When the gang arrived at the island where the contest would be taking place, as soon as they got off the ship, May ran off, pulling everyone along to get to the contest hall as soon as possible so she could sign up.
Once she signed up, she waved goodbye to the gang and went backstage to get things ready, leaving Ash, Max, Brock, and Wally standing there.
"Well...there she goes," Brock said as May disappeared behind the contestant entrance.
Wally smiled nervously from his seat, "She looked really excited…"
"She always does right before a contest," Ash said casually while leaning back in his chair. He looked back at the door, thinking about sothing.
But that could wait until after they t up with May after the first round. For now, the announcent voice said that the show was about to start, so they went in to get good seats.
—
"Ladies and gentlen! Welco to the Purika Town Pokémon Contest!" Vivian announced as the crowd cheered loudly.
"Our contestants and judges are all ready, so without further ado, let's get started!"
All the coordinators from competitors 1–16 gave their best performances.
One girl had Delcatty spin ribbons of pink energy through the air, while another coordinator used a Masquerain to create rainbows with [Bubble Beam].
Most of them got around a 21 average, so higher, but it was only halfway through when it was finally May's turn as Vivian called out her number: 17.
She stepped out in her contest dress and took a breath to calm herself. Then she looked out with a smile and threw out her chosen Pokémon, "Squirtle, spotlight!"
Her Poké Ball burst open with a flash of light as Squirtle landed neatly in front of her, striking a confident pose while the crowd cheered at the energetic entrance.
"Squirtle, [Water Gun]!"
Squirtle spun in place while firing streams of water upward, creating circles of sparkling water above the stage. The lights reflected beautifully through the droplets, making them glitter like glass,
"Now [Rapid Spin]!"
Squirtle tucked into its shell and spun through the falling water, scattering it outward into a shimring mist around the stage.
May looked at the crowd and gauged their reactions to the performance so far, then looked at the judges, and she saw what she wanted to see: they were interested. Now it was ti to take that and run with it.
And this ti she was going to use sothing Ash recomnded for her, "And now, Squirtle, [Hydro Pump]!"
Squirtle suddenly planted its feet and unleashed a massive spiraling Hydro Pump straight upward.
Then before it got too high, May spun and put her two index fingers together in a cross, "Now [Counter Shield]!"
Squirtle retreated into its shell and began spinning, causing the stream to twist violently into the air, becoming a giant spinning cyclone of water.
Then May smiled and pointed upward, "Squirtle, [Ice Beam]!"
Squirtle burst out of its shell and fired a bright blue beam directly into the spinning cyclone, causing the giant cyclone to flash-freeze and create a giant ice statue.
anwhile, Squirtle was still inside as it began spinning, hitting against the ice walls back and forth over and over to build speed. On the outside, they saw the cyclone shaking and cracking, and from those cracks, light started coming out.
Then with one more spin, the ice statue shattered, creating a rain of sparkles that fell over the stage and crowd, glimring under the spotlight, and then the spinning shell flew up and landed back next to May's feet.
But when the turtle ca out of its shell, everyone noticed there was now a tail, and as it stood beside May, everyone saw that it had evolved into a Wartortle.
May was not expecting that one, but she played it off by doing the Ash special and acting like she knew what she was doing the entire ti. She gave a bow, and Wartortle bowed with her, causing the silent crowd to suddenly clap and cheer from the performance.
The judges took note and imdiately started giving their scores, earning May an impressive 29 points.
May took a breath and smiled out at the crowd where she knew her friends were sitting, feeling much better, while Wartortle blew kisses out like the little diva she was.
Out in the crowd, Ash clapped too next to the gang, smiling. Sure, he may have given May that idea by copying Dawn's bread-and-butter move of freezing a [Whirlpool], only with a bit of extra flavor, but hey, she hadn't made it there yet, so no copyright. Besides, he'd help her when he got there anyway, so what did it matter?
anwhile backstage, Harley watched May's performance with a frown. He thought May would be average, but he didn't think she'd be that good. Last ti, he hadn't seen her do anything even half as impressive.
Looks like he'd need to speed up his plan. But first he needed to get ready for his turn. He couldn't leave his fans waiting, after all.
