304: Now That's Flower Power!
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Yes apparently they're going to spend two weeks in this town instead of getting Ash another Badge! As Ash tells May that two weeks isn't long (IT IS!) Max asks May if she is ready, since the other trainers look pretty good. She says she'll be fine, and then adds that maybe a little training wouldn't hurt.
Screw the training! Two weeks with no forward progress? What is this, Johto? No no! Get the hippies out of retirement, fire up the bongs and take to the streets for a good old fashioned street protest, Gentle Dodgers, we'll show them we're not going to stand for this!
Now That's Flower Power!
Brock looks at Slateport Beach and declares the city to be what he always thought it would be, a beautiful beach with beautiful girls! Max wants to swim, but for once May says she has more important things on her mind than the beach, she's going to get in some training! She throws out Beautifly which uses Gust as May spins about, creating a visually appealing entrance which the twerps are very appreciative off, telling May she has planted her pose perfectly, until she spins around on one foot with eyes twirling and declares she may have put a bit too much spin on it.
The others twirl around in horror.
May moves on, throwing Frisbees which Beautifly hits with Gust, sending up a massive sandstorm that blows away the twerps and the beach-goers, causing Max to point out that the beach isn't the best place for this type of thing. They move to a cove and May tells her nervous Beautifly that the pressure is on and has it use Silver Wing, but it only manages a few seconds of firing out glowing white crescents before the move fails. May drops down to her knees, moaning that this keeps on happening! Max suggests that if the move doesn't work, she shouldn't try it at the contest, but May retorts that if she can pull the move off then it'll looks great and they'll wow the contest-goers. Ash yells (he doesn't know about appropriate voice levels because he is a monkey) that she'll just have to keep on trying so she does, throwing three frisbees and telling Beautifly to use Gust. It does, flinging the frisbees high and then back down to May who catches one, then two and gets applause from the twerps. But the third whirls on and straight towards a young green haired kid standing on the stairwell leading down the cliff to the cove they are in. May calls out a warning, but with eyes closed and head down, the kid just casually reaches out and grabs the frisbee out of the air, then lifts his head to smirk and reveal he is....
GARY JUNIOR!
Well no, but his face, smirk and the overwhelming sense of arrogance emanating from him scream Gary (or at least Old School, I'm-a-jerk-with-a-caddy-and-cheerleaders Gary). May runs up beneath him and apologises, but his response is that he hopes she isn't planning on entering the Pokemon contest with such a cheesy move. Walking down in front of her, the young man (obviously about May's age) tells her she has no finesse or style, then raises a "talk to the hand" gesture when she starts shouting at him, demanding to know who he is.
He introduces himself as Drew, Pokemon Coordinator. Ash completely fails to read the mood and happily declares that that is just like May, with Drew retorting that there is no comparison between the two of, May and her Beautifly have no style.
May shouts that he can say what he wants about her, but he has no right to talk about her Pokemon, but he shoves his hands in front of her face with the same smirk on his face.
"Woah, just calm down little girl," he says.
May sees red, pumping her legs and rushing forward into his hand as he continually pushes her back and the others tell her to calm down. They demand that if Drew is so great, he should show them his Pokemon and their brilliant moves. But Drew tells them with infuriating calmness that there is no point, telling the "children" to move on, and when asked why they should he tells them the beach is a private one for the guests of the resort on the cliff top he points to. They begin to leave, May growling that she guesses he will be in the contest as well, which he sarcastically confirms as she stands growling at him.
Watching from behind some rocks, James and Meowth seem to be quite taken with young Drew's style for a moment, until they point out that it is actually the beach they are really interested in, not the twerps. Turning, they notice Jesse shouting orders to Dustox, and when they ask why she explains she is preparing for her contest. James and Meowth are shocked, they thought she was joking around when she said that, but a fiery Jesse (her eyes literally on fire) declares Dustox's power and her beauty will make them an unbeatable duo. She has Dustox use Poison Sting and declares it a beauty, but it gets a bit carried away and fires Poison sting in a wide radius, causing Team Rocket to run and Dustox to chase them as they are stung with poison stings, Wobbuffet included.
