8 The Water Flowers of Cerulean City

Ashlyn smiled and stretched as she and Brock along with her Pokémon walked along the road.

"Ah~, a great day to enjoy the sunshine!" Ashlyn said giddily.

"And while you're enjoying the sunshine, Gary's catching more Pokémon." Brock pointed out.

Ashlyn frowned at the reminder of her annoying rival.

"Ugh, don't remind me. I'm all for catching Pokémon, but I don't want to just catch a bunch arbitrarily for the sake of numbers." Ashlyn grumbled.

Brock only smiled in approval. "I guess a trainer can catch Pokémon and enjoy the sun."

Ashlyn grinned and put her hands behind her head.

"Can't wait to challenge the gym in Cerulean city. I heard they're a water type gym. With Tesla as one of my partners we'll have an awesome type advantage." Ashlyn said excitedly, Tesla also jumping onto her shoulder in excitement and rubbing her cheek against hers.

"Raichu!" her partner enthused.

"(She sure is excited to be in her second gym battle)." Lucario teased.

Ashlyn smiled, "I can easily tell."

Brock grinned. "If your battle with me was any indication, I'm sure that your next gym battle will be just as good." Brock complimented.

Ashlyn flushed at the praise, "Thanks Brock, that's nice to hear."

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The gang had arrived in Cerulean City.

Ashlyn's eyes landed on a crowd around what looked like an electronics shop, the cop car's siren in the air as it was parked in front of the establishment.

"Hm? I wonder what happened." Ashlyn said.

"Yeah." Brock replied.

With that, the three jogged over and made their way through the crowd. A bunch of officers were on guard, keeping the crowd out while others were investigating the scene.

"Excuse me," Ashlyn asked the man next to her, "do you know what happened here?" She asked politely.

"Some burglars broke into that store last night." he answered.

"Burglars?" Ashlyn repeated.

"What do you know about burglars?" A familiar voice asked.

Ashlyn looked forward to see Officer Jenny scrutinizing them carefully.

"You three look very suspicious to me." she said, one hand under her chin, the other on her hip.

"Aren't you...the motorcycle officer from Veridian?" Ashlyn questioned, knowing she was just a sister, but she wasn't supposed to know that yet.

"Huh? Ohh, you must have met my sister in law!" Jenny said with a smile before turning to glare at Ashlyn, arms crossed. "If you know her then you probably had some dealings with the police in Veridian!" She stated.

Ashlyn and her Pokémon tilted their heads in confusion, resisting the urge to step back.

"Um..." She was interrupted.

"Now maybe you just stopped to ask her for directions...or maybe you found a wallet on the street and turned it into her...or maybe you're burglars that have broken out of jail!" Jenny shouted the last, twirling handcuffs in one hand before displaying them to Ashlyn threateningly, this time making Ashlyn actually take a step back at how quickly that escalated.

"I've never been to jail!" Ashlyn defended.

"Neither have I ma'am!" Brock responded as well.

"That's what they all say!" Jenny deflected.

"We just got into town and saw the crowd and just came over to see what was going on!" Brock explained.

Jenny only smirked. "The criminal always returns to the scene of the crime."

Ashlyn resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Only the stupid ones." Ashlyn muttered under her breath.

"We're not-ugh." Brock didn't know what to say.

Ashlyn just sighed and smiled, taking out her Rotom Phone. "Maybe this will help clear things up," Ashlyn said. Her phone binged.

"[I am Ashlyn Ketchum's Rotom Phone, a device programmed by Professor Oak for the Pokémon trainer Ashlyn Ketchum.]" it said in a computer like voice.

"Yeah and I'm the previous gym leader of Pewter City gym." Brock said, showing his gym badge.

"Well, that's evidence enough for me," she stated sternly before suddenly straightening and smiling sheepishly, holding up her handcuffs with a finger, her other hand on her cheek. "I'm sorry I was suspicious." She looked away with a worried glance. "Well, now I'm suspicious of my sister in law. She sure has weird friends..."

