All three rounds of the main tournant were quickly over. Besides Basalt, who had knocked out Wade, the other three seed players had all advanced.
In the contestant waiting room, the four remaining contestants stood side-by-side. But the gazes of the other three were all fixed on Basalt. This was because the three of them were from the sa school, and as star students of comparable skill, they were already quite familiar with each other. Only Basalt had appeared like a dark horse in their field of vision. Before this, not a single one of them thought that Wade would lose.
But now…
"Hello everyone, my na is Basalt. It's a pleasure to et you."
Being stared at for so long, Basalt was starting to feel a little creeped out. To prevent any awkwardness, he had no choice but to speak up and greet them.
"Hello, I'm Luna."
The beautiful girl, Luna, was the first to extend her hand, her smile sweet.
"Hello, hello."
Basalt shook Luna's small hand, feeling how delicate and boneless, how smooth and soft it was… A cute girl is a cute girl, huh!
Unfortunately, Luna quickly pulled her hand back.
"How about we exchange contact info?" Basalt scratched his face and said suddenly.
"Huh?"
Luna was stunned for a mont, clearly not expecting Basalt to make such a move.
Felix and Luke, who had been about to introduce themselves, also froze, staring blankly at Basalt.
This kid has so nerve! Daring to ask for our First High's goddess's contact information right in front of us? Do we not exist?! o(▼皿▼メ;)o
But then, thinking of Luna's usual aloofness, Felix and Luke covered their mouths and snickered to themselves. They could already imagine the baffled look on Basalt's face after being rejected by her.
But in the next second, sothing unexpected happened.
Luna actually took out her own Pokédex and said with a grin, "Alright, I'll add you!"
"How is that possible?"
Felix and Luke's eyes widened, their faces filled with disbelief. This… isn't scientific, is it? Great Goddess Luna, where did your cold and aloof attitude go?
But then, the two of them looked at Basalt's tall and slender figure, his handso, jade-like face, his sharp eyebrows and starry eyes—he was dazzlingly handso.
Oh, you're that handso? Then it's fine!
"Great, great!" Basalt chuckled. He wasn't acting out of lust. It was just that in the future, the four of them would be representing Seaside County, going to tro City together for training camp and the selections. Since they were all from the sa town, it was only reasonable to exchange contact information to look out for each other, right?
After adding Luna, Basalt was about to greet Felix and Luke, but he saw a deep wariness in Luke's eyes. This was because Basalt's opponent in the semifinals was Luke and his owth. He couldn't help but be wary. In terms of strength, Luke's owth was not even as good as Wade's Tyrogue. Now, facing Basalt and his Drilbur that knew Dig, it would be strange if he wasn't panicking.
"Are all the contestants here?"
Just then, the reporter, Joy Bai, suddenly appeared. She smiled and greeted everyone. "You are the top four contestants of the Seaside County High School Elite Tournant. Regardless of the results of the semifinals and finals, you will all represent Seaside County in the tro City training camp and selections."
"To give the folks back ho a more comprehensive understanding of you all, we will be conducting a simple interview with you shortly. The questions are quite simple, so you don't need to be too nervous!" Joy Bai said with a grin.
An interview was a right reserved for the top four contestants. If you were the champion, there would be a special feature later on.
"Let's do this one by one. We'll start with Luna, then Felix, then Basalt, and finally Luke, in group order."
After the four of them nodded, Joy Bai beckoned for the caraman to co in. They set up the cara and began to get everything adjusted.
"It's a video interview this ti? Then I have to perform well!" Basalt's eyes lit up the mont he saw the cara. This ti, he could finally be on TV! Yay!
Since the interviews were conducted one by one, when Luna went in, the remaining contestants were stopped outside the door. They could see the scene inside through the glass on the door, but they couldn't hear the interview content, which was a bit of a pity. Otherwise, if they knew the questions in advance, they could prepare a script in their heads and perform better in front of the cara.
Five minutes later, Luna and her Smoochum walked out elegantly, her skirt swaying.
"Luna, what questions did Reporter Joy ask? Was it hard?" Felix gallantly held the door open for Luna and asked curiously.
"They were all simple questions. You'll find out in a bit." Luna pursed her lips and walked away gracefully, not revealing a single piece of useful information.
After Luna left, Felix went in and ca out in less than five minutes.
Now, it was finally Basalt's turn.
"Ahem~"
Basalt straightened his clothes, cleared his throat, and tried his best to present his best side to the cara.
He was sitting on a stool, and for the first ti ever, Drilbur was released and held in his lap.
"Chari~" (o´ωo)`
Drilbur frowned. It felt that being held in Basalt's lap was so girly, not manly at all.
I'm the Mole Emperor, you know? How can I be held in soone's arms like a doll? Have I no sha?
But after Basalt paid the price of three braised pork dinners, Drilbur decided: Sha? Sotis, you can't be too concerned about that kind of thing.
