Chapter 17: Chapter 16 What it Means to Be
I started the day by going to the field and having breakfast with the team. Luckily for me Milotic still likes the food I used to feed her when she was still a Feebas. Now it won't go to waste, but I'll have to think about what kind of food she'll like when we run out. I gave Pidgeotto his favorite trail mix, it has general pokefood, nuts and dried oran berry cubes. He acts like a prideful bird most of the time, but when it comes to food he acts like a happy tsundere. Zorua and I already had our breakfast in the room. We had crepes with various sweet berry slices inside. It might sound like special treatment but everyone has their own preferences.
Food is one of the most difficult things for new trainers. With poor food quality the worst that can happen is that your pokemon will become weaker. They need nutritious meals to be able to compete properly and grow stronger. There's also an issue on quantity, some pokemon have a much larger appetite than others which can be hard to accommodate without the proper funding. Some people have special food recipes to promote certain pokemon typing's growth.
While I have some special pokemon recipes that I use in their food, I find that there's something more important than some special diet. The bond between pokemon and trainer. Pokemon that have higher bonds with their trainers have performed great feats. Such as dispelling status conditions, having a greater tenacity, and showing power stronger than they're capable of. While a pokemon can show great strength if they have a certain mastery over their moves, the strength of bonds is different. After all, typical Mega Evolution requires a strong bond between pokemon and trainer. It's not something that can be replaced with harsh training.
With everyone done eating I decide to head to the jewel smith to get an estimate on getting my key stone set. With Zorua sleeping in my shirt I make my way through the city towards my destination.
-Somewhere in the city-
Following the directions from the locals I find myself in front of a classy looking building. There's a large sign above the entrance that reads, "Ocean's Pearl." The name is kind of ironic, considering there is no ocean near Cerulean City.
Walking inside I can see various marine themed jewelry on display. There are only two people currently in the shop, a girl who looks like an employee, and a refined looking old man. The old man has a monocle, and is wearing a white shirt, a black vest and a blue bow tie. Walking up to his counter I try to confirm if he's who I'm looking for. "Hello, I'm looking for Reynold Saph, would that happen to be you?"
The old man took a minute to evaluate me, probably wondering what a young trainer like me is doing in a jewelry store. He only stops for a moment when he sees Zorua, but he's more interested in my necklace and earrings. "Ah, my apologies young man. It's not often I see a young trainer such as yourself enter my store. I am Reynold Saph, you can just call me Rey like the locals. Now how can I help you?"
He gives me a polite smile, appearing like the friendly neighborhood grandpa. At least he's not a stuck up elitist trying to kick people out of their store because they don't look like they have money. "It's alright Mr. Rey, I have a stone I'd like set into my necklace. I heard that I could get this done at your establishment. I was wondering if I could get an estimate on the cost and how long it would take to get it done."
I hand him the small keystone, and my gold bead necklace with a 2 inch bar at the end. I'll be getting the stone set just above the bar. "Hmm, this is a fine piece. Not very complex in design so it'll only cost 300 pokedollars, and it should only take me a few minutes with a rush order. In total that would be 350 pokedollars, is that alright with you young man?"
"Yes, that's a fair price, I'll take the rush order fee. Thank you Mr. Rey." I take my phone out so he Can scan my ID and make the payment transfer. Before he leaves to do his work he speaks to me once more. "Alright this won't take too long, I happen to have the right setting for the stone you brought. In the meantime my daughter can keep you company."
When he was gone it was kind of awkward for me, the female employee who I had ignored was just giving me a kind smile. I'm guessing she's the daughter he was speaking about, she looks pretty young, about 20 or so. With brown hair and blue eyes she's wearing black pants and has a white sleeveless blouse with frills. Luckily for me she was the first to speak, "Hello my name is Ella, thanks for your patronage. It's not often we see young trainers like yourself interested in accessories let alone a young man."
"Ah, nice to meet you, my name is Rian. I guess jewelry isn't really popular with Kanto trainers. I simply wear them because they are keepsakes from my late mother. When I wear them it feels like she's watching over me along my journey." A sad smile unconsciously comes as I mention the last part. In truth I've never really gotten over what's happened in the past. I just continue to act normal and carry the silent pain in my heart.
"My apologies. It's wonderful you're holding onto your mother's keepsakes like that. If you have any questions about the shop or Cerulean I can answer them. I've loved my whole life in this city after all."
Choosing to ignore the topic, I move onto something that has piqued my curiosity since I've arrived. "Thank you. Actually I do have a question, why don't you guys have any security? With the recent rise in crime throughout Kanto, aren't you worried?"
"Mmm, while the changes in the region are quite concerning, it won't be a problem for us. My father had participated in the Indigo League when he was younger. He actually placed pretty highly at the time, but everyone in Cerulean knows this and he still has his pokemon with him. So nobody comes looking for trouble at our store."
