"Okay, here's lesson one," Charizard began. "How to-"

"Wait, wait, hold on," Bunnelby interrupted. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, sir, but I really feel the need to make sure that this lesson is actually the one I was expecting."

"You think it might not be?" Charizard replied. "Why's that, then?"

"It's because I was expecting a lesson on how to use Drill Run," Bunnelby said. "And you're a Charizard."

"Oh, I get it," Charizard realized, nodding. "You're new, right? It's okay, it takes a while to get used to this kind of thing. Watch this… hey, Froakie! Mind using Water Pulse for me?"

Froakie used Water Pulse, and a little splash of water hit the ground next to Charizard.

He winked, then jumped into the puddle and vanished.

Bunnelby blinked several times. "Um… what?"

"What just happened?" Clemont said, looking up from fiddling with a piece of equipment. "Is everything okay, Bunnelby?"

"Where did Charizard go?" Bunnelby asked.

Charizard's arm splashed out of the puddle, and got a good grip on the edge before hauling the entire rest of the Fire-type out of the puddle.

"See," he said, brushing himself off. "That's the thing you have to remember. If one of Ash's Pokémon says something's possible, they're almost certainly right."

"And what about if one of you says something's impossible?" Clemont said.

"Eh, probably wrong," Charizard shrugged. "Now, as I was saying, Drill Run."

"Actually, when you get a moment, can you teach me whatever that was?" Froakie requested. "Because hiding in a puddle strikes me as a bit ninja."

"Sure," Charizard decided. "Anyway. Am I going to actually get a chance to show you Drill Run?"

There were no objections, so he nodded. "Right. Anyway, it's all in the twist, like this…"

"Well, here we are," Ash said, two days later and after a morning spent restyling a Furfrou's fur. "Lumiose City! Again, except for Dedenne, Fletchling, Serena and Fennekin."

"Actually, Serena got me here!" Fennekin told him. "So it's just Dedenne and Fletchling."

"...sorry, Fennekin, I didn't get any of that," Serena admitted.

"I don't get it?" Bonnie asked. "Why isn't Serena understanding? I understood okay!"

"C'est parce que Lokoko ne lui traduit pas ce que Feunnec dit, pour qu'elle apprenne à savoir faire sans," Clefairy explained.

"Oh!" Bonnie said. "That's a lot of work. I don't think I could do that."

Clemont looked torn, then got out a notepad and wrote something on it.

"What's that, if I might ask?" Bunnelby checked.

"This is my notepad for ideas," Clemont told him. "I keep having new ideas for gears before I've finished the old one. The latest idea is a translator, so Lokoko doesn't have to work so hard."

"That sounds very useful, sir," Bunnelby agreed, nodding, and his ears flopped around slightly.

"Now, which way is Cyllage?" Ash asked.

"I checked that," Serena supplied. "If you go to the middle of town, you ignore the sign that says 'all directions' and follow the one that says 'other directions'."

Pikachu waited.

"Aren't you going to say something about how that doesn't make sense?" he checked.

"No, it's simple enough to me!" Ash replied. "If you want to go in a specific direction you go in all directions, but if you don't you go in other directions."

Then a motorcycle pulled up next to them, with an Ampharos on the back.

"Clemont? Bonnie?" the driver asked. "There you are! I was looking for you."

"Daddy!" Bonnie said. "Is your Blaziken here too?"

"He sure is," the driver agreed, turning off his engine and getting off as his Ampharos jumped down from the back. "And is that a new Pokémon of yours I can see?"

"This is Dedenne," Bonnie said. "Dedenne, this is my daddy, but other people call him Meyer because he's not their daddy."

Dedenne waved.

"C'est un plaisir de vous rencontrer ici," Clefairy told Meyer.

"And a pleasure to meet you all as well," Meyer replied. "Clemont, can I have a word?"

"You're Ash Ketchum's Pikachu, aren't you?" Ampharos asked, practically buzzing with excitement. "You're the one who electrocutes Ground types! I'm a big fan!"

Meyer looked startled, then frowned. "Oh, hold on… I think I remember hearing about this. Someone's translating?"

Lokoko bowed, as next to her Ampharos held out her hand for Pikachu to shake.

Over the next few minutes, Meyer explained how there were complaints about the Lumiose Gym coming in.

He was the former Gym Leader, having passed his job on to Clemont, and while he was not just supportive but enthusiastic about Clembot – saying that it was an incredible achievement by his son – he did point out that only taking challengers with four or more badges was eccentric, but throwing anyone who didn't actually win a badge out of the building was a bit worse. Even if there was a gravity-slide making it so that all the rejected trainers ended up deposited gently on the ground.

"I've been thinking about that," Clemont admitted. "The problem is, Clembot doesn't recognize me as his creator – and I'd need to beat him in a battle before he'd consent to let me reprogram him. I… wasn't finished yet."

"Hmm," Ash frowned. "Why couldn't you just go and battle him?"

"He's not accepting anyone without at least four badges," Clemont replied. "And even if I did have four badges, it'd be a gym battle and I've only got Bunnelby – and Dedenne, if he wants to take part."

"Well, the first bit's easy!" Ash announced. "I can just loan you some badges! Clembot asked how many gym badges you had, not how many you'd earned… actually, even if it has to be badges that are yours, I could probably help out there too? I'm good friends with Gym Leaders from Cerulean, Pewter, Goldenrod, sort of Petalburg, the junior one from Sunyshore and Striaton, and of course Lumiose as well!"

Clemont brightened. "You're right! Clembot did say it like that, so, I could get away with having four Lumiose Gym badges… the only problem then is being able to beat Clembot. Then I can reprogram him and remove the violence."

"Only if he's okay with removing the violence, though!" Primeape said. "If it's like convincing him to change his mind, it's okay, but remaking his mind isn't! That's ethics!"

