"Jessie." James turned to Jessie and gave her a bright smile. "Don't you understand yet? The operation is already over!"
"Operation?" Jessie looked completely confused. "What operation? What do you mean it's over!?"
"Of course, it's—" James stretched out the words. Then, he swung his hand up in a flashy way. Several grappling hooks dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of them. At the same time, he announced loudly, "—Operation Capture Pokémon!!"
"Operation Capture Pokémon!?" Jessie was shocked. "When did we have this plan!? And my battle isn't even finished yet!"
As she spoke, the five-minute timer ended. This meant that Jessie lost, even though Wobbuffet was not defeated. Her points were almost gone. They were much lower than Squirtle's points. According to the rules, Jessie was the loser.
"No!" Jessie started to cry when she saw the three red X marks on the judges' screen. She reached out her hand because she did not want to lose. "My Saffron Ribbon...!!"
By this time, the host, Lilian, finally reacted.
At first, she thought this was a special show added by the director. The judges and the audience thought the same thing.
However, the director spoke to her through her headset. He was worried and said it was not part of the show. Then she knew something was wrong.
"You—!"
She opened her mouth to stop them. But then several children ran onto the stage.
She looked closely. She saw they were May's friends. She had seen them yesterday during the stage rehearsal.
Now she was even more confused.
What were these people doing here?
While she was confused, Ash jumped onto the stage. He walked toward Team Rocket and shouted at them, "Team Rocket! What are you doing here!?"
"Twerp." Meowth looked at him. "This has nothing to do with you this time! Don't come over and cause trouble!"
As Meowth spoke, he looked around at the audience. He was very afraid. He thought the man who scared them might appear. Luckily, that man did not show up, even though some time had passed.
This made Meowth feel much better.
However, he did not want to waste time. He moved his paw, and several smoke bombs appeared in his hand. He threw them down hard. The smoke bombs exploded with loud noises. Suddenly, a lot of thick white smoke covered the whole stage.
Now, even Harley was not slow anymore. He understood that they had tricked him.
He quickly jumped onto the stage. He ran into the white smoke. He looked up at Team Rocket. Ropes were already pulling them into the air. He shouted loudly, "Wait! Jessiebella! Give me back my Pokémon!!"
But Meowth only laughed at him.
"It's because you are too stupid, meow! You can't blame anyone else!"
After saying that, Meowth pressed a button. A giant hole appeared in the thick ceiling of the Saffron Hall after a loud explosion. Suddenly, cold air blew into the hall. It messed up everyone's hair.
James and Meowth laughed loudly and arrogantly. The ropes pulled Team Rocket to the top, and they disappeared.
The cold air blew away the white smoke. It also blew something out of Harley's pocket. The object went high into the air and hit Harley in the face.
Harley took the object and looked at it. It was the autograph Jessie had given him earlier!
"Curse you!!!"
Harley shouted in anger. But he did not throw it away because it was his entry pass. He quickly put it back in his pocket. Then he ran out of the hall immediately.
He hated those liars very much.
He thought "Fairy Jessiebella" was real, but she was a liar!
He had trusted her. He really thought she could help him get revenge. He was even foolish enough to give his Pokémon to them!
What a joke!
When I catch them, I will tear them apart!
Harley ran to the exit with these thoughts. Before he left, he turned back. He glared angrily at May.
He thought everything was the fault of this girl.
The next time they met, he would not show her any mercy!
Harley left, but May was very confused because of his glare.
She did not know what happened. Why was he blaming her?
Ash's group, Lilian, and the audience were also confused.
To them, everything that happened was very strange.
Why did the person named Jessiebella leave during the battle?
Who were those people with her?
And why did Harley chase after them?
Everything happened very fast. It was all a mystery. They could not understand the situation.
Lilian was a professional host.
She was the first person to recover. She smiled at the audience. She said, "It seems an unexpected situation occurred. However, it doesn't matter. Although Jessiebella has left, the match time has already ended. According to the rules of the tournament, I now announce that the winner of this Saffron Contest is May! Let's congratulate her!"
The lights came back on. The staff ran onto the stage. They cleaned up the pieces of the roof that fell.
There was a problem at the end, but the audience still stood up. They clapped and cheered for May.
The final battle was not very exciting. It was a bit disappointing because there were not many great moments. But May won, and that was still worth celebrating.
May held Squirtle up high. She waved and smiled at the people. Her face showed that she was very excited to get the Ribbon.
After the stage was clean, Raoul Contesta gave the Ribbon to May. He was the Chief of the Pokémon Contest Committee. This meant May had her first Ribbon in the Kanto region.
This was a happy event.
In the evening, Natsui bought a large meal for everyone to celebrate. After that, the event was over.
