really well in the Indigo Conference."

"I hope so," she grinned.

Gathering their things, the four quickly headed outside so the Pokémon could heal up. As they waited, they talked a bit before the adults had to leave. Kasumi had a class to teach soon, so needed to get back. For Roku, he had a few other gym battles scheduled, grateful Alex showed up when she had to squeeze her in.

"Take care you two," Kasumi waved as they headed back to the gym.

"Same!" Alex waved back.

"Good luck with your challengers!" Chase called back as he waved.

Now that they were alone, the two sat together and talked about the gym and their plans heading for the next city. Alex admired her badge, showing the others when they went outside. They were happy to see they not only won, but Ken handled it so well.

Wanting to show the others back home, Alex headed inside, though not before talking with her Pokémon. Given what the next gym may hold, she wanted to know who wanted to stay or switch with Sienna if she wanted to come back.

The others weren't sure, none really wanted to leave, at least not until it came time to actually switch, Chase adding that there was a tunnel that had ground types. Alex knew that they likely were thinking of doing the same tactic as before. They would try catching some Pokémon first before switching anyone out if at all.

She called for Cerulean, asking her to go into her ball so she could introduce her to her mother and the rest of her Pokémon. The Pokémon agreed, wanting to meet them as well.

"Hello, honey, is everything okay?" her mom greeted when she picked up.

"Yup, I just won my second badge," Alex beamed, showing it to her. "I wanted to show Sienna and the others."

"That's wonderful! It must have been a tough battle."

"A little bit. I got lucky when I had Ken use Thunder Wave. If I hadn't, the battle might have gotten a lot tougher."

"Sounds like it. The gym leader must have had strong Pokémon."

"They look it, plus his Starmie was a different color. I think it was a shiny like Ken."

"Really?"

Alex nodded, "Yeah, Roku's Starmie had a blue body a blue gem."

"That's really amazing. But you didn't let its pretty looks distract you though."

"I didn't, but Roku did forfeit the match since Atlas was affected by Thunder Wave. It couldn't attack at all. It's fine now after we went to the Pokémon Center."

"That's good to hear. Are you planning on leaving soon?"

"Yeah, we'll be going to Vermilion City soon."

"I've heard it has some gorgeous sunsets being a coastal city."

"Oh wow, that will be really nice to see. Also, Chase and I were invited to hang out on a cruise ship for a bit. It's called the S.S. Anne."

"That's pretty expensive…"

"I know, but the family's really nice. We think that they mostly wanted us to be with them mostly for their kids, their niece to be exact."

"Oh? What were they like?"

"Benedict and Tiana are really nice. Benedict is a geologist, studying evolution stones. He even found some new stones to assist, even block evolution."

"There's such a stone?"

"Yeah, I don't know how it works, but it sounds really cool! Oh, and Tiana was a kimono dancer from Johto."

"Isn't that the same region Sam's student is from?"

"Yeah, Nicholas came from there," she nodded. "Oh, and Bill's really sweet. I think he's about three or four, I didn't ask. While we were there, he and Cerulean played a lot. She even played with him when we were invited to stay for dinner. It was really cute."

"Cerulean?"

"She's a Pokémon I caught not long ago. She's really nice and is becoming really strong. I'll show you when the others are here," Alex answered.

"Alright then," her mother smiled. "What about this girl?"

"Blair's about my age."

"Is she a trainer?"

"No, she got hurt and can't be a trainer until she's better."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Send her my regards."

"I'll be sure to do that."

"Before I get your Pokémon, are you doing better?"

"Yeah… I mean, I still miss Nate, that won't go away." Her mom nodded, having to agree. "But I'm going to try and keep going. My Pokémon want to keep going and I want to keep going. Just hearing their confirmation though, it gave me the confidence not to give up," Alex explained with a hint of sadness but gave her a determined look.

"I'm glad to hear that, honey," her mother smiled. She was relieved to see her daughter is doing better, having been worried about her since her Pokémon's death.

"Thanks," Alex smiled before it faded. "Umm…by any chance did you hear anything about Azure?"

