Entry 2: No Mankeying Around!

'I can't believe that someone or something already ate the rest of my food…' May thought sadly as she saw Ash and Norman get ready for the match. The people who ate their food apparently didn't do anything else. It was very strange; May thought about brushing it off as just being a hungry Pokemon, but eating her food was simply an injustice.

"Well Norman, are you ready?" Ash asked the Gym Leader as he walked to his place on the field. Brock, May, and Max were on the sideline getting ready to cheer. Well, Brock was; Max was rooting for his dad of course, and May was still torn in the middle. Caroline was standing near them, and Kenny, being the referee for the match got to his position in the middle of the ring.

"Of course Ash. I hope you give it your all." Norman replied happily. He knew he was going to get a great battle from Ash.

"This will be a three-on-three Pokemon match between Gym Leader Norman and the challenger Ash Ketchum. Only the challenger will be able to switch Pokemon during this battle." Kenny announced the formalities.

"Man, I cannot wait to finally see dad battle!" Max exclaimed jubilated. His father had always forbidden him from seeing his Gym Battles, so this was the first time he had actually seen him battle.

"Ready…Begin!" Kenny yelled.

"Slakoth, I chose you!" Norman shouted, releasing the lazy Pokemon from his Pokeball. Slakoth was THE Lazy Pokemon: It is even classified that way in the Pokedex. The somewhat short Pokemon seemed to move about lazily, from right to left, just a little bit.

"Alright Pikachu, you're up!" Ash ordered, and Pikachu leapt to the battlefield.

The two Pokemon simply looked on, staring each other down. They both awaited the call of their respective trainers.

Ash decided to strike first. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"

"Pika!"

Pikachu's first move was like many of it's previous ones: Speed. Pikachu was a very fast Pokemon naturally, so it really was the obvious choice to do. Pikachu leapt forward and started to run toward Slakoth.

As Pikachu attempted to move toward Slakoth, Ash noticed that Slakoth wasn't moving that much at all! In fact, all it was doing was swaying to the right and swaying to the left.

"Okay Slakoth, move a little to the side." Norman commanded.

"Slakoth" the Pokemon responded lazily, and moved to the right. Pikachu's Quick Attack went right past Slakoth.

"What/Pika!" Ash and Pikachu shouted, completely taken aback at what had happened. Quick Attack usually always worked against slower Pokemon, and you couldn't get much slower than a Slakoth!

"Whoa, how did Slakoth do that?" Max exclaimed, surprised that Pikachu's Quick Attack could be evaded by using so little speed.

"But, Pikachu's Quick Attack always gets it's target" May remarked at the sight of Slakoth barely moving at all, while dodging the Quick Attack.

"Okay Slakoth, now use Shadow Ball!" Norman called out. Slakoth obeyed, and shot a ball of darkness toward Pikachu.

"Dodge it Pikachu, and use Iron Tail!" Ash commanded. Pikachu jumped up into the air once to gain momentum, and jumped twice to evade the attack. Pikachu then armored up his tail, and tried to strike Slakoth.

"Move to the side again!" Norman told his Pokemon to repeat.

Slakoth dodged Pikachu's Iron Tail, and Pikachu fell on his behind.

"Now Slakoth, use Blizzard!" Norman commanded his Pokemon. This offensive move completely caught both Ash and Pikachu by surprise. It was not just Pikachu who felt the effects of the Blizzard attack; indeed, everyone in the room felt the cold of the attack.

"M-man, th-that attack i-is s-suuu-per p-powerful!" Max remarked, himself not sure if it were a compliment of a complaint. For Ash and Pikachu, it was certainly something to complain about. Pikachu was getting snow all over his body. Ash saw this, and decided to make a choice.

"Pikachu, come back!" Ash shouted. Pikachu heard and responded by scurrying back to Ash's side. Norman smiled.

"I see you made a wise decision Ash. But who will your next Pokemon be?" Norman asked the young aspiring Pokemon trainer. Ash thought for a couple of seconds.

"I chose you, Corphish!" Ash quickly decided, allowing his crustacean Pokemon to come out of his Pokeball. The Pokemon with large pincers immediately went into a fighting position.

Brock, May, and Max were surprised by the move. "Why did you chose Corphish, Ash? Doesn't he have the disadvantage in the match?" May yelled over to him.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing May. Corphish, use Bubblebeam!" Ash told his Pokemon to do. But Norman knew how to respond.

