Later that evening, the group finally met back up near the harbor district of Lilycove City. Brock had somehow managed to locate a hot pot restaurant tucked between two shops near the waterfront.

So that was where they were sitting together eating, while Max proudly said he managed to convince Ash to go from a 5-star hotel to a 4-star, and Brock sighed, trying to get Ash to at least let him pay this time. Ash refused. What good was money if he couldn’t spend it?

Pikachu sat happily beside Ash with a small bowl all to himself, while May’s Eevee was sitting next to Vee and trying to feed him.

Meanwhile, the conversation got back to May about what happened to her.

"Sooooo, you’re saying that you just caught a random Munchlax? How?" Max asked.

May pointed her chopsticks at him, "Okay, first of all, it wasn’t my fault."

"That does not answer the question," Ash said immediately.

May sighed, "Okay, long story short, I tried to go to a Pokéblock-making class, and there was a Munchlax. After she ate all the extra Pokéblocks, she kinda...ate one of my Pokéballs and caught herself."

"Not the weirdest way I’ve heard of someone catching a Pokémon," Ash shrugged casually as he took another bite of his food.

"So...I mean, is it fine?" May asked nervously, since, you know, Munchlax eat a lot.

"Meh," Ash and Brock shrugged.

"Meh? What do you mean, meh?"

"I have a Snorlax. Having a Munchlax join is nothing," Ash said casually, "Besides, with our grocery bill, it’s not that much."

"That is not comforting," May said immediately.

"It’ll probably be fine," Brock added, "Munchlax mostly just eat constantly. As long as you keep snacks around and make sure she doesn’t wander into somebody’s kitchen, you should survive."

"Should survive?!" May repeated.

Ash nodded thoughtfully, "Actually, yeah, hide your Pokéballs too."

May froze, "...Right."

As if summoned by the conversation, May’s Pokéball suddenly shook on her belt.

Everyone slowly looked down at it.

"...Please tell me she can’t hear us," Max whispered.

Then the Pokéball opened, and Munchlax appeared directly on the table. Looking around, she jumped and grabbed a chair, sitting down and starting to help herself to Brock’s plate, eating it all in one gulp.

"Why mine? Can’t you be May’s problem?" Brock said, looking at the Munchlax, who just blinked and grabbed Max’s plate.

Max tried to stop it, but he was small and no match for a Pokémon, so Munchlax stole his too.

Ash just chewed thoughtfully, looking at them and sighing as he pulled out his credit card and put it on the table, "Just order as much as you want. It won’t make a dent."

"Again, how much money do you have?" Max asked.

"No comment," Ash said casually, grabbing the menu and ordering another serving.

Meanwhile, Munchlax had already somehow acquired a second bowl from a passing waiter and was happily stuffing noodles into her mouth at alarming speeds.

"Wait, where did she even get that?" Max asked.

No one had an answer. Even Munchlax seemed confused about where she got the bowl, but she wasn’t complaining.

May groaned and dropped her head onto the table, "I just caught her today, and my life is already harder."

Ash patted her shoulder sympathetically while stealing another piece of tofu from the pot, "You get used to it."

"That sentence scares me."

—

{The Next Day}

After that night, they spent some time just hanging out, since it had probably been longer than it should’ve been since they’d simply relaxed together, which May desperately needed to calm down.

And after a good night’s sleep, and waking up to Ash and Brock already preparing breakfast so she wouldn’t even try to skip it, May walked out refreshed and ready for the day and for her contest.

This time, unlike last time, not counting Rubello, Ash stayed behind to clean while Brock and Max went with May. So now it had reversed, with Ash going with May while Brock and Max cleaned up quickly and planned to catch up afterward.

May still had her Eevee out, mainly because she didn’t want to stay in her Pokéball yet since Vee was outside too. So she walked next to Vee while he tried to pretend he didn’t notice her, staring straight ahead while nervously shaking a little. And Pikachu, being the best friend he was, did not help at all and just laughed at Vee’s misery.

But other than that, while Ash and May were walking, the closer they got to the Contest Hall, the louder the noise became. Voices overlapped, cameras clicked, excited chatter spilled into the streets-Wait, why does this seem familiar?

As they rounded the corner, they saw a large crowd gathered around the Contest Hall. And in the crowd, May spotted a few familiar faces. She recognized the purple-haired Kelly she met yesterday, and Drew’s green hair stood out too. Although he didn’t have his usual smirk; instead, he had what could only be described as a fangirl look.

