The next day, the three teens had walked for quite a bit and had just arrived at Cerulean City. They were now walking through the town.
"Well, now that we're here, we should find the Pokecenter," Marcus said, and Mia smiled. "Definitely, our Pokémon need some freshening up before going into another battle," Mia told him.
"Oh, that reminds me, could I borrow your Bulbasaur for this one? Otherwise, I will have to rely solely on Cloyster again, since Charmander is a bad fit for a water gym," Marcus asked.
"I suppose so," Mia replied as the trio headed inside. Lars smiled, "Well, time to call my uncle," he said and walked over to the screen phones in the corner of the room. He called the number, and a green-haired guy answered the phone. "Oh hi there, did you discover anything new on your recent adventure?" the man in a lab coat asked.
"Well, sort of. We discovered this really rare root that attracts Pokémon with its spores. Do you know anything about it? I mean, Mia said it's really rare," he asked.
At the same time, Mia gave her Pokémon, including Umbreon, to Nurse Joy. "Right, I should check up on my family too," Mia said and moved over to the phones. She took the seat next to Lars, where the professor stopped Lars from talking. "Hey, wait, wasn't that Mia Greenwald, the daughter of Wilburt Greenwald and Lilia Felizia?" the man asked, moving closer to the screen.
"Her name is Mia," Lars said, wide-eyed as Mia dialed the number in the booth next to him, and Lars peeked over. He got starry-eyed when he saw Mia's mother, Lilia, answer the phone. "Woah, it really is them," he replied, and Mia looked to Lars, who was peeking over.
"Oh, hi there," Lilia asked and looked to her daughter and Lars peeking over. "Sorry, Ma'am, I am a bit starstruck. Are you Lilia Felizia, the sister of the world-famous researcher and explorer Lusia Felizia?" Lars asked.
"That I am, and who might you be?" Lilia asked.
"Oh, just Lars, Ma'am, Lars Malvin, from Cerulean City. Who knew I would be this lucky to have a conversation with you?" Lars said, still holding the line to his uncle. "Is that really? Could we merge the call?" he asked. "Maybe if Lilia wants to merge the call," he said and looked to the screen.
"Sure thing, here, I will link it up right away," Lilia told them, and Lars's uncle showed up on half of the screen that Lilia was on. Lars moved over, nearly pushing Mia to the side. "Oh, this is so amazing, I have so many questions," Lars eagerly said.
"Sure thing, I will be more than happy to answer them," Lilia replied, and Mia awkwardly smiled. "Maybe I should freshen up a bit," she uttered. "Mia, you know this can be a learning opportunity for all of us. You are to stay and listen," Lilia told her.
"Right, of course, Mother," Mia replied, and Marcus just stood behind them and listened for a bit before moving on further into the Pokémon Center and getting something to eat.
Time passed, and soon he went to the desk and saw that Lars was still asking a million questions. He got his Pokémon from Nurse Joy and walked over to them. "I will be heading for the gym, you two," he told them.
But Lars was too preoccupied to notice, and Mia turned her head to see Marcus look at her. "Are you coming?" he asked. "Yeah," Mia said and turned to the screen, clearing her throat. "I have to go now, Mother. It was wonderful seeing you," she said.
"Mia, don't you want to stay? There's plenty more to talk about?" her mother asked.
"Well, I have to be there for a friend right now, and I am sure Lars will give me the full report later," Mia added. "All right, honey, make sure to take care, all right?" her mother said.
"I will," Mia said and got away from the phone, walking over to the counter and getting her Pokémon. Umbreon came up to the counter and nuzzled his nose against Mia's nose.
"I've missed you too," she said in a sweet tone, and Umbreon jumped down to her side of the counter. They both looked to each other and to their new friend. "Would never have known someone to be this consumed and interested in a topic," Marcus told her.
"Well, I suppose it is good to have a passion," Mia said with a warm smile as they headed outside.
Later, they walked the town on the lookout for the gym, and after a while of looking around, they found a big circular stadium-like building with a dojang on the top of it with the Gym's name beneath it. "This must be it," Marcus said, and moments later, they went inside, walking past an aquarium with plenty of fishes swimming around within it. Light shone through, which the water broke up, and it had a glimmer all over, making the light dance along the waves and the fishies swimming about.
Mia watched in awe at the display with a big goofy smile on her face. "You like this quite a bit, don't you?" Marcus asked. "That I do, I love it when things sparkle," she replied.
They heard chattering up ahead as a group of girls walked up, and Marcus stopped. "Who are these people?" he asked, seeing a guy with big spiky brown hair walk in front of the cheerleading girls. The guy looked on ahead at Mia. "Well, look who is here, little miss farm girl has come to grace me with a visit once again," he told her, and Mia looked to Gary, her face dropping into indifference. "Hi, Gary," She greeted politely.