—
After all the contestants finished, the top four were chosen. May was obviously at the top, Harley was second much to his frustration, and the next two were so extra coordinators who managed to score high too.
So now it was ti for the second round, and May was much more confident here. After the Battle Frontier incident, there wasn't a chance anyone here was anywhere near that level.
May was waiting outside her locker room for the group to arrive before the battles started. She had texted them in the group chat, and they said they would et her there in five minutes, so she was just waiting.
But then she heard a voice she vaguely recognized call out to her.
"Oh, Mayley, is that you? Good morning," he said, the last part in a terrible Unovan accent that May could barely understand, even though she knew a little Unovan because of her friends.
May also flinched at being called 'Mayley,' and she looked slightly embarrassed, "Ah, it's just May, please."
When she looked back, she saw that it was Harley.
"It's been a while. I haven't seen you since Rubello Town. I see you're doing much better."
May kind of rembered Harley since they had t back there. Even if she tried to block so things from that day out, Harley was too unique to forget. She also didn't have a bad opinion of him since she didn't know he was the one who did that stuff to Drew. To her, he was still just the nice guy who gave her a cookie.
"Oh, the cookie guy. Um...Harvey, right?" May asked.
Harley felt like he had just been punched in the jaw after that one, and when he recovered, he cursed her in his mind, noting down yet another reason he had to defeat her. How dare she not rember his na?
"It's Harley, actually."
"Ah, sorry," May apologized, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly, "But it is good to see you again. I see we're both here. We might have to battle each other."
"Yes, I ca to wish you luck," Harley said, lying through his teeth.
"Yeah, definitely. May the best coordinator win." May shook his hand.
And Harley thought to himself, 'I plan to'
Just then they heard footsteps, and when May looked back, she saw the group finally approaching.
"Ash!" she waved happily before pointing beside her, "Oh, and look who I ran into!"
Ash slowed slightly the mont he saw Harley standing there smiling pleasantly beside May, making Ash frown, though he didn't say anything yet.
anwhile, Harley and Max locked eyes for a second, narrowing them as if both were reminding the other of their agreent. Then Harley smiled brightly like they were old friends eting again by coincidence.
"Well now, if it isn't Mayley's adorable little entourage," Harley greeted dramatically while placing a hand over his chest, "And goodness, there are even more of you now," he said while looking over at Wally.
Max blinked, "...Did he just call us adorable?"
"I think he did," Brock whispered back.
Harley smoothly walked forward before bowing slightly in front of Wally, "The na's Harley. Coordinator extraordinaire, perforr, artist, visionary, and future Ribbon collector."
Wally looked nervous but politely bowed his head, "N-Nice to et you."
Harley nodded, satisfied that at least one person in the group had so manners, "Anyway," Harley continued smoothly before Ash could respond, "I simply ca over to congratulate Mayley on that wonderful performance earlier. Honestly, that freezing water combo was gorgeous."
May brightened imdiately, "Really? Thanks!"
anwhile, Brock tilted his head, "Wait, if Harley's competing too, doesn't that an you guys might battle?"
"Oh, I certainly hope so," Harley clasped his hands together dramatically, "Nothing would make happier than a friendly little match between coordinators."
"Yeah! It'd be fun!" May smiled, completely unaware.
Thankfully, before the conversation could continue any further, the speakers throughout the contest hall suddenly crackled to life.
"Ladies and gentlen! The battle round will be beginning shortly! All contestants, please report to the backstage preparation area!"
Imdiately, May straightened, "Oh, it's starting," she said, looking slightly disappointed. She wanted to talk more with her friends, but oh well, what could be done? "Co on, Harley, we need to go!"
"Of course, I'll catch up," Harley waved as May ran off. Her match was first, after all.
Then the group turned to head back to their seats, but as they went down the hallway, Ash was last in line when Harley stopped him right before he left.
"Actually, may I ask you a question, if you don't mind?" Harley asked with a smile.
Ash frowned as he stopped and looked back, noticing everyone had already gone around the corner, leaving him there with Harley.
