Looks like waking up early in the morning, the brain hasn't fully woken up yet.
"Piplup?"
Piplup darted into the cabin, glanced around, and, not spotting Mawile, suddenly felt dejected and leapt onto the sofa, assuming a slumped penguin pose.
In the crowd, being a small Pokémon isn't very friendly, as there's a high chance of getting its little paws stepped on; it was exhausted.
Luckily, the first round review performance didn't include its part.
"As expected of Brother Baimu, being able to borrow a yacht from Mr. Adam." Xiaosheng put down the Lavaridge Immortal Shell in his arms and greeted Sebastian who was piloting the boat behind.
Xiaogang and Xiaoguang did the same.
But what surprised the two boys was that the old butler remembered them, which made them quite happy.
"Actually, it has little to do with me, I'm just hitching a ride." Baimu looked at Liuqia who walked in and tilted his chin, "This one here is Adam's apprentice."
"Apprentice?"
"Ah, that's right, Miss Liuqia's uncle is Master Mikoli, and Master Mikoli's trainer is none other than Mr. Adam, right?" Xiaogang's knowledge was as reliable as ever.
Liuqia nodded in agreement, "That's right~"
She herself barely had any sense of being a third-generation coordinator or a host's relative, after all, having solid skills made background irrelevant.
"Miss Liuqia is also participating in the Mikoli Club!" Xiaoguang looked astonished.
Having won before, she didn't think the Mikoli Club would have any inside deals, but the idea of going against Master Mikoli's apprentice sounded intimidating.
It felt like a fierce rival, no less than Xiaowang!
Xiaosheng sighed, "This Mikoli Club sure has a lot of formidable contestants this time~"
"The more strong players, the more fun it is. It's because of the reputation of the Mikoli Club that many people come to compete, hoping to meet powerful Coordinator Trainers." Baimu said casually and noticed Xiaogang taking out a small booklet. He inconspicuously leaned over to take a look, "Hmm... Xiaogang's intelligence gathering is good, but a bit monotonous."
The booklet recorded nothing but renowned Coordinator Trainers—specifically adult females.
There's no saving the mature woman admirer.
"Ahahaha." Xiaogang chuckled awkwardly. Although everyone present knew his preferences except Liuqia, it was still a bit embarrassing for it to be exposed publicly.
Xiaosheng shot him a glance, and his right hand suddenly felt a bit itchy.
The group continued chatting.
The once-congested waterways finally cleared, quickly carrying them to the front of the Mikoli Club's venue.
"There are so many people in the audience." Xiaosheng looked around, the crowd was so thick that the entrance to the venue wasn't visible, "Won't it be too crammed?"
"It can hold up to fifty thousand people, so not necessarily." Baimu shook his head; the infrastructure level in the Pokémon World was incredibly formidable, and such a venue was built in just a week.
Listening to the number fifty thousand, everyone present was somewhat amazed.
In reality.
Xiaoguang, Liuqia, and the others had seen even larger scenes, except for Baimu who came from the "countryside" and had only participated in small competitions like the Rustboro Tournament.
But on the surface, Baimu was undoubtedly the calmest one.
Using his height, he looked around and successfully found an entrance channel specifically arranged for competitors, leading the group over.
"It's tough for you to squeeze with us." Baimu softly spoke to Liuqia beside him.
The latter, being an idol of the Gorgeous Competition, was always chauffeured directly to the venue, never needing to squeeze through crowds.
This time, to accompany him, she refused her agency's transportation service.
"How could I abandon my favorite student?" Liuqia winked at him, smiling, having recalled her Altaria to avoid attracting attention.
But perhaps due to the sheer number of people.
Or maybe there were too many renowned Coordinator Trainers.
Baimu and the others, actually not doing much to disguise themselves, reached the competitor's entrance smoothly, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.
If like last time they got blocked—
"Ah!! It's Baimu! Baimu is here!"
The sudden screams flooded his ears, making him shiver all over, followed by a continuous wave of shouts—"Hoenn Dancer Xiaoyao is also here!"
