After thinking about it, Natsu felt that May wanted her Grass and Fire-type Pokémon to work together. He thought she wanted them to be stronger than they were alone so they could get a bigger share of the victory.
However, the team was already chosen. He could only hope that she would play well.
Vivian gave a command. The timer started, and the match began!
In this round, Drew moved first. He was the first to order an attack.
Natsu saw some problems because of this. He saw that May was not very aggressive. In her earlier battles against Harley and Anthony, she was also slow at the start. She let the other person move first. This forced her to defend instead of being in control.
This was not good. She lost the advantage.
Attacking is the best way to defend. Moving first is very important because you can deal damage and get points first.
May had not trained for a long time. She had many bad habits. If she trained in another region, she would be better. She still has many things to learn.
In the arena, Drew gave an order. Roselia used Petal Dance. Flygon flew fast through the petals. It went toward Combusken and Skitty.
May was not in control, but she stayed calm.
She told Skitty to use Assist. Skitty used Fire Spin from Combusken. The fire burned the petals and stopped the move. Then, she told Combusken to use Sky Uppercut. This made Flygon move back.
But Combusken did not jump high enough. The punch did not hit Flygon.
May was disappointed. Misty, Ash, and the others were also disappointed.
Drew did not mind that the hit failed. He started a second attack.
This time, Drew did not go close. He told Flygon to use Flamethrower. He told Roselia to use Solar Beam. They fired at May's Pokémon.
These moves were very strong. It would be dangerous if they hit.
The moves were very fast. May could not dodge. She told Combusken to use Fire Spin.
Combusken spat out fire. Usually, Fire Spin is not strong enough to stop Flamethrower and Solar Beam. But when the moves hit, they made a large fire circle. Flygon and Roselia's attacks could not move forward!
The Fire Spin used a special spinning way to hold back the strong moves.
This was amazing, but everyone saw it happen.
Drew was surprised. He did not move for a moment. May shouted loudly. Combusken's fire became stronger. It sent the Flamethrower and Solar Beam back!
Flygon and Roselia were hit by their own moves. They were hurt.
There was a big explosion. Smoke covered the area. People looked at the screen. A lot of Drew's yellow bar disappeared.
"Alright!" Ash moved his fist and said happily. "I didn't expect May to get the first hit! If it keeps going like this, she might actually beat Drew!"
Ash was excited. Misty and the others were also happy to see May doing well.
They thought May would win and enter the Top 4.
However, Natsu told them something sad.
"May and her Pokémon are performing very well, but Drew will likely win this battle."
"What?" Ash and the others were surprised. They asked, "Drew will win? But isn't May performing better?"
Misty was also confused. "Yeah, look, Natsu. She just reflected Flygon and Roselia's moves!"
Everyone was confused. They did not know why Natsu was so sure. Brock thought for a moment. Then he spoke. "I think Natsu means to say that Drew hasn't been serious until now, right?"
Brock was very smart when there were no pretty women around.
Natsu nodded. "Look closely. From start to finish, Drew's face has been calm. It forms a sharp contrast with May's seriousness. This isn't overconfidence, nor is he looking down on May. He is testing May with a relaxed mindset."
"Even if you say that..." Ash was still confused. "You still can't say for sure that May will lose..."
Natsu said, "Of course, Drew's mindset doesn't represent everything. But look at his Pokémon again. Do you see that even after taking an attack like that, they aren't panicked at all? They still look like they have plenty of energy left, and they even seem eager to keep going."
Ash and the others looked at Roselia and Flygon. Natsu was right. After the attack, the two Pokémon were not hurt badly. They looked ready to fight.
Natsu spoke again.
"Actually, in his heart, Drew views May as an equal opponent. He also wants to see how much May has grown, which is why he acted so casually. If I'm not mistaken, after that test just now, he should be going all out."
This was the vision of a Champion.
After Natsu spoke, the battle changed.
Drew started attacking much faster!
May could not adapt quickly. She began to lose.
Time passed.
Flygon and Roselia attacked many times. Combusken and Skitty defended. They tried to attack back when they could.
Both sides fought very hard. But anyone could see that Drew was winning.
Even people who did not know about battles could see the yellow bars. May was in trouble.
Things did not look good.
Ash and the others felt sad because May was losing.
0:45...
0:44...
The time went down.
The Pokémon still had energy, but May's yellow bar only had one small part left. Drew had almost half of his bar.
This meant if May took one more hit, she would lose!
May knew her situation. Drew told Flygon to use Flamethrower. May started her last attack.
The fire went toward Skitty and Combusken. May's Combusken jumped into the fire! People were surprised. Combusken was covered in fire. It jumped under Flygon and used Sky Uppercut. The fire scattered. It hit Flygon's face hard!
The punch was very good. The audience clapped and cheered.
But this was May's last good move.
Flygon landed. Drew attacked back. First, he told Roselia to use Stun Spore. Combusken and Skitty were paralyzed. Then, he told Flygon to use Steel Wing. It hit May's Pokémon hard.
Bang!
Combusken and Skitty could not dodge. They flew backward.
May's energy bar hit zero.
The timer stopped at 0:03.
Only 3 seconds were left. The battle was very close.
If Drew had not hit them, May would still lose because of the points.
The winner was decided. The audience cheered for Drew. They also clapped for May. They liked the exciting match.
On the stage, May was disappointed for a moment. She spoke quietly to comfort her Pokémon. Then she stood up and bowed to the audience.
Natsu and the others stood up. They left the seats and went to the tunnel.
They met May when she was leaving the stage.
"Sis, your performance just now was amazing!"
"May, you did a great job!"
Caroline, Max, Misty, Ash, and Brock encouraged her. They were not sad. They were happy for her.
Natsu clapped at the back.
Being in the Top 8 was a very good result. There were 247 players with five Ribbons. Being in the Top 8 was excellent.
This was May's first Grand Festival. This result was very remarkable.
It was better than Ash—never mind.
The group went to a restaurant for lunch.
They watched the other matches on TV.
Drew won his next match. He entered the Top 4. Then he reached the finals. He fought Robert. The winner would be the champion.
Ash drank some juice and asked, "Who do you think will win in the end?"
"Probably Robert."
"I guess Robert too. He's just too strong."
Ash did not expect everyone to agree.
"What? I thought you guys would say Drew!"
Brock smiled. "Drew is strong, but Robert is stronger. There should not be a surprise."
Ash looked at Natsu. Natsu said the same thing.
"I guess it should be Robert too. As for the reason, they've already said it, so I don't need to repeat it."
They were right. On the TV, Robert was much stronger. Milotic and Claydol were in a different league. With two minutes left, the match was almost over.
Drew only had one part of his yellow bar left. Robert had more than half.
Drew fought until the end. His Pokémon fell when the time ran out.
People cheered loudly. A new champion was born.
Drew looked disappointed. May tightened her fists.
This was moving.
Drew beat May easily, but he lost to Robert the same way. It was like a food chain. It was hard to win.
The group watched the TV until Robert got his award. The festival ended. At the end, there were performances. Lisia appeared on the stage!
Misty did not want to see Lisia. But now, Misty's eyes became firm. She made a decision.
...
At 8:00 PM, there was a party at the Grand Festival Plaza.
It was a big party outside. This was a tradition. It was a dinner to thank the players and celebrate the champion.
The party would end when everyone was finished.
The food was a buffet. Ash and the others went away to eat the delicious food.
May sat at a table. She finished her food. She wanted to walk around. Then she saw Misty.
"May, can you take a walk with me?"
May was surprised. Misty sounded different.
May wondered if something happened.
She did not ask questions. She nodded and stood up.