Unlike Azalea and Violet, there wasn't anything stopping Ash from just going straight to the Goldenrod Gym.

Gym Leader Whitney opened the door, saw it was Ash, and brightened. "Ah, good, you're here!"

"That's not the usual reaction," Pikachu said.

"Come on in," Whitney added. "I've got something special ready for your gym challenge!"

Ash followed her into the main room of the gym, and Whitney sent out her Miltank.

"Okay, Miltank!" she said. "Roll it out!"

"Wait, aren't there rules on the battle?" Ash asked, going for his own Pokéball, then watched as Miltank walked off into a storeroom. "Huh?"

"Oh, yeah, rules," Whitney agreed. "Those things. Uh… right! So no using ugly Pokémon! That's about it, really… oh, yeah, and you can't use more Pokémon than me."

Miltank rolled out.

Specifically, Miltank rolled out a two-wheeled trolley, which held Regigigas. In a pink dress and some fairy wings.

"Yeah, I kind of had to give them a makeover first, but they count now!" Whitney said. "So, ready to battle?"

Misty was staring.

"Well, I have to admit, Regigigas is a Normal type," Brock said. "How did you even get that Pokémon, though?"

"It turned up on an ice sled," Whitney replied, shrugging. "Crashed into the gym storeroom."

Ash thought for a bit, then picked his Pokéball. "Time for your first gym battle! Go!"

Articuno came out, flared her wings, and began to hover, and as she did Whitney gave her a look over.

"Yeah, that's fine," she judged. "Regigigas, use Mega Punch!"

"Look out!" Ash replied. "Stay out of range and use Extrasensory!"

Articuno flew higher, towards the roof of the gym, and fired an Extrasensory. It hit Regigigas easily, partly because the Normal type hadn't moved, and then Ash held up a hand.

"Uh…" he began. "Shouldn't Regigigas be doing something?"

"...yeah, hang on," Whitney said. "I was afraid of this. Miltank, roll them back to the wall, we'll use my normal team."

"Oh, thank goodness," Misty sighed.

Ash called Articuno back, assuring her that he'd use her later in the battle, and switched Pokémon so that they'd both be starting without the other trainer knowing ahead of time.

"Deerling, you first!" Whitney said.

"Dratini!" Ash called, at the same time, and Dratini landed on the floor before rearing up slightly.

"Oh, that's so cute!" Whitney cooed. "I really want a Dratini, they're some of the cutest Dragon types! They even stay cute when they evolve all the way to Dragonite! I definitely approve of that one in my gym!"

Ash had his Pokedex out, checking the Summer Form Deerling so he could get the details right. "Uh… right, a Normal and Grass type Pokémon, neat! Dratini, start with Twister!"

"Bounce!" Whitney called, and Deerling took one prancing step forwards before Bouncing into the air. Her hooves glittered for a moment as the Twister's energy whirled beneath her, and Ash pointed. "Dodge, Dragon Dance!"

Deerling's hooves slammed into the floor, leaving a crater, and Dratini used Hydro Pump to make the battle area a bit more slippery.

"Great idea, Dratini!" Ash called.

"Deerling, use Charm!" Whitney ordered.

Climbing up out of the crater, Deerling posed. A whirl of wind blew through the arena, carrying leaves, and Deerling took a step onto the slick floor – whereupon her hooves promptly slipped out from under her.

She got back to her hooves only after several tries, each time with two or three hooves slipping away from her, and Dratini blinked a few times.

"I know she said Charm," the Dragon-type admitted. "But seriously, that was adorable!"

Deerling used Double Kick, and launched Dratini into the wall.

"I'm okay!" Dratini reported, excavating himself from the wall with a twist.

"Get yourself moving, use Twister!" Ash called, and Dratini whirled back into the fight again. "Now – Fire Punch!"

"And that's five," Pikachu said, licking his paw and making a mark in the air as Ash's fifth Dragonair won the battle.

It had been hard to pin Deerling down when she kept Bouncing all over the place, but eventually Ash had managed to have his Pokémon catch the Grass-type with a Twister while she was in mid-air and follow that up with a successful Fire Punch hit.

