Ash arrives in Petalburg.

Enjoy the story.

Ash unwrapped his hand gingerly. The swelling had gone down, but it was still tender. The day before it had been bandaged, but Ash had quickly found that it was too much trouble. His hand would be just fine without the bandage. With it off, Ash leaned back as his pokemon continued to sleep as the sun rose.

After returning to the pokemon center he had been interrogated as they wrapped his hand. He then got a lecture on interfering with criminals, but they insisted I stayed till they were done. It hadn't ended till several hours after noon, and he wasn't able to get to Petalburg. He had camped overnight, but he would now reach Petalburg before noon.

Ash set to preparing breakfast when his pokemon started to rouse themselves. His cooking had improved marginally, but Ash still found it annoying. He made soup, and then put together some sandwiches to finish. He then announced breakfast to his pokemon.

After they ate, he returned Torchic and Meowth, but decided to let Mudkip stay out. That pokemon was so hyper that even Ash felt his temper frayed by the end of the day. As Ash walked on the trail, Mudkip led the unfortunate Pikachu on a pointless game of cat and mouse. Pikachu gave up after a while, and jumped on Ash's shoulder for the rest of the trip.

Ash found himself looking down on Petalburg City right on time. While not being overly large, it was still a good sized place. Far larger than Pallet Town. He knew the Gym was on the edge of the city, but he figured he would probably need to look for a while.

He looked at Mudkip and ordered, "Get up on my shoulder. We should not risk you getting hurt or separated." He waited till Mudkip was purchased on his left shoulder before heading to the city.

Ash started searching through the streets. Mudkip was looking around, this must be his first time in a city. Ash decided to wait a little while before heading to the gym. He started to explore the different shops. He actually got lucky and bought a handheld cookbook.

At the end, Ash decided to spend some time in the park. The park was several acres of extremely beautiful scenery. It was cut and modified till it seemed like an imaginary world. Ash sat on a bench as the sun shown down. The day was beautiful. The sky was perfectly clear with only small dollops of fluff mixed in. The entire park seemed to glow with health and vibrancy. It was only marred by an argument nearby. Ash felt irritated by the annoyance and looked over. It was two boys and a girl. The boys were pretty nondescript. Both were completely average at first glance. The girl was not so. She had brown hair that was covered by a red bandanna with two strips running down either side of her face. She was wearing a red jacket, and tight black shorts that were partially covered by the bottom of a white t-shirt. She also had a well endowed body, Ash noticed. She was pretty, and Ash could immediately read the body language of the two boys.

"Come on, why not just come to the mall with us?" one of the guys asked.

The girl gave a nervous laugh before stating, "I'm sorry, but I'm busy." She then tried to turn around and walk away.

The other boy grabbed her wrist and stated, "I insist. We can treat you to a good time. What else do you have to do?"

The girl seemed afraid and nervous as she claimed, "I'm meeting my boyfriend to go shopping. He'll be here any minute." It was a clear lie to Ash's ears.

The boys didn't buy it either and one said sarcastically, "So why not just wait for him here? If he is late, he doesn't deserve you and you can come with us." The boy still had her wrist in his hand, and Ash knew that she was trapped.

Ash acted. He had bee approaching them and now walked into the situation. He confidently slung his arm around the girl's shoulder before saying with perfect obliviousness, "Hey, sweetheart. You ready to go shopping? I promise to buy you whatever you want." The three were frozen in shock. Ash now leaned in and appeared to give the girl a peck on the cheek, but whispered softly, "Just play along." He then pulled away with the same smile and acted surprised like he had just noticed the boys. He then asked, "Are you two my darling's friends?"

The two boys blinked in confusion. They hadn't actually been expecting someone to show up. They were now faced with a person who, to their knowledge, was the boyfriend of the girl they had just been harassing. Neither knew what to say.

The girl now spoke up, but she didn't seem to know what to say, "Well…not really…They were just trying to. Never mind. Let's just go shopping." She then tried to tug Ash's arm.

