I have added this story to my Patreon. You can support me and read the 40 latest and advanced chapters there. It also fed and motivate me to write more chapters!
Link: Patreon.com/Pokeficlord
—------------------—
The Metagross ice statue, under precise control of its psychic powers, slowly walked above the audience seats, each step accompanied by a loud "boom".
That huge ice statue, carved from pure ice crystals. Every movement carried an imposing aura, like a moving snow mountain, making people's hearts tremble.
When the Metagross ice statue reached the center of the audience seats, Metagross suddenly withdrew its psychic powers. The massive ice statue seemed to have had its supports removed.
It swayed slightly in the air, then with a "crack," it split open with countless fine cracks.
The next second, the ice statue completely disintegrated, turning into countless shards of ice crystals flying everywhere, like a grand fireworks display exploding in the arena.
The ice crystal fragments fell in stages, carrying clusters of snowflakes; their icy touch told the audience that the scene they had just witnessed was not an illusion.
In the center of the arena, the blue light in Metagross's eyes gradually faded, returning to calm.
Ice Vulpix ran from the edge of the arena to Lionel's side, its snow-white chest slightly swollen, clearly exhausted.
But it still held its head high...
Watching the ice fall from the sky, its tail wagged like a small fan, its eyes brimming with excitement. The entire arena fell silent for a full five seconds; even breathing seemed to disappear.
After a moment, a deafening roar of cheers erupted. The audience stood up in unison, waving their arms vigorously. In the back section, some even hugged each other excitedly, tossing their light sticks into the air, creating a shimmering sea of light.
"That was amazing!" Kotaro's voice trembled with excitement as he circled the stage, holding up his microphone: "Lionel's Metagross and Vulpix!"
The clash of ice and steel presented us with an unparalleled visual feast! Let's see the judges' scores!
The electronic scoring board above the judges' seats lit up, and three bright red numbers appeared in sequence: Miss Joy 10 points, Chairman Susaki 10 points, Director Raoul Contesta 10 points!
"Perfect score!"
Kotaro almost jumped up, his royal blue suit jacket half-worn: "Lionel, with his outstanding performance with Metagross and Vulpix, has achieved a perfect score in the second round of judging! 30 points! A perfect result! This is the second perfect score so far in this Pacifidog Pokemon Contest. Let's give another round of applause to Lionel and his companions!"
The applause thundered and lasted for a long time. A relieved smile appeared on Lionel's face. He bent down and picked up Ice Vulpix that had run towards him, feeling the little creature bouncing around in his arms.
He then reached out and gently patted the muscular back of the Metagross beside him, his voice gentle yet filled with undisguised amusement:
"Thank you for your hard work, you all did a great job."
Metagross let out a deep growl, a hint of satisfaction flashing in its red eyes. Ice Vulpix nuzzled Lionel's palm with its furry little hands, making a comfortable "hmm" sound.
Next, the three judges gave their comments in turn.
Lionel listened attentively to the three judges' comments, bowed slightly:
"Thank you for your guidance, judges. I will continue to work hard."
After saying this, he turned and walked towards the contestants' passage with Metagross and Ice Vulpix.
They were gone. At the entrance to the contestants' passage, Larvesta was already there.
Seeing Lionel and his group appear, it immediately flew ahead to lead the way, its head held high, as if it were the one who had just shone brightly on the field.
As it passed other contestants, it even let out a couple of "squeaks," its little eyes full of smugness.
The contestants in the preparation room all turned their gazes to Lionel, their expressions a mixture of amazement, admiration, and a hint of helplessness at being outmatched.
Larvesta clearly enjoyed this attention.
It would occasionally glance back at Lionel, then at the other contestants, its head held even higher.
Even its gait exuded an arrogant "I'm awesome!" air, its smug little face practically written all over its face.
The competition continued.
But perhaps Lionel's performance was too stunning. The subsequent contestants all seemed somewhat nervous, and the atmosphere on the field momentarily cooled.
It wasn't until Shirley entered the fray, her Flareon and Jolteon showcasing another impressive Fire-Electric combo, that the atmosphere was slightly restored.
