Ash had made a funny little observation about his travelling partner, other than the fact that she only wanted to tag along till Oldale Town but was still around. Every time he mentioned the Petalburg Gym, she would have a mini freak out. It began at the Oldale Pokemon Center when two trainers were talking about the new Gym Leader at Petalburg City. May had gone red and rushed out. Ash hadn't thought anything of it then, but ever since then, every mention seemed to set up a similar reaction.
His funny observation turned funnier when May said she was going to buy some things when Ash decided to visit the Gym right after they healed their Pokemon.
Alone Ash stepped into the Gym, which looked to be empty.
"Hello?" Ash yelled, "Is the Gym Leader here? I am Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and I was hoping to challenge you for a Gym Badge!"
There was no response so Ash tried again.
This time a boy walked out carrying books. He stands and stares for a few moments.
"You're Ash from the Silver Conference right?" he asks.
"I am" Ash nods.
"I knew it!" excitedly the boy rushes over to Ash. "It was a shame you lost to Silver. His Feraligatr was well prepared for any scenarios."
"He was" Ash sighed at the reminder.
"Why are you here anyway? Don't tell me" the boy gasped before grabbing Ash's hand and pulling him deeper into the Gym. "Dad! You have a strong challenger!" the boy screamed. He ended up taking Ash to what was a living room, where three people were chatting. One was a man, another a woman, and the third…
"May?!"
As it turns out, May had a reason for the min freakout.
The Petalburg Gym Leader was her father.
The Petalburg Gym Leader Norman and his wife Caroline thanked Ash for helping their daughter with her first capture and for tips with Pokemon battling. The latter part seemed to affect on May that Norman ignored and May hid well enough that her mother didn't notice.
Ash challenged Norman to a battle, but to his dismay found out that Norman would only battle trainers that have earned at least four Gym Badges. Dejected Ash left the Petalburg Gym, but not alone. May decided to stick with Ash on his journey while Max insisted that he could learn a lot of things if he observed Ash battling or training.
So the three leave Petalburg together, heading to Rustboro City through the Petalburg Woods. Not too far in May complains that she is hungry, while Max complains that they should all continue so they can get out of the woods. Seeing an argument about to break out, Ash decides to step in as the experienced trainer in the group.
The three break for lunch for now. Nobody can journey on an empty stomach.
Ash was about halfway done with his Rice Ball when a black blur snatched the food out of his hand. The thief rests on the tree nearby, enjoying the rest of the Rice ball.
"A new Pokemon!" Max exclaimed with stars in his eyes. Ash pulls out his Pokedex to see what that Pokemon is.
"Taillow, the Tiny Swallow Pokemon. Taillow courageously stands its ground against foes, however strong they may be. This gutsy Pokémon will remain defiant even after a loss. On the other hand, it cries loudly if it becomes hungry."
Intrigued by how the Pokedex calls it a courageous Pokemon, Ash pulls out a Pokeball and calls his Blastoise out. Once more Max was left swooning at the sight of the Pokemon.
Taillow on the other hand seemed ready for the challenge.
Taillow dropped its Rice Ball and charged with Quick Attack. Blastoise tanked the hit easily before shooting the bird Pokemon down with an Ice Beam. Ash quickly threw a Pokeball and three shakes later the capture was completed.
Max was in awe of the battle.
Not too far from the exit Ash battles a bug catcher's Beedrill with his newly caught Taillow. Beedrill attacks with Twineedle and Taillow dodges with Quick Attack, before coming around and finishing it off with a Wing Attack. The two trainers shake hands after the battle and go their separate ways.
Right then May notices a Pokemon rush out of the bushes.
"A Zigzagoon!" Max exclaimed, "that one is much bigger than any I've ever seen before."
Ash takes out his Pokedex as more of those Zigzagoons pop out from the bushes.
"Zigzagoon, the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon. Zigzagoon restlessly wanders everywhere at all times. This Pokémon does so because it is very curious. It becomes interested in anything that it happens to see."
"I'm going to catch myself one" Ash declared, calling Taillow out. He targets the larger one with Quick Attack before the entrance of a bigger one interrupts their battle.
"That Zigzagoon is mine!" the larger Zigzagoon (revealed to be a human in a costume) declared.
The momentary distraction allowed the Zigzagoon and its pack to flee.
Angry Ash turned to the boy.
"That was a wild Pokemon!"
"And I had an eye on it longer than you have."
"You can't call dibs on a wild Pokemon!"
"I just did!"
The two trainers glare at one another, while May and Max watch with unease.
"A battle to decide who gets to catch it" Ash declared.
"You're on" the boy agreed, before quickly changing costumes to that of a Mudkip and sending out his Mudkip. Ash stayed with Taillow.
The battle began with Mudkip using Water Gun. Taillow used Quick Attack to dodge and strike, before pulling back and using Double Team. Mudkip fired its Water Gun everywhere, but not once hit Taillow. Taillow swooped in with Wing Attack, using his Doube Team to hide his attacks and landing hits on Mudkip until the Pokemon had fainted.
