Under the nervous eyes of Nicolette, Munchlax used the move Splash.
Its round body kept jumping up and down on the grass. It looked like a Magikarp that was trying to breathe while it was on the beach.
The famous scene finally happened.
When May saw this, her face looked very embarrassed.
Just like her, the serious look on Nicolette's face also stayed there.
She did not expect that after being careful for a long time, this Munchlax would use such a useless move.
What was the point of a move like Splash?
It seemed she was silly to think that this guy was a difficult opponent.
But when she came back to reality, she realized this was a very good chance. She did not wait and quickly pointed at Munchlax. She shouted loudly: "Vileplume, while you have the chance, use Stun Spore!"
Vileplume followed the order. A lot of orange powder came out of its flower bud toward Munchlax. Munchlax was still jumping up and down randomly. It could not dodge at all and the Stun Spore hit it directly!
Now, the condition of Munchlax became even worse. It was still confused, and now its body was also paralyzed. It stood in one place and shook constantly. It looked like it was very sick!
May was worried on the side, but she could not help.
She wanted Munchlax to wake up, but she did not know how to help in this situation.
At this moment, Nicolette wanted to attack while the opponent was weak, so she gave another command.
"Vileplume, use Bullet Seed!"
Nicolette's fighting style was correct, but that was only for other Pokémon. This time, her opponent was a Munchlax that did not follow any logic!
Vileplume shot many seeds. It was like a machine gun firing. "Rat-tat-tat-tat," the seeds hit Munchlax. When they hit, there were small explosions and a lot of thick smoke!
Nicolette saw this and laughed with pride.
"Hahaha, the winner of a Pokémon Contest isn't really that big of a deal after all!"
This sentence made May very angry!
Before, she was only playing with Nicolette. But now, she was going to be serious!
"What did you say!?"
Her mood suddenly changed. First, she looked angrily at Nicolette. Then she shouted to Munchlax in the smoke, "Munchlax, get up! The real battle starts now! Fight with spirit!!"
Maybe it felt the anger of its trainer. Two bright and sharp eyes suddenly flashed in the thick smoke. A second later, Munchlax held up a glowing fist and ran out of the smoke. It moved faster halfway through. it crossed ten meters in a moment and hit Vileplume's body very hard!
The punch was very strong and heavy. Vileplume screamed as its body flew backward. it flew far away and fell heavily on the ground!
"What!?"
Nicolette finally came back to reality. She quickly looked at Vileplume to see how it was.
Actually, Nicolette was not the only one surprised. Even May was surprised that Munchlax could use that move.
"That move just now was...?"
"It's Focus Punch," Natsui smiled nearby. "It seems your Munchlax learned this move on its own when you weren't looking."
It was a surprise, but this punch gave Munchlax fighting spirit. It also let May release her frustration!
"Very good!"
May did not give Vileplume a chance to move. She ordered Munchlax, "Let's finish it with Solar Beam!"
Solar Beam?
Natsui shook his head when he heard this.
He thought that using a Grass-type move to fight a Grass and Poison-type Vileplume was like the style of Ash.
Munchlax did not ask any questions about May's command. It immediately gathered energy. It fired a long beam of light from its mouth toward Vileplume!
At this time, Vileplume had just stood up. It saw the big energy coming. It moved its body down to hide.
Because it moved, the Solar Beam did not hit it directly. Instead, the Solar Beam touched the petals on its head. It flew over Vileplume and hit a small hill far away!
Even though it only touched a tiny spot, Vileplume could not take the power. Its eyes rolled back, and it fainted.
"No way!?"
Nicolette cried out in shock. "It fell just from being grazed a little!? Someone who won a Pokémon Contest really is different!"
Her attitude had changed from before.
But she was wrong. She thought the Solar Beam defeated Vileplume. But really, the Focus Punch that put Vileplume in its place was the move that won the fight!
But no matter what, May defeated Nicolette. There were no accidents, and she did not lose.
May and Nicolette put their Pokémon back. They turned around to go back to Natsui. They saw Jeannie and Christopher watching them.
They had seen everything that happened.
Nicolette wanted to show her parents how strong she was. She did not expect to lose so easily.
This made Nicolette feel very ashamed.
In contrast, Natsui praised May when she came back. Her face was bright and smiling. She looked very different from Nicolette!
This made Nicolette feel even worse.
Just then, she heard the man speak.
"Instead of training at home, I think going out more and traveling everywhere is the best choice. This is why May is only one or two years older than you, but she is much stronger."
Nicolette looked up. She saw he was talking to her.
Actually, she did not hate traveling as much as she said. She was a little excited about it. The reason she did not want to leave home was that she loved her parents too much.
Her room was here. She had many Pokémon Eggs to stay with her. She had a beautiful farm and everything she knew. There were many reasons she did not want to say goodbye.
