“Alright, I’m going to buy some things now.”
At a crossroads, Brock prepared to part ways with Ash to buy some things.
“Buy what?”
Ash, as always, was a bit naive and curious about what Brock was going to buy without him.
“It’s a long story, I’ll go first.”
Time was a bit tight, so Brock didn't explain clearly to Ash, leaving a cryptic remark before heading towards the supermarket.
“Okay, then it’s just us, Pikachu, oh, and you, Shinny Kirlia.”
Ash looked at Pikachu, who was left beside him, and the Shinny Kirlia following behind, and made an encouraging gesture.
Ash looked at the map and, with Pikachu and Shinny Kirlia, embarked on the journey to find the Cerulean Gym.
Half an hour later… “Cerulean Gym, Cerulean Gym. Where on earth is it?”
Ash looked at the map, utterly confused. He felt like he had been to this place several times already.
“Kirlia! (Hand it over, I’ll look.)”
Shinny Kirlia looked at the street corner they had returned to several times, her head full of black lines. She didn't quite understand why someone could turn at this corner four times and still end up back here.
She looked at the map, then at the surrounding environment, and with a helpless expression, pointed to the road on the right, where there was a building with a giant Dewgong painted on it.
They had turned three times on this road without even thinking of looking around?
“Is that the place?”
Ash looked at the building over there and scratched his cheek. After all, he had seen it several times and thought it was some kind of entertainment building.
Entering the Gym, it was clearly different from Brock's Gym, which had no one. The stands were already full of spectators, all cheering excitedly, as if something good was about to happen.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting! The synchronized underwater ballet show by the city’s beautiful Cerulean Sisters is about to begin!”
A broadcast sounded, explaining the current situation to Ash and his companions.
As the broadcast ended, the surrounding lights dimmed, and two spotlights focused on the diving platform above the pool.
Amidst the cheers, the Cerulean Sisters appeared on the diving platform at some unknown point.
Accompanied by everyone's cheers, the three jumped into the water and began their graceful underwater ballet.
They performed elegant dance moves to the music, and then, seemingly at the most exciting part, the three plunged into the water, revealing two long, white legs.
The cheers in the Gym were deafening; this seemed to be a favorite of boys.
“That’s strange, I heard this was the Pokémon Gym, right?”
Ash scratched his head in confusion and looked at the Shinny Kirlia who had led them here, wanting to ask if it knew what was going on.
Shinny Kirlia gave him a look, telling him to figure it out himself, then, with a head full of black lines, moved away from Pikachu, who was staring at the underwater ballet with a strange glow in his eyes… “What on earth is going on in this place?”
Ash walked up the stairs in the Gym, arms crossed and a puzzled expression. If he remembered correctly, this was indeed a Gym, so why was there a performance?
“Kirlia?”
Shinny Kirlia pointed to three people who were walking towards them. Weren't these the three who were just performing that ballet in the water?
“Sakura, this outfit really suits you.”
Ayame, wiping water from her long blue hair, happily discussed today's performance with her older sister.
“This shows our training wasn’t in vain.”
Sakura, with golden hair, also smiled at her younger sisters. The show was a great success, meaning their training hadn't been in vain.
“Exactly!”
Peony, with pink hair, happily agreed with her sisters.
The few of them let out bell-like laughter, seemingly happy about the successful performance.
“Excuse me…”
Ash saw the few of them happily running forward and was about to ask about the situation here when Peony interrupted him.
“Is there something? If you want an interview, you have to go through our manager first.”
“No, it’s not that…”
Ash hadn't finished speaking when Peony, who had misunderstood him, spoke again.
“Signatures are also not allowed.”
Shinny Kirlia slapped her forehead. This guy was being played like a fiddle, huh?
“It’s not like that, someone told me this was a Pokémon Gym, so…”
Ash finally managed to ask his question, and before he finished, he received Sakura's confirmation.
“Then, where is the Gym Leader?”
Hearing this, Ash immediately became excited. If this was a Gym, then there was no problem; he was here to challenge the Gym.
Shinny Kirlia had lost count of how many times she had been speechless. She really didn't know how her older brother tolerated such a foolish person. Psychic Pokémon could think of many problems in a second.
She knew the moment Ayame confirmed it that these three people in front of her were the Gym Leaders here. Sure enough, Peony's words soon proved her right.
“You still don’t understand?”
Peony was a bit at a loss for words. Usually, when she said this, the Trainer opposite should have understood.
“The three of us are the Trainers here.”
A sparkling light screen appeared behind the three of them at some point, and Sakura said, crossing her chest.
“We are the beautiful Cerulean Sisters.”
Peony said confidently, resting her chin on one hand.
“It’s a shame we’re so famous.”
Ayame also didn't expect that there were still people who didn't know them, even though their performances could be said to be very famous.
“Ah, so the underwater ballet just now…”
Ash, thinking of something, looked at Ayame and the other two with a shocked expression. Could it be that the challenge was to perform underwater ballet with the three of them?
Shinny Kirlia had already guessed what Ash was thinking, thought about it for a moment, then silently walked to the side and bumped against the nearby wall, trying to make herself forget the image she had just conjured up.
“That’s a hobby, so as not to waste our beauty.”
Peony saw Ash’s expression and knew he wasn't thinking of anything good, so she explained helplessly.
“Yes, beautiful women playing in the water are the most beautiful.”
Ayame also put on a shy expression.
“Hahahahaha”
The three sisters thought of something, and their expressions became very comical as they laughed.
This made Shinny Kirlia can't help but have a thought: Is this Cerulean Gym really a legitimate Gym? If all humans were like this, would her older brother become stupid? Does she really need to find her father? She's so afraid her father would also be like the Cerulean Sisters.
“Anyway, just follow us first. We’ll talk about the challenge when we get there.”
Having laughed enough, Sakura motioned for Ash to follow them. They would discuss other matters at the place where challengers were received, as they were very busy.