"Next, please welcome Contestant Number 16's Pokémon, Magikarp, for its one-minute showcase."
"Gulu~"
Under the bright crystal-clear lighting of the Water Cube arena, the underwater gate slowly opened.
Then—
A Magikarp with not a single trace of mixed coloration, its entire body gleaming pure gold, slowly swam out into the spotlight.
—
The moment the audience heard another Magikarp was about to perform, most of the spectators instinctively felt disappointed.
After all, despite the surprise brought by Contestant Number 9's Magikarp earlier, seven more contestants had performed since then.
And among those seven—
Two more Magikarp had appeared.
Unfortunately, those two performances had completely disappointed the crowd.
While they weren't outright disasters…
The Magikarp had simply floated there blankly, staring vacantly while blowing bubbles the entire time.
The audience had come to this Water-Type Pokémon Beauty Contest to admire beauty and charm—
Not to watch silly Magikarp sit there drooling bubbles.
As a result, both of those Magikarp had been mercilessly eliminated.
So now, hearing yet another Magikarp was about to appear, nearly 4,900 of the 5,000 spectators collectively sighed in frustration.
The feeling was exactly like a fisherman repeatedly reeling in nothing but Magikarp.
However—
That frustration vanished almost instantly.
Because the moment this Magikarp appeared on stage, the entire audience was captivated.
—
Looking at the completely golden Magikarp—
A Magikarp that resembled a priceless golden treasure—
The audience's eyes lit up immediately.
Excitement exploded throughout the arena.
It felt as though they were gazing upon a rare masterpiece of art.
The gloomy mood from earlier disappeared without a trace.
Every single spectator widened their eyes, greedily admiring the luxurious beauty of the golden Magikarp, wanting to engrave its noble appearance deep into their memories forever.
Meanwhile, unlike Gary's energetic Magikarp performance earlier—
This golden Magikarp didn't rely on explosive movement.
Instead, it leisurely and lazily swam in a slow circle through the Water Cube arena, radiating elegance and nobility like a high-class Golden Arowana displayed in a luxury aquarium.
—
Then suddenly—
Among the five thousand spectators, several sharp-eyed audience members abruptly realized something.
"Wait… I remember Ash has two Shiny Pokémon."
"One is a Shiny Feebas…"
"And the other is a completely golden Magikarp just like this one!"
"So this golden Magikarp… could it actually be Ash's?!"
"AH! You're right! I almost forgot Ash came to participate in this Water-Type Pokémon Beauty Contest!"
"Exactly! I even ran into Ash at the night market yesterday!"
"Everyone! I just checked Ash's PokéGram page and compared the photos he posted of his Shiny Magikarp!"
"It's identical!"
"This golden Magikarp is definitely Ash's Shiny Magikarp!"
"So this means this is Ash's competition Pokémon?!"
"Then we absolutely have to support it!"
"Exactly! But honestly, even if it wasn't Ash's, I'd still vote for it!"
"Just look at that face value!"
"Now compare it to those dumb Magikarp earlier that only knew how to sit there blowing bubbles!"
"Seriously! Those earlier Magikarp weren't here for a beauty contest."
"They looked like they came here to take a dump!"
"No matter what, this golden Magikarp definitely gets my vote!"
"I'm calling it right now—it's winning the championship!"
"I'm supporting it too!"
—
The Shiny Magikarp's appearance instantly conquered the entire arena.
Even though it hadn't performed any flashy techniques—
Even though it had simply swum around lazily—
Its noble bearing and gorgeous appearance alone were enough to completely capture the audience's hearts.
And once people realized it belonged to Ash, it immediately received another overwhelming boost from Ash's terrifying popularity.
—
"Contestant Number 16's Pokémon, Magikarp, has completed its showcase."
"Audience judges, please begin voting."
"Vote vote vote!!"
"The champion has appeared early!!"
"It's Ash's Magikarp!!"
"Everyone vote!!"
"WOOOOOO!!!"
The moment the referee robot's prompt sounded, the entire arena erupted into thunderous cheers.
All five thousand audience members excitedly pressed the "√ Approval" button on their voting devices.
Even though the one participating was Clarissa—
The Pokémon itself was still Ash's Magikarp.
—
"One minute voting period complete."
"Contestant Number 16 — Magikarp."
"Final vote count: 5000 votes."
"Successfully reached advancement threshold."
"Advancement successful."
The electronic voice emotionlessly announced the result.
—
The referee robot itself had no understanding of how outrageous that number actually was.
But the moment the audience heard the final vote count—
The entire arena exploded into chaos.
Five thousand votes.
A perfect score.
Ash's Magikarp had received a full-house unanimous vote.
The audience erupted into deafening cheers and applause.
Meanwhile, inside the contestant waiting hall—
Whether they had already advanced or not—
Every single contestant felt their scalp go numb.
Especially the Trainers using Magikarp.
At that moment, they all realized one brutal truth:
With Ash's Shiny Magikarp setting such a terrifying ceiling standard—
Any Magikarp performing afterward was basically doomed to elimination.
—
"Clarissa, congratulations."
"You're officially one of the championship favorites now."
"You've become the biggest enemy in every contestant's eyes~"
Green said with a bright smile as she looked at Clarissa returning with the Poké Ball.
"Exactly~"
"If anyone wants to win the championship, they'll first have to overcome your mountain."
Even Misty nodded in agreement.
Although she herself was also participating in the competition and wanted to achieve a good ranking to further raise Cerulean Gym's prestige—
She didn't feel even the slightest jealousy toward Joey Clarissa.
After all, they were friends.
And more importantly—
They were both Ash's girlfriends.
In the future, after beginning their journeys at age ten, they would be traveling together for a very long time.
Because of that, Misty genuinely only felt sincere happiness and blessings for her.
—
"No, no…"
"Valor belongs to Ash anyway."
"The reason he got such a high score is because of Valor and Ash."
Clarissa shook her head modestly, refusing to take credit.
"You're too humble."
Ash gently pulled her over to sit beside him, his face filled with praise.
"Even though I entrusted Valor to you for the competition…"
"The way he should perform on stage was entirely something you discussed and planned together."
"Valor's relaxed swimming performance just now perfectly showcased his luxurious appearance, while also leaving plenty of room for even better performances in the next three rounds."
"You clearly thought this through very carefully."
"And that was your contribution."
"It has nothing to do with me."
"In short…"
"You performed wonderfully today."
Ash looked at the gentle and clever girl before him, openly praising her.
"N-No way… it's not as amazing as you're making it sound, Ash…"
The girl's cheeks flushed bright red under his praise as she shyly lowered her head.