Lillie, Luke, and I are now at Porto Marinada, the three of us are going to travel by road as we go through West Province 2 and West Province 3 to reach Medali City.

"So what do you think of the Normal Type Gym?" Nate asks me.

"For some reason, I was cursed when I was challenging the Normal Type Gyms... every gym takes me two times to get the badge." I sigh. "I challenged 4 Normal Type Gyms, one in Johto, one in Hoenn, and two in Unova."

"I remember that Max's father is the Gym Leader that specializes in Normal Type." Luke says, "But you tried two times?"

"The first time doesn't even count because Norman wants to challenge those with 4 or more badges... it is not just him, Clemont is the same as well."

"Those sure are some weird requirements, I'm glad there is no such thing in Paldea Region." Lillie says.

"As for the Normal Type Gym curse... I'm going to break it." I say with confidence and Pikachu also agrees with me.

"I'm sure you can, though I wonder what kind of Pokemon the Gym Leader is going to use... I just hope not a Ditto with the Transform..." Lillie says. "But if he goes for a Slaking, it might also be a problem as well."

"Slaking might have high stats, but its ability is also a problem, you all know from my battle with Max yesterday." I say. "And there is also Sawsbuck... which somehow we can actually find all kinds of seasons despite not being in that season. Maybe we'll fight a Gumshoos as well."

"You did fight a Totem Gumshoos to get the Normalium Z after all." Lillie says, "Breakneck Blitz is also a good move to use."

Once we arrive at Medali City, we immediately go to the gym. And once we just step in, we notice Nemona also rushing inside the gym.

"Heeey, Ash! Lillie! Luke!" Nemona greets us. "I saw you going into the Gym and came running! Listen, I'm really sorry I couldn't battle you last time we ran into each other. The fair works are tiring after all."

"So you're here just to battle me again?" I ask.

"Wait - don't get me wrong! I didn't chase you down just to battle you! Then again... I guess I wouldn't MIND a battle or anything if you want to... What do you say?" Nemona asks.

"Let's just get things over with." I say.

"Yesss! Battle tiiime! You and me, Ash!" Nemona cheers, but then she realizes something, "Wait, hold on... I wanna be sure to pick the right Pokemon for where you're at in your journey. Sorry, gimme a sec to fine-tune my team! Then we can battle!"

Then she rushes out and says, "In fact, while you're waiting, go ahead and take on the Gym!"

Once she's gone, I mutter, "Really? That's it?"

Lillie says, "Maybe we should do the gym first..."

When we go to the counter, the staff says, "Welcome to the Medali Gym! Let me register you as a challenger. Your name is Ash Ketchum, yes?"

"Of course." I let the Rotom Phone register my ID and the applications, and then the staff says, "Great! Now, in order to face Gym Leader Larry, you'll first need to pass the Gym Test. Here at the Medali Gym, that means ordering a special secret menu item! Specifically, a menu item at the Treasure Eatery, a much-loved restaurant here in Medali. Order correctly, and you pass!"

"That will be very easy." I say. "So how do I know the special secret menu item?"

"Right now, there are three other challengers around town attempting this Gym Test. Each Challenger has been given a different clue that'll help them discover the secret dish. You'll be given a clue as well! Please find and battle the other challengers. The loser must tell the winner their clue! Your goal is to gather clues and use them to determine the secret dish, then order it from the waiter at the Treasure Eatery. Only the challenger who's able to order correctly will pass the test!"

"So fighting with three other trainers. So what's the clue if I lose?" I ask.

"Your clue is to find out how the regulars season their dishes. I'd suggest you start by hearing what a regular at the Treasure Eatery has to say!" The staff says.

"Well, that doesn't sound very hard at all." Lillie says as Snowy also nods.

"I think I should go challenge the trainers first before getting my clue." I say as we all head outside to the city to find other challengers.

The first one I found is a girl named Adara, she is using Greedent and Gumshoos to battle. Both of them are easily defeated by my Blaze Breed Paldean Tauros.

"Okay... My clue is to look for something that's the odd one out at one of the ice cream stands. Come to think of it, I could use some ice cream as a pick-me-up since I lost!"

So we all head to the ice cream stand, and I can see that the one standing out is the fact that the stand is selling Grilled Rice Balls.

Lillie says, "Why would an Ice Cream stand sell something like Grilled Rice Balls? I thought they only brought ice creams..."

"I don't know, but I guess our first clue is Grilled Rice Balls." I say.

As we continue walking, we find another trainer named Gisela near the Gym. She is using an Ursaring to battle, so I use Zoroark to battle the Pokemon and defeat it with Low Sweep.

"The clue I was given is to look for... a dark spot surrounded by stairs!" The girl says to us. "I don't remember seeing any particularly dark spots in this town..." And then she rushes off to heal her Pokemon.

