After a round of cheers, Icarus was presented with a trophy by the Gym Leader and also received the first-place prize—a Squirtle, one of Kanto's Water-type Starter Pokémon.
However, as he stepped down from the podium with his prize in hand, several middle-aged men dressed in Arai Family uniforms approached him, accompanied by a beautiful young woman. Without much explanation, they guided him into a private room within the Gym.
"…Seriously? Don't tell me they're planning to make me get married on the spot. No way. Absolutely no way."
A bad feeling immediately rose in Icarus's heart.
"Ahem. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Arai Xia, head of the Arai Family's Third Branch. This is my daughter, Arai Ryoko. I hope the two of you can get to know each other better."
The square-faced middle-aged man smiled as he introduced himself and the shy young woman standing beside him.
It had to be admitted that Ryoko was exceptionally beautiful.
Her large eyes carried both curiosity and shyness, and her carefully styled JK uniform gave her the appearance of a heroine straight out of a romance story.
Even Icarus couldn't help feeling his heart skip a beat.
"Ahem. It's a pleasure to meet you, Uncle Xia. And Miss Ryoko as well."
For the moment, he decided to play along and maintain a friendly attitude.
"Hahaha! Good, good. Then we'll leave the two of you alone."
One of the accompanying uncles laughed loudly.
"Come on, Old Xia. Don't interfere with the younger generation. The wedding is in a few days anyway. Let them get acquainted first."
With that, the elders quickly left the room, leaving the two of them alone.
"Hello, Icarus. Your Weepinbell was amazing today. I wish my Hoppip could become that strong someday."
After a brief silence, Ryoko took the initiative and started a conversation.
"Oh? You're a Trainer too?"
Icarus looked genuinely surprised.
"Yes, but I haven't had Hoppip for very long. I still haven't even battled in the wild yet…"
"That's fine. Everyone starts somewhere. I'm sure you'll do well."
"…"
As the conversation continued, the atmosphere gradually became more relaxed.
There wasn't much else Icarus could do at the moment. Since he was already stuck in the room, he might as well chat politely and wait for an opportunity to leave later.
After about an hour, the two had become considerably more familiar with each other.
Ryoko's impression of him seemed quite positive.
Eventually, feeling embarrassed yet encouraged by the situation, she leaned forward and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek before quickly stepping back.
The Third Branch had clearly prepared her in advance. Their situation was declining, and they were eager to recruit a promising talent like Icarus into their family.
Caught off guard, Icarus instinctively pulled her into a brief embrace before she quickly broke free.
With her face completely red, Ryoko hurried out of the room.
Of course, Icarus made no effort to stop her.
"Hahaha! It seems things went very well!"
The elders returned shortly afterward.
"The wedding preparations will begin immediately. The ceremony will take place in three days."
Several members of the Third Branch wore satisfied smiles.
After all, the branch was already in decline. Their remaining Elite-level expert was aging, and they desperately needed fresh talent to strengthen their position.
"Not at all…"
Icarus simply smiled awkwardly and touched the faint lipstick mark still visible on his face.
The elders interpreted his reaction as youthful embarrassment and laughed even harder.
In their eyes, there was no reason for him to refuse.
He was an orphan with no powerful backing. Now he was being offered membership in the strongest faction in town, along with a beautiful wife.
Who would say no?
Unfortunately for them…
Icarus already had other plans.
"Let's go."
The moment he reunited with Airi, Stone, and Luna, his expression became serious.
"Airi. Stone. Grab everything. We're leaving immediately."
Unlike everyone else, Icarus had no intention of staying.
If this had been the Joy Family or the Jenny Family, perhaps he might have considered it.
But marrying into the Gym's Third Branch?
Absolutely not.
Especially not a branch that was openly at odds with the current Gym Leader.
Remaining in town would certainly be safer. He could probably develop steadily and eventually reach Elite level.
But he could already see what his future would look like.
At best, he would become a powerful Trainer tied to the Gym's interests, spending the rest of his life working for the family.
That wasn't what he wanted.
He was still young.
He still wanted to see the world.
And with Team Rocket quietly making moves beneath the League's surface, there were opportunities elsewhere.
Perhaps one day he would settle down and establish a force of his own.
But that day wasn't today.
That very evening, without even attending the auction, the group quietly slipped out of town amidst the New Year crowds.
Under cover of darkness, they crossed Diglett's Cave and entered the wilderness surrounding Pewter City.
Fortunately, Icarus's Weepinbell had already reached the Ordinary High Stage.
Along the way, Luna nearly suffered a serious injury from an aggressive Sandslash.
Although her Miltank had already reached the Ordinary Mid Stage, it was still primarily a support Pokémon and couldn't match the combat experience of wild Pokémon at the same level.
"Squirtle! Squirtle!"
The newest member of the team excitedly cried out as soon as they emerged from the cave.
The small blue turtle stood upright, looking around with shining eyes.
Although most of the Pokémon they had encountered inside Diglett's Cave were weak against Water-type attacks, Squirtle itself was still too inexperienced to contribute much.
All it had managed to do was fire a few Water Guns from the sidelines.
This left the little Pokémon feeling somewhat frustrated.
"Alright, alright."
Icarus crouched down and gently rubbed Squirtle's head.
"You've already done well. Are you tired? We've been walking for quite a while."
"Squirtle! Squirtle!"
The little turtle immediately shook its head.
It wasn't a baby anymore!
There was no need to carry it!
After proudly declaring its independence, Squirtle ran off to play with Airi's Marshtomp.
Perhaps because both were Starter Pokémon, the two quickly became close friends.
Watching them play together, Icarus couldn't help smiling.
Their journey had only just begun.