I caught a Pokémon

However, this feeling only lasted for a short while.

When Xiaoyao was all ready and sat down in the chair in the players' lounge, she could feel her heart pounding wildly!

Thanks to the accompanying rules, Xia You and the others were also allowed to enter the lounge and watch the game there.

As Xia You passed through the corridor in this area, she noticed that there were more coordinators here than at the Pokémon Center yesterday. Everyone was adjusting their state in their respective rooms, and a tense atmosphere was spreading.

It wasn't just Xiaoyao; many other newcomers who had never participated before, or had only participated in one or two competitions, were also feeling anxious.

Compared to them, Xia You had it much easier.

After all, this wasn't his own match. Although he was also in the locker room, he was observing as an outsider!

For him, this was a completely new experience!

12:53.

As the competition drew closer, even the corridors fell silent. It seemed that every contestant felt the pressure, and the once noisy waiting area suddenly became quiet!

During this agonizing wait, music started playing, followed by a woman's voice echoing throughout the venue.

The grand tournament in Kaina City has finally begun!

Chapter 649 The Grand Assembly Begins

The television in the athletes' lounge was broadcasting the event live.

Xia You and the others sat on the sofa and could see a beautiful host in the center of the arena, wearing a gorgeous red dress, with golden curly hair and a beauty mark at the corner of her eye, holding a microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting!" The female host's sweet voice clearly reached everyone's ears, and she excitedly announced, "The Pokémon Contest in Slateport City is about to begin! First, let's welcome our three judges for today!"

As the camera panned, it focused on the three people standing to the side.

Through the big screen, Xia You saw two men and one woman sitting in front of the judges' panel. He recognized the woman at a glance; she was Nurse Joy from the Pokémon Center!

Xia You wasn't surprised that Joey would attend such a competition. She glanced at him and then stopped paying attention, focusing instead on the two men beside him.

First look at the man next to Miss Joey. He is very short. Although he is sitting, he is not even as tall as Joey's shoulder. Judging from his age, he is at least over fifty years old. He squinted his eyes and, despite wearing a black suit, he had a weak presence and looked inconspicuous.

Let's look at another one.

He was about the same age as the unassuming man, perhaps even a little younger. He wore a maroon suit, a bow tie, and his hair was combed back with a silver-gray patch in the middle, making him look quite fashionable!

"As you can see..." the hostess introduced, "Today we have three judges: Mr. Sugizo, Mr. Conkenstein, and Ms. Joy. Let's give them a warm welcome!"

The audience erupted in applause.

Xia You's gaze swept over the three judges as well.

Even without the host's introduction, he knew that these people were all extraordinary.

Putting Nurse Joy aside, the first one is that short man, Sugisaki. He is the president of the Pokémon Fan Club and often appears as a judge in Pokémon Contests. He is a judge with a very high appearance rate in various Pokémon Contest venues!

The other man, Conkenstein, is the Director of the Grand Contest's Secretariat! He is also the highest-ranking person in charge of the entire event!

Compared to them, only Miss Joy is someone people see often and feel more approachable.

After introducing the three judges, the hostess continued talking about the tournament: "The winning Pokémon and Coordinator will receive the Senna Ribbon Medal, and the contestants who obtain five medals from various regional tournaments will qualify to participate in the Grand Pokémon Festival!"

At the same time, the ribbon medal of the city of Kaina was also displayed on the big screen.

This is a round, golden medal, like a gold medal, with a green ribbon tied into a bow around it, making it look both ordinary and somewhat unusual.

"Alright, the competition is about to begin. I'm Vivian, the host of this competition. Now, let's welcome our first contestant to the stage!"

As she finished speaking, it meant that the grand competition in Kaina City had officially begun.

Under the watchful eyes of countless people, contestant number one made a dazzling appearance with his Pokémon!

Gudong!

In the lounge, seeing the match begin, Xiao Yao nervously swallowed, and when Xia You and the others heard the sound, they noticed that she was actually trembling!

Xiaoxia asked with concern, "Xiaoyao, what's wrong? Are you nervous?"

Xiaoyao nodded: "I don't know what happened either. I was mentally prepared, but when the moment came, my legs still started shaking uncontrollably..."

When the moment came, Xiaoxia and the others didn't know how to encourage her, so they could only keep cheering her on.

Fortunately, there was Xia You, a worldly person, who knew how to adjust her mindset: "Don't rush, slow down your breathing. Didn't Mr. Bixi say last night that if a trainer is too nervous, he will bring his emotions to his Pokémon?"

Xiaoyao took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. After repeating this several times, she felt her nervousness subside.

Thank you all…

At this point, contestants were already taking the stage on television.

This is a male trainer with a gull, showcasing the beauty of their moves under the spotlight!

