After touring Cerulean Gym and chatting for a while about the rules of tomorrow's Cerulean Water-type Pokémon Beauty Contest, along with everyone's participation plans—
Time quietly slipped away.
Before they realized it, it was already 6:40 PM.
After leaving the Gym, everyone once again climbed into Misty's sisters' convertible sports cars and headed toward the restaurant they had reserved.
As a coastal city, Cerulean was famous not only for its shipping ports and marine trade, but also for its seafood processing industries.
Seaweed factories.
Dried fish workshops.
Sea salt farms.
While these weren't visible in the city center, the farther one traveled toward the outskirts, the more numerous they became.
Gradually—
The air grew heavy with the distinct salty scent of the ocean.
Yet neither Ash, Gary, nor Green felt uncomfortable in the slightest.
After all—
Pallet Town itself was also a small seaside town.
Following the river outside town for only a few minutes would lead directly to the ocean.
So instead of discomfort—
The rich "smell of the sea" actually felt familiar and nostalgic to them.
Clarissa was equally relaxed, clearly no stranger to coastal cities either.
As the two convertibles sped through the streets—
Ash noticed countless traveling trainers wandering through the shopping districts with their Pokémon companions.
The atmosphere throughout the city was lively and bustling.
"Ever since we announced the Water-type Pokémon Beauty Contest a week ago," Lily explained while driving, "trainers from nearby cities gradually started arriving to participate."
"But after Ash helped us promote it…"
"The entire Kanto region learned about the event."
"And now more and more trainers are pouring into Cerulean every single day."
She grinned excitedly.
"You could say this contest became famous because of you, Ash."
"And because of that, Cerulean City's tourism and commercial industries are booming too."
Night had fallen.
The city lights glowed brilliantly.
And the entire city seemed immersed in a sea of excitement and celebration.
"At first, the trainers arriving from nearby cities probably came because they genuinely wanted to compete and win prizes," Lily continued.
"But later on, most of the trainers coming from all over Kanto were basically treating it as a vacation."
"And honestly…"
"The majority of contestants are your fans."
"They came because of you."
"They want to participate in the same competition as you."
"And a lot of them are hoping to get autographs and photos too."
"So Ash…"
Lily glanced at him through the rearview mirror with a mischievous smile.
"You'd better prepare yourself."
"This contest has alot of participants."
Her tone was filled with excitement.
After all—
The more successful the event became, the more beneficial it would be for Cerulean Gym's reputation and popularity.
At the same time, it would boost Cerulean City's economy and tourism industry.
The city residents would earn more money.
And since Cerulean Gym received a portion of the city's tax revenue—
Its own financial situation would improve as well.
In short—
A successful Beauty Contest would benefit both Cerulean Gym and Cerulean City immensely.
And the person most responsible for all of it—
Was Ash.
"Oh?" Ash asked curiously. "So how many contestants signed up in total?"
"The registration deadline was today at 6 PM," Lily replied excitedly.
"Earlier, Daisy and Violet checked the official Cerulean Gym website backend…"
"And there are over 600 contestants registered!"
Even Lily herself sounded thrilled saying it aloud.
After all—
The current record for the largest participation count in a regional League Conference was only 343 competitors.
Yet now—
A Water-type Pokémon Beauty Contest organized by Cerulean Gym had attracted over six hundred participants.
Nearly double that number.
The sense of accomplishment was overwhelming.
Even though Daisy, Violet, and Lily themselves weren't the official Gym Leader—
And the true heir of Cerulean Gym was their youngest sister, Misty—
That only made them feel more guilty.
More ashamed.
They often blamed themselves for lacking talent as trainers.
As older sisters—
They should have been the ones carrying the burden of reviving Cerulean Gym.
Instead—
That responsibility had fallen onto the shoulders of their youngest sister.
Ever since their parents passed away—
The four sisters had endured countless hardships trying to keep the Gym alive.
Which was why—
Seeing Cerulean Gym finally beginning to recover…
Seeing genuine hope for revival…
Lily's nose turned slightly red.
Her eyes grew moist.
If Ash and the others hadn't been sitting nearby—
She might have cried right there in the car.
"Over six hundred contestants…" Ash muttered thoughtfully.
"That means the competition probably won't finish in a single day."
His mind immediately started calculating logistics.
This also meant that for the next two or three days—
He wouldn't be able to hold sessions at the online clinic.
And the two wilderness clinics outside Pallet Town would also temporarily close.
Thankfully—
Before leaving for Cerulean City, Ash had already announced a temporary suspension notice for the online clinic.
And he had even personally "requested leave" from the wild Pokémon around Stone Bridge and Dashiwan Valley.
Still—
Ash understood one thing clearly.
Eventually—
Those wilderness clinics would have to close permanently.
The surrounding wild Pokémon needed to gradually adapt to that reality.
Otherwise—
If they became too dependent on his Healing Grace and started recklessly injuring themselves because they knew Ash would always heal them—
That would become a serious problem.
—
Cerulean City at night was extraordinarily lively.
After dinner—
Misty and her sisters led Ash and the others around the bustling night markets and shopping streets.
However—
The moment someone recognized Ash—
Everything exploded.
Huge numbers of fans and tourists instantly crowded around him asking for autographs and photos.
The crowd became so massive that an entire street ended up completely blocked.
After experiencing that chaos firsthand—
Ash decisively learned his lesson.
He immediately ran into a nearby convenience store—
And bought himself a face mask.
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