"Yeah~"
She waved her colorful pom-poms, attracting attention from others without feeling embarrassed.
Because it really was adorable.
Xiaoyao and Liuqia's eyes lit up, judging by their looks, they planned to try it on after the first review.
"Youth is truly full of vitality."
Baimu clicked his tongue in approval.
It's worth noting that Xiaoguang seems to be the only female lead in the entire series who has worn a cheerleader costume for Ash Ketchum. Unfortunately, with the arrival of a new season, she became a nostalgia-inducing tool, much like the Pokémon Ash once raised.
"Polka?"
The little penguin Piplup was also dressed in a similar cheerleader outfit. Its wobbly walk was quite amusing, successfully entertaining the spectating Mawile.
"Piplup~! Piplup~!"
Seeing this, Piplup wobbled even more energetically.
Baimu's mouth twitched. If he didn't understand the meaning behind the little penguin's actions at this moment, he would surely find Piplup incredibly adorable, but...
Please!
Stop licking! My goodness!
My dear sister, who is otherwise innocent, only loves watching dramas and eating sweets, and at most has a bit of a princess syndrome, seems to be turning into a "bad woman" manipulating the little penguin.
Come on, don't be like this!
Baimu turned his head away, unable to bear watching, and looked at Mawile with a sorrowful expression.
"Chi-do?"
Mawile, feeling Baimu's gaze, looked up, with a hint of confusion in its amused eyes. Wasn't Piplup's dance entertaining?
It felt similar to the skit we watched together a few days ago, right?
"It's nothing, go have fun."
Baimu smiled, watching the two Pokémon play together, feeling a deep sense of helplessness.
He could see that Mawile already considered Piplup a friend.
For a Pokémon as aloof as this girl, there were few Pokémon that showed such obvious goodwill towards her. The last one was the junior Altered-color Milotic, and the one before that was her good friend Blissey.
Of course, it's not that Aggron and the others had a poor attitude towards Mawile, but due to her temper, everyone had a certain degree of respect and awe for her, trying to avoid conflicts in their interactions.
Mawile didn't know how to subtly express goodwill, only waiting for others to approach her with softness and friendliness.
As a result,
their relationship remained at the level of partners, without any further progress.
Piplup was different.
Its goodwill towards Mawile was based on its own admiration, having almost no bottom line in trying to please her.
And after Mawile's outright rejection of romance, noticing that Piplup's attitude hadn't changed, she naturally started to consider friendship.
To put it simply,
it's like "My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute".
"The situation is complicated beyond just a few words," Baimu observed the two Pokémon's interaction and decided to let things take their natural course as he originally intended.
Xiaoguang chuckled from the side, saying, "Huh? Didn't Mawile reject Piplup? Does it still have a chance?"
As soon as she spoke,
others also gathered around to comment on the two Pokémon's relationship.
But had any of them ever truly experienced romance? They were just talking theory without much insight and only had a superficial grasp of the information, failing to come to the right conclusion.
Especially Xiaoguang, who knew nothing and liked to egg Piplup on, as if worried it wouldn't get a consolation prize!
Insisting on weakening her own Pokémon's Trainer—truly a rare sight.
Baimu shook his head.
Soon afterward,
one performer after another took the stage, each performance scoring between thirty-seven and thirty-eight points, causing Xiaoguang's score of thirty-nine to become more and more valuable.
He scrolled through the blog, where many online viewers commented—"This is the worst competition I've ever seen!"
So many people performed, and only one got a thirty-nine?
Is this okay or not?
Whether these viewers were new fans drawn by the competition, or true enthusiasts of the Gorgeous Competition, the lack of another high score for a long period indeed made the atmosphere in the waiting room uneasy.
Strict scoring has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that most can't score high, but if a breakthrough score appears, their faces will look bad.
No one wants to be a side character.
In this tense atmosphere, Wula La calmly took the stage.
And then—
captured the attention of the entire audience.
"How amazing..."
Xiaoguang watched the TV, mesmerized by the performance of Wula La and Garchomp, with no thoughts of moving her pom-poms.
Everyone around felt the same.
