While we're traveling, Emerald fishes out a Mantine and captures it, getting the fourth Pokemon in his team. And now we have arrived at the getaway destination Chrysanthemum Island for May's next Pokémon Contest. Outside the Contest Hall, the registered Coordinators are preparing their prized Pokémon. And just as we thought, we find Drew.

"It's Drew!" May says while taking out a letter. "Did you send this to me?"

Drew is confused, and she says, "I like to be in a contest with you, but mark my words! This time I'm going to beat you."

"Except I didn't send that." Drew says. "Come on, that's not my style, you should know that."

"Really?" As we are still suspicious, Drew sighs, "Truthfully, I'm not going to be in the Contest."

"You're not?" Reisa asks.

"I'm been in so many contests that my Pokemon are wiped out. So I'm here on the Chrysanthemum Island for R and R."

"Go figure." May says. "But if you didn't send me this, I wonder who did?"

After Drew leaves, May begins to work on Munchlax and Blaziken's skills. Munchlax quickly lunges towards Blaziken with a Focus Punch but misses and continues on to nearly hit a bystander and crash into the soft sand.

"I'm sorry, are you okay?" May asks.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure about your Munchlax..." We are trying to pull Munchlax out of the sand.

"Hold on, are you May?" The girl introduces herself as Brianna and May is her idol. But then she sees me and Drew, she is much more excited. After a few quick words, the two shake hands and Drew wishes Brianna luck in the Contest.

"I am going to win their respect, which means I am going to defeat you." Brianna says to May as she is surprised.

"But why me?" May is surprised.

In the contest, the Appeals Round begins and the first contestant is Jessie with Mime Jr. dressed in Hawaiian attire. When Mime Jr. is sent out from its Poké Ball, it rotates on its upper head while Jessie performs a small hula dance. The crowd roars for Jessie's performance.

Next, May and her Munchlax take to the stage. May quickly directs Munchlax to unleash its Solar Beam, filling the stadium with a magnificent blend of lights and colors. Munchlax's next move is Metronome, so it begins moving its hands in synchronization. However, the move backfires, and Munchlax is put to sleep, having used the move Rest. After a few moments of hesitation, May throws a Pokéblock into the air. Munchlax instantly awakens and devours the Pokéblock in mid-air while rotating. On its descent, Munchlax comes down with a Focus Punch, gracefully landing on the stadium platform.

The third contestant is Brianna, with her Surskit. Surskit uses Ice Beam on the stage, allowing it to gracefully pirouette like an ice skater across the now-frozen performance stage. It finishes the performance with a high-velocity spin. The crowd cheers for Surskit's performance as the Contest Judges give approval of Brianna's performance.

The other contestants include Hoothoot, Hypno, Blastoise, and Castform. With the first round of competition ending, the results are revealed, and among the contestants are May, Brianna, and Jessie. The match-ups are then announced, with May to face Jessie in the first round of the tournament.

The stage is set with May and her Blaziken facing off against Jessie and her Mime Jr. Blaziken begins the battle with a Fire Spin, but Mime Jr. easily dodges and uses Mimic, sending an identical Fire Spin to Blaziken. The tricky move deducts more points than usual from May's score. Blaziken recomposes itself and rushes toward Mime Jr. with Quick Attack, and they both clash. Mime Jr. maneuvers itself in mid-air to begin tickling Blaziken, reducing a substantial amount of points from May. Mime Jr. follows up with another Mimicked Fire Spin, but as the flames engulf Blaziken, it recovers and gains power. Blaziken leaps through the ongoing Fire Spin and strikes Mime Jr. with a Sky Uppercut. Mime Jr. crashes to the ground defeated and May is declared the winner.

After clearing through their other battles, May and Brianna find themselves against one another in the finals. The crowd cheers as the final battle starts. May calls upon her Blaziken while Brianna releases her Vibrava. As Blaziken moves in for the attack, Vibrava uses its Screech attack, causing Blaziken to cover its ears. As Vibrava continues with its Screech attack, Blaziken launches a Fire spin for a direct hit. Vibrava retaliates with its Dragon Breath attack, nullifying the Fire Spin. Vibrava then uses its Sand Tomb attack to entrap Blaziken's legs in a mound of sand. Blaziken struggles, but is unable to remove itself from the tomb. Suddenly, Blaziken's feathers begin to glow a faint blue. After a moment, Blaziken bursts from the Sand Tomb using its new move, Mega Kick. Vibrava doesn't let up, unleashing another Dragon Breath attack and hitting Blaziken for great damage, reducing May's points further.

Blaziken ascends into the air for a Sky Uppercut but misses its target as Vibrava goes for another Sand Tomb attack. Blaziken disperses the sand once more and descends down with a hard Mega Kick on Vibrava. The two Pokémon crash into the ground and Vibrava is declared unable to battle. With this victory over Brianna, the Chrysanthemum Contest draws to a close and Mr. Contesta presents May with the Chrysanthemum Ribbon; her third overall.

