On the way to Rustboro City, Ash and his friends accidentally entered a Pokémon preserve. They met the Pokémon officer, Officer Jenny, scared off Team Rocket who had come to cause trouble, and Max formed a deep friendship with a Poochyena and even witnessed it evolve into a Mightyena.
After saying goodbye to Officer Jenny, Ash and his friends arrived at a clear lake, and everyone got ready to swim.
"Haha! This place is great!"
"The air is so fresh and it's so peaceful and comfortable."
"I know!" Everyone played in the lake.
"Pika?" "Huh?" Ash and Pikachu suddenly looked toward the center of the lake.
"What's wrong, Ash, Pikachu?" Brock, May, and Max looked in the direction Ash was facing. They saw many lotus leaf-like things floating on the lake, gathering toward them.
"What... what is this? There are so many of them, it's scary!" May was the first to run onto the shore.
"Those must be Lotad! Lotad are Water and Grass-type Pokémon, and they usually live in ponds or lakes. But there really are a lot of them." Ash explained.
"So this is a Lotad lake!" Max said excitedly.
"Let's get out of the water! The Lotad are getting closer, we'll probably get pushed out!"
"Okay!" x2
Shortly after they got on shore, the Lotad followed them.
"Ah! They're crawling onto the shore, what are they going to do?!" (oA°`)o May fearfully hid behind Ash.
"May, you don't have to be scared." Ash's Aura sensed their kindness and he soothed May, "Look, they're all smiling!"
"They are! Are they here to play with us?" (?) May hadn't answered, but Max was already excited.
"I think so, too." Brock nodded in agreement.
"Pika~" Pikachu shouted, pointing at the Lotad.
The Lotad lined up and shot streams of water into the sky. The streams collided, forming a beautiful fountain, and the splashing water sparkled in the sunlight.
"Whoa!" (?) May was no longer afraid and came out from behind Ash to watch the sky.
"I can't believe the Lotad know Water Gun, and that their performance is so beautiful. They could get a high score in a Pokémon Contest!" Ash praised.
"Huh? What's a Pokémon Contest?" May asked, confused.
"Pokémon Contests are competitions where you're judged on the beauty of your moves. There are usually two rounds. After you get a good score from the judges, you can enter the Contest Battle rounds. Contest Battles are single-elimination, and the final winner gets a Ribbon. If you collect five Ribbons, you can enter the Grand Festival." Ash knew she was new to this and explained it all carefully.
"Ah! I see!" May nodded thoughtfully.
"Look, that one Lotad seems different!" Brock noticed a special Lotad among the group. All the other Lotad's water streams reached the sky, but its only went up a few inches.
May said bluntly, "Yeah, that one's way behind. It looks kind of clueless."
Everyone looked at the Lotad and nodded.
It was still spraying water even after all the other Lotad had finished.
"Hey, it's over now, Lotad!" Brock walked up to the Lotad.
Hearing this, the Lotad suddenly increased its power and gave Brock a free face wash. Then, it nonchalantly went to catch up with its companions.
"Hahaha~" (?>?<*) Everyone burst out laughing.
Just then, a girl with red pigtails and freckles walked over, put her hands on her hips, and shouted at Ash's group:
"Hey, this is the Lotad's lake! How could you go swimming in it? All of you, come to my house right now!"
"She's so bossy, just like Max." May immediately spoke her mind.
"You're so annoying." Max couldn't help but roll his eyes at May.
"Excuse me, what are we supposed to do at your house?" Brock asked cautiously.
"What do you mean? You're going to get a lecture, of course," the girl said as if it were obvious.
"Huh? No way!" x3
Ash and his friends had no choice but to follow the girl to her house, but instead of them getting lectured, the girl got lectured.
"Naoko, you can't act like that. You should be friendly to travelers passing through," a girl with short blue hair said, scolding Naoko.
"But big sister Noriko... they..." Naoko lowered her head, trying to argue.
And so, the group who was ready to be lectured ended up watching Naoko get lectured instead.
"I'm sorry, my little sister said some rude things to you," Noriko apologized to Ash's group.
"It's okay." "Pika-pi~"
"Hello! My name is Noriko, and she is Naoko. My sisters and I run a flower shop," Noriko introduced.
Everyone introduced themselves as well, though Brock was a bit... flirty.
"My name is Brock, and by the way, this beautiful flower shop is as lovely as you are, Noriko," Brock said, staring at Noriko adoringly.
"Oh, really?" (?w?)
"A flower shop this beautiful could only be made by a beauty like you, Noriko."