Ash pulled her in and asked in a concerned voice, "They were trying to what?" When she stuttered, he put on a grim face. He quickly said to her, "Go to your house. I'll meet you there once I'm done."

The girl seemed confused by the sudden turn of events, but Ash gave her a look that made her nod and walk away. One of the boys, without thinking, raised a hand to stop her. Ash reached out quickly and grabbed his wrist in an iron grip. This stopped the action of the men.

Ash watched as the girl walked away and anger engulfed him. He turned his head and fixed a death glare on the two boys. He tightened his grip, and the boy was forced to bend down in pain. Ash felt himself losing control as he snarled, "Now how about I teach you a lesson about forcing yourself on women."

He tightened the grip with impossible strength. The kid dropped to his knees and he clutched his hand. Ash was right at the point of breaking the kid's arm. The other kid was frozen in fear. There was no other word for the glint that was in this stranger's eyes. Murder.

Ash was interrupted by a stern yelling. Ash looked over his shoulder to see Pikachu staring at him with sparks coming out of his cheeks. The sight calmed Ash down and he took a deep breath before looking at the boys again. He shoved the kid down before saying seriously, "Consider what the other person feels when you do that. You can cause unbelievable damage. Next time, I might not be so forgiving." Ash turned his back on the men and walked away. Pikachu fell into step with him as they walked towards the bench where Mudkip was laying. Ash said quietly, "Thanks Pikachu. It's been a while since I lost control like that. I might have permanently damaged those kids. I guess old grudges die hard."

Ash had found the gym remarkably easily. He had simply asked a pleasant married couple, and he had been given clear and accurate directions to the place. He now stood outside the gym.

He walked through the gates tentatively. Usually they had their gates closed or something which would allow challengers to announce their challenge. It felt weird that the gates here were opened. It made it feel more like a house than gym, and there was probably some probable clause to it. Several gym leaders actually lived at the gym they ran. Maybe the new gym leader was the same way.

Ash found what looked like a gym room, and entered the building. It was clearly a battlefield. There was the regular rectangular area, but this one seemed to have regular house padding on the floor. Supporting the rumors that this was a normal type gym. Ash now called, "Hello, is the gym leader here?"

Ash waited a couple seconds before repeating it louder. This time a voice said, "Can't even read in peace." Out came a small boy. He was short, and had bluish hair. He also had a large pair of glasses on and was carrying a book. The kid looked at Ash before getting excited and stating, "You were in the Silver Conference."

Ash nodded and said, "Yep."

The kid then stated, "You lost in the second round."

Ash frowned, but admitted, "Yeah, I lost to a great trainer. Nothing I could do about it."

The kid smirked and adjusted his glasses before asking, "Don't you think that you could have used Charizard's moves more effectively."

Ash crossed his arms and questioned, "And how would you have battled?"

Max seemed shocked by his response and stated, "I would have used Charizard's flying type characteristics on the fighting type Blaziken."

Ash smiled and countered, "Except Blaziken has amazing jumping ability. Any flying moves Charizard had, he needed to get into the air, but Blaziken wouldn't allow it." When the boy didn't have a counter, Ash grinned and continued, "See I had to deal with Charizard being restricted. Blaziken had the clear advantage on the ground, and Charizard couldn't go in the air because of Blaziken's jumping. I was forced to play on his turf, and fight his battle. That is why I lost, not any issue of power. I used everything I could, but overall, experience and planning won that day. A good trainer needs to realize his mistakes and fight to overcome them. A battle is never cut and dry. You need to learn to see and react to the little things in a battle. A book can never teach you how to do that."

"Well said, young man," a voice said from behind him. Ash turned to see a tall man entering. He had hair similar to the young kid's. This must be the gym leader. The man continued, "Good to see someone who realizes what you just stated."

Ash walked up to the man and announced, "I'm Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town." He stuck out his hand.

The man smiled and replied, "And I am Norman Maple. I'm the gym leader here."

Another women walked up with a pleasant smile on her face. She was a pretty women, and she immediately introduced herself, "I'm Caroline Maple. I'm Norman's wife."

