Chapter 421: Let's Just Be the League Champion for a While

For a competition where artistry outweighs competitiveness, the audience naturally did not react with boiling enthusiasm.

It was only after searching online for that blurry photo from four years ago, then taking another look at the majestic flying dragon—its winding body mostly hidden within the Bingshan and white mist, set against a polar-like brilliant light curtain and stars—that the vague image in the photo gradually became full and vivid.

For a moment, the venue fell silent as everyone became immersed in admiring this somewhat special Bing Diao Zuo Pin.

A moment later.

"Ahem."

Geeta broke the silence with a light cough and was the first to raise her scorecard.

"I give a perfect score of 20."

Geeta smiled slightly.

Clearly, she was very satisfied with Luo Mu's work; through this piece, she had successfully witnessed the domineering presence of the Sky High Pokémon that was impossible to discern in the blurry footage.

This made Geeta even more firm in her important policy of befriending Lei Guan Wang, who could defeat Rayquaza, not to mention that Luo Mu already had a good relationship with her.

Of course, the 20 points she gave were not entirely due to their connection; at the very least, the Sky Dragon Luo Mu carved truly resonated with Geeta's soul.

After Geeta started, there was a few seconds of silence before the other three judges also gave their scores and evaluations in turn.

"I give 19 points; the grandeur of this ice sculpture is exactly to my liking. It would be even better if the craftsmanship were more refined, but consider this my investment."

"I give 18 points; the shortcomings in technique are still too obvious, but the flaws do not obscure the jade—the work of Contestant No. 25 is indeed refreshing."

"I give 19 points; both the conceptual theme and the light effects added by the Pokémon moves fit the work perfectly, nicely neutralizing the lack of skill. Especially since the subject carved was changed to the Sky High Pokémon Rayquaza, said to be a legendary Pokémon; to put it bluntly, as a member of the Hoenn region, I even want to take this ice sculpture back for exhibition."

Including Geeta, the total score given by the four judges had already reached a high of 76 points.

If Luo Mu wanted to surpass Shasha, he must obtain a high score of 20 from the final judge, the most discerning eye of all, Lady Osha, the President of the World Ice Sculpture Association.

Even though they had experienced many competitions big and small, Shasha and her three Pokémon could not help but slow their breathing, staring intently at Lady Osha, who sat with closed eyes and silent lips.

Lapras and Weaville no longer cared that Snom had once been their teacher, looking at it with faces full of blame.

Look, if you hadn't idly gone out to take an apprentice and teach Aurora Veil, you wouldn't have created such a huge enemy for your own Trainer.

Snom felt somewhat guilty, flapped its wings a few times, and retorted with low-frequency bug chirps—

I didn't want to either; who knew Vulpix suddenly wanted to evolve, and borrowing the boost from evolution, mastered Aurora Veil in one go, a move it should have taken some time to learn.

But no matter how Snom retorted, Lapras and Weaville had unilaterally temporarily categorized it under the column of war criminals.

After a good while, Lady Osha finally opened her eyes, and as if having made some decision, said softly, "I give... 18 points."

In an instant, the rustling sounds of discussion all around stagnated.

Everyone unanimously began to calculate.

18 plus 76 equals 94; compared to Shasha's total score of 95, there was only a one-point difference.

The next second.

Shasha's loyal fans cheered.

But Shasha herself stood stunned on the spot, the joy of victory on her face extremely faint.

Lady Osha could be said to be her guide in the path of ice sculpture, a figure equivalent to a master, yet now, within the score given by her master, she had lost to the obviously novice Luo Mu.

Even though the surroundings were filled with jubilant noise, Shasha's brows never relaxed; she did not understand where she had lost to Luo Mu.

A trace of surprise appeared in Emperor Yan Di's eyes.

It was not that she felt Lady Osha's score was too low, but rather she was surprised that Lady Osha had given only 16 points to a work of such high completion as Shasha's, yet actually gave Luo Mu 18 points.

Was it the blessing of a legendary Pokémon, or was it due to saving face for her?

Geeta waited with some curiosity for Lady Osha's commentary.

After giving the score, Lady Osha paused for a moment, glanced with her peripheral vision at Shasha who had been watching her, shook her head, and said, "Contestant No. 25, Luo Mu's work; admittedly, when I first saw his work, I did not feel shocked, but held the same opinion as the other judges, feeling that his technique was too immature."

"But within this immaturity, he very well relied on the power of his Pokémon to put his inspiration into practice; to put it even more bluntly, I feel that his potential and spirituality in ice sculpture carving were very well demonstrated in this Ci De Zuo Pin."

