306: Win, Lose or Drew!
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Because they hate to see her go but they love to watch her leave?
May moans at them not to rub it in (but what fun is it if you leave out the most demeaning part!) as they approach a long sloping series of steep hills, at the top of which is the hall the Pokemon Contest will take place in. It is where May could take part in her first Pokemon Contest, if she can get there in time, and if she can then May stands a chance to win, but she could also lose, and there is the matter of Drew. For May, it's....
Win, Lose or Drew!
May charges into reception and asks if she is too late as she hands over her Coordinator card.... and she's made it, just! She sighs with relief as Ash mutters it was too close, and once May's figures are entered into the computer she is told the contest will start at 1pm, roughly three hours away. May promises she won't be late while Brock wonders what they can do for three hours, and Ash suggests they get something to eat. They point out to him that they just had breakfast before running here, but apparently all the running made Ash hungry, so they go off to eat some more even if Max doesn't want to.
For a moment the camera stays fixed on the reception desk, and then familiar music plays and a familiar voice cries out a familiar line.
"Prepare for trouble and a stylish entrance!"
"Make it double while I formulate my sentence!"
"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 at the speed of light,"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"
"Meowth! Dat's right!"
Dressed in sylish black and red outfits with odd glasses, Jesse declares to the receptionist that she can now enter her!
But they're too late! The final sign-in time has passed, and when Team Rocket realise this they react with horror, turning to dust and blowing away. Outside, having reconstituted their DNA, Jesse wonders what they're going to do now? Meowth suggests they go back to bed but then they all notice the same thing, a ton of nearby trainers (probably Contest Entrants) are practicing with their Pokemon and offering them small cubes of treats, Pokeblock!
Well that is settled then, if Pokemon love Pokeblock and trainers are willing to give it to them, then Team Rocket is going to start selling Pokeblock!
As it hits 1pm, a washed up old beauty queen named Vivian announces herself as the MC for the day, then introduces the Judges. Director of the Contest Committee Mr Contesta sits beaming in his bowtie, while Sukizo - the random anoraked loser from the Pokemon Enthusiasts Club who appeared in Rustboro City's contest - is also there. The final judge is Slateport's Nurse Joy, who doesn't even warrant a last name. The prize is the Slateport Ribbon, and any Coordinator who can manage to get five rubbons will be given entry into the Pokemon Grand Festival!
May sits nervously in the Coordinators waiting room, giving a handjob to the Pokebolock case given to her by Mr Big. Obviously nervous (hey, she's jacking off an inanimate object!), Ash can't get her attention no matter how much he shouts and it takes Max's whiny nasal voice to finally bring her back to the real world. He asks if she is nervous and she insists she is, and Brock tells her it is okay to be nervous when it is your first time.
Hey hey!
Ash tells May that Beautifly will feel the same way, like Mr Big told her, a Pokemon can sense your mood and react to it. Brock tells her she has worked hard and will be fine as long as she stays calm, and all of this is listened to from behind a seperating wall by Drew.
Meanwhile Vivian is explaining to the audience that in the Preliminary Round Coordinators and Pokemon are marked on the performance qualities of the acts they've worked so hard on. A small montage of the different Pokemon showing off their tricks is displayed, and then Contestant 24 shows up.. it's Drew!
Drew throws out Roselia which uses Petal Dance and leaves petals and glistening light floating everywhere, Ash muttering from the waiting room that it was "okay... he guesses", but May remarks that it was beautiful. Roselia next uses Stun Spore then Magical leaf to fill the air with dust and white light and win over the audience with precise teamwork, which Vivian is very impressed by. Roselia uses Petal Dance again and disappears in the petal storm, then shatters them with Magical Leaf and reappears, bowing in synch with Drew to cheers from the audience.
The judges give a score of 29.4/30, the highest score yet. Joy comments it was a great combination, the other two judges very impressed as well and May is concerned, Drew is better than she thought!
Outside Team Rocket are ready to sell Pokeblock, having slid on little trays around their waists and dressed in concession staff outfits.
"Wooh, I sure make this concession's girl outfit look good," grins Jesse, but Meowth notes that there is a slight problem with their setup.... they don't actually have any Pokeblock to sell! But Jesse has a plan as Wobbuffet wanders in holding a banner with a picture of Pokeblock and a case on it, they'll just overpower some lame coorindators and take theirs!
