"Holy shit, what now?" Before Lin Hao had finished speaking, the rift stretched across the sky overhead, and the Runic Eevee in his arms cried out ever more shrilly.
Just then, a low chuckle sounded in Lin Hao's mind. "Playing with space in front of me?" It was the voice of Palkia, the Space God.
"Don't do anything reckless!" Lin Hao shouted inwardly.
"A mere shoddy spatial rift dares show off before its master? Shatter!"
Lin Hao never even saw how Palkia acted. A faint pink light flashed across his body and shot into the sky.
Crack! Snap! The enormous spatial rift overhead broke into countless fragments, scattering into specks of light.
It vanished without a trace, and the red glow on the Runic Eevee's forehead faded with it. It rubbed its eyelids, then closed its eyes and fell fast asleep in Lin Hao's arms. Everything had happened in the blink of an eye.
"What happened?" The little tent behind him unzipped, and May poked her head out, bleary-eyed. "Why are you yelling out there instead of sleeping in the middle of the night?"
"Oh, nothing." Lin Hao tucked Eevee into a compartment in his backpack.
"Then what were you staring at in the sky?" May stepped outside.
"A shooting star."
"A shooting star?" May looked up. "With all these clouds? Where would a shooting star come from?"
"There was one earlier. It's gone now." Lin Hao didn't look at her. "And it wasn't just a shooting star. There was thunder, too."
"Thunder?"
"Yep. Unusual weather. This place has bad feng shui, if you ask me. A downpour's coming." Lin Hao picked up his backpack. "Pack up. We're heading into the city tonight."
"Are you crazy? Traveling in the middle of the night?"
"If you're not coming, I'm leaving without you. Stay here if you want to get soaked." Lin Hao didn't look back.
May stomped her foot hard, but she had no choice except to pack up the tent. The two traveled through the night.
By early the next morning, they reached Cerulean City, a blue city filled with water-themed facilities.
"I'm exhausted," May gasped, leaning against a lamppost. "Why were you walking so fast? In a hurry to meet your maker?"
"It's called morning exercise. Ordinary people need to stay fit." Lin Hao rolled his shoulders. "Come on. Let's get breakfast first."
They entered a breakfast shop. "Two fried dough sticks and a bowl of soy milk, please." Lin Hao found an empty seat and sat down.
"That's all you're eating?" May frowned.
"I'm just an ordinary person. This is what ordinary people eat." Lin Hao opened his backpack, and Pikachu hopped onto the table.
"Pika!" Pikachu tapped the table.
Lin Hao looked away, fished a Divine Pokéblock shimmering with rainbow light out of his pocket, and tossed it to Pikachu.
May's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "You're feeding it another one of those premium Pokéblocks that cost three hundred thousand each! And you still claim you're broke!" She slammed her hand on the table.
"I told you, it's a cheap Pokéblock full of artificial coloring. Two fifty online, shipping included."
"Who do you think you're fooling? Look at that luster! Those energy fluctuations!"
"Try a bite if you don't believe me. It's radioactive." Lin Hao pointed at the Pokéblock.
"You can eat radioactive food yourself!" May had nothing else to say.
"Hurry up and eat. We're going to the gym afterward." Lin Hao bit into a fried dough stick. "The sooner we finish the battle, the sooner we can go catch up on sleep."
Half an hour later, they stood outside the Cerulean Gym. The place was built on the scale of an aquarium, with an enormous water-drop emblem hanging over the entrance.
"Two thousand League Coins for admission?" Lin Hao stared at the pricing sign by the door. "I have to buy a ticket just to challenge a gym?"
"This is Cerulean City's most famous water ballet venue." May folded her arms. "Those three Gym Leaders spend all day doing ballet. Battles have practically become a sideline."
"And they charge this much for a sideline? What a rip-off!" Lin Hao turned to leave.
"Stop right there!" May grabbed his clothes. "You can't even scrape together two thousand?"
"I'm just a poor, ordinary person," Lin Hao said without a hint of shame. "You pay."
"Why should I pay?"
"Because you're an Investigator, and you're keeping me under surveillance. This is a work expense. The League can reimburse you."
May forced a few words through clenched teeth, but still pulled out her wallet. "You've got some nerve!"
They entered the gym, which contained a spacious pool arena. On the stage in the middle of the pool, three young girls in swimsuits were taking their bows.
Red-haired Sakura, blue-haired Penny, and yellow-haired Ayame-the Cerulean Sisters, famous throughout Kanto.
"The show's over." Lin Hao stepped forward. "I'm here to challenge the gym."
All three turned to look at Lin Hao. Sakura kept her eyes fixed on him, Penny stopped what he was doing, and Ayame swam over.
"Oh my, what a handsome young man." Sakura propped her arms on the edge of the pool. "You're here to challenge the gym?"
"That's right." Lin Hao nodded.
"Gym challenges are so boring." Penny came over too. "Hey, handsome, how about letting your big sister teach you to swim?"
"The special training at our Cerulean Gym feels very nice, you know." Ayame winked.
Lin Hao took a step back. "No, thanks. I'm just an ordinary person. Ordinary people can't swim."
May stood behind him, glaring at them. "Are you Gym Leaders or swimming companions?" She strode over and blocked their view of Lin Hao. "He's here for a badge. Hurry up and get started!"
"Oh, this little girl has quite a temper." Sakura glanced at May. "Are you his girlfriend?"
"Who's his girlfriend?" May stamped her feet in agitation. "I'm-I'm here to supervise him!"
"As long as you're not his girlfriend." Penny laughed. "Handsome, if you win, your big sister won't just give you a badge. I can give you my contact details, too."
"No need for your contact details. Just refund my admission fee." Lin Hao said nothing more, leaving all three speechless.
On Lin Hao's shoulder, Pikachu covered its mouth and snickered, "Pika pika."
"You really don't know how to flirt." Sakura hopped out of the pool and draped a towel over herself. "Fine. If you want a challenge, let's do it."
She walked to the other end of the battlefield. "Cerulean Gym battles are two-on-two. I'll be your opponent." Sakura tossed out a Poké Ball.
A brilliant light burst forth, and a Goldeen splashed into the water.
May retreated to the sidelines and folded her arms. "Let's see how you handle this." She looked thoroughly unimpressed. "Your Charmeleon has already evolved into Charizard. A Fire-type against a Water-type? That's a huge disadvantage."
"Who said I was using Charizard?" Lin Hao yawned.
"If not Charizard, then who?" May stared at him. "You only got your Boulder Badge yesterday. Do you actually have another Pokémon?"
"Sure do." Lin Hao reached up and lifted Pikachu off his shoulder.
"Pika?"
"Go, Pikachu." Lin Hao tossed it onto a plastic float by the edge of the pool. May froze, and across from him, Sakura's smile disappeared too.
"Are you serious?" May pointed at Pikachu on the float. "You're going to challenge a gym with this rodent that can only give off static?"
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