"Slakoth, use Blizzard again!"

"Cor-phish phish phish phish!

"Slakoth slak!"

The Blizzard attack seemed to have a good effect on the Bubblebeam; the Bubbles turned to ice. They immediately kept on going off to the side, not being light enough to go all the way back to Corphish.

"Keep on using Bubblebeam, Corphish!"

"Keep up that Blizzard, Slakoth!"

"Phish phish phish!"

"Slak!"

The two moves kept on going at each other with the same results: the bubbles went off to the side somewhere, and the Blizzards force was held back enough to not do much damage to Corphish.

'This is going perfect!' Ash thought as he saw the battlefield. The frozen bubbles of the Bubblebeam were going wide. The field was almost covered in them.

'What are you thinking, Ash?' mused Norman as he saw that all of the bubbles were going everywhere. He knew Ash was thinking of something, but what? Corphish couldn't move very well on ice bubbles, at least he couldn't think; what could be the reason for such a maneuver?

"Alright Corphish, move in for a Crabhammer! But swipe it, this time!" the command came at last, Ash telling Corphish to attack Slakoth head on now.

"Slakoth, move to the side-wait a minute!" Norman exclaimed, as he saw that frozen bubbles were to the right and left of Slakoth. With Corphish able to swipe his Crabhammer attack from right to left, Slakoth couldn't do very much.

"Corphish!" Corphish said as he came in for the attack. His swipe from the side, hitting Slakoth head on.

"Slakoth!" whimpered Normans lazy Pokemon as he fainted to the ground. Kenny saw this, and put up the green flag,

"Slakoth is unable to battle, Corphish is the winner!" Kenny declared, with Ash and Corphish jumping at their victory.

Max, however, was not as cheery. "No way! How could dad lose his first match?"

"Come now Max, I think using that kind of combination against Blizzard was a fantastic move. I wouldn't have been able to counter it, even if I were attack-savvy." Caroline told her son.

"Wait a minute, why aren't you cheering for dad to win?" Max asked his mother, shocked that she would compliment her own husband's opponent during a match.

"I don't think it matters who wins the match, Max. I just think that matches should be interesting." Caroline replied with wisdom.

"Mom…" May almost whispered. If she could come over her feelings over the battle, why couldn't she?

"That was a great strategy Ash. I've never seen anything like it. But you have gone up against this Pokemon before, and you won't defeat him again." Norman started, grabbing a Pokeball.

"Oh no-" Ash muttered, knowing what was coming up next.

"Vigoroth, I chose you!" Norman shouted, allowing his Vigoroth the appear on the field. This Pokemon had a much different demeanor than Slakoth. This Pokemon lived up to its name: Vigoroth. It looked ready to battle, and looked extremely swift.

"Vigoroth, use Flamethrower on the field!" Norman told his Pokemon, and sure enough, flames came right out of its mouth and melted all of the ice-bubbles.

"Wow, Vigoroth can use Flamethrower?" Brock exclaimed, seeing the ice on the field melt instantly.

"That's awesome!" Max gushed at his father and Vigoroth.

Ash looked like he was in a pinch. "Corphish, use Bubblebeam!" Ash commanded. Corphish shot bubbles from its claws, and aimed straight at Vigoroth.

"Not this time Ash, Vigoroth use Scratch!"

Vigoroth popped the bubbles instantly while almost leaping toward Corphish.

"No, Corphish use Harden!" Ash told his Pokemon, and saw that Corphishes body shined up a bit. However, that was no enough; Vigoroth's scratch was too much, even for a Hardened Corphish. He fainted almost instantly.

"Corphish is unable to battle! Vigoroth wins!" Kenny shouted as he raised the red flag.

"Well Ash, it looks like were even now." Norman remarked, seeing Ash return Corphish to his Pokeball.

"You did a great job Corphish, just like I knew you would. Pikachu, you're up again!" Ash decided, with Pikachu running up into the ring once more. Pikachu looked healed from the last battle, and looked ready to fight as well.

"Now" Ash began "use thunderbolt!"

"Pika-chuuuuu!" Pikachu shouted aiming a shot of lightning towards Vigoroth.

"Dodge it Vigoroth! Use Scratch when you get close to Pikachu!"

Vigoroth easily dodged Pikachu's Thunderbolt. And by dodging the attack, he was able to get in closer to Pikachu as well.

"No! Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash tried to counter the slash.