"Hello?" Meyer asked. "Where did you come from?"

"Let's go with 'Sinnoh' as an answer," Primeape said. "But I had an idea about how to help Bunnelby beat Clembot's Pokémon, too!"

"I had an idea of how to help Clemont, as well," Ash said. "Are you allowed to loan someone a Pokémon for an official gym battle?"

"It would have to be an official trade," Arc supplied.

"In that case, I've got a different idea," Ash said. "Wacan berries!"

"I appreciate the help, both of you," Clemont told them. "But, I actually did think of something… can you teach Bunnelby a specific move? It's not one that he'd normally be able to learn, but I think I'm starting to understand how this works by now."

"Ooh, I can do that!" Primeape said. "What move is it? Light of Ruin? Light of Ruin is fun."

"Recycle," Clemont answered, adjusting his glasses.

"One challenger at a time," the electronic voice said, in Lumiose Tower.

"We're not challengers," Serena said. "Only Clemont is. We're here to watch!"

"Spectators are not allowed," Clembot retorted.

"False," Arc stated calmly. "Kalos Pokémon League rulebook, section IV: spectators, states clearly that the challenger may bring spectators to their battles so long as the spectators do not interfere with the outcome of the battle or the functioning of the building."

"...I really need an electronic assistant," Clemont said to himself. "Or to read the rulebook again. Or both."

"Enter," Clembot told them, after a pause, and the lift hissed open.

They rode to the top in silence, then Clemont walked out onto the battlefield.

"State how many badges you have," Clembot instructed.

"I have four badges right here," Clemont replied, holding them up.

"Error," Clembot stated. "Those badges are all Lumiose City badges."

"You asked how many badges I had," Clemont replied. "That's how many I've got. Are you ready for a battle, Clembot?"

"I do not accept duplicate badges," Clembot protested.

"You can start today!" Clemont told him. "I'm Clemont, the Gym Leader here, and I've come to make sure you're doing your job right!"

There was a pause.

"Voice code input accepted," Clembot said. "Engaging Master Recognition Battle Mode."

"Was that lucky?" Fennekin asked. "I think that must have been luck."

"Don't complain about it!" Dedenne hissed. "I don't fancy a flying lesson today!"

They got to see Clembot, who walked into the room to face off against his creator.

"This will be: A battle with one Pokémon on each side," Clembot said, and sent out a Heliolisk.

"Hi!" Heliolisk said, waving. "I wondered where you'd gone!"

"Have you been having a good time with the battles?" Clemont asked.

"Yeah!" Heliolisk agreed. "There haven't been many of them, though. And Clembot is always nasty when they lose. It makes me feel depressed."

"Well, don't hold back," Clemont instructed. "This battle's to prove that I deserve my position as Gym Leader here, so give it your all!"

"If you say so!" Heliolisk agreed, tail waving, then Clemont sent out Bunnelby.

"Afternoon," the Normal-type said, adjusting a necklace. "No hard feelings, I hope."

"Likewise!" Heliolisk said.

"Begin," Clembot instructed. "Thunderbolt."

Heliolisk threw a Thunderbolt, and it hit Bunnelby with a fizzing bang and sent lightning arcing around the lapine Pokémon. Then all the lightning flowed together into something dangling on Bunnelby's necklace, not touching him at all, and it flashed as Bunnelby began to glow red.

"Cell Battery," Clembot identified. "Consumable battle item."

"Drill Run!" Clemont ordered, squinting a little at the crunch as Bunnelby went underground. "And be ready to-"

"Bulldoze," Clembot interrupted him, and Heliolisk stamped the ground. Bunnelby got flung out of the ground by the shaking, still spinning, and rolled to a halt.

"That's a move I never taught Heliolisk!" Clemont gasped.

"Parabolic Charge," Clembot said.

"Now, Bunnelby!" Clemont called.

Bunnelby reached for his necklace, with the expended Cell Battery on it, and his paw lit up green. The Cell Battery discharged as he used Recycle, then charged up all over again, and the red glow around Bunnelby's paws lit up stronger.

"That is not a move Bunnelby can learn," Clembot protested.

"Yeah, I've heard that a lot, about a lot of Pokémon," Pikachu observed. "Including myself."

He frowned, as Bunnelby went on the offensive – one paw ready to Recycle his defensive battery, but attacking Heliolisk according to Clemont's instructions. "Wait. How did Bunnelby dig into the ground? We're on the somethingth floor of a building."

"I know that one!" Bonnie said. "Daddy did it, he said that it wouldn't be fair for a grass type gym leader to have the whole gym be covered in stuff that catches fire and then blame you if you try using fire attacks, so there's a whole bit of floor here that's actually ground – it's deep enough for moves like Dig!"

"That's actually a good point," Pikachu admitted. "Though, then again, whenever I think about environmental effects in gym battles I just remind myself what Suicune does."

"One more Drill Run!" Clemont called. "Let's win this with science!"

Science involved a lot of spinning, apparently.

"Prime-ape, ape," Primeape said, tapping away at a keyboard.

Clemont blinked. "Did the translation stop working?"

"No, I'm just being silly," the 'Fighting-type' replied. "There we go. Clembot consented to the changes, because you're his creator, so… badge restriction removed, better algorithms to recognize you next time, a less abrasive attitude, and I also gave him the ability to give meaningful advice! Admittedly that last one was just teaching him Coaching, so it was a lot easier than it could have been."

"Thanks," Clemont said. "It would have taken me about twice as long to do all that coding myself."

Primeape looked back at him, tilted his head (which meant tilting his whole body), then nodded.

"Yeah, about that," he confirmed. "Well, we're done here. Let's go to Cyllage!"

AN:

You know, I don't think there's a normal one in this group either.