As he applauded, Shen Qi felt a chill sink into his heart.
Wait... "Facing the Sun" only came fourth?
They haven't called my name... could it be because I didn't even make the shortlist?!
Chapter 52: Life
After taking a moment to calm down, Shen Qi decided he was overthinking it.
There was no way his photo of Lilligant, "Flowers Reflected by the Water," would lose to "Tasting the Sunset."
Rosa had caught a clever moment, but her photography skills and the visual quality were actually pretty poor.
With the entries getting progressively better, Shen Qi really wasn't confident he could win, but surely he would at least place.
"Next, third place in the Pokémon Photography activity..."
"First-year Class A..."
A wave of gasps swept through the hall.
Before the name itself was announced, cries of surprise had already spread through the auditorium.
"This year's first-year Class A is so strong. Both fifth and third place came from there."
"That's nothing. Did you forget that Brother Chun, the uncrowned king, is in Class A too?!"
"Whoa... first-year Class A is just too strong."
The chatter below the stage gradually subsided. Having kept everyone in suspense, Ms. Jixiang cast her gaze toward him.
"Shen Qi, with 'Flowers Reflected by the Water.'"
Shen Qi breathed a sigh of relief. He had been too naive at first, thinking he stood a good chance of winning. Seeing "Facing the Sun" come fourth had genuinely rattled him.
Now that he had been announced as third, he actually felt the relief of someone who had narrowly escaped disaster.
The screen lit up with a dazzling interplay of light and color.
On a small patch of grass beside the water, closely encircled by trees, flowers dotted the ground like stars.
A shaft of Sunshine fell through a gap as the wind parted the branches and leaves, its hazy glow rather like a stage spotlight. The faint rainbow radiance unfolding in the mist gave it a natural charm no artificial spotlight could match.
At the very center of the image, a billowing princess dress formed from green leaves, a beautiful crown of flowers, and a graceful figure blended perfectly with the natural surroundings.
A leafy arm lightly touched the water, while a few emerald strands of hair hovered just above the surface, lending the entire photograph a lively, animated charm.
"That's... Lilligant!"
"Shen Qi, you sly dog! You secretly took a picture of Lilligant, and it turned out this good!"
Shen Qi rubbed the side of his nose. "You won't even call me Brother Qi."
"That's not the same... Xiao Chun practically risked his life. He's a warrior."
After another round of surprised cries and chatter from the students, it was time for the judges' comments.
Ms. Jixiang went first.
"Shen Qi's photograph is remarkably mature. The judging panel felt its style was rather different from the other students' work..."
The care taken with the composition and the ideas behind the lighting in "Flowers Reflected by the Water" were truly mature, unlike anything a high school student-especially one from somewhere as impoverished as Island 6-would be expected to come up with.
And it had captured a fleeting moment.
Perhaps, as with the earlier photograph "Facing the Sun," the photographer had used burst mode to take dozens of shots at once, then brought them home to sort through slowly. With luck, one would turn out exceptionally polished.
"How did you manage it, Shen Qi?"
The question came from Officer Jenny of the Security Bureau. She was very interested in such advanced covert photography techniques and even instinctively reached for the handcuffs at her waist.
"I had Lilligant's permission!"
Shen Qi hurried to explain. "I happened to run into Lilligant that day, and the setting and lighting just happened to be right."
"You actually got Lilligant's permission?"
The students around him grew noisy again. "How did Shen Qi get so lucky...?"
Fortunately, the judges didn't press the matter. If it was a lie, the school only needed to ask Lilligant to expose it.
Once that round of comments ended, they moved on to second place in the Pokémon Photography activity.
Shen Qi, who had just been worrying that he hadn't even made the shortlist, was now starting to feel smug.
Let's see what kind of entry could rank above mine!
"Third-year Class A... Zhenxing."
"The entry is 'Having Two Hands.'"
The title was a little unusual, making people wonder whether it might be another humorous coincidence like "Tasting the Sunset."
The image appeared on the projection screen. There was no exquisite framing at all; it looked like a corner of the school gym. A girl holding a Pokémon was almost pressed against the lens, and the large selfie took up eighty percent of the frame.
What made it special was that the girl had only one arm. Her left sleeve hung empty, while her right hand held a Poké Ball as she hugged a Rattata.