As they got closer, May heard a voice she recognized.

And there, standing in the center of the crowd, she saw Lisia and her Altaria.

Lisia stood in the middle of the crowd with Ali the Altaria proudly beside her, fluffy wings spread slightly while people around them snapped pictures and waved excitedly.

"Hiiiiii everyone!" Lisia said brightly, spinning dramatically once, "Your favorite contest idol is here in Lilycove again! Dazzling, dizzying, doldrums-defying!"

The crowd cheered loudly, copying her chant. May even saw Drew, of all people, joining in.

"Dazzling, dizzying, doldrums-defying!"

Ali puffed his chest out proudly, "Aliiii!"

May blinked in surprise, "Lisia?"

"Ohhh! May!" Lisia waved both hands enthusiastically over her head, "You made it!"

Several people in the crowd immediately turned.

"Wait, May?"

"Isn’t that the girl Lisia scouted?"

"Oh! The Rustboro Contest rookie!"

May awkwardly pointed at herself, "M-Me?"

"Yes, you!" Lisia practically bounced over, dragging Ali with her, "Eeeee! I was hoping you’d come! I heard you’ve been all over the place doing more contests! That’s suuuper amazing!"

May rubbed the back of her neck nervously, "Well...yeah, I guess..."

"I knew it!" Lisia clapped happily, "I told everyone you had something special! Ahhh, this Chapter in your story should be called..." She dramatically pointed toward the sky, "’A New Star Rises! The Glittering Debut of May!’"

May’s face immediately started turning red, "W-Wait, hold on—"

Lisia leaned in excitedly, "So? So?! Have you done more contests yet? How are your Pokémon? Are you having fun? That’s the most important part!"

May blinked a little at the sudden flood of energy, but slowly smiled, "...Yeah. I am."

"Yaaay!" Lisia cheered, "I knew it! Contest Spectaculars are the best when everyone’s having fun together!"

May was about to look over to Ash for backup, but when she looked at the spot where Ash had been standing, she saw he was no longer there. She quickly looked around and only noticed Ash when she spotted Pikachu and Vee. He was wearing a face mask and holding up a small notebook with the words, ’Sorry, but not doing that today.’

Before anyone could continue, another loud voice suddenly echoed through the street.

"LISIAAAA!"

Everyone turned, and walking through the crowd was a blond boy in a blue suit as he dramatically flicked it.

Beside him stood a Machoke with a giant ribbon tied around one arm while carrying a fancy decorated box.

"Behold!" the boy declared loudly, "Your one and only destined rival has arrived!"

The crowd collectively groaned in recognition.

"Oh no, it’s Chaz again."

"Not the speech..."

Lisia immediately sighed, "Chaz."

Chaz jumped down from the bench and pointed dramatically toward May.

"And who is THIS supposed to be?!" he demanded, "Another upstart trying to insert herself into the glorious tale of rivalry between me and Lisia?!"

May blinked, "...What?"

Chaz placed a hand dramatically against his chest like he’d just been personally betrayed by the universe.

"Lisia!" he declared, "How could you?! Have you already replaced me in your glorious tale of rivalry and success?!"

Macherie the Machoke nodded seriously beside him while still holding the fancy box, "Mach! Machoke!"

Lisia immediately waved both hands, "Chaz! Come on! How many times do I have to tell you there are no rivals in contests? It’s not that kind of competition!"

"But it SHOULD be!" Chaz pointed dramatically toward the sky, "The people demand drama! Tension! Narrative stakes!"

Someone muttered something about Chaz watching too many movies, but he heard that too.

"Yes!" he shouted proudly, "Just like the legendary night atop the Lilycove lighthouse where Lisia and I made our contest debuts together!"

"Oh no," someone whispered.

Chaz struck another pose, "There we stood against the sea breeze, staring into the future, swearing we would rise together to the top of the contest world!"

"...You talked for forty minutes," Lisia corrected immediately.

"FORTY PASSIONATE MINUTES!"

Macherie raised both fists enthusiastically, "Machoke!"

May stared awkwardly while the crowd collectively accepted that this was happening again.

Meanwhile, Ash had somehow drifted even farther away during the speech. He was now standing beside a vending machine pretending to read a flyer on the wall while Pikachu sat on his shoulder snickering.

