That same day.
Terrance's declaration of his challenge for a seat among the Elite Four spread throughout Hoenn.
At that very moment, all sides reacted differently. If an ordinary Trainer had made such a declaration, the response might not have been so intense, but Terrance was different.
First of all, by virtue of his status as a Gym Leader, he could bypass the regional conference altogether and enter the Champion League directly in the next season. Moreover, his identity as a Contest Master further highlighted how different Terrance was from those rookies who had just entered the Champion League.
He was challenging with a clear and powerful purpose…
Terrance set his sights directly on the Elite Four, coming on strong, and many Trainers could see the ambition behind his move.
Publicly announcing his goal like this—such an attention-grabbing approach meant either he was being excessively chuunibyou, or he possessed overwhelming confidence. Clearly, Terrance was the latter.
Fallarbor Gym.
In addition to the swarm of media, Trainers who knew Terrance arrived one after another.
For example, Albus and Fujiki.
"I mean… you're actually planning to challenge the Elite Four of the Hoenn region?!" Albus burst straight into Fallarbor Gym, exclaiming in disbelief. He had originally thought he would be the first to make such a move, but who would have guessed that Terrance had taken a step ahead of him so quickly.
After all… he hadn't even challenged the Ever Grande Conference yet. To challenge the Champion League, he still had to cross that threshold.
"Oh? You're able to move now? Come in and have a seat." Terrance smiled. Instead of answering Albus directly, he invited both Albus and Fujiki into the room.
However, as soon as they entered the reception room, they saw Mr. Steven. All the words they had wanted to say instantly stuck in their throats, and they became restrained. Besides them, Roxanne from Rustboro City, Brawly from Dewford Town, Winona from Fortree City, Flannery from Lavaridge Town… these Gym Leaders had also arrived. Even Terrance hadn't expected that so many Gym Leaders would come together to visit the small Fallarbor Town.
These people had originally kept a low profile, but once Terrance announced his intention to challenge an Elite Four seat, it was as if they had all agreed in advance, coming over to sound things out…
Naturally, after being invited in by Terrance, their reactions were just as astonished as those of Albus and Fujiki.
"Why are Mr. Steven and Mr. Raoul Contesta here…?"
Upon discovering the two major figures seated in the Fallarbor Gym reception room, the Trainers who had come out of curiosity were momentarily confused. However, once they connected it to Terrance's identity, someone quickly figured it out.
At the same time, Terrance brewed several cups of fruit tea and placed them in front of everyone.
From their expressions alone, Terrance couldn't tell what these Trainers were thinking, but he knew well that although they might not be his competitors right now, in the coming years, many of them would likely walk the same challenging path as he did.
"Everyone, welcome to Fallarbor Gym…" Terrance said with a smile, beginning to receive the guests…
Of course, he wasn't afraid. Those he had surpassed so far had yet to overtake him.
…
…
Half a month later.
Half a month had passed since the opening ceremony of the Fallarbor Scenic Area, and discussions about Terrance had quieted down considerably.
Of course, this was merely the calm before the storm. Once Terrance appeared on the Champion League stage, the public's attention would once again converge on him.
"I underestimated their abilities. I didn't expect that in just half a month, the effects of the Genetic Potions would be mostly absorbed."
Inside Terrance's private laboratory at Fallarbor Gym, Master Victor looked at the data recorded by the Rotom Pokédex and spoke with a sigh.
"This is thanks to the fact that they've already developed the relevant potential through other means, so they're actually absorbing the Genetic Potions much faster," Terrance said with a smile.
Master Victor had long known that a large portion of the Genetic Potion's effects would be wasted, and he also believed that this was unavoidable.
What he hadn't expected, however, was that during the time he'd been away, Terrance had trained his Pokémon so exceptionally well that the Genetic Potions he'd formulated had lost a significant portion of their effectiveness. This was no simple matter.
"The day after tomorrow will be your first day in the Champion League. Are you nervous?" Master Victor asked, setting aside the data sheets in his hand.
