The Hoenn Grand Festival was being held in a big stadium in Slateport, and the rules of the Festival meant that May had to live in a dorm room in one of the competitors' villages during the Festival itself.

It was a lot like the League, but since it wasn't Ash who was competing he was going to be waiting on the outside looking in.

"This is going to be weird," he decided, as May entered her paperwork at the front desk. "Uh… now I think of it… Brock, do we have somewhere to stay?"

"Already sorted it out days ago," Brock told him. "Max thought of it when we were doing the scheduling, but I'm used to it."

"Thanks," Ash said, exhaling in relief. "I don't know what I'd do without you guys…"

"All sorted," May reported, rejoining them. "I've got my registry in place, but I don't need to go to the dorm room until this evening – not everyone has registered yet. Then, uh, tomorrow the Appeals start, and they have a tricky thing where they'll be narrowing it down to sixty-four competitors by having everyone do a single move to be as effective an Appeal as possible."

"Ah, May," Harley said, making Ash jump because he'd been looking the wrong way. "I see you've made it to the Grand Festival. Have you heard about the opening round?"

"Yeah, I have," May confirmed. "It's all about getting as much impact out of a single move as possible, if that's the one you mean?"

"Yes!" Harley agreed. "Now, I don't know about you, but I think that performing under a constraint like that gives it an extra zest. So, I heartily recommend that you keep that rule up – that one-move rule – even going into the later rounds. It's a perfect way to push you and your Pokémon to the next level!"

Ash frowned, not sure that was right, and May seemed like she was thinking about it as well.

Then she smiled.

"I hope I face you in the Battle rounds," she said, sweetly. "Because if you're following your own advice, I'm sure I'll have a much better chance of winning."

Harley put a hand to his chin. "For shame! You're accusing me of trying to sabotage you?"

"No, I'm accusing you of trying to sabotage yourself," May replied. "You're just also telling me about it."

The other Coordinator chuckled.

"Now that's what I like to see," he declared. "I'm sure we will meet in the Battle Rounds."

That seemed to be what he had to say, and he left.

As he did, Max scratched his head. "...are you two friends, or what?" he asked. "I literally can't tell."

"Yeah, it gave me a bit of trouble at first, too," May admitted. "Then I started thinking about it in a way that made it make a lot more sense… a way I've got years of experience with. He's a friend, but he's the kind of friend who does his best to trip you up at every opportunity whenever it would be funny."

"...years of experience?" Ash asked.

"She means having a brother," Max grumbled. "Or sister."

"It doesn't have to be like that," Brock said, as the one with the most experience having siblings of any of the trainers.

"Yeah, but it can be, and it's funny," Latias contributed, as the one with more experience than that.

May hadn't used Beautifly in a while, but she opened with him for the first Appeal Round.

Most any Pokémon would have trouble doing an Appeal that stood out with a single move, but May had chosen Beautifly for a simple reason – he could fly, but that wasn't a move, so he could combine high speed movement with his Silver Wind attack.

Over the course of her Appeal time, she had Beautifly fly back and forth to leave a curtain of falling, glittering Silver Wind mist, then plunge through the curtain to punch holes in it and produce complex rippling effects around the holes.

Not content with that, Beautifly then did rolls which made it seem like he was painting in the sky, drawing out a M for May and a B for Beautify, then came flying down to land just as the time ran out.

"The question is, is everyone going to guess right about what the letters mean," Max wondered.

"Not the only question, but definitely one of them," Brock said. "It could be you and me, for example."

Latias sniggered.

They'd managed to get a larger block of seats than normal, because the Grand Festival arena was outside, and Ash had taken the opportunity to have most of his team out and watching the Festival.

"I think I could do a pretty good Appeal," Marshtomp said. "Probably involving Rock Throw. What about you?"

Koraidon tilted her head.

"I think my ability doesn't count as a move," she said, after some thought. "So I could have that and then Solar Blade? But I'm not sure how to use Solar Blade."

She shrugged. "I think dad would have an idea about it if he was trying, though."

"Thanks," Ash smiled.

May's second Appeal came next, and her choice for this one was Snorunt.

It was Snorunt's debut, but the second Appeal round – while involving a much stronger field of competitors – was also less artificially limited, and Snorunt did a twirl the moment he emerged from his Pokéball before spinning off a pair of Double Team duplicates.

Freezing the ground around him, he began spinning like a top and using Icy Wind to send snow and ice drifting throughout the arena and falling to the ground. His two duplicates did the same thing, and he spun around May in a complete revolution with both duplicates weaving in and out in a complicated pattern – then stopped, all three Snorunt twirling to face the same place, and aimed a Frost Breath at the ground that froze a larger patch of snow and ice. It built up over the course of several seconds until it was a mound with a peak to it, and Snorunt stopped to hide his panting from near-exhaustion.

