Robert's appearance also put huge pressure on Drew.
It also made Drew realize that this might be his biggest competitor in this Pokémon Contest!
Having no mood to mock May anymore, Drew kept a straight face, turned around without saying a word, left the lounge, and disappeared into the corridor.
None of Natsui's group noticed Drew's quiet departure; their attention was still on the screen.
It could be seen that after Robert's performance ended, several more contestants took the stage. However, perhaps influenced by Robert's perfect performance, several of them actually underperformed!
This was a low-level mistake that shouldn't have happened. Unexpectedly, it appeared frequently, showing the huge pressure Robert put on them.
However, at this time, May didn't have time to care about others.
As the competition approached its end, it was time for her to go on stage.
"Good luck." Hearing the broadcast reminder, Natsui and the others encouraged May one after another. "Believe in yourself, you will definitely succeed!"
On the scene, Vivian also held the microphone, warming up for May's final appearance. She said loudly, "Next, only the last contestant remains for the first round of judging. Now, please welcome Contestant No. 50, May from Petalburg City, with applause!"
May took a deep breath. Under the encouraging gaze of the group, she puffed out her small chest, nodded to them, and then strode out of the lounge with a "burning bridges" momentum.
To be honest, before participating, no one expected her to draw the last number and become the finale.
After all, after watching so many performances before, the audience and judges already had some aesthetic fatigue. If she couldn't have a particularly wonderful performance, she would not only be affected by the previous contestants and prone to underperforming, but also very likely fail to get effective recognition amidst the fatigue of the audience and judges.
But there was no choice. Since she drew this number, no matter how unwilling she was, she could only bite the bullet and perform.
Staring closely at the screen, Misty clasped her hands together, praying constantly for May, looking even more nervous than May: "May, you must do your best!"
May walked out of the contestant passage and walked to the host Vivian.
Vivian smiled at the audience. "Contestant May seems a little nervous now because it's her first time participating in a Pokémon Contest. But it doesn't matter. I believe that after entering the state, all emotions will be thrown to the back of her mind. So, now please let her Pokémon make a magnificent debut and show everyone their carefully prepared performance!"
After all, having been guided by two seniors, Raoul Contesta and Lila, and encouraged by Natsui and the others, when the performance began, May quickly entered the state.
She threw the Poké Ball and released her Beautifly. As soon as it started, Beautifly just flapped its wings gently and scattered the unique scales of butterfly Pokémon. These scales fell slowly like a galaxy under the spotlight.
As May threw a frisbee, Beautifly immediately used String Shot, hitting the frisbee back into May's hand like a whip. Repeating this several times allowed people to see the tacit understanding between this Coordinator and her Pokémon.
When throwing the frisbee for the last time, Beautifly used Gust to blow the frisbee back at a large angle. May also jumped high and caught the frisbee steadily with a beautiful turn, earning a round of applause.
Seeing this, Misty and the others also breathed a sigh of relief secretly.
At least for now, May's performance was very normal. Even because it was different from Drew's pure display of Pokémon's beauty alone, the frequent interaction with Beautifly, like juggling, brought a different experience to the audience.
This also swept away the fatigue of the audience and judges, and they all concentrated on watching the performance carefully.
And May obviously didn't let them down. Finally, as Beautifly used Silver Wind, its body began to spin continuously, forming a small silver vortex in the field that constantly scattered powder outward!
The vortex wrapped Beautifly, and blown by the wind, those silver powders sprinkled onto the entire stage, as if the whole stage was enveloped in a layer of silver light!
Under such silver light, May bowed to the audience with a cool movement. Beautifly also landed behind her. One in front and one behind, they performed a perfect curtain call!
The audience thundered with applause.
In the lounge, seeing that May could complete the performance smoothly and excellently, Natsui and the others couldn't help but relax. However, they didn't have time to be happy. Their gazes turned with the camera to the judges' table.
No matter what the audience said, only these three could decide whether May could advance!
Nurse Joy spoke first. She smiled and said, "To have such a performance in the first participation, it can be said to be quite good!"
As she tapped a few times, the display screen in front of her immediately showed the score she gave.
8.7!
After her, Mr. Contesta, Director of the Contest Committee, spoke second.
"Indeed, it is really surprising to have such a smooth and excellent performance. She doesn't look like a novice at all. The future is promising. I am very optimistic about her!"
As soon as his voice fell, the display screen in front of him also showed the score he gave.
8.9!
Finally, only Mr. Sukizo, the president of the Pokémon Fan Club, remained.
Facing the microphone handed over by Vivian, he still only had a short sentence: "I like it remarkably."
9.1!
He gave the highest score among the three, and the only one exceeding 9 points!
You must know that 9 points and below 9 points are like an insurmountable watershed in the middle. They are completely two segments, and the meaning can be said to be completely different!
This also represents that May's performance just now really won the approval of this Fan Club president!
The computer quickly added up the scores given by the three, showing May's final score.
26.7!
Seeing her score, May jumped up happily!
Is this score high?
Actually, it's not high. Not to mention being far from the high score of 29 like Drew and Robert, even compared to those mediocre contestants, it's actually on par.
But this is May's first time participating in a Pokémon Contest!
To have such a result and performance, just as Director Contesta said, her future is indeed promising.
As long as she goes through a few more contests, she will definitely become an excellent Coordinator!
Seeing this, Natsui was also somewhat gratified.
After all, he clearly remembered that in the anime, when May participated in the Slateport Contest for the first time, there were mistakes in her performance, and she finally got a slightly lower score.
