"While we're at it, let Gym Leader Grey give me some pointers—so Cerulean Gym doesn't bow out in the first round again any time soon."
Daisy's words came through crystal clear to everyone in the livestream.
After a moment, the chat flooded.
[Gym Leader Daisy, maybe pick a different opponent?]
[If it were anyone else, I'd cheer you on, but you're challenging the streamer and…it's Daisy…]
[Ms. Daisy, if you're short on content you can do a water-ballet routine. Don't let your Pokémon take the beating—Nurse Joy says this would be your third visit this month!]
[Not this week?]
Laughter broke out. The stream filled with easygoing, happy noise.
"I know a lot of people misunderstand Cerulean Gym."
All of a sudden, Daisy spoke up, a sparkle of water in her eyes. "Since I took over the gym, everyone's said Cerulean has no up-and-comers."
"I want to ask everyone—how long have I been in charge at Cerulean?"
[No idea, I only watch the water ballet.]
[+1]
"Three years. A full three years."
Daisy drew a deep breath and held up three fingers. "In these three years, I've thought a lot. I decided to raise Pokémon in earnest and put my whole heart into battling."
"But reality hit me hard."
"Not everyone has a knack for raising Pokémon. Among us four Cerulean sisters, only our younger sister inherited our parents' battling talent."
Mentioning her kid sister softened Daisy's expression.
[Sis…]
[Don't blame yourself, Ms. Daisy. You've done great already.]
With those two familiar usernames flying by, Daisy tucked the words away and went on.
"This year, our youngest sister finally reached the age to become a trainer. I thought I could hand the burden to her, but she told me she isn't strong enough yet."
Her voice stayed light; her eyes were bright. "We believe in her. But before she takes over Cerulean Gym, I want to try turning the gym's reputation around."
"And what I discussed with Gym Leader Grey earlier gave me a lot to think about."
"I'm standing here today not to prove how amazing I am, but to tell everyone this—Cerulean Gym is coming back into the public eye!"
Heat spiked in the chat!
[You've got my respect for that battling fire! (IP: Sinnoh)]
[Gym Leader Daisy, as a fellow Water-type Gym Leader, I feel you.]
[You got this, water-type queen!]
[Take Grey down!]
[Do Grey in! Make Cerulean great again!]
Grey: ?
The chat seemed to be drifting somewhere weird?!
Grey didn't take it to heart—he just smiled it off.
"Well then, Gym Leader Daisy, please follow me to the arena."
…
Inside the Fighting Dojo, Grey and Daisy faced each other.
"Format is two-on-two. When one side's Pokémon are all unable to battle, the match ends."
Referee Bumiao raised her flag and announced the start.
[First! Wanna bet how many moves this takes?]
[If it's Gym Leader Daisy…five or six? The streamer's Pokémon can beat Blaine, though.]
[Hope the streamer goes easy—don't break her spirit.]
Both tossed out Poké Balls.
Grey sent out the freshly-caught Poliwag.
Daisy sent out a shell Pokémon with a hard exterior and a dark purple core hidden within.
[Pokémon: Cloyster]
[Type: Water, Ice]
[Level: 24]
[Ability: Skill Link]
[Moves: (not listed)]
"About the same strength as Poliwag, huh?"
Grey scratched the back of his head, thinking this Cloyster had evolved a bit fast.
Evolution makes you stronger, sure—but for Pokémon that evolve with stones, it's usually better to wait as long as possible.
That said, with how Cerulean Gym's doing, this wasn't exactly a problem.
[Wait…Poliwag? Grey's a little full of himself, no?]
[Looks like something you grab by the roadside. (sends 666×6)]
[Hear me out: maybe Grey's playing nice because it's Daisy. Going easy on her?]
"Uh…"
Daisy was also stunned by Grey's choice.
Poliwag—looked every bit like something you'd catch on the way here!
"Don't underestimate this little guy," Grey said with a small smile. "You first."
"In that case, I won't be polite!"
"Cloyster, Aurora Beam!"
Cloyster's shell plates opened and shut; icy mist billowed as a point of frigid light formed before it and swelled!
Cold spread out in waves as a prismatic Aurora Beam lanced forward!
The brilliant colors danced like neon, carving a freezing track across the floor—quite a spectacle.
"That's some flashy VFX."
Grey clicked his tongue. Figures a water-ballet pro has a lot of flair.
Take Aurora Beam by itself—drop it in a Contest and it'd score high for sure.
"But the wind-up's still a bit long."
Grey shook his head and called, "Bubble Beam!"
"Poli-wag!"
Poliwag opened its pink mouth. Water-type energy gathered, then burst out in sapphire bubbles.
A swarm of bubbles poured forth, compressing into a ray, and slammed into Aurora Beam.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The instant they collided, ice and water energies crossed and detonated. The blown-out spray flash-froze into a dense, white chill.
Steam and cold mist rose, turning almost opaque and blocking everyone's view.
Poliwag bounced in place, waiting for Grey's next command.
"Cloyster, use Whirlpool!"
Daisy beat Grey to it, voice ringing.
"Cloy-ster!"
Cloyster's shell opened wider; the dark-purple core thrust forward and unleashed surging water. A spinning sphere of water condensed out of thin air!
It rammed forward. The whirling sphere's rotation spiked, stretching into a funnel. A deep hum rose higher and higher!
Whooo—whooo—
A looming, shadowy surge, the icy Whirlpool spun along the earlier frozen track like a top, the air growing colder as it rolled!
And it was getting bigger!
[Daisy not doing Contests is such a loss!]
[I perform in Kalos and can't hold a candle to Ms. Daisy!]
Leaving power aside, the showmanship was exactly as chat said—she could shine in another field.
The frozen Whirlpool howled in, plunging into the icy fog and swelling even further, roaring straight for Poliwag!
The overwhelming, freezing surge looked ready to steamroll Poliwag; the crowd's hearts rose into their throats.
The "victim," Poliwag, stayed serene—maybe even amused.
You don't live on the Seafoam Islands this long without a few nasty tricks.
Poliwag might not be that strong, but its moveset? Pretty deep.
All earned the hard way.
"In that case, we'll go with Surf!"
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