Chapter 515: A Gorgeous Idol!

Back in the preparation room.

Before Baimu could check whether the others had returned, a black shadow suddenly rushed at him.

—It was Hu Pa.

He stopped his retreating motion.

"Xiaobai—that was amazing! The performance was super spectacular!"

Hu Pa excitedly shrieked, clinging to his head like a face-hugger. "Milotic is incredible!"

"Milo~"

The shiny Milotic cheerfully flicked its tail in response, also thinking it had done wonderfully.

"Hu Pa! Get down! So many people are watching!"

Mei Mei Yali's shout was full of anxiety, and Baimu immediately felt a strong force tugging at his face—seemingly the former pulling at Hu Pa's body.

These two…

Don't use someone else's face for a tug-of-war!

Although he felt no pain, considering that any more fuss would draw the staff over, and far too many people around were watching him, Baimu quickly pinched its little tail.

"Eek!"

Hu Pa cried out and let go.

Mei Mei Yali nearly stumbled, and even after steadying herself she was still quite angry. "Hu Pa! You troublemaking rascal! Now my lord brother is definitely going to scold us!"

"Hee hee hee, Mei Mei Yali is making a fuss~ Xiaobai, did I scare you?"

The thick-skinned Hu Pa let it go in one ear and out the other, and even had the nerve to ask if anyone had been startled.

"Yeah, yeah, I was startled."

Baimu's reply was a bit perfunctory, and he pinched its cheeks twice more as punishment.

This guy must have picked up the bad habit from the two Dragon siblings—after all, the only two face-huggers around him were those two who got so happy they forgot themselves…

Pokémon pick up bad habits so easily, but correcting them is harder than reaching the sky.

He looked left and right, didn't see anyone else return, felt a little puzzled but didn't think too much of it, and asked: "Did you two come to the preparation room through a ring?"

Under normal circumstances, the contestants' preparation room wouldn't allow spectators to come and go freely.

Mei Mei Yali nodded embarrassedly, gripping Hu Pa—who wanted to wander around—and not letting go. "Hu Pa was making a fuss about wanting water…"

Using getting water as an excuse to dodge Balza and find a chance to open a door, right?

Baimu looked at the grinning Hu Pa, thinking thankfully this mischievous troublemaker wasn't his Pokémon, so he didn't have to take care of it.

Otherwise, just cleaning up after it every day would be more than enough to keep him busy.

For a moment.

He looked at Mei Mei Yali with eyes full of pity—surely only the Balza siblings, who grew up together with it, could tolerate this guy's itchy skin if it went three minutes without causing trouble.

"We—we'll stop bothering you, then."

Mei Mei Yali didn't notice Baimu's gaze; her attention was all on the looks from around them, making her somewhat ill at ease. "Hu Pa! Let's go! My lord brother will worry!"

Without waiting for an answer, she took Hu Pa and left.

The troublemaker was hardly willing to go, but Mei Mei Yali held it too tightly—in its Punished form it couldn't break free at all—and could only gaze longingly at Baimu and the shiny Milotic, hoping they would step forward and speak up for it.

However.

At present, the latter two were more focused on the match's progress and didn't have much desire to play with it.

"Boo hoo, Xiaobai and Milotic are so heartless." Hu Pa sniffled, opened a ring in a blind spot where others couldn't see, and returned with Mei Mei Yali to another unnoticed spot in the venue.

But honestly, their behavior had already been quite conspicuous.

Baimu shook his head. It was lucky that both Hu Pa and Balza had some skill; otherwise, parading around so openly while thinking they were being stealthy would surely attract the attention of bad guys and bring unnecessary trouble.

Like the Biker gang and Team Rocket he'd seen not long ago.

"Milo!"

The shiny Milotic's cry drew his attention back.

Baimu followed its gaze to the TV and suddenly saw the camera focused on the scoreboard—and the total score added up to a whopping 39.1!

