Oh, so Norman can crush Newbies but I can't!?!

Ace looked at the field and scratched his cheek, turning off the music. He walked over to the listless kid and said, "Ahem! Well, the good news is that you didn't panic as much as I thought you would!" The kid looked at him with dazed eyes.

Ace looked guilty and coughed, "What's your name, kid." The kid replied, "Johnny." Ace nodded, "Well, Johnny, listen. Your Pokemon have great Potential, Roserade and Golduck are pretty good. This is my first Gym Battle, so I might've been a bit too hard on you."

He rubbed his chin and added, "If you want my opinion, Grass and Water aren't a great combination. Most Grass types need Sunny Day for the best combos, unless you have a Lotad, then you can use it's raindish… Ahem! Anyway, you didn't panic, that's a great start! For the Future, I want you to focus on getting your commands out quicker."

He nodded and continued, "In Singles, it doesn't really matter, but in Double Battles, you need to target specific Pokemon. Just calling out the moves isn't gonna work. Pokemon are real creatures, they need you to guide them to show off their best abilities, you know?"

Johnny nodded absentmindedly and Ace rubbed his head with a smile, "Hey, pick yourself up, Johnny. Personally, I'd recommend trying to find a Murkrow in Eterna Forest and doing a bit of training there before you battle Gardenia. She only uses Grass types…"

He paused before warning seriously after remembering something, "Don't be fooled by her! She's crazy for Grass Pokemon, if she asks for your Budew, don't give it to her! Also, don't tell her I said that, if she comes to Oreburgh it'll be a headache. Oh! By the way, for your Budew, she can only evolve through friendship in the day time."

He looked at Budew and picked her up gently, teasing the little face with a smile, "The more connection you have to your Pokemon, the stronger they'll be! If you'd like, there's a Shop in the Plaza that sells Training Machines with all sorts of Moves." 

Johnny nodded as he took back Budew, before sighing, "I don't have much money…" Ace pulled out a Voucher, "Don't worry, I own the shop. Here's a Voucher for one Free TM." Johnny was stunned and Ace scratched the back of his head with a laugh, "You're my first Gym Trainer! Uh… I'm working on it…"

He paused and smiled, "I can't give you the Badge in good faith, Johnny. But! When you have 4 Badges, or when your Budew evolves to Roserade, come back." Johnny nodded seriously, "I will!"

Ace gave him a thumbs up and added, "By the way, there are also Videos of the Lily of the Valley Conference. Lots of old ones too, check them out when you have time, okay? Specifically, Battles number 4936, 241, and 7790. They're also available in my shop, just ask the Attendant and tell her I told you. Finally… Sorry for the botched Gym Battle, here."

Ace handed him a Shiny Stone, "This Stone will evolve Roselia to Roserade." he put it in Johnny's hands, warning seriously, "But don't be impatient! Pokemon are very special creatures, some of them can only learn moves in certain periods of their life cycle. Like For example; Roselia in the whole evolution line is the only stage capable of learning new moves. If you rashly evolve her on the spot, you'll miss out on a lot of moves…"

She shrugged and smiled, "At that point, I'll have a lot more of your money since you can only use TMs to teach moves." Johnny remembered it and looked at Ace seriously, "Thank you! I'll be back for the badge, I promise!" Ace nodded and smiled, "I'll have Rock Types by then! Haha!"

Johnny smiled and shook his head, leaving the Gym with his Pokemon. He paused at the door and scratched his cheek, asking worriedly, "Do I still need to run next time?" Ace laughed and nodded, "Of course!" he waved his fist, "If you can't run for 4 hours next time, I'll train you myself for 4 months!" Johnny's face changed and he left quickly, convincing himself to train with his Pokemon…

Who wants to be stuck here for 4 months?!

After he left, Ace pulled out his phone and called Nurse Joy, "Joy, I just finished off a Challenger." Nurse Joy had a question mark over her head, why did that sound so bad? She asked in confusion, "What?"

Ace blinked and explained, "Well, a challenger came and I killed him in under a minute…" Nurse Joy was speechless on the other end before chiding, "Ace, you have to teach them, not crush them. Don't tell me you used your Main team?!" Ace looked at Dreepy and Applin, who were dancing in a circle with Flaaffy…

It looked like a Sumerian Ritual Dance for summoning demons…

He looked at them for a moment before saying slowly, "Well… You can say that! I'm training the new Members…" Nurse Joy shouted, "Dreepy and Applin?!" Ace was speechless as Joy snorted, "Hmph! Hmph! It's a Rock Type Gym and the Gym Leader uses Dragon Types! Wow! I can't believe it!"

Ace opened his mouth, "I-" Joy snorted again, "You have an opinion?! How about I come challenge you?! Hmm?!" Ace looked at his phone speechlessly before Joy snorted, "You know my Blissey is a mutated version! Maybe I should be the Gym leader too?!"

Ace's lips twitched, it was true, this Joy's Blissey had Huge Power for some reason… Apparently, the Parents were Chancey and Azumarill… No, this wasn't the point! He said, "Well, Joy, I called you for a reason, okay? Can you put like a Badge Number restriction or something? That old guy in Petalburg does the same thing! He also likes to crush newbies- Ahem! Ahem!"

He coughed quickly, correcting himself, "No, what I mean is…" Joy hummed, "Mr Norman likes to crush Newbies? I see! Well, Ace, I agree! I'll call my cousin in Petalburg and ask her how Mr Norman usually crushes Newbies!" before she hung up.

Ace looked at his phone in a daze, groaning, "My damn big mouth!" his voice seemed to have disturbed the ritual dance, as a Marshadow slowly sank into the ground, making the three little guys sigh sadly.

Meanwhile

Johnny sent his Pokemon to Nurse Joy, who smiled, "Don't worry, young man. The Gym Leader will be taught how to be a real Gym Leader, I have a badge here-" Johnny waved his hand, "No, Nurse Joy. Mr Ace is right! I'm not strong enough now! If I went on like this, I would've been crushed on my journey! I will grab this badge myself when I get stronger, I promised Mr Ace!"

Nurse Joy paused and smiled at him, "Okay. Your Pokemon will be healed in just a moment!" noticeably there was a big machine with Pokeball slots next to her.

After retrieving his Pokemon, he walked out onto the Plaza, seeing a shop with a Green Sign. There was even a little Noibat sleeping on a Pillow next to the name. Johnny walked in, dazzled by all the People inside!

He heard some people talking about Challenging the Gym and his lips twitched…

He walked to the Attendant and handed her the Voucher. Robin smiled and looked at him, "You're Johnny, right?" Johnny was startled as Robin smiled, "Mr Ace told me you'd be coming. As for TMs I'd recommend Sunny Day. That way, your Budew's Growth will be more efficient and in the future, Synthesis will heal more. Also, here are the Battle Videos."

Johnny was dazzled and looked at Robin, "Well, thank you, Miss!" Robin smiled happily, nodding.

Back at the Gym, Ace laid on a rock, looking at the sky through the skylight, sighing. He decided that he would build a gym in the Gym! At least that way, he can work out while waiting instead of being bored!