Vee, meanwhile, looked deeply concerned about the secondhand embarrassment.

"Well, maybe you don’t know this," Chaz said, flipping his hair, "but me and Lisia are the most famous rivals in the contest world!"

"No, we are not," Lisia said instantly.

"When people think of you, they think of me! And the other way around!"

"When they think of me," Lisia corrected with a bright smile, "they should think of Ali!"

Ali puffed his chest proudly, "Aliiii!"

Macherie immediately clasped her hands together dreamily while looking at Ali.

Ali noticed and awkwardly scooted slightly closer to Lisia.

Vee saw that, then looked next to him where May’s Eevee was still scooting closer to him while pretending to be casual. He closed his eyes and pounded his chest with his paw toward Ali.

"Vee..." [I know your pain, bro.]

Anyway, back over to May, she cleared her throat and looked up at Lisia, "So what are you doing here? Are you gonna participate in this contest too?"

Lisia waved her hand with a smile, "Oh no, that wouldn’t be fair for anyone. Besides, I already have the ribbons I need for the Hoenn Grand Festival. No, actually, I got invited to come here and judge this one, and also announce what the theme of this one will be."

Lisia clasped her hands together dramatically, her sparkling eyes practically glowing.

"And that," she declared loudly, "brings us to today’s suuuper important announcement!"

The crowd immediately leaned in.

Even Drew straightened slightly.

Lisia spun once with Ali fluffing his wings beside her, "This Contest Spectacular is gonna be extra special! More dazzling! More dizzying! More dramatic!"

Lisia pointed toward the Contest Hall behind her, "Because this Chapter in everyone’s story is called..." She dramatically raised one hand into the air, "’Two Hearts! One Stage! The Miracle Duo Spectacular!’"

The crowd instantly erupted into cheers while the coordinators in the audience realized they needed to team up with someone to participate.

Lisia nodded enthusiastically, "Yep yep! This Contest is a Duo Contest! Every Coordinator has to pair up with a partner and perform together!"

Suddenly, most of the coordinators in the crowd panicked and started scrambling around, looking for someone willing to form a pair and practice what their performance was gonna be.

Even Drew already had three people looking at him hopefully and immediately started backing away slowly, "Ah...no thank you."

Lisia giggled into her hand, "Contest Spectaculars are all about bonds! The connection between Trainers and Pokémon! So this time we’re showing off the bonds between Coordinators too!"

Chaz smirked and suddenly stepped forward dramatically, "AT LAST!" he declared, "The stage itself acknowledges destiny!"

"Oh no," several people in the crowd muttered.

Chaz pointed directly at Lisia, "Then hear me now, Lisia! In this glorious duo contest, if I win—"

The crowd collectively held its breath, thinking he was about to ask for something unreasonable.

Even May looked nervous.

Lisia blinked, "Huh?"

Chaz dramatically placed a hand over his chest, "—then you MUST finally admit before everyone..." he said with absolute intensity, "that we are the greatest rivals in contest history! Bound together forever as eternal best rivals!"

Everyone stopped in stunned silence.

That was it?

One guy lowered the camera he had been very ready to use.

They were expecting Chaz to ask for something ridiculous, but all he wanted was for Lisia to admit they were rivals.

Now people were suddenly realizing maybe they treated Chaz too harshly. He actually seemed harmless.

Well, except for Lisia. Since they had been friends for a while, she already knew what Chaz wanted. Even if she didn’t agree with the idea of rivals in contests, if that’s what he wanted, then...meh, why not?

"Alright, but only if you win, got it? Maybe I’ll consider it."

"Very well!" he declared, "Now I merely require a worthy partner so the legend of Chaz may shine upon this stage!"

He looked around quickly.

Everyone nearby immediately avoided eye contact.

Except Drew, who unfortunately had been distracted fixing Roselia’s flower.

Chaz smiled and pointed at him, "You!"

Drew slowly looked up.

Chaz marched over, grabbed Drew by the shoulders, and pointed dramatically toward the sky.

"Congratulations! You have been selected to stand beside the great Chaz himself!"

"Excuse me?" Drew said, looking surprised.

Drew looked like he was about to refuse on principle, but then paused and actually thought about it.

Because, as ridiculous as Chaz was, he was also legitimately famous. If Lisia was the number one Contest Idol in Hoenn, Chaz was still in the top five.