Tied with Ulala, that put them in a tie for third under the current ranking!

He narrowed his eyes. This rather unfamiliar-looking man on TV was probably a Coordinator from another region—any famous and capable ones in Hoenn, he'd already had Porygon2 investigate.

"Look it up?"

Baimu took out his phone and pointed the camera at the screen. Porygon2 on the phone screen, for some mischievous reason, gave him a thumbs-up icon to signal OK.

Ten seconds later.

A page on a certain encyclopedia website opened, clearly listing the other party's relevant information and general intel. As guessed, this person was a somewhat well-known Coordinator from Kanto.

'Want more detailed intel?'

Porygon2 appeared in the bottom-right corner of the screen, a line of text popping up above its head.

"No need… wait."

Baimu scrolled through the encyclopedia twice, then suddenly thought of something and looked at the shiny Milotic, asking in surprise: "You can read numbers now?"

If not for this one's reminder just now, he wouldn't have noticed such a powerful Coordinator.

"Milo?"

The shiny Milotic tilted its head, a question mark seemingly on its face, wearing an expression of not understanding.

Porygon2 suddenly cut in: "Milotic probably saw that stripper pervert yelling again, right? That guy's always been loud when he runs into someone impressive."

What the hell, stripper pervert—that's called being passionate!

Yanase-san's reputation is getting ruined.

He barely held back the urge to吐槽, carefully confirmed with the shiny Milotic, and the latter indeed nodded in agreement with Porygon2's take.

All Baimu: "……"

I really shouldn't have expected anything from a dummy like you!

While continuing to look through the relevant materials, Xiaoguang and the others chatted and laughed among themselves, returning in variously excited or calm moods.

"I really want to watch a few more rounds."

"Yeah, too bad we got recognized, what a bummer."

"You guys came back, fine, but why do I have to come back too! Let go of me! Let me go back!"

"Older sister and younger brother have to keep step together, of course!"

"Ah~ Milotic~"

The instant Xiaoguang saw the shiny Milotic, her eyes lit up like high-beam flashlights. She rushed over without a second to spare. "It's so pretty up close too! Can I touch you?"

"Me too!"

"Milotic is so beautiful~"

"I can barely breathe!"

Xiaoyao, Urarar, and Harry wore similarly reluctant-to-stop expressions, and although Miss Liuqi saw Milotic every day and was long since immune to this kind of Pokémon, she still joined in the excitement.

Only the three boys remained slightly calmer, staying put where they were.

But what All Baimu didn't expect was—

Piplup seemed to have been enchanted too!

He looked at the little penguin at Xiaoguang's feet, which was faintly showing a lovesick expression toward the shiny Milotic, and began to suspect this fellow was just a pervert, like Ash's Pachirisu or Team Rocket's Meowth.

The kind who'd lick whoever looked good, falling in love more often than eating meals.

Hiss.

Thinking about it that way, the guilt I felt toward it suddenly lessened.

All Baimu stroked the Poké Ball in his pocket and suddenly wondered what expression Piplup would make if he released Mawile right now.

He was well aware of the shiny Milotic's charm toward Water-type Pokémon — during the Akiha Conference earlier, the opponent's freshly evolved Gyarados and Pelipper had fallen head over heels at first sight.

A love-triangle drama unfolding?

……Forget it, who needs to be tormented? Tormenting my own Pokémon?

All Baimu quietly dismissed the thought.

——

Following the boy with 39.1 points.

One after another, a few more people with total scores exceeding 38.5 appeared, but not a single one above 39.5.

Perhaps……

Teacher Liu has that possibility?

All Baimu looked at Miss Liuqi, who was watching the TV with great interest. In terms of Contest talent, the latter could be said to rival her uncle, Mi Ke Li.

Unfortunately, her acting career had taken up too much of her time; otherwise, she might have long since become a top Coordinator.

"Hm? What's wrong, dear apprentice?"

Miss Liuqi tilted her head curiously.