"And… combine!" May called.

All three Snorunt slid forwards at once, spinning around once more, and there was a bright flash as the two doubles vanished and the Snorunt "combined" back into one.

"Shadow Ball!" May finished, and Snorunt blew up the ice mound in a shower of shards and splinters.

Then landed in the middle, and bowed.

"Do you think that was Rapid Spin, any of that?" Max checked. "I'm not sure what really makes a move Rapid Spin instead of just… spinning around rapidly."

Ash frowned.

"I actually don't know," he admitted.

"Forretress knows it," Brock volunteered. "But she wasn't watching, so I don't know."

Ash, meanwhile, had started frowning.

What did make it whether something counted as a move or not? He could do things that didn't seem to be moves, like when he'd stopped time – unless that counted as a move – and the way that Koraidon could fly didn't seem to fit being a move or being an ability, since they knew what her ability was and it wasn't that.

Maybe that was one of the things he'd have to try and remember to ask his dad?

May's first Battle Round of the Grand Festival was, perhaps inevitably, against Harley.

Interestingly enough, both Coordinators used an Octillery. Harley's Octillery was male and focused most of his attention on Octazooka to back up his Banette teammate, while May's Octillery and Combusken combined their efforts to throw together a mixture of their shared Fire attacks and the tricks they could pull off individually.

"I wonder if Latios and I could do something like that," Latias mused. "You know, double battles. Battling together, that kind of thing."

"Based on what I remember from the fighting in the Secret Garden, then unless Latios has got a lot better you'd probably be the one doing most of the work," Pikachu said.

"Really?" Latias asked. "But… but… my brother's the strong one?"

"He was," Ash told her. "But you've been working really hard. You've got Confusion, Headbutt, Safeguard, Mystical Fire, Dragon Pulse… and Steel Wing is coming along nicely, too, remember?"

"Yeah, but, still…" Latias said, more quietly this time.

It sounded like she was thinking hard about it.

Then there was a bang as Harley's Banette and Octillery used a combination which involved splatting May's team with Octazooka before hitting them with a Thunder attack, and everyone gasped.

As the smoke cleared, though, they saw that Combusken and Octillery were surrounded by feathers. Scorched, blackened feathers, from a Feather Dance that had only just happened in time, and where they'd been frozen by an Aurora Beam even as the impact took place to add a frosty bloom to the defence.

"Jet Punch!" May called out quickly.

Harley worked that one out before either of his Pokémon, but Combusken worked it out slightly before Harley did. He picked up Octillery in a single fluid motion and ran forwards.

"Sludge Bomb and Torment!" Harley tried.

Even as he gave that order, Combusken punched towards Harley's Octillery and Banette – with the arm that had May's Octillery on.

The Jet Pokémon.

Octillery let go of Combusken's arm and flashed past her opponents, tentacles out and spinning like a top, and used Flamethrower like a fireworks wheel. It hit both her opponents, Banette worse than Octillery, but that on top of their earlier defence was enough to put May in a commanding lead.

From both taking part in the Appeals rounds, Beautifly and Snorunt next took part in the Round of 16.

"I wonder why…" Ash said, frowning.

"Huh?" Pikachu asked, then looked back out onto the field. "Oh, right, obvious in retrospect… why those two, right? Since they've already gone, and Bulbasaur and Skitty haven't."

"That's it exactly," Ash agreed. "She didn't say anything about it, so it's just guessing, but…"

"Spit Up!" May's opponent called, and his Swalot saluted before using Spit Up.

This turned out to be where his Pinsir had been hiding.

"Winds!" May ordered, prompting Beautifly to combine his Silver Wind with Snorunt's Icy Wind, and the shimmering result wrapped around them both to fend Pinsir off.

"I don't know," Ash resumed.

"How would you do it?" Koraidon asked. "This is about mixing up what Pokémon you use, right?"

She glanced over at Miraidon. "Like how you didn't use Miraidon until the last gym because they weren't old enough to face it, and how you didn't use me until Mauville because I wasn't old enough? That kind of thing?"

"Yeah, that kind of thing, but not just that kind of thing," Ash agreed. "It's about… making sure that you all get some time to exercise yourselves. I'm already trying to think about which Pokémon to use in the Ever Grande Conference, and about how much I should be using Pokémon from Johto or Kanto versus how much I should be using the new Pokémon. And… it's sort of a mix, because I want to make sure my Pokémon grow and learn, but it would also be quite nice to win the Conference."

"You bet," Marshtomp said, thumbs-up. "We'll go all the way, boss."