And Drew, being Drew, respected talent. Even if that talent came wrapped in forty layers of theater kid energy.

Chaz leaned in dramatically, "Together we shall create beauty! Grandeur! Narrative tension!"

"I regret everything already," Drew muttered.

"Marvelous!" Chaz declared, taking that as agreement.

Macherie cheered loudly, "Machoke!"

Roselia looked deeply exhausted already as they got dragged away to practice.

Meanwhile, Lisia watched the entire thing happen with sparkling eyes before suddenly turning back toward May.

"Ohhh!" she gasped, "That means you need a partner too!"

May blinked, "Ah-right..."

She looked around, but unfortunately the majority of contestants had either already left after finding partners so they could get as much practice as possible, or were avoiding May since she seemed high-profile enough to intimidate people into thinking they couldn’t, or shouldn’t, team up with her.

Lisia, meanwhile, placed both hands on May’s shoulders dramatically, making her snap out of her daze immediately.

"May," she said seriously.

May blinked, "Uh..."

Lisia’s eyes sparkled, "I’m counting on you."

"Huh?"

"You HAVE to win this one for me!" Lisia declared.

May stared in confusion, "Wait, why me specifically?!"

Lisia pointed accusingly toward Chaz, who was currently trying to explain stage presence to a visibly suffering Drew.

"Because if Chaz wins this Contest," Lisia whispered dramatically, "he’ll never stop talking about it for the next five years!"

"I CAN STILL HEAR YOU!" Chaz yelled from across the crowd.

"And he’ll definitely make commemorative merchandise!" Lisia continued anyway.

"I ALREADY HAVE IDEAS!"

May looked between the two of them helplessly, "Why is this my life?"

"You signed up for it when you act so dazzling~ See ya!" Lisia said happily as she walked toward the Contest Hall, waving at the cameras around them while Ali followed behind.

May sighed and started thinking about what she was gonna do since it didn’t seem like she’d be able to find a partner in time.

Meanwhile, around then, Ash finally walked back over after getting a soda from the vending machine. He also handed May a can of tea.

May looked at him and took the can, cracking it open, "You abandoned me," she muttered, taking a sip.

Ash shrugged casually, "I saw the warning signs and made a tactical retreat."

Pikachu nodded seriously from his shoulder, "Pika."

"You left me alone with...with that!" May gestured wildly toward where Chaz was currently trying to teach Drew how to "project emotional intensity through cape physics."

"I really hate attention like that," Ash admitted immediately, "And drama. Especially drama that loud."

"Then why are you always surrounded by it?" May asked.

Ash looked genuinely confused, "I don’t know."

Pikachu snorted loudly.

Ash pointed at him, "You don’t get to judge me."

Meanwhile nearby, Vee sat stiffly while May’s Eevee slowly scooted another inch closer to him.

Vee looked toward Ali again with the exhausted expression of someone seeking emotional support from another victim.

Ali respectfully looked away, pretending not to notice as he walked into the Contest Hall, and Vee nearly coughed out blood in betrayal.

May sighed, taking another drink, "...Still can’t believe Lisia’s judging."

"At least she likes you," Ash said simply.

"Don’t know how much help that is gonna be," May laughed helplessly, then her smile faded.

"I don’t even have a partner," May muttered.

May looked around again, but now most contestants had already paired off and scattered around the plaza practicing combinations.

A few noticed May looking and immediately panicked before pretending to be busy.

"Wow," May muttered, "That’s actually kinda insulting."

"They’re intimidated," Ash said.

"That is somehow worse."

May rubbed the side of her head, trying to think. She couldn’t just get someone random for things like this. They needed two people who could stay in sync.

Someone who understood how she battled. How she improvised. Someone who could match her energy without making things awkward.

Then May slowly froze as she realized something.

She very slowly turned her head toward Ash.

Ash was mid-sip. The moment he saw that look in her eyes, he nearly choked on his drink.

He coughed violently, "No."

May blinked innocently, "I didn’t even say anything yet."

"You didn’t have to."

"No, seriously, just hear me out—"

"No."

"Ash—"

"Nope."

"You’d actually be perfect for this—"

"I would actually rather fight a Fighting-type."

Pikachu immediately pointed at him accusingly, "Pi Pikachu."

"That was ONE time," Ash shot back.

May grabbed his sleeve before he could retreat again, "Ash, come on! You already know how I battle!"