The Rattata had a disability too, with only its left foreleg remaining.
The girl who had lost her left hand embraced the Rattata that had lost its right foreleg. The Poké Ball meant they had formed a bond and passed the school's assessment, ready to walk side by side for the rest of their lives.
The entry's title was "Having Two Hands"...
Looking at that title again, there was so much to ponder.
"I concede. I really do." Shen Qi pulled himself out of his thoughts and joined the applause with genuine admiration.
This was no longer simply a matter of beauty or technique. It was practically a philosophy of life.
What kind of Pokémon Trainer truly qualified as an excellent Pokémon Trainer?
The answers could be worlds apart.
But... Shen Qi's mouth fell slightly open.
What kind of entry could possibly beat "Having Two Hands"?!
"And now, our first-place winner-" Ms. Jixiang drew out the announcement excitedly.
"Second-year Class B... Xiao Ming, with 'Our Family.'"
Xiao Ming?
It was a name you could find anywhere, though no one else at Pokémon High School shared it. He was Aunt Chunhe's son.
During the effort to save the flooded Berry fields, Xiao Ming's head and face had been covered in mud, so Shen Qi honestly couldn't quite remember what he looked like.
The screen switched images. A few dark clouds still lingered at the edge of a brilliant blue sky; the bad weather had only just passed.
Beneath the Sunshine, the Berry fields were a muddy mess. Seedlings and fruit trees leaned every which way, the losses devastating.
Amid the melancholy left by the disaster, a mother held a towel and wiped the face of her mud-covered daughter.
The daughter waved toward the camera, probably calling for Xiao Ming to come over too.
Closer to the foreground, a mother Furret dipped her fluffy tail in water to wipe her baby Sentret's face.
The family and their Pokémon moved in unison, with a touch of humor that tugged at the heartstrings-a way of finding joy amid hardship.
A storm could destroy months of crops and deal a crushing blow to a family's finances, but as long as they were all still together, they could always support one another and move forward.
An entry like this needed no analysis of technique, lighting, or composition, nor did it matter whether it was a candid shot. It was simply a snapshot of life for so many residents of Island 6; Xiao Ming had merely recorded a precious moment belonging to his own family.
Jixiang smiled in silence, and the judges offered no further commentary.
"Xiao Ming, this is an outstanding entry. Is there anything you'd like to say?"
"I'd like to thank everyone again who braved the storm that day to help our family save the Berry fields."
Thunderous applause rose from the audience, and quite a few students wiped away tears.
In truth, either "Having Two Hands" or "Our Family" could reasonably have taken first place, and there would always be people who thought their positions should be reversed.
A clash of titans. A genuine clash of titans.
Shen Qi had never imagined that the entries in Pokémon High School's Pokémon Photography activity could be this strong.
The top two entries certainly couldn't match Shen Qi's in their subjects, framing, or photographic technique, but if "Flowers Reflected by the Water" had been placed first, he would have felt utterly unworthy of the honor.
That was precisely the message Pokémon High School wanted to convey.
Strength measured purely in numbers and beauty in appearance weren't necessarily what mattered most. Not everyone could stand in the spotlight as a top professional Pokémon Trainer.
You could choose to embrace an entirely ordinary Pokémon and find a beautiful life of your own.
Chapter 53: No More Avoiding Battles
"So that's how it turned out."
Shen Qi showed Lilligant the Poké Ball in his hand.
It was the prize for third place in the Pokémon Photography activity. There was also 1,000b worth of Pokémon Rations in the school storeroom, ready to be collected at any time.
Meanwhile, Lilligant browsed the photographs on Shen Qi's phone.
The screen displayed the top five entries from the Pokémon Photography activity...
[They're amazing...]
"Right?"
Wonder and emotion flashed through her orange-red eyes. Lilligant gazed deeply at the top two entries, whose feelings seemed ready to spill right out of the photographs.
There was nothing to complain about in losing to them.
"It's fine. We've got a ball now, and I have the money to support you too."
[Who wants you to support me...]
Lilligant thumped Shen Qi's shoulder, and the two leaned against the tree trunk, quietly listening to the summer breeze and the chirping cicadas.
Summer vacation was almost here.
Pokémon High School and the main nearby mainland regions followed the Neon School System, which included a spring break in addition to winter and summer vacations.
Before you continue