Pokémon Court

Before Terrance finished his thesis, the two examiners temporarily left. Although they were not constantly supervising his assessment process at the Gym, the two months were spent diligently fulfilling their responsibilities.

The first half of the next phase of assessment was to be completed by Terrance himself, giving the two examiners a chance to rest briefly.

Having the two inspectors serve as Terrance’s examiners might seem like overkill, wasting two months of their time. However, there were only a handful of Gym Leaders in the entire Hoenn region. Each Gym Leader was a figure representing their region, so the League couldn’t afford to be careless.

After regrouping with his five little bugs, Terrance began heading toward Fallarbor Town with them. [TN: Yes author uses little bugs to refer to his five new Pokemon.]

He chose to travel on foot, intending to spend quality time with his Pokémon during the journey while also honing their skills.

Outside Mauville City.

It took Terrance a week to travel from Rogge City to here. He walked through wilderness areas, taking shortcuts along the way.

This journey also gave Terrance plenty of opportunities to engage in battles.

The five little bugs were the main participants in these battles. While training them, Terrance also began guiding them in battle strategies.

Meanwhile, Beautifly, acting like the chief guard, stayed by Terrance’s side, providing guidance to the little bugs and pointing out their shortcomings.

Just as a talented Pokémon can save a Trainer years of effort, a good Trainer can similarly accelerate a Pokémon’s growth.

Though Terrance didn’t think himself especially talented, the path beneath his feet has at least been paved step by step through hard work. Among his generation, he was already ahead of most.

For these Pokémon, meeting Terrance was a stroke of luck.

“Beau~tifly~”

Beautifly, responsible for scouting, returned. In the distance was the boundary of Mauville City. Terrance packed his belongings and told the five little bugs to stop training, preparing to enter the city.

Mauville Pokémon Center

As soon as Terrance entered the Pokémon Center, he saw a familiar figure. The person also noticed him, exclaiming in surprise.

Terrance froze for a moment before recognizing the boy and breaking into a surprised smile. “Chisana? What are you doing here?”

“Brother Terrance?!”

The boy in the Pokémon Center was none other than Chisana, who had left the Old Green House to embark on his training journey as a Coordinator. Seeing Terrance, Chisana exclaimed in surprise, but he quickly covered his mouth and pulled Terrance aside, whispering, “What a coincidence! But let’s be careful. The Mauville Contest is about to begin, and a lot of Coordinators are gathering here. If people find out you’re here, Brother Terrance, it’ll definitely cause a stir!”

Cause a stir?

Terrance chuckled wryly and said, “That’s an exaggeration.”

During his time as a Gym Trainer at Rogge Gym, there were people who visited out of admiration for his status as a Top Coordinator. However, it wasn’t anything close to idolization. It had been a long time since the Grand Festival ended, and he had rarely been active in the Coordinator world due to his Gym assessment. He figured he’d been largely forgotten by now.

“So, are you here to participate in the Mauville Contest?” Terrance asked.

“That’s the plan. But Brother Terrance, are you here to challenge the Elite Four?”

“What?” Terrance was taken aback.

“The Elite Four! Don’t you know, Brother Terrance? Tomorrow, Miss Phoebe from the Elite Four is giving a public lecture in Mauville City’s central park!” Chisana said excitedly.

The Elite Four were the pinnacle of Trainers in the Hoenn.

For someone like that to interact with grassroots Trainers would undoubtedly send many into a frenzy.

“Will she be accepting challenges from Trainers?” Terrance asked.

“According to rumors, yes… but it’s said she’ll only take on three challenges. With so many Trainers showing up, being chosen will be a long shot,” Chisana sighed.

“My Zubat… never mind, even if I got the chance to challenge her, I’d probably lose miserably.”

“Don’t lose heart. Thirty years—” Terrance paused mid-sentence and rephrased, “One day, you’ll become an outstanding Coordinator too.”

After all, who could say what the future held?

After chatting with Chisana a bit more, Terrance went to restore his Pokémon’s stamina.

However, the information about Phoebe caught his attention. Phoebe, the Elite Four member specialising in Ghost-type Pokémon, was also the youngest among them—a representative of the younger generation.

“I should check it out,” Terrance decided after some thought.

If he had the chance to challenge her, it would be a great opportunity to witness the power of a Ghost-type Elite Four.

If he could gain some inspiration, it might even help enhance Mismagius’ strength.

Although Terrance was acquainted with Steven, a Champion-level Trainer, Steven specialized in Rock and Steel type. When it came to Ghost-types Pokémon, Steven wasn’t exactly a professional.

Later, Terrance treated Chisana to a feast at the local food street and began mentoring him.

Since they’d crossed paths, he took the opportunity to check Chisana’s progress.

Notably, Chisana had earned his first Ribbon during this time.

For a rookie, this was already an impressive accomplishment. Where there’s a first, there’s bound to be a second. The day when Chisana would qualify to participate in the Grand Festival didn’t seem far off.

The next morning, after distributing food to his Pokémon, Terrance waited for a while before heading toward central park with Chisana.

As soon as they arrived at the park, Terrance exclaimed. The scene before him was as packed as a rush-hour subway in his previous life.

“Brother Terrance, Miss Phoebe probably hasn’t arrived yet,” Chisana said. “But if she’s not already inside the park, it’ll be hard for her to get in from the outside. She’d definitely get swarmed by Trainers.”

Terrance shrugged nonchalantly. The Elite Four, each specializing in a specific type, were idols to nearly every Trainer who loved that type.

Compared to the title of Top Coordinator—granted to several individuals each year—the status of an Elite Four member was far more prestigious.

“An Elite Four giving a public lecture… what’s the purpose?” Terrance murmured to himself.

While he pondered why Phoebe had chosen Mauville City for this public lecture, a commotion arose from one direction.

“Master Phoebe’s here!!”

“Elite Four Phoebe!!”

She’s arrived?

Terrance and Chisana pushed their way toward the place where the voices were the loudest. From a distance, they saw a person who looked like a young girl approaching with a smile. She was wearing a blue sarong and only a cloth wrapped around her upper body.

Her skin was dark, and her petite stature made her appear younger than she likely was. However, the most striking—and difficult to ignore—feature was her bold outfit.

Elite Four Phoebe, the Ghost-type Master. As she entered the crowd, it was as though an invisible barrier had pushed everyone back. The people, seemingly in a daze, stepped aside to clear a path for her.

Behind Phoebe was an assistant with a bitter expression. Though there were proper venues available for her lecture, she insisted on holding it in a park. While they weren’t worried about her being overwhelmed by the crowd, the casual nature of her choice seemed almost unbecoming of an Elite Four.

“Good morning, everyone. I am Phoebe, one of the Elite Four,” she said, stopping in her tracks. With pink floral ornaments adorning each side of her head, she smiled warmly as she looked around.

Due to the invisible barrier, no one attempted to move forward. They simply stood there, dazed, gazing at this peculiar Elite Four member.

“Psychic…” Terrance muttered softly.

“Huh? Brother Terrance, what did you say?”

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