Herb Island, on the open ground behind the Pokémon Center.
With the help of the Pokémon, the special premium fruits were moved here. These were the extra prizes from the competition.
After a quick wash, Natsui, May, and all their Pokémon sat in a circle. They began to enjoy this fruit feast.
Some of these fruits looked like pineapples, some like apples, some like melons, some like pears, and some like grapes. They looked very similar to common fruits, but there were small differences. Natsui did not know their specific names at all.
Natsui picked up a pear-like fruit and tasted it. It was very sweet and juicy. The juice almost overflowed. He only thought of one word: Delicious! These special fruits were amazing prizes.
He looked at May. She was holding a fruit in each hand. She took a bite from one, then the other. She looked very happy.
She really is a total little foodie...
It was good that they won the competition. Food tastes even better after hard work.
Natsui finished his fruit and tried to grab a new one. However, his hand found nothing but air.
He felt confused and looked around. He saw that May's Munchlax was sitting next to him. In a very short time, it had eaten two large crates of fruit by itself. It was very fast.
His Gardevoir was different. She ate slowly and elegantly like a lady. Munchlax was a big contrast to her.
Now he was with one small foodie and one big foodie. He was surrounded by them! However, Natsui did not mind this.
To him, the fruits were just for a fresh taste. It did not matter if he ate them or not. His friends and Pokémon were the most important things.
He saw May and the Pokémon eating happily. He leaned back and watched them quietly.
The journey felt simple now. There were no big battles with Team Rocket, Team Magma, or Team Aqua. There were no powerful Legendary Pokémon. There were only the Battle Frontier and Pokémon Contests. Natsui did not think it was boring. He thought of it as a good part of life and a way to get strong for future battles.
Big battles do not happen all the time. Fighting constantly is too hard for the body. These quiet days are the normal routine for most Trainers.
He felt like he had returned to the start of his journey.
...
Natsui and May did not leave Herb Island. They went to the only town on the island, Tamashii Town.
The Tamashii Pokémon Contest would happen there tomorrow.
This was good news for May. If she won this contest, she would be closer to the final Grand Festival.
However, her good mood stopped when they reached the contest hall.
She saw that annoying rival again—Harley!
The Tamashii Contest was a town-level contest. The venue was a three-story building on a lawn. It was not a large stadium.
There was a snack street in front of the hall. They saw Harley at the entrance of the snack street.
Harley was dressed the same as before. He had an annoying smile on his face.
Natsui thought Harley probably got his Pokémon back from the Team Rocket trio. Harley looked healthy, so he must have taken them back. Otherwise, he would not be here.
Harley wanted to tease May when he saw her. But he saw Natsui beside her and stopped immediately.
He remembered that May was not traveling with children anymore. She was with this man.
Harley had lost to Natsui several times, so he was afraid to go near him.
In his heart, he hated Natsui, but he was also afraid of him.
Harley chose not to go to them. He looked at them from a distance and then left.
But he decided that he would make May lose very badly today.
Harley left, but May felt worried.
She knew Harley was strong and had strange ideas. His style on stage was unusual. He was her second big rival after Drew, and she had to be careful.
This contest would be harder than the last one.
"It looks like you'll have to be careful in this match," Natsui said with a smile. "Although I'm here and Harley won't use any dirty tricks, his performance is still excellent. You must be cautious when battling him."
"Yeah, I know."
May did not want to walk around anymore after meeting Harley. They checked the contest hall and then went to an empty space to practice for tomorrow.
Natsui held May's Egg and sat on a bench. He asked, "Which Pokémon do you plan to use for the competition this time?"
May had left her other Pokémon in Hoenn. She only had Combusken, Squirtle, and Munchlax. She also had an Egg that had not hatched yet. She did not have many choices.
Combusken and Squirtle had already been in contests. So, May chose Munchlax.
"Munchlax?" Natsui looked over with her and nodded. "That's fine. Munchlax should also get some training and help share the pressure for you. However, just to be safe, like last time, I'll send out a Pokémon to practice with you."
Natsui took out Eevee's Poké Ball and released it.
Eevee jumped happily in front of them. May wanted her other Pokémon to help Munchlax, but training with Natsui's Eevee was a better choice.
They did not have much time. May took her Pokémon to the empty space and began practicing.
Natsui felt like he was playing a game to help May grow.
He wanted to see how strong she would become in the end.
...
The next day.
Herb Island, Tamashii Contest.
The MC and the judges were the same people as before.
They were professional, but it was a bit boring to see the same people again.
Natsui sat in the audience and watched the contest.
The first few contestants did a good job. Soon, it was May's turn.
In the first round, May used Squirtle instead of Munchlax.
Squirtle had grown a lot in strength and confidence. Its performance was excellent.
It used Rapid Spin and Bubble to make a whirlpool on the stage. Then it used Ice Beam to break the bubbles and make a large ice fountain. This great performance gave May a high score.
It really is getting more and more excellent...
Squirtle did not make any mistakes. May was growing very quickly.
Natsui believed May would become a top Pokémon Coordinator after the Kanto Grand Festival.
Natsui went back to his seat. Other contestants also did well, and the audience cheered. But no one was as good as May.
Then Harley took the stage.
Harley used his Ariados. This proved he had taken his Pokémon back from Team Rocket. Those thieves did not win in the end.
Harley must have punished them.
Ariados made a web nest like it did before. Then it climbed to the top and jumped down like a bungee jump. It used Scary Face. It looked like a scary spider with eyes on its back. It was a frightening scene.
As expected of Harley, his style is as gloomy as ever...
But the audience still liked his unique performance and clapped for him.
After Harley, other contestants went up. But Harley's strange style made the atmosphere weird. The other contestants performed poorly, and the audience was quiet.
Natsui shook his head.
In a contest, a very strong performance can affect the other trainers and the audience.
The judges gave their scores. The list of eight contestants for the second round appeared. May was in first place.
She got the highest score in the first round. This was a great result.
May had improved a lot. She used to barely pass the line, but now she was the best.
Natsui had watched her grow. He felt very happy for her.
The groups for the second round were chosen.
This time, May and Harley were not in the same group. They both won their matches and met in the final.
It was another important fight.
May and Harley were much stronger than the other contestants. It was normal for them to reach the final together.
Now they had to see who was better.
They released their Pokémon on the field.
May used Munchlax for the battle stage. Harley used an Octillery.
Munchlax had played in the earlier matches and did a great job. It defeated its opponents easily.
Harley's Octillery was new. He must have caught it recently. Even though it was new, Harley had trained it well. It also performed excellently on stage.
Both Pokémon were new to the contest, and both reached the final.
Lilian, the MC, made the audience feel excited. But Natsui already knew the result from the story.
Usually, Munchlax would lose to Harley's Octillery. But Natsui had helped.
During training yesterday, Natsui taught Munchlax how to stop the move Rest. Octillery used Rest to heal and win in the original story.
Natsui did not know if Munchlax learned the lesson perfectly. But now, Munchlax knew what to do when it saw that move.
The match depended on Munchlax's own talent and understanding.
Natsui watched carefully as the battle officially began!