Drilbur: (^ω^)
"Student Basalt, hello. First of all, congratulations on making it to the top four. Is there anything you'd like to say about this achievent?"
Joy Bai, wearing small flats, brushed her hair back and held the microphone to Basalt's mouth with a smile. She had a relatively deep impression of Basalt. After all… he was handso. Thanks to him, her last report had also received praise from her superiors.
"Umm… what I want to say is that my Drilbur's and my hard work has not been in vain. It was worth getting up early and staying up late every day, training so hard."
Basalt's inner drama queen began to erupt. He clenched his fist and said emotionally, "I know I'm just an ordinary person, so if I want to achieve greater things, I must put in more effort than others…"
Basalt began to tell his story. His parents were fruit farrs, his family was poor, and if he wanted to succeed, he could only rely on himself, on his own hard work and struggle.
"Have you seen what Seaside County looks like at four in the morning? You haven't, but I have! Because my Drilbur and I get up at four every day to train…"
"Don't look at what I'm wearing now and think it's nice. This is actually the first ti I've worn sothing like this, and I'm still not quite used to it. People who know know that I'm very different now from how I used to be…"
Under Basalt's depiction, the image of a young boy from a poor family who was still striving hard instantly appeared before Reporter Joy's eyes. It was full of positive energy, completely different from those glamorous phonies who rose up relying on their rich family backgrounds.
And while he was showing off his acting skills, Basalt didn't forget to give a shout-out to the J&L brand clothing, which was a fair return for his sponsor's reward. This level of professionalism deserved at least a 9.9 out of 10.
As soone who had watched countless talent shows on Earth in his past life, telling a touching story was a piece of cake for Basalt. Creating a positive public persona was even easier.
After slowly realizing the importance of resources for Pokémon breeding and tasting the first fruits of capitalism from the J&L boss, Jack, Basalt understood the power of online traffic. In this day and age, with traffic, you could make money. With money, you could buy resources. And with resources, you could raise your Pokémon to be even stronger.
For Basalt, who was determined to beco the King of Sandstorms, he absolutely could not fall at the hurdle of "money." So, he had to find a way to make money. But faced with Pokémon materials that cost tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands or millions, if he just relied on working a part-ti job, how long would that take? Until the end of ti?
A great thinker once said: Working for soone else is impossible, it's impossible in this lifeti! Basalt deeply agreed. And taking the path of an internet celebrity was the "optimal" money-making plan he could think of at the mont. So, this persona had to be established. Making money wasn't shaful. And if you could establish a good persona and make money while standing tall, then it was even less shaful.
Listening to Basalt's story, Joy Bai's expression slowly changed from surprise to admiration, and finally to utter reverence. She completely didn't realize… that Basalt was spouting a load of nonsense! It was a good thing this was the Pokémon world, where the entertainnt industry wasn't as developed, giving him an opening to exploit.
"Chari?" [ヘ?]
Drilbur, however, scratched its head with its small claw in confusion. It felt like it couldn't listen to this anymore.
Aren't I the one who trains hard every day? Every ti I get up early for extra practice, aren't you always fast asleep? And even when you train with , you're just shouting 'Go!' or '666' from the sidelines. That tired you out?
But listening to you talk, it sounds like you, the trainer, are the one putting in all the heroic effort. Where does that leave , the Mole Emperor? So all the hard work was mine, but now all the credit is yours?
"Chari~" (▼ヘ▼#)
Seeing Basalt continue to shalessly take all the credit, Drilbur couldn't hold back any longer.
"Chari~"
You better make it clear: am I carrying you, or am I carrying you? Drilbur asked, angrily poking Basalt's mouth with its claw.
"Heavens! Student Basalt's story seems to have struck a chord with his Drilbur. It's reaching out its claw, not wanting its trainer to share any more of his heartfelt journey…" Joy Bai was extrely excited, but she had completely misunderstood the little mole's aning.
But the little mole's troublemaking was a little too late, because Basalt had already finished his story.
Joy Bai gave a signal, and the caraman silently turned off the cara. The interview was over.
"Chari~"
Drilbur pointed at Basalt, then at the cara, aning: Do it again, and this ti, you better say it right!
"Next ti, for sure!" (_) Basalt's gaze flickered, avoiding the question.
To establish his persona, for the sake of the show, sacrificing the little mole was sothing that couldn't be helped. He couldn't just say that his mole was exceptionally talented and had also consud a Smooth Rock Crystal, which was why it was so aweso, right? That would completely ruin the show's effect.
Sigh, the little mole is still too young. It doesn't realize the power of money.
"Chari~"
But the little mole didn't care about any of that. It leaped up and slapped Basalt on the knee, venting its dissatisfaction.
"Hey! You dare to hit your trainer? I'm telling you, you have no future…"
Basalt was hurt by the little mole's slap and imdiately got angry. Man and mole began to scuffle.
"Their relationship is really so good. As expected of good partners who have been through so much together," Joy Bai sighed with emotion, watching Basalt and Drilbur "play-fighting."
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