Suddenly.
The shouts and cheers of tens of thousands of spectators died down together.
Baimu noticed a ring of violet lights beneath the stands. A pinkish-purple, honeycomb-patterned barrier flashed into view, then quickly vanished.
Galar's protective barrier also blocks sound?
That's high-tech!
Though it makes sense.
The other side of the field is so far away. Without soundproofing around the stands, the Pokémon battling might not even hear their trainers' commands.
The commentator arrived and introduced both competitors to the crowd with a beaming smile.
He was more professional than any commentator Baimu had encountered before. Rather than showering Raihan with praise, he made a point of highlighting Baimu's record too.
That would fire up the audience for a thrilling clash. It would also make a loss less embarrassing for Raihan, should he lose.
After all, the more you praised one side alone, the worse the backlash if they lost.
Only a small portion of the tens of thousands in the stadium had come from the Battle Festival venue. Most knew little about Baimu and learned how formidable he was only after hearing the introduction.
He beat both Nessa and Kabu!
No wonder he's facing Raihan!
The crowd buzzed.
Before long...
Bzz, bzz, bzz.
The temporary referee, a Rotom Drone, entered and began reciting the rules for what must have been the ten-thousandth time.
Its voice seemed to carry a strange "echo," reaching Baimu clearly from every direction, even from above the field. It was sound from all 360 degrees.
Speakers?
Doesn't seem like it.
I remember Ash and the others sounding like this when they gave commands in the anime. Their voices rang through the open air as though they were speaking into microphones.
Baimu looked around, but Raihan's ranking soon caught his eye.
At noon, Raihan had been