After his performance, the three judges gave him a score of 27.6.

This score is neither low nor high; it's an average score with no major mistakes but no outstanding achievements. With such a result, unless there's a more impressive performance in the second round, winning the championship will be quite difficult.

After him, many other contestants took the stage to perform, and their scores consistently hovered between 25 and 28.

Although their scores weren't high, their performances were still quite good. It seems that their Pokémon had all undergone systematic training, but none of them were particularly outstanding.

This situation finally changed with the arrival of contestant number 24.

"Next up is contestant number 24!"

In the scene, a green-haired boy walks onto the stage, introduced by Vivian.

That familiar face and that familiar aura made them recognize at a glance that it was Xiao Shun, whom they had seen yesterday!

"He really did come to participate in the competition!"

Looking at him, Xiaoyao's gaze sharpened, and even Xiaoxia gritted her teeth.

Regardless of whether Xiao Shun's handsome appearance and outstanding temperament can win the hearts of a large number of female viewers, at least for these two, they have already been added to the list of haters!

In the arena, under the spotlight, after Vivian finished her introduction, Xiao Shun made a cool entrance and even did a particularly cringeworthy pose!

Looking at his pretentious manner, Xia You couldn't help but think that if Xiao Shun were a battle trainer, he would definitely use Z-Moves very naturally and without any embarrassment when he went to the Alola region!

This is absolute talent!

After what he considered a very cool entrance, Shun began his performance.

His stage partner is Roselia, a humanoid plant-type Pokémon with arms and legs.

It is small in size, with three thorns on its head, and a light green body covered with green leaves like a dress. The leaves on its chest also have yellow parts. It usually has its eyes closed, has long eyelashes, and has a blue rose on its left hand and a red rose on its right hand. It looks like a forest fairy!

No matter how much Xiaoshun offends people with his words, it has to be said that he has a good eye for choosing partners.

Compared to the previous contestants, a humanoid Pokémon is obviously more graceful and pleasing to the eye when it comes to dancing!

Chapter 650: Which of these Pokémon is the most beautiful?

In the scene, Shun's poisonous rose has already begun its performance.

It leaped into the air and performed a petal dance, scattering petals everywhere. These petals danced wildly in the air, but that wasn't all. As the Poison Rose spun, it sprayed paralyzing powder into the sky, followed by a magic leaf attack. The continuous use of these moves created a mixed effect. The paralyzing powder and magic leaf intertwined, shimmering under the spotlight, looking absolutely dazzling! This series of moves produced a truly beautiful effect, naturally earning praise from the host and enthusiastic applause from the audience! The atmosphere was electric.

That wasn't all. Poison Rose used her petal dance again, and as the petals danced, she seemed to disappear into the air, vanishing from the stage! Before the audience could even react, Poison Rose reappeared, once more using her magic leaves. With her sharp blades, she shattered the countless petals into countless fragments. These petal fragments spun and slowly fell, like a pink snowfall! Amidst this snow, Poison Rose and Shun moved in unison, bowing to the audience and exiting the stage.

clap clap clap...

A thunderous applause erupted! The screens in front of the three judges displayed their respective scores. First, Conkenstein gave him 9.8 points, followed by Sugizo with a high score of 9.9, and Miss Joy with 9.7 points! Together, they gave Shun an impressive score of 29.4 points in this round! This score put him ahead of all the previous contestants!

Upon seeing the score, Vivian was surprised, but instead of letting the next contestant take the stage, she went to the judging panel and interviewed the three judges: Miss Joy, Sukizo, and Conkenstein.

"It's clear that all three of you gave very high scores. Could you explain your reasons?"

This is an essential step, and it's also to help viewers watching the Pokémon Contest for the first time understand why Shun got such a high score. Nurse Joy looked at the screen and smiled, "This contestant's teamwork with their Pokémon is perfect; they're the most comfortable to watch among all the participants so far, which is why I gave them a 9.7!" The short Pokémon Enthusiast Club president, Sugisaki, facing the microphone handed to him, simply smiled and said, "No other reason, I just really like them."

Compared to these two, Conkenstein, the secretary-general of the Grand Contest, gave a more professional reason: "This contestant's stage performance was wonderful. It is clear that the Pokémon are well-trained and must have undergone a long period of hard practice. Some of the moves are not easy to combine. There are strict requirements for the timing of the Pokémon. If you do not perform well, it is easy to make a mess of things."

In the contestants' lounge, after watching Xiaoshun's performance and the judges' comments, Xiaoxia also frowned.

"This guy is indeed quite capable; no wonder he's so confident."

Xiaoyao remained silent after hearing Xiaoxia's words.

To be honest, Xiaoshun put a lot of pressure on her!

