The Ice Beam froze Banette into a solid block of ice. However, Banette immediately shattered the ice from within. Not only that, several blue flames from Will-O-Wisp shot from Banette's mouth toward Squirtle.
Even though Will-O-Wisp can melt ice and looks like a Ghost-type move, it is actually a Fire-type move. That meant it would not do much direct damage to the Water-type Squirtle.
After all, a Contest Battle is not decided only by knocking out the opponent. It is also about landing moves cleanly and avoiding losing Appeal points. Even a weak hit can lower your score, and those small losses add up quickly. Because of that, May stayed alert. She had Squirtle use Withdraw and Rapid Spin to avoid the flames.
Under Jessie's command, Banette used Thunder again. She wanted to use the type advantage to force Squirtle down.
To everyone's surprise, when the golden electricity shot toward Squirtle, it answered with Bubble. A huge stream of bubbles burst out and met the Thunder in midair.
"What!?"
The result shocked Jessie on stage and made Harley's expression darken in the stands.
Had May's Squirtle already reached this level?
That sudden clash rattled Harley badly. Just a moment earlier, he had been certain of victory. Now that confidence was starting to crack.
However, Jessie's own instinct for performance showed itself right away. After Banette was hit, she immediately barked at it. The irritation in her voice only made Banette angrier, and then Jessie ordered it to use Frustration. Driven by its anger, Banette rushed in and launched a wild barrage of blows.
After creating some distance again, Banette used Will-O-Wisp once more. It tried to force Squirtle out of its shell. But the spinning shell was moving too quickly, making it difficult to pin down.
Having no better choice, Jessie changed tactics again and tried to stop Squirtle with Thunder. Unfortunately, Squirtle's spinning shell kept bouncing unpredictably across the stage, and even Banette's attack struggled to pin it down.
At that moment, as the spinning shell leaped over Banette's head, May's eyes sharpened. She gave the order to counterattack.
The rapidly spinning shell began to spray strong streams of water while it moved, and then crashed straight into Banette's body.
This attack looked far more elegant than Banette's Frustration. It was cleaner, more controlled, and much more impressive to the audience. Banette's Appeal points dropped sharply.
That made Harley even more anxious as he watched.
"Damn it..."
The situation was clearly turning bad for Banette. Anyone could tell that just by looking at the remaining Appeal points on the large screen.
And time was running out.
Harley could tell that Jessie still had a good eye for performance, but her actual command style in battle was too rough. She kept relying on direct attacks. If he had been the one commanding Banette himself, he would never have let the rhythm slip this much. But there was nothing he could do from the stands. He could only hope Banette and Jessie could somehow recover.
"Work harder!"
Unfortunately for him, the battle did not go the way he wanted.
Since traveling with Natsui, May's style had changed a lot. Even her Contest Battles now looked more like the battles of a proper Trainer. She had not yet faced enough major battles to be fully mature, but her judgment and field awareness had clearly improved. She had become much better at reading her opponents and finding weaknesses.
For example, right now, after several minutes of intense fighting, she spotted an opening.
She ordered Squirtle to use Bubble again. As the bubbles flew forward, Jessie could only tell Banette to dodge. But that had only been bait. While Banette was focused on avoiding the bubbles, Squirtle suddenly followed up with Ice Beam, freezing Banette solid once again.
This time, without waiting for Banette to break free, Squirtle immediately followed with Water Gun. The attack smashed into the frozen Banette and blasted it out of the ring.
No one had expected the match to be decided in such an instant.
Seeing this, Jessie stomped her foot on stage in frustration, while Harley slammed his seat hard below the stage.
What on earth was Jessie doing?
He had handed over such a perfect opportunity. He had even lent her his Pokémon, and she had still lost to May!?
But just then, before Lilian could properly finish announcing the result, the lights on stage suddenly went out.
The entire hall fell into darkness. The audience had no idea what was going on. But for some reason, Harley felt this scene was painfully familiar.
He froze, and before he could fully react, two spotlights switched on and illuminated Jessie.
A second later, music started playing. James, now dressed in his Team Rocket uniform, jumped out beside her. The two of them stood back-to-back.
At the same time, Jessie threw off her disguise and changed back into her usual Team Rocket outfit. They even struck dramatic poses with roses in their mouths.
"I hear a voice asking, 'What is going on?'"
