As the Sea of Stars came to an end, the venue fell into silence.
Even after it was over, many people still hadn’t fully understood Ninetales’s performance.
As for those who did understand it, all eyes turned toward the panel of judges, waiting for the scores.
So far, not a single contestant had received more than 29 points. Would Terrance be the first?
Everyone held that expectation. After all, Terrance had already achieved a perfect score in the preliminary round; it could be said that he was one of the ten contestants with the greatest potential to win the championship so far. In a sense, Terrance’s score this time could reflect the level of those ten.
In the Contestants’ lounge, it was so quiet that only breathing could be heard. Every Coordinator clenched their fists, staring unblinkingly at the panel of judges…
With a crisp “ding,” three scores appeared beneath the panel.
10 points.
10 points.
10 points.
When the three perfect scores appeared, the Coordinators loosened their clenched fists, revealing expressions of “just as expected.”
“Well then, I’ll just focus on my own performance.”
Some of the Coordinators who had initially refused to yield to one another saw Terrance’s total score of 30 points, and their last sliver of hope vanished. They shook their heads, grumbling inwardly at the same time. Letting someone like Terrance go on eleventh was basically not considering their feelings at all. It was too much.
After all, once Ninetales’s performance was over, the standard for a perfect score might rise even further. Since Terrance was the first to receive full marks, when the three judges scored again, they would inevitably compare everything subconsciously to Ninetales’s performance. That was the truly tragic part for some of the participating Coordinators.
“I wonder if he can be certified as a Contest Master by the Contest Committee.”
Top Coordinator Yuma looked at Terrance as he walked off the stage and voiced her speculation.
A master-level Trainer and a master-level Coordinator are two different concepts.
In people’s understanding, a master-level Trainer pursues the power of moves, simplifying them as much as possible to unleash the strongest damage in the shortest time. Of course, that doesn’t mean master-level Trainers are bad at coordination. On the contrary, their coordination skills are something 99.99% of Coordinators cannot match.
Just like Miss Diantha whom Terrance had encountered, her combo moves were something even many Top Coordinators found difficult to achieve. Moreover, Diantha had another identity: she was the most popular actress in Kalos. Her style might be related to her profession, as she also pursued a certain degree of flamboyance.
A Contest Master, on the other hand, tends to focus on studying how moves are applied. For example, with moves like Iron Tail or Steel Wing, a Contest Master can fully simulate alternative “iron leg” or “iron fist.” They also understand the essence of moves and develop them further. Ash’s “Counter Shield,” for instance, belongs to a special application of a move.
It can be said that Contest Masters have reached an almost miraculous level in their use of energy and moves.
After watching Terrance’s complex performance, many Coordinators came to this realization. Up to now, at the public level, the only person known as a Contest Master was Wallace.
This wasn’t a title given by the masses, but created by the Contest Committee for promoting Wallace! It was precisely this promotion that made people realize that this rising star of Pokémon Contests possessed strength no less than that of the Elite Four.
Aside from that, the Contest Committee had never elevated anyone else or called anyone a Contest Master.
Over time, the title of Contest Master became a term Coordinators used for those Top Coordinators who dominated Pokémon Contests across multiple regions. But in truth, everyone understood that to this day, the only Contest Master officially recognized by the Contest Committee was Wallace alone.
Although figures like Wallace’s mentor Juan, some Elite Four masters, and Champion-level masters might also possess this level of coordination skills, the Contest Committee would never promote a Trainer. As for Gym Leader Juan, he retired far too long ago and has long since become part of the upper management of Pokémon Contests. Aside from the annual Sootopolis City water show and Gym battles, he rarely participates in public, formal competitions, so he is no longer very active in the Coordinator scene.
As Terrance reached the passageway, the Contestant for the 12th Performance Stage was also stepping onto the stage.
Returning to the same corner as before, Terrance didn’t hurry to leave, but instead chose to continue watching the competition.
At the very least, he wanted to finish watching the performances of the ten Coordinators who had earned perfect scores in the preliminary round.
Those ten perfect-score achievers from the preliminary round will all perform after him. Terrance wanted to see whether any of them could still earn a perfect score in this round.
If so, they would be formidable opponents for him in the upcoming battle segment.
14th, Old Green House Chisana stepped onto the stage and sent out his long-time partner Crobat, earning a score of 29.1 points.
19th, the Johto region’s genius rookie Coordinator Marina took the stage, once again sending out that little Misdreavus.
“This Misdreavus has quite a different style from my own Mismagius,” Terrance opened his eyes, glanced at the total score of 29 points, and nodded. As a rookie, she was already closely chasing Chisana, who had several years of experience. This girl’s talent far surpassed Chisana’s—she was a born Coordinator.
24th, Professor Oak’s granddaughter, Daisy Oak, stepped onto the stage. She sent out a Blissey, and this time, differing opinions appeared on the panel of judges for the first time.
By “differing opinions,” it meant that the gap between the three judges’ scores was unusually large.
Raoul Contesta gave a 9.7, Mr. Sukizo gave a 9.7, while Nurse Joy gave a full 10 points.
“This Blissey has been raised exceptionally well. As a Breeder who has raised Chansey before, I can see its hidden charm. In my eyes, it deserves this score,” Nurse Joy of Saffron City said to the other two judges.
With that, aside from Terrance, another perfect score appeared. Although it came from only a single judge, it still broke a record.
Daisy Oak, with a total score of 29.4, was the Champion of a certain spring Grand Festival. Although she is already a Top Coordinator, her performance this time did not achieve a perfect score of 30, leaving many spectators astonished at the judges’ strictness.
After the 24th performance, it was time for the intermission.
Having watched the competition all morning, Terrance stretched lazily, planning to find a place to enjoy a proper meal.
Thus, for the entire noon, Terrance stayed at a high-end snack bar, sampling all of its specialty dishes before finally, contentedly, returning to the Pokémon Contest Hall.
“Mr. Raoul Contesta, how was your midday rest?”
With some time still left before the afternoon’s main event began, Terrance went to the Pokémon Contest Hall’s office, sat down without ceremony, and chatted casually with Raoul Contesta, who was handling paperwork.
“Do I look like someone who has time to rest?” Raoul Contesta replied helplessly.
“It does look busy, but surely you didn’t skip lunch entirely?” Terrance said in mild surprise.
“Not quite that bad. I just ate the standard boxed lunch distributed to the staff,” Raoul Contesta said, setting down his pen and looking at Terrance’s noticeably bulging stomach, shaking his head.
“I’m telling you, you can’t indulge in eating and drinking like this just because you don’t have a performance this afternoon… If you gain weight, how are you supposed to be a public-facing Coordinator?”
“You need to understand, a good-looking Top Coordinator and an ordinary-looking Coordinator… are essentially two completely different professions.”
“I know, I know. There’s nothing I can do about it,” Terrance waved his hand. “My Pokémon eat only high-end food and nutritional supplements, so as their Trainer, I naturally have to maintain the same level of consumption. That way we have common ground and won’t end up with a generation gap.”
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