After a brief moment of silence, the entire venue erupted into thunderous applause, even more intense than any performance before.
The audience leapt to their feet in excitement, waving their arms as cheers and whistles rose one after another, surging like an endless tide.
"My gosh! How did they even do that?!"
"Tyrantrum actually came out completely unharmed! That sand armor was insane!"
"Contestant number 66 is unbelievable! This level of creativity is just incredible!"
Exclamations filled the stands without pause. Those in the front row clapped so hard that their palms turned red, yet they did not even notice.
At the center of the stage, Tyrantrum had already returned to its original appearance, proudly swaying its tail. Larvesta hopped around beside it, showing off the victory that belonged to them.
The livestream chat had long since turned into a sea of red comments, dense waves of text nearly overflowing the screen.
"I am blown away! This creativity, this execution! Are you some kind of god, streamer?!"
"When Tyrantrum rushed into the flames earlier, my heart was in my throat. Now I can finally relax!"
"Larvesta be like, I am not targeting anyone here, but all of you are my subjects."
"Nurse Joy looked so worried just now, it was adorable. Now she can finally relax!"
"Even Deputy Director Yumiko smiled! That is rare, someone screenshot it!"
At the judges' table, Nurse Joy loosened her tightly clenched hands and gently patted her chest, a lingering blush of nervousness still on her face.
"That really startled me just now. I thought Tyrantrum might get hurt."
She looked toward Tyrantrum on stage, her expression softening into a warm smile as she raised her thumb in praise.
"That was a wonderful performance, Tyrantrum. You were amazing."
Tyrantrum immediately became excited, its tail wagging happily as if it might lift into the sky, its eyes filled with pride.
Seeing that Nurse Joy had only praised its partner, Larvesta instantly became dissatisfied and began bouncing around. It bumped its head against Tyrantrum's leg, its blue eyes fixed straight on the judges' table, as if saying that it was amazing too.
Larvesta's behavior drew bursts of laughter from the audience below. Someone could not help but shout,
"Larvesta, you were great too!"
"Yeah, yeah, Larvesta is the best!"
Nurse Joy could not help but laugh at Larvesta's unwilling expression. Covering her mouth as she giggled, she said,
"Hahaha, Larvesta was wonderful too. Your coordination with Tyrantrum was perfect. Neither of you could have done it without the other."
Hearing the praise, Larvesta immediately lifted its little head proudly and stood side by side with Tyrantrum. Both Pokémon adopted a proud and slightly arrogant pose, which made the audience laugh even louder.
Mr. Sukizo watched the two of them acting so playfully, his eyes narrowing into a thin line as he smiled.
"It was remarkable! Your all remarkable!"
The solidification of the sand armor, the control of the flames, every step was filled with clever ideas. Especially the design of the throne."
After a long pause, Mr. Sukizo continued,
"At first I thought that seat was made for Larvesta, and I was even thinking of criticizing it for being too small.
Watching it squeeze in there was absolutely hilarious. I did not expect it to be prepared for you in the end, hahaha."
As he spoke, Mr. Sukizo seemed to recall the image of Larvesta struggling to squeeze into the throne, and he could not stop smiling.
Larvesta immediately realized that this chubby uncle was teasing it. Its blue eyes widened, and a trace of dissatisfaction flashed within them.
With a soft puff, all five of its horns spat out small bursts of flame, as if protesting.
This once again triggered uproarious laughter throughout the venue. Even the usually serious Yumiko could not help but curl her lips slightly, her previously cool and composed aura fading away for a moment.
Seeing this, the fans in the audience immediately began to cheer.
"Lady Yumiko! Lady Yumiko!"
Yumiko raised her hand lightly, and the cheers quickly quieted down, her decisive and commanding presence returning in an instant.
She adjusted her glasses and fixed her gaze on Theo, her tone carrying clear appreciation.
"A very bold idea.
Using a destructive move like Overheat in a performance, and combining it so cleverly with Sandstorm, is not easy at all."
She paused briefly before continuing,
"The solidification of sand within flames is extremely complex. It requires precise calculation and control of moves. You executed it very well. No wonder Champion Wallace often mentions you and praises your boundless imagination. Today, I have truly seen it for myself."
After the three judges finished their evaluations, applause broke out once more, even louder than before, lasting for a long time.
Tyrantrum and Larvesta seemed glued to the stage, reluctant to leave. Their eyes sparkled as they gazed at the audience, clearly not having had enough of the cheers.
Seeing this, Vivian smiled and picked up the microphone.
"It seems Tyrantrum and Larvesta think everyone's applause is not enthusiastic enough yet.
Let us give them another round of applause to thank them for their wonderful performance, shall we?"
"Alright!"
The entire audience responded in unison, and thunderous applause immediately filled the venue once more, accompanied by cheers and whistles.
Only then did the two little ones feel satisfied. They obediently allowed Theo to return them to their Poké Balls, though the balls continued to shake slightly, as if they were still showing off their earlier glory to each other.
Back in the contestants' lounge, Grace immediately walked up with a smile, holding a towel in her hand.
"I was honestly a bit worried about you earlier, but I did not expect those two to perform even better on stage than they did during training."
Thinking of what Mr. Sukizo had said, she could not help but laugh again.
"When I watched you train before, Larvesta could clearly fit comfortably into that position. Good thing it is just a little chubby, otherwise it really would not have been able to squeeze in."
As if recalling the sight of Larvesta struggling awkwardly to get into the throne earlier, Grace laughed so hard that her body trembled, a faint blush appearing on her face.
Larvesta's Poké Ball at Theo's waist shook vigorously, as if protesting Grace's teasing.
Time passed little by little, and the remaining contestants took the stage one after another. Although each performance had its highlights, it was difficult for any of them to surpass the impact brought by Grace and Theo.
It was not until contestant number 89 finished performing that Vivian stepped onto the stage and announced the end of the first round of judging.
The staff quickly displayed the list of advancing contestants on the large screen. Theo and Grace's names were prominently included.
Number 13 Avery, number 17 Ian, number 22 Parker… number 28 Grace… number 66 Theo…
Inside the contestants' lounge, Theo and Grace exchanged a smile and raised their thumbs to each other in tacit understanding.
The other advancing contestants also nodded and offered congratulations to one another. The air was filled with both tension and anticipation.
After all, the second round of advanced stage performances would be the true challenge.
During the short intermission, the staff quickly cleaned up the stage and prepared for the battle segment of the second round.
Meanwhile, the audience took the opportunity to discuss the highlights they had just witnessed. Among all the topics, Theo, Larvesta and Tyrantrum's "Crowning of the Throne" was undoubtedly mentioned the most.
Many people were still savoring the overwhelming impact of the performance brought by Tyrantrum and Larvesta.
(End of Chapter)