The heroes arrive to Slateport City, where they meet up with May's mother, Caroline, as well as her rivals, Drew and Harley. Harley, despite his past incidents, tries to bond with May, suggesting she should have only Beautifly use Silver Wind. May, unaware of Harley's true motives, starts to take liking to this idea. Suddenly, the group hears that Norman is in town, too, and go to check that out.

May faces Harley, her dreadful rival, who aims to take revenge on her. However, May has collected a lot of experience from his previous battles, and uses her tactics to counter Harley. As she wins this battle, she ends up facing her other rival, Drew, in the quarterfinals. Much to her surprise, he sends out a Pokémon he trained just for the Grand Festival.