454: Channeling The Battle Zone
Dodgy Synopsis
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458: Haruka Bui Esu Shu! Saigo no Tatakai!
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Yesterday saw May push through the first round of the Grand Festival, then to her great delight she defeated Harley in the second round!
But yesterday's episode ended with May facing off against Drew, and her Pokémon weren't doing too well. What will happen next? Who will win? May needs to get into the zone that Drew seems to be permanently in, she needs to start....
Combusken leaps up amongst the Bubbles and hits a Sky Uppercut on Flygon, only to take a Razor Wing from Absol that knocks it back into Squirtle and leaves them both hurt. Drew loses some points due to the flashy presentation of May's attacks, but May loses more for taking damage. Flygon uses Flamethrower, but Combusken surrounds it with Fire Spin which causes an explosion and knocks them both back, and May and Drew both lose points and appear to be at about equal footing.
Flygon and Absol go into "Dragon Formation", Absol using Razor Wing as Flygon flaps its wings, and then Flygon follows up with Dragon Breath and creates a massive white tide that Squirtle and Combusken simply cannot dodge, May losing even more points. Soledad watches from backstage and Harley watches from the seats, noting that Drew has finally taken off the kids glove in relation to May. Meanwhile, tucked away in a corner with no one looking at her, Jesse rants and raves that nobody is paying her any attention.
Absol and Flygon move in again for another combo attack, but surprisingly May seems prepared and uses a combination Bubble and Fire Spin that sparks with electricity and catches Drew by surprise. Drew loses points as Max and Ash both realise that May is emulating a move used by Tucker at the Battle Dome, May has been learning! Absol and Flygon smash into the ground and Drew loses even more points, and Brock notes she is taking things learned from their journey and using them to good effect. But Harley is horrified, how come she doesn't think HE was good enough to use her A-List battle moves on!?!
Absol uses Flash against Rapid Spin, but because Squirtle can't see the attack it is unaffected. Flygon tries a Steel Wing which smashes into the spinning Squirtle and sends it flying high, putting it above Flygon but still unharmed, and now Flygon is completely open to an attack. Absol tries to come to the rescue with a Razor Wing, but Combusken blasts the attack with Fire Spin, creating a cloud of smoke that Squirtle bursts through with Bubble, hitting Flygon's back before hurtling down through the air and using Ice Beam RIGHT IN THE FUCKING FACE!
FLYGON IS OUT!
To his credit, Drew doesn't panic, calling for an Iron Tail from Absol on the exposed Squirtle which smashes it flying back into the stadium wall and.... Squirtle is out cold too!
Combusken tries Mega kick against Iron Tail and they clash, both losing points before Combusken is hit with Razor Wing and sent flying back, May losing more points. She calls for Fire Spin but Absol fights back with Water Pulse, knocking a wave of water over Combusken, and May loses more points.... and Combusken starts glowing red! No one can figure out why, except for.... ASH! Yes Ash actually outsmarts everyone by gasping that his Torkoal used to do the same thing when using Overheat, and down on the stage May realises what is going on to0, as does Drew. He orders a Razor Wing, but May orders Overheat and...... BOOM BOOM BOOM MOTHERFUCKER! ABSOL BURNS!
But the tough Pokémon doesn't go down, Harley muttering that it is dumb luck on May's behalf that she is doing so well, and he means DUMB!
Brock notes that an attack like Overheat gets weaker and weaker each time you use it, and Drew is still winning slightly on points with time is running out, meaning May has to press the attack. She orders a jump and Overheat, flames raining down on Absol as it tries to dodge with Water Pulse, knocking some points of May. Absol fires up a Flash to trap Combusken in place, but it dodges and gets right up in Absol's face, and BOOOOM!
Drew is low on points but so is May, and Ash gasps that Combusken must be burning out, Brock saying she'll lose if she keeps this up. Absol meanwhile sucks up the flames surrounding it and its coat starts sparkling, a beautiful presentation that costs May points. Absol uses Razor Wing which hits Combusken, knocking it flying and May is almost entirely out of points with less than a minute left on the clock! Absol uses Water Pulse and the wave of water comes in, and Combusken's Overheat fails to stop it, the flamebird penis-chicken getting hit by Water Pulse and... that's it folks, a mighty effort by May but Combusken is ou..... NO HE AIN"T!
Yes Combusken is still standing, albeit only just, and Drew calls for an Iron Tail to finish things off once and for all. Absol leaps high and.... May was waiting for that! She orders a Sky Uppercut and suddenly Combusken doesn't seem so bad. It digs its claws into the ground and charges, scratching up the earth before leaping high and punching Absol....
RIGHT IN THE FUCKING FACE!
Time is up and both were low on points, both gave it their all, but with the final moves taken into account by the Judges the winner is declared, and it is..... MAY! MAY WINS!
