The entire ice sculpture competition venue was divided into three areas.
One area was the competition field where contestants created their works, and it was the largest in size.
Another area was for the judges who scored the works, as well as the many spectators who came to watch.
The final area was set a certain distance apart from the first two, to prevent wild Pokémon from Glaseado Mountain from suddenly rushing in and causing trouble. This gave security staff and their Pokémon time to react.
Essentially, the three areas were like three overlapping circles, established on one of the rare, large flat spots on the steep Glaseado Mountain.
After saying goodbye to Grusha, who was still overjoyed at having his legs treated, Lucas stylishly made his way to the competition field with Calyrex and Glastrier.
By this time, quite a few contestants were already scattered across the field.
Since Lucas was a complete beginner and lacked any connections, he didn't recognize a single person—let alone know whether they were professional ice sculpture artists or just casual passersby like himself.
He had no intention of socializing, and instead let his gaze wander among the crowd, looking for event staff.
Lucas might not pay attention to others, but that didn't mean others weren't paying attention to him.
Many covert glances were cast his way—or more accurately, at the stunningly handsome Glastrier beside him, as well as Calyrex perched atop Glastrier.
Who was this guy?
Why did he have a bunch of Pokémon that nobody recognized?
Someone from Alola recognized the Vulpix, but was completely baffled by Calyrex and Glastrier.
Some people were tempted to strike up a conversation with Lucas, hoping to subtly ask about the names and regions of his Pokémon, so they could try to catch some themselves.
But they always hesitated, deterred by Calyrex's inexplicable aura, and shrank back in awe.
That Pokémon with the large head—its presence and demeanor were more intimidating than even their own parents.
Clearly, even though Calyrex had retired from being Galar's king, its regal bearing was hard to erase.
After looking around several times, Lucas finally spotted a staff member.
All ice sculpture competition staff wore bright red vests that stood out in the snow-white world, with badges on their chests identifying them as staff.
The main reason it took Lucas so long to find one was that a burly male contestant had completely blocked a comparatively petite female staff member from view.
He asked Calyrex and Glastrier to wait a moment with Vulpix.
Lucas walked up to the petite staff member and greeted her, "Hello, are you available now?"
At the same time, his eyes lingered for a moment on her badge and remembered her name: Mumu.
After just turning down an overly familiar contestant asking her to go watch the snow, Mumu had barely had time to catch her breath when Lucas called out, giving her quite a scare.
No way, not again!
Despite the inner turmoil, Mumu kept her professional smile and turned around warmly, "Hello! Do you have questions about the competition process?"
She also glanced at Lucas to confirm he was wearing the green vest for contestants, making sure she hadn't made a mistake.
Lucas looked at Mumu oddly, feeling her smile was a bit too professional, but he didn't see a need to worry about it. He decided to secure his spot first.
He said directly, "I want to confirm my area for the competition when it starts. Could you help me mark and register it?"
"Ah?" Mumu was stunned, but quickly nodded like a pecking chick. "Of course! Please follow me."
With over fifty contestants, it was possible for disputes or even fights to break out over choice spots.
The odds seemed low, but not zero.
So the organizers had considered this from the start and made a rule:
"Contestants may freely choose their work area within the competition field, but may not seize an area already registered by another. Violators will be disqualified with a score of zero."
It sounded harsh, but it directly prevented such problems.
After all, this was a contest of skill, not a land-grabbing brawl.
In a way, it was "first come, first served" for the best spots.
Leading the way, Mumu asked, "How large will your ice sculpture be? How much space do you need?"
"Let me think," Lucas said, looking a bit troubled. Truthfully, he had no idea how much space he needed.
Mumu eyed Lucas skeptically. This man might be younger than her, and probably wasn't very skilled. As half an insider, she'd never heard of any ice sculptor named Lucas.
He was probably just here for the atmosphere.
With that in mind, Mumu subtly steered them toward the area where beginners gathered, so his confidence wouldn't be crushed by being next to real pros.
Just then, Lucas finished estimating. Hesitantly, he said, "My sculpture will be about 20 or 30 meters long, plus some space to move around. I'll need a pretty large area."
Mumu stopped in her tracks, gave Lucas a look as if to ask "Are you kidding me?"
But Lucas looked completely serious, leaving Mumu confused.
Could he actually have real skill?
After a moment, Mumu said quietly, "Since the contest is about to start, only a few less popular spots fit your requirements."
"Less popular?" Lucas asked.
"Yes," Mumu nodded honestly. "Either those areas are fragmented by others' space, or there are large empty spots left because of certain contestants."
"Frankly, if you insist, you'll be 'neighbors' with the professional contestants. That might not be in your favor during the judging phase."
In the end, Lucas still chose the spot next to the so-called "professional contestant," becoming her neighbor.
