Chapter 459: Gorgeous Trump Card

Under the dazzling performance of the Shiny Milotic.

A "bizarre" yet swift gorgeous battle drew to a close, leaving only waves of cheers behind.

Taijiu was utterly dumbfounded.

It's over?

What command did he give? Dodge quickly? Wake up? How did it just end like that!

Even after returning to the preparation room, Taijiu still could not believe he had already lost, and this lost-soul appearance further intensified the wariness the others felt toward All Baimu and his Pokémon.

Good lord, the guy got beaten silly!

One must know that this Taijiu was an excellent Coordinator who had scored 29.4 points in the first examination, and it was certainly not his first Contest either; in the end, the Pokémon he relied on could not last two rounds before the Shiny Milotic.

The soul-stealing scene at the beginning chilled several people to the bone, as they kept wondering if they themselves stood in Taijiu's place, could they escape the Shiny Milotic's charm the fastest—

Hard to say.

Not a single person dared to assert that they would do much better than Taijiu, after all every Coordinator who participated in the Contest and scored high possessed an appreciation for "beauty" far beyond ordinary people.

Being able to appreciate beauty naturally means one cannot escape being enchanted by Milotic.

Why is Mi Ke Li so famous in the Contest scene? On one hand because of his talent, on the other hand precisely because of his soul-stirring Milotic!

Who would have thought that now the once-silent All Baimu, who amazed the world the moment he spoke, also possessed this Pokémon, and a Shiny one at that, raised extremely well no less.

There is a consensus in the Contest world—

How to judge whether a Coordinator has ability?

Give them a Milotic, and look at the final result of their raising.

The more a Milotic is cared for and raised with heart, even if every meal is not some expensive, precious supplement, it can still radiate powerful charm.

Conversely, if neglected by the Trainer, no matter how well it eats or how well it lives, the fur and scales of the Milotic will be dim and lusterless, showing not a trace of beauty, let alone captivating the Contest audience.

This single point alone is enough to see whether All Baimu truly has strength.

Truly worthy of being a great enemy on the road to victory in the Pacifidlog Tournament!

Everyone had their eyes locked on him, yet overlooked a newly risen Coordinator like Xiao Feng, who had repeatedly achieved good results in the Ecruteak Conference and possessed considerable strength.

Thus.

Xiao Feng's opponent was brutally beaten.

Like the former All Baimu, the gorgeous battle Xiao Feng excelled at was the kind that directly took out the opponent and ignored the deduction of Appeal Points; however, compared to the former, her purpose and methods were too obvious, causing many viewers who preferred proper gorgeous battles to not appreciate her much.

The barrier between Trainer and Coordinator is thin but high; brute force might break through it, but properly climbing over the high wall separating "performance" and "real combat" is not so easy.

Possessing both strength and gorgeousness is not something ordinary people can have.

But the strength Xiao Feng wielded drew the attention of the remaining contestants; they were well aware that no matter how exquisite the Pokémon performance in the gorgeous battle, once taken out there is no show left to perform.

Very soon.

The remaining two battles also decided their winners.

All Baimu watched the whole way, and let out a soft exclamation of surprise during the fourth battle.

A one-eyed mask, black cloak, top hat, and a Dusknoir skilled at Shadow Punch—this is the "Masked Man"!

He recalled the kid he had met earlier in the watermelon field outside Greenfield Town, whose object of worship was the legendary Masked Man of Greenfield Town; if the timeline was not wrong, the current Masked Man should still be the second generation, called… Kimimaro?

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He seemed to have heard this name just now.

He hadn't noticed at all!

All Baimu carefully searched his memory, and a somewhat shy boy's face hiding behind the crowd suddenly surfaced in his mind; his figure bore an extremely high resemblance to the Masked Man, and the boy was clearly also among those in the line asking for his autograph, just without the mask so he hadn't noticed.

Checking the performance order of the first examination again, it happened to be two spots after him, belonging to the person who would go on stage right after he stepped down.

Good lord! Almost missed an "acquaintance"!

Although in the anime the Masked Man ultimately lost to May, the gorgeous battle strength displayed at present could not be underestimated, making him one of the few strong enemies in this competition.

"Hmm…"

All Baimu rubbed his chin, then suddenly turned to look at Blissey.

"Happy?"

Blissey, who had been watching the television, sensed her Trainer's gaze and turned her head in confusion.

Normal-type and Ghost-type are mutually ineffective types; if he truly encountered this Masked Man, sending this one out might be a good choice.

He patted Blissey's soft curly fur without speaking.

——

Inside the venue.

As all four battles of the first round concluded, the atmosphere gradually rose.

Although it was disrespectful to the other contestants, undoubtedly everyone was eager to see All Baimu take the stage and battle; among the audience were those who had witnessed the miracle of the Shiny Milotic's birth at the Akiha Conference, and now they were even more looking forward to what gorgeous performance he would bring this time.

