On a bright, breezy morning, Xiao Yan and his companions finally arrived in Celadon City. With its wealth of leisure and entertainment facilities, it was an ideal destination for the whole family.
While sightseeing, they spotted a familiar figure.
"Lovely ladies, please do me the honor of sharing a wonderful morning with me. And tonight, I could keep you company for an exciting evening, too."
(What exactly was that last part supposed to mean?)
"Hey, Brock, long time no see." Xiao Yan went over to greet him.
"Oh, Xiao Yan! How have you been?" Brock was chatting up the clerks in the Perfume Shop.
"Pretty good."
Just then, the Perfume Shop's automatic doors opened...
"Xiao Yan, long time no see!" With Brock and Misty here, it stood to reason that Ash would be here too. They traveled together, after all.
"What a coincidence. Are you here to challenge the Gym too?" Xiao Yan asked.
"Yep!"
At that moment, a clerk was pitching their products to Misty. Misty picked up one of the bottles and tried a little perfume off to the side, and its strong scent immediately spread throughout the shop.
This smells awful... Unable to stand the scent, Xiao Yan immediately covered his nose.
Ash couldn't stand it either.
"Misty, wearing perfume won't do you any good."
"What's it to you?"
"Perfume is just for luring men. With your looks, nobody would be interested even if you wore it."
The little lovebirds were arguing again.
"Sir, what you just said is wrong. Perfume has many uses." A clerk joined in as well.
"Isn't wearing perfume just about luring men?" Ash continued.
"Wrong!!! Perfume can boost your energy, give you a radiant glow, and improve your complexion. You're insulting perfume!" Another young woman joined the fray.
"What a heated battle..." Xiao Yan quietly watched from the sidelines.
"I don't need perfume. I've already got plenty of energy, right, Pikachu?"
Ash's Pikachu was busy playing with Xiao Yan's Pikachu and ignored him. A moment later, Ash was showing everyone his utterly unmuscular arms when a group of girls approached him with brooms...
"Sir, please leave. Our shop doesn't need customers with no taste." Ash was swept out of the shop with their brooms, while Misty made a face at him from behind the girls.
Ash's mistake was arguing with girls. Never do that again, or the consequences could be unimaginable. Xiao Yan observed three seconds of silence for Ash.
"All right, we've thrown that annoying customer out. Trainer, did you say you wanted to challenge our Gym?" a female clerk asked Xiao Yan.
"Yes. May I ask who the Gym Leader is?"
"Our manager is the Gym Leader. She's at the Gym right now. I'll take you there."
Xiao Yan followed the clerks outside.
"Wait, I want to watch the battle too!"
"Don't leave me all alone!" Brock and Misty followed after them.
Led by the clerk, Xiao Yan arrived at a Gym filled with the scent of flowers and greenery. The fresh smell of grass mingled with floral fragrances, and Pokémon sang inside. For a moment, he felt as though he were out in nature.
"Challenger, please come to the central battlefield. The Gym Leader is waiting for you there."
A young woman led Xiao Yan to a battlefield surrounded by grass. The grass here grew thick and healthy, standing at least a meter and a half tall.
At the other end of the battlefield, a woman in a kimono was asleep with a Bellossom in her arms. The perfume clerk walked over and gently shook her awake.
"Ah... what lovely weather... I must have dozed off." The woman in the kimono rubbed her eyes, yawned, and looked sleepily at the perfume clerk beside her. The clerk leaned close to her ear and whispered a few words, and the woman immediately widened her eyes at Xiao Yan on the battlefield.
"My deepest apologies. I didn't realize you were here to challenge the Gym. My name is Erika, and I am the Gym Leader of the Celadon Gym. I use Grass-type Pokémon."
"My name is Xiao Yan. I'm from Pallet Town."
Once both sides had introduced themselves, they left the referee to say a few words.
"This will be a one-on-one match. If the challenger wins, he will receive the Rainbow Badge. The Gym Leader may not switch Pokémon during the battle; only the challenger may do so. Now, let the match begin." As soon as the referee finished speaking, two Pokémon appeared on the field at the same time.
"Bellossom, Leaf Blade!"
Extremely tough leaves flew straight toward Eevee.
"Eevee, dodge, then use Tail Whip!" Eevee dodged the Leaf Blade and quickly used Tail Whip, inevitably lowering Bellossom's Defense by one stage.
"Bellossom, Energy Ball!" Grass-type energy steadily gathered, then a green ball of energy shot toward Eevee. It was too fast for Eevee to dodge, and the hit sent him flying several meters.
"Good. We can't go down before it's over. Shadow Ball!" Xiao Yan spoke as he watched Eevee climb back to his feet, ready to keep fighting.
Eevee's Shadow Balls were tiny, about the size of ping-pong balls, but their small size let him fire one every second. His Shadow Balls now pelted Bellossom like machine-gun fire. Even a Pokémon skilled at dodging would take a few hits.
"Bellossom, Petal Dance!" Bellossom began her Petal Dance, petals swirling around her body. The move was immensely powerful, and the petals swept toward Eevee like blades, but the first Petal Dance missed him.
"Eevee, Bite!" Eevee's bite left Bellossom with little stamina to spare. Just then, the petals that had been swirling around her slashed several cuts into Eevee's body like sharp knives, and blood flowed from the wounds.
Eevee could barely stand anymore, his four legs trembling.
"I'm sorry. I didn't give you good enough commands. Come back, Eevee!"
Xiao Yan raised his Poké Ball to recall Eevee, but Eevee jumped right back out and looked at him with determined eyes.
"Eevee, you... All right! We'll keep fighting!"
Bellossom launched another Petal Dance. Eevee closed his eyes and swayed to the side, making her attack miss.
If we're going to win, we'll have to gamble everything on this.
"Eevee, Quick Attack!"
Eevee opened his eyes and rushed straight toward Bellossom. A few seconds later, Bellossom fell.
"Eevee, we won!!!"
"Vee~~~" Eevee happily leaped into Xiao Yan's arms.
"Though defeat leaves a bitter aftertaste... meeting a trainer as strong as you fills me with motivation. Please accept the Rainbow Badge!" Xiao Yan accepted the Rainbow Badge from Gym Leader Erika.
"Thank you."
"You've raised your Eevee quite well. Have you decided what you want to evolve him into?"
"I have!"
Xiao Yan and his companions said goodbye to Gym Leader Erika.
"Big Brother Xiao Yan, your Eevee is so strong. Can mine become like that too?" Xiao Lan asked, tugging on my hand.
"As long as you put your heart into training, he definitely can someday."
Just then, Xiao Yan looked back at the Gym and saw a very ugly girl walking out, happily holding a badge. When he took off his hair, Xiao Yan realized it was a wig-and that wasn't a girl at all. It was Ash!!!
Before you continue