Jessie unfortunately did lose her change to go further into this Pokémon Contest because she cheated, exactly like how she tried to cheat in the last official Pokémon Contest she participated in and also getting kicked out during that time, and the outcome was just as Ash expected even before the first round ended. The only people capable of standing in front of May now were was that Joshua and Erica, an actual couple.
"Houndoom, use Swift!"
May's battle begin immediately after the battle between Jessie and Erica was fought, and the battle between the two sides now was quite interesting.
A cute adorable little pink looking kitten has to fight against a big black dog that is also scary.
However, May was not timid at all and decisively issued the command, "Skitty, use Double Slap!"
This little kitten was very agile as it could use its small stature to get under the attacks or just move out of the way at the last second. Its long tail like a cat's paw smashed all of the incoming Swift into bright pieces repeatedly. It's small figure rushed right in front of the much bigger Houndoom and knocked the big black dog away with its head, this was a Tackle attack, but it looked more like a Headbutt than anything else.
"Okay, Skitty, now use Double Slap again!"
However, just after Houndoom was forced back a meter or two on the ground, he managed to stabilized his body again, and then heard his Trainer giving an order to him, "Dodge and then use the a Shadow Ball!"
Houndoom did even better than what his Trainer ordered him to do. He lowered his head to avoid the slap at the last second, and the long spear shaped tail behind him whipped May's Skitty away.
Brock turned to the equally confused Ash, "Why did they go for a Shadow Ball now?"
Then the dark Shadow Ball hit Skitty directly without it being able to do anything to stop it.
But here is the thing, the Shadow Ball attack that Joshua ordered his Houndoom to use is a Ghost-type attack, which means that it has no effect on the pure Normal-type Skitty.
Joshua most likely forgot this in the heat of the moment.
"The second battle of this round has already turned into a thrilling and exciting battle between two tough sides! Both Contestant May and Contestant Joshua continue on the stage with a mix of an offensive and defensive battle tactics! They are both refusing to give in to the other! We can all agree now this is a true very intense battle between the youngsters!" Vivian was also excited, this battle was indeed well fought! But she still secretly cheered on for her friend, May, to win this battle and go to the finals and ultimately win that one too.
Regarding the type table and how all of it works, May was very clear about it. She calmly issued the order, "Skitty, Blizzard!"
This move was not there to cause damage to the Fire-type Houndoom, but to decrease its visibility and speed.
With this attack, Joshua's points were deducted again by a noticeable amount. The two of them kept fighting for maintaining their score and refusing to give in to each others prowess. In this Pokémon Contest Battle, May's performance was remarkable. She not only stayed very calm even when facing greater pressure, but she was also able to give out great orders to her Pokémon.
"Houndoom, now use Flamethrower!" Joshua also reflected on his mistake and he himself couldn't believe he forgot such a rookie thing he learned years ago.
And now faced with Skitty's strongest move, he had to use his Houndoom's own strongest skill.
The collision between the hot orange flames and the cold white and blue Blizzard caused the entire stage to appear as if there was now a wildfire happening inside of a winter forest—they were still in a stalemate.
However, in terms of physical strength and experience, Houndoom was still superior. It had lived longer and thus had experienced more in these kind of things.
The Flamethrower's strength suddenly increased, suppressing Skittys Blizzard.
Skitty was knocked away by the powerful pillar of fire, and May's score was also deducted because of this. Now their scores are equal again, but barely.
"Skitty, cheer up! You're doing great!" May shouted loudly to her partner. She and Skitty were always very compatible, and now their bond has reached that certain level where they can briefly feel what the other is feeling. Since May was willing to believe in Skitty so much, Skitty will definitely repay her with the same amount of trust.
"Contestant Mays Skitty used her Blizzard's attack to decide the final winner of this battle, but unexpectedly, she was counterattacked by a even more powerful Flamethrower!" Vivian's explanation was very accurate, and no one can deny what she said.
Ash looked up at May, she still had not given up yet and was willing to go further for all of her and her Pokémon's dreams!
This was one of the main reasons Ash even fell in love with her.
In fact, there was something that Ash noticed that May didn't seem to notice at all, she just made a small mistake, that is, she did not seriously think about Skitty's ability when she began on the offensive.
Analyzing the clear and hidden strengths and weaknesses of both sides, how to use your own greatest strengths and attack the opponent's biggest weaknesses in a battle, this is what every Trainer must think about before the real battle even begins.
"Houndoom, now use a Swift!" Joshua decided to pursue the real victory from here, but as May also gave an order, her Skitty bounced on the ground and stood up again in full power.
"Great, Skitty, now use an Assist!"
The Assist skill was indeed May's trump card for her Skitty, because that really was one of the few things that could do heavy damage to her opponents. Skitty used its luck to summon up a Razor Leaf again from her friend to launch it against the Swift.
Then May launched a Quick Attack from under the smoke, Skitty rushed over and knocked Houndoom out with one head, and landed on the ground behind it.
"Houndoom!" Joshuas score was again behind that of May after this part.
"Skitty, now use a Double Slap!" May used this attack again and she saw Ash nod to her a few times from the corner of her eyes, which she smiled back to. This was the attack that can bring out Skitty's true dexterity.
"Houndoom, use a Shadow Ball!"
Joshua for whatever reason made the same mistake again and used a Shadow Ball against the Normal-type Skitty. May already knew that this Ghost-type attack would not work against her Skitty because of its immunity.
"Skitty, use Double Slap to hit the Shadow Ball!" That's a ball, and what little cats are good at was playing with balls, actually.
