บท 57: Pokémon Contest (Part 1)

Seeing Luna expression, Yuga could only sigh helplessly and say, "Quick, open the Poké Ball and see if you like it or not!"

Hearing Yuga words, Luna eagerly opened the Poké Ball. A red light flashed, and the figure of a Swablu appeared before them.

"Swablu!"

Luna exclaimed in excitement, then lifted the Swablu high in the air and spun around happily.

The Swablu seemed a bit dizzy from Luna spinning and struggled to free itself from her grip. Yuga quickly reminded, "Okay, okay, stop spinning, Swablu can't handle it!"

Luna stopped and held the Swablu in her arms.

"Swablu just hatched, you can't make such vigorous movements with it, understand?"

"I know, I know!"

Luna absentmindedly replied while gently stroking the Swablu soft feathers.

Seeing her like this, Yuga managed to suppress the urge to scold her again. He wondered if he had made a mistake by giving her a starter Pokémon.

Suddenly, Luna remembered something and looked up at Yuga, saying, "Big Brother Yuga, there's a Pokémon Contest tomorrow, and our school is on holiday. Can you accompany me to watch it?"

"Sure, I'll come pick you up tomorrow!"

Although Yuga wasn't particularly interested in Pokémon Contests, he remembered that Robert had come all the way to Hoenn region to participate. He decided that he should show some support for his friend.

As Luna had to return to school in the afternoon and Yuga had to go back to his shop, they left Aunt Hisako house early.

The next morning, Yuga arrived at Aunt Hisako house as promised to pick up Luna for the Pokémon Contest.

However, before heading to the contest venue, Yuga took Luna to the Pokémon Center first. Then, he knocked on Robert door.

"You guys are here! Come in."

After opening the door, Robert saw Yuga and welcomed them inside.

Yuga and Robert had previously agreed to travel to the contest together.

Since the Pokémon Center was closer to the Pokémon Contest venue, Yuga had asked Robert to wait for him and Luna there.

"This is my sister, Luna. Luna, this is Robert, my friend. You can call him Robert."

Yuga introduced them to each other.

"Hello, Robert!"

Luna politely greeted Robert, which surprised Yuga. Luna behavior seemed to depend on her mood.

Robert smiled and ruffled Luna hair, saying, "Hello, Luna. What a lovely little girl you are."

Yuga couldn't help but roll his eyes. He thought, "Is he serious? If I ruffled her hair like that, she'd probably hit me!"

Despite being ruffled, Luna didn't show any signs of annoyance. Instead, she seemed a bit shy, which was quite unusual.

Looking at their interactions, Yuga struggled to hold back his urge to mock them. He thought, "Are these kids for real? They just met a few minutes ago, yet they're all buddy-buddy, calling each other 'Robert, my friend.' If I had known, I would have introduced Robert as 'some guy we don't know.'"

Taking a deep breath, Yuga reminded himself not to get jealous of Robert good looks. That wouldn't be a mature attitude for an older brother. No, it wouldn't be!

To divert his attention, Yuga turned to Robert and asked, "Are you here to watch the Pokémon Contest too? Are you interested in it?"

"I thought I'd come and watch the Pokémon Contest to see if I can gain some experience."

Robert straightforward response reflected his usual no-nonsense style.

"Alright, let's go then."

With everyone assembled, Yuga, Luna, and Robert made their way to the contest venue.

When they arrived, the place was already bustling with people. Some were practicing outside, while others were waiting anxiously for the event to begin.

Seeing the lively scene, Yuga suggested to Robert, "You should go to the preparation room and get ready. Luna and I will be in the audience, cheering for you!"

Robert nodded and said, "Sounds good. I'll head there now. After the contest, we'll meet here and go back together."

Once they separated, Yuga and Luna found their seats inside the venue.

As they settled in, Luna couldn't wait any longer. She took out her Poké Ball and released her Swablu, speaking earnestly to it, "Swablu, let's cheer for Robert together! He's definitely going to win!"

The Swablu responded with an energetic chirp, mimicking Luna cheering gestures accurately.

