Chapter 304: The Peak of Atmosphere

The somewhat dull, drawn-out atmosphere of the arena was swept away in an instant.

The audience cheered and leapt about; whistles and applause rose in an endless stream, lingering continuously over the arena.

Thanks to the combined blessing of the Icy Wind's coolness, the Soothing Bell's gentleness, and the Awakening Incense's refreshing aroma, even the most irritable and impatient among them now felt a comfort rising from deep within.

What a wondrous, what a magnificent performance!

They pulled out their phones to spread the news far and wide; the urge to share surged up like a gushing spring at that moment, and many of the audience members who had filmed it scrambled to be the first to post the video online.

Unfortunately, no matter how fast these people were, they still couldn't outrun the members of the Bibarel Fan Club.

This little group that had started in Kanaz City had fermented over time, its membership rapidly swelling to several hundred people, among them no shortage of fanatical lovers of the Gorgeous Contest.

Those of them on the scene had long since set up multiple cameras, recording the entire performance from the clearest angles, then editing and adding music at top speed before posting it online.

The reason they hadn't used the original audio was that the recording quality was poor; the chime of the Soothing Bell hadn't been captured clearly.

What made those present feel even more regretful was that the video couldn't remotely convey the cool breeze Bibarel brought, nor that heart-and-lung-refreshing fragrance; and with the chime's blessing missing too, that stream of atmosphere became somewhat blurred, and the viewing experience would take a heavy hit.

When they posted their impressions into the chat group, the other fan-club members online were simply green with envy.

"Why! Why wasn't I there!"

"I want Bibarel to blow cool breeze on me too, boohoo…"

"The fragrance smells like aromatherapy! I'll mix up a bottle right now! Would it help a lot to smell it while watching with an electric fan on?"

"You're a genius!"

"No way! We have to get All Baimu to open a personal blog and post his contest schedule on it — I can't take it anymore!"

"Agreed!"

"Agreed +1"

"Agreed +2"

……

A string of "Agreed"s flooded the chat screen.

Back in the arena, the commentary and scoring segment officially began.

"Thank you, Bibarel, for bringing us such cool relief in this sweltering weather — that adorable look is simply irresistible~"

Host Vivian felt refreshed in body and mind; her tone lifted a few notches and was no longer as coquettish as at the start.

The floor was handed over to Patston's side.

The grey-haired middle-aged man smiled faintly, calmly picked up the microphone and took a deep breath.

"If I had to use one word to describe the performance just now, I think 'exquisitely wonderful' fits it perfectly. The overall pace was certainly leisurely, yet it never felt tedious; paired with the chill of the Icy Wind, it swept away the heat in our hearts.

"Although it isn't as eye-catching as the Fire Dance, the gradually maturing dance technique and that indescribable stream of atmosphere are extremely rare in the Gorgeous Contest. The spiritual impact Bibarel delivers, compared to the increasingly homogenized visual effects of today, wins my heart far more — calling it the peak of atmosphere-type performances is no exaggeration…"

He spoke at length, his lips quivering nonstop, his words firing out like a machine gun.

Vivian kept a smile on her face at first, but after a while her smile stiffened; only when the broadcast booth cut off his microphone did she breathe a sigh of relief and say, a little awkwardly, "Um… thank you for your commentary, Mr. Patston. Next, let's invite Mr. Yanase — Mr. Yanase?"

"……"

Yanase, covering his microphone, stayed silent, his face completely hidden.

When he raised his head, his handsome face was already a mess of tears and snot, as if he had fallen into some deep, layered emotion; he then grabbed the microphone again and bellowed like a man possessed.

"Ssu—!

Ba—!

Ra—!

Hi—"

That final syllable was cut off by the broadcast booth, for fear of blowing out the speakers.

Every audience member thought some Pokémon had suddenly used a high-pitched move; they rubbed their ears, saw stars, and looked around in bewilderment.

As the closest victim, however, Ms. Miss Qiao Yin still wore her sweet smile, and under Vivian's gaze — as if she had found her savior — she said with a smile, "The spiritual atmosphere and the Pokémon's performance blended perfectly; I think this was a truly wonderful performance — all the fatigue from yesterday was healed in that single moment."

As expected, Ms. Miss Qiao Yin is the reliable one.

Vivian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Let's invite the three judges to submit their scores!"

Beep beep beep.

A total of 29.7 points — an undisputed highest score of the round!

"A highest score is born! Let's congratulate Bibarel and its Trainer!" Vivian's tone couldn't help but carry a tremor of excitement.

All Baimu, who had been keeping quiet, and Bibarel exchanged a glance at this score and broke into smiles.

The score had gone up!

Although they hadn't managed a perfect score, a total of 29.7 was unrivaled across the entire arena!

It seemed like not many in the anime had ever gotten a perfect score either?

——

The preparation room.

All Baimu returned with Bibarel.

The moment Xiaoguang saw him, she rushed forward at once and said excitedly, "Wonderful! Simply wonderful! Bibarel's performance on stage was more than ten times better than in practice! Amazing!"

"Thanks."

He replied with a smile, and Bibarel also gave an extremely proud bow.

However, All Baimu looked left and right but couldn't spot Piplup anywhere, and couldn't help feeling a little curious. "Where's Piplup?"

This little penguin should have been the first to come bounding over, right? Could it have transferred its affections?

"As for Piplup…"

Xiaoguang awkwardly rubbed her hands together and pointed at a row of benches in the distance. "It's over there."

All Baimu looked over and immediately saw Piplup lying on the bench, twitching nonstop. "Uh, what's wrong with it? Did it eat something bad at lunch?"

"Too excited, haven't recovered yet."

Xiaoguang replied.

It turned out the two had specifically run over to the audience seats to experience Bawuke's performance up close, and when they personally experienced Bawuke's stunning dance and the cool breeze mixed with fragrance, Pochaman was so excited she nearly fainted.

Just like the fans who got so worked up at a Michael Jackson concert they had to be hospitalized.

"Chido?"

Bawuke, hearing this, slowly moved closer.

And Pochaman, who had been twitching, caught the familiar scent, instantly regained composure and put on what she considered a charming expression, striking a Thinker-like pose.

A little penguin has its dignity too — it absolutely would not allow itself to look so pathetic in front of its beloved goddess Bawuke.

"Chido…"

Bawuke, seeing it had returned to normal, thought this fellow's fit was over, nodded at Pochaman and then returned to All Baimu's side.

The "majestic" pose the latter had been faking instantly deflated like a punctured ball.

"Looks like love has taken deep root. When the day comes that love is completely shattered, you'll have to comfort it properly." All Baimu whispered to Xiaoguang.

Pochaman is actually quite tough — even though Ash's Gible chased and hit her with Meteor Mash every day, she still forgave it in the end. Hopefully when love shatters, it won't affect her too greatly.

"No problem, Pochaman is very tough!"

No-problem Young Lady waved her hand grandly.

Meanwhile.

As the last few contestants finished their performances, the table on the big screen symbolizing the advancers gradually appeared.

Xiaoguang, All Baimu, and that trainer who used Milotic were conspicuously located among them.