"Let's go, Skitty!""Dusknoir, I choose you!"
With Skitty and Dusknoir entering the stage, the final round of the Verdanturf Town Pokémon Contest's battle phase—the "Gorgeous Five Minutes"—began!
On paper, the matchup looked one-sided. A Normal-type versus a Ghost-type? Normally, Skitty couldn't even land an effective hit. But thanks to Ash's advice before the match, May knew the only viable offensive options were Blizzard, which was unreliable, and Assist, which called random attacks from her other Pokémon.
"Dusknoir, use Will-O-Wisp!"Blue flames spiraled forward ominously.
"Assist!" May commanded.Skitty's tail glowed, and suddenly, a powerful stream of fire burst out—it was Combusken's Flamethrower! The attacks collided midair in a fiery explosion.
"Let's go again! Assist!"
This time, Skitty summoned Silver Wind, a shining gust filled with sparkles."Psychic, now!" Timmy countered.Dusknoir's eyes gleamed pink as it unleashed a wave of psychic energy, effortlessly canceling out Silver Wind.
The crowd was on the edge of their seats—points were shifting back and forth in an intense struggle of power and style.
Up in the stands, Timmy's father, Tommy, nudged Grace. "Look at him… When have you ever seen him with so much confidence? That's the look of a kid chasing his dream."
Grace watched her son intently, her eyes softening. She had never seen Timmy so focused… so alive.
Back on the field, the final showdown was heating up.
"Dusknoir, Hyper Beam!"
"Blizzard, Skitty! Give it all you've got!" May shouted with determination.
A blizzard of freezing wind erupted from Skitty's mouth—this time, flawless in execution! The icy blast clashed with Hyper Beam, overpowering it and pushing Dusknoir back! The audience gasped as sparkles filled the air—and in that moment, Skitty glowed faintly.
Skitty advanced to the early Advanced Rank.
Time ran out. On the scoreboard, May's final score was higher!
"Skitty, we did it!" May cheered as she hugged her partner. "You were amazing out there!"
Timmy walked off the field and was met by his parents. Grace finally spoke from the heart. She admitted that the reason she never let Timmy train Pokémon was because she herself had lost her childhood partner—a Poochyena—and never wanted Timmy to experience that kind of heartbreak. But now, after seeing Timmy's spirit and determination, she fully supported his dream.
Parents really are the same everywhere. They may worry, they may misunderstand, but in the end—they just want what's best for their kids.
Back on stage, the final match was about to begin.
"Let's go, Ash," May said firmly, stepping into position."I want to show you how much I've grown!"
"Alright, let's see what you've got!" Ash replied."Jigglypuff, let's do this!""Skitty, one more time!"
"Pudding~!""Meow~!"
"Go for it, Ash!" Max cheered from the sidelines."Pikachu!""Eevee!"
"Double Slap, Skitty!""Disable, Jigglypuff! Then use Double Slap yourself!"
Skitty charged, tail glowing—but suddenly froze mid-strike as Jigglypuff's Disable locked it in place.
"Oh no! Skitty, watch out!" May cried.
Jigglypuff wasted no time—SLAP!SLAP! Two sharp smacks knocked Skitty off its feet. May's points dropped by a third instantly.
"Skitty, try Assist!"The glow returned—and this time summoned Hurricane! A whirlwind blew across the stage.
"Jigglypuff, Dazzling Gleam!"
The hurricane was torn apart by a burst of brilliant pink light. May bit her lip. "Quick, use Blizzard!"
Ash stayed calm. "Now, Jigglypuff—Sing!"
"Puuudding ♪"
Skitty slowed, staggered… and fell asleep mid-Blizzard.No matter how much May called, Skitty wouldn't wake. After all, even Ash himself had once slept through the entire night after hearing that lullaby—five minutes was nothing.
"Skitty is unable to continue! The winner is Ash Ketchum!"
The crowd erupted in applause. Ash had claimed victory—and earned his third Contest Ribbon!
Ash held up the prize ribbon. "Verdanturf Town Ribbon—got it!"
"Pudding~!"
[Ding! Ash has obtained the Verdanturf Town Ribbon. Reward: 1000 points.]
May sighed as she looked at her single ribbon. "Ash, you're amazing. You've already made it halfway through the Gym and Contest circuits. I've only earned one ribbon…"
Ash smiled and patted her shoulder. "When I first started my journey, I was worse than you! I only made it this far because I kept losing—and learning."
"That's right," Brock added with a chuckle. "Back in the day, Ash didn't even know how type matchups worked. All he had was heart—and a whole lot of luck!"
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Later, at the Pokémon Center, Ash sent Jigglypuff and Mudkip back to Professor Oak's lab, and in their place, called over Grovyle and Annihilape.
Ash's current team:
Pikachu
Eevee
Annihilape
Grovyle
Beautifly
Ralts
Torkoal
Quilava
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The group left Verdanturf Town the next day, heading toward Petalburg City, where Ash would face Norman for his fifth Gym Badge.
To prepare, Ash increased his training. His team for this battle would be Beautifly, Eevee, and Annihilape. With Annihilape's type advantage over Normal-types and Eevee now knowing a new Psychic-type move called Confusion Aura, the team looked solid.
Confusion Aura: A move that strikes with concentrated psychic power and creates a barrier that lowers the opponent's Special Attack.[1]
Ash originally planned to use Ralts, but its Trace ability could accidentally copy Truant, and that would ruin the match.
On the way to Petalburg, the team ran into a sudden drought and followed Brock into a nearby village—famous for having one of the top 100 springs in the region. But the spring had dried up, and on the way, they were attacked by Team Rocket—only to be saved by a mysterious Solrock.
After investigating, they learned Team Rocket had been stealing groundwater to sell. Solrock protected the village, and with the help of everyone's Water-type Pokémon, they caused it to rain again.
Thanks to the efforts of Ash and his friends, the villagers abandoned their worship of the so-called "Lombre God" and now revered Solrock as their true guardian.
The group then continued their journey to Petalburg City.
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Soon, they entered a thick forest… and got lost.
"Why do we always get lost?!" May groaned, collapsing onto the ground.
"We can't even find our way back…" Brock muttered. "We'll have to keep moving forward."
Brock cooked lunch while Ash and the others released their Pokémon to rest and eat. Suddenly, Pikachu's ears perked up.
"Pika pi!" it called, pointing in a direction.
Combusken and Eevee also looked alert—and the three Pokémon bolted into the forest.
"Wait—what is it?!" Ash shouted."Let's follow them!" May added.
Everyone sprinted after the Pokémon, unaware of what awaited in the forest ahead…
To be continued...
[1] I think this is Fanmade move so I am gonna leave it as it is!