Now we're at Route 113, Max says, "There really are a lot of soot around here..."

"Those soots are from Mt. Chimney." Alice says. "They are good for instrument making."

"If only we have the Soot Bags, we can make those instruments." I say.

Brendan is also there and it seems that we already catch up to him. "Phew... It took a long time to make it this far. Even I felt like I needed a little break. Looks like your team could use one, too, guys. Lemme patch them up for you."

He is nice enough to heal our Pokemon again. "That's them sorted. I'm on my way to meet this Professor Cozmo fellow, right? He's super famous for his research on Meteorites. He even worked with my dad—I mean, with Professor Birch—on figuring out if Meteorites could have any effect on Pokémon. OK! Time to get moving again! I think Fallarbor's pretty close now. Let's both give it one last push!"

"You're right." Then he decides to move ahead of us while we decide to visit the Glass Workshop.

The owner greets us and says, "This area is covered in volcanic ash. Plink! Plink! I'm specially gifted. Plink! Plink! I make glass out of volcanic ash and then use the glass to make items. Plink! Plink! Go collect ash with this. Plink! Plink!"

He gives us each a Soot Sack, and I wonder why he has to play with the flute when talking at the same time. "Just take that Soot Sack and walk through piles of volcanic ash. Plink! Plink! It will fill up with volcanic ash. Plink! Plink! Once you think you've collected a good amount, come and find me. Plink! Plink!"

Then we head outside and Alice says, "Well, even though we can just ask him to do the work for us, but I can make those instruments too."

Max says, "Really? How about you show us?"

We start to gather the volcanic ash, and after getting some grams, Alice starts to work on them in the tent. Once she's done, there are five flutes in front of us.

"This is the Blue Flute, it wakes the sleeping Pokemon; Red Flute snaps Pokémon out of infatuation; Yellow Flute snaps Pokémon out of confusion; White Flute akes it easier to encounter weak Pokémon, and Black Flute is the opposite of White Flute." Alice says.

"Amazing, that will be really useful." Minami says.

We stop by at Crossgate Town, and we find East there. "East! What are you doing here?" We greet him.

"I'm here to participate in the PokeRinger competition of course." East says. "It is a game that involves two or four Trainers using their Pokémon to capture a ring that is hanging in the air with the first Pokémon to successfully bring the ring to the goalpost winning. And it is scheduled soon."

"That sounds like an awesome game." Minami says.

"I'm going to enter with my Taillow." I say.

"And I'm entering as well." May says.

Then we decided to participate in the competition. East says, "You know, this is also my first time competing in this. But if I want to be the best Flying Type user, I have to win this."

After the contestants are randomized, East is placed in the first round. I'm in the second round along with the defending champion, Volt, and his Volbeat. That only makes me fire up, although he tries to taunt me, but I'm not fazed. Then James makes a somewhat unusual entrance, getting placed in the third block along with May.

"Let's have a good battle." James says, but May ignores him, much to his annoyance.

The first round seemed to be an easy match for East, and he's using his new Swablu to battle. As for me, my Taillow struggled hard due to the Volbeat's Thunder Attack, but Taillow still managed to secure the win. In the third round, James uses Jessie's Dustox to win the match easily since he has experience with it.

"Wait, what just happened..." May mutters.

"He seems to be a good Pokeringer Challenger..." East says. "But I still think he's up to something..."

"I know. Especially I haven't seen Jessie or Meowth anywhere..." I say.

Then it is time for the semifinals to begin. After Taillow defeats a Trainers' Skarmory, East and James face off. Swablu has the early advantage, but James's experience pays off tactics-wise. When the sudden sunlight blinds Swablu as the clouds move, James takes the ring and proceeds to the finals.

"East, I am sorry that you lost." Mark says with a frown.

"I hate to admit it, but he's a good PokeRinger Challenger." East says.

The final round is me against James. James has the advantage and uses Psybeam on Taillow. However, Taillow retaliates with Wing Attack. James isn't out of the round yet, but a sand tornado starts and engulfs the ring completely. It appears as though after the tornado is over, it will be a matter of speed - who can take the ring first?

"Taillow, trust me and fly into it!" I yell, but Taillow is knocked back, in his second attempt, it evolves into a Swellow.

Swellow: The Swallow Pokemon: Normal and Flying Type. Evolved from Taillow at LV:22. Swellow flies high above our heads, making graceful arcs in the sky. This Pokémon dives at a steep angle as soon as it spots its prey. The hapless prey is tightly grasped by Swellow's clawed feet, preventing escape.

