>>57379953So this is the episode that introduces contests. Characters-of-the-day invite May and the gang to participate and they accept for fun, but in the end they can't compete because contest capacity is full (Jessie filled in the last spot). May is bummed about it since she was somewhat interested in giving it a try, so female CotD invites her and Max to be their assistants during the first phase of the contest. Female CotD wins the whole thing, and May ends up liking contests and decides she wants to participate in them to win ribbons. She was so inspired by them that, for the first time, she defeats team rocket (mostly) on her own by steadily commanding Torchic (previous episodes would display May as sloppy when commanding Torchic). When Max notices her enthusiasm and her saying she'll participate in contests, he tells her to not forget about the upcoming Rustboro gym battle, to which she unenthusiastically agrees.
