When we return to Route 118, Steven says, "Thank you for your help, guys. In the end, you were a far greater help than I expected you might be. I expect that you and your team will be able to best both Route 119 ahead and even the Fortree Gym beyond that. I'll be curious to see how much stronger you might grow by the next time we meet. Until then."

After he leaves, May says, "I can't believe what just happened..."

"Yeah, and you even get a Key Stone from Steven." Minami says. "You can use Mega Evolution just like us."

Then we decide to take a rest by the lake until a group of Sharpedo ambushes us. Mark and I try to tell them that we mean no harm, but we notice that the leader is poisoned and weak.

"Let me help you." I try to heal him and let him rest for a night. The next day, Team Rocket arrives with their submarine, and they shoot the nets and grab Pikachu and Sharpedo.

"It was those guys who attacked us. That Seviper has a Poison Tail." Sharpedo confesses, and that infuriates us. We have Cacnea cut the net and free them. But we decide to do nothing because a school of Sharpedo is doing in our place and send them blasting off again.

The Sharpedo thanks us, and both Mark and I capture one each. We are also delighted to see that Cacnea evolves into a Cacturne as well.

Carvanha: The Savage Pokemon: Water and Dark Type. Carvanha's strongly developed jaws and its sharply pointed fangs pack the destructive power to rip out boat hulls. Many boats have been attacked and sunk by this Pokémon.

Sharpedo: The Brutal Pokemon: Water and Dark Type. Evolved from Carvanha at LV:30. Nicknamed "the bully of the sea," Sharpedo is widely feared. Its cruel fangs grow back immediately if they snap off. Just one of these Pokémon can thoroughly tear apart a supertanker.

Cacturne: The Scarecrow Pokemon: Grass and Dark Type. Evolved from Cacnea at LV:32. 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.

And while we train our Pokemon, our Aron also evolves into a Lairon, although it still doesn't change the fact that he likes to eat our metal things.

Lairon: The Iron Pokemon: Steel and Rock Type. Evolved from Aron at LV:32. Lairon feeds on iron contained in rocks and water. It makes its nest in mountains where iron ore is buried. As a result, the Pokémon often clashes with humans mining the iron ore.

The other Pokemon that evolve is our Spoink, when Team Rocket tries to attack them, they use Magic Coat to return the Poison Powder from Dustox to them, giving us the chance to send them flying.

Grumpig: The Manipulate Pokemon: Psychic Type. Evolved from Spoink at LV:32. Grumpig uses the black pearls on its body to amplify its psychic power waves for gaining total control over its foe. When this Pokémon uses its special power, its snorting breath grows labored.

We find ourselves lost on the road to Fortree City when we wander into an uncharted area of Hoenn. To make matters worse, a Skarmory takes May away. We chase her and go to the entrance of the Forbidden Forest, and two people are blocking us.

"No one was allowed to pass through this point. That is the law here, you must leave the forest here."

"But my sister is taken away by a Skarmory and they flew over this gate." Max says.

"What? You're saying that a human has gone beyond this gate?"

"Can you help? We gotta find her." I say.

"This could mean trouble, we've better spoke to Old Man Obee about this." Then we decide to follow the villagers to their leader.

When we meet the leader, he says, "I understand what you're feeling, but I'm afraid I have nothing to do. The truth is the land beyond that gate is straightly off limits to all humans under every circumstance whatsoever. They all stated that whoever steps foot inside will incur the wrath, the wrath of grass Pokemon."

"So what is going to happen to my sister?" Max demands.

"Do you expect us to do nothing when she's in there with trouble?" Mark asks.

"Well, forget it. We're going to save her." I say.

"Then I guess you should stay here while we go and figure out how to handle the situation." Then the villagers leave, much to our dismay.

And they have been taking a long time, and we can't just sit around and wait, so we decide to leave. When the villagers come, we decide that Alice and I search for May while the others deal with the villagers.

"May!" We find her surrounded by Grass Pokemon. Then I say, "Pikachu, clear a path for us using your Thunderbolt."

Then we rush away and Alice says, "May, we're in a forbidden land and if humans come in, they'll be attacked by Grass Pokemon."

"But it isn't my fault that I enter here." May says.

As more Pokemon appear, I say, "There's no hiding anymore."

Alice nods as we use Flamethrower on the Pokemon, and at the same time, we try to leave, and the Pokemon are confused at what they see. Just then, a Venusaur arrives and calls them to stop the attack.

"A Venusaur, and a Bulbasaur too..." I gasp.

It seems that the Bulbasaur knows that we're not enemies, and Venusaur is checking us out. Then he says, "We'll let you if you get Combusken away."

Then May recalls Combusken, and then Venusaur tries to explain that we're Bulbasaur's friends and they should leave us alone. Then he asks us to follow him, so we follow it to the center of the forest, where we find a beautiful spring. Bulbasaur gives May some of the flowers she picked earlier. She grabs hold of May with Vine Whip and leads her and us around the forest. Soon we arrive at the top of a cliff, where we notice a city in the distance.