Ashlyn didn't know whether to smirk or pout at that.

"Miss, I was wondering since I'm new in town, maybe we could get together tonight and you can show me around," Brock invited.

"Well, I'm not off duty until past your bed time," Jenny said with a confident smirk, putting her hands on her hips and looking away with her eyes closed, "and I might even have to work round the clock to catch these burglars," she said, rejecting the offer.

Ashlyn and her Pokémon just sighed at Brock's dejected behavior.

"Well, what exactly did they steal?" Ashlyn asked.

"That's the strange thing about it," Jenny said, crossing her arms in confusion. "They didn't take any money. Just a massive vacuum and a giant hose."

"(That is rather odd)." Lucario commented.

Ashlyn knew that it was Team Rocket, but having it said like that made it seem silly.

"What would anyone want that stuff for?" Ashlyn questioned to keep up pretense.

"Well, I don't know young lady but I do know I don't have time to play guessing games with you. I've got a job to do and it's time for you two to move along. Come on," she said, starting to push both Ashlyn, Lucario, and Brock back, "let's go."

After getting rid of the trio she began to disperse the rest of the crowd. "Alright everybody, the show's over, nothing to see here, break it up, break it up!" She shouted.

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Ashlyn, Tesla, Lucario, and Brock sat on a bench on the side of the road.

"(That was the second Jenny we met who accused us of something)." Lucario commented as Tesla pouted.

"Yeah. Good thing I had my Rotom phone and you had your badge, Brock." Ashlyn said, leaning back into the bench.

"Yeah," he turned to her, his posture straight and his arms crossed like usual. "Shouldn't you head for Cerulean City gym?" Brock asked her.

"Yeah, probably." They both stood up and stopped when we reached a four way crossroad.

"Well, I have some stuff I need to check out." Brock said.

Ashlyn and her Pokémon raised a skeptical brow at him.

"What stuff?" She questioned.

"Just...stuff. See you later." he said, turning left.

"Bye," Ashlyn said, waving him off. Ashlyn turned to her partners with a smile. "Well, let's get going, Lucario, Tesla."

Tesla and Lucario nodded. Ashlyn took out the map on her phone and began walking, looking for the building marked on the map.

"Cerulean city gym," she looked to the other side, "Cerulean City Gym," she took a right. "Should be right around here someplace." Ashlyn said.

The trio stopped when they spotted the dome roofed building with carousel coloring and a giant Dewgong on the front.

Ashlyn sighed as she entered and had to watch Misty's three sisters do their synchronized swimming show. She sighed again as she walked down the stairs and looked at the aquarium that lined the walls.

"It's sad what this gym has been degraded to." Ashlyn said sadly.

"(Agreed. I don't think that anyone would be able to tell if it's a gym or aquarium)." Lucario stated.

"In my opinion, they should quit being gym leaders while they're still ahead." Ashlyn commented, bluntly.

She heard the Cali girl chatting and laughing of the three sisters as they approached. Ashlyn knew that she wasn't going to be getting a gym battle as she walked up to the three.

"Excuse me." she called, making them stop.

"I'm sorry, but if you want an interview, you have to, like, call our manager." the middle blunette said.

Ashlyn sighed again. "No, it's not that." she assured.

"We don't do autographs." the shortest Pinkett answered next.

"I don't want one," Ashlyn stated. "I just want to know if this is really a Pokémon gym or not."

"It sure is." the strawberry blond said.

"Where can I find the gym leader?" Ashlyn questioned, though she already knew the dreaded answer.

"You're looking at them." The strawberry blond said.

Ashlyn sighed, afraid of that answer. She tuned out their little intro.

"What's with the swimming then?" Ashlyn asked.

"It's like our hobby and our fans love to watch us perform." the shortest one answered.

"We pool our talents to make a big splash." they all laughed at the lame joke, making Ashlyn almost fall over, Tesla and Lucario as well.

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"Are you serious?!" Ashlyn exclaimed with anger and disbelief.

