Ash and May finally have made it to Petalburg City. May, who is falling behind, asks Ash what the big rush is. Ash tells her that he has a gym battle in Petalburg City. On their way to the gym, Ash and May decide to stop at a park to talk. Ash explains to May that once he gets eight badges, he will be able to qualify for the Pokémon League. May tells Ash that the gym leader is really nice. Ash wonders if May knows the gym leader. May tells him that he doesn't really know him. Then May decides to do some things while Ash has his gym battle.

Ash confronts the gym. Being confident, Ash walks inside the gym. Seeing that nobody is there, he calls out. A boy comes out wanting Ash to remain quiet because he is watching a video. Then the boy realizes that Ash was in the Johto League and that he lost in the second round. Ash sighs. The boy guesses that he is Alf but guesses wrong. Then he sees Ash's Pikachu and hugs it. The boy introduces himself as Max. Ash holds up his fist and tells him that he did make it to the victory round. Max goes about describing Ash's match with Charizard against Blaziken. Ash snaps at Max. He tells him that it takes skill to get into the last round of the Johto League, and that it is hard work. Max doesn't care because Ash still lost. Ash decides to end the discussion. He tells Max that he came for the gym leader. Max says that he is the Petalburg gym leader. Ash doesn't believe him, but Max makes a big fuss about it. Ash then believes that Max is the gym leader.

Max tells Ash that it will be a 3-on-3 battle. Ash is worried because all he has is Pikachu. Then Max tells Ash to send out his first Pokémon. Ash pauses and then tells Max that as a gym leader he is suppose to send out his Pokémon first. Both boys get into an argument when May appears. Ash is surprised when Max refers May as his sister. Two other people appear beside May. May introduces the people as her mother, Caroline, and father, Norman, to Ash. She also says that Max is her brother. Norman happens to be the real gym leader of the Petalburg gym. Norman asks about May's bike. May tells him that it got fried by Ash's Pikachu. Ash apologizes, but Norman tells him not to worry about it. Then everyone asks May of what Pokémon she got from Professor Birch. May sends out Torchic. Max is disappointed since she didn't pick Treecko. Making Torchic angry, Torchic begins to peck at Max. Max quietly says that he would've picked Treecko for his starter Pokémon. Torchic hears this and pecks at Max again. Caroline then invites Ash over for lunch.

At lunch, Ash discusses his journeys with his friends. May tells Norman that Ash would like to have a battle with him. Ash asks the gym rules. Max tells him that it is a 3-on-3 gym match and Norman agrees. Ash sighs since he only brought Pikachu with him. Norman thinks that Ash must have a lot of Pokémon since he got through the Johto League. Ash explains to them that all of his Pokémon are back in Pallet Town. Caroline offers Ash to have them transferred to the Pokémon Center. Ash refuses his offer since he only wants to use Pokémon that he catches in Hoenn. Norman decides to battle Ash even if it is not an official gym battle.

Ash sends in Pikachu and Norman sends out Vigoroth. Ash looks up Vigoroth in his Pokédex. He wonders what attacks Vigoroth knows. Vigoroth starts off with a Scratch attack in which Pikachu barely dodges. Vigoroth uses Scratch again which hits this time. Pikachu uses Quick Attack, but Vigoroth dodges that. Team Rocket is watching the battle from outside. They want to capture both Pikachu and Vigoroth to give to the boss. Pikachu tries a Thunderbolt, but with great speed, Vigoroth dodges that attack too. Pikachu aims for another Quick Attack which successfully hits Vigoroth. Another Scratch attack hits Pikachu again. May, Max, and Caroline are impressed at the battle. Another attack from Vigoroth sends Pikachu against the wall. Norman wins the battle. Ash is glad to see that Pikachu is okay.

Suddenly, Team Rocket blasts a hole through the wall and they say their motto. May shouts out, "Team Rocket!" at them, and Caroline thinks that they are May's friends. May tells her mother that Team Rocket are their enemies. Jessie sends out Arbok and James sends out Weezing. Weezing uses Smokescreen. The whole area is filled with smoke. Vigoroth tries to attack, but it can't see very well due to the smoke. Arbok then hits Pikachu with a Headbutt. Max thinks that May should send out her Pokémon. She agrees and sends out Torchic. Before May can call out an attack, Arbok hits Torchic with a Headbutt. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt but ends up hitting Max instead of Team Rocket. The smoke then clears. Vigoroth and Pikachu are both safe, however Torchic is gone. Everyone rushes outside. They see Team Rocket float away in their balloon. May is sad because her Torchic is now gone. Ash promises May that he will get Torchic back.

