Toot—
A whistle sounded over the venue.
"And the final winner is—Baimu!! Let's congratulate Baimu from Orre on earning the title of Top Coordinator and taking the crown at this year's Grand Festival!"
As Vivian's passionate announcement rang out, the Mawile Fan Club erupted. Fans sprang from their seats, hugged one another in tears, shouted with excitement, and tossed their pom-poms into the air.
The rest of the audience applauded enthusiastically, their eyes full of admiration as they watched the stage.
Lisia's fans were deeply saddened, but they still gave everything they had to their applause. They applauded the girl below, who had worked so hard to reach this day, and Baimu, who had given her such a spectacular match.
Only by facing an opponent honestly could they face themselves.
Bzz, bzz, bzz—
The different reactions left the stands in brief disarray.
But under the fan clubs' lead, the noise soon became pure applause and well-wishes. Many ardent fans began singing the lyrical version of Divine Courtyard that Blissey had performed, drawing stares from those around them.
Their remarkably unified singing was so loud that the organizers had no choice but to replace the planned celebratory concerto with Divine Courtyard.
On the big screen,
the portraits of Baimu, Mawile, and Blissey glowed against a golden backdrop. A huge "WINNER" appeared before the two Pokémon's eyes.
"Chido..."
"Happy~"
The two Pokémon panted, their nerves still too tightly wound for the result to sink in.
Only when their Trainer sent out Shiny Milotic and ran over with her to sweep them into an embrace did they realize the match was truly over.
They had won!
"Beautifully done! We won! After this long journey, we finally have our first victory in a regional competition!"
Baimu rubbed the three Pokémon's heads vigorously. "Thank you!"