The next day, Ash and his friends were making their way through Petalburg Forest, and Max had already got out his binoculars to search for any Pokémon that might be hiding behind the trees that ran along either side of the path they were taking.

"Odd, I don't see a single one anywhere," he mused to himself.

"This forest does seem pretty deserted," remarked Misty, a little apprehensive as to what might be lurking in the undergrowth.

Meanwhile, an exhausted-looking May had another problem on her mind. "Any chance that we'll be stopping for lunch soon?"

"But I haven't even seen one Pokémon yet!" protested Max.

Ash turned to Max. "Did you think you could just look up and see one whenever you wanted to, Max? It doesn't work that way."

"But I always heard that Petalburg Forest is so full of Pokémon, you can't miss them!" insisted Max. "I wonder if we're in the wrong part of the woods?"

"Uh, are any of those Pokémon bug-types?" Misty asked nervously. "Only, I'm not a great fan of most bugs!"

"By which, she means she's absolutely terrified of them," clarified Ash.

"What, so Misty's scared of bugs? That's silly!" said Max.

"I am not silly!" snapped Misty irritably. "Bugs are creepy and are one of the three most disgusting things in the world, alongside peppers and carrots!"

"Talking of peppers and carrots, can we please get some lunch?" persisted May, as she pulled at Ash's arm imploringly.

"No, let's go a different way in this forest and find some Pokémon!" said Max as he pulled at Ash's other arm.

The two siblings began to argue and kept pulling the unfortunate Ash this way and that.

"Hey, take it easy," Ash tried to say, but his words fell on deaf ears.

"Lunch!" demanded May.

"Pokémon!" implored Max.

"LUNCH!"

"POKÉMON!"

"WILL YOU TWO BE QUIET!" Misty suddenly bellowed, making everyone-else jump in fright. "Let's stop for a quick lunch break, then we'll decide which way to go! And if you two don't stop squabbling like a pair of babies, I'll send you right back home to your parents! Is that clear?"

"Yes Ma'am," said May and Max in timid unison, as Ash grinned in amusement.

"We need a break anyway," said Ash as they found some convenient rocks to sit on and gathered around for lunch. "Besides, we'll have better luck finding Pokémon on a full stomach."

"Well, I guess I was getting kinda hungry," admitted Max.

"I'm so hungry, I could eat a Tauros," said May eagerly.

"I think Pikachu and Togepi could do with a bite to eat as well," said Misty, as she noticed the two Pokémon get out a tin of Pokémon food from Ash's backpack and try to get the stiff lid off.

The four humans waited eagerly for whoever was in charge of the food to start serving. But after a few moments, they began to look nervous as they tried to work out which of them actually had the food.

"Uh, Ash, you did remember to pack some food, didn't you?" asked Misty slowly.

"I thought Max was carrying it," replied Ash.

"Me? I thought May was going to grab some," said Max.

"Huh? But I thought Misty was in charge of sorting the grub," spluttered May.

The penny finally dropped, with a very loud clang.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Misty.

"You mean...?" said Ash in dread.

"...there's..." continued a mortified Max.

"...no lunch?!" wailed May in horror.

Dismayed, the four of them slumped to the ground in misery.

"Great going, Ash Ketchum!" said Misty angrily. "Why didn't you check our supplies before we left Petalburg Gym?"

"Hey, come on, Misty, I..." But Ash's protests died in his throat as his stomach gave a loud rumble. "Okay, guess I messed up."

"Well, you're just as much to blame as Ash is, Misty," grumbled May. "I mean you're supposed to be a professional traveller too and you're a former Gym leader as well, so you should be the most organised one here!"

"She has a point," agreed Max.

"But I..." Misty began to protest, but the wind had been taken right out of her sails and she sighed as she had to acknowledge that May and Max were right. "All right, you win. I suppose I've messed up as well."

As the four human members of the party wallowed in their shared misery, Pikachu and Togepi had finally managed to get the lid off the tin of Pokémon food. But as they both looked inside, they were dismayed to find that the tin was empty!

"Pika!" cried Pikachu in horror, before collapsing in a complete faint, while Togepi burst into tears.

"Guess we're out of Pokémon food too," observed Max, as Misty tried to comfort the weeping Togepi.

"I'm sorry, Pikachu," Ash apologised to his hungry electric Pokémon.

"Cheery up, Togepi. I'm sure we'll find something to eat," Misty said soothingly to Togepi, who managed to stop crying.

Ash sighed. "Too bad Brock didn't come along with us."

"I know what you mean," said Misty sadly. "It just hasn't been the same without him."

"Brock who?" asked Max as he and May looked at the others in puzzlement.

"Oh, I forgot, you two have never met Brock. He's a friend who used to travel with Ash and me," said Misty.

"I remember now. You mentioned him during lunch back home," said May, recalling the conversation they had back at Petalburg Gym.

"He knows lots about Pokémon. But he really knows how to cook too," added Ash, with a yearning expression as he remembered the delicious meals that Brock used to put together.

"He sure does," said Misty with a similar longing look in her eyes. "I suppose the reason we're so disorganised is that we haven't actually gotten used to Brock no longer being around."

May snorted and she sarcastically said, "Sorry I'm so useless compared to him!"

In contrast to Ash and the others, Team Rocket were decidedly not hungry. Hidden some distance away, they had managed to get their hands on some sandwiches, and Jessie and James were still noisily munching on some while they were busy spying on the group of young trainers through their binoculars.

"I sense some discord amongst the twerps and their new friends," commented James as he nibbled at his sandwich.

"Poor things are cranky because they're out of food," agreed Jessie as she contently ate her own.

"So we strike while the stomach is grumbling, what's what I say!" declared Meowth decisively. "Come on, let's pinch that Pikachu!"

Wobbuffet gave a cry of agreement, but Jessie and James did not seem that bothered at present, preferring to finish off the sandwiches first.

"What's your problem?" snapped Meowth angrily, as he noted the lack of enthusiasm in his teammates.

"I'm still eating," said Jessie simply.

"Meowth, were you born in a barn? It's terrible manners to simply get up and leave in the middle of a meal," added James.

"There's nothing wrong with being born in a barn!" yelled Meowth angrily, feeling decidedly incensed while Jessie and James continued eating merrily away.