Rustboro City at last! Now that Ash and friends have arrived in Rustboro City, they’re taking a moment to sightsee. They bump into a schoolteacher, Roxanne, and her class on a class trip. The kids are about Max’s age and one of them, Kenny, is afraid of Pokémon. Roxanne invites the gang back to see the Pokémon Trainer’s School. Ash is anxious to get to his gym battle, but Roxanne persuades him to wait. As it turns out, Ash would have had to wait anyway. Roxanne is the gym leader, too! The Pokémon Trainer’s School is pretty big and has all kinds of different classes. May is especially interested in a class on Pokémon Contests. Max decides to attend the beginners’ class that Kenny is in. He’s in the middle of battling the class show-off, Tommy, when the principal comes running in to tell them that the school’s Poké Balls have all been stolen. Team Rocket strikes again! Kenny steps in and saves the day by telling Max which attacks will work best, and Tommy cooperates, too. When they work together, the kids are able to defeat Team Rocket and save the Poké Balls. Just to be safe, Roxanne’s Geodude sends Team Rocket blasting off again. Now that Ash has seen Roxanne and her Geodude in action, he’s really ready for his gym battle!