"Think you'll be able to stay out?" Ash asked, and Dragonair trilled an affirmative. "Great!"

"In that case, I'll use Rapidash!" Whitney said. "Go!"

"Wait, what?" Misty asked. "I thought this was a Normal… gym?"

The Rapidash that Whitney had sent out certainly wasn't the Rapidash she was familiar with. It had an elegantly coiffed purple-pink-and-green mane and tail spilling down to its hooves, a long fluted horn marked with a single white spiral, and it clearly wasn't a Fire type.

"Magical rainbow friendship beam!" Whitney ordered, and a burst of brilliant multicoloured light flared out to hit Dragonair. The Dragon-type froze solid, hitting the ground with a crash, and while that broke the ice it also knocked him out.

"Huh," Ash said, returning Dragonair. "Can Rapidash learn Aurora Beam?"

"You don't get to ask that question, Ash Ketchum!" Misty replied. "What Pokémon is that?"

"Rapidash!" Whitney answered. "I got him on special import as a little Ponyta! Isn't he cute!"

Rapidash pranced around in a circle, and Ash considered before sending out his next Pokémon. "Okay, Totodile, your turn!"

"Oh boy!" Totodile said, hopping from foot to foot. "This is going to be fun!"

"Approved! Rapidash, start with Fairy Wind!" Whitney called.

Totodile danced away to the left, avoiding the attack, then shot back with a blast of water. It hit Rapidash's mane, but despite appearances didn't actually ruin his hairdo – instead, he snorted, then at Whitney's command began shooting bolts of light out of his horn.

Occasionally, Totodile replied, but was mostly too busy dancing.

"How come you're having so much trouble hitting?" Whitney said. "Dazzling Gleam!"

Totodile evaded the attack, doing a backflip over it and going from there to do six successive spin kicks. "Tum-te-tah! Ta-dah!"

"Try the magical rainbow friendship beam again – and keep it up this time!" Whitney decided.

This time, for once, Tototile zigged when he should have zagged. The beam of rainbow light flicked back and forth twice, then hit the Water-type, and he froze solid inside a large block of ice.

"Huh, wow," Whitney mused. "That's freezing a lot more than usual. You'd think it was Rapidash that had Serene Grace, not Deerling."

She shook her head. "Anyway, great work, Rapidash! Looks like you'll need to bring your next Pokémon out."

"That's what you think!" Ash replied. "I think you're ready, now, Totodile, use Fiery Dance!"

The ice block started to tremble.

Then Totodile burst out with a whoom, spirals of flame rising and eddying around him. He struck a pose, both arms dripping with flames that made patterns like wings, then launched himself into a spin that made the wing-flames rise up and arc outwards as he moved.

He was also moving very fast.

"Agility and dodge!" Whitney ordered, but by the time Rapidash had started to react Totodile had already arrived. He hit the Psychic-type four times in two seconds, crouched down, then jumped up and did a big finisher that sent wings of flame spiralling up all around him.

Rapidash fell over with a crash, mane somehow still improbably perfect.

"Hmm…" Whitney said, thinking, then snapped her fingers. "I get it! He was using Dance moves to power up! That's cute and practical, the best kind!"

She switched Pokéballs. "Now for my third Pokémon! Nidorina!"

"Okay, hold up!" Misty demanded, as Nidorina emerged onto the field. "You're supposed to be a Normal type gym leader, aren't you? But only one of your Pokémon has even been Normal type!"

"Well, first off," Whitney huffed. "That's only the gym, not the Pokémon. And my gym's a normal gym, so there."

"She's kind of got a point, though," Brock said. "Your Pokémon aren't very… normal."

"Second off," Whitney continued. "I only picked Normal because Cute wasn't a type! If I said Fairy then I wouldn't be able to use Miltank or Deerling or Nidorina, for a start!"

She rolled her eyes. "And have you seen Bruno's team? I mean, really. Fighting specialist? Please…"

After that, Whitney blinked. "...what were we doing again? Oh, yeah – ready, challenger? Then let's begin!"