After we find May and Brianna outside at the beach, May decides to ask Drew how her battle style is this time, and Drew says, "To tell the truth, I thought you got lucky with the Mega Kick. If I were you, I would be grateful."

"Thanks." May is not happy after the comment. "Brianna. That's your name, right? You're good. Very good. It's obvious that you raised Vibrava well. It's hard work making it to Flygon, but you'll do it."

Brianna is happy to hear that, and then Drew turns back to May again, "Just two more ribbons."

Then we bid farewell to the others as we are heading to Metallica Island.

As we are at Metallica Island, we are attacked by a swarm of Beedrill and we fall into the river. I also lost Sceptile's Poke Ball on the way. Pikachu is washed away, but I manage to grab Sceptile and Meganium

Once we're safe, we try to search for Pikachu, but we are chased by Beedrill again. I try to protect the two Pokemon, and it is then the others come just in time to calm the Beedrill down. Though we're not safe yet because Team Rocket tries to grab my Pokemon once again, thanks to the Frontier Brain Spencer, he helps recovering our two Pokemon so that both Sceptile and Meganium can send them flying.

"The Battle Palace... awesome..." I say after we arrive at the fifth facility. Scott and Spencer come to greet us, and Scott says, "Ash, you looked rested."

"You sure have a good night's sleep, eh?" Spencer asks.

"Right. Thanks. Now can we get to the challenge?" I ask.

"Of course, and I will meet your challenge with all the power within my soul." Spencer says.

As we enter the place, I ask the rules, and Spencer says, "Here, you'll fight trainers as well, much like the other facilities. To win one set, you'll have to defeat seven trainers. And you'll have to make it to the last match of the sixth set - your 42nd match before you can go up against me for the Symbol."

"I see." I say. "41 battles before you... but something tells me that there is more to it..."

"Of course, the Battle Palace tests you on your 'spirit'. The Pokemon that will be used have to be 'The three Pokemon the trainer trusts most'! You're not permitted to give commands to your Pokemon during their battles here, instead, you are to entrust them to do battle for you while you watch from the side."

"Wait, what?" We all exclaim in shock. Max says, "I've never heard of a battle like that before..."

"Ash can't command his Pokemon to attack... this is going to be tough..." Reisa adds.

I say, "If that's the case, Sceptile is going to be one of the Pokemon. As for the other two... I choose those two!"

I send out Beedrill and Pidgeot, and Serena says, "I see... those two are the first Pokemon that Ash captured other than Pikachu, Charla, and Butterfree."

And Spencer says, "Since it will be a shame holding the battles indoors, why don't we battle outdoors?"

We nod as we all ride on the hot air balloon before having my three Pokemon rush off. May says, "The view up here is so great."

"Wait until you get alluded with this. The battlefield is the whole jungle between the whole river and the cliffs."

"No way! That is almost as big as a whole city." Max says.

Scott says, "And depending on the nature, each Pokemon can use different kinds of attacks. There are three categories of attacks. The Attacking Moves, the Defending moves, and the Support moves. Defense moves, are all moves that target the user, the user's side, or the entire field, but not moves that call other moves. Support moves are all moves that do not deal damage and are not categorized under Defense, as well as Counter and Mirror Coat. And the rest is the Attacking move."

"And depending on the nature... my Sceptile has the Calm nature, Beedrill has Serious, and Pidgeot has Quirky... so Sceptile has a higher chance to use Defense moves... Beedrill is the Support move... and Pidgeot is the Attack move.

Spencer says, "My physical being is with Pokémon always! My heart beats as one with Pokémon always! Young one of a Trainer! Do you believe in your Pokémon? Can you believe them through and through? If your bonds of trust are frail, you will never beat my brethren! The bond you share with your Pokémon! Prove it to me here!"

"You bet." I say as we watch our Pokemon battle. The first one to battle from Spencer is Crobat, while Sceptile is the one that goes first. Sceptile starts out with a blistering Bullet Seed but Crobat is very fast and manages to dodge it. Crobat flies while Sceptile runs off down the side of the hill, both of them speed through the forest side by side, eyes locked onto one another.

"They are on the move now..." I say as Spencer and I are watching our Pokemon. Sceptile goes for Leaf Blade while Crobat counters it with a Quick Attack. The two continue to move through the jungle, and Spencer says, "Your Sceptile has great spirit."

"And so is your Crobat." I say.

Just then, Crobat goes for Double Team, surrounding Sceptile. And then a Poison Fang attack knocks Sceptile into a nearby pool. Shiftry goes for Air Slash on the ground by the lake, which sends off a barrage of rocks from the nearby water's edge and fills the pool.

"You're okay, Sceptile?" I ask with worry.

"Sceptile is under those rocks..." May says.

Just then, Sceptile appears from atop the waterfall, jumps out, and crashes a powerful Pound attack on Crobat. This, along with a Leaf Blade, knocks Crobat out, giving Sceptile the victory.

