Loophole in the rules

Leading the group was a young Coordinator. He stepped forward indignantly, voicing his opinion. The people behind him echoed his sentiments, causing some of the audience who didn't know what was going on to start wavering, casting puzzled looks towards Terrance and the panel of judges.

Terrance turned around to look who was causing trouble. The young man met his gaze without backing down and said, "I'm just stating the facts."

The three judges paused, deep in thought, not expecting such a situation.

Terrance gave the young man a glance, then nonchalantly recalled Mismagius.

He thought the person looked familiar, likely having participated in Pokémon Contests together. Terrance rarely pays attention to others. Since this person seemed familiar, it must have happened more than once.

Such targeting... it didn't matter. Before deciding on Mismagius's performance, he had considered the aftermath, but since it was already done, Terrance was fully confident!

"Wow~~"

The few Coordinators leading the uproar were just a small group, but some of the other contestants also started to feel that they might be right.

After all, this could be considered as Mismagius using its "signature attack" on the audience and judges. From a certain perspective, those contestants who saw nothing could argue that it was an incomplete performance. If the judges gave a high score without them knowing why, wouldn't it be a loophole in the competition that couldn't convince the masses?

If no one had led the charge, it would be fine, but once someone set the pace, some contestants started to follow, especially those Coordinators who were jealous of Terrance and wanted to interfere with his score.

"That's right, I want to see a score that matches the recorded performance," said a Coordinator who received a primary judging score of 20. He said this intentionally to cause trouble, knowing that even the broadcast on the big screen couldn't capture the detailed performance, so the cameras certainly couldn't either.

No matter how strong Mismagius's illusion skills were, they couldn't affect machines; an illusion is just an illusion, not a miracle.

These people seized on this point, becoming aggressive, demanding that the panel of judges give a satisfactory score.

Terrance looked at these people with helplessness. Except for the young leader, the others were all relatively young teenagers. Didn't they realize that this behavior could offend someone?

Fortunately, the audience was not influenced. They saw the performance, and although they were skeptical about the contestants' words, they maintained a wait-and-see attitude.

The most important decision now lay with the three judges.

The silence in the venue lasted for two minutes before Raoul Contesta cleared his throat and said, "After discussion, we are not going to give Contestant Terrance's performance a score for now. The Pokémon Contest will continue."

As soon as he said this, the entire venue was in an uproar. Those contestants targeting Terrance smirked, some even showing their delight openly, while the audience began to shout in dissatisfaction.

Especially Terrance's supporters, who were particularly loud, causing Raoul Contesta to break out in a cold sweat.

Sukizo nudged Raoul Contesta, giving him a hint. Raoul Contesta could only quickly explain, "Everyone, rest assured, the panel of judges will maintain fairness. This situation is special; the three of us cannot provide an answer on the spot. We need to discuss it with the Contest Committee before making a decision. Please understand."

"Everyone~~" Vivian began to calm the scene, trying to change the atmosphere and divert the topic.

"Please calm down."

Terrance, standing at the center of the stage, immediately became everyone's center of attention, "Actually, there's no need to worry. I haven't violated any Pokémon Contest's performance rules. What is ours will remain ours."

He said with a smile, and the venue quieted down. Even the audience unfamiliar with Terrance became intrigued by his composure. The three judges, led by Raoul Contesta, looked at Terrance deeply, admiring the kid.

His words seemed directed at the audience, but they were also meant for them.

******

Primary judging had concluded.

Before the start of secondary judging, people's attention wasn't on which eight contestants would advance to the second round, but rather on Terrance, this variable.

His score had yet to be announced, and it was clear that the eighth contestant with the highest score might be at risk of being pushed out.

Some contestants were indifferent towards Terrance, some were sympathetic, but Terrance didn't care much about their opinions.

Everything would depend on the final outcome.

"Woosh~~~~~"

An hour after primary judging ended, the main hall lights turned on again. Raoul Contesta walked to the announcer's position, holding a microphone. Once the audience and contestants were gathered, he began to explain.

"Hello everyone, I am Raoul Contesta, Chief of the Contest Committee. Regarding the score for Contestant Terrance's performance earlier..."

"Contest Committee has come to the following resolution."

Terrance's supporters and those contestants targeting him held their breath, eagerly waiting for Raoul Contesta's next words.

"This time... we still cannot give a specific score for Terrance's performance, and for that, we deeply apologize."

As soon as he said this, the audience began to stir again, with dissatisfaction growing louder. However, Raoul Contesta quickly added, "But, Contestant Terrance will definitely advance to the secondary judging!"

"According to the seventeen performance rules of the Pokémon Contest, Contestant Terrance's performance fully complies with the Pokémon Contest's rules..." At this point, Raoul Contesta struggled to continue, as this so-called rule was really too trivial to be worth discussing. In other words, it was too lowly.

What Coordinator would have their Pokémon use a signature move to attack the audience during the first round of the Pokémon Contest? Is the Coordinator foolish or is the Pokémon Contest officials foolish? This highly controversial yet lowly rule was the key point of this incident.

In reality, Mismagius's illusion skill wasn't attacking the audience. It was just affecting their sight, which caused no harm, but when singled out by someone with an agenda, it exposed the so-called loophole in the Pokémon Contest rules. Without Terrance's performance, bringing up this loophole would have been laughed at. No Coordinator on the stage would have their Pokémon attack the audience... isn't that ridiculous?

Yet this time, such a situation occurred. Although the incident wasn't serious and was purely for performance effect, if not handled properly, it could cause controversy and adversely affect future competitions. Therefore, this issue couldn't be resolved by the three judges alone and required a joint decision from the Contest Committee.

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