svetikya Chapter 469 The Grand Celebration! Officially Begins!
Chapter 469 The Grand Celebration! Officially Begins!
The morning sun shone on the grand tournament venue in Chefton City. All 108 Coordinators had arrived, and the air was filled with a tense yet exciting atmosphere.
Standing at the entrance to the audience area, Xiao Gang saw Ash and Pikachu rushing over, and his furrowed brows finally relaxed.
Ash had obvious dark circles around his eyes and looked exhausted, yet he was forcing himself to be energetic.
"Ash, what's wrong with you? You look like you haven't slept at all!"
Xiao Gang stepped forward and asked with concern, "Speaking of which, you weren't back when I went to bed last night. Did you not come back to rest all night? Could it be that you were worried about Xiao Guang and went for a walk outside, which caused you to have insomnia?"
Xiao Zhi shook his head and yawned.
"I didn't sleep all night, but not because I was worried about Xiaoguang. I believe Xiaoguang will definitely win the championship."
Ash walked up to Brock and slowly explained, "It's because my Aura suddenly got a qualitative boost last night, and it seems like I can use it to do more things, so I've been focusing on researching it, and before I knew it, I'd overdone it."
"Aura power? A qualitative leap? Ash, what exactly happened to you last night?"
Ash crossed his arms and began to ponder how to answer, but after thinking for a long time he couldn't come up with a suitable answer, so he waved his hand and simply said, "In short, I've become stronger!"
Xiao Gang: "???"
Xiao Zhi's answer was indeed too simple, which caused several question marks to appear on Xiao Gang's head.
However, becoming stronger is indeed a good thing, especially before the upcoming League Tournament.
Just as the two were about to say something, Bai An's voice suddenly rang out from the Grand Contest venue.
This means the match is about to begin.
The two hurriedly entered the venue and found their reserved seats.
On stage, Bai An, dressed in a gorgeous gown, stood in the center, holding a microphone and greeting all the audience.
"Distinguished guests, welcome to the Grand Contest Celebration in Qiefeng City!" Bai An's voice was full of energy.
"After experiencing numerous grand tournaments in various towns, finally! A total of 108 outstanding Coordinators have entered the grand celebration stage! This is the stage that all Coordinators dream of! It is also the stage that represents the highest level of grand tournaments in the entire Sinnoh region! These 108 Coordinators will then perform simultaneously on three different stages!"
Bai An explained the competition rules in detail, which basically meant that the entire competition would be conducted in a two-on-two format, whether it was the first or second round of auditions.
Otherwise, if all 108 coordinators perform one after another, two days might not be enough.
Therefore, in order to shorten the time, the organizers divided the contestants into three groups to perform on three interconnected but different stages.
Moreover, there are a total of 6 judges at the large-scale celebration.
"Now, let me introduce the six judges of this competition!" Bai An waved his hand, and photos of the six judges appeared on the big screen, while the spotlights on the stage shone on them.
"The judges for Stage A are Miss Joey from Chifeng City and Mr. Sugizo; the judges for Stage B are Miss Joey from Zhuqing City and Miss Melissa; the judges for Stage C are Mr. Conkenstein and Miss Joey from Shuijing City!"
The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause.
Xiao Zhi looked around following the sound and found that the venue was already packed, with many audience members even standing in the aisles to watch.
The entire venue is now completely blocked, and even getting out is not an easy task.
However, unlike the enthusiastic atmosphere in the audience, the trainers behind the scenes of the three stages remained silent in the preparation area.
They were quietly making their pre-competition preparations.
While it's called preparation, most of it is just praying or trying to relieve one's nervousness in some other way.
After all, they were about to perform on such a grand stage, so it would be a lie to say they weren't nervous.
In the preparation area of Zone B, Hikari nervously wiped her baby ball.
Xiao Zhi didn't come back all night yesterday, which made Xiao Guang a little uneasy. He doesn't know if Xiao Zhi has arrived at the venue yet.
Just as Xiaoguang was thinking with some worry, Ulala, who was also in the B group's preparation area, suddenly walked up to her.
"Little Guang!" Ulala put her hands on her hips, a smug smile on her face, and said, "I've prepared a secret weapon for this grand celebration that you'd never expect, and this secret weapon is definitely no less impressive than your performance at the Katari Town Grand Contest! Just wait and see how I crush you!"
In such a highly tense atmosphere, Ulala, who was extremely confident in herself, was clearly an exception.
Why does it seem like everyone knows about the battle where Rusabbia took her place?
Xiao Guang couldn't help but complain inwardly.
"Then let's meet on the stage of the second round of auditions. Anyway, I'm sure I'll win~" Xiaoguang replied simply.
"Huh?! You beat me?! But beating me once is way too arrogant! That's why I hate you!"
"Huh?! You were the one who provoked me first!"
"what?!"
"What's wrong?!"
Just as Xiaoguang and Wulala were facing off, Shangzhi, who had also been assigned to Group B, suddenly appeared out of nowhere, holding a harp and standing between the two.
"Ah, what a beautiful friendship! Two exceptionally talented trainers, growing through competition and transcending their limitations in duels—"
"It's not friendship!" Xiao Guang and Wulala interrupted Shang Zhi's impromptu creation in unison. Then they looked at each other, snorted, and turned their heads away.
Shang Zhi smiled silently and took a step back.
In any case, as long as you don't feel nervous before the competition, that's fine.
This can be considered a small contribution that I, a wandering bard, have made to them.
Just after Shang Zhi easily resolved the minor incident in Group B's preparation area, the lights in the entire large celebration venue suddenly went out.
The receding light, like a receding tide, made everyone hold their breath.
Even the lights in the preparation area flickered, reflecting the tense yet expectant faces of the contestants.
Xiao Guang instinctively gripped the Poké Ball tightly, while Ulala straightened her back. Shang Zhi's fingers gently plucked the strings of the harp, producing a barely audible sound.
This brief darkness seemed like a silent declaration, as if telling all the contestants—
Get ready!
In the vast venue, only three stages were illuminated by spotlights, like three stars in the night, firmly drawing everyone's attention and anticipation. Decorative light strips along the stage edges shimmered with a soft blue light, adding a touch of fantasy to the upcoming grand event.
"I hereby declare! The Sinnoh Grand Festival has officially begun!"
......
P.S.: Sorry, giving one-on-one feedback on the whole class's essays during evening self-study was really exhausting, so after I hurriedly wrote a chapter of my new book when I got back, I was so tired that I collapsed on my bed and fell asleep. I only woke up in the middle of the night now...