The competition continued.
Although Ash, Gary, Misty, and Clarissa Joy had already completed their performances, even Ash—the last among the four to appear—had only been contestant number 156.
Before preliminary screening and eliminations, the first-round qualifier had originally gathered a staggering total of 646 participants.
And even after Ash's turn, less than one-third of the contestants had actually gone on stage.
At this pace, the first elimination round probably wouldn't even finish until the end of the day.
Still, none of that really had much to do with Ash and the others anymore.
After all, the four of them had already successfully advanced to the next round.
For the remainder of the competition, they simply watched as ordinary spectators.
One match followed another.
Inside the contestant waiting hall, the participants were all nervous and anxious, their expressions tense as they waited for their turns.
Meanwhile, outside in the audience seats, the spectators had no pressure whatsoever. Relaxed and excited, they enthusiastically watched the endless stream of Pokémon showcases with great enjoyment.
The afternoon gradually passed by.
After dinner, the competition resumed again at 7:00 PM.
Finally—
At 9:00 PM that night, the first elimination round of the Cerulean Water-Type Pokémon Beauty Contest officially came to an end.
As the event organizers and hosts, Misty's three older sisters immediately stepped onto the stage to announce the list of contestants who had successfully advanced.
And only after seeing the final numbers did the audience, television viewers, and even the contestants backstage truly realize just how brutal and unforgiving the first elimination round had been.
To advance, contestants needed at least 80% approval from the 5,000 audience judges.
And out of all 646 participants—
Only 120 contestants successfully advanced.
That meant more than 80% of the competitors had been eliminated in the very first round alone.
The elimination rate was honestly terrifying.
Of course, there was one major advantage to such a harsh system.
Most of the filler participants—the ones simply there to make up numbers—had been completely weeded out.
Starting from the second-round advancement matches, the overall quality of the Cerulean Water-Type Pokémon Beauty Contest would rise dramatically.
By the time the competition ended, it was already 9:00 PM.
It was late.
Everyone had been busy the entire day, and there were still more matches tomorrow, so nobody had the mood or energy to wander around outside anymore.
The audience left the venue in an orderly manner, while contestants exited through the competitor passageways.
After eliminating over five hundred contestants in a single day, tomorrow's advancement rounds and later stages would naturally feel far less crowded than today.
Any contestant eliminated that day would no longer be allowed to enter the contestant waiting hall as a participant the following day.
"Ash, Gary, Green, Clarissa, let us drive you all back to the hotel first."
"Ash, Gary, Green, Clarissa, we'll see you again tomorrow…"
After dropping Ash and the others off at the hotel entrance, Misty and her three sisters didn't even go upstairs with them before hurriedly driving off again.
As the event organizers, the four sisters were far more exhausted than Ash and the others.
After all, whenever it wasn't their turn to perform—or after they had already performed—Ash and the others could simply sit down, rest, or casually watch other contestants compete.
But Daisy, Violet, and Lily didn't have that luxury.
As both organizers and hosts, they had to constantly monitor the venue, stay alert for unexpected situations, and immediately handle any emergencies that arose.
After being busy the entire day, the three sisters were utterly exhausted.
Right now, all they wanted was to return home, soak in a hot bath, and collapse into bed as quickly as possible.
After all, there were still competitions tomorrow.
Fortunately, up to this point, the Cerulean Water-Type Pokémon Beauty Contest had been progressing very smoothly.
And Misty herself had also achieved outstanding results in the competition.
As long as this momentum continued, once tomorrow's matches concluded, the prestige and reputation of the Cerulean Gym would likely experience a massive boost.
With that goal motivating them, a little hardship and exhaustion didn't matter at all.
Even if it was tiring—
It was the kind of exhaustion that brought happiness.
The kind of exhaustion they willingly accepted.
"Whew… today's competition is finally over. Even though we didn't need to command battles on stage, I'm still completely exhausted."
The moment they returned to the hotel room, Gary collapsed onto the sofa dramatically.
"The main issue is that there were just too many participants this time. Six hundred and forty-six contestants. Even if each person only took two or three minutes on average, the first elimination round still lasted from the afternoon all the way until nine at night before finally ending."
"But today's brutal elimination format got rid of a ton of weak filler contestants. Tomorrow's advancement round will use a three-person group system, and only the first-place contestant from each group can move on. The competition's going to become even more intense."
"So Gary, you'd better prepare yourself mentally. Don't end up getting eliminated tomorrow and come back crying."
Looking at his childhood friend, Ash deliberately teased and warned him.
Today, Gary's Magikarp hadn't actually received an exceptionally high vote count.
And because today's elimination round had already filtered out most of the low-level contestants, tomorrow's competitors would be significantly stronger.
At that point, Gary would probably have a much harder time.
"Relax," Gary replied with a wave of his hand.
"The Pokémon I entered is just an ordinary Magikarp. Besides, I never expected to win this contest in the first place. Participating is what matters most. I'll just do my best."
"And even if I get eliminated tomorrow, I won't feel upset about it."
His mentality was honestly pretty solid.
"Good luck, then," Ash said with a grin.
"It's getting late. Everyone should get some rest."
After speaking, Ash returned to his room together with his Pokémon.
He washed up and prepared for bed.
Although today's competition meant he hadn't needed to study or livestream consultations for his online clinic during the daytime—
Tonight, before sleeping, there was still one extremely important thing he needed to do.
Aura meditation training.
More specifically—
Compared to his usual meditation sessions, tonight Ash wanted to test something.
He wanted to verify whether he had truly discovered the correct way to use the "Listening to All Things" meditation method.
Would changing environments and listening to more varied "voices of all things" actually increase his meditation efficiency?
"Pikachu, Greninja, Rotom—you three stay in the room and help feed the Pokémon belonging to the Skill Disc shop customers."
"Pidgeot, Fearow, we're heading out."
After speaking, Ash pushed open the hotel room's floor-to-ceiling balcony doors and stepped outside.
Then he climbed onto Pidgeot's back.
"Pidgeot, take off."
Ash patted Pidgeot's shoulder.
After a period of training, Pidgeot had already become capable of carrying him in flight.
As for Fearow—
It simply didn't possess the talent or potential for carrying riders, so Ash had never specifically trained it in that regard.
"Pid-geot~!"
"Fwooshhh—!"
With a powerful flap of its wings, Pidgeot leapt into the air, carrying Ash high into the deep and boundless night sky.
Beside them, Fearow flew closely alongside like a protective escort.
That way, if Ash were accidentally blown off Pidgeot's back by strong winds, Fearow could immediately catch him before he fell.