"That is completely different from contests!"

"You improvise all the time!"

"That’s called surviving!"

"You literally make up attacks in the middle of battles!"

"And they work!"

"Exactly!"

Ash pointed dramatically at the Contest Hall, "That building is full of coordinated people, May! Coordinated! I am not one of those people!"

"Ash, you’d be fine!"

"I have never done a contest in my life!"

"You’ve also never lost a League battle."

"That has NOTHING to do with contests!"

May stepped in front of him before he could escape again, "Please?"

"No."

"Pleeeease?"

"No."

May clasped her hands together desperately, "Ash, come on, I seriously don’t know who else to ask..."

Ash put his face into his hand. He really didn’t want to do contests for two reasons. For one, it would put even more attention on him and he, once again, hated being famous. And two, even though he knew he could probably be awesome at contests, that was May’s thing.

But also, seeing May genuinely look so distraught and begging him, Ash sighed since, as much as he acted like he did, if people actually begged him, he couldn’t bring himself to say no.

Now don’t tell Green that. She doesn’t know, and he hopes it stays that way.

"If I say yes," he warned, "you are never telling anyone I agreed willingly."

May lit up instantly, "You said yes!"

"I said IF-"

Too late.

May had already grabbed both his hands excitedly, "Ash, you’re the best!"

Ash sighed and pulled his hands out of hers, "Alright, let me get some stuff ready. You can sign us up."

May blinked as Ash started walking away, "Wait, shouldn’t we practice together first?"

Ash stopped mid-step.

For a second, he just looked back at her like she’d asked something obvious.

"May," he said slowly, "have you not noticed it yet?"

"Huh?"

Ash gestured vaguely toward the Contest Hall where coordinators were running around in panic trying to find partners and throw routines together in a few hours.

"Registration closes soon and the contest starts in, what, a couple hours?" he said, "There’s no way they actually expect complete strangers to build some perfect choreographed performance in that amount of time."

May paused.

Ash shrugged casually, "This whole thing’s probably a test."

"A test?"

"Yeah." Ash adjusted the bag over his shoulder, "Anyone can memorize a routine if you give them enough time. The point is probably whether you can sync up naturally under pressure."

May blinked at him.

Ash looked away awkwardly, "Besides, we already train together every day. I already know how you do things by memory at this point. We’ll be fine."

"I...okay, that’s a really good point" May admitted.

Ash already started walking off again, but he stopped and pointed with his thumb, "Oh, and keep Pikachu and Vee for a bit. Give them to Max or Brock when they get here. I don’t want to risk it," he said, not explaining what "it" was.

Then he walked off, leaving May, Pikachu, Vee, and her Eevee behind.

She sighed and decided to trust him. After all, he’d never let her down before. So she looked at the Contest Hall, took a breath, and walked in to sign them up.

—

Meanwhile, Ash headed to the nearest PC and quickly logged in to get someone. It took a second, but when he found him, he smiled and took out the Poké Ball before releasing him.

When the Poké Ball opened, out came Vulpix.

Yeah, did you think he forgot about him? No. It’s just that Vulpix didn’t want to battle, so Ash never forced him to. But that was also why Vulpix looked around confused. One second he was chilling, now he was here.

He looked up at Ash suspiciously, but Ash smirked, "Don’t worry, I just had an offer for you."

He raised his hand and switched it over to Fire Stone mode.

"You don’t want to battle, but I’m guessing you don’t want Arcanine to leave you behind either, do you?"

That made Vulpix freeze, and his tails drooped. Ash gave a toothy grin, "So how about we do something else? Are you interested?"

—

{Later in the day}

Backstage at the Lilycove Contest Hall was complete chaos. People were still trying to perfect their performances before the contest started.

May stood near one of the mirrors in her pink Coordinator dress, adjusting one glove nervously while Eevee sat beside her feet looking much calmer than she felt.

Nearby, Brock and Max had already headed off toward the audience seating after taking Pikachu and Vee with them, though Max absolutely refused to stop asking questions about why Ash had suddenly disappeared earlier.

"...He said he’d be here," May muttered while glancing toward the backstage entrance again.

Lisia stood beside her, humming happily while Ali fluffed his wings nearby.

"Ohhhh, mysterious~!" Lisia giggled, "You’re making this sound super romantic now."

"It is NOT romantic!"

Lisia gasped dramatically, "The denial! Such emotional conflict! This Chapter writes itself!"

