With the Cerulean Sisters gone, an unusual quiet settled over the gym. Red made himself comfortable in a reclining chair by the poolside, pulling his hat down over his eyes to rest. Beneath the placid surface of the water, a colossal, blood-red shadow waited patiently. The Gyarados, denied a proper battle, was ready for any challenger who dared to enter.
It didn't have to wait long. Red's senses picked up an approaching presence, and he opened his eyes just as a boy of twelve or thirteen strode into the gym.
"I'm here to challenge the Cerulean Gym!" the boy declared arrogantly. He looked around, confused by the empty arena.
"I'm guarding the gym for the day," Red explained calmly.
"A kid, a substitute Gym Leader?" the challenger scoffed. "Whatever. That Cascade Badge is as good as mine!"
Red chuckled softly. The sisters hadn't left him any extra badges, which meant he had a simple, unspoken directive: defeat everyone.
"You seem confident," Red said, standing up and stepping onto a floating platform. "The rules are one-on-one. I'll be using a Water-type. You may send out your Pokémon."
The challenger leaped onto the opposite platform. "Oh? A Magneton. A good choice," Red offered, a hint of praise in his voice. It was a solid strategic pick for a Water-type gym; its Electric/Steel typing gave it a key advantage.
"Come out, Gyarados."
At Red's call, the blood-red leviathan erupted from the pool. Its immense body blocked out the lights, casting a terrifying shadow over the challenger and his Magneton. The water level in the arena dropped significantly from the sheer displacement. A ferocious roar sent a wave of pure intimidation across the field, visibly weakening the Magneton.
"What a lucky break! I can't believe my opponent is a Gyarados!" the challenger exclaimed. Greed and excitement mingled in his eyes. He saw the rare, mutated Pokémon, but what he saw even more clearly was a swift victory. He thought he was looking at a 4x weakness.
Red ignored the boy's misplaced excitement, not bothering to correct his assumption. He knew his partner was currently in its 'Evil Dragon Form,' its secondary Dark-typing cutting the electric weakness in half.
"Aqua Tail."
The command was quiet, but the result was devastating. Gyarados's tail slammed into the water, and the resulting wave smashed into Magneton, knocking it from the air and into the pool.
"Magneton, use Thunderbolt!" the challenger yelled, recovering from the shock of the 'sneak attack'.
Following its trainer's command, the Magneton unleashed a powerful electric current directly into the water.
"Hahaha! Thanks for the gift!" the challenger crowed, imagining the Cascade Badge already in his hands. "Don't you know water conducts electricity? A Gyarados is four times weak to Electric-type! Even your fancy Shiny can't change that!"
"Good command," Red said calmly, showing no concern. "But unfortunately for you..."
Gyarados roared as the electricity coursed through it, but it withstood the attack. Enraged, it lunged, its massive jaws clamping down on the terrified Magneton.
"Magneton, release all your electricity! Use Thunder!" the challenger screamed, ordering a desperate, last-ditch attack.
But the Gyarados, having no desire to endure another jolt, violently shook the Magneton and hurled it through the air with a brutal Crunch. The stunned Pokémon couldn't execute its attack. Before it could recover, Gyarados gathered a sphere of golden energy in its mouth. A powerful Hyper Beam shot across the arena, striking the Magneton head-on. It fell to the ground in a heap, its lights flickering out.
"It's a pity," Red said, his voice flat. "You don't currently have the strength to earn the Cascade Badge."
He ignored the challenger's stunned reaction, sinking back into his chair to rest. The victorious Gyarados let out a roar, its muscles swelling as Moxie activated, but it was not a satisfying battle. With a displeased snort, it gave the defeated trainer one last glare before sinking silently back to the bottom of the pool. The challenger quietly collected his fainted Pokémon and left, smart enough not to provoke a trainer who could command such a monster.
Once they were alone, Red stood and walked to the edge of the pool. He reached out a hand, and the gentle, green energy of the Power of Viridian flowed from his palm, mending the minor injuries Gyarados had sustained. The great beast looked at him with admiring eyes, bringing its massive head close. Red showed no fear, lovingly stroking its scales.
He had barely settled back in his chair when the next challenge was declared.
"Hello! I'm here to challenge the Cerulean Gym!"
This time, the challenger was a timid young girl. Red sighed internally. He couldn't refuse the challenge.
"One-on-one," he explained. "Defeat it, and you'll get the badge."
The water behind him stirred, and the Blood-Red Gyarados appeared.
"Gulp!" The girl swallowed hard. This was nothing like the 'weakest gym in Kanto' advertised on the posters outside.
"I-I'm counting on you, Oddish!" she stammered, sending out her small Pokémon. The moment it landed on the platform, the terrified Oddish slipped and fell into the pool. With a surprisingly gentle rumble, Gyarados used its tail to scoop the little Pokémon out of the water.
Red pressed his hat down over his eyes in exasperation. The battle ended before it began. A single, warning roar from Gyarados was enough to make both the girl and her Oddish faint from sheer terror.
One after another, challengers came, and one after another, they were defeated. When faced with a Fighting or Bug-type, Gyarados would simply shift its form, its underbelly turning from black to pale yellow as it reverted to its natural Water/Flying type to halve the damage.
By the end of the day, no one had earned a badge. But a new urban legend had been born in Cerulean City, whispered in hushed tones by every defeated trainer: the story of the Cerulean Gym and its terrifying guardian, the Blood-Red Dragon.
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