Chapter 271: Her Daughter Just Appeared and She Already Accepted It?

The video continued playing.

There was absolutely no suspense surrounding the results of the first round.

Hina received a perfect score of thirty points, advancing to the Contest Battles in first place for the current round.

"Hina! A perfect score! A perfect score!"

Shaymin poked half its head out of the backpack.

"We made it through!"

"Ah... mm..."

Hina slowly sank back against the bench.

"But I used up too much of my ’energy’ just now..."

"I think I need to enter power-saving mode and rest for a while..."

Just then—

The waiting-room door suddenly opened.

A Trainer with twin ponytails poked half her body through the doorway, swept her gaze around the room, then locked onto Hina.

"You’re Hina, right?"

The twin-tailed girl folded her arms, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"I watched your performance just now."

"It wasn’t bad."

"But..."

Her tone abruptly changed as she raised her chin slightly.

"Compared to what I’m about to show everyone, I think you’re still just a tiny bit behind."

Hina blinked.

"Um..."

"Who are you?"

"Hmph! My name is Andodo!"

Andodo stepped forward, her voice carrying a completely inexplicable sense of pride.

"My mom is Ursula—the most elegant Coordinator in Sinnoh!"

"She was runner-up at the Grand Festival twice!"

"Your mom must’ve mentioned her before, right?"

Hina thought about it very seriously for roughly three seconds.

Then she honestly shook her head.

"Sorry..."

"I’ve never heard of her..."

The smile on Andodo’s face froze for an instant.

But she quickly recovered, folding her arms again and becoming even more arrogant.

"Hmph! That’s fine!"

"After today, you’ll remember me!"

"My mom never managed to beat your mom, but I’m different—"

"I’m definitely going to beat you!"

Hina tilted her head.

"Your mom..."

"Never beat my mom?"

"That’s right!"

Andodo pointed one finger straight at Hina.

"My mom said she was always just a tiny bit away from winning!"

"It was all because of bad luck!"

"So today, I’m going to prove that I’m stronger than you!"

With that, Andodo dramatically whipped her twin ponytails around and stomped out of the waiting room.

[VIP Chat Group]

[Dawn]: That Andodo... is Ursula’s daughter?! Just standing there and talking, she’s exactly like her mom!

[Ursula]: Hmph! If I couldn’t beat you, then I’ll let my daughter beat your daughter! Andodo, Mom is cheering for you from this world!

[Skyla]: A new record for fastest acceptance has been born! She’s not the protagonist, sure, but isn’t this still way too fast? Her daughter just appeared and she’s already accepted her!

[Valerie]: That’s probably precisely because she isn’t the protagonist. Once this episode ends, it won’t really affect Ursula’s current life. And when only the daughter appears, accepting it is definitely much easier.

[Raihan]: Didn’t Steven only have his daughter appear too? Why didn’t he instantly accept Ruri?

[Wallace]: Would he dare? If Ruri actually appeared, Steven would be kicked out of Devon Corporation the very next second.

[Asher]: He might even get kicked out of the family tree.

[Steven]: Hey, hey, hey! No matter what, it wouldn’t be that bad, right?

[Mr. Stone]: ...

[Steven]: ??? Dad, what is that ellipsis supposed to mean?!

The video continued playing.

The Contest Battles had already reached the final round.

Marian stood at one side of the stage, raising her microphone as she announced excitedly,

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

"After a fierce series of Contest Battles, the Jubilife Contest has finally reached its most exciting moment!"

"Which of our two Coordinators will claim the Jubilife Ribbon?"

"Without further ado—contestants, begin!"

The instant the countdown appeared on the giant screen—

Andodo threw her Poké Ball first.

"Gabite, shine bright!"

The Poké Ball burst open in a blaze of orange flames.

Gabite leaped through the fire and landed in the center of the stage.

"Audino, take the stage!"

Hina threw her own Poké Ball.

Soft pink petals scattered across the stage as Audino descended lightly from within them.

Andodo immediately gave the first command.

"Gabite, Dragon Rage!"

Gabite opened its mouth.

A wave of orange-yellow energy blasted toward Audino.

"Audino, Heal Pulse."

Audino brought both hands together in front of its chest.

A soft pink ring of light expanded from its palms.

Dragon Rage collided with the glowing ring of Heal Pulse.

The two energies intertwined in midair.

The orange-yellow draconic energy became wrapped in pink light before slowly floating upward—

Like a glowing crystal sphere.

"Now, use Heal Bell!"

The moment Hina gave the command—

A clear, melodious ringing spread across the stage.

The crystal sphere suspended overhead began trembling gently.

Then—

It dissolved into countless tiny golden motes of light.

They showered across the stage like a miniature golden meteor shower.

Gasps and enthusiastic applause immediately erupted from the audience.

A large chunk vanished from Andodo’s point bar.

"She actually used my move to show off her own Pokémon’s beauty..."

Andodo bit her lip.

She had no choice but to admit it.

Hina’s skill in Contest Battles was already extremely high.

"Gabite, use Dragon Claw!"

Green light flared around both of Gabite’s claws.

It lowered its center of gravity and charged straight toward Audino.

Hina immediately responded.

"Audino, Sweet Kiss."

Audino gracefully shifted to the side.

It brought both hands lightly toward its lips—

And a pink heart-shaped bubble floated from its palms.

Gabite’s sharp green claws struck directly into the heart.

Pop!

The bubble exploded into a cloud of sparkling pink hearts.

This time, both contestants lost a small amount of points.

Andodo knew her score had already been reduced to a miserable level.

If she couldn’t launch a proper counterattack now, there would be no suspense left in the battle.

"Gabite!"

"Draco Meteor!"

This was her final trump card.

Gabite raised its head.

An orange-gold sphere of energy shot from its mouth and exploded high above the stage.

Countless golden meteors traced arcs through the air—

Then began raining indiscriminately across the entire battlefield.

Even faced with this sight, Hina didn’t panic in the slightest.

She calmly gave her command.

"Disarming Voice."

Audino crossed both arms over its chest.

Then—

It forcefully spread them outward.

A pink sound wave burst from its mouth, forming ring after ring of ripples through the air.

Disarming Voice collided with Draco Meteor.

Every falling meteor was shattered into fine particles before it could reach the ground.

The pink sound waves continued expanding across the stage.

Gabite covered its ears and staggered backward two steps.

Andodo’s point bar continued dropping.

Then—

The buzzer sounded.

The timer hit zero.

The final scores froze on the screen.

Hina still had a clear lead over Andodo.

"Time’s up!"

"The winner of the Jubilife Contest is—"

"Hina, from Twinleaf Town!"

Andodo lowered her head.

She remained silent for a long time.

Then she walked over and held out her hand toward Hina.

Hina froze for a moment.

Then she reached out as well.

Their hands met in the middle of the stage.

"I lost this time."

Andodo turned her head away.

Her voice still sounded deeply unwilling to accept defeat—

But her grip on Hina’s hand was firm.

"But next time, I’m definitely winning it back!"

"Just you wait!"

"Mm."

The corners of Hina’s lips lifted into a small smile.

"Then..."

"I’ll see you at the next Contest."