Episode 307: A Cacturne For the Worse
A couple of days have passed since Zinnia and her Whismur, Aster have joined the group on their journey. Kairi and May were both preparing for Izabe Island for the Purika Town Pokémon Contest with Roserade and Bulbasaur.
Sora had exchanged Sharpedo for Wailord to reach Izabe Island, but suddenly, Wailord had caught a bad cold. The Float Whale Pokémon had let out a sneeze so powerful, it almost blew Sora off his feet.
"Gesundheit," Sora said. Wailord snorts from the sneeze. "It looks like we'll have to get you checked in the Pokémon Center, so I think it'll be a good idea that you took a rest for a while. We don't want you making anyone else sick." Wailord sneezed again, but the Float Whale Pokémon's Pokéball and Sora called him back. "So much for my idea."
"It's okay. We could get there by ferry anyway," Kairi said.
"I guess you're right," Sora said.
With that said, the group headed for the dock and they boarded a boat that was bound for Izabe Island.
Karen gave her brother and his girlfriend some time to themselves. She decided to join Terra, Aqua, and Michael at the buffet.
Sora and Kairi were admiring the sunset as were Pikachu and Angel. But their moment was cut short when a voice spoke out.
"Excuse me," a new voice said. Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, and Angel all turn to see the purple haired young man caught in Kyogre's storm. With him is a Cacturne. "I was just looking at the two of you and noticed your Pikachu and Eevee, so is it safe that you're entering the Purika Town Contest?"
"Well, it's safe as it gets, because I'll be participating in the Contest. I only need one more Ribbon," Kairi said.
"Quite impressive. You have to be really good if you won four already. What about your friend, there?" The young man asked.
"I'm not entering in it. I'm just collecting Gym Badges to enter the Hoenn Pokémon League. I only need one more to get in," Sora said. "Good guess though." He looked right at his Cacturne. "Well, that's a cool-looking Cacturne you got."
"That's very nice of you. Cacturne here is my trusty partner," the young man said.
"Cacturne," Cacturne said.
"Oops! I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Harley. And what are your names?" Harley asked.
"I'm Sora," Sora introduced himself.
"And I'm Kairi," Kairi introduced herself.
"You gonna use your Cacturne for the contest?" Sora asked.
"Of course," Harley answered.
"Turne," Cacturne said.
"Cacturne looks happy enough. Gotta be since you raised it so well," Sora said.
"Thank you. You are so kind, Sora," Harley said. He took out a box. "Would you like some cookies? Baked them myself."
"They look pretty tasty," Sora said.
"Go ahead. Take one," Harley offered. Both Sora and Kairi took one each and took a bite.
"This is great. Thanks for the cookies, Harley," Sora said.
"Yes, thank you," Kairi said.
"You are welcome, Sora. And you, too, Kairi. I'll let you get back to what you two were doing. You two seem like a nice couple. Ta-ta," Harley said as he and his Cacturne took his leave.
"So, what did you think of him?" Sora asked.
"He's seems eccentric, but he seems nice," Kairi said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"But he does bake a mean cookie," Sora said.
Harley watches May training her Bulbasaur and he assumed she was entering the Purika Contest the same as him. He approached May.
"Excuse me," Harley said. May turned to him. "That final move you did with your Bulbasaur was very impressive. Is it safe to assume you're entering the Purika Town Pokémon Contest?"
"Thanks. I am planning to enter," May said.
"Then I guess that makes me pretty smart. Me too," Harley said.
"Hey, that's great! I'm May!" May introduced herself.
"It's nice to meet you, May. I'm Harley. And this is my partner, Cacturne," Harley introduced.
"Oh, a Cacturne?" May asked, taking out her Rotom Phone to scan it. This slightly offends Harley.
"What? She doesn't know about Cacturne?" Harley asked in his thoughts.