Nicolette's heart was very complicated. she felt jealous and she also admired May because she was a Pokémon Coordinator. But she also wanted to win against her.
She was defeated and saw the difference between them. After she heard the man's words, she was moved, but she did not show it.
"Are you a Pokémon Coordinator too?"
She wanted to know who he was before she answered him. But his answer was a very big surprise!
Natsui did not want to brag. He just shook his head. "I am not a Pokémon Coordinator, just a Trainer."
He did not want to say who he was. But May did not like Nicolette's tone. She had to speak. "Natsui isn't just some ordinary trainer! Don't you know? He was the champion of the last Indigo Plateau Conference!"
"What!?"
Nicolette wanted to be a good Pokémon Coordinator. She knew how important a "Champion of the Indigo Plateau Conference" was.
She never watched a match of that conference. But she knew it was very hard to become a champion.
"You?"
Nicolette looked at Natsui with wide eyes. She was shocked. She asked, "Really? You're not lying to me, are you?"
Natsui did not expect May to say that so quickly. But he understood her. He knew she did not want people to look down on him. He nodded to Nicolette.
"May is right. However, we are not telling you this to brag about our achievements. We want you to know that only by going out can you see a wider world and constantly improve your strength."
Natsui did not really need to say so much to her. But there was one reason: he wanted to help May get that Egg!
He wanted to help Nicolette's parents. If he changed her mind, the parents would be thankful. Then they might give them a gift.
Natsui had a simpler way to do this.
He could try to buy the Egg. But that would only be a simple deal. They would not learn anything from it. It would be too easy for May to get the Egg without working for it.
The status of a Contest winner was not enough to change Nicolette's mind. But a Pokémon League Champion really moved her heart.
Natsui showed some of his skill. He let out his Gardevoir. He told it to fix the mountain that Munchlax broke with Solar Beam. Nicolette was very shocked!
Can traveling really make someone this powerful...?
In the afternoon, the work on the farm ended. Nicolette's family and Natsui's group sat in the living room. They drank tea again.
May told Nicolette stories about her journey as a Pokémon Coordinator. Finally, Nicolette agreed with her.
"Thank you."
She thought for a moment. Then she looked at Natsui and May. She said: "I have made up my mind to go on a journey bravely."
Christopher and Jeannie were surprised. Then they looked happy. Their daughter finally fixed her mental problem. They were happy she wanted to travel.
They were going to thank Natsui and May. But then a red light started to flash.
"It's time!"
Nicolette stood up quickly. She said happily to Natsui and May, "Remember what I told you in the warehouse? Some Pokémon are about to hatch. Now is the time for them to hatch!"
The family of three ran out. Natsui and May were curious about how the eggs hatched. They also got up and followed.
They left the house. They saw the family enter a high tower. There were warehouses around it. When they arrived, they saw a Pokémon Egg on a machine. It was orange and red with a spiral pattern. It was shaking a little. White light was shining on the egg.
It was easy to guess from the shape. It was a Vulpix egg.
When Natsui and May arrived at the machine, they saw the egg flashing. It was going to hatch very soon!
"It seems we arrived at the perfect time."
May laughed. She moved closer to the egg to look at it.
For Natsui, a Pokémon hatching was not a new thing. He had seen it in the anime many times. But this was the first time in real life. He felt curious.
Everyone watched the egg. Soon, it started to change.
There was a strong flash of light. The egg changed its shape. It was not an egg anymore; it was a Vulpix!
May was very surprised. She thought the Pokémon would break the shell. She did not expect the whole egg to turn into a Pokémon. There was no shell left!
After the Vulpix hatched, Nicolette took care of it.
She dried it with a towel. She checked its body. She gave it milk. She did everything correctly. She was very good at taking care of new Pokémon even though she was young.
This took more than half an hour.
Natsui and May had been there for a long time. It was time to say goodbye.
Christopher and Jeannie did not seem very thankful yet. Team Rocket did not attack, so the parents were not extremely grateful.
Natsui was about to speak. But then he saw Nicolette walking to May. She was holding a box with an egg in it.
"May, please accept this Pokémon Egg."
"Huh?"
May was not sure. She looked at Natsui. Then she asked, "Is it okay for me to take it?"
"Of course it is,"
Nicolette laughed. "It's because of the encouragement from you and Natsui that I decided to leave home and become a real Pokémon Coordinator. Besides, didn't you say you really like Pokémon Eggs? That's why I want to use this to thank you!"
Natsui looked at the egg. He saw the pattern and the color. He knew it was an Eevee egg. He nodded to himself.
The effort was not a waste!
In the anime, May got her second Pokémon, Eevee, from this farm when she was in Kanto.
Natsui helped, and even without Ash, things had finally returned to their original track!