386: Mean With Envy
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388: Konran, Konsen! Pokemon Kontesuto - Kinagi Taikai! (Zenpen)
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May is getting in her last minute training with her Pokemon, testing all of thier moves and abilities.... but when it comes to Skitty's turn, she finds it wanting to pounce on an Aipom's tail as it is getting fed by its Coordinator. She picks it up, then notices for the first time that there are a TON of other coordinators about. Max tells her he knows she can win though, and she continues to get her Pokemon fired up, which in turn fires up Ash who decides to get in some training for the Hoenn League by calling out Snorunt to test out its Ice Beam. It struggles to use the move though, and then unleashes it unexpectedly right into Ash's face and high into the air, freezing his lips and cap.
As he encourages it to keep working on it, Team Rocket are watching from behind a lousy cardboard cutout of a bush. Jesse has declared that today is catch Pikachu day, and they execute their laziest plan ever.... they just leap straight at Pikachu.... and into an inadvertant Ice Beam from Snorunt that freezes them and makes them fall behind the cutout bush again. Snorunt gets overexcited by the success of its Ice Beam and it begins blasting wildly around the place, causing Aipom to rush away in fright, tail flicking wildly about and enticing Skitty which chases after it.
May and the Aipom's Trainer run after them, Aipom going one way and Skitty the other, while Ash tackles Snorunt and snaps at it to stop, and realises that it appears to be just having some fun. Brock and Max step up, then notice that May and Skitty are missing.
May finds Skitty enthralled by the reed.... held by a young man. Skitty leaps into May's arms and the boy introduces himself as Joshua, another Coordinator but from Pacifidlog. He has lawn furniture on his place overlooking the ocean, and May sit down with him for a drink as they discuss the contest and how keen everybody taking part in it is to win. As they talk though, a girl comes walking up the steps from the beach and spots them sitting together.... and she is NOT pleased!
She makes the mistake of approaching just as Joshua looks at May's lap and tells her that her Skitty looks cute, and thinks he is talking about May.... or her crotch. She storms up gets in May's face, declaring that she (Erica) is MUCH cuter. Joshua tries to explain but Erica seems determined to get the wrong end of the stick, deciding that when Joshua suggested they train apart for the week before the contest it was really so he could spend time with her. May insists that they only just met, which makes Erica even snarkier since now it was apparently "love at first sight"!
She throws a finger in May's face and tells her to stay away from her Josh, they've known each other since they were little children (so.... they met 6 months ago?) and Erica intends to be the first ever couple to win a Contest Ribbon and have their love declared before the world.
Even the sometimes flighty May can see this is a bizarre fantasy the likes of which it usually takes an insane talking cat to come up with, but Erica is determined to make it come true. She tells Joshua to come with her to register and he stupidly invites May along, infuriating Erica who learns for the first time that May is a coordinator as well. She mocks May and her chances of victory, pissing off May who insists that she will win that fifth ribbon, and she'll do it using Skitty!
The empty-headed kitty looks around in delight for something to jump on in response.
Erica then takes the opportunity to show off HER Pokemon for the contest, and out it comes....
Lawks a mussy, it's a Jinx!
Purple skinned for the first time, Jinx is only half-way a horrible fucking stereotype now. As Erica moons over it, the other twerps arrive and are introduced to Joshua and Erica... and then Pikachu and Snorunt get grabbed by mechanical arms and hauled up to Team Rocket in their Happy Buddha Face Meowth Balloon!
"Prepare for trouble if you really must know!"
"Make it double and look out below!!"
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jesse."
"And James."
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light."
"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"
"Meowth! Dat's right!"
"WOBBBUHHH!"
"Chime chime!"
"Team Rocket!" yell the twerps.
"Team Who?" ask Joshua and Erica.
Ash asks Pikachu to use Thunderbolt but the cases are, of course, electric proof, so Ash tells Snorunt to use Ice Beam.... but the move doesn't work! Jesse is disappointed, they went to a lot of effort to make the case shielded against frozen attacks and it didn't even use a move!
