The corners of Yuuto's mouth curled up into a wide, uncontrollable grin.
*Wait… System, what are you doing?*
*Are you picking on the Cerulean Gym specifically?*
He recalled the rewards from the previous two Gyms, then looked at the new one for Cerulean.
A private photo album of the Cerulean Four Sisters… and a collector's unreleased deluxe edition?
Yuuto almost burst out laughing.
The sudden shift in the System's style was way too ridiculous!
But on second thought, he understood the logic perfectly.
Mission rewards were scaled according to the difficulty of the challenge.
And the Cerulean Gym… well, how should he put it?
Among all the official Gyms in the Kanto region, Cerulean could probably be ranked in the bottom three weakest.
It might even be dead last.
Yuuto went through his memories.
When Misty's parents had still run the Gym, Cerulean had at least been a respectable mid-tier Water-type Gym with some real strength.
But ever since it was handed over to Misty's three older sisters—Sakura, Ayame, and Botan—the entire Gym had gone completely off track.
It ranked last in League inspections every single year.
Its evaluation scores were always the worst.
The Gym's ranking had slid from mid-tier all the way down to low-tier, and it was still dropping.
He had even heard rumors that the League was considering revoking Cerulean's status as an official city Gym.
Yuuto glanced at Misty, who was happily jumping around and poking at wildflowers by the roadside, and shook his head helplessly.
Those three sisters of hers… how should he describe them?
They weren't lazy.
They just poured every ounce of their energy into everything *except* Pokémon battles.
All their focus went into skincare, fashion, makeup, and beauty routines.
They studied the latest lipstick shades instead of Water-type move combinations.
They practiced swimsuit poses instead of training their Pokémon.
Their Gym exhibition matches had turned into full-blown water ballet performances.
Pokémon battle knowledge? It probably stopped at the basic fact that "Water beats Fire."
Nurturing and training? What was that? Could you eat it?
But then again… since they poured all that energy into their bodies and looks…
The quality of this "private photo album" might actually be *very* high?
Yuuto's thoughts drifted for a moment.
Sakura, the eldest—tall, gentle, with graceful curves.
Ayame, the second—lively and cheerful with incredible proportions.
Botan, the third—artistic and delicate with fair, flawless skin.
And Misty, the youngest—bursting with youthful vitality and a great foundation.
The Four Flowers of Cerulean.
If this really was a collector's unreleased edition… ahem.
Yuuto coughed lightly and pulled his thoughts back.
That was a story for later.
Right now, the Cerulean Gym really was weak enough to justify such a reward.
Misty would eventually shoulder the responsibility of reviving it—overcoming her fear of Gyarados, mastering Mega Evolution, and single-handedly dragging the Gym's rank back up.
But that was still in the future.
Right now she was…
Yuuto glanced again at Misty, who was crouching by the roadside trying to poke a Caterpie with a stick—only to scream and jump back in fright the moment it moved.
Yeah.
She still had a long way to go.
Just as Yuuto was mentally sketching out the possible "contents" of the photo album, a new system prompt rang out.
[Ding! Emotional Line Mission triggered!]
[Emotional Line Mission: Help Misty build confidence in front of her sisters, make them look at her in a new light, and support her training.]
[Mission Reward: Mystic Water—When held by a Pokémon, the power of Water-type moves increases by 20%.]
Yuuto's eyes lit up.
*So the real good stuff comes from the emotional line.*
Mystic Water!
This was an actual combat item.
A flat 20% boost to all Water-type move power was practically a god-tier buff for any Water-type specialist.
*As expected of the original-series mermaid. The weight of her plotline mission is on a completely different level.*
Challenging the Gym only gave a photo album.
But helping Misty build confidence gave a genuine battle-enhancing item.
Yuuto didn't need anyone to explain how important the female lead was.
But… why was it labeled an "Emotional Line Mission"?
He pondered for a moment.
*Is the System getting impatient because I've spent the last two days focused entirely on grinding combat power and Gym challenges? Has the emotional progress been too slow?*
*Oh, System, System…*
Yuuto shook his head inwardly with a small smile.
He was someone who valued real emotions.
He wasn't the type to launch a full assault the moment he saw a beautiful girl.
Feelings needed time to develop naturally.
Especially with Misty's personality.
She acted tough and carefree on the outside, but she was actually very sensitive inside.
She was a total tomboy, yet completely clueless when it came to romance.
This kind of thing had to be done slowly—like boiling a frog in lukewarm water.
Open her heart bit by bit.
And…
Yuuto's thoughts drifted again.
This wasn't just about Misty.
It was very likely… a full Cerulean Four Sisters package.
The gentle and considerate eldest sister, Sakura.
The lively and open second sister, Ayame.
The artistic and delicate third sister, Botan.
And the youngest, full of youthful energy—Misty.
If he could have them all… ahem.
No need to rush.
Take it slow.
The System was clearly a single System with zero experience in these matters.
This kind of thing, he would handle himself.
Just as Yuuto was teasing the System in his heart and quietly mapping out his future plans—
"Hey, Yuuto!"
Misty suddenly leaned in close.
She bent down and stared at his waist, her big eyes full of curiosity.
"Your pants moved!"
"Huh?"
Yuuto was stunned.
*My pants moved?*
*I only thought about the sisters' package deal. I'm not that sensitive, am I?*
He looked down.
It wasn't his pants.
One of the Poké Balls on his belt was vibrating and shaking slightly.
It was Metapod's ball.
Yuuto reacted instantly.
Counting the days since he had caught it…
"It's evolving?"
He immediately unclipped the vibrating Poké Ball and pressed the button.
White light flashed.
Metapod appeared on the grass beside the path.
Its emerald-green pupa shell shimmered faintly in the sunlight.
At that moment, a faint *crack* sounded from the surface of the hard shell.
Fine cracks began spreading from the top.
Delia noticed the commotion and jogged over right away.
"Is Metapod… about to evolve?"
She pressed her hands together against her chest, eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"It seems so!" Yuuto squatted down and observed closely.
More and more cracks appeared across the shell.
A white light faintly seeped through the crevices.
"It's evolving! It's evolving!" Misty leaned in too.
Although she was usually afraid of Bug-types, she was still excited about the romantic transformation of "emerging from the cocoon as a butterfly."
Especially since Metapod evolved into Butterfree.
She wasn't scared of butterflies.
Butterflies were beautiful.
All three of them focused intently on Metapod.
The cracks widened.
The white light grew brighter and brighter.
The glow spilling from the shell almost completely enveloped the pupa.
Misty excitedly grabbed Yuuto's arm and shook it hard.
"Ah~ It's coming out, Yuuto! It's coming out~!"
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