Absolutely!

You stand outside the Cerulean Gym once again. You’ve been tricked into wearing a dangerous swimsuit, you’ve had a spotlight shone on your inexperience, and you’ve been left to a tentacle monster to have its way with you. But still, you stand confident that this time, things will be different.

Walking inside, you see Misty standing at the other side of the pool once again, but her hair is pulled into a short side ponytail and she’s dressed much differently than before. Rather than a swimsuit, she wears a yellow shirt that leaves her belly completely exposed, shorts that are baggy around her slender waist but aren’t much longer than yours, and red suspenders that sit on either side of her perky boobs, pressing them together. She seems preoccupied with pointing at things and ordering people around. A lot of people seem busy today. Is this not a good time…?

Misty gasps as soon as she lays eyes on you. “Rookie! You made it! Okay okay, go stand on the other end of the pool and we’ll have our battle. That’s what you’re here for, right?”

You nod. “That’s right Misty, you’re-“ A man rushes over to Misty and whispers in her ear, rudely cutting off your proclamation. “-fish food…” you grumble, taking your position opposite her.

The man runs off, and Misty calls out, “Hope you’re ready rookie!” You are. You take out your pokeball, and…

The ground beneath you starts shaking as the sound of machines fills the room. You look around the room in a panic, noticing the walls starting to sink before being knocked off balance and falling on your butt. Wait, no, the walls aren’t sinking. You’re being lifted up! The whole pool and its surrounding area, including you and Misty, are slowly lifting up towards the ceiling, which is opening up to reveal a vibrant sky. You want to ask what’s going on, but there’s no way Misty could hear you over the metallic whirring, so you hold on to the ground as you slowly ascend.

When you reach the top, you find that you’re surrounded by seats filled with people, the audience count easily breaking a thousand, maybe even two. What. What. WHAT. Why? Why is this happening? You have stage fright. You’re dying. You’d like to crawl into a hole and die now. Thanks.

A man runs up and hands a microphone off to Misty before running off and out of the way. “Welcome! Everyone! To the Third Annual Cerulean Gym Battle Exhibition!” The crowd roars while you contemplate where you went wrong in life to end up in this situation. “We have some real talent here that we’ve managed to pull in from across the region, so I hope you’re ready for some intense battles! But before we get to the experienced trainers and their cool tricks, I thought it would be nice to give a little exposure to a gutsy upstart trainer out to make a name for herself. What’s your name, rookie?”

As you continue sitting on the ground, the man next to you has to practically push the microphone into your cheek to snap you back to reality. You take the microphone with shaking hands and say, “E-E-Em-milia.”

“Emilia here aims to take down the Pokemon League and become a Pokemon Master! However, she’s has already lost dismally here at the Cerulean Gym after walking in here with only a single pokemon. She’s expanded her team (I hope) and is here to prove that she’s got more than just guts! Will she earn the Cascade Badge this time around? Or does her journey end here, unable to beat her very first gym? Let’s hear it for Emilia!”

The crowd goes wild as you scan your surroundings with a look of total dismay. You… You actually have to do this? Battle in front of a crowd despite what’s on the line? You can’t do it. There’s no way. You… You…

You let out a scream of frustration as you rise to your feet, and the crowd cheers once again, apparently interpreting your scream as a battlecry. If this is how it has to be, then FINE. You’ll beat Misty at her own game in front of all these people, making your name known as the new trainer who’s sweeping her way across Kanto!

…Assuming you don’t ****!