“What kind of thrilling scenes are we going to witness in the performance round of the Fallarbor Contest?”
“Now, let’s begin the primary judging: Performance Stage!!”
“Contestant No. 1, Aiko, please take the stage!”
Aiko was a female Coordinator with deep crimson hair draped over her shoulder. Called by name, she calmly walked onto the stage.
“Aiko is a seeded contestant this time. Fallarbor Ribbon is the only badge she hasn’t collected in Hoenn.” Judge Fuego whispered to Nurse Joy and Terrance.
“She’s collected all the others? What an interesting person.” Terrance couldn’t help but smile slightly.
It seemed that Chisana’s path to victory wouldn’t be so easy.
On stage, following Vivian’s commentary, Contestant Aiko’s slender frame tossed a wooden log into the air. Her Weavile swiftly leaped up, swinging its razor-sharp claws—swish! swish! swish!
In mere moments, the log was evenly sliced into multiple pieces, each cut surface covered in a thin layer of frost.
But Weavile didn’t stop there. Its claws slashed with astonishing speed—once, twice, three times… The strikes accumulated into dozens, and by the time gravity pulled both the log and Weavile downward, the wooden log had already been completely “shredded”!
What was once a solid piece of wood had turned into countless wood shavings. Each individual shaving shimmered, enveloped in a chilling energy, resembling falling snowflakes.
After completing that, Weavile landed steadily, allowing the snowflakes to fall upon its body, while it continued to swing its glowing claws.
“There it is! Contestant Aiko’s Weavile has used its claws to transform the log into snowflakes-like wood shavings—simply incredible!!” Vivian exclaimed in amazement.
As applause erupted from the audience, Vivian continued, “Now, let’s see how the judges will evaluate this performance.”
“Hmm, an excellent Fury Swipes, brilliantly highlighting Weavile’s distinctive traits.” Fuego praised, awarding a perfect score of 10.
“Weavile has been raised exceptionally well. Just by looking at the condition of its claws, it’s clear that the Coordinator put in a great deal of effort…” Nurse Joy commented, also giving a score of 10.
“As a Pokémon with hook-like claws, Weavile’s defining feature is undoubtedly its sharp claws. Its claws are unique—their hooks cause frostbite upon contact. Contestant Aiko cleverly utilized this effect in her performance, skillfully incorporating the wood shavings to highlight Weavile’s secondary type. A truly ingenious approach… 10 points.”
Final score: 30 points.
The first contestant achieved a perfect score, and there was no doubt that it was well-earned. Even Terrance was quite surprised.
Without a doubt, while the performance wasn’t exactly simple, it wasn’t excessively magnificent either. Yet, with just a single move and a single item, a perfect score was secured. Such a concise performance managed to showcase Weavile’s unique traits so vividly that anyone with a certain level of expertise couldn’t help but reveal a look of astonishment.
“That Weavile’s claws… they’re impressive,” Terrance thought to himself.
On stage, after receiving a perfect score, Contestant Aiko lifted her head and glanced toward Terrance. As if expecting this reaction, Terrance met her gaze with a subtle, almost imperceptible smile.
Aiko quickly turned her head away, suddenly feeling as if she had been showing off her skills in front of a professional.
“His expression remained calm the entire time, and even his tone during the evaluation was just a plain statement… Could it be that a technique of this level isn’t even enough to get a Top Coordinator’s attention?” Aiko withdrew her Weavile and left the stage.
After Aiko, the second contestant’s performance returned to a more standard level, which allowed many participants to breathe a sigh of relief—though that relief was tinged with a faint sense of disappointment.
Everyone hoped that each competition would be of the highest standard, and that they themselves would be the one to take the victory.
Yet, among nearly a hundred Contestants, only one could win the Ribbon and earn the right to battle Terrance.
Inside the contestant room, Chisana didn’t miss a single performance, listening carefully to Terrance’s evaluations.
He wasn’t the only one doing so. In another contestant room, a girl with cream-colored hair sat on a bench, listening attentively, her expression occasionally turning serious.
In fact, in every contestant room, several Coordinators seized this opportunity to analyze the reasoning behind Terrance’s scoring.
“He can point out things that are different from the other two judges for every single performance… And for each Pokémon that takes the stage, he seems to have an incredibly deep understanding!” Some Coordinators were shocked. They couldn’t understand how someone around their own age could achieve such a level of expertise.
…
…
Watching a nervous young boy on stage, Terrance spoke, “Very good. You utilized Raichu’s ability to store large amounts of electricity to create a scene of dazzling electric lights. If this were performed at night, I believe Raichu would be even more eye-catching…”
With that brief evaluation, Terrance gave a score of 9.
Only 9 points…
The contestant walked off the stage in disappointment. With the combined scores from Nurse Joy and Mr. Fuego, he hadn’t even reached 28 points.
“He was just a bit short. The Pokémon’s breeding was lacking. If he had combined Raichu’s Lightning Rod Ability with Spark at the end, the score would have been slightly higher.” Terrance watched the departing Contestant. These kinds of participants made up the core of this Pokémon Contest—each possessing a certain outstanding aspect, yet failing to integrate their strengths into a cohesive performance.
At this moment, even without battling Terrance, just hearing his evaluation of their performance made several Coordinators start to question themselves: “Can I really defeat him?”
Everything they had showcased was analyzed with pinpoint accuracy. Even what they had failed to express—though Terrance hadn’t explicitly pointed it out—was reflected in the score, making it clear that he didn’t consider their performances to be perfect.
As a result, in the eyes of the Coordinators stepping onto the stage, Terrance’s presence seemed to grow larger and larger. A thought crept into their minds—if he were the one raising and commanding their Pokémon, wouldn’t he be able to achieve a perfect score?
“So this is a Top Coordinator…”
The difference in skill was undeniable.
In the contestant room, Chisana’s thoughts surged. When he was with Terrance, he hadn’t felt such a stark contrast, but now, putting himself in Terrance’s shoes, watching and judging the performances of other Coordinators, he realized that his observation skills, knowledge, and even the speed of his analysis and articulation were nowhere near the level of the three judges on stage.
“The next Contestant, Sora!”
Vivian’s voice echoed through the venue. Chisana lifted his head again to look at the big screen. It wasn’t his turn yet—he still had time to observe.
“Maybe it has something to do with Brother Terrance’s identity as a Breeder… Also, while I know I’ve improved tremendously compared to a year ago, right now…”
Chisana scratched his cheek. For a brief moment, he felt like Terrance was completely unbeatable.
But he quickly crushed that thought. What a joke—he had sworn to surpass Terrance one day!
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