"Latias, dodge it quickly and then use Draco Meteor."
Facing the pink storm that was already inches away, Latias tucked in her wings, tracing a bizarre, erratic Z-shaped path through the air like a red-and-white shooting star. Every sharp turn and sudden stop allowed her to perfectly evade the incoming gale.
Such a clean, decisive dodge undoubtedly showcased Latias's sense of power to the absolute fullest.
Consequently, the opponent's Contest Points visibly dropped by a small chunk.
And right after dodging with blinding speed, countless meteorites glowing with brilliant, shattered light traced winding trails of fire across the sky.
If we take a direct hit from that [Draco Meteor]... we'll die!!!
Facing the terrifying meteor shower, the short-haired female Trainer completely blanked on how to execute a 'gorgeous' dodge. She even forgot the basic knowledge that Fairy-types are immune to Dragon-type moves, simply screaming at the top of her lungs.
"Beautifly, Clefairy! Dodge it, quickly!"
But at that exact moment, Hakuya's next command arrived instantly.
"Floragato, use Petal Blizzard to intercept them."
"Meowha~"
Before Beautifly, frantically flapping its wings while carrying Clefairy, could even attempt to dodge, a swirling storm of pink and white petals materialized out of thin air like a hurricane, crashing down and completely enveloping the opponents before they could escape.
—The outer layer was a surging wave of cherry blossoms, while the inner layer was a spiraling vortex of petal blades. The petals, imbued with a sharp, cutting aura by the violent wind, wove together during their high-speed rotation to form a massive flower cage dozens of feet in diameter.
Immediately following, countless meteors trailing brilliant flaming tails tore through the sky, crashing down with the force of a thousand tons.
One-hit KO!!!
The short-haired female Trainer looked at her fainted Beautifly and Clefairy, feeling the Poké Balls in her tightly clenched hands suddenly trembling violently.
A profound sense of powerlessness, like a monstrous tidal wave summoned by Kyogre, washed over her entire body.
"As expected of Mr. Hakuya!"
"Mr. Hakuya is so amazing! He defeated his opponent in a flash!"
In the audience stands, the children from the Trainers' School cheered with the unfiltered enthusiasm of youth.
After several days of practical battle classes, Hakuya had completely integrated into the class.
Handsome and gentle, despite occasionally subjecting them to brutal beatdowns with his overpowered Pokémon, Mr. Hakuya was incredibly popular among the school kids, both for his personality and his teaching style.
And after cheering with faces full of pride, this group of students immediately launched into their daily "power scaling" debate.
"I knew it! Latias is absolutely the strongest! Once that Draco Meteor drops, there's no one who can block it..." A boy with a buzz cut crossed his arms, declaring proudly.
"But I feel like this was clearly Floragato's achievement. Before the Draco Meteor even hit, the Petal Blizzard had already knocked Beautifly and Clefairy out. Latias was just getting carried..."
Beside him, a little girl with her hair tied in buns puffed her cheeks and retorted.
"Latias is the strongest!"
"Floragato's power is definitely higher!"
The result of the debate, naturally, was that neither side convinced the other, and they were all subsequently bonked on the head by a merciless hand chop.
"If you can't figure it out by arguing, then we'll just have Mr. Hakuya battle you all again during class next week."
Standing with her hands on her hips, the strict Ms. Roxanne's eyes curved slightly, revealing a terrifying smile.
For some unknown reason, ever since she was nearly "three-stocked," Roxanne found her feelings toward Hakuya to be quite complex.
There was admiration for a strong individual, validation of his teaching methods, an indescribable affection, and also an inexplicable urge to recommend him to everyone she knew after being ruthlessly elbowed by him.
What a strange thought—
Two rosy blushes suddenly flew to her cheeks. She coughed lightly several times and said:
"It just so happens that Mr. Hakuya's term is almost up. We'll treat it as your farewell exam~"
"Nooo, Ms. Roxanne!"
"Please, I'm begging you! My Geodude can't handle such high-intensity combat anymore!"
"Geo!"
"We're going to die! We're absolutely going to die! We'll get kicked to the curb like roadside trash by Mr. Hakuya..."
At this moment, compared to the wailing audience section, the contestants in the waiting room staring closely at the broadcast screen were all completely stunned.
Although a sky full of falling meteors and pink-and-white petals dancing like a goddess scattering flowers was undeniably gorgeous, a proper Pokémon Contest was absolutely NOT fought like this!
You were supposed to methodically execute your rehearsed, beautiful moves, then exchange blows with your opponent for several rounds. When the time ran out, the winner was the one with more Contest Points remaining. You weren't supposed to just walk up and use pure, unadulterated brute force to instantly one-shot your opponent!
—Are you planning to completely ruin the Pokémon Contest?!
"Hakuya... is truly powerful~ As expected of the genius Trainer Steven has his eye on."