Then he looked back at Harley's smiling face and narrowed his eyes. Harley took that as a yes, and once he noticed everyone else was gone, other than Pikachu and Vee, who stayed behind peeking around the corner, he smiled wider.
"What is it?" Ash asked.
Harley waved his hand in front of him before putting it on his chest, "Oh, it's nothing really. I just wanted to get your opinion on sothing," he smiled, and while he did, he clicked a little sothing in his shirt pocket. It was a mini cara he kept for situations like this, "About May."
—
{About an hour later}
The first battle with May and the other coordinator ended quickly since she used Combusken. By then, Ash had returned to the group and sat with them while Pikachu and Vee walked behind him huffing about sothing.
And by the ti he got back, May had already won and celebrated by hugging Combusken. Then it was onto Harley's match, and he walked in confident as always, facing off against his opponent.
But for so reason he also gripped his side every now and then and might have been walking with a limp. Then again, that could just be his way of acting extra to build hype since he played it off like a dance move.
Anyway, his battle also ended pretty quickly with him taking down his opponent, and that ant the final battle of the contest would be May vs. Harley.
When that was announced, however, Ash noticed Harley move backstage to do sothing, making him narrow his eyes.
He stood up, "Sorry guys, gonna use the can," Ash said as he quickly walked off before Brock, Max, or Wally could say anything, though it only made it weirder when Vee and Pikachu jumped up and ran after him.
By the ti May and Harley walked out onto the field, Ash still wasn't back yet, and Vivian took center stage announcing the final battle.
"Ladies and gentlen, we are rapidly coming to the close of the exciting Purika Contest! Here are the finalists!" she announced, pointing down to May and Harley.
The crowd cheered and Vivian took a step off the stage, raising her hand before swinging it down.
"Begin!"
"Combusken, let's go!" May called.
"Banette, show them your beautiful smile," Harley said dramatically.
From both Poké Balls ca Combusken and Banette. Combusken landed with a flip and stretched her arms while Banette just laughed at her, making Combusken slightly annoyed.
May called out first, "[Flathrower]!"
Combusken didn't need to be told twice. She jumped and shot out a blast of fire from her beak toward Banette.
But Harley snapped his fingers once, "[Shadow Ball]."
Banette calmly launched a dark sphere that collided with the flas, creating a fiery explosion in the middle of the battlefield.
May imdiately gave another order since she saw the chance, "Now get in close with [Quick Attack] and use [Blaze Kick]!"
Combusken dashed through the smoke, bursting through on the other side, and when she got close, her foot ignited as she brought it down in an axe kick toward Banette.
"Banette, [Double Team]," Harley called smoothly.
Banette split into multiple copies at the last second. Combusken's kick shattered one illusion, then another, before she skidded across the floor searching for the real target.
"[Shadow Ball]," Harley continued.
Several Banettes fired dark spheres from different directions. Combusken weaved between them trying to dodge, but she couldn't tell which one was real, so she ended up getting blasted back.
Harley pointed again, "Do it again!"
"Oh no you don't! [Blaze Kick]!" May countered this ti.
Banette tried another [Shadow Ball], but Combusken managed to flip onto her hands and jump into the air, dodging the ball of darkness from where she had been standing. Then she spun and flew down, crashing into Banette with a [Blaze Kick].
As Banette got flung back and started getting tired since it wasn't really used to fighting, Harley gritted his teeth, realizing there was no other option. His hand slipped into his pocket secretly as he gave another command, "[Shadow Sneak]"
Banette disappeared into the ground just as Combusken hit where it had been with another kick. Then everyone stopped and looked around trying to see where Banette would reappear from, and while everyone was distracted, Harley pressed a button in his pocket.
Then every screen in the contest hall flickered, including the giant main screen, catching everyone's attention as it switched from the battle to static, and then to Ash.
Then a voice spoke using a very obvious filter to hide the speaker's identity.
"So Ash, you've been with May for a while. Don't you think she'd be better off if she stopped doing contests and just did sothing she was better at, like Pokémon battles?"
Ash on the screen looked to the side, "Maybe, maybe she would be better at sothing else-" Then it abruptly cut off.
