Part 7: Reunion"Petalburg City Pokemon Gym
Leader: Norman - 'A Man in Pursuit of Power!'"
...
I stepped through the front doors and came face-to-face with a man I hadn't seen in some time. He looked at me quizzically for a second, and then recognition lit up his face.
"Ing? Ing, is that you?"
I grinned. "Hi, Dad."
I stepped forward and gave him a brief hug, which he returned awkwardly. Then he pushed himself away with a laugh. "So son, I guess you're here for the gym challenge? May I see your Pokemon?"
I gave an inward sigh - I just wanted to see him, not battle! - but showed him all of my new friends anyway. Dad took his time examining them, a frown on his face. "Ing, you can't be serious. These Pokemon...they're all too weak! They wouldn't last five minutes in my gym!"
Well, my Pokemon were pretty upset at that, especially Champ, but Dad wasn't finished yet. "I thought I taught you better than this! You shouldn't be wasting time on weaklings when there's a whole world of powerful Pokemon out there!"
Thankfully, I was spared further tongue-lashing by a hesitant knock on the door. A gangly kid poked his head inside, looked around, and walked towards Dad. In a thin voice, he asked Dad if he could help catch a Pokemon to be his friend. Dad apparently knew the kid - Wally was his name - and told me to go along with him as back-up. I left the gym with Wally, grateful to get away.
Using Dad's Zigzagoon (which he must keep around just for such purposes), Wally managed to capture something called a Ralts. The look of joy on Wally's face made me smile, for it reminded me of when I met Champ for the first time. We returned to the gym, the kid beaming all the way and even making Dad lose his serious expression for a moment. After profusely thanking the both of us, Wally left.
I braced myself for another lecture, but I did not expect the next words to come out of his mouth.
"If you really want to challenge me...come back once you have four Gym Badges. Only then will you be strong enough to face my Pokemon. Start with Roxanne in Rustboro City. After that, you're on your own. And don't you dare come back before you're done."
Not trusting my voice to remain steady, I simply nodded and walked out.