Cacturne, the Scarecrow Pokémon
The evolved form of Cacnea
Type: Grass/Dark
Cacturne rarely moves during the day, but it's active during the night. If a traveler is going through a desert in the thick of night, Cacturne will follow in a ragtag group. The Pokémon are biding their time, waiting for the traveler to tire and become incapable of moving.
"A Grass-type and a Dark-type, huh? Even just standing there, Cacturne is so impressive, it's kinda scary," May said. This offends Harley even more.
"Scary?!" Harley exclaimed in his thoughts. He spoke out loud, "Yeah, I guess. By the way, would you care for a cookie, May? I just made them myself today." He offered her a cookie.
"I'd love one. Thanks!" May said. She took a bite of the cookie. "Hey, you know what? These cookies aren't half bad!" This was the final straw for Harley.
"Not half bad?!" Harley exclaimed in his thoughts.
"Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur said. May looked at her.
"You want one, too, Bulbasaur?" May asked.
"Saur," Bulbasaur replied.
"We'll take one more cookie. Thanks, Harley," May said. She saw that Harley and his Cacturne were gone. "Harley?" She looked around for him. "Well, that's weird. I wonder why he took off."
Harley hid in a corner and he snapped a picture of her.
"What's with that girl? The nerve of her," Harley spitefully said to himself. She took the photo which turns out to be a sticker. She placed it in his scrapbook and he drew a frowny face above it. "First she doesn't know a thing about Cacturne, then she called my Cacturne scary, and then she said my cookies aren't that bad! At least Sora and Kairi were considerate to give my cookies and my Cacturne a proper compliment! She'll pay dearly for this insult! I'll make sure of it!"
Unknown to him, Ventus was listening in on him and he knew he was up to no good.
"Something tells me that he's going to be trouble," Ventus said in his thoughts.
The ship arrives to Izabe Island right on cue. Everyone checked in the Pokémon Center to rest. Sora approached the counter.
"Nurse Joy, my Wailord caught himself a bad cold, and I'm hoping maybe you could do something about that," Sora said.
"Of course. I'll do a routine check on your Wailord. Until then, please wait," Nurse Joy said.
"Thanks," Sora said. Sora left the counter to rejoin his friends.
"How's Wailord, Sora?" Karen asked.
"Nurse Joy's looking over him right now, and she'll let me know as soon as she's done," Sora said.
"You think she's going to have something to help Wailord?" Brendan asked.
"Probably something to lower his temperature," Sora said.
"While we're waiting, we could get some more training done," Michael suggested.
"Yeah, we could do that," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Pika," Xipak said.
With that said, Michael helped Sora and Brendan with their training while Kairi and May went with their own practice. It wasn't long until Sora got a notification from Nurse Joy. Sora approached Nurse Joy as her Blissey presented Wailord's Pokéball.
"Is everything okay?" Sora asked.
"I managed to get your Wailord's temperature down, so it's best that your Wailord has itself a rest for the night to accelerate its health," Nurse Joy said.
"I'll do that, and thanks," Sora said.
"You're welcome. And I strongly recommend that you refrain from battling or some other activities for the next couple of days just to be on the safe side," Nurse Joy said.
"Alright," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
He and Pikachu rejoined the group once again.
"So, how's Wailord?" Lisia asked.
"He's okay, for the most part. Just gotta keep him from battling or anything else for a couple of days," Sora said.
"Well, at least we know Wailord's okay now," Lisia said.
"He will be as long he's resting," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
Unknown to the group, Harley was watching and listening closely.
"Hm, it's the happy couple from the boat. Not only that, but it's that May girl, too. This is just too perfect. I just need some juicy dirt on her," Harley said to himself. He eyed Max and he then gets an idea. "Hm. Maybe that little nerd will cough up whatever secrets he has on her." Harley chuckled to himself. "I'm going to put my plan into effect tomorrow."
Everyone went off to bed to sleep after a good meal, and they wanted to have an early start in the morning.