Sitting at the judges' table, even Wallace couldn't help but sigh in admiration upon seeing such an overwhelmingly dominant, instant-kill victory.
If the first round was simply a gorgeous performance, then this battle round fully showcased the terrifying strength of Hakuya's Pokémon.
As a judge, Wallace had naturally reviewed the registration profiles of every contestant on the field beforehand.
Hakuya's opponent was a female Trainer named Kimi.
Her past resume included participating in twelve regional Contests and earning six Ribbons. In terms of strength, she was absolutely a highly capable Coordinator, ranking quite high among all the participants.
But unfortunately, she ran into an insurmountable enemy right out of the gate.
Floragato and Latias's stats were simply too terrifying, giving her absolutely no time to maneuver before instantly wiping her out.
A perfectly good Pokémon Contest had ultimately turned into a live broadcast of a stat-check massacre.
However, Wallace wasn't some stubborn Contest purist who would complain, "If you just crush them with raw power, doesn't it just become a regular Pokémon battle?" In the end, the charm of overwhelming stats was also a valid form of a Pokémon's charm.
After cleanly and efficiently dispatching his first-round Contest Battle opponent, the tournament proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Hakuya alternated between waiting in the contestant lounge and fighting his next rounds.
A total of three hundred contestants had registered for the Wallace Cup.
The Appeals Stage filtered that down to 64 for the second phase. Then, through successive battle rounds, they determined the Top 32, Top 16, Top 8, Top 4, and finally, the two championship contenders.
It's worth noting that everyone who participated this time was an experienced Contest veteran.
There were highly talented Elite Coordinators who had participated in several regional Contests; Senior Coordinators who had already collected five Ribbons and qualified for the Grand Festival; and even former top-tier competitors who had come out of retirement after several years. The competition was incredibly fierce.
But with Floragato and Latias going all out, Hakuya and his team ultimately advanced to the Grand Finals with absolute dominance.
The Finals:
Hakuya vs. Lisia!
"May, Max! I've called you so many times already! Hurry up and come eat lunch!" Caroline arranged the golden, crispy shrimp tempura into a flower shape and called out toward the living room.
"You can watch TV later! If you don't come now, the food is going to get cold."
"Okay, I'm coming right now."
Because it wasn't the Pokémon Tournament he had expected, aside from his initial shock at seeing Latias appear on the battlefield, Max quickly lost interest during the subsequent performance segments.
And thanks to the good manners instilled in her since childhood, even though she was eagerly anticipating Hakuya's final match, May still answered her mother Caroline's call. She reluctantly turned off the broadcasting TV, stood up, and walked toward the dining table.
Today's lunch was fresh fish soup with scallions and tempura soba.
However, even though these were usually her favorite dishes, May found herself completely lacking her usual appetite.
At this moment, her mind was still filled with the breathtaking highlights of the Pokémon Contest she had just watched.
"By the way, May, you'll be choosing your starter Pokémon and heading out on your journey soon. Have you planned out your goals for your travels?" Her mother Caroline blew lightly on a piece of steaming hot fish and asked.
After paying the required fees, the local laboratory managed by the League would prepare three starter Pokémon for young men and women coming of age to choose from. Once chosen, they would leave their hometowns and embark on their journeys as Pokémon Trainers.
"Ah, about that..."
May's spoon, hovering mid-air, paused slightly, then slowly lowered back into her bowl.
Growing up, everyone around her assumed she would follow in the footsteps of her father, Norman—a Gym Leader. They expected her to challenge Gyms, collect Badges, and ultimately aim to compete in the Hoenn Ever Grande Conference.
But due to a certain accident that happened when she was young, May had actually never been very interested in becoming a Pokémon Trainer. Her initial willingness to go on a journey was merely out of a desire to see the outside world.
But for some reason, a new, somewhat rebellious thought suddenly popped into her head at this exact moment.
—Putting on a beautiful performance outfit, stepping onto the stage with my Pokémon to showcase our unique charm... that actually sounds really nice.
"I don't want to challenge Gyms and become a Pokémon Trainer anymore," May lowered her head silently and spoke slowly.
"Cough, cough..."
Burning his mouth on the steaming fish, Norman, sitting across from her, hurriedly grabbed his water glass and chugged it.
Finally, the Petalburg City Gym Leader coughed violently several times, looking at his daughter in utter shock at her surprising declaration.
Her younger brother Max and her mother Caroline, also sitting at the table, cast surprised glances her way.
But the girl's resolve seemed to instantly dye her sky-blue eyes with a firm determination.
"I said, I don't want to become a Pokémon Trainer like you, Dad. Instead..."
Mustering all her courage, May looked up, meeting her father Norman's eyes directly.
"I want to participate in Pokémon Contests and stand on the stage with my Pokémon. I want to become an amazing Pokémon Coordinator."