Since they had already arrived at the Pokémon Center, there was no immediate rush to challenge the Gym. Ash decided to treat his Pokémon to a massive, well-deserved feast. Afterward, they all took a long, deeply satisfying afternoon nap. Once he felt completely refreshed and overflowing with energy, Ash proudly marched out of the Center with Froakie, heading straight for the Cerulean Gym.
Having absolutely nothing better to do, Serena and Brock tagged along to watch his Gym Battle.
Well, Serena came to watch the battle. Brock simply came to watch the legendary underwater ballet performances.
The Cerulean Gym didn't just serve as the city's official Pokémon Gym, it was also Cerulean City's largest and most famous public aquarium.
This was actually a fairly common practice. As a symbol of the city, a Gym naturally served as a major local landmark. The Cerulean Gym doubled as an aquarium, while the Pewter Gym simultaneously functioned as a fossil museum. After all, Gym Leaders didn't receive challengers every single day of the week. They naturally had downtime. Since it was highly unlikely a Gym Leader would just sleep their days away at home, they usually found hobbies or businesses to manage. Over time, it became standard for Gyms to feature one side tailored for Trainers and another side open to the general public.
While the Pokémon League didn't strictly endorse Gym Leaders taking on second jobs, as long as it didn't interfere with their official League duties, nobody really cared.
It didn't take long for the group to arrive at the Gym's impressive entrance. Looking up at the massive glass doors, Ash took a deep breath. Without a shred of hesitation, he forcefully pushed the doors open.
"Hello! I am Ash from Pallet Town! I'm here to challenge the Gym—"
Whoosh!
Before Ash could even finish his sentence, a golden-brown object violently shot past his head like a cannonball. Before Ash's brain could even process what was happening, his body reacted entirely on its own. His hands blurred into afterimages. In the blink of an eye, he snatched the flying object out of the air and pulled it into his chest.
The sheer kinetic force behind the object forced Ash to take a single, symbolic step backward. However, by instinctively flexing his muscles, he effortlessly absorbed the entire shockwave.
Only then did Ash snap back to reality. He looked down at the object his reflexes had violently intercepted.
"Wait, isn't this a Staryu?"
The Staryu wasn't looking too good. The large red jewel at its core was flashing rapidly, and its body was completely limp. It had clearly been knocked completely unconscious.
Ash quickly pulled a Potion spray from his backpack and generously coated the Water-type. He couldn't exactly read a starfish's facial expressions, but seeing the red jewel's flashing slowly stabilize, he figured the Potion was doing its job.
Ever since Serena introduced him to Potion sprays, Ash had stocked up heavily at the Pokémon Center. Given the absolutely brutal nature of his physical training regime, minor injuries were inevitable. While they usually relied on eating Oran Berries to heal, there were times when stopping to forage wasn't an option. Having medical supplies on hand was strictly a net positive.
At that exact moment, a loud voice echoed from inside the Gym arena.
"Staryu is unable to battle! Therefore, the winner of this match is Goh from Pallet Town!"
A second later, an incredibly obnoxious, arrogant voice rang out.
"See that, Misty? I told you there was no way you could ever beat me!"
"I simply chose not to go all out. Do you seriously not know that Gym Leaders specifically tailor their Pokémon choices based on the challenger's current skill level?"
"Yeah, right! Even if that is true, my Pikachu would have easily won in the end anyway!" The boy gloated. "Right, Pikachu?"
"Pika!"
"...I don't even have the energy to deal with you."
A flurry of frantic footsteps echoed down the hall. A moment later, Misty ran out of the arena area, her face etched with deep concern.
"Oh, it's you?" Spotting Ash, Misty paused in surprise. "What are you doing at the Cerulean Gym?"
"I came to challenge it." Ash carefully held out the recovering Pokémon in his arms. "This is your Staryu, right? Here. I gave it some first aid."
"Thank you! Thank you so much." Misty quickly took Staryu into her arms. Seeing that its breathing had completely stabilized, the heavy anxiety on her face finally dissipated. She looked up at Ash to speak, but her eyes landed on the tall, squinting teenager standing right behind him.
"Brock? Why are you traveling with Ash?"
"We just happened to bump into each other on the road," Brock answered casually. He looked at Misty, his expression clearly surprised. "Wait, you're the Cerulean City Gym Leader? You became a Gym Leader at such a young age?"