Swellow successfully fends off the tornado and seizes the ring. James makes one last desperate play and tries to take the ring to the goal, but I order Swellow to use Wing Attack and knock the ring into the goal, thereby winning the PokéRinger tournament.

Just then, Team Rocket appears with all the stolen Pokemon inside the net, but thanks to Swellow's Wing Attack, they are freed. And East's Swablu use Hurricane to send them blasting off again. I am then granted honorary lifetime citizenship of Crossgate Town as a reward for winning the PokéRinger tournament, once we get the Trophy, East says, "That reminds me, Lisia is at Fallarbor Town, maybe you should stop by and find her."

"We will." I say as we bid farewell to East.

As we continue moving, we see the migration of Masquerain, I decide to send my own Surskit out. When Team Rocket is trying to capture the Masquerain, my Surskit evolves into a Masquerain and saves them, also using Air Slash to send them flying.

Masquerain: The Eyeball Pokemon: Bug and Flying Type. Evolved from Surskit at LV:22. Masquerain intimidates enemies with the eyelike patterns on its antennas. This Pokémon flaps its four wings to freely fly in any direction - even sideways and backward - as if it were a helicopter.

As we're about to reach Fallabar Town, we find a Spinda with a heart-shaped mark. "I know Spinda has a lot of different forms, but really? A heart shaped?"

Mark says, "It's obvious, it shows up just for you and Alice."

Mark's words are causing the two of us to blush. Minami says, "Mark's right. You should capture it because it is special."

We groan a little before Alice captures the Pokemon. She mutters, "I wonder how Lillie and Serena are going to react to this..."

Spinda: The Spot Panda Pokemon: Normal Type. No two Spinda are said to have identical spot patterns on their hides. This Pokémon moves in a curious manner as if it is stumbling in dizziness. Its lurching movements can cause the opponent to become confused.

We finally arrive at Fallarbor Town, and we're here for May's first ribbon. I decided to take a rest this time since May needs the ribbon more than me. We notice a Medicham who is practicing its Meditate. Suddenly various objects around the room begin to float, including Max's glasses and even Pikachu. Medicham's Trainer, Grace, tells it to stop and apologizes for its burst of psychic energy.

Everything falls back to the ground and she says, "I'm sorry, it seems that my Medicham needs more training."

"Don't worry." I say.

Then she invites us for some dinner, and it is revealed that Grace already has three Ribbons. May is getting nervous, but Grace decides to cheer her. "It's not always the Coordinator with the most experience who wins in the Pokemon Contest, you know. Who your opponent is has a lot to do with it. And sometimes it's just luck. However, the most important thing is you'll never win if you don't learn how to use your Pokemon's power completely."

Unfortunately, May still feels nervous, so Grace offers to show May some of Medicham's moves. Outside, Grace sends out her Medicham, which shows off its Ice Punch and combines it with Psychic for a sparkling display. May hadn't even considered combining moves before, so she wanted to try it out the next day.

When we are waiting for May, we notice Drew there. "Drew!"

"Well if it isn't Ash." Drew says as he walks to us. "I'm just here to pick up a couple more ribbons so that I can get into the Grand Festival. Are you entering the contest, too?"

"No, we're here to cheer for May and watch her compete this time." I say.

"I get it, you're afraid that May took your ribbon?" Drew asks. "Why don't we have a real battle instead?"

"Sure, I won't back down from a challenge." I say.

"Just because I'm a Pokemon Coordinator doesn't mean battling skills aren't top-notch." Drew says.

We decide to battle and I use Kirlia against his Roselia. Kirlia uses Psybeam on Roselia, who counters with Magical Leaf, which Kirlia dodges with Teleport. Roselia tries again with Petal Dance, and Kirlia dodges it.

"Use Hypnosis!" Roselia falls asleep because of the move, and Drew is surprised, I yell, "Finish with Draining Kiss!"

After beating Drew, May gets more nervous, and Drew says, "In any Pokemon Contest, you have to be on the same wavelength with your Pokemon if you want to win. It is obvious that compared to you, May. Ash and his Pokemon are on a better wavelength. If a trainer is confused, so does the Pokemon, and that's the true essence of teamwork."

Those are some harsh words for May, but she really has to learn if she wants to win her first ribbon. The next day, the Fallarbor Town Pokémon Contest has finally begun, and May is more determined than ever to win, with us cheering her on in the audience.

Drew and his Roselia advance to the Contest Battles with a score of 29.6, Grace and her Medicham make it through with a score of 29.5, and May and Beautifly achieve a score of 25.9, barely beating another Coordinator to the second round by a tenth of a point. There is also a trainer named Jessica, her Dustox won her the best score of 29.7.

