As we continue on the road, we arrive at Lake May. We see a wild Volbeat hiding from a bush, who turns out to be in love with an Illumise, but he's too shy to ask. We try a lot of things to boost his confidence, until Team Rocket tries to grab Illumise using Meowth pretending to be a Volbeat. In the end, the two of them work together to send them blasting off again.

After Volbeat finishes the confessing dance to Illumise, Illumise is delighted as she wants to be his mate. Together, they decide to join our team.

Volbeat: The Firefly Pokemon: Bug Type. With the arrival of night, Volbeat emits light from its tail. It communicates with others by adjusting the intensity and flashing of its light. This Pokémon is attracted by the sweet aroma of Illumise.

Illumise: The Firefly Pokemon: Bug Type. Illumise attracts a swarm of Volbeat using a sweet fragrance. Once the Volbeat has gathered, this Pokémon leads the lit-up swarm in drawing geometric designs on the canvas of the night sky.

"Now that the two of them are together, then how about you and Alice, Ash?" Minami asks, we blush and we try to ignore the comment.

Then we manage to find a Roselia and Alice wants to capture it. She has help from Electrike and Electrike evolves into a Manectric and learns Fire Fang, defeating the Roselia and giving us the chance to capture it.

Manectric: The Discharge Pokemon: Electric Type. Evolved from Electrike at LV:26. Manectric discharges strong electricity from its mane. The mane is used for collecting electricity in the atmosphere. This Pokémon creates thunderclouds above its head.

Roselia: The Thorn Pokemon: Grass and Poison Type. Roselia shoots sharp thorns as projectiles at any opponent that tries to steal the flowers on its arms. The aroma of this Pokémon brings serenity to living things.

Another one that evolves when we're training is Gulpin, it evolves into a Swalot and it also has a similar personality to Muk...

Swalot: The Poison Bag Pokemon: Poison Type. Evolve from Gulpin at LV:26. When Swalot spots prey, it spurts out a hideously toxic fluid from its pores and sprays the target. Once the prey has weakened, this Pokémon gulps it down whole with its cavernous mouth.

We finally arrive at Verdanturf Town, but when we are inside the Pokemon Center, we find Drew again, but this time he seems to be worried about Roselia.

"Drew, I knew you're here." May says. "I take it you're going to enter the Contest tomorrow?"

"I was, but I'm not going to enter it." Drew says with a frown.

We notice Roselia and asks, "What happened to Roselia?"

"It got hurt badly. I don't think it will be well enough to battle tomorrow, I'll have to skip the contest this time. Here's a little advice for all of you. Watch out for a masked Coordinator who goes by the name Phantom."

"Phantom?" Alice asks confused.

Just then, the Phantom approaches us and he wants to challenge us to a battle. "You and the Skitty, planning to enter the contest? The Phantom is here and whenever he goes, that's to battle."

"Oh yeah? Well if it's a battle you want, I'll give you a battle." I say.

Then he wants to have a contest battle, so I go with Pikachu, and he goes for Dusclops. I have Pikachu use Thunderbolt, but Dusclops dodges it and goes for Shadow Punch, which manages to hit Pikachu a lot.

"Dance like a Butterfree, sting like a Beedrill." He smirks. I grit my teeth, but much to our surprise, we hear the sound of a car and the Phantom just disappears from our sight.

"Oh no you don't! I got you now! You're not getting away from me this time!" Then we see a large middle-aged woman chasing after the Phantom, but she trips when we catch up to her.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" I ask.

"I'm fine, but what have you done to my son Timmy!" She asks, and Mark says, "Who's Timmy? All we know is that the Phantom guy shows up and challenges us to a battle."

She decides to tell us the whole story, revealing that Timmy is her son. "I was just concerned for my son Timmy. He has been skipping school and hanging around with the mysterious Phantom. If only I can reveal the identity of Phantom, he won't be able to influence Timmy."

We decide to help her and she takes us to her mansion residence, and after meeting Timmy, his mother shows him the pen and demands to know his relation with the Phantom, until he notices the wound on his hand.

"Could it be the Phantom and Timmy are the same person?" She asks.

"Just because they have cuts in the same place doesn't prove anything, Ms. Grimm." Mark says.

"Plus, the Phantom is strong, is Timmy even that good? I mean, is your son a Pokemon trainer as well?" Minami asks, and we notice that she's going into her full detective mode.

"Of course not! Timmy is going to be a brilliant executive and take over my company!" Ms. Grimm says. "I never let him waste time on that nonsense."

After she leaves, I ask, "So, Minami, what's your decision?"

"I feel bad for Timmy... it's a good thing that our parents are not like that." Minami says.

Then we are greeted by Timmy's father Tommy. He says, "I heard my wife ask you to find the true identity of the Phantom. I can help you solve that mystery."

Just then, he shows us the Phantom costume, but we are suspicious because the costume is too old. Then he says to us, "I was once a great Pokemon Coordinator. When I met my wife, I was forced to give it up because she hated Pokémon. But my love for Pokemon is still there, so I created the Dusclops costume and entered Pokémon Contests as The Phantom whenever I was out of my wife's sight."

