The golden Gyarados's scarlet pupils shrank to pinpoints. Its gold scales, already covered in cuts, scraped against each other with a harsh metallic shriek.
—Drop dead.
—Little brother.
It snapped its fanged jaws upward, that unstable, orange-red mass of destructive energy in its mouth collapsing and boiling at a speed it had never reached before.
"Roooooaaaar!!"
No longer a breath.
No longer a wave.
What blasted out was a condensed beam of pure annihilation.
Hyper Beam—
Fire!
Like a molten spear hurled by some lava giant, the crimson beam tore through the damp air.
Wherever it passed, water vapor exploded and light bent. With overwhelming force, it slammed toward the blue Gyarados, still locked in place by the recoil of Giga Impact.
Time seemed to stretch and freeze around that one strike.
Misty's orange hair was whipped straight back by the howling shockwave.
She watched, wide-eyed, as that crimson line of death crept closer, inch by inch, to her partner. The beam's red reflected clearly in her pupils.
In theory, she could recall her Pokémon into its ball and surrender on the spot.
But by the time Misty's mind caught up enough to think of that—
It was already too late.
Beam moves were the fastest in the game.
Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
A result she'd already expected in her head was finally arriving for real—
And still, it hit her heart like a hammer.
BOOOOOOM—
The crimson pillar swallowed the entire bulk of the blue Gyarados.
The blast instantly vaporized a huge portion of the pool. Scalding white steam and a shockwave blasted out in a ring, crashing into the surrounding energy barrier with a tooth-aching crack.
The whole field shook. The overhead lights flickered.
When the blinding glow and steam finally began to fade—
The blue Gyarados lay collapsed in the now shallower, murky water at the center of the pool.
Its huge body was charred in wide patches, its scarlet eyes shut tight, completely unconscious.
Only the ripples slowly spreading under it showed that it was still there, that the world-shaking blow from a moment ago had been real.
Most Pokémon were hard to kill.
Especially this blue Gyarados—trained by a gym, its stats in every area were quite decent.
It had been badly injured.
But it wouldn't die that easily.
Misty had carefully picked this Gyarados out herself. Its level was about the same as Ash's golden Gyarados—if anything, even a bit higher.
Silence.
Only the drip of water from the damaged ceiling and the golden Gyarados's ragged breathing broke the stillness.
The golden Gyarados was still a rookie, after all.
Reaching this level already was the result of both natural talent and serious hard work.
Plus, of course, a teensy bit of system help.
That system had given Ash an unremarkable, yet absurdly broken ability—
Once Proven, Forever Proven.
For Ash's Pokémon, regression simply didn't exist.
Once they grew, that growth was permanent. They wouldn't weaken from neglect or lost practice.
"..."
Misty stood there, motionless.
She looked at her fallen partner, then slowly lifted her head to stare at the boy on the other side, who was also breathing hard but still standing straight in his trainer's box.
For a long moment—
She let out a slow breath.
Her voice carried a faint tremor, and a hint of something she herself didn't quite recognize—a subtle complaint, colored with something even more subtle.
"…You…"
"Can't you… go easy on me, even a little?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Misty froze. Then she quickly glanced away, cheeks warming.
This wasn't how she usually talked.
She never thought she'd speak to Ash in that kind of tone.
—Did I just… whine at him without thinking?
Misty felt utterly embarrassed.
And that, of course, made her think of her three older sisters.
She knew exactly what was going through their heads—finding a brother-in-law.
And then the fact that both she and Ash were only ten right now…
Nope.
Absolutely not.
That kind of thing was way too early!
Misty's thoughts started to drift. She decided this kind of topic had to wait until adulthood at least.
Even if not adulthood, ten was way too young.
At least older than fourteen.
By then, she'd definitely get to have a sweet, syrupy romance~~
While Misty was busy daydreaming, Ash tugged the brim of his cap down hard, hiding the storm in his eyes.
He stepped forward, boots splashing through the shallow water.
He stopped in front of Misty.
When he finally lifted his head, the eyes under his cap brim were more serious than she'd ever seen—so serious they felt almost hot, locking onto her gaze, which still held a trace of frustration and complicated emotion.
"Go easy on you?"
Ash's voice was low. It was time to put his talk-no-jutsu to work.
"How could I ever do something as insulting as holding back against you?"
"This battle is only happening because you bet the pride of a gym leader—and all the fear you've carried—to stand here."
"If I pulled my punches now, that would be the greatest insult to you, to your Gyarados, and to that resolve!"
His decisiveness sliced through the lingering hesitation and strange atmosphere hanging in the air.
"To crush everything you show me with my full strength—"
"That is the highest praise I can offer to the trainer named Misty!"
"That is how I show my partners… my truest respect!"
If there was one field where Ash refused to ever lose, it was talking.
There was no way he was going to end up in a situation where he couldn't outfight or outtalk someone.
The second his words landed, Misty froze.
She stared into those clear eyes of his—eyes without shadows, burning with pure belief—and at the colossal golden beast behind him, still radiating an undeniable aura of dominance despite its wounds.
That tiny knot of grievance and complaint in her heart evaporated like morning fog under the sun.
In its place, something hotter and heavier slammed into her chest.
Her face flushed uncontrollably. She wanted to retort, lips parting—
But in the end, no words came out.
She only managed a tiny huff and turned her head away again.
Only the tips of her ears, quietly turning scarlet, betrayed how she really felt inside.
With Ash being this serious, saying this kind of thing—
Misty was dying of embarrassment.
…Was this a confession?
The girl's thoughts spun off into the distance again.
Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the dome overhead, falling right between the two of them. Dust motes floated in the light like tiny flecks of gold.
At some point, Pikachu had hopped onto Ash's shoulder.
He glanced at Ash, then at Misty, scratching his cheek with a tiny paw.
"Pika…"
Pikachu sighed to himself. Humans were impossible to understand…
"Hmph~"
Misty's ears were as red as hot iron.
"Since you're putting it like that, I'll be generous and accept it."
"Here."
"This is the Cerulean Gym's Blue Badge."
"This is my badge I'm giving you. You'd better keep it safe. If you lose it, I won't forgive you."
That's what she said…
But honestly, being able to meet such a reliable companion felt pretty great.
"Hahaha! Don't worry!"Ash raised the blue badge high. "Our future will shine as bright as this badge!"
Under the indoor lights, the gemstone-like badge sparkled.
[Cerulean Gym · Blue Badge]
[Effect: Slightly increases the trainer's affinity with Water-type energy (perception/resistance) and slightly boosts basic physical stats.]
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