"I'm doing okay. I've looked over the information on my opponents. They don't pose much of a threat. So before I run into truly strong opponents, I plan to use them to hone the actual combat abilities of Ninetales, Carbink, and the others," Terrance replied.
During this period, matters related to the Scenic Area and the Champion League had taken up a lot of his attention, leaving Terrance with very little time to train his Pokémon.
Carbink's mutation plan and Pupitar's desert trip had both been delayed by Terrance.
Of course, that was also because these matters weren't particularly urgent. Giving these two Pokémon more time to accumulate a solid foundation was never a bad thing.
"That's good, but don't underestimate your opponents too much."
"I understand." Terrance nodded.
The Champion League uses a points-based system, with participating contestants taking turns battling different opponents.
A win, draw, and loss are worth 3, 1, and 0 points respectively.
At the end of a season, only contestants who have accumulated a sufficient number of points are qualified to challenge the Elite Four.
Of course, whether to issue a challenge is entirely up to the Trainer. There's no rule stating that one must take part in the Elite Four Challenge Competition.
For example, Mr. Norman has long held first place in the Champion League's regular season standings, yet he has repeatedly delayed challenging an Elite Four position. This has already drawn quite a bit of criticism toward the star Trainer.
After the regular season comes what is commonly known as the Elite Four Challenge Competition.
The current Elite Four and the Champion were all contestants who had once maintained perfect winning records in the first half of the Champion League season. After obtaining their Elite Four positions, they are allowed to carry over their previous season's points into the next season. In other words, the Elite Four no longer need to compete in the regular point rankings alongside ordinary contestants. These five individuals sit far ahead in points and are the targets that later challengers must overcome.
Therefore, if Terrance wants to replace an Elite Four member, he must surpass at least one of them in total points.
The first thing he has to achieve is to maintain an undefeated record before officially challenging the Elite Four. Then, he must defeat at least one Elite Four member; this is the most reliable approach.
If Terrance was unlucky enough to suffer a loss before challenging the Elite Four, then the gap between him and an Elite Four position would widen considerably. A single point could be the difference between making it and missing out entirely.
The Champion League operates on a six-month season cycle. The first half consists of five months of regular season matches, while the latter half—covering the Elite Four Challenge Competition and the Champion match—lasts only one month.
In other words, Terrance must maintain a winning streak throughout those five months in order to have a chance at challenging the Elite Four.
If he fails in the Elite Four challenge, then he can only wait another five months.
Generally speaking, those who rank near the top in the regular season are already Top Trainers, such as Mr. Norman.
As for those ranked lower, they are all seasoned Trainers who have stood out in past regional conferences and undergone long periods of honing.
None of these people are ordinary by any means, but for this, Terrance had already made thorough preparations.
It's worth mentioning that… whether it's the regular season, the Elite Four Challenge Competition, or the Champion match, the rules are all 6-vs-6 full-team battles.
Indeed, this was a battle format Terrance was very unfamiliar with.
But precisely because of that, Terrance found it extremely interesting.
After a round of discussion with Master Victor, Terrance went to check on his Pokémon's training progress. With a major battle approaching, their condition had to be carefully maintained.
At present, Terrance only had ten Pokémon that he could truly rely on as his main team—a number that could only be described as pitiful. Fortunately, Terrance didn't need to worry too much about being disadvantaged by the competition format.
Mr. Raoul Contesta had already given Terrance a clear answer: during Terrance's campaign in the Champion League, the intervals between each battle would be quite long, giving him ample time to rest and to summarize his experience.
Naturally, the one providing this support was the Contest Committee.
Thus, Terrance also planned to make use of this period to train Carbink, Ninetales, Pupitar, and Kirlia. Through continuous real combat and the accumulation of experience, he aimed to bring them at least close to the level of Beautifly and the others.
The next day, after finishing his preparations, Terrance boarded a plane to Ever Grande City with his ten Pokémon and the Rotom Pokédex.
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