"Alright, Sceptile! Even without my command, you still do a great job!" I cheer.

"Ah, the way Sceptile uses that opening to climb that waterfall was a scythe to behold." Spencer says. We see that Slaking is the next to appear, and Beedrill talks to Sceptile as he wants to battle this one.

"A Slaking... just like Dad!" Max says.

"But I wonder how Beedrill is going to face against Slaking..." Serena says.

Beedrill goes for the Twineedle, which is countered by Shadow Ball. However, a Fury Cutter is able to cut the Shadow Ball into slices, and then land the hit on Slaking. But Slaking goes for an Earthquake attack, sending Beedrill backward.

Both Pokemon are using Tackle, meeting eyes locked in the middle. Beedrill decides to go with the Poison Sting, which hits Slaking hard, knocking it back. It slides directly into a tree knocking from it a Nanab Berry.

Slaking goes for Focus Punch, and Beedrill tries to stop it by attacking with Fury Attack. But much to his surprise, Slaking already powers up and uses Focus Punch, defeating Beedrill.

"Excellent, well done. Slaking." Spencer says.

"In one hit, with Focus Punch?" Reisa asks.

"But how? It's not possible..." Emerald says.

"That's some Slaking. What will happen next?" I wonder.

Just then, Venusaur provides the fruit to all the Pokemon on the field, and they all have a short break. We also have a break on the hot air balloon with the fruit provided from Spencer.

Then Pidgeot starts to fly far out of the jungle, and I say, "I wonder what Pidgeot is thinking..." Slaking already finds out what Pidgeot is up to and goes for a Brick Break, but Swellow speeds up and avoids the attack. Now they are at the beach and Slaking goes for Retaliate, which is only dodged by a last-minute Double Team. Slaking panics, unsure of which Pidgeot is the real one. It tries to go for another Brick Break on Pidgeot, but the real one manages to avoid the attack and hit Slaking, knocking it back.

"Slaking sure looks tired." Max says.

"That battle with Beedrill has affected it the most. Especially Slaking are known for being lazy." Reisa says.

Slaking goes for Focus Punch again, but this time Pidgeot uses Hurricane first, and it defeats Slaking in the end.

"Alright, Pidgeot wins!" Serena cheers.

"Well, don't be happy just yet, his last Pokemon is also a tough one." Scott says.

The final Pokemon is a Lapras, which has an advantage over both Sceptile and Pidgeot with the Ice Type. Pidgeot goes for Quick Attack, but Lapras dodges by diving into the water nearby. Then it goes for Ice Beam, hitting Pidgeot from behind. Pidgeot regains its flight, only to be fazed by a Horn Drill attack. I know that because of the rules, all my Pokemon are reduced to Level 50... so Horn Drill is able to knock Pidgeot out.

"That was quick..." Reisa says.

"Pidgeot didn't have a chance to fight back." Max says.

"We're looking at a super high-level Pokemon after all." Emerald says.

Sceptile is the only one left, and I say, "Spencer, you don't mind if I do this?"

I show the Mega Glove and he says, "Of course, go ahead, Ash."

I press the Key Stone and Sceptile Mega Evolves. Lapras uses Ice Beam, which Sceptile manages to dodge. Sceptile then unleashes a Bullet Seed at Lapras, but Lapras dodges it by diving once more. Lapras goes for Hydro Pump, hitting Sceptile. Sceptile now jumps up onto the side of a cliff, as the sun behind Sceptile beams onto the yellow patches on its back, which start to glow. However, this is cut short due to a cloudy sky, followed by rain.

"Huh? It's raining?" I ask.

"What you're seeing is a squall, a special rainstorm that appears in this area. It looks like Mother Nature did me a favor..."

Then Lapras goes for a Whirlpool attack, and it traps Sceptile in it. Using this to his advantage, Lapras uses Ice Beam at the twister, doing serious damage to Sceptile. Sceptile is sent flying and struggles to gain its feet again, slipping as it tries to stand.

The clouds start to part and I notice the yellow patches on Sceptile's back are absorbing the sunlight. Sceptile is going to use Solar Beam, but Lapras decides to finish with Horn Drill, but Sceptile dodges it fast and fires the Solar Beam, which is super-effective and defeats the Claydol.

After the hot air balloon lands, I rush to my three Pokemon. "You guys do a great job!"

"Congratulations, Ash. You surely show your spirits. Here is your symbol." Spencer gives me the Spirit Symbol, and I thank him and get the symbol.

"Now you can get to the sixth facility." Serena says.

"And if you win it, you'll be able to find out the location of the last frontier. But keep in mind, the sixth Frontier Brain is one tough cookie." Scott says.

"Okay." I nod.

"Your Pokémon's eyes are truly clear and unclouded. I will eagerly await the next opportunity to see you." Spencer says.

We thank him and we bid farewell and leave the Battle Palace.

Here is a new chapter, and the fifth Battle Facility is done. I hope you like it and the next chapter will be back with N.