Pikachu's tail glowed, as he tried to slam Vigoroth's Slash attack away. Vigoroth in turn tried to slash the Iron Tail away. Both Pokemon tried their hardest, but it was a stalemate.

"Bounce off the Iron Tail, and use Flamethrower on the rebound!" Norman commanded as Vigoroth did what he was told. An added effect was that Pikachu fell to the ground and flinched at the tactic. As Vigoroth bounced into the flamethrower, Pikachu tried to move fast enough to dodge, but to no avail.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried as he was hit with the flamethrower.

"No, Pikachu!" Ash cried out to his injured Pokemon as it tried to get up.

"Well Ash, are you ready to call it quits? Vigoroth seems to fast for Pikachu to handle." Norman questioned the young Pokemon Trainer. He didn't like seeing little kids Pokemon get beaten to a pulp, and was trying to look out for Ash and Pikachu.

"What? No, never!" Ash retaliated as he stared him and Vigoroth down. "Can you battle, Pikachu?" Ash asked his Pokemon.

Pikachu gave Ash a thumb up and nodded "Pika!" But Pikachu also suddenly stumbled a little. Ash groaned.

"Really Ash, it wouldn't be a shame if you called it quits. I'm sure if you got your Pokemon rested up a bit, you could try again next ti-"

"Come on Ash, get back in there!" May shouted out of nowhere. She was standing up, and had her right arm in the air. Max and Brock, not to mention Norman and Caroline were shocked.

"May, you traitor! How could you chose Ash over dad!" Max accused, furious that his own sister would go against her own father.

"It isn't wise to chose sides on this match May. You should just not take sides, and enjoy the match no matter what the outcome." Brock advised her, knowing that this kind of thing can ruin matches, and put things between people.

"May…" Ash almost whispered, awestruck that May would side with him-with HIM-over her own father.

May immediately backed down and sat in her seat. "But guys, Ash could use our support! All I've heard for the match was Max saying dad would win all the way." May defended herself, but said no more.

Caroline decided to put in her two cents "May, I told you that I wasn't taking sides in this match. I expect you to do the sa-"

"Wait a minute, Caroline." Norman finally said. Everyone looked at the gym leader, who had a smile on his face.

"May does have a point. Ash does need support, and May finds herself between a rock and a hard place. She does have to chose between two people she dearly cares about after all." Norman told everyone.

May blushed lightly at the line "two people she cares about dearly." 'Me, care dearly about Ash? Well, I guess we are traveling together, and he did help me out when I first started, and he is mentoring me and…' May thought, while trying to hide the blush. Brock-being one to notice blushing girls-saw this, but said nothing.

"If she wants to support Ash in this match, I can understand it." Norman smiled.

"What? Your going to just let her off the hook? Well, I guess it doesn't matter, your skill is still much better than Ash's!" Max fumed, crossing his arms across his chest.

Ash just looked at May, still in awe. "Hey May" he said across the room, and caught Mays attention. Her blush was still on her face, but Ash didn't seem to notice.

Ash smiled. "Thanks." He told her. May's blush got a little redder.

"Oh well, I…" May stuttered quietly, hoping no one would make something of it. After all, she did just support her best friend, over her own father; that may have been a good enough reason not to inquire further.

"Well Ash, are you ready to continue?" Norman asked again.

"You bet!" Ash replied, with Pikachu revitalized somewhat.

'Oh, this is so embarrassing! Maybe I should have just kept my big mouth shut…' May thought, her heart beating faster than usual.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash told his Pokemon, getting an idea. 'I hope this works…' Ash hoped in his mind.

"Vigoroth, use Slash!" Norman commanded, as Vigoroth ran towards Pikachu getting ready to strike.

"Take that attack Pikachu!" Ash shouted, much to the horror of everyone else.

"What are you doing?" Norman asked the boy, wondering if he were brain dead. Vigoroth did indeed hit Pikachu with the Slash attack.

"Exactly what I need to." Ash revealed as he saw Pikachu get hit. "Now stay on him, Pikachu!"

"Pika!" Pikachu replied, while Vigoroth noticed that Pikachu was staying on his palm. He tried to get him off, but he tried in vain.

"Now Pikachu, Thunder!"

"Pika-Chuuuuuu!"

The Thunder hit Vigoroth all over. The attack was so powerful; it knocked him to the ground, making him faint.

