novelnext Chapter 127 We swear by our dragon bloodline!
Chapter 127 We swear by our dragon bloodline!
Chapter 127 We swear by our dragon bloodline!
The next morning.
As the recognized grand capital of the Sinnoh region, Homestead City is completely immersed in the carnival atmosphere of the Grand Contest today.
The streets were adorned with colorful ribbons, and coordinators dressed in their finest attire, along with their Pokémon, could be seen everywhere.
"Speaking of which, the Pokémon Contest was originally established by the Pokémon Events Committee of the Hoenn region twenty years ago. After so many years of development, it has now become a grand touring event that is popular all over the world."
"After all, not everyone enjoys those hand-to-hand combat Pokémon battles. There are many more people in this world who simply love Pokémon and yearn to show the world their most captivating and beautiful side. The Pokémon Contest was born for this pure love!"
On the tree-lined avenue leading to the venue, Melissa walked beside Cattleya like a butterfly, enthusiastically explaining the history of the Grand Contest.
"Cut? (The initial intention was good, but if it's to showcase beauty, why force a battle in the second round of the finals?)" Lu Sha couldn't help but ask this soul-searching question.
"What is Rikusa saying?"
Melissa paused for a moment, then blinked; she couldn't understand Lusha's language.
"It means that since the core of the Grand Contest is to showcase beauty," then what's the point of adding a traditional battle segment?
Caldea calmly acted as a simultaneous interpreter: "Take me for example. If I make it to the second round of battle, as long as I can instantly defeat my opponent's Pokémon with sheer strength, even if the moves I use are utterly devoid of any aesthetic appeal, I can still secure the victory according to the rules, right?"
"Uh...that's true. This is an old rule that was first established two thousand years ago, and I'm not really sure why it was designed this way."
Melissa shrugged helplessly: "The main reason is that there are usually only three judges, and everyone's scoring range is roughly the same. Besides, beauty is a very subjective thing. In the final stage, we can't let the judges' subjective preferences determine the final champion, can we? Apart from using the most direct way of winning and losing to determine the first place, no one can think of a better alternative."
"Click!"
Lu Sha and Cattleya exchanged a knowing glance.
Caldea, receiving a subtle hint from Lu Sha, calmly spoke up: "Since the existing rules are contradictory, why not try breaking the mold and redesigning the competition format? Since the soul of the Grand Contest is beauty," then purely violent battles should be completely eliminated. Otherwise, if we allow Elite Four level trainers to participate, won't the championship be forever monopolized by brute force?"
"Change the competition format? How can that be changed?"
Melissa immediately became interested.
She can't control other regions, but as the vice president of the Sinnoh Pokémon Events Committee and the honorary host of the Home City Contest, she still has considerable influence in this area.
In fact, she often sees online comments from viewers complaining that "the Grand Contest finale turned into a martial arts tournament".
To many pure coordinators, this setup is an insult to the word "magnificent".
"It's very simple. For example, the first round of the charm showcase can incorporate a public jury mechanism," with the audience voting in real time, and the top ten with the highest popularity advancing.
"In the second round, professional judges will give detailed scores. The traditional ten-point system can be changed to a more refined one-hundred-point system, which will comprehensively evaluate the Pokémon's fur condition, the visual impact of the moves, the smoothness of the move transitions, and the synergy between the trainer and the Pokémon, quantifying subjective aesthetics into objective data as much as possible," Cattleya explained clearly.
"That sounds like a truly revolutionary and brilliant idea!"
Melissa's eyes lit up, but then a few concerns surfaced: "However, is it really a good idea to hand over the power of life and death in the preliminary rounds to ordinary viewers? Many of them are laymen and don't understand the ins and outs of Pokémon Coordinators at all. Won't their reliance on looks or blind idol worship lead to extremely unprofessional results?"
A similar public voting scheme was proposed in earlier years, but it was indefinitely shelved because the expert panel said, "Ordinary people don't understand what professional aesthetic constraints are."
"Click?"
Upon hearing the word "professional," Lu Sha couldn't help but roll her eyes and give Melissa a strange look.
What the hell?
You're running a commercial entertainment event aimed at the general public, why are you talking to ordinary people about aesthetics?
Isn't this just utterly disgusting?
Cattleya frowned as well, her tone turning colder: "Gym Leader Melissa, then I'd like to ask you, what is the purpose of holding the Grand Contest? Is it to let the public experience the charm between Coordinators and Pokémon, or simply to let Coordinators entertain themselves within their own circles?"
