Just as Norman was about to take Ash inside the Gym, the wall suddenly exploded open!
“Ah!
What happened?!” Σ(ﾟдﾟ; )!?
May stared at the shattered wall.
“Wahahaha!
…” (Team Rocket’s motto)
“Ah!
It’s you guys—and that talking Meowth!” ╭(°A°`)╮
May pointed at Team Rocket.
“Oh, so you’re May’s friends!
Thank you for always looking after our May.” Caroline said politely.
(ﾟДﾟ;≡;ﾟДﾟ)
One sentence, and everyone fell silent!!!
‘Ma’am, not to mention that they’re Team Rocket, but they literally just blew up your house!
How could they possibly be May’s friends?!’ Ash complained inwardly.
“Mom, they’re not my friends!
They’re bad guys who steal other people’s Pokémon!” May hurriedly explained.
“Exactly!
They just blew a hole in our house’s wall!
How could they possibly be my sister’s friends?” Max added from the side.
“Hey, hey!
What do you mean, May’s friends?!
We’re the famous Team Rocket!
How could we possibly be friends with that little girl?!” Jessie shouted angrily.
“I choose you, Pikachu!”
“Pika~!”
Ash wasted no time and immediately sent out his Pokémon.
“Hmph!
No matter what, Pikachu is ours!
Go, Arbok!”
“Go, Weezing!
Use Smokescreen!”
Weezing released a cloud of black smoke, instantly blocking everyone’s vision!
“Everyone, be careful!” Norman shouted.
“Ahahaha!
Arbok, use Poison Sting!”
“Weezing, Sludge attack!”
‘Aura is with me!’
Ash expanded his Aura power, successfully locating Team Rocket and determining the direction of their attacks!
“Pikachu, to your right!
Dodge it!
Pidgeot, come out!
Use Gust!” Ash shouted.
“Pika~!”
Boom—!!
“Pikachu, are you okay?”
“Pika~!”
“Pidgeot!”
Pidgeot’s Gust dispersed the smoke, revealing Team Rocket again!
“What’s going on?!
How did the twerp know which direction we were attacking from?”
“It’s a mystery, meow.”
“Go!
Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!
Pidgeot, use Hyper Beam!”
“Slaking, use Hyper Beam too!”
Bang!
Boom~
“What an unpleasant feeling!”
“Wobbuffet~ (╥﹏╥)”
“Sigh…
the Gym has been damaged.
I’m afraid we can’t use it for a while.
Ash, come back after some time once the Gym has been repaired,” Norman said helplessly.
“Alright.
What a shame!
But that works out too.
Next time, I can challenge the Gym with the new Pokémon I’ve caught in Hoenn.
Uncle Norman, could you have a practice battle with me?”
‘Slaking’s strength…
it’s at the initial quasi-Elite Four level’
‘As expected of Norman’s Pokémon.
This probably isn’t even his ace Slaking—perhaps it doesn’t even count as part of his second-string team.
After all, Norman is known as a candidate for the Elite Four,’ Ash thought to himself.
“No problem!
Come on, I’ll take you to the place where I train my Pokémon.
There’s plenty of open space there.”
Norman then led Ash to the training grounds.
“Uncle Norman, how about a two-on-two battle?
I have two Pokémon around the Normal level.
Could you use one Pokémon at the Elite level?”
“Sure.
No problem!”
“I choose you, Eevee!”
“Vee~!”
A proud Eevee appeared before them.
“Go, Slakoth!
Ash, you attack first!”
[Slakoth]
[Strength: Peak Normal level]
[Moves: Yawn, Slack Off, Headbutt, Scratch, Zen Headbutt, Brick Break]
“Alright!
Eevee, use Sand Attack first, then Swift!”
“Vee~!”
Stars formed around Eevee’s tail and shot toward Slakoth.
“Slakoth, take it, then use Brick Break!”
Bang!
“Slak~!”
After taking the attack, Slakoth’s hand glowed white as it swung down toward Eevee!
“Eevee, use Dig to dodge!”
Eevee quickly burrowed underground.
Bang!
Slakoth struck the hole, and then its Ability activated, causing it to become sluggish.
“Perfect!
Eevee, use our secret weapon—Copycat!”
Eevee emerged from the ground, its forepaw glowing white as it struck Slakoth!
“Oh no!
Slakoth!”
Fortunately, although Slakoth had been hit by a super-effective attack, it managed to endure!
“Phew, thank goodness!
Ash, I didn’t expect you to catch me off guard like that.
Slakoth, use Slack Off!”
“Slak~!”
Slakoth lay down and began resting, gradually recovering its stamina!
