Hello everybody, and welcome back to another chapter of "A Long Distance Ship". In the previous part, Ash and friends arrived in Lilycove City, where May decided to enter a local Pokemon Contest happening. How will she fare against her newest rival in Kelly Otter? And what will Ash be up to during the contest? Well, you know if you watched the episode, but it still doesn't hurt to find out! Anyways, let's get going.

ashketchum497
To: misskwaterflower049
Subject: Lilycove Contest and Training Swellow

Hey there, Misty. I managed to get some more training in with my Swellow today, and we finally managed to master the Aerial Ace attack. Sure, it made me miss most of May's contest, but at least I was able to see her battle against Kelly for the Lilycove Ribbon in person, and the rest of the contest was on a big screen just outside the contest hall. May's idea of having Combusken use Fire Spin on the ceiling was a genius idea, one that definitely won her the contest. We are heading to Mossdeep tomorrow, and with it my next gym battle! Hope to talk to you soon!

Ash

PS: I don't know, to be honest.

maymaple86
To: misskwaterflower049
Subject: Lilycove Contest

Hey, Misty. I have the highlights of the contest in this email. I think that you and Togetic will enjoy them very much. For me, it was quite the contest I had there. I almost thought that I would die in the appeals round if it weren't for Combusken jumping in to protect me. It was a stunning show, but only got me a score of 24. The battle rounds went a lot better though, with my battle skills helping me beat Jessophina and Kelly in the battle rounds in order to help me win my third ribbon. I am so excited, and I cannot wait for the next contest that I enter! Wish me luck!

May

misskwaterflower049
To: ashketchum497
CC: maymaple86
Subject: Lilycove Contest

Ash Ketchum… WHY DID YOU THINK IT WAS A GOOD IDEA FOR YOU TO SKIP A LARGE CHUNK OF MAY'S CONTEST TO TRAIN YOUR POKEMON?! DID IT CROSS YOUR MIND FOR EVEN A SECOND THAT MAYBE SUPPORTING YOUR FRIEND IN HER CONTEST IS MORE IMPORTANT THAT GETTING YOUR POKEMON TO MASTER A MOVE?! MAY ALMOST DIED DURING THAT CONTEST, AND YOUR SELFISH LITTLE MIND THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO, INSTEAD OF MAKING SURE SHE WAS SAFE, RUN OFF TO TRAIN SWELLOW! *Breathes* Look Ash, I am just disappointed in your choice. While it is good of you to eventually join Max and Brock when May battled Kelly for the ribbon, it was still very selfish of you to run off like that and train your Swellow, even if he did master Aerial Ace. Just don't try that again, Ash.

As for your contest, May, Togetic enjoyed it very much. She especially enjoyed seeing the final battle, as you had a good idea of having your Combusken use Fire Spin on the ceiling after learning that Grumpig would just redirect it with Psychic. That and your sportsmanship definitely earned you that third ribbon, May. Good luck on winning your next one! And have a safe trip to Mossdeep City you two!

Misty

And that's it for the penultimate chapter of 2023. From Misty's email... yeah, I wasn't a huge fan of Ash running off on May's contest to help Swellow master Aerial Ace. And believe it or not, it isn't even the worst time Ash missed out on a large chunk of May's contest to help one of his Pokemon whose name starts with the letter "S" master a move. When we get to THAT episode next year, I will be making a major change. Anyways, I would like to thank Ian for reviewing the "Fight for the Metorite" and "Poetry Commotion" chapters, as well as Force Smuggler for another comment! Thank you both, and remember to favorite, follow, and review if you are intrested in this story! I will see you next time for the Season 7 finale, under the mistletoe!