As soon as Milotic appeared, it gently flapped its caudal fin, manipulating the residual moisture in the air to support its body.
It slowly ascended into the air, buoyed by the invisible currents of water.
The water vapor in the center of the stage gradually gathered under its guidance, forming a thin mist that enveloped Milotic's figure.
Milotic slightly activated its Confuse Ray skill.
A pale golden halo flowed over its cream-colored body, creating a faint rainbow light through the refraction of the water vapor, as if a water nymph had arrived through the mist, illusory and ethereal.
Milotic swam gracefully through the mist, the two bright red antennae on its head swaying gently with its movements, their red light becoming increasingly dazzling in the fog.
Its blue fins stretched out like a fairy's ribbons, each sway kicking up fine droplets of water that scattered a silver glow under the stage lights.
At that moment, Milotic looked up at the sky and opened its mouth to slowly exhale a blue water ball the size of a fist, which flew toward the air above the stage.
After flying upward for a distance, the blue water ball burst with a "pop," turning into countless tiny particles of water mist.
These particles did not dissipate; instead, they condensed into a patch of dark gray clouds in mid-air.
The stage lights suddenly dimmed, leaving only a few spotlights focused on Milotic, making its figure stand out even more against the dark background.
Silver-white lightning began to flash repeatedly within the dark clouds, and violet-blue electric lights traveled through the cloud layers, as if playing an overture for Milotic's debut.
Milotic slowly swam toward the top of the stage, the light from the lightning outlining a clear silhouette around its body.
Its cream-colored body and golden caudal fin took turns shining in the electric light.
Just then, the three flute-like holes beside Milotic's neck vibrated gently, and a melodious tune flowed out from them.
The sound was like an instrument playing, sometimes like a gurgling stream, sometimes like the light tinkling of wind chimes, so pleasant that the entire audience couldn't help but hold their breath.
The golden scales on Milotic's caudal fin swayed gently with the melody, each scale reflecting a soft light under the spotlights.
This was an innate ability of the Milotic Family. As the Tender Pokémon, their singing can emit vibrations that heal the soul, allowing restless emotions to gradually settle.
The noise at the scene slowly dissipated within the melody, and even the bullet comments in the live stream experienced a brief pause.
The audience looked up, watching Milotic singing in the mist, feeling the peace and harmony surging from the bottom of their hearts, as if they were standing by a lakeside in the early morning, and even their breathing became gentle.
At this point, raindrops began to fall from the dark clouds in the sky, the fine threads of rain tracing transparent paths in the light.
The audience tilted their heads back slightly, feeling the cool drizzle.
With Milotic's singing in their ears and the agile figure in the mist before their eyes, it was as if they had entered a gentle dream.
"Milotic, let's officially begin our performance now!"
Lionel's command suddenly rang out, clear and powerful, instantly pulling the audience immersed in the dream back to reality.
Everyone snapped out of it, their gazes strictly Lock-On to Milotic in the center of the stage.
At that moment, a jaw-dropping scene occurred—the raindrops falling from the sky suddenly all stopped!
Whether it was the rain threads above the stage or the raindrops about to land on the audience's shoulders, everything seemed to have a pause button pressed, suspended in mid-air drop by drop.
Crystal clear and transparent, they floated before everyone, as if time had frozen at this moment.
The audience couldn't help but widen their eyes, cautiously reaching out their hands.
Their fingertips gently touched the suspended raindrops; the cool sensation was incredibly real, yet the raindrops remained steadily in place without the slightest wobble.
The live stream's bullet comments exploded instantly, refreshing as fast as a waterfall:
[Holy crap! The rain stopped?! Is something wrong with my eyes?]
[The rain has stopped, like time has paused. This is too magical, isn't it?]
[How is this done? Manipulating water is one thing, but making raindrops float? This is too ridiculous!]
Then, under the watchful eyes of the entire audience, those suspended raindrops began to slowly grow larger, expanding from the size of rice grains to the roundness of fists.
The marveling faces of the audience were reflected inside the water droplets, which looked like floating crystal balls.
Milotic gave another soft cry, and the melody suddenly became rapid.
A chilling wind blew across the stage, and the audience subconsciously hunched their shoulders.
Yet, they saw a point of shimmering white light suddenly ignite in the center of the water droplets.
That was the luster of freezing!
The water droplets began to take shape at a speed visible to the naked eye; smooth curves were drawn at the bottom, rounded arcs bulged at the top, and the outlines of fins slowly extended from the sides.
In just over ten seconds, every suspended raindrop had turned into an exquisite ice sculpture.
The streamlined bodies, the fins on both sides of the cheeks, the caudal fins at the tail, and even the two antennae on the head were lifelike, as if Milotic's figure had been frozen in ice.
"Wow—!"
Thunderous praise erupted at the scene. The audience couldn't help but stand up, looking at the ice sculptures floating in front of them, their fingertips gently touching them; the sensation was icy and cool.
One after another, exclamations of wonder swept through the venue like a tide: "It's too beautiful!"
"These are ice sculptures in the shape of Milotic!"
"This is simply incredible!"
At the judges' table, Director Colosseum looked at the ice sculpture floating on the desk, reached out to take it, and toyed with it carefully in his hand.
Chairman Susaki also gently reached out, his fingertips stroking the body of the Milotic ice sculpture, a joyful smile appearing on his face.
Nurse Joy and the host Vivian held the ice sculptures in front of them with both hands, their eyes filled with affection.
"This is a gift from Milotic and me to everyone.
Although ice sculptures cannot be preserved for long and can only leave behind a period of beauty, I hope this moment of beauty can remain in everyone's memory."
Lionel's voice came from the stage, gentle and sincere.
The audience members reached out one after another, gently supporting the ice sculptures in front of them, letting the icy sensation spread from their fingertips to their hearts.
The netizens in the live stream were already going crazy with jealousy:
[My god! It's such a loss not being at the scene! There are actually Milotic ice sculpture gifts?!]
[I'm so salty! What kind of divine interaction is this! I'm crying from envy!]
[Is there anyone in the audience who can preserve and transfer the ice sculpture? I'm willing to buy it at a high price!]
On stage, Milotic gently swayed its caudal fin and began to sing again. This time, the melody was more cheerful than before, filled with immense joy.
The dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, and the stage lights brightened again. Sunlight poured down, shining on the ice sculptures in the hands of the audience, revealing a faint crystalline glow.
Lilian's voice carried a tone of excitement: "I don't know how to describe it anymore; it's truly a dream-like scene!"