Brock guesses that May took a bet on power over time, figuring that she used Fire Spin to dampen the power of Absol's Water Pulse, hoping that Combusken could hold out long enough to outpoint Drew, and she did! That just goes to show how far she has come, and as for Harley.... well the less said about his reaction the better! Soledad is also impressed, while Combusken shows off to May who watches as Drew pets Absol and tells it that it is the best.
The Judges are impressed, Vivian noting she has watched ever since Drew and May's "Hoenn" days..... hehehe, and we fulfil our juvenile giggling quota for the day!
In all the excitement, Aipom decides to steal Ash's hat and runs outside, throwing the hat back and jumping up and down and making fisticuff motions, apparently jazzed up by the incredible Drew/Harley match and wanting a fight of its own. Ash is happy for another chance to capture the naughty monkey, and calls for a Quick Attack from Pikachu, but it misses and gets hit by Swift, and Aipom appears to flip Ash the bird.... using the arm coming out of its ass!
Pikachu hits it with Iron Tail but it comes back with a Focus Punch from its ass-arm, and Ash laughs that he loves a Pokémon with lots of Spunk (that's the Oak in him coming out) before having Pikachu blast Aipom with Thunderbolt, then throw a Pokeball as the crowd (including Mexican Magikarp Salesman!) watches as it shakes and beeps and..... and.... and.... and.....Ash caught an Aipom! The watching crowd cheer for Ash who waves happily, and then up walks Scott!
Backstage, Combusken and Squirtle are chowing down happily, and Drew steps in and offers a handshake to May, congratulating her on her combinations (is that what the kids are calling them nowadays?). She says his were nicer (!), but he notes that she's the one who won the match. They then notice that Soledad has won her match, and now the final is set up, it'll be Soledad versus May! How will she do?
Oh dear, not well.
For whatever reason, the actual FINAL of the Grand Festival has received short shrift in the episode. We don't even know if this is the same day or not, we didn't get to see any of May's preparations of how she felt about it all going in. Instead, there are only two minutes to go and May is taking an asskicking, her Combusken and Munchlax taking a beating against Soledad's Slowbro and Pidgeot. May's attacks aren't going well against Soledad's, who has Slowbro use Yawn to put Combusken to sleep. Up in the stands, Scott points out that what Soledad is doing is opening herself up to force May to attack, allowing her Pokémon to be prepared to dodge and in turn leave May's Pokémon open to counter-attack. Soledad usually battles a different way, more like Ash in that she uses dazzling, all out offence, but she knew that tactic wouldn't work against May, while May is stuck fighting a style that would be more effective against someone like Ash. Pidgeot uses Aerial Ace and Slowbro uses Hyperbeam, both hitting Munchlax and Combusken who are.... OUT!
May loses, Soledad wins, the Grand Festival is over!
Well.....
FUCK!
May thanks her Pokémon, biting back her tears before standing up and bowing to Soledad before walking away backstage, where she finds the twerps waiting for her. They tell her she was awesome, pointing out she made it to the top four (ahem, top TWO!) and Max says she is the best sister ever, and May's response is....
Well geez Max, you jerk. The little bastard even just stands there smiling while Brock and Ash offer her comfort!
But in all seriousness, Gentle Dodgers, how nice to see an honest reaction. May came so close to achieving all her greatest hopes and dreams, only to have them snatched away at the last second. And so she breaks down into great racking sobs in a heartfelt performance her voice actor can be proud of, as the twerps gather around to comfort her.
With Soledad the winner, the Winner's Cup is hers and everyone applauds as Lillian says there will be a big celebration in a few hours. And indeed there is, as a few hours later we see all the winners and losers assembled for a meal, with Jezidia acting as their party host. This is another rarity, Jesse said she was only in this for the spotlight, and she has gotten all the spotlight she could eke out of the Grand Festival and she's.... happy with that! No last minute Team Rocket attack or scheme, no "unmasking" her and blasting her, James and Meowth off. No, today is a day for everyone to celebrate. Inside, unheard we see May sharing a word with Soledad and picking something up.... a rose. She charges outside, spotting Drew as he walks away into the darkness, all too aware of how enigmatic a figure he makes and how much it makes May's inner thighs tremble. She calls to him to stop and then gasps heavily, unsure what to say now that she has him alone. Finally she stammers out that she'll see him at a contest or something and he simply stares at her, then grins and says,"Sure," before saying goodbye, turning around and walking away as she waves happily, clutching the rose.
The other twerps join her, commenting on Drew's departure, and May turns and says now it is time for Ash's last Battle Frontier fight, and the young trainer instantly forgets all about everything else in his eagerness to get another shot at Brandon. Scott tells them where they can find the Battle Pyramid as May looks at the rose and smiles.
Why is she seemingly over her devastating loss now, Gentle Dodgers? Well maybe she just put it all in perspective and realised that this is only her second Grand Festival, and she came second! Whereas outside of a rinky-dink Orange Islands tournament, all Ash can do is get his ass handed to him by people who go on to lose themselves. When you put it like that, she's got a mysterious enigmatic young man with "feelings" for her leaving her roses as she goes from strength to strength as a Coordinator, and for May, the future looks bright!
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