We made various small talk while we waited for Mr. Rey, at one point things took a weird turn. She started talking about how she was single because her father said that only someone strong could take his little girl. Something about needing the strength and resolve to protect her. I don't know why but a lot of girls I've come across are kinda thirsty. I ignored her hidden suggestion because it'd be pretty lousy of me to suddenly accept a girl's advances when I still haven't answered Misty's advances. She did ask about my Zorua, because she's not a pokemon commonly known to the people of Kanto.
Eventually Mr. Rey returned to see his daughter being very close to me. While most would have expected the cliche of a furious doting father, instead he gave a thoughtful look. Please Mr. Rey don't push your daughter onto me. I ended this encounter as soon as possible by taking my necklace and leaving, not before Mr. Rey gave me his contact information should I need anymore jewelry work done. With that I make my way to the Cerulean Gym, even though I'm a half hour early I might get to battle sooner.
-In front of the Cerulean Gym-
It only took me 10 minutes to find my way here, and I'm beginning to question the design choices for gyms. The building in front of me is circular with columns with a candy cane like pattern running around it. The roof is a semicircle with a pink and yellow striped pattern, with a giant Dewgong and a wavelike border that runs along the bottom of the roof. Well it's still not my job to judge their tacky buildings, so I'll go inside and get my second gym badge. Before going inside I return Zorua to her pokeball, can't just go about showing off my secret weapon.
(A/N: Cerulean Gym)
Ash should be challenging Brock today as well, I wonder how his training went. I made sure to send my friends a message that I would be challenging the gym today, and to watch the livestream if they have the time. Inside I find the receptionist and tell them about my scheduled battle. She gives me a complicated look before she brings me to the battle arena.
Arriving at the water battlefield which is essentially a 30ft pool that runs 40 ft by 80 ft, with two floating platforms for non water pokemon. On a bench are three women, the sensational sisters and also the gym leaders of the Cerulean Gym. From the looks of it they're getting ready for a performance. The blonde one with green eyes and wearing a red thigh length dress is Daisy. The bluenette with brown eyes wearing a green dress is Violet. The last sister has pink hair and blue eyes wearing a yellow orange dress. If Brock was here he would definitely simp for them.
(A/N: Sensational Sisters)
The first to speak was Lily, "You must be the challenger, we like don't really like to battle. So, if you want you can just have the badge. And we'll even give you a free backstage ticket to our show cutie."
My first impression of this trio was absolute disappointment, they're not even trying to be good gym leaders. From what I remember their father was the previous leader until he passed away. Leaving only these sisters and Misty in charge. From my conversation with her before I could tell she had a real passion to be a water type specialist. It's a shame that she isn't the current gym leader, I'm sure she would do great. Unfortunately I'm stuck with having to battle these disappointments, for more reasons than one.
[New Quest!
Your disappointment, immeasurable. And your day? Ruined. You have to show them that they need to be proper gym leaders! Battle them and renew their passion for battle.
Reward: 10k pokedollars, clout, TM Ice Beam, 1 gacha ticket]
I still haven't used the 2 gacha tickets I had gotten from my previous quest. 1 ticket costs 100k pokedollars, and I don't have that kind of money to throw around. Not to mention that if I use 10 for a multi, then I get an extra draw that's a guaranteed UR item. The ranks for items are R, SR, SSR and UR. I like to think go big or go home, so I'm saving my tickets. Now, my first challenge is to get them to accept having a battle.
So, I did the only thing I knew would get someone to fight, insult them. "Normally I would say yes to your proposal, because being around you disgusts me. The thought of battling you is simply a joke. The only reason I'm going to battle you is because I vehemently refuse to degrade myself by accepting your complete mockery of gyms. I wonder if the late gym leader is rolling in his grave because an achievement of respect has been reduced to a joke. So are you going to battle or are you such stunning disappointments that you no longer have any self-respect to stand up for yourselves."
After my tirade of insults the room was completely silent, you could even hear the sound of the water in the pool. Lily looked ready to cry, but both Violet and Daisy looked furious. Violet was the first to go on the offensive, "Listen here jerk, you could have just said no. This gym is something that our late father earned and we're not going to let you trample on that. You're right, we're not great gym leaders. But that's not going to stop me from trying to make you apologize."
She was followed up by Daisy, "Yea, don't talk like a know-it-all. You don't know the first thing about us, you don't know our struggles. Our performances are what keeps this gym running, the league doesn't sponsor us because we haven't shown satisfactory results. You don't know how hard we work to hold onto our father's pride and joy. Let's settle this on the field, we'll give you the battle you want."
Moving onto the field we take our places while we wait for the receptionist to set the livestream device. While this is happening a crowd starts filling in the viewing stands. They're probably people here to watch the water show they normally perform, because people started to look confused and murmur about my appearance. Eventually with everyone seated the receptionist returned with a mic for the sisters and me. It's a chord less mcu that wraps around the ear and extends to the mouth. Once we're situated she starts up an omnidirectional drone to livestream the battle.
