"Feebas is so beautiful, there's no question it passes!"
"Exactly! Of course it deserves a passing vote!"
"How could a championship favorite possibly fail to advance?"
"I wonder if Ash's Feebas will switch to another new makeup style during the semifinals and finals. I'm seriously looking forward to it!"
…
"One minute of voting has ended. Group Two, Contestant No.4's Pokémon, Feebas, has received 5000 votes."
After the one-minute voting period ended, the referee robot officially announced Feebas's result.
Reasonable—
Yet still unbelievable.
Ash's Feebas had once again achieved a perfect score of 5000 votes.
"WAAAAAHHHH—!!"
"Ash!!"
"Ash!!"
"Feebas!!"
"Feebas!!"
The moment the audience saw Ash obtain another perfect score, the entire swimming stadium exploded into deafening cheers.
The roar of the crowd was so overwhelming it felt as though the roof itself might be blown away.
Of course, while the audience was celebrating wildly, the pressure on the other contestants backstage became enormous—
Especially the two contestants grouped together with Ash.
The instant they saw his perfect 5000-point score, both girls instantly fell into despair.
"Next, please welcome Group Two's Contestant No.5's Pokémon—Goldeen—for its one-minute showcase."
Even though Ash had already achieved a perfect score, essentially guaranteeing his advancement as first place in the group, the remaining two contestants still needed to complete their performances.
The only fortunate thing was that the Pokémon themselves were inside Poké Balls before entering the arena.
Unlike their trainers, they didn't know what was happening outside and therefore didn't suffer from the crushing psychological pressure.
Still—
At best, that only ensured they could perform at their normal level.
Trying to reach the level of Ash's perfect-scoring Feebas?
That was practically impossible.
…
"One minute of voting has ended. Group Two, Contestant No.6's Pokémon, Horsea, has received 4467 votes. At this point, all three contestants from Group Two have completed their showcases."
"The final vote tally for Group Two is as follows:
Contestant No.4's Feebas — 5000 votes
Contestant No.5's Poliwhirl — 4399 votes
Contestant No.6's Horsea — 4467 votes
Comparing the final vote totals, the contestant advancing to the semifinals from Group Two is Contestant No.4's Feebas!!"
Each contestant only had one minute to perform, so the three-member group finished surprisingly quickly.
Immediately afterward, the referee robot officially announced the group's advancement result.
And unsurprisingly—
The contestant advancing from Group Two was Ash, who had earned the perfect 5000-point score.
Although the other two girls' Pokémon were also cute and beautiful, they simply weren't operating on the same level as Ash's Feebas.
If the grouping draw before this round had placed them into a different group instead of Ash's, they might genuinely have had a chance to advance.
Unfortunately for them—
They had encountered Ash.
"Ash, congratulations on advancing! ×2"
"Ash, congratulations on winning your group and advancing to the semifinals! ×2"
After returning to the contestant waiting hall, Ash immediately received heartfelt congratulations from Gary, Green, Misty, Clarissa Joy, and many other contestant fans present backstage.
"Thank you, thank you everyone~"
"Now it's my turn to cheer all of you on instead~" Ash said with a smile.
Because his group had appeared relatively early in today's advancement round, Ash and Feebas would now spend the rest of the day acting as spectators.
After all, there were still 120 contestants divided into forty groups.
Even after Group Two finished, thirty-eight more groups remained.
Nobody even knew whether the matches would finish before noon.
In any case, Ash's own competition was temporarily over.
Until the third-round semifinals officially began, he could finally relax for a while.
…Well.
Not entirely.
Because there was still something important he needed to do.
Now that this round had ended, before the semifinals began, Ash needed to help Feebas remove its current makeup and prepare an entirely new look for the next stage.
"Green~"
After returning to the waiting hall, Ash didn't even sit down before giving Green a meaningful glance.
And Green instantly understood.
"Okay~ Leave it to me."
Green nodded confidently before accompanying Ash into the makeup room next door to begin preparing Feebas's next competition look.
"Feebas, don't move. We'll finish soon."
After carefully removing Feebas's adorable pink makeup from today's match and wiping its body clean, Green spread out a damp towel and gently helped Feebas roll onto its side atop it.
Then—
She began applying the new makeup design prepared for the semifinals.
For the first elimination round, Ash had chosen the mysterious and noble classic purple style.
For the second advancement round, they had selected a sweet and dreamy pink theme.
And now—
For the third-round semifinals—
Ash had chosen a pure and elegant silver-white makeup style.
The pale purple fish scales once covered in dark-purple "poison blotches" were now entirely repainted silver-white.
Its lips, tail fins, side fins, eyelashes, and eyeshadow—
Everything.
Completely silver.
The transformed Feebas no longer resembled a strange purple "poison fish."
Instead, it had become an unbelievably dazzling silver beauty.
Green sprinkled shimmering silver crystal powder across the silver-white makeup before applying a waterproof glossy coating over the top.
The result made Feebas shine brilliantly with sparkling silver radiance.
Beautiful beyond words.
Ash and Green stared at the newly finished Feebas as though they could already see the scene in the upcoming semifinals—
The moment Feebas stepped onto the stage and triggered an explosion of cheers throughout the entire arena.
"So beautiful…"
Green sighed dreamily while staring at Feebas.
"That's because your makeup skills are incredible."
Ash never hesitated to praise Green whenever she helped support him.
"Hehe~ Actually, the biggest reason is that your Feebas is incredibly confident."
"If it were a normal Feebas with low self-esteem and a timid personality, even with beautiful makeup, it would still lose confidence once it stepped onto the stage."
"Appearance can be improved through makeup."
"But confidence and aura are much harder to obtain."
"And when people judge beauty, temperament is often the most important factor."
Green shook her head modestly, refusing to take all the credit for Feebas's current success.
Ash didn't continue arguing over the subject.
The achievements he and Feebas had today were earned through genuine effort.
Whether it was the exquisite makeup designs—
Or Feebas's overflowing confidence—
All of it came from countless hours of growth and hard work.
"Oh right, Green."
"There's something I'd like to discuss with you. I want to hear your opinion first."
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T/N:
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