As Mumu left, she told Lucas who his neighbor was—the trainer of Weavile, Lapras, and Frosmoth from the video he'd shown Vulpix: the professional ice sculptor and defending champion, Ms. Shawa.
Shawa's ice sculptures were famous for their delicacy, vividness, and striking special effects.
Just like in Lucas's video, Shawa would have her Pokémon add different "special effects" depending on the sculpture.
As an Ice/Bug Pokémon, Frosmoth was one of the best at creating special effects.
In that video, "The Polar Bears and the Polar Night," the ice scales above the bear's heads looked like starlight, and the gorgeous aurora perfectly set the mood.
It was said that even the League wanted to buy the piece as a symbol for environmental protection, and had invited Shawa to showcase it around the world with its full "effects."
As an ice sculptor, Shawa was at the very top.
Lucas and Calyrex quietly sorted out their tools, while Glastrier slowly enjoyed the iced carrot Lucas had given it.
Recently, Calyrex had been limiting Glastrier's carrot intake, saying only eating carrots wasn't healthy.
So being allowed a treat by Lucas, and with the "king" not objecting, Glastrier was savoring it.
Vulpix, with nothing to do, looked over at the neighboring area.
Lucas had said that was the workspace of their strongest competitor. Shawa herself didn't even need to arrive early; the organizers had arranged the best spot for her.
In a way, Lucas, who wasn't afraid of being compared, had benefited from her presence and gotten a great spot himself.
Vulpix felt a little nervous, recalling the video, and wished she could also create such a beautiful aurora.
That would really make Lucas's work stand out.
Vulpix didn't notice that, under a distant tree, a little white head shaped like a straw hat poked out, eyes lighting up when it saw them—especially Lucas.
A moment later, it was finally 10 o'clock. All contestants were in their chosen spots, just waiting for the staff to announce the start.
Unlike heated, spectacular Pokémon battles or contests, the ice sculpture competition wasn't very entertaining; the sculpting process was dull and tedious. Only the final moments when the last cut was made interested non-professional spectators.
When all the contestants had gathered, Lucas finally saw the mysterious Ms. Shawa.
She looked about thirty, with a well-maintained, elegant face and a mature, composed demeanor—nothing like someone arrogant from her field.
Noticing Lucas had claimed such a large area, Shawa looked over in mild surprise, meeting Lucas's gaze and nodding kindly.
She seemed very friendly, Lucas thought.
Then the enthusiastic host announced the start of the competition, and contestants released their Pokémon.
The first task: making ice!
Contestants came from all over the world, so their Pokémon were from different regions:
Johto's Jynx, Hoenn's Glalie and Froslass, Unova's Vanilluxe, Beartic, and so on.
But the moment Lucas released Regice, all those Pokémon dimmed in comparison.
The legend of the King of Bountiful Harvests was barely remembered in Crown Tundra, so no one recognized Calyrex or Glastrier.
But Regice was different.
Among Ice-type trainers, Regice was as coveted as legendary Dragon-types, as sought-after as Articuno—top of the list for anyone wanting to catch an Ice legend.
Everyone had fantasized about catching a legendary, even Shawa.
She looked at Lucas in shock, forgetting to tell Lapras to use Ice Beam to make ice.
At the edge of the field, Grusha had recovered and was speechless.
Calyrex, Glastrier, and even Regice—did being a farm owner bring such luck?
Grusha felt as if he'd eaten a kilo of lemons—so sour.
After releasing Regice, Lucas called out his Alolan Sandslash couple, Mimikyu, and Ceruledge.
Since he was making a massive ice sculpture, three helper Pokémon like Shawa's would never be enough to finish in two days.
At least in terms of helpers, Lucas was far ahead.
Under Calyrex's direction, the Pokémon gathered and released freezing winds.
Calyrex used its psychic power to shape the freezing winds into the form of Rayquaza, then looked at Regice.
Regice could almost reproduce any ice block it had made before, like a living 3D printer.
But Calyrex worried Regice might struggle with the scale, so took charge of guiding it.
Regice's yellow dots flashed, and under its control, cold air spread out, quickly filling Calyrex's "mold" and forming a massive, sturdy ice layer.
The speed amazed many contestants.
Compared to their own ice-making, Regice's was in another league!
Snapping out of her awe, Shawa hurried her Lapras, Weavile, and Frosmoth to make ice blocks.
This time, she wanted to challenge herself with a much larger sculpture, so she had no time to envy others.
With the ice block finished, Lucas and his Pokémon began rough-shaping, removing excess parts.
But as soon as they started, the professionals all noticed how unskilled they were—their tool use and techniques were rough, and if they made a crack, Lucas would just break off the whole section and patch a new piece on.
This exposed their lack of professionalism.
Many contestants who had aimed for second place breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, he's just here for fun. No matter how powerful his Pokémon are, his skills aren't as good as ours!
…