"Next up is the first battle of the second round of the semifinals; please welcome Mr. All Baimu and Young Lady Xiao Feng to the stage to prepare."

Vivian called out in a sweet, loud voice.

In the contestant tunnel, All Baimu strode out, gazing toward Young Lady Xiao Feng at the other end.

She looked especially excited and confident, as if she had already reflected on the defeat of her Scizor from several days ago and devised a countermeasure.

Good! Full of spirit!

He raised his hand and threw a Poké Ball forward.

Bang bang!

Two soft sounds.

A red lotus-like flame rose from the ground, then bloomed like a flower to reveal a charming and beautiful Ninetales with golden fur.

And in front of All Baimu, drifting cherry blossoms formed a petite and cute Mawile.

"Tee-hee~"

In an instant.

Countless screams surged like a great wave, nearly shattering the dome of the venue.

For the fans, Munchlax — the origin of everything — was an irreplaceable soul Pokémon of the support club. One only had to look at how many members of the fan club had cosplayed as Munchlax, even going so far as to capture wild ones, to see just how much they adored it.

They likewise regarded it as All Baimu's signature Pokémon of the Pokémon Contest.

Just as Miss Liuqi had her Xiao Qingqing — the Altaria — and Mi Ke Li had his Milotic, and so on, Trainers had their aces; did Coordinators not have aces as well?

Munchlax was the ace!

The audience gave it the treatment befitting an ace Pokémon with their enthusiasm, looking exactly like Champion Dan Di when he released his ace Charizard, flung off his cape, struck a pose, raised his right hand high, and shouted "Champion time!"

Unfortunately, Munchlax was not as chuunibyou as Champion Dan Di. Although hearing the shouts calling its name made it feel as though its blood were about to ignite, it still held its patience and saluted the audience with a posture ready to dance.

Here one could easily see yet another common point between All Baimu and it—

Composed and unhurried.

In other words, having a big heart, not getting frightened by the passionate audience.

And on the other side.

Xiao Feng, who had sent out Ninetales, was not at all surprised by Munchlax's appearance; instead, the corners of her mouth curled slightly upward in an expression of "as expected."

The gamble paid off!

So-called "war knows no deceit" — a Contest battle was still a battle. What she had gambled on was that her opponent would send out Munchlax in the second round, so she had deliberately chosen Ninetales to counter it.

Although this was only the first step, sometimes from the very first step, the ending was already fated—

What a coincidence.

All Baimu thought the same.

Ninetales did indeed counter Munchlax, but so what? A Contest battle was not merely a battle — this was a truth that even he, who had taken three Ribbons, could only truly put into practice after the Akiha Grand Festival ended.

Rather than mouthing principles while being clueless about practice.

"Dance."

He raised his hand like an orchestra conductor and spoke.

Munchlax said nothing, rose on its tiptoes, and stepped forward.

Jingle~

A crisp bell rang out.

Pale-blue thick fog rolled out from underground, in an instant covering the entire performance stage, so that everything within sight was coated with a layer of shimmering blue light.

Routinely opening with Mist Terrain, combined with high-level dancing, caused Xiao Feng's score to be deducted.

But the latter was not flustered, and calmly issued her command.

"Go!"

"Woo~"

Ninetales let out a delicate cry, twisted its body, and began to swing its nine fluffy, glossy, golden tails.

Whoooosh—

Fireballs ignited at the tips of its tails, the flame color swiftly shifting from orange-red to deep blue, and the visibly extreme heat began to scorch the air, making it tremble as though warped.

Spherical flames?

—It was Flame Burst!

All Baimu's gaze sharpened, and he saw Ninetales suddenly press its body down low; the deep-blue fireballs at its tail tips flew toward Munchlax like guided missiles — nine fireballs, nine consecutive attacks in a row!

Good lord, a self-tail-love special?!

"Swords Dance!"

He called out the command, and Munchlax, which had been slowly dancing, suddenly changed its rhythm, spinning rapidly as though possessed by a top, and as it spun, sword blades formed of Bai Guang materialized around it.

The deep-blue fireballs rushed in, but were nimbly dodged.

However, the fireballs that landed did not vanish; instead, they exploded violently like bombs, fist-sized fireballs shooting out in all directions, making them hard to evade.

Even if one dodged by luck, the scattered flames from the second fireball's explosion would seal off the area around Munchlax next.

Boom boom boom—

The ground trembled ceaselessly with the explosions, the fierce flames danced like flowers, brimming with an aura of destruction.

Quite a few spectators watched this scene worriedly, while another portion stared at All Baimu's score, and when it was truly deducted, wore expressions of helpless regret.

Although the move's appearance was not particularly gorgeous, the terrifying flames that occupied most of the field and Ninetales's effortless posture still caused All Baimu to lose quite a few points.

