[Elesa]: So, who are you all picking?
[Diantha]: First, we can rule out Pikachu. No matter how you look at it, Pikachu doesn't seem like the type who can act.
[Fantina]: Ash can be excluded, too. He's just a hot-blooded kid—how could he possibly be an actor?
The three talking in the message feed were all globally known actors.
Diantha was, of course, also a Champion.
The other two—Elesa of Unova and Fantina of Sinnoh—were both Gym Leaders who also worked in show business.
Unlike Diantha, they didn't dare list "actor" as their main profession.
If they did, they'd probably be marked "unqualified" in their Gym evaluations…
Using their rich experience, the three of them easily judged who in the footage had talent for acting and who didn't.
Ash, no matter how you looked at him—
from the previous clips or just his face right now—
It was clearly a textbook blockhead.
If the question were, "Who loves Pokémon the most?" any idiot would pick him.
But for acting?
Any idiot would avoid him.
And Pikachu, as his closest partner, was hardly going to be any better at acting than he was.
That left only the boy named Trip and Snivy.
[Lance]: I'd say it's that Trip kid.
[Leon]: Same. He doesn't look like an actor, but… crowning a Pokémon as Best Actor feels a bit off.
[Diantha]: Agreed. From his features alone, I can tell Trip has talent for performance. It's written all over his face.
Far away in Unova, Elesa stared at the message feed with a very strange expression.
Trip… did not look like he had a single acting bone in his body.
Diantha wouldn't make such a rookie mistake.
So…
She had to be doing it on purpose.
If anyone else managed to win the right to answer,
They'd be misled into picking the wrong choice.
Yikes…
So even someone as elegant and righteous as Diantha
could be this ruthless when she wanted to mess with people.
In Wyndon Stadium, Diantha spoke earnestly to the surrounding Champions.
"…Trip is almost certainly the future Best Actor. He may look a bit raw now, but I'm certain he'll be on the big screen one day."
She broke down his looks, his clothes, his temperament—
step by step.
The Champions' doubtful expressions gradually turned into certainty.
Yes. Trip had to be the future Actor King.
Even his name had an "帝 / King" sound in it. How could he not?
In Unova, at Trip's home—
Trip, who hadn't even started his journey yet, was staring at the message feed, feeling his worldview crack.
He had always wanted to be a photographer first, trainer second…
Could it be that the Champion and all those Gym Leaders were right—
that he actually had the talent to be a performer?
Had his dream… always been wrong?
Before long, the sixty-second countdown ended.
Everyone in the world who had a button slammed it at the same time.
Diantha and the other Champions had already "shared" the "right" answer.
Not trying to answer now would've been idiotic.
——[Responder: Diantha!]
"Yesss!!!"
Diantha literally bounced on the spot.
Next to her, Cynthia smiled.
"See, Diantha? I told you—what's meant to be yours will still be yours."
"Haha, thanks, Cynthia! If they let me split the reward in half, I'll cut you in for sure!"
She had already mentally pocketed the prize.
Soon, the big screen displayed her answer: D.
[Lance]: ???
[Steven Stone]: ???
[Bruno]: ???
[Brandon]: Impressive maneuver, Miss Diantha. You actually planned to mislead the entire world?
[Diantha]: Hehe. Just a little trick, nothing serious. Anyway… I'm the one who got the right to answer, aren't I?
With that, everyone at Wyndon Stadium realized they'd been played.
Trip being the Actor King?
All lies.
Diantha had already locked onto Snivy from the very beginning.
"Hehe, we're all competitors. Don't blame me for playing a tiny bit dirty~"
Leon laughed and clapped.
"As expected of the film queen of the Pokémon world—your acting completely fooled us!"
Lance couldn't help but grin as well.
"If you ever went undercover in the League, Diantha, I doubt anyone in the world could expose you."
"You flatter me, you flatter me. Hahaha…"
Professor Oak, curious, asked:
"Diantha, how did you determine Snivy was the right answer? Trip was still possible, wasn't he?"
Since she'd already answered, Diantha didn't mind explaining.
"Take a close look at Trip's hand. See that camera he's holding?"
"That tells us he's a photographer. And as for performance—
You're not seriously telling me that a Snivy with eyes that sultry and expressive can't act, right?"
"Look at Snivy. Doesn't it just scream 'born performer'?"
With Diantha's reminder, everyone finally noticed the small details in the footage.
One moment, they were marveling at her sharp observation—
Next, they were marveling at just how hard she'd been acting earlier.
Her performance had fooled them all.
No wonder they called her an award-winning actress.
A moment later, the screen froze—
And then a big red X appeared.
[Incorrect answer. A future segment will tally Diantha's most embarrassing moments.]
"HUH???"
Diantha's confident smile instantly collapsed.
Impossible. Her reasoning had been flawless.
How could that be wrong?!
[Brandon]: Some people work so hard to act and still crash and burn. I won't say any names.
[Diantha]: Oh, shut it!! I wasn't the one who exposed your match, and now you're coming after me?! I can't believe you're this petty, Brandon!
This was the second time Brandon had popped out just to trip her up.
Who knew that behind the stern, honest-looking mountaineer
lurking inside was such a dark little soul?
If you want to read more, join my Patreon/kazama677
60+ advanced chapters available.