Hearthome City, Hearthome Television.
Time flew by quickly, and before long, it was Wayne's turn at number twenty-four. Coincidentally, he was grouped with Yellow, who was contestant number twenty-one.
When Wayne appeared on stage, the audience's attention immediately shifted to him.
During the promotional campaign for this competition, Wayne himself had been featured as one of the major highlights.
After all, he was the Breeder who had groomed the Sinnoh Champion's ace Garchomp to perfection.
"Here he is! Is he really not just going to completely dominate this competition?"
"To be fair, he's only nineteen years old, so it doesn't exactly count as dominating the youth category."
The Young Breeders division was open to competitors under thirty years old. Wayne and Gold were the youngest participants in the entire field.
"What Pokémon will he use? His Lucario? Maybe his Arcanine? Or perhaps that Shiny Metagross?"
The audience members below discussed among themselves in hushed, excited tones.
"He'll probably be like the others and use a smaller Pokémon, right? That would be much easier to groom."
Since the grooming time was strictly limited, choosing a smaller Pokémon would logically be simpler and more practical.
Someone like Gold, who had used his Typhlosion, was already pushing the boundaries by using one of the largest Pokémon possible within the time constraints.
"Come on out, Milotic!"
Wayne's choice, however, caught all the spectators completely off guard.
Wayne had actually chosen to use his Milotic—a magnificent specimen over seven meters long!
"What? He's trying to groom a Milotic in such a short time?"
"Isn't that being way too overconfident?"
Gold also sent a voice message in their group chat.
"Damn it, he actually chose Milotic!"
Gold had just been boasting about maintaining his temporary first-place position moments ago.
Yellow responded with concern. "Huh? Won't the time limit be too short for that?"
Blue smiled knowingly. "No, for Wayne, there's plenty of time."
Even judges Natalia, Tetsu Gorou, and Morikawa weren't particularly optimistic about Wayne's chances.
"Although his Milotic is indeed quite beautiful."
"Milotic and he clearly have an excellent relationship."
Using their own Pokémon was actually intentional—it allowed the judges to observe the bond between each Breeder and their Pokémon partner.
The relationship between Wayne and his Milotic was beyond question, but the judges unanimously believed the time allotted was simply too short for such an ambitious choice.
Nurse Joy smiled slightly. "I'm quite optimistic about Wayne's chances."
Nurse Joy smiled to herself, knowing something the others didn't understand about Wayne.
That's right—Nurse Joy herself had become a fan of Wayne's work.
Judges like Natalia and Morikawa were operating with some significant information gaps.
Wayne was the most requested and popular Breeder at Hearthome City's Pokémon Breeding Center.
This reputation had led to Wayne experiencing peak-hour rushes, grooming Pokémon continuously from morning until late at night.
Wayne was extremely confident about exactly how much time he needed for any grooming task.
Unlike typical fur grooming procedures, Milotic required specialized scale polishing instead.
Wayne had prepared a special polishing compound specifically formulated for Milotic's scales.
It contained pearl powder, gold bead powder, diatomaceous earth, natural beeswax, and several other premium ingredients.
This particular formula had been developed by Wayne himself through careful experimentation.
Naturally, these ingredients weren't cheap. Most people who could afford to raise a Milotic properly weren't from ordinary families anyway.
Of course, as the saying goes, there were also more economical grooming methods available.
Mass-produced polishing compounds on the market could serve the basic purpose as well.
Wearing specialized gloves, Wayne used a powder puff to gently rub the polishing compound onto Milotic's scales in careful circular motions—two to three circles per area.
The sections polished by the special compound formed a stark, impressive contrast with the still-ungroomed scales.
Especially under the stage lighting, the polished scales shimmered with brilliant iridescence.
"Whoa, that's dazzling!"
"The scales look incredibly smooth now!"
Smooth, well-maintained scales could, to a certain extent, reduce the damage received from opponent's moves in battle.
The Metagross that Wayne had groomed could withstand direct hits from Sludge Bomb—the toxic sludge simply couldn't adhere to Metagross's polished surface at all.
Besides the polishing process, a truly meticulous grooming job required using a soft brush to clean the tiny gaps between individual scales.
However, considering the strict time constraint, Wayne adopted a relatively simple but effective solution.
"Milotic, use Aqua Ring for a full-body cleanse."
"Miiii~"
The Aqua Ring immediately enveloped Milotic's entire body like a gentle, all-encompassing shower head, with water flowing over every scale.
