Ash is still recovering from his defeat at the Battle Pyramid, while May is also melancholy about her own defeat at the Grand Festival. Professor Oak shows up at the Pokémon Center in Fennel Valley, with a special care package meant to cheer Ash up. It contains a poster with the prints of his Pokémon, a fishing lure from Misty, and food from his mother. There's even a postcard from Gary in Sinnoh, which gets Ash thinking about their rivalry and actually pulls him out of his funk.
May is still in a mood, but Drew visits her and says they should battle. The kids begin to set up, but when they are picking judges to oversee the battle, Team Rocket shows up disguised as the three official Contest judges. The kids are only slightly fooled, but the plot is blown wide open by the appearance of Harley and his Cacturne. He threatens Team Rocket and gets them to sit in the audience instead.
The battle begins, with Professor Oak and Scott as judges, and Nurse Joy as the MC. It's a Double Battle, with May's Combusken and Beautifly versus Drew's Roselia and Butterfree. The two are somewhat evenly matched, until May starts getting hit hard by Drew's awesome combos. He finishes her off with Psybeam combined with SolarBeam. Drew goes to see her after the battle, but she's actually okay with losing, and admits that she got overconfident when it comes to Pokémon Contests. Drew tells her he's going to the Johto region for Pokémon Contests, and Harley jumps in to say he's headed there too. Team Rocket also happens to be nearby, but when Jessie admits she's not going to follow the rest of them to Johto, Harley gets mad and sends the entire team blasting off. With thoughts of Johto on her mind, May encourages Ash, while Professor Oak writes a new poem.
After losing against Brandon in the Battle Pyramid, Ash sits in a hot spring reflecting. He wonders out loud what could possibly be the thing "only he could teach himself." Meanwhile inside the Fennel Valley Pokémon Center's Contest Hall, May is also going through a hard time, Ash's recent defeat having reminded her of her own loss in the Grand Festival against Solidad. Even the return of Skitty and Beautifly is not doing much to lift her spirits. Scott and Brock comment about how she isn't taking the loss very well and how she is worried about how her battling style is a lot like Ash's. May decides that she should practice her Contest moves. Skitty uses Blizzard and Beautifly uses Psychic which both combine to create a blue horizontal snow tornado but May doesn't react positively. As Ash and Max arrive and greet Skitty and Beautifly, May tells them that Caroline told her that Beautifly had learned how to use Psychic, so she decided to recall them to her team to spend some time together and train. Ash asks how the practicing is going, and May admits that it isn't going very well. Brock and Max suggest that she and Ash practice together, since both are going through the same sort of struggle. Ash is all for it, but May adamantly refuses, much to everyone's confusion. The group's musings are suddenly interrupted by the appearance of Professor Oak.
In the Pokémon Center lounge, Professor Oak states that word of Ash's recent difficulties spread word, so various family and friends put together gifts for him. First, Ash receives a banner made by Tracey and his Pokémon. Ash has no trouble identifying each of the prints, much to the amazement of Max. Next, he receives Misty's lure, and a large box of food from Delia. Finally, Professor Oak hands Ash a postcard from Gary, much to the latter's shock. The postcard is from the Sinnoh region, which is Gary's current base of operations for his Pokémon research. Ash pictures Gary telling him that he shouldn't let a loss get him down, especially since Ash was able to defeat Gary before. Ash decides that he is going to work even harder and won't lose against Brandon again. Professor Oak recites a poem for Ash to help him, while Nurse Joy, thrilled at meeting yet another one of her idols, runs up to him and asks for his autograph. Seeing Ash's spirits lifted doesn't seem to do much to lift May's mood, however. Her thoughts are broken by the appearance of a Roselia. Recognizing it instantly, May realizes that Drew must be there as well. Sure enough, Drew approaches the group, surprised they are all in Fennel Valley. Before he can say more, Nurse Joy asks for his autograph.