Thinking that they caught Pikachu, Jessie puts on her gloves and takes the Pokémon out of the bag. To her surprise, she takes out Torchic. Torchic is not the Pokémon that Team Rocket wants. Meowth suggests that they use Torchic to get Pikachu. Ash and co. walk in the middle of a field. They decide to split up to search for Torchic. Norman and Caroline go one way while Ash, May, and Max look in another direction. Max begins to search for tracks but doesn't find any. May tells him that Team Rocket was in a balloon. May shouts at Max to stop fooling around. Max begins to cry but May knows that Max is faking it. Norman and Caroline come out. They have spotted Team Rocket's balloon. Everyone is led to the place where the balloon is at. Torchic is locked up in a cage. May and Max run out to get Torchic, but they fall in a hole. Norman and Caroline then run out, but they fall in another hole. Team Rocket comes out laughing at them. Ash decides to use Bayleef, but then he remembers that Bayleef is not with him. Ash goes to the hole where May and Max is and helps them out. Arbok attacks, but Pikachu hits Arbok with a Quick Attack. Norman and Caroline then climb out.

Norman yells at Team Rocket for stealing May's first Pokémon. He sends out Vigoroth which attacks Arbok. James sends out Weezing. While they are battling, Max sneaks up and gets Torchic. He brings the cage to May. May opens the cage and takes Torchic out. Arbok regains its strength and wraps Vigoroth in its body. Pikachu slams its body into Arbok. May tells Torchic to use Ember, but it fires the attack at Max. May thinks of another attack that Torchic can do. Max suggests Peck, and Torchic begins to Peck at Max. Norman tells Vigoroth to finish it off. Vigoroth slams its body into both Arbok and Weezing. Both Pokémon fall backwards into Team Rocket. Then Pikachu uses a Thunderbolt, blasting Team Rocket off into the sky. May is glad that her Torchic is back. Max sees May and Torchic bonding with each other.

Now it is time for Ash and May to continue their journey. Max offers to go along with Ash and May since he knows a lot about Pokémon. Norman and Caroline think that it is a good idea. Norman then gives Ash and May a badge case. Ash thanks Norman for the gift. Then Norman gives Max a Pokémon Navigator. With that they will know exactly where they are. Norman suggests that they go to the closest city with a gym. That happens to be Rustboro City. Then Ash, May, and Max say goodbye to Norman and Caroline and they head to Rustboro City.

English Official Summary

Ash and May have made it all the way to Petalburg City—the first city with a gym. Ash is very excited to take on the gym leader. May seems a little uneasy—perhaps it's because she hasn't yet told Ash that her father, Norman, is the gym leader in Petalburg! When Ash first gets to the gym, he meets May's little brother, Max, who is pretending to be the gym leader. Max knows a lot about Pokémon and can't wait until he's old enough to become a trainer. Once Ash finally meets Norman, he learns that he will need three Pokémon in order to battle at the gym. He only has Pikachu with him. When Norman agrees to an unofficial battle, Ash encounters his first Vigoroth. Ash realizes that he will have to train hard in order to win a badge in Petalburg City. After a quick scuffle with Team Rocket, Ash and May are ready to hit the road again. Max has decided to tag along, too!

French Official Summary

Sacha arrive à Clémenti-Ville, où il doit découvrir sa première Arène de la région de Hoenn. Sacha est extrêmement impatient de défier le Champion, mais Flora semble un peu mal à l’aise, peut-être parce qu’elle n’a pas dit à Sacha que le Champion de Clémenti-Ville n’est autre que son père : Norman ! Cependant, lorsque Sacha arrive à l’Arène, il est défié par un jeune garçon qui se prétend le Champion de Clémenti-Ville ! Alors que la tension monte entre les deux jeunes gens, Flora arrive avec ses parents qui expliquent que le jeune garçon est leur fils : Max. Même si Sacha ne répond pas aux exigences d’un combat officiel, Norman accepte de livrer contre lui un combat à un contre un, avec le Pikachu de Sacha contre son Vigoroth. Comment Sacha va-t-il pouvoir faire face à ce nouveau et puissant Pokémon ?

