Pokémon Court

Chapter 904: On the Eve of Carbink’s Mutation

Four months ago, Terrance was still worried about possibly encountering multiple Top Trainers in the Champion League.

With only nine Pokémon to mix and match into lineups, would the combinations be too limited?

However, the facts proved that over these past few months, Terrance’s strength had undergone a tremendous leap, completely dispelling his earlier concerns!

First, all of Terrance’s veteran Pokémon had received Genetic Potions meticulously formulated by Master Victor. After fully absorbing them, their battle power skyrocketed. Each one, taken individually, could contend against an opponent’s ace Pokémon.

Second, the arrangements of the Pokémon Contest faction ensured that Terrance’s opponents grew progressively stronger step by step. He didn’t encounter Top Trainers right from the start, which gave Gardevoir, Ninetales, and Tyranitar ample time to grow. Now, each of them was already capable of standing on their own.

Moreover, every one of Terrance’s battles was spaced out by the maximum interval theoretically possible, giving him sufficient time to recover and prepare. This allowed his Pokémon to enter each battle at peak condition, something most Contestants simply did not have the luxury of.

Third was the tempering effect of real combat on Terrance and his Pokémon.

From fighting against illegal organizations to repeatedly entering the Super-ancient Pyramid, Terrance had spent a great deal of time honing his Pokémon’s real combat experience. Combined with the massive investment in nutritional supplements and health care products, their combat power rose once again, allowing them to utilize their strength even more perfectly.

Conquering the Elite Four’s training ground came at a great cost even for Terrance, but with effort came reward.

"Congratulations, Mr. Terrance."

Assistant Sharan hurried over to congratulate him, while also reminding him of his upcoming arrangements.

"Inspector Jade Joy and Lan Jenny sent word that they’ve only discovered an insignificant poaching organization this time. They’re asking whether you want to—"

"Forget it."

Upon hearing the word "insignificant," Terrance immediately lost interest. Over the past two months, there had still been few illegal organizations surfacing. During his exploration of the Super-ancient Pyramid, he had only gone on two missions with Jade Joy and Lan Jenny. For Terrance, the value of training in the Super-ancient Pyramid had already far surpassed dealing with those small-fry poaching organizations.

If it were Team Magma or Team Aqua, he might still be interested in a fight, but those two organizations were elusive, and even the International Police had little information on them.

"Let’s head back to Fallarbor Town first," Terrance said.

...

...

Upon returning to Fallarbor Town, Terrance immediately received news from the Rotom Pokédex that all of Hoenn was once again buzzing because he had qualified for the Elite Four matches. As a complete rookie who had earned the right to challenge the Elite Four, judging by the performance of rookies in recent years, they either demonstrated invincible talent and extraordinary potential to seize a seat in the Elite Four as a member of the younger generation, or they were taught a harsh lesson and returned in crushing defeat.

And judging by Terrance’s performance, no one believed he would fall into the latter category.

Thus, not only Coordinators, but even many young Trainers had placed great expectations on Terrance.

A seventeen-year-old Elite Four, while not the youngest in history, was still exceptionally young, something rarely seen.

"Isn’t this a bit exaggerated..." Terrance looked at the media’s evaluation of him and shook his head helplessly. The headline claiming that his potential could challenge for the title of the strongest Elite Four was practically inviting trouble for him.

"Cynthia became the Sinnoh Champion at eighteen. With my current pace, it seems a bit difficult to catch up. Even if I can defeat all the Elite Four, there’s still a Champion above them pressing down, unless Steven steps down..." Terrance scratched his cheek. In the Champion League, every time he encountered Steel-type Pokémon, he would fall into a tough battle unless he sent out Gallade. Although he could rely on Arcanine and Altaria, which had mastered Flame of Life, against a Steel- and Rock-type master like Steven, Terrance still felt rather powerless.

Could Altaria’s Flame of Life become even more destructive?

After all, the gap between a Champion-level Master and a Champion League contestant was far from small.

Even among Top Trainers, there could be an invisible gap.

"Why think so much..." Terrance patted his face and arrived at the place on Mt. Chimney where Carbink was settled.

The time estimated by the Rotom Pokédex for the mutation was approaching. The glow of the diamond cocoon had dimmed, leaving only a trace of energy.

It seemed... Carbink was about to complete its mutation.

"Nine days. In nine days, I’ll face my toughest battle of the regular season—against Mr. Norman. I wonder if Carbink can successfully mutate within these nine days and bring me some surprises." Terrance gazed at the still magnificent diamond cocoon and muttered to himself.

"What are you planning to do next, Roto..." Floating beside Terrance, the Rotom Pokédex asked.

Up to this point, aside from Carbink, Froakie, and Togepi, the training plans for Terrance’s other Pokémon were almost complete.

The fifty days of training had not only been about real combat, but also about accelerating training through battle and fully digesting the results of that training.

"There’s still no progress on the secondary development of Tyranitar’s light–heavy mode, and no clue on Gardevoir’s mist transformation either. Next, let’s focus our training around these two goals, bringing along the main team for the final battle. As for the location... the pyramid is still a good place."

Terrance thought for a moment before speaking.

"But... the secondary development of light–heavy mode and giving the mist special abilities are still only theoretical. They haven’t been proven to be achievable yet. Should we wait until after the Elite Four matches before continuing to try, Roto?" the Rotom Pokédex said worriedly.

"It’s fine. The main Pokémon for the next battles won’t be Gardevoir and Tyranitar. I’ll try not to split my focus," Terrance smiled. "During this period, Altaria, Arcanine, and Castform have been rampaging through the Super-ancient Pyramid. They’ve probably had enough of that dark battle environment and are already eager to fight on a proper battlefield."

"Alright then, Roto..." The Rotom Pokédex nodded.

A day later, Terrance once again headed to the Super-ancient Pyramid with Gallade, Mismagius, Castform, Arcanine, Beautifly, Ninetales, Tyranitar, and Gardevoir. As for Altaria and the Rotom Pokédex, they remained on Mt. Chimney.

Altaria was Terrance’s absolute powerhouse for quickly conquering the Super-ancient Pyramid. For Altaria, which could unleash its full strength, the training value there was not particularly high. Instead, it was far more beneficial for the other Pokémon. Combined with Carbink’s imminent mutation, Terrance simply left Altaria behind. Besides, he was now very familiar with the inside of the Super-ancient Pyramid, and situations as dangerous as his first entry were unlikely to occur.

Training on specific floors was Terrance’s goal this time.

For example, the eighteenth floor, which was almost entirely filled with Dragon-type Pokémon. The individual strength of the Pokémon there was among the strongest in the Super-ancient Pyramid. Challenging a single group there meant guaranteed high-intensity battles.

Or the twentieth floor, the territory of Normal-type Pokémon. This floor was entirely inhabited by Normal-types, and among them were a few group leaders capable of firing Hyper Beam instantly, with the ability to ignore the move’s usual drawbacks. This was Terrance’s primary training ground to prepare for his battle against Mr. Norman.

However, before Terrance had even spent many days inside the Super-ancient Pyramid, an unfortunate piece of news made his heart sink.

First Arcanine, then Little Beautifly... the totem aura of Terrance’s Pokémon was rapidly dissipating.

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