"I believe that given time, once his skills are honed to maturity and his personal style is solidified, the world of ice sculpture will gain another ice sculpture master."

"Therefore, I am willing to give my vote to this contestant full of potential; to achieve such a ranking in a large-scale conference upon his debut, I look forward to your future."

To the side.

Discovering that his score fell one point behind Shasha, Luo Mu did not appear particularly disappointed.

Waiting for the white mist summoned by Lei Guan Wang to dissipate, he looked at his somewhat dejected Pokémon, patted each of their heads, and revealed a brilliant smile.

"Don't forget, we came this time to experience the atmosphere of the competition; winning or losing isn't important. Not only did we create memories for two days, but Vulpix also evolved into Ninetales, and we even secured second place; isn't that great?"

Lei Guan Wang also rode Snowy a few steps forward, echoing Luo Mu's words by saying, "Let's take a group photo in front of the ice sculpture later."

To be honest, Lei Guan Wang had been itching to do this for a long time.

On the farm, it often borrowed the camera from Luo Mu, then found Oranguru to ask about photography techniques.

With the existence of psychic power, taking photos would be even more convenient; fully prepared, Lei Guan Wang decided that today it must take the best-looking photo possible to put into Luo Mu's photo album!

At this moment, hearing Lady Osha's highly encouraging evaluation, Luo Mu felt somewhat overwhelmed by the honor.

Good heavens, even an expert in the professional field recognizes me this much; could it be that I truly possess some talent for carving?

Debuting for just one week and snatching second place; if I give myself a bit more time, won't I be soaring to the heavens?

The night grew deeper.

A relatively simple award ceremony was held.

Luo Mu, Shasha, and that gentleman with 92 points stood on the award podium, accepting in turn the certificates stamped with the seal of the World Ice Sculpture Association and the medals.

Next, Geeta, who was responsible for presenting the awards, handed the prizes to them.

Luo Mu's second-place prize was an "Icy Rock" capable of extending the duration of snow or hail weather after a Pokémon activates it, along with a check for a prize money of 500,000 League Coins.

Holding the certificate, the silver medal, the Icy Rock, and the check, Luo Mu's smile stretched almost to his ears.

Just coming out to experience life, not only did he receive so many prizes and have Vulpix evolve into Ninetales, but he also encountered the couple Xue Li Guai and Abomasnow.

He had earned a fortune!

After briskly accepting the photo session for memories, Luo Mu was just about to slip away to take photos with his Pokémon when Shasha called out to stop him.

"May I take up a little of your time?"

"Ah, no problem." Luo Mu nodded gently; for Shana, the trainer who had taught that Alolan Ninetales the Aurora Veil, he certainly had to agree to this small request of hers.

Shana took out her phone and smiled, saying, "Let's exchange contact information."

Luo Mu:? Seemingly realizing the ambiguity, Shana tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and whispered, "I have a husband and children; the only reason I want to exchange contact information with you is because Lady Osha said you are a promising ice sculptor, so if there is anything you do not understand in the future, you can contact me by phone."

"Please do not let your talent go to waste."

Luo Mu met Shana's gaze; for some reason, he always felt as though this person had somehow come to terms with something.

However, what Shana said was indeed correct.

In any case, he himself planned to occasionally carve some ice sculptures for fun, so getting to know a professional would definitely not be a loss.

Thinking thus, Luo Mu replied, "Sure."

A moment later.

With a phone that now had one more contact, Luo Mu walked through the crowd to his own work area, where the foot traffic was only slightly lower than that of Shana's neighboring booth, which benefited from her fan support.

This area had already been cordoned off from the audience by isolation tape sent by the organizers' staff, and there were still people directing things on site.

Seeing Luo Mu approach, many people immediately voiced their requests for him to perform that previous act again, as they wanted to take some more photos.

Luo Mu readily agreed.

After all, when they took photos here, they still had to use that combination of moves once to create the atmosphere, so letting those audience members who had traveled from afar to this frigid Frostbite Mountain snag a few photos would not cost him a piece of flesh.

If possible, Luo Mu even wished to exhibit Ji De Zuo Pin to the entire world.

He summoned Lei Guan Wang, then had Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, Mimikyu, Calyrex-Ice, Regice, Ninetales, the Sandslash couple, and the Abomasnow couple line up in sequence alongside Xue Li Guai.

With everything ready, Luo Mu walked to the center of the formation, and the combination of Mist, Aurora Veil, and Dazzling Gleam bloomed once more.