Harley smiled and started his act, "Oh my goodness, your friend said that? And here I thought he believed in you. I thought you two were such a good pair. Guess I was wrong. I guess you can't always trust people, huh?"
For a mont the stadium was silent, and May was too as she stared down at her hands, then at her dress, then at the floor.
Even through the filter, that was clearly Ash, and he had said that after all the tis he told her he believed in her. After all the tis he encouraged her, when he promised he'd always support her...was that a lie too? Was he just trying to be nice?
What about when she almost crashed and burned? Was that just pity?
All sorts of thoughts raced through her mind, possibilities she didn't want to believe, and what made it worse was when she looked back toward the seats and saw Ash wasn't there.
But then a voice suddenly blasted from the speakers, "Oh please."
Everyone blinked and looked around before finally looking up.
At the top of the stadium's main screen, Ash was standing on the rafters while Vee sat on his shoulder holding a microphone to his mouth while Gardevoir held onto him, "Hey Harley, if you're gonna show a video, at least show them everything."
Then Pikachu popped out from Ash's bag, pulled out his own remote, and pressed play. The screen turned back on again.
The video restarted from the beginning, but this ti there was no voice filter, "So Ash, you've been with May for a while. Don't you think she'd be better off if she stopped doing contests and just did sothing she was better at, like Pokémon battles?"
Again Ash answered the sa way, "Maybe, maybe she would be better at sothing else, but—"
The voice, now very clearly Harley's, interrupted him excitedly, "So you agree she should quit contests?"
Ash looked at the cara with a deadpan stare, "That's not what I said."
The stadium went completely silent.
On the screen, Ash crossed his arms, "What I said was maybe she'd be good at sothing else too. But why does that matter? I have no right to say what she should do. It's May's dream."
Harley's voice imdiately tried steering things back where he wanted, "But if she could do sothing better—"
Ash cut him off, "She's ALREADY good at contests."
Down on the battlefield, May's eyes widened slightly while the entire crowd looked completely invested now.
anwhile Harley panicked trying to shut off the screen with his remote, but it wasn't working.
The video continued, "Yeah, she sses up sotis," Ash shrugged casually, "But everybody does, and even when she feels hopeless, she never gives up."
"She works harder than almost anybody I know," Ash continued, "And unlike so people, she doesn't need to pull cheap tricks or ss with people's heads just to win."
"Who cares what others think? Who cares what I think? May is perfect just the way she is, following her dream the way she wants to, and no matter what, I'm going to be right there supporting her."
May's face imdiately turned bright red hearing that out loud in front of an entire stadium.
Then suddenly the video jerked violently,
"Wait a second," Ash's hand suddenly grabbed toward the cara.
The footage shook wildly as Harley yelped, "HEY, GIVE THAT BACK!"
The cara tumbled sideways. For one glorious fra, Harley's panicked face filled the giant screen before the video froze there perfectly.
The entire stadium exploded into laughter. Even the judges looked like they were trying not to laugh.
Down below, Harley stood completely frozen as every person in the crowd slowly turned to stare directly at him.
"…Oh dear," Vivian whispered into her microphone.
At the top of the stadium, Ash spoke into Vee's microphone again while hanging from the rafters like this was completely normal.
"Anyway," Ash said casually while looking down, "Yo, May!"
May looked up imdiately.
Ash grinned, "You better win this. I didn't go through all that trouble just to watch you lose now, so you better keep your promise." Ash winked, and then Gardevoir began glowing and teleported them away.
May stared up at where Ash had been for another second before suddenly covering part of her face with her hand.
Her cheeks were burning now, "Y-You…" she mumbled under her breath, but then slowly a smile spread across her face. She wiped away a small tear from the corner of her eye with her thumb, before glaring at Harley.
"So, you want to play dirty, huh?" May said, crossing her arms and stomping her foot so hard it made Harley flinch slightly.
May looked down at Harley so angrily that Harley could swear she was getting bigger, and like she had fire behind her, that did not match her pink frilly dress.
Harley forced out a nervous laugh, "N-Now Mayley, let's not get emotional here-"
"I said don't call that!" May snapped imdiately, "Combusken, [Flathrower]!"
Combusken blasted a massive stream of fire straight across the battlefield.