"I thought you said that you weren't competing," he asked her.
"I am not, I am actually here to-"
"To witness the great Gary perform, sorry you missed it sweet cheeks. You will have to be quicker if you wish to see me in action," Gary interrupted and showed Mia the Cerulean City Gym badge, which was formed as a blue waterdrop. "See, I already got this one in the bag. I had hoped that Ash would be here in time for me to gloat, but I suppose one can't be that lucky," Gary continued. "So, Mia, what will you do now that you missed seeing me in action?" he asked.
"I am here to support Marcus, for when he will battle for his badge," Mia explained, and now Gary recognized that Marcus was even here and looked to him. "Huh, this guy. Well, whoever he is, he will need all the luck that he can get. I mean, especially with a klutz like Mia around. She will most likely ruin everything for you just by being there. I mean, it was easy for me obviously, but I am way great, right girls?" he said and looked to the cheerleading girls behind him.
"Yes, Gary, he's our man. If he can't do it, no one can," they all cheered together. And Marcus was about to defend himself, but Gary wasn't listening. "Now let us go, girls, and after this match, we have all earned a snack. Pizza is on me, everyone," he said, and all the girls cheered behind him as they walked past the two, leaving them in silence for a moment.
Another moment passed of silence as Marcus took in what happened, and he looked over to Mia. "So that was Gary," he stated. "Yes," Mia said with a warm smile. "He certainly is a character," she said.
"That is one way to put it," he said.
"Don't let him get to you. I think that you are a great Pokémon trainer," she told him.
"I wasn't worried about that one bit," Marcus said in an uplifting tone. "But what was the thing he said about you being a major klutz come from? It seemed a bit excessive," Marcus asked, and Mia's face turned red. "Well, I, uh, you see," she fumbled with her words as three girls walked up to them.
"Wait, another trainer?" the blonde one asked.
"That I am, and I am here to battle in your gym," Marcus replied.
"Fine then, come with us. I am Daisy, by the way," the blonde one said.
"Yeah, we have a show starting this afternoon, so there is still plenty of time until then," the one with pink hair said.
"So, where are you from?" Daisy asked.
"We are from Pallet Town," Marcus replied.
"One more from Pallet. Do you both wish to compete?" the blue-haired girl asked.
"No, just Marcus competes. I am just here to show some support," Mia explained as they walked into a big arena with a big pool in the middle with three floaties aligned ahead of the last one close to the end. And the same goes for the other side of the pool as well.
"Well, here," Mia said and handed Marcus a Pokémon ball. "Thanks," he replied, and soon he was standing on a floaty on one side of the arena, ready to face his first challenger.
"All right, we will use a total of 2 Pokémon each," the blonde one said, standing on the platform.
"All right," Marcus said and brought out his Pokéball. "Cloyster, I choose you," he said and threw it, and it landed on one of the platforms, and out came Cloyster, ready for battle.
And Daisy threw out her Pokéball, and out hopped a Dewgong onto the platform. "All right, Dewgong, get into the water and use Aqua Ring," she said, and so Dewgong dived into the water and resurfaced close to Cloyster's platform and shot a ring of water at Cloyster.
"Cloyster, defend and use Ice Beam," Marcus yelled, and Cloyster obliged and sent shards of ice in Dewgong's way, making him take damage. "Oh no, Dewgong, try to free yourself," Daisy said.
"Cloyster, use Ice Shards," Marcus yelled, and Cloyster obliged and sent shards of ice in Dewgong's way, making him take damage. "Oh no, Dewgong, try to free yourself," Daisy said.
"Cloyster, use Ice Shards," Marcus yelled, and Cloyster obliged, sending shards of ice in Dewgong's way, making him take damage. "Oh no, Dewgong, use Ice Beam," Daisy yelled, and Dewgong righted itself in the water and shot for Cloyster. "Cloyster, defend," Marcus yelled, and Cloyster closed its shell.
And the Ice Beam hit square and closed the shell up.
"Oh no, Cloyster, return," Marcus yelled and retrieved Cloyster into its Pokéball, and he put the ball on his belt. He took out his other Pokéball and saw Dewgong come to the surface, and he threw out the Pokéball. "Okay, Bulbasaur, I choose you," Marcus said, and out came Bulbasaur on the platform.
"Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaves," Marcus yelled. "Dewgong, dodge underwater and use Water Gun," Daisy yelled. And so Dewgong dived underwater and came up close and shot. "Bulbasaur, duck and use Vine Whip," Marcus yelled, and just as Dewgong came up to shoot, Bulbasaur jumped up high and whipped Dewgong hard, and it landed all the way on the platform in front of Daisy. As Bulbasaur landed, Marcus yelled, "Good, use Razor Leaves," and just before Dewgong got to gather itself, the leaves hit him square, and Dewgong fainted.
"Oh no, Dewgong, return. Now Seaking, it is your turn to shine," Daisy yelled, and Dewgong was returned, and Daisy threw her Pokéball, and out came a Seaking.
"Alright, Bulbasaur, again use Razor Leaf!" Marcus yelled.
"Seaking, dodge and use Water Pulse!" Daisy countered.
Bulbasaur missed, and Seaking jumped out of the water, sending a big pulse of water in a circle, creating ripples and making Bulbasaur's platform unstable, making it hard for him to stand properly.
"Now Seaking, use Aqua Ring!" Daisy commanded, and Seaking obeyed, sending a ring of water away.
"Bulbasaur, use your vines to jump and use Vine Whip to get a hold of Seaking!" Marcus shouted.
Bulbasaur jumped up high, flying through the air and struck with its vines.
"Seaking, dodge it and use Horn Attack!" Daisy yelled.
Seaking did its best, and Bulbasaur's vines failed, causing it to descend back to the platform. Just before landing, Seaking jumped out of the water.
"Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!" Marcus yelled, and Bulbasaur shot leaves at Seaking, sending it across the room to the door behind Daisy, knocking it out.
"Oh no, Seaking, return!" Daisy exclaimed, returning her Pokemon to its ball. Daisy turned to Marcus. "It appears that you have beaten me," she admitted, and Marcus nodded.
Moments later, they stood by the pool, looking at each other. "Well, a loss is a loss," Daisy said, clapping her hands together. "Seal, over here," she called, and they looked to the water, where the Seal Pokemon emerged and swam over to the girls. "Seal," it said before opening its mouth to reveal the Cascade Badge on its tongue. Daisy crouched, taking the badge and extended it to Marcus. "Here, you have earned it fair and square," Daisy told him, with her sisters walking up behind her. "Another loss so soon, oh well," the blue-haired girl remarked.
Mia stood up next to Marcus. "Um, I have a question, if you don't mind," Mia asked.
"Huh, what is it?" Daisy responded.
"Yeah, out with it," added one of her sisters.
"Well, I was wondering if my Magikarp could use the pool for a little bit. I would like for him to get some exercise and swimming," Mia explained.
"Sure, I suppose it's fine for a little while," Daisy replied. "Thank you," Mia said and brought out her Pokeball, unleashing Magikarp into the water.
Magikarp flailed around a bit until it righted itself and looked to Mia. "There you go, buddy. You swim around and have a bit of fun, alright? I don't know when the next time will be before we get to a big body of water again," Mia explained. "Carp, carp," her Pokemon replied and went underwater to swim around.
"There we go," Mia said with a big smile.
"Yeah, our Pokemon are probably hungry too," Marcus said. Mia nodded, and they all brought out their Pokemon.
Marcus looked at Cloyster, who was still frozen closed, then to Charmander. "Do you think you can unfreeze Cloyster without hurting him?" Marcus asked. "Charmander, char, char," his Pokemon replied, nodding. "Alright, Charmander, use Ember," Marcus said, and Charmander sent Ember at the ice enclosing Cloyster, quickly melting it away. Cloyster opened its shell and looked out into the world. "There you go, much better, right? Why don't you hang out with Magikarp in the water, and I will bring out some food in a moment?" Marcus suggested. Cloyster nodded and jumped into the pool.
Mia looked at Venonat, who was eager for some food. "I know you must all be hungry," she said, then turned her eyes to Bulbasaur. "Especially you, Bulbasaur. You were great out there," Mia said and prepared the bowls. Umbreon sat down next to her as she filled different feeds into different bowls. Venonat, Bulbasaur, and Umbreon chowed down, and Mia gave Marcus's Pokemon some food as well. Charmander and Weedle ate, and Mia moved over to the pool, putting some feed into the water. Magikarp swam over and ate some, and she let some float over to Cloyster as well.
They all had some fun together, and after a while, Mia packed everything up, and both trainers returned their Pokemon. They were on their way, walking through the halls, when they stopped, seeing a guy with blue hair walking up next to the trio of sisters.
"Who is this?" Marcus asked.
"Oh, this is George, another kid from Pallet Town, and he's here to challenge us," Daisy explained.
"I see. Hi there, we're also from Pallet Town," Marcus greeted the guy.