What they didn't do however is make themselves tackle proof! May has Beautifly use Tackle to send the cases flying, caught by Ash and Brock, while Combusken leaps high and uses Sky Uppercut to send the balloon and up and down into the sand of the beach.
Ash and Brock begin thumping the locks on the cases with rocks, while May and her Pokemon hold off a furious Team Rocket... helped by Cacnea which wants to show its love to James.
Seviper covers May and her Pokemon in a Haze Attack which worries Joshua, who sends in Houndoum with Swift to blast Seviper and Cacnea back before they can take advantage. He rushes up to assist May, leaving Erica absolutely fucking furious, especially when May and Joshua proceed to put a beating on Team Rocket's Pokemon with a Shadowball/Assist (FireSpin) combo, and compliment each other on their teamwork.
She can't believe that May would do a battle combination with "her" Joshua, while Ash and Brock have finally broken Pikachu and Snorunt out. May prepares to finish things off.... and Erica shoves her out of the way and has Jinx use Hyper Beam to send Team Rocket blasting off again, James complaining that Meowth should be battling too since he's a Pokemon.... and Jesse has an idea!
Oh no!
May is furious at Erica for shoving her out of the way, but Erica mocks her for relying so heavily on a random move like Assist. Joshua tries to break up the argument by reminding them that they're going to miss registration if they don't go now, and the two girls agree that they'll settle this at the contest!
Speaking of which.... time for the contest!
After what we can only assume was a successful registration, we find Jesse and James hiding behind pot plants as Jesse explains that Meowth will be entering the contest with her. Meowth doesn't understand why, but Jesse explains.... and it's a very good idea! She points out that the point of a contest is to display a knowledge of reading the crowd, and showcasing an understanding between Coordinator and Pokemon to adjust to the crowd and mood to put on the best performance. As a Pokemon that can understand human speech, Meowth is custom designed to enter and win contests!
Meowth refuses to have his ability exploited, though, till a fat lady comes walking by with her Persian, nose up and declaring that all the other Pokemon are putrid and she is a shoo-in to win. Filled with fired up fury as he remembers Giovanni and his Persian, Meowth declares that he will do it!
Ash is outside training with Snorunt and Pikachu on the beach, but able to watch the Contest on the big screen so they can also cheer on May. Vivian announces the first contestant.... the Jester!
Or should that be.... Jess-ter, as Jesse and Meowth lowers down out of the rafters through smoke (powered by James cranking on a smoke machine) wearing a Dashiki. She has Meowth use Fury Swipes to turn a giant block of ice into an ice sculpture of Giovanni and Persian, then turns the Persian into a Meowth, impressing the crowd and Judges..... while Brock is left wondering why it seems so familiar.
Joshua and Erica have their Pokemon perform impressive move combos, and Max is worried when May comes out and has Skitty open with Assist, which is completely random. Out pops Razor Leaf and Brock is worried how she will deal with it, but she does fine, freezing the razor leaf with Blizzard and then using Double Slap, turning its tail into a propeller and turning the ice into a fine mist of ice that sparkles down over the arena. Joshua makes the mistake of clapping, getting an angry look from Erica.
Ash returns backstage to see May and the other twerps as everyone waits for the results of the first round of judging. Erica walks in and starts talking about wanting to get May's pants off of her (okay so maybe I paraphrased that slightly) until Joshua breaks them up. Just then Vivian appears on the screen to announce who has made it through, including Joshua, Jesse, Erica (who bearhugs a nervous Joshua) and then finally.... after a very long pause..... they finally announce that the fourth and final person is..... going to be..... a person..... and that person is..... the person known as.........
What a shocker!
Instantly the random sorting is done, and reveals who each trainer will battle in the final round..... and it's going to be Erica vs Jesse and May vs... Joshua!
Erica is delighted, this will just make it all the faster that she and Joshua are declared winning couple. May is determined that won't happen though, apologising to Joshua but telling him that she's going to have to beat him, because she needs that Fifth Ribbon.
And God help anyone who gets in her way!
| BEST QUOTES |
 "Cacnea! Were you dropped on your needle as a baby?" |
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