As the victor of the Fallarbor Contest, May was now holding her Ribbon, jumping up and down happily, (?ˉ??ˉ??) and constantly wiping it clean!
Ash and the others could only shake their heads with a helpless smile. However, for May to get a Ribbon on only her second Contest, her talent was still very strong; she had already surpassed most Coordinators!
"Ash, thank you!" May thanked Ash solemnly. If it wasn't for Ash, she wouldn't have grown so quickly!
Ash smiled and said, "This is all the result of your hard work. You have to keep it up! You still have four more Ribbons to go!"
"Yes!"
Ash and his friends were now heading toward Lavaridge Town. Fallarbor Town and Lavaridge Town are very close, separated only by Mt. Chimney. Ash and the others were now about to cross the Fiery Path at the bottom of Mt. Chimney!
Their journey was not going to be smooth, of course. May's mischievous Skitty suddenly ran out and used Tackle on a Slugma, which led to a group of Slugma chasing it!
Ash saw a group of Normal-tier Slugma and thought, Aren't these just perfect for gaining experience? "Alright, in that case, let's go! Torchic, Mudkip, and Ralts!"
The three little ones appeared on the field. Torchic acted as a warrior, charging in with a Flame Charge and clearing the field. Mudkip acted as a mage, continuously dealing damage from the back with Water Gun. And Ralts acted as a support, using Confusion and Charm to control the enemies, occasionally using a Mystical Fire to finish them off.
"Wow! They're so amazing! As expected of Ash's Pokémon!" (?((???))?) May looked at Ash in admiration. At the same time, she also sent out her Combusken. Any Elite-tier Pokémon that appeared was handled by Combusken.
With the three little ones escorting them, Ash and his friends walked out of a cave entrance of the Fiery Path just as it was getting dark, ready to set up camp!
The cave entrance led to a grassland. They came to a fruit tree, and a Numel was lying under it. May's Skitty started to act up again. It slapped Numel's butt twice! Numel, a sluggish Pokémon, hadn't even reacted yet, but Ash and the others were already dumbfounded!
"Skitty, why are you doing that again!" May put her hands on her hips and started to scold Skitty!
Just then, Numel woke up. It wasn't there to get revenge on Skitty; it was just hungry. It stood up and started eating the berries from the tree!
Ash and the others... It got hit and didn't even fight back. It has such a good attitude!
Suddenly, a Furret appeared next to Numel, and a pleasant voice said, "Numel..."
Ash and the others looked over and saw a beautiful young woman wearing a bandana, with three Numel coming toward them. "Oh, there you are, Numel! I've been looking for you for a long time!"
After confirming that Numel was okay, the young woman noticed Ash and his friends. "You don't seem to be from around here! Hello, my name is Yoko! I live in a ranch nearby and live with my Numel!"
Everyone introduced themselves, and Brock immediately came up with hearts in his eyes. "Ms. Yoko, hello! My name is Brock! To show my affection, please raise me like you raise your Numel!"
"Huh?" Yoko was completely stunned!
Before Max could even act, Numel heard someone trying to steal its spot and got angry. It came up to Brock and let out a burst of hot air from its hump, making Brock scream!
Yoko quickly had her Furret stop Numel, then comforted Numel and invited Ash and the others to her ranch to rest for the night!
In return, Brock immediately cooked a lavish dinner to show his affection for Ms. Yoko!!
The next day, Brock actively helped Ms. Yoko with the ranch and even hired some child labor, bringing Max along as a free worker who wanted to try brushing the Numel!
Meanwhile, May went to Ash. "My Skitty seems to really like battling, so I want to give it a good chance to battle!"
"No problem!" Ash nodded in agreement. "Pika" "Eevee"
Just then, Yoko, who had left the ranch in the hands of Brock and Max, walked over with her Furret. "Why don't you consider battling me? I haven't had a chance to battle recently, and I'm worried my skills are rusty!"
May thought about it and agreed.
Ash and the other two went to an open area, with Ash as the referee.
The battle was naturally Skitty vs. Furret!
"Listen, Skitty! First, you have to carefully observe your opponent's moves, and then..." May seriously instructed, but Skitty didn't listen and just charged straight at Furret!
Seeing Skitty charging, Yoko launched a counterattack. "Furret, use Tackle!"
Furret charged at Skitty. Just as they were about to meet, Furret suddenly turned around, and Skitty started to chase its tail!
"Furret, stop!"
Furret immediately stopped, and the chasing Skitty slammed right into Furret's tail and was sent flying!
Afterward, Skitty did listen to May's commands, but both its Tackle and Double Slap were easily dodged by Furret.
May was so worried. After Yoko's reminder, she used her Pokédex and discovered another move of Skitty's—Assist!
"Alright! Skitty, use Assist!"
Skitty's little paws glowed with a white light, and a small burst of Ember came out, flying toward Furret! But it was dodged by Furret!
"Skitty, one more time, use Assist!"
Skitty's little paws glowed with a white light again, and a burst of Silver Wind came out. However, Furret jumped up, dodged the vortex, and used a Slam to send Skitty flying!
"Alright! The match is over!" Ash saw the situation and announced the end of the battle. The level difference was too great; the chances of May winning were slim if they continued!
May picked up Skitty. "Skitty! Are you okay?"
"It's fine. It'll be okay after a good rest!" Ash checked it and replied.
"By the way, Ash, what kind of move is Assist?! It's so amazing that it can use both Ember and Silver Wind!" May asked Ash.
"The move Assist can randomly use a move from a Pokémon in your party that isn't currently on the field. What move it chooses out of all the moves is purely based on luck!" Ash explained.
May's eyes lit up. "Wow? This Assist move is so interesting!" "Meow~" Skitty also woke up at that moment.
Yoko gave some Pokémon Puffs to Pikachu and the others. After some chatting, they learned that Yoko had also participated in several Pokémon Contests.
"May, your Skitty has quite a bit of potential. Its speed and the sharpness of its moves are both good. If you train it well for a while, it will have a good performance in both battles and Contests!" Yoko encouraged.
"Really?! Thank you, Ms. Yoko!" May was very happy to receive praise from a veteran Coordinator.
The next morning, after Yoko pointed them in the right direction and said her goodbyes, they dragged a tearful Brock away and set off on their journey to Lavaridge Town!