Chapter 150: The Grand Contest
After dinner, Ryan offered to battle Wallace. Wallace refused without hesitation, rolling his eyes and saying, "I'm the League Champion after all. I understand the power of Legendary Pokémon. My main team is exhausted. Wouldn't battling yours be asking for defeat?"
"Tsk," Ryan pursed his lips. He had been hoping that with Wallace's main team tired, he could test his strength against him, but now his hopes were dashed.
Wallace glanced at Charizard and Greninja and said, "But Ryan, you're certainly very talented. Charizard and Greninja are already on the verge of Legendary status. I'm curious how you trained them. Can you tell me?"
"Just train with Legendary Pokémon regularly," Ryan said casually.
Although this was misleading Wallace, it wasn't entirely false. Regular training with Legendary Pokémon does help one comprehend the essence of Origin power. If Wallace wanted his Pokémon to reach Legendary status sooner, he should train with some Legendary Pokémon at the League.
Wallace pondered Ryan's words and nodded thoughtfully. Ryan watched as Wallace seemed to actually consider going to the League to train with some Legendary Pokémon someday. It was none of his business anyway.
Half a month later, the Slateport City Pokémon Contest, which Ryan and his friends had been eagerly anticipating, officially began.
Over the past two weeks, Ryan, Ash, and Wallace had been battling regularly, and Lillie had been discussing Breeder matters with Brock, and they had gotten along quite well.
They arrived at the Contest Hall, but the venue was already packed. After searching for a long time, they finally found seats and waited for the Contest to begin.
"When will Ruby appear?" Ryan asked Sapphire beside him.
"Looks like she'll be first, and Wallace will be last," Sapphire said.
"That makes sense. If Wallace went first, he'd probably overshadow all the other contestants," Brock said from behind.
"I wonder what kind of Pokémon Ruby will use?" Ash asked from the side.
"If the plan remains unchanged, it should be Feebas," Ryan said.
"Feebas?" Ash asked curiously, quickly pulling out his Pokédex to check it. After a moment's inspection, he said, "No way! Taking such an ugly Pokémon to a Contest?!"
"No matter how it looks, as long as it has a beautiful heart, it's the most beautiful!" Lillie said.
As they discussed, host Vivian emerged to introduce the judges and the competition rules. As she finished her introduction, the Contest officially began!
Ruby emerged, dressed in her stage costume, and the staff brought up a transparent water tank. Ruby glanced at Ryan and the others, then took a deep breath and said, "Even if the body fades, the heart's beauty endures. Carrying the tears of longing, it blooms into hope. Feebas, take the stage!"
Feebas entered the stage, and waves of water erupted, creating the silhouette of Milotic in a cloud of mist. Then, Feebas, carrying Milotic's misty image, dove into the water, completing a perfectly executed opening.
"Feebas, jump!" Ruby commanded.
Feebas leaped from the water, sending up a spray of droplets. The ensuing Ice Beam froze the water droplets, gradually forming an ice sculpture of Feebas. Feebas, wearing a crown of ice, landed on the ice sculpture and struck it with Iron Tail, shattering it. A lifelike ice sculpture of Milotic appeared before everyone's eyes. White mist slowly emanated from Feebas's mouth, giving the Milotic sculpture an air of mystery.
"So that's the concept. From beginning to end, the emphasis was on the beauty of evolution? And the combination of moves was beautiful, showcasing both Feebas's beauty and its strength. A high score is guaranteed," Ryan said, stroking his chin.
He also appreciated Wallace's excellent coaching. After all, Wallace's signature Milotic was once a Feebas, so coaching Ruby's Feebas was certainly effortless for him.
"Now, let's see how the first contestant, Ruby from Littleroot Town, scores!" Vivian said.
The three judges each gave their scores, each with a perfect score of 10, for a total of 30!
"Oh! A perfect score right from the start!" Vivian exclaimed in surprise.
Following the judges' explanations, Ruby's Feebas truly deserved the high score.
Next came the performances of the other Pokémon Coordinators, but there weren't any standout performances, with the highest score being around 29.5, until finally, Wallace took the stage.
Wallace sent out his Luvdisc, offering the audience a beautiful spectacle. Ryan watched the Luvdisc perform and couldn't help but admit that Wallace's performance truly was exceptional. Ruby and Wallace were still far apart in skill. If Wallace had gone first, it's likely that none of the others would have scored highly.
The Luvdisc performance concluded, undoubtedly earning a perfect 30. Next came the rankings, and the top eight Coordinators would proceed to the second round: the Battle Stage!
The computer assigned the matchups, with Ruby seeded first and Wallace seeded fourth. The two would potentially face off in the finals.
The second round of the Contest was timed, with each match lasting five minutes, depending on point reduction.
For Ruby, the battles weren't a concern; she could usually defeat her opponent's Pokémon in a couple of minutes, never dragging it out. Wallace was in a similar situation, but to give the other Coordinators a chance to shine, he always extended his matches to three or four minutes.
The finals, just as Ryan and the others had predicted, pitted Ruby against Wallace.
"Time flows by, yet this bond remains strong. It charges forth like a tidal wave, its power surging to the heavens. GO, Marshtomp!" Ruby sent out Marshtomp.
"Huh, did Ruby's Mudkip evolve?" Ryan asked in surprise.
"Yes, it evolved a while ago," Sapphire said. "But she didn't mention it, so she wanted to give you a surprise."
Ryan nodded, then looked at Wallace, who had sent out a Seaking. Type-wise, they were both Water-types, so there was no advantage either way.
But the level gap was quite significant. Wallace was also very considerate of Ruby, extending the match until the five-minute mark. There was no avoiding it; whether it was move selection or timing, Ruby and Wallace were vastly different in skill. Still, it was an entertaining match for the audience.
With the match over, Wallace accepted the Contest Ribbon as expected.
"I'm heading back to the League now. What are your plans?" Wallace asked as the group met at the hotel entrance after the Contest.
"Master, we're going to Mauville City next. Ryan and Sapphire are going to challenge the Mauville Gym," Ruby said.
"Mauville City?" Wallace said. "There's an abandoned power plant on a small island near Mauville City. There are many wild Electric-type Pokémon there. If you need any, you can catch a few. If you're lucky, you might even encounter Zapdos."
"You're okay with that? Aren't you afraid I'll catch it?" Ryan asked.
"I'm not one of those old-fashioned people in the League. Go ahead and catch it if you can," Wallace said. "Okay, I'm leaving now."
With that, he got into his car and drove off into the distance.
"Then, let's go too," Ryan said. "Destination! Mauville City!"
"Yeah!" the other three exclaimed.
The four of them smiled at each other and continued their journey.
(End of Chapter)
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