Thanks to Julian's prompt intervention and three solid days of rest, Cai Xing made a complete recovery. As a dedicated Xianzhou native and seasoned official, she quickly shook off the near-miss with the Mara-struck state, re-anchoring her mind and plunging straight back into her duties.
Julian had initially offered her an extended paid leave to recuperate, but Cai Xing was a confirmed workaholic who grew visibly restless whenever she wasn't working. The moment she woke up, she immediately returned to her desk.
She hadn't even missed a single day of her judging duties for the weekly Pokémon Contest, as her sudden collapse had conveniently fallen on an off-day between broadcasts.
Watching her manage logistics with crisp efficiency, Julian couldn't help but admire her sheer resilience.
With eight full weeks of rigorous regional qualifiers coming to an end, the eight official finalists for the Grand Celebration were finally locked in.
During the fourth week, Guinaifen had abstained from competing. She was deep in research alongside an old master alchemist and traditional performer recommended by Cai Xing, studying how to seamlessly blend Xianzhou acrobatics and folk arts into Pokémon routines and battles.
To help the master grasp the nuances of the creatures, Guinaifen spent days introducing her partners' unique traits. Learning that the effort aimed to showcase Xianzhou heritage across the cosmos, Master Diviner Yukong had personally sent a formal message of support, urging the troupe to treat the project with utmost dedication.
Knowing the cultural weight behind the endeavor, the veteran performer threw herself into Guinaifen's training without a second thought.
Asta had also sat out the fourth week, having thrown herself into an intensive combat bootcamp supervised directly by Welt Yang.
Ultimately, the fourth week's championship crown went to a professional stage magician from an IPC-affiliated entertainment system named Angel Fetter.
Angel delivered a grand, illusion-themed spectacle, pairing classical sleight-of-hand techniques with his Pokémon's natural abilities without relying on Psychic-type shortcuts. His stage presence was undeniable, though the Contest format strictly evaluated the Pokémon's intrinsic charm rather than the trainer's showmanship.
Because his theatrical props slightly overshadowed his Pokémon during the showcase round, Angel managed only third place in the visual judging phase.
However, when the Contest Battles began, he turned the tides completely. Using clever stage trickery to confuse his opponents' targeting, backed by solid tactical fundamentals, Angel swept the bracket to take first place and claim the fourth ticket to the Grand Celebration.
In the fifth week, Asta made her return, armed with the fruits of her specialized training with Welt. She had also absorbed a wealth of stagecraft advice from March 7th—who had unreservedly shared everything she learned from Julian—drastically elevating both her visual presentations and battle mechanics.
Spectators across the starways assumed Asta had the fifth ticket in the bag, right up until a Stellaron Hunter named Rappa made a surprise entrance.
Rappa completely hijacked the arena, blasting dynamic electronic beats alongside vibrant graffiti displays and high-energy rap performances. The unconventional style electrified the crowd, earning her top marks in the visual judging phase.
When the battle rounds commenced, Asta fought valiantly, showing clear growth from her bootcamp. Yet against a seasoned Stellaron Hunter who had spent years fighting across dangerous star systems, her tactical execution still fell slightly short.
Once again, Asta finished in a painful second place.
Taking the loss in stride—chalking it up to terrible luck for crossing paths with a Stellaron Hunter—Asta immediately went back to training under Welt's guidance.
The sixth week brought an unexpected entrant: Stelle.
Julian heard from March 7th, who frequently visited the Arceus headquarters to consult with staff regarding stage layouts, that Stelle had entered the open qualifiers on a sudden whim—and somehow breezed right through.
During the weeks prior, Stelle had been joining Asta, March, and Welt for daily training sessions on the ship.
Curious, Julian pulled up her preliminary round footage. Her initial performance had been fairly standard—a condensed, dramatic reenactment of a single chapter from her adventures on Belobog. It wasn't particularly mind-blowing, but it scored just high enough to squeeze into the top sixteen.
Once she hit the main stage, however, Stelle threw out all conventions and presented a performance titled "The Great Trash Can War."
It was completely absurd, utterly chaotic, and wildly hilarious, sending the entire arena into fits of uncontrollable laughter.
Crucially, the Grimer, Swalot, and Weezing she brought onto the stage executed their poison-type moves with surprisingly crisp timing. But as for grace, elegance, or traditional Pokémon beauty... frank evaluation was impossible.
The human judging panel gave her a modest score of 78, reasoning that comedic timing still counted as artistic expression.
Meanwhile, the automated scoring system awarded her an astounding 94.
The massive gap triggered a wave of memes across online forums, with viewers passionately debating whether human judges or automated metrics were more qualified to evaluate modern art.
Naturally, the controversy was unique to Stelle's chaotic routine; for every other contestant, the human judges' scores aligned closely with community consensus.
Stelle ultimately entered the battle bracket seeded in eighth place.
As a newcomer to competitive battle, despite her rapid personal growth, she didn't pull off a miracle tournament run. Instead, her unconventional antics left a lasting impression on the audience.
She successfully cemented herself in the minds of millions of viewers as the only contestant brave enough to bring Grimer, Swalot, and Weezing onto a sparkling Contest stage. Had her battle execution been slightly polished, fans would have loved to see what kind of chaos she could unleash at the finals.
The true highlight of the sixth week came down to a showdown between Asta—who had competed in four separate regionals and placed second in every single one—and Guinaifen, who returned with her newly refined routines.
Guinaifen's performance was a masterclass in fusion. Guided by the traditional acrobatics master, she had seamlessly woven classic Xianzhou opera movements and martial footwork into her Pokémon's choreography.
Even during the high-stakes battle phase, her Pokémon moved with the measured grace of a theatrical performance. While holding back slightly on raw damage output to maintain visual form, her elegance ratings soared with every turn.
As one of the regional Elite Four, even a restricted Guinaifen possessed far too much battle experience for Asta to overcome.
Regrettably, Asta placed second once more, while Guinaifen secured her long-awaited ticket to the Grand Celebration.
By the seventh week, the storm finally cleared. With no unexpected dark horses or Stellaron Hunters disrupting the bracket, Asta dominated the field from start to finish, officially claiming the seventh championship title.
The crowd erupted in genuine cheer for her victory. Viewers across the cosmos celebrated the "Eternal Second Place" finally claiming her spot at the top.
Cai Xing publicly praised Asta's relentless perseverance during the post-match commentary. She confessed that she had initially assumed Asta gave up after taking a break in week four, only to learn the Station Master had gone off for intense private training—a level of dedication that deeply moved her.
While offering her congratulations, Cai Xing couldn't resist dropping a gentle reminder: almost every previous weekly champion had reached the top by defeating Asta along the way. If she allowed herself to get comfortable now, taking her revenge on the main stage of the Grand Celebration would prove an uphill battle.
Cai Xing's remarks immediately sparked a wave of online fan theories and betting pools, with viewers predicting how many of her former rivals Asta would manage to defeat in the finals.
Before long, fans dubbed her the "Avenging Princess of the Starry Sky," turning the nickname into one of the most viral memes of the season.
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