Norman was about to take Ash inside the Gym when the wall suddenly exploded!
"Ah! What happened?!" Σ(?д?|||)?? May looked at the shattered wall.
"Wahahaha!...(Team Rocket's motto)..."
"Ah! It's you, and that talking Meowth!" ╭(°A°`)╮ May pointed at Team Rocket.
"Oh! So you're May's friends. Thank you for always looking after my May," Caroline said politely.
(?????;≡?????;) A stunned silence fell over everyone!
Big sister, they're not our friends, they just blew up our wall! Ash thought to himself, completely baffled.
"Mom, they're not my friends! They're bad guys who steal other people's Pokémon!" May quickly explained when she realized the misunderstanding.
"That's right! They just destroyed our wall! How could they be big sister's friends?" Max added.
"Hey! Hey! What do you mean May's friends? We're the great Team Rocket! We're not friends with some little twerp!" Jessie yelled furiously.
"Pikachu, I choose you!" "Pika~" Ash didn't waste any time and sent out his Pokémon.
"Hmph! No matter what, Pikachu is ours! Go, Arbok!"
"Go, Weezing, use Smokescreen!"
Weezing spewed black smoke, and the visibility was instantly gone!
"Everyone, be careful!" Norman yelled.
"Ahahaha! Arbok, use Poison Sting!" "Weezing, use Sludge Attack!"
Aura is with me! Ash activated his Aura, successfully pinpointing Team Rocket's location and their attack positions!
"Pikachu, to your right! Dodge it! Come on out, Pidgeot! Use Hurricane!" Ash yelled! "Pika~"
Boom!
"Pikachu, are you okay?!" "Pika~"
"Pi~" Pidgeot blew the smoke away, and Team Rocket's forms were revealed!
"What's going on? How did the twerp know where we were attacking from?"
"It's a mystery, Meowth!"
"Go, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt! Pidgeot, use Hyper Beam!" "Go, Slaking, use Hyper Beam!"
Bang! Boom~
"This feeling again!" "Wobbuffet~???"
"Oh well, the Gym is destroyed. I don't think we can use it anymore. Ash, you'll have to come back after we finish the renovations," Norman said with a helpless sigh.
"Okay! That's a shame! But it's a good chance for me to challenge you with some new Pokémon I catch in Hoenn. Mr. Norman, could we have a practice battle?" Ash asked.
[Slaking]
[Strength: Early Quasi-Champion-Level]
This is a Slaking, but it's probably not Norman's ace. It might not even be part of his B-team. Norman is a candidate for the Champion, after all, Ash thought.
"No problem! Let's go. I'll take you to my Pokémon training grounds. The open space there is big enough." Norman led Ash to the training field.
"Mr. Norman, how about a 2v2? I have two Pokémon that are at the Normal-Level. Could you use one of your Elite-Level Pokémon?" "Sure, no problem!"
"I choose you, Eevee!" "Bui~"
A proud-looking Eevee appeared before them.
"Go, Slakoth! Ash, you can go first!"
[Slakoth]
[Strength: Peak Normal-Level]
[Moves: Yawn, Slack Off, Headbutt, Scratch, Zen Headbutt, Brick Break]
"Alright! Eevee, first use Sand Attack, then use Swift!" "Bui~" Stars swirled around Eevee's tail as it launched an attack at Slakoth.
"Slakoth, next, use Brick Break!" Wham! "Slak~" Slakoth took the hit, and a white light flashed from its hand as it swung a Brick Break at Eevee!
"Eevee, use Dig to dodge!" Eevee quickly dug into the ground. Thud! Slakoth's attack hit the hole, and its ability activated, putting it into a lazy state!
"Perfect! Eevee, use our secret weapon—Mimic!" Eevee emerged from the hole, a white light appearing on its front paw as it hit Slakoth!
"Oh no! Slakoth!" Luckily, even with a double-type weakness, Slakoth managed to stay in the fight!
"Phew! That was close! Ash, I didn't expect you to be so devious! Slakoth, use Slack Off!" "Slak~" Slakoth lay down lazily and started to recover its HP!
"I can't believe it held on! But... Eevee, use Double Kick!"
"Bui" Eevee used its back legs to kick twice. "Slak" Slakoth fell to the ground, defeated!
"Huh?! That powerful?" Ash thought, confused. It was a level above mine, even with the type advantage, that shouldn't have been a one-hit KO!
"Bui~" Eevee looked proudly at the defeated Slakoth!
[Eevee]
[Strength: Peak Normal-Level]
[Moves: Mimic, Swift...]
It broke through! No wonder it defeated Slakoth! Eevee's talent is incredible. Its strength and ability to learn moves are amazing.
"Come back, Eevee!" "Bui~" Eevee shook its head, refusing.
"Uh! Okay, fine! You can watch from the sidelines!"
"Bui~" Eevee happily ran to Ash and stood with Pikachu on the side, ready to watch the rest of the match.
"Hahaha! Ash, you were hiding that!"
"What?! Dad lost!" (?﹏?) Max said, disappointed.
"It's okay! Winning and losing are part of the game! And this is just a practice battle. What's the point of training if you only care about winning and losing?" Norman began lecturing Max.
"But...!" Max looked unhappy.
"No 'buts.' Think about it yourself."
"Ash! I'm looking forward to your next challenge!" Norman turned to Ash.
"I will! Thank you for the guidance, Mr. Norman! I'll be much stronger next time!" Ash replied with determination.
The Next Day
Early in the morning, as the sun rose, four figures appeared outside the Petalburg Gym.
To be continued...