The move rinsed away all accumulated algae and dirt particles, including any excess polishing powder stuck between the scale gaps.
Natalia looked visibly surprised. "It can even be accomplished this way?"
Gold was loudly explaining the technique to their friends. "He actually had his Milotic use Aqua Ring to cleanse its entire body! That's brilliant!"
Blue smiled with appreciation. "That's exactly the kind of creative method Wayne would develop."
Red nodded enthusiastically. "I learned something new! That's going in my notes!"
After carefully wiping Milotic clean with a soft towel, Wayne simply sprayed a thin, protective layer of specialized sunscreen formulated for Water-types onto Milotic's scales, and the grooming process was complete.
Wayne wasn't even the slowest to finish among the four contestants in his group.
Natalia raised her scorecard showing a perfect ten.
"I honestly don't know how to adequately describe what I just witnessed. Even I learned something valuable today. Full marks without question."
Without any doubt from the other judges, Wayne received four perfect scores.
Wayne's total score replaced Gold, who had been holding first place with thirty-eight points, and Wayne now temporarily led the competition.
"Thank you, Milotic. You were perfect."
"Miiii~"
After the first round of the competition concluded, Wayne, Gold and Sasha,—all the pre-competition favorites—successfully advanced into the second round.
Suzie, who hadn't been considered a favorite to advance, also managed to break through into the second round to everyone's pleasant surprise.
"Please, all contestants, take a short break. The second round will begin shortly."
After the final group of contestants left the stage, staff members quickly moved school desk-sized tables onto the competition floor.
The competition venue was efficiently reconfigured, and after another round of sponsor advertisements played, the staff announced the format for the second round.
"The second round of this competition will test your knowledge of Berries and flavor profiles."
"In front of each contestant's table, you'll find two items for evaluation."
Wayne glanced down at the bottle and bowl placed in front of his position.
"On the left side is a powder created by grinding and mixing twenty-one common Berry varieties. You may look at it and smell it, but tasting is not permitted."
"On the right side is a juice made by mixing and pressing sixteen different types of Berries together. You may taste this one freely."
"Write your answers on the whiteboard provided. You'll receive one point for each correct answer, but one point will be deducted for each wrong answer, so please fill in your responses carefully, contestants!"
Wayne, who possessed the Intermediate Appraisal ability, immediately thought to himself...
I already know what these are without even tasting them.
This was the moment to test Wayne's acting skills to avoid appearing too suspicious.
Time to put on a show!
He just wanted to complain internally about the juice made from sixteen different Berries blended together. What kind of culinary nightmare was that supposed to be?
Would drinking that concoction really not harm someone?
Meanwhile, Gold was already sweating profusely with visible nervousness.
When it came to Pokémon breeding techniques and egg hatching, Gold could confidently say that no one present was his equal.
He alone could probably take on ten competitors simultaneously in that area.
However, when it came to Berries and their flavor profiles, he was genuinely unfamiliar with the subject matter.
Gold glanced around nervously at the other contestants, while most others maintained composed, confident expressions.
Wayne especially projected the demeanor of an absolute expert, carrying himself as if the Champion title was already secured within his grasp.
Gold felt like a small Yamper that had accidentally wandered into a squad of seasoned Police Arcanine.
He was panicking internally, but Gold still tried to maintain his composure as he carefully picked up the Berry powder container.
Wayne picked up the powder sample and examined it with focused attention.
These Berry powders had been ground extremely fine. It was virtually impossible to distinguish their individual characteristics with the naked eye alone.
Therefore, this challenge tested one's refined sense of smell and comprehensive understanding of Berry flavor profiles.
Setting aside the advantage of his Intermediate Appraisal ability, Wayne tried to evaluate the Berry powder using only his natural senses.
He carefully took a small amount of powder and began analyzing its scent.
The most obvious components were the Pamtre Berry and the Watmel Berry. Their distinctive scents were relatively easy to distinguish from the mixture.
The remaining varieties were blended together more thoroughly, with some possessing similar aromatic profiles—just differing in intensity and subtle notes.
Overall, this was an extremely counter-intuitive challenge.
Success in this round depended purely on individual talent and accumulated experience.
Relying solely on his natural abilities, Wayne successfully identified eighteen of the twenty-one Berries, still missing three varieties.
He focused his mind.
[Appraisal, activate!]