"Excuse me, please let me through, coming through~"
"Hey! Who just cut in line?!"
A burly man glared at the person who had just squeezed past him.
"Uh, let me through for a second..."
Maki struggled to move forward through the crowded throng. Compared to the Celadon Gym, the Cerulean Gym appeared far more luxurious and attracted a much larger crowd. At first glance, it looked less like a Pokémon Gym and more like... an aquarium—no, this was definitely an aquarium!
Staring at the seemingly endless stream of people, Maki began to question whether today was really the right time for a Gym challenge.
Cerulean Gym was the complete opposite of Saffron Gym under Sabrina's management—it was just way too popular!
However, its popularity had little to do with the actual Gym battles. Instead, the place was essentially a massive aquatic Pokémon theme park, comparable in fame to Celadon Game Corner.
If Celadon City was known for its game corner and department store, then Cerulean City was undoubtedly famous for its enormous "water park."
From a distance, Maki had already noticed the overwhelming number of advertisements promoting the place. It almost made him wonder if the Gym Leader was abusing their authority—seriously, how many ads did they need?
Was there even going to be a Gym battle at this rate?!
This was ridiculous—he couldn't even get inside!
Then, as Maki tilted his head upward to glance at one of the massive billboards, he faintly noticed some tiny writing beneath it.
What did that say?
Squinting, he focused on the words: "Gym challengers, please enter through the back door."
Why couldn't they write something this important in a bigger font?!
Maki was speechless—was this Gym even taking its duties seriously?
Having already fought his way into the dense crowd, he now had to push his way back out again.
After circling around the entire crowd, he finally found the back entrance to the Gym. Sure enough, there was a sign that read "Gym Challenger Entrance," though compared to the grandeur of the front, this entrance felt disappointingly plain.
The registration desk was manned by a little girl with orange hair, who looked no older than ten. Propping her chin on one hand, she seemed drowsy—no, Maki suspected she might have already fallen asleep.
Was this... child labor?
Then again, most Gyms had their own trainees.
"Ahem, I'm here for a Gym challenge."
Maki tapped on the desk, waking the girl up.
"Sorry, ticket purchases are at the front—huh? A Gym challenge?"
Still half-asleep, she responded instinctively, but halfway through, she realized something was off.
This wasn't someone who had gotten lost looking for tickets?
"Yep."
Maki nodded with some effort, as the girl didn't seem fully aware of the situation yet.
"Oh! Sorry, sorry, it's just that no one's come here for a Gym challenge in ages. Alright, let's get you registered."
Yawning, the girl asked for Maki's Trainer ID and completed the registration on the computer.
"Wow, I can't believe someone actually came here to challenge the Gym. Didn't see that coming."
Rubbing her eyes, she muttered something that left Maki speechless. It was only then that she actually looked at his face properly.
Wait—handsome! And totally her type!
In an instant, her drowsiness vanished, and she seemed far more energized. Even her tone became livelier as she led Maki into the Gym.
"This is a Gym, right? Why are you so surprised?"
"Oh, well, our Gym Leaders are just a bunch of totally irresponsible people! They spend all their time doing random things and barely take their actual duties seriously."
Shrugging helplessly, the girl explained as they entered the Gym's interior.
"Hey, brat, I can hear you, you know! Were you talking behind our backs?!"
As the girl continued complaining to Maki, a sultry female voice echoed from within the Gym.
Maki looked up.
Oh.
Ohhh.
Now he understood why Cerulean Gym was so popular despite barely seeing any challengers.
Three gorgeous women in stylish swimsuits.
There were countless Gyms in the world—why pick this one in particular for a challenge? But encountering beautiful older sisters like these? Now that was a rare opportunity!
Though Maki felt a little guilty toward Sabrina, he couldn't help but mentally compare them to her. In terms of looks, Sabrina had the upper hand—barely. But when it came to... other aspects, she was completely outmatched.
Sure, some of it might be because Sabrina hadn't fully matured yet, but Maki had a feeling that even in the future, her figure wasn't going to change much. Even drinking Miltank milk probably wouldn't help at this point...
"Hmph! I'm just speaking the truth!"
The girl huffed in dissatisfaction and turned her head away. The three people standing before Maki were the current Gym Leaders of the Cerulean Gym—Daisy, Violet, and Lily. The girl who had greeted Maki earlier was, unsurprisingly, Misty herself.
Three people sharing the position of Gym Leader was uncommon, not just in Kanto but across other regions as well.
Now that he thought about it, Misty's appearance matched up with the girl in front of him—orange hair and a slightly prideful way of speaking.
"Wow! We've got a rare handsome boy here! Do you have a girlfriend? How about considering an older sister like me? A girl like the flat-chested one next to you with a bad temper is absolutely no good!"
Daisy, with her golden hair, lit up as she looked at Maki, speaking in an overly enthusiastic manner.
...
"Ah-choo!"
Over at the Saffron City Gym, Sabrina sneezed for some unknown reason. She opened her eyes, frowned slightly, and glanced around. Hmm… Maki must be thinking about me, right?
Seriously, it's been so long, why hasn't he called me yet!?
Muttering in mild dissatisfaction, she then closed her eyes and resumed meditating.
...
"Uh… I have a girlfriend."
After his experience at the Celadon Gym, Maki realized that this excuse was incredibly useful. Being good-looking sure came with its own troubles.
"Eh!! Really? What a shame." Though Daisy's earlier words had been partly in jest, she still sounded a bit disappointed.
"Uh, I think we should just get started with the Gym battle."
Maki reminded the three equally unreliable Gym Trainers in front of him. Though Misty would eventually become one of the female leads… right now, she was just a little brat.
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