All Baimu replied: "It's almost your turn, is it okay not to go prepare?"

"Ah, ah!"

She blinked her pale cyan eyes, and as if she still hadn't caught on, asked: "It's already my turn?"

All Baimu's eye twitched. "You should have the order list on your phone, right? I even saw you download it. Stop dawdling, hurry up and go!"

"Ah… my manager was always the one reminding me before." Miss Liuqi said sheepishly, and as if waking from a dream, walked toward the competitors' corridor. "Then I'm off! Dear apprentice, remember to come to the venue and cheer for me!"

The moment she moved.

The few girls nearby who had been sucking on snakes until they were dizzy finally came to their senses, reluctantly let go, and caught up with Miss Liuqi before she entered the corridor to cheer her on.

"You worked hard."

All Baimu stroked the shiny Milotic's hair-like fins with sympathy, and the latter whimpered pitifully.

At first it was genuinely happy that someone liked it so much, but as time went on it started to feel a bit strange. Once it realized those people weren't satisfied with just touching and even seemed to have thoughts of pouncing on it to suck on it, the shiny Milotic's heart was left with nothing but terror.

"Milo~"

So being popular could be this scary?

The shiny Milotic trembled, feeling like its fur was about to be petted bald.

"There, there, go back into the Poké Ball and rest." All Baimu comforted it a couple more times before recalling it into the Poké Ball.

Xiaoguang and the others' reactions weren't actually as exaggerated as the shiny Milotic imagined — it just wasn't used to outsiders, and was unaccustomed to such overwhelming enthusiasm all of a sudden.

He followed Brock and Shawn to the venue to watch Miss Liuqi's performance.

And when the shiny Milotic disappeared, Piplup's lovesick eyes immediately returned to their clear, innocent state.

"Pip?"

It puzzledly raised its little wings in thought, as if it had lost the memory of what just happened.

Suddenly.

Xiaoguang's voice reached its ears.

"Piplup! We're going to the venue to cheer!"

Hearing this, Piplup stopped thinking about it, its little yellow tender paws swinging as it clip-clopped after its Trainer.

Venue spectator stands.

When All Baimu and the others took their seats, the stage was currently commenting on a contestant; Miss Liuqi was up next.

Shawn suddenly pointed in a direction and asked: "Huh? What are they doing?"

Everyone looked over and saw that many spectators on that side had suddenly started tying on headbands, wearing coats of the same color, and holding colorful cheering sticks in both hands, looking dead serious as if ready for action.

"That's…"

"That's Liu Liu Qiya's cheering outfit." All Baimu, relying on his good eyesight, took only one glance and clearly saw the half-body portrait of Liu Liu Qiya on that oversized coat.

She's a Contest Idol after all — how could her fan club be called idols without some unified gear?

Everyone suddenly understood.

Xiaoguang, however, said regretfully, "If only I'd prepared one too! It looks really fun~"

"Yeah, but our cheerleader outfits are already pretty great!" Xiaoyao quite agreed, though she was also very satisfied with the cute cheerleader outfit she was wearing.

"Po-kah! Po-kah!" Pochaman was already dancing on the metal railing.

The Contest had trained it to have extraordinary balance — a mere metal railing, give it a tightrope and it could move as freely as it pleased!

And under the eager anticipation of all.

Vivian began the introduction segment as usual.

"This next competitor, I think many in the audience have been waiting for a long time already… In that case, please welcome our cutest, most energetic Contest Idol — Liuji!"

Wah!

A tsunami of cheers erupted.

Liushi City was Liu Liu Qiya's absolute home turf, and whether out of love for the things associated with her or simple admiration, countless citizens of Liushi City adored this little girl brimming with energy.

And her fans affectionately called her —

"Liuji!"

"Liuji! Liuji!"

The shouts came surging from all directions, and Xiaoguang and the others looked around in shock, hardly able to believe their own eyes and ears.

