Chapter 323: Slateport City
Combusken rammed into Hariyama several times, but Hariyama remained unmoved, and Brawly was in no hurry to command Hariyama to launch an attack.
After a moment, having grown accustomed to Combusken's rhythm, Brawly said, "Hariyama, that's enough, use Knock Off!"
"Chao~"
Hariyama spotted the opening as Combusken charged in, stepped forward, and swung its right arm, landing a palm strike squarely on Combusken's chest. A massive force sent Combusken flying.
"Combusken!"
May couldn't help but exclaim.
Just as Combusken was about to hit the wall, it struggled to twist its body, digging its sharp claws into the ground to increase friction and bring itself to a stop.
"Combusken, are you okay?" May asked with concern.
"Combusken!"
Combusken nodded heavily.
"Alright, Combusken, use Double Kick on Hariyama's right leg."
"Combusken~"
Combusken's gaze sharpened, bursting with incredible speed as it approached Hariyama and aimed a fierce kick at Hariyama's right leg.
Brawly's pupils constricted.
Combusken's speed was a bit fast.
"Hariyama, block it quickly!"
Hariyama swung its fan-sized palm, preparing to block Combusken's kick.
But Combusken seemed to have anticipated this; it extended its hands, pressed against Hariyama's fingertips, and vaulted upward. Using an aerial spin to increase the power of its attack, it kicked hard against Hariyama's leg.
After the two kicks, a stinging pain shot through Hariyama's ankle, causing it to stumble and nearly fall to the ground.
"Such agile footwork."
Brawly was secretly surprised.
He had always been training Hariyama's lower body balance, but that couldn't withstand the opponent relentlessly attacking Hariyama's lower body.
This kind of attack targeting the lower body reminded him of when Ash challenged the Gym some time ago, when he used a single Grass Knot to defeat his Machop.
"Very good, Combusken, next use Flamethrower!"
An unsteady Hariyama couldn't even manage a full-power palm strike, let alone a continuous series of pushes.
Power originates from the ground; that has never been just empty talk, especially for a Pokémon with a bulky build like Hariyama.
After being hit by the Flamethrower, Hariyama immediately lost the ability to battle.
"Hariyama is unable to battle, therefore the winner is May from Petalburg City!"
The referee announced the result of the battle.
"Ms. May, this is the proof of defeating the Dewford Gym, the Knuckle Badge!"
Brawly handed over the badge.
"Thank you, Mr. Brawly."
After excitedly taking the badge, May turned to look at Ash and shouted, "Ash, look, I succeeded!"
Ash smiled and slowly gave a thumbs up.
"It seems that losing to Ash was truly no injustice at all."
Seeing this scene, Brawly was completely convinced. Being swept by Ash was one thing, but now he had even been defeated by an apprentice taught by Ash.
He was certain that the idea to attack Hariyama's lower body must have been Ash's guidance.
Of course, he wouldn't say such things without evidence.
After May took down the Dewford Gym, the Dewford Island journey for Ash's group officially came to an end.
After leaving Dewford Island, the next stop for Ash's group was Slateport City, where the Grand Festival was about to be held.
While traveling by boat from Dewford Island, the group boarded a cruise ship that had run aground. On the ship, they saw Swampert, the final evolution of Mudkip, one of the Hoenn region's starter Pokémon, and also met the Trainer of this Swampert.
After arriving at the Pokémon Center in Slateport City, May looked at all the Trainers planning to participate in the Grand Festival, and a sense of nervousness welled up inside her.
"May, stay calm, there are still two weeks until the Grand Festival!" Ash comforted her.
May mumbled, "Two weeks—for someone prepared like you, Ash, of course it's nothing!"
"Whether you are prepared or not isn't important; what matters is whether you have confidence. If you have confidence, two weeks is enough," Ash said nonchalantly.
Brock reminded her, "May, you should find a place to practice first."
"That's true."
The three of them then looked for a suitable place to practice near the Pokémon Center.
Very quickly, the group found a deserted beach.
"This place is quite suitable. May, start your performance," Ash said.
"Alright, first is the performance for the preliminary round."
May took out Beautifly's Poké Ball and suddenly spun around in circles, "Beautifly, take the stage!"
As soon as Beautifly appeared, it flapped its wings and scattered scales.
However, while Beautifly's movements were perfect, there was a slight flaw when it came to May; she spun too much and ended up dizzying herself.
By the time May recovered, five minutes had already passed. If this were on the stage of the Grand Festival, it would be equivalent to ending her career as soon as it began.
"Alright, next is this."
May took out several flying discs and threw them toward Beautifly.
"Beautifly, use Hurricane."
Seeing this, Ash silently erected an Aura barrier.
Sure enough, Beautifly could not control the power of the Hurricane at all, and the full-power Hurricane instantly created a sandstorm on the beach.
It was fortunate that there was no one else where they were; otherwise, May's performance would surely have incited public anger.
Ash frowned and said, "May, a performance like this won't pass the preliminary round."
"I know that!"
May responded weakly.
"For these next two days, you should focus on training Beautifly's skill proficiency. When you can make the Hurricane blown by Beautifly stable in wind force, you can have it cooperate with you in a performance. You cannot neglect other skills either; relying on just one skill won't be enough to pass the preliminary round. Perhaps you could also take some inspiration from Ms. Janet's Beautifly," Ash said.