"It's not like I wanted to. But my older sisters are completely useless. They absolutely refuse to participate in official Gym Battles," Misty sighed heavily. "As the youngest sister, I'm the only one left to actually step up and do the job."
"Who are you talking to, Misty?"
Just as Brock was about to respond, a dark-skinned boy sauntered out of the arena hall. He had both hands casually tucked behind his head, practically oozing arrogance.
"Oh, hey Brock. You actually found us."
"Yeah." Brock nodded to Goh. "I came to regroup."
"And you are..." Goh shifted his gaze to Ash, a slight frown forming on his face. "I feel like I've seen you somewhere before."
"I'm Ash. We battled back in Pallet Town."
"Oh! Right, I remember now," Goh realized, a condescending smirk appearing on his face. "You're the Trainer with that bootleg Pikachu, right?"
"...Mimikyu is not a bootleg Pikachu. Mimikyu is Mimikyu. It isn't a knockoff of anyone." Ash's brow deeply furrowed. He locked eyes with Goh, his voice deadly serious. "Please do not ever say something so insulting again."
"Whatever..." Goh wanted to argue back, but seeing the absolutely lethal, explosive glare in Ash's eyes, he instinctively averted his gaze. He muttered under his breath. "Fine, I won't say it. But anyone with eyes can see it anyway."
The atmosphere in the room instantly plummeted below freezing. But Ash completely ignored the tension. He turned his attention directly back to Misty.
"So you really are the Gym Leader? In that case, can we have our Gym Battle right now?"
"You want to challenge the Gym too?" Misty looked deeply conflicted. "I mean, technically yes, but the Pokémon I specifically use for official Gym Battles are completely exhausted. Can you come back tomorrow?"
"I don't really want to wait." Ash tried to negotiate. "You just said the Pokémon you use for 'official' Gym Battles are exhausted. Doesn't that mean you have other Pokémon? Why don't you just use those to battle me?"
"You want me to use my personal Pokémon?" Misty stared at Ash in shock. "I could, but the levels of my personal team are significantly higher. They really aren't suited for a beginner Trainer."
"That's perfectly fine! After all, I'm a veteran Trainer with an entire two months of experience!" Ash was slowly adopting Red's mindset. He proudly patted his chest. "Battling against high-level Pokémon is exactly what makes it fun!"
"...Alright, fine." Seeing Ash's absolute insistence, Misty stopped trying to argue. She then shot a furious glare directly at Goh. "Goh, get over here! I'm going to show you exactly what a Gym Leader's true strength looks like!"
...
And so, Misty's second Gym Battle of the day officially began.
The referee stepped up to the edge of the massive indoor pool to announce the rules.
"The official Cerulean Gym Battle will now begin! Both Trainers are permitted to use two Pokémon. The match will conclude when either Trainer's Pokémon are entirely unable to battle! Furthermore, the Gym Leader is not permitted to substitute Pokémon, while the challenger may substitute freely at any time!"
Seeing both Trainers take their places on the floating platforms, the referee raised his flags.
"Now, let the battle begin!"
"Then the first Pokémon I'm sending out is this one!"
As the Gym Leader, Misty threw her Poké Ball first.
Flash!
"Hah!"
An incredibly energetic, purple starfish materialized directly in front of Misty, hovering gracefully over the water.
It was Staryu's evolved form: Starmie!
"The Pokémon I'm going with is this one!"
Ash unclipped a Poké Ball from his belt.
"Go, Mimikyu!"
"Mimi!"
"It's that strange Pokémon." Seeing Mimikyu materialize, Misty instantly recalled her brief observation of Ash's previous battle. Because she had never seen it before, she had actually taken the time to look up its data in the League database.
It's a Ghost/Fairy-type. That gives it a massive type advantage over Starmie.
However, I remember reading that this specific Mimikyu has a unique condition. It absolutely refuses to let any attacks hit its disguise.
"Which means, as long as I land a single solid hit, this battle is over!" Misty violently threw her right arm forward, her eyes flashing with confidence. "Starmie! Use Water Gun!"
"Hah!"
Starmie immediately obeyed. It aligned its four upper points to form a tight nozzle. In the next second, a highly pressurized, high-speed stream of water blasted directly toward Mimikyu.