This soul-searching question struck Melissa like a blow to the head.
She froze, then suddenly realized, and slapped her forehead in shame. "Oh dear! That's a real eye-opener! No wonder you're Gadlia! I'm so ashamed. We old fogies were completely misled! The original purpose of the Pokémon Contest was to allow everyone to appreciate the beauty of Pokémon. To hell with professionalism! True splendor is beauty that touches people's hearts and is recognized by the public!"
"So now, do you still think there's a professional threshold for letting the audience vote?" Cattleya's tone returned to its calm.
"Absolutely perfect! Flawless!"
Melissa's eyes lit up with excitement, as if she could see a brand new future for the Grand Contests: "At this Family Gathering, we'll directly pilot this new plan! I have a strong feeling that the entire Grand Contest world will undergo a historic transformation because of Cattleya's brilliant idea!"
"To correct you, this wasn't my idea; it was Lu Sha's plan."
Cattleya frowned slightly, her tone stubborn.
"I know, I know~ It's all thanks to this incredibly intelligent Mr. Lu Sha!"
Melissa smiled brightly, her eyes filled with disbelief as she looked at Lu Sha: "To be honest, this is the first time in my life I've ever seen a Pokémon with such advanced thinking. Compared to him, I feel like I'm the stupid one who should be a Pokémon."
"Click!"
Lu Sha rolled her eyes again without any mercy.
Come on, you can't even understand Gible's language. You rely entirely on the young lady as a human translator to communicate. You're not even as good as a regular Pokémon.
"But there are less than two hours left before the official start of the competition. Is there enough time to implement such a revolutionary change in the competition format?" Cattleya raised a practical question.
"Leave it to me! My dear Cattleya, I may not be as strong or as clever as you, but don't forget, this is Jiayuan City! I am the absolute glamorous queen of this land!"
Melissa confidently twirled in a magnificent circle, her deep purple layered skirt blooming like a dazzling flower.
After showing off her queen-like aura, she immediately and decisively pulled out her phone, while giving the two of them an apologetic smile: "However, in order to ensure that the competition system can be switched smoothly, I must contact Ayako and the others immediately to hold an emergency meeting."
After confirming that Jia Deliya and Lu Sha did not mind, Melissa immediately made a phone call and began to discuss the details of implementing the reform with other senior members of the organizing committee at a rapid pace.
When encountering controversial points regarding certain quantitative scoring standards, Melissa would humbly seek help from Lu Sha and Cattleya, and quickly make a decision with their guidance.
In less than ten minutes, a new format for the Grand Contest 2.0 was finalized on the streets of Jiayuan City.
"Phew~ Mission accomplished! That most eye-catching building in the whole city is the main venue for this Grand Contest, the Jiayuan Grand Arena."
Melissa breathed a sigh of relief, put away her phone, and pointed to the magnificent building in front of her that resembled a grand theater.
"Clang? (Why is it called the Grand Battleground? As the holy land of the Grand Contest, doesn't Ichigen City even have a dedicated venue?)"
Lu Sha asked in confusion, and Jia Deliya translated in the same time.
"Actually, other cities all have their own dedicated venues, but Duyuan City is the only one without one," Melissa chuckled. "That's because although this Duyuan Grand Arena has a sign that says 'arena,' it hosts the Grand Contests 90% of the year. The 'arena' title is just a formality now."
"Click! (If I remember correctly, according to the League's rules, the large battlegrounds in a city are usually managed entirely by the city's Gym Leader, right?)" Cattleya glanced at Melissa.
"Hahaha! I swear, I absolutely did not abuse my power for personal gain!"
Melissa chuckled and raised her hands, saying, "Actually, I'm from Kalos. Back then, because my hometown didn't have the right environment for Grand Contests, I traveled all the way to Sinnoh to pursue my dream. Later, by chance, I took over the position of Gym Leader of Home City."
"The previous Gym Leader, Granny Ayane, was an incredibly powerful first-generation Coordinator in the Sinnoh region! It was from her time that the Gym Battleground became the holy ground for the Grand Contests. Even the annual Sinnoh Grand Festival is held here!"
Lu Sha wasn't surprised at all when Melissa introduced herself.
When we first met yesterday, Melissa's classic opening line was the way people greet each other in the Carlos region, and Karuni often says the same thing.