"Vigoroth is unable to battle, Pikachu is the winner!" Kenny declared, but then saw the other side: Pikachu had fallen too!

"Um, okay Pikachu is also unable to battle." Kenny said, a bit surprised that both Pokemon made each other faint.

"Pikachu! That was a great battle buddy. Now have a nice rest." Ash told his Pikachu as he sat him down near his backpack.

"Return Vigoroth. That was a great battle. You deserve a long rest." Norman congratulated his Pokemon as he returned it to its Pokeball. Both trainers stared each other down.

Brock, May, Max, and Caroline watched, as the two were ready to chose their final Pokemon.

"Well, I guess it's time. I chose you, Slaking!"

"Grovyle, I chose you!"

The two Pokemon came out of their Pokeballs. Slaking was also a lazy Pokemon, and yet it could move even faster than Vigoroth. Its features could remind one of a Snorlax and Primeape combined together. It hit its fists to its chest and screamed, looking powerful as well. May and Caroline both had a look of genuine surprise; they had never seen Slaking awake before.

Grovyle was a very skinny Pokemon, thought it was fast. It held its branch in its mouth like a tooth pick, as always, and stared down his opponent. It's ability to use Leaf Blade came when he evolved from Treeko, now having leaves on his arms.

"Grovyle, use Bullet Seed!" Ash told his Pokemon. Grovyle immediately attacked.

"Grooo-vyle vyle vyle vyle!" Grovyle shouted throwing many small Bullet Seeds at his opponent.

However, Norman had no words of defense for his Slaking. Indeed, Slaking only stood his ground not moving an inch. The Bullet Seed had no effect, even though many had direct hits on Slaking.

"Slaking!" the giant Pokemon yelled while hitting his hands on his chest again.

"Whoa, that attack didn't do anything to Slaking." Max uttered in awe.

"This could be anyone's game now." Brock noted.

"Slaking, use Focus Punch!" Norman commanded. Slaking's right hand glowed, and Slaking started to almost leap toward Grovyle with speed that completely contradicted his size.

"Grovyle, jump up and use Pound!" Ash counterattacked. Grovyle did escape the Focus Punch, and jumped up for a Pound, but Slaking caught Grovyles tail, blocking the attack.

"Grovyle!"

"Now Slaking, use Seismic Toss!" Norman shouted. The giant Pokemon complied, and spun Grovyle around a number of times, getting ready to throw him.

"Grovyle, try to get out of there!" Ash tried to tell his Pokemon, but it was no use. Slaking was just too strong, and Grovyle couldn't get out of the grip.

"Sla…KING!" Slaking shouted in triumph as he tossed Grovyle to the wall. Grovyle fell to the ground, injured.

"Grovyle!" Ash shouted in alarm. Himself knowing what Seismic Toss can do, he couldn't help watching Grovyle struggling to get up.

"Alright Slaking, lets finish this! Hyper Beam!" Norman shouted at last. But what he didn't notice was Grovyle now glowing green. Everyone disregarded Slaking, and looked at Grovyle seemingly powering up.

"What is happening?" Max asked franticly. This was the part where Slaking's Hyper Beam was supposed to make Grovyle faint.

"It's…Overgrow." said Brock, looking at the Grass Pokemon gain strength.

"Overgrow? What's that?" May asked.

"When Grovyle gets to a point where it is really weak, it's ability Overgrow kicks in and gives him an extra boost." Brock explained.

"Overgrow?" Ash told himself. "Okay then, Grovyle dodge Hyper Beam!" Ash commanded.

"Gro!" Grovyle replied and immediately sprang away from his spot just evading the Hyper Beam.

"What/Slak?" Norman and Slaking muttered astonished that Grovyle had enough energy to move tat fast.

"Now Grovyle, use Leaf Blade!" Ash told his Pokemon as quickly as possible. He knew he had to waste no time in order to get a hit on Slaking. Grovyle leapt around toward Slaking and got in a hit right in Slaking's stomach.

"Slaking!" Slaking yelled in pain as it fell backwards toward Norman who looked both impressed and astonished at the same time. Slaking, however, got up immediately, holding his belly.

"I think…that was a critical hit guys." Brock remarked about Slaking's apparent pain. Max looked like a part of his world was just destroyed, while May and Caroline were simply shocked that Grovyle could do such a maneuver.

"This is it Ash." Norman observed. "The next one who gets a hit might just win this match."

