Chapter 578: Shrimp Pig Heart

Kaka-kaka-kaka—

An icy-blue cold current surged from the Shiny Milotic's mouth, instantly turning the resisting Hariyama and Snover into a big and a small snowman.

【Frozen】 status!

"A fierce blizzard has locked down Hariyama and Snover's movements! Coach Ge Man and his partners are in deep trouble!"

Vivian's excited voice echoed across the field.

The score beneath Coach Ge Man's avatar was directly deducted down to only one-third remaining!

Wah!

Cheers kept erupting from the audience stands.

Their excitement centered on the Shiny Milotic's virtually divine Water Ring.

Loyal viewers of the Contest were all well aware that this particular use of Water Ring was pioneered by Adam, and through Mi Ke Li's continuous refinement had evolved into the current version that combined offense and defense.

It was clearly a self-healing move, yet many high-power offensive moves couldn't do a thing against it.

Countless Coordinator trainers had tried to imitate it, but this technique differed from learning moves — it required long periods of honing and a certain degree of talent.

It was simply too hard to master.

Now that the 【Special Water Ring】 had been perfectly replicated by All Baimu and the Shiny Milotic, and even deployed in a grand festive Contest battle — how could they not be thrilled?

Besides, the current scene made it obvious the outcome was already decided!

"Don't let it end like this! We still have a chance!"

Coach Ge Man's golden hair was blown into a wild mess by the blizzard, but he couldn't care about that now, shouting with all his might: "Haou! Snover! Break free!"

Ka!

A crisp crack was heard, and countless fine fissures appeared across the surface of the big and small snowmen.

The next instant.

Peng!

Bai Xue flew in all directions!

"Hao!"

"Nasa!"

Hariyama and Snover burst out of the snow one after another!

The Frozen status lasted only a mere second or two!

Host Vivian said excitedly: "Unbelievable! Coach Ge Man's heartfelt call received a response from Hariyama and Snover!"

On the big screen.

All Baimu's score was deducted due to the two Pokémon's performance.

"Good!"

Coach Ge Man pumped his fist in excitement, then quickly commanded: "Poison Powder! Haou — Close Combat!"

The two Pokémon moved in unison.

Not far away.

The Shiny Milotic had already retreated to a safe distance, its Wang Wang eyes filled with astonishment.

"Milo?"

Expanding the blizzard's range would admittedly scatter its power, but even if it couldn't double KO, at least Snover should've been taken down, right?

And that was the result?

The Shiny Milotic couldn't help but start doubting its own offensive output.

"Don't be startled! It's just barely holding on!"

All Baimu shouted a reminder.

This one was not only a dummy but also especially prone to low self-esteem — if he didn't encourage it more, it would definitely fall into self-doubt and its condition would drop.

Moreover, based on his observation, Snover looked sturdy on the surface but was actually just forcibly locking in a sliver of HP under the trainer's encouragement, with at most one more move's worth of strength left.

This kind of play wasn't rare in the anime.

"Whirlpool!"

He commanded swiftly, the corner of his eye catching the Chansey that had switched fields and was now running back near the Shiny Milotic.

In an instant.

A large swath of purple powder surged across the field.

Its source was unmistakably the two orange Kong Dong atop Snover's head, but before the powder could reach the enemy, it first wrapped around the Hariyama beside it.

"Hao!"

Hariyama's face showed pain, a ghostly purple tinge spreading across it.

It was poisoned!

Vivian shouted in shock: "What's happening? Snover's Poison Powder affected Hariyama! Did Coach Ge Man make a mistake?"

As her words fell.

Hariyama suddenly let out a loud, resonant roar, its entire body enveloped in a brownish-red glow, and an awe-inspiring aura radiated from it!

"It's the Guts Ability!"

The shock on Vivian's face turned to excitement. "I see! Coach Ge Man intended to deliberately trigger Hariyama's Ability!"

The audience erupted into a huge reaction along with her commentary.

Could an upset comeback really happen?

Everyone craned their necks, wishing they could pluck out their eyeballs and toss them onto the stage for a closer look.

At the same moment.

"Milo!"

The Shiny Milotic, noticing something wrong with Machoke, swiftly whipped its long tail, stretching the spiraling water wrapped around it thin like a whip, then lashed out sideways!

"Nasha!"

Hitmonlee leapt of its own accord to Machoke's side, trying to help block the attack.

Boom!

A muffled thud rang out; amid the splashing water, Hitmonlee was sent flying high, tumbling across the ground not far away and getting covered in a thick layer of dust.

Seeing this, Machoke's eyes went crimson, and the reddish-brown light around its body grew even denser.

"Hoo!

It roared and threw a punch at the incoming tidal spin!

Boom!

The vortex shattered; amid a skyful of spray it suddenly leapt up, arcing through the air and landing before the Shiny Milotic.

"Hooli!

Crimson-eyed Machoke threw a flurry of heavy punches forward with all its might!