"I think Bulbasaur has never been outside of the forest." I say, and we decide to tell the Bulbasaur about all the things that we have seen on her journey. Then we realize that Mark, Minami, and Max are probably worried about us. Before we can leave, we see several Grass-type Pokémon come running past them in fear. Obviously it's Team Rocket again, they are using a Robot to capture as many Grass Pokemon as they can.

"Team Rocket!" We gasp.

I try to have Pikachu use Thunderbolt, but the attack is deflected by it. Venusaur soon arrives and begins to battle as well. However, Team Rocket's robot is too strong even for it. Knocking Venusaur away, the robot grabs Bulbasaur and May and tosses them into a large sack on its back. However, Bulbasaur evolves into Ivysaur and blasts the machine using a Seed Bomb, making them shocked. We use the chance to free the other Pokemon and send them flying once more.

"You evolved, that was awesome, Ivysaur." May says.

With we reunite, we all prepare to leave the forest. May bids a tearful farewell to Ivysaur, however at the last moment Ivysaur decides to leave the forest and go with her. Waving goodbye to her friends in the forest, Ivysaur is welcomed by us as the newest member of our group.

Then we also continue to train our Pokemon, and Numel evolves into a Camerupt and now they have control with the Eruption attack, much to our delight.

Camerupt: The Eruption Pokemon: Fire and Ground Type. Evolved from Numel at LV:33. Camerupt has a volcano inside its body. Magma of 18,000 degrees F courses through its body. Occasionally, the humps on this Pokémon's back erupt, spewing the superheated magma.

Then we arrive at Rubello Town and Max says, "Wow, look at that, guys! It's a poster for a Pokemon Contest!"

"I forgot that there is a Contest here." May says.

"If that's the case, how about we both enter it?" I ask, but then we notice there is an R1 under the poster, and we are not sure what that means.

In the Pokemon Center, we decide to ask Nurse Joy about it, and she reveals that it means every contestant needs more than one ribbon to enter this one. I think I've seen those in Johto but never bothered to figure out what that means.

Then Drew also shows up and tells us that he's also entering the Pokemon Contest. After insulting May, she gets angered with him, but before anything can happen, Drew is engulfed by a swarm of rabid female fans. Drew isn't exactly happy to see these fans, as they lean towards the obsessive side.

"I have no idea he's such a star..." I sigh, but much to my dismay, there are other fans who notice me and now I'm also swarmed, and both Max and May as well because they are Norman's children.

During the discussion, Savannah, the head of the group, explains that they saw May in the Verdanturf Contest. Savannah also reveals that she will be entering the Rubello Contest as well. The group also introduces themselves with a cheer as the Mothers for Pokémon, also known as MFP. They are a group of wives and mothers who love Pokémon. They decided to throw a party for us.

Back at the reception, Savannah and the MFP compliment us, and that makes us realize that we haven't picked a Pokemon for the Contest. Savannah shows May her Lairon and Flareon. While showing we show our Pokémon, Savannah reveals that this R1 competition requires the use of two Pokémon; one for the appeals round and one for the Battle Round.

"So a Two Pokemon contest, that is easy since most of the contests are usually that." I say.

"You are correct, so May, have you decided?" Savannah asks.

"Well..." She hesitates since she doesn't know who to pick.

That night, May is trying to train her Pokemon, while I decide to get my Pokemon some rest for tomorrow's Contest. The next day, we learn that May is not going to shop with us, and she's also planning to use Ivysaur, which she just got recently. And Savannah has a stage fright. So we decided to let those two battle together while we went shopping with Savannah's daughter.

When we are back, we find Team Rocket and this time they try to steal May and Savannah's Contest ribbons so they can enter the contest. So we decide to battle Team Rocket and send them flying while taking the ribbons back.

Inside the Contest center, May and Savannah watch Vivian kick off the festivities. May is as determined as ever to win, and with her victories in Fallarbor and Verdanturf Town, she is extremely confident and calm, while Savannah is still suffering from a bad case of nerves. We are also waiting backstage, and Drew smirks as May gives advice to Savannah.

"So you are competing, too, huh, Ash." Drew says.

"Yeah. I am not going to lose you know." I say. "This will be my fourth ribbon if I win."

"We will see, this time I am going to win." He says as he walks off.

Back inside the competition center, May and Beautifly take the stage and open with a Morning Sun technique, followed by Silver Wind. The Mothers for Pokémon cheer May on.

"Wow, May is really good, I hope I can do well, too." Savannah says.

"It will be fine if you don't give up until it's over." I say.

I use Swellow to use his flying tricks, also causing the MFP to go wild.

"You are not bad either." May says to me.

"Thanks, now it is Savannah's turn."

Savannah starts off to a rocky start, missing her cue, but she makes up for her mistake quickly. Savannah elects to start with her Flareon, which uses a Fire Spin attack to create flaming hoops which it then tackles through. Savannah follows those theatrics with a combination of Swift and Ember, turning the Swift stars red.

"You did it, I know you're going to be awesome." I say to her.

