Chapter 175

The woman flipped through a few more photos, her gaze suddenly stopping on two figures in the crowd.

"This man has been different from everyone else ever since I walked in."

"So, I knew it. Were they being controlled or monitored? That's why they're pretending not to know me."

"Wait... even if they were being controlled, why would they come here to participate in some kind of Performance Competition? Are they preparing to debut?"

The woman closed her eyes.

"Strangeness..."

The official Competition starts the day after tomorrow. Qiao Ran has also brought [something] for this Competition.

Lillie and the others began their special training.

"We have no experience, but we must win!"

The first thing Qiao Ran could think of was to seek help from people in other worlds who might have experience.

Qiao Ran and his companions' first stop was Spikemuth in the Galar region.

"Performance Competition?... Hmm... In a soccer stadium, engaging in Gigantamax battle, does that count as an exhibition experience?"

Marnie stroked her chin, somewhat confused about what Qiao Ran was trying to say.

In the warlike Galar region, there has never been a tradition of holding such pointless Competition. Beauty pageants? What are those? Do they increase fighting strength?

That's weird.

"Performance Competition? What's that? Can I do Gigantamax performance?" Gloria had a similar reaction to Marnie.

As a native Galar, she never imagined that Pokémon could be used for beauty pageants. Why not use that time for a thrilling Gigantamax battle?

"Enough talk, let's fight! This time I'm going to Defeat Yveltal!"

"No, no, no, I have something to do, so we'll be going now."

Qiao Ran almost got pulled into a fight by Gloria, and it took a lot of effort for him to escape from her.

"A performance? Hmm... I've seen some back in Kanto. There are these kinds of Competition in the Kanto Region. But Alola doesn't have any of these, so I haven't paid attention to them for a long time. Sorry--"

Mei scratched the back of her head and gave Lillie an apologetic smile. During her time in Galar, she had completely integrated into life there. According to Mei's plan, she intended to take some time to visit Doctor Sonia in Hammerlocke. If she could get the Dynamax Band from her, she would also be able to experience the thrill of Gigantamax battles.

"Mei! Get ready to go out and search for supplies!"

"They're here!"

Mei was forced to leave early by her companions' calls. She apologized to Qiao Ran and the others, then slid in and disappeared around the corner with her Decidueye.

Qiao Ran and the others could only stand there staring at each other in disbelief.

Looking at this extremely punk-inspired street covered in graffiti, and watching the residents of Spikemuth coming and going, all dressed in brightly colored outfits, Qiao Ran felt that coming here to ask for advice on Performance Competition must have been a stupid mistake.

"What... what should we do? Do we have to figure out what to perform ourselves?"

Lillie looked at Qiao Ran nervously. In the Performance Competition, they were all complete novices. If things continued like this, what would they do in the official Competition the day after tomorrow?

"Don't panic, there's still one person."

Qiao Ran grabbed Rotom and opened the Portal.

Looking into Qiao Ran's determined gaze, Lillie seemed to realize something.

"Could it be... that person?"

Yes, that's the person.

"Are you sure?... That person definitely won't do, right?"

"How will you know if you don't try? What if that person really does know?"

Qiao Ran grabbed Lillie's hand, and Lillie grabbed Mei, who was still watching the street graffiti.

"They're gone!"

The group of people suddenly disappeared and headed to their next destination. Qiao Ran's original intention was just to give it a try, but... to his complete surprise, things seemed to go even more smoothly than he had imagined.

"Pokémon performance?"

In the pure white room, a woman with long Golden hair stood up from her chair, her right hand supporting her slender waist, her beautiful body exuding mature charm.

Judging from her appearance, you would never guess that she is a mother of two.

"You've come to the right person this time. I— Lusamine —am also an expert in this kind of thing."

"Mother!"

Lillie, standing to the side, was completely stunned and could only stare wide-eyed at Lusamine's performance.

Lillie clearly didn't quite believe her mother's explanation. In her memory, Lusamine had always been a researcher and manager; when had she ever developed such a skill point?

However, Lusamine shook her head, her expression suddenly becoming serious.

"That was probably before I became a researcher. Actually, I also participated in the Pokémon Contest, and it was shortly after that Competition that I met your father. Our first meeting was... cough, that's another story."

"However, I still won the Champion in that Competition, and with an absolute and overwhelming victory."

"No... no, that's not right, that was Competition from so long ago!"

Lillie couldn't help but retort, "At that time, her Older Brother probably hadn't even been born yet."

That was decades ago!

"Time isn't important; what's important is that I do have experience in this area."

"--Besides, since you thought of coming to me, I guess you probably have no one else to turn to, right?"

A mysterious smile played on Lusamine's lips, but her narrowed eyes already seemed to see right through the group's thoughts.

She was absolutely right.

Lillie's reaction pleased Lusamine in particular.

"Lillie, if you need any help, I'd be happy to assist you."

"This..."

Lillie's eyes began to flicker.

Watching this comical scene unfold, Qiao Ran couldn't help but chuckle. He could easily see that Lusamine was simply excited because she had finally found a topic in common with Lillie.

... Despite making many mistakes in the past, Lusamine has been trying her best to make amends in her own way. And now, perhaps, is a good opportunity.

However, even under these circumstances, Lillie was still completely outmaneuvered by Lusamine; the Aether Foundation Chairman's abilities were not as simple as they seemed.

Although Lusamine is as beautiful as a vase, she is anything but a vase; she is the true leader of this Artificial Island. Anyone who thinks of her as just a pretty face is sorely mistaken.

If Qiao Ran were to draw an analogy, the woman in front of him was at least at the level of a leader of an evil organization in other regions... perhaps even stronger than most. After all, there are some things that only the Aether Foundation and Team Rocket have been able to do.

