>>58596373And add onto this the fact that, when she returns in DP, she's actually in the midst of yet another rut, despite having 3 Johto ribbons. It's only reuniting with Ash and Brock, and (despite losing) helping dig Dawn out of her own depressive spiral, that May seems to bounce back. And, by the time we see her in Journeys, she appears to be the most famous of all of Ash's companions, with Serena making a big deal out of letting Koharu borrow the dress of "The Princess of Hoenn," a title she already had by DP. But generally, yes, the last two dozen or so AG episodes are pretty rough on May, basically hammering home the idea that she can't just ride Ash's coattails or be generally dependent on others forever. We see this again when Dawn and Serena leave the group and the end of their respective series too, but it seems the show was much rougher on May about it. Factoring in the Manaphy movie really makes it all the more painful for her.