"No, not yet, but his parents are waiting to hear back from him. Hopefully, you two will patch things up."

"Same…"

"Alright, I'll go get Sienna and the others. Are you going to take Sienna back?"

"If she wants to, if not I'll train the others a little more. I might switch Nala out for her though, maybe Hana or Ansen if he's okay with it. Azure told me that it's supposed to be an electric gym in Vermilion City."

"That sounds like a good idea."

With that, Alex's mother got up and left momentarily. She fetched the Pokémon, having them quickly appear on the screen.

"Hi, everyone," Alex greeted.

~Hi, Alex, is everything okay?~ Sienna greeted, seeing her trainer looking better than the last time they spoke.

"Yeah, we won the Cascade Badge," she beamed, showing them the badge.

~It's so pretty,~ Lizzy awed.

~So they act as a symbol to enter tougher competitions?~ Max asked.

"Kind of… It's to show proof to enter a competition called the Indigo Conference. Only trainers who managed to collect these and pass any other tests they might have before trainers are allowed to enter."

~So only the strong are allowed?~ Lizzy asked.

"Pretty much, but trainers aren't limited to just what they have on their team when entering. They can switch around as needed. The only time they can't is when the winner is allowed to face the Elite Four."

~Oh, that sounds fun!~

"I guess so," Alex laughed. "Also, I wanted to introduce you guys to someone. I would have introduced you sooner, but I kind of forgot." She said this with a nervous laugh as she fished out the ball, calling the Mew out. "I want you guys to meet Cerulean."

{ It's great to meet you,} the psychic greeted.

"She can talk?" her mother asked.

Alex nodded, "She's a psychic type."

"That's really amazing, she looks really cute."

{Thank you,} the Pokémon purred as she settled herself on her trainer's shoulders.

"What kind of Pokémon is she?"

{I'm a Mew,} Cerulean answered.

"I thought they were a myth?" the woman blinked. She wasn't sure if she heard that correctly or not, seeing the confident looks on their faces.

The Pokémon gave her a wide grin, {That's because our kind knows how to hide. Well, most of us at least. I was never really into that. I would hide to avoid trouble, but I also liked watching trainers. And after recent events, I decided to ask Alex if I could join so I could get stronger.}

~So you're planning on sticking with the team?~ Sienna asked.

{I plan to unless Alex says otherwise.}

"Speaking of the team, Sienna, do you mind staying home a little longer? I talked with the others and they want to stay, at least until we've reached Vermilion City. Supposedly there's a place to get Pokémon called Diglett, so we might try to get one. Afterward, Hana and maybe Nala might switch with you and anyone else we get."

~That's fine, it's been fun hanging around here,~ Sienna laughed. ~It'll also give me a chance to greet anyone new and explain things.~

"Are you sure?"

~I am, it's good to switch us around as needed.~

"Alright."

Talking some more, Alex eventually hung up, wanting to call Benedict to let him know she's done with the gym and should be ready when they are.

"Congrats winning," the geologist smiled proudly. "We're just about done packing so we'll pick you up tomorrow morning."

"Okay then, we'll make sure to be ready by then."


Something I want to say before going into details about this chapter. There's a chance my weekly uploads might get distorted, meaning I could end up running late for more than just a single day. Between some issues going on my beta reader's end hindering him, I've recently gotten a job. Until things with it have balanced out so I'm not worn out after each shift, there's a chance I might end up skipping a week posting a chapter.

However, I'll try to keep up as best I can, but if at some point I end up posting late, that's the reason.


Now onto the discussion of the chapter itself:

Ken essentially swept the gym like it was nothing. Of course, that could have changed had I NOT used Thunder Wave against Starmie. At least I had the others trained in case that tactic failed. If it had, I would likely have used Nala since she would have type resistance.

I also had fun playing around with Roku's personality some more for the battle since in the original as some may recall was omitted. It was merely hinted of Ken's badassery, but not shown. This time, I made up for it and I think it went rather well.

I would like to thank, PinkTheDinosaur on Deviantart for helping me with edits on this chapter.

If you enjoyed this, please leave a review and any helpful critique that may better improve the writing.