"Little brother, what exactly do you mean?"
Seeing that Ash was really about to make a call, Sakura rushed over, and the other two sisters also started to panic.
"As you can see, calling the police." Ash grabbed the phone with a cold expression. "I'm calling Professor Oaks Laboratory right now. If Jenny in Cerulean City can't manage you, then I'll have the Professor report the matter to the League, and they can thoroughly investigate your dereliction of duty and unauthorized sale of badges!"
Just as the call was about to connect, Ash waved the ticket stub in his hand: "This thing is ironclad proof. You can try to argue with the League Inspector when the time comes..."
"Oh, it's Ash. What's up?"
The call connected. Judging by Brock's infatuated look, the person who answered must have been Nanami.
"Sister Nanami, I've arrived in Cerulean City." Ash held up the ticket stub. "Let me tell you, this Gym..."
"Cerulean City... Did you go see that Water Ballet thing?" Nanami's expression instantly changed over the phone. "I'm telling you, Ash... instead of focusing on your Journeys, why did you insist on watching something like that?"
"Huh?" Ash was stunned. "Sister Nanami, you must have misunderstood..."
"Misunderstand what? Aren't you holding a ticket to the Water Ballet? That thing is ironclad proof!"
Nanami initially had a stern face, but then started complaining earnestly: "Tell me, you're such a good kid, how did you go bad so soon after leaving home? Was it Brock next to you who led you astray?"
"Sis, this has nothing to do with Brock, and things aren't how you think." Ash explained speechlessly. "I was tricked, this Gym is..."
"I know, boys will be boys~" Nanami adopted a gentle expression and nodded understandingly. "You're all at that age. Gary sometimes reads strange books too, some even stolen from Grandpa... I can understand all of this."
Ash:...You understand... What exactly do you understand?
What does your brother reading Huangshu have to do with me?
What does it matter to me if your brother stole the Huangshu he's reading from your Grandpa?!
"Anyway, don't worry. I won't tell Aunt Delia about today's events. Let's just... keep it as our little secret~" Nanami promised Ash with a smile, not forgetting a playful wink.
"Well, thank you so much... No!" Ash, snapping back to reality, immediately shook his head vigorously. "Sister Nanami, what I actually wanted to say was..."
Beep~ Beep~
The call was cut off.
However, this time it wasn't Nanami who hung up; another person violently ripped out the Cerulean Gym's phone line... "You?" Ash frowned and turned around. The first thing that caught his eye was a single, orange, short ponytail.
The Kanto heroine, Misty.
Ash had unfortunately missed her when he left home, but he didn't expect to meet her here after all.
"How dare you give away the badge for free... I'll settle the score with you later!" The short-haired girl snapped angrily at her three sisters, then furiously turned to Ash. "And you! Daring to cause trouble at the Cerulean Gym, I absolutely won't let you off easy!"
"Miss, I admit my behavior just now was a bit extreme, but I genuinely wasn't causing trouble." Misty's appearance calmed Ash down slightly, and he decided against reporting the Gym anymore.
Actually, the reason Ash acted this way was due to psychological disappointment.
Although he usually seemed easygoing and was very generous to his friends, he was someone who valued returns.
This return wasn't just simple input versus output, but rather seeing the desired results from the changes he implemented.
For example, the overall strength improvement of Kanto Trainers, making it no longer the weakest region that anyone in the game could walk all over. This was a result, and Ash consequently began to anticipate high-quality Gym battles.
But who would have thought that after visiting Pewter and Cerulean Gyms consecutively, the result was disappointment greater each time.
Brock at least had an excuse, as he was burdened by family responsibilities, and his own skill level was actually decent.
But the Cerulean Sisters had completely given up, even more so than in the original story, which naturally infuriated Ash.
"I'm not some 'Miss,' I'm Misty, one of the Cerulean City's Four Beautiful Sisters..."
"That's not right! It's clearly the Cerulean Sisters and one Ugly Duckling~" Misty was just about to introduce herself when she was stabbed in the back by one of her own, instantly making her furious again.
"Sister Ayame, don't undermine me!"
"That's not important. Why did you come back?" The eldest sister, Sakura, immediately asked.
"If I hadn't come back, I wouldn't have known you were giving away badges for free!"
"We charged money, it wasn't completely free... But what about you? Didn't you say you wouldn't come home until you became the world's number one Water-type Pokémon Master?" Botan delivered the final jab.
"You three... Argh, you're driving me crazy!" Misty jumped up and down in frustration. "In any case, I am also one of the Cerulean Four Sisters, and I absolutely won't forgive someone who degrades the Gym like you! If you want to take the badge, come battle me!"
"Battle you?" Ash frowned, then shook his head seriously. "I refuse, sorry."
"What did you say?" Misty flared up again. "Are you looking down on me?!"
"You misunderstood. This has nothing to do with looking down on you; it's simply because you are not the Gym Leader." Ash explained earnestly. "I will not engage in a badge-betting battle with a random Trainer off the street. This does not comply with the League's regulations for Gym battles."
"You?!"
"If you want to battle me, that's fine." Ignoring Misty's furious glare, Ash continued, "Unless you can get certified by the League and become the officially registered Gym Leader of Cerulean Gym, I will not battle you as a challenger."
"Fine, I'll go get certified right now!" Misty said through gritted teeth. "What exactly do I need to do to complete the Gym Leader certification?!"
"Misty, don't let him provoke you!" The eldest sister, Sakura, quickly advised, worriedly. "A few years ago, applying for Gym Leader was easy, even just needing the previous Gym Leader's guarantee. But in recent years, the Gym Leader assessment has become much stricter. You have to pass many reviews and achieve at least a Top 8 finish in the League Conference."
"If that's the case, then I'll challenge the Kanto League!" Misty shouted impulsively. "Not only will I make it to the Top 8, but I'll also defeat this guy during the Conference and make him apologize to my face!!"
BOOM!!
Just then, a huge machine suddenly smashed through the Gym wall... "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
CRACK!!
"No way... What's going on?" "We haven't done anything yet!" "That wretched Pikachu, meow!"
"We're blasting off again (meow)!"*3
The two humans and one Meowth, who were the True Protagonists, were easily dispatched by Ash right after their entrance. This level of combat power left the Cerulean Four Sisters dumbfounded.
"Your name is Misty, right? I don't need you to defeat me." Ash gently shook his head, as if he had done something insignificant. "As long as you successfully collect eight badges and reach the Top 8 of the Kanto League Conference, I will apologize to you in person."
"But until then, Cerulean Gym does not meet my requirements for a Gym battle, and your three sisters are not qualified to issue me a badge... Farewell!"