May's sudden command made many spectators present couldn't help but stand up from their seated positions. In their surprised eyes, the little cat flicked its little tail and actually hit the Shadow Ball back with great enthusiasm. The moment it hit Houndoom, its head exploded violently from the power of its own move.
"Incredible! Contestant Joshuas Houndoom was hit by its very own Shadow Ball! Contestant May's Skitty is so incredible, just look at the smirk it has!" Vivian also exclaimed in surprise and very much delight. May using her opponents own move to fight back, this was a perfect thing in Pokémon Contests because it shows the control one could have.
In addition, since Houndoom was attacked and damaged, Joshuas points were greatly deducted again. Now the gap between the two sides was getting wider and wider, it was a very noticeable difference in the amount they individually held.
Unless Joshua has some miraculous strategy to fight back right about now, May can already said to have a place in the finals. After all, there was only half a minute left and she had the greater advantage.
"The end of time!"
The miracle unfortunately, for Joshua, didn't happen in the end. May defeated Joshua. Now she only needs to defeat his girlfriend, Erica, in the finals to get her last official Pokémon Contest Ribbon
"The most critical moment of the Pacifidlog Town Pokémon Contest has finally arrived, and it is these two Pokémon Coordinators who will duel on the final stage for the last chance at the Hoenn Region Grand Festival!"
Though only May was left that had four official Pokémon Contest Ribbons, no one else was left.
Joshua and Erica stood together with a solemn expressions, accepting the cheers and cheers from the audience and their own townspeople.
——
Jynx and Skitty appeared against each other, Erica took the lead in attacking, "Jynx, use Psychic on that thing!"
The powerful Psychic lifted Skitty into the air so that most of its skills would he rendered useless.
Erica was different from her boyfriend, who played with a go with the flow strategy, she would do her best to suppress her opponents from the beginning. And she looked to be pretty good at it.
Who knows what she did to poor Joshua?
Then she began to use the second part of her combination attack, "Now, use Lovely Kiss!"
This move made Ash's eyes darken with a slight bit of discomfort and disgust, for no other reason than it was Jynx using this move.
And out of all the Pokémon's that was ever created, this move was given to this ugly piece of crap as its signature move.
Such a waster.
This move was basically a skill that makes the opponent forcefully fall asleep because of some strange energy going into their body, which would make opponent slow down even after they wake up. This was also the sleep version of Sweet Kiss.
But there was Skitty can do now that it's mobility was heavily restrained. Before May could even tell Skitty to launch something like a Blizzard to avoid such a disgusting purple kiss from something like a Jynx, she saw the huge blowing kiss falling on Skitty in a much faster speed, and her energetic kitten immediately fell asleep.
But Erica's attack was not still over yet, "Well done, Jynx, now use a Blizzard of your own to decide the final winner of this battle!"
Blizzard was a very powerful Ice-type attack, additionally its powered up even more by the fact that Jynx is also an Ice-type Pokémon.
And like Vivian said, this Blizzard was definitely much more powerful than the ones Skitty can release.
Skitty, who was still floating and asleep in mid-air, was immediately knocked back.
"The move combination here are so beautiful and precise, Psychic, Lovely Kiss and Blizzard! A perfect way to compliment and add more to rach move!" Vivian couldn't help but cheer for Erica, this combo was simply used very beautifully.
May's score was deducted by a lot after all of this, but after being hit by cold force of the Blizzard, Skitty's sleep condition was also lifted. She fell to the ground and shook her head a little, but she didn't seem to be have serious damages, mostly some outer ones.
"Skitty, are you okay?" May's called out to her just woken up partner.
"Meow," was all May needed to hear and she immediately regained her composure, "The main battle for my victory is just about to begin now, Skitty, use Assist!"
This time, what Assist released was the String Shot move Beautifly knew, and this very quickly tied up the ugly Jynx that was not expecting that sudden move.
"Skitty, now use Encore, and the use an Assist once again!" Just as Brock said, May let her Skitty use the same Assist skill in succession.
But this time, it looked like her luck ran out because the move Skitty now used was Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf, which while did some damages to Jynx, also cut off most of the String Shots binding Jynx.
The risk of such a move was indeed too high to be used casually.
"Jynx, use Psychic again in that cat!" Erica took the opportunity to launch an attack, restraining Skitty again and lifting her onto the air.
However, May ignored it and said, "Skitty, Assist!"
This was the third Assist being used in a row. What on earth was May thinking?
Ash looked at May with some delight, "May really is being so bold today, using a luck based move like Assist so many times…"
He was proud of her, but also knew she needed to stop relying so much in her luck like he had to. But he knew and saw that May was a rising star in the Pokémon Coordinator world with much to experience and win.
May's fighting style was very similar to Ash's in the earlier stages of her journey, but it also changed like Ash's own style changed over time.
She was willing to wait, waiting for that move to be used, the only skill that can restrain Jynx.
She was betting, betting very big, that that skill will be used before the end of time. This is the only way she can defeat the much stronger Jynx now.
And this third time, May got what she wanted.
Fire Spin, the move that her Fire-type Combusken's uses, restrained the Ice-type Jynx and caught Erica off guard again.
With just one move, the extremely effective tactic used by Jynx was out, she needed to use other things, but she didn't have the time to fight back.
There was only one minute left before the battle needed, and the timer was set in seconds now.
The last two moves that May used to finish the battle was another String Shot, and two tackles to the head to finish the ugly creature off.
The Pacifidlog Town Pokémon Contest, the last official Pokémon Contest before the Hoenn Region Grand Festival, ultimately ended.
May won herself her fifth official Pokémon Contest Ribbon and was now qualified to participate in the Hoenn Region Grand Festival as she wished.
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