On the next morning, Sora woke up, feeling chipper as usual. He yawned as he stretched his arms.
"Man, that was a great sleep. But the day's going to be better with you in the Contest, huh, Kairi?" Sora asked. Kairi groaned, grabbing Sora's attention. "Kairi? You alright?" Kairi sat up, feeling rather pale.
"I don't feel so good," Kairi said in a sickly voice. She then sneezed. Sora placed his hand on her forehead. "Kairi, you're burning up. You caught Wailord's cold, didn't you?" Sora asked with concern. Kairi then started to cough. "You're gonna have to stay in bed, because you're sick."
"But Sora-" Kairi tried to argue.
"No buts, Kairi. You're not getting out that bed until you're better. Besides, we don't want to make anybody else sick," Sora said. Kairi caved in, knowing her boyfriend was right.
"I guess you're right," Kairi said. She sneezed again. A booger hangs from her right nostril. Sora grabbed a piece of tissue paper and he held it to her nose.
"Blow," Sora said. Kairi blows on the tissue paper. Karen, Ventus, Max, Blossom, and Sparky stepped in.
"Kairi, why are you still in bed? You got a Pokemon Contest to be in, so you're not going to win any contest when you're in bed all da-" Karen paused when she saw Kairi looking very sickly. "Kairi, you don't look so good."
"She does look sick," Ventus said.
"That's because she is sick. She must have caught Wailord's cold," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"That means she's going to miss the Contest," Ventus said.
"May would be disappointed," Max said.
"Maybe, but we'll be watching it from in here. In the meantime, you cheer her on for us," Sora said.
"We'll do that, Sora," Karen said.
"Pikachu," Blossom said.
"Now, get going, all of you," Sora said, shooing his sister, cousin, and friend away.
As Karen, Ventus, Max, Blossom, and Sparky stepped out, the boys and Sparky went off as Karen and Blossom were unaware of the absence of the boys until she turned around.
"Ven? Max? Where did you go?" Karen asked.
"Pika?" Blossom asked.
Later, Karen had arrived right at the Contest Hall with Terra, Aqua, May, Michael, Lisia, Zinnia, Thor, Eclair, and Aster waiting. When Karen told May what happened, she started to get frantic.
"How could you lose them, Karen?" May asked.
"I'm sorry, May. I only took my eyes off them for like a few minutes and then they were gone," Karen said.
"Hey!" Ven called out. The group saw Ventus, Max, Harley, and Sparky run up to the group.
"Sorry we're late!" Max said.
"And where have you two been?" May asked.
"We told you to stay close and you go and wonder off! Your mom is going to kill us if something bad happened to you, Ven!" Karen scolded.
"Wait, wait, wait, you shouldn't be mad at Max, because this was all my fault," Harley assured her. Karen and May looked right at him. "It's like this. I tend to get really nervous before a contest so I was having a cup of tea to calm down a little bit when all of a sudden I bumped into your little Maximus and Ventus! And when I learned Max was your brother, May, I insisted that he and his little friend come along with me."
"And then he bought me this huge ice cream sundae with sprinkles and everything!" Max said.
"It was pretty tasty," Ventus said. Ventus was wary of Harley, but he didn't want the male Pokémon Coordinator to know that.
"That was nice of you Thanks, Harley," May said.
"No problem. Your brother was quite the gentleman. Also, I think I saw Sora and Kairi here, so where is Kairi?" Harley asked.
"Kairi is sick with a cold, so she won't be in it today," Karen said.
"Oh, it's no fun being sick. And where is Sora?" Harley asked.
"He's looking after her right now, so she's giving me some support," May said.
"Ah, the world would be a much better place if all boys were just like Sora. Now, if you excuse me, I need to freshen up. Good luck in the contest, May." He took his leave.
"Is anyone picking up a weird vibe from that guy?" Michael asked.
"I thought I was the only one," Zinnia said.
