A blur cut through the water that made up the battlefield of the Cerulean City Gym, streaking beneath the surface at dizzying speeds that left a rumble in Gina Oak's throat as she failed to keep track of it.

"Like, where's that confidence from before?" Gina's eyes fixed themselves onto the purple-haired woman in a swimsuit on the platform across from her at the jab. She was the second Gym Leader of the Cerulean City Gym, Violet. And there was more than a hint of smugness in her tone.

The Cerulean City Gym, as it turned out, was managed by the three Sensational Sisters who all were qualified to be the Gym Leader. The idea was that if one Gym Leader was unavailable for a challenger, another would be able to step in and take their place. But these three used that rule to instead alternate between one another during each round of the battle, placing a condition on the match that if Gina lost to any of them, she wouldn't get their badge.

It was clearly a match rigged in their favor knowing she only had one badge, and Gina suspected that it was done so they could try to teach her a lesson in humility. In hindsight, maybe she could have phrased her opinion that their water ballets shouldn't take place ahead of their duties as Gym Leaders a little more tactfully than she had (and maybe not call it stupid), but Gina was in a rush and they were slacking on the job.

Even knowing it was rigged, Gina still accepted the challenge because she was in a hurry and confident in her pokémon's ability to win against these three. Then she backed her claim up by defeating the first of the sisters, the pink-haired one named Lily, with no real trouble. After all, while most new trainers couldn't break through a Shellder's defense based on what the Pokédex said, her Rattata had a technique specifically to deal with that and neither the Shellder nor its trainer were prepared for following up after that.

Now it was Violet's turn and she had called out a Goldeen. It looked larger than the others swimming around in their aquarium and had clearly been better trained to take advantage of its speed underwater. It had to be using Agility to swim across the battlefield that fast while Gina's second pokémon, Spearow, fluttered in the air above.

"Hard to be scared when all your Goldeen can do is swim around in circles," Gina told her, the corner of her lips pulling upwards into a smile. "Then again, maybe that's all it can do if you spent all your time training it to play a role in your tacky shows instead of training it for an actual battle."

"Tacky!?" Violet's body shook with anger and her eyebrows twitch. "Goldeen, skewer that ugly bird of hers with Horn Attack!"

The water erupted in a spout as the Goldfish Pokémon threw itself up into the air like a rocket with its horn aglow. The attack was clearly set to strike her Spearow from behind, under the assumption that moving at such a speed had left it bewildered. Confident it could bring him down in a single strike, it attempted to smash into the Tiny Bird Pokémon…

Yet, the moment it came within a hair's breadth of landing the hit, Spearow folded his wings and dropped to avoid the blow. Then, while fixing a hard glare on his opponent, he unfurled them and circled around with his beak aglow. The Peck attack struck hard from below to knock it further into the air. "RRROWW!"

Violet was taken aback. "It managed to dodge!?"

"You shouldn't have underestimated Spearow's eyes," Gina told her. "His are keen enough that even if that Goldeen was moving at the speed of sound he'd be able to track it down. And now that it's in the air, Spearow won't show it an ounce of mercy."

That was a fact rather than an opinion, as Violet realized a moment too late when the Tiny Bird Pokémon let loose a bloodcurdling squawk and swooped after the aerial Goldfish Pokémon. Spearow were notoriously territorial and Gina's was fairly aggressive to those that claimed the skies it called its own. Before the Goldeen could splash down into the safety of the water, it flew past the falling fish while knocking it right back into the air and then swiftly turned back around to do it over again and again with Fury Attack.

The relentless barrage only came to an end when Spearow decided to slam into it hard enough that the hit sent the Goldfish Pokémon flying back down into the pool. It hit the surface of the water hard enough that there was a violent splash that blanketed Violet as well, leaving her unexpectedly wet. By the time she wiped the water from her eyes and looked down, her Goldeen was floating on the surface—unmoving and unconscious.