"Alright, we've reached the door without even realizing it. You two go in and get ready; I need to hurry backstage to coordinate the system changes with Ayako and the others. I promise you a big surprise for the opening!"
Melissa waved to the two of them and then ran briskly towards the employee entrance in her high heels.
The workload of the temporary restructuring was enormous, and she simply couldn't find the time to continue being Lu Sha's tour guide.
Lu Sha and Jia Deliya didn't mind and walked side by side through the athletes' passage into the venue.
"Click! (Speaking of which, Miss, what kind of performance are you planning to give today? Have you decided yet?)" Lu Sha asked casually.
"Didn't you already think of that for me?"
Suddenly, Gadriya stopped, turned around, tilted her head slightly, and stared at Lu Sha with her cool eyes.
Lu Sha was stunned on the spot: "Huh??? (Really? I have no recollection of this at all?)"
"That's exactly right!" Cattleya said with absolute certainty. "You promised me that last night!"
Seeing Lu Sha's horrified expression, Gadriya calmly took out her phone from her pocket, played an audio clip, and shoved the speaker right under Lu Sha's nose.
"Click! (Tomorrow's grand finale is in my hands! I'll take care of it all! I'll make sure everything's perfectly arranged!)"
The phone clearly played Lu Sha's familiar hoarse voice, his arrogant and irritating tone was a perfect imitation.
Why is it called imitation?
Because Lu Sha dared to swear on his pure dragon bloodline that he would never have said such pretentious things when he was sober!
He lowered his gaze, filled with suspicion, and glanced at the audio file details on his phone screen. His already dark, shark-like face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot: "Click! (Miss! Please open your eyes and look at the creation time of this recording!)"
「!?」
Cattleya drawled out her words, feigning surprise, and quickly pulled her phone back.
"03:42 AM... Ugh! What a crappy system! Why does the recording software have to automatically record the time? It's so unintelligent!"
The young lady complained angrily, her clumsy acting was simply unbearable to watch.
"Click! (Of course! If I didn't record the time, would you use it to frame Honest Shark?)"
Lu Sha rolled her eyes frantically.
This young lady is becoming more and more unrestrained!
To avoid being lazy and not wanting to come up with a performance plan, he actually got up in the middle of the night to forge his recording as evidence. Is there no law anymore?
"Are you angry?"
Cattleya cautiously approached, blinking her big eyes like a cat that had done something wrong, and asked.
"Click! (I'm not angry! But you're not allowed to record me while I'm sleeping anymore!)"
Lu Sha scolded her sternly.
I wouldn't say I'm angry.
He hadn't done anything outrageous; he could accept a clumsy little joke made through hypnosis.
Moreover, it's quite obvious that Cattleya did it on purpose; otherwise, there would be no need to light up the screen to see the recording.
"But...you really said those words yourself."
When Gadriya saw that Lu Sha wasn't really angry, a smile instantly spread across her eyes. She smiled and reached out a finger to poke the small crossbody bag hanging on Lu Sha's chest.
"Click? (Could it be?)"
A sudden, extremely ominous premonition welled up in Lu Sha's heart.
He frantically pulled his phone out of his small bag, quickly unlocked it, and opened the photo album.
as predicted.
In the latest section, a freshly released video file lies quietly.
And coincidentally, the video was filmed at 03:40 AM last night.
Lu Sha's hands trembled as she clicked to play.
In the video, he is lying sprawled out on a soft bed, drooling in his sleep with his eyes closed.
However, his mouth was making restless noises, and a series of indistinct Gible languages came out of his mouth.
The translated meaning is exactly the boastful statement that Cattleya just played.
"Click?! (What?! I actually said that myself?!)"
Lu Sha was as if struck by lightning, instantly freezing into a stone sculpture.
Good heavens, after all that, the Joker was actually himself?
So, not only do I snore, but I also talk in my sleep, and even in my dreams I'm worrying about the Miss's gruesome Grand Contest?
Seeing Lu Sha's comical, dumbfounded expression, Gadriya could no longer hold back. The corners of her mouth turned up, and her eyes were full of gentle smiles.
What Lu Sha didn't know was that her photo album was filled with hilarious videos of him talking in his sleep, many of which were precious images from his time with Gible.
For Gadalia, capturing Lu Sha's unguarded sleeping face and every moment they spent together was a treasure a hundred times more precious than winning any championship.
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