Chapter 260: If You Want to See, Brother...

Chapter 260: If You Want to See, Brother...

"Here we go—Piplup, Bubble Beam!"

"Piplup! Piplup!"

The small, penguin-like Pokémon focused intently.

Onstage, the swirling Whirlpool began to freeze, gradually enclosing the Alolan Ninetales within.

The audience was momentarily confused.

The transparent Whirlpool, which had previously showcased the Alolan Ninetales' ethereal beauty, was already stunning.

But now, with irregular ice formations, that dreamlike aesthetic was being diminished.

Then, suddenly—

Ice-blue, circular ice shards burst upwards like a spring fountain.

At the same time, Piplup launched its attack.

The crystalline bubbles it fired precisely hit each rising ice shard.

At first, the bubbles merely wrapped around the ice, floating in midair.

But with a series of sharp "pops", the bubbles exploded, shattering the ice into countless shimmering fragments.

Under the brilliant stage lights, the scattered ice shards refracted a dazzling spectrum of colors.

The pace quickened—

The ice shards shot up faster, and Piplup's Bubble Beam fired at an increasing rate.

In just moments, the entire contest arena became a glittering realm of ice and light.

Like a dreamscape, utterly breathtaking.

And then—

A white silhouette leaped into the air, stepping on the final floating ice shards.

A light hailstorm began to fall.

Snow Warning activated.

And it still wasn't over.

A brilliant glow enveloped Ninetales.

A radiant burst of colors illuminated the falling hail and the lingering ice crystals, bathing the entire stage in a mesmerizing sea of light.

Dazzling Gleam.

This Alolan Ninetales had an impressive move pool!

Then, with an elegant landing, it touched back down.

For three silent seconds, the entire audience sat in awe—

Then—

A thunderous wave of applause erupted!

Even Hikaru couldn't help but clap.

"Wow..."

He had to admit—

These Pokémon Contests were something else.

A single move combo could create such a breathtaking spectacle!

"That was so pretty, Hikaru!"

Sakura, still clapping, grabbed onto his arm excitedly.

Next to her, Latias' eyes sparkled in fascination.

It had never thought of using moves in such a beautiful way before.

Latias suddenly grabbed Hikaru's hand and exclaimed,

"Hikaru... so... so beautiful!"

"Yeah, that combination of Alolan Ninetales and Piplup was really amazing."

Then—

"Hold on a second."

Latias' golden eyes glowed faintly.

A moment later, a psychic aura enveloped Hikaru, Latias, and Sakura.

In the blink of an eye—

They lifted into the air, floating forward until they descended onto the stage itself.

Dream Projection.

Sakura initially panicked at the sudden levitation, but once she saw Hikaru and Latias beside her—

She squealed in excitement.

"Wow! We're flying!"

The three of them were now experiencing a close-up view of the performance!

Latias giggled shyly.

From this distance, it could maintain the illusion for quite a while.

Sakura, now even more thrilled, hugged Latias tightly and rubbed her face against it.

"Ahhh, Latias, you're too cute! I wish you were my Pokémon~!"

Hikaru twitched.

Hold up.

Why did that sound like she was trying to steal his Pokémon?

But for the first time, Latias actually pushed Sakura away, a hint of defensiveness in her voice.

"Uhm... I'm Hikaru's Pokémon."

Was he really going to give her away?!

"Hehe, I'm just kidding! I know you belong to Hikaru." Sakura stuck out her tongue playfully.

"But you're so much fun! Even more fun than my Dragonair!"

Hikaru just stood there, speechless.

At that moment, the scores were announced.

It was, of course, the elegant woman in the red cheongsam who spoke.

"After the audience's votes, Coordinator Rose has earned an impressive score of 96.5 points! What an incredible first performance! This must put a lot of pressure on the following contestants—let's see how they perform!"

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise.

"That's such a high score!"

"Is it really that high?" Hikaru asked curiously.

Sakura gave him a mock glare.

"Hikaru, did you forget? We used to watch the Flame Dance Cup on TV as kids. Back then, the highest score ever was only 96!"

"Ah... right."

Back then, he didn't have the Perfect Memory ability.

And at that time, he was too focused on becoming a Pokémon Trainer.

Who had time to remember Contest scores?

But judging by Rose's ecstatic expression,

That score must have been a big deal.

"With such an incredible first performance, the next contestants must be feeling a lot of pressure."

Sakura admired Rose.

To create such an amazing display with just a Piplup and an Alolan Ninetales—

That was true talent.

However—

Perhaps because the first performance was so exceptional,

The next few contestants felt underwhelming in comparison.

That was until—

Lily stepped onto the stage.

And Hikaru froze.

At first, the arena changed—

The pure white stage floor suddenly lowered, transforming into a giant swimming pool.

And Lily's starting position became a diving platform.

With a graceful arc, her Milotic leaped into the water—

Yet, not a single splash formed.

The perfect dive, executed flawlessly.

But that wasn't what stunned Hikaru.

No—

The real issue was that—

This Gym Leader was wearing nothing but a bikini.

A black bikini that accentuated every curve of her slender, stunning figure.

Hikaru blinked in disbelief.

Was he seeing things?

Just as he instinctively raised his hand to rub his eyes for a second look—

SMACK!

Sakura's hands suddenly covered his eyes.

"Ah—Hikaru, you are NOT allowed to look at this!"

Hikaru was speechless.

"I can't even watch the performance?"

"No!"

Sakura's voice was firm and absolute.

Hikaru knew he could use his Aura to see, but…

It wasn't worth it.

In the end, he only heard the final score—

"A stunning 97.3 points! However, with a -1 deduction for the scene rating, the final score is 96.3!"

But judging by the deafening cheers,

This performance must have been incredible as well.

When Sakura finally let go and Hikaru opened his eyes,

He was greeted by the sight of her flushed, embarrassed face.

And beside her, Latias, completely confused.

She remembered—

Didn't Hikaru not like watching things like this?

Last time, he even told her to change her dress into pants!

Then—

Sakura suddenly grabbed Hikaru's arm, her face as red as a sunset.

With her fingers tightly interlocked, she hesitated for a moment before muttering shyly,

"I-If you really want to see, Hikaru... Next time, w-we can go swimming... and I-I'll wear it for you..."

"Huh?"

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