"Whismur," Aster said.
Harley walked down the hall as he snickered, "Phase one will get May to lose the contest, and if that doesn't work, then I'll move onto phase two." He grinned wickledly as he took out a small tape recorder. As he walked down the hall, he tripped over and fell. He dropped his tape recorder. What he didn't know that a different tape was inside and it reads "Big Earl's Bad Singing". He places the tape recorder back to him before he could notice. "Ow! What was that? How much wax did that stupid janitor on?"
Over to Ventus, he grinned as he got the tape that reads "May's Embarrassing Tentacool Experience". It turns out that Ventus had switched the tapes while Harley wasn't looking. Ventus spotted it and he quickly made the switch before he could notice. His father taught him some magic tricks, which turned out to be very useful.
"Cheaters never prosper," Ventus said, snickering to himself. He placed it back in his pocket.
"Ven, come on!" Karen said, taking her cousin by the hand. "I'm not losing you twice in one day!" Karen said.
The Purika Town Pokémon Contest has officially started as Vivian took her spot as Mr. Contesta, Mr. Suziko, and Athena taking their places as judges. Karen, Ventus, Terra, Aqua, Brendan, Michael, Max, Lisia, Zinnia, Xipak, Celeste, Blossom, Sparky, Thor, Eclair, and Aster sat in their seats. Sora and Kairi could see her on TV in their room. Sora was giving her medicine. The crowd starts cheering as the contest has officially begun. Max sits with Sora and Kairi for the duration of the contest.
"Ladies and gentlemen! The Purika town Pokémon Contest is about to start!" Vivian announced. The crowd starts cheering again. "All of the performances will be expertly evaluated by our three judges! Without any further ado, let's begin round one!" The first sixteen Coordinators had done their perfomances.
"May's up next," Karen said.
"She sure is," Max agreed.
"Let's see how well she does," Aqua said.
"Pikachu," Eclair said.
"Eevee," Celeste said.
"After that practice she did yesterday, how can she miss?" Michael asked.
"Coming up next, we have entry number 17!" Vivian announced. "Okay, May, you're up!" May enrters the stage with Pokéball in hand.
And we're ready to go!" May said, holding her Pokéball firmly. She threw it. "Bulbasaur! Come out and take the stage!" Her Bulbasaur makes her entry. "Razor Leaf into Vine Whip!" Bulbasaur fires Razor Leaf and smacks the leaves one at a time.
"Amazing! Bulbasaur is knoxking down its own Razor Leaves one after another! Wow!" Vivian announced.
"What a splendid performance!" Athena cheered.
"Truly remarkable!" Mr. Suziko said.
"Yes, it was most impressive. Finesse, speed, and accuracy," Mr. Contesta said.
"That's showing them, May!" Max cheered for his sister.
"May did a great job with her Bulbasaur. I can tell they both gotten stronger since our Contest battle," Aqua said.
"She sure has. She must have done some extra training," Terra said.
"Pika," Thor said.
"Pika," Xipak said.
"Eevee," Celste said.
"Pika, Pika," Blossom said.
"The premaries are now drawing to a close. But here's the final performance of this round! Entry number 30! Okay, Harley, you're up!" Vivian announced as Harley made his entry.
"It's my turn? Okay then," Harley said,taking out a Pokéball. "Come on out my calm, cool, and collective Cacturne!" Harley called out as he threw it. His Cacturne makes an entrance. The audience seemed rather intimidated by its appearence. May was even watching in the back.
"It hasn't even done anything yet and the audience seems to be totally mesmerized by it, unreal," May said.
"It's good to see the audience understands that I don't allow talking during our performances," Harley sad. "Cacturne! Bullet Seed!" His Cacturne fires a barrage of Bullet Seed on the stage.
"Cacturne has launched its Bullet Seed attack with amazing velocity!" Vivian announced.
"That was incredible speed," Athena said, impressed.
