Another chapter ready. Sorry for the late update. Things have been busy and as such I've decided to give myself an extra week or two to work on this so updates should happen every 3 to 4 weeks now. Either way hope you enjoy and thank you to all who fave and follow this story.

XXXX

"Took us long enough to get out of there," Misty sighed as the three of them saw the beginning of the road again.

"Well, it can't be helped. Mt. Moon is a pretty big mountain, so it only makes sense it took a while, even with our new guide," Brock chuckled, as the Clefairy they'd helped before bounced out and soon stopped next to Misty, rubbing against her a little.

After the Clefairy and the Clefable had gathered the pieces of the Boulder, they'd gathered them together back in the chamber once more. Seymour had decided to live with the Clefairy, seeing as with this he'd fulfilled his lifelong dream of finding the Moon Stone Boulder (they humored his comment of one day travelling to the stars with the Clefairy). They were set to be on their way, but the Clefairy that they'd helped ended up following them, making it clear she wanted to join their group. Ash was eager to add her to his team...until Clefairy made it clear she'd taken a liking to Misty (no doubt from when she'd saved Clefairy from Meowth), so Misty now had a new addition to her team, even if Clefairy wasn't a Water-Type.

Not just that either, as during their exploring through the caves, they'd found a few interesting things here and there, like items some other travelers must have dropped along the way, among them being some more Moon Stones that the Clefairy hadn't gotten, and after a quick questioning glance at Clefairy, they claimed the stones (Nidoran was quite pleased to learn about that, no doubt already imagining himself as a Nidoking). Most memorable of all had to be them, or rather Brock, finding some weird guy who'd clearly been in the caves for a little too long, and immediately went territorial over some fossils he had and challenged Brock to a battle...which Brock won, and earned him one of the fossils for his trouble, a Helix Fossil to be exact, which he was keeping safely for when the time came they went to Cinnabar Island.

The group soon continued down the path once again, reaching a crossroad with a sign that showed that left would lead to Cerulean City. "Guess we know which way we're going," Brock mused, before noticing something else. "Hm? Did someone scribble on the sign?"

"Huh, let's see," Ash blinked, taking a closer look, revealing the bit of the sign said to be 'Got here first, catch up if you can, Ashy.' Seeing that, Ash couldn't help but smirk a little. "Oh it is on," he said, before going down the path with increased intensity, Misty and Brock taking a moment to read the sign and blinking.

"...I'm gonna guess this is from someone he knows," Misty said.

"Probably or Ash wouldn't be so fired up," Brock agreed.

"Pi…" Pikachu sweat dropped (having been on the ground) seeing his trainer this serious.

The group quickly caught up to Ash, but as they got closer to Cerulean City, Misty sighed. "So I guess we're really going here then…" she sighed.

"Something wrong?" Brock asked, wondering why Misty seemed so down about going to Cerulean.

"Well, what do you know about the Gym in Cerulean?" Misty asked.

"Well...I heard it was mainly a Trainer Gym, and the Gym Leader, or rather Leaders are called the Mermaid Sisters, three sisters who run the gym together," Brock said, to which Misty gained an annoyed expression. "Is something wrong?"

"Well that's supposed to be four sisters, even if I left for the time being," Misty said in annoyance.

"...bad family issues?" Brock guessed.

"Something like that," Misty sighed. "I'd prefer if we could just avoid doing this, but it's not like I can just give him a Badge if he beats me outside of the Gym. It wouldn't be considered official that way," she sighed, remembering that Gym Battles won were recorded onto the Trainer's ID, meaning that even if she was beaten outside the Gym, the Badges she had on hand wouldn't be legitimate. Something about a Badge handout scandal in the past or something.

"Well...maybe Ash can just beat your sisters, and then we can go through the city without you even needing to meet them?" Brock suggested.

"Maybe, but we'll see," Misty sighed. "I've got a weird feeling about this…"

The group continued onward towards Cerulean, but as they got closer, they noticed Misty seemed to be getting a bit further behind.

"...if you REALLY don't want to go into Cerulean, you don't HAVE to go," Ash blinked, Pikachu sweat dropping as well as he let out a low 'Chu…'.

Misty sighed. "No, I can do this. I just need to...mentally prepare…"

"Well...there's some things I'd like to pick up, and I imagine Ash would want to get his Pokemon checked up on before he even starts training for the Gym, so...maybe we should split up a bit first then meet up again. How about the lobby of the Pokemon Center?" Brock suggested.

"Sounds like a pretty good idea," Ash mused.

"I think that can work, though don't expect me to come to the Gym," Misty sighed.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Ash and Brock nodded understandingly.

XXXX

"My, that's quite an experience you've been through," Professor Oak nodded as he looked over the images Ash sent him, the two talking over a public phone in the Pokemon Center. "To think you'd find the legendary Moon Stone Boulder."

"Well, it was more the Clefairy trusted us enough to show it to us, so…" Ash said a little sheepishly.

"Say no more. This secret belongs to the Clefairy, and a secret it will remain," Professor Oak nodded. "Still, to think you'd be able to find something like this and so soon after you started your journey. You're a real chip off the old blocks," Oak couldn't help but chuckle.

"Something that makes me both proud AND worried at the same time," came Carmine's voice.

"Dad? Not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing there?" Ash blinked in surprise, as Carmine came into the camera's view. Normally by now his dad would be off travelling again.

"I've decided to stick around a bit longer this time around," Carmine chuckled. "I may travel a lot, but I do that because I'm one of Professor Oak's Field Researchers on top of being a professional Trainer-Fighter, so I'm staying to help with the lab for a while, though with what you've shown us, I might end up dropping by Mt. Moon sometime in the future."

"Yeah, I can imagine you'd want to study the Clefairy," Ash chuckled lightly.