Violet is the first to address the audience, "Hello everyone, welcome to the Cerulean Gym. Today the Sensational Sisters bring you a different program from our usual performance. Today someone has challenged the pride of our Cerulean City gym. As proud residents of Cerulean we can't just let some stranger walk in and trample over us, isn't that right!?"
The audience started screaming in acknowledgement, while I got some boos and other colorful language. "That's right! So today we'll be having a gym battle. The challenger will be allowed three pokemon and will be facing against each of us one on one. Me and my sisters will each only use one pokemon. The first to battle will be Lily, let's give her some encouragement."
"WOOOOO WE LOVE YOU LILY!"
"Now let's see if our challenger Rian Ambrose from Pallet Town has anything to say for himself."
"BOOOO! YOU SUCK! DON'T LOOK DOWN ON CERULEAN!"
Not going to lie, having a whole audience hate your guts is a little unnerving. But I chose to be the villain, so might as well play the part.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I got into my role. I then activated my skill and guitars started playing, completely startling everyone. I could even hear a faint "why do I hear boss music," in the background. But I just focused on the vibe, doing small hops and getting loosened up. Before I dramatically pulled out Milotic's pokeball from my jacket pointing it in the sisters' direction. Staring them straight in the eyes I said all that I needed to say. "Show me a real battle," with that I released Milotic into the water causing the audience to awe at the sight of her majestic appearance. That beauty food really does wonders.
(A/N: Clavar La Espada - Animelmack)
The audience getting caught up in my momentum started cheering for me, even though they had just been jeering at me. My first opponent Lily and her sisters look visibly intimidated by the sudden change in the atmosphere. But that didn't stop her from regaining her fighting spirit as she got caught up in my pace. "We'll show you, come on out Seaking!"
[Seaking ♀
Lvl.25
Potential: Gold grade
Ability: Water Veil/ Cannot be burned
Favored Moves: Skull Bash, Horn Attack, Waterfall, Water Pulse]
Violet takes the spot of a temporary announcer, "Lily chooses the regal Seaking famous in some of our performances. While the challenger has an elegant Milotic, the battle will now commence!"
As the villain I must keep the momentum in my pace, so I quickly give Milotic my plan. "Milotic quickly swim underneath Seaking and use twister from below, then swim in the opposite rotation of your twister!"
"Seaking defend yourself and skull bash their attack!" Seaking is quick to respond and meets the attack head on with a powerful headbutt, unfortunately it's too late. While Seaking was trying to overpower Milotic's powerful twister, she had already created a powerful water current creating the desired effect. We turned almost the entire battlefield into a giant natural whirlpool. Inside is Seaking who is desperately trying not to be dragged along. Meanwhile Milotic is already out of the water like I had wanted her to.
"Seaking no!"
"Milotic keep yourself up in the air with a dragon breath aimed at the whirlpool!" Letting out a strong stream of purple flames into the water, the once whirlpool of water is now made of draconic flames. Seaking who is trapped inside is paralized because of the flames. Unable to move it's forced to take punishment from the flame vortex.
Lily, unable to think of a way out of the situation, watched helplessly as the whirlpool dissipated. Leaving an unconscious Seaking, unable to battle. While Milotic has already returned to my side of the battlefield. With a bitter and sad expression she returns Seaking to her pokeball.
The audience on the other hand is simply shocked at the display of unheard of tactics. They soon begin cheering madly for the flashy performance wanting an encore, meanwhile Daisy tries to comfort the distraught Lily. Violet decides to finally do her job as the announcer. "Unfortunately Lilly and her Seaking lost, but has witnessed a stunning show of strategy and power by the challenger and his Milotic. It seems the challenger will not be switching out Milotic. Now next up to battle is Daisy. Who will show that even though we lost the battle we won't let our fighting spirit be washed away!"
Stepping up to the stage is Daisy who holds her pokeball close to her heart while showing a determined expression. Milotic and I on the other hand are unperturbed. With my arms crossed I give her a small smirk. "This is a real battle, do you feel it? Your blood pumping, the bond with your pokemon, the anticipation of the audience, the desire to win! This is what it means to live as a trainer! A battle of wills and in the end the last one standing wins! That's all there is to it!"
Feeding off my excitement Milotic jumps out the water moving in figure eights before diving back into the water. Facing the opponent with a confident look she gives an excited cry, "Miiiiii!!"
The audience, more excited than ever, waited in anticipation of the next battle. Meanwhile Daisy looks at me with a newly ignited fighting spirit. The battle that was previously about getting revenge took a new turn. Now the sisters just want to prove to me, prove to the world, that they are the gym leaders of Cerulean Gym.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
ReinAndHalos
ReinAndHalos Sorry for the late upload, work has been very busy lately. Leaving my too tired to write, hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter. It’s a little on the long side though.
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