After leaving the forest where Battle Tower was, they left Kanto and finally Eastern Area. After a few days of monotonous but not boring travel, Xia You and May returned to the central area in a dusty journey.
Compared with the rural style full of nature in other places, this place is undoubtedly more prosperous. High-rise buildings, bridges and parks can be seen everywhere, including Saffron City, Vermilion City, Celadon City. It can be said that the entire core city of Kanto Region is gathered here.
However, the two of them did not pass through the urban agglomeration, but turned from here and headed north.
After walking for most of the day, on the fourth day of lunch break, the two came to a place called Kouki Town.
In terms of scale, although Kouki Town is called a small town, its scale is like a small city.
Inside, there are streets, rivers, tall buildings, and people Steady Flow. It looks very lively.
In fact, originally, this place was not on the only way for the two of them to pass by. It was only after hearing from several Pokémon Trainer who challenged Xia You at Wilderness that Pokémon Contest was about to be held here that they made a special detour to come here.
Speaking of which, as the date of Grand Festival is approaching, there are fewer and fewer towns that have not yet hosted Pokémon Contest. For those Pokémon Trainer who have collected five Ribbon Medal a few years ago, this naturally has no impact, but for Kanto who came to Kanto halfway to collect Ribbon Medal, or for newcomers like May, or for Coordinator who failed one after another, time is undoubtedly too tight.
Even after arriving at this small town, May learned from Nurse Joy of Pokémon Center that Kouki Contest, which was about to be held here, would be the last remaining place to get Ribbon Medal before Grand Festival started. May couldn't help but secretly feel happy.
She patted her chest, which had begun to take shape, and took a long breath. "Fortunately, we came early. If it had been two days later, we would have really missed Grand Festival!"
"Yeah..."
Just like May said, once you miss the last time, if you want to challenge Kanto Region's Grand Festival again, you have to wait until next year.
If that time comes, although May will definitely become stronger and more confident, she herself will no longer be Kanto. Not only will she miss an opportunity for growth during a critical period, but even if she comes back to challenge the celebration, she will not feel that way anymore.
After taking a short rest at Pokémon Center, the two went straight to Kouki Contest Hall.
The Contest Hall of Kouki Contest is located in the central area of the town. From a structural point of view, it is also a common hemispherical building with a blue and white color scheme. Compared with other venues, it looks ordinary.
However, the difference is that perhaps the town is large enough and has a large enough population, which makes the number of local Coordinator entries extremely exaggerated.
At this time, Contest Hall was crowded with Pokémon Trainer and Pokémon. It seemed that there were at least nearly a hundred people. This was the place with the largest number of contestants that Xia You had ever seen except for the large Contest Hall like Saffron Contest!
It doesn't stop there, even those Coordinator who are the same as May but one less than Ribbon Medal have traveled thousands of miles across Kanto to come here to participate in the competition!
Just by looking around, May could already see several opponents he had encountered before.
It can also be seen from this that countless Coordinator who have not yet collected five Ribbon Medal are Covet here to make a last-ditch effort to participate in Grand Festival.
It's a pity that no matter how many people there are, in the end only one person can take away the Ribbon Medal.
"There are so many people..."
The two walked through the crowded crowd, first went to the service desk to register, then went to Battle Arena to look around, got familiar with the stage, and then left Contest Hall.
But before they had gone far, they saw the lingering figure of Harley again.
May couldn't help but muttered, "Really, why is he everywhere?"
Perhaps due to sensing something, Harley also captured the traces of Xia You and May in an instant.
Different from the previous avoidance, this time Harley actually came to the two of them with such fanfare.
"It's been a long time, you two." At this moment, Harley has completely torn off the disguise. This time when they met, the fake smile on his face was completely gone. Instead, he squinted his eyes and looked at May, and said in a teasing tone, "You can appear here, it seems that the collection of Ribbon Medal is not going well, what? Has it been so long, and you haven't collected five Ribbon Medal yet?"
Compared to a person like Harley who travels alone and can wholeheartedly challenge various conferences, May's frequency and opportunities to participate in conferences are indeed relatively rare.
"What does it have to do with you?" May couldn't help but roll his eyes at him, "You appear here now, aren't you just like me?"
Maybe it's because she has been with Misty for a long time, but her current appearance actually has some shadow of Misty!
"Like you?" Harley smiled proudly after hearing May's words, and then opened one side of his clothes, letting May see the five shining Medal hanging on the inside, "I have already collected them all, and the reason why I am here today is to see your jokes!"
Regardless of how Harley was so sure that May would come to participate in Kouki Contest, just saying that his demeanor of a villain is indeed in line with his usual style, and it is indeed something he can do.
May wanted to say something more, but Xia You took a step forward at this moment.
Seeing his movement, Harley immediately took a step back subconsciously like a frightened bird.
"You... what do you want to do?"
He didn't want to do this in front of so many people, as if he was timid, but he was really afraid of being beaten. He was afraid that this man would fight with him if he disagreed!
Unexpectedly, Xia You just glanced at him lightly, said nothing, and left directly with May.
Harley was stunned for a moment, then his face turned red suddenly, feeling that he had been looked down upon by Xia You!
He was extremely angry, but he opened his mouth several times, but did not dare to say anything. He could only look at Xia You's leaving back and clenched his fists.
May He dared to Taunt, so he naturally understood her character, and he also knew that she would not do anything to him except the competition.
But Xia You, he really dares to do something!
And this kind of behavior without scruples and strong strength is also the main reason why Harley dares to be angry but dare not speak out.
He dared to deceive May countless times, but because of the disastrous defeat in the previous battle and his cowardly departure, he now dared not even say a big word in front of this man.
