Great! Very spirited!
He raised his hand and tossed a Pokeball forward.
Bang bang!
Two light pops.
A flame, like a red lotus, rose from the ground and blossomed like a flower, revealing a Ninetales with golden fur, elegant and beautiful.
In front of Baimu, cherry blossoms floated up, creating the cute and adorable Mawile.
"Chidor~"
In an instant.
Countless screams rose like giant waves, nearly breaking through the venue ceiling.
For the fans, Mawile, being the origin of everything, was the irreplaceable soul Pokémon of the fan club. You could see so many people in the fan club cosplaying as Mawile, even capturing wild Mawile, enough to show their love for it.
It was also considered Baimu's emblematic Pokémon in the Gorgeous Competition.
Just like Liuqia's Xiao Qingqing Altaria, Mikoli's Milotic, etc., trainers have aces, don't coordinator trainers have aces too?
Mawile is the ace!
The audience showed their enthusiasm by giving it the treatment it deserved as an ace Pokémon, much like when the Dan Emperor released his ace Charizard, tossing off his cape, striking a pose, raising his right hand, and shouting "Champion Time."
Unfortunately, Mawile wasn't as over-the-top as the Dan Emperor, even though it felt like its blood was boiling hearing the shouts calling its name, it remained calm and composed, striking a pose ready to dance to greet the audience.
Here, you can easily see another commonality between Baimu and it —
Calm and collected.
In other words, it had a big heart, not frightened by the enthusiastic audience.
On the other side.
Xiaofeng, who sent out Ninetales, was not surprised by the appearance of Mawile, instead, she smirked with a knowing expression.
She bet correctly!
As the saying goes, all's fair in war. The gorgeous battle was also a battle. She bet that the opponent would send out Mawile in the second round and specifically chose Ninetales to counter it.
Although this was just the first step, sometimes from the first step, the outcome was already determined —
It was a coincidence.
Baimu thought the same.
Ninetales indeed countered Mawile, but so what? The gorgeous battle was not just a battle. This truth only became tangible for him after winning three ribbons and completing the Fallarbor Conference.
And not just empty talk without practical application.
"Dance."
He lifted his hand like a conductor in an orchestra.
Mawile stayed silent, tiptoeing forward as it began to dance.
Jingle~
A crisp bell sound rang.
A light blue thick mist rolled out from the ground, instantly covering the entire performance area, adding a layer of shimmering blue light to everywhere in sight.
The usual starting move, the Foggy Field, a high level of dance performance, caused Xiaofeng's score to be deducted.
But she remained calm, issuing a command.
"Go!"
"Ugh~"
Ninetales let out a delicate cry, twisting its body and swaying its nine fluffy and glossy golden tails.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh —
The tips of the tails ignited with fireballs, the flame color quickly changing from orange-red to azure blue, visibly high temperatures started to burn the air, making it tremble and warp.
Spherical flames?
—— It's Flame Splash!
Baimu's eyes focused, and he saw Ninetales suddenly lower its body, the azure blue fireballs at its tail tips flew towards Mawile like guided missiles, nine fireballs making a continuous assault!
Was it Tail Love!?
"Sword Dance!"
He commanded, and the rhythm of Mawile, who was slowly starting to dance, suddenly changed, spinning rapidly as if it had a top attached, white sword blades manifesting around it as it spun.
The azure blue fireballs came speeding in but were deftly dodged away.
However, the grounded fireballs didn't dissipate, instead, they exploded like bombs, fist-sized fireballs scattering in all directions, making them hard to dodge.
Even if one was lucky enough to dodge, the splash fireballs from the second fireball's explosion would seal Mawile's surroundings upcoming.
Bang bang bang——
The ground tremored incessantly with the explosion, and the flames danced like blossoms, filled with a sense of destruction.
Many spectators watched the scene with concern, while some focused on Baimu's score, revealing expressions of regret as they were truly deducted.
Although the move's appearance was not particularly glamorous, the terrifying flames covering most of the field and Ninetales' effortless demeanor still caused Baimu to lose quite a few points.
Flame Splash is terrifying to such an extent!
However, both Baimu and Mawile are professionals at countering moves.