Ash inclined his head and claimed, "It's an honor to meet you."

A voice now called from outside, "Am I allowed to enter the gym now, Dad?"

Norman laughed and yelled back, "You and Max only respect that rule when I am around. I don't see why I should enforce it now." He then turned to Ash and explained, "I try to not let my children in the gym. As you can see, they don't listen."

Ash gave a small nod and looked to see the new arrival. He stiffened. It was the same girl he had just helped. She had taken off the red jacket, but it was definitely her. She gasped when she saw Ash and exclaimed, "It's you."

Norman frowned and asked, "Do you two know each other, May?"

May looked at her father and explained, "No, but he helped me in the park just a little while ago."

Caroline now asked, "How did he help you?"

May seemed kind of embarrassed so Ash continued, "I was in the park when I saw two guys harassing a girl. I went up and managed to sort it out, but I told May to leave first."

Norman thought before stating, "Then we owe you a good thank you, but may I ask how you sorted it out."

Ash grinned and answered, "I pretended to be a boyfriend May had just made up. After she was gone, I just told the boys to get lost. There wasn't anything else worthy to mention though." He lied on the last bit.

Norman stiffened slightly before Caroline stated quickly, "Well, thank you for helping May."

Ash inclined his head again and stated, "I just did what I had to."

He was cut off though by May screaming as she pointed a finger at Mudkip, "It's that little monster."

Ash frowned and looked at Mudkip before saying, "Mudkip is a little doll. Definitely not a monster."

Caroline now asked, "What happened, dear?"

May quickly exclaimed, "When I went to get my pokemon from Professor Birch, that little beast sprayed me with Water Gun."

Ash now smacked his fist into his open hand and said, "So you are the girl that Professor Birch mentioned." Right as he said that, Mudkip jumped down from his shoulder and stared at May. Without warning he shot a Water Gun at her. Ash reacted in time and managed to move in the way. The attack splashed against his shirt. He immediately kneeled down and tapped Mudkip on the head and he ordered sternly, "Do not attack people. Even if it is just harmless fun. It isn't nice."

Ash looked up to see a pokemon flying over May's shoulder. The Torchic seemed to want to help May, and jumped around Ash before firing an Ember attack at Mudkip. Mudkip reacted immediately and swiped some of the wet dirt he had just created. The Mud-Slap attack extinguished the Ember and continued to connect with Torchic. It peeped in discomfort and started rolling around. Mudkip tried a Tackle, but Ash snatched it out of the air.

Now Ash was annoyed and said to Mudkip seriously, "No. Do not attack another pokemon unless you are ordered to." Ash looked over to see May cuddling her Torchic, and Ash returned Mudkip before walking over. He sat down and looked at the Torchic. It seemed close to crying. Ash reached out and started scratching the area of its neck. Torchic froze before slumping forward in pleasure.

May gasped and asked, "How are you doing that?"

Ash smiled before replying, "I figured out just recently that Torchic like being scratched here."

"How?"

Ash smiled and pulled out a poke ball and released Torchic. His pokemon looked around. May's jumped down and stared at its counterpart. Ash's was slightly larger, and in his opinion more tough looking. The two looked at each other before May's darted forward and pecked it affectionately on the head. The two now started to run around each other.

Norman walked up and asked, "How do you have both a Mudkip and Torchic? I figured you got your starter pokemon from Birch and then came here, but you have two starters."

Ash looked up and explained, "I didn't get a starter. Mudkip showed affection to me, and I had helped Professor Birch earlier. Since both trainers had gotten their starter pokemon, I was allowed to take Mudkip. Torchic, I just caught yesterday. It's a complicated story, but Torchic chose to come with me. I haven't had much time to work with them yet. I'm sorry about Mudkip."

May smiled weakly before claiming, "It isn't Mudkip's fault. Torchic attacked, and it won. But now you are all wet."

Ash looked down and saw that his black shirt was drenched from Mudkip's Water Gun. He laughed and stated, "Better me than you. My shirt will dry in several minutes."

