After journeying through the forest for what felt like forever, Ash and his friends finally arrived in the city closest to Petalburg—North Petalburg City.
"Let's rest at the Pokémon Center for the night!" Ash suggested.
"Agreed!" everyone echoed. After spending days roughing it in the wild, a proper rest was long overdue.
Upon reaching the Pokémon Center, Brock sprinted ahead, eyes sparkling. "Nurse Joy, I'm here!"
Max hurried forward and held Brock back. Just then, Brock's Spinda popped out of its Poké Ball and helped drag him away by the leg.
Brock gave a helpless sigh. "Why did I even catch Spinda? It's like heartbreak in a Poké Ball. First one, now two holding me back!"
Nurse Joy blinked in surprise, then gasped. "Aren't you the children of Norman, the Petalburg Gym Leader?! You must be May and Max!"
At that moment, a middle-aged woman delivering vegetables overheard them.
May and Max confirmed their identities politely—but that was all it took.
The woman's face turned serious. She bolted from the center and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Norman's kids are in North Petalburg!"
As soon as her words echoed down the street, the ground began to tremble—a massive crowd stampeded toward the Pokémon Center, stirring up clouds of dust.
"Where are Norman's kids?!"
The woman pointed dramatically at the Center. "Over there!"
"Out of my way! I want a front-row seat!"
"I want their autograph!"
Ash and the others had just stepped outside—and were promptly swarmed. For a moment, they thought it was an angry mob. Turns out, it was a full-blown fan frenzy.
A reporter pushed to the front, camera in hand. "Are you really Norman's children? I'm with the North Petalburg News!"
May and Max nodded, still unsure what was going on.
"We've heard you're on a journey to become a Top Coordinator, Miss May! What accomplishments have you achieved so far?"
May froze. She hadn't competed in any Gym Battles—and only had one ribbon. At Max's urging, she pulled it out hesitantly.
The crowd went silent… then erupted.
"As expected of Norman's daughter! She already has a ribbon after such a short journey!"
"That's incredible!"
"You truly are Norman's children!"
May and Max were quickly overwhelmed by praise. They looked around for Ash—but he and Brock had been shoved to the back of the crowd long ago, now awkwardly standing off to the side.
In the middle of the chaos, May performed a Contest routine with Beautifly, dazzling the onlookers even more and earning louder cheers.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket, penniless and hungry, wandered through the city streets.
"I'm starving, Meowth…"
"But we've got no cash…"
Just then, Jessie's eyes lit up. "Wait a minute—isn't that the little girl's dad?!"
She pointed to a giant billboard featuring Norman.
"It really is, meow!" Meowth confirmed.
"I remember his name—Norman!" James added, pointing to nearby merchandise. "Look at this!"
Senri-mania had taken over the city—Norman's image was everywhere. People wore shirts, hats, and even carried Norman plush dolls.
"It's a Norman fan craze, meow!"
Jessie smirked mischievously. "Hehehe… I've got a plan. If this town is so obsessed with Norman, we can make a fortune pretending to be his family!"
And so, the disguises came out. James dressed up as Norman, Jessie as Caroline (May's mother)—but their "May" and "Max" were absolutely ridiculous. The fake Max had blue skin, and Jessie wore a bizarre cat-faced mask while being shorter than Max.[1]
Somehow… the townspeople believed it.
An elderly vegetable vendor even vouched for them. "They're my neighbors!"
Why didn't anyone actually verify that? Nobody knows.
With that, the scam was on. Team Rocket began selling "Norman autographs" and "limited-edition family bottle caps." The crowd went wild, and their wallets grew fat with cash.
Back with Ash and Brock, the two were waiting near the park when two local teens approached them.
"You two are traveling with May, right?" the red-haired boy said arrogantly. "What business do you have in Petalburg?"
"We're here to challenge the Gym, of course!" Brock replied.
Ash facepalmed. He'd meant to keep it low-key. These guys looked seriously fanatical—this wasn't going to end well.
"WHAT?!" both teens shouted.
"You?" the redhead scoffed, pointing a finger at Ash. "You're not worthy of battling Master Norman! You're a million years too early!"
Ash sweatdropped. Why am I the one being singled out here?!
"But isn't it a challenger's right to face the Gym Leader?" Brock argued.
"Hmph! In our city, you have to prove yourself first. You want to face Master Norman? Beat me in battle!"
Ash sighed. "Fine. Let's go."
They headed to the park.
"Go, Golduck!" the redhead yelled.
[Golduck — Elite Mid-Stage]
Ash responded. "Go, Beautifly!"
"Beautifly? Hah! Looks can't win battles against Master Norman!"
"Beautifly, Silver Wind!"
Beautifly released a shimmering gale of silver wind. The redhead smirked. "Golduck, Focus Punch!"
Too slow. Before the move even charged, Golduck was blasted back.
Ash glanced up at the sun. "Time to show them your training! Beautifly, use Solar Beam!"
Sunlight gathered at Beautifly's wings, condensing into a blinding white beam.
"Golduck, Hydro Pump!"
But the Hydro Pump was overwhelmed—Solar Beam pierced through and knocked Golduck out cold.
The crowd around the park gasped. But then...
"Let me fight next!"
"No, I'm next!"
A huge line of challengers formed—each more eager than the last to stop Ash from challenging Norman.
With no choice, Ash rotated through Torkoal, Grovyle, and Ralts, defeating challenger after challenger. Though most weren't strong, the sheer number was exhausting. Still, the victories paid off: Ralts reached Elite Early Stage, and Beautifly advanced to Elite Late Stage.
And still... the challengers kept coming.
Fed up, Ash shouted, "Enough! Come at me all at once! I'll beat you all together!"
The crowd roared their approval.
"Go!" Dozens of Pokémon poured onto the field—Igglybuff, Shroomish, Zangoose, and more.
Ash threw his Poké Ball. "Quilava, use Lava Plume!"
A blast of flame surged across the field, knocking out most of the opposing Pokémon instantly.
And then—Quilava began to glow. Blue and white light enveloped its body as it evolved.
Flames erupted from its neck—Typhlosion had arrived!
[Typhlosion — Gym Mid-Stage]Moves: Double-Edge, Gyro Ball, Inferno...
Typhlosion growled, flames blazing. The challengers immediately backed off in terror.
"S-Someone go get reinforcements!"
Meanwhile, several kids rushed to find May, who was performing in the streets. They shouted a single sentence, grabbed her by the arms, and dragged her away—followed by a massive crowd of spectators eager to see her battle.
To be continued...
[1] someone has to be mentally retarred to fall for somthing like this!