Yuga, however, felt like rolling his eyes again. He thought, "You guys have only known each other for a few minutes. You're so sticky-sweet with your 'Robert, my friend,' left and right. Calling each other so affectionately, were they secretly close friends all along?"

Suppressing his frustration, Yuga sighed internally, reminding himself not to be jealous and possessive. He focused his attention on the upcoming contest, hoping that Robert effort would pay off.

The event was about to start, and the audience was getting excited.

"Welcome to Pokémon Contest of Verdanturf Town! I'm your host, Vivian. It's a pleasure to meet you all. Participants who have earned ribbons from five different regional contests are eligible to enter the Advanced Pokémon Contest – a Grand Festival of Pokémon Contest."

"What kind of battles will we witness today?"

The audience inside the venue was already filled with excitement.

Now let me introduce the judges for this competition: The Chief of the Pokémon Activities Committee and Head Judge, Mr. Contesta, The President of the Pokémon Fan Club, Mr. Sukizo, and The operator of the local Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy.!"

As Yuga and his friends were conversing, the host voice echoed across the field, marking the official start of the Pokémon Contest.

"Let's move on to the first round of the competition. Up first is..."

Host Vivian voice resounded again, and the first participant stepped onto the stage.

The first contestant was a young man in his twenties. He tossed his Poké Ball high into the air, and a round, chubby Sentret stood cutely on the stage.

Sentret, with its large tail, hopped around on the ground and playfully winked at the audience, drawing cheers from the crowd. The female spectators, in particular, seemed enchanted, their eyes practically sparkling.

"Sentret, use Quick Attack!"

As the young man command fell, Sentret, who was previously acting cute, suddenly activated the Quick Attack technique and began running around the stage in circles.

The beams of light formed by Sentret' Quick Attack combined to create a heart shape as it pranced around, a delightful sight.

Amidst the applause and cheers from the audience, Sentret halted for a moment, and the young man gave another command.

"Sentret, Hyper Voice!"

Sentret, mid-stride, suddenly stopped and rushed into the heart-shaped light formation. With a powerful roar, shockwaves radiated outwards in concentric circles.

When the soundwaves met the heart-shaped lights, they shattered into countless white dots that danced in the air before gradually dissipating, creating a beautiful spectacle.

This performance is really quite advanced. This Sentret does not use many skills, but all of them are extremely skilled, and the level of this Sentret is also quite high, otherwise it would not be able to use such an advanced skill such as Hyper Voice.

The audience erupted in cheers, and the young man received high scores: 9.7, 9.5, and 9, totaling 28.2 points. The scores were indeed remarkable.

The Verdanturf Tournament had attracted a considerable number of participants, including one that surprised Yuga greatly. He hadn't expected that the young man he encountered at YoYo Day Care, who had wanted to buy Swablu, would also be participating in the Pokémon Contest.

This person was none other than the youth named Touya.

Only when Yuga heard the host call his name did he realize that the youth name was Touya. It was a pretty name, but his personality left much to be desired.

Touya Pokémon wasn't from Hoenn region; instead, he had a Woobat from Unova region. It was a rare Psychic-type Pokémon.

Yuga suspected that Touya might be a wealthy heir of some sort, as he had been boastful in the shop about his financial resources.

Touya Woobat made its entrance and used the Charm technique, causing numerous pink hearts to spread in all directions, creating an undulating display in the air.

This move impressed Yuga; while Charm wasn't especially powerful, being able to utilize it to create an effect of hearts fluttering all around was no simple feat. Not every Pokémon could use Charm to this extent.

Woobat playfully flew through the heart-filled skies, seemingly carefree. When it reached the center of the stage, Touya gave the command, "Woobat, Heart Stamp!"

A massive heart appeared in the center of the stage, growing larger with Woobat at its center. Finally, it enveloped all the smaller hearts in the air.

"Woobat, finish with Psychic!"

Guided by Woobat control, the purple psychic energy carried the massive heart to the audience seats. Suddenly, it burst, transforming into a shower of pink luminescence, creating a dreamlike scene.

Yuga couldn't help but admire Touya skill. He was quite good at impressing people and knew how to please the audience.

Touya score was quite impressive, surpassing the previous contestant who used Sentret.