"Two down, one to go," Gina said while Violet quickly recalled her pokémon back into its ball. She then sulked off the battlefield to join her defeated sister on the sidelines as the last of the three, Daisy, stepped forward. "You sure you don't want to just hand over the badge?"

"Just because you managed to squeeze out a win against Violet and Lily doesn't mean you'll defeat me," Daisy boasted while enlarging a ball before tossing it out. "Show her what you can do, Seel!"

The ball burst open and light speared down to take the shape of a bluish-white pokémon that had two flippers on its chest that it used to prop itself up, while its tail had another set that curved outwards. There was a small horn on the top of its head, and it had two tusks that came from its cream-colored maw. Beady, black eyes placidly stared off in their direction as the tossed ball rebound back into its trainer's hand.

Gina pulled out her Pokédex to read what it had to say.

Seel. The Sea Lion Pokémon. This pokémon loves freezing conditions and is a graceful swimmer. The protruding horn on its head is also hard enough that it can break through thick icebergs with ease.

Nothing we can't handle, Gina decided as she recalled Spearow into his ball and then called out her Starter Pokémon. The Tiny Turtle Pokémon appeared on the floating platform opposite the Seel, standing on all fours with her curved tail upright. "Squirtle, this one's yours to deal with!"

With both trainer's final choices out, Daisy declared the match's beginning by taking the first attack. "Seel, Icy Wind!"

The Sea Lion Pokémon sucked in a sharp breath that caused its chest to swell. Then it released a sweeping gust laced with glimmering ice and snow that proceeded to wash over the battlefield. The crackle of ice consuming the water's surface rang out as a white veil of mist was created and the winter's chill brushed against Gina, leaving her shivering.

She shielded her eyes with her arms until the frosty gale died down and then peered over to see that the surface of the water had been frozen over. But her Squirtle was largely unharmed as she shook off the forming layer of white frost that threatened to consume her. "That won't do much to Squirtle since she's a Water-Type too."

Daisy only smiled a little more smugly. "Now, Aurora Beam!"

A prismatic sphere budded on the tip of the Sea Lion Pokémon's horn before it burst forward as a multicolored beam of cold. The moment it hit Squirtle, she released a surprised cry that was drowned out by the force of the resulting blast. The Tiny Turtle Pokémon was then sent skittering backwards across the ice until she neared the edge of the pool, shaken but still largely unharmed.

"Water Gun!" Gina ordered. Yet, when Squirtle reared back to fire she almost slipped on the ice, throwing her aim off. The lance of water fired from her mouth sailed to the side of her opponent wearing a dopey smile. "Try again on all fours!"

Squirtle fell onto all fours and adjusted before she fired another Water Gun. The aim was better, but the Seel didn't just sit there to receive the hit. Instead, it used its forelegs and proceeded to slide across the ice with a graceful sort of movement—eluding it with ease.

"Even if both of our pokémon are Water-types, Seel has more experience fighting on icy terrain than your Squirtle," Daisy pointed out as she watched the failed attempts to hit her pokémon. "Seel, use Headbutt!"

White fur darted across the layer of ice even faster as Seel turned amidst a slide before using its flippers to shoot forward. Since Squirtle could barely keep herself upright, she couldn't dodge as Seel darted towards her like a torpedo with its horn pressed forward. The Tiny Turtle Pokémon cried out as the Headbutt connected and the impact knocked her down, leaving her sliding across the ice on the side of her shell.

"Withdraw, now!" Gina ordered upon seeing her Starter wincing in pain as she tried to get back up while the Seel readied to ram her a second time. Squirtle immediately tucked into her shell that became aglow before the horn sent it skirting along the ice once more. She breathed out a silent breath of relief.

"Keep using Headbutt," Daisy ordered. "It'll break through eventually!"

It was a mirror of how Spearow had taken apart the Goldeen, with the faster Seel ramming into Squirtle with glancing blows as it slid past her. Gina tried to focus past the subtle cries of her pokémon weathering the assault to think of a strategy. Then one particular hit sent her shell into a spin, leaving her facing the opposite direction as it prepared to take another stab at her, and an ideal clicked in her head at that moment.