“I didn’t expect it to hold on.
But—Eevee, use Double Kick!”
“Vee~!”
Eevee kicked twice in rapid succession with its hind legs.
“Slak~!”
Slakoth collapsed and lost the ability to battle!
“Huh?!
Was the power really that high?” Ash wondered.
There was a whole level of difference between them.
Even with a type advantage, it shouldn’t have been able to finish it in one go, right?
“Vee~!”
Eevee looked proudly at the fallen Slakoth!
[Eevee]
[Strength: Peak Normal level]
[Moves: Copycat, Swift…]
It broke through!
No wonder it defeated Slakoth!
I have to admit, Eevee is incredibly talented.
It improves its strength and learns new moves very quickly.
“Come back, Eevee!”
“Vee~!”
Eevee shook its head, refusing.
“Uh…
alright.
You can watch from the sidelines, then.”
“Vee~!”
Eevee happily ran to Ash’s side and stood beside Pikachu to watch the match.
“Hahaha!
Ash, you’ve been hiding your strength quite well!”
“Ah!
Dad lost!” (;﹏;) Max said dejectedly.
“It’s okay!
There are wins and losses in battle!
Now then, for the second match—go, Kecleon!”
[Kecleon]
[Ability: Color Change — Changes its own type to the type of the move that hits it.]
[Strength: Mid-Elite level]
[Moves: Thief, Disable…]
Gasp!
This won’t be easy!
This isn’t an ordinary level gap—we’re separated by an entire major rank!
“Come out, Phanpy!
Use Rollout!”
“Phanpy~!”
Phanpy curled into a ball and charged toward Kecleon.
“Kecleon, turn invisible and dodge!
Then use Grass Knot!”
Norman knew about Kecleon’s Color Change Ability.
He absolutely couldn’t allow it to be hit, or it would have to endure double damage!
Kecleon disappeared from sight!
“Phanpy~!”
Phanpy was tripped by Grass Knot and fell to the ground!
“Kecleon!
Use the opportunity—Slash!”
Kecleon slashed toward Phanpy!
“Oh no!
Phanpy, dodge!
Use Dig!”
Bang!
Phanpy successfully burrowed underground and dodged!
“Kecleon, watch your surroundings!”
Norman stared around carefully as well, guarding against Phanpy’s sneak attack!
“Come out, Phanpy!
Use Iron Head!”
“Substitute, then Disable!” Norman commanded calmly.
Phanpy’s Iron Head shattered the Substitute, but it was hit by Disable and froze in place, unable to act.
“What?!
Phanpy!” Ash cried out in surprise.
“Go!
Finish it with Slash!”
Bang!
Everyone stared without blinking.
“Phanpy~!”
A barrier suddenly protected Phanpy!
“What?!
Protect!
Phanpy, are you alright?
Thank goodness!”
“Phanpy~!”
Phanpy smiled in response.
“Alright, use Stomping Tantrum!”
“Phanpy~!”
Phanpy stomped its front foot into the ground, sending a shockwave toward Kecleon!
“Hahaha!
This is full of surprises and unexpected turns!
But Ash, can you withstand this next move?
Kecleon, hold on!
First use Sunny Day, then Solar Beam!”
Kecleon took the attack head-on.
At the same time, it fired a beam toward the sky, and the battlefield grew hotter and brighter!
Then, absorbing the sunlight, it gathered energy and fired a Solar Beam at Phanpy!
“Phanpy, use Protect!”
“Phanpy~!”
But this time, the goddess of luck was not on Ash’s side—Protect failed!
“Phanpy~!”
Phanpy collapsed and lost the ability to battle!
“Ash, you’re already very impressive!
You fought across an entire major rank and still managed to hold out for so long.
The young truly surpass the old!” Norman said with a light smile.
“Not really!
I was just lucky!”
“Luck is also part of strength!
You don’t need to be so modest!”
“Great!
Dad won!” ヾ(′▽｀.ヾ)
Max shouted happily.
“Max!!
I already told you—there are wins and losses in battle.
Don’t take victory and defeat so seriously!
Besides, this was only a practice match.
If you only care about winning and losing, then what’s the point of training?” Norman began lecturing Max.
“Ah?!
But…”
“No ‘buts.’ Think about it carefully.”
“Ash!
I’m looking forward to your next challenge!” Norman said, turning toward Ash.
“Alright!
Thank you for the guidance, Uncle Norman!
When I come back next time, I’ll be even stronger!” Ash replied firmly.
————The Next Day————
Early in the morning, as the sun began to rise, four figures appeared outside the Petalburg Gym!
To be continued…