By the time Sam walked out of Cerulean Cave, the sky had already turned dark. It seemed he'd spent quite a long time inside. As soon as Sakura saw him exit, she rushed over and pulled him aside. The three Cerulean Sisters looked him over and asked:
"So, what kind of Pokémon did you partner up with?"
Sam had expected they'd ask that, so he summoned his newly caught Poliwag.
"Huh? With so many rare Pokémon in there, why did you choose a Poliwag?"
Sam looked down at Poliwag and replied seriously,
"What's wrong with Poliwag? I don't care how rare a Pokémon is. I care whether I like them, whether we connect. Poliwag is exactly the kind of partner I was looking for."
"Well, if you say it like that, congratulations on finding your ideal partner," one of the sisters said with a smile. "Come on, let's get you some rest. You'll be 'working' tomorrow."
They brought Sam back to the Cerulean Gym. In the back, there were guest rooms for visiting Trainers. As Sam settled in, he suddenly remembered he hadn't seen Misty yet—Ash's close friend. Being Ash's brother, he felt responsible for checking in.
"By the way, where's your sister Misty?" he asked Sakura.
"Misty? You know her?" she raised an eyebrow. "She left a few days ago on a journey with a kid named Ash Ketchum."
"Oh, that makes sense. I'm Ash's older brother. I guess now he'll be relying on Misty to watch his back."
"What a small world," Sakura laughed. "That girl's a handful, but she's also the most talented Trainer out of the three of us."
After exchanging a few more words, Sam returned to his room to rest. Just as he was preparing for bed, there was a knock at the door. Sakura stood there in pajamas—leaving little to the imagination. Sam blushed furiously and instinctively crossed his legs, much to Sakura's amusement.
"Still awake?" she asked casually.
"Uh, yeah—what's up, Sakura-san?" Sam opened the door sheepishly.
"I was just wondering... Do you plan to evolve your Poliwag into Poliwhirl or Poliwrath?"
Sam thought for a second. "Poliwag has a brave heart, always standing up to protect the weak. I think Poliwrath suits it better."
"Got it. Here." She handed him a Water Stone. "This will help it evolve into Poliwrath."
"Sakura-san, I'm just helping out for one day. This gift is a little much…"
"Oh? If you think it's too generous, you could help out for a few more days," she said with a wink. "We're overdue for some self-care time."
Sam chuckled. "Alright, I could use some more battle training anyway."
After she left, Sam checked his recent gains. He had thirteen standard draw tickets (earned from the Poliwag battle mission) and one Luxury Draw Ticket. Feeling lucky, he decided to test his fortune.
"System, convert ten standard tickets into one luxury ticket. Then open three standard tickets and two luxury ones."
> Ding! Opening standard draw...
Congratulations! You received a Soothe Bell.
Congratulations! You received Advanced Cooking Technique.
Congratulations! You received a Light Stone.
> Opening luxury draw...
Congratulations! You received Super Exp. Candy.
Congratulations! You received Super Exp. Candy.
Sam sighed. "Figures. To gain something, you have to give something up."
(Somewhere in the void, Zeraora grumbled: "I may not be human, but you're such a dog…")
Still, Sam was satisfied. His Poliwag had reached level 10 from the previous battle. He gave it both Super Exp. Candies, quickly raising it to level 30. In a burst of white light, Poliwag evolved into Poliwhirl. Now he had a solid Water-type for gym duties.
The next morning, the Cerulean Sisters left for their spa trip, and Sam began his temporary role as Gym Leader. With the water ballet shows paused, only Trainers came to challenge the Gym. Sam used Poliwhirl and Frogadier in battle. When they got injured, he used the Verdant Force to heal them. After a few days of tough battles, the sisters returned—arms full of shopping bags and glowing skin.
Sam updated them on the Gym's activities and then packed his bags. After bidding the sisters farewell, he began his journey toward Vermilion City.
During those few days, Frogadier had reached level 40 and evolved into Greninja. Poliwhirl reached level 50, and after Sam confirmed its wishes, he used the Water Stone to evolve it into Poliwrath.
On the way to Vermilion City, Sam thought of releasing Magnemite. He recalled the Abandoned Power Plant near the city—home to wild Magneton and even a rumored Zapdos. After speaking with Magnemite and getting its agreement, Sam planned to release it there.
As he journeyed, Sam also summoned the rest of his team—Lucario, Greninja, Poliwrath, and Charizard. He let them train independently to develop their instincts. Whenever they got hurt, Sam used the Verdant Force to heal them.
He also began experimenting with Mega Evolution. With Lucario, the bond was already perfect thanks to the system's full friendship boost, and Mega Evolution succeeded easily. However, with Charizard, things were trickier. Carrying both Charizardite X and Charizardite Y caused some confusion during transformation. Sam realized their thoughts weren't fully in sync—each trying to evolve in a different direction. So, he began using telepathy to guide Charizard during the process.
Through repeated training, the two gradually synchronized. As battles and travel continued, Sam inched closer to Vermilion City. Just before reaching it, he released all the Pokémon he had rescued from the Pokémon Hunters—except for Magnemite.
Later, Sam would learn that handing over such Pokémon to Officer Jenny and the Pokémon Police could earn bounty rewards. He regretted not knowing sooner—but that's a story for another time.
With his team recalled into their Poké Balls, Sam finally arrived at the Pokémon Center in Vermilion City.