"Yeah!" Swellow agreed.

"We'll be with you all the way, Ash," Pikachu assured him. "Not just this one, but the ones in future too. Stronger every time, right?"

"I believe in you," Latias said simply.

Ash swallowed, blinking hard to stifle his tears.

"Thanks, guys," he said. "That… means a lot."

"Sludge Bomb!" May's opponent ordered, out on the field.

"Frost Breath, Gust and Psychic!" May retorted. "Get Pinsir!"

"Pinsir, look out-!" the other Coordinator said, but a moment too late. The flash-frozen Sludge Bomb beaned Pinsir on the head, and the Bug-type wobbled for a moment before falling over backwards.

"That's probably worth a lot of points," Max guessed.

When May went up against Drew, which was the quarter-final, she sent out Bulbasaur and Skitty.

For his part, Drew – who, like everyone else left at this point, had already gone through two Appeals and two Battle rounds – sent out a Flygon, along with his Roselia.

"I don't think I've seen that one before," Ash said. "We saw Masquerain at least once before the Grand Festival, and he used Masquerain and Roselia three times each already, but Flygon's new."

He glanced at Max. "That's right, right? I didn't miss one?"

"I think you're right," Max confirmed. "Wow. I don't think I'd have been able to hold back a new Pokémon until this late… do you think you would have done something like that?"

Ash frowned. "Well… it depends?"

He tapped a hoof. "I sort of did with Miraidon, but that's because they're still young and I wanted to make sure their first battle was when they were ready. But doing it during a tournament like this, like the League… I really don't know."

"What are the reasons you would?" Latias asked, then shook her head. "No, wait, let me try and work it out. Umm…"

She tilted her head, thinking.

"So… if you surprise someone with a new Pokémon, like this, then even if they knew your team before they'd be surprised and not able to react at first," she guessed. "And that would especially count because May and Drew have met one another before. So this is a surprise for her."

"That's good," Ash nodded. "Well done."

"And, why not…" Latias went on. "So, guessing again, but… it's because it means the Pokémon's first battle on a big stage is one that's late in the competition, when the pressure might be a lot more than earlier on?"

She glanced at Ash nervously. "Does that count?"

"Yeah, it does," Ash agreed. "There's, really three things involved though. Because if the new Pokémon is a strong Pokémon, you can want to use them just so you don't end up losing before you get to the place you want to use them. Keeping a Pokémon in reserve doesn't do much good if you go out before you get a chance to send them out…"

"Oh, yeah, good point," Latias agreed. "Which do you do? I don't remember how the Silver Conference went well enough to know."

"Uh," Ash said, embarrassed. "I don't always think about it in that kind of detailed way during the tournament…"

That made Latias giggle.

Out on the Battle Round field, meanwhile, Skitty and Bulbasaur were using an unorthodox but effective strategy.

That strategy involved Skitty slinging around Magnet Bombs to yank Bulbasaur around, Bulbasaur using Vine Whips to pull Skitty around, and the two Pokémon repeatedly insisting that, really, after you, no, I insist.

It was a bit choppy, but it kept the two of them moving, and it made it harder for Drew's Flygon and Roselia to focus attention on them. Skitty had no such problems, firing Magical Leaves through Bulbasaur's Sunny Day to bombard Roselia or not if Flygon was her target, and even wove the flaming and non-flaming leaf streams together like braiding hair before sending them flying off after their respective targets.

"Sandstorm defensive!" Drew called. "Stop that Sunny Day!"

"Magnet Bomb!" May countered. "Make a clear area – and Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip on your opponents!"

Bulbasaur got just what May meant, her Vine Whips lashing out to grab both Flygon and Roselia.

With a powerful yank, she pulled the two opposing Pokémon together – letting go just before impact, but making Flygon collide with Roselia in a stunning impact.

Then the Magnet Bomb Skitty had left behind detonated.

When they met May, after the semi-finals, she started speaking before anyone had a chance to ask any questions.

"That was amazing!" she said. "Did you see Robert's Milotic – he was different to Juan's Milotic, and that tail twirl was just – and that Claydol as well!"

"Uh," Max began.

"What?" May asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Just, you… lost the semi-final," Max said. "Against Robert. I was kind of expecting you to not be going on about how amazing his Pokémon were."

"But they were amazing!" May said. "There was a bit there where Claydol was firing four different beams from four different eyes at once, and Milotic was using Iron Tail to reflect the beams at his targets – I couldn't not find that amazing!"

"Well, I guess at least she's happy," Ralts giggled.

AN:

Very good for the first Grand Festival. (Effectively the only change here in May's results is that she beat Drew.)