"And his technique, simply pristine," Contesta said.
"Wow! Remarkable!" Mr. Suziko added.
"Well, you ain't seen nothing yet, till now," Harley said. He snaps his fingers. Cacturne makes the finishing touches with Bullet Seed. The whole audience was amazed to see Harley had his Cacturne fire Bullet Seed, making it into a skull and crossbones.
"It's a skull! A giant skull and cross bones etched into the performance field!" Vivian announced.
"Now, that was truly a rare performance," Athena said.
"And a remarkable one too," Mr. Suziko said.
"It may not looked that diifcult, but I'm sure that technique took many hours of strenuous training," Mr. Contesta said.
"What a wonderful way to end our first round of competition with Harley and his Cacturne!" Vivian announced. The crowd starts cheering. May was watching in the back, and was astounded by what she saw.
"Every entrant was really good. I wonder if I'll even make it to the second round," May said. The judges had made up their minds on who is going to be moving on in the next round.
"And now to announce the winning results! These are the ones who successfully passed the primaries and will move on to the second round!" Vivian announced as the computer has chosen the four finalists. May, Harley, and two more male Coordinators had made it through to the second round.
"May made it!" Ventus said.
"Pika," Sparky said.
"Awesome!" Max said.
"I was hoping she would," Lisia said.
"But you know she's not gonna find it easy, right?" Karen asked.
"I think youre right, Karen. That Cacturne truly looks intimidating. It comes naturally with a Dark-type Pokémon," Terra said.
Back stage, Harley was surprised to see May had made it to the finals.
"What do you know, May's not a bad Coordinator after all. Looks like phase two will take place after all," Harley said.
A few minutes later, the battles have been decided. Harley is up against a little boy as May is up against an older boy.
"Now let's move on to the second round and begin the Contest battles! he purpose of these next battles is to reduce your opponent's points as much as possible within a five minute time period while performing your attacks with style, grace, and beauty," Vivian announced.
"Oh, that's how it's done," Michael said.
"Start the clock!" Vivian asaid. The clock starts running.
"Go! Azurill!" The boy called out as his Azurill made its entrance.
"Come on out, Cacturne, and show 'em who rules!" Harley called out. His Cacturne comes out to batte against the Polka Dot Pokémon.
"Okay, Azurill has the advantage since it's a Fairy-type Pokémon," Ventus said.
"That's true, Ven, but Harley's Cacturne looks more experienced, so his opponent won't find it easy," Terra said.
"Start with Bubble and then Slam, Azurill!" The boy ordered. Azurill fires Bubble first and then starts bouncing on the bubbles, one after another.
"That's so cute!" May cooed.
"That's what you call an adorable and explosive attack!" Vivian announced.
"If you insist on throwing the word 'adorable' around, then you better be talking about yours truly," Harley said. "Cacturne! Pop those bubbles with your Poison Sting!" Cacturne fires Poison Sting and all the bubbles pops one after another. Harley's opponent's points suffers for it.
"And Azurill's attack fails!" Vivian announced.
"For our next attack, Cacturne will use Bullet Seed!" Harley announced. Cacturne fires Bullet Seed and does loads of heavy damage. Azurill had been taken down.
"No, Azurill!" The boy gasped. The buzzers buzzes, indicating that the battle is over.
"There's the buzzer! Azurill has been defeated! Out of the contest! Winners proceed to the final stage!" Vivian announced. The crowd starts cheering. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, direct your attention to the second battle on the first stage." Harley walks out of the stage and stops to speak with May.
"You're up, May," Harley said.
"Congratulations on making it to the final round, Harley," May said.
"Thank you, May. You go get 'em out there," Harley said. Before May could go even further Harley spoke to her again. "May, I'd like to give you a little advice about Surkit's speed," Harley said.
"Oh? You mean how fast they are? Is there some secret about about slowing them down?" May asked.
