In the contestants' lounge, the TV was broadcasting the contest live.
Natsui and the others sat on the sofa. They could see that at the current competition site, a beautiful host wearing a gorgeous red long dress, with curly blond hair and a mole under her eye, appeared in the center of the arena holding a microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting!" The host's sweet voice was clearly transmitted into everyone's ears. She said excitedly, "The Slateport Pokémon Contest is about to begin! First, let's welcome today's three judges!"
As the camera turned, the lens focused on three people to the side.
Through the big screen, Natsui saw two men and one woman sitting in front of the judges' table. And that woman, with her familiar look and dress, made him recognize at a glance that it was Nurse Joy from the Pokémon Center!
Natsui was not surprised that Joy would attend such a competition. He just glanced at her and stopped paying attention, focusing his attention on the two men beside her.
First, look at the one beside Nurse Joy. His figure was very short. Although he was also sitting, he didn't even reach Joy's shoulder height. Judging by his age, he was at least over fifty. Squinting his eyes, although wearing a black suit, his aura was weak, looking unremarkable.
Look at the other one.
His age was similar to that unremarkable man, perhaps even younger. He wore a burgundy suit and a bow tie. His hair was combed back, and a patch in the middle was dyed silver-gray, looking quite fashionable!
"As you can see..." The host introduced, "There are three judges serving today. They are Mr. Sukizo, Mr. Contesta, and Nurse Joy. Let's warmly welcome their presence!"
The audience at the scene burst into applause.
Natsui's gaze also swept over the three judges.
Actually, he didn't need the host's introduction; he knew these people were not simple.
Leaving aside Nurse Joy, first is that short gentleman, Mr. Sukizo. He is the president of the Pokémon Fan Club and often appears as a judge in Pokémon Contests. He is a judge with a very high appearance rate in various contest venues!
And the other man, Mr. Contesta (Raoul Contesta), is the Director of the Contest Committee! He is also the highest person in charge of the entire event!
Compared to them, only Nurse Joy is common to people and feels more intimate.
After introducing the three judges, the host continued to talk about this contest. "The Pokémon and Coordinator who win this victory will receive the Slateport Ribbon. Contestants who obtain five ribbons from contests in various places will qualify to participate in the Grand Festival!"
At the same time, on the big screen, the Slateport Ribbon was also displayed.
This was a golden round medal like a gold medal. Around the medal, a green ribbon was tied into a bow, making it look both ordinary and somewhat unusual.
"Alright, the competition is about to start. I am Vivian, the host of this contest. Next, please welcome the first contestant!"
As her voice fell, this meant the Slateport Pokémon Contest officially began.
Under the gaze of countless eyes, Contestant No. 1 also made a shining debut with his Pokémon!
Gulp!
In the lounge, seeing the competition start, May swallowed nervously. Hearing the sound, Natsui and the others looked and found that she was actually trembling!
Misty asked with concern, "May, what's wrong? Are you nervous?"
May nodded. "I don't know what's going on. Clearly, I was prepared in my heart, but when things came to a head, my legs still couldn't control the shaking..."
At this moment, Misty and the others didn't know how to encourage her, so they could only cheer her on constantly.
Fortunately, there was Natsui, a man who had seen the world, who knew how to adjust mentality. "Don't worry. Slow down your breathing. Didn't Mr. Raoul Contesta (Bi Xi) say last night? If a Coordinator is too nervous, they will transmit their emotions to their Pokémon."
May took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. After repeating this several times, she indeed felt her nervousness slow down.
"Thank you..."
At this time, contestants were appearing one after another on TV.
This was a male trainer with a Wingull, performing the beauty of their moves under the spotlight!
After a performance, the three judges gave him a score of 27.6.
This score was neither low nor high. It belonged to the kind of ordinary score with no faults but no highlights. With such a result, unless there was a more wonderful performance after entering the second round, it would still be very difficult to win the championship.
After him, many contestants came on stage to perform one after another. Their scores also hovered between 25 and 28.
However, although the scores were not high, their performances were still very good. It seemed their Pokémon had undergone systematic training, just nothing particularly eye-catching.
Until the 24th contestant arrived, this situation finally changed.
"Next is Contestant No. 24!"
In the picture, under Vivian's introduction, a green-haired boy walked onto the stage.
This familiar appearance and temperament made them recognize at a glance that it was Drew, whom they met yesterday!
"He really came to participate in the competition!"
Looking at him, May's gaze narrowed, and even Misty gritted her teeth.
Regardless of whether Drew's handsome appearance and outstanding temperament could capture the likes of a large number of female spectators, at least for the two of them, he was already on the hate list!
In the field, under the spotlight, after Vivian finished the introduction, Drew made a cool entrance and even struck a particularly chunibyo pose!
Watching his pretentious look, Natsui couldn't help thinking that if Drew were a battle trainer, he would definitely use Z-Moves naturally and without embarrassment when he went to the Alola region!
This is absolute talent!
After the entrance action he thought was very handsome, Drew also started his performance.
His stage partner was a Roselia. This is a humanoid plant Pokémon with hands and feet.
It is petite, with three thorns on its head. Its body is light green, with green leaves covering its body like a dress. The leaves on its chest also have yellow parts. It usually closes its eyes and has long eyelashes. Its left hand holds a blue rose, and its right hand holds a red rose. It looks like an elf in the forest!
No matter how offending Drew's mouth is, it has to be said that his vision in choosing partners is still very good.
At least compared to those previous contestants, a humanoid Pokémon is obviously more graceful in dancing and more pleasing to the eye!
--------------------------------------
Pokémon Fans — Recommendation
If you're into Pokémon stories, I highly recommend checking out:
Pokémon: The Absolute Trainer
It's honestly one of the best Pokémon novels I've read.
It follows Damian, the protagonist, who leads Team Rocket.
-------------------------------
And if you want to support me too:
Unlock 600+ chapters and join here:
https://www.patreon.com/c/LEYI396a