"Speaking of which, good job on making it to Cerulean. Don't tell him I told you this, but Gary has been having some difficulty completing the Gym, though not due to the Gym Leaders being too strong per say," Oak mused.

"Not really surprising considering Cerulean IS a Water-type specialist Gym. The Gym Challenge isn't going to be easy for a Fire-type," Carmine mused.

"Yeah...I can imagine a Gym Challenge in a pool isn't going to be easy for a Growlithe," Ash sweat dropped. "So, how are things in Palet?"

"Peaceful as always. It's always refreshing after a long trip," Carmine chuckled. "And of course your mother is doing just fine. She's been trying out a few new recipes, and so far they've been working well, so I'd say the restaurant is going to have a few new additions."

"Definitely something to look forward to when I come back," Ash grinned a little.

"Anyway, we won't keep you any longer. Good luck with the Cerulean Gym," Professor Oak said.

"And take care," Carmine added.

"I will, thanks," Ash nodded as the call ended. Smiling a little, Ash took out his Pokedex and after linking a few pictures and writing a message, sent it out. With everything he wanted to do done here, he went over to the counter, and soon got his Pokemon back from Nurse Joy, Pikachu immediately jumping onto his shoulder happily. "Thanks again for the help."

"It's no problem. Take care now," Nurse Joy said pleasantly, Ash inwardly wondering still how it was possible for so many family members who weren't even identical sisters to look so alike. Once that was done, he took a seat in the lobby and even used one of the public PCs to start looking for info on the Cerulean Gym. However…

"Huh?" he blinked, looking through articles. Most of the more recent stuff he was finding talked more about the water shows that were being done by the Gym Leaders, a trio of Milotic (he couldn't help but blink at the sight, seeing as these were supposed to be Misty's sisters but figured it's just because of them taking after different parents), and while the reviews were definitely good...it seemed almost like the Gym was more of a water show than an actual Pokemon Gym.

Sighing, he logged out of the site. "Guess we're gonna have to find out how the Gym works the hard way…" Ash sighed, before looking at Pikachu. "Hope you're good at swimming, buddy," he chuckled lightly.

"Pi…" Pikachu sweat dropped, already understanding what Ash was getting at. Before they could speak about this further though, the sound of the doors opening was heard, and Ash turned to see Brock coming in.

"Yo," Brock said.

"Hey Brock, did you get what you wanted to find?" Ash asked, noting that Brock didn't SEEM to be carrying anything extra. Then again, with how much his bag could carry...

"Yeah, I got what I wanted," Brock nodded. "Mostly ingredients, but you can't beat some of the stuff in a seaside city," he chuckled. "So, you got a plan for facing the Cerulean Gym?"

"Well...I couldn't find much recent stuff on the Gym, but the gist I can understand is one way or another we'd probably use a large pool as a field, and assuming I end up in a Trainer-Fighter match, I don't think I'd want to have...breathing problems...in the middle of the battle…" Ash sweat dropped.

"Yeah...as a Rock-type I can personally say that that isn't pleasant. At all," Brock sweat dropped. "And I trained enough that I can at least swim well…"

"So definitely prepare to be able to function underwater. Got it," Ash nodded, Pikachu doing the same in understanding. "So uh...where's Misty?"

"I haven't seen her for a while honestly," Brock mused.

"I guess she's having a hard time mentally preparing…" Ash sweat dropped, inwardly wondering just how bad things were to make Misty act like this...and ultimately decided a part of him probably didn't want to know…

As if in response to his thoughts, his Pokedex beeped a bit, to which he opened it up, and saw he had an email. "Huh? An email from Misty?"

"What's it say?" Brock asked, looking over his shoulder, to which it read 'I'm sorry for not showing up at the Pokemon Center, but by the time I work up the nerve to come into the city, it'll take too long. Feel free to take care of what you need to do first. I'll let you know when I do work up the nerve to come in.'

"...I feel really bad for her right now…" Ash couldn't help but say after reading the message.

"I'm right there with you," Brock sweat dropped. Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea after all…

"Pikachu-Pi…" Pikachu frowned as well.

The three were silent for a few moments, before Ash spoke up. "Well...if she says its okay for us to go ahead first, I guess we might as well take care of what we need to do."

"Probably a good idea, yeah," Brock nodded. "So what do you plan to do? Training first or scout out the Gym?"

"Scout out the Gym?" Ash blinked.

"It's something some trainers and/or fighters do to get a feel of the Gym they're going to challenge before they actually take the challenge," Brock said.

Ash frowned, thinking about it. "I'm going to train first," he said. "I can see how scouting gives me an advantage, but then I'd be preparing for mainly that. Mom told me sometimes preparing too much for one thing leaves you open for other things."

Brock nodded. "That's a smart move too. Alright then, if you want to try training, there's plenty of streams and lakes around Cerulean for water Pokemon I heard, and if you want some serious training, we're close enough to the sea for that," Brock said.

"Right, thanks Brock," Ash nodded.

"No problem. I'd help too, but…" Brock chuckled a bit.

"Yeah, Rock and Water don't USUALLY mix," Ash chuckled. "I'll see you later then. What do you plan to do?"

"Since I've got a lot of time I think I'll look around the city some more. I'll let you know if I find anything interesting and maybe even find Misty," Brock said. "After that I think I'll do some training of my own. Can't let my skills get rusty after all."

"Okay then, see ya later," Ash nodded before they went their separate ways for now.

XXXX

A short while later, at a sizable lake just at the outskirts south of Cerulean, Ash and his Pokemon had started on their training. Beedrill and Butterfree had secured Ash's backpack to a tree in a way that they shouldn't need to have to constantly keep watch, and hanging on the branches were his clothes too, as he was currently in the lake clad in a pair of trunks, swimming alongside Pikachu and Nidoran. Pikachu was taking to the water well enough, even if his swimming was a bit slow, while Nidoran was having some trouble, but was slowly but surely getting the hang of it.