An old man approaches, asking them if this is a Pokeblock shop and Jesse proclaims him their first customer, before James points out to the customer that their "supplies" haven't arrived yet. But the old man offers to teach them all the secrets of Pokeblock, which will help their business to explode! Well Jesse likes secrets and James says they're big on explosions too, so they happily accept his offer of help.
Back in the waiting room, May is getting progressively more worried. Drew shows up and asks if she caught the "true art" of his performance, and when she asks if he is here to brag he says he actually came to cheer her on, as in the interest of competition he wouldn't mind seeing her in the next round. She jumps up to yell that he'll see her all right, and on the screen beside them Vivian announces Contestant 38, a very camp Julian Sands-esque blond man called Robert who is using a Milotic, a kind of brightly coloured sea serpent with long red eyelashes that double as forelocks, a red and blue scaled tail and red feelers creeping out from above its eyes. The regal looking Pokemon uses Safeguard and glows green, wowing the audience (HOLY CRAP, MABEL, LOOKIT. DAT POKEMON! HIM GREEN!) and impressing the Judges as well.
Ash, Max and Brock step up to the railing behind the last row of audience seats, and Ash is fascinated by the new Pokemon.
"Milotic, the Tender Pokemon," says Dextina,"Milotic is able to soften human anger and hatred by emitting soothing freuqncies from its body."
Max tells Ash that some think Milotic is the most beautifl Pokemon of all, and he and Brock agree as they and the audience stare in rapt wonder at the glowing Pokemon.
It's getting them high!
Milotic waves its peacock like tail and May and Drew watch from the dressing room, May whispering it is beautiful.
Outside, the old man with the red nose of an alcholoic is explaining to Team Rocket that all Pokeblock is made out of berries, and it is important to use your own special mix of berries to create your own special brand of Pokeblock. They watch him, listening carefully as James makes notes.... though Jesse is beginning to look a little bored and irritated.
Back inside, Vivian announces the last contestant of the Preliminary Round, Number 50.... May!
May steps out trying to fire herself up as Vivian tells the audience May is a first timer and asks them to give her a warm welcome. She is a bit overwhelmed by the cheers and Ash yells at her to calm down, knowing that shouting at the top of his voice is conducive to calm. May takes a breath, grits her teeth and goes to call out Beautifly.... and trips over and falls on her ass!
The twerps gasp, the judges gasp and the audience gasps.
Did you gasp at home, Gentle Dodgers? If you didn't you are a Communist.
Vivian asks May if she is okay and surprisingly May just laughs, saying she was warming up. She calls out Beautifly which spreads it wings which glisten in the light, then she throws a frisbdee which it hits with a Stringshot back to her, and they knock it back and forth again and again. Watching from the audience, Ash declares she has the hang of things now, and Brock congratulates her on her timing.
Beautifly uses Gust to return the frisbee and May jumps to catch it... then fumbles awkwardly and looks horrified before she manages to get a firm grip on it. Wanting to finish things off with a bang, she has Beautifly use Silver Wing and it goes into a spin, creating a vortex of spiralling Silver Wing, wrapping it "in a gorgeous Silver Robe" as Vivian puts it.
Drew thinks that wasn't half bad as Beautifly lands on May's back, her arms spread like its wings and the Judges give her a total score of 24.9/30, a score that May personally thinks is a drag, she didn't even get a 25. Vivian says they will announce the second round contestants soon as May retreats back to the dressing room, worried about whether she will make it to the next round.
As she sits worrying, Drew suddenly appears and offers her a rose, which the stunned young girl accepts with thanks.... and he ruins it by saying it isn't for her, but for Beautifly, since its coordinator still obviously needs a lot of work! She jumps up and snaps at him that not everyone can be as great as him, as Drew's chances of copping a feel drop further and further.
Outside, the old man continues to offer advice that James scribbles down furiously as Jesse and Meowth yawn, not even bothering to hide their boredom.
Vivian announces the results of the first round, and May has made it into the top eight! This surprises Drew, who recovers and tries to tell her it is because of Beautifly, though on that point she manages to beat him to the punch before she goes back to gushing about making it.
