Although divine beasts were as common as stray dogs in Randomized Emerald...
...returning to the real Pokémon world, it was incredibly rare for anyone to see a Legendary Pokémon with their own eyes.
Setting aside the fact that their immense power alone filled many Trainers with awe, just earning their acknowledgment was a monumental achievement in itself.
A Legendary Pokémon, possessing mighty power that eclipsed ordinary Pokémon, would never lower its status and condescend to stand beside a mediocre, unremarkable Trainer.
Therefore, when they saw that red-and-white figure appear in mid-air, all the contestants first wore expressions of utter shock, and then the exact same thought popped into their heads in unison.
—This isn't right. It feels like this guy is about to completely nuke the entire lobby!!
And at this moment, Hakuya's Appeal Stage performance had only just begun.
"Latias, use Draco Meteor repeatedly!"
"La-woo~"
BOOM—
CRASH!!!
What a terrifying Draco Meteor!
Latias raised her head and let out a high-pitched, resonant roar. Amidst the dragon's cry, her chest and abdomen suddenly lit up with a blinding, deep purple light. After gathering to its absolute limit, this light rose to her mouth, and she violently fired it into the sky.
The sphere of light shot up into the clouds like an arrow leaving a bow, the sheer force tearing deep purple ripples through the air it passed. Upon reaching critical altitude, it suddenly detonated, blooming like a mushroom cloud dropped from the high heavens.
Forget Mr. Contesta and the others, who had traveled to numerous Contests and possessed vast knowledge and experience—even Wallace, with his Champion-level strength, instinctively widened his eyes, marveling at the sheer, terrifying power of this [Draco Meteor].
Countless glowing meteors, trailing long tails of flame, did not fall vertically. Instead, they spiraled down in erratic, twisting trajectories. In an instant, they plummeted with the shrieking whistle of fireworks, smashing into the ground like mortar shells in a continuous, deafening barrage of explosions, blasting a cratered area and kicking up thick smoke that blanketed the field.
"Alright, Floragato's Petal Blizzard is up next."
Hearing her Trainer's command, Floragato, unwilling to be outdone, also unleashed her full power.
As the vines of the yo-yo in her paws extended violently, a massive, swirling storm of pink petals, dense as a blizzard, enveloped the entire battlefield.
Countless soaring petals plummeted swiftly from mid-air, perfectly aligning with the trajectories of the meteors' flaming tails, creating a breathtaking scene of falling stars accompanied by dancing flowers.
And as the endless barrage of [Draco Meteor] intersected with the erupting [Petal Blizzard] on the field, the energy explosions generated by the meteorites smashing into the whirlpool of petals triggered an incredibly dazzling, multi-colored halo of light.
"Exceptional energy control—"
For a moment, Wallace couldn't even think of any other words to describe it; he could only repeatedly sigh in admiration.
Looking at all the Coordinators he had ever met, very few had raised Pokémon capable of delivering such a flawless, gorgeous performance.
Although there was no musical accompaniment, whether it was the four judges or the audience below staring unblinkingly for fear of missing a single detail, they could all clearly sense that this layered combination technique was constantly progressing according to a specific, deliberate rhythm.
Within the halo, the stardust naturally emitted by the meteorites intertwined with the dancing pink and white petals to form a flowing river of stars.
The silver stardust fell like crushed diamonds, and the pink and white petals danced like the evening sunset.
For a time, without exception, everyone in the audience held their breath and kept perfectly quiet, terrified of shattering this hazy, beautifully aesthetic atmosphere.
However, it didn't take long for the beautiful performance to vanish in a flash. Under the bombardment of this combination attack with completely busted, off-the-charts stats, the entire Pokémon Contest stage finally couldn't hold on any longer. With a deafening rumble, it collapsed into a dilapidated pile of ruins.
The puny little stage of a Pokémon Contest ultimately couldn't withstand the terrifying stats Floragato and Latias had honed through thousands of hellish battles in the world of Randomized Emerald.
Standing below the stage, the host was momentarily at a loss for words.
It was beautiful, yes.
But there was a distinct, undeniable feeling that rather than participating in the Wallace Cup, this Contestant Hakuya was much better suited for Victory Road.
Host Lilian looked at the stage, which had ultimately been leveled to the ground by the combination attack, and swallowed hard. Even with her years of hosting experience, she didn't know what words to use to describe this scene.
"Meowha~"
After the performance ended, even though they were still standing on the (ruined) stage, Floragato bounded over to her Trainer's side in a few leaps. She reached out a paw, grabbed Hakuya's jacket hem, and shook it, looking up with an expression practically begging for praise.
Of course the large cat hadn't forgotten why she wanted to participate in the Wallace Cup.
—To show my Trainer the absolute best side of myself, so he'll be captivated by my charm and never use a Poké Ball to contract another wild Pokémon again, devoting himself entirely to raising only me...
As for the tsundere little jet plane beside them... Although she was also eagerly waiting for her Trainer to fall to his knees before her invincible [Draco Meteor], the moment she saw Floragato tugging at Hakuya's sleeve and acting cute, she still puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction. She turned her body to the side and threw over a telepathic message roughly translating to: I don't even care anyway.
Even though her mouth was saying she didn't care, Latias's ears were visibly perked up as high as they could go.
"You both performed with incredible charm. It'd be even better if you could be a little more... ladylike next time."
Standing on the only piece of the stage that could still be considered flat, Hakuya wiped the sweat from his forehead. Looking at Floragato and Latias, who were still staring at him with faces full of expectation, his mouth couldn't help but twitch.
—I underestimated this. I didn't expect the danger level of being a Coordinator to be this high.
Before the rehearsal, they had explicitly agreed to suppress their power as much as possible for the performance.
But the moment they got on stage, it was as if Floragato and Latias completely snapped, losing their minds and going completely feral. The full-power [Draco Meteor] + [Petal Blizzard] combination attack nearly gave him flashbacks to the intense, blood-pumping battles against the horde of demonic monsters in the randomized world.
Have you two been fighting those overpowered monsters so much that the only 'charm' you see anymore is pure, raw stats?
"...I feel like rather than performing, we're much better suited to go back into the Randomized Emerald and fight those gods," Hakuya shook his head and softly summarized at the end.
The randomized world—where you revived if you died, and the system automatically repaired the terrain after you destroyed it—allowed them to let loose much more freely.
Before long, remembering the Ribbon he needed to give Floragato and the 50,000 League Dollars he desperately desired, Hakuya, having fully transformed into a ruthless Contest-winning machine, turned around. He looked at the host standing nearby, who was gripping the microphone with her mouth hanging wide open, unable to speak.
"Ms. Lilian, isn't it time for the judges' evaluation and scoring?"
"Ah! Y-Yes, it is!"
Relying on her excellent professional discipline, Ms. Lilian quickly recovered from her state of shock. She nodded vigorously, then enthusiastically shouted into the microphone once more, "Well then, what do our esteemed judges have to say about this performance?"