"What?! She knows about Surkit's speed?!" Harley exclaimed in his thoughts. He spoke out loud. "Nevermind. I can see you don't need it after all."
"Um, okay," May said. She heads off to the stage for her battle.
"Shit! It's not going to be as easy as I thought. Let's just hope for the best, I guess," Harley said. The battle between May and a Coordinator named Kent rages on as May has lost less points than Surskit did.
"Let's get right back into this thing! Water Pulse and then Quick Attack!" Kent ordered. Surskit forms a ball of water and slams it to the ground. Surskit moves in towards the seed Pokémon.
"Vine Whip! Aim for Surskit's feet!" May ordered. Bulbasaur strikes back at Surskit with Vine Whip and knocks Surskit off its feet. "Finish up with Petal Dance!" Bulbasaur fires Petal Dance and struck Surskit.
"How lovely," Athena said.
"Poetry in motion," Mr. Contesta said.
"Truly remarkable," Mr. Suziko added.
Surskit had been taken down, much to Kent's dismay. The buzzer goes off.
"And that's that! The winner is May and her Bulbasaur!" Vivian announced.
"The plan to humiliate her is coming up," Harley said.
The battle between May and Harley was about to begin. Harley was steamed about her winning it, but he kept his cool.
"So, what did you know about Surskit that I didn't?" May asked.
"I was gonna tell you that Surskit are pretty slow Pokémon, but the problem is you didn't fall for it like I was hoping you would!" May was appalled by the fact Harley was gonna sabotage her.
"Why would want to lie to me, like that?" May asked.
"Because I don't like you. I disliked you from the minute we met, so why not try to hurt your chances? You're not even serious about Pokémon Contests, you're just here to show off and play around. Hello!" Harley said. May glared at him angrily.
"We'll see who's playing around after this match!" May hissed.
"I'm looking forward in beating you, too!" Harley said.
Ventus looked at May and Harley. He could tell that sparks are flying between them.
"Knew he was going to show his true colors sooner or later," Ventus said in his thoughts.
"Let the battle begin!" Vivian announced.
"Bulbasaur! Come on out!" May called out as she threw her Pokéball and her Bulbasaur comes out to battle.
Here we go, Cacturne! Let's show 'em how it's done!" Harley called out. He threw his Pokéball and his Cacturne is sent out to battle. Poison Sting!" Cacturne fires Poison Sting to strike at Bulbasaur.
"Bulbasaur! Use Vine Whip!" May ordered. Bulbasaur blocks Poison Sting with Vine Whip.
"What?!" Harley growled.
"Now, follow that with Razor Leaf!" May ordered. Bulbasaur fires Razor Leaf right at the Scarecrow Pokémon.
"Block that with Bullet Seed, Cacturne!" Harley ordered. Cacturne fires Bullet Seed and it blocks Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf. Both May and Harley were losing points from left to right.
"And it looks like Bulbasaur and Cactrne are off to a fierce start!" Vivian announced. "With steely offense and defense neither's giving an inch!"
"Go from Vine Whip to Tackle, Bulbasaur!" May ordered. Bulbasaur starts up by striking at Cacturne and then charges towards Cacturne a full force of her body, using Vine Whip as a boost.
"Cacturne! Get up!" Harley called out.
"Cacturne hits the dirt! Thanks to an ingenious combination of Vine Whip and Tackle!" Vivian announced.
"Who's playing around now?" May taunted.
"What? How dare you speak to me that way!" Harley hissed. He reached his pocket and reaches for his tape recorder. "Let's see how you like this." He presses the button and the audio sounds like it was in a someone grabbing a microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, I'll sing to you one of my personal favorites, and I hope it's one of yours, too," a familiar voice spoke. Familiar to Karen, Ventus, Terra, and Aqua.
"Who's that?" May asked.
Over to Sora and Kairi's room, the couple and their partners were shocked to hear who it was.
"Isn't that-?" Kairi paused.