Cangyan Cangyan Rengui silently found the right angle, striking a handsome, cool pose that fit its Pokédex entry.

Mimikyu happily jumped onto Luo Mu's shoulder, secretly delighted; now, on Luo Mu's shoulder, there was only it, Mimikyu! After evolving, Ninetales, much like its mother, had gained a few degrees of dignity and elegance while losing some of the childishness it had as a Vulpix; regardless of whether this was temporarily feigned, the Ninetales at this moment was indeed terrifyingly elegant.

The yellow dots on Regice's face flashed at an extremely rapid speed as it stood straight and stiff, as if its processor were still calculating what "taking a photo" meant.

The Sandslash couple felt an emptiness in their arms, but since it was for their child's safety, they could only endure it.

Beneath Lei Guan Wang, Calyrex-Ice was still off by itself, emo-ing.

The socially anxious Abomasnow couple stood in the lineup somewhat at a loss.

Was it not somewhat improper for them to join someone else's family portrait? Xue Li Guai cheerfully pulled its parents' hands, and two "Ka-pu!" "Ka-pu!" sounds startled the Abomasnow couple into great alarm.

Translating Xue Li Guai's cries, the general meaning was this—

We have long been a family~ Actually, in private, I have already agreed to Luo Mu's proposal for our whole family to move!

Abomasnow couple: Σ(°Д°; Already sold!?

At this moment, Luo Mu's voice rang out.

"Get ready, 1, 2, 3, Cheese~!"

With mental focus at its peak, Lei Guan Wang, relying on the terrifying observational power of a Legendary Pokémon, used psychic energy formed into telekinesis to press the shutter at the most suitable instant.

Click.

Thus was formed a wonderful photograph filled with various emotions but mostly smiles, which also captured the domineering Ice Sky Dragon behind the subjects within its frame.

The profound impact of this Ice Sculpture Grand Prix far exceeded the expectations of many people.

Several days later.

Hoenn Region.

Mossdeep City.

In a certain research institute, Dr. Londo looked at the photographs now widely circulating throughout the Hoenn Region, his expression thoughtful.

He remembered that four years ago, it was precisely the Pokémon resembling that ice sculpture and that Pokémon from outer space that had engaged in a fierce battle; this also caused his son to press his forehead and sigh. Dr. Londo's gaze then fell upon the crystal within that transparent instrument at the center of the research institute, or rather, the Pokémon known as Deoxys.

He murmured in a low voice, "If we allow it to regenerate, will that huge flying dragon chase us all the way to Mossdeep City?"

"That ice sculptor from the Paldea Region might know something."

Meteor Falls.

After the Draconid clan's recklessness, she had been sent back to Meteor Falls, forced the Meteor People to compensate for quite a few things, and was now serving solitary confinement alone; looking at the photo displayed on the phone brought by her Altaria, Xiang Xiang Jiana, Zinnia frowned slightly.

"Could it be that that person has seen Lord Rayquaza, the Dragon God?"

Sootopolis City.

Inside the Sootopolis Gym.

A handsome man wearing a white cap, with smooth cyan hair and a slender, well-proportioned figure, slid his long fingers across a tablet, then quickly double-tapped to pause, freezing the video at a certain instant.

Pinching to zoom in, Wallace's contemplative gaze rested upon that elegant Ninetales using Aurora Veil and Dazzling Gleam, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

"Leaving aside Rayquaza, the Sky God of ancient Hoenn legends, and Regice, the legendary Titan, for now."

"That Ninetales would be very suitable for appearing in a Contest."

"It seems that if there is an opportunity, I could negotiate with the Paldea League to see if we can expand the reach of Contests a bit further."

"If that Ninetales could appear then, it would indeed be refreshing."

"Milu?"

Beside Wallace, Milotic, hailed as the most beautiful Pokémon, somewhat jealously coiled its fan-like beautiful tail around his right hand, emitting a soft sound of reminder.

Wallace knew what Milotic meant, and he smiled helplessly.

"My sweet honey, your suggestion is truly hitting the nail on the head."

"Indeed, even with my current status as the Sootopolis Gym Leader plus a Contest Master, my identity is insufficient to negotiate a cooperation with a League."

"However..."

Wallace stood up, stretching a waist that was extremely flexible despite being male.

"My good friend Steven is probably getting tired of the Champion position soon enough; I fear he will want to immediately hide away in the deep mountains and old forests to dig for his stones."

"Perfect, let's go and serve as the Hoenn League Champion for a while."

(End of Chapter)