The spring breeze, tinged with the scent of the sea, swept gently across the venue as Gym Leader Ramos stepped up onto the main stage.
With a warm smile on his face, his kind and steady voice carried clearly to everyone present as his gaze slowly swept across the crowd.
"Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend this year's Spring Evaluation Tournament. Here, on behalf of all the participating contestants, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to you."
After this brief expression of thanks, Gym Leader Ramos quickly moved on to the main point.
"First, please allow me to take a little time to introduce our three judges."
"The first is Nurse Joy from Coumarine City."
Dressed in her pink-and-white nurse's uniform, with an angelic smile that never left her face, Nurse Joy stood up and waved gently to the crowd.
"The second judge is, of course, myself."
"And now, please welcome our third judge—Elite Drasna, the Dragon-type Elite Four of Kalos."
The applause that erupted from the audience was even more enthusiastic than before.
Immediately afterward, a woman who appeared to be between thirty and forty years old walked onto the stage. She wore accessories fashioned from dragon fangs and dragon bones, and her overall attire resembled that of a high shaman from an ancient tribe.
Her appearance instantly caused a stir among the crowd below.
"It's actually Elite Four Drasna!!"
"Ahhh! She's an Elite Four member, Mom, I'm seeing a real Elite Four member in person!"
"I never imagined Gym Leader Ramos could invite someone like her to serve as a judge."
"..."
The title "Elite Four" was used to refer to the strongest trainers in a given region.
Usually, there were only four of them in an entire region, standing at the very peak of the trainer world.
They were the ultimate goal pursued by countless trainers.
When Silas had just begun his journey, he was no exception.
But now—
His mindset had changed somewhat. Compared to the monotonous path of a traditional trainer, he preferred living alongside Pokémon, being with them and sharing his life together.
Of course, if the opportunity arose…
He would still give it a try.
After all, everyone knew that in the Pokémon world, whether Elite Four members, Champions, or Gym Leaders, almost all of them had side professions.
For many of them, their League duties had practically become part-time jobs.
With the appearance of Elite Drasna, the atmosphere at the venue reached its peak.
The Spring Evaluation Tournament officially began!
As Silas gently stroked Minccino in his arms, Mr. Hain was the first contestant to step onto the stage, bringing along his Mareep.
From their respective professional perspectives, Gym Leader Ramos, Nurse Joy, and Drasna each conducted their evaluations before giving their final scores.
Gym Leader Ramos: "Smooth wool, a well-proportioned physique—your Mareep has been raised exceptionally well."
Nurse Joy: "Mareep's physical and mental condition is excellent, full of vitality. It looks very happy."
Drasna: "It contains a considerable amount of Electric-type energy. Mareep's combat potential is quite impressive."
So what was the final score?
9 points, 9 points, 9 points.
The very first contestant received three nines, immediately placing enormous pressure on all the other participants—including Silas.
For this competition, every ranch owner had brought out their strongest trump cards.
When the final score was announced, whispers rippled through the audience.
"Three nines—that's insanely strong."
"Of course it is. That's Mr. Hain, last year's champion."
"Doesn't that mean he might defend his title? That would be an incredible achievement."
One ranch owner after another stepped onto the stage, with the three judges scoring them in turn.
No one could match Hain's performance. Even Pamia, who came closest, still fell short by one point, ending with scores of 9, 9, and 8.
As for John and the other ranch owners, they lagged even further behind.
Time passed bit by bit. Gym Leader Ramos glanced at the list of contestants, the corner of his eyes lifting with a smile.
"Next, please welcome our final contestant—Silas."
"Let's go," Silas said as he patted the three Mudsdale beside him. "Whether we can win the championship all comes down to this last round."
As Silas stepped onto the stage, John and the others cast encouraging and admiring looks toward him, signaling for him to give it his all and snatch the championship away from Hain.
Silas nodded to them and walked onto the stage amid everyone's anticipation.
"It's big brother! Mom, look—it's big brother!"
A little girl with her hair tied into two small buns and a rosy-cheeked face waved excitedly toward the stage.
But due to her height, even though she stood in the very front row, Silas still couldn't see her.
After shouting for a long time without getting her brother's attention, Serena puffed out her cheeks.
"Bad brother… dumb brother."
Grace placed a hand on her youngest daughter's head to comfort her, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the stage, a hint of pride appearing on her face.
"Don't worry, Serena. We'll find your brother after the competition is over."
"For now, you can cheer for him! If Serena shouts louder, big brother might hear you sooner."
"Mm-hm!"
Her smile blooming once again, Serena cupped her small hands around her mouth and shouted in her tender, childish voice, "Go, big brother! Big brother, you must win the championship!"
On the stage, Silas's ears twitched slightly.
He thought he had heard Serena's voice—was it just his imagination?
Before he could look around, Gym Leader Ramos's voice pulled him back into the competition.
"Silas, please have your Mudsdale step forward."
"Alright," Silas replied with a nod, signaling to the Mudsdale brothers with his eyes.
The three Mudsdale brothers walked to the center of the stage, tilting their heads curiously as they looked at the three humans standing nearby.
"Mud Mud!"
(As long as we get their approval, we'll be champions. Brothers, let's go!)
As the eldest Mudsdale spoke, all three Pokémon struck battle-ready stances.
A vast surge of Ground-type energy erupted around the eldest, enveloping its massive body. Its gaze sharpened, its posture lowered, looking as though it would charge forward at the slightest provocation.
The second Mudsdale blinked, already preparing to unleash a Sandstorm.
Thankfully, Silas hurried forward and stopped them, patting them to halt their next actions.
"There's no need to battle. Just stand still nicely later and don't move."
"Mud~"
The third Mudsdale rubbed against Silas, indicating that its stomach was growling with hunger.
With a helpless sigh, Silas took out the small snacks he had prepared in advance and fed them, then signaled to Gym Leader Ramos and the other two judges that they could begin.
Gym Leader Ramos stepped forward first, stroking them as he marveled, "Look at these powerful physiques and the clearly defined limbs—they must be excellent runners."
"My score is: 10 points."
"Wow!"
The first perfect score caused an instant uproar, and the discussions among the audience grew intense.
Yet none of it affected the scoring taking place on stage, as Nurse Joy proceeded to examine the Mudsdale one by one.
From their height and weight to various other indicators, every metric surpassed the species' average. A bright gleam shone in Nurse Joy's eyes.
In the end, she gave the highest possible score as well: 10 points.
With two consecutive perfect scores, Hain's championship position was suddenly shaken.
Now, everything depended on Drasna's evaluation, as countless gazes converged on her.
Drasna stepped forward two paces and said calmly, "Release a bit of your Ground-type energy for me to see."
To determine whether a Pokémon was truly strong, observing the energy within its body was the simplest and most direct method.
Upon hearing this, the three Mudsdale looked toward Silas. Seeing him nod slightly, they straightened up together.
Though they were three separate Pokémon, at this moment, their auras overlapped and fused into one.
"Mud!"
A powerful surge of ground-type energy burst forth from their bodies, and as a gust of wind swept through, yellow sand filled the air.
In the blink of an eye, it engulfed the entire competition grounds.
A massive yellow tornado began to take shape atop the stage.
(End of Chapter)