"Seriously though, as incredible as Feebas was, I think the most amazing one here is Ash. To take a Feebas—a Pokémon that isn't considered beautiful by conventional standards—and raise it into someone so confident and radiant... that's incredible."
"Exactly. And now that Feebas has evolved into Milotic, it's truly perfect. Not only is her spirit beautiful and her personality beautiful, but even her appearance has become breathtaking."
"Sigh... this Water-Type Pokémon Beauty Competition is already over. The champion is definitely going to be Ash and Milotic. Even Clarissa's Golden Magikarp can't compare."
"That's true. Golden Magikarp is gorgeous, but Milotic is on an entirely different level. And more importantly, Milotic has something Magikarp doesn't."
"A story."
"A story that touches people's hearts."
"A story that moved everyone."
After the voting concluded, Milotic once again achieved a perfect score of 5,000 votes.
Despite appearing without makeup during the finals, she had still earned full marks—just as she had in all three previous rounds.
And because Ash had been the very first contestant to perform in the finals, he had essentially opened the competition with an overwhelming trump card.
The audience's standards.
Their expectations.
Their emotional investment.
Everything had been raised to the absolute ceiling.
Unless the remaining contestants could somehow present something on the same level as Ash and Milotic's performance, obtaining another perfect score would be virtually impossible.
In a way, that was the hidden advantage of going first.
If you were strong enough, you could define the standard everyone else would be judged against.
The moment Ash returned to the contestant waiting area with Milotic, Gary immediately rushed over and threw an arm around his shoulders.
"Ash, that's beyond insane! When Lumina appeared without makeup, you nearly gave all of us a heart attack. Who would've thought you were hiding a plan like that?"
"Exactly!" Misty pouted slightly.
"You scared us half to death, Ash!"
"Mhm." Clarissa nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Only Green remained relatively calm.
After all, she had known the plan beforehand.
Still, even she couldn't hide the astonishment in her eyes when looking at Milotic.
The sight was simply too stunning.
After all, Feebas itself was already an extremely rare Pokémon in Kanto.
Its evolution, Milotic, was even rarer.
For most ordinary people, unless they followed the professional Pokémon scene closely or possessed extensive Pokémon knowledge, they wouldn't even recognize Feebas or Milotic.
And if ordinary Feebas and Milotic were rare, then Shiny Feebas and Shiny Milotic were practically mythical.
Even Ash, with all his knowledge from the original series, knew only a handful of famous trainers who possessed Milotic.
Wallace.
Cynthia.
Lusamine.
Juan.
Robert.
Palace Maven Spencer.
And several others.
After arriving in this world, Ash had paid close attention to related information.
There were certainly more Milotic trainers than in the original series.
But as far as he knew—
Not a single trainer possessed a Shiny Feebas.
Not a single trainer possessed a Shiny Milotic.
In other words—
Ash was the only trainer in the world with a Shiny Feebas.
And now he was also the only trainer in the world with a Shiny Milotic.
One of a kind.
Absolutely unique.
"Ash, can I take a picture with your Milotic?"
"Me too! She's so beautiful!"
"Ash, I want one as well!"
"Please! Just one photo!"
Before long, contestants from all around the waiting area began gathering around them.
Everyone wanted a picture with Milotic.
Everyone wanted to get closer to this legendary beauty.
Ash smiled.
"If Lumina agrees, then I have no objections."
The crowd immediately turned toward Milotic with hopeful expressions.
"Lumina, can we take a photo with you?"
"You're so beautiful."
"We've never seen a Pokémon as gorgeous as you."
"Milooo~"
Milotic narrowed her eyes happily and nodded.
Instantly, the waiting area exploded with excitement.
As contestants enthusiastically lined up for photos, Ash finally found a moment to inspect Milotic's new status screen.
"System, show me Milotic's data panel."
"Ding~ Scanning..."
[Pokémon: Shiny Milotic]
Level: LV.23
Type: Water
Nature: Confident, Strong-Willed
Ability: Competitive
Hidden Ability: Cute Charm
HP: 105|Attack: 70|Defense: 89|Special Attack: 110|Special Defense: 135|Speed: 91|Total: 600
Potential: Blue+ (Perfect) +99.9%
Moves (Copyable):
[Mastered] (1/5000):
Water Gun
Aqua Ring
Splash
Safeguard
Recover
Water Pulse
[Proficient] (1/1000):
None
[Skilled] (1/500):
None
[Novice] (1/100):
Wrap
Disarming Voice
Twister
Attract
Life Dew
Dragon Tail
…
A glowing blue status panel materialized before Ash.
It displayed all of Milotic's information.
Lumina's training had always been extremely rigorous.
Her foundation was rock solid.
Even so, after evolving into her final form, her level had still increased by two.
Ash nodded in satisfaction as he examined the changes.
Of course, the most astonishing improvement wasn't her level.
It was her base stat total.
From Feebas's previous total, Lumina had now reached an astonishing 600 base stats.
That was the benchmark of pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
"Just as expected from a Shiny Pokémon with Blue+ Perfect Potential."
"Her natural talent really can rival a pseudo-legendary."
"Excellent."
Ash couldn't help smiling.
Back when he had received the Shiny Magikarp and Shiny Feebas from the Tsuchihara Family, he had already suspected their potential might be on par with pseudo-legendaries.
Now, Milotic's 600-point base stat total had essentially confirmed his theory.
"Her Potential rating is still Blue, but she's probably only a tiny step away from reaching the King-tier S rank."
"Compared to that, the new moves she learned after evolution aren't nearly as eye-catching."
"Still…"
"No matter how you look at it…"
"Lumina has completely transformed."
"Her talent."
"Her potential."
"Her combat ability."
"Everything has undergone a fundamental leap."
"From this point forward…"
"Milotic is truly going to soar."
Watching Milotic happily surrounded by contestants taking photos and admiring her beauty, Ash couldn't stop the smile spreading across his face.
Today wasn't just the day Lumina evolved.
It was the day she finally stepped into the sky she had always dreamed of reaching.