"Isn't that a dark spot?" Luke asks as we all head down the stairs, but we are still looking for hints until we hear Snowy's barking. She shows us that there are two words faintly written on the door.

"Fire... Blast... Why was it a Pokemon move?" Lillie asks.

"I don't know... did you guys see more words?" I ask.

Pikachu and Snowy shake their heads, and Luke says, "Well, let's just forget about that and we can just find the third trainer."

And after moving for a while, we find the third trainer named Santiago, he uses Dunsparce to battle, and I defeat it with Zoroark's Night Daze.

"Fine, here's my clue: Listen really closely to the blue bird Pokemon!" The man sighs, "I'm still puzzling over that word it said. All that thinking kept me from focusing on the battle..."

"Blue Bird? I don't think we have seen a Chatot somewhere nearby, do we?" I ask.

"Chatot doesn't even seem to be a Pokemon living in Paldea after all." Luke says.

When we continue to walk, we find a man surrounded by people as he boasts, "Listen to this! My Squawkabilly can talk!"

"Wait, that Squawkabilly is blue!" I say.

"Maybe that's it. Let's listen closely." Lillie says.

"Tawk-a-billy! Tawk-a-billy!" The Squawkabilly says.

"Isn't he just the cutest? And this ain't nothing!" "No-think! No-think!"

We continue to listen, and there is nothing important until the Squawkabilly says those words, "Meedyum! Meedyum!"

"There's the clue! So we need a Medium serving." I say as we quickly flee the scene before anyone notice us.

"Now we have all three clues, only yours is left." Luke says.

"It is said that the clue is actually inside the Treasure Eatery..." I say as we all head inside the restaurant. And while we are looking at the restaurant, I notice a man with a business suit that looks just like the Gym Leader in my Rotom Phone eating some rice balls at the table.

"Isn't that the Gym Leader?" I ask Lillie. She notices the direction that I'm looking at and says, "You're right..."

Since he is the Gym Leader, he might not be able to give us the answer for the Gym Test, so I decided to ask him, "Are you a regular here?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, I suppose I do come here often." Larry says to me. "Well, what I'm having right now is something quite ordinary, but..."

He picks up a lemon and says, "Here's a tip for you. A nice squeeze of lemon gives any dish a refreshing kick."

"Lemons?" I ask with surprise. "I see... it might be special if we add lemon. Thanks for the tip."

And then we all gather back at the counter, and Lillie asks, "So?"

"I got the final clue, let's do this." I say as I call the waitress.

"Ah, you must be one of the Gym Test challengers!" The waitress says. "I hope you're able to figure out our special secret menu item."

"I'm ready." I say with confidence.

"Now, tell me... What will you be ordering?" When she gives me the first menu, I see that there are grilled Rice Balls, grilled Fish, steak, omelet, and fried eggs. I circle the grilled rice balls as that was the first hint.

"And what size serving will you be having?" I see that there are three sizes, and I choose the medium one, that one was the hint from the Squawkabilly.

"How do you want that cooked?" I see that there is Lightly charred known as the Ember Style, Well cooked known as the Flamethrower Style, and Extra Crispy known as the Fire Blast style. So that's what the Fire Blast on that wall means...

"Anything to garnish your order?" Here is the last one, and I can see that there is cheese powder, lemon, or nothing. Thanks for the help from Larry, the answer is Lemons."

"Medium-serving grilled rice balls, Fire Blast style, with fresh lemon on the side!" When the waitress yells at the chef, she yells, "Gotcha! Medium rice balls, extra crispy, with lemon!"

And just when the chef is cooking the dish, I notice that the ceiling is opening and all the tables and the customers are rising into the air like they're riding on an elevator. "What is going on here?" I exclaim in shock.

But to the other regular customers, this is just normal for them? They don't seem to be as shocked as we are, and once the part of the floor rises to the top, from the bottom, a battlefield rises to the ground.

"A battlefield! Does that mean we're going to have the Gym battle here?" I ask. "In the restaurant?"

"Congratulations! You've passed the Gym Test! You now have the right to challenge the Gym Leader! But first, here are your servings of the special secret menu item." The chef gave us the serving and we find a table and eat them.

"It is quite crispy..." Lillie says, "But the sauce is great."

"Yeah, they seem to boost the Fairy Type Encounter Power, Electric Type Teensy Power, and the Egg power." Luke says. "Man, these are good."

"The lemons really do help with he rice balls, but remember that we're not here just for eating, we're here because of my gym battle." I say while I hand Pikachu a rice ball, and Pikachu decides to share some with Snowy.

And here is the Gym test in the Normal Type Gym, and as you can see, this gym test is also an interesting one. I hope you like this chapter and the next chapter will be the battle against Larry.