"Everyone, did you sleep well last night? Stay lively, stay excited, and keep your eyes glued to the stage today!" All the Official Matches were held in the Main Stadium. Standing at the center of the stage, Lilian greeted everyone with boundless energy. "All right, the Official Match begins today! First comes the first round of judging. Only... sixteen contestants will advance to tomorrow's second round! Our first contestant is... Drew!"
Liu Qing had no idea how the performance order for the first round had been decided. Surprisingly, it did not start with the contestant who had placed last in the Preliminary Round; it seemed to have been drawn at random. Still, he only wondered about it briefly before putting it aside and watching Drew's performance.
Drew's Pokémon was an Absol with pure white fur. Keeping an Absol's coat pure white was extremely difficult, but Drew had solved that problem perfectly. He even used that advantage to showcase the beauty of its fur with Flash. Next, Absol unleashed Whirlpool Water Pulse, then instantly sliced it apart with the sharp edges of Razor Wind, displaying its power and earning thunderous applause for the Official Match's opening performance.
"All right, next up is our beauty in green, Mr. Harley!" After Drew left the stage, Harley emerged from the contestants' entrance at Lilian's introduction, once again dressed in his usual Cacturne outfit.
Although Harley was hardly a decent person, his ability was beyond question. His Pokémon was Octillery, which unleashed Fire Blast before leaping into the flames and waving its tentacles with imposing flair, fully revealing a terrifying beauty.
"Next up is... contestant Xiao Ye!" At Lilian's introduction, another Coordinator ran out of the contestants' entrance.
"Go, Rapidash! Agility!" Xiao Ye brushed aside the wavy bangs over his forehead and flung out a