"Um, yeah…" Ash replied, looking at the field. Grovyle looked pretty tired, but it also looked like Slaking took a really bad hit from the Leaf Blade. Brock's assumption was correct; it was a critical hit.

"Well Slaking, get ready for a Focus Punch." Norman issued his final order to Slaking.

"It's time for another Leaf Blade, Grovyle!" Ash shouted to his Grovyle.

Everyone on the sidelines looked on with anticipation. "This really could be it guys." Brock told May and Max, while they as well as Caroline simply looked onto the two Pokemon.

"Groooo" Grovyle said as he darted toward Slaking.

"Slaaaaa" Slaking said as he dashed toward Grovyle.

"VYLE!"

"KING!"

There was something of an explosion that had just happened in the ring. Dust went everywhere, and Grovyle and Slaking were on the opposite sides of each other. Nobody moved an inch. All eyes were on Grovyle and Slaking. They weren't moving either. They were like two warriors on a high plateau in the middle of the ocean, waiting for the other to make a move.

And the Grovyle stumbled.

"No, Grovyle!" Ash shouted as he saw his Pokemon look like he was about to fall down. "Gro…" Grovyle groaned, going a little lower.

"Well Ash, it looks like this match belongs to me." Norman spoke.

But he spoke too soon.

Slaking also stumbled, but instead of just groaning, he fell to the ground, fainted.

"Slaking…" he mumbled, with his eyes in circles.

"Oh/Ah/Wow/What!" Brock, Caroline, May, and Max all gasped respectively, as they saw the mighty King Cong go down.

"Slaking is unable to battle! Grovyle wins the battle, and Ash Ketchum has just won the match!" Kenny shouted, declaring Ash the winner.

"Alright!" Ash jumped for joy.

"Pipikachu!" Pikachu did the same.

Norman returned Slaking to his Pokeball, and smiled. "You deserve a good long rest Slaking." He told his Pokemon. Ash and Pikachu were almost dancing together, they were so happy.

"They both put up a great fight. They should both be proud of themselves." Caroline remarked, with a smile on her face.

Max kept the same look on his face when he saw Slaking hit the ground. He couldn't even believe it. His father – his OWN father – had just been defeated in a match. His entire world was spinning upside-down. 'I can't believe it! How could he lose! How could dad lose! This is impossible, this must be a bad dream!" Max told himself, still horrified that his dad had lost a match.

"Ash, that was a great battle. I can't remember the last time I had such a rush." Norman complimented Ash. That was another dagger in Max's heart. 'He lost; and he's happy!' he thought dejectedly.

"Thanks Norman. That was a great match!" Ash thanked the gym leader while returning Grovyle to his Pokeball. Norman walked up to him.

"Well Ash, I guess you earned this. This is the Balance Badge. You've earned it." Norman smiled as he handed out the badge.

That was the last straw for Max.

He immediately started running to his father and Ash.

"Thanks Norman!" Ash thanked the Gym Leader and held his hand out to get the badge. However, he did not count on Max coming out of nowhere and grabbing the badge from Norman's hand.

"What?" Ash gasped, surprised that Max would do something like this.

"Max, what are you doing?" Norman ordered his son answer, surprised that Max would do such a thing. Max just ran out the door, with Ash, Norman and the others following.

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"I..d-don't believe it. H-how could dad lose? It just isn't fair!" Max bawled in the jungle training room. He had locked the door, so nobody could get in.

Just then, a knock came. "Max? Come on out now, will you?" Caroline asked her crying son. She knew this must have been hard for him to take, but Max had to accept it: his dad had lost. That was just the way things went.

"No! I will never come out! Dad is invincible, he could never lose to anyone!" Max choked out. He held the badge in his hand as tightly as he could. He never wanted anyone to have it.

"Max, stop this. Dad would have to lose sooner or later. It's what happens when you are a gym leader." May tried to reason with her brother. But this attempt only mad him even angrier.

"Shut up! You should feel the same way too, but it's your fault that sad lost in the first place" Max shouted in anger.

"What!" May exclaimed at the accusation.

"What does May have to do with Norman losing a match, Max?" Brock harshly inquired. He believed that that was completely uncalled for, and that now Max was just trying to make excuses for his fathers defeat.

"You know exactly what I mean! If May hadn't decided to be a traitor, and side with Ash over dad, dad might have won! But you had to interfere, didn't you May! You had to commit an act of treason to your own dad! It's one thing for his kids to support him, but another to go against him!" Max screamed in anger. He was almost completely irrational now.

