By the time Baimu returned to the preparation room with Blissey and Mawile,
the other contestants' wary looks had turned to awe.
"Clap, clap, clap..."
Scattered applause came from contestants whose faces were full of admiration.
Few people could consistently deliver performances of such a high standard, let alone score above 29.5. The more famous and skilled a Coordinator was, the more the judges expected. If a performance fell short, they would deduct points without mercy.
On the other hand, judges and audiences were happy to give newcomers "encouragement points." Under those higher standards, accomplished veteran Coordinators were at a disadvantage.
Frankly, many people believed Baimu's fame far exceeded his "ability."
Praise always came with criticism. Watching a video was no substitute for being there, and without the full experience, some people struggled to appreciate the appeal of Mawile's performance. Most watched it through a biased lens.
They often came away thinking, What's so special about it?
So few had high hopes for Baimu's return after a month away.
He had won two Pokémon Contests in a row, but now that his newcomer's grace period was over, could he still score so highly? Would his true level finally show?
Once those feelings of concern and schadenfreude left the internet, they became fairly obvious in the little preparation room.
But in the end,
Baimu, Blissey, and Mawile proved themselves to everyone. Even with a repeated theme, even on their first attempt at a joint performance, the highest score was still theirs!
No professional Coordinator who had seen that performance would think Baimu's high scores came from newcomer favoritism.
Besides, the whole notion of scoring that highly because of a newcomer's grace period was unrealistic. The judges weren't fools. With their discerning eyes, they would never hand out scores above 29.5 lightly.