"Ah, I see. Well, nice to meet you guys. I'm off to battle and get my second badge," George replied.
"Well, it was nice meeting you guys," George added and walked off with the girls.
Mia and Marcus returned to the Pokemon Center, letting their Pokemon rest and heal up. They saw Lars still chatting with Mia's mother. Mia took it in for a moment before moving over to the phone.
"Oh, Mia, you're back already," her mother said, and Lars turned to her.
"All ready? It's the afternoon now," Mia explained.
"Oh, so it is. Look at the time. I need to tend to the farm's Pokemon," her mother said, clearing her throat. "Oh, and Mia, Lars and I were talking, and it may be a good idea for him to join you on your adventure."
"How so? I mean, I would be delighted to. I'm just not sure what brought it up," Mia asked.
"Well, seeing as Lars here has gotten a long way on his research and is looking to become a researcher, I'm sure both of you can learn a lot from each other. And who knows? You may follow in your mother's footsteps one day," she explained.
"Yeah, it would be great for me to spend time with your daughter, Miss Filizy," Lars added, and her mother nodded on the screen, along with the professor.
"Now, what do you say?" her mother asked.
"I, uh, what do you think, Marco?" she asked, looking next to her.
"Sure, it could be fun," Marco replied.
"Then it's settled. Well, I better get back to the Pokemon now. Have a great day," she said, and both she and the professor hung up.
"Now, this is amazing," Lars said, turning to Mia and grabbing her hand. "I get to travel with someone related to Miss Filizy. Thank you, I'll run home and get my things, and I'll come along with you guys. Just wait here at the Pokemon Center," he said and ran out.
"Uh," Mia was left there speechless.
"Who knew you were this famous, that a guy like that knows who you are and is this excited about traveling with you?" Marco said.
"I'm not famous; my mother, father, and aunt are," Mia replied, walking over to the counter and handing Nurse Joy the Pokeballs. Marco remained silent for a moment, looking at Mia as she crouched down and pets Umbreon. "It has been a long day, has it not, Umbreon? We'll rest for a bit until the rest are ready, and we can go," she tells Umbreon, who leans into Mia's pets. Marco proceeds to hand his balls to Nurse Joy as well. "Well, anyhow, the more the merrier, I reckon," he says, a bit cheerfully.
Mia looks up to him and back to Umbreon. "So, will we be leaving tonight or tomorrow?" she asks.
"I suppose we leave once the Pokemon have gotten back up to 100%, and of course, when Lars decides to get back," he says and stretches before getting a little eager. "I wanna get to the next Gym as soon as possible," he says, getting pumped up.
"I see. Well, I will freshen up before we leave then," Mia says and gets up to her feet and heads further into the Pokemon Center.
Later, Mia and Marcus have gotten their Pokemon back and are waiting for Lars, who then comes running into the center. "Alright, I am ready, guys," he says, and the other two blink, looking at the huge backpack that Lars has on his back.
"Uh, are you sure you haven't overpacked?" Marcus asks.
"Of course, I'm sure. This is nothing, I swear. I only have a bit of research equipment with me as well as the essentials," he explains.
"Well, if you're sure, then off to the road, we go, uh," Marcus says, and sees the Pokemon Gym trainers from before coming inside. "Uh, Daisy?" Mia asks.
"Oh, you guys are still here. I thought you would have left already," Daisy utters.
"We're just about to head out. What happened?" Marcus asks.
"The third person from Pallet Town arrived, and we got beaten. This is the third time in a row now," Daisy says, handing the Pokemon over to Nurse Joy.
"Another one?" Lars asks.
"Yeah, I am as surprised as you. It's a town in the middle of nowhere too," Violet says.
"Who knew they would be so strong?" Lily adds.
"Oh well, I suppose it means that we can focus on our show," Daisy says.
"Your show?" Mia asks.
"Yes, whenever we aren't gym trainers, we are the Sensational Sisters," they all three say in unison.
"Uh," the teens stand there dumbfounded.
"It's a swimming show that we perform," Daisy explains to them. "Anyways, didn't Serger come through here?" Daisy asks.
"No, he didn't," Mia responds.
"Huh, weird after that battle, I would have been sure that he would come here straight away," Daisy says.
"I am sure he is on his way," Lars interjects.
"I hope so."
"Anyway, it was nice chatting, but we better be on our way to earn more badges," Marcus says, eager to be on their way.
"I see. Well, be sure to have fun then, and thank you for the match again," Daisy says, and the group greets each other goodbye. The teens are soon on the road, heading to Vermilion City. Marco is the most eager to see what adventures lie ahead, followed by his newfound friends.
What Pokemon will they encounter next?