As for Ash he was definitely ahead of them both, not surprising as he could handle the water more easily then they could. The goal of this stage of the practice was to get them used to moving in the water, so swimming would be the first part of it. Once they could swim well enough, next came diving and then being able to fight underwater if need be. Either way for now they were doing a few laps around the lake first.

The training wasn't too bad for him, but for Pikachu and Nidoran who weren't used to treading water, it was pretty difficult. "Take a break you two, you earned it," Ash chuckled as the two Pokemon were in a heap by the water's edge, clearly tired out from the training, both letting out grateful sighs. Looking upward, he saw Pidgeoto, Butterfree, and Beedrill sparring against each other. Since he knew they wouldn't be any good in the water, he told them to practice maneuvers against each other, and generally told them to try and work on their mobility. Assuming they had to fight, most likely they'd need to be able to react quickly against attacks from the water. With Pikachu and Nidoran resting, Ash decided he'd go for the next stage of his training first. Taking a deep breath, he dove into the water, swimming into the lake which was decently deep. He swam as deep as he could, before he felt the need for oxygen rise up, to which he soon resurfaced. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he tried again, reaching more or less the same depth as before, but the burning in his lungs didn't feel as bad when he needed air again. He continued with the exercise, training his endurance while underwater. Eventually after a few repeats, he found he could slowly increase his time underwater more or less so that he could probably last down there long enough to fight.

Resurfacing again, he pulled himself ashore, laying down to rest a bit. "Training to fight underwater sure isn't easy…" he sighed, his lungs more tired than they'd ever been before. "Still, bet it's gonna be worthwhile anytime we have to fight in the water, right?"

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed, having gotten his energy back after resting a bit, his Pokemon soon at his side as he got up into a sitting position, smiling a bit as he looked at his Pokemon.

"Well, since we're taking a break…" Ash mused, getting up before going over to the tree he'd stored his things and retrieving his Pokedex. "Let's see if we can think who might be best to fight against the Gym. Obviously the first choice is Pikachu," Ash said with a light chuckle, Pikachu giving off a 'V' sign with his paws. "Nidoran...you probably still need some work with being in the water, but we'll work on that," he mused, Nidoran looking a bit sheepish at his slow progress. "Pidgeoto, Beedrill, and Butterfree can't really do much if they fall into the water...but then I guess we'll just have to avoid falling in…" he mused, looking over possible choices. "Well...I think you'd do well, Pidgeoto. You should be able to move around quickly and even blow some of the Pokemon away if they come out of the water to attack," he thought out loud, earning a proud look from the bird. "As for Beedrill and Butterfree...I think Beedrill would work better here, sorry Butterfree," Ash said apologetically. "We're probably going to fight in a pool, so your powders aren't really going to be much good. They can either dive into the water to avoid it or even wash it off." Butterfree seemed disappointed, but nodded in understanding.

Ash was about to go over more data to try and think of possible strategies, when a splashing was heard not far away. The group turned to the source and saw a Wooper happily jumping in and out of the water. The group blinked at that. "There's something I didn't expect to see. Then again…" Ash mused, pointing his Pokedex at the Wooper.

"Wooper, the Water Fish Pokemon. Wooper is a Water/Ground Type Pokemon native to the Johto Region. Wooper like to live in cold waters, but occasionally venture out on land. During that time, Wooper coat themselves in a thin layer of poisonous mucus. Despite this, much like its evolved form, Wooper are a good sign of clean waters.

"Well, Cerulean IS the city of Water Pokemon. If anywhere would have clean water, it's here," Ash chuckled lightly, before getting up and turning to his team. "What do you say everyone? Wanna get a new teammate?"

The others looked at the Wooper and soon let out sounds of agreement.

"Okay then, since Wooper is part Ground...Pidgeotto, I choose you!" Ash said, to which Pidgeotto triled her name and flew forward. "Grab it out of the water!" Pidgeotto obeyed, aiming for Wooper who looked at her and seemed to take a moment to register she was headed for it...before it was soon in her talons, finding itself brought to land. The moment it realized that, it tried to go for the water but…

"Don't let it get back into the water, Wing Attack!" Ash ordered, Pidgeotto knocking Wooper back, and it seemed NOW Wooper got the message, and countered with a Water Gun, pushing Pidgeotto back a little, but she quickly recovered, and dove towards Wooper.

"Keep it in one place with a Quick Attack!" with that, Wooper found itself knocked from several sides by the Quick Attacks Pidgeotto used to keep it 'boxed in', to which it countered with Haze, stopping Pidgeotto from seeing her target.

"Don't worry about the Haze, trap it all in a Gust and send Wooper flying!" Ash ordered, to which Pidgeotto soon flew around the field of Haze, and kicked up a tornado, pulling it and Wooper who was looking dizzy from the spin it was caught in, and sent it all flying a bit, before Wooper came falling down...and was caught by the leg with Pidgeotto's talon, looking dazed and definitely not fighting anymore as she set it down, right before Ash threw a Pokeball at Wooper, sucking it in. The Pokeball shook a few times, before it let out the sound of a successful capture.

"Alright, we caught Wooper!" Ash cheered, his Pokemon joining him, happy to have a new teammate. "Let's see…" he mused as he checked the data gained from catching Wooper. "Okay, so Wooper is a girl, and she's got a decent selection of moves," he mused. "Though I wonder how she got all the way here. I sure didn't see much if any when I was diving."