The Cerulean sisters had just explained why they decided to stop battling, even though they have a Goldeen who was still a baby and wasn't ready for battle, and they wanted to focus more on their water shows.

"Hold on, I know what you want. Seel!" Daisy called out a Seel that had a badge in its mouth and gave it to Daisy, "Here you go, the Cascade Badge!"

Ashlyn shook her head, "No, I came here to battle for the Cerulean badge fair and square."

"(You should quit being gym leaders if you're not interested in battling anymore)." Lucario advised.

"I agree with you fully on that!" A female voice called out, clearly angry and annoyed.

Everyone turned to the voice and saw Misty. Ashlyn easily figured out that Misty was the real gym leader. But she had to pretend that she didn't know.

"Who are you?" Ashlyn asked.

"I'm a Cerulean gym trainer too," she stated. "The fourth sensational sister." she added unnecessarily, Lily was quick to correct her.

"There are only three sensational sisters and one runt." she said rather rudely, angering the ginger haired girl.

"So little sister, it's a surprise to see you back so soon." Daisy said.

"That little girl with a big mouth that said she wasn't gonna come back until she was a great Pokémon trainer, wasn't that you?" Violet taunted.

"...I guess I did say something like that when I left." She stated grudgingly.

"Misty, you left here pretending you wanted to be a Pokémon trainer because you couldn't compete with us because obviously we're more talented and beautiful than you are." Violet said.

"(Harsh family)." Lucario commented, sweat dropped.

"Rai (Yeah)." Tesla nodded.

"That wasn't the reason!" Misty shouted angrily.

"Oh, I guess you came back because you couldn't make it as a Pokémon trainer." Daisy said with a sigh.

"It wasn't my idea to come back here! The only reason I'm here is because I heard that you were giving out free badges! Are you trying to ruin the gym's reputation? " Misty yelled. "but since you are planning to give out badges for free, I've got no choice," She turned to Ashlyn, "I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

Ashlyn smiled, "I accept."

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"This will be a one vs. one battle between gym leader Misty Waterflower and challenger Ashlyn Ketchum! Both will only send out one Pokémon each! Do both sides agree?" the referee asked.

Misty and Ashlyn nodded.

"Battle begin!"

"Alright then, Staryu, I choose you!" Misty shouted, tossing her Pokéball to the other platform and releasing the star shaped Pokémon.

Ashlyn took out her phone.

[Staryu. The Star shaped Pokémon. The core of this Pokémon shines in a rainbow of seven colors, a core that is valued by some as a type of jewelry.]

Ashlyn put her phone away.

"Alright then," Ashlyn picked Tesla up delicately. "I choose you, Tesla!" She shouted as she tossed Tesla to the waiting platform in front, Tesla spinning a little in midair before landing perfectly on the platform, battle ready.

"Tesla end this fast with a Thunderbolt!" Ashlyn said with determination.

Tesla launched the attack and it hit, Misty's Staryu crying out in pain before it fainted.

"Oh, no! Staryu!" Misty cried. She called it back and let out her next Pokémon with a growl. "Fine then! Misty calls Starmie!" She shouted. "Use Tackle!" Misty added quickly.

"Dodge with Quick Attack and use Swift!" Ashlyn called out.

"Raichu!" She cried out as she did just that, jumping from her platform to the one Starmie had been on and jumping into the air and whipped her tail, unleashing a small rain of stars.

"Starmie! Go underwater to tackle her again!" Misty said, knowing Starmie's speed underwater would be much faster.

"Double Team, Tesla!" She did so and just in time, Misty's Starmie hitting one of the doubles rather than the original. "Finish it off with-" Ashlyn was interrupted when Team Rocket burst in with their stupid vacuum machine.

"Like, check out that hair!" Lily sister said.

"Like, who invited the party crashers." Violet said.

"Sorry to break in on you ladies!" Jessie said.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves." James continued.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all people within our nations."

"To denounce the evil of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! Dat's right!" Meowth said, making his appearance from above.

"The water Pokémon have the advantage," James said.

