Beeeep—
The whistle echoed above the venue.
"And the final winner is—Contestant Baimu!! Let's congratulate Baimu from the Ore Region for earning the title of Top Coordinator Trainer! He has successfully reached the summit of the XXth Gorgeous Grand Festival!"
Amid Vivian's impassioned shout, the fans of the Mawile Fan Club cheered wildly. They jumped from their seats, hugging each other and crying, or shouting in excitement, even tossing the pom-poms in their hands up into the air.
The ordinary audience members clapped with unusual enthusiasm, their eyes full of admiration as they looked toward the stage.
Liuqia's fans were overwhelmed with sorrow, yet they still did their best to offer their applause—not only for the girl who had worked so hard to get here today, but also for Baimu, who had had such a spectacular battle with her.
Only by facing your opponent head-on can you truly face yourself.
Bzzzz—
The many different reactions made the stands rather chaotic at first.
But very soon, under the guidance of the support groups, everything turned into pure applauding and blessings. Many diehard fans began humming in unison the lyrical version of "Divine Courtyard" that Blissey had performed, drawing everyone's attention.
Their remarkably neat and unified singing voices were so loud that even the organizers had no choice but to switch the originally planned celebratory concerto to Divine Courtyard.
On the giant screen.
The portraits of Baimu, Mawile, and Blissey glowed softly against the golden background, and the huge "winner" label was reflected in the eyes of the latter two.
"Chidor…"
"Happy~"
The two Pokémon were panting heavily, their taut nerves still unable to react for the moment.
It wasn't until their Trainer sent out the Altered-color Milotic, and ran over together with it to scoop them into his arms, that they finally understood the match really was over.
They'd won!
"Beautiful job! We did it! On this long journey, we finally took our first win at a regional-level competition!"
Baimu vigorously ruffled the heads of his three Pokémon. "Thank you, all of you!"
"Chidor~"
"Happy~"
"Milo~"
The three Pokémon let out soft cries, their joy bubbling up from the bottom of their hearts and spilling across their faces.
They had done it!
Over these six months, they'd had to balance performance and battles at the same time, and all the effort they poured in day and night had finally been duly rewarded!
"Listen."
Baimu's voice pulled their attention back.
The familiar singing coming at them from all directions made the three Pokémon each show different expressions, especially Blissey.
Its eyes went blank for a second, then immediately grew misty with emotion.
It was "Divine Courtyard"!
"Happy!!"
Even after shedding its shell of inferiority early on and slowly becoming stronger inside, Blissey had never imagined that it would receive recognition and support from so many people.
Every one of these voices brimming with blazing emotion was conveying their love for it.
It might not have the stunning beauty of an Altered-color Milotic, nor Mawile's outstanding dance skills and high ATK, but it possessed a charm that belonged to it alone!
Its performance had always been kept in everyone's hearts!
"Chidor!"
Idiot!
Mawile looked at the quietly sobbing Blissey and opened its arms to hug it with tender affection.
Compared to Blissey, who never went online, Mawile—who often uploaded photos to its personal blog and even asked Porygon to translate comments—knew very well that Blissey's popularity in the support group's fanbase was quite high.
—"The Benevolent Blissey."
This was a nickname coined by the Miss Joys among the fans in praise of its benevolence tactics.
Porygon II had even told it some days ago that the one who proposed the plan of singing "Divine Courtyard" in celebration if they won was a Miss Joy from Shuijing City.
It glanced over toward the judges' table.
Just as expected.
Miss Joy from Larus City was participating as well; she sang while clapping along, making the person next to her join in too.
"Milo~"
The Altered-color Milotic blinked. Unlike Mawile, it didn't understand that much—it just assumed Blissey was moved to tears after winning.
It was very happy too!
And seeing the two of them hugging, not wanting to be "left out," it twisted its serpentine body and slipped into the embrace as well.
The three Pokémon began to cuddle affectionately, oblivious to everyone else.
The stands erupted into waves of excited screams. Countless fans sang as they opened their phone cameras, or grabbed their professional cameras to capture this moment.
Everyone had always wanted to see heartwarming interactions between these three Pokémon.
Naihe, a certain someone never took part in TV programs, and the Gorgeous Competition rarely had double events, so fans who loved multiple members were forced to rack their brains and "self-produce" all kinds of friendly interactions to satisfy themselves.
"Hehehe."
Baimu chuckled as he turned his gaze toward Liuqia, who was not far away, holding Altaria in her arms and leaning against a Galarian Rapidash.
"Teacher Liuu."
"Baimu! Congratulations!"
Liuqia didn't address him as her beloved disciple like she usually did, but instead called him by his given name.
She beamed as she offered her blessing. "You've successfully taken the first step toward your dream! Your grand-uncle-master and your uncle are definitely going to be proud of you!"
Baimu opened his mouth, and as he watched Liuqia's expression at this moment, the words in his gut circled once in his throat.
He said seriously, "Thank you! I won't stop at just this step!"
"Mm~! Keep it up~! You're my very first student, and also my very first fierce rival! 'Run toward your dreams! Dreams☆Cheer on!'"
"Churu!"
"Hiiirrrr!"
Liuqia pumped her tiny fists, with not the slightest trace of dejection or disappointment visible.
Altaria and Galarian Rapidash threw back their heads and cried in response.
She was a Gorgeous Competition idol.
Known by thousands of fans as "Liuji," the number one Aidoru in Hoenn, she had to face hardships and failures with positivity at all times, and show her most dazzling side to everyone.
Perhaps only late at night, when the world was quiet and she was huddled with Altaria and Rapidash, would she allow her unwillingness and frustration to surface.