"Natsui..."
May whispered the name. It was a normal way to talk to someone, but she still felt shy.
Maybe it was because it felt too close.
She remembered the sweet and honest smile on Misty's face when she called him that. May suddenly had a strange feeling.
Natsui saw the girl was shy and smiled. "Alright, how do you want to train?"
He went back to the main topic, and May became serious. "Um... you defeated Harley two days ago. I was wondering if you could tell me your secret to beating him?"
His secret to beating him?
Natsui thought about it. But no matter how he thought, he could not find a special lesson from his battle with Harley. He had simply used a lot of power to win.
"Well..." He waited and thought for a moment. "To me, Harley's strength is a bit weak. So, I did not really feel like he was hard to deal with."
May felt a bit disappointed.
As expected, people were very different. Harley was a hard opponent for her, but he was weak in front of Natsui.
Wait... Natsui?
She had just changed the name, so why did it feel like she was already used to it?
It must be because she had heard Misty and Ash say it many times.
Natsui saw May's face and added, "Of course, even though I cannot help you with Harley specifically, I can improve your overall strength!"
"Eh?" May was surprised. "What does that mean?"
Natsui took a Poké Ball from his bag. He released his Gardevoir and called Gengar out from his shadow.
"It means that there is still one night left. I can help you train your Pokémon. I can help them improve in a basic way!"
"Re... Really!"
May was very happy. You could tell by the excitement in her voice!
These were Gardevoir and Gengar. Everyone knew they were Natsui's strongest Pokémon. With their help, her Pokémon would improve a lot!
"Of course. And this is very rare. A person like me rarely gives advice to anyone."
Natsui meant what he said. This showed he cared about May.
In his battle with Harley, he only used Eevee and Milotic to win. But to train May, he used Gengar and Gardevoir!
It was lucky Harley did not know this. Otherwise, he would feel hurt. He would think Natsui was looking down on him!
"Thank you so much!" May was happy and gave Natsui a deep bow. "I will work hard!!"
"Good spirit." Natsui liked her attitude and nodded. "Time is short, so let's begin!"
"Yes!!"
May took two Poké Balls from her bag and released her Pokémon. After a blue light, her Beautifly and Bulbasaur appeared in front of Natsui.
"So, you plan to use them to fight Harley in the arena tomorrow?"
"That's what I'm thinking." May was not very confident. She asked, "Is there any problem with that?"
"Of course not. Bulbasaur on the ground and Beautifly in the air work well together. They can attack the opponent from two directions. It is hard to defend against. It is a very good combination."
May felt much better after Natsui said that. "That's great. I was worried this combination would not be to your liking."
"You should just do what you like. Don't worry about what others think, including me." Natsui shook his head and told her, "Have some confidence. After all, you are a contestant in the top 32. You are a little famous now. You must have your own opinions. Also, since this is a Contest Battle, as long as you can show the Pokémon's charm, it does not matter which Pokémon you send out."
"I... I understand..."
Natsui saw the four Pokémon were ready, so he stopped talking. He signaled to May that she could attack him.
May was ready to battle. But before she gave an order, she looked at Natsui's Pokémon and felt nervous.
Gengar had a big grin and Gardevoir had a small smile. Both Pokémon looked friendly, but she still felt a lot of pressure.
This was not just in her head.
She knew they were extremely strong, so she could feel the pressure!
"Relax." Natsui spoke to her. "The battle has not even started. How can you be nervous now? Can't you see your Pokémon are ready to go?"
"Eh?"
May looked at her two Pokémon. They also felt the strength of Gengar and Gardevoir, but they did not move back. They had a strong fighting spirit in their eyes!
"Beautifly, Bulbasaur, you guys..."
May saw her Pokémon and she felt brave too.
"Very good. Remember this feeling!" Natsui praised her. "There is nothing to fear. Just keep this attitude and do your best in the arena. With your trusted Pokémon, you will not have any regrets even if you lose!"
May heard Natsui's words and nodded. She took a deep breath. "Natsui, here I come!"
...
Thud, thud.
There were two loud sounds. Beautifly and Bulbasaur flew back and hit each other.
But they got up from the ground immediately.
They practiced for over an hour. The two Pokémon had many bruises. They were breathing hard. They were very tired and near their limit.