Back on the "public" beach May and Ash hold a mock battle to help May prepare. Ash sends out Taillow and May uses Beautifly, which starts off with a very pretty looking Tackle that Taillow dodges. Taillow them attempts to use Peck but Beautifly dodges thanks to a frantic warning from May. Beautifly then uses Stringshot in a pretty, glistening, looping Stringshot that surrounds Taillow, and Taillow begins trying to break out, and a confused May suggests Gust, which sends a tied up Taillow falling to the ground. Ash asks Taillow if it is alright and it comes awake with drunken Scottish rage and tries to bite through the string as May panics and cries out for Beautifly to try Silver Wing which... fails! Taillow bursts free from its Stringshot and tries Quick Attack. May cries out for it to dodge but Beautifly seems confused, and Taillow's single successful offensive moves knocks Beautifly down and out for the count. Ash congratulates Taillow as May asks Beautifly if it is all right, and then the twerps hear clapping and turn to see a man approaching them with a wide smile on his face, declaring the use of attack was excellent.
May is shocked but pleased, and stammers it wasn't that great, but the clapping man walks right by her and lays a hand on Ash's shoulder, saying he must be entering the contest. A surprised Ash insists he isn't and May walks up behind the man to explain that she is, this will be her first contest ever. The man - dressed casually in loose pants, a loose black jacket and white sweatband - recovers from the faux pax of congratulating the wrong person and tells her he was nervous for his first contest but since then has participated in countless contests as a coordinator.
"AWESOME!" cries May, lifting one leg and wiggling her hips to sidle up beside the man, "You're a Pioneer!"
"The name's Mr Big....
WATER POKEMON RULE DAMMIT WHAT!?!
..." says the Coordinator.
May says it is nice to meet him - though one would have thought he would have been blacker, riding a Gyrados with Misty riding on his shoulder - and she and the others introduce them, Max asking if he has won any contests before? Huh? Has he mister? Huh?
Well he's got three ribbons does Mr Big, and an ecstatic May asks if he can teach her, the works! How not to lose; how to win, what to think, to say, what to feel, to be.... all the time pressing her crotch closer and closer to his thigh as he retreats backwards from a sexual predation charge.
He tells her to settle down and she sighs, "Yesss sir!" in her best "buy me something, daddy" voice, then Mr Big explains that the most important skill is staying calm, warning that a Pokemon can sense mood and reacts accordingly. May remembers her panicked order of Silver Wing, and while all the Pokemon in the foreground sleep Mr Big offers more wisdom to the twerps. Torchic is amongst the sleeping Pokemon, a snot bubble rising and falling from a nostril, and when it pops it wakes the small bird up with a start. Turning its head, it notices a nice building in the distance and approaches it with curiosity. It waddles up a storage barn, smells something nice and runs in.
Meanwhile Mr Big is extolling the virtues of a Pokemon's diet, and pulls out a Pokeblock case which excites Max greatly, then gives the case to May as a present.
"You know, I've got something else pretty great back at my shop," he says....
ALERT! ALERT! DANGER!
,..."Come on, I'll show you!"
Sure says May, who apparently never had to sit through Constable Keith and Sniff the stuffed Police Dog warning about Stranger Danger.
"What could he have that's so great?" Jesse asks about a man called Mr Big as they watch from the bushes.
"I am a bit curious," admits James, which is only to be expected, and Meowth suggests they follow him.
Mr Big leads them towards his storage barn, explaining to the twerps that he makes Fireworks, and now he is working on Pokemon-themed Fireworks that explode into shapes of Pokemon, though he is having trouble getting the colours right and has to show something to the Contest chairman tonight. But as they approach his shop, Torchic pops backwards out of the storage barn wriggling its ass, then turns around with a face covered in black stuff!