It seems that his arrival, although he didn't help her personally, still had a great impact on her performance.
At least in the anime, she didn't receive Raoul Contesta's training, nor did she meet Lila and get her advice!
And having a good start has a good promoting effect on her mentality and growth!
At this time, Vivian continued, "Now all contestants in the first round of performance have finished performing. Next, please wait a moment. The list of entrants entering the second round will be announced soon!"
Leaving the arena, May returned to the lounge.
As soon as she entered the door, she received warm applause from Natsui and the others.
"Congratulations, your performance was very good!"
"Yes, Sister, it can be said to be an extraordinary performance!"
However, compared to these people, although May was very happy, she still looked worried.
"I don't know if my score will allow me to enter the second round..."
"Don't worry." Natsui smiled slightly. "I calculated just now. Your score belongs to the upper-middle among these contestants. If nothing unexpected happens, entering the second round is absolutely no problem!"
Although he said so, how could May be reassured before the real list came out?
In such anxious waiting, not long after, Vivian announced the results.
"Sorry to keep everyone waiting!" Vivian said. "Now announcing the list of entrants. There are a total of eight contestants entering the second round. They are the following contestants!"
With her voice, eight people's photos appeared on the big screen.
And Natsui and the others saw May in the last position almost at a glance!
"Great!!"
Sure that she finally advanced to the next round, May jumped up directly, holding hands with Misty, jumping and laughing there, looking excited.
Natsui scanned the other advancing contestants.
These contestants were both male and female, generally young.
Among them, Drew and the person named Robert unsurprisingly swept the top two places. The remaining ones were also contestants who had wonderful performances.
This was basically similar to what he predicted before. After all, not only did the judges see it clearly, but even they, the audience, also thought that the performance of these people was indeed enough to enter the second round.
Seeing the happy May, Brock poured a basin of cold water on her at the right time.
"Although it is very happy to enter the second round, the second round of judging is battle-oriented, and May is not used to battling yet. This is not good news for her."
Hearing Brock's words, May quieted down immediately.
Indeed, as Brock said, in her previous practice, it could be said that almost all her focus was on how to perform. Passing the first round of judging was fine, but she was still very unfamiliar with battling.
"It doesn't matter..." May didn't seem to care much about this. "I am already very happy to enter the second round. As for the contest victory, I don't even dare to think about it."
From these words, it can be seen that May still has self-knowledge about her current strength. Her goal was not set at the highest point. She belongs to the kind of person who takes one step at a time and is down-to-earth.
Vivian continued, "Next, we will start randomly arranging opponents for the second round of judging!"
On the big screen, the avatars of these eight people were randomly shuffled and began to flash and sort continuously. After a few seconds, a table like the Top 8 promotion match appeared in people's eyes!
The second round of battle judging was also divided into two halves.
Before the final, people from the two halves would never meet.
May hurried to find her opponent. Almost at a glance, she saw Drew's avatar!
"What!?" She was surprised. "My opponent is actually him!?"
Misty and the others also looked at each other. No one expected it to be such a coincidence!
"This is bad." Ash sighed. "Drew is not easy to deal with. May, you..."
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by a look from Misty.
Seeing May frowning, Misty didn't know what to do, so she could only stand silently beside her.
Seeing them like this, Natsui adjusted his sitting posture and smiled slightly. "If you don't want to lose, do you want me to lend you a Pokémon? My Pokémon are very strong. I guarantee they can help you teach that kid a lesson and vent your anger!"
Ash's eyes lit up. "In that case, May, my Pikachu can also be lent to you!"
"Brother Natsui!" Misty said helplessly. "Can you stop teasing May? You know cheating is not allowed, right? And you, Ash, don't add to the mess!"
Natsui laughed loudly and didn't care.
After all, he was indeed just joking just now, just to relieve May's emotions.
Having participated in so many competitions, could he not know the consequences of doing so?
Once discovered, not only would the results be cancelled, but it is very likely to be banned for life!
Actually, even if May nodded just now and agreed to let him lend her a Pokémon, he wouldn't do it himself.
And most importantly, in the second round of battle judging, Pokémon cannot be changed. They must be consistent with the first round. This is common knowledge known to most people. Therefore, everyone knew he was joking just now, only Ash foolishly believed it to be true.
Sure enough, May's mood improved a bit. She smiled. "It doesn't matter. I can do it myself. Even if I can't beat him this time, there is next time and the time after that. I believe sooner or later I will win!"
The tense atmosphere was swept away by this interlude.
The frustrated people left the stage, and the promoted people waited expectantly.
After a short break at halftime, the second round of battle judging began immediately.
After a battle in the upper half opened the show, the second match came to the battle between May and Drew.
Contest battles are very different from ordinary battles.
First of all, it is limited to five minutes. Within the specified time, whoever can reduce the opponent's points as much as possible with the most magnificent moves will win the final victory.
May and Drew stood opposite each other, looking at each other.
Drew's expression was full of confidence and conceit. Compared to him, although May didn't think she would win in her heart, her face also showed unwillingness to show weakness.
After all, in terms of attributes, the Flying-type Beautifly has a 2x advantage over the Grass-type Roselia. This made her victory not impossible!
Seeing the two Coordinators and their respective Pokémon ready, the host Vivian directly signaled the start of the match!
As the time on the clock decreased continuously, Drew decisively issued the first order.
He naturally knew his Pokémon's attribute disadvantage, but he didn't seem worried at all. Instead, he let Roselia release Magical Leaf, starting his attack from a distance!
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