"Squirtle, use Water Gun just like that!" The Tiny Turtle Pokémon did so while tucked away in her shell, causing a burst of water to shoot out from the hole where her head was nestled within. The sudden propulsion from the Water Gun and lack of friction between the bottom of the shell and ice led to her shooting forward, meeting the sliding ram with just as much speed. The net result was the unexpectant Seel being blindsided by the impact and left the two toppled over one another, right where Gina wanted it. "Now, Bite and don't let go!"

Squirtle popped her limbs out of her shell and grasped hold of the thick hide of her opponent. Then her head followed, eyes fixed in a scowl before opening her maw. Without hesitation or mercy, she then bit down into its flesh—hard.

"SEEEEEEEELLLLL!" An ear-rending shriek rang out as the Sea Lion Pokémon flinched at the sting of her beak-like jaw sinking in deep. Then its body began thrashing violently on the ice as it tried desperately to escape, undulating in strange motions as it frantically tried to free itself. The layer of thin ice beneath it began to crack while its trainer and her sisters looked on in both shock and concern.

It took a moment longer than it should have for Daisy to snap out of her shock and give an order. "Seel, push it off with Aurora Beam!"

The writhing pokémon forced its head at an awkward angle towards where Squirtle was braced and the prismatic orb swelled before detonating point-blank. The rainbow-hued explosion encompassed them both before Squirtle emerged from near the top, blown into the air by the attack and her underbelly marred by a warm-colored scorch mark. The Seel, on the other hand, was slouched over as the lingering pain of the Bite had taken a lot out of it.

"Squirtle, finish it!" Gina ordered. "Body Slam!"

The Tiny Turtle Pokémon obeyed, despite wincing in pain. She twisted her body so that her shell was facing the Seel and then fired a Water Gun towards the ceiling to propel herself downwards at an accelerated pace. Taking a plunge from above, she crashed into the Seel hard enough that they broke through the thin layer of ice as its pained cry was drowned by the resulting splash as water and ice chunks spouted into the air.

Silence lingered as the water slowly settled with the remnant of the ice breaking into chunks and sinking. Then the Sea Lion Pokémon's body bobbed face-up to the surface. It was unconscious, with a small whimper leaving its mouth as it drifted on the water.

"Squirtle, you okay?" Gina called when she noticed a pool of light beneath the water briefly flared before dimming. "You won, so come out!"

She was partially worried that maybe she'd pushed her too hard and the impact knocked her out as well. But then two, pale-blue feather-like protrusions stuck out of the water. Squirtle, or what was once her Squirtle, finally stuck her head out of the water and made a small, tired, inquiring sound towards her trainer. "Warr?"

"Oh, it looks like you managed to evolve from that battle," Gina said, looking over her newly-evolved Wartortle. Not only had she gotten taller, but her blue hide had deepened to an indigo color, her dark eyes had turned brown, and her tail had become bushier and split into curvy waves similar to her ears. When she lifted her out of the water with a smile, Gina noticed that she'd gotten heavier as well. "Good job!"

The Turtle Pokémon preened under the praise while nuzzling against her trainer. "Warrr~"

"Okay, okay…" She patted her on the head before turning to Daisy, who looked downcast at her defeated pokémon, and put on a cheeky grin. "That's three for three. Now, I believe you owe us a badge?"

The last of the Sensational Sister's glared at her for a moment before screwing her eyes shut and then letting out a sigh as she returned her own pokémon into its ball. Then she pulled the badge out and tossed it over the water, leaving Gina to catch it. "There. Now get out."

Gina did. She'd gotten what she wanted after all, even if it had been closer than she liked. She'd learn from the experience, however, and work on training her pokémon up to work better despite unusual terrain conditions.

But first she had to go get her pokémon healed and send a message to her Grandfather.