"But if we steal that water away," Jessie continued.

"The water Pokémon are ours for the taking!" James finished.

"And Meowth knows just how to do it!" The talking cat Pokémon said, pointing at them.

"What are they trying to prove?" Daisy asked, at least until all three of them squealed in distress and shock when a large hose was thrown into the pool. Ashlyn, not wanting to deal with Team Rocket took out a Pokéball from her belt.

"Pidgeotto! Take that hose out of the water before it takes anything!" Ashlyn shouted,

Pidgeotto coming out quickly as she threw the Pokéball airborne. Pidgeotto came out and dug her claws into the hose and tossing it out of the pool.

"Use Gust to drench them all in water!" Ashlyn instructed.

Pidgeotto flapped its wings and did as instructed, sending a large wave at the machine and the trio.

"Tesla use Thunderbolt! Lucario, use Aura Sphere!" Ashlyn called out before they could do anything else.

The Thunderbolt attack electrocuted the heck out of the machine and Team Rocket, making them all cry out. The Aura Sphere hit the machine which made it explode on them and sent them flying out the hole they made in the wall and into the sky.

"TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" They shouted as they became specks in the sky.

Lucario sighed in relief, "(What a bunch of idiots)."

Tesla nodded, "Rai (You said it)."

"Who the heck were those guys?" Misty asked.

"That was Team Rocket. They're an evil organization that steals people's Pokémon for their own evil ways." Ashlyn explained.

"(To put it simply, they're a bunch of criminals)." Lucario added.

"WHAT?!" The sisters exclaimed in shock.

"They're the ones who stole all those parts from the store to make that machine of theirs." Ashlyn concluded.

"(They were going to steal the water Pokémon here)." Lucario said.

Ashlyn then noticed the charred walls and floor that the explosion of the machine had caused, "Er, sorry about the explosion." Ashlyn apologized sheepishly, bowing in apology to the four sisters.

"Don't be, you, like, totally saved our Pokémon from those nefarious evil doers." Violet said.

Ashlyn only sweat dropped.

"Hey, we never got to finish our match." Misty said amiably.

"Er, yeah..." Ashlyn trailed off, not wanting to point out that she was going to win.

"Don't worry. I know you were going to win and you earned it." Misty said, surprisingly.

"That's right," Daisy said, presenting the badge to Ashlyn, "We're giving this badge to you. Your Raichu, Pidgeotto, and Lucario, like, totally saved us all and we knew that you would totally win since you called on her."

Ashlyn smiled warmly at the four.

"Thank you so much!" Ashlyn said gratefully.

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"Hey Ashlyn!" Brock called out, running up to the gym where the sisters and her were standing outside.

"Hey, Brock." Ashlyn greeted.

"How'd it go?" Brock asked.

Ashlyn smiled. "See for yourself." Proudly displaying her badge in her badge case.

"Cool, let's go!" Brock said.

"H-hey, wait! Take me with you!" Misty shouted, coming after them.

"Not to be rude or anything, but why?" Ashlyn asked.

"I saw how you handled that Team Rocket at the Viridian City Pokémon center and...thought you were a great trainer. You look as beautiful as my sisters but you're nice and such a dedicated trainer. I saw how much you love your Pokémon and how strong you are and thought I could learn from you." Misty admitted.

Ashlyn and her Pokémon smiled, "Thank you. I would glad to have you join us on our journey."

Misty smiled back.

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Soon afterwards, the gang went to the Pokémon center to get their Pokémon healed. Ashlyn decided to send her Butterfree for some rest at Prof. Oak's lab. They spent the night in the Pokémon Center and headed out the next morning.

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Pokémon on hand: Raichu (Tesla)(F), Lucario (M), Rockruff (M), Pidgeotto (F), Clefable (F), Sandshrew (M), Pokémon Egg

Prof. Oak's Lab:

Boltund (M), Shiny Gyarados (Rory)(M), Scyther (F), Nidoran (M), Nidoran (F), Butterfree (M)