However, unfortunately, perhaps her first-round performance was too stunning, raising the expectations of the audience.
Her second-round performance failed to win over the audience, ultimately earning her a score of 28 points.
While still excellent, it couldn't shake Lionel's leading position.
Time slowly passed, and the second round of judging finally concluded. The list of contestants advancing to the third round of the grand battle was also released, with Lionel unsurprisingly taking first place.
The third round of the grand battle, compared to the performances of the first two rounds, would test the Pokémon's practical combat abilities and the trainer's on-the-spot command even more.
For Lionel's Metagross, this was clearly no difficult task.
After its defeat in the battle against the Slaking, Metagross had entered a state of frenzied training. Its strength, speed, and skill proficiency, as well as its ability to combine moves, had all undergone a qualitative leap.
Facing the Pokémon sent out by other contestants, it didn't need to dodge; a simple pounce and a charge were enough to shatter their attacks.
Occasionally, it would finish with an Ice Punch or Thunder Rush, showcasing power without sacrificing style, easily securing the badge for the Pacifidog Contest.
After the competition, as usual, it was time for photos and autographs with fans.
This time, Larvesta really had its fill. Originally, the two little eight-tailed foxes were already beloved by fans for their cuteness, with countless people lining up to take photos with them. And Larvesta, brazenly relying on its status as a "little dad," shamelessly posed for the camera.
It would either stand between two Vulpixed pups, head puffed out, chest puffed out, as if to say, "Look how capable I am!"
Or it would pretend to casually lie down beside them, but its eyes would secretly dart towards the camera, as if afraid of missing a shot.
Whenever someone noticed its decorations and praised it as "so cute" or "so beautiful," Larvesta's head would be slapped even higher, its chin almost reaching the sky.
Its proud and arrogant demeanor made it seem as if it had received worldwide recognition.
For it, this feeling of being praised and noticed was a hundred times happier than winning a match.
After posing for a few photos with fans, Metagross and Milotic stood quietly for a moment, watching the Flamethrower leap and bound. The two Pokémon exchanged a glance, their expressions conveying a sense of "this guy's hopeless" resignation.
The photo and autograph session lasted for nearly an hour.
Finally, amidst the fans' reluctance to part, Lionel ended the live stream and left the arena with his Pokémon.
Back in his hotel room, Lionel immediately opened his live stream channel.
Looking at the astonishingly high viewership numbers on the screen, along with the dense stream of gifts and battle tokens, he was overjoyed.
This Pokemon Contest in Pacifidog Town not only brought him badges and honors but also significantly boosted his live stream popularity—a truly tangible benefit.
Lionel smiled and shook his head, saying nothing. First, he scooped the two exhausted little Foxes into his arms, gently nudging their fluffy tails.
Feeling the little guys' comfortable purring in his arms, all the day's fatigue seemed to vanish.
"Alright, it's time to give you your rewards," Lionel said with a smile, then with a thought, opened the system interface and directly selected the advanced lottery.
With a familiar flash of golden light, the lottery results were announced:
[Congratulations on winning: 22 Advanced Pokémon Energy orbs, TM Dragon Pulse x1, Meteor Mash x1, Blizzard x1, Flamethrower x1, Draco Meteor x1, Defense/Recovery Booster x9, Attack Booster x8, Special Defense Booster x11, HP Booster x10, Special Attack Booster x10]
Looking at this string of rewards, Lionel's eyes instantly lit up, and he couldn't help but admire in his heart:
"Truly worthy of those two young ladies, their luck is too good! They drew so many useful items at once!"
Actually, at Lionel's current level, many ordinary usual TMs are no longer very useful for Metagross, Milotic, and Larvesta.
They are already intimately familiar with the moves they already possess. Even with entirely new moves, they can quickly learn them thanks to their familiarity with moves of the same type.
But the TM drawn this time, Meteor Mash, is extraordinary.
This is Metagross's most powerful STAB move, incredibly powerful and with the potential to boost its Attack.
Unexpectedly, it was drawn this time, which will allow Metagross to further familiarize itself with this move, taking its combat power to the next level.
