At present, Misty had three Pokémon on her team:
Her starter Pokémon, Staryu.
A high-potential Magikarp that already knew Tackle when she caught it in the wild.
And the Huge Power Marill that Ash had caught near Pallet Town's ocean inlet and gifted to her.
Staryu's evolved form, Starmie, possessed Psychic typing and could battle effectively on land as well. Back when Misty had asked Ash for recommendations regarding her starter Pokémon, Staryu had been one of the Water-types he strongly suggested.
And now—
After a period of training—
Its true strengths were beginning to shine.
Offensively, it had moves like Rapid Spin and Swift.
Defensively, it could set up Light Screen and Reflect.
For recovery, there was Aqua Ring and Recover.
And combined with utility moves like Minimize and Flash—
Staryu had become incredibly annoying to deal with in real battles.
Coupled with Misty's outstanding battle instincts, she had already begun building a name for herself in Cerulean's lower-ranked trainer scene.
As for the Marill Ash had gifted her—
It had blossomed brilliantly under her care.
Although its level was still relatively low and it hadn't yet evolved into Azumarill—the true "Dragon Slayer" form of the line—
Even in its current stage, it was already terrifying.
After all—
The Marill line possessed Fairy typing from the very beginning.
And with the Huge Power Ability—
Its physical strength was absurd.
Its classic combination of Defense Curl + Rollout was the kind of timeless strategy that never went out of style.
And paired with brutal physical attacks like:
Slam
Bounce
Aqua Tail
Double-Edge
Superpower
Mega Punch
Mega Kick
Marill had effectively become Misty's heavy hitter before Magikarp evolved into Gyarados.
Many beginner trainers in Cerulean only needed to be crushed by it once before never daring to challenge her again.
It was terrifyingly powerful.
Misty had talent.
Background.
Resources.
Ambition.
By all logic—
She should have had the potential to reach the same heights as Lorelei of the Elite Four.
Or perhaps even go further—
Like Iris—
Eventually standing shoulder to shoulder with Champions like Diantha and Cynthia.
And yet—
In the original storyline, she ultimately faded into obscurity.
At best, she became the Gym Leader of Cerulean Gym.
Even if her personal strength might have eventually reached Elite Four-level—
To Ash—
That was nowhere near enough.
Her talent had been wasted.
She should have soared much higher.
But this life was different.
Now—
Misty was his girlfriend.
The two of them had already confirmed their relationship at the age of six, before even officially becoming trainers.
And when it came to Pokémon training and development—
Ash paid extremely close attention to her progress and guided her personally.
Because of that—
He had every reason to believe that Misty's future would be far greater than simply becoming the Water-type Gym Leader of Cerulean Gym.
He would help her achieve her dream.
He would help her truly become the world's greatest Water-type Pokémon Master—
Just like he would help Serena achieve her dream of becoming the world's greatest Performer.
Because they were his people.
Toward outsiders, Ash could be cautious and calculating.
But toward those he cared about—
He was never stingy.
—
Cerulean Gym was located in the center of Cerulean City, not too far from the high-speed rail station.
Riding in Misty's sisters' convertibles, the group arrived quickly.
"Misty, Lily—you two take Ash and the others inside and show them around the Gym first," Daisy said after parking near the entrance.
"Violet and I will go park the cars in the garage."
"Got it, Sis~"
"Okay!"
Misty and Lily responded together before leading everyone into the Gym.
In the original storyline—
After the previous Cerulean Gym Leaders, Misty and her sisters' parents, died during an operation against Team Rocket—
The Gym had gradually fallen into decline.
Because Misty's older sisters lacked talent as trainers, they eventually resorted to turning the Gym into more of a performance venue.
Water ballet shows.
Stage performances.
Even relying on appearance and charm to maintain popularity.
As a result—
Cerulean Gym eventually became a joke among Kanto Gyms.
But—
That also bought Misty enough time to grow stronger and eventually shoulder the responsibility herself.
However—
Ever since Ash arrived in this world—
Many destinies had changed.
Many lives had changed.
His mother, Delia Ketchum, was no longer just a simple woman in Pallet Town exhausting herself worrying about her son's future.
Now—
With Ash already becoming exceptional—
She had opened a flower shop in Viridian City with her close friend.
Teaching flower arrangement classes.
Living peacefully while doing what she loved.
Gary, who in the original timeline became a proud and arrogant prodigy before eventually abandoning his trainer path to become a researcher—
Had changed too.
Under Ash's influence, the arrogance and impatience in him had disappeared.
Now—
He pursued both training and research together.
He no longer had to give up one dream for another.
And then there was Goh.
Because of Ash—
Goh had become the disgrace of Vermilion City.
Despised throughout Kanto's trainer circles.
Whether he could even become a trainer at age ten anymore was questionable—let alone stealing Ash's spotlight and destiny like before.
Even Chloe—
After seeing Goh's true character, she had cut ties with him entirely.
And without her support, Goh's chances of becoming a special researcher under Professor Cerise had become incredibly slim.
After all—
No serious laboratory wanted someone who only cared about attention and personal gain.
But beyond Goh—
The biggest change…
Was Serena.
In the original storyline, Ash had planted a seed in Serena's heart during Professor Oak's summer camp.
And years later, during his Kalos journey, Serena confessed her feelings to him.
Yet in the end—
They never truly ended up together.
Even when they met again later in Hoenn's Lilycove City—
Serena still clearly loved him.
But Ash only treated her as an old travel companion.
They exchanged greetings.
Wished each other well.
And separated once more.
That ending—
Was unbearable.
Thankfully—
None of that would happen now.
Because destiny had already changed.
At the end of summer camp—
Ash had accepted Serena's confession.
The two of them had already formed a deep emotional bond.
And in the future—
Their destinies would remain intertwined.
Never to separate again.
Serena was his girlfriend.
His precious companion.
And Ash would absolutely help her achieve her dream of becoming the world's greatest Performer.
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