"To compete in the regional championships, you need to beat Gym Trainers from different towns and get their badges as proof. Can you do that, Ash?" a red-haired girl asked smugly, eyeing the boy with the red cap pulled down over his spiky, unkempt hair.
"Of course I can, Misty!" Ash replied with enthusiasm.
"Well then, you should start with the Pewter Gym first," a voice called out from behind.
The sudden interruption made both Ash and Misty turn around.
"Cyrus? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping Professor Oak at the lab?" Ash asked, blinking in surprise at the familiar face.
"You know this guy, Ash?" Misty asked, glancing between the two with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, he's Professor Oak's assistant back in Pallet Town. But I don't know why he's here and not at the lab," Ash replied, still visibly confused.
"I'm honestly not surprised you didn't realise I wasn't there when you picked up your first Pokémon," Cyrus said with a sigh. "I actually left the lab earlier that same day. I decided it was finally time to begin my own journey."
"Oh… sorry, I didn't notice," Ash said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with an awkward grin.
"Of course an airhead like you wouldn't notice," Misty remarked with a teasing smirk.
"Hey!" Ash shot back, but before he could say anything else, Misty turned to Cyrus.
"I'm Misty, by the way. Nice to meet you," she said, extending a hand.
"Cyrus," he replied with a nod, shaking her hand briefly.
"So," Ash interrupted, clearly trying to steer the conversation back, "did you say there's a Gym here in Pewter City?"
"Yeah," Cyrus said with a calm nod. "His name's Brock. I just battled him."
Ash's eyes widened. "Wait, you're doing the Gym Challenge too? Did you beat him?"
Before Cyrus could respond, Misty rolled her eyes. "Obviously, if he battled Brock, he's doing the Gym Challenge too. Try to keep up, Ash."
Ash frowned and crossed his arms. "I am keeping up!"
Cyrus glanced between the two of them, Misty's sarcasm and Ash's frustration bouncing off each other like clockwork. It was oddly familiar. Reminded him of the kind of bickering he'd sometimes overhear between younger trainers at Professor Oak's lab. He let out a quiet breath through his nose, not quite a sigh, but close.
He was about to respond when a low, deliberate chuckle echoed from behind.
The three turned around. And were greeted by an older man with a red beanie and a messy beard. 'This must be Brock's dad, I think his name was Flint,' Cyrus thought as a look of recognition briefly crossed his face.
"Don't tell me you plan on challenging Brock, the Pewter City gym leader?" Flint asked mockingly.
"Of course I do! As soon as Pikachu and my other Pokemon are better, I'll have no problem. Take me to this Brock's gym. I'll beat him!" Ash replies, clearly riled up by Flint's provocation. His irritation only grows as Flint continues to chuckle, mockingling repeating "you'll beat him" as if he thought it was a joke.
"Hey Cyrus. Huh? Where did he go? I wanted to ask him about his gym battle." By the time Ash turned around Cyrus had already gotten his Aron checked out with Nurse Joy and left on his bike towards Mt. Moon. 'I was curious, but clearly no butterfly effect from me being here has kicked in yet, it's still exactly following what happened in the anime. Well it doesn't really matter to me either way, I'll just stick to my plan and come out on top.' He smirked as he continued riding towards his next destination.
One Day Later
Cyrus didn't have much trouble making it through Mt.Moon; if it wasn't for constantly stopping along the way to train with Aron and needing to camp out in the mountain overnight, he could have made it through in a few hours.
'If I'm not wrong, I should be able to cut through the forest and head straight to Celadon City from here instead of turning left to go to Cerulean City. That way, I'll get more time to work with Aron on those new moves.' With his plans determined, Cyrus smiled and continued on his journey.
After spending another night in the forest, training with Aron to learn new moves whilst also refining his existing moves and strategies, Cyrus was finally able to reach the destination of his next gym battle. Making his way through the city, Cyrus finally found a building based around the grass, poison-type Pokémon, Gloom. As he put his bike away and made his way up the large staircase, Cyrus smirked, 'Aron should be ready to beat Erica without any trouble. Well, let's see how it goes.'