Pikachu shrugged a bit at that, curious, but ultimately not really questioning it. "True, she's part of our team and that's all that matters," Ash chuckled, before letting Wooper out, Wooper looking mildly confused. "Hi Wooper, I'm Ash and these are all my Pokemon. I hope we can all be friends," he said, his Pokemon coming closer and all of them greeting her, to which Wooper seemed happy enough to reciprocate, even for Pidgeotto making it clear that there were no hard feelings.

Ash couldn't help but grin a bit. "And with this, that makes six," he chuckled, seeing as he'd gained six Pokemon, the minimum needed to enter the league, not that he was planning on stopping there after all.

After the break was done, Ash and his Pokemon resumed training, and for Ash's case, this time it was learning how to fight underwater, which was...easier said than done. As one would expect, learning to try to move while fighting underwater was a lot harder than it sounded, requiring Ash to figure out how to move and strike underwater...and a few miss maneuvers definitely didn't help, forcing him to resurface several times. "Looks like we'll be here for a while," Ash sighed.

"Pika," Pikachu nodded in agreement.

XXXX

In light of the fact he'd need to do some serious training, Ash and his team went back to the Pokemon Center, both to get a checkup, and to prepare to stock up on supplies.

"So you're going to stick around the lake to train up?" Brock asked.

"Yep," Ash nodded. "If I end up fighting underwater, I'm going to need some time to be able to fight underwater properly. This isn't going to be something I can just rush through. That and I might as well let Wooper train a bit as well."

"Hm...that's a fair point, and it's definitely not a bad idea, but are you even sure you're going to be in a Pokemorph fight? If the Gym Leader isn't a fighter, you can earn the Badge simply by beating them in a Pokemon Battle after the Gym Challenge," Brock pointed out. "Not saying you shouldn't train, but maybe you can do that after the fact? Or maybe even do that in the Gym since they probably have better equipment."

"...that's...a pretty good point," Ash sweat dropped. "Guess I should at least find out if I'm going to be doing just a Pokemon Battle, or if I'm going to have a Battle and a Fight."

With that in mind, it wasn't long before Ash went searching for the Cerulean Gym and soon found the large building with said sign, composed of a building with several sections that seemed somewhat oval or blocky, with the main entrance being a colorful circular building with the image of a Dewgong on it. However…

"I'm sorry, but the Gym Leaders aren't currently accepting challenges," the Receptionist said. "However, if you'd like there's still time before the next show. You could try talking to the Gym Leaders after the show," they said.

"Well…" Ash frowned, looking at the time and the price for a ticket, before nodding. "I guess it wouldn't hurt."

XXXX

"Is this really a Pokemon Gym anymore?" Ash frowned as he saw the crowd that was gathering in the stands. They were seated in seats on two sides of a large pool inside the Gym, the speakers announcing the beginning of the show, which was a synchronized swimming show, with the stars being the Cerulean City Mermaid sisters, the spotlight lighting on three Milotic Morphs standing on a single diving board. All three of them looked to be in their late teens to early twenties, and unlike their Pokemon cousins, they all had a more humanoid form with slim athletic builds with toned arms and legs with long serpentine tails that were held in a way that didn't get in their way at all, befitting that of swimmers and Milotic in general. However, judging by their builds, it was as Misty said, none of them were fighters like her. They understandably looked a lot like each other but their hair color, hairstyle, and swimsuits helped tell them apart. The show soon began as the three dove into the pool, and swam in perfect synch, and he had to admit, they were pretty good. Though...he didn't quite see the appeal of this show seeing as well...they WERE Water-types.

He got his answer when in the middle of the show, the pool actually rose up, revealing it was also part of a large tank that had a coral reef inside it. That was when the show seemed to really begin as they swiftly swam in and out of the various coral structures, the Pokemon that lived in the tank joining in with the show, creating quite a spectacle as they swam in perfect choreography, further enhancing the beauty of the giant underwater dance that was happening right now. "...okay, I admit, they're pretty good," Ash blinked, while Pikachu seemed to be quite entranced by the show as the sisters continued to swim and dance under the water alongside their Pokemon, peppering the performance with well timed moves like Safeguard to create an effect that filtered through the water and made the performance seem mystical, ending with the three joining hands and soon used Light Screen, creating a pyramid of light around them, to which the light from Safeguard refracted from it, making the water seem to sparkle as they ascended to the surface while rotating slowly, before they broke the surface, the Light Screen shattering as well, ending the performance with a flourish of light and sparkles. The crowd went wild at the end of the performance, cheering and shouting. Even Ash couldn't help but join in with the applause at what he'd seen, while Pikachu was absolutely delighted.

XXXX

"Well, that was actually a pretty fun show," Ash said as he and Pikachu were exploring the gym again, as right after the show, the three sisters soon left the stage, and would no doubt be winding down from their performance, meaning odds are he wouldn't be able to talk to them about the Gym Challenge. Pikachu nodded in agreement at that, Ash having noticed how much fun he was having the whole way. The two of them went down the stairs they were on and found themselves in an aquarium area of all things.

"Is this a Pokemon Gym or Water World Kanto?" Ash couldn't help but ask. Make no mistake, the aquarium was a nice touch, and the selection of both Pokemon and non-Pokemon fish was a sight to behold, but when you were an aspiring Gym Challenger...it was hard to fully appreciate…

His thoughts were cut short when he looked to the end of the hall and saw a familiar trio walking in their direction, talking about their recent show and they seemed quite pleased with the results. "...good a time as any I guess," he mused before walking up to them. "Excuse me…" he started, getting their attention.

"I'm sorry, but if you want an interview, you need to like call our manager," one of them, the one with pink hair and a yellow swimsuit said.

"Um, no, that's not what I wanted to say," Ash said, but before he could properly explain…

"We don't do autographs," the pink haired sister said again.

