Marill's performance had been extraordinary.
When the one-minute voting period ended and the results were announced, its incredible score of 4,995 votes instantly overshadowed the two contestants who had performed before it.
Only five votes separated Misty and Marill from Ash's perfect score.
The result clearly demonstrated just how outstanding the pair truly were.
At the same time, it placed enormous pressure on every contestant who had yet to take the stage.
The competition continued.
A Goldeen.
A Seel.
A Vaporeon.
A Poliwhirl.
One after another, new contestants entered the arena with their Pokémon.
After surviving layer upon layer of elimination rounds, every finalist possessed genuine skill, and every Pokémon that had reached this stage was both beautiful and beloved by the audience.
The next four Pokémon all delivered stunning performances.
Their vote totals hovered around the 4,800 mark.
That was already an exceptionally high score.
Unfortunately, only the top three contestants would ultimately stand on the podium.
Ash and Lumina's perfect score had effectively secured the championship seat.
Meanwhile, Misty's incredible 4,995 votes had temporarily locked down second place.
The remaining contestants were facing overwhelming pressure.
Even a score of around 4,800 looked insignificant when compared to Ash and Misty's results.
Soon, a staff member approached.
"Contestant Number 9, Miss Clarissa. It's your turn. Please prepare to enter."
"Okay, coming."
Clarissa stood up and picked up Valor's Poké Ball.
"Clarissa, good luck!"
"Give it your best!"
"Good luck!"
"Good luck!"
"Mm-hmm!"
"Valor and I will definitely give it everything we've got."
A bright smile bloomed across her face as she headed toward the contestant entrance with the Poké Ball in hand.
At the same time, the referee robot's voice echoed throughout the arena.
"Next, please welcome Contestant Number 9, Clarissa, and her Pokémon, Magikarp, for a one-minute performance."
The audience immediately burst into discussion.
"So Clarissa is Magikarp's Trainer?"
"Turns out Ash lent his Shiny Magikarp to his girlfriend for the competition."
"Well, this contest is about Pokémon beauty, not Trainer ability."
"Lending a Pokémon to someone else doesn't really matter."
"Especially since Clarissa is Ash's girlfriend. She's hardly an outsider."
"True."
"But her Magikarp earned perfect scores in all three previous rounds."
"I wonder if it can pull off another perfect score tonight."
"If it does, things are going to get really interesting."
"Seriously. It would feel like a huge romantic showdown."
"But honestly, sharing first place wouldn't be bad."
"Imagine Ash and his girlfriend standing together at the top of the podium."
"That's actually a pretty memorable outcome."
Amid the audience's excited chatter and growing anticipation, Clarissa and the Shiny Magikarp officially made their entrance.
As a Golden Magikarp with absolutely breathtaking looks, it didn't need flashy tricks to win over the crowd.
Its appearance alone was enough to earn admiration and applause.
But this was the Grand Finals.
Neither Clarissa nor Valor intended to simply coast on good looks.
Just as the audience hoped to see her standing beside Ash on the champion's podium, Clarissa herself secretly held the same dream.
The moment it entered the Water Cube pool, Valor began its performance without the slightest hesitation.
Every movement had been planned and practiced beforehand.
The performance itself was surprisingly simple.
After all, according to the public story, Magikarp only knew Splash and Tackle.
That meant they had to maximize the potential of those two moves.
"Splaaash!"
Valor immediately used Tackle.
Its golden body shot around the perimeter of the pool at astonishing speed.
Round and round it went.
Faster and faster.
The water gradually began moving with it.
Soon, a massive whirlpool formed within the Water Cube.
The audience's attention became completely absorbed by the spectacle.
Then, once the vortex reached maximum speed, Valor initiated the next stage of the performance.
Relaxing its body, it allowed itself to be drawn into the deepest part of the whirlpool's center.
Then—
It unleashed a combination technique.
Water Tail.
Splash.
The next moment, a towering column of water erupted skyward from the center of the vortex.
Dragging the enormous water tornado behind it, Valor launched into the air.
Although it couldn't evolve into Gyarados like Lumina had evolved into Milotic, it could still imitate what its future evolved form might look like.
The spiraling water column resembled a colossal dragon ascending toward the heavens.
A dragon born entirely from water.
The visual impact was tremendous.
The emotional shock was equally powerful.
The crowd exploded.
"WHOOOOAA!"
"Amazing!"
"Magikarp!"
"Magikarp!!"
"Magikarp!!!"
The cheers thundered throughout the stadium.
Soon afterward, the referee robot announced:
"Contestant Number 9's Pokémon, Magikarp, has completed its performance. Audience voting will now begin."
The voting period passed quickly.
Moments later, the final score appeared.
"Voting has ended."
"Final Round — Contestant Number 9, Magikarp."
"Total votes received: 4,998."
Only two votes short of perfection.
An astonishing result.
The water dragon created through skill combinations had been spectacular.
But in the end, a simulated dragon could not compare to Lumina's genuine evolution into Milotic.
The water dragon's appearance lacked some realism.
It was slightly rough around the edges.
Furthermore, even if Valor eventually evolved into Gyarados, Gyarados simply couldn't rival Milotic's beauty.
Under those circumstances, failing to achieve a perfect score was understandable.
Still, if the final contestant failed to surpass 4,998 votes, Clarissa and Valor would officially secure second place.
That would allow Clarissa and Ash to stand together on the winners' podium.
Honestly, that wasn't a bad outcome at all.
The final contestant soon entered the stage.
Unlike the others, this Trainer had chosen a Pelipper as their competition Pokémon.
Among a field filled with fish-like Water Pokémon, the sudden appearance of a seabird naturally felt refreshing.
Whether Pelipper was beautiful or not wasn't even the point.
Its uniqueness alone made it stand out.
That sense of novelty had carried the Trainer through the previous rounds like a dark horse contender.
However, novelty could only take someone so far.
In the earlier rounds, the audience's curiosity had helped Pelipper advance.
But now, in the Grand Finals, after the audience's standards had been elevated by Ash, Lumina, Misty, Marill, Clarissa, and Valor, Pelipper's beauty contest journey had effectively reached its limit.
The final battle for the podium had already been decided.