May covered her face, "Please stop narrating my life..."

Ali gave a sympathetic chirp.

Lisia leaned closer curiously, "So who IS your partner anyway? You got all secretive earlier."

May hesitated awkwardly, "Iiiiiit’s..."

Before she could answer, another voice cut in.

"Well, this should be interesting."

May turned and saw Drew walking in with Roselia beside him while Chaz followed dramatically behind.

Drew adjusted one glove calmly, "Did you even manage to find a partner after all?"

May straightened slightly, "Of course I did."

Chaz immediately pointed accusingly, "Aha! Then reveal this mysterious individual at once!"

"Why do you care?" May asked.

"Because!" Chaz declared while striking a pose, "Any ally of Lisia’s chosen champion becomes part of the narrative!"

"I did not choose a champion," Lisia corrected immediately.

"You emotionally implied it!"

Roselia sighed tiredly.

Drew looked around once, "...So where are they?"

May opened her mouth, but then the lights backstage suddenly flickered.

And a loud THUNK echoed above them.

Several coordinators looked upward in confusion.

And then someone dropped down from the rafters.

A black cloak flared dramatically through the air before landing perfectly in the center of the room near May.

May nearly jumped out of her skin.

The figure straightened smoothly, one hand holding the brim of a dark hat that shadowed most of his face.

A black cape rested over one shoulder, elegant and dramatic like some kind of phantom thief straight out of a movie.

The stranger gave a polite bow.

"My apologies," he said smoothly, his voice calmer and more refined than usual, carrying a weird gentlemanly elegance to it, "I hope I have not kept my partner waiting too long."

May stared.

Lisia stared.

Chaz gasped so loudly someone dropped a makeup kit.

"Incredible!" Chaz clapped.

The mysterious figure turned slightly toward May before offering one gloved hand.

"Lady May," he said formally, "Shall we dazzle the stage together?"

May’s brain completely stopped functioning. Even though she couldn’t see half of his face, somehow she could tell who it was just by how she seemed to calm down when he spoke to her.

"...Ash?" she whispered.

The figure immediately placed a finger over where his lips were, "Ah ah," he said softly, "Tonight, identities are merely illusions."

May’s eye twitched and she had to hold herself back from calling him out, because that confirmed it. This was absolutely Ash.

Lisia’s sparkling eyes looked ready to explode from excitement, "Ohhhhhhh myyyyy gosh!" she squealed quietly while grabbing Ali’s wings, "This is AMAZING! Mysterious phantom gentleman partner reveal?! That’s SO Contest Spectacular!"

Chaz looked emotionally devastated in the best possible way, "A masked rival..." he whispered dramatically, "The narrative has evolved."

Drew narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the figure in black.

"...Your voice sounds familiar."

Ash smoothly tilted his hat downward slightly, "I assure you, sir, I am but a humble traveler passing through the night."

"At last!" Chaz declared, "A worthy theatrical opponent appears before me!"

Ash looked genuinely uncomfortable hearing that.

"That was not my intention."

"It matters not!" Chaz pointed toward him dramatically, "For tonight, our fates intertwine upon the stage of destiny!"

Ash slowly leaned closer to May.

"...Can I still leave?"

"No," May whispered immediately.

Before Ash could attempt another escape, a staff member poked their head backstage.

"Five minutes until opening ceremonies! Coordinators, prepare yourselves!"

As everyone else immediately started scrambling to get ready, Lisia stood up, "Alright, I’m off. I need to get over there to be a judge."

Then she leaned closer to May and whispered, "You’re totally winning."

"No pressure there," May muttered weakly.

"Oh no," Lisia giggled, "I mean because your partner is so cool!" she said like a fangirl.

Before May could say something else, Lisia actually had to leave, so she quickly ran off to go take her place.

Meanwhile, May sat down on a bench and looked at Ash.

"So your plan is to hide your identity with that?" May asked.

"You’re saying that like I don’t pull this off." Ash flicked the cape.

May sighed, "I hate that it kinda works with the whole phantom thief theme you’re going for."

The outfit Ash got was something inspired by the Kaitou Kid outfit with a suit and cape, but instead of white, it was black.

"So, you ready for this? You dragged me into this, so you better be planning to win," Ash said, crossing his arms.

May scratched her cheek, "Hehe, well then, let’s do our best. I’ll do what I can."