Chapter 323: Slateport City
Combusken rammed into Hariyama several times, but Hariyama remained unmoved, and Brawly was in no hurry to command Hariyama to launch an attack.
After a moment, having grown accustomed to Combusken's rhythm, Brawly said, "Hariyama, that's enough, use Knock Off!"
"Chao~"
Hariyama spotted the opening as Combusken charged in, stepped forward, and swung its right arm, landing a palm strike squarely on Combusken's chest. A massive force sent Combusken flying.
"Combusken!"
May couldn't help but exclaim.
Just as Combusken was about to hit the wall, it struggled to twist its body, digging its sharp claws into the ground to increase friction and bring itself to a stop.
"Combusken, are you okay?" May asked with concern.
"Combusken!"
Combusken nodded heavily.
"Alright, Combusken, use Double Kick on Hariyama's right leg."
"Combusken~"
Combusken's gaze sharpened, bursting with incredible speed as it approached Hariyama and aimed a fierce kick at Hariyama's right leg.
Brawly's pupils constricted.
Combusken's speed was a bit fast.
"Hariyama, block it quickly!"
Hariyama swung its fan-sized palm, preparing to block Combusken's kick.
But Combusken seemed to have anticipated this; it extended its hands, pressed against Hariyama's fingertips, and vaulted upward. Using an aerial spin to increase the power of its attack, it kicked hard against Hariyama's leg.
After the two kicks, a stinging pain shot through Hariyama's ankle, causing it to stumble and nearly fall to the ground.
"Such agile footwork."
Brawly was secretly surprised.
He had always been training Hariyama's lower body balance, but that couldn't withstand the opponent relentlessly attacking Hariyama's lower body.
This kind of attack targeting the lower body reminded him of when Ash challenged the Gym some time ago, when he used a single Grass Knot to defeat his Machop.
"Very good, Combusken, next use Flamethrower!"
An unsteady Hariyama couldn't even manage a full-power palm strike, let alone a continuous series of pushes.
Power originates from the ground; that has never been just empty talk, especially for a Pokémon with a bulky build like Hariyama.
After being hit by the Flamethrower, Hariyama immediately lost the ability to battle.
"Hariyama is unable to battle, therefore the winner is May from Petalburg City!"
The referee announced the result of the battle.
"Ms. May, this is the proof of defeating the Dewford Gym, the Knuckle Badge!"
Brawly handed over the badge.
"Thank you, Mr. Brawly."
After excitedly taking the badge, May turned to look at Ash and shouted, "Ash, look, I succeeded!"
Ash smiled and slowly gave a thumbs up.
"It seems that losing to Ash was truly no injustice at all."
Seeing this scene, Brawly was completely convinced. Being swept by Ash was one thing, but now he had even been defeated by an apprentice taught by Ash.
He was certain that the idea to attack Hariyama's lower body must have been Ash's guidance.
Of course, he wouldn't say such things without evidence.
After May took down the Dewford Gym, the Dewford Island journey for Ash's group officially came to an end.
After leaving Dewford Island, the next stop for Ash's group was Slateport City, where the Grand Festival was about to be held.
While traveling by boat from Dewford Island, the group boarded a cruise ship that had run aground. On the ship, they saw Swampert, the final evolution of Mudkip, one of the Hoenn region's starter Pokémon, and also met the Trainer of this Swampert.
After arriving at the Pokémon Center in Slateport City, May looked at all the Trainers planning to participate in the Grand Festival, and a sense of nervousness welled up inside her.
"May, stay calm, there are still two weeks until the Grand Festival!" Ash comforted her.
May mumbled, "Two weeks—for someone prepared like you, Ash, of course it's nothing!"
"Whether you are prepared or not isn't important; what matters is whether you have confidence. If you have confidence, two weeks is enough," Ash said nonchalantly.
Brock reminded her, "May, you should find a place to practice first."
"That's true."
The three of them then looked for a suitable place to practice near the Pokémon Center.
Very quickly, the group found a deserted beach.
"This place is quite suitable. May, start your performance," Ash said.
"Alright, first is the performance for the preliminary round."
May took out Beautifly's Poké Ball and suddenly spun around in circles, "Beautifly, take the stage!"
As soon as Beautifly appeared, it flapped its wings and scattered scales.
However, while Beautifly's movements were perfect, there was a slight flaw when it came to May; she spun too much and ended up dizzying herself.
By the time May recovered, five minutes had already passed. If this were on the stage of the Grand Festival, it would be equivalent to ending her career as soon as it began.
"Alright, next is this."
May took out several flying discs and threw them toward Beautifly.
"Beautifly, use Hurricane."
Seeing this, Ash silently erected an Aura barrier.
Sure enough, Beautifly could not control the power of the Hurricane at all, and the full-power Hurricane instantly created a sandstorm on the beach.
It was fortunate that there was no one else where they were; otherwise, May's performance would surely have incited public anger.
Ash frowned and said, "May, a performance like this won't pass the preliminary round."
"I know that!"
May responded weakly.
"For these next two days, you should focus on training Beautifly's skill proficiency. When you can make the Hurricane blown by Beautifly stable in wind force, you can have it cooperate with you in a performance. You cannot neglect other skills either; relying on just one skill won't be enough to pass the preliminary round. Perhaps you could also take some inspiration from Ms. Janet's Beautifly," Ash said.