Back in the Contest Hall arena, May admits that she was shocked to see Drew just as she was thinking of him. Drew is surprised at this admission, though May attempts to brush it off by mentioning Ash's talk of rivals. Drew asks how May is doing after her recent loss, but he sees through her facade of "doing okay." Since the Grand Festival, Drew has been focusing on making sure his Pokémon are taken care of, even bringing them a new friend. When May doesn't react much, he realizes that May hasn't been able to get past her defeat, suggesting her current struggles are from discovering her weak points and not knowing how to conquer them. When Drew asks May to confirm his suspicions, she merely nods in admittance. Drew suggests that they have a Pokémon battle, thinking it would help clear the air after the tension of the Grand Festival. Though May is still hesitant, Ash and Brock tell her to go for it, the latter adding that it would give her mind a much-needed rest. Team Rocket arrives dressed as Mr. Sukizo, Mr. Contesta, and Nurse Joy and suggest that they should be the ones to judge. The group instantly suspects the three as being phony, their thoughts confirmed when a Cacturne suddenly appears and uses Bullet Seed to reveal the ruse. The trio are horrified by the appearance of Harley, who screams that only he is allowed to mess with May and that he certainly doesn't need Team Rocket's help to do so, having "already waltzed down that muddy road once before." Team Rocket tries to leave, but Cacturne blocks them. Harley tells them just because he wants the trio to butt out doesn't mean he doesn't want them to leave. He tells Ash and his friends that they will act as cheerleaders today, but nobody trusts them and thinks they are plotting something.
After Nurse Joy eagerly receives an autograph from an exuberant Harley, May asks Professor Oak and Scott to judge, and Nurse Joy to be the announcer. As the stands fill up with people from the Pokémon Center, Ash comments on how the battle will now feel like a real Contest Battle. At Nurse Joy's signal, May brings out Combusken and Beautifly, while Drew brings out Roselia and his newly obtained Butterfree. May opens the battle with Combusken's Fire Spin and Beautifly's Psychic to create a fiery version of Skitty and Beautifly's earlier combination. Roselia uses Petal Dance to break up the flames, but Beautifly used Psychic to send the residual fireballs back at the opponents. Roselia uses Magical Leaf to defend, scattering flaming leaves throughout the air. With the path seemingly clear, Combusken moves into attack, but Butterfree uses a combination of Confusion and Gust to blast both Combusken and Beautifly simultaneously, greatly reducing May's score. The judges comment on how May's combinations were powerful, but Drew's seemed to be a bit more so. May tells Beautifly and Combusken to focus their energy on Butterfree. Butterfree uses Psybeam while Combusken dodges and uses Sky Uppercut which hits its mark. Roselia uses Petal Dance while Beautifly uses Silver Wind, but Beautifly's attack is absorbed into the petals and batter it and Combusken with even more power and beauty. Combusken attempts to turn things around with an Overheat attack at maximum power, but Butterfree uses Protect to completely block the attack. Roselia uses Solar Beam and Butterfree uses Psybeam to land a critical hit on Combusken and Beautifly to knock them out, giving Drew a decisive victory. May compliments Combusken and Beautifly on their hard work.
Outside, May tells Drew that she felt like she was getting overconfident and that's why she has lost. She also states her desire to find her own unique style just like Drew is attempting to do, so that she can show off her Pokémon much better. Drew reveals his intent to travel to the Johto region to enter more Contests, and that Solidad is going there as well. Harley interrupts to reveal that he is also going to the Johto region, though May isn't too thrilled about that idea. Harley asks Jessie if she is going to Johto as well, but she says that Team Rocket is more important, so she declines the offer. Angered, Harley brings out Cacturne to use Bullet Seed to send Team Rocket blasting off before Jessie can attempt to defend herself. Harley suggests to May that she should go to the Johto region as well as he prances off toward his next challenge. As Ash and the others arrive outside, having been drawn out by Team Rocket's blast off, Drew decides to depart, telling May that he expects that to see her new style the next time they meet. Drew waves good-bye as he heads to the Johto region and May thanks him for all of his help. Hearing that Drew is going to Johto brings back good memories for Ash. Brock suggests that Drew and Harley were destined to help May overcome her problems, and May says that she is not confused anymore. She says that she and Ash are on a new path, finding their own styles, and cheers for Ash to win his rematch at the Battle Pyramid. Professor Oak comes up with a poem to sum up the paths they are taking.
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