Flame Burst was terrifying as such!

But when it came to countering moves, All Baimu and Munchlax were professionals.

Spectators watching the field closely noticed that Swords Dance had not stopped; the glowing energy blades spun rapidly like a kaleidoscope, dazzling the eye while simultaneously forming a wall that easily annihilated the incoming fireballs.

Like a blade dancer's Distance-breaking dance, turning the enemy's offense into nothing while granting a boost to one's own side.

At this moment, Munchlax, gracefully spinning, resembled a phantom treading upon flames; its tightrope-walker-like movement made the audience's hearts rise and fall violently, like rolling waves, making them want to shout "Exciting!"

In an instant.

Xiao Feng's score was deducted by a full quarter and more!

This made her eyes widen involuntarily; the thought of having Ninetales repeat it and throw a few more was dampened, and she hurriedly said:

"Gather together! Inferno!"

"Kree!"

Ninetales let out a sharp cry, and the tips of its originally spread tails suddenly gathered together upward, rapidly brewing an unprecedentedly massive fireball!

But unlike the previous orange-red turning to deep blue, this enormous fireball in an instant became as black as scorched ground, waves of destructive power surging out, as though constructing a black sun!

Without a doubt.

Miss Xiao Feng prepared to use a high-powered move to forcefully break through Baimu's sword-dance array, but never expected the latter's dance had already reached the moment the blade left its sheath!

"Ambush."

The moment All Baimu spoke, Baimu had long vanished without a trace.

This left the Nine-Tails, holding the massive black fireball high, unsure where to release it, while Miss Xiao Feng only felt a sudden soft sound, and then could no longer track the opponent's presence.

The smoke after the blazing explosion and the mist of the thin-fog venue became the perfect concealment barrier; shadows flickered around Miss Xiao Feng and Nine-Tails, and Baimu's ghostly figure kept Nine-Tails from daring to throw the massive black fireball out — the excessively long delay brought tremendous pressure.

"To your right!"

Miss Xiao Feng dared not hesitate any longer. After locking onto Baimu's shadow, she shouted loudly; just a dozen or so seconds of hesitation had already caused her score to be deducted — dragging on any further absolutely would not do.

"Woo!

"

Nine-Tails let out a low howl and pressed down its forelimbs, as if hurling a thousand-pound weight forward with all its might; the massive black fireball emitted a rumbling, fierce shriek and crashed to the ground with a boom.

Boom—!

!

A terrifying explosion echoed across the field; billowing thick smoke surged skyward, and the shockwave kicked up rolling dust that blocked the sight of the audience and judges.

In the Gorgeous Competition, smoke thick enough to block vision is an absolute taboo — just like stream-of-consciousness performance, when it is used, it is either utterly lame or utterly brilliant.

Nine-Tails' move Purgatory was undoubtedly the former.

Vision was completely blocked — none of that hazy beauty, none of that swirling mist; there was only a bewildering scene that left the audience utterly confused.

But the next instant.

A pair of invisible great hands suddenly dispersed the smoke; a pink wind rose from nowhere, clearing the field, and brought wisps of calming fragrance. Everyone opened their eyes wide and discovered that Nine-Tails had at some unknown moment flown into the sky, while on the ground lay a crystalline, dazzling spiral — that fragrant wind that dispersed the smoke had actually been drawn forth by it.

Such a wondrous picture was simply soul-stirring.

What on earth had happened—

The audience was baffled, but only Miss Xiao Feng in the field clearly knew that the instant Nine-Tails released the black fireball, Baimu suddenly appeared from the other side and, at a speed the naked eye could hardly discern, punched Nine-Tails squarely in the abdomen.

So that when Purgatory detonated, the soaring Nine-Tails was carried up into the sky along with it.

It's over!

Miss Xiao Feng anxiously opened her mouth, yet did not know what command to give.

Because the released Baimu had already shot skyward, wrapped in a pink storm to meet the falling Nine-Tails, and with a fierce flip pressed down on its back, driving it into the ground.

Boom!

Amid the violent sound, the pink storm suddenly swelled and burst, transforming into a skyful of light particles that flew before every spectator; each particle carried an intoxicating fragrance, and every audience member who smelled it could not help but feel a wonderful taste.

And those in the know, like Debei, were so thrilled they could hardly contain themselves.

Perfume essence!

This is absolutely top-grade perfume essence!

Beep—!

A piercing whistle declared Baimu's victory; on the screen, the score beneath Miss Xiao Feng's avatar had at some unknown moment been fully deducted, and her partner Nine-Tails' avatar suddenly dimmed, then a red cross appeared.

First use a gorgeous performance to deduct the opponent's score, then use overwhelming strength to render them unable to fight!

Both power and beauty combined!

The audience present offered extremely thunderous applause!