Chapter 135: The Pokémon Contest?
Lanling City could be considered a third-tier city, not particularly prosperous.
But it was precisely this kind of small city that had the most "earthly atmosphere."
Walking into the food street, the sounds of vendors hawking their wares mixed with the aroma of delicious food, drifting into Kenji's nose.
Kenji wasn't a glutton, but after being in the wild for so long, he naturally needed to reward himself and comfort his stomach.
In the food street, Ninetales, transformed into a human, held Bellossom in her arms, while Elekid followed behind Kenji.
His other Pokémon weren't suitable for such a crowded place.
After all, whether it was Gyarados, Beedrill, or Arbok, releasing them would likely make children cry.
As for Pupitar and Vigoroth, Kenji was afraid they might get too excited and flip a stall over.
In this regard, the wild was better. Out there, he had no such concerns and could let his Pokémon out to play whenever he wanted.
"Grilled sausages? Four, please."
"Scallion pancakes? Four, fully loaded!"
...
On the food street, Ninetales walked on Kenji's right, holding Bellossom with one arm. Both Pokémon held an ice cream cone.
Bellossom held hers with both hands; the cone was half the size of her body. She looked incredibly adorable, attracting many gazes along the way.
Ninetales, however, wasn't very interested in ice cream. Perhaps because she was a Fire-type, she preferred hot pot or BBQ over cold treats.
On Kenji's left followed Elekid. Compared to the other two, Elekid's table manners—or lack thereof—were unsightly. It held a handful of skewers in its left hand and a half-eaten pancake in its right, chewing constantly.
It even finished off whatever Ninetales and Bellossom left behind.
Pokémon weren't humans, especially Kenji's group, who were used to High-grade Pokéblocks. For them, these snacks were more about the novelty.
Like someone used to delicacies wanting to try simple food for a change.
Of course, Elekid was the exception.
After spending time with it, Kenji hadn't found anything particularly special about Elekid except for its appetite. It was enormous. One meal for Elekid was equivalent to what Gyarados ate.
Like humans, if Pokémon ate without exercising, they would get fat.
To prevent Elekid from developing a beer belly at such a young age, Kenji had no choice but to increase its training load or control its diet.
To earn more Pokéblocks, Elekid trained very hard.
After adapting to its level 27 body, it trained vigorously, reaching level 28 in just a few days.
It would likely evolve into Electabuzz within half a month.
As for Vigoroth, it should evolve into Slaking before the New Year.
Kenji was very much looking forward to the Slaking with a base stat total of 850 after evolution.
They ate and strolled until the sky darkened.
Kenji then returned to the Pokémon Center with his Pokémon.
In the lobby, as Kenji and Ninetales walked side by side, Ninetales suddenly paused.
Kenji stopped too, looking in the direction Ninetales was staring.
On a display screen, a promotional video for a Pokémon Contest was playing.
The Lanling City Pokémon Contest was scheduled to officially begin in half a month.
The preliminary auditions would start in three days.
"Interested in the Contest?" Kenji asked, surprised.
Whether it was training or battling, Ninetales was obedient but always seemed a bit disinterested.
It was rare to see her take an active interest in something.
Ninetales looked away from the screen and hummed a soft affirmative.
Kenji didn't have much interest in Contests.
But thinking of Ninetales's battle style, his eyes lit up.
Her style seemed born for the Contest stage...
Back in his room, Kenji registered for the Lanling City Pokémon Contest.
Although he wasn't interested, Ninetales was, and he couldn't just give her away to someone else.
So, he had to make time to take her to participate.
Besides, the Lanling City Contest counted as a City-level competition. Winning it would grant him a Silver Hex Core draw.
The Contest was divided into three parts.
First was the preliminary audition, a performance lasting about thirty seconds.
After the prelims came the formal competition: the Performance Stage.
Pokémon performed moves, and judges scored them. The top ten advanced to the finals.
The finals were the Battle Stage.
It wasn't just a display of strength; trainers had to showcase their performance skills during the battle.
The winner received points, but judges would also score the Pokémon's performance during the battle. These scores were less about winning or losing and more about the artistry displayed.
The final ranking was determined by the combined scores of the Performance and Battle Stages.
Both stages had Single and Double categories.
For City-level Contests, both stages were usually Singles.
Provincial-level Contests often featured Doubles.
National-level Contests could even involve three Pokémon performing simultaneously.
Regarding the schedule: the prelims were in three days, and the formal competition was over ten days later.
The gap was enough for Kenji to travel to Crestview City, challenge the Summit Gym, and return for the Contest.
Kenji checked the time. His audition was scheduled for the afternoon of the second day of prelims, four days from now.
That was plenty of time.
Originally, Kenji hadn't planned to stay long, but for the audition, he decided to linger a few more days.
He used this time to watch Contest videos with Ninetales, accumulating experience.
Ninetales was extremely intelligent. eventually, she started studying and researching Contest moves on her own, leaving Kenji free to train his other Pokémon.
Since Kenji wasn't that interested in Contests anyway, he was happy to let her take the lead.
Four days passed quickly.
On the afternoon of the fourth day, Kenji arrived at the Star Motion Sports Center, the venue for the Contest prelims.
Today, Kenji had shed his usual casual attire. He wore a short, high-quality jacket patterned with intricate designs resembling stars against a night sky.
His trousers matched the jacket, and a small bow tie adorned his collar, trimmed with black.
According to Ninetales, Contests weren't just about the Pokémon; the trainer also needed to display their unique taste in fashion.
Of course, Kenji knew nothing about fashion.
This outfit was entirely chosen by Ninetales, and every accessory was expensive.
But the result was impressive.
If Kenji's looks were a 7 before, they had evolved to a 9 after this makeover.
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