Pokémon: Starting with a Pokémon Ranch.

Chapter 98 High Score

After passing the first round of testing.

Su Yu and his group were led by the competition staff to a rest room behind the platform.

Here, various Pokémon that have passed inspection are gathered. Among them, Su Yu even saw Pokémon such as Whimsicott and Cottonball.

The fur on Whitey's body is soft and fluffy, and Cottonball, another Pokémon, can also produce products like cotton. These are all Pokémon related to clothing.

But Su Yu was puzzled: these Pokémon weren't sheep, so how could they participate in the Wool Contest?

Seeing Su Yu's confusion, Yang Hao explained:

"After all, this is a competition to select high-quality suppliers for brands. Although it's called the Wool Competition, it's not just wool-type Pokémon that will participate. Some ranchers who want to gain the favor of brands will also participate."

"As long as their products can meet the needs of the brands, that's fine."

Upon hearing this, Su Yu nodded, understanding.

It's the same principle as the Four Heavenly Kings actually being five.

By this time, the first round seemed to be almost over, and those contestants who passed the inspection were basically already in the rest room.

Seeing that it was almost time, the organizers began to arrange for the contestants to go on stage and receive scores from the judges.

The first one to go was a trainer who owned a Pokémon called Whitey.

The Pokémon Whiteflip is the evolved form of Swabbit and originally came from the Galar region. It is said that the thread made from the cotton on its head has a unique luster.

Su Yu didn't understand what this unique luster meant, but judging from the white pudding cultivated by this rancher, it seemed to be of a rather ordinary quality.

As expected, after a discussion among the judges, the white fluffy creature ultimately received a perfect score of 100, scoring 65 points.

With such a result, it was clear that there was no hope of ranking in the future. So after seeing the result, the rancher walked down from the platform dejectedly and returned to the crowd of spectators below.

"Mah..."

Seeing this, the woolly-horned sheep also became nervous. They seemed afraid that if they went on stage, they wouldn't get a high score either and would be eliminated immediately.

Su Yu smiled and said:

"Don't worry, with our strength, it's more than enough."

"Think about all the hard work you've put into training for today, the grass cakes and marshmallows you've eaten, and the goat milk your little lambs have provided."

"With so many factors combined, getting a good score is definitely enough, so you can rest assured."

Upon hearing this, the woolly sheep calmed down and quietly watched the contestants take the stage one by one.

The next few contestants were hardly noteworthy. However, there seemed to be a Altaria trainer who happened to be traveling in the area, heard about the Wool Festival, and decided to participate.

Altaria is a very rare Pokémon, even in the Eastern Kingdoms. After all, it's a Dragon-type Pokémon with a beautiful appearance and considerable combat power.

Even the judges were quite surprised that such a Pokémon would participate in the competition. In the end, this Altaria received a score of 89 points from the judges.

This is the closest score to 90 so far.

After the Qixi Bluebird, it was Yang Hao's turn to compete. Yang Hao's mount, a goat, had participated in this competition many times before. And its final score was also very consistent, at 82 points.

"Two points more than last year? Well, at least it's some progress." Yang Hao muttered to himself as he stepped off the platform.

Gu Lihuo, who followed closely behind, scored 73 points. The judges noticed that he looked rather young, so they chatted with him for a while.

The judges were astonished to learn that the Mareep was a Pokémon that had just been born this year. Was this Pokémon really that young?

Don't be fooled by the seemingly ordinary participants in this competition; many of them have actually participated in numerous competitions over the years, and some have even been preparing for this competition for years...

However, due to the limited resources in pastoral areas, or the lack of breeding capabilities among these ranchers, the quality of their work varies greatly.

Gu Lihuo's Mareep achieved such good results in its first competition. Wouldn't it achieve even better results once it evolves?

Immediately, a brand representative expressed its willingness to contact Gu Lihuo after the competition.

Upon hearing this, Su Yu glanced at the brand and realized it seemed to be making clothing products related to Electric-type Pokémon. If Mareep went there, it would seem like a perfect fit for its expertise.

At this moment, it seemed to be Su Yu's turn. Seeing this, Su Yu led the woolly horned sheep onto the high platform.

Upon seeing Su Yu's fluffy horned sheep, the referees, who were still discussing Gu Li Huo's sheep, were immediately intrigued and forgot all about the sheep from before.

They felt that, just by looking at it, the wool of these two woolly sheep was probably of better quality than that of the Tanabata that had just scored high.

After handling it, the judges felt that it felt quite good, and their evaluation of it immediately rose even higher.

"It has a smooth and elastic feel, and the texture is quite good. Its rancher must have taken great care in raising it."

"Furthermore, this woolly sheep seems to enjoy using the [Cotton Defense] move. With the energy from using the move for a long time, the durability of its wool is almost maxed out, making it extremely suitable as a raw material for high-end brands."

"It's a pity that wool from woolly-horned sheep is primarily for warmth, and the cooler season is already over. If we were to buy wool from woolly-horned sheep now, it might not be in sync with the weather."

One of the judges commented after touching the wool of the woolly-horned sheep.

After making these comments, the judge looked at the green caterpillar on Su Yu's shoulder and exclaimed:

"Young man, your caterpillar seems to be doing quite well. Would you be interested in participating in this competition and seeing if you can pass the rounds?"

"I can open a separate channel for your preliminary round submissions."

Upon hearing this, Su Yu imagined his caterpillar winning the competition and securing a supply agreement with a high-end brand. In that case, his caterpillar would probably be spinning silk every day to supply the brand…

Thinking of this, Su Yu immediately shook his head and refused:

"No thanks, my caterpillar prefers a more relaxed life, so I won't get involved in this..."

Upon hearing this, the judge immediately showed a very regretful expression and said:

"I see... Well then, respecting the Pokémon's own will is the most important thing, so I won't force them."

After a discussion among the judges on stage, Su Yu's woolly horned sheep ultimately scored a high score of 94 points, temporarily ranking first in the competition.

If no higher scores emerge later, then the score the woolly sheep have achieved should be secure.

(End of this chapter)