"Next time I won't lose to you!"
In the preparation room, Ge Mann spat out a sore loser's harsh words before turning and leaving.
"Such a classic loser line... could this be some kind of special culture?"
Baimu watched his back, then glanced at the relevant information displayed on his phone, confirming that this guy was indeed Liuqia's fierce rival in the Gorgeous Competition in the game.
No wonder the name sounded so familiar.
The information showed that Ge Mann's main Pokémon was a Machoke named "Haozi", which exactly matched the special NPC in the game.
If he remembered correctly, this Machoke was a Pokémon Ge Mann picked up from a cardboard box on a rainy night, and he secretly loved Liuqia while his Machoke secretly loved Altaria Xiaoqingqing.
A twisted love!
A humanoid Pokémon in love with dragon and flying Pokémon, even more absurd than Piplup falling for Mawile. At least those two are both land-based categories.
You two won't have a good ending!
Moreover, although Ge Mann looked rather young, Baimu still felt like saying—
"This is truly criminal, too criminal!"
Is Liuqia even fourteen?
Probably not.
He sent Liuqia a message, asking if she knew a Coordinator Trainer named Ge Mann, and unsurprisingly, the reply was 'don't know.'
A one-sided rival and crush, this guy is quite the genius.
Feeling a bit sorry for him.
Liuqia suddenly spoke up: 'My dear student, you know about the Mikoli Club, right?'
Baimu: 'I know, it's a special Pokémon Gorgeous Competition hosted by Master of the Gorgeous Competition, Mr. Mikoli, held worldwide, and the Water Pillar Medal awarded to the winner can be used at any regional gorgeous celebration. Thus, Coordinator Trainers from all over the world come to compete...'
Liuqia: 'You type so fast! Scary!'
Baimu: 'Actually it's copy-pasted from the Pokédex.'
Liuqia: 'Eh~ Let me admire you for one more second, okay~ Anyway, back to business. The Mikoli Club will be held in Glazed City the month after next, how about we have our master-student showdown there?'
Baimu: 'Good idea, that way I can skip a Gorgeous Competition and collect five Ribbon Medals in advance.'
Liuqia: 'Wow! So confident?'
She sent a series of furious Altaria stickers.
Baimu replied with a snoring Hydreigon sticker.
Liuqia: 'Then I'll look forward to it, the master-student battle at the Mikoli Club!'
Baimu: 'Don't cry if you lose.'
Liuqia: 'Bold words! Seems like this master needs to teach you what humility is!'
She sent an Altaria with a stern face sticker.
Baimu smiled and put down his phone.
The month after next... with four badges in hand, assuming Glazed Gym is the final Gym, there are only three more Gyms left, he should be able to make it.
Unless another particularly time-consuming big event occurs.
At worst, he could just participate in the Mikoli Club and not challenge Glazed Gym, no big deal.
His gaze shifted to the TV screen.
Where the first round, second match of the Gorgeous Performance Competition was underway to determine his next opponent. Of course, regardless of who the opponent was, he had already decided on the Pokémon he would send out.
"Let's commemorate your evolution with this battle..."
He raised the Pokeball and placed it under the sunlight, where for a moment the light seemed to penetrate the ball's surface, revealing the shape of a jubilant fish inside, almost unable to contain itself.
Five minutes quickly passed.
The final opponent for the Fallarbor Conference emerged.
Baimu rose from the bench and walked toward the player tunnel.
"Let's go!"
——
Buzz —
With a low rumble.
The main stage of the venue suddenly split open in the middle, revealing a large square pool with semi-circular platforms extending outward on both sides, appearing to act like springboards.
"Next up is the Gorgeous Battle Finals of the Fallarbor Conference!"
"Who will successfully advance and obtain the Fallarbor Ribbon Medal? Will it be Mr. Baimu on the right, or Miss Ling Juan on the left?"
Vivian's hand gestured between the competitors on both sides of the battle area, continuously stirring the audience's emotions, "Let's find out!"
On the large screen.
Two huge portraits and circular score charts appeared simultaneously.
Baimu exchanged looks with the big sister in the distance with long light brown wavy hair, eyes full of unyielding determination.
In the Pokémon animated world, gender differences are quite blurred, leading women to not only have considerable strength and status in the Pokémon battle arena but be acknowledged with more talent as Coordinator Trainers.
Most top Coordinator Trainers are women.
Therefore, facing this opponent, he must give it his all.
Vivian's slightly shrill voice suddenly rang out, "Round two, first match—the finals, with a time limit of five minutes, no pausing in between, the match begins!"
Bang!
Amidst the crisp countdown sound, four Pokeballs flew high into the air!
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
"Roar!" "Peli!"
Numerous blue stars flew up and fell, forming the massive dragon-like silhouette of Gyarados, crashing into the water with a roar, above which a Pelipper appeared, flapping its wings gently.
In the blink of an eye, wispy, light gray clouds gathered over the venue, and the crystal-clear raindrops fell straight down, constantly creating ripples in the clear pool.
Not only that.
Faced with the Shiny Feebas and Blissey emerging from the sky-blue whirlpool, the fierce Gyarados let out a roar of fury!