"Big Earl?!" Sora exclaimed. "I didn't know he could sing!"
Back to the Contest...
"Wait a minute that's not it!" Harley exclaimed. Music starts playing and Big Earl's voice began started singing it. Badly.
(Big Earl)
Daisy, Daisy
Give me your answer do
I'm half crazy
All for the love of you
It won't be a stylish marriage
I can't afford a carriage
But you'll look sweet
Upon the seat
Of a bicycle built for two
Daisy, Daisy
Give me your answer do
I'm half crazy
All for the love of you
We'll leave when the ball is over
Get married in the clover
And you'll look sweet
Upon the seat
Of a bicycle made for two
It plays in an endless loop
"Huh? Who is that?" Brendan asked.
"That sounds like Big Earl!" Terra exclaimed.
"Who's Big Earl?" Zinnia asked.
"He's my dad's cook in his restaurant. I figured that Harley guy was up to no good, because I saw a tape recorder in his hand, so I made a switch of tapes while he wasn't looking," Ventus said.
"I forgot your dad taught you some magic tricks. The hand is faster than the eye," Karen said.
"Why is he singing this song?" Lisia asked.
"Well, Big Earl regularly sings some karaoke, and he picks this song every time," Terra said.
"And none of us wants to hurt his feelings by telling him that he's terrible at it, and the only applause he gets is when he's off stage," Aqua said.
"You don't need to convince me that he sounds terrible. He needs to take some singing lessons," Michael said.
"Or be put out of his misery," Brendan said.
"But you gotta admit it's pretty funny," Max said, laughing.
"You were right, Harley, I do like this! I didn't know you had a sense of humor," May said, laughing. The whole audience laughed, making him so steamed.
"I don't! I'll just take you down right here and now!" Halrey stated. "Cacturne! Feint Attack!" Cacturne vanishes for a moment before striking back at Bulbasaur, costing May some points.
"Harley and his Cacturne are coming back at May with a that took a huge chunk of May's points!" Vivian announced.
"Bulbasaur! Razor Leaf!" May ordered. Bulbasaur fires Razor Leaf.
"Cacturne! Dodge and use Poison Sting!" Cacturne fires Poison Stiong and struck Bulbasaur on the mark. May lost some more points in the process.
"Hang in there, Bulbasaur! Vine Whip!" May ordered. Bulbasaur sends out Vine Whip to strike at Cacturne. "Petal Dance and then Razor Leaf!" Bulbasaur fires both of Petal Dance and Razor Leaf and both had struck Cacturne, making Harley lose some points.
"Cacturne! Feint Attack!" Harley ordered. Cacturne comes at Bulbasaur to land a hit.
"Cacturne is coming back at Bulbasaur with another Feint Attack! How will May respond?" Vivian asked.
"Bulbasaur! Vine Whip!" May ordered. Bulbasaur blocks it with Vine Whip, grabbing him by his foot, much to Harley's shock and dismay. "Make that Cacturne fly!" Bulbasaur throws Cacturne straight into the air. "Razor Leaf and Petal Dance again!" May ordered. Bulbasaur fires Razor Leaf and Petal Dance and it ame out even more graceful than the last time.
"Look at this! A Razor and Petal Dance combination and it's even more lovelier than the last time. It's springtime in Purika Stadium and everything is in full bloom!" Vivian announced.
"That's the way, May!" Max cheered.
"Take him down!" Aqua said.
"It's the prettiest thing I have ever seen!" Athena said.
"Me too! Remarkable!" Mr. Suziko added.
"Such a creative use of attacks! I am most impressed!" Mr. Contesta said. With that done, Cacture came falling down and knocked out.
"Cacturne!" Harley gasped. The buzzer goes off, telling them that the battle and the contest was now over.
"So, Cacturne's out! While May and Bulbasaur top off their rally with a victory!" Vivian announced, making the crowd cheer.