Their opponents, Gardevoir and Gengar, were fine. They were not out of breath. They looked the same as when the battle started.
They are just too strong...
May thought this many times.
Watching them was one thing, but fighting them was different. She realized how scary these two Pokémon were.
Since the training began, her Beautifly and Bulbasaur attacked non-stop. But they could not hurt them. They could not even make them use much energy!
On the other hand, Beautifly and Bulbasaur were in bad shape. Gardevoir and Gengar were being very gentle. They mostly defended and did not hit any important spots, but May's Pokémon were still tired.
Gardevoir and Gengar controlled their power perfectly. That is why the training could continue.
"Beautifly, Bulbasaur, how are you? Can you still keep fighting? Okay, then let's go again—"
May looked at her Pokémon. They both nodded. She felt better and was about to give another order. But then another voice spoke from the side.
"Well, well. I was wondering why I could not find you two. It turns out you sneaked off here for a date!"
May looked back. She saw Misty, Ash, Brock, and Max. Misty was the one who spoke!
"Wh... What date! Natsui and I are just practicing!"
Natsui?
Misty, Ash, Brock, and Max all noticed the new name. They looked at each other.
Misty was only joking, but she found something interesting!
May was very shy, so they did not say anything about it.
Natsui did not want Misty to say something more embarrassing. He quickly changed the topic. "Why are you here?"
"To see what you were doing, of course." Misty shrugged. "May did not return to the dorm for a long time. We were worried she was in danger or that Harley attacked her. I went to your door and you were not there either. So we came out to look for you. We did not expect to find you having a secret battle here!"
Natsui thought the word "secret" sounded wrong. It made May's ears turn red.
Luckily, Ash did not notice the mood at all.
Ash saw the Pokémon fighting and asked, "How is the training going?"
Misty, Brock, and Max looked at Natsui. May also looked at Natsui.
May could not tell if the practice was good. She had been attacking but failing the whole time.
Natsui smiled. "Not bad. If you want to learn how to hit someone, you must first learn how to take a hit. They were able to last this long without falling. They have improved at taking hits. Their team attacks are better too. I believe tomorrow's battle will be fine."
Everyone was happy for May because Natsui said she was doing well.
"That's great!" Ash was the first to speak. "Since Natsui says it's fine, then it must be fine!"
Natsui knew May won against Harley in the story he knew. With this training, she would be even better.
However, he still said to May, "Of course, that is under normal conditions. Remember, never underestimate your opponent. Harley is good at using tricks. Being careless is your biggest enemy!"
"I'll remember! I definitely won't be careless!" May nodded. She wanted to keep going. "But I still feel like I am missing something. Natsui, let's continue practicing!"
But Natsui shook his head.
"Forget it. Let's stop here for today." He smiled at May. "Rest is also important. It is already past 10 PM. You should go find Nurse Joy. Get Bulbasaur and Beautifly to feel better. If you use all your energy today, you will be weak for the match tomorrow."
May realized it was very late!
She did not notice the time passing.
She wanted to practice more, but she followed Natsui's advice. She nodded.
"Natsui, thank you so much for today. Don't worry, I will definitely win tomorrow. I won't let you down!"
...
The arena for the Grand Festival was full of people.
The audience was more excited than yesterday.
The first two battles were very intense, so everyone was ready for more. They were excited for the next fight.
May and Harley walked onto the stage while the crowd cheered.
They were enemies meeting on a narrow path.
They did not like each other. After the fights with Natsui, they stopped being polite. They wanted to finish their fight here.
The rules for this Contest Battle were the same as a Pokémon Contest. There was a five-minute limit. The two trainers had to show their beauty and their Pokémon's beauty to get points.
Harley and May did not talk. They released their Pokémon at the same time.
May used Bulbasaur and Beautifly.
Harley used Cacturne and Banette!
These two Pokémon—one Grass and Dark-type, the other Ghost-type—were like Harley: mean and scary!
May had the advantage with Pokémon types. Her Pokémon had moves that were good against Cacturne. But in a contest, you don't just win by knocking out the other Pokémon. Style is also important.
If this was a regular battle, May would win easily after Natsui's training.
But this was the Grand Festival!
Vivian saw both trainers were ready. She spoke into the microphone. "Now, the third match of the Contest Battles! The battle between May and Harley... begins!!!"
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