Although Feebas' evolution, Milotic, carried the title of the most beautiful and dreamlike Pokémon in existence—
At its current stage, Feebas itself was unquestionably near the bottom in terms of appearance among Water-type Pokémon.
Honestly speaking—
Even Basculin from the Unova region looked better than it.
Because of that, Ash's winning strategy for this Water-Type Pokémon Beauty Contest revolved around one thing:
Makeup.
And to maximize the effectiveness of this unconventional trump card, Ash and Green had already discussed their plan beforehand.
Today's Beauty Contest had four rounds.
For every single round—
Feebas would appear with an entirely different makeup style.
Each appearance would give the audience a fresh sense of surprise.
And with that continuous impact, their chances of victory would increase dramatically.
—
"The classic purple style, huh? Got it~"
Green nodded immediately after hearing Ash's decision.
Since Feebas belonged to Ash and he was the official contestant, Green naturally had no intention of overriding his preferences.
Besides—
Every single makeup design they had created together was stunning in its own way.
She was completely confident in all of them.
"Alright then."
"There isn't much time left before the competition begins."
"Let's get started."
Ash spoke decisively.
"Okay~"
Green nodded before the two of them headed into the makeup room together.
Feebas obediently flipped onto its side atop a damp towel as Green skillfully began applying makeup.
—
Outside the city swimming arena, the atmosphere had already reached a boiling point.
The plaza outside the venue was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people.
Contestants and spectators alike hurried into the arena as quickly as possible.
At the four corners of the massive plaza, gigantic festival balloons floated high in the air, colorful streamers fluttering beneath them.
Large sponsor banners stretched across the venue, sending blessings and encouragement to both the competition and its participants.
Meanwhile, flocks of specially trained Pidgey circled above the arena, flapping through the sky to enhance the festive atmosphere.
After a full week of promotion—
This Cerulean Water-Type Pokémon Beauty Contest had long since evolved from a mere city-level event into one of the hottest competitions in all of Kanto.
And today—
Was finally the official opening day.
—
Television crews from Cerulean TV Station, along with reporters from countless online media outlets, hurried throughout the plaza searching for contestants who looked especially confident, eye-catching, or likely to create explosive headlines.
Boom! Boom!
Festival fireworks shot into the sky one after another, exploding with thunderous noise.
Above the crowd, camera drones buzzed continuously through the air.
Finally—
The clock struck 9:00 AM.
And the Cerulean Water-Type Pokémon Beauty Contest officially began.
—
Click.
The lights inside the arena suddenly went dark.
The audience froze momentarily in confusion—
But in the next instant, dazzling stage lights burst into rapid motion across the venue.
"Wooooah!!"
"Ahhhhh!!"
"Let's gooooo!!"
As the lights ignited and the opening music thundered through the stadium, the fully packed audience erupted into deafening cheers.
—
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
"Thank you all for waiting!"
"The grand festival of dazzling performances and charming Pokémon…"
"The Cerulean City Water-Type Pokémon Beauty Contest officially begins right now!!!"
Their voices echoed through the arena before the hosts themselves even appeared.
Three crisp, beautiful female voices overlapped beneath the flashing lights and opening music.
Then—
At the center water-stage platform of the arena—
Three stunning women wearing glamorous bikinis appeared together with microphones in hand.
They were Misty's three older sisters:
Daisy.
Violet.
And Lily.
—
"We are the guides of love and dreams!"
"The witnesses of beauty and brilliance!"
"The elder sisters of the Cerulean Gym Four Sisters!"
"I am Daisy!"
"Violet!"
"Lily!"
—
"To every contestant striving toward the championship title—"
"If you can rise above all other competitors and claim victory…"
"Then both you and your Pokémon partner will receive the magnificent Crystal Championship Trophy, a Water Stone, and a grand cash prize of fifty thousand Poké Dollars!"
"The runner-up and third-place winners will also receive generous rewards!"
—
"So contestants!"
"Give it everything you've got!"
"Show everyone the Pokémon you've lovingly raised!"
"Use their beauty and charm to conquer the five thousand spectators here today…"
"And all the countless viewers watching from home!"
"Become the brightest stars on today's stage together with your Water-type Pokémon!!!"
—
The moment Daisy, Violet, and Lily finished speaking—
The entire arena exploded into roaring applause and cheers like crashing ocean waves.
Their energetic opening performance instantly ignited the emotions of the audience.
Even the contestants waiting backstage in the preparation hall felt their blood begin to boil.
—
At first—
Many contestants had been nervous.
Others had only come to Cerulean City to see Ash in person, casually participating in the Beauty Contest along the way without much seriousness.
But now—
After hearing the opening speech—
Every single contestant had only one thought left in their hearts:
The burning desire to become champion.
Even though only the champion, runner-up, and third-place winners would receive rewards—
And even though those rewards weren't extraordinarily extravagant—
The competitive atmosphere alone was enough to ignite everyone's fighting spirit.
Because this—
Was the magic of competition.
This—
Was the atmosphere of a true tournament.
Daisy raised her microphone again.
"Before the competition officially begins, let us review today's rules one final time."
Violet continued immediately after.
"This year's Cerulean Water-Type Pokémon Beauty Contest has a total of 646 registered contestants."
"The competition will be divided into four rounds."
—
"The first round is the Elimination Round."
"All participating Pokémon will perform individually for one minute."
"Afterward, the audience will vote."
"Among today's five thousand live spectators, contestants who receive approval votes from at least eighty percent of viewers will advance."
"The second round is the Advancement Round."
"In this stage, contestants will be randomly divided into groups."
"Each Pokémon will once again receive one minute to perform."
"After the performances, the audience will vote using their electronic voting devices."
"Only the Pokémon with the highest vote count within each group will advance."
"The third round is the Semifinals."
"In this round, contestants will no longer be divided into groups."
"Each Pokémon will have one minute to freely showcase itself and may use moves during the performance."
"After all performances conclude, audience voting will determine the final five advancing contestants."
"And finally…"
"The fourth round will be the Grand Finals."
"For the finals, we will adopt the performance style used in Coordinator Grand Festivals."
"Contestants will once again receive one minute to perform."
"Pokémon may use moves freely, and Trainers themselves will finally appear on stage to direct their partners live during the showcase."
"After all finalists have completed their performances…"
"The audience will cast their final votes."
"And the top three contestants by total vote count…"
"Will officially become this year's Champion, Runner-Up, and Third-Place Winner!"
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