German Official Summary

Ash und Maike sind in Blütenburg City angekommen – dem ersten Ort mit einer Arena. Ash ist schon ganz gespannt auf den Arenaleiter.

Italian Official Summary

Ash e Vera hanno raggiunto Petalipoli, la prima città con una Palestra. Ash è felicissimo di poterne affrontare il Capopalestra.

Portuguese Official Summary

Ash está pronto pra sua primeira Batalha de Ginásio na Região de Hoenn—e o Líder de Ginásio que ele deve enfrentar é ninguém menos do que o pai da May!

Spanish Latin America Official Summary

Ash está listo para su primera batalla de Gimnasio en la región Hoenn, ¡y el Líder de Gimnasio que enfrentará es nada menos que el padre de May!

Spanish Official Summary

Ash llega a Ciudad Petalia y al primer Gimnasio que ha encontrado en la región de Hoenn. Aunque Ash está deseando enfrentarse al Líder de Gimnasio, este parece tener ciertos reparos, quizá porque aún no le ha contado a Ash que su padre es el Líder de Gimnasio, ¡Norman! Sin embargo, al llegar al Gimnasio, a Ash le reta un joven que afirma ser el Líder del Gimnasio de Ciudad Petalia. Cuando la tensión crece entre ambos, Aura llega con sus padres, quienes le explican que se trata de su hijo Max, y permiten a Ash retar a su primer Líder de Gimnasio de Hoenn. Aunque Ash no satisface los requisitos para un encuentro oficial, Norman accede a un combate de práctica entre el Pikachu de Ash y su Vigoroth. ¿Cómo hará frente Ash a este nuevo y poderoso Pokémon?

English Great Britian Official Summary

Ash and May have made it all the way to Petalburg City—the first city with a gym. Ash is very excited to take on the gym leader. May seems a little uneasy—perhaps it's because she hasn't yet told Ash that her father, Norman, is the gym leader in Petalburg! When Ash first gets to the gym, he meets May's little brother, Max, who is pretending to be the gym leader. Max knows a lot about Pokémon and can't wait until he's old enough to become a trainer. Once Ash finally meets Norman, he learns that he will need three Pokémon in order to battle at the gym. He only has Pikachu with him. When Norman agrees to an unofficial battle, Ash encounters his first Vigoroth. Ash realizes that he will have to train hard in order to win a badge in Petalburg City. After a quick scuffle with Team Rocket, Ash and May are ready to hit the road again. Max has decided to tag along, too!

Russian Official Summary

Эш с нетерпением ждет своей первой гим-битвы в регионе Хоенн в Петалбург Сити. В гиме он знакомится с Максом, мальчиком-всезнайкой, который притворяется гим-лидером. Выясняется, что Макс - младший брат Мэй, а их отец, Норман, и есть гим-лидер. Эшу не хватает покемонов для битвы три-на-три, но Норман принимает вызов Эша на неофициальное состязание. Пикачу Эша прекрасно сражается, но проигрывает Вигороту Нормана в последнем раунде. Команда Р нападет и похищает Торчика Мэй, и вся семья, включая Эша, отправляется на его поиски. Наши герои побеждают команду Р, а маленький Торчик научился применять атаку клювом и тлеющие угли. Когда Эш и Мэй снова отправляются в дорогу, родители Мэй просят их взять Макса с собой, а Норман дает им в дорогу поке-навигатор, прибор, который всегда укажет дорогу.

Dutch Official Summary

Ash is klaar voor zijn eerste Gym Gevecht in de Hoenn regio en de Gym Leader waartegen hij het moet opnemen is niemand minder dan May's vader!

Danish Official Summary

Ash er klar til sin første Salkamp i Hoenn-regionen – og hans modstander er ingen anden end Mays far!

Swedish Official Summary

Ash är redo för sin första Gym-strid i Hoenn-regionen; och Gym-ledaren han måste möta är ingen annan än Mays pappa!