[-oOo-]

After her victory in the Cerulean City Gym, Gina had gotten in touch with her Grandfather, who'd been proud that she's made it so far and earned her second badge whereas the others from Pallet were still lagging in her wake. The other two were likely just behind her, but Ash had been dragging his feet it seemed. So, since she had some time before they ran into one another again, Gina decided to catch some more pokémon for her Grandfather's research and train her own, before taking a quick trip over to an associate of her Grandfather at his behest.

Bill was his name. He was… a bit eccentric, but apparently got his hands on a pokémon that he wanted her Gramps to have. And he let her have it instead since he knew she'd take good care of it.

So, Gina was in a pretty good mood after she left the lighthouse and made her way to a small town that wasn't too far away. She decided to stay there for the night after restocking her supplies, giving her a chance to rest up before she tracked Ash down. She could just see their reunion playing out in her head when she exited the shop—

"OOPH!"

—only for the sound of a pained grunt and a body hitting the ground on the other side of the door made her realize that she'd hit someone with it. She hurriedly checked on the person on the opposite side. "I'm so sorry! Are you…okay…?"

Her words trailed off when Gina recognized who it was that she'd hit. Lying flat on his back, from the door frame smacking him in the forehead hard enough that it pushed him over the waist-high railing into the ground, was a familiar face put on display since the hat that normally adorned his head fell off. "…Ash?"

Ash didn't respond, causing her to worry as she crouched over to check on him. His breathing was stable, yet his pulse was rather quick and he was covered in sweat. She could only guess that he'd been rushing to get there, and the hit just now knocked him unconscious.

The impact probably rattled his brain enough that his body just decided to go to sleep in order to rest, she reasoned to herself, rationalizing that he would probably be okay. Probably. He just needs some time to wake up, but I can't just leave him here.

After some thinking, Gina decided to bring him back to where she was staying to wait for him to wake up. It was a relatively small town rather than one of the major cities, but they still had a modest series of motel rooms for travelers to rest in. Slinging his arm over her shoulder, she managed to get Ash to her room and laid him down on the bed as the evening sun made its way down the horizon.

"Whew…" Gina plopped down on the bed next to him, her chest rising and falling as she wiped the sweat off her brow. Ash had been heavier than she remembered. Had he put on some muscle since the last time they'd seen each other? No, that can't be it. We haven't been gone from Pallet for that long…

She dismissed the thought as the inquiring sounds from her bedside drew her attention to her Wartortle and Nidorina, who'd evolved over the course of her capture of a huge-sized Krabby near Bill's home. It had been one large enough that it went beyond the usual size-range in the pokédex, meaning it'd serve as a good reference point of her Grandfather's research. They needed to eat more than her other pokémon since they'd were both evolved into bigger forms, so she'd left them in her room to do so while she went to restock on supplies.

It was obvious that they were curious as to who she'd brought along, so she introduced them. "This is Ash. He's one of the trainers from Pallet Town like me."

Wartortle drew closer and sniffed him as something about his scent had apparently caught her interest. She then craned her head towards his belt where his shrunken Poké Balls were and pointed to them along with herself. "Warr?"

Gina patted her on the head as she grasped the nature of her question somewhat. "I doubt he managed to get a Squirtle since you were the only one at the lab. Still I'm kind of interested in what pokémon he has as well. Gramps said he had one for Ash but didn't tell me what it was."

In truth she was curious enough that she wanted to look at which pokémon he'd caught. But she didn't want to screw up again. It was already bad enough she'd have to apologize for knocking him out accidentally, but she also worried he might still be upset about how they parted ways before. That was why she wanted to be more careful this time.

She wanted to show him she was a great trainer and how her own pokémon had grown, so he'd want her to come along with him and help him succeed—after herself, of course. She still intended to be the first Pokémon Master from Pallet Town. But that didn't mean she didn't want him to accomplish his dreams as well.

This time, I'll ask him properly, Gina resolved to herself as she waited for him to wake up as the sun began to set and night crept its way into the sky.