"Thanks, that the maneuver was her idea. I'm still nervous after that performance."

"Well, after getting a couple of ribbons, winning is pretty easy." May says.

Drew scoffs at her hubris and says, "Forget what you have won and concentrate on the future." He then leaves to get on the stage.

"And what's that suppose to mean?" May asks.

"Well, I can't tell you. You have to figure it out if you want to win." I sigh as I know what he means.

Drew starts with his Roselia, which bursts from its Poké Ball with an explosion of flower petals. Drew snaps his fingers and Roselia appears.

"Wow, Drew is amazing." Savannah says.

"He is really good for a rival." I nod. But May is less impressed.

All four of us are advanced into the contest battles. May is paired to face Savannah, while Drew is slated to fight me.

"So we are fighting now, huh?" Drew says to me.

"Yeah." I say.

Our battle is first. I use my shiny Gardevoir while Drew chooses his Masquerain. A brief exchange between Gardevoir's Dazzling Gleam and Masquerain's Bubble, Masquerain uses Ice Beam to freeze its own Bubbles, and then Hidden Power to launch the guide at Gardevoir.

"No, you don't. Gardevoir, use Psyshock to break the attack!" Drewe is surprised as the attack not only breaks the bubbles but also hits Masquerain leaving him fainted.

That leaves May versus Savannah, and May determined to win. May's Ivysaur and Savannah's Lairon take the stage but each Trainer has an immediate problem—Savannah continues to suffer from stage fright and nerves and May's Ivysaur is unfamiliar with the big city, and is dazzled by the Contest stage and roaring crowd. Ivysaur quickly retreats to behind May for cover.

Mark says, "May is so rude to Ivysaur, can she really win?"

"I don't know." Max says.

Unfortunately, May is also none too kind in telling Ivysaur to take the stage, and Ivysaur reluctantly steps forward to face Lairon.

With the battle joined in earnest, Savannah orders Lairon to use Take Down. May calls for Ivysaur to dodge, but the bright lights and unfamiliar stage fill her with fear, which is compounded by May's anger. Ivysaur therefore takes the attack head-on. May orders a counterattack with Vine Whip, which Ivysaur supplies, but Lairon counters with a surprise and Electric-type Shock Wave, which traces the Vine Whip and shocks Ivysaur. Sandra reveals, at this point, that she was also the architect of the Shock Wave combo and that because of Vine Whip's direct contact, Lairon paralyzed Ivysaur. Savannah orders a coup de grace with Metal Claw, which makes contact and causes the Contest Judges to call the battle against Ivysaur.

"Hey! I'm not done fighting!" May yells.

"Yes, you are!" Nurse Joy is now angry. "Where's your concern with your Pokemon's health?"

"That is a coordinator's number one priority, not winning." Mr. Contesta says.

"By now you should know that." Mr. Sukizo says.

May realizes what she's done, and she apologizes to Ivysaur backstage. I sigh, "Everyone gets carried away with wanting to win sometimes, and that the most important fact of battling, Contest, or Gym, is that Trainer and Pokémon must be in sync to succeed."

May says, "You are right, I hurt Ivysaur's feelings."

In the finals, Savannah and I are fighting fiercely. In the final seconds of the match, I score an unavenged hit with Swift and the Misty Terrain, and time expires before Savannah can counter with a Shock Wave.

"Time is up, the winner of the match is Ash Ketchum!"

I immediately shake hands with Savannah and get the ribbon.

"So you only need one more, right, Brother?" Minami asks.

"Yes. I can't wait to participate in the Grand Festival." I say back to her. Then I turn to May, "May. What Drew said is that you can't always think in the past about how good you were. That way you will not think about how to improve yourself and fail badly."

May then nods and vows that she will never do it again as we head on the road.

Here is a new chapter and Ash now has four ribbons and May gets an Ivysaur for her team. I hope you like it and the next chapter will be more exploring in Route 119.

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, Gardevoir (Shiny), Masquerain, Breloom, Vigoroth, Ninjask, Shedinja, Loudred, Hariyama, Nosepass, Delcatty, Sableye, Mawile, Lairon, Manectric, Plusle, Minun, Volbeat, Illumise, Roselia, Gulpin, Sharpedo, Wailmer, Camerupt, Torkoal, Grumpig, Spinda, Trapinch, Cacturne, Swablu, Zangoose, Seviper, Lunatone, Solrock, Whiscash, Crawdaunt, Baltoy, Lileep, Anorith, Latias, Latios, Jirachi

May's Pokemon:

Ivysaur, Combusken, Beautifly, Skitty

Mark's Pokemon:

Blaziken, Marshtomp, Ludicolo, Pelipper, Surskit, Breloom, Hariyama, Sharpedo, Wailmer, Camerupt, Torkoal, Whiscash, Crawdaunt

Minami's Pokemon:

Linoone, Swellow, Gardevoir, Vigoroth, Loudred, Delcatty, Mawile, Grumpig, Spinda, Swablu, Zangoose, Lunatone, Solrock, Baltoy