Ssssss—

The fists moved so fast the air screamed, and jet-black afterimages trailed in their wake!

Its companion's sacrifice became the force driving its eruption, granting its close-quarters combat a terrifying power normally unimaginable — and filling Coach Ge Man with delight.

The gap in remaining points between the two sides was far too large; on top of that, the Shiny Milotic's mere presence caused him to lose points, and Hitmonlee's condition was still extremely precarious. Coach Ge Man had long stopped hoping for a grand reversal through Machoke's flashy moves.

Only by directly defeating the Shiny Milotic was there even a sliver of a chance to win!

Now!

Coach Ge Man's gaze trembled as he shouted with all his might: "Give it everything you've got—"

Bang bang bang bang bang—

Rain-like fists exploded ring after ring of milky-white qi, the drumbeat-like thuds continuously shuddering through the eardrums of the two people closest to the stage, showcasing the terrifying power of Machoke's punches.

However.

There was no delight on Coach Ge Man's face — only deep shock and despair.

Because before the Shiny Milotic, a pale-blue honeycomb-patterned hemispherical barrier of light had, at some unknown moment, been raised.

No matter how many times Machoke's seemingly heavy fists slammed into it, the barrier only trembled — showing no sign of breaking at all.

Protect!

Why?

How did it manage to use a move that fast?

Bang!

When Machoke threw its final punch and instinctively stepped back a few paces to keep its distance for another assault, the Protect barrier faded along with it.

The palm-sized Chansey atop the Shiny Milotic's head drew considerable attention.

"Happy~"

The Protect just now had undoubtedly been its doing, and successfully withstanding such a powerful strike caused Coach Ge Man's score to drop once more.

【Minimize】!

Vivian answered the audience's confusion in the nick of time.

"So cute~"

Young Lady Qiao Yin blushed as she cupped her chin.

All Baimu glanced at the big screen and spoke: "Bind! Heal Bell!"

It's over.

Under Coach Ge Man's silent, speechless gaze, the Shiny Milotic, like a swimming dragon, swiftly coiled tightly around Machoke, while the Chansey atop its head began to hum the song of a bell.

A thin green light enveloped Machoke, and before the latter's stunned expression, its poisoned state was cured.

This healing maneuver also drove Coach Ge Man's score to absolute zero.

Beep—

A loud whistle announced the end of the match.

"The winner is — Contestant All Baimu!"

Host Vivian proclaimed to the entire venue.

Roar!

A wave of applause and cheers erupted from the audience.

"Two minutes remaining."

All Baimu glanced at the countdown.

Although the defensive-counter tactic had originally been chosen with the aim of draining Coach Ge Man's score, he hadn't expected that compared to last time, the latter had not only failed to improve, but had actually gotten a little weaker…

That's not right.

Had he himself grown stronger?

"Good work. Nicely done."

All Baimu recalled both the Shiny Milotic and Chansey into their Poké Balls; his stint as a temporary Gym Leader had taught him about his own growth in battling.

And the Grand Festival had shown him that he had also made considerable progress in flashy performances.

What a pity.

This was most likely his last Contest ever.

All Baimu was about to go over and shake hands with Coach Ge Man to complete the post-match courtesy, but the other party recalled his Pokémon and fled straight for the Contestant tunnel.

Looking at how deeply that head is buried, you can tell this match has wounded him pretty badly.

"How old is this kid again? Seems like she's the same age as Miss Liuqi, right?"

He was overcome with an inexplicable, crushing sense of sin, as if he were bullying an elementary or middle school student.

According to Miss Liuqi, Coach Ge Man is actually cut from the same cloth as the early Xiaomao — impossibly arrogant, looks down on everyone, and loves talking to himself.

Still, Xiaomao's mindset did start to change during the Hoenn arc.

As for Ge Man… whether this young man can transform will depend on just how deep this psychological shadow cuts.

The prep room.

The room that had once been bustling was now completely empty.

Apart from Xiaoguang and Urara, who were competing, everyone else — Miss Liuqi included — had gone to the venue to watch the matches, leaving it so deserted it felt as though the contest was already over.

An inexplicable sense of loneliness.

"The quiet isn't so bad."

He sat down on the bench; on the TV, Xiaoguang and Urara were locked in a fierce battle.

As one of the female characters in the Pokémon anime series, Xiaoguang's journey has been every bit as full of setbacks as Ash's — she lost to her rival in her debut year, and failed to take first place in her second year either.

Now it was her third year since debut…

That said.

Even without All Baimu's existence, judging from how Xiaoguang appeared and competed in the Sinnoh Contests during her travels, she most likely still wouldn't have earned the title of Top Coordinator.

It's not like Ash in his later seasons, who would raise a brand-new team every time he reached a new region and only ever compete with those new Pokémon.

So why was that?

All Baimu felt that, while luck was one factor, the relatively slow growth rate of Young Lady's team was also a major part of it.

Not to mention her cohort rival Xiaowang, who has already become a Top Coordinator.