Brock noticed May back down, and saw that this was just a low blow. "Wait a minute Max, that's not fair! Norman accepted that May had a hard time deciding on who to cheer for, and accepter her decision too! But that isn't the point Max, your just making excuses now. What is the point, is that I know exactly how you feel now."

"What? What do you mean?" Max questioned.

"What I mean is I know you're going through. I was once a gym leader too you know. I have ten brothers and sisters and they couldn't stand when I lost, or was losing a match. They even tried to stop Ash from having Pikachu finish off my Onix in our Gym Battle. I know you feel hurt that your dad lost a match, but you have to accept it." Brock explained to Max. He had hoped his little speech would talk some sense into him.

"Brock…" Max said sadly. He still didn't want to accept that his dad had lost.

"Max, that's enough." Norman finally said. With that, Max froze. "You have to come out of there now. I know you find it hard to accept that I lost, but let me tell you something: I love being a gym leader. I know for a fact, that if I never lose a match, I will never grow myself." He told his son sternly. "I knew that a great trainer would come along and eventually be able to beat me. I accept that I am not invincible, and you should accept it too. And you should be glad that the person who defeated me was Ash, your friend." Norman tried to cheer Max up.

Max was silent. He had stopped crying, and was now looking at the Balance Badge. All of this was still too hard for him to take in now…

"Hey Max, it's okay. You don't have to give me the badge. I learned a lot from my battle with Norman." Ash tried to console the boy. It was then, that Max came out of the room at last.

"Dad, Ash…I'm sorry." Max told them in a reserved voice. He walked up to Ash and put his hand with the badge out in front of him. "Here's this badge, Ash. You've earned it."

Ash looked at Max who was holding the badge, and saw that he wasn't crying anymore. Ash smiled warmly at the young boy.

"Thanks Max." Ash responded happily. He then took the badge from Max's hand.

"Alright! I got a Bala-"

"Wait! Don't forget about me!" a very familiar voice cried out from the horizon. Its source was a middle-aged man with a pink headband.

"Huh? Who was that? I was just about to do my pose with my badge." Ash pouted as he looked toward the voice, as did everyone else. As the figure came more into vision, Ash and Brock knew whom the voice belonged to.

"Tracey!" Ash and Brock said at the same time looking at the green shirt and reddish-brown field shorts on the now apparent figure. "What are you doing here, Tracey?" Ash asked, completely surprised to see Tracey all the way in the Hoenn region. Was this what Professor Oak meant when he said that he "would know soon enough"?

"Well, it's a long story Ash" Tracey replied, now within talking distance. He noticed a girl clad in red with a bandana on her head, and a boy with glasses near Ash. "You two must be May and Max, right?" he asked the two newest members of Ash's group.

"Uh, yeah that's right." May answered, looking at this guy who just came out of nowhere.

"And we are their parents. I'm Norman, the Petalburg City Gym Leader, and this is my wife Caroline." Norman cut into the conversation.

"Hello there!" Caroline greeted along.

"Hi, I'm Tracey. Now Ash, your probably wondering why I'm here, right?" Tracey rhetorically asked Ash.

"Well, yeah. I mean what would you need to be doing in the Hoenn region?" Ash asked the Pokemon watcher. Just then, however, a very familiar sound came from his belly, and he blushed.

"Well, how about I tell you on a meal?" Tracey suggested.

"I think that's a good idea. Remember how the rest of our breakfast disappeared today?" May mentioned. She wouldn't have minded a bite to eat either.

"How about I go ahead and make us something?" Caroline insisted. "You can get formally introduced to Tracey at the table."

"All right! Mom always makes the best cooking…" Max cheered as much as he could, still recovering from the emotional breakdown he had just minutes ago. However, unbeknownest to anyone, three very unscrupulous characters were hiding in the bushes, waiting for their next move.

"Now that the twerps Pokemon are tired from that battle, stealing them should be a breeze!" James whispered to his compatriots.

"And we might as well take the older twerps Pokemon as well." Jesse responded, smiling at the prospect of more Pokemon. "Even reinforcements can't stop what we have in store for them."

"Let's get ready" Meowth said, as he picked up a very unusually looking weapon.

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Why is Tracey in the Hoenn region? What could Team Rocket be planning? Will Ash ever finally "get it"?

All questions (except maybe the last one) will be answered on the next episode of: The Things that Matter!