The next day, Kazuki arrived at the Cerulean Gym right on time.
"Ha! Kazuki! Today you'll be challenging the most beautiful quartet in the Kanto Region—Cerulean's Four Sisters! You'd better bring out your strongest Pokémon!"
Misty leapt to her feet from the stands the moment Kazuki entered the arena.
"Beautiful quartet?" Violet smirked at Misty's declaration.
Lily playfully nudged her. "Misty's heartthrob is right there—might as well let her have her moment today."
"Hehe, sure thing. Hey Misty, who are you going to cheer for then, huh? This must be tough—family vs. romance!" Violet teased relentlessly.
Misty shrank back slightly, her cheeks tinting red. After a moment of hesitation, she shouted, "I… I'm cheering for Daisy, of course!"
"Hmph! Kazuki, today we'll show you the strength of Cerulean Gym!"
Down in the arena, Daisy waved her hand hurriedly. "Don't… don't hype us up that much, Misty!"
"Ahem, Kazuki, we don't train that many Pokémon here."
"So we'll just do a one-on-one match—winner takes all!"
Kazuki nodded. "When in Cerulean, do as Ceruleans do."
"Alright then! Let's have a good match, Kazuki!"
"Seel, begin your performance!"
Daisy sent out her Pokémon: a bright, energetic Seel.
"Pikachu, time to finish this quick!"
Pika!
Pikachu bounded onto the floating platform with a nimble leap.
Seeing Kazuki open with Pikachu, Misty immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
This was the same guy who had gone on and on about type disadvantage at Pewter Gym!
And now here he was using an Electric-type right off the bat against a Water Gym?
Was he… was he trying to train us?
So that on every road ahead, I wouldn't even be able to lift my head?!
Ugh! What a jerk! Bad Kazuki!
Can Daisy's Seel even hold out against him?
"Seel, use Water Gun!"
Daisy may have been the eldest sister of the Gym, but her battle skills were far from elite.
"Pikachu! Quick Attack—get close to Seel!"
Pika!
A streak of yellow light blurred forward as Pikachu dashed across the floating platforms toward Seel.
"So fast!" Daisy had already been on edge when Kazuki sent out an Electric-type. Now, watching the speed of his approach, her commands became even more flustered.
"Seel, jump into the water—dodge it!"
As Seel dove into the water, Kazuki couldn't help but chuckle.
"Thunder Shock, Pikachu!"
Piii—ka!
Kazuki intentionally held back, opting not to use Thunderbolt.
The electric surge from Thunder Shock merely left Seel slightly stunned, its body trembling in place.
"I concede!" Daisy raised her hand with grace.
"Huh?! Daisy, Seel can still fight—why surrender?" Misty shouted from the stands, looking disappointed.
Daisy looked back at her. "But it's an Electric-type. How could I possibly win?"
"I don't want Seel getting fried to a crisp!"
"Misty, Daisy already did pretty well!" Lily supported her older sister. "Did you really think you could beat Kazuki?"
"Exactly! Still clueless after all that traveling? You do know Water-types are weak to Electric, right?"
"And your looks already fall short of ours—now you're falling behind in Pokémon knowledge too?" Violet's passive-aggressive blade struck again.
"I know that! But… our Cerulean Gym can't just surrender like this!" Misty shouted back, then leapt over the railing into the arena.
"Kazuki! You've won—you can have the badge!"
"But I want to battle you myself! Not just for the Gym, but to see how far we've both come on our journey together!"
Even before she met Kazuki, Misty had been leveling up hard. Though she'd slacked off in Viridian Forest out of fear of Bug-types, she'd caught up since then.
Kazuki had been wondering how to spark a proper match with her, but it turned out he didn't need to—this hot-blooded, competitive girl couldn't stand watching her own Gym lose that easily.
It was playing out exactly as Kazuki had hoped.
"Sure! I've been meaning to spar with you anyway!" he replied enthusiastically.
"Pikachu, come back!"
"Huh?! Why are you calling Pikachu back?! Are you trying to go easy on me?!"
"Let me tell you—I can do against-type battles too! It's not just you guys who can carry!"
Misty's fiery pride refused to back down after seeing Kazuki beat Pewter Gym with type disadvantage.
"I'm calling Pikachu back because I'm not going easy!" Kazuki defended. "Pikachu went out with me for food last night—came back late and barely slept. Then he just finished a battle. He's tired."
All part of his strategy to throw the match and earn the failure rewards.
Piii—ka…
Pikachu turned around and shot Misty a weary glance like a true drama king.
"What?! You took Pikachu out for food without inviting me?!" Misty instantly bought the act.
"We'll eat later—after I beat you, I'll make it up to you!"
Kazuki stayed in character, even throwing in a cocky pre-match threat.
"Hmph! As if! I'm not going to let you win—because I'm winning today!"
Satisfied that Kazuki was taking this seriously, Misty reached for her Poké Ball.
"Go, Staryu!"
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Next goal: 600 Powerstones
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