"Thank you. Oh, my pie is almost ready. Would you all like to have some with us?"
I have to admit, Brock is smooth. If his eyes were bigger and his skin were lighter, he'd definitely have the potential to be a player.
"Really? Thank you so much!"
Just then, a girl with short green hair walked in. "Big sister, the drainpipe in the orchard is broken. A watering can is not nearly enough! Huh? We have guests."
"Ah! And who is this other beautiful lady..." Brock's eyes lit up, and he immediately turned his attention to her.
"She's my second sister, her name is Suzuko. We're the three sisters," Noriko introduced.
"Hello!"
"I would also love to use this watering can to grow flowers as beautiful as you, Suzuko..."
"Max, I'm giving you a sacred mission from now on!" Ash pulled Max aside and looked at him with a serious expression.
"Huh?! What mission?!" Max was a little nervous seeing Ash's serious face.
"From now on, whenever Brock starts flirting, you have to drag him back."
"Huh?! Okay." ?_?...
"Ah! You're so rude! Your attitude is completely different with me than it is with my sisters!" Naoko yelled at Brock angrily.
"Uh... well..." (oA°`)o Brock said awkwardly.
"Haha, Naoko has a crush again."
"A crush!" "Again?"
But I'm not a lolicon, I only like mature big sisters! (T_T)
Afterward, Ash and his friends sat down to eat pie and chat with the three sisters.
"Delicious! I've never tasted anything like this before," May said excitedly.
"It's pie made from Oran Berries. It has a very rich flavor," Noriko explained.
"The water and air here are very clean, so we can pick all kinds of berries. We have a lot planted out back. Do you want to see?" Suzuko invited Ash and the others.
"Really? Of course!"
Then, everyone went into the garden, which was full of various berry trees. The environment was beautiful and the air was fresh.
The three sisters introduced Ash and his friends to the uses and effects of different berries.
"Big sister, fixing the drainpipe will take a long time. The connector is too old and we need to replace the whole pipe, and that will take a long time," Suzuko said, walking up to her older sister Noriko.
"I see. That's a problem," Noriko said, a little worried.
Just then, the Lotad came over with water on their heads and poured it into the flower beds and where they were growing berries.
"Ah! Thank you for helping!" Noriko said gratefully.
"Why are they helping?" May asked curiously.
"I think it's because we often give them berries. They must be here to repay us," Noriko said after thinking about it.
"Great! In that case, we'll help too. This will be our way of thanking you for the food!" Ash suggested.
"Pika pika~" "That's right!"
Then, everyone released their Pokémon to help. The process went smoothly, except for a small hiccup when that one special Lotad started to get confused, causing a traffic jam.
Brock walked over to the Lotad. "What's wrong? Everyone behind you is waiting."
Brock began to personally teach the Lotad how to pour water. "You don't have to rush. Try it slowly. Now, lower your head."
"Haabu~"
The Lotad listened to Brock's command and lowered its head, and the water on its leaf poured down.
"That's right! Just like that!" Brock nodded.
"You did it! That's wonderful!"
"Haabu~" The Lotad bowed in thanks.
At dusk, Ash and his friends escorted the Lotad back to the lake.
"Thank you all so much for your help today. Lotad, you can all go back to the lake now," Suzuko said, thanking the Lotad.
The Lotad nodded and returned to the lake, but that one special Lotad stayed on the shore.
"Hey, everyone else has gone back. Aren't you going to go?" Brock crouched down and looked at the Lotad.
"Haabu~" The Lotad looked at Brock.
"Brock, I think the Lotad likes you and wants to go with you!" Ash said when he saw this.
"Really? Lotad!" Brock said, surprised and overjoyed.
"Haabu~" The Lotad nodded.
"Okay, then I look forward to training you!" Brock took out a Poké Ball and caught it.
Just then, boom! A strange boat appeared from the other side of the lake, and on the boat was Team Rocket!
"Wahahaha! The Lotad are ours!"
Team Rocket steered their boat toward the Lotad, trapping them in a cage.
"Team Rocket, you won't get away with this! Go, Taillow! Pikachu, get on Taillow! Once you're close, use Iron Tail!" "Pika" "Siba"
Pikachu jumped onto Taillow's back, and Taillow flew with Pikachu toward Team Rocket. Using Iron Tail, they smashed the cage and freed the Lotad.
"Great! Pikachu, finish them with a Thunderbolt!" "Pikachu"
Boom! "This feels so bad!" "Wobbuffet! (?)~"
The next day, Ash and his friends continued their journey toward Rustboro City.
To be continued...