"I don't want an autograph," Ash said quickly and pressed his momentum. "What I want is to take the Gym Challenge, so I've been trying to get in touch with the Gym Leaders, which are you three."

"I see," the one with blonde hair and a red swimsuit said. "Well, you're right that we're the Gym Leaders."

"We're the Mermaid Sisters," the one with pink hair said again.

"We're world famous," the one with blue hair and a green swimsuit said.

XXXX

A short while later, they were gathered at another pool area, a different one than the one they'd used for the water show, and judging by the large Pokeball symbol up on the walls, and the arena sections drawn into the ground around the pools, this was the battle area. "Alright then, now that we're here, I challenge you three for the Gym Badge," Ash said, Pikachu at the ready by his side. However…

"Uh...we don't really feel like battling," they said, looking away slightly.

"Huh?" Ash blinked.

"Honestly, we're thinking of retiring from the Gym Leader business, so the Cerulean Gym isn't going to be accepting any more challengers," the one with blue hair said.

"You can't be serious!" Ash actually growled. "You can't just close on a whim!"

"Oh settle down," the one with blonde hair said. "I know what you want," she said before turning to the pool. "Seal!"

At her voice, a Seal popped out of the pool and soon came up to them, before sticking out its tongue, revealing a teardrop shaped blue badge, the Cascade Badge. The one with blonde hair went over to the Seal and picked up the badge, holding it up. "The Symbol of the Cerulean Gym, a Cascade Badge. This is what you want right, you can have it," she said simply.

"You're...kidding, right?" Ash said, his tone sounding hollow.

"Not really. I mean, this way everyone wins, right?" the one with pink hair said.

Ash's posture shifted a bit, his eyes shadowed by his hat, his hand moving up, as if going to take the badge...before in a sudden burst of movement, he slapped it out of her hand, causing it to fall into the pool, much to their surprise. He raised his head and his eyes were now narrowed with anger. "What kind of Trainer-Fighter do you think I am?!" he angrily demanded. "Just giving out a badge like some cheap trinket? Do you have any idea how INSULTING that is to everyone who comes here preparing to earn their right to compete in the league?!"

The three of them just sighed at that, shrugging a bit. "Well, if you're going to be like that, I guess we could at least have you do the Gym Challenge, like that other kid who showed up a few days ago," the blue haired one said. "You'll be satisfied with that, right?"

"No he won't and neither am I!" came a familiar but unexpected voice to Ash, as they all turned and saw Misty standing near one of the doors.

"Misty?!" Ash blinked in surprise, honestly NOT expecting to see her here, especially with how difficult it was for her to even enter the city.

As if in response, Misty leaped forward and landed next to them. "I was going to just keep quiet and watch, but I can't just sit by and watch this happen! If you three aren't going to uphold the title of Gym Leader then I will! After all, I'm one of the Mermaid Sisters too!"

"There are only 3 Mermaid Sisters and one runt," the pink haired one 'corrected'.

"A little uncalled for, don't you think?" Ash said dryly, Pikachu also looking less than pleased. The sisters however were more focused on each other. From the banter, he FINALLY got the names of the sisters, and if he understood right, were Daisy (blonde hair), Violet (blue hair), and Lily (pink hair).

"So little sister, didn't expect to see you here back so soon," Daisy said.

"That girl who said she wouldn't come back until she was a great Trainer-Fighter," Violet added. "Wasn't that you?"

"I know what I said," Misty frowned. "I wasn't planning to even get involved until I found out you three were planning to close the gym!"

"Well it's not like we were going to close down the Gym, we were still going to continue doing water shows," Lily shrugged. "Besides, you're the one who left because you couldn't compare to us. We're obviously more talented and beautiful than you."

"At least I actually care about our reputation," Misty growled. "And that's pretty big talk considering I'm the only one of us who became a Trainer-Fighter."

"And why people called you the tomboyish mermaid," Violet jabbed much to Misty's annoyance.

"Well, since you're here, and we do have a challenger who won't go away without a fight, I guess it all works out," Daisy said.

"Well that's fine by me!" Misty huffed.

"Guess we'll end up battling after all," Ash blinked, not that he was complaining. "So Gym Challenge first before the Gym Battle?"

"Of course, you're participating as a Trainer-Fighter," Misty confirmed. "But before we start, the Cerulean Gym has 2 Gym Challenges."

"Speaking of which...that other challenger, would he be a Growlithe named Gary?" Ash asked.

"That's him, he hasn't quit even after the last few failed tries," Violet chuckled.

"That's strange, the treasure challenge shouldn't be THAT hard," Misty frowned.

"About that…" Lily seemed a bit sheepish.

XXXX

"You had him take the Obstacle challenge?! You know that's supposed to be for challengers who AREN'T weak to water!" Misty said in annoyance.

"We WERE going to let him have the Badge after he took the challenge, but he just wouldn't give up," Daisy admitted.

"On what planet does a Trainer and/or Fighter who challenges a Gym expects to get a Badge from giving up on the Gym Challenge?!" Misty said in annoyance, as in the background Ash was busy helping Gary out of the olympic pool length tank that featured a reef that was styled in a way that the coral formations and the like acted as an obstacle course, complete with several flags inside the water, no doubt for the Challengers to collect as they made their way through the course. To the side were his cheerleaders who were lamenting the fact he'd failed the challenge. Again.

"You okay?" Ash sweat dropped.

Gary spat out some water at that. "Not my proudest moment, but I've gotten 4 of the five flags this time. Just a bit more and I'll get it for sure," he said, managing to keep up his confident smirk.

"Yeah...about that…" Ash scratched his cheek, before explaining what he'd learned.