"Remember, Totodile, don't get too close to Nidorina," Ash advised. "She might poison you."

"Aww, why would I do that?" Nidorina asked. "Especially to such a cutie like you!"

She winked. "And so tough, too! I bet I couldn't even beat you without you doing it to yourself!"

Totodile blushed.

"Hydro Pump!" Ash called.

The Water-type skipped to the side, tripped over, and exploded.

"You don't see that every day," Pikachu commented. "Well, at least not when it's not Pineco doing it."

"What just happened?" Brock asked.

"I think Nidorina just used Flatter?" Ash guessed, as the clouds of mist faded to reveal Totodile unconscious in the bottom of a crater. "And Totodile got confused, but he had so many boosts he kind of… yeah."

He withdrew his Water-type. "Okay, Articuno, make sure you don't get caught in the same trap!"

Articuno emerged from her Pokéball a second time, this time flying up to the top of the battlefield straight off, and Whitney snapped her fingers. "Ice Beam!"

"Psycho Cut!" Ash retaliated, and Articuno sliced the attack in half with the edge of her wings.

"Wonderful!" Whitney praised. "That's so elegant of her – now, defensive Bite!"

Articuno's Extrasensory hit the Bite attack instead of reaching Nidorina herself, and Ash frowned. "Okay, close in – use Steel Wing to defend yourself!"

"That was a very good battle," Whitney said, as she recalled Nidorina. "In fact-"

Regigigas used Mega Punch.

Articuno exited the gym through a perfectly Articuno-shaped hole in the roof.

"Oh, what do you know," Whitney said, checking her watch. "Twelve and a half minutes. Good to know!"

She smiled. "You can take the Plainbadge now, or you can have the extra challenge of beating Regigigas – either now or later. Your choice!"

"Well, it was your first challenge," Ash said. "So… I guess I'd kind of like to think about it a bit? I might be able to come up with something."

"And I had such hopes for this gym to be normal," Misty sighed. "Though… you have handled Ash better than anyone else I've seen so far. Can I get some tips?"

Later that same day, they ran into Suzy – the trainer who Brock was borrowing Vulpix from.

Much to Brock's pleasure, she said that Vulpix was clearly blossoming under Brock's care. Vulpix immediately demonstrated that by using Vine Whip, one of her tails flicking across to draw the vine and make it appear out of thin air, and Suzy clapped.

"You see?" she asked. "I'd never have imagined any Pokémon could do something like that. What do you think, Vulpix – I was going to see if you were happy with Brock, but it looks like you are."

Vulpix nodded, which got a smile from Suzy.

"And how's your Eevee doing?" she went on.

"Brock's Eevee still isn't sure what she wants to be," Ash provided. "Yesterday she said she wanted to be an Ampharos."

"She's an excitable little fluffball, is what she is," Brock said, smiling warmly. "Though I think if she ever does pick what to evolve into and it's actually possible, I'll have her think it over for a day or two so she's sure…"

"That sounds like a plan," Suzy agreed. "Well, I'll try to catch one of your Contests, Brock – especially one where you use Vulpix!"

"Hmm…" Ash mused, that evening. "I'm sure there must be some way to beat Regigigas…"

He sat back in his seat. "What do we know about them? I guess… normally it takes them a while to start up, but they're so tough that there doesn't seem much point in attacking them during that time…"

"I could probably do it," Pikachu suggested. "With enough of a boost."

"That could work, but it feels like there's something else…" Ash replied, still thinking. "Something from how that battle went… hey, Brock?"

Brock looked up. "Something wrong with the food, Ash? I hope not, because you finished yours."

"No, it's fine," Ash assured him. "I am kind of surprised you're cooking while we're in town, though."

"It's relaxing," Brock told him. "Plus, I want to make sure Bulbasaur's getting just the right nutrients to get stronger without having to evolve."

"Neat," Ash pronounced. "Anyway, uh, what's the word for something you can't get rid of, no matter how hard you try? I mean, uh, in a metaphysical sense."

"It sounds like you're talking about an immovable object," Brock said. "It's an old idea, about the irresistible force being something which will move anything out of the way and the immovable object being something that can't be moved out of the way. And you can't have both, otherwise when one hit the other you wouldn't know what would happen."

