Chapter 247: Kanaz Contest

One o'clock in the afternoon.

"Thank you all for waiting!"

"The Pokémon Contest, the Kanaz City Tournament, is finally about to begin!"

The bespectacled host stood on the stage, surrounded by cheering spectators and three smiling judges.

"This time we have invited Mr. Yanase of the Pokémon Fan Club."

The tall, handsome Yanase nodded in greeting.

"Mr. Patstein, Deputy Director of the Tournament Executive Office."

The grey-haired middle-aged man smiled.

"And Miss Miss Qiao Yin of Kanaz City. These three judges will conduct a strict examination of the participating Pokémon."

Miss Miss Qiao Yin's smile did not waver.

The bespectacled host held high a pink-edged red ribbon. "What the winner will receive is, without a doubt, this Kanaz Ribbon! Contestants who win the contests of five cities and hold five ribbons will be nominated as Top Candidates, and may then take part in the Grand Pokémon Contest Festival!"

The applause was like thunder.

"Then the first examination will begin at once! Please welcome our first contestant!"

The spotlight shifted backward. The three judges took their places at their respective scoring tables, watching the stage with expressions ranging from stern to beaming.

Baimu was reading a book.

Inside the rest room.

Having changed clothes, Baimu sat on the sofa, calmly watching the broadcast on the large screen before him.

Thanks to his tall, slender build and his calm, composed, handsome features, the suit he wore did not betray the fact that he was still young; on the contrary, it lent him a touch of mature, steady poise, radiating a distinctive brilliance quite naturally.

Even sitting there in silence, he drew the attention of quite a few passers-by.

Many people were curious about his background, whispering among themselves to gather information, only to find that not a single one of them knew this unusual fellow.

In the history of Pokémon Contests, there had always been those who played to the crowd, and those of outstanding elegance as well — someone like Baimu could not possibly be unknown if he had ever taken part in a Contest.

Unless he had never once passed the first examination, or today was his very first appearance.

Although he heard every word clearly, the surrounding chatter did not affect Baimu.

More than that, he was more interested in the other contestants' performances.

On the screen, a girl in a frilly dress threw her Poké Ball, and a Wigglytuff appeared with a beaming smile amid a host of shimmering pink bubbles.

"Wigglytuff, use Charm Voice!"

"Pudding~"

The rabbit-eared, pink-furred, big-eyed Wigglytuff began to hum a melody. Its captivating voice made the spectators look intoxicated; hearts could be seen flying out one after another, drifting and spinning up and down around its body, drawing involuntary smiles from all.

"Draining Kiss! Then use Stockpile!"

Wigglytuff opened its mouth slightly, and the pink hearts spinning around it were drawn in as if pulled by some force, flying into its mouth one and all. At the same time its body began to swell, and within seconds it had turned into a round, enormous balloon.

The next moment.

"Spit Up!"

"Puu puu puu puu puu—"

Countless heart-shaped beams surged from Wigglytuff's mouth. When they spread before the audience, they burst softly like bubbles, turning into countless beautiful motes of light drifting down.

And Wigglytuff's body returned to its original shape along with it.

"Ding~"

The girl and Wigglytuff bowed together to the judges and audience, signalling the end of the performance.

Thunderous applause; the audience erupted!

"A technique worthy of praise — it fully brings out Wigglytuff's strengths!" Grey-haired Patstein praised with a smile.

"Subarashii!" Yanase was so moved he nearly wept.

"A very creative performance — it must have taken extremely hard practice, I imagine. Splendid!" Miss Miss Qiao Yin's praise was quite direct.

The bespectacled host then said: "Then please ask the judges to score the contestant and Wigglytuff!"

Beep beep beep.

9.2, 9.1, 9.5.

Three different scores appeared on the scoring boards below the judges.

A total of 27.8 — the highest score so far, enough to show how much the judges liked this Wigglytuff.

"In a Contest with no categories, the Fairy type really does have a huge advantage." Baimu could not help reflecting; the Fairy type seemed born for beauty and cuteness.

Of course, there were bound to be a few "traitors" among them.

In theory Milotic ought to be part Fairy too, but giving it a Water-Fairy typing would be far too strong — GF wouldn't even give Dragon Dance to Garchomp, so how could they give Milotic the Fairy type?

"Hello!"

A delighted greeting from beside him made Baimu turn his head.

What came into view was none other than that little rival of Dawn's, Ursula. Her pink twin-tails, originally curled into spirals, had been set into waves; a touch of powder and rouge adorned her face; she wore a gorgeous black pleated dress that showed off her youthful yet brimming-with-youthful-vitality figure to perfection.

"Good afternoon. I am Ursula. Please allow me to apologize once more for what happened this morning."

She bowed slightly in greeting.

"Good afternoon to you too. It's a small matter — you needn't take it so much to heart."

The latter nodded casually.

In the anime, Ursula was overbearing; in her treatment of Dawn she fully embodied what it meant to be a vicious, cunning antagonist, even stooping to the childish act of deliberately poking at Dawn's sore spots and electrocuting her hair into an afro.

When Baimu had watched the anime back then, he had automatically taken Ash's side and felt a strong dislike for Ursula; now he no longer felt that way.

Perhaps it was because he had since seen far more disgusting existences, or perhaps because he knew that at heart this one was essentially childish.

The other party had come over to chat in a friendly manner, so Baimu did not respond with a cold face either; he stood up quite calmly.

The nearly thirty-centimeter height difference between them forced Ulala to look up at him, and beneath his strikingly handsome face lurked an undeniable air of intimidation, causing her breath to catch and her cheeks to flush slightly.

Fortunately, Baimu very naturally took a few steps to the side, giving her room to breathe.

"I've watched your contests, especially the ones in the Sinnoh region two years ago." After seeing Ulala that morning, he had gone and looked up information on her.

He noticed that she had still not obtained the title of Top Coordinator to this day, which was rather similar to Dawn's situation.

Ulala had just breathed a sigh of relief, but upon hearing these words she couldn't help but smile. "Really?"

"Mm, I watched many of your contests. It seems you have a rival named Dawn?"

Baimu asked, his expression betraying nothing.

Ulala's smile stiffened slightly upon hearing this, and she said, "Y-yes. She is indeed my rival."

"What, are you two on bad terms? Is she difficult to get along with?"

Baimu asked knowingly, even deliberately putting it that way.

Unexpectedly, Ulala replied, "Our relationship admittedly isn't particularly good, but it has nothing to do with her personality. It's just that the me back then was too immature."

"Oh?"

Baimu wore an expression of attentive listening.

Ulala clearly didn't want to talk about her own embarrassing past, so she changed the subject. "Is this your first time participating in a Contest?"

"That's right."

He nodded, then turned to glance at the order of appearances on the screen. "It's about time for me to go on. Please allow me to take my leave first."

Having said that,

he walked toward the corridor beside them.