Now.

Even Urara has groped her way toward a new path forward.

Yet Xiaoguang's performances still carry traces of her debut-year style; the judges are still willing to give her high marks, and her performances do deserve those scores.

Unfortunately, her room for growth is shrinking more and more.

"She needs a thorough, head-to-toe spiritual洗礼."

All Baimu really wanted to help her, but when it came to teaching others, he honestly wasn't very skilled.

Besides, judging by what was currently on the TV, his next-round opponent was clearly more likely to be Urara.

The stage venue.

Xiaoguang's Chimchar and Swinub were trapped in a terrifying sandstorm, and the Pokémon that had conjured it were Urara's ace Garchomp and her Wormadam in its Sandy Cloak form.

The former was clearly trying to use the Flame-Ice combo that had once defeated her.

The latter, however, like a Saint Seiya who refuses to be beaten by the same move twice, shattered Xiaoguang's plan and boxed in both of her Pokémon.

Garchomp and Wormadam moved like predators, steadily shrinking the escape space available to Chimchar and Swinub.

Ready to deliver the finishing blow at any moment.

"Crisis is also opportunity, Xiaoguang."

All Baimu watched Xiaoguang on the TV, biting her lip in silence, and murmured.

When an opponent strikes the instant you show an opening, that very moment is also when they expose theirs — the core of counterattack lies in seizing that impossibly brief window.

Grab it, and you can overcome the enemy!

At that moment.

On the TV, Garchomp and Wormadam moved.

"Here it comes!"

All Baimu stared intently as the two Pokémon plunged into the sandstorm one after the other.

Then he heard a thunderous boom — a pillar of crimson flame surging upward!

Chimchar was clinging to Swinub's belly, flames erupting from its back powerful enough to launch Swinub skyward like a rocket.

And Swinub, its frozen tusks raised high, charged straight at the gap Garchomp had torn open.

Boom!

The two sides crashed into each other in a tangle.

That's it!

He couldn't help wanting to cheer Xiaoguang on — even if her Contest performances showed signs of coasting on past glory, she possessed the precious gift of sudden inspiration and the ability to put it into practice with her Pokémon.

In past battles, that gift had often let her snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

And that, All Baimu felt, was exactly what made Xiaoguang someone to watch out for.

Sure enough.

With that wildly imaginative counter, Xiaoguang swiftly seized the initiative in the battle and suppressed Urara, whose position had looked overwhelmingly favorable.

The two sides staged a dragon-and-tiger fight in the second round, every bit as intense as an ordinary Contest final.

All Baimu couldn't even tell from the scores alone who was more likely to advance to the next round.

"Mm, Urara's strength… still has room to grow."

Compared with Xiaoguang, whose lack of breakthrough progress in performance was dragging down her Contest battles, Urara's weakness lay in her Pokémon not being high-level enough.

She had probably spent most of her time polishing her performance routines, and rarely thought about raising her Pokémon's energy levels.

Practice performances could raise levels too, of course, but it was never as effective as actually battling other people.

In the end.

The countdown ran out.

Both sides' scores had only a sliver left.

The winner is—

"Contestant Ash has successfully advanced to the third round!"

Vivian's voice came through clearly.

All Baimu felt a pang of regret for Ulala, who had fallen slightly short, and was equally happy for Ash on his successful advancement.

Even though the former was gradually surpassing the latter in terms of gorgeous performance, in gorgeous battles, the many powers Ash possessed were something the current Ulala could not shake.

Just need to grind a bit more.

He was very clear on where Ulala fell short, and figured that after this battle, she herself had come to some realization as well.

So, did Ash find anything on Ulala that could serve as a path forward?

Noon.

When everyone gathered for a meal.

All Baimu saw Ash happily eating the sandwich Brock had made, and was somewhat curious.

And just as he had thought.

The third round.

The computer's random draw resulted in—All Baimu facing Ash, and Miss Liuqi facing Mira.

"I hope I can meet one of you in the finals."

Mira smiled and greeted All Baimu and Ash.

The three of them had been semifinalists and finalists in the Kaina Grand Conference; he hadn't expected the Gorgeous Grand Festival to be no different—still the three of them.

"I'll be looking forward to it."

All Baimu nodded in reply, but to be honest, he didn't hold out much hope for Mira.

After all.

Her opponent was Miss Liuqi, who, even without having ever raised a Milotic, still possessed a very deep understanding of this kind of Pokémon.

Could Mira, who used Milotic as her ace, come out well in that matchup?

All Baimu took a pessimistic view.

Ash, unlike him, didn't overthink it so much, and said cheerfully, "Miss Mira will definitely be fine!"

"Huh? So Ash, you mean I can't do it?"

Miss Liuqi popped up to make her presence felt.

"Eh? That's not what I meant…" Ash was at a loss for words, but was teased twice as hard by Miss Liuqi.

The two little girls giggled and roughhoused into a single tangled mess.