"Next, please look forward to the pairings of the second round ," in the lobby, the contestants could still hear announcer Vivian's voice through the big screen.
"So, it's decided—"
Ding—
The eight slots, after a quick flicker, were immediately filled.
"Ah..." Terrance
"How could this be!" Another contestant in the lobby, Sora.
Finally, the screen showed both candidates: Terrance versus Sora.
"This match up..." The contestants stared blankly at the pairing. Why is it a battle between the highest and lowest score!
This is too much of a coincidence.
"What should I do..." Sora looked at Terrance's picture on the big screen and became nervous again. If the opponent was anyone else, she would still be nervous.
But at least, it wouldn't be as nerve-wracking as facing Terrance. Just now, Terrance's performance, for her, was unimaginably skilled.
She couldn't fathom how to fight Terrance-senpai.
"I'll probably lose miserably," Sora muttered, lowering her head.
Time passed bit by bit, while other contestants were engaged in the second round of the Contest Battle, Sora was constantly thinking about how to face Terrance.
Victory... seems utterly impossible.
Meanwhile, Terrance sat quietly in the lobby, conserving his energy and waiting for the battle.
...
...
The secondary judging was the battle.
Within the limited five minutes, whoever could reduce their opponent's score with appealing moves, when the opponent's score bar reached zero, they would win.
"Please pay attention, contestants, and try not to make the same blunder as before," Vivian made a goofy gesture to describe the previous battle.
One side's Pokémon was too weak, while the other side's Pokémon was decently strong.
So, the moment the battle began, with just one attack, one side lost the ability to fight.
While rendering the opponent incapable of fighting is crucial for scoring, at the beginning when both sides had full appeal points, a regular one-hit KO wouldn't clear the opponent's appeal points.
This led to the mishap of one Pokémon losing its ability to battle while the appeal points weren't yet cleared, and according to the rules of Pokémon Contest, this situation warranted a rematch.
So, pursuing intense battles directly in Contest Battle was not the correct choice. The right approach was to find ways to deplete the opponent's appeal points and then deal with them.
"So, let the fourth match begin!"
As the countdown bell rang, both Terrance and Sora in the arena released their Pokémon.
Beautifly versus Beautifly.
Walking onto the arena opposite him, Terrance never expected his first opponent to be the girl he had coached.
Moreover, seeing Sora's nervous yet determined expression, Terrance couldn't help but smile.
He could tell she was a strong-minded girl, but lacked confidence in herself. It was contradictory, but also human nature.
However, the battle between Beautifly and Beautifly immediately attracted a lot of attention, perhaps because of Terrance's previous performance...
The audience watching this battle unexpectedly became enthusiastic, the battle between the two Beautifly greatly enhancing the entertainment value of this match.
"Senpai, please guide me," Sora took a deep breath. She was facing her life's first Contest Battle, and encountering such a strong opponent, the pressure on her was extraordinary.
"Alright," Terrance nodded.
If we disregard Beautifly's seemingly gentle appearance, it is actually quite aggressive. With its adorable appearance featuring a body of gray and black hues, aquamarine compound eyes, and wings adorned with vibrant patterns of black, yellow, blue, and red, Beautifly's attractiveness ranks the best among the Bug Type Pokémon, loved by many girls.
Although adhering to the principle of only scoring based on how the Pokémon has been trained, humans are emotional beings, and beautiful things will always be loved.
Therefore, the two Beautifly fluttering their wings were extremely popular Pokémon among the amateur spectators who were mostly just here to watch the excitement. The audience was going wild.
Sora's Beautifly was the first one to move. Compared to Terrance's calm Beautifly, the opponent, due to growing up in the wild, seems somewhat impatient and full of wildness.
Silver Wind!
Sora gave the command, and her Beautifly immediately executed its signature move. Silver Wind is the move which best demonstrates Beautifly's charm.
"Ignore it."
Surprisingly, Terrance's command was confusing.
As the silver whirlwind swept over, Terrance's Beautifly stayed there obediently, as if waiting for the arrival of the storm.
"Contestant Terrance's Beautifly...has been blown away by Silver Wind!" Vivian was stunned.
"No...it has not been blown away!!"
"That's..."
Entering the opponent's Silver Wind, Beautifly was indeed carried away by the force of the wind, but due to its perfect sensitivity to air currents, it was not harmed at all!
Easily finding a gap in the opponent's Silver Wind, it used the opening and the power of the wind to complete a graceful dance!!
Ding—
In just the moment of clash between moves, Sora's appeal points instantly decreased.
Her own move served as a foil to the opponent's performance, and in this encounter, Sora was completely defeated.
"Beautifly—" Sora clenched her white dress, her little face panicked as she looked at the decreased appeal points, at a loss.
"We'll use Silver Wind too."
The moment Sora's appeal points decreased, Terrance's command followed.
Silver Wind.
In the eyes of the audience and judges, Terrance chose to counterattack. If Terrance's Beautifly's Silver Wind could inflict damage on the opponent...
Then, due to the previous clash, Sora's appeal points would decrease again.
The same Pokémon, the same move, but the opponent displayed it more excellently. Undoubtedly, the opponent has the advantage, firmly holding onto their appeal points.
Although seemingly the same Silver Wind, in terms of fluency, one would notice that Terrance's Beautifly executed it more skillfully.
In addition, if Sora's Beautifly's powdery scales mixed in the wind resembled fine snow, then Terrance's side was like a blizzard, powdery scales filling the entire trajectory of the wind!
"Very cohesive."
"Well arranged."
Judge Joy nodded. The difference between the moves of Terrance and Sora's Beautifly lay in the powdery scales.
On Terrance's side, the powdery scales were planned, utilizing the wind to magnify the cutting attribute of its own. From a single powdery scale to a combination of many, constantly expanding, thereby causing damage.
But on Sora's side, the Silver Wind wasn't orderly, the trajectory of the powdery scales chaotic, and Beautifly couldn't control the wind speed and airflow well enough to let the powdery scales play their true role.
Dodge it.
This time, Terrance's Beautifly didn't execute its move particularly fast. Under Sora's anxious command, the opponent's Beautifly narrowly avoided this move.
However—
Ding—
Due to the previous comparison of Silver Wind between both sides, Sora's appeal points decreased once again!
This is the true essence of the Pokémon Contest.
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