"Skitty, take the stage!" "Putting everything on the line, go! Duskull!"
Skitty and Duskull entered the arena, and the five-minute performance battle began! One is a Normal-type, and the other is a Ghost-type. They counter each other, and their STAB moves are mutually ineffective! Therefore, May had a chance to win with a type disadvantage!
Ash had reminded her of the relationship between Normal and Ghost types before the match. Thus, Skitty had only two attacks that could hit Duskull: the sometimes-effective Blizzard and the unpredictable Assist!
"Duskull, use Will-O-Wisp!" A pale blue flame appeared, flying toward Skitty!
May didn't hesitate. "Assist!" Skitty let out an orange flame that collided with the Will-O-Wisp—it was Combusken's Flamethrower!
"Again! Skitty, Assist!" Skitty's paw glowed white, and a Silver Wind swept out.
"Duskull, Psychic!" Duskull unleashed a pink mental force, destroying the Silver Wind!
The scores were neck and neck, and the battle grew more intense!
Tamuramaro (Kimimaro's father) turned to Kimiyo (his mother) and said, "What do you think? Our son, chasing his dream on stage—when has he ever been this confident?"
Kimiyo watched Kimimaro's serious and confident demeanor closely, her eyes filled with wonder. This was indeed a side of him she had never seen before!
Kimimaro and May were already preparing for the final clash! "Duskull, Hyper Beam!"
May decided to risk everything. "All or nothing! Skitty, Blizzard!" This time, Skitty did not fail, and the power was astonishing. The fierce Blizzard actually suppressed the Hyper Beam, knocking Duskull away! At the same time, Skitty advanced to Elite - Early Stage!
Time ran out. May's score, boosted by the final strike, gave her the advantage, and she successfully advanced!
"Yay! We won! Skitty, you were amazing!" May cheered.
After the match, Kimimaro met his mother, Kimiyo, and father, Tamuramaro. Through a heartfelt conversation, Kimiyo revealed that the reason she forbade Kimimaro from touching Pokémon was because of the pain she felt when she was young after being separated from her good friend, a Poochyena. She didn't want her son to experience that same heartache. Afterward, Kimiyo chose to support Kimimaro's dream and encouraged him to work hard in the Pokémon Contests!
Truly, a mother's heart is boundless; every parent silently supports their children.
On the arena, May looked seriously at Ash. "Ash, I will use everything I have in this battle!"
"Bring it on! Let me see how much you've improved! I choose you, Jigglypuff!" "Skitty, take the stage!"
"Pudding" "Meow"
"Go, May! Go, Ash!" "Pika" "Eevee"
"Skitty, Double Slap!" Skitty rushed toward Jigglypuff with its glowing white tail.
"Jigglypuff, Disable! Then Double Slap." "Pudding" Light shone from Jigglypuff's eyes. "Meow" Skitty was instantly unable to move.
"Ah?! Skitty, move! Be careful!" May cried out. Slap, slap—Skitty was struck twice and sent flying! May's score immediately dropped by a third.
"Skitty, Assist!" "Meow~" Skitty's paw emitted a white light, and a Gust of wind appeared—it was Beautifly's Gust!
"Jigglypuff, Dazzling Gleam!" The pink light instantly shattered the Gust. May bit her lip nervously. "Use Blizzard quickly!" Only with the help of Blizzard was May able to defeat the Dazzling Gleam.
"May, it's over! Sing!" "Popolipo" "Meow" Skitty flopped to the ground asleep. No matter how much May shouted, she couldn't wake it. Knowing that Jigglypuff's singing could put a Super-Sayan Trainer like Ash to sleep from day to night, five minutes was child's play.
May was eliminated, and Ash won the Pokémon Contest!
"The Verdanturf Ribbon, I got it!" "Pudding~"
[Ding~ Acquired Verdanturf Ribbon, Reward: 1000 points]
"Ash, you're amazing! You're already halfway through both the Gym Battles and the Contests. I only have one Ribbon so far," May said with disappointment.
Ash comforted her, "When I first started traveling, I was worse than you! I grew through countless failures, right, Brock?"
"Huh? Really? I thought you, Ash, had never been defeated!"
Brock sighed in recollection, "Yes! The Ash back then knew nothing; he just had a lot of passion. He grew through countless battles!"
At the Pokémon Center, Ash transferred Jigglypuff and Mudkip back and called for Grovyle and Annihilape .
Ash's Team: Pikachu, Eevee, Annihilape, Grovyle, Beautifly, Ralts, Torkoal, Quilava.
On the Road to Petalburg City
Having finished the Verdanturf Contest, Ash and his friends left Verdanturf Town the next day!
To defeat Norman and earn his fifth badge, Ash intensified his training. The planned team for the upcoming Gym Battle was Beautifly, Eevee, and Annihilape. Annihilape, being a Fighting/Ghost-type, countered Normal-types perfectly! Eevee, meanwhile, had learned the Psychic-type move Psyshield (哗哗气场) during their journey and advanced to Gym Leader - Mid Stage! As for Beautifly, Ash had initially planned to use Ralts, but Ralts's Trace Ability could potentially copy the opponent's Truant Ability, which would make the match impossible!
[Psyshield : Uses psychic power for a strong attack and creates a mystic barrier that lowers Special Attack.]
During their journey, Ash and his friends encountered a water shortage problem. Brock led the group to a small village deep in the forest that housed one of the top hundred famous springs! On the way, they were ambushed by Team Rocket but were saved by a Solrock. Upon arriving at the village, they found the spring was dry. Ash and his friends had to ask their Water-type Pokémon to look for water and met a girl named Miharu.
During this time, Brock's Lotad evolved into Lombre, which the villagers immediately declared a "Lombre God." The villagers all believed that the drought was caused by the space Pokémon, Solrock.
After some investigation, they discovered that Team Rocket was actually pumping the groundwater to sell for money! Under Solrock's protection, the villagers realized they had misunderstood Solrock. After sending Team Rocket blasting off again, the heat from the blazing Solrock and a powerful Water Gun attack created a large amount of steam, causing rain to fall from the sky again.
The villagers then immediately abandoned the "Lombre God" and started worshiping the "Solrock God."
Ash and his friends said goodbye to Miharu and set off on their journey to Petalburg City!
Lost in the Forest
Ash and his friends arrived at a certain forest and... got lost again!
"Why, why do we always get lost!" May sat on the ground, starting to cry.
Brock indicated that they had even lost the direction they came from, so they could only grit their teeth and push forward. Brock began to cook since they needed to replenish their strength before continuing.
As Brock finished the meal, Ash and the others released their Pokémon to eat. Just then, Pikachu perked up its ears, pointing in a certain direction. "Pika pi~"
Combusken and Eevee also seemed to sense something and ran off with Pikachu in that direction. Seeing this, everyone quickly chased after them!