Ash and May headed toward Petalburg City, the location of the first Gym in the Hoenn region!!
Along the way, Ash continuously used his Aura to scout the route and sense the Aura of the Pokémon they encountered, improving his control over his newly awakened power.
After a night of practice and further training along the way, Ash still hadn’t mastered the ability to form an Aura Sphere.
However, he could now use his Aura to scout the road ahead and sense the unique Auras of nearby Pokémon.
“So, this is Petalburg City!
Come on, Pikachu!
Hurry up, May!” Ash shouted as he and Pikachu ran into the city.
“Ah!
Ash, wait for me!
There’s no need to be in such a hurry, you know!” May said as she ran after them.
“Ash…
are we really going to challenge the Petalburg Gym?” May asked cautiously.
“Of course!
If you want to compete in the Hoenn League, you need all eight Badges!
So once we defeat the Petalburg Gym, we’ll get our first Badge!
By the way, May, aren’t you from around here?
Do you know where the Petalburg Gym is?”
Knowing that May was the daughter of the Petalburg Gym Leader, Ash deliberately teased her.
“Uh…
I’m not really familiar with it either.
Oh, right!
I just remembered that I have something to do!
I’ll go ahead first.
See you later!” Σ(ﾟДﾟ;) May awkwardly made her escape!
“Definitely suspicious, right, Pikachu?”
“Pika~”
“Don’t tell me she’s like Misty!
She’s exactly like Misty was back then!”
“Pika-Pika~”
“Come on!
Let’s just go to the Petalburg Gym and find out!”
“Pika~”
Ash and Pikachu arrived at the entrance of the Petalburg Gym.
Looking at the house with the Pokémon League Gym sign hanging outside, Ash honestly wouldn’t have believed it was a Gym without that sign.
He stepped forward and knocked on the door.
“Excuse me?
Is anyone home?
I’m Ash from Pallet Town, and I’m here to challenge the Gym!”
Click!
The door opened.
“You’re so noisy!
I’m watching a recording of the Silver Conference!” A boy wearing green clothes and glasses appeared in front of Ash, rubbing his eyes while holding a book.
He was none other than May’s younger brother—the second child of Norman and Caroline—Max.
“Ah, I’m really sorry!”
“Ah!
You…
you’re!
You’re the contestant who just competed in the Silver Conference!
You lost in the second round, though!
Your name is…
Allen, right?”
Max first looked excited, then immediately put on a disdainful expression.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he continued, “You were defeated by that Blaziken!
If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t have lost!”
“…It’s Ash.” Ash rolled his eyes and replied helplessly to this kid who only knew how to talk big from the sidelines.
Then Max noticed Pikachu sitting on Ash’s shoulder and immediately became excited again.
He actually reached out and hugged Pikachu, rubbing his cheek against him!
“Wow!
Pikachu is so awesome!
Hi, my name is Max!”
“Pika~CHU!”
“Ahhh~!”
Pikachu wasn’t used to being hugged by strangers, much less having someone rub their face against him.
Without holding back in the slightest, Pikachu blasted Max with a Thunderbolt, knocking him to the ground!
Pikachu then freed himself and quickly jumped back onto Ash’s shoulder.
“You’re here to challenge the Gym, right?
Well, I am the Petalburg Gym Leader!” Max immediately got back on his feet, put his hands on his hips, puffed out his chest, and declared.
“You?
You probably aren’t even a Pokémon Trainer, and you’re calling yourself a Gym Leader?” Ash looked Max up and down with obvious disdain.
“What did you say?!” ヽ(｀д′)ノ
Max instantly exploded with anger.
“Max, what are you doing?” At that moment, May heard the commotion and poked her head out of a window.
“Ah!
Sis, it’s him!
He’s here to pick a fight with the Gym!” Max immediately shouted before Ash could explain.
…(￢_￢) Well, technically that’s true, but “challenging the Gym” sounds so much better than “coming to pick a fight with the Gym,” okay?
We’re civilized people here!
“Hey, May!
Fancy seeing you again!
So you really are from the Petalburg Gym.”
“Ah!
Haha!
Ash, you got here so quickly!
But…
how did you know?” May tried to play dumb.
(/(°∞°))
“Remember when I told you about my former traveling companion, Misty?
She acted exactly the same way when I went to the Cerulean Gym.”
Ash explained.
Besides, he knew the plot, and now that he had awakened Aura powers, he could easily tell that May was here!