The second round starts with May battling Jessica. She uses a Dustox and it uses Tackle. May tells Beautifly to dodge it and use String Shot. Dustox then uses Whirlwind to send it back and hit Beautifly, making May lose points. Dustox then uses a Poison Sting, which May knocks back with Gust, making it lose points and damaging the rainbow device. Dustox then uses Tackle and May counters it with Silver Wind. Dustox loses even more points.

"Beautifly! Good job!" May cheers.

"How dare you! Dustox! Use your strongest Psybeam!" But Beautifly finishes with Tackle, Dustox loses all of her points, and we notice that there is a device on Dustox.

"That's where the seven colors came from..." Mark says.

"She cheated!" Minami says.

"You are disqualified and you have to leave immediately." Mr. Contesta says.

And of course, if anyone has to cheat their way through competitions, it is obviously Team Rocket. They try to steal everyone's Pokemon, I have Pikachu use Thunderbolt to blast them off once more.

As the second round continues, Grace and Drew battle. Grace sends out Medicham and Drew sends out Roselia. Drew starts off with Magical Leaf, which Grace uses Meditate to dodge. Then Medicham uses Ice Punch, which Roselia gracefully dodges. It then uses Petal Dance, which Medicham stops in midair with Confusion and sends back, causing Roselia to lose points. Drew then commands Roselia to use Solar Beam. Grace tells Medicham to use Ice Punch on the ground, which builds a shield around Roselia, causing it to hit itself. Grace wins the battle after knocking it out with a powerful High Jump Kick.

The final battle is with May's Beautifly against Grace's Medicham. May starts with Tackle, which Medicham dodges with Meditate. Beautifly then uses Gust, but just before it falls to the ground, Medicham uses Confusion to levitate, limiting the number of points lost. Beautifly then uses String Shot which Medicham sends back with another confusion, damaging and tangling up Beautifly. Medicham then uses Ice Punch, encasing Beautifly in ice. As Beautifly breaks free, Medicham uses a High Jump Kick. Beautifly dodges and uses Silver Wind, hitting Medicham and causing it to hurt its knee, losing major points. Beautifly uses a Tackle and String Shot combo, and Medicham uses Confusion to stop it. Still spinning, Beautifly uses Silver Wind and encases Medicham in string. Beautifly then uses Tackle, entwining Medicham with the String Shot. May uses Tackle as Medicham breaks out of the string and dodges. Beautifly then uses Silver Wind and traps Medicham's hands, immobilizing it. Then Beautifly uses a Tackle and Silver Wind combo to inflict major damage on Medicham. Medicham then tries to turn it around with a High Jump Kick, which May tells Beautifly to counter with a Tackle. The two approach each other head-on and collide just as time runs out. May is declared the winner of the Fallarbor Contest, as she was the one with the most points.

"Wow... we won, we beat Grace!" May can't believe she won her first contest battle, she jumps in joy.

After the ceremony, I walk to May and say, "You got your first ribbon May, we're really proud of you."

"That's so nice, thank you." May says.

"You did it, May." Drew also comes and he says, "Of course, if you've been competing against me in the first round, things might end up a bit more different."

He throws a rose to May, and she asks, "I suppose this rose is for Beautifly, right?"

"Yeah, something like that." Then he leaves, and we decide to take a rest at the Pokemon Center.

Here is the new chapter, and May gets her first ribbon and I hope you like it. Lisia will appear again in the next chapter and I hope you like it.

Ash + Alice's Pokemon:

Butterfree x2 (One Pink), Pikachu x2, Lapras, Meganium, Espeon, Steelix (Crystal), Mantine, Grovyle, Combusken, Marshtomp, Mightyena, Linoone, Beautifly, Dustox, Lombre, Shiftry, Swellow, Wingull, Ralts x2 (One Shiny), Masquerain, Shroomish, Vigoroth, Nincada, Whismur, Makuhita, Nosepass, Skitty, Sableye, Mawile, Aron, Electrike, Plusle, Minun, Gulpin, Wailmer, Numel, Torkoal, Spinda, Corphish, Jirachi

May's Pokemon:

Torchic, Beautifly, Skitty

Mark's Pokemon:

Blaziken, Marshtomp, Ludicolo, Wingull, Surskit, Shroomish, Hariyama, Wailmer, Numel, Torkoal, Corphish

Minami's Pokemon:

Linoone, Taillow, Kirlia, Vigoroth, Loudred, Delcatty, Mawile, Lunatone