"THEY WHAT?!" Gary roared...and wow...the section of the water he was in was starting to bubble. He soon turned to where the sisters were. "YOU TOLD ME YOU WOULD BATTLE ME IF I BEAT THE GYM CHALLENGE, AND YOU THREW ME INTO A RIGGED CHALLENGE?!"

"W-Well...if it makes you feel any better you're welcome to try the other Challenge...or skip straight to a battle…" Lily said as the three of them had huge sweat drops at the VERY angry Growlithe, their eyes involuntarily going to Misty.

"Don't look at me, you started this so you deal with it," Misty said dryly.

Gary growled, before he forced himself to calm down. "No, I don't plan on changing challenges," he said...before his face gained a savage smirk. "But when I clear this challenge, I expect to get the Gym Battle I was promised, or I'm reporting this gross misconduct to the Pokemon League itself!"

"This is totally going to suck, isn't it…?" Violet gulped a bit. They soon got their answer when Gary, having apparently managed to catch his breath, let the flags he'd gathered be put back into the course, and taking a deep breath, soon dove underneath the water again. Even though it was clear being in the water was anything but easy for him, he pushed through, by now having done this enough to know where to turn, where to aim for, and one by one he'd gotten each of the flags, maneuvering through the various rocks and even Pokemon that served as obstacles. As he got the fourth flag, he felt his lungs start to burn, but he pushed through, and after much struggle...grabbed hold of the last flag, resurfacing soon enough, a triumphant smirk on his face, while the cheerleaders were cheering at his success.

"...well, looks like you're getting your chance at the Badge," Ash sweat dropped. "Just keep the Gym standing, I kinda need it for my turn."

"Don't worry, I don't plan on going THAT overboard," Gary smirked.

"Okay then, have fun," Ash said, while Pikachu also sweat dropped, both of them leaving Gary to his own devices.

"What he said, have fun," Misty said dryly, leaving her sisters to their fate.

XXXX

"So...you're here pretty quickly. I'd have expected you to take a few days to prepare," Misty said as she and Ash were now in a different part of the Gym, specifically the area that had both an indoor gym facility on an upper section, while the lower and main section had a few pools of different types, such as a normal swimming pool for general training, a current pool for endurance, and even a depth pool.

"I was planning to, but Brock made a good point. Since your sisters are mainly Trainers, I'd be better off aiming to win the Pokemon Battle and get the badge then do underwater training later. Of course, now I'm gonna have to train properly if I want to win our match," Ash admitted.

"Well, you're free to use the Gym then, since that IS part of the functions," Misty chuckled. "That and I bet it'd be easier than having to go out and camp for a few days. Don't worry, I won't try to sneak a peek on your training," Misty chuckled.

"Well...I guess that's a better option than going back and forth to the lake," Ash admitted. "Okay then, I'll train here."

"Great, in that case I'll leave you be, you're not the only one who needs to prepare," Misty nodded, before adding. "That and I should probably keep an eye on what my sisters have gotten themselves into…" she sighed...right as the Gym shook a bit.

"...probably a good idea yeah," Ash sweat dropped.

XXXX

Misty came to the section of the Gym used for Battles...just in time to see a Seaking land out of the water, and the swirly eyes made it clear that Seaking wouldn't be fighting anymore. She was about to ask how things were going...until the referee declared the match won by Gary, who had a VERY satisfied smirk on his face, the cheerleaders cheering the win.

"...but I was only gone for 10 minutes," she blinked owlishly at hearing that.

"Yeah well...it turns out he's still kinda...mad...at us for that little joke we pulled…" Daisy sweat dropped.

"Gee, I wonder why," Misty said dryly, as Violet gave Gary the Cascade Badge to which it wasn't long before Gary left the room, intending to move on to the next city soon enough, but not before a few parting words. Once he was gone… "So, am I going to hear WHY you were planning to close the Gym? While we're not the only Gym in Kanto, we're one of the main 8 Gyms of the Region. You realize that's not anything to sneeze at as far as Gyms go, right?" Misty frowned. In each Region, while there were usually several Gyms to give Trainers various options, among them were 8 Gyms that often stood out and were considered the go to Gyms by most Trainers who visited the Regions. These Gyms, nicknamed the Main Gyms, were the most renowned of their Region, which was needless to say, a great honor for ANY Gym to be called that way. An honor the Cerulean Gym had had for many years.

"We know that," Lily frowned, before Daisy stepped up.

"Alright girls, I think we should stop beating around the bush and be honest," she sighed, looking at Misty. "It started as a hobby to be honest, us performing Water Shows. Then as they started to catch on, we honestly had more and more fun planning, preparing, practicing, and performing new shows, the cheers of the crowds we'd ended up attracting. Before long, we'd become a famed show in the city and well… I guess somewhere down the line we realized we enjoyed this more than we ever enjoyed being Gym Leaders."

"Like we said before we're not closing down the Cerulean Gym, but we're not really interested in accepting challenges from Trainers either," Violet said with a shrug.

"And you were expecting me to just take over?" Misty frowned.

"You say that like you don't want to do it," Lily said with a tinge of amusement.

"Well...no, I DO want to be the Gym Leader. That's the entire point of me wanting to travel to get stronger," Misty sighed. "I just don't like how you're all doing this without even telling me first."

"Well...you know now, right?" Violet chuckled.

"That's not what I mean!" Misty shouted in annoyance, before sighing. "I'm not going to stop you if these performances are what you want to do, and I don't mind being the Gym Leader either, but I'm still not done with my journey. Can't you at least wait till after I'm back?"

"Well...that DOES sound fair," Daisy mused. "Not to mention you're right that if we did suddenly stop accepting challenges, the Gym would have problems."

"But the next question is like how long WOULD you need?" Lily mused.

