Norman's strength wasn't in question. He was absolutely a top-tier Trainer of his region. Stacked against Steven, though, age, talent, and raw power all skewed in Steven's favor by a wide margin. According to Professor Oak's records, Norman was already a father of two and well into middle age, somewhere in his forties.
Steven was still a young man in his thirties. One was middle-aged. The other was young. One could rival a Champion. The other already was a Champion. Which one had the stronger talent and the higher ceiling was obvious.
Saying Norman would catch up to Steven given a little more time was wishful thinking with no backing.
This little boy was clearly, beyond any doubt, a die-hard Norman fan. That was the only thing that could explain the kind of blind faith that ran hotter than the man's own confidence in himself.
Ash just smiled and didn't push back. You shouldn't crack a child's beliefs lightly. Once a kid's faith fell apart, their mental state went with it. Young, immature kids could be overwhelmed easily, and overwhelmed kids did dangerous things. Don't ask how Ash knew that. Who hadn't been a kid?
"Sure, sure. Mr. Norman sounds incredible. I'd love to meet him. Otherwise the trip would be wasted, right? And since you admire him this much, are you heading to Violet City next?" Ash kept his tone easy.
In the face of Ash's calm, the little boy's expression turned faintly embarrassed. The fact that the older boy was being so even-keeled stood in clear contrast to the kid's own rude tone a moment earlier. On a closer look, the kid also realized the older boy looked oddly familiar. He'd definitely never met him in person. Which meant... on TV? Was this person also famous?
"Max! Max!" A faint voice carried from a distance.
The instant the boy heard "Max," his body stiffened. Then he sprinted around behind Ash and hid.
Ash and the others stared. A moment ago this boy had been radiating defiance and arrogance. What was happening now?
Out of the crowd, a young woman came hurrying toward them. She wore a headscarf, her short brown hair falling to her shoulders in soft natural waves around an unusually pretty face.
The instant they caught sight of the young woman, Misty and Serena exchanged a single glance, almost in sync, then turned back. The look in their eyes was admiration with a clear edge of envy.
She was so developed. The young woman looked about the same age as them. Why was her figure already at this level?
The girl hurried up to Ash and stopped in front of him.
Ash stood as well, just over half a head taller than her. He glanced behind him at the small figure hiding there, then at the angry look on her face, and put it together easily enough.
"Hi. Are you with this kid?" He asked anyway, just to be sure.
The anger on her face eased as soon as he spoke. She bowed lightly in apology. "I'm sorry. This is my little brother. If he caused any trouble, I apologize on his behalf. If anything needs compensating, please tell me."
"Your little brother? It's nothing. Really. He didn't do anything. We were just talking about some Trainer-related topics. He's clearly a sharp kid. If he pursues that path, he's going to become a Trainer of real note one day."
Misty and Brock stared.
Was that something Ash could even say? When had Ash's social skills jumped up like this? This was
"Ash?"
After finishing his polite line, Ash turned and caught Misty's and Brock's horrified expressions. He rolled his eyes.
"What are those faces for? You look like you've seen a ghost. Can I not just be nice once in a while?"
"No, no, just, you've changed fast. You never used to say things like that." Misty searched for a kinder word, couldn't find one, and gave up. Ash knew what she meant anyway.
"People grow up, right?" Ash shrugged and held out his hands.
Truthfully, whether as a Trainer or as a Pokémon raiser, he'd absorbed a mountain of knowledge from the Chat Group. From the group a new mentor had emerged, a senior who specialized in interpersonal etiquette, teaching him how to handle different kinds of social interactions.
In the outside world, being easygoing and sociable carried real advantages. A single line dropped at the wrong moment could ruin a relationship between two people. The ties between people were fragile. Without an existing foundation, an offhand remark could fracture a connection beyond repair.
On top of that, social grace fed positive communication between couples, which was why the seniors had pushed Ash to learn it.
When he thought of Misty, Ash didn't push back against this kind of polite framing. For him, it came down to saying one thing while meaning another. What was the point of being polite, really? Just say what you mean and be honest, because sincerity bred sincerity.
Sometimes, though, people genuinely needed a little well-intentioned smoothing. Politeness wasn't hypocrisy. It was part of building a relationship.
Not bad. The seniors really had convinced Ash to pick up this kind of skill.
"Ash, you're Ash? The Indigo League Champion?" The brunette blinked at the name, surprise flickering across her face. "Now I remember. Yes, you're the one they call the greatest Trainer in history."
"You actually have a real shot at challenging the undefeated Leon before you turn twenty? People out there are hyping you to the skies!"
Max suddenly leapt out from behind Ash and pointed at him, his face lit up with surprise and excitement, as if he'd just stumbled across a treasure.
That pointing finger turned May's face dark. She caught his little finger in her hand and forced a smile.