"Banette, dodge with [Shadow Sneak]!" Harley panicked.
Banette vanished into the shadows just before the flas consud its position.
But this ti May was already expecting it, "Behind you!"
The second Banette popped out of the floor behind Combusken, only for Combusken to instantly spin around and slam Banette in the stomach with a [Blaze Kick], sending Banette bouncing backward across the stage floor.
Harley gritted his teeth, "Use [Shadow Ball]!"
But before Harley even finished, "[Thunder Punch] Uppercut!"
Banette jumped back and began rapidly firing dozens of [Shadow Balls] to gain distance, but Combusken charged in anyway, dodging between the orbs left and right before sliding under one and driving a punch straight into Banette's jaw.
"[Blaze Kick]!" May shouted imdiately.
Combusken spun, and while Banette was still recovering from the first hit, her flaming foot slamd Banette back into the ground hard.
May crossed her arms tightly, still clearly upset, "You think just because you play dirty you can ss with people's feelings and get away with it?"
"You don't know anything about ," May continued, "And you definitely don't know anything about Ash!"
Then she shook it off and pointed again, "Combusken! End this with [Blaze Kick]!"
Combusken's leg erupted into flas as she charged forward.
Harley panicked, "Banette, stop her with [Shadow Ball]!"
Banette rapidly started charging another orb, but this ti Combusken suddenly blurred orange and flickered forward, appearing right in front of it before kicking the [Shadow Ball] directly, causing it to explode. Then ca the kick.
A massive explosion of fire burst across the battlefield as Banette was launched clear across the arena like a missile. It slamd into the far wall hard enough to crack it before collapsing unconscious onto the floor.
anwhile, as Combusken landed back on the ground, she began glowing and growing. Her legs beca longer, her arms stronger, and finally the crest ford on the back of her head. As the light faded, she had evolved into a Blaziken.
Blaziken slowly lowered her kicking leg before standing proudly in front of May.
The stadium absolutely exploded into cheers.
"BANETTE IS UNABLE TO BATTLE!" Vivian scread dramatically into the microphone, "THE WINNER IS MAY AND BLAZIKEN!"
May stared in shock for a second, "Co-Blaziken?"
Blaziken turned around grinning proudly before imdiately scooping May into a huge hug and spinning her around,
"WAAAH—!"
The crowd laughed and clapped even louder, and May finally started calming down and laughing too.
anwhile Harley scoffed and returned Banette. Then while everyone was focused on May, he started walking away to make his escape.
He huffed, annoyed that things hadn't gone as expected, but he convinced himself she had just gotten lucky and that next ti he'd crush her.
But for now he needed to make sure he didn't get into trouble with the Contest Committee.
He had enough influence that he usually got away with this stuff. As long as he didn't pull anything during the Grand Festival, the smaller contests let him get away with almost anything.
But as he stepped into the hallway to leave through the back exit, he saw Ash leaning against the wall waiting for him. At Ash's feet were Pikachu and Vee, both glaring at him.
Harley flinched and grabbed his waist as he felt the throbbing pain again from what Ash had done to him last ti. The only reason he escaped before was because he sacrificed the cara Ash broke, but all the recordings had already been saved onto his phone.
"Ah, A-Ash, nice to see you. If you're worried, don't worry. I learned my lesson. I won't do anything like that again," he said nervously.
Ash narrowed his eyes, "You better."
Harley gulped, "Great. I'm glad we had this talk, so if you don't mind, I'll just go. I have places to be and training to do," Harley said while trying to move away, but Ash stopped him by grabbing the back of his shirt.
From where they stood, they could still see the field where May was celebrating. Ash looked toward her, then back at Harley, before yanking him forward so they were face to face.
Ash narrowed his eyes dangerously, "Let make one thing clear. If you ever pull sothing like that again, I'm going to break your legs. Do I make myself clear?"
Harley gulped and nodded rapidly.
Ash shoved him away, and Harley imdiately scrambled off running, leaving Ash alone backstage while Pikachu and Vee huffed in satisfaction.
Ash looked back out toward the field where May was still celebrating and leaned against the wall again. Might as well wait for her there and let her enjoy the mont.
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