Standing up behind the contestants, Ash and Max are both impressed, Max thinking perhaps for the first time that she might stand a chance of winning that ribbon. Brock maintains realism though, saying it isn't going to be easy, the next round will be battling which May hasn't done much training in.
The contestants are randomly sorted and..... May will be facing Drew! He smirks and says it'll be easier than he though and she is horrified, she just can't lose to him!
The second round begins with May and Drew squaring off, given five minutes to show their abilities. Drew calls out Roselia and May calls out Beautifly, which has the type advantage at least according to Max. Roselia starts out with Magical Leaf, sending white crescents of light flying towards Beautifly, Beautifly uses gust and blows it away, but Drew doesn't seem overly worried as suddenly the Magical Leaf being knocked aside by Gust twist around it and zoom straight up to Beautifly, smacking it roughly and leaving May too flummoxed to call an attack. Drew explains that Magical Leaf ALWAYS hits its target, a simple Gust was never going to stop it. May loses points as the other twerps start to worry, Brock saying she isn't used to battling while Ash blames himself since he didn't spend enough time with her helping her to battle.
Roselia uses Stun Spore and May inexplicably calls for String Shot which is wiped away by a quick Magical Leaf. May is starting to panic like Mr Big warned her not to, and her timing is now completely off causing her to lose more points. She calls in desperation for Silver Wing, but Roselia uses Petal Dance to dissipate it before sending the petals hurtling towards Beautifly which only barely dodges. Roselia then lifts its rose-hands high and begins drawing in light to use Solar Beam, the match half over and just over two minutes left to battle. Ash cries out that May has to attack NOW and she tries, once again calling for String Shot.... but Roselia has already powered up and a blast of Solar Beam smashes into Beautifly, knocking it down as May begs for it to get back up.... but even before it could do so, the Judges rule battle off. Ash is confused, and it is explained to him that Battle Off is called when one Pokemon is being so badly beaten that there is no point in continuing, the battle has been ruled over and May has lost without getting in a single offensive move!
May standed stunned as Drew walks off with a "hmmph!", Ash muttering that Contest Battles are pretty tough, which Brock agrees with, noting that Drew's Roselia was pretty amazing.
A short time later in the dressing room May is in tears, arms shaking as the twerps try to make her feel better. She cries that she stinks, she couldn't do a thing and her Beautifly worked so hard while she just messed everything up, she feels awful! She explains she was only thinking about how much fun it would be and never thought how hard it would be to lose, and they uselessly agree that it hurts before they suddenly all notice what is happening on the screen.
Apparently Drew is not having such a good shake of things in his second battle, as he faces Robert whose Milotic smacks Roselia aside with an Iron Tail. Drew yells for Magical Leaf but Robert calmly asks for Twister, which smashes Magical leaf into gently falling white leaves around a stunned Roselia... and time runs out, with Robert the winner and Drew's Roselia absolutely thrashed in points, having gotten in apparently only one offensive manouver.
Robert will go on to the final battle!
Drew can't believe it as Vivian talks up Milotic and Robert, and in the dressing room the twerps are shocked, Brock saying it seems there is always someone who is better, while May watches on with a wide mouth.
Drew got his ass kicked!
As the sun sets, outside the Contest Hall the old man is STILL talking while Jesse and Meowth sleep tucked up against each other, and James still continues to furiously make notes.
Inside, Robert is being declared the winner (and apparently indulging in his love for lipstick) having evidently defeated his final opponent. The crowd is cheerring and May has joined the other twerps watching and clapping behind the railing above the final row of seats, one of which is occupied by Drew, who gets up and walks away, spotted by May.
OUtside, Drew is heading off into the sunset, having seen too good a dramatic moment to waste when May catches up with him. He asks if she wants a rematch and she tells him that next time she won't be the loser. He simply stares at her for a moment, then a small bit of his arrogance seems to chip away and he grins, before saying we'll see, though next time he'll be a lot stronger too. He flicks a green forelock out of his eye and then walks away with a dismissive wave of his hand. The other twerps join May and promise they'll help her continue to train and she agrees, saying she is done with crying and she'll get better, just watch her!
Brock certainly will be.
Long into the night, the old man is STILL talking while Jesse and Meowth have long since curled up on the concrete to sleep the night away. Even James is losing it, nodding off as he continues writing, then collapsing backwards and falling asleep.
The old man?
Well he just keeps on talking!
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