"... Don't worry, under my beautiful training, you will definitely transform successfully."

Lusamine's gaze swept over Qiao Ran and the others' faces, then she licked her lips.

"The first step is a makeover!"

The special training period passed quickly, and before we knew it, it was the day after tomorrow.

Despite Lillie's considerable suspicion of her mother, Lusamine, as she herself claims, possesses a considerable understanding of various aspects of Pokémon performances and fashion.

This can also be seen from Lusamine's choice of Pokémon; the Pokémon she raises are all Clefable, Milotic, and the like— Pokémon that are visually appealing and cute.

--She cares more about the appearance of Pokémon their strength.

If she hadn't become a researcher, she might have actually become a Coordinator specializing in performance. Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in life.

"That's about it."

Arriving early at the preliminary Battle Court for the Performance Competition, which was just a small open-air platform set up outside a shopping mall and could hardly be called a formal Competition Venue, the Competition was indeed quite attractive due to the publicity surrounding the "national Champion".

However, unlike Gym Battle, Performance Competition matches do not have an absolute organizer like the Pokémon League. Although the Pokémon League seems to have been interested in getting involved in the management of Performance Competition in recent years, it has not achieved good results.

Ultimately, the Trainer and Performing Family groups are too separated. Even if the Pokémon League wanted to find a prestigious person who could organize Performing Family, it would be difficult to find such a person. Although some new generation trainers who are good at both battling and performing have recently emerged in Gym in some regions, their influence is still too small.

Because of the lack of clear management, most Performance Competition do not have a clearly defined time interval and are usually by invitation only. They are simply organized by some sponsoring companies that invite some influential Performing Family to participate. As for these auditions, they are mostly just for fun.

However, in order to discover future talent, the tradition of open auditions has never been abandoned. In many cases, some of the Performing Family who would later become famous started out from these most basic Performance Competition.

Because the Battle Court was so basic... or rather, it wasn't even a proper Battle Court, the dressing room for this Performance Competition was just a small room partitioned off by the mall under the stage. Most participants had already prepared before arriving, so it was definitely impossible to put on makeup and rest in such a cramped little room.

"What should I do?"

Compared to the relaxed expressions of Qiao Ran and Mei, Lillie seemed quite nervous. She had originally planned for her first appearance in Gym Battle, but why had it suddenly been changed to Performance Competition?

"Don't worry Rotom, smile, Rotom."

Rotom Levitate in the air, taking precious photos everywhere.

During their stay at the Aether Foundation, Qiao Ran and Lillie Lusamine to help Rotom improve its photography and videography capabilities. Although Qiao Ran wasn't quite sure how it was done, after Lusamine took Rotom into the lab and started fiddling around with it for a while, Rotom's photography capabilities did seem to improve considerably.

Perhaps this is the power of technology.

"It's just the preliminary rounds. Besides, there's one exceptional person who signed up for this Competition, so it doesn't matter if we don't get first place."

Qiao Ran placed his hand on Lillie's shoulder, hoping to calm her down a bit.

A faint Tokiwa Power emanated from his hand, and Lillie's breathing gradually stabilized. Based on Qiao Ran's experience, the Tokiwa Power was quite effective in situations like this.

However, the premise is that the dosage must be controlled, otherwise the effect may be quite different.

Next to the dressing room, there is a narrow passageway leading up to the steps at the back of the stage, where the contestants ascend the stage one by one.

"We still have a little time; our number hasn't been called yet. I'll go check at the entrance first."

Since she was just sitting there idly anyway, Qiao Ran decided to take a look around and eavesdrop on the whispers of the Performing Family around her, even though it might not be very interesting.

It's not very useful, but it does help alleviate the boredom of waiting.

Most importantly, he wanted to see if he could find the woman who had appeared at the registration point earlier. Performing Family with a certain level of fame usually receive invitations directly and don't participate in ordinary preliminary rounds.

... Is that guy trying to exploit this contrast so he can give pointers to newcomers during his performance and ultimately Harvest a good reputation?

She even went so far as to give up her first-place finish and let the other person with the best score give it to her, since she could just ask the organizing committee for another spot given her status.

Qiao Ran couldn't help but admire her cunning, but unfortunately, he didn't see the woman he had met before.

"That's true. If she were here now, this place wouldn't be this crowded."

Judging from the situation at the registration point, she must already have a certain degree of fame in the area. If she were there, the place would have been packed with people long ago.

"Never mind, let's go back first..."

Qiao Ran shook his head, preparing to return to his original spot to find Lillie and Mei, but—just as he turned his head, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.

"...!"

Qiao Ran turned around and saw only a blurry figure wearing a cloak and a pair of eyes that glowed red.

What?!

The next moment, a wave of dizziness and buzzing washed over him, and before he could react, everything around him had changed—

He found himself in a room that resembled a warehouse. Everything that had been there before had vanished, replaced by complete darkness. There were no people or objects, only emptiness and a high ceiling.

And then there's this Mysterious Figure standing before him, whose form is obscured and hidden beneath a cloak.

Is he/she a person?

Or is it something else?

"... Who are you!"

Qiao Ran narrowed his eyes. Having seen many storms, he naturally wouldn't panic because of what suddenly happened. He simply turned his body to the side and drew Zacian's Sword from his spatial storage.

A gleaming sword light swept upwards, slicing through the area within two meters of Qiao Ran. He held nothing back, and... the dangerous aura emanating from his opponent made Qiao Ran realize that this single strike wouldn't be enough to kill him.

Sure enough, after a flash, the cloaked figure appeared behind Qiao Ran in a flash.

This not only allowed him to dodge Qiao Ran's attack, but also put him in a blind spot where Qiao Ran couldn't reach him.

"...!"

An exclamation mark appeared above Qiao Ran's head.

Sure enough, Teleport!