"Ms. May has arrived! You bold lunatic, cease your arrogance!" the group of boys carried May right up to Ash.
May looked at Ash, deeply embarrassed. She never expected the "rude Trainer" they spoke of to be Ash; weren't they throwing her straight into a fire pit? Whether in a Contest or a regular battle, it was practically impossible to win against him!
The two boys who had brought Ash and Brock were equally awkward, as they knew Ash and Brock were Ms. May's companions!
Ash shook his head in disappointment. "Mr. Norman must be quite sad to have fans like you. May, do you want to have a match too?"
Under the gaze of the crowd, May had no choice but to brace herself. "Combusken, take the stage!"
"Cha mo~" Combusken saw it was battling Ash, then looked at the other Pokémon surrounding them. It turned its head to May, asking, Are you sending me out here just to get knocked out? Aside from the little one, Ralts, everyone here is stronger than me!
"Ralts, you go!" "Raru~"
"Are you looking down on Ms. May? You sent out your weakest Pokémon!" one of the boys shouted nearby.
"Shut up!" May snapped. The boys quickly retreated in silence.
"Combusken, Flamethrower!" "Ralts, Teleport!" The flames whizzed past Ralts, which had already warped behind Combusken!
"Ralts, Confusion!" "Raru~" "Oh no, Combusken, dodge quickly!" It was too late. The blue psychic energy had already taken control of Combusken!
"It's over! Ralts, Psybeam!" Ash showed no mercy. The multicolored beam flashed, "Cha mo~" The 2x super effective attack defeated Combusken!
"Thanks for your hard work, Combusken! As expected, we lost!" May returned Combusken, disheartened.
The citizens felt like the sky was falling—Ms. May actually lost! Just then, another group of people approached. "Huh?! Ms. May and young Max are here? Then... who is that 'Norman family' holding the autograph session over there?"
The vegetable delivery woman roared, "What? You saw Ms. May? I knew those people over there were fakes!"
The group, hearing this, immediately ignored May's loss and marched off angrily to find the fake Norman. Their true allegiance was to Lord Norman; the others were just secondary! Ash and the others followed.
As for Team Rocket, they had already packed up and fled with a sack full of cash, followed by a horde of fanatical fans! Unfortunately, their luck ran out. They were immediately intercepted by the vegetable delivery woman's group and then cornered when the vegetable vendor and his followers caught up! Team Rocket was surrounded!
However, the vegetable delivery woman and the vegetable vendor started arguing: "My group is chasing the real ones!"
"No, mine is the real one!"
"Husband, why are you running around instead of watching the stall?"
"I should be asking you! Why did it take you so long to deliver the groceries!"
Well, would you look at that! The two people who spread the news of the real May and the fake Norman were a married couple!
May and Max, furious, marched up to Team Rocket and examined them closely. "Are you my father?" James nodded awkwardly. "Are you my mother?" Jessie quickly nodded too.
Max looked at the taller, blue-skinned Wobbuffet and said blankly, "Is that me?" "Wobbuffet~"
May crouched down, grinding her teeth as she looked at Meowth. "Are you May?" "That's right, meow!" Meowth nodded.
"Are you kidding me?! I'm the older sister! And yet Max is taller than me! You bunch of jerks!" May shouted in anger.
Ash stepped forward. "It's easy to tell them apart, isn't it? Go, Poké Ball!" Ash threw an empty Poké Ball, hitting Meowth!
The Poké Ball absorbed Meowth! Silence fell over the crowd. "Meowth!" "Ms. May was captured?"
Then, the Poké Ball burst open. Meowth emerged, claws extended and panting, its disguise completely ruined!
"It really is you guys! Come out, Beautifly, use Gust!"
Beautifly flapped its wings, and a strong wind blew, sending the wigs of the Team Rocket trio flying!
"What?! They're fakes! Give me back my hard-earned money!" "Damn it, who are you people!"