May frowned and asked, "Why is that better."

Ash paused as a slow blush built on his face before he said simply, "Your shirt is white." May blushed as she realized what he meant. An awkward silence descended.

Norman now broke in, "Now that all this is done, I assume you came for a gym battle."

Ash stood up and replied calmly, "No, actually I didn't."

Norman frowned, "Then why are you here. No offense, you seem like an interesting young man and a promising trainer, but if you don't intend a gym battle, I don't see a reason for your visit. And I have to say I'm curious on why you are not going to challenge me."

Ash thought before explaining, "First I shall answer your last question. I heard several rumors when coming here. Such as you haven't yet lost a gym battle to an opponent on their first time. Which means you have a perfect first battle record. Second, I heard that you are the toughest gym leader in Hoenn. So, it would be foolhardy to challenge you first. I have four pokemon on me, and only Pikachu has experience battling. Most gym battles are at least two pokemon. I would prefer to travel some more and then come back and become the first person to defeat you on my first try."

Norman nodded and commented, "Very sensible. I have had too many overeager challengers that don't stand a chance."

Ash nodded and continued, "I came today though to challenge you to a battle. Not a gym battle, but just a practice match. I have several reasons, but I would prefer to not say now."

Norman put his chin in his hand before announcing, "Okay, I accept. Will a one on one do?"

Ash nodded and walked to one half of the battlefield. He then watched as Norman released a Vigoroth. It was a white monkey like creature that immediately started roaring in anticipation. It looked strong.

Ash pulled out a poke ball before saying to it softly, "I trust you. Just give it your all. Meowth, fight the battle." Out of his poke ball came the cat-like pokemon.

Meowth looked at the Vigoroth in shock. He was so shocked he broke the rule of remaining silent. He turned to Ash and exclaimed, "You are using me against a gym leader's pokemon. Are you crazy, twerp?"

Norman gasped and asked, "Did that Meowth just talk?"

Ash frowned before nodding, "Yes, Meowth is able to speak in human tongue. And yes, Meowth, I'm using you in a battle against a gym leader's pokemon. Just give it your all."

Meowth looked afraid and muttered, "You must be crazy if you think I can win."

Ash now said angrily, "Don't think of anything else besides your opponent. Vigoroth is the problem right now." Meowth stared at him a second before turning to his opponent.

Norman got over his shock and ordered, "Vigoroth, use Scratch attack." The Vigoroth started bounding forward.

Ash ordered, "Counter with Scratch too." Meowth formed his claws and swung them at Vigoroth. The two attacks connected, but Vigoroth had the clear advantage. His attack powered through and connected with Meowth. Meowth got flung across the floor, but Ash ordered, "Stand up and use Fury Swipes."

Meowth struggled to his feet before running towards Vigoroth again. Norman quickly yelled, "Vigoroth, use Fury Swipes also." The two struck at each other multiple times. The first several were equal, but soon Meowth was easily being pushed back. Now Norman yelled, "Scratch."

Vigoroth roared as it practically scooped Meowth up in its claws and threw it. Meowth flew through the air as he flipped and smashed into the wall. Meowth created a small hole before slipping down to hit the floor. Ash kneeled down and urged it, "Come on, Meowth. I know you got it in you to stand up. You would never quit through all those years. I know you won't quit now."

Meowth rose slowly and painfully to his feet before saying, "Whatever twerp. I'll keep going, but you just made a bad decision. I don't stand a chance in this battle."

Ash shook his head and stated powerfully, "The only time one doesn't have a chance is when they have given up."

Norman announced, "Touching, but this match is over. Vigoroth, use Focus Punch." Vigoroth started a weird three limbed run at Meowth and it raised a glowing fist into the air.

Ash waited till Vigoroth got closer before he yelled, "Flash." The coin on Meowth's head started to emit a blinding light. Vigoroth yelled in apain and Ash ordered, "Slash."