In the broadcast,
Garchomp, enveloped in a swirling blue current, roared toward the sky, continuously charging at the massive waves rolling towards it, getting blown away each time, yet breaking through defiantly each time!
Every time the surging waves were shattered, the loud explosion that erupted felt like the beat of a drum, captivating the audience's hearts and minds!
Bang!
Boom!
Boom!
What a shocking scene of the fierce shark battling the waves!
The splashes of water all over the sky, under the sunlight, appeared like thousands of bright mirrors, collectively capturing that gigantic figure, godlike yet demonic!
At the judges' table.
Mikoli had already stood up, his face full of surprise and delight.
It could be said that Wula La perfectly showcased the strength and ferocity of Garchomp, perhaps not as flamboyant and dazzling as other contestants' performances.
But this power that resonates with the audience is truly captivating!
Xiaogang had a solemn expression, "What an overwhelmingly powerful performance!"
"Garchomp is so strong!"
Xiaosheng focused on its combat power.
Baimu raised an eyebrow, "Is it strength and charisma…"
[Strength], [Charisma].
These are two of the five core elements categorized by Adam in the Gorgeous Competition, and also two clear categories in the game's grading of competitions, in a time when most Coordinator Trainers pursue beauty, charm, and cuteness.
Strength is actually quite rare.
Yet Wula La chose to showcase Garchomp's strength, and in this process, its charisma naturally was highlighted.
"Carving out her own path?"
Baimu's face was filled with surprise.
On the TV screen.
Garchomp led the waves to the sky, then crashed down, causing the second wave of splashes to collide with each other, faintly forming a seemingly ferocious face of its own.
"Graaaar——!!"
The roar echoed in the arena and was captured by the audio devices and transmitted into the TV.
The performance had thus ended.
Such a magical scene prompted Baimu to lead the applause.
Clap clap clap…
The others in the preparation room also started clapping as if awakening from a dream.
"Truly, people should not be judged by appearances, right, dear student?"
Liuqia's voice sounded by the side.
Baimu, while keeping an ear on the judges' comments about Wula La and Garchomp, said, "No one ever said that a person wearing a princess dress must abide by the rules. The sense of conflict is also a form of beauty, don't you think?"
"Indeed, well done, dear student!"
Liuqia praised.
Meanwhile.
On the TV, Mikoli was also praising Wula La.
"I haven't seen such a creative and genuinely Pokémon-natural performance in a long time! Thank you, Mikoli Club! And of course, thank you, for Garchomp's determination and spirit of resistance, I have received it!"
It's not difficult to hear that apart from its visual impact, Wula La's performance also had a touch of surrealism.
But luckily.
Mikoli understood her thoughts.
That alone was enough.
The four judges began scoring, and everyone watched intently at the small screen displaying the scores.
Beep beep beep beep.
9.7/9.8/9.7/9.9
A total of 39.1 points, exceeding Xiaoguang by 0.1, becoming the current highest score!
The cheers from the audience turned into waves, rising and falling layer by layer.
Xiaoguang felt a little regret, but what she felt more was admiration.
She naturally understood how powerful Wula La and Garchomp's performance was, and it was evident from Mikoli's scores who was superior.
However.
The Gorgeous Competition wasn't just about the gorgeous performances; gorgeous battles are also very important!
She had confidence in her Pokémon.
At the entrance.
Wula La returned with Garchomp, instantly attracting a lot of attention, but her eyes didn't waver as she walked straight towards Xiaoguang.
"Congratulations!"
Xiaoguang extended her hand, "A very impressive performance!"
Wula La glanced down, and without much hesitation, shook her hand and casually said, "Thank you."
Immediately after.
She quickly walked past Xiaoguang, looking at Baimu standing calmly there, a smile emerged on her face as she asked, "So? I wasn't exaggerating, was I?"
"You're saying that as if I ever thought you were exaggerating."
Baimu replied with a smile, looking at the particularly proud Garchomp, "But it truly exceeded my expectations, a truly astonishing performance, my compliments."
"Graaaar!"
Garchomp was so flattered that it unconsciously straightened its back.