"We won," May said. "Bulbasaur, we did it! We did it!" Bulbasaur runs to her trainer and nuzzles her. "You're the best, Bulbasaur."
"Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur said.
Back to Sora, Kairi, Pikachu, and Angel, they were proud of May for winning.
"Way to go, May!" Sora said.
"I knew you'd do it," Kairi said in her thoughts before she sneezed.
"We now take great pride in awarding May and her Bulbasaur this Purika Ribbonas proof of their outstanding victoryin this year's Purika Pokémon Contest!" Vivian announced. May accepts her fifth and final ribbon and smiles happily.
Harley was fuming over his failed plan and loss.
"I can't believe I lost the tape of her childhood trauma and humiliating her publicly. Also, her win was just luck. We'll meet again, that's when her luck will run out," Harley said.
On the very next morning, Kairi was feeling much better after Sora had done a great job in taking care of her.
"How do you feel, Kairi?" Sora asked.
"I feel much better. Thank you for taking care of me, Sora," Kairi said.
"You'd do the same thing for me, wouldn't you?" Sora asked.
"I guarantee it. And here's a little something for your efforts," Kairi said, giving her boyfriend a loving kiss. He kisses her back. They parted lips as the rest of the group stepped in.
"Hey, Kairi. You look so much better. You look strong enough to suplex an Ursaring," Michael said.
"Thanks to Sora," Kairi said.
"Anyway, congratulations, May. I'm so glad you won your fifth Ribbon," Kairi said.
"Thanks for the moral support, Sora and Kairi. Now it'll be your turn," Kairi said.
"Thank you, May. Now we'll have to head for Sootopolis City," Kairi said.
"Say, Sora, I've been thinking. I think we should get there separately. May and I thought we could look for some more Pokémon to catch before then, and she wanted to get some shopping done," Brendan said.
"I don't see a problem with that idea, Brendan. We can meet up in Sootopolis City," Sora said.
"We hope we get to see you soon," Max said.
"Likewise. Anyway, what was that all about yesterday? Since when did Big Earl sing?" Sora asked, looking at his cousin.
"Well, for a while. He sang that Daisy song so badly, people thought it was a Gengar sucking on a lemon," Ventus said.
"How did Harley get that tape?" Karen asked.
"I switched the one Harley had before we met up with you. I saw that he was secretly recording Max telling him about her experience with Tentacool," Ventus replied, taking it out. May gasped and she blushed, glaring at Max. He chuckled nervously. "Don't get mad at him, May. I figured he was bribing us with ice cream to tell him something embarrassing. While Harley wasn't looking, I took the tape out and switched the tapes inside, and none the wiser."
"But how did you do it without him knowing it?" Ventus asked.
"Now, that would be telling," Ventus said.
"Your dad would proud of how you pulled it off, Ven," Sora said, ruffling his head. He turned to May. "And you gave that Harley exactly what he deserved for trying to pull that fast one on you."
"I think so, too, Sora. That Harley tried to psyche me out with that Surskit lie, that's one thing. At least I know where that came from. Thanks, Ven," May said.
"You're welcome," Ventus said.
"Well, now that's taken care of, let's go. We'll keep in touch," Michael said.
"Sure thing," May said.
"But I am curious about what Max said exactly," Sora said, taking the tape from Ventus, but May took it and stomped it on the ground as hard as she could.
"Some things are best left unsaid," May said.
"Well, if you say so," Sora said.
With that said, Sora, Kairi, Karen, Terra, Aqua, Michael, Lisia, Zinnia, Pikachu, Angel, Xipak, Celeste, Blossom, Sparky, Thor, and Eclair took off as Brendan, May, and Max went their own way.
As for Harley, he ends up catching Kairi's cold, sneezing and coughing.
"That May will pay for robbing me of my victory! I guaran-aah-aah-aah-coo!" He blew his nose.
And this where we'll leave him and wish him the best health... Or not.