"As long as we don't get hit, we're fine!" Ash violently threw his hand up. "Mimikyu, show them the results of our special training! Jump!"
"Mimi!"
In the blink of an eye, Mimikyu launched itself incredibly high into the air, completely effortlessly dodging the incoming water blast.
"What incredible speed!"
Misty was genuinely startled by Mimikyu's explosive vertical leap, but she recovered instantly.
"But you can't dodge while you're trapped in mid-air! Starmie, use Thunderbolt!"
"Hah! Hah!"
The red gem on Starmie's core flashed violently, and it unleashed a devastating surge of electricity directly at the airborne Mimikyu.
At that exact moment, Ash violently swung his arm down.
"Now! Use Shadow Sneak!"
"Mimi!"
The moment Ash shouted the command, the shadow directly beneath Starmie violently elongated. In the next second, the shadow cast by the airborne Mimikyu rapidly converged with Starmie's shadow. With a single blink, Mimikyu completely vanished from the sky.
Starmie's shadow began to bubble and violently churn like boiling water. Feeling a terrifying presence beneath it, Starmie desperately spun around.
But it was too late. Mimikyu violently erupted from the shadow directly underneath Starmie. Without an ounce of hesitation, Mimikyu extended a massive, pitch-black claw and delivered a devastating upward slash.
"Guh!" Starmie was violently slammed down into the water.
It's super effective!
Ghost-type Pokémon inherently possessed the natural ability to merge with and traverse through shadows. It was a foundational trait of their typing. While Mimikyu's raw speed wasn't quite on par with Froakie's, if it could perfectly weaponize this Ghost-type trait, its combat mobility wouldn't be far behind the water frog at all.
Ash had realized that "not getting hit" didn't necessarily require blinding speed, but rather, absolute, unpredictable flexibility. Based on this logic, Ash had heavily focused Mimikyu's training on mastering its ability to dive into and ambush from shadows.
By now, while they hadn't completely solved Mimikyu's core psychological issue regarding taking damage, this new tactical mobility finally allowed Mimikyu to engage in legitimate, high-level combat.
"Starmie!"
Seeing Starmie violently smashed into the pool, Misty gasped in shock. She never expected Mimikyu to utilize such a bizarre, terrifying ambush tactic. She gritted her teeth. "In that case! Starmie, use Surf right from where you are!"
"Hah!"
"Don't give it the chance! Mimikyu, Wood Hammer!"
"Mimi!"
Mimikyu's tail instantly morphed into a massive wooden mallet. At such a point-blank range, it didn't even need to aim. Using the momentum from its previous strike, Mimikyu executed a vicious mid-air spin and brought the massive hammer crashing down directly onto Starmie's central gem.
Boom!
The sheer concussive force launched Starmie entirely out of the pool. It skipped across the water before violently slamming into the concrete wall behind Misty.
With a heavy thud, Starmie slid to the floor, completely unresponsive.
"Starmie is unable to battle! The winner of this round is Ash from Pallet Town!"
"...Return, Starmie."
Misty quietly recalled her fainted Pokémon. She looked across the pool at Ash, a look of profound amazement in her eyes.
"It's only been a few days since we last saw each other. I never expected you to have improved this much."
"We've been doing a lot of hardcore training!" Ash laughed loudly, waving his arm. "Enough talking! Bring out your second Pokémon!"
"You're really underestimating me, aren't you?" Seeing Ash overflowing with confidence, Misty couldn't help but chuckle. In the next second, her expression shifted to absolute, deadly seriousness. "I can't let you get completely cocky!"
Misty violently hurled her second Poké Ball high into the air. "Go! Gyarados!"
Flash!
The Poké Ball burst open. A terrifying, multi-meter-long sea dragon materialized, plunging heavily into the Gym's massive pool.
"ROAARRR!!"
With its deafening, primal roar, both Mimikyu and Ash instantly felt an overwhelming wave of oppressive pressure wash over them. An uncontrollable, instinctive sense of dread rose in their hearts.
Mimikyu's Attack fell!
Ash's Attack fell!
Misty blinked. "???"
"What's going on..." Ash frowned, forcing himself to shake off the dread, and pulled out his Pokédex.