"Since you asked so sincerely—"
Unfortunately, Ash wasn't going to listen to their motto. "Sorry, I don't have time for this! Typhlosion, Flamethrower!"
"Boom~" A huge pillar of fire flashed, sending Team Rocket soaring into the sky. Their sack of money dropped to the ground! Phew~ Ash felt much more relaxed.
"Twerp, you still have no honor! We didn't even finish our lines!" "Wobbuffet~ (If this wasn't a sneak attack, I would have returned that attack!)"
"We're blasting off again!" "Wobbuffet (???)~"
The citizens enthusiastically surrounded Ash. "Well done! You have the right to challenge Lord Norman!"
Ash, however, had no interest in engaging with them. Do I need your approval? No, I don't!
Arrival at Petalburg City
Ash and the others restored their Pokémon at the Pokémon Center and rested for the night. The next morning, after half a day of walking, they finally reached Petalburg City!
May and Max had finally returned to their long-missed hometown. "Yay! We're home! I want to show Mom and Dad my new partners!" May cheered excitedly.
Even the usually composed Max couldn't stop smiling!
The group decided to stay at May's home, the Petalburg Gym. However, Ash and the others were unaware that the atmosphere at the Gym was currently a bit weird...
As Ash and the others walked through the front gate, a man who was sweeping the floor greeted them. "Ms. May, young Max, you've returned!"
"Long time no see, Kinji! Is Dad here?" May greeted him with a smile.
"Uh~ The Master isn't at the Gym right now. It's just that the situation lately has been a bit complicated…" Kinji spoke hesitantly, bending down as if trying to discretely alert them. Before he could finish, Caroline (Mitsuko/美津子) emerged. "May, Max, welcome home!"
"Mom!" (x2) May and Max ran into Caroline's arms.
"Have you been well?" Caroline looked carefully at May and Max, smiling. "You both look like you've grown taller!"
"Aunt Caroline, long time no see!" "Hello!" Ash and Brock greeted Caroline.
"Ash, Brock, welcome! I've already prepared lunch. Please join us if you don't mind!"
"Yay! I haven't had Mom's cooking in ages!"
"Thank you for having us!"
Just then, Max asked curiously, "Mom, where exactly has Dad gone?"
Both Caroline and Kinji's expressions immediately changed. Kinji started frantically sweeping to draw attention, while Caroline quickly led everyone inside, changing the subject. However, May had already noticed something was wrong and frowned as she entered the house.
Kinji watched Caroline lead the group inside and sighed helplessly. He wished the Master good luck.
Ash and the others endured an awkward lunch. Every time Norman was mentioned, both Caroline and Kinji's faces changed. When Combusken was mentioned, it almost resulted in two broken chopsticks and a dented pot! Even Max noticed something was amiss!
After lunch, Kinji secretly led the group to the greenhouse and relayed all the information: that Norman and Nurse Joy's relationship had become suspicious lately, and that Norman was constantly running off to the Pokémon Center.
"What?! With Nurse Joy!" May's eyes widened.
"Does that mean Dad has fallen in love with someone other than Mom?" Max asked nervously.
Kinji sighed. "Alas, it seems that way."
"No way!" May and Max felt their beliefs were about to shatter.
"Let's not jump to conclusions," Ash quickly tried to intervene, trying to save Norman from being beaten to death when he returned! Ignoring the fact that Ash knew the plot, the words exchanged between Norman and Caroline when he and May left still resonated with him. How could such a loving couple fall out of love in such a short time? Perhaps Norman was preparing some sort of surprise?
"A surprise?!" (x4)
"Alright, let's find out what Dad is up to!" May still couldn't believe her father was that kind of person and was determined to investigate!
Just then, the Team Rocket trio, who had gotten lost in the greenhouse, happened to witness this scene! They immediately set their sights on Norman's Slakoth line, thinking they could offer them to Giovanni for a promotion and raise!
Meanwhile, Caroline had already started packing her things, preparing to go back to her parents' home, declaring that this marriage was over!