"Good morning. Uh, what happened to you all?" Rex asked, looking puzzled at the three women walking with a bit of a wobble.
"We went too crazy shopping yesterday. This morning, it feels like my legs don't belong to me!" Yui said, somewhat helplessly.
Next to her, Yuli and Karen nodded in agreement. However, they didn't regret it; yesterday's shopping spree had made them very happy.
"Boss, how come you're fine?" Karen suddenly noticed that Rex seemed unaffected and asked curiously.
"The boss's physical condition is much better than ours, so the impact on him is naturally smaller," Yui explained, remembering that her boss practiced body-strengthening techniques daily, making his physical condition much stronger than theirs.
"Yuli, I remember you brought Gloom with you, right? You can have it heal you," Rex suggested.
"Oh, right! I totally forgot. Come out, Gloom!" Yuli said, slapping her forehead as she suddenly remembered.
Although the healing skills of Pokémon are not very effective on humans, since they were only suffering from sore legs, using Gloom's Grassy Terrain skill for treatment would still help.
Sure enough, after Gloom used Grassy Terrain once, the three women felt much better. Although their legs were still a bit sore, they could walk normally again.
By the time they finished breakfast and arrived at the venue, it was less than ten minutes before the competition started. The number of spectators today was even higher than yesterday.
After all, today's contestants were among the top 64, and the first round allowed Pokémon to release combo skills, which added much to the spectacle.
Even Harley, who didn't score well yesterday, gave an impressive performance today with his Banette, presenting a spooky theme.
He combined Will-O-Wisp with Thunderbolt, along with Banette's eerie expressions, making the audience's hair stand on end.
Although Rex didn't particularly like Harley, he had to admit he admired Harley's creativity.
Moreover, Harley managed to have Banette use Thunderbolt on himself and continue performing without being affected by the electric shock. Such a feat wasn't something an average coordinator could achieve.
Suddenly, Rex felt someone grip his arm tightly. He turned to see it was Yui, who was shivering, clearly frightened by Banette's expression.
After gently patting her shoulder, Rex thought of a possibility. Perhaps Banette's creepy expression contained a small amount of cursed energy, making people feel fear even in broad daylight.
Harley earned a score of 89 points for this performance. Although he successfully showcased Banette's traits to the judges and audience, his spooky theme affected his score somewhat.
As each contestant performed brilliantly, the audience's enthusiasm was fully ignited, and it was finally May's turn to appear.
May used Delcatty for this round. Under her command, Delcatty used Assist to release Silver Wind.
However, to Rex's surprise, May repeatedly had Delcatty use Assist, resulting in a flurry of moves like Leaf Blade, Flamethrower, Vine Whip, String Shot, and Solar Beam.
Though it looked dazzling, Rex found her performance chaotic and felt it didn't highlight Delcatty's characteristics. If this continued, the results might not be favorable.
May didn't seem to notice any issues and continued having Delcatty use Assist until it randomly used Petal Dance, causing Delcatty to become confused.
This mishap gave May time to think of a solution. She had Delcatty use Double Slap on itself, snapping it out of confusion.
Then, May commanded Delcatty to use Blizzard, creating an ice tower on stage and completing the performance.
Unfortunately, due to the earlier chaos, May scored only 79 points, putting her advancement to the top 32 in doubt.
"What's wrong with May today? That performance was so risky," Yuli asked worriedly.
Even someone like her, who wasn't very familiar with contests, could tell May's performance had issues. If not for the stunning ice tower at the end, her score might have been even lower.
"Now we can only hope she gets lucky and makes it to the top 32," Rex said, also puzzled by May's performance. With the show over, he could only hope for her luck.
Since the competition order was reverse-sequenced based on preliminary scores, the later performers were usually better, ensuring the audience stayed engaged until the end.
Of course, there were also contestants who, like May, encountered mishaps during their performances. Unlike May, they didn't manage to recover, leaving May with some hope for advancement.
As time passed, it was afternoon. During the midday break, Rex learned from May that she had been misled by Harley, which led her to decide to use only one move.
Rex was exasperated by this. Despite having suffered from Harley's tricks several times, May still fell for his manipulations. He didn't know whether to call her naive or confused.
The afternoon performances were spectacular, with Shun and Robert standing out the most, both scoring perfect 100s.
Rex thought the grand festivity champion would likely be one of these two. Although he was friends with May, he knew her current level was still far behind theirs.
Soon, the images of the advancing contestants appeared on the big screen. Robert and Shun advanced with first and second place scores, respectively, while May narrowly made it to the top 32 in the 32nd spot.
May was so overwhelmed with emotion upon learning she had advanced that she nearly cried with joy.
In the subsequent matchup announcement, May was surprisingly paired with Harley. Rex couldn't help but think it was a twist of fate and hoped May would seize the chance to get back at Harley for deceiving her.
"Congratulations on advancing, May. Give Harley a good lesson tomorrow," Rex said, congratulating her.
"Thank you, Rex. I'll do my best tomorrow and won't lose to Harley!" May replied, her spirits clearly higher than they had been at noon, filled with determination.
Since tomorrow's competition was a battle round, May decided not to train any further. Instead, on her mother Caroline's suggestion, she planned to go out and relax, inviting Yuli, Yui, and Karen along.
Excluding all the boys, Rex had to join Brock and Max in helping Ash train Snorunt's Ice Beam move.
However, Rex was secretly relieved. Yesterday's shopping spree had left him with a psychological shadow, and not having to accompany the girls shopping was a blessing in disguise for him.
(End of chapter)