"Then let us tell you!"
"From the other side of the horizon!"
"From the other side of the Big Bang!"
"A voice calls out to us!"
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Meowth!"
"The brave blooming flower of evil!"
"The cute and mighty villains!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"And I'm Meowth, that's right!"
"Wherever Team Rocket is!"
"The world!"
"The universe!"
"Is waiting for you!"
"Wobbuffet!"
The complete Team Rocket trio had now fully revealed themselves before everyone at the Mulberry Contest.
Unlike the last time, Jessie did not seem upset about losing the match. Instead, she laughed loudly.
"It's a bit of a shame we didn't win, but it doesn't matter. The mission is complete. So—goodbye!"
With that, Jessie recalled Banette into its Poké Ball. James pressed the detonator in his hand, blowing a large hole in the hall's ceiling.
Rubble fell, and the audience suddenly felt the cold night air. At that same moment, the Team Rocket trio grabbed a rope, climbed up to the roof, and disappeared.
In the crowd, Harley was speechless.
The scene was so familiar, and the way they left was exactly the same as before.
The memory of the Saffron Contest seemed to stab him all over again.
He was completely stunned. He could not understand why Meowth was here. Hadn't Meowth been tied up in the warehouse by him? Why had those three taken his Pokémon and run off again?
When the cold night wind blew across Harley, it made him shiver. It also snapped him back to reality.
"Cacturne!! Banette!!!"
This time, the blow Team Rocket dealt him was even worse than before.
Harley felt as if someone had stabbed him straight through the heart. He could only blame himself for trusting the wrong people again.
He did not even have time to glare at May anymore. He rushed toward the exit and once again chased after Team Rocket.
After Harley left, the staff fixed the lights, and the hall brightened up again.
Looking at the now-vanished Jessie and the giant hole in the ceiling, the audience was completely confused. No one really understood what had just happened.
Fortunately, Lilian had experience handling chaos like this. She immediately stepped in and brought the audience's attention back under control.
"It seems that, after seeing her loss, contestant Jessebella chose a rather dramatic way to make her exit. Although unexpected, I suppose it does fit her flashy image." She made a light joke to reduce Jessie's impact. Then she turned and pointed toward May. "Now the result is clear. Let us congratulate May for winning the Mulberry Contest!"
The audience erupted into loud cheers and applause for May. She waved at them with a bright smile.
Even though things had gotten strange near the end, she had finally earned her fifth Ribbon. That meant she had made it onto the last train and qualified for the Grand Festival just in time.
After the award ceremony, May left the hall through the tunnel and found Natsui waiting outside.
In her hand, besides the Ribbon she had just received, she was also holding a manual.
She waved both items in front of Natsui, unable to hide the excitement on her face.
"Congratulations," Natsui said. "You're performing better and better. If you keep this up, you might even have a real chance at the Grand Festival!"
"That's thanks to you, Natsui," May said with a laugh. "I've learned so much by staying at your side. During that match against Jessie, I kept imagining what you would do if you were the one facing Banette. I didn't expect that thinking that way would actually help me win!"
Hearing May say that made Natsui feel both happy and accomplished.
Being a model for May to follow proved that the path he was taking was not wrong.
May then added, "But I still feel like something about this was strange."
"Strange?" Natsui asked.
"What do you mean?"
"The Team Rocket trio, of course," May said as if it were obvious. "Back when I traveled with Ash, they were always showing up to cause trouble. But in this Contest, they didn't really interfere with me directly at all. They didn't target my battle, and then they just ran off after losing. It doesn't feel like them."
To May, that really was strange. But to Natsui, it made perfect sense.
And they had not caused trouble?
They just had not caused trouble for her.
Even though he was not their target, Natsui knew Harley was probably running all over the place right now, chasing after them again.
Harley had schemed and tricked people for so long, only to be tricked twice in a row by Team Rocket.
Natsui was certain that, somewhere out there, those two sides were going to fight again very soon.
It could only be said that, in the end, troublemakers always found trouble from their own kind.
Shaking his head, Natsui looked at the manual in May's hand.
"What is that?"
"It's the guidebook for the Grand Festival. Raoul Contesta gave it to me during the ceremony."
"I see." Natsui nodded. "Then it looks like you're officially a contestant preparing for the Grand Festival now."
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