"Blizzard" and "Fire Blast" are naturally reserved for the two Vulpix. Prepared.
Miloticand Larvesta have already mastered these two moves quite well, so it's a good opportunity for these two little guys to learn them, as a reward for their excellent performance today.
After all, they deserve half the credit for the good stuff they got this time. They've never been so "distributive" in previous draws.
As for Dragon Pulse and Draco Meteor, these two Dragon-type moves, their uses are self-evident.
When Lionel spoke with Cynthia on the phone earlier, she mentioned that the Unova region and the Hoenn League were building a Pokémon teleportation channel, and good news was expected in the next few days.
At that time, these two moves, combined with the previously used Choice Band move, would be considered as...
"Let's give Deino as a greeting gift."
Lionel was happily calculating how to distribute the rewards to the little Pokémon when his phone suddenly vibrated.
The screen displayed the name "Steven," a video call request.
He answered the call with a smile, and Steven's familiar face immediately appeared on the screen, with his Shiny Metagross standing beside him.
"Lionel, are you rested?"
Steven's cheerful voice came from Tingyin, a smile on his face:
"I saw your livestream just ended, and I wanted to call you right away, but I thought you must be exhausted from taking pictures, so I called just when I figured it was about time."
He paused, his tone full of admiration:
"This time, Metagross's performance exceeded my expectations, even more surprising than you described to me before."
"You passed!"
With that, the older brother patted his companion, and the Metagross nodded in agreement, a glimmer of brilliance flashing in its red heat port.
Lionel laughed:
"It's all thanks to your training manual and various resources that Metagross has progressed so quickly."
"It has nothing to do with me."
Stevn waved his hand: "You're the one who unlocked its potential. To be honest, seeing its performance in the Pokemon Contest, I'm even considering letting my Metagross try it out too."
Metagross 's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
It moved closer, clearly having witnessed the impressive combination technique just now.
It also felt confident about participating in the Pokemon Contest.
You see, it had spent a lot of time figuring out these things on its own before.
Unfortunately, it had shown it to that green-haired man.
That guy actually said its skill combination was too lacking in aesthetics.
It had prevented it from ever participating in the Pokemon Contest again.
"I've been thinking about it.
Now that I see so many people liking the combination technique used by my 'child,' I'm sure I'm not bad either, and this skill combination isn't difficult.
If I improve it a little, add a few things,
it will definitely be even more impressive."
Thinking of this, Metagross was overjoyed.
It affectionately snuggled against Steven, telling him about its desire to participate in the Pokemon Contest as well.
Steven stroked his chin, also deep in thought. Thinking this, just then, Steven suddenly remembered something, slapped his forehead, and said: "I forgot!"
"Oh dear, I was so engrossed in chatting that I almost forgot the important matter."
Lionel asked: "Important matter?"
"Ugh, it's a big deal for both of us,"
Steven said with a mysterious smile: "Wait a minute, talking about this in a video doesn't quite capture the feeling. I need you to see it in person to really appreciate it."
Before Lionel could respond, Steven abruptly hung up the video call.
He blinked.
Lionel, holding his phone, blinked, somewhat puzzled.
Steven's sudden action piqued his curiosity. What could be so important that Steven would deliberately end the call and "see it in person"?
Just as he pondered this, the Metagross beside him suddenly swayed slightly, a faint halo appearing in its previously calm red pupils.
It slowly closed its eyes, its metallic body twitching slightly, as if sensing something, and the cross mark on its forehead glowed faintly.
"Metagross?"
Lionel looked at it with some confusion.
Almost simultaneously, a subtle, lingering ripple appeared in the air of the room, like a pebble being thrown into a calm pond.
The space began to warp slightly, and a faint white light illuminated the center of the room, accompanied by subtle energy fluctuations, giving the impression that something was about to emerge from the void.
Lionel instinctively took a half-step back, hugging the two Vulpixs in his arms even tighter, then looked at the space before him with a look of surprise.
How could Lionel forget this familiar scene? This was a sign of teleportation!