"Then why did you still give it up?" I ask.

"Because the secret is becoming too hard to keep. Until that day, Timmy found a stray Duskull, so I made him a new Phantom costume so he could train in secret and become a Coordinator."

"It must have been hard for Timmy all that time never being allowed to play with Pokemon like the other kids." Minami says.

"That's overprotective I say." Max says.

"And Timmy will never go out of a journey like you kids. So you can imagine that for Timmy, the Pokemon Contest in Verdanturf Town is once in a lifetime opportunity. I would love for him to enter. But I just don't know..."

"Maybe there's something we can do to help out..." Alice says.

"I think I have the perfect plan." Minami says.

Then we visit Timmy, and I volunteer to disguise myself as the Phantom, "You down there! How do you like to battle me?"

The other five are acting with the father and son, although Team Rocket is here to ruin everything. But I'm trying my best to hide my identity. I know Alice wants to use Pikachu to send them flying, but she's afraid to hit me. In the end, because of Team Rocket Ms. Grimm sees my face.

"Pikachu! Finish it off with Thunderbolt!" Alice commands, and Team Rocket is sent flying.

Then I decided to run away and let the other five deal with the situation. After Ms. Grimm gets into the house, I come back and ask, "How is it?"

"Somehow worked out perfectly." Minami says, and then we see the rivalry with May and Timmy.

The next day, we're waiting for Timmy to register for the contest, and once he comes, Mark asks, "What happened? I thought you'd be here first today."

"My mom." Timmy says as we understand. We help him register and then we decide to discuss everything.

"Really? You're late because of homework?" Minami asks.

"I think my Mom knew that I was trying to get to the Contest." Timmy says.

"So how did you manage to get away?" May asks.

"My Dad, he came to the rescue." Then he explains how his father helped him. We all think it is cool.

"Do your best today, and I'm sure you'll be able to do it." I say.

"Ash! May!" We flinch as we turn around, Lisia is there. I ask, "Lisia? What are you doing here?"

"I come to see May's Contest performance!" Lisia says. "How are you doing?"

"Great..." May says.

"Is that your Skitty? Are you trying to enter the Contest with it? It's so cute!" Lisia says.

"Yeah... but I'm nervous since this is Skitty's first appearance..." May says.

"No need to worry, I'm sure you can do it." Lisia says.

The Appeals Round begins with Jessie in disguise as Jesslana. Her Dustox uses Poison Sting, Whirlwind, and Psybeam together with impressive effect, earning a high score of 28.5 from the Contest Judges. Following a Charizard and a Blastoise, May takes the stage with Skitty.

"Skitty, use Blizzard for opening!" May tries to use it, but Skitty only coughs out some small snow, much to her surprise, then she tries to make up for it with Skitty using Double Slap to juggle. This works relatively well, earning her a score of 24.9.

Next is Timmy in his Phantom disguise with Dusclops. Dusclops uses Will-O-Wisp and Psychic together to dazzle the judges and earn himself a 27.8. When the results are announced, it is revealed that May, Timmy, Jessie, and a Coordinator by the name of Stefano have advanced to the Contest Battles.

The second round starts with May versus Stefano and his Wartortle, who loses in a matter of seconds. Jessie and Timmy then face off just as Timmy's parents arrive at the Contest Hall. Jessie's Dustox opens with a Whirlwind, which Dusclops counters with Shadow Punch. Dustox tries a Psybeam with much greater effect. Dustox uses Psybeam again, but this time Dusclops stops it with Psychic, causing an explosion that exposes Jessie's disguise.

"The time is up, and Timmy is the winner." Vivian announces, and then Team Rocket is now with their motto and they try to steal Dusclops, but I have Pikachu go to the stage and use Thunderbolt, which sends them flying. The wind also causes Timmy's Phantom mask to come off, and Timmy suddenly notices that his parents are there.

"Timmy... I'm so sorry..." Ms. Grimm then leaves, and then Mr. Grimm decides to reveal everything. She doesn't want him to be heartbroken like she was because his grandparents forbid her to play with Pokemon and even take her friends away. Tommy encourages his son to make the most of this chance he has in the Contest, and the final round begins.

Timmy's Dusclops starts off with a Focus Punch, striking May's Skitty. Skitty tries a Double Slap, but as a Normal-type attack, it doesn't affect the Ghost-type Dusclops. Dusclops uses another Focus Punch, but this time Skitty successfully counters with Double Slap, sending the Focus Punch back. Dusclops next uses Will-O-Wisp in combination with Psychic to further damage Skitty. Skitty tries a Tackle attack, but Dusclops counters with Hyper Beam. Skitty attempts a Blizzard, but the move fails again. Dusclops uses another Hyper Beam to damage Skitty again. To end the battle, Dusclops uses one more Hyper Beam, but May refuses to give up, this time having Skitty use Assist. The Assist creates a Gust which perfectly defends against the oncoming Hyper Beam. This defense evens out the score between the two contestants. Dusclops tries again to end the round, this time with Focus Punch, but Skitty counters with Assist again, creating a String Shot to stop the move.