“Ah, really?!” May awkwardly came outside.
“Hey, Sis, you know him?” Max asked.
“Yeah.
Ash and I traveled here together.”
At that moment, a couple entered from outside.
“Hi, welcome!” they greeted, inviting Ash inside to sit down and talk.
“Let me introduce you.
These are my mom and dad, and this is my younger brother, Max,” May said as she introduced everyone.
“Hello, my name is Norman.”
“Hello, I’m Caroline.”
“Mom, Dad, this is Ash.
We traveled to Petalburg City together, and he’s here to challenge the Gym.
Dad, Ash is really strong!
He defeated both Team Rocket and Team Magma!” May continued.
“Hello!
I’m Ash from Pallet Town, and this is my partner, Pikachu!”
“Pikachu~”
“Oh!
You defeated Team Rocket and Team Magma?
That’s impressive!” Norman said in surprise.
“Thank you very much for bringing May back safely!
Otherwise, this child could have been in danger!” Caroline said.
“Not at all, not at all!
I was just lucky.
Besides, when you come across something like that, you can’t just stand by and do nothing!”
“Oh, right!
May, where’s your bicycle?” Caroline suddenly noticed May.
“Uh…
actually, my bicycle was…” Before May could finish, Ash quickly explained what had happened.
“Pika~”
Pikachu scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“I’m sorry.
I’ll pay for the bicycle.”
“It’s fine.
Unexpected things happen during a journey!
Don’t worry about it!
Besides, traveling on foot is more down-to-earth!” Norman said nonchalantly.
“That’s right!
Traveling on foot is much better for your health!
It’s only a bicycle, after all!” Caroline added politely.
“That’s great!
Thank you both!” Ash sighed in relief.
“Pika~”
Pikachu also thanked them.
“By the way, May, what Pokémon did you get from Professor Birch?” Norman asked May with a smile.
“Yeah, Sis!
What Pokémon did you get?” (*_*;) Max looked at his sister with anticipation and envy.
It had to be said that although Max could be rather annoying, his love for Pokémon was no less than Ash’s!
“It’s this one!
Come on out, Torchic!”
“Chamo~”
“Ah!
You chose Torchic?
I think Treecko is much better than that!” Max said, his face full of disappointment as he looked disdainfully at Torchic.
“Chamo~” (╬ Ò﹏Ó)
Torchic became furious and immediately started pecking at Max’s butt.
“Ahh~!
Stop!
Torchic!”
Max ran all over the yard with Torchic chasing after him.
“Choosing Torchic as your first Pokémon?
You have a good eye.”
“That’s right.
It’s quite adorable.”
“Told you so!” (*≧ω≦)
May was delighted to receive her parents’ approval.
“That’s so awesome!
I want a Pokémon too!
Although I’d prefer a Treecko!”
Max immediately started asking for trouble again.
The Torchic that had only just stopped instantly charged at him without hesitation.
“Ow!
Stop!
Don’t peck me anymore!”
Seeing this, the others simply shook their heads and ignored Max, letting the two of them continue their little chase.
“Ash, would you like to stay and have lunch with us?”
“Yes, Ash.
It’s already noon.
Have lunch with us before the Gym battle!”
Norman and Caroline warmly invited Ash to stay for lunch.
“Sure!
Thank you, Mr.
And Mrs.
Norman.”
Ash then had lunch with the Norman family.
As they ate, everyone chatted around the dining table.
“Ash, have you been traveling all this time?” Caroline asked.
“Yes.
I’ve already traveled through the Kanto region, the Orange Archipelago, and the Johto region.
Now I’m beginning my journey through Hoenn.”
Ash answered after taking a bite of his sandwich.
“That’s amazing!
You’ve traveled through so many places!” Max looked at Ash with envy.
“Traveling all by yourself is really impressive,” Caroline said with admiration.
“Actually, I only traveled alone at the very beginning.
After that, I traveled with the friends I met along the way!
And besides, I had Pikachu and my other Pokémon with me!”
“That’s right.
When traveling, having companions is the best,” Norman agreed.
“Yeah!
It makes the journey much livelier and much more fun.”
“That’s so cool!
Being able to travel with friends…
I’m really jealous!” Max said as he ran over to Ash.
“Ash, the Petalburg Gym battle will be a three-on-three match.
That shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Norman asked.
“No problem!
I’m ready!”
To be continued…