But that doesn't mean he will give up.
Now that irreconcilable mortal hatred has been forged, what to do to Payback him has always been Harley's biggest concern besides Pokémon Contest.
At this moment, he accidentally glanced around and saw a few more hateful guys.
It was Team Rocket who dressed up as Fairy Jessie Bian and deceived himself last time in Pokémon Contest Saffron City Battle Arena!
Since the last time James and Meowth defrauded Harley of Pokémon, Harley went all the way to Pursuit. It can be said that it took a lot of effort to finally get back his two Pokémon. Of course, he also taught the three guys a lesson.
But because of that time, he was not acquainted with these three guys, and he also knew that Team Rocket Trio was a member of the bad Egg Group organization. He usually opposed Ash and was very hostile to Ash's companions, which naturally included May and Xia You.
In that case...
Thinking of this, he rolled his eyes and already had an idea in his mind.
After changing his gloomy expression, he raised a smile and strode up to Team Rocket Trio.
At this time, Jessie is still dressed as Fairy Jessie Bian last time. From the looks of it, she must not give up and wants to participate in Pokémon Contest again to fulfill her dream.
As for James and Meowth, they are still dressed like Manager and Assistant, following behind Jessie.
Just after they came out of the registration office, the three of them bumped into Harley.
"It's you!?"
When he saw Harley, Team Rocket Trio was startled. Remembering the lesson he gave him last time, he wanted to turn around and leave, but before he took a few steps, he was stopped by Harley.
"Wait a minute."
"What are you doing?" Jessie turned around and looked at him aggressively, "I'm going to participate in Pokémon Contest, so I don't have time to talk to you here!"
"That's right, meow!" Meowth also said, "We didn't lie to you this time Pokémon!"
"You misunderstood." Harley smiled, "Actually, I am here to help you."
"Help us?" Jessie frowned, "What does this mean?"
Harley took out two Poké Ball and waved them in front of them. "Of course, just like last time, I will lend you Pokémon so that you can win the championship!"
"What!?"
Hearing his words, Jessie, James and Meowth looked at each other in confusion, not understanding what this guy was planning.
"Lend Pokémon to us?" James frowned, "Why are you doing this? What's in it for you?"
Harley did not answer their questions first, but asked, "I heard that you and the person named Ash are sworn enemies, right?"
"That's right!" When Harley mentioned Ash, Jessie's eyes were on fire, "We will definitely capture that little devil's Pikachu! We will also teach that little devil a lesson!"
"So, his companions are naturally your enemies?"
"Of course!"
"Then this is my goal." Harley smiled, "Since we have a common enemy, then we are naturally friends. My goal is the person named May, oh, and that Xia You!"
Xia You!?
Hearing this name, Team Rocket Trio's heart skipped a beat. Even though Xia You was not here, they still felt a chill.
How dare this person named Harley cause trouble for Xia You?
Does he think he has lived too long?
However, although he thought so in his heart, Team Rocket Trio did not show it, but asked again, "Even so, have you forgotten that we deceived you Pokémon last time? Even if you have experienced such a thing, are you still willing to lend us Pokémon?"
"Of course I haven't forgotten it." When Harley mentioned this, although he was still angry, he still tried to keep his tone as calm as possible, "However, in order to defeat our common enemy, it is okay for me to retreat appropriately. However, in order to ensure that things go smoothly, I will lend Pokémon to you this time without conditions."
"Conditions?" James's alarm bell rang in his heart and he asked tentatively, "What are the conditions?"
Harley spread his hands. "Of course, it is to prevent unpleasant things like last time from happening, so I have to leave a hostage."
Hostage?
Hearing such a request, Team Rocket Trio glanced at each other subconsciously, and then in front of Harley, the three heads leaned together again and began to conspire in a low voice.
Although they were very close, Harley also held his breath and tried to hear something, but unfortunately, he still couldn't hear anything in the end.
He frowned, and just when he was about to say something, Team Rocket Trio dispersed and looked at him with a smile on his face.
Rubbing his hands, James smiled and said, "So, who do you want to keep as a hostage?"
Although he felt that they seemed to have some bad intentions, Harley was still confident in controlling these simple-minded guys, so he didn't pay too much attention to what happened just now.
His eyes glanced around the three of them, and finally, Harley's eyes fell on Meowth.
"Just this Meowth."
The two of them are Pokémon, and Jessie is going to participate in the competition, so naturally he cannot stay as a hostage. As a human being, James will inevitably play some tricks. Therefore, in Harley's opinion, only Meowth is the most suitable and safest to stay as a hostage.
After all, the talking Pokémon is rare in this world. It is not said to be unique, but it is also extremely rare. Such a precious Pokémon must be left as a hostage. Jessie and James will never leave it alone. In this way, the last incident will be prevented from happening.
But as everyone knows, when he saw that he had chosen Meowth, when he wasn't paying attention, Team Rocket trio's faces all showed a sinister look at the same time, and they exchanged a look with each other again.
Harley wants to use Jessie to block May and deal with Xia You, thereby achieving his goal.
But Team Rocket Trio wants to take advantage of this opportunity to trick Harley again?
As for going against Xia You?
What a joke!
In their hearts, Xia You has risen to the level of invincibility.
He is Champion from three regions, holds Legendary Pokémon, and is someone even the boss Giovanni doesn't want to mess with!
And they now also know that in Xia You's eyes, they are weak and without threat. As long as they show their well-behaved side in front of him, Xia You will not do anything to them even if they meet face to face.
And since they are already in such a favorable balance, how could the three of them be at odds with Xia You?
Humph, only a fool would do that!
Let us die?
Then we will cheat you, but there will be no discussion at all!