Rustboro City, Wallace Cup Venue.
"Thank you for waiting! Ladies and gentlemen, after several rounds of fierce competition and the selection of hundreds of outstanding Coordinators, the thrilling moment of the Finals has finally arrived!"
"Now then, what kind of spectacular Contest Battle will our two finalists present to us? Let's wait and see! Please welcome our competitors to the stage... First, the premier Contest Idol of the Hoenn Region—"
Host Lilian raised her hand, then dropped it as she shouted loudly.
"The Dreamy Miracle—Lisia!"
Amidst a tsunami of cheers, a vibrant, highly energetic young girl was the first to step onto the stage.
Her beautiful, silky emerald hair was styled in a Hime cut. Her pure, lovely face, combined with her carefully selected idol outfit, perfectly showcased her exquisite, graceful figure and her lively, playful smile.
"Good afternoon, everyone~ It's your Contest Idol, Lisia! I'm about to battle the powerful rising star of Contests, Mr. Hakuya! Please cheer for me—"
"Lissi!"
"Lissi! Lissi!"
The energetic girl twirled around, and as she bowed gracefully, deafening cheers instantly erupted from all directions.
From the judges' table, one could faintly hear Director Contesta saying he was getting too old and couldn't quite keep up with the times anymore, Sukizo's repetitive "Remarkable!" comments, and Nurse Joy's soft, amused giggles.
As for her biological uncle, Wallace, he instinctively covered his face with his hand, unable to say whether he felt happy or exasperated.
Seeing this, Hakuya, who was about to take the stage, revealed a thoughtful expression.
Rather than a traditional Coordinator, this girl "Lissi" was more like a highly popular Contest Idol.
Her cute appearance, lively and playful personality, and coordinating skills that far surpassed those of her peers had earned her immense fame among Contest enthusiasts. And besides her impressive coordinating abilities, she also possessed considerable artistic talent.
For example, the background music currently playing on stage was a song composed and sung by Lisia herself: Charm & Heart.
His thoughts concluding, Host Lilian happened to call his name loudly, inviting him onto the stage.
And the roaring, ocean-like chants of the crowd instantly split the moment Hakuya appeared.
"Wah~ He's so handsome—!"
A round-faced girl wearing square glasses and a bob cut clasped her hands over her chest, her eyes filled with pink hearts.
This phenomenon of swooning wasn't an isolated incident. Like a stone thrown into the center of a lake, a ripple of "Whoa!" and "Oh my god!" screams quickly began to replace the initial cheers that had greeted Lisia.
Thanks to his utterly perfect Appeals Stage performance and his overwhelming, one-shot victories in the subsequent battle rounds, Hakuya had instantly become synonymous with "gorgeous and powerful" in this Wallace Cup. Many female Trainers with wavering loyalties immediately defected to his camp on the spot.
"It seems you're quite popular with everyone too, Mr. Hakuya~"
Noticing the shift in the audience, Lisia blinked, her smile blooming like a flower.
As the premier Contest Idol, she had a massive fanbase of Trainers not just in Hoenn, but even in Sinnoh. Many fans had traveled thousands of miles just to support her here in Rustboro City.
But under the critical hit of Hakuya's looks and strength, the cheers for him on the field actually managed to stand toe-to-toe with hers.
"Hmm... maybe everyone is just shallow when it comes to looks."
At this moment, facing the roaring crowd and the girl's teasing (made while covering her mouth), Hakuya remained incredibly calm.
Physical appearance was innate; whether it was high or low only affected immersion slightly.
And having experienced all sorts of jaw-dropping, iconic scenes in the randomized world, his mindset had long since been tempered to the point where he wouldn't flinch even if a mountain collapsed in front of him. Let alone a scene with tens of thousands of people cheering simultaneously—even if Arceus suddenly appeared before him and dubbed him the Hero of Creation, he wouldn't be terribly surprised.
Of course, alongside his composure, a hint of helplessness inevitably surfaced in his heart.
—This is clearly the Finals of the Wallace Cup, but now it feels like a fan meet-and-greet.
The rules for the Finals were the same as the previous Contest Battles: the winner was determined by who had the higher Contest Points when the time ran out. However, there was a slight difference from the earlier rounds. The judges' scoring became much stricter; a move combination that would normally deduct half of the opponent's points would only shave off an eighth here.
"Mr. Hakuya, please be sure to go all out in the upcoming battle."
Entering battle mode, Lisia's face was completely devoid of its usual playfulness, replaced by an intensely serious expression.
"I truly want to see the full extent of the charm possessed by you and your Pokémon, Mr. Hakuya."
"Alright. I understand."
Catching the key words, Hakuya's expression turned solemn as he earnestly responded to the girl's request.
"Ali~! Yaya~! Let's go!"
The moment the five-minute timer started, Lisia shouted and threw her Poké Balls.
Pop! Pop!
Countless pure white feathers flew up and slowly drifted down, revealing Altaria and Delcatty.
Seeing this, Hakuya similarly sent out Floragato and Latias to face them.
"First, let's test the waters~ Yaya, start with Grass Knot! Let the vines entangle the opponents~"
Unlike the Coordinators he had faced previously, this idol girl possessed a highly unique, personal commanding style.
Whenever she issued a command, she would always incorporate a series of idol-like dance elements.
For instance, after commanding the Delcatty named Yaya to use [Grass Knot], Lisia struck a pose, mimicking firing a handgun with her fingers, which instantly drew waves of cheers and screams from the audience.
"Latias, destroy them with Surf, then use Draco Meteor."
"Floragato, follow up by using Leafage towards the sky."
In sync with Hakuya's commanding voice, a massive wave dozens of feet high completely obliterated the grass vines bursting from the ground.
As countless glowing droplets of water and broken vines fell, accompanied by a clear, resonant dragon's roar, a sphere of light possessing immense, overwhelming energy gathered in the little jet plane's mouth. Then, it shot straight into the clouds, bathing the entire battle stage in an astonishingly bright light.
Just as it was about to reach its critical altitude, the leaves fired by Floragato arrived perfectly on time.
Countless leaves gleaming with a sharp, cutting light sliced the sphere of light in the air to pieces. The [Draco Meteor], which was supposed to detonate several seconds later, seemed to have the fast-forward button pressed on it. It transformed into countless meteors, mixed with burning leaves, raining down in a massive, wide-area bombardment.
Hakuya's signature [Draco Meteor] wide-area bombardment strategy... In the previous rounds of Contest Battles, basically no opponent had been able to find a way to counter it. Not to mention, Altaria happened to be a Dragon-type; if it took a direct hit, it might instantly lose its ability to battle, leading to a 1v2 scenario.
Thus, seeing the dazzling meteors and fiery leaves tearing through the sky and crashing down, the audience, besides marveling at its beauty, instinctively held their breath. They stared unblinkingly at Altaria, which was facing this combination attack head-on.