“95 points. Truly impressive.”
Among the panel of judges, Mr. Raoul Contesta, Nurse Joy, and Mr. Sukizo all nodded slightly after watching a certain contestant’s performance.
Although the 95-point score was given by the three Nurse Joy judges, it took many factors into consideration, and the head judges all highly approved of it.
Using only a single move to showcase appeal might seem simple, but in reality it places tremendous demands on both the Coordinator and the Pokémon.
In this preliminary round, where the average score hovered around 80, contestants scoring above 90 were still few and far between.
“It’s my turn.” From the contestant lounge, Lisia’s rival, Chaz, stepped out confidently.
After arriving on the stage, he flamboyantly tossed a Poké Ball. A Machoke appeared onstage, and at his command, the Machoke’s muscles tensed sharply before it unleashed a rapid display of lightning-fast punches.
Watching from the contestant lounge, Terrance focused intently for the first time. Bulk Up—a move that increases Attack and Defense. From a Breeder’s perspective, Terrance could tell that this Machoke had been raised exceptionally well, allowing Bulk Up to reach its full potential. From a Coordinator’s perspective, the enhancements from Bulk Up were evenly distributed across every muscle group that needed to exert force, giving Machoke a remarkably balanced physique. From a Trainer’s perspective, the way this Machamp controlled its body was fierce and commanding, and the combination of Bulk Up with standard punches reminded Terrance of someone.
“There’s a trace of Brawly in this Machoke, the Gym Leader of Dewford Gym. What’s Brawly’s relationship with him?” At the same time, the scores were revealed, and the first perfect score stunned the entire venue.
While everyone else was shocked by the first 100 points and Chaz’s strength, Terrance had already thoroughly grasped the judging standards of the three Nurse Joys.
“Terrance-senpai, this Chaz is amazing,” Sora said in astonishment from behind him. He knew Chaz had only debuted a year ago, yet he already possessed such skills. No wonder he was called a rising genius of the Hoenn region.
“He really is quite good,” Terrance replied.
Through his observations, Terrance was now confident he could achieve any score he wanted. In other words, he had completely mastered the preliminary round’s scoring standards and the preferences of the three Nurse Joy judges. He was confident he could fine-tune his performance to reach any specific score.
That meant if he wanted 75 points, he could precisely deliver a 75-point performance; if he wanted 89 points, he could do exactly that. After observing more than a dozen performances, Terrance once again rose to new heights.
Sora looked at Terrance’s calm expression, completely unaware that, in Terrance’s eyes, this preliminary round posed no challenge at all.
“What a shame… I wasn’t the first to get a perfect score!” Next, another confident Coordinator took the stage. Marina, a talented rookie from the Johto region, together with her partner Misdreavus, earned the second perfect 100.
Starting with Chaz, the stage that had previously seen only a handful of scores above 90 began producing perfect scores one after another. Marina, Solidad, Yuma, Daisy Oak; each display of moves captured the audience’s full attention.
Terrance continued watching as time slowly passed, and soon, it was his turn.
“Alright! Next up, from Fallarbor Town in the Hoenn region, the Supernova of the Coordination World, Mr. Terrance!!”
When this name was read out, a smile appeared at the corner of Lilian’s lips. She was hosting the second venue, and Terrance was scheduled to perform there. His appearance filled Lilian with anticipation; after all, as a Pokémon Contest announcer of the Hoenn region, she was naturally very familiar with this Contest Master whose fame rivaled Wallace’s.
This was no so-called super rookie or genius rookie, but a true powerhouse who had dominated the Pokémon Contest scene.
Since his debut in Pokémon Contests, he had never suffered a single defeat! That alone was enough to prove Terrance’s strength.
Dressed in a white uniform and a blue cape, Terrance walked out of the passageway and onto the stage. His attire looked near and tidy, and paired with his light-brown short hair, it gave many people a sense of noble elegance.
Then, under the gaze of countless eyes, Terrance chose a Pokémon that left everyone stunned: Carbink.
Not Beautifly, not Altaria, nor that Ice-type Ninetales.
“Since this is the preliminaries, did he send out a different Pokémon?” Raoul Contesta guessed.
The Grand Festival rules had been adjusted: different Pokémon could be used in the preliminaries, the first round, and the second round. That meant there was no problem at all if Terrance sent out Carbink now and switched to another Pokémon later.
That was exactly Terrance’s plan. When Carbink appeared, most people went from shock to confusion, because many of them had no understanding at all of this Pokémon from the Kalos region.
Its rock-like body was embedded with several fragments of crystal, with a ring of fur in the middle. It had blue eyes and diamond-shaped ears on its head. Looking at this petite Carbink, curiosity soon appeared on people’s faces.
Even though it was unfamiliar, they were still full of anticipation, because Carbink’s Coordinator was Terrance.
“Magic Coat—”
Only a single move can be showcased in the Appeal Round, and Terrance chose Magic Coat. Ever since Seafoam Islands became a turning point, Carbink’s mastery over defensive moves had reached a near-perfect level.
On the stage, as Terrance’s command rang out, the blue crystals embedded in Carbink’s body revealed a hint of pink.
In an instant, it was as if a flash of light passed before the eyes of the audience, judges, contestants, and announcer alike. When everyone came back to their senses, an enormous diamond had wrapped itself around Carbink.
The diamond stood about three meters tall, towering at the center of the stage and occupying the most eye-catching position.
Perhaps because of the stage lighting, faint pink hues flowed across the surface of this giant diamond, making it unimaginably beautiful.
“What is this…?” Lilian cried out in astonishment. At the same time, all eyes in the venue focused on it. No one had forgotten Terrance’s command, Magic Coat.
Yet what appeared on the stage was not an ordinary magic mirror, but a multifaceted diamond seemingly pieced together from countless magic mirrors!
“Wait, this isn’t the result of using the move repeatedly. He actually managed to change the form of Magic Coat!” In the contestant lounge, Lisia stared at the pink radiance on the screen, speaking in disbelief.
If it were just an ordinary diamond, it wouldn’t have been enough to make the venue erupt. But this diamond constructed from magic mirrors was brimming with artistic flair!
The entire diamond enveloped Carbink within it, the two complementing each other as brilliance spilled forth. Light intersected across every facet of the diamond, and the constantly flowing pink halo gave it a sense of motion, making it feel as though one were gazing upon a breathtaking, resplendent masterpiece.
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