A dazzling fireworks show raised the curtain on the Grand Festival's main tournament.
Amid the audience's cheers, special guest Lisia opened with a performance of her song "Charm☆Heart," successfully warming up the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" After Lisia left the stage, Vivian walked to center stage in a pink dress, her voice as sweet and carrying as ever. Beaming, she waved to the audience and said, "The main tournament of the Grand Festival-the Pokémon competition that Coordinators dream of-will finally begin! Having won five Ribbon Medals in various locations and placed in the top sixty-four on the preliminaries' appeal stage, our Coordinators will now engage in fierce, spectacular showdowns for the honor of becoming a Top Coordinator. The Coordinator who emerges victorious will receive this dazzling Ribbon Cup behind me!"
Compared with the small-scale, closed-door preliminaries, the main tournament was undoubtedly much more formal. It catered not only to the audience at the venue, but also brought this grand event into every household in the Hoenn Region through live broadcasts and the internet.
Only the main tournament marked the festival's true beginning.
You might not watch it, but you would certainly know how popular it was!
"Now, let me introduce our judges!"
As Vivian pointed behind her, everyone got a clear look at the judging panel. With the arrival of the main tournament, the panel had grown again. One look was enough to convey how much importance the organizers placed on the festival.
There were five judges for the main tournament. First came Sukizo, chairman of the Pokémon Fan Club, and Contesta, director of the Pokémon Contest office!
Those two could be considered familiar faces. Their appearance at the preliminaries had originally seemed a little strange, and now here they were again. Given their positions, however, it was perfectly reasonable.