He didn't see, but he heard Vigoroth cry in pain. He then heard it hit the ground and saw Vigoroth on its back after being hit. It started to stand and Ash continued, "Fury Swipes."

Meowth now leaped forward. He started to claw at the pokemon. Vigoroth cried as the pain set in. It once again was hit onto its back, and Ash saw Meowth starting to stand taller with confidence.

Norman growled in concern before commanding, "Slash attack."

Ash leaned forward and ordered, "Counter with a Slash attack."

The two ran at each other as they raised their claws. The two lunged at each other and their attacks connected. Before their attacks had been grossly mismatched, but now it was a different Meowth. Ash saw it clearly. Meowth had gotten confidence in his battling. Now their attacks were about equal until Norman continued, "Now use Focus Punch with the other hand, Vigoroth."

Ash was caught by surprise and yelled desperately, "Night Slash." Stating Meowth's newest and strongest move. Meowth's other claws glowed black before colliding with the glowing fist of Vigoroth. This time they were only equal for a second. Then the attack penetrated and smashed into the face of Meowth. Meowth was thrown through the air viciously before colliding with the wall again. Meowth slid down ht wall. It was over from that super effective attacks.

Ash walked up to Meowth and helped him stand. "I'm sorry, twerp. I just wasn't strong enough."

Ash smiled and stated, "You did great. You managed to compete. Now it is just a matter of getting stronger." Ash now turned around and looked Norman, who was walking over.

"That was quite a match. I didn't think you would be able to compete against Vigoroth. I am already looking forward to our next match," Norman stated honestly.

Half an hour later, Ash was sitting on their deck as he watched his pokemon and May's Torchic run around. The entire Maple family was also gathered around. May stepped forward and broke the silence by asking, "Ash, you said earlier that Pikachu was your only pokemon with battle experience. Then why did you use Meowth against my dad's Vigoroth. Wouldn't Pikachu be a better choice."

Ash turned to her and gave her a smile which made her blush. He then stated "True, Pikachu would have been a smarter choice. Actually, Pikachu probably could have won that match. It would have been close, but I think me and Pikachu could have emerged victorious."

Norman smirked before commenting, "I don't think me and Vigoroth would agree with you."

Max now smirked too before saying, "Yeah, I've reviewed all the tapes where your Pikachu battled. It wouldn't stand a chance against dad and his pokemon."

Now Ash smirked before pointing out, "But me and Pikachu worked some in Pallet Town before coming here. We have some new tricks. Anyways, look at Meowth." He then pointed at the pokemon. Meowth was with Pikachu as they chased Mudkip, while Torchic was relaxing under a nearby tree. He then continued, "That is the first time I've seen Meowth on all fours. Meowth can talk and walk on his hind legs. He is almost more human then pokemon. He has refused to believe that he could be a battler. I needed an opponent that could inspire Meowth. By those simple attacks against a superior opponent, Meowth has gained an enormous amount of confidence. He is now thinking that he might be able to become strong."

Norman sat down and commented, "You truly are an extraordinary trainer, Ash. You were willing to accept a loss to allow your pokemon to gain confidence. I see now that our battle was mainly an opportunity to help your pokemon. I don't begrudge it now. Seems to make more sense to battle for a pokemon's pride than a piece of metal."

Ash laughed and stood up before saying, "I would consider both worthy, but I should be leaving soon. I'll be raveling through Petalburg Woods next. I'll then have reached Rustboro. That will be my first gym badge. I'll travel till I think I can beat you, Norman. Until then, don't lose. I want to be the first person to defeat you on the first try. Until then, good to meet you all."

He then turned his back and walked to his pokemon. He returned them and allowed Pikachu to climb onto his shoulder before walking away. The family looked as he left. The sun was lowering, and the lights gave him a majestic look. It was the most dignified exit possible.

"Man, he is sexy," May claimed without even realizing what she was saying. Norman frowned, Max looked in awe, and Caroline gave a small smile.

Ash is now heading towards his first gym battle.

What was up with Ash and that tantrum he had?

Ash has had an eventful visit in many ways. What will happen now?