Timmy now has enough confidence to battle without his Phantom mask. Giving it his all, Timmy has Dusclops use Will-O-Wisp. Skitty again counters with Assist, producing an Ember that stops the Dusclops' attack. With another Assist, Skitty attacks with Silver Wind, but Dusclops stops it with Psychic. Dusclops again uses Hyper Beam. May decides to have absolute faith in her Skitty and tells it to try Blizzard again. This time it works, and knocks Dusclops to the ground in defeat, making May the winner of the Pokémon Contest.

"I won!" May cheers, as she hugs her Skitty, Ash's group, is cheering for her, and Drew, who watched the Contest from the stands, is mildly impressed by May's victory over Phantom.

Once the contest is over, Mrs. Grimm decides to allow Timmy to continue entering Pokémon Contests as long as he does not fall behind on his homework, to which he agrees.

"So now I have two Ribbons, I am now the same as Ash." May says after the battle. "You're right. Now this is an amazing progress." Minami says.

Lisia also comes and says, "Eek! That's so cooooool! Gratz on getting the second ribbon, May! Looks like we've reached the next chapter in your story! I'm calling it... "Is This a Dream? Am I a Future Contest Star?" Ahhhh, it's so marvelous! I'm sure you're on the path to contest stardom! You'll be a star, May!"

"Thanks?" May says.

"Of course! There's something captivating about your performance on stage. I bet you'll have an army of fans in no time! Watch out!" Lisia says.

"Hmph! Good luck waiting for me to be your fan!" We turn around to see a golden-haired boy, and Lisia gasps, "Chaz!"

"Who is this supposed to be, Lisia? I'm meant to be your one and only rival! Now look here. Maybe you don't know this, but me and Lisia are the most famous rivals in the contest world! When we debuted together back in Lilycove, we stood at the top of the lighthouse and swore that we would both do our best to win! We talked the whole night, till dawn! Well, actually, we talked for about 40 minutes, but it was still amazing!"

I really don't like this guy's attitude, but he seems to be Lisia's contest rival. "Come on, Chaz! How many times do I have to tell you that there are no rivals in contests? It's not that kind of a competition! It's the combination of the Trainer and his or her Pokémon that-"

"What's wrong with being rivals? It makes it more fun for the people watching us. Don't try to deny it! When people think of you, they think of me. And the other way around!"

"When they think of me, they should think of Ali..." Lisia mutters.

"Well, that's just the way things are. You get it now, newbie? Sorry that you got your hopes up and all, but Lisia's real rival will always be ME. There's no room for you in our dramatic story of success and glory!" Then he leaves, and Max says, "What a jerk..."

"Oh, that Chaz! He never listens! Don't mind him, May. I'm not interested in rivals or stuff like that. I just want everyone to have fun together and enjoy Contest Spectaculars!" Lisia says.

"So who is he?" I ask. "Your boyfriend?"

"Of course not! About Chaz... He's a Trainer who made his debut in the contest world the same day I did. He's definitely a bit, um, unique... But he works really hard at what he does." Then she mutters, "You will be a better boyfriend than him..."

I decide to pretend that I didn't hear what she says, and good thing that Alice is changing the topic, "What about Ali?"

"Some people say that "Ali" sounds like a girl's name, but my Ali is definitely a boy! I always think Ali's the cutest, but there's more to him than that. When it comes to contests, Ali really shines! We've been doing our best together ever since he was a Swablu. I hope we'll be partners forever!"

"That's nice, Alice and Minami just get themselves a Swablu, too." Mark says. Then we decide to hang out at the Pokemon Center.

Here is a new chapter, and you can see that we are now in Verdanturf Town and Lisia makes another appearance. I hope you like it and the next chapter will be more traveling.

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, Pelipper, Kirlia x2 (One Shiny), Masquerain, Breloom, Vigoroth, Ninjask, Shedinja, Loudred, Hariyama, Nosepass, Delcatty, Sableye, Mawile, Aron, Manectric, Plusle, Minun, Volbeat, Illumise, Roselia, Gulpin, Wailmer, Numel, Torkoal, Spoink, Spinda, Trapinch, Cacnea, Swablu, Zangoose, Seviper, Lunatone, Solrock, Corphish, Baltoy, Jirachi

May's Pokemon:

Combusken, Beautifly, Skitty

Mark's Pokemon:

Blaziken, Marshtomp, Ludicolo, Pelipper, Surskit, Breloom, Hariyama, Wailmer, Numel, Torkoal, Corphish

Minami's Pokemon:

Linoone, Swellow, Kirlia, Vigoroth, Loudred, Delcatty, Mawile, Spoink, Swablu, Zangoose, Lunatone, Solrock, Baltoy