Inside, Mr Big is shocked to discover his supply of block berries has been eaten up. Brock takes out the guide that Natalie gave him on berries back when he got Lotad, and explains that block berries stain your mouth black. Torchic has been caught black-beaked it seems, it must have eaten them (or gone to a scat festival). But Mr Big says it is okay, the berries are good for Pokemon and he was actually planning on giving them a bunch of berries anyway. Regardless, he'd been planning on adding some of the berries to his fireworks to give them some added colour (black?) but now he'll have to go without.
May shoves a squirming Torchic face first into the ground like a bad puppy and tells it to say sorry, those berries were NOT for it! Mr Big rapidly assures her it isn't Torchic's fault, it was his fault for leaving the storeroom door open. Ash asks what he'll do without berries for the fireworks, and Mr Big says he'll just have to do without.
"MR BIG!" roars May.
"Whoa wah!" squeals Mr Big, falling back on his ass before May declares that she will find him new block berries, she just needs to know the latest she can get them to him. He tells her dusk at the latest, as Team Rocket stand outside the storeroom listening with sly grins.
Jesse notes that Block Berries are good for your hair and Meowth immediately declares they're going to get those berries and then give them to the Boss!
James makes the mistake of asking why they would do that, and Meowth immediately cracks into another patented crazy Meowth Giovanni fantasy.
"Say da Boss is going into town, but he discovers dat he's having a bad hair day," says Meowth, while we see an angry looking Giovanni brushing his hair while frowning into the mirror, before looking down at a glass full of a vile, black concoction, "Dats when he notices a glass of block berry juice, it's down da hatch and before you know it his hair sets perfectly, and has a sheen like never before!"
We see Giovanni from behind, swallowing the contents of the glass before his hair glows white with reflected light. The camera cuts to a close-up of the back of his shining head.
"Den you know what he'll say?" asks Meowth, as Giovanni turns to camera and begins to talk using Meowth's voice, showing off a mouth full of sticky and black teeth!
"For getting me dis gift, Meowth and friends are an example for all of Team Rocket!"
"YAAAY!" yells Meowth.
"It's the final rung on the ladder of SUCCESS!" cries James, then pauses, "Wait, won't that juice leave the Boss' mouth about as black as a moonless night in winter?"
"Quit being a worry wart," growls Meowth, while Jesse declares her own ideas. She is going to use those berries on her Dustox to give it an edge in the Pokemon Contest. Wobbuffet pops out to agree, and everyone plays along, with Jesse, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet all saluting and crying out, "WOBBUFFET!"
Well okay then!
Out in the forest, Ash returns from a forage to tell May he has had no luck finding block berries, and none of the others have either. But then Ash notes Torchic is missing and when they all start calling, Torchic's voice is heard and the camera cuts to show the little fire-bird has gone off and found a small block berry tree sticking out near the bottom. But it is high enough and steep enough that Torchic's attempts to race up end every time on it falling backwards on its head, in a piece of physical comedy Pikachu would be proud of. But it keeps trying and gets to the branch... with one problem, it's hanging by its beak on the branch and the tree is a lot higher than it remembers (or we saw). The twerps arrive and see Torchic has found the berries, and then the branch snaps and Torchic and the berries fall towards the ground. May has Beautifly use Stringshot which wraps around Torchic safely.... though the string is loose and yet somehow Torchic's downward momentum is halted in a defiant stance against the laws of physics.
Yeah, FUCK physics!
May hugs Torchic, but then notices to her surprise Drew standing on a small rock with the branch and berries slung over his shoulder. He compliments May on not a bad attack with some art to it, and when May demands the berries back he gladly agrees, on the condition she has to battle with him first. When she refuses he asks her if she is scared he'll embarrass her, so she angrily agrees.
Team Rocket watch all this from the bushes, and are ecstatic.
"This couldn't have worked out better if we'd planned it!" smiles Jesse.