"Max. Didn't I tell you to stay with me? Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you? You don't answer my calls, and now you've got the nerve to point at someone like that? Just wait until we get home. Mom and Dad will give you what you deserve."
Max flinched, real fear crossing his face. He tried to pull his finger free, but it was like it was locked in iron. The pretty hand only tightened. Don't be fooled by her delicate looks. One look at the lean strength in those legs was enough to tell you this girl was nothing like a typical pretty face.
"Sis, I was wrong, I was wrong, please spare me!" Max begged.
Sis? So this girl was his older sister? They did look alike, now that Ash thought about it, but that wasn't the main thing he was paying attention to.
The main thing was the aura coming off this girl. A presence specific to powerful Trainers. This girl was a serious Trainer.
"If you do that again, I'll have Mom and Dad lock you up at home. Understood?"
"Yes." Max replied meekly, hands clasped in front of him, head down, not daring to breathe too loud in case he set her off again. If she really got Mom and Dad to lock him up, that might as well be a death sentence.
"I'm sorry. My little brother is rude." After finishing with Max, she bowed to Ash in apology.
Ash waved it off. "It's all right. He's a kid. By the way, are you traveling here from Hoenn?"
"We're not on a vacation trip. Our father has business to attend to. As for me, I'm here for the Silver Conference. I came today to register. My little brother insisted on tagging along, so I didn't really have a choice. The moment we got here, he wandered off and started causing trouble." She shot a sharp glare at Max, who had angled his head off to one side, biting back a small smile.
"Got it. I'm Ash, from Pallet Town. The Silver League is my goal too. Looks like I can look forward to meeting you in the bracket." Ash offered her his hand.
"My name is May, from Petalburg City." She extended a small, pale hand and shook his.
"Petalburg? Isn't that where Mr. Norman lives? So you two are from the same city as Norman. No wonder your little brother admires him so much. His idol practically lives next door, that kind of reaction is normal. Don't be too hard on him." Ash's face brightened, and at the same time he tried to talk Max out of trouble.
Of course, both siblings came from Petalburg. They'd naturally know Norman well. Norman probably even lived a few doors down from them, which explained Max's fanaticism. There was an explanation here.
After all, however large the gap between Norman and Steven, Steven was a TV figure most people only knew through screens, while Norman was a real, present, in-person figure to these kids. A little hero-worship at this distance was completely reasonable.
"Ahem. Actually, Mr. Norman is our father." May forced a smile, finally unable to hold it in, and just told Ash the truth.
Having a Gym Leader for a father wasn't a secret you had to keep, but under normal circumstances May wouldn't go around announcing that her father owned the Petalburg Gym. The Petalburg Gym wasn't a standard Hoenn Gym either. It was the strongest Gym in Hoenn by recognized consensus, with a reputation that bordered on absurd.
Norman hadn't joined the Elite Four, but his renown wasn't far below Steven Stone's, which made him roughly the second-most-known figure in all of Hoenn.
If she went around outside saying her father was Norman, it was a toss-up whether strangers would believe her. Even when they did, the headaches that followed weren't worth it. So she generally didn't bring her father's name up to anyone. Max had been strictly forbidden from doing so as well.
In front of Ash, though, she'd let it out without thinking twice.
She hadn't even meant to reveal it at first. Initially she'd just wanted to tease him a little. Ash had earned her goodwill from the start by smoothing things over for Max instead of escalating. There was an saying that ran roughly: family scolding family was one thing, but an outsider scolding your family was something else entirely.
Even when the outsider was right, family always took it badly. Ash protecting her brother the way he had, giving Max a graceful out instead of putting him on the spot, had pushed her favorable impression of him up sharply.
Beyond that, May had also recognized Ash. Ash wasn't simply the Indigo League Champion. That was just an official title he'd been awarded. His personal record was far more impressive than any official honor.
Setting everything else aside, his recent exhibition match against Drake had made waves all the way across to Hoenn. A fifteen-year-old boy had defeated Drake, a Trainer with Champion-level strength. Without firsthand witnesses and video evidence, nobody would have believed it.
Ash, in other words, could already stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their father. In raw strength, he was every bit Norman's equal, possibly stronger.
On the other side, when Ash, Misty, Brock, and Serena heard May confirm that her father was Norman, all four of their brains paused for a beat. They never imagined that the random little kid they'd run into outside the Pokémon Center, and the brunette who had come chasing him, would turn out to be the children of the very Gym Leader Ash was about to challenge.
It was the kind of coincidence that felt almost too convenient to be real.
A short while later, at a milk tea shop in New Bark Town, Ash and his three companions, together with May and Max, sat comfortably across two tables pushed together.
May's group was also heading home, and since their next destination was roughly the same direction as Ash's, the obvious move was to grab drinks first, talk a little, and then set out together that evening. The more travelers on the road, the livelier the trip.
While they sipped tea, May made a request of Ash.
"Ash. Battle me."