"...aha!" Ash said. "That's what I need to do! Thanks, Brock!"

He held out his arm, and Pikachu jumped up onto it. "I'm going to go get some training in!"

"So, did you work out what you wanted?" Whitney asked, the next morning.

"Yeah, and it's a battle!" Ash replied. "How many Pokémon can I use for battling Regigigas?"

"Hmm, good question," Whitney admitted. "Let's say… three, because that's how many I used in the main battle and this is kind of an extra thing."

"That's great," Ash said. "Ready?"

"Sure," Whitney agreed, as her Miltank wheeled Regigigas out again into the middle of the gym floor – which had been hastily patched up from the previous day's fighting.

There was a tarpaulin over the hole in the roof.

"Start it up, Regigigas!" Whitney added.

"You first, Totodile!" Ash called. "Remember that move we were practicing?"

Totodile put his paw to the base of his muzzle. "Oh! I remember that one because it's sort of like a dance!"

He put his arms up, and began chanting and stamping his feet. "Kikiki! Kakaka!"

"What the heck are you doing?" Miltank asked.

"No, it's haka!" Totodile replied, then did it again. "Ka mate! Ka mate!"

"Again!" Ash called. "Keep it up… good!"

Totodile finished the dance, and did a claw-thumbs-up.

"Okay, come back!" Ash said. "Great work! Now, Clefairy, your turn!"

Clefairy came out, and Whitney looked interested.

"Ooh, that's a new one!" she said. "Of course that one's approved, I've got a Clefairy too!"

"Cosmic Power," Ash ordered. "Boost yourself up – then use Gravity, make that Regigigas float!"

"Le pouvoir des étoiles!" Clefairy announced, a purple glow building up around her, then she struck a pose and pounded her hand onto the floor. Light flashed out across the gym, and Regigigas twitched before rising into the air.

"Rise up with it, so you can make the field as strong as possible!" Ash advised. "Before Regigigas finishes booting up!"

"Oui!" the Fairy-type said, bouncing across the gym floor and jumping up to join her opponent in the reversed-gravity field. Her wings twitched as she stayed close, rising slowly up nearly to the roof, and then she twitched her fingers. "La gravité, c'est une maîtresse dure."

Regigigas suddenly went from weighing slightly less than nothing to weighing slightly more than twice normal, and hit the floor of Goldenrod gym with a wham that shook the foundations.

"Keep it up!" Ash called. "Lift it again!"

"This is like that thing about how the best thing to hit your opponent with is a nearby planet, isn't it?" Pikachu observed, on the fifth lift. "Still, Regigigas is very durable, and-"

Whitney's watch beeped.

"Mega Punch!" she ordered.

"Merde," Clefairy sighed, then got punched out the wall.

"Great work, Clefairy!" Ash called out the hole in the wall, as Regigigas landed back on their feet. It wobbled slightly, and Ash kept a careful eye on the Normal-type.

"Okay, now it's your turn!" he added, raising a Pokéball. "Suicune, Agility!"

Suicune emerged with a flash, moving with literally fluid grace, and dodged away from Regigigas' first Mega Punch.

"Do it again!" Whitney called. "No, wait, Mach Punch!"

Regigigas ran after Suicune, fists pumping, and then the Water-type kicked off the wall to dart right back at Regigigas.

There was a whoosh of smoke and Suicune vanished, turning into Zorua, who ran between Regigigas' legs and kicked out at its knee as it went past. The Normal-type fell over with a wham, got up, then spun around to face the now-revealed Zorua.

And punched itself, very hard indeed, in the face.

"Oh, I get it!" Whitney said, as Regigigas sloooowly toppled over backwards. "That was Swagger you had Totodile do, right? And then that was Foul Play?"

She put a finger to her lips. "I was wondering whether Suicune counted as cute or not, but I guess Zorua does, and neither of them are ugly! So that's a win for you!"

AN:

Seems Normal enough to me.

Really, Regigigas and Miltank both have the same thing going on… they build up momentum, and all that.