Given his behavior, how can I possibly regain my composure in front of him?

The match was still going on.

Shortly after Shun left the field, Haruka's dressing room door opened, and Shun walked in with his hands in his pockets!

"Oh, so you guys really came." He sized up the group, his gaze finally settling on Xiaoyao. He sneered, "See my performance just now? That's true beauty, something a beginner like you can't achieve!" Hearing him mention beauty, Xiaoxia's anger flared instantly! "Are you here to provoke me? Want to get beaten up?" Seeing Xiaoxia's aggressive demeanor, Xiaoshun also recalled the fear of being punched by her. He stood at the door, not daring to go any further, but still stubbornly said, "Provoke me? I'm not that bored. I'm just here as a senior Coordinator to cheer you on. I hope you at least pass the first round of auditions, and don't get eliminated!" Everyone could tell he was there to mock and show off! Faced with such provocation, Xiaoyao, though admiring Xiaoshun's performance, clearly wouldn't show it in front of him. Instead, she stood up defiantly and said firmly, "I will pass! Just you wait and see!" Just then, a huge cheer erupted from the television.

Attracted by the sound, the group turned to look and saw a man with long blond hair, wearing a purple suit, and exuding an equally elegant air, performing with his Pokémon on the television.

His Pokémon is a Milotic.

Under the spotlight, Milotic seemed to be enveloped in a mysterious light, appearing to sparkle!

Vivian exclaimed excitedly, "She doesn't even need to perform! Just standing there quietly, Milotic's beauty ignites the entire arena!!"

Milotic?

Ash stared in astonishment at the colorful Pokémon on the screen, which bore a resemblance to a Dragonair, and murmured, "It's so beautiful, what kind of Pokémon is this?"

"Don't you know?" Xiaoxia glanced at Xiaoshun with disdain, too lazy to waste her breath on him, and then turned to Xiaozhi. "Didn't you fight Xia You's Feebas before? And after Feebas evolves, it becomes Milotic!"

"What!??"

Ash was completely shocked!

That ugly and weak Feebas evolves into such a beautiful Pokémon!?

Although it's not humanoid, Ash can clearly still appreciate its beauty!

In the entire room, only Xia You was looking at Milotic, but she didn't seem to feel anything.

For him, Milotic was more about elegance than beauty.

When I first caught Feebas, it was simply to make up for the current shortage of Water-type Pokémon.

If we're talking about Pokémon that he truly finds beautiful, it's only Pokémon like Gardevoir, Pheromosa, and Meloetta.

Even in terms of elegance, he felt that Latias was much more elegant and beautiful than Milos.

Hmm, but speaking of Latias, it is a Pokémon that has been in its own Poké Ball. I wonder what it and its brother Latios are doing now, and whether they have been disturbed by humans.

But then I thought, with Kanon and his grandfather taking care of them, and with the barrier protecting them, they should still be living carefree in Water City as before.

While he was daydreaming, the performance on screen had already ended, and just like with Shun just now, he received the same cheers from the audience!

Even their scores were the same!

It was at this moment that Xia You learned the contestant's name from Vivian—Robert!

Chapter 651 Do you want me to lend you my Pokémon?

Robert's appearance also put immense pressure on Shun.

This also made Xiaoshun realize that this might be her biggest competitor in this grand competition!

Having lost all interest in mocking Xiaoyao, Xiaoshun turned and left the lounge without a word, his face grim, disappearing down the corridor.

Xia You and the others did not notice Xiao Shun's quiet departure; their attention remained focused on the screen.

As you can see, after Robert's performance, several other contestants came on stage. However, perhaps influenced by Robert's perfect performance, some of them actually underperformed!

This is the most basic mistake that should never happen, yet it keeps occurring, which shows the immense pressure Robert is putting on them.

But at this moment, Xiaoyao didn't have time to care about anyone else.

As the competition drew to a close, it was time for her to take the stage.

"Keep it up!" Hearing the announcement, Xia You and the others encouraged Xiao Yao, "Believe in yourself, you will succeed!"

Inside the venue, Vivian held a microphone, warming up for Xiaoyao's final appearance. She announced loudly, "Next, only one contestant remains for the first round of judging. Now, let's welcome contestant number 50, Xiaoyao from Orange Blossom City, with applause!"

Xiaoyao took a deep breath, and with the encouraging gazes of the others, she straightened her small chest, nodded to them, and then strode out of the lounge with a do-or-die spirit.

To be honest, before the competition, no one expected that she would draw the last number and become the final performer.

After all, the audience and judges have become somewhat aesthetically fatigued after watching so many performances. If they cannot deliver a particularly brilliant performance, they will not only be affected by the previous contestants and easily underperform, but they may also fail to gain effective recognition from the fatigued audience and judges.