Celadon City was alive with color.
Flowering trees lined the wide avenues. Banners drifted in the wind between tall buildings. Shops overflowed with sweets, perfumes, and decorative charms. It smelled of spring—floral, clean, hopeful.
Skylar stepped out of the gate tunnel and took a deep breath.
"It doesn't feel like a battlefield," he said.
Misty smiled beside him. "That's Erika's legacy. Celadon is the heart of beauty and balance. She turned her Gym into a garden of serenity."
Skylar glanced at the skyline.
"Let's see how that serenity handles a Charizard."
The Gym was overgrown with ivy, but inside it was pristine—wide stone paths between rows of blooming cherry trees and giant sunflowers. A warm mist hung in the air, rich with pollen and chlorophyll.
Erika no longer led the Gym, having stepped down to become a full-time herbalist and researcher.
Her replacement was a soft-spoken trainer named Kaede, who bowed as Skylar entered.
"You carry intensity in your aura," she said. "Your presence rustles the petals."
Skylar didn't smile.
"I'm here for the Rainbow Badge."
Kaede blinked slowly. "Very well. Let the garden test your fire."
Kaede opened with Leavanny, who darted between flowering platforms, spinning silk traps between trees.
Skylar sent out Charizard without hesitation.
Kaede's Leavanny launched a flurry of Leaf Blades—
Charizard didn't move.
The attacks struck his chest.
They barely left a mark.
"Flamethrower." Skylar's voice didn't rise.
Charizard opened his maw and unleashed a stream of searing flame.
The entire platform erupted in fire and light.
Leavanny fainted before it hit the ground.
Kaede's second Pokémon was Vileplume, who tried to create a cloud of Stun Spore and Aromatherapy.
"Air Slash."
The winds tore through the mist like knives.
Vileplume was launched into a bed of moss and didn't rise again.
Kaede bowed deeply.
"The fire was stronger than the bloom."
She stepped forward and offered the Rainbow Badge—a gleaming petal-shaped symbol of Celadon's garden.
Skylar took it quietly and nodded once.
Misty leaned over and whispered, "You really are on a speedrun."
Later that afternoon, after healing their team, Misty tugged on Skylar's arm with a mischievous grin.
"Come on. You owe me."
Skylar blinked. "For what?"
"For dragging me through two straight cities without a single break."
He sighed in defeat.
"What are we doing?"
She pointed toward a tall glass building surrounded by roses and stylized signs.
"The Celadon Perfume Boutique. Famous throughout Kanto."
Skylar raised an eyebrow. "That's… where you want to go?"
Misty smirked. "You're the one who's always serious. Let me balance things."
Inside, the boutique was elegant and fragrant. Misty wandered among the counters with stars in her eyes, lifting bottles and sniffing delicate aromas—floral, spicy, oceanic.
Skylar followed quietly, watching her, not the displays.
Eventually, she found a perfume that made her pause.
A light aquatic scent with an undercurrent of spice.
"This one reminds me of you," she said, handing him the bottle.
Skylar blinked.
"I smell like sea breeze and pepper?"
She laughed.
"No. I mean—it's calm but sharp. Like you."
Skylar stared at the bottle.
Then smiled and nodded.
"I'll buy it."
Before they left the boutique, Skylar paused at the TM machine in the corner.
He pulled out his wallet and tapped the screen.
Two discs slid out:
Bounce
Hydro Pump
Misty raised an eyebrow. "Those are for…?"
Skylar smiled.
"The Magikarp."
She blinked.
"You're already investing?"
"They're going to be monsters one day," he said. "I want to be ready."
That evening, they sat by the rooftop pond behind the Pokémon Center, watching the city lights shimmer off the surface.
The two golden Magikarp splashed playfully, unaware of how carefully their future was being shaped.
Misty leaned her head on Skylar's shoulder.
"You're moving fast."
Skylar nodded.
"But every step counts."