"The Pokémon Gorgeous Competition Kaina Tournament is nearing its end!"
"Who will seamlessly advance and win the Longevity Ribbon Medal? Let's wait and see!"
Vivian's thrilling voice echoed above the venue.
Xiaoguang and Baimu stood at the edge of the field, quietly chatting as they waited for the host to finish the opening remarks.
She said, "After countless hardships, we've finally made it to this point, well done."
"You too, well done."
"I'm really looking forward to the upcoming match."
"Because I can finally battle with all my might without any reservations?"
"Exactly!"
"Then I shall wait and see, I am determined to win this Ribbon Medal."
"Same here!"
They exchanged a glance, eyes full of intense competitive spirit, and under Vivian's introduction, each walked to their designated position.
On the big screen.
Two huge portraits and round score charts appeared simultaneously.
Vivian's somewhat high-pitched voice sounded, "Third round, first match—finals, with a five-minute time limit, no mid-game pauses, the match begins!"
Deng!
The crisp sound marked the start of a five-minute countdown.
Baimu and Xiaoguang simultaneously threw their Pokeballs forward.
Bang bang!
"Piplup!"
Piplup leaped out amidst countless semi-transparent bubbles, its small wings flapping playfully and adorably.
But when it saw Mawile on the opposite side, gracefully landing with petals, its expression froze entirely.
Even though it had mentally prepared itself, actually encountering the little penguin was still somewhat hard to accept.
'For the first time, I have such a fondness for a Pokémon. And I have the full support of my Trainer, two joys overlapping, bringing more and more joy. I was supposed to have attained a dreamlike period of happiness, yet, why has it come to this?'
It had to make a choice between the Pokémon it loved and its soul mate.
And the answer was already crystal clear.
I'm sorry, my love!
Let it drift away with the wind~~
Tears welled in Piplup's eyes, gritting its teeth with small wings clenched into fists, intending to turn the anguish of lost love into power to defeat its former crush.
"Piplup, dodge quickly!"
An urgent call.
It looked up and saw a black shadow flickering directly ahead, it was Mawile charging forward with incredibly exaggerated explosive force.
Vivian exclaimed, "What terrifying explosive power! Mawile's sprinting speed is so fast that even the naked eye can't react!"
"Piplup!"
Piplup was startled, but its veteran battle experience kept it from panicking, and it leaped up immediately!
In a flash.
It relied on spinning to narrowly evade Mawile's frontal charge.
The elegant evasion made Baimu the first to have his score deducted.
Yet, his face showed no sign of disappointment, instead, he sported a confident smile, "Let's use spin too! Thunder—"
Before he finished speaking, Mawile flipped forward, using its toes to touch the ground, and suddenly spun rapidly using its Giant Jaw's weight, forcefully pursuing Piplup's evasion direction!
Its body glowed with electric light, rapidly gathering around the Giant Jaw.
"Bubble Beam!"
"Piplup!"
Right as Piplup landed, it saw Mawile chasing and immediately opened its mouth, spraying countless shimmering blue bubbles to try to block the opponent's charge. However, the latter spun too rapidly, and all the bubbles from Bubble Beam were crushed by the flashing Giant Jaw, turning into millions of sparkling particles.
On the screen, Xiaoguang's score began to decrease, yet this was not the end of Mawile's offensive.
The menacing Giant Jaw opened like a blooming flower, with electric currents jumping between its cold white teeth, carrying an unsettling energy wave.
"Dodge again!"
Xiaoguang didn't panic, maintaining her calm.
The advantage of the small size is agility, with the smaller target requiring more precise hits from the opponent, so non-wide-ranging moves often miss.
"Piplup!"
Piplup leaped forward again, trying to pass by the Giant Jaw crackling with electricity.
Its Giant Jaw smashed into the ground, and it narrowly dodged past Mawile almost scraping it. But it hadn't expected that after successfully evading the skill, and before it could breathe a sigh of relief, it met the sight of the goddess head-on.
A sudden bolt of electricity wrapped around the tip of its small fist headed straight for it!
Mawile seemed ready for it, delivering a precise blow as if it had rehearsed it hundreds of times!
Boom!
Crack!
Thunder roared.
"Piplup—"
Accompanied by Piplup's pained cry, it was directly blasted away, the flashing electric light exploding on its body, dazzling like a wildly dancing silver serpent.
"Piplup!"
Xiaoguang's face finally showed a trace of tension.
Yet fortunately, Piplup was far more resilient than its Species Value suggested, and with the Firm Trait, it couldn't be paralyzed, so it managed to stand up successfully.
"Pi, Piplup!"
"No wonder it's a Deceptive Pokémon! Mawile used Electromagnetic Levitation and its Giant Jaw as a decoy, concealing its Thunder Fist intent, then struck when Piplup jumped! An extremely effective attack!"
Vivian's enthusiastic commentary drew a chorus of applause from the audience.
Xiaoguang's score plummeted until only two-thirds remained, evidently, Mawile's display had greatly satisfied the judges.
"It's okay! Piplup! The battle is just beginning!"
She encouraged Piplup, "Tide Spin!"
"Piplup!"
The round-headed little penguin raised its wings high, the body surface glowing with a shimmering blue light, and as Mawile charged again, it summoned a huge and turbulent vortex to throw forward!
Rumble——
The vortex emitted a massive trembling sound.
"Charge through! Frozen Wind!"
Under Baimu's command, Mawile didn't hesitate, spinning itself again to stir up a cold gale to crash into the Tide Spin, the icy energy rapidly turned Tide Spin into a massive ice sculpture, cruelly shattered by the spinning Mawile!
Boom!
The ice sculpture shattered, becoming scattered ice crystals.
The dazzling scene was mesmerizing.
Yet as Xiaoguang saw the Tide Spin break, she suddenly smiled, "Now! Piplup, use Blizzard!"
"Piplup!"
In an instant.
Piplup opened its beak and furiously flapped its wings, manipulating the falling ice crystals in the air, turning them into an overwhelming ice storm crashing toward Mawile!
Even though the latter attempted to spin through, it could not withstand such a fierce blizzard attack, being frozen mid-air!
"Water Flow Rupture!"
Xiaoguang seized the opportunity, Piplup suddenly jumped up, transforming into a water spiral that crashed into the frozen Mawile!
Bang!
The ice shattered, water splattering!
"Piplup!"
Piplup's form danced in the air, the fusion of water and ice creating countless dazzling ice crystals, plunging to the ground along with the groaning Mawile.
On the big screen.
Baimu's score was immediately deducted by about a third, the dramatic retaliation score adjustment brought Xiaoguang nearly to his level!