Chương 130: The future is yours, and so is the present.

With Cattleya's devastating performance setting a precedent, the poor girl who went on stage unsurprisingly suffered a crushing defeat.

The immense psychological pressure, coupled with the discerning gaze of over six thousand audience members, caused her and Pipi to make frequent mistakes on stage.

The transitions between moves were not only devoid of any aesthetic appeal, but Pipi even tripped over his own feet while moving, almost causing the little girl to fall flat on her face.

Ultimately, this bland and uninspiring performance only received an average score of 51 points, and the number of valid scorers plummeted to three thousand.

The remaining half of the audience who didn't press the scoring button probably felt that the scene was too unbearable to watch, and couldn't bear to give the crying little girl a very low score, so they simply chose to abstain.

To be fair, the little girl had a pretty strong mentality. Even though she made a lot of mistakes, she persevered and finished the whole routine with tears in her eyes.

There are athletes who are overwhelmed by pressure, and there are also strong individuals who rise to the challenge.

The fact that the coordinators chose to stay and participate after witnessing Lu Sha's god-like opening shows that they have confidence in themselves.

With the steady performances of the third and fourth contestants, the previously cooled enthusiasm in the audience was reignited.

Compared to the grand spectacle of Gadriya and Lushana transforming into the sun and moon, the remaining contestants naturally lacked that level of skill.

However, having immersed themselves in the art of coordination for many years, they deeply understand the principle of maximizing strengths and minimizing weaknesses, and have all chosen a small but beautiful and heartwarming approach, focusing on showcasing the delicate interactions between Pokémon and humans.

Shang Zhi was the 24th person to take the stage.

He directed the Sunflower Monster to create a warm and pleasant pastoral scene on the stage using a sunny day and a grassy field.

Accompanied by the light and lively harp music played by his fingertips, the sunflower monster danced gracefully among the flowers. The man and the flower worked together perfectly, ultimately winning a high score of 87 points.

The preliminary selection process lasted for a full two hours.

Excluding those who withdrew midway through the competition, a total of 37 coordinators made their stage debut.

The top spot is naturally undisputed.

Gadriya and Lu Sha are far ahead with 91 points.

Shangzhi followed closely with 87 points.

The contestant who ranked third saw a precipitous drop in score, reaching only 65 points.

There were not many strong coordinators participating in this year's Jiayuan City Grand Contest.

After a short break, the second round of the final selection began.

The contestants who successfully advanced to the top ten returned to the stage to draw lots to determine their order of appearance.

This time, it was Lu Sha who drew the lot.

Number ten, last to appear.

"Click! (Tsk tsk, we're the first to go in the preliminary rounds, and the last to go in the final rounds. This is the script for the main characters!)" Lu Sha chuckled mischievously.

Under Melissa's passionate hosting, Shang Zhi, who drew number one, was the first to take the stage.

This time, his partner was the Qixi Bluebird.

Shang Zhi lightly leaped onto the broad back of the Qixi Bluebird, took off with the wind, and hovered above the stage.

The harp melody transformed into notes symbolizing freedom, echoing throughout the venue along with the song of the Tanabata Bluebird.

Immediately afterwards, the white mist and cotton defenses intertwined and merged, resembling layers upon layers of cloud sea. Coupled with the emerald green light brought by the grass, the entire artificial battlefield was instantly rendered into a dreamlike fairy tale kingdom in the clouds.

"Click! (This guy's actually got some skills!)" Sitting in the waiting room, watching the live footage on the screen, Lu Sha exclaimed in amazement.

Unfortunately, the waiting room was behind the stage, so I couldn't be there in person, but just watching the footage was very pleasant.

Actually, Lu Sha quite enjoys watching the Grand Contest.

While intense, hand-to-hand combat can certainly get your adrenaline pumping, occasionally sitting down to appreciate beautiful visual art and cultivate your mind is also a rare treat.

It's a pity that the person playing the harp so affectionately on the screen is a grown man. If it were a beautiful woman with long legs wearing a skirt, it would be perfect.

"Are you ready to go on stage later? We've never tried this kind of teamwork before."

Suddenly, Gadriya turned her head, her clear emerald eyes gazing quietly at Lu Sha.

Even she herself couldn't explain why.

Even though they hadn't activated their mental connection, she didn't know what Lu Sha was thinking, but out of some kind of intuition, she subconsciously wanted to speak up and interrupt his thoughts.

"Click! (Leave it to me! But the main event later will be your performance, Miss. I'm just a supporting character at best.)"

"Speaking of which, can your superpower really work through a screen?" Lu Sha asked curiously.

"As long as I'm on this planet, and as long as there's free superpower energy around the target, I can use sound as a medium to project hypnosis onto them. That's the ability to control the origin of attributes."

Cattleya slightly raised her fair chin, her tone exuding confidence.

"Click! (That puts my mind at ease.)" On the other side, Shangzhi's Cloud Waltz also came to a perfect end.

The second round of final selection after the reform consists of two parts: audience judges and professional judges, each accounting for 50% of the weight.

This brand-new competition format is currently in the trial phase and will be fine-tuned based on feedback.

The rules for the audience judging panel are very simple.

Viewers can only give positive or negative reviews for a performance. The system will subtract the number of negative reviews from the number of positive reviews, divide by the total number of ratings, and then multiply by 50 to obtain the final score for the viewer.

The professional judges, on the other hand, use a 50-point system, taking the average score from the three judges.

The two scores are added together to determine the contestant's final score.

As the data scrolling on the big screen stopped, Shangzhi's results were revealed.

It received a total of 5124 positive reviews and 696 negative reviews, with 5820 valid ratings and a final audience score of 38 points.

Among the professional judges, Melissa gave 39 points, Ayako gave 41 points, and Ms. Joey from Iehara City gave 44 points, with the final average score from the judges being 41. 3 points.

