It was only half a day's voyage from Gringey City to Vermilion City.
By noon, Tetsuya had already arrived in Vermilion City. As soon as he disembarked, he received a phone call from James. It seemed they had successfully established a long-term way of keeping in touch.
Vermilion City was considered one of the important cities in Kanto. Located along the coast with convenient transportation, becoming a Gym Leader here would undoubtedly be a very profitable position.
After arriving at Vermilion's harbor, Tetsuya was surprised to find that a large number of passengers were also disembarking. The entire port was packed with people.
Could Vermilion City be holding some sort of event? Curious, Tetsuya remained among the crowd for a while longer.
Not far from him, several people had gathered together and were chatting.
"Vermilion Gym officially opens tomorrow! The Kanto Region is getting another Gym."
"I heard it's an Electric-type Gym. I just wonder what kind of person this Gym Leader is. All I know is that his name is Surge."
"Nobody really knows. I heard that Gym Leaders from all over Kanto will be coming tomorrow to congratulate him. The League is organizing the whole event personally. It's definitely going to be an unprecedented occasion," An old man said as though he understood everything.
"Exactly! Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many people gathered here. It's not every day you get to see so many Gym Leaders in one place."
"That's right. I came here specifically to see Erica with c from Celadon Gym. She's my bias~" An ojisan said with a lewd grin.
"No, no, no! I think the Sensational Sisters are the most beautiful~ They're also the youngest Gym Leaders of them all! Their water ballet is absolutely… enchanting!" Several lolicons said as they repeatedly swallowed.
"…Can someone call Officer Jenny?"
"I already called!"
"Oi oi! Come on, I was just saying that, right, guys? …Guys!?"
"There are still a few mysterious Gym Leaders whose appearances we've never seen. Sabrina from Saffron Gym and the Ninja from Fuchsia Gym rarely appear in public," A bespectacled man said with the demeanor of someone who enjoyed investigating such things.
---◓---
After making his way through the crowd, Tetsuya had gained a general understanding of Vermilion City's current situation. Vermilion Gym had only just been established, and Lt. Surge was its very first Gym Leader.
Vermilion City's location was exceptionally advantageous, making this an extremely desirable position. It was far better than serving as a Gym Leader in Ecruteak City in his previous life.
From what Tetsuya knew, although Lt. Surge was fairly strong, he had always remained at the level of an elite Investigator. There was still some gap between him and the Gym Leaders who had earned their reputations through battling. It was therefore difficult to understand how Lt. Surge had become one of Kanto's flagship Gym Leaders.
Lt. Surge had merely been a retired military officer who had served as an Investigator for the Indigo League. Yet he had suddenly become a Gym Leader. Unless he had rendered extraordinary service, the only other explanation was that he had powerful backing.
What truly interested Tetsuya, however, was the Gym Leader of Fuchsia Gym. In his previous life, his greatest rival, Koga, had once served as Fuchsia Gym's Leader. Five years ago, Tetsuya had personally annihilated Koga's strongest Arbok.
Whether Koga would still successfully become Fuchsia Gym's Gym Leader in this life remained uncertain. Therefore, he had to witness tomorrow's grand event for himself!
It was about time he saw the splendor of the Kanto Region's Gym Leaders with his own eyes. More importantly, the purpose of his trip to Kanto was to meet Giovanni. Since Giovanni, as the Gym Leader of Viridian Gym, was very likely to appear here, Tetsuya had every reason to stay.
---◓---
The newly established Vermilion Gym was located near the Pokémon Center, so Tetsuya naturally stayed there. That day's Vermilion City News broadcasts were all about Vermilion Gym.
There would also be opportunities to battle against the various Gym Leaders. However, there was one prerequisite: participants had to have achieved at least a top-eight finish in one of the League Conferences.
Since Tetsuya had never participated in a League Conference, he naturally had no opportunity to challenge those Gym Leaders. It seemed he could only watch. Right now, his main priority was to improve Skorupi's combat power as soon as possible.
If Tetsuya used Mamoswine and Golurk, even veteran Kanto Gym Leaders like Blaine of Cinnabar Gym and Flint of Pewter Gym might not be able to gain much of an advantage against him. However, his other Pokémon were not a match for those two. As for Skorupi, this would simply be a good opportunity to gain battle experience.
---◓---
The next day, the gates of Vermilion Gym were opened. Many familiar faces appeared on the viewing platform. There were Gym Leaders from more than a dozen Gyms of varying sizes, with Viridian Gym occupying the seat of honor!
However, Giovanni himself was nowhere to be seen. Instead, someone dressed as a pupil of Viridian Gym stood beside his seat, apparently attending in Giovanni's place. However, he did not dare sit on equal footing with the other Gym Leaders and could only remain standing.
At the very end of the seating arrangement was Cerulean Gym.
Cerulean Gym had never been known for its battling strength. The reason it had continued to exist was to give Challengers more opportunities. More importantly, Cerulean City's unique attractions brought considerable revenue to the local government.
No one would have imagined that such a weak Gym would one day produce Misty, one of the Kanto Region's foremost Elite Four members…
Sabrina was also seated in the place reserved for Saffron Gym. However, her eyes were vacant, as though none of the people around her had anything to do with her.
The Gym Leader Tetsuya cared about the most was the one from Fuchsia Gym. It was a woman around thirty years old dressed in purple. At this point in his previous life, however, he had never paid attention to the various Gym Leaders. Nor had such a person ever appeared in the anime or manga on Earth.
As a result, Tetsuya did not recognize her and did not even know what type of Gym Fuchsia Gym currently was. As long as it wasn't Koga, that was enough.
Thinking about it, it made sense that it wasn't Koga. Koga was only about the same age as Tetsuya. No matter how quickly he had grown, even with his sensei's support, there was no Gym available for him to inherit. Becoming a Gym Leader was not something that could happen so easily.
After a while, the newly appointed Gym Leader, Lt. Surge, appeared. His imposing physique immediately left a deep impression on everyone. After him came two staff members dressed in Indigo League uniforms. Following them was an old woman with silver hair, dressed in a light purple formal gown and leaning on a cane.
She was none other than Agatha, the oldest Elite Four in Kanto. The moment Agatha appeared, every Gym Leader stood up. All the spectators stopped talking and called out in unison, "Greetings, Elite Four Agatha!"
Agatha smiled and said, "Everyone, please be seated."
From this alone, it was easy to see just how highly respected Agatha was throughout the Kanto Region.
"Today marks the official establishment of Vermilion Gym. As Kanto's first Electric-type Gym, Lt. Surge, I hope you will faithfully fulfill your duties as a Gym Leader and provide every Challenger with valuable experience for growth," Agatha said.
Although Lt. Surge was a towering man, he bowed slightly before Agatha. "Consider it done, Elite Four. I will treat every Challenger with the utmost seriousness!"
Agatha nodded. "Here, this is the Thunder Badge specially minted by the League. From now on, it will serve as the symbol of Vermilion Gym."
Lt. Surge accepted the Thunder Badge with both hands, his expression filled with emotion.