"Zigzagoon is mine" Ash declared, before rushing away with May and Max at his heels. Ash was angered that the boy would stop a wild Pokemon capture like that when there were plenty more of them in the forest.
Ash managed to track it down with his Taillow before engaging it in another battle. Taillow made quick work of the Zigzagoon, combining Quick Attacks and Wing Attacks for offence and defence before finally capturing his second Hoenn Pokemon.
Ash and the group had been wrong in their assessment.
What they assumed was an exit turned out to be a way to a clearing with a huge tree. Ash steps towards it, not noticing that he is on top of a steep hill. Ash rolls down the hill while Max and May slide down the slope and help Ash up.
"And you're supposed to be an experienced traveller!" Max scolds Ash, much to the boy's embarrassment. But before the talk could progress any further, they all noticed a group of Treeckos rushing to the tree.
Ash's eyes widened with glee. He'd wanted to capture a Treecko ever since he'd seen one at Professor Birch's Laboratory. He took a step with a Pokeball in hand, only to howl in pain when he felt a sharp sting on his foot.
There was a twig embedded in his shoe.
Ash looked up to see a Treecko staring him down, a twig in his mouth.
"I challenge you to a battle!" Ash shouted.
The Treecko looked excited, jumping down the tree and ready for a fight.
Ash sends out his Zigzagoon to fight.
Treecko spits its twig at Zigzagoon, who moves out of the way before reeling from a whack of Treecko's tail. Zigzagoon skidded to the side before zigzag charging with Meadbutt. Treecko dodges easily, slamming his tail into Zigzagoon again.
The battle paused when a large herd of Treecko surrounded them and an old Treecko slowly approached the one Ash was battling. Ash was startled to see an old Pokemon that had not evolved at all. He didn't even know that was possible.
The two Treeckos were saying something, the younger one growing more agitated by the moment before it shoved the older Treecko and rushed off. Slowly the rest of the Treecko file away, leaving only Ash, May and Max. The siblings want to move on, but Ash wants to set camp near the tree for tonight, worried about the younger Treecko.
As night fell and dinner was done, Ash watched the tree closely. It had no leaves on it and the colour of the bark suggested something bad was about to happen. A while later Treecko returns with a giant leaf of water, which it pours on the tree's base. Treecko goes away, coming back with another fresh leaf of water, only to find that Ash and his Blastoise are by the tree. At first, the Pokemon was on high alert and ready to fight but then noticed that Blastoise was watering the tree like Treecko had been. Treecko joins them not long after and waters the tree, Treecko growing closer to Ash.
As the sun rises on the horizon, both Treecko and Ash hear a loud crack. They both look up to see the tree beginning to split down the middle. Treecko tries his best to prevent the split but fails and the tree splits completely in half and falls over.
Treecko is visibly heartbroken.
Ash watched the Treecko with a sad frown, before looking down when he felt something bump against his shoe.
It was a seed.
Ash picks it up and takes it to Treecko. Treecko stares at the seed before taking it from Ash and planting it where the old tree once stood. Then it turned, ready to battle.
May and Max had woken up when they heard a loud crash. When the two came out of their tents, they saw Ash's Zigzagoon being sent out against Treecko.
Treecko dashed forward with Quick Attack while Zigzagoon zigzagged forward using Headbutt. Treecko missed its attack thanks to the Zigzagoon's odd movements and was hit by the Headbutt. Ash took the opportunity to call for Dig and Zigzagoon dug underground, breaking out from under Treecko the next moment, sending the Pokemon upwards from the impact. Ash threw a Pokeball at the still airborne Treecko and the Pokeball sucked it in. Ash waited with tension as the Pokeball shook as it fell to the ground. When the thing touched the ground, it clicked to confirm the catch.
Ash celebrated his new capture, unaware that he was being watched by the herd of Treecko from the trees. They all walked away without another word.
Not too far from where Ash caught his Treecko, another Pokemon waddled out before the travelling trio. Ash pulled out his Pokedex, having never seen that Pokemon before.
"Cacnea, the Cactus Pokemon. Cacnea lives in arid locations such as deserts. It releases a strong aroma from its flower to attract prey. When prey comes near, this Pokémon shoots sharp thorns from its body to bring the victim down."
"Weird that Cacnea is here when it lives in deserts" Max pointed out after hearing the Pokedex's explanation.
A thought occurred to Ash that made his stomach drop. He approached the Pokemon, ignoring Max's and May's warnings. Cacnea stared at Ash and the look was all he needed for a confirmation.
The Pokemon had been abandoned.
Ash knelt before the Pokemon and held out a hand.
"Hello Cacnea," Ash said with a smile.
Cacnea stared at Ash, then the hand before it extended its hand and shook Ash's hand.
"You were left here, weren't you" Ash stated.
Cacnea's only reaction was a slight press into Ash's hand.
"Would you like to join me on my journey? I promise we're gonna have the best time together and get very strong."
Cacnea stared at Ash for a moment before smiling. It jumped into Ash's arms, making the boy yelp in pain from the thorns.
All Max and May could do was stare in surprise. Neither of them thought they could also catch Pokemon like that.