"What is that?" May asked, looking at the Pokémon in front of her with confusion.
"It's a Zigzagoon! That's awesome, I didn't know wild Zigzagoon could get so big!" Max said, excited.
"What's wrong?" (???.???)?? May was puzzled.
"Oh, come on, big sister, you should read some Pokémon facts," Max said with a look of disdain. "Normal Zigzagoon are only 40 centimeters tall and weigh just 17.5 kilograms."
Thump! "Ouch! That hurt." Max grabbed his head.
"You don't say! This Zigzagoon is as big as a person! Doesn't that mean it's a super-well-developed Zigzagoon?!" May punched Max and stared at the large Zigzagoon in surprise.
"There's no way a Zigzagoon can be that big unless it's a Totem Pokémon, and clearly, it's not! It must be..." Ash began, but he was cut off.
"Oh! Look over there, there are lots of Zigzagoon, but they're so small!" May pointed to a group of Zigzagoon on the other side.
Suddenly, the giant Zigzagoon stood up, tore off its disguise, and a boy in shorts appeared in front of a wild Zigzagoon. "Perfect chance! I'm going to catch you! Go, Mudkip..."
"Ah~" Σ(?д?|||)?? May was startled. "The Zigzagoon evolved into a person!"
(??д?) Did you even listen to me?!
"Oh, big sister, he's just wearing a Zigzagoon costume! It didn't 'evolve into a person'!" (＃－.－) Max said, walking over to the boy in shorts and pointing at him.
"It's true!" Ash hadn't had time to stop her, and May had already walked up to the boy, poking and prodding his costume in amazement.
"Ah! My Zigzagoon!" The Zigzagoon was startled by the siblings and quickly ran away.
"You... you owe me a Zigzagoon! Look what you did, my plan to catch a Zigzagoon has failed again!" The boy in shorts angrily pointed at the siblings. He then noticed what May and Max were wearing. "Haha, those shorts with your knees showing, they're perfect! You look so beautiful!"
"Uh..." The siblings were first startled, then speechless at his sudden change of subject.
"You two should apologize. It's very impolite to interrupt someone while they're catching a Pokémon," Ash said, walking over to them.
"Oh! We're sorry, we didn't mean to!" After Ash's reminder, the two siblings realized their mistake and quickly apologized.
"It's okay. Since you're also Shorts People, I'll forgive you!" The boy in shorts waved his hand.
"What do you mean 'Shorts Person'? These are Capri pants! Who are you, anyway?" May asked, confused.
"Since you want to know my name, I'll tell you." The boy in shorts put his hands on his hips. "Sometimes, I'm a Zigzagoon walking in the forest. Other times, I'm a Tentacruel floating in the waves. And then, there are times when I'm a Bellossom performing a beautiful dance. But, my true identity is... a person everyone calls 'Shorts Boy Archie'."
"Shorts Boy..." "Archie." "Pika~" Everyone was amazed.
"Exposing your knees to connect with nature, what a nature-loving Trainer! Yes, you are my companions. If you don't mind, tell me your names." Archie said enthusiastically to the siblings.
"Uh~ I'm May." "I'm Max."
"I'm Ash, and this is Pikachu." "Pika~"
"Hello, I'm Brock. It's nice to meet you."
After getting acquainted, they learned that he wanted to catch a Zigzagoon and then challenge the Petalburg Gym. When he found out that May and Max were Norman's children, he immediately challenged May, claiming that since they were the children of a Gym Leader, they must have undergone strict training and he wanted to experience their skill.
"Ah~ I'm not that good..." "Great! Go for it, big sister!" While May was still hesitating, Max, in a moment of utter sabotage, accepted the challenge for her.
"Excellent! Show me what you've got! There's a plaza up ahead that's perfect for a Pokémon battle." Archie said, walking towards the plaza.
"Go, Mudkip!" Archie sent out the Water-type starter Mudkip and put on a Mudkip costume.
[Mudkip]
[Strength: Peak Normal-Level]
What's the point of all this unnecessary flashy stuff? It just wastes time. And May has no chance of winning. Even though Torchic has been training for a few days, it's only at the Mid-Normal-Level. The gap in both strength and strategy is too big, Ash thought to himself. (￢_￢)
"I'm counting on you, Torchic!" May took a deep breath, thinking, "It's finally starting, my first memorable battle."
"What?! You're using a Fire-type Torchic against a Water-type Mudkip?!" Archie looked at May in surprise.
"Well... my big sister only has one Pokémon," Max said helplessly.
"Alright, use Ember!" "Use Water Gun!"
The small balls of fire were extinguished by a stream of water in mid-air.
"Darn it, what do I do? I've got it! Torchic, use Peck!" "Ah! No, big sister!"
Sure enough, after Torchic charged forward, Mudkip took it down with a single Water Gun.
"Torchic is unable to battle! Mudkip wins!" Brock announced as the referee.
"Torchic, hang in there, Torchic! It's my fault, I gave bad commands." (?﹏?) May said, holding Torchic sadly.
"It's okay, May. Just let Torchic rest for a bit, it'll recover soon." Brock came over to check on it.
"This is awesome! I can't believe it was so easy. It looks like the Petalburg Gym will be an easy challenge too. Well then, goodbye, fellow Shorts People! My priority is still to catch a Zigzagoon. I can always get the Petalburg Gym badge later." Archie was very excited as he said his goodbyes.
"Hey, what did you just say?!" Max said angrily, hearing what Archie said about his dad and the Gym.
"My first battle was a failure, and I lost to a guy like that... this is terrible," May said sadly.
"Wait a minute! May is a brand-new Trainer who just started, so her skills can't represent the strength of the Petalburg Gym. I've battled the Gym Leader myself and lost, so how about you battle me?" Ash said.
"Ash~" May and Max looked at Ash gratefully. He was sticking up for them.
"Oh~ Okay, let's do it! I'll keep using Mudkip." Archie immediately accepted the challenge when he heard that Ash had battled Norman.
"Then I'll use Phanpy."
Another type-disadvantage battle, Archie thought, a twitch at the corner of his mouth.
"Mudkip, Water Gun!"
"Phanpy, use Dig to dodge, then use Iron Head!"
"Where is it?!" Archie was clearly inexperienced with a move like Dig and didn't know what to do.
"Gleeeh~" Mudkip was hit and knocked down, but it hadn't fainted yet.
"Now, the final blow! Stomp!" "Pao Pao~"
Ash gave Archie no chance to give another command, and Phanpy finished the battle.
"Come back, Mudkip. You did great!" Archie returned Mudkip to its Poké Ball, then walked over to Ash. "The Petalburg Gym is that strong? Even you couldn't beat it."
"Of course! My dad is the best!" Max said proudly before Ash could even answer.
Archie realized his mistake and immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, May, Max. I'll train hard in the Petalburg Woods and then go back to challenge the Gym."
Suddenly, a mechanical hand grabbed at Pikachu...
To be continued...