The spectators fixed their eyes on the field, noticing the Sword Dance still continued as the glowing energy blades spun rapidly like a kaleidoscope, forming a wall that easily extinguished the incoming fireballs while dazzling onlookers.
Like a blade dancer, the Break Dance turned the enemy's offensive into nothing and brought benefits to its side.
At this moment, Mawile spun like a phantom stepping on flames, its tightrope-like movements sending the audience's emotions into intense fluctuations, as if waves were rolling, eager to shout in excitement.
In an instant.
Xiaofeng's score was deducted by more than a quarter!
This made her widen her eyes, her thought of having Ninetales repeat throwing a few more faded, and she quickly said:
"Gather up! Purgatory!"
"Whee!"
Ninetales let out a sharp cry, and its originally spread-out tails suddenly gathered upwards, swiftly brewing an unprecedentedly giant fireball!
Unlike the previous time when it turned from orange-red to azure blue, this gigantic fireball instantly became pitch black like a scorched earth, with destructive power surging forth, as if constructing a black sun!
No doubt.
Xiaofeng planned to use a powerful move to break Mawile's Sword Dance array, but she didn't expect the latter's dance had already reached the moment when the blade unsheathed!
"Rush."
As Baimu spoke, Mawile had already vanished without a trace.
This left Ninetales, holding the giant black fireball high, unaware of where to release it, while Xiaofeng only heard a sudden soft sound, making it impossible to search for the opponent's presence again.
The smoke from the flame explosion and the mist of the Foggy Field became the best concealment barrier, shadows lingered around Xiaofeng and Ninetales, the ghostly figure of Mawile made Ninetales hesitant to throw the giant black fireball, and the prolonged holding time brought immense pressure.
"On your right!"
Xiaofeng dared not hesitate any longer, locking on Mawile's shadow, she shouted loudly, knowing that the mere seconds of hesitation had already deducted her score, dragging on was by no means an option.
"Ooh!!"
Ninetales howled lowly, pressing its forelegs down as if desperately throwing a thousand-pound weight forward, the giant black fireball roared and plummeted to the ground.
Boom——!!!
The terrifying explosion echoed in the venue, the billowing smoke rose to the sky, the airwaves stirred up a rolling cloud of dust that obscured the view for the audience and judges.
Smoke that obscures vision during the Gorgeous Competition is an absolute taboo, and like stream-of-consciousness performances, it usually indicates extreme failure or extreme success.
Ninetales' move, Purgatory, was undoubtedly the former.
The vision was completely obstructed, not a trace of the beauty of haze or the shrouding clouds was left, only a bewildering scene that puzzled the spectators.
But in the next moment.
An invisible pair of hands suddenly swept away the smoke, a pink wind rose out of nowhere clearing the field, bringing with it wisps of soothing fragrance, making everyone widen their eyes to find that Ninetales had somehow flown into the sky, and on the ground was a resplendent spiral that dispersed the smoke with the fragrant wind it invoked.
Such a marvelous picture was simply soul-stirring.
What on earth happened——
The audience was confused and bewildered, but only Xiaofeng inside the venue knew that just as Ninetales released the black fireball, Mawile suddenly appeared from the other side at a speed indiscernible to the human eye, punching Ninetales in the abdomen.
As a result, when Purgatory detonated, the soaring Ninetales was carried aloft into the sky.
It's over!
Xiaofeng opened her mouth anxiously, not knowing what command to issue.
Because the released Mawile had already leaped skyward, wrapped in a pink storm towards the falling Ninetales, flipping fiercely to slam it back to the ground.
Bam!
Amid the intense sound, the pink storm suddenly swelled and burst, transforming into countless specks of light flying to every audience member, each carrying an intoxicatingly fragrant aroma, leaving all who smelled it feeling a sense of delight.
Those like Bei Lingyin, who understood, were excited beyond measure.
Essence!
This was undoubtedly top-grade Essence!
Beep——!!
The shrill whistle announced Mawile's victory, the score under Xiaofeng's avatar on the screen had somehow already been fully deducted, and her partner Ninetales' avatar suddenly turned gray, then a red cross appeared.
First, a dazzling performance deducted the opponent's score, then formidable strength rendered it unable to fight!
Power and beauty combined!
The audience gave a tremendously enthusiastic round of applause!