Terrance's words left Raoul Contesta at a loss for words. It was the first time he'd ever heard of a generation gap forming like this.
That said, Terrance did keep himself in excellent shape, thanks to his frequent martial arts training…
"It's time to start the competition."
Mr. Raoul Contesta shook his head. Just as his words fell, Mr. Sukizo walked in.
The president of the Pokémon Fan Club noticed Terrance there, narrowed his eyes with a smile, and asked, "Confident about winning?"
"That's my goal," Terrance replied with a grin.
The afternoon schedule was fuller than the morning's. The remaining forty Contestants all had to complete their performances today.
It could be said that the workload for Mr. Raoul Contesta and Mr. Sukizo would be enormous. Terrance could tell that neither of them had rested well at noon, having devoted all their time to work, which he greatly admired.
With higher-ups like these, the rise of Pokémon Contests was inevitable.
After the afternoon performances began… Terrance continued to watch closely.
The Hoenn region's genius rookie Coordinator, Chaz, scored 29 points with Machoke.
The veteran Coordinator from Pewter City in the Kanto region, Solidad, scored 29.2 points.
Top Coordinator and Breeder Yuma scored 29.3 points.
Immediately after that… the Hoenn region's veteran Coordinator, Sora, scored 28.9 points!
"Terrance-senpai…" Terrance, who had been leaning in the corner watching the screen, stepped out of the shadows. Looking at Sora, who had just walked off the stage with a dejected expression, he said naturally, "28.9 points is still a pretty good score."
"Wanting to learn my Beautifly's 'Wind Domain' technique is a good idea, but you should be finding your own path even more."
"After all, every Pokémon has its own style and characteristics. Learning from others is commendable, but you also need to adapt."
Indeed, Sora had demonstrated the Wind Domain technique that Terrance and Beautifly had once shown at a Super Festival where Trainers and Coordinators competed together.
For the sake of visual impact, Sora had added flashy elements to it, but it failed to earn the judges' approval.
In Terrance's view, that Wind Domain had far too many imperfections and couldn't be called perfect at all.
28.9 points and 29 points. There was still a clear gap.
Terrance said nothing and looked back at the screen. The Coordinator he was paying attention to the most, Lisia, was about to take the stage. Up to now, Sora's score ranked eighth; if none of the upcoming Contestants surpassed her, she would advance.
But clearly, Sora herself lacked that confidence.
Even the Hoenn region's rookie genius Coordinator, Chaz, had scored 29 points. As someone who had consistently outperformed Chaz, how could Lisia possibly do worse?
"Find my own path?" Sora murmured softly, but Terrance offered no further explanation.
At the same time, on the stage, Lisia looked toward the audience and the judges, revealing a faint smile. Then she made a move that shocked everyone.
"That is… Mega Evolution?"
All three judges spoke in unison.
Even Sora was instantly drawn in by Lisia's performance on the screen, forgetting her worries as she stared in disbelief at the brilliantly lit stage.
"If Altaria can Mega Evolves… then wouldn't that mean…" Sora looked at Terrance, hardly daring to believe it.
"That's right. I have a Mega Altaria as well," Terrance said with a slight smile. "Judging by your reaction, this must be her first time showing Mega Evolution, right?"
"Mm." Sora nodded vigorously.
Lisia's mastery of Mega Evolution left her rival, Chaz, staring wide-eyed in shock.
"That Lisia... just when did she..." The blonde-haired boy ruffled his hair in frustration, feeling the disparity between them growing wider and wider...
The audience, the judges, and the contestants alike were all captivated by Lisia and Altaria's Mega Evolution. Displaying Mega Evolution on a Pokémon Contest stage was unprecedented.
Whether for performance impact or for attention, Lisia had revealed a trump card like Mega Evolution right on the Performance Stage. Even Terrance found her choice somewhat surprising.
"Aiming for a perfect score?" Terrance murmured. Through the screen, he could see Lisia's fighting spirit, the determination not to lose to him.
"Wallace's niece really is astonishing. As expected of the junior of a Contest Master…" Mr. Sukizo was slightly taken aback, gazing in awe at the Mega Altaria on stage as it finished Mega Evolving and launched into its magnificent performance.
Amid clouds of cotton-like feathers drifting through the air, Altaria, cloaked in fairy light, seemed to be playing a beautiful melody among a sea of clouds.
There were very few things left that could truly surprise Terrance, yet Lisia's approach to training Altaria made him pause. It was a completely different method from his own.
Sing, Disarming Voice, Heal Bell, Round, combined with the beautiful symphony composed by the move "Play Rough" striking Cotton Guard, instantly captivated everyone.
"Why does Play Rough produce sound when it strikes the cotton feathers?" Terrance fell into deep thought.
"Could it be a secondary reaction caused by the mutual influence of energies? What's the key factor? Is it control, fixed type, or perhaps specific moves?"
At this moment, the audience, judges, and contestants were all immersed in the melody Altaria was playing, sinking deeper and deeper into it.
A composition formed from various sound-based moves was unexpectedly melodious. Some people realized, however, that the true key lay in Mega Altaria's extraordinary ability to harmonize sounds.
"Cotton Guard's defense, Sing's hypnosis, Heal Bell's soothing effect, Disarming Voice's offense, Round's amplification… Maybe even more sound-based moves could be woven into this piece. Interesting. Her main training focus for Altaria is sound, a completely different path from 'Erase'!"
Seeing this, Terrance smiled faintly and was preparing to turn and leave.
As Terrance turned around, Sora beside him instinctively called out, asking in confusion, "Terrance-senpai, aren't you going to watch until the end?"
"No need. If nothing unexpected happens, she'll be the next perfect score."
Terrance didn't follow the rest of the performance. In fact, his guess was correct. This melody performed through the interaction of Play Rough and Cotton Guard won through sound alone, earning the approval of both the audience and the judges.
In a sense, Lisia's performance achieved the same effect as Terrance's own, which captivated the audience and judges through visual impact.
Coupled with the shocking Mega Evolution transformation, Lisia's score was guaranteed to be high.
What Terrance didn't know was that Lisia began receiving guidance from Wallace at an even younger age and once served as an apprentice at the Sootopolis Gym. One could say Wallace had always raised this niece as his successor, and the Mega Stone for Altaria was Wallace's debut gift to Lisia.
"Rotom Pokédex, do you know why Play Rough and Cotton Guard colliding can produce sound?"
"Bzzt-bzzt, NO. But after searching, I found similar examples: using Focus Punch to strike Solar Beam can also produce beautiful sounds, Roto."
After watching Lisia's performance, Terrance no longer had any contestants he was particularly looking forward to. He chose to leave, planning to study Lisia's performance and devise standard countermeasures.
"Focus Punch striking Solar Beam can produce beautiful sounds?" Terrance showed an intrigued expression.
Generally speaking, when moves collide, they cause violent vibrations and produce loud sounds like "bang" or "boom." Even with deliberate control, it's extremely difficult to create something melodious.
Yet after Rotom Pokédex's full-network scan, a few special cases really did turn up.
Even so, those cases were still limited to producing beautiful sounds without special effects. As for Lisia's technique of actually producing music through moves, Terrance was momentarily at a loss.
It could be said that Lisia's performance truly broadened Terrance's horizons. From this moment on, he no longer regarded her as a rookie.
...
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