"Xiaoguang! I'm rooting for you!"
"Liuji! My Liuji! Shiny~ Spin around~"
Baimu and the others looked around in amazement, realizing they seemed to be walking the red carpet, with flashes popping all around them.
Liuqia was the quickest to react, immediately responding to her fans' calls.
Xiaoguang and Xiaoyao also greeted their supporters with stiff faces.
Baimu released Mawile to divert attention, thinking it was no wonder nothing happened earlier, they were all waiting here.
The audience wanting to see their idols had pretty much all stopped at the contestant channel, waiting like a leopard out of the reeds for its prey.
Of course.
Due to the barriers, they didn't cross over, but the overwhelming noise was still quite frightening.
Baimu put the waving Mawile on his shoulder and kept walking, Xiaogang and Xiaosheng as family members quickly followed, along with the smilingly stiff-faced Xiaoguang and Xiaoyao. Liuqia stayed outside interacting with the fans.
One reason was business goals, the other was she liked doing so.
Upon entering the venue.
The outside tsunami-like noise instantly seemed isolated, becoming much quieter, and the gathered Coordinator Trainers exchanged varied glances with each other.
Then some of them came over.
"Hehe, I knew you would come, Xiaoyao." The leading person was a violet-haired man seemingly cosplaying as Cacturne, but puzzlingly using a female pronoun.
Xiaoyao seemed very pleased to see him, "Harry!"
Following that, she saw the green-haired boy behind Harry and was even more pleased, "Xiaoshun! Long time no see!"
"Long time no see, you seem to be doing well."
Xiaoshun crossed his arms, exuding a cool aura throughout.
Baimu naturally recognized these two, fierce rivals of Xiaoyao from the Advanced Generation.
Especially the latter Xiaoshun, suspected of being set up by some scriptwriter for a corresponding romantic episode, which was both criticized and loved by many.
"Brother Baimu..."
Xiaosheng assumed he was curious and quietly introduced who the two were.
Baimu nodded while moving towards Xiaoguang, suddenly facing Wula La, with whom he had previously crossed paths twice.
As he thought, Wula La had matured considerably compared to her time during Jewel Drill, able to recognize Xiaoguang's strength and be a proper rival.
"So lively, it's really lively." Baimu smiled at Wula La, feeling emotional.
Xiaosheng nodded, spotting not far away Xiaogang kneeling on one knee, talking to a dazed woman, immediately using the speed of instant teleportation to approach.
Ten seconds later.
He twisted Xiaogang's ear and dragged this tearfully sobbing guy back.
Baimu saw the familiar scene and laughed heartily, confusing Mawile on his shoulder, who then jumped down to chat with Piplup.
The compliments from the little penguin were sweet and Mawile enjoyed them.
After a brief greeting.
Once Liuqia entered from outside, everyone headed to the makeup room to change into their competition outfits.
Baimu, as usual, wore an all-black Molten Rock Armor, which complemented his even and straight figure and slightly distant cool aura, making him particularly eye-catching.
Xiaosheng praised this quite a bit, and Xiaogang also nodded in approval.
On the other side.
The girls had also finished changing their clothes, with Liuqia leading in a bright blue crop top and skirt with cotton-like decorations on her arms and legs, paired with single-sided stockings, radiating vitality.
Xiaoyao's outfit also came from the Gemstone Reproduction version, a pink jacket over a white interior with a gradient pink skirt.
At first glance, it seemed similar to Liuqia's, but upon closer inspection, there were still significant differences.
Xiaoguang changed into a light blue dress, with teardrop-shaped earrings, her hair styled in a sleek, long and straight look, sporting a tiara-like headpiece on her forehead.
The three girls were adorable to the point of making people want to scream.
"Clothes make the man, just like gold makes the Buddha." Baimu clicked his tongue appreciatively.
He actually preferred Xiaoyao's dancer costume, curious as to why it was changed, but not being very familiar with her, it wasn't appropriate to ask a teenage girl such a question.
Had it been Xiaoguang and Liuqia, with whom he was more familiar, he would surely have asked directly.