I really like how close and friendly May and Ash are shown to be, which is felt all the more b/c it contrasts with some of the teasing that goes on b/w May and Brock. Near the end, May and Ash pull out their halves of the ribbon they split when they tied at the Battle Frontier's concluding contest, and May talks about how it has encouraged her b/c it reminds her of the things she learned from Ash. I honestly think May is being a little generous if, as Brock explains to Dawn, this means she's greatly appreciative of Ash's teachings when she was a starting coordinator, since I personally believe Ash was learning many things himself in Hoenn and the Battle Frontier. Ash's Hoenn journey, to me, was his learning how to be a better trainer w/o relying so much on his best pokemon, like Charizard and Snorlax and etc. The fact that he finished at the Hoenn league with the same result as his Jhoto experience using the same 6 pokemon throughout the tournament and who were, I feel, largely an underpowered group for a league experience was a step forward for him; he was learning to think more strategically. Then, the Battle Frontier really took things to another level for Ash and pretty much finalized the way he likes to battle. And May was there throughout all that time; so, the way I like to think of things, May and Ash grew together and became the accomplished trainers they are now. In fact, it sort of feels like May has surpassed Ash in terms of popularity, from the way Dawn talks about her. At the beginning scene, Dawn tells Piplup they are going to meet the coordinator who Ash and Brock traveled with, which is a fair enough introduction. But when Dawn meets May, she has a little fun by calling May the princess of Hoenn. That's a pretty big compliment, and it's not like May denies she's called that. (Shrugging) This could all be a dub thing, but wow, May has really blossomed if she has that sort of recognition. And that goes back to the ribbon May shares with Ash. They grew together, and on trainer experience and technique, I would honestly say May could hold her own against Ash in battle. And the only reason I say this is b/c, looking at all the battles Ash and Dawn have had in Sinnoh, I feel like the writers have gone out of their way to make the fact that Ash is a much more experienced trainer than Dawn very clear. I don't think that's quite the case with May and Ash. There's a different sort of respect b/w them: they're much more on equal terms in terms of trainer skill, and that's one part of the significance of their ribbon, I feel.
There I go, getting off on a tangent. What I wanted to bring up with the popularity thing with May is that Dawn is really in the dark about many of Ash's achievements. Definitely the Battle Frontier is one of them, but there's also the contest he "won" (she doesn't know of the ribbon), and a few of his experiences against other gym leaders. She's okay not knowing, for whatever reason; she appears to be comfortable thinking of him as a skillful trainer, and that's enough. It's quite amazing, when considering how she knows Brock was a gym leader and seems to have an inkling of May's experiences. To me, this shows how Ash has so much confidence in himself that he doesn't need to bring these things up until there's a reason to. You know, I think this was started way back when Ash introduced himself to Dawn, and it's been kept that way.
With all of this said, the fact that May cares so much for that ribbon is heartwarming and wonderful for the friendship/experiences it represents. Dawn brings out her own memento, which is her Mom's contest ribbon. And here it is: the difference in May's and Dawn's storylines. Remember way back at the start of Hoenn, May felt some pressure to take the gym challenge b/c her father was a gym leader, but the truth was she never really was that interested in doing gyms. She saw contests and enjoyed the idea behind them so much that she decided she wanted to be a coordinator instead; when she told her parents, they told her she should definitely go for it. By making this sort of tough, soul-searching decision about what she wanted to do, May established herself immediately as a very strong character; I don't think, from what I remember, that she ever felt that she should succeed b/c of her father's skill as a gym leader. In fact, I think that Max was the one of the two who truly felt that pressure in the way he looked at things. May was too strong of a person to be bothered by that, and that was shown from the beginning with her decisiveness in following her own dream instead of what her parents or maybe even the people of her town expected of her. Dawn is completely, completely different. Dawn likes contests, but the best she can hope to do is follow in her mother's footsteps. And that's fine; that's what she really wants to do, to be a skillful coordinator like her mother. That's why she hangs on to her mother's ribbon, as a good luck charm. But if it's a good luck charm, it's also a burden. It's keeping her from being her own person, in a way. This is a central storyline of Sinnoh: Dawn becoming her own person, and sort of stepping outside her mother's shadow and getting real confidence based on her own experiences. This what Dawn's mother is trying to teach Dawn by having her talk to her friends after contest victories and defeats, and things like that. May's ribbon that she shares with Ash is her own experience; Dawn's good luck ribbon is her mother's experience.
Okay, one more thought to finish this review, and that's how much confidence Ash has in May to help Dawn feel better. Judging from Dawn's reaction when Ash lets her know that he told May about her contest travels, she's not exactly thrilled that he did that (not that she's mad). Ash obviously talked to Brock before doing this, since he knows as well, and this all again shows that the two have been aware of how Dawn's been feeling, and really just giving her time. And May does a tremendous job of helping Dawn to feel better (although showing 3 ribbons is maybe not the best way to say that Jhoto has been filled with disasters, but Dawn is happy anyway). I think May has the 3rd biggest influence on Dawn's development, behind Ash and Zoey. And well, I'll look at that a little more in the next few episodes. Really, the best thing about this episode is Ash and May, so May and Dawn can wait a little until next time.