At that...Misty paused. "Okay...this is kinda embarrassing but I never actually thought about it…" she admitted. "How about...give or take a couple of years? I WAS thinking of going to other Regions along the way…"

"That sounds awfully long..." Violet frowned. "You sure you can stay dedicated that long?"

"What are you implying? That I'd quit in the middle of the way?" Misty frowned. "Fine then, don't take my word for it, but just you wait, I'll show you how serious I am in the next Battle!"

"Alright then, show us what you can do, little sister," Daisy nodded, before gaining a slightly impish look. "Speaking of which...so who's the Riolu? You seem to know him well enough. Did our little sister find herself a boyfriend while she was gone?"

Misty blushed a bit at the question, but quickly shook her head. "It's nothing like that! We're just travelling companions!" she said quickly.

XXXX

Back at the training area, Ash sneezed. "Where'd that come from?" he blinked, though glad that didn't happen while he was underwater. Just recently, Gary had stopped by the room, having won his Cascade Badge, and calling this a bit of a detour but with that done, he'd be moving on as soon as he could. As usual the two were looking to see who'd reach the next town first, but with his usual 'Smell ya later' parting words, he left the Gym, while leaving Ash more determined to train hard so he could win his own Cascade Badge soon enough.

With that in mind, he soon dove underwater again, swimming across the pool as fast as he could, without resurfacing for air. He knew the challenge would need him to be able to stay underwater for longer, and as such he was continuing that training. By now, he could get about halfway across the pool before he needed to resurface for air, which was more or less what he needed. Now he just needed to work on moving more easily in the water.

Of course, he wasn't the only one training, as once again his Pokemon were joining in on the training as well, the fliers training their movements and evasion, while Pikachu and Nidoran were practicing swimming in case needed, Pikachu once again doing better. Of course, none of them could compare to Wooper, who was easily moving through the water, happily jumping out and diving back in. Either way, while the training may be taking some time, it would be well worth it in time.

He soon went to the edge of the water and climbed out of the pool. The one not so nice thing about water training: drying off his fur later. Walking back to the nearby table he'd left his Pokedex and Pokeballs, he noticed a mail symbol on his Pokedex to which he opened to see who it was from, smiling a bit when he saw the sender. With that he sat down and opened the email, the smile never leaving his face as he read the contents.

XXXX

A little under a week passed, and Ash and his team trained diligently, and while he would never quite match a Water-type's proficiency, he had practiced enough in the water to confidently fight inside it, while greatly improving his swimming speed. In short, he felt like he was ready, and after a quick discussion with his team… "We've decided. We'll challenge the Gym today!" he declared when he, Brock and Misty were together.

Misty nodded at that. "Alright then, I hope you're ready, cause I don't intend to make this easy for you," she smirked a little.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Ash grinned with determination.

XXXX

Ash walked into the area where the Obstacle Course Gym Challenge was held, the tank raised once more and the obstacles visible, the flags placed in the points he had to reach. He was currently dressed in a bathrobe, seeing as he'd be going underwater a few times. Climbing the ladder, he stood before the water's edge and took off the robe, leaving him in his trunks with a sash over his chest like a bandoleer for the flags he'd collect. Taking a deep breath, he dove into the water. The training he'd done up till now made moving through the water not as difficult as it would once have been. However, the course wasn't as easy as Gary made it seem to be, no doubt because unlike Gary, this was the first time Ash was attempting it. The Obstacle course itself was a simple goal, get all five flags that were scattered along the course. The problem was getting there. The first obstacle he had to deal with was a current in the water pushing him back, while he could see the first flag at what he assumed was the end of the first area, embedded firmly in a rock to keep it in place.

Misty had explained the rules to him. He was allowed to surface for air once per section, meaning he had to both conserve his air and move as efficiently as possible. For now though, all he could do was push against the current. It wasn't so strong that he was being held in place, but it was still strong enough that what should have been a quick swim was reduced to just a bit over a crawl. Still he pushed through, carefully exhaling periodically to relieve his lungs of the building up Carbon Dioxide, doing his best to optimize his movements, and slowly but surely reached the flag, grabbing it and quickly starting to ascend, his head breaking the surface with a gasp as he took in some much needed air, the flag firmly in his hand, before he inserted it into the bandoleer, and soon diving again, continuing to the second part of the challenge.

He didn't get far before he was nearly swept by a new current, and was momentarily caught in the whirlpool that was being generated in the second area. Acting quickly, he pushed against the current to try and regain control. It took a few moments, but eventually he felt himself stabilize, and start searching for the flag. He eventually found it...but was less than pleased when he realized it was right near the middle of the whirlpool. Inwardly sighing in resignation, he started to swim with the current, doing his best to avoid getting sucked in, while still moving with it. The momentum proved harder to control, and he even missed his mark a few times, but on the fifth or so try, he managed to grab the flag and pull it free, quickly putting it with the other flag, and started swimming to escape the whirlpool, this time using the momentum to try and help push himself out, not stopping till he no longer felt the pull of the whirlpool and soon surfaced again for air. The challenges were definitely not easy, but he wasn't going to give up. With that in mind, he dove down again, heading for the next section.

