"This is great, we finally made it out and reached a city!" May cheered as they entered Mauville City.
"Look over there!" Max pointed excitedly, having spotted something.
A carnival seemed to be taking place in the square, and Ash and his friends headed over!
Just then, two people in Pokémon costumes walked up to them and greeted them enthusiastically, "Welcome, welcome! Everyone come and have fun!"
"The grand prize is a luxurious plushie!" they said, showing Ash and the others a sample.
"Wow~ It's so cute!" (???) May looked at the Torchic plushie in front of her and loved it!
Ash looked at the two people and a smirk tugged at his mouth. "It's been a while, hasn't it? Team Rocket!"
"Team Rocket!" x3
"Seriously, I told you it wouldn't fool the twerps, and you wouldn't believe me, Meowth!" Meowth walked out and stood in front of Ash's group!
"We had to try!" Jessie and James removed their disguises. "Long time no see, twerps! And the little brat!"
"Since you asked, here's our motto, Meowth!" "Wobbuffet!"
Brock sank into thought, then suddenly slapped his fist into his palm. "I knew something was missing recently! So it was you, Team Rocket!"
May and Max nodded in agreement. Their journey had been much more peaceful without Team Rocket around!
"Hmph, things are different now! Let us show you the results of Team Rocket's brutal training! Go, Seviper, Dustox!"
"That's right, go! Cacnea! Ah, ouch, the wrong side!"
[Seviper] [Elite - Peak Stage] [Dustox] [Elite - Late Stage] [Cacnea] [Elite - Peak Stage] [Wobbuffet] [Gym Leader - Late Stage]
"Then let's test it! Go, Electrike and Quilava!" "Beautifly, take the stage!" "Go, Forretress!"
The eight Pokémon faced off. "Seviper, Sludge Bomb! Dustox, Venoshock! Wobbuffet, prepare Counter!" "Cacnea, Solar Beam!"
Watching Team Rocket's attacks approach, Ash noted that they had indeed grown stronger. Every one of their Pokémon had increased in level, and they all knew powerful moves!
"Electrike, Thunderbolt! Quilava, Eruption!" "Beautifly, Silver Wind!" "Forretress, Iron Defense!" Forretress put up a silvery metal wall in front of the other Pokémon. Poison-type moves are ineffective against Steel-types anyway, and Forretress's level was high—Elite - Peak Stage! It effortlessly blocked the attacks!
On the other side, three attacks fused into one, creating a giant pillar of fire surrounded by blue electricity and Silver Wind. "Wobbuffet" The 'god of wobbuffet' stood firm and deflected the attack back! "Not bad, Wobbuffet!" Team Rocket praised it! "Wobbuffet"
As expected of the god of wobbuffet! "Eevee, Protect! Pikachu, Electrike, Thunderbolt! Quilava, Flamethrower!" "Forretress, Protect!" "Beautifly, Gust!"
Under the combined Protect of Eevee and Forretress, the counter-attack was successfully blocked. While Team Rocket had the Wobbuffet god, Ash had the Pikachu god! Team Rocket was sent flying!
"This feeling is awful!" "Wobbuffet (???)~"
"We were only defeated by six Pokémon this time!" "Exactly, we only had four! Next time, we'll be prepared and succeed!" "That's right, Meowth!"
"What a wonderful feeling!"
"I can't believe their strength has improved so much since the last time we saw them!" Brock exclaimed.
"I agree. If Team Rocket decided to go straight, they would probably be very talented trainers," Ash and Brock shook their heads. Given the trio's loyalty to Giovanni, who knows when they will ever leave their criminal life!
"I need to work harder, too!" May realized that even Jessie's strength had increased so much, and she needed to quickly improve her own power!
Practice Battles and a New Evolution
At the Pokémon Center in Mauville City, Ash and his friends ran into the Gym Leader, Wattson. At Wattson's invitation, Ash decided to have a practice battle with him, and May also decided to have a practice match with his assistant, Watson (Note: The user-provided text uses two similar names for the Gym Leader and his assistant, so I will stick with Wattson for the Gym Leader and Watson for the assistant).
Everyone headed back to the Mauville Gym, which had undergone a major renovation. May shuddered at the thought of the thrilling mechanisms it used to have.
The group entered the battlefield through a side door. The matches began with Watson's Ampharos against May's Skitty.
Surprisingly, May won! Skitty's Assist move was always full of surprises, and when used, it completely reversed the situation, allowing Skitty to successfully defeat Ampharos. Skitty's power increased to Normal - Peak Stage!
This victory proved the high level of trust between May and Skitty. They needed that mutual trust to pull off a comeback!
Next was Wattson versus Ash. "Hahaha, come on, Ash! Go, Jolteon!" "Ray~"
"It's Jolteon! One of Eevee's evolutions!" Max looked at Jolteon excitedly.
May took out her Pokédex: Jolteon...
[Jolteon] [Elite - Peak Stage]
"Haha, Ash! I found this Eevee near the Power Plant shortly after you left, and it just evolved into Jolteon recently!" Wattson laughed heartily.
"Then I choose you, Electrike!" Ash sent out Electrike. Electrike was close to evolving, and this battle was perfect for gaining the last bit of experience it needed!
"Oh?! Is that the Electrike? Jolteon, Dig!" Both Pokémon have the Lightning Rod ability, so this was naturally a non-Electric-type duel between two Electric Pokémon!
"Electrike, Quick Attack! Dodge it!" Jolteon appeared from behind Electrike, but Electrike quickly dodged the attack!
"Your reaction is fast, Ash! How about this move! Jolteon, Swift!"
"Electrike, Quick Attack followed by Fire Fang!" Electrike took the Swift head-on, quickly closed the distance, and landed a massive red-hot bite on Jolteon! "Ray~"
"Electrike, Crunch!" "Jolteon, Take Down!" Electrike had already charged up Dark-type energy in its teeth and was attacking, but Jolteon didn't move.
Wattson also noticed the abnormality. "Oh no! It's the flinch status, Jolteon!" Jolteon was defeated by Electrike's Crunch before it could attack!
"Jolteon is unable to battle! Electrike wins! The winner is Mr. Ash!"
"Woof~" A blue-white light of evolution enveloped Electrike's body. Its size grew, and its yellow mane and blue body—Manectric had arrived!
[Manectric] [Strength: Elite - Peak Stage] [Moves: Hyper Beam, Electric Terrain, Snarl, Thunder...]
"Congratulations, Ash!" Wattson said warmly.
"Thank you!" Ash shook hands with Wattson!
Watson suddenly spoke up. "I heard you're planning to participate in a Pokémon Contest, right? There's going to be a Pokémon Contest in Verdanturf Town soon!"
"Really?!" (???) May exclaimed in surprise.
Max took out his PokéNav to check the route. "We can also get to Petalburg City from Verdanturf Town!"
"Perfect! Then let's go to Verdanturf Town first for the Pokémon Contest, and then challenge the Gym in Petalburg City!" Ash decided.
May was the first to raise her hand in agreement!
Afterward, they said goodbye to Wattson and Watson and headed to the Pokémon Center to rest for the night, preparing to set off early the next morning. Ash also transferred Manectric back to Professor Oak and brought Torkoal into his active party.