She's so popular!

It's like the entire venue is cheering for Liu Liu Qiya!

What surprised them even more was that music suddenly began playing from the speakers overhead, and in several spots throughout the audience, groups of people wearing the same outer outfit stood up, waving their cheering sticks in unison.

"So many people…"

"Look! Smoke is coming out of the competitor entrance! Ah! Liu Liu Qiya came out!"

Xiaosheng pointed at the stage.

Through the smoke-wreathed entrance gate, Liu Liu Qiya rode out on a white horse with a black-blue spiral horn and cream and pale-cyan mane, holding a microphone as she charged toward the pool.

Before anyone could worry about whether they'd fall into the water, a pleasant singing voice rang out.

"? The excitement I feel for you cannot be held back?"

"? Conveying the charm of love's radiance?"

"? Lower your head, look away?"

"? But I was noticed~ A sweet sigh…?"

Everyone stared in astonishment.

All Baimu alone remained perfectly calm, and volunteered, "Liu Liu Qiya's self-written, self-sung theme song 'Charm ☆ Love' — she's a Contest Idol, her performance is different from everyone else's."

This is way too different! And why are you so familiar with it!

For a moment, the group didn't know whether to roast him or Liu Liu Qiya down below, but soon they were completely immersed in the latter's performance.

Even with the song added in, the main body of the performance was still that shiny Galarian Rapidash.

At this moment, it was like a Pegasus carrying a fairy, its hooves treading the water's surface and sending up ripples and countless sparkles, while continuously creating heart after heart that flew into the sky, then stepping on the air like a meteor to spin and crash into them.

Peng peng peng —

The hearts kept exploding without disappearing, instead becoming larger hollow hearts, which the shiny Galarian Rapidash spun through once more.

And just as Liu Liu Qiya sang "Tomorrow I'll definitely say 【I like you】," the brilliant tail flames transformed into a white streak, like Cupid's arrow of love, piercing through the shadows of two pink hearts and linking them together.

The entire audience had gone mad at this moment.

Compared to the quiet when watching the shiny Milotic perform, most of them were now standing, as if attending Liu Liu Qiya's personal concert, rhythmically shouting "yeah yeah" over and over.

Xiaoguang and Xiaoyao were no exception — they were the type to be easily infected by the atmosphere, and had completely become part of the fans.

Finally.

The performance ended with Liu Liu Qiya's single-eye wink, and the shiny Galarian Rapidash pierced the largest heart with the long horn on its forehead, making it transform into hundreds and thousands of small hearts that flew toward the audience seats, sparking a scramble among countless people.

"Heart-pounding ☆ Dreams come true, hello everyone, I'm your Liuji~"

The silver-bell-like voice spread throughout the entire venue, successfully etching itself into the hearts of countless people.

Most of the audience were still unsatisfied, forgetting entirely what the judges had said, loudly discussing the scene they'd just witnessed, or frantically shouting "encore."

All Baimu was so drowned out by the noise he couldn't hear clearly at all, only vaguely making out that Long Zhi Xiang seemed to be saying he was getting old and couldn't quite keep up with the times, along with Yan Lai's striptease support and Miss Qiao Yin's unhesitating praise.

Mi Ke Li seemed to indicate that her personal style was very mature, but the stage environment of the Mi Ke Li Cup was water-related, and she hadn't been able to make good use of the venue, or something along those lines.

He rubbed his temples with a headache, and could only look at the scoreboard.

Beep beep beep beep.

A total of 39.4 points — unable to break through 39.5, but the score was still in first place!

All Baimu offered applause with some regret; in his heart, Liu Liu Qiya actually deserved 39.5 points, but unfortunately Long Zhi Xiang seemed unable to appreciate an idol's charm…

So rigid, old man — who says you can't be a fan just because you're old? As a judge, you've got to step it up!

Regardless.

The first round of judging on the first day of the Mi Ke Li Cup gradually drew to a close.