Pokemon: I'll Exchange Everything

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Early the next morning, Liam and Bruno were woken up by the sound of Lorelei knocking on their door.

Liam, still half-asleep, opened the door and saw Lorelei standing there, already dressed neatly. She had even changed into a new pair of sandals and stood at the door with an impatient expression.

"What are you up to this early?"

"No nonsense! Hurry up and get ready! Wash up and eat breakfast quickly! Once we're done eating, I'm going to get my revenge! I wasn't in the right state yesterday, so that old man won the battle. But today, I'm full of confidence! I'm definitely going to teach that smart old man a lesson! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Lorelei rattled off her words in one breath, then shoved Liam back into the room, handing him a toothbrush and toothpaste, urging him to wash up quickly.

Liam was still completely dazed. With a blank expression, he took the toothbrush and toothpaste from Lorelei and wandered into the bathroom, utterly confused.

After freshening up, Liam finally regained some clarity. Looking outside at the barely lit sky, he felt a pang of distress. He didn't even need to check the time—there was no way it was past six yet. 

This was pure torture.

With a deadpan expression, Liam walked out of the bathroom, only to have a bundle of clothes thrown at him. Reflexively catching them, he looked down and saw his jacket and pants. 

He then looked up at Lorelei with wide eyes.

Lorelei's face had a strange pink tint to it. Under Liam's intense stare, she became visibly uncomfortable, her gaze shifting awkwardly.

"W-What are you standing around for? Hurry up and get dressed, then come downstairs for breakfast! Bruno already has all eight badges, so we don't need to worry about him. Move it! I'll be waiting downstairs!"

With that, she rushed downstairs, her face still flushed.

Liam's mouth opened, but no words came out. Internally, however, he was shouting:"What the hell did you do to my clothes?!"

Shaking his head, he walked to the bed, put on his clothes, and then kicked the still-giggling Bruno, who was muffling his laughter under the blanket. 

After that, he closed the door behind him and headed downstairs.

Lorelei was already seated and having breakfast. When she saw Liam coming down, she quickly lowered her head and silently focused on her food.

Liam wasn't sure what to say, so he simply sat down and quickly finished his breakfast. Without further delay, the two set off for Cinnabar Gym.

....

Standing in front of the research-facility-like gym once again, Liam pressed the doorbell. He had expected that it might be too early for anyone to be inside yet, but to his surprise, as soon as the bell rang, a voice came through the intercom. 

The voice had a distinct aged quality to it.

"Hello? Who is it? What's the matter?"

"As expected of an old man—no wonder he's up this early." Liam thought to himself before quickly responding, "Hello, we're challengers here for a gym battle. Sorry for disturbing you this early. Would it be possible to have a battle now?"

Liam had already braced himself to get scolded. After all, it really was quite early, and most people would still be sleeping.

However, the reply from the intercom caught him off guard.

"Hahaha! So, you're challengers? Wonderful, wonderful! I'll open the door for you right away. It's rare to see such diligent challengers nowadays. Come on in, I'll meet you at the entrance."

With that, the intercom cut off, and the gym's doors slowly began to open.

Liam was speechless. 

"Now this is what a real Gym Leader should be like! Look at the ones I've dealt with before—schemers, henpecked husbands, arrogant show-offs, secret sadists, sis-cons... Finally, a normal one! It's not easy, I tell you!" he said dramatically to Lorelei.

Lorelei twitched at his words but didn't respond, walking straight into the gym.

Liam followed her inside. After taking only a few steps, they heard hurried footsteps approaching. Soon, an elderly man in a lab coat appeared before them.

The man was clearly quite old, likely over fifty. He had a receding hairline, and the few strands of hair remaining were already gray. 

A pair of sunglasses sat on his face, and he had a distinctive mustache.

"Welcome to Cinnabar Gym! I am Blaine, the Gym Leader and owner of this research facility... Hmm? Aren't you the little girl who challenged me yesterday? What's this? Recovered already and back for another round?"

Blaine greeted Lorelei with a broad smile.

Lorelei snorted coldly, clearly dissatisfied.

"Hmph! Old man! I lost yesterday because I was careless. Today, I'm at my peak, and I'm going to win back everything I lost!"

Liam frowned slightly at Lorelei's words and gently tugged her arm before turning to Blaine with a polite smile.

"I'm sorry about that, Blaine. My friend can be a bit blunt, but she didn't mean any disrespect. Please don't take it personally. By the way, I'm Liam, from Pallet Town."

Blaine looked at Liam with a meaningful gaze before suddenly laughing heartily.

"Hah! Why would I take offense? It's good for young people to have spirit! Being unwilling to accept defeat is an admirable trait. You should hold onto that... Liam, huh? Wait.. What's your connection to Samuel Oak?"

Liam blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected that question. But after thinking about it, there was no reason to hide it.

"I'm Professor Oak's assistant. I used to help him take care of the Pokémon at his lab. Is there a problem?"

Upon hearing Liam's confirmation, Blaine's face lit up with excitement.

"Haha! So it really is you! I thought it was just a coincidence in names, but you're the young assistant Professor Oak always praises! He's mentioned how much you've contributed to his research. Impressive, impressive! Professor Oak has truly found an excellent assistant. Say, how about dropping by here sometime to do some research with me? We could have some fascinating discussions!"

Blaine's eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he looked at Liam.

"... Haha... If I have the time, I'd love to visit." Liam awkwardly laughed, unable to outright refuse.

"Great! Fantastic! Haha! Such wonderful news early in the morning—today must be my lucky day! Oh! Look at me rambling. I almost forgot—you two came here for a Gym battle! Follow me, I'll take you to the battlefield."

Blaine slapped his forehead as he realized his blunder, then led them deeper into the gym.

Since Lorelei had already been here yesterday, she navigated the facility with ease. Soon, they arrived at a massive battle room. Blaine walked to the side and pulled down a heavy lever.

A loud rumbling filled the room. The floor shifted and began to rise, forming a towering battlefield. But that wasn't all. Once the platform was fully elevated, the ground around it sank, revealing a wide moat-like channel. 

Before Liam could wonder about its purpose, searing hot lava surged up from below, filling the channel in the blink of an eye. Flames and heat waves rose, instantly raising the room's temperature.

"What the—?!" Liam's eyes widened in shock.

Lorelei, having already seen this before, wasn't fazed. She shot him a condescending look.

"Hahaha! Surprised? Cinnabar Island is a volcanic island, so there's real magma flowing underground. I designed the battlefield to make use of it! Pretty unique, isn't it? So, will it be just the little girl challenging me again today, or do you want to battle too, Liam?"

Blaine smoothed his mustache, pleased with Liam's reaction.

"I'm here for a Gym battle as well. I already have seven badges, so I'm determined to get the Volcano Badge today." Liam declared confidently.

"Excellent! Since both of you want to challenge me, let's make this a special battle!"

Blaine walked to the Gym Leader's podium, then grinned at them.

"A special battle?" Liam and Lorelei exchanged glances, confused.

"Yes! A two-on-one battle! You both will fight together against me! If you win, you'll both get the Volcano Badge!"

Lorelei's face darkened. 

"Old man, are you looking down on us?"

Blaine shook his head. 

"Not at all. In fact, I think it'll be tougher for you. Working as a team might disrupt your rhythm, giving me the advantage."

Liam smirked, stepping forward.

"Sounds fun. I accept!"

And so, the battle began.