This time's Pokémon Contest was going to be extraordinary. Not only is there a large number of participants, but Raoul Contesta and Mr. Sukizo have also decided to stay in Hoenn to serve as judges for the event.
With these two at the Pokémon Contest, and in a big city like Mauville City, the scale is destined to be grand.
In fact, it was because of Terrance. After he announced that he would participate in the Mauville Contest next, the news spread quickly. Naturally, these two also got the news, so... they included Mauville City in their itinerary. [TN: Hey guys, I have been making a mistake from the start; I've been using Conference, instead it should be Contest since these competitions are for Coordinator. Conference is used when it is a competition for Trainers.]
On the panel of judges, Nurse Joy greeted the two of them. The three obviously collaborated often, so they were not unfamiliar with each other. Below, Hoenn's Pokémon Contest Announcer Vivian announced the opening speech, and then the primary judging began.
Over a hundred contestants took the stage one by one. Most contestants couldn't deliver impressive performances, giving the outstanding Coordinators a chance to shine.
After dull performances, a magnificent one would often stir the audience's enthusiasm.
Terrance stayed alone in the lobby the whole time, not even taking the time to watch others' performances. He seized every moment to impart some ideas and knowledge to Castform.
Unlike Beautifly and Altaria, who were already very familiar with Pokémon Contests and had trained for a long time, Castform was starting from scratch, with very little preparation time. It was actually the hardest to meet Terrance's performance expectations for Castform.
Castform's performance had to showcase its own characteristics and create a stunning visual or sound effect, or perhaps an impact in some other way. In short, it had to give a certain shock to the audience's five senses to deliver the most stunning performance.
Terrance put a lot of thought into planning the performance for Castform, who is starting from scratch.
It wasn't over yet. After coming up with the idea, Castform had to understand it to perform perfectly.
Unable to achieve maximum effect through long practice sessions, Terrance could only keep reminding Castform, instilling some ideas into it.
"With your Rain Dance, completing this series of techniques isn't hard. Just do as I say, stay calm, and it'll definitely go smoothly," Terrance said to Castform before going on stage.
********
"The next contestant is—" Seeing the name, Vivian felt a jolt of surprise, and then announced expectantly.
"Contestant Terrance!"
"Terrance—"
Immediately, the audience seats and panel of judges all turned their attention to him.
"Come on, let me see your next performance..." Raoul Contesta thought to himself.
Sukizo opened his squinted eyes, also full of anticipation.
Nurse Joy smiled slightly; she had already heard about Terrance from her cousins in Verdanturf Town and Lilycove City.
"Here he comes, here he comes—" Yui grabbed Yuu Tachibana's wrist and said.
"I heard it." Yuu Tachibana responded helplessly.
Not only the two of them, but there was also a group of spectators who came from Lilycove City just to watch Terrance's next Pokémon Contest.
Terrance wore the outfit he specially prepared for the Pokémon Contest, a white shirt and trousers, and calmly walked towards the stage.
"Come out, Castform."
Throwing the Poké Ball, Castform's small, gray body appeared on the stage, surprising most of the spectators.
"Castform?" Sukizo was surprised.
"It's not Altaria..." Yuu Tachibana was a bit disappointed. In her view, even Beautifly didn't have as much advantage on the Pokémon Contest's stage as Altaria. If Terrance could become well-known as a duo with Altaria, just like Wallace and Milotic, it would be great.
"I wanted to see Beautifly's performance," Yui whispered.
"What's going on..." Not only the audience supporting Terrance but even Raoul Contesta, on the judges' panel, was puzzled. Changed Pokémon again?
"With the skills of that Altaria, it could easily push him to the position of Top Coordinator...so why?" Raoul Contesta was puzzled. Based on his understanding of Terrance, this approach didn't align with Terrance's previous behavior at all.
What others didn't know was that, in Terrance's mind, the five Pokémon Contests before the Grand Festival were all a prelude. Whether it was Altaria, Growlithe, Mismagius, or Castform, even if they had advantages over Beautifly, the final stage of the Grand Festival was still reserved for Beautifly.
Beautifly was born for the Pokémon Contest, while the others had their own pursuits. Only Beautifly was wholly dedicated to the Pokémon Contests!
In these five contests, Terrance's five Pokémon will take turns appearing, with Beautifly only appearing once, but it will also be the first appearance. During this time, everything that happened was paving the way for Beautifly to appear on the final stage.
Even with the weakest racial talents and lacking innate qualities, through hard work, it could still aim for the final stage and the most dazzling title. Carrying the initial promise and the expectations of the Old Green House, they would complete this journey of dominance!
"Now is not the time for you to appear. The four Pokémon Contests in between... is the groundwork for you to build up your strength and gather your power before striking with all your might!"
Both Terrance and Beautifly were still immature and needed to build up. Therefore, these four contests were the best opportunities for each of them to accumulate strength.
Although Beautifly had participated in two Pokémon Contests, it had not yet displayed its full strength. Furthermore, it is still growing... How Beautifly will ultimately appear on stage remains a mystery!
Terrance's final competitors might guess it would be Altaria, Mismagius, Arcanine, or Castform, as these Pokémon were equally dazzling. Beautifly, on the other hand, would become the biggest trump card.
"Begin, Castform, Rain Dance."
Amidst the anticipation of the crowd, Terrance quietly issued this command.
Rain Dance?
The audience began to wait, looking at the stage with great interest, but before they could react, in the blink of an eye, the sky was already covered with dark clouds!
"How could it be..." Joy covered her mouth in surprise.
"This speed... does Castform not need any preparation?" Everyone who knew the move Rain Dance, both spectators and contestants, were stunned, watching the dark clouds crackle with electricity.
At the same time, Castform transformed, from its gray and white body to a form combining dark clouds and raindrops.
"So amazing—" Castform's transformation was new to most people, which made them focus even more intently.
Clouds gathered one after another, forming a dark mass. The crackling lightning gave a sense of oppression, but there was no sound of thunder, which made everyone feel relieved as they quietly waited.
Drip! Drip! Drip!
Rain started to fall, but because of this, most people were puzzled. The stage was soaked with rainwater, but... what exactly was Castform going to perform?
Hey everyone, please vote and review. Thank you.
****Please support on pat*eon for extra chapters.
https://www.pat*eon.com/dmtranslations [7-day trial is available.]