This was only the start. If May wanted to go to the Kanto Grand Festival, she had to work hard. She still needed four more Ribbons.
Ash felt motivated by May's win. Or maybe he felt he was falling behind Natsui. Natsui had more Frontier Symbols, and Ash only had one. Ash did not stay in Saffron City for very long. He took Max and Brock and left during the night. They went toward the Battle Arena. It was not far from Saffron City.
Natsui thought Ash was in too much of a hurry.
Natsui knew that rushing too much can cause problems. Since Ash left in the dark, he might not get there easily. He might waste more time instead.
But this was Ash's journey. He chose what to do. Natsui and May had their own adventure, so he did not stop him.
After saying goodbye, Natsui took May to the Saffron Gym. He spent private time with Sabrina. He rested in that comfortable place for one more night. Then he left that gentle place. He took May and started a new journey.
Their next goal was the Battle Palace. It was in the Kanto sea area near Cinnabar Island.
The Battle Palace was on Metallica Island. Natsui did not know much about this island. He only knew it was part of a group of islands on a sea route. He chose to go there first because it was convenient. This route would save time when going to other Frontier facilities later.
Because of his personality, he would not just rush off like Ash and get lost. He made a general plan before moving. Then he arranged the route so the journey would be easier.
You could not say which way was better. They just had different styles.
Natsui kissed Sabrina goodbye. She looked very sad. After breakfast the next day, Natsui and May were ready. They went to the nearest port city.
Their route was almost the same as Ash's route for a while. Their paths would split later when they went in different directions.
Ash left very quickly. If they had stayed in Saffron City for one night, the groups could have spent more time together.
But if many people travel together, it is not an adventure. It is more like a school trip. They would not be able to train or learn. So, Ash leaving early was a good idea.
...
The sky was clear, and the sun was bright.
It was a great day for a trip.
After leaving Saffron City, Natsui and May walked together along a river bank. They crossed a large field of grass and went toward the sea.
The grass was soft and smelled sweet. One breath made them feel refreshed.
A light wind blew. They felt very comfortable.
While they were walking, May looked around. She saw a farm in the distant fields and stopped.
"Natsui, look!" She pointed at the farm and smiled. "That farm looks so beautiful! You know, I used to dream about living a peaceful life in a place like that. That feeling must be wonderful!"
Natsui did not care at first. He just smiled and nodded. But then he remembered something and stopped too.
"Do you want to go see it?" He looked at May.
"Eh?" May was surprised. She wanted to go, but she was not sure. "Is it really okay? Aren't we in a hurry?"
"Traveling isn't something that ends in a day or two. Balancing work and rest is also important. There's no rush," Natsui laughed. "It's fine. If you want to see that farm, we can stop by. We can ask the owner to let us take a look."
"Really?" May said happily. "That's great!"
Natsui nodded. She quickly jumped down from the river bank. She wanted to walk to the farm.
After a few steps, two Voltorb appeared. They used an electric attack on May!
May did not see them. She was surprised and screamed. She watched the electricity come toward her. But then, a clear wall blocked the sparks. The electricity disappeared!
Hmm?
She recovered and looked back. She saw that Natsui had released Gardevoir. It was slowly lowering its arm.
It had just saved her.
But why did Natsui release Gardevoir then? Did he know there was danger?
May was confused. But she would never know the truth. Natsui had seen the anime and knew this scene. That is why he was prepared.
If he had not acted, May would have been hit by the attack, just like in the anime.
But Natsui was careful. He would not let that happen.
May was still scared. She patted her chest. She moved away from the two Voltorb. She asked, "Why did they suddenly attack me?"
"They probably thought you were an intruder," Natsui shook his head. "Looking at the distance, we are very close to that farm. Since you were heading in that direction, these two Voltorb likely attacked to protect their territory."
"You are right!"
Suddenly, a girl's voice sounded nearby. The grass moved. A little girl appeared from behind the grass. She was holding a broom. She wore denim overalls. She had freckles on her face and messy red hair in pigtails.
The little girl looked at Natsui and May. She asked loudly, "Who are you? Why are you entering my family's farm!?"
May looked down. She realized she was standing on someone else's grass.
"Ah, sorry, I didn't notice..."
May was about to apologize. But then the little girl saw May's face clearly. She screamed. She ran over and stood in front of May.
"Could you be the person who just won the Saffron Contest yesterday?"
"Eh?" May did not expect to be recognized. She was surprised but nodded. "Yes, that's me."
"That's great! It really is you!" The little girl was even more excited. She cheered. Her face turned red with excitement. She said, "I saw your performance and battle on TV! You are so amazing!"
The noise caught the attention of the farm owners. A man and a woman walked out of the house.
"Nicolette, what happened? Is there a guest?"