"Shangzhi's final overall score is 79. 3 points! Let's give him a warm round of applause for his wonderful performance and look forward to the next contestant's performance!"

Melissa's passionate voice echoed throughout the venue.

Under the new competition format, it's difficult to determine whether a score of less than 80 is high or low.

Even Melissa, who was the one who set the rules, wasn't entirely confident.

But Lu Sha was certain that this was definitely the second-highest score of the entire game.

For the remaining 8 contestants, it would be a miracle if their total score exceeded 50 points.

And as Lu Sha had predicted, things actually turned out exactly as he had.

The next eight coordinators, without exception, all struggled to score below 50 points.

Meanwhile, in the Sinnoh region, at the top of the Battle Tower.

"Did the sun rise in the west today? What are you two doing watching the Grand Contest? Is Dia planning to become a coordinator?"

"Is that right?"

Having just finished his battle, Guanglang returned to his residence and saw his son Pal and his best friend Diamond staring at the television screen. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

The other day, these two kids suddenly stopped going to school and insisted on coming back to him for special training, which already surprised him enough.

How come you've already become obsessed with the Grand Contest after just finishing special training today?

"Dad, Gadriya is going to compete today. And I heard that because of her suggestion, the rules of this competition have been completely overturned, and the second round of practical combat has been canceled!"

Pal stared intently at the television screen and answered without turning his head.

"So, you're completely giving up on battles?"

Guanglang paused for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully: "That's true, this change makes it purer. Most of the Coordinators have varying levels of skill, and forcing them to fight each other would indeed make it less entertaining. That young man named Mikuri from the Hoenn region created what you call Hoenn aesthetics by combining his proficiency in moves with his strength."

"Tch, and you keep calling him a young man. Last night at dinner, who was it that was lamenting that they were about to be swept away by the younger generation?" Pal mercilessly exposed his father's shortcomings.

"You brat, you want a beating, huh? In my eyes, you bunch of kids are all young men. The future is yours, that's true, but the present is mine!"

Guanglang chuckled and cursed, then picked up a water glass from the table, walked to the sofa, sat down, and turned his gaze to the TV screen: "How many more times will it be Gadria's turn to appear?"

"It's her turn. She's the last one to appear."

Pal's eyes lit up instantly, and he turned to look at Guanglang: "Dad, since you're so interested in her, when are you planning to challenge her to a training match?"

Although he had been left far behind by Cattleya, his father was still the leader of the battle tower with the combat power of a Heavenly King.

If you could witness these two fight in person, you would definitely benefit greatly!

"Her? She'll be standing across from me sooner or later. But right now, she's still a bit too weak and not fully ready to challenge me."

Guanglang smiled confidently: "Alright, enough nonsense, the performance has begun, so watch how they use their moves."

""

"What? Why is there a piano in the center of the stage? Can Cattleya play this thing?"

Diamond looked surprised as a black and white grand piano was pushed onto the stage.

"Prantina can play the piano, and Cattleya looks much quieter than her, so she must be able to too. What's so surprising about that?" Pal chimed in without thinking.

"You brat, you can only say that at home. If you say it in front of those two girls, you'll get a beating." Guanglang shook his head, both amused and exasperated.

"Oh, I know, I know! Look, Lu Sha is here! That figure, that aura, it's so damn cool! But... why is it squeezed onto the piano bench with Cattleya? They look so good together!"

Pal rubbed her hands together excitedly, her eyes full of envy: "Sigh, every time I scroll through my WeChat Moments, I see Cynthia and Gadlia showing off their Gibles, it makes me want to get one too."

"Hey, what are you doing here? Just watch their performance! When you reach the professional level, I'll personally go to Dragon Village and get you a Gible!" Guanglang laughed and slapped Pal on the back of the head.

At this moment, the television broadcast zoomed in for a close-up.

All that could be seen was that Cattleya's fair and slender fingers and Lu Sha's two short shark claws were gently suspended on the black and white piano keys at the same time.

"Thump... thump thump..."

A melodious and ethereal tune, tinged with a touch of disarray, quietly unfolded within the battle tower room, following the broadcast's audio track.

The next second, the three people sitting in front of the TV simultaneously lost focus for a brief moment.

"This feels... so real..." Pal murmured to himself in the illusion.

In his mind, he felt like a rookie trainer who had just turned sixteen, and his first partner was a lively Gible.

Together they embarked on a journey full of unknowns, got lost in the Zhuqing Forest, and watched the sunrise on the snow-capped Tianguan Mountain.

They have experienced countless thrilling battles, the glorious moments of winning the championship, and the bitter defeats of being defeated by strong opponents.

They once dazzled audiences on the stage of the Grand Prix, and also made cameo appearances as the best partners in films by renowned directors.

Spring, summer, autumn, and winter; flowers bloom and wither.

In those few short minutes, it was as if he had truly lived the long and magnificent life of a trainer who owned a Gible.

"Such terrifying strength..."

A few seconds later, the sago palm was the first to break free.

He didn't wake the two children who were still laughing foolishly in their hallucinations. Instead, he stared at the girl in the white dress on the television screen with an extremely solemn expression.

With his king-level strength, he could naturally see through and break free from this non-aggressive hypnosis in an instant.

But it was precisely because he saw through it that he felt horrified.

Look beyond the surface.

The ability to immerse people in a dream through sound, even through a television screen, is something that no ordinary superstar could possess.

A king who controls at least 70% of the attributes!

Caldelia is not a newcomer to the world of tennis; she is already on the verge of becoming a champion.

He's only one step away from becoming a champion: mastering the superpower realm.

Guanglang gasped.

He took back what he had just said.

The future belongs to the other, and so does the present!