Chapter 11: Cerulean City (1)

Klein had been working in the breeding grounds since early morning, tending to his Pokémon one by one. By the time he finished in the afternoon, he took a quick shower before hurrying next door to meet Agatha and discuss their upcoming duties.

"There are over twenty gyms that need evaluation. Each of them has deep local influence, but their deviation from the League's standards is severe. If we demote them outright, it would be too harsh. But if we don't, they won't take the warnings seriously."

"The Cerulean Gym has been handing out way too many badges over the years. They even have four registered Gym Leaders. And you're telling me they haven't been demoted yet?"

At the mention of Cerulean Gym, Agatha, bundled in her heavy coat, chuckled. "Tourism in Cerulean City is built around their water shows. If we strip them of their Gym status, it'll deal a massive blow to the city's finances."

"I have a suggestion. I'll personally go to Cerulean Gym tomorrow for an assessment. At the same time, let's leak news that their Gym qualification is on the line. I'm sure that'll make things… interesting."

Recently, Klein had been a hot topic online. Though he hadn't verified his identity publicly, news about him never stopped circulating. Some people even dug up old Kanto Gym Battles and regional tournament matches, uploading them online.

"Are you just trying to stir up publicity for yourself?"

Agatha, being older, wasn't particularly fond of modern online trends. Klein's approach confused her.

Despite being a new Elite, Klein wasn't someone Agatha disliked. Her own younger sister was also a Ground-type specialist, which made her feel an instinctive kinship with Klein. Naturally, she didn't want him getting too entangled in internet drama.

Klein simply shrugged with a smirk. "They're already used to slandering me. One more controversy won't matter. This is about shocking Cerulean Gym into taking things seriously—they need to fix their attitude."

Cerulean Gym was notorious for ignoring League assessments due to its strong backing from Cerulean City. But Klein's method? It was a perfect way to force them into compliance.

Agatha made a quick call to Lorelei—the unofficial queen of online PR manipulation within the Elite Four. Upon hearing Klein's plan, Lorelei burst out laughing.

"This kid… he really can't sit still, huh? Fine, I'll back him up."

A few hours later, the official Kanto League website released an updated list of Gym assessments. Three Gyms were immediately stripped of their status, while Cerulean Gym and five others were marked in red, signaling that a League Elite would personally conduct their assessments. If they failed to meet the standards, they too would lose their status.

Each Gym had its assigned examiner. Klein was responsible for three Gyms, Agatha for four. The earliest evaluation on the list? Cerulean Gym—scheduled for tomorrow.

The moment the news dropped, Cerulean City was thrown into chaos.

The local officials knew exactly how irresponsible the Cerulean Gym sisters were—but they also knew how much money they brought in. The Gym's tourist attraction status boosted the entire city's economy. If they lost their official status, the financial consequences would be catastrophic.

Panic spread among city officials. Phones rang off the hook as they frantically contacted the Kanto League's top brass—Lance, Agatha, Lorelei—but none of the Elites responded. They completely ignored the situation.

Meanwhile, on social media, something unexpected happened.

For the first time, Klein made a public post under his newly verified account.

Sandstorm Elite Klein: "Heading to Cerulean Gym tomorrow for an assessment. A Gym with four Leaders, yet a 95% pass rate every season. Heh. Tell me, what's the point of even having this Gym?"

At first, his post didn't get much attention—after all, he had only just opened his account, and his follower count was still low.

But then, Lorelei—under her high-profile account "The Most Elegant Ice Queen"—retweeted it.

"Wow, you finally got verified! Congrats, congrats~"

Lorelei hadn't even made a statement about the Gym itself, but within minutes, Klein's follower count skyrocketed.

The comments exploded:

Snowflake: "You better not be rude to Lady Violet, you brute!"

Divine Awakening: "Do you even know how much the Cerulean Sisters contribute to the city every year?"

NamelessAgain: "Wait a second… Cerulean Gym has FOUR Gym Leaders? Who's the fourth?"

TT Phantom Star: "Good question. Are there actually FOUR sisters? Is the last one a badass older sis or a cute little loli?"

Skywing Flight: "I demand that the fourth sister be an elegant older sister!"

The argument over Klein's Gym assessment quickly derailed—more and more people were obsessed with the mysterious "fourth sister."

Only Divine Awakening stubbornly continued ranting about Klein's disrespect toward Cerulean City.

"This arrogance is an insult to the entire Cerulean Trainer Association! Every single trainer in Cerulean City is obligated to defend our Gym's honor!"

Meanwhile, far away, a certain red-haired girl traveling with Ash Ketchum received the news through a Pokémon Center terminal.

Misty slammed her fists down. "Are you kidding me? That guy's already at our doorstep, and you three aren't even doing anything?!"

Her eldest sister shrugged with a playful pout, looking completely unconcerned.

"Well, we're not really fighters anyway…"

Unlike the stressed city officials, the Cerulean Sisters themselves didn't seem to care at all. In fact, they weren't worried about the Gym closing. To be honest? They had no real interest in running it.

"That's it. I'm going back!"

Ash was currently preparing for the Indigo League, so Misty didn't want to distract him. But this? She couldn't ignore it. She would return to defend the Gym herself—and give that so-called Sandstorm Elite a piece of her mind.

Elsewhere, Brock, one of Misty's traveling companions, was reading the official Gym evaluation report.

"Pewter Gym was flagged for review too, huh… Even though no Elite is personally assessing it, we still have to get our approval ratings up for the next season."

Unlike Cerulean Gym, Pewter Gym had very few trainers passing its challenges. That was just as bad as Cerulean's ridiculously high pass rate.

"We need to ease up a little…"

Then, Ash suddenly spoke up.

"Misty, I'll go with you."

Misty blinked. "Wait, Ash—you need to prepare for the League!"

"Come on, it's Sandstorm Elite Klein! He's crazy strong! How could I miss this?"

Hearing that, Misty's expression froze. Brock, however, nodded thoughtfully.

"That's actually a great idea. Seeing a high-level Elite battle could help Ash get ready for the tournament."

Misty clenched her fists. "Fine! But I'm not losing to some Ground-type trainer!"

"Uh… technically, he specializes in Sandstorm tactics, not just Ground-types."

Brock's correction went completely ignored.

Misty was already burning with rage—while Ash? He was eagerly looking forward to meeting the legendary Sandstorm Elite.

And it wasn't just Misty.

All of Cerulean City was buzzing with anticipation. Some people wanted to support the Gym, while others?

They just wanted to see if Misty—the "mysterious fourth sister"—was really as badass as everyone imagined.

(End of Chapter)