"Beep. Gyarados, the Atrocious Pokémon. Its Ability is Intimidate. Upon entering battle, it intimidates the opponent, lowering their Attack stat."
"So it has an Ability like that..." Ash pocketed the Pokédex, his blazing fighting spirit rapidly reigniting.
"But we aren't going to lose! Mimikyu, use Double Team!"
"Mimi!"
Mimikyu instantly split into over a dozen perfect clones, spreading out evenly across the floating platforms.
"Gyarados! Use Dragon Dance!"
Misty issued her command decisively. Mimikyu's ability to freely traverse through shadows gave it an incredibly annoying level of flexibility. Not to mention, Gyarados's massive size meant it cast an equally massive shadow, providing Mimikyu with an enormous ambush zone. Misty didn't have an immediate, perfect countermeasure. However, heavily boosting her own Pokémon's stats was a universally solid tactic.
"Now's our chance!"
At that exact moment, a look of absolute joy appeared on Ash's face.
"Mimikyu, use Burning Jealousy!"
"Mimi!"
Dark, ominous flames instantly erupted around Mimikyu's body. In the next second, Mimikyu extended two black claws wreathed in the dark fire from beneath its rag and viciously struck Gyarados. The dark flames instantly transferred, violently wrapping around Gyarados's massive body. Before Misty could even cry out in shock, the flames slowly turned translucent and quickly vanished, making it seem as if they had never been there at all.
But that was impossible. Misty quickly noticed several scorched marks scattered across Gyarados's blue scales, and the sea dragon's face sporadically twitched in intense pain.
Gyarados was burned!
"Burning Jealousy is a move that guarantees a burn on the target if they had their stats raised during that turn," Ash kindly explained, seeing Misty's completely baffled expression.
"...I can't believe you had a move like that hidden away." Misty bit her lip. A burn inherently cut a Pokémon's physical attack damage in half, effectively rendering the offensive boost from Dragon Dance completely useless.
"However, a burn won't affect the Speed boost we just gained!" Misty instantly adapted her strategy. "Gyarados! Use Hurricane!"
"ROAR!"
Fighting through the painful burn, Gyarados violently swung its massive tail, whipping up a catastrophic, localized cyclone. The raging winds instantly obliterated every single one of Mimikyu's illusory clones.
Spotting the one remaining true Mimikyu, Misty immediately issued her lethal command.
"Use Iron Tail!"
"ROAR!"
Gyarados's massive tail instantly radiated a heavy, dark-gray metallic luster. Twisting its colossal body, it swung the heavy, armored tail downward, intending to completely flatten the tiny ghost into a pancake.
Ash didn't hesitate for a microsecond.
"Use Shadow Sneak to get behind Gyarados!"
"Mimi!"
Executing its priority move, Mimikyu instantly melted into the shadows, completely bypassing the massive, crushing tail strike and reappearing directly behind Gyarados's back. Looking up at the massive tail suspended just above it, Mimikyu's tactical intent perfectly aligned with Ash's command.
"Jump onto Gyarados's tail and use Splash!"
The very second the command left Ash's lips, Mimikyu actively bounced directly onto the heavy, glowing Iron Tail. Feeling a sudden weight land on its tail, Gyarados instinctively and violently twitched its tail upward in an attempt to shake it off.
Mimikyu didn't resist the motion. Instead, it perfectly utilized Gyarados's own massive physical strength. Activating Splash—a move entirely dedicated to jumping—Mimikyu used the rising tail as a springboard.
Like a fired cannonball, Mimikyu rocketed straight up into the air, perfectly positioning itself directly above Gyarados's head.
"Let's finish this!"
His face flushed with adrenaline, Ash let out a deafening roar.
"Mimikyu! Use Shadow Claw with maximum power!"
"MIMI!!!"
With a violent slicing sound, two massive, terrifying black claws erupted from beneath Mimikyu's disguise. Looking like ten lethal, jagged spikes, Mimikyu brought the claws crashing down viciously onto Gyarados's skull without a shred of hesitation.
BOOM!
The power of their bond! A critical hit!
Gyarados let out a horrific wail of pure agony before its massive body crashed heavily back into the Gym pool, sending a massive geyser of water into the air.
"Gyarados is unable to battle! Because the Gym Leader's Pokémon are all unable to battle, the winner of this match is Ash from Pallet Town!"