To his surprise, the third section didn't seem to have any visible obstacles, and the flag seemed to be just...there at the end. However, he knew better than to take things at face value, especially for a Gym Challenge. That was when he noticed several shapes moving through the water towards him, and when they got closer he saw they were some kind of torpedo. Eyes widening, he evaded and continued swimming, but more came, and it wasn't long before one managed to hit him in the leg, bursting to reveal his leg now coated in some kind of foam...and he felt himself getting heavier. Widening when he realized what was going on, he quickly kept moving, doing his best to avoid more of the torpedos, but as it was, the added weight threw his balance off, and a few more managed to get to him, coating parts of his body in more foam that was starting to drag him down. Despite that he pushed through, even using some of his Aura to help him push through the added weight, and using some moves to help him move through the water. Still though, the torpedos were relentless, and he was starting to feel like his limbs were lead as the weight increased, but before he could sink to the bottom of the pool, he managed to grab on to the rock that had the flag, and drag himself up it, pulling the flag out, but still feeling the foam weigh him down...and his lungs burning for air. Fortunately, the moment he pulled the flag out, some vents on the rock opened and hit him with some kind of solution, causing the foam that was coating his body to break off, freeing him from the weight, to which he didn't wait and immediately started swimming to the surface, gasping for air when his head broke the water's surface.

He took a bit longer to take in air as he'd felt himself cutting it close this time, but he wasn't willing to give up, so even as he felt the fatigue build up, he dove in again and continued forward. The first thing he noticed though was what appeared to be a set of rings up ahead that were placed in a way that they were almost in a slight pattern. Before he could think too much about it though, he felt himself being pushed forward, another current activating, but this time in his favor. It didn't take much for him to put together that he probably had to swim through the rings, to which he adjusted his position to allow himself to swim through the first one. The moment he did though, the walls started to shift, and extend to and fro, making for an additional obstacle to navigate. Still though, compared to the previous area, Ash found this one to be a bit easier in concept. The problem was, he needed to carefully maneuver around the wall and with the current...something that was made harder by the fact the previous area had tired him out considerably. As a result, he found himself using up most of his strength trying to control his swim, and slowly but surely went through the rings one by one, albeit not without an accident or two when he couldn't slow himself enough and ended up smacking into a wall or two. Despite feeling a bit dazed from the impacts, he continued onward and went through the remaining rings. Good thing too, as the last ring was right in front of the flag, which he saw was securely held in place by some machinery...which released the flag the moment the last ring was passed, allowing him to grab it, and attach it to his bandoleer.

Once again going up for air, Ash greedily took in the much needed oxygen. By now he was really feeling the burn, but with four flags down leaving one more obstacle, and the fact he still had one more chance to surface, so without wasting any time, he dove in again. The next obstacle was navigating an artificial cavern that while lacking in various branches, was twisty and turny complete with stalactites and stalagmites, and minimal light from the small openings made to ensure the cavern wasn't completely dark. Navigating through it proved harder than it looked, as Ash had to control his pace, avoiding the rock formations through the cavern, but also having to move a bit faster since the longer he took, the less air he'd have. Unsurprisingly, he had to use up his last breath of air in the middle of the way, escaping the cavern through one of the larger holes that had been made in the caves on purpose to allow challengers to take their chance. He didn't even think to try and use other holes that were there other than the one he'd exited from, because he had a pretty good feeling doing so would be an instant disqualification. Either way, he continued onward, carefully navigating the rocks in his way, even if here and there he wasn't careful enough and ended up running into a few here and there. Eventually though, he found the flag, once again set right before the exit, but blocked by a rather tricky set of stalactites and stalagmites, and worse, he could feel he needed air soon. Pushing through, he managed to get past the rock formations, though not without a few bumps and scrapes, but he ignored them as he quickly grabbed the last flag, pulling it out of its stand. He didn't bother securing it to his bandoleer, as he immediately went for the surface, frantically swimming, before he finally broke the surface with a gasp, shakily pulling himself on to the other edge, and lay down for a moment to rest, gasping for air. Pikachu was soon by his side, the electric mouse having gone ahead to the other side first, and made sure his trainer was okay.

"I'm okay, Pikachu," Ash said with a reassuring smile. "Just...let me catch my breath a bit…" he sighed as he lay down. He wanted to get his breath back before he had to fight Misty for sure.

XXXX

More changes happen to the world, characters interact differently, challenges that weren't there before, and Ash isn't the only one to get Pokemon they didn't get originally. Stay tuned for the Gym Battle between Ash and Misty next time.

And now for the next Retold File.

File No. 3: Rules and Regulations

With the global application of the Pokemon League to include both Pokemon and Pokemorphs, there were rules and regulations that had to be put into place. Among them was the breakdown of how battle would be conducted. Depending on the participants, battles would be divided into Pokemon Battles, Fighter Battles, and Dual Battles. The first is the standard Pokemon vs Pokemon battles that can be adjusted based on the number of Pokemon included and how the battle is done, with the only rule being that only Pokemon are battling each other with the Trainers only giving input and commands.

The second is the Fighter Battle which is exactly the same as Pokemon Battles, but only Pokemorphs may participate. Additionally due to the system applied, there is a secondary League that is exclusively for Pokemorphs that centers around teams of Pokemorph Fighters (six per team) working together in a variety of battle types, from single battles to tag team battle, to the rare full party battle.

The third is the Dual Battle where both Pokemon and Pokemorphs enter the arena at the same time. This is considered the most challenging, as Trainer-Fighters need to focus on combat while also directing their Pokemon. In this type of battle, while the number of Pokemon on each side may vary, generally speaking only one Pokemorph per side is allowed (though there are some exceptions as long as both sides agree).

Battle rules vary, but generally speaking the basic rules are fairly straight forward. Both sides need to have an equal number of Pokemon and/or Pokemorphs for an official Battle, and during the battle participants are NOT allowed to aim to cause lasting damage (though due to the Pokemorphs and Pokemon having basically One Piece level durability what counts as lasting damage is more or less anything that would be liable to send them to the hospital for extended periods or possibly kill them). In relation to the rule on damage, while weapons ARE allowed to be part of a Fighter's arsenal, they need to be generally non-lethal or otherwise certified by the League to be okay to use. Failure to comply will lead to a penalty on the Fighter and enough violations of the rules can and will lead to expulsion from the League as a whole.