The first day's preliminaries ended. More than two hundred Coordinators had each been given five minutes to perform, with performances taking place simultaneously across five venues.
In the end, only sixty-four contestants remained to take the stage in the main competition.
Walking out through the staff passage, Young Master Mao looked up and saw Ash and the others, along with a familiar, bashful boy.
"Teacher, was my performance all right?" Kimarō asked shyly.
"Yes, pretty good. Using Milotic in the preliminaries was a very solid choice." Gary nodded in approval.
"What about me?" May hurried forward.
"Want the truth?" Young Master Mao asked with a smile.
"Of course! Go ahead, I can take it." May clutched her chest, looking ready to pass out at any moment.
"It was actually pretty good," Young Master Mao commented. "Beautifly must have been one of your earlier Pokémon, right? Your rapport and proficiency were both clearly quite high."
"Hehe, that's right. Beautifly deserves a lot of credit for my Ribbons." May raised her head proudly.
"May, there's usually a 'but' at times like this. You'd better not get carried away..." Max couldn't help reminding her.
"Exactly." Gary nodded, his expression turning serious. "You only used one move, Silver Wind, in your performance. Did you think that was enough?"
"Huh? Wasn't it?" May froze for a moment. "But Mr. Harley said that as long as I used one move to its fullest, I'd definitely get a high score..."
"Heh... May, you believed him just because he said so?" Gary asked, speechless.
Kimarō stepped in to explain. "Teacher once taught me that, outside of beginner competitions, you must try different move combinations in Pokémon Contest performances.
"Because a Pokémon's versatility can't be demonstrated through a single move."
"I bet that if Kimarō hadn't warned Harley, he