"If we'd planned it, it wouldn't have worked out at all!" adds James, with Meowth saying they'll bag the berries while the twerps battle their brains out.
The berries are placed down and the twerps offer May encouragement as she calls out Beautifly and Drew calls out Roselia, a smarmy looking plant Pokemon with roses for hands, a crown of green thorns and a fat, spoilt arse!
"Roselia, the Thorn Pokemon," explains Dextina, "Roselia's aroma can bring serenity, but the thorns on its head contain a vicious poison." Drew brags and May starts off, using Tackle while Roselia uses Petal Dance, a kind of gust with petals that has Beautifly straining to get close. The Petal Dance ends and Beautifly looks stunned, and Roselia uses Stun Spore to knock Beautifly down. Drew mutters that he expected more of a challenge, flicks a green forelock out of his eye and then with boredom tells Roselia to finish things off with Magical Leaf.
Roselia spins about in the air as May begs Beautifly to get up, and Ash tells her to remember what Mr Big said about keeping her cool. She strains to think and stay calm as Roselia fires white light and... May roars authoritatively for Beautifly to use Silver Wing. Suddenly Beautifly is up and blasting white crescents of light that smash into Roselia's Magical Leaf, smash past it and send Roselia tumbling backwards through the air.
"NO! ROSELIA!" screams Drew as his arrogant mask slips for a moment, the twerps congratulating May. Brock stands by the berries happily declaring this is the way to get serious points... then notices the branch and berries being tugged away. He asks what is going on, and from behind the cliff top appears the top of a Happy Buddha Face Meowth Balloon with Jesse and James standing on it, holding a fishing rod with the branch and berries attached.
"Prepare for trouble as we reel 'em in!"
"Make it double... we win!"
"You again!" yells Brock, but they ignore his rude interruption.
"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."
"James."
"Team Rocket blasts off with the speed of light,"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"
"Meowth! Dat's right!"
"WOBBUH-FFET!"
May demands they give the berries back.
"Oh sure! We'll give these block berries right back to you after everything we've been through to get them!" mocks Jesse. Her, James and Meowth hunched over, sticking out their butts, "Ha! Sorry, tough luck!"
Meowth says goodbye and the balloon begins to float away, the twerps chasing while May tells Drew this battle is over, she knows someone who needs those berries. He growls to himself as she runs off.
Team Rocket head away, apparently having decided to give the berries to Giovanni after all in hopes of a promotion. Ash yells for Pikachu to use Thunderbolt and it does, but the blast does nothing.... because Team Rocket have put a satellite dish on their balloon to absorb the lightning!
Ash isn't giving up though, and Pikachu tries Thunderbolt again but again, nothing happens.
"NOTHING!" laughs Team Rocket, mockingly.
"SOLAR BEAM!" cries a voice, and a blast shatters the dish.
May turns to see Drew and Roselia, Drew telling her he hasn't got a clue what is going on but he is happy to help. Pikachu tries Thunderbolt again and Roselia uses another Solar Beam, sending Team Rocket blasting off again while the branch and berries fall and fall, and Torchic jumps through the air and catches them... then realises it is over a cliff and about to die. But once again Beautifly catches Torchic with its physics defying Stringshot and May hugs the little bird, while Drew congratulates Roselia and returns it to its Pokeball. May thanks Drew and he tells her they'll battle again in the Pokemon Contest... if she can make it through the preliminary rounds. He walks away and she stares after him, then grins and says he can count on it.
May's got a rival!
That night Mr Big shows his fireworks to the contest chairman, who is suitably impressed by what he sees. First of fires a Pikachu firework, then a Pichu and then a Torchic and then a Mudkip, finishing off with a Treecko. Drew and Roselia also watch the little private show, seen only by Mr Big, the Contest Chairman, Ash, Brock, Max and Drew's new rival - May - who is about to take part in her first ever Pokemon Contest.
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